ã€ŠReign of the Huntersã€‹


 Chapter 1 Reincarnation

    Chapter 1 Reincarnation

    Ye Ci sat on the observation floor of Glory Corporation¡¯s main building.

    By her sidey the trophy she had just obtained: Fate¡¯s Second Battle of the Kings, Solo PVP Runner Up.

    As Ye Ci lowered her head to take a nce at the crystal trophy, she felt an emptiness within her heart.

    She rummaged through the pocket of her coat and retrieved the cigarettes that she had just bought.

    Ye Ci never smoked, but today, she felt tempted to smoke one.Lighting the cigarette she had in her mouth with ineptitude, Ye Ci took a deep puff and immediately gagged. She looked up into the night sky and grimaced.

    Ye Ci caressed the trophy with her slender fingers and raised the trophy up high before shouting in a hoarse voice, ¡°Mum, dad, I did it. But why don¡¯t I feel the slightest bit of happiness?¡±

    ¡°Look, I got a trophy. I have be strong. I¡¯m standing at the top, but why am I not happy!?¡± In this bustling city with neon lights lighting up the skyline, nobody noticed the tiny lone human being.

    She cupped her face with her hands. It was dry, devoid of even a single drop of tear. ¡°Is this what I deserved? Is this what I get for turning my back on everything for the sake of bing stronger?¡± Ye Ci screamed in agony.

    In the next moment, aughter that she could not suppress left her mouth.

    ¡°I turned my back on everything? I became stronger? The truth is, I was abandoned by everybody else. What have I done to possess the achievement I have today? I angered dad to death, mom left, and I¡¯ve abandoned all my friends. I was notorious back then. I thought that I was special, I thought that nobody could understand me. The truth is, I am trash.¡±

    ¡°But now...¡±

    Ye Ci closed her eyes. Her mind was overwhelmed by the embarrassment she felt when her right to join thepetition had been denied just because she didn¡¯t have any teammates, just because she didn¡¯t have any friends.

    ¡°Fate is not about individual strength, as the strength of an individuales from the people surrounding them. Miss Ye, I¡¯m sorry, but the essence of the Battle of Kings is group battle. Without a group that is willing to ept you, we have no choice but to refuse your entry.¡±

    No groups were willing to ept her...

    Hehe, how could any group be willing to ept her!

    She was the number 1 Sorceress in Fate, yet the most callous and ck-hearted one as well. She had never offered assistance to a single soul in her 10 years of ying Fate.

    Even in real life, she was the embodiment of selfishness and cruelty.

    After pulling out her cellphone, Ye Ci dialed one of the few numbers that were stored in it. She was lonely. She wanted to speak to someone, anyone.

    ¡°Sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service.¡±

    ......

    90% of the few numbers stored in her phone were no longer in service. Exactly how long ago had she lost contact with other human beings?

    The cursor on the screen stopped at thest number. It was a number that she was extremely familiar with, and it represented the final sliver of warmth within the depths of her heart. That person...he might still be around. She dialed after a moment of hesitation.

    ¡°Sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service.¡±

    The cold voice of the receiver seemed to have sapped Ye Ci of all her energy. Her situation wasughable. Was there anybody else in this world who was like her? Seemingly morous on the surface, yet isted from her kin.

    After struggling to stand up, Ye Ci threw the phone into the air. ¡°Inactive numbers! I, Ye Ci, do not need you people...¡±

    Before she could finish her sentence, the night wind swept her off bnce and she fell down the building. She subconsciously extended her arm out of desperation and managed to grab hold on something. Raising her head, she realised that the object she was dangling from at the edge of this hundred-meter-tall building was none other than her trophy.

    Ye Ci was taken aback for a moment, after which tears began streaming out.

    In the end, was this the only thing she had left?

    Was there still any meaning to her life?

    Let it go, let it all go. Let her miserable lifee to an end like that, in loneliness and sorrow.

    Throwing a final nce at the PVP trophy, Ye Ci loosened her grip.

    Endless darkness swallowed her entire being; it were as if she had never existed.

    A splitting headache came.

    However, the cozy sunlight lulled her to sleep for a moment longer.

    The girl on the bed took in a deep breath and curled underneath her nket, returning to her sweet dreams.

    10 secondster, the soft white nket was pushed aside violently. The girl sat up abruptly and surveyed everything in the room, looking as though she had seen a ghost.

    ¡°Is this heaven? Or am I dreaming?¡± She muttered to herself before shaking her head, ¡°I doubt that a person like me could make it to heaven...¡±

    She lowered her head and looked at her white, tender hands. Those hands wormed themselves into thefort of her nket and forcefully pinched her leg.

    ¡°Ahh!!¡± She screamed at the excruciating pain, tears flowing down her cheeks.

    It¡¯s not a dream!

    ¡°What happened? What¡¯s going on?¡± A middle-aged man with an apron stormed into the room with adle in hand. The anxiety on his face was clearly disyed on his face as he asked the girl on the bed urgently, ¡°Ci Ci, what happened? Are you ok? Did you fall onto the floor after a dream again!?¡±

    Ye Ci sat on her bed staring at the man, unable to recover from her surprise.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you have a concussion!?¡± Ye Nantian waved his hand in front of Ye Ci.

    ¡°Dad!¡± Ye Ci grabbed hold of his hand, stood up, and wrapped her arms around Ye Nantian¡¯s neck as tears streamed down uncontrobly from her eyes.

    She didn¡¯t want to care anymore. Even if it was just a dream, she¡¯d be happy just to be able to meet her parents once again.

    ¡°What¡¯s with you?¡± Ye Nantian was puzzled. His daughter had never had such an intimate interaction with him ever since she was 15. Her sudden change today left him bewildered.

    ¡°Dad, it¡¯s good to see you again.¡± Ye Ci spoke from the depth of her heart. Tears blurred her vision as she held on tightly to her dad.

    ¡°What are you talking about!? You¡¯re speaking as though I came back from the dead.¡± Ye Nantianughed and patted Ye Ci on the back before pulling her to the side. ¡°I¡¯m going to make breakfast,e down quickly when you¡¯re fully awake!¡±

    He patted Ye Ci¡¯s head again and walked out of the room.

    Ye Ci sat on her bed and stared nkly at the digital clock on the wall as if it was a magnificent piece of sculpture.

    20th August 2050, 7.37am

    Year 2050?

    It¡¯s the year 2050!!!?

    After being stupefied state for an untold amount of time, she sprang into action. Rushing to her desk, she grabbed hold of a mirror with trembling hands to look at her reflection.

    The face of a 18 or 19 year old appeared in the mirror. The face had a healthy shade of red with a little bit of baby fat. There was life and vigor in her eyes.

    This was her 10 years ago.

    Ye Ci was a hundred percent sure. This face did not have the scar left behind by that car ident 10 years ago.

    But what happened?

    Ye Ci put down the mirror and looked around the room. There was a bamboo bed, a book rack, and aputer desk, along with with a Fate promotional poster hanging on the wall. A corner of the room was emptied out.

    Did she return 10 years back in time?

    She had returned 10 years back in time!

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart initially filled with frenzied happiness, but it was soon reced with other emotions.

    God had treated her well. Just when she had thought that she would end her life full of regrets, she received a second chance!

    Was this a chance for her to rectify her mistakes?

    Ye Ci could no longer hold herself back. She stood up and rushed towards the living room.

    Ye Nantian was currently busy serving breakfast while Zuo Xian was wiping off the dust from the cupboard. Both of them raised their heads upon hearing Ye Ci¡¯s footsteps.

    The first thing that Ye Ci saw after entering the living room was the scene filled with warmth that was long gone from her life.

    She blinked, and there was a lump in her throat.

    There were countless times when she had thought that she would be a good daughter if her dad coulde back from the dead, and her mother would not leave her. She would stop being wilful, selfish and rebellious. She would be an attentive and obedient daughter.

    She would never have thought that she¡¯d receive such a chance.

    Ye Ci bit her lips for a moment before letting out a heartyugh. ¡°Dad, mum, good morning!¡± Ye Ci said with a loud and cheerful voice.

    Zuo Xian sat on the sofa while gazing at Ye Ci, who had been busying away in the kitchen. She nudged Ye Nantian and murmured to him, ¡°Say, what¡¯s wrong with Ci Ci? She seems a little too obedient these few days. Not only did she break up with those friends who were being a bad influence, she even offered to do housework. Something must be wrong!¡±

    ¡°Are you not happy that your daughter became obedient?¡± Ye Nantian threw a grin at his wife and beckoned for Ye Ci to sit down with them.

    Ye Ci sat down with her parents. She was happy, despite not knowing why her father had called for her. To her, the life she was currently in was heaven. She was fine with anything.

    Ye Nantian cleared his throat and said, ¡°Ci Ci, you once told me that you want a Fate Gaming Cabin. I promised you that I¡¯d buy one for you if you could get into a university. So, I will fulfill my promise now. The Gaming Cabin will be here tomorrow.¡±

    Ye Ci was stunned for a moment. Her past memories reyed in her mind like a movie.

    Yes, the Fate gaming cabin.

    Her fate was changed from that moment onwards.

    The fate of her family was also changed at that moment.

    If she could start over, what would be her choice?

    ¡°However, you have to tell me, why would you need such a high end gaming cabin? You can y the game with a regr helmet as well, so why would you need a holographic gaming cabin?¡±

    Ye Nantian was unaware of the turmoil within Ye Ci¡¯s mind and was silently staring at her with a smile.

    The gaming cabin was just a bet with a friend. Despite not being rich, her parents were willing to buy the luxurious item for her out of love, one that cost about a hundred thousand bucks.

    How did she answered her parents at that time? She said that she wanted to soar in Fate.

    What happened in the end? She did it. However, in her quest to soar high in the sky, she had lost her friends, her parents, her happiness, and even her life. It was all due to her presumptuous foolishness and arrogance!

 Chapter 2 Gongzi You

    Chapter 2 Gongzi You

    Thinking of her past, Ye Ci¡¯s blood froze.

    She gripped the hem of her skirt tightly and loosened her grip. When Ye Ci finally raised her head again, the agony and guilt in her eyes were reced by her will to be tough and unyielding.

    She gazed at Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian, the parents that could give their all for her. A surge of emotion she had never felt before churned within her heart.

    They had once lost everything trying to protect their selfish and foolish daughter. This would be a guilt that Ye Ci could never forget.

    She had made too many mistakes in her past life. In this life, she was going to do it right.

    Dad, mom, this time, it¡¯s my turn to protect you!

    ¡°I want to be a professional gamer.¡±

    Ye Ci voiced out her thoughts word by word.

    ¡°A professional gamer?¡± Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian said in unison, staring at Ye Ci in awe. This was unexpected.

    There were many reasons Ye Ci could have had for wanting a gaming cabin. It may have been a bet, or it could be that she simply wanted to show off. It could even be the spur of a moment, but it was inconceivable for her to want it as a career.

    She was not a responsible person.

    Despite her parents¡¯ shocked expressions, Ye Ci smiled. She understood what provoked such reactions from her parents, and she came to realise that she was indeed rather...miserable.

    She affirmed her decision: ¡°Yes, I want to be a professional gamer.¡± After a short paused, she smiled again. ¡°Dad, mom, you have taken care of me for so many years. I¡¯ve grown up now. It¡¯s my turn to take care of you.¡±

    Being a professional gamer, Ye Ci had given serious thought to it.

    She knew her own capabilities. Studying was never her forte, and even if she made it through the four years of studying in a university, she would still merely lead a muddled life.

    However, her current situation was different. She had knowledge of what was going to happen in the next 10 years.

    Fate was operated by several nations around the globe. It had been said that even the testing stage of the game took 10 years toplete, and different aspects of the game were quite developed. It managed to dominate the market prior to its release, and its glorysted for more than a decade.

    Fate¡¯s achievements brought life to the gaming industry, as well as several other smaller industries. It managed to attract people of different ages and upations.

    Fate was viewed as merely a form of entertainment for the young 10 years ago, but within that period of 10 years, it became a irremovable part of human life.

    Ye Ci grew from a newbie to the No.1 Sorceress within that 10 years of Fate¡¯s golden era, and she knew almost everything about the game, including its patches, and even... BUGs.

    But in an age and time when Fate was not operational yet, what could Ye Ci do?

    It was, no doubt, her destiny to once again enter the embrace of Fate.

    But she would do better this time. She would not depend on anyone to achieve sess. Her existence itself was like a miracle!

    While Mr. and Mrs. Ye were still puzzled by their daughter¡¯s 180 degree change in attitude, Ye Ci was already preparing to restart her journey in Fate.

    Fate¡¯s open beta test was scheduled to be on August 30th, 2050, at 14:00 hours.

    When the gaming cabin was finally delivered to Ye Ci, it was already the six in the evening on the 28th of August. She bought some nutrient fluid to be used in the gaming cabin with the pocket money she had earned, and after a long talk with her parents, she decided to move into a ce of her own. She intended to rent a room not far from campus.

    Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian finally agreed with their daughter after discussing it for an entire night.

    She found a room on the 29th of August and cleaned it.

    Everything was in ce by 8:30 at night and the family had a wonderful dinner.

    The couple could only sigh with emotion as Ye Ci sent her parents home.

    On the 30th of August, Ye Ci woke up at 10:30 in the morning and cleaned everything. After having lunch, she connected the nutrient fluid to the gaming cabin and did a final check on the machine.

    By 13:28, Ye Ci had alreadyid down in the gaming cabin. She let out a long breath before slowly closing the lid.

    Fate, here Ie.

    Here Ie, once again, to my fate!

    Thepany that was in charge of Fate was the Glory Corporation, which was formed by members from different countries. The server, with a capacity of 5 billion users, was ced in Country Z. It was thergest gaming server in the world.

    Ye Ci remembered that Glory opened their server at 13:30 hours.

    But it was limited to only ten thousand yers. The others would have to log into the game at 14:00 hours.

    Back then, the advantage given by that half an hour gave birth to a lot of Godlike characters.

    Back then, Ye Ci was pissed at Glory for using such measures. This time around, the only thing she felt was endless gratitude.

    She sessfully connected at 13:29:57.

    And so, Ye Ci logged into the game.

    In herst life, she chose to be a Human Sorceress.

    This time, she would be an Elven Huntress.

    Ye Ci had deep knowledge when it came to Fate. Despite having never tried her hands before as an Elven Hunter, she knew that such abination of race and ss will be insanely strong in theter stages of the game.

    A more important factor was that clearing certain missions as an Elf could potentially unlock hidden races such as the Sky Elves or the Sea Elves. The former could fly while thetter had the ability to dive underwater.

    Such racial traits could be considered icing on the cake for ate-game huntress.

    Having already made up her mind, she skipped almost all the other options and even randomized her Character ID. The only options that she had paid attention to was picking Elf as her race and Huntress as her ss.

    The entire character creation did notst more than 30 seconds. Only when she was spawned in a newbie vige did she call out the menu and look at her Character Stats.

    ID: Gongzi You

    Race: Elf

    HP: 100

    MP: 20

    Endurace: 10

    Stamina: 2

    Strength:5

    Intelligence: 2

    Agility: 6+2 (Racial Attribute)

    Speed: 2

    Bnce: 2+1 (Racial Attribute)

    Perception: 1+1 (Racial Attribute)

    Trait: Stealth (Racial Attribute), Concealment (ss Attribute), Sly, Diplomacy, Leap, Roll, Haggle

    As the attributes were already fixed, Ye Ci was only interested her character¡¯s traits. These specialties would decide the development of a character in the future.

    Character traits were something that had never appeared in Fate¡¯s closed beta. It was a unique attribute released during the open beta.

    Stealth and Concealment were attributes assigned to Elves and Hunters. Ye Ci specifically went for Diplomacy and Haggle that were unique to the Human race.

    As a high tier Human sorceress, Ye Ci knew these 2 Human traits well.

    Diplomacy gave a starting 50 Prestige Points with every major city.

    50 Prestige Points were nothing in theter stage of the game, but they yed a crucial role during the early stages. They decided the number and quality of the quests received by each yer.

    Although Diplomacy was a trait that everyone was familiar with during theter stages of the game, the only one that had thoroughly understood it earlier was Ye Ci.

    As the saying goes, details decided oue.

    The rebirthed Ye Ci would never let anything beneficial to slip pass her.

    Haggle was an attribute that must be learned by every ss. Money was something very important in Fate. Without an attribute like Haggle, one would definitely be scammed by the NPC¡¯s.

    The money in Fate could be exchanged with real world cash. Nobody would want to see their hard-earned cash being scammed away by NPC¡¯s, especially during the first 3 months of Fate when the game coins and real world cash exchange had yet to be released. Only few yers possessed more than 10 gold coins. As such, this attribute was one of the mostw-defying attribute.

    When Ye Ci¡¯s sightsnded on her character ID, she was slightly disappointed.

    Gongzi You...

    It was a nice name, but to have such a masculine name paired up with a female character... Ye Ci decided to forget about it. It wasn¡¯t a matter she would want to fuss about anyways.

    Ye Ci surveyed the newbie vige after closing the interface; it was like a ghost town. With only ten thousand yers online and distributed across tens of thousands of newbie vige, it was normal for her to be alone.

    She turned around and walked up to the chief of the Elven vige. Elf was a race that she had never yed as, but was quite familiar with.

    In the 10 years of herst life, her footsteps covered every inch of ground. She hadpleted every single quest, learning everything there was to learn.

    She wouldn¡¯t be boasting if she had imed that she could identify her location just by a whiff of the air. She knew what kinds of quests were avable, which NPC¡¯s were the ones offering them, and what rewards she would get bypleting them. She even knew... What sort of BUGs existed.

    The vige chief handed Ye Ci her first mission after a brief conversation: Kill all the rabbits around the vige. Ye Ci walked away without hesitation.

    A unique rewarding system existed within Fate. The first person in the entire world thatpleted a certain quest, killed a certain BOSS, or cleared a certain dungeon would receive a specific set of rewards.

    Despite being the easiest mission in every newbie vige, killing rabbits was also the starting quest of the entire Fate. To be the first among almost a billion yers toplete the quest was a near-impossible feat.

    Ye Ci could still remember a popr thread in the forum several years after the Fate server had begun its operation. The owner of the thread was anonymous, but he clearly described the reward of being the first one toplete the rabbit killing quest.

    The activation of a side quest.

    Of the countless yers of Fate, he was the only one that activated the side quest. He did not go into the details of the reward given by the quest, but he was expressing his regret of a wasted chance to be Godlike by not choosing the right character and ss.

    Ye Ci nced at the on-screen timer.

    13:30:51......

 Chapter 3 The Side Quest

    Chapter 3 The Side Quest

    Fate Officials were despicable.

    Not only that, they had shrouded the closed beta in mystery. The serverunch was announced out of the blue as well.

    12 days before itsunch, Fate popped out just like that, out of nowhere. As if the 10 years of silence from its developers were in preparation for the 12 days of frenzy that followed.

    In these 12 days, there was only one word left in the world, Fate.

    As mentioned, Fate¡¯s officials were despicable.

    Even with their endless streams of promotion, there was very few announcements or content about the game on its official website.

    Things such as Character Traits did not even exist in the closed beta, not to mention on the official website.

    The time was 13:30:51, 51 seconds after the server¡¯sunching.

    Even with 9999 other yers logging into the game with Ye Ci, all of them were still tangled with race and ssbination, as well as those damned Character Traits.

    Nobody could achieve a First Blood yet.

    Although being sure about that, Ye Ci did not dare to let her guard down.

    Everything had an exception.

    She headed straight for the house at the vige chief¡¯s left.

    Although the quest was to kill the rabbits in the ¡°surrounding areas¡± of the vige, Ye Ci knew from her knowledge of the game that killing the rabbits behind the house was sufficient to fulfill the ¡°Rabbit Hunting¡± quest.

    The rabbits at the spot were highly concentrated. There were around 30 of them, but the downside was that the respawn rate was slow.

    Nevertheless, the spot was very close to the vige chief, making it the perfect ce for Ye Ci. Besides, she only needed 15 kills toplete the quest.

    She equipped the newbie equipments gifted by the System and charged into the horde of rabbits, swinging her dagger.

    Even at level 1, the rabbit¡¯s attack damage were not low. Each of their attacks dealt 2 to 5 damage points to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was very adapted to ying as a Human sorceress. She was able to maintain an outstanding positioning while dodging attacks with a character that had very low speed and agility. With her ying as the agile and fast Elven Huntress, she shed a tear of joy.

    It was such a boon to y as a ss with high mobility in the early stage of this game.

    Ye Ci slew 15 rabbits under 3 minutes and managed to collect 6 Rabbit Teeth and 7 Rabbit Meat. She wasted no time to head back to the vige chief after collecting 10 Rabbit Teeth and Rabbit Meat.

    They were the quest items required for the follow-up quest. Although the First Blood for the ¡°Bunny Hunting¡± quest was her priority, she could not suppress the greed to get First Blood for the next 2 missions and therefore took the risk. She silently prayed that nobody hadpleted the quest before her.

    ¡°Young adventurer, you¡¯re the bravest individual I¡¯ve ever met, in such a short time....¡± the vige chief was bullshitting as usual.

    Ye Ci immediately activated the ¡°skip conversation¡± option.

    It wasmon to offend an NPC if one interrupted or skipped the NPC¡¯s dialogue, as everything in Fate had 99% realism.

    One could have the sense of smell, touch, and sight in Fate, just like one did in the real world. Every NPC in the game was capable of higher thought functions. Every single action could affect an NPC¡¯s view of a yer, which would subsequently affect the quality and quantity of the quests given out by the NPC¡¯s.

    Although certain quests would still be given to yers that were hated by NPC¡¯s, they could only obtain the high-valued, somewhat rare Random Quests through their high Intimacy with NPC¡¯s.

    This was what made yers in Fate appear humble in front of NPC¡¯s, even when they were willing to kill each other.

    Ye Ci, however, skipped the vige chief¡¯s dialogue without fear, not because she did not care about her Intimacy level with the vige chief. This was due to one of the character traits that she had chosen ¡ª Sly.

    The description of Sly was vague: Sometimes, you might need to do just that.

    Sly was ced as one of thest options as a Character Attribute. On top of its vague description, most of the yers would not notice it.

    No one actually noticed it at the beginning of Fate.

    Not many chose such an attribute while creating a character. After all, who would want something negative to be included in their Character Attributes?

    But a newbie had picked Sly as one of his attributes by pure chance and, out of sheer coincidence, learnt about the true nature of the attribute. Once it made its way into the forum, it became the regret of hundreds of thousands of yers. Arge number of them even recreated their ounts to acquire Sly.

    There was only one simple reason to that. Sly enabled a yer to interrupt or skip an NPC¡¯s dialogue when interacting with it. The NPC would still recognise that the yer was listening to it attentively and with good attitude.

    One did not simply look down on such attribute. Its usefulness to Red Named yers or those that had low prestige points was very high. Some would evenin that the attribute was broken.

    The vige chief gave Ye Ci a nod and a satisfied smile even after his dialogue was skipped. ¡°Young adventurer, you¡¯ve contributed greatly to the vige and you have a very sincere attitude. The Jiama Continent shall prosper because of youngsters like you.¡±

    A system notification rang beside Ye Ci¡¯s ear right after the vige chief finished his speech, ¡°Congrattions for being the first yer toplete the quest ¡°Rabbit Hunting¡±, do you want your ID to remain hidden?¡±

    After the baptism of her previous life¡¯s mistakes, Ye Ci had learnt the important lesson of humility. Her priority was to take care of her parents while simultaneously leading a simple life. Reputation was no longer the thing that she craved for.

    She did not hesitate to press ¡°Yes¡±, after which golden letters flooded the System channel, apanied by a soft female voice.

    ¡°Congrattions yer **** for achieving First Blood for the quest ¡®Rabbit Hunting¡¯. Rewards: Gold 1, system prestige 1000 points.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions yer **** for achieving First Blood for the quest ¡®Rabbit Hunting¡¯. Rewards: Gold 1, system prestige 1000 points.¡±

    ......

    Ye Ci looked at the time and let out a long sigh. It was 13:36:42.

    She had gotten the First Blood.

    She noticed that her palms were sweating, and she couldn¡¯t suppress theughter that escaped her lips. Since when had she be so nervous?

    Ye Ci was alone in the newbie vige. This was why she missed all the cursing from the other yers that saw the announcement.

    Her entire attention was focused on the vige chief. Her mind was filled with thoughts of the thread on the forum, the activation of the one and only side quest. Was it possible? Was it even remotely possible!?

    ¡°Ah, young adventurer, I can see some traces of gracefulness possessed by thete Elven King Dau¡¯er on you. Are you interested in some stories of the past?¡±

    It¡¯s here! Ye Ci almost jumped with joy.

    It¡¯s true! What was said on that thread was real!

    She called herself the Great Encyclopedia of Fate, but in all her knowledge and understanding, there was no such quest in the Elven newbie viges.

    No, to be urate, it wasn¡¯t her ignorance.

    The only reason she did not know of the existence of such quest was because she entirely had no chance ofing across this quest! Nobody else did either.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ye Ci replied with a warm tone that she had never used before.

    ¡°A long long time ago...¡± The vige chief began his illustration, but Ye Ci did not have the time to listen to his story. She did not know how long it would take.

    She once again chose to skip the dialogue, saving it down just in case she needed it in the future.

    ¡°You will now embark on a journey following Dau¡¯er¡¯s footsteps. Oh young adventurer, this is a road full of hardship. Are you willing to walk down this path?¡± The vige chief¡¯s dialogue was cut short to the part where he offered a quest to Ye Ci.

    ¡°Yes, I am willing.¡±

    ¡°Head to the Icy Cave and bring me the fang of Shator!¡±

    Ye Ci was no stranger to Icy Cave. It was one of Fate¡¯s top 10 preparation dungeons. The difficulty was moderate, but its Normal and Elite difficulty settings was why yers from level 3 to 15 flocked to the ce.

    In herst life, she had graduated from Icy Cave at lvl 18 with aplete set of Blue Equipment.

    She was so familiar with this dungeon that she couldplete it with her eyes closed.

    Shator was Icy Cave¡¯s normal difficulty BOSS. The lowest level requirement was lvl 3, but considering that she was doing it solo, she decided to brave the dungeon when she reached lvl 5.

    Of course, one of the more important reason was that she could learn two basic Huntress skills at lvl 5 ¡ª sh and Bow Proficiency. Although a Huntress¡¯s trademark skill, Pet Raising, could only be learned at lvl 8, Ye Ci was not worried.

    As a high leveled mage, one with enough SOLO experience and knowledge of everything there was to know about Fate, Ye Ci trusted herself to handle the dungeon once she had learned Bow Proficiency.

    ¡°Your honor, I will do my best toplete the assignment.¡± Ye Ci ced her left hand on her chest, spread out her right hand, and bowed. She could immediately hear the System¡¯s hint: ¡°Your Intimacy level with the vige chief has increased by 10.¡±

    That action was the sincerest form of greeting in Fate. When one greeted an NPC in such way, it could increase his or her Intimacy level with the NPC, but it only worked once.

    It was not a secret in theter stage of the game, but it was currently one of the ways to stay ahead of others.

 Chapter 4 The Robinâ€™s BUG

    Chapter 4 The Robin¡¯s BUG

    Ye Ci took a look at the rewards offered by her side quest while traveling towards the next target, Rami the tailor. Much to her dismay, the rewards offered by the quest were still represented by a big question mark.

    Despite being curious, she could do nothing about it.

    Hiding away her quest log, she walked up to the house of Rami the tailor. After greeting him sincerely, Ye Ci dered her intention and immediately received a quest from Rami: ¡°Collect 10 Rabbit Teeth¡±.

    When she handed in the Rabbit Teeth that she collected beforehand, Rami was a little surprised, ¡°By the Gods. Young adventurer, you sure work fast.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled humbly. She was not fast. It was just the knowledge of her past life.

    Ye Ci immediately received another quest from Rami to gather some fur from the Little Boars residing at the outskirts of the vige. He gave her a skinning knife with only 10 points of durability left.

    She located the Little Boar¡¯sir after leaving the vige. The attack power and speed of a Little Boar were notably higher than that of a Rabbit¡¯s. Ye Ci had to fight them one at a time with her level disadvantage.

    With every attack of her dagger, Ye Ci¡¯s proficiency with the weapon increased.

    Although the process of killing a Boar was slow, a Huntress¡¯s prowess in meleebat was much superior to a Mage¡¯s. The difference in damage output filled Ye Ci with indescribable happiness.

    She had one hell of a time trying to kill these Boars in her past life as a Mage.

    In her moment of glee, the system notification rang in her ears once again.

    ¡°Your friend Liu Chang is calling, do you want to connect the call into the game?¡±

    Ye Ci trembled at the seemingly normal system notification. Her attacks slowed down, and she even received damage from the Little Boar that took advantage of her opening.

    The pain caused Ye Ci to wrinkle her eyebrow. She quickly dispatched the Little Boar and connected the call.

    Ye Ci had a long-running rtionship with Liu Chang.

    20 years ago, four couples lived in a certain residentialpound. They married in the same year, got pregnant in the same year, and even gave birth at the same day.

    The scene, Ye Ci thought, must¡¯ve been very jovial.

    Ye Ci and Liu Chang were two of the four children.

    Their story however, did not end there.

    The four children yed together, and they even went to school together. Despite being separated after residentialpound was demolished during their senior years in highschool, the four families retained their friendship.

    The four children would still remain very close to each other, if it had not been for....

    Ye Ci bit her lip. If only she hadn¡¯t hurt her friends time and time again in the search for glory in herst life.

    Ye Ciughed, as she had the chance to start anew.

    Ye Ci hated the fact that she was trembling at that very moment. When the system connected Liu Chang¡¯s call, Ye Ci felt as if her heart was being wrecked by a stage-12 typhoon.

    How long had it been since shest heard Liu Chang¡¯s voice?

    Was it three years? Or was it five? Or was it even longer?

    ¡°Hey! Little Ci, are you ying Fate as well?¡± Liu Chang was blunt as always. Whenever one picked up her call, the first thing that could be heard was her crisp voice.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci wanted to say more after hearing Liu Chang¡¯s voice, but she could not suppress her emotion. She was choked with sobs, and that was the only word she could squeeze out of her mouth.

    Ye Ci¡¯s personality had always been cold and detached. It did not trouble Liu Chang at all as she continued with a grin, ¡°I¡¯m going to y as a Priestess. Hehe, Human Priestess. I can heal while dishing out damage. I¡¯ll take care of you!¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She remembered that Liu Chang was also ying as a Human Priestess in herst life. Due to the character¡¯s difficult mechanics, her low level and inferior equipment, Liu Chang was always asking her for help. However, Ye Ci had been busy leveling up back then and hadn¡¯t even bother to help Liu Chang. She had even blocked Liu Chang off.

    After that...they had never contacted each other again.

    She was lucky that fate had given her a chance to make amends.

    Liu Chang was still bragging at how good she would be at the game when Ye Ci gave her a suggestion, ¡°A priestess can heal and deal damage. If you¡¯re doing good, this ss could be omnipotent, and if you¡¯re doing bad, it¡¯s known as the thousand-year benchwarmer. Everybody would want you if you¡¯re a master of this ss, but the slightest mistake could cost you dearly. Do you want to y as a different ss instead?¡±

    Liu Chang was stunned. Ye Ci had never talked much, and although she was great at ying games, she was selfish and would never share information.

    But... What was with her today?

    ¡°Liu Chang?¡±

    Ye Ci asked, noticing that Liu Chang was quiet.

    ¡°Then what ss should I choose?¡± Asked Liu Chang after recovering from her shock.

    The question baffled Ye Ci. Liu Chang was always appearance-oriented. She did not care about the difficulty of a game as long as it looked good. Ye Ci was worried that she would not be satisfied with her suggestion...

    ¡°How about.... ¡° Ye Ci was unsure, ¡° How about a Lycan Summoner.....¡±

    ¡°Lycan Summoner? Is it good?¡±

    Liu Chang¡¯s reaction surprised Ye Ci. She was d that her suggestion was not rejected right away.

    Maybe she never did truly know Liu Chang, but it was still not toote.

    ¡°Lycans have higher base Endurance than all the other races. It¡¯s racial trait is Ferocious, very useful in life and death situations. It can summon minions at lvl 5, and it¡¯s very tough character when ites to fighting, leveling up, or even dealing damage in dungeons.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go for Lycan Summoner.¡± Although Liu Chang was puzzled by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden change of personality, she was happy to ept her friend¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°By the way, when you create your character, remember to select traits such as Diplomacy, Sly, Haggle and Meditate...¡± Ye Ci told Liu Chang everything she knew.

    ¡°How do you know so much?¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily lost for words before finallying up with an excuse, ¡°I bought some closed beta information from some workshop...¡±

    That did not arouse Liu Chang¡¯s suspicions. She hung up afterwards and prepared for the server to open at 14:00 hours.

    Ye Ci could not suppress her joy. Her excitement manifested into furious attacks against the Little Boars.

    After ying the boar, Ye Ci took out the skinning knife and realised that she had learned the skill ¡°Gather¡±, but this was only for the duration of the mission. Gather would disappear after the mission waspleted.

    Although 1 point of Durability was deducted when she gathered from a Little Boar, she managed to collect all the usable materials from the Boar, such as Boar Fangs, Boar Hide, Boar Meat, and Boar Bones.

    All of those were needed in the main quest.

    The skinning knife disappeared after Ye Ci gathered from the 10th Boar. She did not immediately return to Rami but instead went to a particr tree outside the vige.

    She would be stupid if she hadpleted her quests in order just like a newbie.

    Ye Ci had her own thought in this matter.

    There was a BUG here that had not been discovered until four years after the server was open. Hordes of yers flocked under the tree to exploit the BUG once the information was leaked. This triggered a swift response by Glory Corporation and the BUG was removed overnight. yers who exploited the BUG received the penalty of dropping 1 level.

    Ye Ci opened the 20-slot Newbie Backpack, which contained a tiny red bottle and a candle.

    The candle was for illumination. In Fate, yers had to use candles or torches as their light source before learning the skill ¡°Night Vision¡±.

    Ye Ci made a campfire under the tree. She intended toplete the bugged quest before more yers could enter the game.

    She roasted the Rabbit Meat that had been obtained earlier. Although she had no cooking skills, the meat was sizzling on top of the me.

    ¡°Kaw, kaw....¡± A brown robinnded beside Ye Ci, eyeing the roasted meat in her hand.

    Ye Ci was generous. She threw little pieces of meat to the robin. She did not, however, throw thest piece of meat out. She held onto that piece of meat and handed it to the robin.

    The robin opened its mouth wide for that piece of meat.

    Ye Ci paid close attention to that particr piece of meat. When half of it entered the robin¡¯s mouth, she pulled the meat out immediately. However, the robin pped its wings with satisfaction, as if it had eaten the piece of meat. A few golden feathers dropped onto the ground.

    It seeded!

    Ye Ci was excited, as the quest was repeatable. When 10 Golden Robin Feathers were handed to an NPC, the yer would randomly receive a Skill Book of his or her ss.

    But.... The robin was an asshole. It would drop its feathers the first time it was fed. After that, the chance of it dropping its feathers was only one in a thousand.

    Despite knowing that the rewards forpleting this quest were good, a lot of yers gave up on it.

    But....

    Right there and then, this BUG.....

 Chapter 5 A Change of Fate?

    Chapter 5 A Change of Fate?

    Ye Ci passed the piece of roasted meat to the robin again, after which the robin behaved as if it has eaten the 10th piece of meat.

    Repeating the same trick, Ye Ci pulled the meat out.

    The robin was satisfied, and it pecked out a few feathers.

    The BUG was sessfully exploited.

    The robin¡¯s programming was stuck at the time when it was eating the tenth piece of meat. It would always think that the meat given to it was the first piece of meat. The feathers required by the repeatable quest could be collected by repeating the process.

    Ye Ci threw the piece of meat at the robin after exploiting the BUG for what seemed to be the tenth time. She collected all the feathers, put out the campfire, and headed back to the vige.

    Ye Ci could see shes of light appearing at the spawning point right after she entered the vige.

    The time was 14:02:03.

    The server was finally officially opened.

    ¡°Wow, I thought I was the first one here, looks like there someone that made it before me!¡± Shouted an elven warrior when he spotted Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci nodded her head as a form of greeting and headed straight for Rami.

    After receiving the Little Boar skins from Ye Ci, Rami directed her to John the cksmith, and then the little beggar.... Why were newbies always used as couriers in every single game?

    Ye Ci noticed more and more newbies appearing, and soon, the vige was packed full of yers.

    With much difficulty, Ye Ci finally walked up to little Lemmy.

    Ye Ci let out a long sigh. Moving around in an extremely crowded ce was never easy.

    ¡°Lemmy, the chief said that you¡¯re looking for something right?¡±

    Lemmy was a four or five year old child. She looked at Ye Ci and blinked, asking with a doubtful tone, ¡°Are you willing to help me, Huntress?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Little Lemmy showed a worn dress to Ye Ci. ¡°My mom¡¯s dress was torn. I wanted to sew it back together with some beautiful decorations, but I need some robin¡¯s Golden Feathers, can you bring some for me?¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about this?¡± Asked Ye Ci as she handed Lemmy a feather.

    Little Lemmy was surprised, ¡°Wow! Huntress, you work fast!¡±

    ¡°Completed quest ¡®Lemmy¡¯s Dress 1¡¯, Rewards: 1 copper coins, 100 experience points.¡±

    ¡°Huntress, I need a little bit more, can you bring me more feathers?¡± Lemmy made another request after measuring up the dress.

    Ye Ci pulled out another feather.

    She immediately heard a system notification, ¡°Completed quest ¡®Lemmy¡¯s Dress 2¡¯, Rewards: 50 copper coins, 500 experience points.¡±

    Ye Ci was shocked after receiving the notification. All the repeatable quests she had evere across offered the same amount of rewards, but this particr one seemed to have increasing rewards...

    Lemmy requested feathers again and again, which was fulfilled by Ye Ci every single time. When she did that for the ninth time, the experience points umted from the rewards alone raised her level by four!

    When Little Lemmy asked for the robin¡¯s feather for the tenth time, Ye Ci handed her thest feather. Little Lemmy pped happily and said, ¡°Thank you, Huntress! I¡¯m able to repair my mom¡¯s dress for your help! You¡¯re the kindest, most patient, and fastest person I¡¯ve ever met!¡±

    Little Lemmy then pulled out a book and gave it to Ye Ci, ¡°I have nothing to repay you with. Take this book as a reward! Sister Horner said that this book contains great knowledge. I can¡¯t read, but I hope it could be of use to you!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions for being the first yer forpleting the repeatable quest ¡®Lemmy¡¯s Dress¡¯, do you want your ID to remain hidden?¡±

    The system was going to flood the screen because of this?

    Fame portended trouble for men just as fattening did for pigs. Of course the ID must be hidden.

    ¡°Congrattions yer **** for being the first toplete the quest ¡®Lemmy¡¯s Dress¡¯, Rewards: 5 gold coins, 5000 points System Prestige.¡±

    ......

    The system flooded the chat with such messages, and Ye Ci had the honor of listening to the yers¡¯ reaction.

    Some of the yers responded with admiration while others with strings of curses. Ye Ci¡¯s attention, however, was focused on the random Skill Book she received.

    ¡°Random¡± was a word that Ye Ci was deeply afraid of. She had never had much luck since she was young. She never got lucky with her lotteries and loot.

    As for randomized rewards.... She had never gotten anything other than trash.

    Ye Ci first took a breath before flipping open the Skill Book. Her heart momentarily stopped.

    Strength Conversion: Huntress (Passive). Convert 10% of damage dealt into MP. Level requirement: 1.

    Ye Ci blinked and looked up into the sky. Had the sun risen from the west?

    A bright sun hung high up in the sky, and it appeared to have risen from the east.

    Was her fate really changed?

    Strength Conversion... A skill as overpowered as this could just appear at random? No way! The very existence of this skill was a BUG. 10% of damage dealt converted into MP...

    Even in theter stages of the game, a Hunter¡¯s skill would only consume 500 MP at most. But the damage dealt? At least 8000-20000. With this, wouldn¡¯t she be incapable of running out of mana?

    In the game, the amount of MP by a character determined his or her damage output. The Hunter ss was a pure ss-cannon, and MP consumption was always a problem for that particr ss. An entire mana bar could only sustain approximately 30 skills before running dry. This skill would make her into a killing machine!

    Ye Ci rubbed her eyes, she could not believe that she would be so lucky despite being surrounded with an aura of misfortune.

    She could see it clearly. The skill book was resting on her hand, the coarse surface of the paper telling her that the book was real.

    Ye Ci¡¯s hands trembled, and she flipped opened the skill book without hesitation. It disappeared into a sh of white light. Ye Ci was feeling insecure even after that. She finally rxed after confirming that Strength Conversion was listed in her skill list.

    That¡¯s great!

    Ye Ci was in such joy that she jumped up and down, attracting attention from the newbies handing in the quests around here. Embarrassed, she immediately turned back to Lemmy and said with a broad smile, ¡°Thank you Lemmy!¡±

    Little Lemmy touched her pointed ears andughed, ¡°Hey Huntress, I see that you¡¯re happy with my gift!¡±

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯m more than happy!¡±

    ¡°Then can you do me another favor?¡±

    Ye Ci nodded her head. If memory served, Lemmy would be directing her to the ss Skill Instructor.

    ¡°The bad guys from the Forest of Stone took the doll that mom made for me. Can you help get it back?¡±

    What kind of quest was this?

    Ye Ci was shocked. She had nevere across this quest before, despite being the self-proimed Fate Encyclopaedia.

    Don¡¯t tell me... A thought suddenly urred to Ye Ci, and she opened Little Lemmy¡¯s character attribute. As expected, her intimacy with Lemmy had reached Intimate.

    She finally understood why there was a Hidden Quest that she did not know of. Shepleted the quest very fast, and expressed gratitude towards Lemmy¡¯s gift. This was why her intimacy level with Little Lemmy increased exponentially to the point where the Hidden Quest was unlocked.

    ¡°Of course!¡± After epting the Hidden Quest from Little Lemmy, Ye Ci followed the flow of the main quest and headed for Instructor Zol, a skill instructor for beginner Hunters.

    The Forest of Stone was one of the hardest dungeon in the Big 10 Prep Dungeon. The level requirement to enter the dungeon was lv8 to lv20. Ye Ci could not clear the dungeon SOLO. She decided to reach level 8 and contact Liu Chang for after that.

    With Lemmy¡¯s introduction letter and a few pieces of paper, Ye Ci headed to the skill learning area situation at the back of the newbie vige.

    Newbies were still trying to level up, and none of them were able to reach the minimum level required to learn the skill. Other than a few yers that stumbled upon the ce, Ye Ci was the only one here to learn skills.

    She located Instructor Zol and greeted him with respect before stating her intention.

    Zol did not even respond. He sat underneath the sun, carving an arrow with his sharp knife.

    His movements were slow, as if he was making the world¡¯s best sculpture.

    Ye Ci stood beside him silently. Every NPC has his or her own behavior. They could be jolly, introverted, reserved, or even sly. As for Zol that was sitting in front of Ye Ci, he was....depressed.

    Standing in front of an NPC without doing anything was a waste of time, but to get to the Icy Cave, it was necessary.

    Zol¡¯s pale skin and snow white hair betrayed his age. An Elf¡¯s appearance would not change despite his or her age, but the hair and skin of an Elf would grow whiter and whiter as the Elf grew older.

    Respecting an elder was a virtue. Ye Ci showed patience when facing such elderly instructor.

    After countless moments, Zol lifted his head and stared at the young elf in front of him with his jade green eyes. He spoke softly, ¡°How could a Huntress without a bow call herself a Huntress?¡±

 Chapter 6 The Impolite Black Wolf

    Chapter 6 The Impolite ck Wolf

    Although Zol was a rather depressed person, he was quite orderly. After receiving Lemmy¡¯s letter, Ye Ci had leveled up from lvl 4 to lvl 5. Zol wasted no time in teaching the two lvl 5 skills to Ye Ci, sh and Bow Proficiency.

    Not only that, Zol even rewarded a Green Bow to Ye Ci because she had been highly praised by the other NPC¡¯s in the newbie vige.

    Sharp Bow: Attack damage 4 -10, Attack Speed +1%, Level Required: 5, ss: Hunter.

    Although instructors would hand out weapons to yers, the quality of the weapon depended highly on their mood. Most of the yers received White equipment, while the slightly luckier ones would get Green equipments. Only the truly lucky ones might have the chance of obtaining a Blue equipment.

    Apparently, Ye Ci¡¯s luck was pretty average in this case.

    She did notin. Her past life had taught her to appreciate what she had. She had learned not to reach for something beyond her grasp; she had learned not to be greedy. This brought her peace and closure.

    She opened her Character panel and looked at her stats.

    ID: Gongzi You

    Race: Elf

    HP: 250

    MP: 120

    Endurance: 25

    Stamina: 12

    Strength: 15

    Intelligence: 12

    Agility: 26+2(Race Attribute)

    Speed: 2

    Bnce: 12+1 (Race Attribute)

    Perception: 6+1 (Race Attribute)

    Trait: Sneak (Racial Attribute), Concealment (ss Attribute), Sly, Diplomacy, Leap, Roll, Haggle.

    The stats points of every ss in Glory were automatically distributed by the system. Of the eight main stats, speed was the only one that needed to be increased by having good equipment. The other seven stats would increase by a total of 16 points whenever a character leveled up.

    All the sses were provided with 16 points. The only difference was the distribution of those points.

    For example, whenever a Hunter or Huntress leveled up, the system would distribute their stats points as followed:

    Endurance: 3, Stamina: 2, Strength: 2, Intelligence: 2, Agility: 4, Bnce: 2, Perception: 1.

    All the stats were perfectly bnced in their own ways.

    Such automated distribution had its pros and cons.

    The good thing about it was that it avoided the creation of characters with totally broken stats, while keeping the bnce between different sses. The downside to it was the heavy dependency of yers on equipment and skills to gain an edge on their opponents.

    But from what Ye Ci could see, this was how Glory Corporation earned its money.

    When yers relied heavily on skills and equipments, Glory Corporation would earn big, as yers would definitely invest more money into the game when the Game Coins and Real World Cash Conversion System opened.

    After closing the character panel, Ye Ci straightened up her newbie clothing and headed for Icy Cave.

    Before she could reach Icy Cave though, she needed to visit a ce called the Crossroads.

    All the other sses in Fate, with the exception of melee sses, required different consumables. Mages required different materials to cast their spells, healers required certain mediums, while Hunters and Rangers that used bows require arrows.

    These consumables normally cost quite a lot.

    That, of course, was only a small matter. What troubled yers the most was that high grade consumables were not sold in shops. As for where they were sold...

    Only Ye Ci and God Himself knew.

    As Ye Ci left the newbie vige, she could see a lot of yers along the way. Some grouped together in twos and threes while others worked alone. They waved about the beginner weapons gifted by the system and busied themselves with leveling up...or rather, stealing monsters away from each other.

    Ye Ci let out a sigh. She was d that she managed to enter the game half an hour earlier. If she had entered the game at 14:00 hours just like these people, she would be drowned by the tide of people leveling up. Would she still be able to go to the Icy Cave?

    A Huntress¡¯s base movement speed was 2. It was higher than melee and mage sses, but to Ye Ci, it was very slow.

    She took a staggering half an hour to reach the Crossroads that was not very far from the newbie vige.

    She even felt hunger after reaching the Crossroads.

    She slowed down and walked towards a small wooden house at the side of the Crossroads. Natasha the Elf was sitting in a corner of the house with arrow crafting materials scattered around her feet, but sets ofpleted arrows were already stacked on the table.

    Ye Ci greeted the Elf and stated her business. Natasha was not surprised. She even handed a set of arrows to Ye Ci without raising her head.

    Ye Ci smiled and shook her head after inspecting the arrows, ¡°Natasha, I want better ones.¡±

    Hunters and Huntresses could use 3 types of arrows before they leveled up, namely Crude Arrows(1 damage) , Wooden Arrows(3 damage) and Copper Arrows (6 damage). The prices of these three types of arrows were different as well.

    Each set of Crude Arrows cost 1 copper coin, each set of Wooden Arrows cost 20 copper coins, and a set of Copper Arrows cost 1 silver coin.

    A freshly lvl 5 Huntress would normally not have more than 10 silver coins. They would have even less after purchasing some essentials. Their arrows of choice could only be the cheapest Crude Arrow.

    The arrows handed to Ye Ci by Natasha were the cheapest Crude Arrows.

    However, she underestimated Ye Ci. Despite her newbie equipments, she had collected 12 gold coins after being awarded by the system for obtaining the ¡°First Blood¡± for 2 quests in a row.

    With her wealth, Ye Ci would naturally prefer Copper Arrows over Crude Arrows.

    Ye Ci fished out 10 silver coins from her pocket for ten sets of Copper Arrows. Of course, if the capacity of her quiver could amodate a hundred sets of arrows, she wouldn¡¯t mind purchasing all hundred of them at once.

    That was enough to provoke a reaction from Natasha. She nced at Ye Ci with her cold purple eyes and handed 10 sets of Copper Arrows to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci received the arrows with respect and left after cing them in her quiver. Before she could leave, she heard an unfamiliar voice, ¡°Young Huntress, how would you like to begin your journey?¡±

    It was Natasha. Ye Ci was somewhat surprised. She thought that the NPC was mute. In her past life¡¯s memory, Natasha never spoke once to any yer.

    ¡°From Dau¡¯er¡¯s past. I will follow the Elven King¡¯s footsteps.¡± Ye Ci replied with one of the vige chiefs sentences after a moment of thought.

    Natasha raised her eyebrows and her ears jerked all of a sudden. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath before saying, ¡°Go, young Huntress. May Elven King Dau¡¯er stay by your side.¡±

    She continued making more arrows after that, as if nothing had happened.

    Ye Ci waited for more words from Natasha, but soon left the house disappointed. She entered the dense and quiet forest from a hidden path at the north.

    The Elven Forest was the name of the forest surrounding the Elven newbie vige. The forest was so big that it was endless. The only thing Ye Ci knew about it was that it contained a lot of Elven newbie viges, as well as 3 prep-Dungeons.

    The trees in the Elven Forest were enormous. One could only see the trunks and dense leaves of the trees when raising one¡¯s head. Only tiny glints of sunlight were able to pass through the leaves, as if they were stars that warmed up the forest floor. Withyers of leaves carpeting the ground, it gave off a soft and wet feeling upon walking through it.

    Unknown species of nts and mushrooms flourished under the leaves.

    Ye Ci walked down a hidden path stretched into the deepest parts of the Elven Forest, buried by the leaves.

    It was deadly quiet except for the asional level 4 and 5 monsters loitering around.

    A prerequisite quest must bepleted before entering the Frost Cave. Avoiding monsters along the way, Ye Ci reached the Altar of Molor situated in the hearnds of the Northern Elven Forest.

    A few robed, low level priests were muttering on the altar.

    ¡°Young Huntress, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re here to help us. The Elven King did not abandon us.¡± The lead priest was happy to see Ye Ci.

    ¡°What can I help you with, honorable Priest?¡±

    ¡°The Rat Men from the Icy Cave stole my badge while I was sleeping. Oh! Do you know that!? It was very important. The Grand Priest will be here for inspection in a few days, if he finds out that I lost it, I¡¯m finished!¡± A pained expression surfaced on the priset face, and he cast a sly nce at Ye Ci. He chuckled and said, ¡°Huntress, if you could help me to get that badge back, I will make it worth your while...¡±

    Ye Ci epting the quest while sighing internally. These NPC¡¯s were very good fighters, but they were still using yers as their runners.

    ¡°Hey! You there, gimme a hand!¡± Ye Ci could hear a clear shouting from her back just as she was about to enter the Icy Cave.

    Turning around, Ye Ci could see a ck wolf running towards her, with a horde of spiders in hot pursuit!

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there! Hurry up, take care of some of them for me!¡± Shouted the ck wolf to Ye Ci impolitely while running.

 Chapter 7 Lukewarm Water

    Chapter 7 Lukewarm Water

    Ye Ci took a look at the ck wolf that was a actually Lycan. In her past life, she would never have even thought of stopping to help. At that time, she had deemed matters that were not rted to her unworthy of her attention.

    However, the current Ye Ci was no longer her past self. She drew out her bow despite the horde of spiders that were closing in on the Lycan¡¯s heels. She drew an arrow from her quiver and nocked it onto the bow. She let the arrow loose, after which it flew straight and true.

    Ye Ci had never yed as a Huntress before. But after having spent ten years ying as a Sorceress, she developed the uracy necessary forunching a ranged attack. The first arrow flew right into a spider¡¯s eye. The spider hissed in agony and turned its attention to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci, of course, did not stand still.

    She unleashed a flurry of arrows at the spider while running away from it. An Elven Huntress had very high bnce. In a high speed chase, their advantage was obvious when it came to bnce.

    Ye Ci kited the spider while leaping up from time to time. She defied gravity,nding on tree after tree. The spider could not even get close to her.

    She slew a spider and drew the attention of another.

    Her damage had not been very high, but the copper arrow managed to raise it exponentially.

    The lvl 4-5 spiders were ferocious. Since Ye Ci was kiting and leaping around, however, none of them managed to get close. A vast majority of them could not even close the distance before they were in and subsequently converted into experience points.

    Ye Ci¡¯s aid greatly reduced the Lycan¡¯s pressure. He morphed into human form and swung his de at the nearest spider.

    The Lycan nced at Ye Ci from time to time. He could not help but marvel at the Elven Huntress¡¯ graceful and precise movements, as well as her ruthless attacks.

    Even if they¡¯d never crossed swords, the Lycan could tell from the excellent positioning and the extremely fast reaction speed of the Elven Huntress that she was an expert when it came to PvP.

    But the Lycan was more amazed by how adept the Elven Huntress was at controlling her character. The server was opened for only a few hours, but she had already reached lvl 5 (only lvl 5 characters could obtain beginner ss-rted weapons). Besides that, the way she moved about was not something that a newbie could pull off.

    She looked more like an expert that was smurfing.

    Was Fate openly tested before? Other than the beta test that was so shrouded in mystery that its very existence was debatable, there was no other asion.

    The Lycan¡¯s curiosity towards Ye Ci increased.

    They took care of the horde of spiders in no time. Before Ye Ci could speak, the Lycan was already smiling at her. ¡°Thank you so much, Huntress.¡±

    Ye Ci felt slightly reserved. She was never good when it came to interacting with people. She nodded and said after a slight pause, ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± With that she turned around with the intention to leave.

    The Lycan did not feel awkward despite Ye Ci¡¯s reserved attitude, heughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m Lukewarm Water. That was close. I could¡¯ve died.¡±

    Judging from what he said, Ye Ci could tell that he had died more than once.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok even if you die. There¡¯s no death penalty before you reach lv10.¡± Said Ye Ci with a smile.

    ¡°I know, but if I die, I need to get back here from the vige. Just so you know, it¡¯s not simple.¡± Lukewarm Water exined. He shook his head and let out a sigh.

    It was Ye Ci¡¯s turn to be curious. Lukewarm Water¡¯s equipment was clearly pre-lvl 5. Common sense dictated that he should be questing near the Lycan newbie vige. Even when Lycan viges were pretty close to the Elven viges, there was no reason at all for him to be questing on the Elven side...

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m questing of course!¡± Said Lukewarm Water without hesitation. He raised his eyebrow after sizing up Ye Ci, ¡°Oh yeah, isn¡¯t an Elf supposed to be questing in Elven Territory? What are you doing in the Lycan ck Forest?¡±

    This... This...

    Isn¡¯t this like the kettle calling the pot ck?

    Ye Ci was baffled. Could Lukewarm Water be one of those people with...absolutely no sense of direction? She pursed her lips and said, ¡°This is the Elven Forest.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Lukewarm Water¡¯s attention was still focused on the Altar of Molor. He was surprised by Ye Ci¡¯s words. He stared at her and grabbed his hair. ¡°It can¡¯t be!¡±

    At this point, Ye Ci was fully aware that Lukewarm Water was an idiot with no sense of direction. She nodded her head, ¡°This is the Elven Forest.¡±

    ¡°Damn!¡± Lukewarm Water cursed under his breath, ¡°I got it wrong again! I¡¯ve wasted my 30 minutes of advantage just by navigating around the map!¡± He then looked at Ye Ci and let out an embarrassedugh. ¡°See, I¡¯ve been so long-winded that I did not even ask for your name yet.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You.¡± Ye Ci made no attempt to hide her name. After all, the Lycan had already introduced himself.

    ¡°This is a rather...¡± Lukewarm Water stole a nce at Ye Ci and said, ¡°A very, very gender neutral name.¡±

    Ye Ci knew this would happen. If a character¡¯s gender in Fate was not set ording to the yer¡¯s original gender, she would¡¯ve been mistaken as adyboy.

    ¡°It is very neutral.¡± Said Ye Ci with a sigh. She was ready to part with Lukewarm Water and head into the Icy Cave.

    ¡°Wait, wait.¡± Lukewarm Water stopped Ye Ci, ¡°Little You, I still have something I need to ask you.¡±

    Little You... Ye Ci was even more baffled.

    Lukewarm Water was acting as if they had known each other well. The problem was...they had just met...

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from nk Space, and I can see that you¡¯re a pro. You¡¯re a good person too. Do you want to join our guild?¡± Lukewarm Water was straightforward.

    Ye Ci was stunned.

    It was not because of Lukewarm Water¡¯s invitation. nk Space had a feud with her in herst life.

    At that time, she stole a Field BOSS from nk Space alone. Not only did she steal a tremendous amount of experience points from the guild, she stole many top-tier items as well. nk Space was, of course, significantly angered by her action.

    nk Space hunted Ye Ci down for nearly half a year. She fought back every time and killed hundreds of their members.

    nk Space was bullying the weak, but Ye Ci was the one who started it.

    Lukewarm Water was worried when he received no response from Ye Ci. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve never heard of us!? We¡¯re one of the top 10 guilds in Z Country!¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯ve heard of it...¡± said Ye Ci with a smile. Not only had Ye Ci heard of the guild, she was also very familiar with it ¡ª in her past life of course. ¡°If it¡¯s about joining up, I have no such intention yet. But I¡¯m willing to help if you guys run into trouble.¡±

    Lukewarm Water did not attempt to persuade Ye Ci. He added Ye Ci as his friend and said, ¡°Ok, let¡¯s work together in the future.¡±

    It was only for courtesy¡¯s sake.

    Both of them knew that.

    nk Space was a guild with the capabilities of making it into the top 10 of an entire nation. They had a lot of experts, therefore they wouldn¡¯t need outside help, especially from someone that they barely knew.

    Despite that, it was still nothing bad to have a friend.

    The fastest route to get back to the Lycan newbie vige from the Elven Forest? Suicide. Lukewarm Water waved goodbye to Ye Ci and rushed into a swarm of monsters. Within moments, he was gone.

    Ye Ci saw her encounter with Lukewarm Water as an interlude in her new journey in Fate. She did not take it to heart.

    The Icy Cave was situated in a dense part of the forest, northwest of the Altar of Molor. It was hidden but not hard to find. It was all thanks to the Gathering Stone that sone with holy light just outside of the entrance.

    There was an eternally lit campfire underneath the Gathering Stone, but it was somon that most newbies would fail to notice it. Ye Ci took one of the thicker burning sticks that functioned as a torch and headed into the Icy Cave.

    A sh of blue lightter and Ye Ci was already in the Icy Cave.

    Before clearing a dungeon in Normal Difficulty, it was impossible to unlock the higher difficulties of a dungeon. The difficulty of the Icy Cave was set to Normal when Ye Ci entered the dungeon for the first time.

    Ye Ci lit up the torches ced in the Icy Cave with expertise and brought lighting to the pitch ck cave.

    The dungeon at the Normal difficulty setting was easy for Ye Ci. She headed deep into the cave after lighting up the torches at the entrance.

    The mobs in the dungeon were tougher than the ones outside, and if one ran into an Elite, it would be harder to kill. However, all those were nothing to Ye Ci. She moved effortlessly in the cave, clearing a path without even the need of consuming a single health potion.

    Ye Ci managed to reach the deepest part of Icy Cave in no time. 3 BOSSes were present: the first one was Sator the Wild Boar, and the other two were his Ratman Bodyguard and a Kobold Bodyguard.

    The three of them were far away from each other and they did not move together. It was easy to take care of those three.

    They fell and were converted into experience points that flowed into Ye Ci¡¯s EXP Gauge after some intense kiting.

    As Sator died ring at Ye Ci, the system notification chimed in, ¡°Congrattions for being the first yer to clear the dungeon ¡®Icy Cave¡¯, do you wish for your ID to be hidden?¡±

 Chapter 8 Clingy Wolf

    Chapter 8 Clingy Wolf

    Ye Ci chose to hide her ID as usual.

    Just then, a golden word ¡®World¡¯ shed across the screen.

    ¡°Congrattions yer **** for being the first toplete the dungeon ¡°Icy Cave¡± on Normal mode, Rewards: 10 gold coins, system prestige 5000 points.¡±

    ......

    ¡°Are they even human!? The game has only just started and someone already cleared the dungeon! What the hell?!¡±

    ¡°Must be an alpha tester!¡±

    ¡°Alpha Tester my ass! Fate never had an alpha release...¡±

    ......

    A random Human yer

    ¡°Boss, should we investigate...?¡±

    ¡°It must have been those group of people who entered first. It¡¯s just a normal dungeon. There¡¯s no need to muster arge force over something like this. Just look for someone to keep an eye out on the situation,¡± a human cleric calmly replied in the private chat after killing off thest monster.

    A random Orc yer.

    ¡°Little Seventh, go check who cleared the dungeon.¡± An orc warrior announced his order through the private chat.

    ......

    Lukewarm Water, who had just ran into the Lycan ck Forest, heard the system announcement and scratched his head. ¡°To think someone has already cleared the normal dungeon... Just who is it?¡± Then realisation suddenly hit him.

    The Icy Cave seemed to be within the Elven Forest. If his source was reliable, it should be around the ce where he and that Gongzi You had met.

    Could it be that.....

    Lukewarm Water shook his head, then reconsidered inwardly. ¡°Even if her skills are great and her positioning was good, there¡¯s no way she could have cleared the dungeon so fast. Moreover... the system didn¡¯t announce that it was a party, so it seems like it was cleared by a solo yer. Moreover, she is a huntress... That shouldn¡¯t be possible.¡±

    Just as he was grasping onto the situation, the external guilds were getting noisy in the voice chats all because of this incident.

    Since the game server was just opened, there weren¡¯t any guilds created yet, therefore no one was able to use the guild voice chat provided in the game. Due to that, the major guilds were all using an external voice chat system for easymunication with their guild members.

    Lukewarm listened to the animated chat within the guild. He had some hunches, but since he wasn¡¯t too sure about himself, he¡¯d rather remain silent instead of bringing it up to the guild.

    In contrast to the liveliness of his guild, the guildmaster of nk Space spoke calmly as he usually did. ¡°If you guys have time to discuss this, why don¡¯t you all quickly grind to raise your levels? It¡¯s just a dungeon on normal mode. Our target is to conquer the dungeons on Hard and Expert mode.¡±

    As a person who rarely spoke in public channel, his single statement immediately garnered the support from all of the yers. After chatting for awhile, he switched into the Management channel. ¡°Nine Nights, go investigate the person who cleared the dungeon. Don¡¯t forget to identify which guild he is from.¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡±

    Ye Ci, who had been in the Icy Cave the whole time, had no idea how much of an uproar a single system announcement message had caused in the entire Fate. She just knitted her eyebrows together, studying the few items in her hands.

    She had thought that being able to get her hands on a heaven-defying passive skill book like the Strength Conservation would have allowed her to be on the road of fortune. However, reality had proven that an unlucky person like her would not escape the clutches of bad luck so easily.

    Other than dropping the 2 quest items that she needed, along with 3 Weapon Exchange Crystals, she only received 2 bottles of medium health potions, 40 silver coins, and a White grade dagger from the 3 BOSSes!!

    What the hell!?

    What in bloody hell was that!?

    She got the First Kill! And she did it SOLO!

    No matter how you saw it, a Blue grade weapon should most likely be dropped instead!

    How did it turn out like this! Not only was there no Blue grade weapon, there wasn¡¯t even a Green grade weapon in sight!

    Who had ever heard of a Boss dropping a White grade weapon!? Who?! This basically just broke the history record among all the disgraces a game could have.

    She sighed a few times before epting her fate and dumping these items into her bag. As Ye Ci wearily looked at all the rubbish she had picked up from the dead bodies along the way, she only felt like crying a stream of tears.

    Exiting the Icy Cave dejectedly, she cleared the contents of her bag at a shop just outside of the Forest of Stone. After that, Ye Ci once again marched valiantly into the Icy Cave.

    She believed that she¡¯d eventually get something nice if she kept trying. After all, there was no way she¡¯d be so unlucky every single time.

    Nevertheless, reality had proven time and time again that Ye Ci¡¯s luck was just that bad.

    She repetitively visited the Icy Cave about 7 or 8 times. The crystals used for weapon exchange had been umted to almost 30, yet she still didn¡¯t manage to get even one of the Icy Cave¡¯s signature weapon from the Icy Series on her hands.

    Her experience points were instead going up rapidly and, in the blink of an eye, she was nearly level 8.

    Ye Ci sat beside Shator¡¯s dead body, crying invisible tears and looking at the loot in her hands.

    No way. Could it be that her luck waspletely used up after getting that Strength Conversion skill book?

    The arrows she had on her right now were almost depleted too. To waste her time any further here was pointless, so Ye Ci decided to return and stock up at the Newbie¡¯s Vige first beforeing back again.

    The Crystal that exploded from the Boss¡¯ body could be exchanged for Green grade equipment at the Altar of Molor. Although these equipment were slightly inferior to the weapons dropped in the dungeon, they were still way better than those extremely expensive white grade weapons sold in stores.

    For people like Ye Ci who had farmed from dungeons yet weren¡¯t lucky enough to obtain equipment drops, these Green grade equipment were their best options.

    With the 30 crystals she had on her hands, she only had enough to exchange for one equipment. After pondering for a long time, she finally decided to trade for a pair of shoes.

    Molor¡¯s Boots: Defense 11. Endurance +1, Speed +1.

    Defense and endurance didn¡¯t matter much to Ye Ci. That little extra boost of speed was what she needed the most. As long as her speed was high enough, it would bring her attack and evasion up to another level.

    She took a few steps after putting on her Molor¡¯s Boot. They felt slightly morefortable than the Newbie¡¯s Shoes. However, the appearance of these shoes were still too normal looking and weren¡¯t much different than the Newbie¡¯s Shoes.

    But she couldn¡¯t care less about it. At least no one would be able to tell what was different about her.

    Upon her arrival to the Newbie Vige, Ye Ci immediately ran towards the Vige Chief.

    ¡°Oh, it is you, my hardworking Huntress. I thought you must have been eaten by Shator. I truly didn¡¯t expect that you would be able to return here unscatched. It seems like the blessing of the Elven King Dau¡¯er is upon us.¡± The Vige Chief was about to babble on with his meaningless monologue again.

    For the sake of the rewards, however, Ye Ci smiled and waited for him to finish with his useless words instead of choosing to skip.

    She had always known that the rewards for this type of quest were not bad, but she did not expect them to be so favourable.

    1 Gold Coin and 1 Talent point.

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t care less about the money. Compared to the money, that one Talent point was far more priceless.

    In Fate, characters beyond level 10 would be able to learn different Talents. Every Talent emphasized on different areas which could in turn affect the future growth of each character differently.

    Every yer was allowed to select different Talents, and everyone was also allowed to select up to 3 Talents at the same time. As long as you had enough Talent points, there would be no issues if you maximized every Talent attribute.

    The only concern was that...

    In Fate, the game would reward one Talent point each time a yer leveled up. Additional Talent points would need to be collected through some specific First Kills or quests of a simr nature.

    In other words, under the condition where yers had the same level and equipments, yers with more Talent points would have more heaven-defying character attributes.

    This was also the reason why Ye Ci¡¯s mood was lifted.

    The Vige Chief continued to chatter on for awhile before announcing the second quest. This was still to be carried out at the Icy Cave but her target this time was the Icy Cave¡¯s Boss on Hard mode, Shator.

    ¡°Huntress, you will definitely be rewarded handsomely if you are able to return to me with the head of Shator.¡± The corner of the Vige Chief¡¯s lips curled into a smile, after which he motioned for Ye Ci toe closer. ¡°But you are not allowed to tell Guard Officer Tony that it is you who killed Shator,¡± He whispered.

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. This Newbie Vige¡¯s Vige Chief who appeared to be a simple and honest man was apparently not too honest. It seemed like he intended to take credit for the head of Shator and find Tony for rewards.

    Since he was unkind, then he shouldn¡¯t me her for being unjust.

    To Ye Ci, she wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive herself if she didn¡¯t ughter this fat pig that had voluntarily presented itself on her front door. She crinkled her eyes and gave him a non-scheming smile. ¡°Of course, Vige Chief. I will surely follow your orders, only that...¡± She trailed off here and didn¡¯t continue her sentence.

    She believed that a treacherous man like him would definitely understand what she had meant.

    As expected, the Vige Chief quickly nodded in agreement. ¡°Of course.¡± Ye Ci then found another Skill Book in her hands. ¡°If you can bring the head of Shator back without letting a word of it escape...¡±

    The Vige Chief trailed off and paused for a moment like Ye Ci did just now, as if he still had more to say.

    Ye Ci promptly looked at the book in her hands.

    Fire Arrow Crafting: Crafts arrows that deal fire damage. Requires: Mid Tier Arrow Crafting.

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow ¨C this book was good, but she didn¡¯t have the Arrow Crafting Skill. This meant that the book was of little value to her.

    Looking at Ye Ci who wasn¡¯t too satisfied, the Vige Chief continued calmly. ¡°My young Huntress, you will have bread as long as you have enough wheat.¡±

    Oh, so that was how it was going to be...

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but secretly spit. This Vige Chief was a sly old fox through and through! He went as far as to bait her with a carrot that she couldn¡¯t sink her teeth into. Was he treating her like a donkey?

    For the sake of that one Talent point, however, she¡¯d still y the role of the donkey.

    And so, like two unscrupulous businessmen with their respective ulterior motives, they joyously reached a deal with dazzling smiles on both their faces.

    The Icy Cave on Hard mode was not somewhere Ye Ci could solo y. She looked at the time and found out that it was about 9 at night. Without much hesitation, she went to somewhere secluded in the Newbie Vige and logged off.

    After having casually found something to eat, she received a call from her parents who bombarded her with questions and ordered her around as usual. It was almost as if they were afraid that Ye Ci would starve herself to death.

    Not long after, when she had finally hung up on her parents¡¯ call, Liu Chang¡¯s call came through.

    The two of them exchanged a few pleasantries. Liu Chang could hardly even wait for Ye Ci¡¯s question and had already jumped straight to showing off to Ye Ci. ¡°Let me tell you this! My Lycan Summoner had reached level 3! Did you know that! My speed of levelling up is simply terrifying! Let me tell you this, I formed a party with a few people and I am now hunting the Poisonous Spider in the Lycan ck Forest! If anyone bullies you, just tell them my name, the Clingy Wolf. Big Sister got your back!¡±

 Chapter 9 Old Friends

    Chapter 9 Old Friends

    Ye Ci suppressed augh and nodded, ¡°Yes yes yes, big sister Clingy Wolf.¡±

    No matter how she looked at it, the name was ratherical...but she would never say it out loud, not ever.

    ¡°Oh yes, I¡¯ve just found out that Dong Yin and Yi Cang are ying this game as well....¡± Liu Chang changed the topic abruptly.

    Ye Ci was lost for words.

    The four of them grew up together.

    They went to school together, came home together, sat for exams together, received their results together, got beaten up by their parents together, even their birthdays were celebrated together. In spite of everything, people change. Ye Ci became lonelier and lonelier as she grew up. Since when had her happy years started to change?

    Was the change brought about by herself?

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t even muster the courage to remember how badly she had hurt Dong Yin and Yi Cang in her past life. She trembled after their names were mentioned by Liu Chang, a searing pain spreading across her chest.

    ¡°Little Ci, Little Ci, what happened to you?¡± Liu Chang raised her voice after receiving no response from Ye Ci. It pulled her back into reality.

    ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m listening.¡± Ye Ci hid her absent-mindedness with a smile.

    She was reborn. She was given the chance to make amends, to save her rtionship with Dong Yin and Yi Cang.

    Liu Chang continued yapping away for quite some time and finally hung up the call after they exchanged their in-game IDs. Of course, Liu Changughed at Ye Ci¡¯s ¡°neutral¡± name.

    Ye Ciid there on the bed, unable to sleep well. Images of her childhood flooded her mind. She didn¡¯t have much of the memories after she had grown up. She couldn¡¯t even remember the things she had done in those 10 years of her previous life. She could only vaguely remember making a lot of mistakes, and now was the time to rectify them.

    Although she restlessly slept, Ye Ci woke up at 7 in the morning due to her circadian clock.

    After washing her face, Ye Ci entered the game again.

    Before she could enter the game, there was a new patch to be installed. It was a newly added ranking system. There was an option, ¡°Do you want your ID to be listed in the rankings?¡±

    Ye Ci declined. This time, she intended toy low.

    She could see the rankings right after logging into the game. In Ye Ci¡¯s memory, the ranking system was also released on the second day of Fate. Her rebirth did not cause much of a butterfly effect to the world.

    Ye Ci hesitated for a moment before clicking on the rankings.

    She was curious to see if the people she knew in her previous life would be listed.

    Even if they were her adversaries, even if the only thing she could remember about them were their names, even if they were her friends... Perhaps she had no friends at all back then.

    Fate was very pragmatic when it came to the ranking system. It ranked only 5 simple factors that were able to directly represent a yer¡¯s strength.

    Level, Wealth, Equipment, Quest Completion, and Karma.

    There was also a Guild Ranking right below the Personal Ranking. The guilds were ranked by their Wealth, Equipment, Quest Completion, and Karma.

    The Guild Ranking was empty, as no Guilds that were recognised by the system had been formed yet.

    Only the names of the top 20 yers of each category would be showed on the ranking board. Ye Ci could only search for familiar names from the 100 names that were listed.

    Fate¡¯s server was a global server, therefore the names of a few foreigners could also be seen on the board, automatically tranted by the system. One in particr caught Ye Ci¡¯s attention ¡ª Fleeting Time.

    If Ye Ci remembered correctly, Fleeting Time was an American yer that she had fought against in the PVP Competition. He was an Elven Hunter. They were matched up against each other three times. The first two of their matches ended in a draw, but in thest match, she waspletely destroyed by his unpredictable movements, extreme positioning, and ruthlessly fatal attacks.

    That match made Ye Ci realised that Fleeting Time intentionally hid his true strength in the earlier matches.

    Ye Ci undoubtedly lost that battle and had not been able to get first three for the PVP match. When Ye Ci once again mustered the courage to fight against him, he had disappeared... This had been one of Ye Ci¡¯s lifelong regrets.

    Ever since that season¡¯s PVP match, Fleeting Time was given the title of the Hunter God. Videos of his gamey went viral on the inte with millions of views.

    It was that fight which had caused Ye Ci to wholeheartedly study everything about the Hunter ss. From there, she extended her research to all of Fate.

    She could not help butugh. She should thank Fleeting Time. If it hadn¡¯t been for him, she would not have been able to know so much about Fate after her rebirth.

    This time, she would definitely duel with this person again.

    As a Huntress against a Hunter.

    Chinese yers were veterans when it came to games that required much investment in terms of time and money but offered little content to the yers. No foreigners could ever hope topete with China when it came to leveling up.

    The top 5 yers on the Level Rankings were all yers from China: Let Go Of That Girl, Golden Man, Clear Skies Snowy Land, Coltfoot (the name of a flower), and Seven Leaves Flower. Not only did they level up fast, their names had also appeared on other rankings aside from the Karma Rankings.

    Ye Ci could not hold back herughter. Rebirth. She could still meet someone she had known through her rebirth, even though they had once been enemies. Despite having been so, these familiar names touched her heart deeply. Ye Ci looked at Let Go Of That Girl who was ranked number 1 in the Level Rankings. This person was very close to her level, which was 40% of lv7.

    She knew all the shortcuts and BUGs, but somebody was still able to catch up with her. He must¡¯ve skipped sleep to do just that.

    Closing the Rankings list, Ye Ci decided to replenish some arrows. She would once again challenge Icy Cave. She refused to believe that she had such bad luck!

    Before she could reach Natasha¡¯s little cottage at the Crossroads, Ye Ci received a friend invitation. It was from Liu Chang¡¯s ¡°Clingy Wolf¡±. Ye Ci epted the friend request without thinking.

    Liu Chang¡¯s crisp voice entered her ears right after, ¡°Hey, hey, what¡¯s the level of my little Gongzi?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s attributes were hidden. Even if if was open for public viewing, the yers could only see her equipment but not her name and level.

    ¡°What is your level?¡± Ye Ci did not reply, and instead had thrown the question back.

    Liu Chang was happy to answer that question. The main reason for her to wake up so early in the morning was to brag! She did not sleep until 4 am in the morning after cutting her call with Ye Ci.

    ¡°I¡±m lvl 5 now! I¡¯ve finally learnt my first skill! I can summon Fire Minions now! Wahaha! I bet you¡¯re jealous!¡± Liu Chang bragged nonstop in the voice chat. If there was no ceiling in her house, her wolf¡¯s tail would¡¯ve risen right up into the sky! ¡°Tell me, which map do you want to go to? Don¡¯t hesitate! I, your sister, will take care of you! I¡¯m strong! Against monsters, I show no mercy...¡±

    Liu Chang was still yapping happily when Ye Ci asked curiously, ¡°Weren¡¯t you only lvl 3 when you called mest night?¡±

    ¡°Uh...¡± Liu Chang was momentarily lost for words. It took her awhile to admit to Ye Ci that she had joined a party and was busy leveling up throughout the entire night.

    Ye Ci sighed. ¡°You could rest in the Gaming Cabin, but it was nowhere asfortable as a bed...¡± She asked, ¡°You wanna go explore a dungeon?¡±

    ¡°The dungeon!¡± Liu Chang¡¯s eyes immediately lit up after hearing the magic word. She nodded her head rapidly.

    ¡°Come to the Elven Forest, I¡¯ll wait for you at the Crossroads. We¡¯re going into the Icy Cave.¡±

    ¡°Sure! I¡¯ll be there right away!¡± Liu Chang immediately abandoned the idea of looking for handsome men at the vige entrance. She headed straight for the Elven Forest, and with glittering eyes, she asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t Icy Cave the dungeon that gotpleted SOLO by a mysterious person yesterday?¡±

    The certain ¡°mysterious person¡± coughed slightly and said, ¡°Get Dong Yin and Yi Cang to join us as well...¡±

    ¡°Forget about them. One of them is a Human and the other is an Orc. They¡¯re like 10,000 miles away from us! I¡¯ve just talked to them, they¡¯re only lvl 3!¡±

    Since there was nothing Ye Ci could do about it, she opted to ask for Dong Yin¡¯s and Yi Cang¡¯s ID and added them as friends. The four created a voice channel and began to chitchat.

    Liu Chang¡¯s voice was the loudest as usual. She spared no effort in bragging to Dong Yin and Yi Cang, provoking jealousy from the duo. Ye Ci could feel a long-lost warmth creeping into her heart as she listened to their interaction.

    It was as if she was back in her childhood days.

 Chapter 10 If You Can Find That Map

    Chapter 10 If You Can Find That Map

    Within a night, yers who had reached lvl 5 appeared like bamboo shoots that had sprung up after the rain.

    Liu Chang gaped at the sheer number of yers gathered near the entrance of Icy Cave as she arrived there with Ye Ci.

    ¡°Wow, you can¡¯t be serious! So many have reached lvl 5?¡± Liu Chang eyed the weapons and equipments of the yers with doubt clearly written on her face. She mumbled, ¡°It¡¯s so hard to level up in Fate, are they on steroids or something? How could they do it so fast!?¡±

    Ye Ci did nothing but smile. It was easy to level up pre-level 10. Once they went past the lvl 10 threshold, however, even raising their level by one would be as hard as climbing up the sky. ¡°Let¡¯s go into the dungeon.¡± Ye Ci said to Liu Chang.

    Liu Chang could not recover from her shock for quite some time. She scanned the yer-formed party with doubtful eyes after spacing out for a short moment. She was right. Her eyes were not lying to her. What¡¯s more, she had just noticed that there were only 2 people in her party...

    ¡°Say, you must be having a fever! Just the two of us?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Ye Ci, even though I¡¯m level 5, even though I have the capability of summoning some minions to use as meatshields, you can¡¯t act so rashly!¡± Spoke Liu Chang as if she was a senior showing her junior the ropes, ¡°The dungeons in Fate have very high difficulty, don¡¯t underestimate the Prep-dungeons...¡±

    Ye Ci smiled. She interrupted Liu Chang who looked like she had more to say. ¡°We¡¯re just going in to have a look. We¡¯ll just go as far as we can. There¡¯s no death penalty anyway. In the worst case scenario, all we have to do is to restart our progress.¡±

    ¡°How about adding more members into our party...?¡±

    Ye Ci shed an unfathomable smile at Liu Chang and walked away from her. She lit up a torch and said to Liu Chang, ¡°Are you that afraid to die?¡±

    Liu Chang looked at Ye Ci and scratched her head. She gritted her teeth and walked up to Ye Ci, ¡°Fine! I don¡¯t mind dying!¡±

    Liu Chang was prepared to die, but with Ye Ci around, it would be quite hard for her to lose her life.

    Even after Sator and his two bodyguards had been in, Liu Chang was still stupefied. It did not feel real for her.

    ¡°Liu Chang,e get the loot...¡± Other than leveling up Liu Chang, Ye Ci invited her to the dungeon for a change of luck. Even when one was riddled with misfortune, luck will eventuallye as long one did not give up. However, Ye Ci did not have the patience to wait for it.

    ¡°Oh...¡±

    That was the only response that Liu Chang could offer. She pinched her leg and the pain almost made her jump. ¡°It¡¯s real¡± Liu Chang murmured to herself.

    As expected, Liu Chang was way luckier than Ye Ci ever was.

    The three BOSSes yielded 6 Blue items. 2 leather armor, 2 cloth armor and 2 chainmail.

    The Blue equipment obtained from the dungeons were far superior to the exchangeable items. Although none of the six were part of the Frost series, it was still sought after by yers very much.

    A Huntress could only equip leather armor at the early stage of the game, therefore Ye Ci ced the two leather armor into her inventory. Liu Chang was using a ss that required cloth armor, and the two cloth armor were no doubt hers. The two chainmail were for Don Yin and Yi Cang, as the former was a warrior while thetter a knight. Ye Ci intended to mail them the equipment after leaving the dungeon.

    Of the two leather armor, one was a clothing while the other was a gauntlet. Although they did not possess the agility and speed buff that Ye Ci was looking forward to, they were way superior to her current equipment. She equipped the leather armor and cleared away the mobs, preparing to leave the dungeon.

    Liu Chang was very happy with her armor. She caressed it repeatedly before remembering something. ¡°Little Ci, how did you clear this dungeon alone?¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Liu Chang andughed, ¡°I had you with me.¡±

    Liu Chang scratched her head and offered Ye Ci an embarrassed smile, ¡°Yeah, right.¡±

    Despite saying that, Liu Chang knew her limits. Even with her Fire Minion, her damage was not high. The lvl 1 Fire Minion died pretty easily. She didunch an attack or two from the back but the channeling time was quite long. Theirbined damage output was nothing.

    Ye Ci¡¯s attack, on the other hand, was on an entirely different level. She had even seen the number ¡°500¡± from Ye Ci¡¯s single attack.

    On paper, both of them were clearing the dungeon together. In reality, Ye Ci could clear this dungeon solo without a hitch, just like the mysterious person that cleared the dungeon SOLO.

    ¡°Wait a second...¡± Thought Liu Chang, but before she could voice it out, Ye Ci said, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste time, we¡¯ll clear the dungeon again.¡±

    Liu Chang was puzzled, but she nodded. She could do nothing but shove down the question that was about to leave her mouth and follow Ye Ci into the dungeon.

    After several times journeying through the dungeon, Liu Chang finally grew familiar with the ce. Other than the mobs themselves, the hardest thing about the dungeon was the need of precise positioning. She noticed that Ye Ci had not messed up her positioning even once and her movements were extremely nimble.

    Liu Chang knew that her ys were not top tier, but this didn¡¯t mean that she wouldn¡¯t know an expert when she saw one. She was deeply impressed by Ye Ci¡¯s gamey. Her movements were fast, her positioning excellent, and her reaction was quick. She could handle sudden events perfectly and she rarely missed her attacks.

    If even this were not expert-level skills, she wasn¡¯t far from being an expert.

    As they went back to the newbie vige for supplies, Liu Chang could no longer hold back her question. ¡°Little Ci, were you the one who cleared the dungeon SOLO yesterday?¡±

    Ye Ciughed and said, ¡°It was just sheer dumb luck after dying countless of times.¡± She replied vaguely. She knew that she could not hide it forever, and since Liu Chang asked, she took the opportunity and dly answered the question.

    ¡°Damn!¡± Liu Chang¡¯s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets after receiving the answer. Ye Ci did not tell her the full truth. There was no way she could tell Liu Chang that she knew everything because she was from the future.

    Despite that, she made Liu Chang to keep it a secret, even from Dong Yin and Yi Cang.

    Liu Chang understood Ye Ci¡¯s way of keeping a low profile, and she knew that disaster would follow if someone kept a high profile in any web game. She agreed to Ye Ci¡¯s request.

    Their trip was bountiful. The two already managed to change out every piece of equipment they had aside from their weapons. Ye Ci was satisfied with the +2 Speed attribute of her boots. With them, she felt way more agile than when she had only been wearing the newbie boots.

    Liu Chang went back to the newbie vige to level up her Fire Minions and sort out her quests. Ye Ci came along with the intention of replenishing her arrows and acquiring the Huntress¡¯s trademark skill, ¡°Pet Raising¡±.

    The duo parted ways at the Crossroads. Liu Chang headed for the Lycan newbie vige while Ye Ci went to Natasha¡¯s cottage.

    There were more Hunters buying arrow from Natasha, bringing about a lively atmosphere to the otherwise quiet cottage.

    Ye Ci handed 10 silver coins. Natasha nced at Ye Ci, her beautiful eyes forming into slits. ¡°Young Huntress, was your adventure in Icy Cave hard?¡±

    ¡°Not bad, it¡¯s quite interesting.¡± Ye Ci offered her a smile.

    Natasha raised her eyebrows at the answer, nodded and said slowly, ¡°Do you know of a legend?¡±

    ¡°What legend?¡±

    ¡°The great Elven King sealed his soul away at the end of the world, far, far away. The way to the ce where his soul was sealed is drawn on a map. If you can find it...¡± A cunning smile lit up Natasha¡¯s usually pretty but emotionless face.

    ¡°And after I found it?¡± This was yet another quest that Ye Ci had never heard of. She couldn¡¯t help but think: how many hidden quests are there that yers do not know of in this vast world of Fate?

    Natashaughed lightly. She held her fingers at her lips lightly andughed. Sheughed like a vixen, and herugh was very seductive, ¡°If you can find that map... I think I might tell you.¡±

    The system notification chimed in right after her words: Do you want to ept the Hidden Quest ¡°If You Can Find That Map?¡±

    Ye Ci epted the quest without hesitation. Such Hidden Quests were rare, there was no way she was going to let it slip by her. Besides, Ye Ci was interested in something that even she had no knowledge of in her past life.

    The NPC¡¯s in Fate had the tendency of using yers as their mule. Just like the ¡°honest¡± vige chief, Natasha gave Ye Ci a skill book.

    Magical Arrow crafting: An ancient arrow crafting technique, able to craft arrows with magical properties. Requires: Mid Tier Arrow Crafting

    Ye Ci looked at the skill books with a heart full of sorrow. The two top-tier Arrow Crafting skill books owned by her could not be used due to her low proficiency in arrow crafting. Was there something more saddening than that in this world?

    She angrily stored the Magical Arrow Crafting skill book into her inventory and rushed towards the newbie vige.

    Before Ye Ci could go far, she noticed that the road ahead was blocked by arge crowd.

    ¡°This ce was booked by the Spring Rain Guild. All of you, go somewhere else!!!¡± A male voice could be heard over all themotion.

 Chapter 11 Collateral Damage

    Chapter 11 Coteral Damage

    That voice...

    It was something that Ye Ci would never forget, even in death.

    That person was the one who trapped her in White Stallion City with the help of ten other pros. They¡¯d even made an oath to make her drop all her equipment. After trying to lose them for a few days, Ye Ci finally ended the fiasco by escaping the city with an expensive teleportation item.

    After that incident, Ye Ci would always kill any one of them that she hade across, and they would also gang up on her whenever they had seen her. In the end, Ye Ci had more sess in causing trouble to them. The victory rate against them was about 70% to 80%

    Everyday Meat from Spring Rain Guild. Ye Ci would never forget about that person even after 10 more years.

    That guy¡¯s persistence and stinginess were the stuff of legend. Despite his high level, top tier equipment, and exceptional skills, his character was questionable. He was once listed in Fate¡¯s ck List and was forced out of the game.

    Acts such as taking over an entire leveling area was just the tip of the iceberg of what Everyday Meat used to do, but it caused huge trouble for the newbies.

    More than twenty of them upied the junction leading to the newbie vige and Wolf canyon,pletely sealing off the area.

    Truth be told, it was the perfect leveling ce to take over.

    Wolf Canyon was an important post-lvl 5 questing and leveling area that yielded a lot of coins and experience, while the newbie vige was the ce where every newbie needed to go.

    Everyday Meat had on a full set of Green equipment, and the yers with him possessed high quality equipment as well. The most frightening thing about the posse, however, was the blood red color that covered their characters.

    Killing a yer in Fate was forbidden, and the deed came with a high price. The upkeep for a red-named yer was way higher than the upkeep of a normal yer. Judging by the red names of the yers standing behind Everyday Meat, they were all from Spring Rain Guild.

    The Spring Rain Guild did not make it into the top 30. For a guild to be able to afford so many red-named yers, its strength should not be belittled.

    However, no matter how unreasonable Spring Rain Guild was, there were many more yers bolder than them.

    A lot of newbie yers protested the guild¡¯s actions.

    ¡°Who gave you the right to do that!? That ce has your name on it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you guys seriously think that it¡¯s your property!?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not waste our time talking to them. Go get ¡¯em! A red-name¡¯s items will drop if we kill him!¡±

    ......

    The already tense situation went out of control immediately. The newbie yers drew their weapons and charged at the Spring Rain Guild yers. In a situation like this, there was no way Spring Rain guild would just stand still and watch. When Everyday Meat motioned with his hand, almost thirty red-named killers charged out to meet the newbie yers in battle with their blood red weapons.

    The entire junction erupted into chaos just like that.

    Ye Ci climbed on and carefully avoided the warzone. Although Everyday Meat was her nemesis in her past life, she was not dumb enough to instigate a conflict with him at this time and ce.

    ¡°Boss, somebody was trying to sneak into the canyon!¡± Shouted one of the yers. Everyone¡¯s attention shifted to the same direction.

    Ye Ci was about to jump down from the branch and leave when she felt watchful eyes staring at her. She was momentarily stunned stunned. Damn! What had she done to deserve such attention!?

    The yers that were either fighting or blockading the ce stared at Ye Ci.

    When somebody paid close attention to you, you might have felt that you were charming. But when so many elves were staring at you at the same time, perhaps the only thing you could feel was danger. It was especially so when you were merely a passerby who suddenly became the center of attention.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips and jumped onto the next tree.

    £­73

    £­79

    £­81

    She felt a chill creeping down her spine just as she leapt, and her HP bar dropped by half.

    ¡°You were attacked by yer Rabid Dog, you have 10 minutes to retaliate.¡±

    ¡°You were attacked by yer Tianhe Boy, you have 10 minutes to retaliate.¡±

    ¡°You were attacked by yer Glittering Diamond, you have 10 minutes to retaliate.¡±

    Streams of system messages flooded into Ye Ci¡¯s ears.

    Ye Ci lowered her body and hid among the leaves. She took the opportunity to go into Stealth.

    Sun of a beach. Why was she caught in the crossfire? She was merely trying to sneak past the blockade and into the newbie vige.

    s, Ye Ci was never one to be afraid even though she tended to avoid confrontations.

    ¡°Damn! Where¡¯s that Huntress!¡±

    ¡°Must¡¯ve died...¡±

    ¡°I did not see a death notification!¡±

    Ye Ci peered out from between the leaves. There were not many left at the junction. The newbies were defeated with little to no casualties on Spring Rain Guild¡¯s side due the difference in level and equipment.

    A few yers that were coated blood red were looking at Ye Ci¡¯s general direction while literally standing among piles of corpses.

    Although her opponent could not see her when she entered Stealth, Ye Ci¡¯s movement speed was halved. If she moved from a tree to another with that speed, the wobbling of the branches as she moved about would attract attention and she would therefore be an instant target.

    Ye Ci was formting a counterattack n as a strong gust of wind blew past the area. She seized the opportunity to leap onto another tree. She dashed past a few branches, stopped, and nocked an arrow. She took aim at the Hunter, Rabid Dog, and let the arrow loose.

    £­132

    £­45

    ¡°You have in an enemy!¡± The system chimed in. Rabid Dogid motionless on the ground and Spring Rain Guild members closed in on her hiding spot after a brief moment of hesitation.

    Using the howling wind as cover, Ye Ci hid herself among the leaves and repositioned herself rapidly while firing arrows at Tianhe Boy and Glittering Diamond, taking their lives as well.

    Ye Ci was about to disengage from the enemy when a sudden agonizing scream pierced thru the air. Before she knew it, Everyday Meat had fallen.

    Who did that?

    Right after that, arrows and magics peppered his men from every direction.

    Everyday Meat¡¯s men fell, sumbing to utter confusion after his death. Despite the ruckus, they were able to get organized very quickly. After all, they were still a well known guild. Even withoutmand, they had split into several groups and headed for the source of iing attacks.

    Nobody, of course, was awaiting them there.

    The junction became more chaotic than it already had: the newbies that respawned to reim their items, the Spring Rain Guild who were looking for their assant, and the invisible assants themselves. The situation was more heated than a pot of boiling water.

    Ye Ci backed away after assessing the situation. She was merely retaliating against her attackers and were not interested in such chaotic melee. The ones that attacked her were dead anyways.

    Ye Ci¡¯s priority right now was going back to the newbie vige to learn skills, then proceed in leveling up to lv10 and getting into one of the big cities.

    The battle at the junction raged on. Ye Ci stole a nce at Everyday Meat. A Fireballnded on him just as he was revived, sending him back into death¡¯s embrace. A few red-named yers suffered the same fate. Spring Rain Guild seemed to be suffering from an organized ambush. There was no need for Ye Ci to stay.

    Ye Ci continued to dash between the trees while stealthed, heading straight for the vige and leaving the junction far behind her.

    Hunters could learn Capture Pet, Snake Venom Needle and their first Protection skill ¡ª Falcon Protection.

    Ye Ci was alreading lvl 9 after adventuring in Icy Cave for two days straight. She was 70% away from lvl 10. She took a look at the Level Rankings and saw that Let Go Of That Girl was at lvl 8 80% progress, nearly catching up with her. Ye Ci sighed. That guy was a fanatic in leveling up.

    In her previous life, Let Go Of That Girl was very famous. He was Fate¡¯s no.1 leveling madman.

    Every game was like apact society with different people. Some of them loved money or fighting over the smallest trifles. Some of them loved their equipment and arming themselves with only the best gear. Some of them loved to have friends, and they had friends everywhere. Some of them love to level up so that they can always stay ahead of everyone. Many of them love money as well, while others craved for power or even girls. Some of them just loved to have an adventure, while others loved glory. All of them were different in their own way.

    Let Go Of That Girl was the sort that liked to level up. Ye Ci knew the person, but at the same time, he was an unfamiliar figure.

    She knew him because he was always high up on the Level Rankings board. She was unfamiliar with him as she had never actually met him.

    Despite that, Ye Ci was happy to see a familiar name from herst life on the ranking board.

    ID: Gongzi You

    Race: Elf

    HP: 420

    MP: 200

    Endurance: 37+5 (Equipment buff)

    Stamina: 20

    Strength: 23+2 (Equipment buff)

    Intelligence: 20

    Agility: 42+2+5 (Race Attribute) (Equipment buff)

    Speed: 2+2 (Equipment buff)

    Bnce: 20+1+3 (Race Attribute) (Equipment buff)

    Perception: 10+1 (Race Attribute)

    Traits: Stealth (Racial Attribute), Concealment (ss Attribute), Sly, Diplomacy, Leap, Roll, Haggle.

    Her Agility and Bnce were high, but she wascking on Strength.

    In a Huntress¡¯s stats, Agility affected critical chance and dodge rate. Bnce affected the uracy of attacking while on the move, and Strength affected the damage value.

    Ye Ci¡¯s character had a low Strength and she was not satisfied with her damage value. She could do anything but depend on equipment and Talent in theter stage of the game.

    Turning off her Character Attribute menu, Ye Ci walked into Instructor Zol¡¯s wooden house. Good heavens. The entire ce was bustling with noise, just like one would expect of a market.

 Chapter 12 An Overpowered Skill Book

    Chapter 12 An Overpowered Skill Book

    Zol noticed Ye Ci right away despite the crowd. Ye Ci was the holder of several First Kills and was the one who activated the hidden side quest. Her prestige in the vige was quite high, and the NPC¡¯s in the vige were always happy to see her. Even Zol, an NPC who was never overly enthusiastic to interact with yers, greeted Ye Ci warmly.

    ¡°Oh, young Huntress, it¡¯s good to see that you¡¯ve grown once again. I¡¯m sure that Elven King Dau¡¯er would be d that a Huntress with so much potential was born in the Elven race.¡± This was probably the longest sentence to ever leave Zol¡¯s mouth since the game started.

    Merchant and Instructor ss NPC¡¯s dialogues with a yer could not be heard by any bystanders. If they could, Zol¡¯s words would certainly make Ye Ci the object of all the yer¡¯s envy.

    ¡°Hi sir, I would like to learn a new Skill.¡± Ye Ci bowed humbly at Zol, showing her respect.

    It didn¡¯t matter what anyone thought. One does not simply offend an NPC.

    ¡°Let me see what skills are avable to you.¡± Zol spread out his hands and closed his eyes. A faint blue light appeared on his palms. He opened his eyes after a few moments and said, ¡°Oh, I see it now. You can now learn Pet Capture, Snake Venom Needle, and Falcon¡¯s Protection. Of course, sh and Bow Proficiency could be leveled up. Which skills do you want to learn?¡±

    ¡°All of them.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Zol raised his eyebrows slightly. Fees were required to learn skills in Fate, and the fees that Ye Ci needed to pay right then were nothingpared to the astronomical amount in theter stage of the game.

    These skills cost 50 silver coins each, and most early lvl 10 yers would not have more than 2 gold coins with them. Learning those skills all at once was unbelievably extravagant to them.

    Zol candidly epted the 2 gold and 50 silver coins handed to him by Ye Ci. A bright golden sh appear on Ye Ci¡¯s character, and the system notified her that she had learnt Pet Capture, Snake Venom Needle, and Falcon¡¯s Protection. sh and Bow Proficiency had been upgraded to lvl 2 as well.

    ¡°Young Huntress, you have the grace of an Elf. You¡¯re carefree and are never stingy. It¡¯s always good to see such an excellent specimen among the young ones. I¡¯m really very happy. If you can get me a hundred Wild Wolf¡¯s Eyeballs, I think I have a little present for you.¡±

    Zol gave Ye Ci a quest after teaching her the skills instead of making her leave.

    ¡°It¡¯s an honor.¡± Ye Ci bowed and epted the quest. She couldn¡¯t help but think: another hidden quest... Was all my luck eaten up by my encounters with Hidden Quests?

    Ye Ci was about to explore the Icy Cave at Difficult setting to see if she could SOLO the dungeon. If she was lucky, she could even get an Elite Spider as a pet.

    Changes came faster than the n. Before meeting Zol, Ye Ci had never even thought that she would be able to find a Hidden Quest, and an easy one at that. Standing under the sunlight after leaving Zol¡¯s house, Ye Ci took a look at the quest details and attempted to find out its rewards, that was if she could see it...

    She did not expect to actually be able to see the rewards to Zol¡¯s Hidden Quest, unlike all other Hidden Quest which had their rewards listed as question marks.

    Quest: A Hundred Wild Wolf¡¯s Eyeballs

    Quest description: ...

    Quest reward: Hunter¡¯s Mark Skill Book

    The quest reward almost made Ye Ci jump with joy.

    Just like Pet Capture, Hunter¡¯s Mark was the Hunter ss¡¯s trademark skill. When used on a target, a visible mark that could only be seen by the Hunter/Huntress¡¯s party members would appear for 15 minutes. With each level increased, the skill would be able to deal additional bonus damage to the target. The Hunter¡¯s Mark could deal up to 15% bonus ranged damage to an enemy.

    It was a very overpowered skill when it came to PVP and PVE. Of course, if every Hunter or Huntress could learn it, the entire Fate world would be crawling with Hunters and Huntresses.

    As mentioned earlier, Fate was a shameless game, and Glory was a shamelesspany.

    If they could design such an OP skill, it meant that not everybody could have it... Why?

    Game bnce.

    All the skills in Fate could be leveled up by Instructors, with the emphasis on ¡°leveling up¡±.

    It meant that yers could find out about all the overpowered skills from the Instructor NPC¡¯s. But... They were only leveling it up for the yers. ¡°What does it mean?¡± One might ask. It meant that yers were required to learn said skills on their own first.

    How? Two simple options. The first method, Skill Books. The second, learn from NPC¡¯s that nobody had ever seen or heard of before.

    Nobody even knew if the second option was real. The first one was more usible to achieve.

    There were only two ways to obtain skill books. They were either gifted by NPC¡¯s or dropped by monsters.

    Simply put, the chances were very slim.

    Take Hunter¡¯s Mark for example. Nobody had ever heard of an NPC that would give out the skill book. As for the drop rate from monsters... One out of ten thousand from the Final BOSSes of lvl 40 dungeons.

    Cough, cough. ¡°One in ten thousand¡± does not necessarily mean that the book would appear every 10,000 times a Final BOSS was killed.

    Such an overpowered skill book with a ridiculous drop rate. How could Ye Ci not be happy?

    To hell with Icy Cave and Forest of Stone! Ye Ci¡¯s priority was at Wolf Canyon!

    Ye Ci was able to make a profit from her adventures in the dungeon. She mailed two Blue chain mail to Gleaming Sunshine and Leftie (Dong Yin and Yi Cang), and sold the rest of the Blue equipment that were of no use to her to an NPC. She gained almost 2 gold coins out of that.

    Of course, she¡¯d earn a lot more if those were sold to the yers. But that was not what Ye Ci wanted. It would basically tell everybody that she had been to the dungeon a lot of times. Although it was just a minor dungeon, it was always not a good thing to get attention from overly curious individuals.

    Besides, she could save a lot of time by doing that.

    Ye Ci was going to leave the newbie vige for the city. The auction houses there were more convenient than having to set up roadside stalls just to sell items.

    After getting a cksmith to repair her equipment, Ye Ci headed for the junction.

    A strange thought surfaced in her mind ¡ª was the fight still going on?

    As expected, the crowd had not dispersed yet.

    The fight was not as intense as before. Less than 30% of the newbie yers were still having a standoff with the Spring Rain Guild. The guild¡¯s members were already beginning to scatter.

    Ye Ci thought of sneaking into Wolf Canyon through the battlefield, but not everything went smoothly.

    Someone stood up abruptly from beside Ye Ci, after which she subconsciously dodged to the side. It was Everyday Meat who was being spawn camped. He decided to respawn, thinking that he was well-hidden.

    He was not red-named, and had not reached lv10 yet. The newbie protection meant that he would not drop any equipment upon death, but... Being spawn camped for almost an hour was a torturing experience.

    Besides, pain in Fate could only be reduced to a minimum of 30%. With so much death, Everyday Meat must¡¯ve been driven to the point of madness.

    ¡°It¡¯s you! You¡¯re the one who killed me!¡± Everyday Meat saw Ye Ci who had not been three meters away from him. His eyes lit up with fiery anger as he tried to grab at Ye Ci without even waiting for an exnation.

    Ye Ci was rather baffled. It had nothing to do with her at all. Why was she the suspect?

    She pped Every Meat¡¯s hand away and said coldly, ¡°Look carefully before you use me!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean I did not see clearly!¡± Everyday Meat spoke with his action. He drew out his staff and threw a Fireball at Ye Ci.

    £­107

    Ye Ci shifted her body, and the Fireball brushed past her shoulder, and an arrow nted itself at Everyday Meat¡¯s back. He immediately fell onto the ground on all fours.

    Ye Ci looked at Everyday Meat. A mischievous grin crept onto her face as she knelt down beside Everyday Meat. ¡°I told you, it wasn¡¯t me. See!¡± Taunted Ye Ci.

    She stood up, and pped her hands together. She looked at the corpse and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way. I¡¯m telling you, your death had nothing to do with me.¡± She literally walked over Everyday Meat¡¯s dead body as she left. The guy was so angry that he coughed up blood. He ranted in the Guild channel that he would find out the whoever that was responsible for his death.

    Wolf Canyon was packed full of people.

    There were a lot of wolves in the canyon, but they seemed to be the minority.

    Ye Ci snorted. At this rate, she¡¯d never be able toplete the her quest.

    Thinking of the Hunter¡¯s Mark skill book, however, she was willing to kill steal if that was what she needed to do.

    She climbed onto a tree and began going scaling the cliff wall of the Wolf Canyon thanks to her high Bnce. She managed to reach a t ground at the hillside.

    Ye Ci original intention was to have a bird¡¯s eye view of the ce, but she ran into 20-30 wolves instead. And more importantly, there was no one around!

    Oh, she was mistaken. There was someone swinging his weapon wildly at the wolves with sweat dripping down like a waterfall.

 Chapter 13 A player from the Leaderboard

    Chapter 13 A yer from the Leaderboard

    He was killing the wolves very quickly, but as a newbie who was not even level 10, he could not match the wolves¡¯ respawn rate no matter how fast he was. As he did not have any ns to eradicate every wolf in the entire canyon, he stood in the northwest corner and battled only with the ones around him.

    This was perfect. If they could take one corner each, both of them would meet their objectives without interfering the other.

    After activating Falcon¡¯s Protection, Ye Ci immediately fired her arrows. Whether it was kiting or standing still, she really enjoyed killing the wolves.

    Before long, she received a party request message: Golden Man sent a request for you to join his party.

    Golden Man? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned when she saw the name. It was the Golden Man who just behind Let Go Of That Girl on the leaderboard.

    Yi Ce had memories of this yer as well. Even though he did not level up with insanity like Let Go Of That Girl, he was also a crazy leveler. She had only seen him on the leaderboard before but now she had the chance to meet him in person!

    Ye Ci epted his request without a moment of hesitation. Then, she opened her map and realized that Golden Man was actually the yer who was killing wolves at the northwest corner.

    His was a Rogue, which meant that his critical hit was high and his speed was fast. No wonder he could level up so quickly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this together. It will be quicker.¡± Golden man looked at the hunter on his party list. She had hidden all her information so he did not know what to call her. Golden man was actually very reluctant to form a party. He did not have such intentions when he first saw Ye Ci climbing up.

    After he saw the way she positioned and kited, however, he immediately decide to form a party with her.

    The speed at which that hunter could kill wasparable to his. It might even be faster, therefore he knew that they would be efficient if they formed a party together.

    ¡°So, you are Golden Man.¡± Ye Ci lifted her head and looked at Golden Man who was standing not far from her. She felt an indescribable feeling. It still felt quite strange to form a party with someone she had only known from the leaderboard in her past life.

    ¡°Yes, you are...¡±

    ¡°I am Gongzi You.¡± Ye Ciughed and immediately changed the setting of her name to ¡°allow party to view¡±.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Golden man looked at Ye Ci¡¯s smiling face, then at her name. He could not resistughing. ¡°That is a very...interesting name.¡±

    It was that again. It was that again... Her name was random. She was not adyboy!

    Both of them exchanged some pleasantries as they starting kill the wolves again. Individually, they were already two strong yers. After grouping up, they became a wolf-massacring tank. There were wolf carcasses everywhere they went.

    The drop rate for Wild Wolf¡¯s Eyeballs was very low. Only one eyeball dropped for every ten or more wolves that were killed. Ye Ci could only stay calm and concentrate on killing wolves. However, she wondered what was Golden Man¡¯s purpose was. He was also engrossed in this wolf killing. If it was just for a quest, he would havepleted it much earlier.

    ¡°Why are you killing so many wolves. If it is for a quest, it should be faster than this.¡± Ye Ci asked him as it came to her mind.

    ¡°Quest.¡± Golden Man replied with a smile. It was obvious that he did not really like talking. ¡°What about you? Why are you killing so many wolves?¡±

    ¡°Same.¡±

    Both of them smile and looked at each other. Suddenly, they realised that all the wolves in the canyon had disappeared, to be reced by a gnome in the north corner.

    As they walked over, they heard a loud voice from the gnome. ¡°Is it you two?! You actually killed so many wolves! Did you came here to help me negotiate?¡±

    Hidden NPC!

    Both of them became excited when they saw the NPC. They immediately rushed to the gnome and nodded. ¡°How can we help you?¡±

    ¡°How can you help? You can help negotiate with that Heishan! That beast! I told him I was only here to discover more ore veins. It actually locked me here! Doesn¡¯t it understand speech!? Enter from the mountain opening behind me, and please tell Heishan to quickly return my treasure to me!¡±

    Locked? Ye Ci looked at the gnome and winked. ¡°Where are you locked? How can we save you?¡±

    ¡°Eh! Damn you tallies! You think that Frodo is lying! No, Frodo is the most honest gnome! I am trapped in this piece of emptynd! God! Are youughing at me? Quickly, go and negotiate with Heishan! If you don¡¯t go now, I will kick your butts!¡± The gnome named Frodo looked angry and kept jumping, both his eyes fiery.

    Locked in this piece ofnd? Ye Ci looked at Frodo¡¯s height and understood. Well, it seemed that such a concentration of essence was not always a good thing.

    Golden Man bit his lips and jeered. ¡°Well, let¡¯s go!¡±

    When they looked again, a shining light that indicated an dungeon appeared on the mountain wall behind Frodo.

    The two of them were about the enter the dungeon when they heard a prompt from the dungeon: The minimum level requirement for the dungeon Heishan¡¯s Lair is level 8. Please have 5 members in your party. You do not meet the requirements. There is a risk of dying if you enter this dungeon without proper consideration. Please confirm if you would like to enter this dungeon.

    There wasn¡¯t much risk for the both of them as they had already reached level 10 and would not lose experience if they died. However, it would be such a pity to die and exit such a dungeon without obtaining any items.

    ¡°Do you have any friends who are level 8?¡± Goldman asked Ye Ci.

    ¡°The highest is at level 7.¡± Ye Ci looked at the characters in her ¡°Friends¡± box. Only Liu Chang had reached level 7 after she havingpleted a few quests. Gleaming Sunshine and Leftie were both still struggling at level 4.

    Goldman sent a Friend invitation to Ye Ci and simultaneously replied, ¡°I have a few friends who are now at level 8. Can theye along?¡±

    ¡°Of course. You can look for the other members.¡± Ye Ci nodded in agreement. Judging from the requirements of this dungeon, they should not be able toplete it with only two of them. Since she did not have the necessary resources and Golden Man did, there was no reason for her to reject him.

    Goldman quickly contacted his Friends. Then, he said to Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi, I can only find 2 Friends who are at Level 8. One of my friends is in a party with another level 8 yer. However, I do not know him so I am not sure of his background. Do you want to invite him?¡±

    Ye Ciughed in a heroic manner, ¡°Why can¡¯t hee? Friends are made by ying together.¡±

    This was Ye Ci heartfelt words. In her previous life, she had no friends. That was because she had been unwilling to y with anyone and she was stingy when it came to sharing.In the end, she had be all alone. This time around, she would not make the same mistakes.

    The smile on Goldman¡¯s face became warmer as he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words. He nodded and contacted his friends. After some time, he said to Ye Ci, ¡°They can only reach us in an hour. They are currently travelling on the map. Let¡¯s go back and replenish our supplies in the meantime.¡±

    ¡°No problem. Let¡¯s meetup hereter.¡± Ye Ci nodded, bidding farewell to Goldman. Then, she leaped onto a branch and quickly left.

    Golden Man followed suit and left the area speedily.

    When she got back, she repaired her equipment and replenished her arrows. In an unprecedented manner, Natasha, the enigmatic expressionless beauty, actually gave Ye Ci a quiver with 12 slots. She exined that because Ye Ci¡¯s umted spending had reached a certain amount, she gave her a small reward.

    Surprisingly, such promotional methods used by supermarkets were also emted in this game. Ye Ci smiled as she received the quiver. She quickly filled up the 12 slots of arrows and raced towards the horizontal slope at the midpoint of the Wolf Canyon.

    She thought that she was fast but there was actually someone even faster. Goldman was actually waiting for her. He sat on the floor with a bottle of water and was munching a dry biscuit. He waved his hands at her once he spotted her.

    As both of them sat down, Ye Ci began to eat her biscuit to satisfy her hunger. After barely chatting for awhile, they saw a panting dwarf who was with a female gnome, thetter of whom was panting even harder. They climbed up the slope.

    After he reached the slope, he sat down heavily, faced Golden Man, and said, ¡°You horrible person. Why would you find a dungeon on a slope. Do you know that my legs are short? How can Ipare to both of you elves who have long legs?¡±

    The female gnome had resigned herself to lying on the grass. Betweenrge breaths, she said, ¡°I am so tired. I am so tired. Why did I chose to be a gnome at the start? It kills me to just climb a hill.¡±

    Golden Manughed loudly. He said to Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi, let me introduce them to you. The dwarf is my friend, Let Go Of That Girl. The female gnome is my sister¡¯s friend, Ideal Height 1.7m¡±

    Ye Ci froze for a moment. She was startled and could only look at the dwarf nkly. She did not expect this person to be the number one yer on the leaderboard, Let Go Of That Girl. In this life, she had seen all the characters that she had never met in her previous life.

    ¡°That Girl, Ideal, this is a new friend I just met, Gongzi You. Her controlling is super impressive!¡± Golden Man introduced Ye Ci to his two other friends who were sitting down.

    ¡°Oh, you are really a female? Why did you give yourself a male name? I don¡¯t think this game allows transvestite characters.¡± Ideal Height 1.7m stared at Ye Ci with her eyes wide and a face full of curiosity.

    Ye Ci really wanted to bawl her eyes out.

    ¡°It was random.¡± Ye Ci face the sky as she cried a bowl of tears in her heart. Life...is such a tragedy.

    Let Go Of That Girl, warrior, crazy leveler, spoke candidly.

    Ideal Height 1.7m, Warlock, seemed to have a vaguely romantic rtionship with Let Go Of That Girl, Innocent, spoke frankly.

    Amidst their conversation, they spotted a person climbing up. Ruffling his fur, he change to a human form. He headed towards the group and smile as he walked, ¡°Hey, hey, hey. What you all are doing is not right. How can you get a Lycanthrope to help you fight wolves? Haven¡¯t you heard the saying: We were originally grown from the same root. Why should we hound each other to death with such impatience?¡±

    Let Go Of That Girl jumped up and said to the Lycanthrope with tears in his eyes, ¡°Four Seas, he really manage to find you. I thought he¡¯d just find some noob to satisfy me.¡±

    ¡°How much do you think you can take?¡± The Lycanthrope cleric said. Four Seas immediately pushed away Let Go Of That Girl who was intending to hug him enthusiastically. He walked directly towards Ye Ci...

 Chapter 14 Trust Is A Premium Ability

    Chapter 14 Trust Is A Premium Ability

    ¡°Gongzi You? I¡¯ve heard a lot about you.¡± Four Seas smiled at Ye Ci while extending his hand.

    Heard of her? Ye Ci was puzzled. The game was still quite new. Where could he have heard about her from?

    Ye Ci shook Four Seas¡¯ hand politely. It¡¯d be rude to leave him hanging. She asked with a hint of curiosity, ¡°Whom have you heard of me from?¡±

    ¡°I was doing a quest in Lycan ck Forest when I met a friend. He told me that he came across an Elven Huntress with mad skills. I wasn¡¯t going toe when Golden invited me, but when I heard that there was an equally skilled Elven Huntress in the party, I couldn¡¯t resist the urge to witness myself just how good you are.¡±

    Upon his exnation, Ye Ci sweated.

    ¡°Are you talking about Lukewarm Water?¡± It was the only idiot with zero sense of direction that she knew.

    Four Seas did not give Ye Ci an answer. He sat down and started eating. He smiled at Ye Ci, his handsome face made it seem as if he was pondering something.

    Ye Ci was no stranger to this kind of feeling. It was a feeling of distrust. If she hade across such an expression in her previous life, she would definitely cuss at the person. In this world, however, she felt that it no longer mattered.

    Making friends with a sincere heart was more important to her now.

    She sat down and continued munching on her food, her face revealing no inner emotions.

    Four Seas observed Ye Ci for a moment before suddenly saying, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Lukewarm Water.¡±

    Ye Ci was stunned for a moment. She was not sure if it had been done it on purpose or if Four Seas was typically slow to respond to questions. She nodded, ¡°I¡¯m not that good.¡±

    Four Seas raised his eyebrows in disbelief, as if he were about to say something. Golden Man stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you guys are done replenishing. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    After wolfing down thest of the biscuit and washing it down with a few gulps of water, Ye Ci stood up and followed herpanions into Heishan¡¯s Lair.

    Ye Ci had never been to this dungeon before. It did not even exist in the forums during her past life. There were two possibilities to this. Either this dungeon was never discovered or the ones who discovered it kept it a secret.

    The reasons did not matter to Ye Ci. The dark damp cave did not scare Ye Ci. Instead, it filled her with excitement.

    The excitement of exploring the unknown was very precious to Ye Ci. She had explored every known dungeon in Fate during her past life. She had never expected to find anything new.

    ¡°Why are caves always so dark? Can¡¯t they make a more scenic dungeon?¡± Ideal Height 1.7m slipped and gave the ground a big hug due to the darkness.

    She began to grumble after getting up.

    Ye Ci smiled. There were a lot of scenic dungeons in theter stages of Fate. The scenes were so beautiful that the yers would even forget that they were there to fight monsters.

    ¡°Beautiful scenery? You¡¯re talking about the sightseeing area...¡± Let Go Of That Girl rubbed his nose and squinted, ¡°Why are there no lights?¡±

    ¡°Elves can see pretty well in the dark, Lycans have Night Vision, Dwarves can do pretty good in the dark as well, but as for Gnomes...¡± Four Seas looked worriedly at Ideal Height 1.7m.

    Ideal Height 1.7m snorted, ¡°We¡¯ll carve our own path if one is not provided to us. You don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡± She took a torch out from her inventory and handed it to the tallest person, Golden Man. ¡°Here, take it so that everyone can see.¡±

    Golden Man explored with caution in the front of the group. Not even the quietest of sounds were present in the dungeon.

    It was awfully quiet.

    Ye Ci walked at the rear of the group, protecting their Cleric, Four Seas, and Ideal Height 1.7m. Clerics were aggro mas in dungeons. If the warriors did not taunt the monsters that appeared in time, all of them would be heading straight for the Cleric.

    Ideal Height 1.7m was a mage and also a soft target. An Elite monster in a dungeon like this could kill her within two hits.

    Ye Ci walked silently at the back of the group with her bow drawn. She was ready to shoot at anything that moved.

    Four Seas took a look at Ye Ci, only seeing her calm and expressionless face. He thought that there was a hint of excitement as their eyes met briefly.

    Ye Ci realised that Four Seas was looking at her and she asked, ¡°What? Is something wrong?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re calm.¡± Four Seas was straightforward.

    ¡°There was nothing to be afraid of.¡± A smile lit up Ye Ci¡¯s bored face. ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon. It¡¯s either you or the monsters that are going to die. There¡¯s no third option.¡±

    Four Seas was puzzled. Gongzi You was very different from the female yers he knew, ¡°Death is painful.¡±

    ¡°Escaping is my forte.¡± Ye Ci let out a forcedugh. ¡°As long as you¡¯re not dead, we won¡¯t get annihted.¡±

    ¡°You trust me that much?¡± Four Seas did not expect that answer. Why would she trust him when they¡¯d just met?

    ¡°I see you¡¯re close friends with Golden Man and Let Go Of That Girl. If they trust you, you won¡¯t be that bad.¡± Ye Ci concluded. ¡°Everybody else woulde to the same conclusion. This has nothing to do with trust.¡±

    Ye Ci surveyed their surrounding while taking to Four Seas. Her voice was soft, a special kind of soft only possessed by elves. It was music to the ears.

    Four Seas did not reply immediately. He was deep in thoughts.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath and said, ¡°Trust is a premium ability that couldn¡¯t be owned by everyone. I was just trying to lean in and hope that I could...¡± she continued with a short pause, ¡°do it.¡±

    Four Seas expression changed, he could not describe how he felt. He was silent. He nced meaningfully at Ye Ci and said with a yful tone, ¡°Hey, Gongzi You, I¡¯ll entrust my life and Ideal¡¯s life to you since you¡¯re so skillful. Don¡¯t let us die.¡±

    It was Ye Ci¡¯s turn to be stunned. Looking at Four Seas, she could feel a pressure building up within her.

    It was heavy, but she felt at ease.

    This pressure is called... Trust.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Her lips formed into a rare smile.

    The silence and darkness was very unsettling.

    ¡°F*ck, we must be lost! Or was the game bugged? We¡¯ve been walking for 10 minutes and we haven¡¯t seen jack shit!¡± shouted Let Go Of That Girl who was walking side by side with Golden Man.

    ¡°Stay calm. You must remain calm.¡±

    Golden Man kept his calm. He walked forward slowly while slowly surveying his surroundings. He was as steady as an old monk.

    A chill crept down Ye Ci¡¯s spine all of a sudden. She held her breath and mouthed silently, ¡°It¡¯s here.¡±

    At the same time, Golden Man halted and spoke at the same time as Ye Ci, ¡°It¡¯s here.¡±

    Before they could finish their sentence, a blinding light shed into their vision.

    ¡°Ladies and gentleman, why are you trespassing my territory?¡± A crisp voice resounded in the area.

    Ye Ci squinted and saw a wooden door not far from them. A rat man stood close by and shouted, ¡°Let¡¯s wee our guests in the name of our great leader!¡±

    As the door slowly opened, Golden Man¡¯s ears twitched. He shouted, ¡°There are monsters behind the door! Be careful!¡±

    The group prepared themselves for battle. Nevertheless, the wolf pack that swarmed out of the doorway was an awe inspiring sight.

    When one side fought with unequal numbers, the speed of their movement and the ferocity of their attacks was most important.

    The only one that could deal damage to the wolf pack was the ranged ss. And among the five, the only one who was a ranged character with high agility was Ye Ci.

    ¡°Gonzi, you....¡±

    Ye Ci was already in position before Golden Man could finish his sentence. She jumped onto amp post and suspended herself in the air with her high bnce. She fired rapidly at the lead wolf.

    Ye Ci¡¯s extremely high bnce allowed her to jump betweenmp posts. The wolf packs aggro was handled by the two melee characters of Golden Man and Let Go Of That Girl. They easily picked off the wolves that were already gravely injured by Ye Ci.

    To the four of herpanions, Ye Ci was like a kite unaffected by gravity, raining death as she soared through the air.

 Chapter 15 Heishanâ€™s Lair

    Chapter 15 Heishan¡¯s Lair

    The five of them had never been in the same party before, but they fought as if they were familiar with each other.

    ¡°Tsk...¡± Let Go Of That Girl clicked his tongue and praised Ye Ci. ¡°No wonder you said that she¡¯s good. I¡¯ve never seen a Huntress with such bnce before. It¡¯s almost like she could handle this alone. If her attack damage was higher, I think she could¡¯ve finished SOLO.¡±

    ¡°Four Seas, what do you think?¡± Golden man ignored hispanion¡¯s praise and asked Four Seas, thetter of whom was doing his job and healing the party.

    Four Seas stretched himself and sighed, ¡°The pressure is real...¡±

    Let Go Of That Girl shouted, ¡°Hey! Hey! Hey! Do your job. I¡¯m risking my life here. Heal me, don¡¯t let me die!¡±

    ¡°Somebody else was working hard up there and you¡¯reining at a mere scratch?¡± Ideal Height 1.7m did not miss the chance to make fun of Let Go Of That Girl.

    Four Seas looked at Let Go Of That Girl, then at Ye Ci. He appeared to be deep in thought.

    ¡°You¡¯re not yourself today. You¡¯re actually doing a good job as a healer.¡± Golden Man could not believe that Four Seas was sticking to his job.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been a good healer.¡± Four Seas was proud of himself. ¡°Nobody is as good as I am.¡±

    Ye Ci could see everything clearly in the air. ¡°Get past that door, there¡¯s a bridge beyond it. We can make a stand there.¡± Ye Ci shouted.

    The group sped up and managed to clear away thest of the wolf pack, getting onto the bridge.

    The dungeon was easier after that. It was almost like they were steamrolling through the entire dungeon.

    The bridge was so narrow that Let Go Of That Girl alone could block the entire way just by standing in the middle, allowing only two wolves to attack them at the same time. With such excellent terrain, they could even defeat an entire army.

    Four Seas was the one who did the least among the five. He sat on the ledge, yawning while healing hisrades.

    Out of boredom, he looked at the damage output ranking.

    He was not surprised to see that Let Go Of That Girl, their usual main damage dealer, was no longer ranked first. Gongzi You was, without a doubt, the one who dealt the most damage. Her damage output was 35% of the total damage output. Four Seas could not help but steal a nce at Ye Ci.

    Few Hunters or Huntresses had managed to deal more damage than the tank. They tended not to attract aggression from the monsters.

    This Huntress... Her gorgeous movements and kiting were not the only thing she was good at.

    Ye Ci could feel that somebody was looking at her . As she turned around, she locked eyes with Four Seas. He did not avert his gaze. Instead, azy smile formed on his lips.

    Ye Ci did not suspect much, as she was never one to care about somebody else¡¯s thoughts. It would be too tiring for her.

    The group have also nearly cleared the bridge. The wolves on the other side of the bridge obviously thinned out.

    Only a few grey wolves lurked around, but they were visiblyrger than the wolves earlier on.

    Their attributes identified them as Elites.

    ¡°We¡¯re facing against Elites, put your backs into it.¡± Golden Man reminded the party.

    He received no reply. The others were already in action before he spoke. Even Four Seas that appeared bored a few moments earlier charged into the fray.

    ¡°What a bunch of animals...¡± Golden Man, who had been left behind, sighed before he charged out to join hispanions.

    There was basically nothing difficult about the dungeon. The only situation that ced everyone in danger was at the part before the bridge. They could easily get surrounded by the wolves, therefore teamwork was very important. After that, everything was very straightforward except for the asional Elite Wolf.

    They effortlessly reached a staircase. Ye Ci leaped onto a huge rock beside the staircase and surveyed the surrounding before jumping back down. ¡°Heishan is in there. His hit points are high, around 100,000. This we can handle. But for the three guardians in front of him, it seems like their movements are linked.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of two of them. You guys concentrate your attacks on the remaining one.¡± Let Go Of That Girl drank a Defense Potion and rushed onto the staircase with the three Guardian Wolves in hot pursuit.

    The group, or as Golden Man said, the group of animals, pounced on the wolves.

    Of the group, two of them were listed on the Rankings. One of them was a moving cannon, and the other a ferocious Huntress. With the aid of a basically useless Cleric, they took care of the three guardians in under 10 minutes.

    ¡°Go go go, hurry up, go for the loots!¡± Let Go Of That Girl rubbed his hands happily,ughing at the corpse of the three guardian Wolves.

    Ye Ci stood far away. She was afraid that her ¡°ck Hand Aura¡± would affect the loot.

    Golden Man thought that she was merely being shy and said, ¡°Gongzi, what are you doing, go pick up the loot.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled and said, ¡°Nevermind, I¡¯ll leave it to you guys.¡±

    ¡°Your damage output is the highest, you should do it.¡± Golden Man pushed Ye Ci towards one of the corpses.

    ¡°My hands are very unlucky.¡± Ye Ci was helpless.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the so-called ¡°ck Hand¡± means that you¡¯ll get things that we don¡¯t need. But with our current situation, I think you¡¯ll get lucky no matter what.¡±

    Ye Ci looked into the sky. She was speechless. Her ¡°ck Hand¡± was different. Her ¡°ck Hand¡± would ensure that there were no loots.

    The ¡°ck Hand¡± aura had always followed Ye Ci. It had always been by her side. Always.

    The corpse that Ye Ci looted contained nothing, while the other two yielded three Blue equipments.

    Let Of Go That Girl looked at Ye Ci and cried out in anguish after failing to obtain the weapon that he dreamt of, ¡°You sure as hell are unlucky.¡±

    Ye Ci shrugged and sighed, ¡°You made me do this...¡±

    Heishan was a paper tiger without his three guardians. Nevertheless, hested for almost an hour just because of his immense number of hit points.

    Let Go Of That Girl was the one that looted the corpse, and his luck was good.

    The corpse yielded 4 Blue equipment, as well as some potions and materials. There was also a key that was a Quest Item.

    The description was vague: You might be able to use it at the cer of the Red Monastery.

    The Red Monastery!

    It was a 50-man-party lvl 40 dungeon!

    Ye Ci remembered the time when she went to the Monastery with a group. There was a mysterious door in the cer, but they had never been able to open it. Looks like they had just found the key.

    Each of them received the Quest Item. They added each other as friends and promised to go to the Red Monastery toplete the quest when the time came.

    They divided the loot and each of them received at least two or three items, with the exception of Ye Ci who only received a gauntlet that doubled her strength. Golden Man felt sorry for Ye Ci, and he gave her all the potions and materials looted from Heishan.

    Ye Ci happily epted.

    ¡°This dungeon is so lit. It¡¯s easy but it gives a lot of experience points and good gear, although we don¡¯t know when it will reset.¡± Let Go Of That Girl was deeply satisfied from his experience bar, which was already half full at lvl 9.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go see if I can find some quest item.¡± Said Ye Ci who was the first one to have cleared up her items. She saw a pile of ropedder glistening with a light which hinted it could be picked up. It could be the Quest Item.

    Something fell out from beneath the pile of ropedders as Ye Ci lifted it up.

    Ye Xiu picked up the object and a system notification chimed in: ck Ring was bound to you.

    It was a very curious case. For an item in Fate to be bound, a yer was usually required to bind it through Soul Bind Mage.

    She took a look at the ring¡¯s stats. It was a Grey equipment, something with the lowest quality. It had 0 stats, as if it were merely for decoration.

    Walking out of the house, Ye Ci showed the ring to herpanions. They waved it off as a BUG, and since it was bound to Ye Ci, it belonged to her.

    Ye Ci felt guilty. She did not obtain that item fairly, even though it was a simple Grey equipment.

    She attempted to pay Golden Man with 10 gold coins aspensation.

    Her action, however, unsettled the group. They refused thepensation while Four Seas jokingly said, ¡°If you really mind about it that much, the next time you obtain some sort of God-tier weapon, give it to me.¡±

    Although it was a simple joke, Ye Ci found closure in her heart. The group left the dungeon and parted ways.

    Frodo epted the ropedder from Ye Ci, but he maintained a re at her without exnation. He sat on a rock and refused to speak with Ye Ci.

    It was alreadyte and if Ye Ci did not go for dinner soon, her parents would be worrying about her again. She logged off the game.

    Ye Ci made some food to satiate her hunger after climbing out of the gaming cabin. She immediately received a phone call from her parents checking in on her. After hanging up the call, her phone rang again before she could go into the shower.

    It was an unfamiliar number. After a moment of hesitation, Ye Ci connected the call.

    ¡°Hello? Who is this?¡±

    ¡°Little Ci, it¡¯s me.¡±

 Chapter 16 Thousand Sunsets

    Chapter 16 Thousand Sunsets

    The voice was familiar. It was so familiar yet Ye Ci could not be sure who it belonged to.

    ¡°What? We¡¯ve just talked in the game, and you¡¯ve forgotten about me already? It seems that I have to call you more often.¡± Said the person in a cheerful tone.

    ¡°Yi Cang?¡± asked Ye Ci with uncertainty after a brief hesitation.

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d forgotten me.¡± Yi Cangughed out loud. It was just like so many years ago. Nothing had changed.

    Ye Ci had a sense of vertigo.

    It was as if she had never experience the ten years of her past life, never had done anything to hurt her friends. They were still an adorable bunch.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have a meal together tomorrow.¡± Yi Cang stated his purpose after noticing that Ye Ci was silent.

    Ye Ci had a sudden realisation. She remembered something. Yi Cang had also given her a call in her past life. However, she rejected his invitation as she had been busy leveling up in the game.

    She would never repeat the same mistake in this life. ¡°Sure, where to?¡±

    ¡°Eh? You agreed!¡± It was Yi Cang¡¯s turn to be shocked.

    ¡°What? Is it strange that I¡¯ve epted your invitation?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just that you¡¯re a madman when ites to leveling up. I thought you¡¯d decline my invitation if I asked you out for a meal.¡± Yi Cang answered after scratching his head. He understood Ye Ci less than he had thought.

    Ye Ci felt bitter. Looks like she was quite despicable in herst life. But she immediately became happy. She had the chance to turn over a new leaf. ¡°There¡¯s no such thing. Tell me where and when and I¡¯ll be there in time.¡±

    Yi Cang immediately told her the venue and both of them hung up after a brief conversation.

    Early in the morning on the next day, Ye Ci went out after cleaning her room.

    The city was named as the ¡°City Most Suited For Human Life¡± due to its go green projects. Ye Ci could smell the fresh air right after leaving her room.

    Ye Ci took a deep breath and exhaled, as if she wanted to eliminate the years of umted sorrow.

    Ye Ci decided to walk to their gathering spot as it was still early. She was jovial for the entire entire journey to the point where she even broke into a small jog.

    Although she was slightly out of breath, it felt good to be alive.

    Ye Ci spotted Liu Chang right away after reaching the spot where they were supposed to meet up. She had been pacing back and forth in a pair of jeans in front of the restaurant. Liu Cang waved at Ye Ci and she ran towards her, gasping for air.

    ¡°What? You participated in a marathon or something?¡± Liu Changughed at Ye Ci and dragged her upstairs.

    Yi Cang and Dong Yin were already there.

    They were still the same. Yi Cang was busy with his handheldputer while Dong Yin was peering at the screen from his side. They would sometimes have a heated discussion about something. Both of them raised their head after Ye Ci entered the room and they waved at her, greeting her warmly. It was all the same, just like back then in their childhood.

    A waiter handed them the menu right after they were seated.

    After shirking the menu around, itnded with Ye Ci. She was stunned. Truth to be told, Ye Ci never knew the favourite dishes of her friends. She should have known them well since they grew up together. Ye Ci was overwhelmed with guilt. She knew very little about the people around her.

    Ye Ci awkwardness was noticed by Liu Chang. She took the menu from her with a smile and said, ¡°You got me so many equipment yesterday. As a reward, I shall offer you my service!¡± She ordered everyone¡¯s favourite dishes.

    Ye Ci sighed in relief. She stole a nce a Liu Chang, who happened to be looking at her. They smiled at each other knowingly.

    The food was quickly served, but there was an extra set of cutlery on the table. Ye Ci look at the set of cutlery and asked, ¡°Is there someone that was supposed to be here was well?¡±

    Yi Cang took a look at his watch. He did not seem to mind, ¡°He will be here soon. Don¡¯t mind him. Let¡¯s eat.¡±

    The voice of a man could be heard even before Yi Cang could finish his sentence, ¡°How unkind. You started without me, you brat!¡±

    Ye Ci and her friends raised their head. A well-built man walked into the room. His pace was quick but steady. His hair was cut nicely and short. Yi Cang stood up and weed the man, giving him a tight hug.

    Dong Yin and Liu Chang greeted the man with smiles of their own as well. Although they did not offer to hug him, they seemed to be familiar with the man.

    Ye Ci did not know the man. She merely stood up and greeted him.

    Yi Cang let go of the man after a short while and showed him to his seat excitedly. He said to Ye Ci, ¡°Little Ci, hurry, allow me to introduce to you my instructor when I was in the military academy. Now we¡¯re like brothers...¡±

    Without waiting for Yi Cang to finish his introduction, the man extended his arm to Ye Ci, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to Yi Cang. What instructor? I¡¯m just a normal citizen. The name¡¯s He Xiao. You must be Ye Ci right? I¡¯ve heard a lot about you. I¡¯ve tried to invite you several times earlier on, it¡¯s good to finally meet you!¡±

    Earlier on? Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but remember. For her, it was something as far as ten years ago. There was no way she could remember that. She shook He Xiao¡¯s hand. It was the hand of a soldier, firm and rough.

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too. I was quite busy back then, I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Ye Ci nodded with a smile.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be sorry! Since we have the chance to be acquainted, we¡¯re friends!¡± He Xiao was carefree. He did not care about the little details.

    The group continued eating after their brief introduction. The atmosphere was harmonious. Fate was soon brought up.

    ¡°Brother He, are you ying Fate as well? I¡¯ve tried asking you but you never gave me an answer. I will get a definite answer from you today.¡± Yi Cang smiled at He Xiao.

    ¡°This is exactly why I¡¯ve asked you guys out,¡± He Xiao looked at the group, ¡°I¡¯m ying Fate, and I¡¯ve decided to form a guild once I¡¯ve reached lvl 10.¡±

    ¡°Wow! You¡¯re forming a guild!¡¯ Dong Yin seemed to adore He Xiao. Her eyes lit up whenever he spoke.

    ¡°Most of the members would be my retiredrades.¡±

    ¡°Brother He, what¡¯s your in-game-name? I¡¯ll add you as a friendter!¡±

    ¡°Thousand Sunsets.¡±

    As the rest continued their conversation, Ye Ci was stupefied after hearing that name. She raised her head and stared at He Xiao. So this was Thousand Sunsets?

    Thousand Sunsets was not quite famous at the earlier stages of the game. His fame came from the guild that he created ¡ª Steel Blooded Battle Spear. From her knowledge of her past life, Thousand Sunsets was a man of honor. He was a former military man. The entire guild was structured like the military, and the main force of his guild was formed by the best of the best.

    Their guild was different from the other big guilds. It was formed after they¡¯d started ying Fate. Its growth, however, was astonishing. They became one of the nation¡¯s top 10 guilds in just three years. Thousand Sunset¡¯s hard work could not be overlooked.

    On a personal level, Thousand Sunsets was very good at making friends. He had his way of making friends with people of different background. There was once a saying in Fate, ¡°It¡¯s okay for you to not recognise the top 10 yers of Fate, but it¡¯s unforgivable if you do not know Thousand Sunsets.¡±

    This was the proof that Thousand Sunsets was very famous in Fate.

    Ye Ci had crossed path with Thousand Sunsets before, but it was not a good meeting.

    At that time, Fate officially opened the Guild War event. Steel Blooded Battle Spear was the defender. Blizzard Gate was the attacker.

    Thousand Sunsets sought help from Ye Ci through Yi Cang one week before the war, as she was the number one Human Sorceress. He paid her well to help defend their city. Ye Ci did not decline. Blizzard Gate reached out to Ye Ci and offered to pay three time more than Thousand Sunsets for her aid.

    Three dayster, the reinforcement that Thousand Sunsets was hoping for appeared in the midst of his enemy.

    Steel Blooded Battle Spear and Blizzard Gate were equally matched. He was trying to break the bnce by inviting Ye Ci over to his side. It did not end well for him.

    In the end, Steel Blooded Battle Spear was dealt a crippling blow. The defeat they suffered took a long time to recover. This affected their progress in clearing dungeons and many of their members left because of that. Eventually the guild was nothing but a ghost of its former self, soon fading away from everyone¡¯s memories.

    This was why Yi Cang and Dong Yin had cut off all ties with Ye Ci. It also destroyed Ye Ci¡¯s rtionship with Liu Chang.

    The past conflict was like a dream to Ye Ci. She had never thought that Yi Cang was contacting her for the sake of Thousand Sunsets.

    There were times when Ye Ci had thought that she had everything under control. She was wrong.

    ¡°Little Ci, Little Ci. Brother He is talking to you!¡± Dong Yin noticed that Ye Ci was unresponsive and nudged her from under the table. Ye Ci was pulled back into reality.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re joining Brother He¡¯s guild when it¡¯s formed. Let¡¯s go together!¡± Dong Yin was so excited her face turned a faint shade of red.

 Chapter 17 The Mysterious Ring

    Chapter 17 The Mysterious Ring

    Ye Ci did not agree to Dong Yin¡¯s words and instead nced at He Xiao was still smiling at her. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. To me, it¡¯s just friends ying a game together. We could take care of each other. It¡¯s ok if you have other ns, we can add each other as friends. It¡¯s the same anyways.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll join your guild.¡± Ye Ci gave her answer.

    Her decision to join Steel Blooded Battle Spear was not because of her guilt for her past life¡¯s betrayal. It was because of Yi Cang, Dong Yin, and Liu Chang. She did not have to do everything alone if she joined them.

    ¡°I told you she would agree!¡± Liu Chang hollered, hugging Ye Ci and smiling at Dong Yin.

    Ye Ciughed along and the five of them continued their meal with glee.

    He Xiao parted with the four after the meal. Ye Ci was nning to continue leveling up but Dong Yin proposed a trip to the nearby theme park. The four of them went to the theme park for an entire day before finally parting ways at 8 pm.

    Ye Ci did not log into the game that night. She slept after giving her parents a phone call.

    Ye Ci slept like the dead that night. Even her circadian rhythm failed to wake her up. It was already midday before she had finally woken up.

    After a light meal, Ye Ci tidied herself up and logged into the game.

    Ye Ci received a private message right after she went online. It was from Golden Man, asking her if she had left the newbie vige.

    Ye Ci was still in Wolf Canyon.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to explore the Abandoned Mine in Moonfall City. Are you free?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not possible at the moment. I¡¯m still at the spot where I went offline that day. I need quite some time to get to Moonfall City from here.¡± Ye Ci calcted the distance between her location and Moonfall City. She needed at least two hours to get to Moonfall City.

    ¡°Ok then, we¡¯ll go first. Remember to get in touch when you have the time.¡± Golden Man said in a regretful tone and cut off the voice connection.

    Ye Ci surveyed her surroundings. Frodo was still sitting at the same spot. She did not mind him and was preparing to leave. Frodo shrieked unexpectedly, ¡°Hey! Big one, you¡¯re walking away with my stuff!¡±

    Ye Ci was baffled. She turned around and saw a furious Frodo, ¡°What have I taken away from you? I gave thatdder back to you.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Frodo knew not to trust the wretched Elves. They never speak the truth!¡± Frodo was so angry that he jumped up and down, waving his fists at Ye Ci. ¡°My ring! My precious ring! It¡¯s with you!¡±

    Ring? Ye Ci produced the bound ck Ring from and asked, ¡°Do you happen to be talking about this?¡±

    ¡°Yes! This is it!¡¯ Frodo rushed towards Ye Ci in an attempt to grab the ck Ring. She hid the ring away and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you have some exnations to make? Like...what exactly is this ring?¡±

    Something that was important to a hidden NPC, and what¡¯s more, one that automatically bound itself to her... There must be something more to the Grey equipment than what it appeared to be. Ye Ci could feel that the ring was nothing ordinary, but she would need to figure out the way to discover its secrets from Frodo.

    Frodo red at Ye Ci, looking as if he could spew fire from his eyes. He breathed heavily and his face was so red that it looked like he would explode. ¡°Frodo will never tell you where that thing came from! Frodo will never tell you that the precious thing is rted to the Dark Lord Naga!¡±

    Ye Ci nearlyughed out loud. There was a Gnome NPC that had beenbeled as log-headed by the yers.

    Ye Ci held the ring up high. Frodo tried his best to grab the ring away from her, but his height denied him sess. Ye Ci grinned and patted Frodo¡¯s head, ¡°Yeap, you¡¯ll never tell me that the ring has anything to do with Dark Lord Naga...¡±

    Ye Ci kept the ring into her inventory and pretended that she was leaving the area. She did not expect it when Frodo jumped at her and shouted, ¡°Give it back to Frodo!¡±

    Frodo¡¯s name was green. It meant that the yers could not attack him. His tackle caught Ye Ci off bnce and she nearly fell. She managed to steady herself, trying to dislodge the log-head.

    Gnomes are known by their small size and high level of intelligence. Of course, their intelligence had nothing to do with them being log-heads. Although having a disadvantage in size, Frodo held on to Ye Ci with dear life. In the end, he could not escape the fate of being grabbed by the hem of his shirt.

    Ye Ci was gasping for air by then. Having low strength was such a pain in the neck. If only she was a warrior, she could¡¯ve sent Frodo flying.

    She lifted Frodo away from her by the hem of his shirt. Frodo furiously swung his fist at Ye Ci but he was just too small.

    ¡°I have something to ask you.¡±

    ¡°No! Frodo will not speak to this sly Elf!¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. The NPC did not understand the situation that he was in. She did not waste her breath on him. She shook Frodo up and down violently and the Gnome screamed in fear.

    Gnomes had very sharp voices. With Frodo¡¯s screaming, Ye Ci felt as if her eardrums were going to burst.

    ¡°Kind and beautiful Elf, what do you need from me?¡± Although Gnomes were log-headed, they were still afraid to die. His behavior showed a 180 degree change after Ye Ci stopped shaking him.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Ye Ci took out the ring and showed it to Frodo.

    Frodo had been seeing stars before, but his vision recovered immediately. He could only look helplessly at the ring and replied, ¡°It¡¯s something precious.¡±

    ¡°What is so precious about it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s something that can open Dark Lord Naga¡¯s vault...¡± Frodo rubbed his hands together, staring at the ring, his face red. ¡°Through the ring, one can acquire the power of Naga, the power of world domination.¡±

    ¡°How do I get it?¡±

    Frodo gasped as if he was roused from some sort of trance. He looked at Ye Ci with a surprised expression and covered his mouth. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you, I can¡¯t tell you.¡±

    Try as she might, Ye Ci could not force an answer out of Frodo aside, leaving him to mumble on ¡°I can¡¯t tell you¡± incessantly. There was no longer any clues from him. Ye Ci let go of her hands and Frodo fell onto the ground with a thump. Without looking back, Ye Ci jumped onto one of the branches and left Wolf Canyon through the dense forest.

    The power of Naga?

    Dark Lord Naga was one of the hidden quests of Fate. There were hints pointing towards him in the early stages of the game, but he only appeared after 9 years of Fate in a hundred-man lvl 100 Dungeon ¡ª Death¡¯s Abyss.

    Death¡¯s Abyss was the biggest Dungeon cluster in Fate. This cluster of Dungeons had a very high difficulty. Even before her rebirth, no guild in the world had ever cleared even the easiest introduction Dungeon to the Death¡¯s Abyss dungeons, the Gates of me.

    A ring that had something to do with Naga? A ring that gave its bearer the power of Naga? Ye Ci could still remember the time when yers attempted to clear the Gates of me. Naga was always hidden behind the dungeon¡¯s BOSSes. Nobody had everid eyes on him. His mere breath could annihte an entire squadron of yers.

    Naga¡¯s strength could no longer be described by the word ¡°insane.¡± It was absolutely overpowered.

    How could this ring contain the power of Naga? Despite her doubts, Ye Ci was very excited. However, the ring seemed normal no matter how she looked at it.

    A sh of light appeared from the ring after Ye Ci wore it on her finger. She took a closer look at the ring, and noticed that its stats changed.

    Mysterious Ring:

    Grey Equipment

    Strength +2

    Level Required: 0

    Bound to: Gongzi You

    Special Attributes: Growable

    The stats of the ring are growable! Ye Ci was stunned. Only God-Tier equipments in Fate possessed this attribute. How could a Grey Equipment possess such a quality?

    Could Frodo be telling the truth?

    Ye Ci did not put too much thought into it. Naga¡¯s appearance was still a long way away. She had no need to delve into the matter. The additional 2 points in Strength was satisfying enough for Ye Ci, who had been longing for an increase in her attack damage.

 Chapter 18 A New Pet!

    Chapter 18 A New Pet!

    Quite some yers reached lvl 10 after Ye Ci¡¯s one day of absence. However, there were still a lot of new yers appearing in the newbie vige.

    Ye Ci returned to the newbie vige and handed 100 Wolf¡¯s Eyeballs to Zol.

    ¡°Oh, young Huntress, I must say that you¡¯re fast. You¡¯ve brought me so much loot in such a short amount of time. You¡¯re a qualified hunter. You¡¯re certainly a Huntress worthy of inheriting this skill.¡± Zol handed the Hunter¡¯s Mark skill book to Ye Ci without too much nonsense.

    Ye Ci pped her hands together after receiving the skill book. The skill book turned into a bright white light and entered her body.

    ¡°You have learned Hunter¡¯s Mark.¡± the system notification chimed in immediately.

    It¡¯s done! Ye Ci grinned after hearing the notification. With that skill, she was a true Huntress.

    Talent could be essed after a character hit lvl 10, and Ye Ci could wait no longer. A Huntress¡¯s talent was divided into three different categories: Pet Talent, Shooting Talent, and Survival Talent.

    One does not simply get the salmon along with the bear¡¯s paw. The choice of Talent worked the same way.

    Talent points were limited. To create the strongest character with such limited Talent points had always been a topic of debate among Fate¡¯s forums. Most of the popr topics on the forums were about thebination between ss, race, and Talent distribution.

    Every one of them had their own point.

    Of course.... If one had unlimited Talent points, this was not a matter to be worried about.

    Ye Ci had 11 Talent points with her, 10 of which were from leveling up and one frompleting the vige chief¡¯s side quest.

    She studied the first row of Talents avable to her. She maxed out the 5 points of pet endurance, distributed 3 points to upgrade Hunter¡¯s Mark as well as 3 more points to the Survival Talent, and upgraded Falcon¡¯s Protection.

    Ye Ci¡¯sbination was mediocre.

    Most yers would agree that one should focus on only a single category of Talent, leaving aside the other two merely as support.

    Ye Ci, however, was more concerned about the Talent points earned from side quests. She greedily distributed points to all three categories.

    Ye Ci¡¯s Hunter¡¯s Mark and Falcon¡¯s Protection had significant changes despite the few Talent points distributed to each skill.

    Falcon¡¯s Protection had an increase of 30% attack damage. Hunter¡¯s Mark¡¯s increased range by 15m and its ranged damage was increased by 30%.

    The Talent points distribution was mediocre, but the changes they brought to Ye Ci¡¯s skills had a major impact.

    The only thing that Ye Cicked was a pet.

    Ye Ci headed straight to Icy Cave. In Hard difficulty of Icy Cave, there would be an Elite Spider following every rat man. The spider was Ye Ci¡¯s target.

    Monsters were visibly stronger in the Difficult version of Icy Cave. However, with her empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark and Falcon¡¯s Protection, it was not hard for Ye Ci.

    As Ye Ci approached Shator, she heard a low growl emanating from a bush not far from her. A powerful figure was walking between the shrubs.

    Haxie the Ripper!

    It was a Wandering Boss that had a one in a thousandth chance of appearing in Icy Cave. It was the best pet for a pre-lv30 Hunter or Huntress. Haxie was not part of Ye Ci¡¯s n. To run into something that had only one in a thousandth chance of appearing was simply too hard. There was once a Hunter who waited every single day for three months in Icy Cave for Haxie to appear. It did not.

    Ye Ci did not expect that she would run into Haxie in her first trip to Icy Cave on Difficult.

    She decided not to go after the Spider and approached Haxie with Stealth activated.

    Immediately after she had gotten within range, Ye Ci exited Stealth and attacked Haxie the Ripper ferociously. A Huntress¡¯s Capture Pet could be casted under any condition, but the chance of sess would be higher the lower the hit points of a target monster. She jumped left and right, kiting the jet-ck panther. She casted the Light of Enticement when Haxie¡¯s health was at 5%.

    Light of Enticement was a skill under the category of Pet Rearing used to capture pets. There were also Pet Summon, Disband Pet, Release Pet, and Pet Heal.

    Light of Enticement had a 12 seconds channeling time which could not be disrupted by any monsters unless the caster died.

    Haxie the Ripper was a Wandering Boss in the Difficult dungeon and its attack damage was high. Ye Ci drank an assortment of potion such as Defense Potion, Agility Potion, and Health Potion without stop during the 12 seconds channeling time of Light of Enticement. It was the longest 12 seconds of her life.

    Haxie¡¯sunched the fiercest and the most desperate of attacks under the effect of Light of Enticement. Ye Ci almost gave up due to the pain, but the potions she brought along allowed her to go on.

    A golden sh emanated from Haxie the Ripper after the 12 seconds. Haxie was sessfully entrapped.

    Ye Ci herself was not in a good condition. She had only 11% of her hit points left. Her clothing were torn in several ces and she could feel immense pain all over a body. She gulped down a bottle of health potion before checking Haxie¡¯s stats.

    Name: Panther

    Owner: Gongzi You

    Level: 1

    Hitpoints: 1630/1630

    Stamina: 1300/1300

    Skills: Scratch, Taunt, Speed Boost

    Attribute: Wise, Loyal

    Loyalty: 10

    It was truly high grade! The happiness which arose from looking at Haxie¡¯s stats could not be described by words. She had never seen pets with such attributes before even in herst life! Pets would normally possess quality such as Tame, Honest, Smart, Loyal, Sly, Bad Tempered, Deceptive and Picky. ¡°Wise¡± was the rarest quality of all.

    Although she had never really calcted the rate of pets having ¡°Wise¡± as their quality, Ye Ci hade across a lot of pets with different attributes. No more than ten of them possessed the quality ¡°Wise¡±, and all of them had only one quality.

    Wise pets possessed a higher level of intelligence and they would have a higher chance of learning skills on their own as opposed to their counterparts. Loyal meant that the loyalty of a pet could be easily obtained, and it would almost never abandon its owner no matter how bad a situation was.

    Hunters in Fate treated their pets almost like their own parents. No Hunter would waste their time or the space of their Pet Slot on a normal pet. Most of their pets were Elite monsters. The process of acquiring them was tedious, and if they ran away, the invested money and experience points would all be for naught.

    Ye Ci looked at Haxie who was beside her. It was not as fierce as before. It stared at Ye Ci with its big, ssy eye. When it learned that Ye Ci was looking back at it, it lowered its head shyly and licked its paw.

    You¡¯re acting cute! You must be acting cute!

    The system notification chimed in, ¡°Do you want to rename your pet?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Please name your pet.¡±

    ¡°Ol¡¯ Three.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you want to name your pet as ¡®Ol¡¯ Three¡¯? You can only name your pet once. Please name it carefully.¡±

    ¡°Confirm.¡±

    ¡°Naming sessful!¡±

    Although Ol¡¯ Three was loyal, this didn¡¯t guarantee that it wouldn¡¯t run away. Before a pet¡¯s loyalty reached 100, any one of them could run away. There was only one way to raise a pet¡¯s loyalty ¡ª feed it.

    Let¡¯s be honest, pets were always vigorous eaters....

    Ye Ci handed her biscuits to Ol¡¯ Three. It sniffed at the food and turned its head to the side with an expression that clearly said: this is not what I want.

    ¡°Your pet does not like this kind of food.¡± The system notification chimed in again just as Ye Ci was about to figure out Ol¡¯ Three favourite food.

    Favourite food: Meat, poultry or fish (Of course, it would be better if it was cooked!)

    She finally understood something. The reason behind why Hunters were usually the top 10 cooks in Fate, it was all for their pets!

    There was nothing she could do. Ye Ci munched on the biscuit ignored by Ol¡¯ Three and handed to it a few pieces of meat.

    Ol¡¯ Three did not hold back. It gulped down five pieces of roasted meat before letting out a satisfied burp.

    Ye Ci took a look at its Loyalty. It increased exponentially, haven risen to 15 points already. There was still a long way for Ol Three¡¯s Loyalty to reach 100. With a pet of her own, Ye Ci could attack the 3 Bosses of Icy Cave without fear.

    As a Boss grade pet, Ol¡¯ Three performed well. It fought ferociously. Against the onught of 3 Bosses simultaneously, however, even an angel could not hold the line. Within moments, Ol¡¯ Three lost its life and Ye Ci fled from the dungeon.

    Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Three right after exiting the dungeon. It was feeling sad and its loyalty dropped by 3.

    ¡°It¡¯s like trying to serve a prince! It can¡¯t starve and it can¡¯t die!¡± Ye Ci grumbled at the rough fate of Hunters in the not so distant future while feeding pieces of roasted meat to Ol¡¯ Three.

    As Ol¡¯d Three was happily chomping down on its meal, Ye Ci could hear.....

 Chapter 19 Icy Cave Hard Difficulty!

    Chapter 19 Icy Cave Hard Difficulty!

    As Ol¡¯ Three was happily devouring his meal, Ye Ci could hear the chime of a private message. ¡°Little Ci, Little Ci, are you there?¡±

    It was Leftie (Yi Cang), ¡°Yes? Anything going on, Yi Cang?¡±

    ¡°Brother He created his guild just now. We¡¯ve all joined it. Let¡¯s join in too!¡±

    Steel Blooded Battle Spear was formed? It did not even take two days. Ye Ci was stunned. ¡°Ok, get somebody to add me.¡± Ye Ci replied after Yi Cang bbered impatiently.

    ¡°Sure, wait a moment!¡±

    Ye Ci continued feeding roasted meat to Ol¡¯ Three after Yi Cang¡¯s voice faded away. She nned to learn Cooking in the city. She could no longer satisfy Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s appetite.

    ¡°Peacock Blue invited you to join ¡®Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Confirm.¡±

    ¡°System will teleport you to the guild encampment once for free. Do you want to be teleported?¡±

    Ye Ci thought about it for a moment. The guild encampment lead straight into the city. If she teleported at this moment, it would save her the time of travelling. Since she had caught a pet and could not clear Icy Cave on Hard Mode, why not go to the guild encampment and then select a major city to bind her City Recalling Crystal to?

    Ye Ci selected the option ¡°Yes¡± and she was transported along with Ol¡¯ Three to the encampment.

    Steel Blooded Battle Spear was obviously still recruiting. The encampment was chaotic with people walking all over the ce. The encampment was stillcking a lot of necessary facilities, and the guild chat was bustling with activities as well.

    Ye Ci walked towards the NPC guard in the guild encampment after muting her guild chat. Steel Blooded Battle Spear was still a level 1 guild. The encampment NPC could provide guild members with a buff that would increase their hitpoints for 10% for 3 hours. The NPC could also transport guild members to different main cities.

    After receiving her buff, Ye Ci confirmed the location of Steel Blooded Battle Spear members in each of the main cities. After makingparisons, Ye Ci chose the Red Lake City, which was not bound by any Steel Blooded Battle Spear members to the City Recalling Crystal. She paid 1 silver coin and was transported to the city.

    Red Lake City was very developed. The huge redke in the middle of the city was its namesake. This was a rather scenic city. Doing business in the city could be a chore for someone who could not afford a boat ride. One must swim across theke or traverse half the city to get to their destination.

    Ye Ci located and reported to the Mayor in the city hall. After skipping his dialogue, Ye Ci was directed to an administrative officer by the mayor. Ye Ci bound her City Recalling Crystal with the help of the officer and received a repeatable quest: Clear away the rubbish around Red Lake City.

    Simr quests were offered in every major city. But these quests were generally avoided by yers at the start of the game as they had low experience, gold, and prestige reward.

    Ye Ci knew, however, that carrying on such quest would raise her prestige in the city and allow her to receive a special reward from the mayor. Regrettably, Ye Ci had yet to receive any special rewards from a city as she had always been switching her bound city to avoid assassination attempts by her rivals.

    The special reward was obtained by doing the repeatable quests. If the quest was interrupted, the yer had to start the quest all over again.

    As Ye Ci was carrying a broomstick around cleaning the city, Liu Chang was looking for her in the guild encampment. Leftie and Gleaming Sunshine were finally lvl 8 while Liu Chang was lvl 8. She was nning to look for a healer, whereupon the five of them would attempt to clear Icy Cave on Hard difficulty.

    Ye Ci could not be found in the guild encampment. She could not even be contacted through private messages. Liu Chang was so anxious that she nagged at Leftie and Gleaming Sunshine. ¡°Yi Cang, Dong Yin, are you sure you guys have invited Ye Ci into the guild? I can¡¯t find her!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure! I¡¯m very absolutely sure! Wasn¡¯t she invited in already? I¡¯ve personally asked for Sister Blue¡¯s help for that. I¡¯ve even confirmed it with her!¡±

    ¡°Then where is she!?¡±

    Leftie and Gleaming Sunshine shook their heads collectively, obviously stating that they had nothing to do with Ye Ci¡¯s disappearance.

    Liu Chang red at the duo. Before she could say a word, Peacock Blue¡¯s voice rang in the guild channel. ¡°To those who have not gone to any dungeons yet, report to Drunken Dream at Administration. You¡¯ll each be assigned to a party and sent into the dungeon an hourter.¡±

    Leftie and Gleaming Sunshine were excited. ¡°Liu Chang. Since you can¡¯t find Ye Ci, let¡¯s head into the dungeon and get ourselves some good equipment!¡±

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t Little Ci given you guys a set of equipment each?¡±

    ¡°We must go into the dungeon ourselves at least once!¡± Dong Yin grabbed hold of Liu Chang and dragged her to register with Drunken Dream.

    After spending 2 hours cleaning Red Lake City, Ye Ci greeted the NPC¡¯s and learned Gathering, Skinning, Potion Brewing, and Cooking. She returned to the city hall and handed in the quest to the officer.

    Ye Ci then went back to the guild encampment, then to the newbie vige.

    She once again arrived at Natasha¡¯s to replenish her arrows and headed to Icy Cave.

    ¡°Icy Cave Normal Difficulty. We need two more, need one tank and a healer!

    ¡°Orcish Rogue going to Icy Cave normal difficulty, looking for a party!¡±

    ¡°Lvl 10 Gnome Druid, I can tank and heal. Add me into your party!¡±

    ......

    When the yers had begun to level up, hordes of lvl 5 yers gathered in front of Icy Cave. Some of them looked for a party while others were a party looking for members.

    Most of them were going for normal difficulty. There was no one going for Hard difficulty of Icy Cave. Ye Ci decided to write a message searching for a party.

    It was then that she realized her chat channels were automatically muted by the system when she had entered Red Lake City. She unmuted her Private Message and Map channel, after which she immediately received a message from Liu Chang. ¡°Goddammit! Where have you been Little Ci!?¡±

    ¡°I went to Red Lake City to bind my City Recalling Crystal. All my chat channels were reset and muted.¡±

    Liu Chang did not trouble her further but still grumbled under her breath, ¡°I have been looking for you!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Icy Cave, Hard difficulty of course. I¡¯ve been looking for you everywhere and I could not contact you. I was dragged by Dong Yin and Yi Cang to perform hardbor instead.¡±

    ¡°What hardbor?¡±

    ¡°The guild admin separated us into different parties to head into the dungeon. It was not that bad, except for the fact that it was quiet once we entered the dungeon and the equipment was not divided fairly. The party leader took what he needed and gave one of the best equipment to the guild. Only then did we get to divide the rest amongst ourselves!¡±

    Liu Cang was agitated. ¡°I don¡¯t really care about the equipment, but after all our hard work, we only got like one or two each. The party leader got at least three!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how it works. Guilds would usually try their best to raise the GS (equipment rating) of their core yers so that they could clear dungeons. It¡¯s normal for you guys to receive less in the earlier stages.¡± Ye Ci was not surprised as this was how the major guilds usually operated.

    ¡°You mean that we¡¯re all substitutes!¡± Liu Chang was even more depressed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯ll get your chance once you have enough GS. Your current equipment is possibly even better than your party leader¡¯s. You¡¯re not a substitute.¡± Ye Ciforted Liu Chang with augh.

    ¡°Sigh, talk to youter. We¡¯re fighting a BOSS.¡± Liu Chang didn¡¯t appear to be in a good mood, but she was no longer agitated after her conversation with Ye Ci. She closed the private message channel just as the party leader directed them to fight against Shator.

    ¡°Any brave ones headed for Icy Cave hard difficulty!? Looking for DP (note: a ng for damage dealers). We need three more members!¡±

    Someone announced this right after Ye Ci turned off her private message. She immediately looked for the source of the voice and sent a request to join the party.

    Her request was immediately epted.

    A Dwarven Warrior and a Human Cleric was in the party. The warrior¡¯s name was Little Icy Cold Hands and the Cleric¡¯s name was Icy Cold Little Hands. It was obvious that they were friends. They shouted in amazement as the saw Ye Ci, ¡°Wow there¡¯s actually someone who¡¯s not afraid to die!¡±

    Ye Ci was ridiculed by the duo. ¡°Will the fear of death prevent you from dying?¡±

    ¡°Make sense!¡±

    The now trio gathered in front of Icy Cave and Little Icy Cold Hands called out for party members again. Little Grouper Fish and Just A de joined the party. They were a Mage and Barbarian respectively, the former lvl 8 and thetter lvl 9. They were still under newbie protection. No wonder they were not afraid to die.

    With the exception of Little Icy Cold Hands, the rest of the party was either Orc, Human, or Elf. All of them were tall. Little Icy Cold Hands could only look up to them as he spoke, ¡°I¡¯d like to think that nobody has been to the Hard difficulty of Icy Cave yet. Don¡¯t be afraid to die when you enter the dungeon!¡±

 Chapter 20 First Blood on Icy Cave Hard Difficulty!

    Chapter 20 First Blood on Icy Cave Hard Difficulty!

    The group entered the dungeon with high morale after renouncing their fear of death.

    There was an inte saying. ¡°One did not need to be afraid of godlike opponents, but one should always beware of piglike teammates.¡±

    This was the first time they worked together as a team, and Ye Ci did not expect much teamwork from them. However, Ye Ci was on the verge of copsing after an encounter with two monsters.

    Of her four teammates, only Little Grouper Fish had some gaming basics. He was merely throwing fireballs while standing still, however, without much consideration to his positioning.

    Just A de yed like a tank, facing off against monsters head, and while Icy Cold Little Hands did not heal as a Cleric, she was busy throwing lightning balls alongside Little Grouper Fish instead. Little Icy Cold Hands was doing bad as well. He could not build up an aggro of the monsters they encounter and protect his team mates properly.

    If it was not for Ye Ci who took out the two monsters single-handedly, the entire party would be annihted.

    ¡°We can¡¯t make it, our equipments are inferior. If we carry on, we¡¯ll really die.¡± sighed Little Icy Cold Hands, almost giving up.

    ¡°It¡¯s just two monsters. Can you not be such a defeatist?¡± Icy Cold Little Hands red at him, lowering his head as he continued to munch on his biscuit.

    Little Grouper Fish looked at the rest of them and spoke slowly, ¡°Who will be inmand?¡±

    Just A de immediately shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll just follow any orders to the letter.¡±

    Little Icy Cold Hands wanted to raise his hand and volunteered, but decided against it in the end.

    ¡°If you trust me, how bout letting me have a try?¡± said Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci¡¯s damage output was clearly listed out. Although it was merely two monsters at the entrance, she was the only one in the party who seemed not to have made any mistakes. The others looked amongst themselves before nodded in agreement.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been in this dungeon in Normal difficulty quite some times, and I¡¯ve explored the Hard difficulty of the dungeon before. There shouldn¡¯t be a problem as long as you guys listen to me.¡± said Ye Ci after noticing distrustful expressions from the others.

    They did not object.

    Ye Ci began stating out the mistakes her teammates had made after having observed them earlier on. ¡°LIttle Icy Cold Hands, you¡¯re a warrior, the MT (main tank, the most essential character in a dungeon), you must defend against the mob. Use Taunt to draw their attention. Don¡¯t hesitate to use down whenever the CD (cooldown timer) is up. You must remember this. Don¡¯t let Just A de take all the damage, he¡¯s a melee damage dealer. He¡¯s the 2T (a substitute for the MT in case the MT died).¡±

    ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± Little Icy Cold Hands replied with confidence.

    ¡°Just A de, simply time your attacks with Little Icy Cold Hands and be careful not to OT (have a damage output higher than the tank, causing aggro to switch).¡±

    Just A de nodded with a serious expression.

    ¡°Icy Cold Little Hands, you¡¯re a healer, not a DP (damage dealer). Your main job is to heal the tank while paying attention to the health of Just A de and the others.¡±

    Icy Cold Little Hands creased her eyebrows, appearing to be worried. ¡°But I can deal more damage...¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need that much damage in this dungeon. What we need is a healer.¡± Ye Ci guided Icy Cold Little Hands patiently.

    Icy Cold Little Hands was about to voice out her objection again, but she nodded instead after noticing the attention from the rest of the party, ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll heal.¡±

    Ye Ci shifted her sight towards Little Grouper Fish, ¡°Little Grouper, Have you learned Mobile Casting?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t have enough money.¡± The question seemed to have hit a spot as he trembled slightly.

    Ye Ci kept quite. She understood the pain. Mages could learn a passive ability called Mobile Casting at lv8, It was the only passive ability made avable to learn from instructors.

    Despite that, almost 80% of the mages would never learn this ability at lv8. There was only one reason: It was too darn expensive!

    Ye Ci could clearly remember that day when she tried to learn Mobile Casting in her past life. She almost had a seizure after learning of the price.

    20 gold coins!!!

    It was an impossible amount of wealth to be umted by a newbie!

    After assigning roles to her party members, the group continued with their journey in the dungeon.

    Despite being on Hard difficulty, Icy Cave was still a tiny prep-dungeon. It was not that hard. Although three of them were newbies, they followed Ye Ci¡¯s words to the letter and performed their assigned tasks well.

    With someone tanking the mob, Ye Ci could not be bothered with moving all around the ce and stood beside Little Grouper Fish at the rear of the team.

    Ol¡¯ Three was perhaps the most rxed in the entire party. The only thing it did was to wag its tail behind Ye Ci while acting cute and wandering away once in awhile. It even asked Ye Ci for meat from time to time.

    Ye Ci did not forget about Ol¡¯ Three. She was merely trying to raise its Loyalty so that it could be used against the Bosster on.

    The experience points rewarded in Hard difficulty was way higher than the normal difficulty. Ol¡¯ Three was already lv5 and they had barelypleted less than half of the dungeon. Its loyalty had increased from 12 to 23.

    The party soon reached the Boss Shator in no time.

    The entire dungeon was no different from the Normal difficulty, aside from the Boss¡¯s joint movement and an additional Elite spider.

    This dungeon was a trial to the yers¡¯ damage output capabilities. A slight screwup could easy annihte the entire party.

    Ol¡¯ Three died thest time exactly because the spider spewed venom nonstop.

    ¡°Let me make some arrangements before we go in. Little Icy Cold Hands, you must distract the Rat man and the Spider away from our DP and make sure that Boss have their backs towards our DP. Icy Cold Little Hands, your job is to heal Little Icy Cold Hands. Don¡¯t let him die. de, you attack the rat man from the back. Don¡¯t stand anywhere near Little Icy Cold Hands. That¡¯ll relieve some pressure from the healer. You guys need to concentrate your attacks on the spider and take it out first.¡±

    The four nodded and asked almost in unison, ¡°How about you?¡±

    Ye Ci smiled and pointed at the Kobold and Shator, ¡°I¡¯ll keep them upied. Take out the Kobold once you¡¯re done here, and then the Boss. Is my exnation clear?¡±

    They silently grumbled despite understanding Ye Ci¡¯s words. For a Huntress to go up against two Bosses, it was insane!

    Attack.

    As per their previous arrangement, Little Icy Cold Hands and Ye Ci rushed at the 3 Bosses at the same time. Little Icy Cold Hands casted Taunt at the Ratman and its spider, securing their aggro on himself. Then, he shifted his position so that the Bosses had their backs to Little Grouper Fish, Just A de and Icy Cold Little Hands.

    Ye Ci released Ol¡¯ Three which pounced on the Kobold. Ol¡¯ Three casted Taunt on the Kobold, cing the Kobold¡¯s aggro on itself. Ye Ci casted a Hunter¡¯s Mark on Shator and fired a ¡°Snake Venom Needle¡± at it.

    A critical hit! -210!

    With her first arrow being a critical hit, Shator¡¯s aggro on Ye Ci was instantly raised to 200%. It charged at Ye Ci and breathed at her.

    It was one of Shator¡¯s skills in the Hard difficulty, ¡°Frosty Mist¡±. yers hit by the skill would be affected by a ¡°Frozen¡± debuff (negative status), slowing down their movement speed by 50% for 10 seconds.

    Being frozen was like a death sentence to an average yer. Once they were frozen, it usually meant that the party would be annihted.

    Frosty Mist had a channeling time of 1.5 seconds. The moment Shator began the channeling, Ye Ci leapt onto the air with the nearby cave wall as her springing board. She narrowly dodged the Frosty Mist. Ye Ci spun around in midair, firing another Snake Venom Needle at Shator.

    It¡¯s another critical hit! -221!

    Her movements were smooth and clean.

    Icy Cold Little Hands and Little Grouper Fish happened to be facing Ye Ci at that time. They were stunned by Ye Ci¡¯s ferocity as she kited the helpless Shator, so much so that they had even forgot to do their own task.

    Ye Ci observed the rest of the party while she was kiting Shator. She realized that Icy Cold Little Hands and Little Grouper Fish were dumbfoundedly staring at her. After noticing that Little Icy Cold Hand¡¯s health was dropping rapidly, Ye Ci shouted, ¡°Icy Cold Little Hands! The MT¡¯s health!! Little Grouper Fish, don¡¯t stop attacking!¡±

    The two snapped out of their trance and the former resume healing and thetter began his attack.

    Little Icy Cold Hands was horrified as his hit points which had nearly hit the rock bottom. Because of her mistake, Icy Cold Little Hands could never raise his hit points beyond 40% no matter how hard she tried.

    With the situation once again stable, Ye Ci continued kiting Shator while healing Ol¡¯ Three once in awhile.

    The Ratman and its Elite spider finally fell after a short while.

    The four immediately copse upon the Kobold and made short work of it.

    They then converged on Shator. By that time, it had only 30% of its hit points left. Shator was dead within 10 minutes.

    The system notification chimed in the moment Shator¡¯s corpse hit the ground: Your party was the first toplete Icy Cave Hard difficulty. Do you want the name of the party members to be shown?

    The first! The first to clear the dungeon!

    Little Icy Cold Hands rubbed his hands excitedly. He looked at Ye Ci, seeking her advice. The battle earlier on had upgraded her status from a ¡°good¡± Huntress to a real ¡°pro¡± in Little Icy Cold Hands¡¯ heart!

 Chapter 21 First Blood on Icy Cave Hard Mode! (2)

    Chapter 21 First Blood on Icy Cave Hard Mode! (2)

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it up to you.¡± Ye Ci said after pondering for awhile. Although she wanted to hide her name, it woulde off as suspicious if the rest didn¡¯t hide their names and she was the only one doing it. They might even associate that First Kill incident of the Normal Mode Icy Cave to her. If that was the case, she¡¯d get involved in unnecessary troubles.

    Since Ye Ci decided to leave it up to Little Icy Cold Hands, he immediately decided to make it public.

    ¡°Please name your party.¡±

    Little Icy Cold Hands was getting excited. Without thinking, he immediately typed ¡°Freaking Awesome People.¡±

    The System Channel was immediately flooded by system messages.

    ¡°Congrattions, ¡®Freaking Awesome People¡¯, a party of 5 members for being the first to clear the Icy Cave on Hard mode. Let us remember their names!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions yer Little Icy Cold Hands¡¯ for getting the First Blood in Icy Cave on Hard mode. Rewards: 30 gold coins, system prestige points: 10,000, 1 Talent point.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions yer ¡®Icy Cold Little Hands¡¯ for getting the First Blood in Icy Cave on Hard mode. Rewards: 30 gold coins, system prestige points: 10,000, 1 Talent point.¡±

    Congrattions yer ¡®Gongzi You¡¯ for getting the First Blood in Icy Cave on Hard mode. Rewards: 30 gold coins, system prestige points: 10,000, 1 Talent point.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions yer ¡®Little Grouper Fish¡¯ for getting the First Blood in Icy Cave on Hard mode. Rewards: 30 gold coins, system prestige points: 10,000, 1 Talent point.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions yer ¡®Just A de¡¯ for getting the First Blood in Icy Cave on Hard mode. Rewards: 30 gold coins, system prestige points: 10,000, 1 Talent point.¡±

    The four of them squealed in excitement. Right now, it was as if nothing else could beat the excitement of First Blood. Even if they were all strangers to each other before entering the dungeon, they were pretty muchrades who had been through thick and thin now.

    Just A de even pulled out the ranking list and quickly found his way to the Icy Cave page on Hard level. Sure enough, five of their names were recorded on the First Blood record. He smiled dly. ¡°I would have never thought that my name would be up there in my whole life. This is too amazing!¡±

    While the few of them were celebrating in the dungeon, all the major guilds were turned upside down.

    The Spring Rain Guild.

    ¡°Just what kind of party is the Freaking Awesome People? Who are they? How did they manage to clear the Icy Cave on Hard mode! Quickly get to the bottom of this!¡±

    The nk Space Guild.

    ¡°Find out which guilds these people belong to. If they don¡¯t belong to any, then get all of them onboard.¡±

    ¡°Are you guys pigs? How could you let the First Kill slip away like this? Go investigate this!¡±

    Iron-Blooded Battle Spear.

    Thousand Sunsets, who was clearing monsters in the Icy Cave on Hard mode with a few other core members, was stunned when he heard this Global System Announcement too.

    Peacock Blue who was healing beside him was surprised too. She knitted her brows. ¡°What Freaking Awesome People? I have never even heard of them. Where did theye from and how did they get the First Blood?¡±

    Thousand Sunsets paused for a moment before he resumed ying monsters. Seeing that he didn¡¯t utter a single word, the few of them could only resume the task on their hands.

    He only turned his head around after the final monster had been in. ¡°Go check which guild these few people are from.¡±

    Peacock Blue immediately went to look for someone to ry this order. It wasn¡¯t even one minute before she turned around and informed Thousand Sunsets, ¡°Boss, that Gongzi You seems to be from our guild.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Thousand Sunsets was startled. ¡°From our guild? Why have I never heard of this name?!¡±

    ¡°I recall that Leftie had approached me personally this morning, asking me to ept this person. No wonder why this name sounded so familiar. I went to run a check and turns out that she is indeed from our guild.¡±

    ¡°If she is from our guild, then why didn¡¯t she follow us to the dungeon?! Why did she go wandering off alone and even got the First Blood out there!¡±

    Thousand Sunsets frowned. First Bloods y an important role in contributing towards a guild¡¯s ranking. His own guild member didn¡¯t help his guild in clearing a dungeon, and instead went out there to get a Difficult First Blood. This soured his mood.

    Peacock Blue, on the other, hand was at loss. Although she was part of their guild and their guild had parties for dungeon, not everyone would participate in guild activities. This was quitemon, yet when she didn¡¯t know how to answer Thousand Sunsets¡¯ questions.

    All she could do was to silently stand at one side.

    Thousand Sunsets sighed again and looked at Peacock Blue and the other three. ¡°Guild Member Benefits system must be done by today. Let me have a review after that.¡±

    ¡°Roger.¡±

    ¡°Go online and search for the video of this First Blood. If it doesn¡¯t exist, go find Gongzi You herself and ask her who the leader was. Find a way to recruit that person into our guild.¡± Thousand Sunsets stopped fighting. This global system message had killed his mood for dungeon grinding. He just wanted to return to the guild base quickly and get the benefit system.

    Freaking Awesome People...

    Ye Ci looked at the party name speechlessly. Nevertheless, this kind of party name was a one-time thing, as long as they don¡¯t go to the party management NPC to spend their money. However, the idea of seeing this kind of party name on top of her own name forever recorded on Fate¡¯s ranking list still made her feel a little conflicted.

    That was a very questionable naming taste.

    ¡°Gongzi, Gongzi! Come loot the BOSS!¡± Ever since they cleared this dungeon, these four people had beenpletely worshipping Ye Ci. They were all anxiously staring at her with their endlessly sparkly eyes, hoping thatdy luck was still with her and she could bring them some luxurious battle spoils.

    Although they had ced the faith in her, Ye Ci didn¡¯t have that kind of confidence on herself.

    She shook her head. ¡°No need, I¡¯m unlucky. There are four bodies on the ground, each of you take one.¡±

    No matter how hard the four of them had coerced her, Ye Ci firmly refused to loot the bodies. In the end, the four of them could only go forward and loot each of them.

    The loot they got was quite decent. The four bodies produced a total of twelve blue weapons and two skill books ¨C the Beginner Level Arrow Crafting Skill and zing Contract.

    Ye Ci on the other hand was most excited about finally being able to see the special items of the Icy Cave, and it was not just one of them.

    Icy Great Axe x1

    Icy Longsword x1

    Icy Shortbow x1

    Icy Staff x1

    .........

    Among the twelve blue graded weapons, four of them were weapons of the Icy series. Except for Little Icy Cold Hands, everyone got one for themselves. But he wasn¡¯t sad, because among these twelve blue graded weapons, two of them were Cleric¡¯s equipment.

    Although the four of them were looking at these items with sparkly eyes, they still decided to give Ye Ci the rights to decide on the battle spoils distribution.

    ¡°I only want the shortbow and the two skill books. You guys can have the rest. Sounds fair?¡± Ye Ci rejected the distribution right from Little Icy Cold Hands with a smile and asked the rest of them instead.

    To be able to get her hands on an Icy Shortbow in this dungeon was already a great reward to Ye Ci. The beginner level Arrow Crafting Skill was also something she had been yearning for, and it was extremely lucky that she could get it this time.

    The zing Contract was one of the twelve summoner¡¯s skill books. It allowed summoners to summon a high level Fire Spirit and was one of the skills that a summoner must learn. Although they didn¡¯t really have a low drop rate, they could only be found in dungeons on Difficult mode. None of the summoners possessed it yet so she wanted to give this to Liu Chang.

    The four of them felt shy when they heard that Ye Ci only wanted only these few items. After all, they had only managed to clear this dungeon thanks to Ye Ci¡¯s lead. She had even handled two BOSSes by herself. If it wasn¡¯t for her, they would still probably be a lying corpse right now.

    As it is, she had only wanted items that were useful for her job ss.

    However, she said, ¡°Equipment aren¡¯t really categorised at early stage, so aside from some specific weapons, job sses of the same series can basically share the same weapons. Don¡¯t waste the equipment. Share them among yourselves. I am content enough to have these three items. The other items are useless to me anyway.¡±

    Since Ye Ci had already put it this way, the four of them stopped declining and happily distributed the goods among themselves.

    ¡°Oh damn. I have forgotten to record a video of it just now! What a mistake!¡± Little Grouper Fish who was about to get her Icy Staff weapon suddenly cried out in regret when she remembered about the event from just now. The rest felt extremely regretful too. They wanted so badly to ask Ye Ci to rey her nimble controls.

    Ye Ci breathed a sigh of relief too. It was lucky that they didn¡¯t record it. If they had uploaded this on the, it would cause an uproar. She had also ordered everyone not to disclose the fact that she was inmand today. Although the four of them were a little curious, they agreed without further questions.

    Actually, Ye Ci didn¡¯t know how long these people could keep this secret. It¡¯d be good if they could keep it as long as possible. She didn¡¯t have any time on her hands to deal with those unnecessary things that would happen after this incident was exposed.

    After adding each other on their friend lists, they bid their farewells. Ye Ci walked behind the other party members. She waited until the four of them had exited the dungeon before turning back for Shator¡¯s dead body. Using a little knife, she cut off its head and stashed it into her bag before finally exiting the dungeon.

    It wasn¡¯t that she had forgotten about it just now. If she had cut off Shator¡¯s head during that time, she wouldn¡¯t know how to exin to the other four about her quest. She could not possibly tell them that she knew how to unlock this particr side quest because she was reborn and had yed Fate for 10 years.

    Never mind. It was best that no one knew about this.

    As soon as Ye Ci exited the dungeon, she took out the Icy Shortbow and scanned through the attributes.

    Icy Shortbow:

    Blue weapon

    Attack Speed: 1.5

    Attack 20 ¨C 35

    Strength +14

    Agility +20

    Specialty: Attack uracy Rate +10%

    Specialty: 20% chance of ice damage, reduces target moving speed by 50%, effectsts for 8 seconds.

    Required level: 10

    ss: Hunter, Ranger

    After equipping the Icy Shortbow, Ye Ci immediately searched for a few monsters that were about level 10 in the Elven Forest to test the weapon on.

    -154.

    -161.

    Critical attack ¨C 297!

    This amount of damage exceeded the original weapon by one third! If she was using a higher level arrow, her damage would be brought to another level!

    She immediately learned the Beginner Level Arrow Crafting Skill...

 Chapter 22 Clear Moon

    Chapter 22 Clear Moon

    Beginner Arrow Crafting only enabled the user to craft wooden arrows. It required a lot of feathers, which were rathermon in the newbie vige. Newbies would usually sell the Cuckoo Bird Feathers they had gotten from loots to NPC¡¯s for some pocket money. Ye Ci sat at the entrance of the vige and shouted out, ¡°Buying Cuckoo Bird Feathers, 1 silver perplete set. Buying from whoever that has them!¡±

    Aplete set of Cuckoo Bird Feathers could only be sold to NPC¡¯s at 20 copper coins each. Hearing that someone was purchasing them at bulk with 1 silver coin per set, the newbies in the vige almost broke out into a riot.

    In less than an hour, she had more than enough feathers for her arrows and quickly left the area.

    She stored all the feathers into the warehouse before walking up to the vige chief. She handed Shator¡¯s Head to the sly old man with an honest appearance.

    ¡°Ah, look who¡¯s back! It¡¯s our brave little Elven warrior!¡± Perhaps Ye Ci have been to Icy Cave too often, because her prestige in the Elven newbie vige had already reached Respected. All the NPC¡¯s of the entire vige treated her warmly.

    Even the vige chief who was always putting up airs bowed towards her as a form of greeting before continuing, ¡°Young Huntress, I smell the blood of a beast on you. If I¡¯m not wrong.... You¡¯ve brought me the head of Shator?¡±

    Ye Ci handed the boar¡¯s head to the vige chief andpleted her quest.

    The fox-like vige chief was not stingy at all. He immediately rewarded Ye Ci with 1 talent point and a dagger.

    Ye Ci ignored the long-winded speech that came after her reward and focused her attention on the dagger. It was a Green equipment, but the stats were nice.

    Dagger of Haste

    Green Equipment

    Attack Speed: 1.5

    Attack 8-18

    Agility + 11

    Strength + 7

    Special Attribute: Attack speed increased by 0.5

    ss requirement: None

    The dagger could be used by yers of any sses, but it was especially effective when used by Rogues, Rangers, and Hunters that depend highly on Agility and attack speed.

    A character can only utilize its Agility to its maximum by carrying a light load.

    A bow is a ranged weapon with a minimum range of 6 feet. Hunters and Rangers could only resort to melee when an enemy approached the 6 feet radius. This meant that they rely heavily on melee weapons as well.

    The Dagger of Haste increased the agility of its user exponentially as well as boosted the attack speed by 0.5. This meant that when two yers were using daggers with 1.5 attack speed, the one who was using the Dagger of Haste would be able to attack 1 more time within 3 seconds.

    For Rogues, Rangers, and Hunters that did not rely much on Strength, the 1 additional attack could tip the scale of the battle.

    That was why Ye Ci felt that the dagger was as good as any Blue equipment, despite its quality being Green.

    Ye Ci got used to the dagger¡¯s weight after equipping it. She gave the dagger a few swings and could feel the change in attack speed.

    ¡°Ah, young Huntress....¡± Noticing that the vige chief was about to end his speech, Ye Ci sheathed her dagger and waited for the chief to hand out a new quest.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy that you¡¯ve grown so fast. I¡¯ve heard about the news of some bandits residing in Forest of Stone from Officer Tony. They¡¯ve been causing trouble for the city administrator. If you could bring the right hand of their leader, John, to the city administrator, I believe it¡¯ll be beneficial for you.¡±

    Ye Ci epted the quest without hesitation.

    She was about toplete Little Lemmy¡¯s quest and she couldplete both the quests at once.

    Ye Ci was a patient person, not a leveling maniac. Afterpleting the quest from Hard difficulty Icy Cave and learning Beginner Arrow Crafting, she did not attempt to level up anymore. She bought some ¡°wooden stakes with no specified purpose¡± from an NPC and began to train her Arrow Crafting skill.

    But even when she was not out looking for trouble, trouble had a way of finding her.

    Before she could settle down, dozens of strangers sent her messages asking for the details of Hard difficulty Icy Cave. She was too tired to answer the lot of the questions and resorted to muting her private message channel. The world was suddenly peaceful and quiet.

    Right after silencing her voice channel, Ye Ci¡¯s word channel immediately beeped. She could only silence every avable channel.

    Even with that, a pigeon appeared high in the sky and flew towards her.

    There were 3 ways ofmunication in Fate. When a person could not be reached via private channels or word channels, someone desperately trying to reach said person could use a messenger pigeon. The message would reach the recipient in the blink of an eye.

    There were still ces where the messenger pigeons could not reach. It could not reach a yer who was in a dungeon or who was underground. Messenger pigeons could only be sent if a yer had added another yer as his or her friends with 2 silver coins per usage as payment.

    Despite not knowing who the sender was, Ye Ci did not reject the message as it was sent via pigeon. It was a message from the four who had cleared the Hard difficulty Icy Cave with her earlier on. The message read, ¡°Gongzi, a lot of people are asking us questions about who was the one giving outmands. What do we tell them? It¡¯s driving us crazy!¡±

    ¡°Just tell them that I was just a passerby. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you guys.¡± Ye Ciughed. She was not the only who was being troubled. After releasing the pigeon, a few more arrived.

    It was from Golden Man, Let Go Of That Girl, and Ideal Height 1.7m. They were all asking her about the details of her exploits in the Hard difficulty Icy Cave and invited her to join them in exploring the Abandoned Mine as their progress was hampered.

    Ye Ci replied all their messages without making any promises.

    Another pigeon arrived right after that. It was from the Violent Cleric Four Seas, ¡°Gongzi, have you been to the Forest of Stone? We need your help clearing it two weekster.¡±

    Forest of Stone? Ye Ci was puzzled. It was not a very difficult dungeon. Why would Four Seas need two weeks to prepare for? Just then, another message arrived from Four Seas, ¡°I forgot two words, ¡®Hard difficulty¡¯. Are you free to go to Hard difficulty Forest of Stone two weeks from now?¡±

    ¡°I think I can make it but I¡¯m not that sure yet.¡± Ye Ci replied. Her new semester in college would begin in one week. It had been years since shest studied in a college. Although she had forgotten about it, Liu Chang made it a point to remind her.

    ¡°Sure, I will seek help from a couple of my friends as well.¡±

    Yet another message arrived right after Ye Ci managed to reply all the messages directed at her. It was Liu Chang. She was not as courteous as the others. Ye Ci could almost see her friend roaring through the letters on the message.

    ¡°Where the hell are you? Get your ass back to the guild encampment!¡±

    Ye Ci could not hold back theughter that escaped her mouth. She inserted the attributes of the Fiery Contract in a message to Liu Chang and added a few words, ¡°Elven Newbie Vige no. 42.¡±

    ¡°Sis, I¡¯ll be there right away.¡± Liu Chang replied almost immediately. Ye Ci could almost see Liu Chang¡¯s expression.

    After dealing with the trouble that unfortunately gued her, Ye Ci could finally craft arrows in peace.

    A shadow suddenly appeared in front of her apanied by a soft voice, ¡°Excuse me, how much are you selling for a set of arrows?¡±

    It was a young Elf with blond hair and fair skin. He was looking at Ye Ci with his big eyes. He appeared to be a lv5 newbie judging from his newbie clothing and the crude wooden bow that he was holding.

    ¡°You can have it for free.¡± Natasha was selling the wooden arrows at a cheap price. Since Ye Ci was practicing her arrow crafting, she decided to give them away to a newbie instead of disposing of itter and waste them.

    The yer was surprised. He stared at Ye Ci for quite awhile before bowing to her, ¡°Thank you, thank you so much sister!¡±

    Ye Ci handed the five sets of wooden arrow to the yer and said, ¡°You cane back to me if you need more, I¡¯ll be here all day long.¡±

    ¡°Ok, ok, thank you! Thank you so much!¡± the yer was in joy. He epted the arrows with trembling hands while thanking Ye Ci repeatedly. He sent a friend request to Ye Ci and said, ¡°Sister, I¡¯m Clear Moon, I¡¯m a Ranger. Can you add me as a friend?¡±

    Ye Ci did not decline the request. Clear Moon was in a miserable state at that moment, but nobody would know how would he be like in the future. Clear Moon was happy that his friend requested by Ye Ci, but he became stupefied right in the next moment.

    ¡°What?¡± Ye Ci was puzzled.

    ¡°Sister, you¡¯re Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always thought that Gongzi You is a guy!¡±

 Chapter 23 School Begins!

    Chapter 23 School Begins!

    Ye Ci did not know whether tough or cry in regards to that ck line above her head.

    ¡°You are the Gongzi You who had cleared Icy Cave at Difficult Stage?¡±

    ¡°......¡±

    The line above Ye Ci¡¯s head became darker for a few minutes. It couldn¡¯t be... Even a newbie knew about this?

    ¡°Big sister, why are you here?!¡± Clear Moon looked at Gongzi with his unrestrained excitement. His pair of eyes were sparkling brightly as diamonds. ¡°Everyone is looking for you on the World Channel.¡±

    After contemting for some time, Ye Ci still did not know how to answer him. In the end, she justughed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone else that I am here.¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure, I won¡¯t tell anyone! Big Sister, don¡¯t worry. Your secret is safe with me!¡± Clear Moon nodded. He winked andughed at her before he turned and ran away.

    Finally, she had the time to practice her Arrow Crafting skill...

    Today was really too eventful. Ye Ci had only practiced her Arrow Crafting skill for twenty to thirty minutes when she heard the shuffling footsteps heading her way. She lifted her head. Other than Liu Chang, who else could it be?

    Her smile was like the arrival of spring. Ye Ci could feel the goosebumps on her back when she saw that shuddering expression.

    ¡°Hi, my dear little Ci Ci. I¡¯m here. You only have to call once and I will find you immediately. It is even faster than calling your darling.¡± Liu Chang said as she leaned forward to hug Ye Ci. Ye Ci promptly plopped a skill book on Liu Chang¡¯s face, pushing that girl away.

    ¡°Fine! Fine! It is such a hot day, don¡¯t be so corny.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re really quite something! You¡¯re actually going to give me this book?!¡± Liu Chang took the skill book and nted multiple kisses on its cover. It was almost as if she wanted to print her saliva on the cover.

    Ye Ci checked if there was anyone behind Liu Chang. Before she could say a word, Liu Chang said, ¡°Stop it, no one followed me.¡±

    Do you think I am stupid. I have closed all my channels. Of course I don¡¯t want anyone to find you. I can even hide from the entire world.¡± Liu Chang stuffed the skill book into her backpack. She sat down beside Ye Ci. ¡°Peacock Blue is looking everywhere for you.¡±

    ¡°Peacock Blue?¡±

    ¡°She is the guild member in charge of logistics.¡± Liu Chang replied as she snorted. ¡°She is only slightly better looking but she is so full of herself. What gives her the right to talk to us with her nose in the air?¡±

    ¡°Why is she looking for me?¡± She wondered how Peacock Blue had offended Liu Chang as she looked at her friend¡¯s expression.

    ¡°I am 100% certain that it is because you cleared the Icy Cave. What else could it be? When the information was announced, the faces of the whole management level turned green. They were extremely unhappy.¡± Liu Chang continued, snorting again. Sheined angrily, ¡°Blue Peacock looked for us immediately. She acted like a queen and told us, ¡®You all brought Gongzi You in. Now the guild is looking for him so get him here quickly! You¡¯ll all face the consequences if he¡¯ste.¡¯¡±

    The smile on Ye Ci¡¯s face widened. ¡®Face the consequences...¡¯ That person had a queenplex!

    ¡°She belongs to the management level of the guild. It is normal.¡± Ye Ci did not mind Peacock Blue¡¯s remarks. She raised her brow with a teasing look and asked Liu Chang, ¡°What makes you so angry?¡±

    ¡°How can I not be angry? Especially that Yi Cang, he was just like a dog. One word from Peacock Blue and he immediately agrees! Fuck, is he so deprived of women!¡± Liu Chang became angry and angrier the more sheined, even her face was turning red.

    Ye Ci chose to keep her views to herself. To some extent, Liu Chang did like Yi Cang. Maybe, she could not differentiate whether that feeling was romantic or a sort of familial feeling which arose from the time they had known each other. Since she did not make it clear, Ye Ci naturally found it inappropriate to bring that up to embarrass her. She just consoled her with a few choice words.

    ¡°Little Ci, aren¡¯t you even a tad bit angry? How can that woman talk this way!¡± The more Ye Ci consoled, the more Liu Chang raged with a need to find someone to stand on her side against that enemy.

    Ye Ci squinted her eyes. ¡°She is just a stranger. Why should I get angry over a few words? It isn¡¯t as if I will face any consequences just because she say so. Plus, what are the consequences?¡± Even though this was Ye Ci¡¯s second life, her personality was still basically quite cold. She did not even care about what Blue Peacock said so she was naturally not infuriated.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re open minded.¡± Liu Chang sighed. Almost instantaneously, she seemed to have received a message. ¡°The guild is inviting me to fight a normal small dungeon, I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you don¡¯t want hardbour?¡±

    ¡°Members with 80 GS and above will be rewarded 2 DKP per trip into the dungeon. You can change 1 DPK for $100. This is a deal I won¡¯t miss!¡± Liu Chang stood up grinning cheekily again. ¡°I have never earned a cent from any games. Even if I can¡¯t get any equipment, I will be pleased to have earned some change!¡±

    She was someone whose anger came quickly and dissipated just as fast, so Ye Ci was not worried about her little rant.

    ¡°You can just hide here. I am leaving. I won¡¯t tell anyone your location.¡± Liu Chang bid Ye Ci farewell and left to find the teleporting NPC in the vige. She disappeared in seconds.

    After Liu Chang left, she seemed to have also brought away all disturbances. No one else looked for her. She was thankful for the silence and she continued making arrows as if her life depended on it.

    For the following days, Ye Ci did not open her personal channel nor her word channel. She did not return to the guild encampment. She simply grinded through the Normal level Icy Cave over ten times to level up. She spent her remaining time crafting arrows. When the proficiency level of her Beginner Arrow Crafting reached 35.2%, it stopped increasing.

    From her observation, crafting additional wooden arrows would not add to her proficiency any longer. She had to find a differentponent list to create another type of Beginner arrow.

    Even though she spend most of her time in these two days crafting arrows and grinding in the Icy Cave, she also did some other things. Her Gathering skill was already at Beginner Level. She could now gather Fire Dragon nts, which were required for beginner grade fire resist potion, as well as Water Caltrop Flowers required for beginner grade ice resist potion.

    These two herbs could be found in the Difficult Level of the Icy Cave. Ye Ci brought Ol¡¯ Three with her as she went into Icy Cave a few times each day to gather herbs. She spent her days quite happily.

    When her Gathering Skill, Apothecary Skill, Skinning Skill, and Cooking Skill had all reach Beginner Level, her University semester had finally started.

    Ye Ci woke up early in the morning and headed for her university, carrying the bag she prepared the previous day.

    This was a really weird feeling. Even though she had returned back to ten years ago, it didn¡¯t feel that different because she had always been in Fate. It didn¡¯t feel that different at all. Going back to the university was vastly different.

    She had graduated many years back. She felt very uneasy entering the university at the ¡°old age¡± of 28.

    Ye Ci grades were quite good. She had done extremely well for her finals and managed to enter the elite university ¡ª D University. Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian felt that it was the oue of the fortune gathered through the culmination of many incenses ced on their ancestral tomb throughout the generations.

    As Ye Ci rented an apartment near D University, she packed lightly and went ahead to register at the school herself. She did not need the hassle of having her parents apany her.

    Many senior students were orientating the new students. They were quite friendly and it did not take long for Ye Ci toplete her registration and go to her own ss.

    D University was famous for its environment. The ce was wide and spacious, with colourful greenery spreading across the campus and pavilions that littered the space. Nine out of ten people would think that this was a garden if they had not told that it was a university.

    Walking along the once familiar path, she easily found her ssroom. The lecturer in charge was not here yet and the ss was filled chattering students.

    D University was one of the top university and they had many students from all over the world. Everyone was curious on the first day. Ye Ci was one of the students who arrivedter. Those that were early had already stayed in the campus for a week so they were already familiar with each other. As she did not stay in the hostel, this was her first day here. So many of her ssmates were curious.

    ¡°I am Fang Su Su from 612. Which hostel are you living in? I have never seen you.¡± Ye Ci had just found an empty seat when a round-faced girl greeted her warmly.

    Ye Ci looked at her as a wave of emotions rushed through her.

    Fang Su Su was one of the people who treated her very well. She was a good person. However, Ye Ci hurted her so badly that she left the country with a downtrodden heart.

    Ye Ci did not want to think about the past.

    ¡°I am Ye Ci. I live in an apartment near the school so I don¡¯t stay at the hostel.¡± Ye Ci smiled brightly. She offered her hand for a handshake.

    ¡°What a pity. It would be great if you were staying at the hostel.¡± Fang Su Su was a person who easily warmed up to others. It wasn¡¯t long before they were acquainted with each other. She even grabbed her bag to sit with Ye Ci.

    Even though they both had very different emotions, they both regretted not knowing each other earlier. They got along well very quickly.

    ¡°Students! Students!¡±

    A few loud shouts broke the lively chatter in the room. There were three or four students from some student clubs standing at the lectern. The leader was a guy in dark blue T-shirt. He had dark hair and his pair of crystal ck eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. He wore a warm, gentle smile and his face had a heroic spirit to it.

    ¡°We are from Zhengfeng Club, I am the vice president Qin Churuo. Everyone questioned what Zhengfeng club was. Zhengfeng club was a student club that was formed 5 years ago. Our gaming club is formed by various D university students from different years!¡±

    Qin Churuo spoke with charisma and resolution, which subconsciously attracted many listeners. ¡°We have yed in various popr games like Seas of Grey L and Wonderous World L, and we have set many great records for multiple categories. Our guild, World Conqueror Guild, is ranked 20th countrywide....

 Chapter 24 World Conqueror

    Chapter 24 World Conqueror

    Looking at Qin Churuo, Ye Ci could only smile bitterly.

    Some things could never be avoided even after she had been reborn.

    ¡°Have you guys heard about that started 20 days ago?¡±

    It was an age when only gaming was popr among youth. Everybody, of course, have heard about the Fate that was very popr. Almost the entire ss answered in unison when Fate was mentioned, ¡°Yes!¡±

    A feeling surfaced within Ye Ci. It was good to be young!

    When the students heard about the World Conqueror Guild, they were excited. You could be ying solo without a guild, but there was no way one could not know about the top 20 guilds in the nation. It was a symbol of strength, the metaphor for legends.

    All of their attention was focused on Qin Churuo as they waited for him to continue his speech.

    ¡°We of the Word Conqueror guild have officially entered during its open beta test and we have already formed our guild in the game. I¡¯m here today to invite all of you to join World Conqueror, a guild of our own campus. Let us fight for our campus, and let us fight for our glory!¡±

    Excitement boiled within the ss. Every student had their own question for Qin Churuo.

    ¡°President, where do I join the guild? In game or in real life?¡±

    ¡°President, which dungeons have you guys cleared? I¡¯m already lv11 but I don¡¯t have a guild yet! Can I join up?¡±

    ¡°President, are there any benefits after joining World Conqueror?¡±

    ¡°President, which character ss do you guys need? Are there any limitations against the more unpopr character sses....¡±

    ¡°President...¡±

    Ye Ci looked at Fang ShuShu. She seemed to be asking Qin Churuo something, and her face was a shade of red.

    At that moment, Ye Ci had a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.

    It was as if she had never been reborn, as if she had never grown up and was still in her youth.

    Ye Ci faintly remembered something from a long time ago, something she never had the courage to remember. It was a ridiculous and imaginary rtionship between the three of them. She kept Fang ShuShu and Qin Churuo apart from each other, using them for her own benefit and then selling them out time after time.

    What had she done in her past life....?

    ¡°Ye Ci, Ye Ci, you¡¯re in a daze!¡± Fang ShuShu shook her hands in front of Ye Ci after receiving no response from her.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Ye Ci was pulled back into reality. She blinked and stared at Fang ShuShu. She was still young and innocent, just like the first time they had met in Ye Ci¡¯s past life.

    ¡°Ah, why are your hands so cold? Are you sick?¡± Fang ShuShu held on to Ye Ci¡¯s hands, she was surprised by how cold they were. It was September and the weather was unrelenting!

    ¡°No, nothing, I¡¯ve always been like this.¡± Ye Ci immediately hid her emotion, attempting to erase the bad memory from her mind. She smiled at Fang ShuShu, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. What do you need from me?¡±

    ¡°Ye Ci, do you y Fate?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡± Fang ShuShu was happy, as if she had found her soulmate. ¡°Let¡¯s join the World Conqueror guild!¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head with a smile, ¡°Sorry, I am already in a guild.¡±

    Aww, what a pity. We¡¯re so congenial, it¡¯s a shame that we can¡¯t be in the same guild. ¡°How about I ¡ª¡±

    Fang ShuShu¡¯s train of thoughts was interrupted by Ye Ci who shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. World Conqueror is our campus¡¯s own guild. You can consider joining them. I¡¯ve already made a promise to my childhood friends to join my current guild. I won¡¯t be leaving it so soon.¡±

    Fang ShuShu did not insist after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s exnation, although she was feeling slightly intricate about the matter. ¡°I¡¯ve finally met a girl that ys games. If only we could y together.¡±

    ¡°Well, we can add each other in game, my IGN (in-game name) is Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°Ah, your name is nice. It¡¯s like the name of an ancient warrior!¡± Fang ShuShu was the only one who praised Ye Ci¡¯s name. ¡°My name¡¯s Flutter n¡¯ Sway. Don¡¯t forget to add me in-game!¡±

    Ye Ci nodded.

    Flutter n¡¯ Sway. It was a name Ye Ci would never forget.

    Qin Churuo¡¯s method of recruitment was very effective. Almost all the students signed up for World Conqueror. Even among the freshmen, at least 70% of them had joined World Conqueror with the exception of the 30% who did not y the game.

    With an institution such as the university where every one of them eat and sleep together, a person¡¯s character could easily be determined. The good ones and the bad ones could easily be identified. It also fostered a sense of belonging as the students interacted together on a daily basis. Even after they graduated, they would never leave the guild as they already had deep ties with it.

    It was basically shackling them to the guild.

    The schedule for the first years was more packed. Although it was nothing for Ye Ci, she still had to go to sses for her attendance, which greatly reduced her gaming time.

    On this day, she received a pigeon from Four Seas right after she logged into the game, ¡°Say, when are you going to unmute your chat? Was that incident not over yet?¡±

    It made sense to Ye Ci. It had been 20 days since she cleared the Hard difficulty Icy Cave. Many would have already forgotten about it. She unmuted her personal channel and word channel, immediately sending a message to Four Seas, ¡°The semester has started, I was so busy that I¡¯ve forgotten about it.¡±

    ¡°Are you still a student?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Technically....

    ¡°Are you free to go to Hard Difficulty Stone Forest 3 days from now?¡±

    It was a weekend. ¡°I¡¯m free.¡± replied Ye Ci.

    ¡°Good, I¡¯ll contact you after 3 days.¡± Four Seas was not long winded, and the conversation ended shortly.

    ¡°Wow, sister, you finally unmuted your private message channel?¡± A voice rang in Ye Ci¡¯s ears right after Four Seas ended his conversation with her. It was Clear Moon.

    Ye Ci was curious. His timing was too perfect. ¡°How did you know I¡¯ve unmuted my private message channel?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been sending you messages everyday, and it finally got through today!¡± Clear Moon was very happy.

    Clear Moon would look for Ye Ci everyday ever since she gifted him the arrows. All he wanted to do was to talk to her and tell her the stories of his exploits and adventures in the game.

    Although his leveling progress was slow, hepleted every single quest patiently withoutint. He had even received a Hidden Quest and was rewarded with the skill ¡°Mining¡± uponpleting the quest. He would mine for ores everyday with his pickaxe aside from questing and leveling up.

    Before Ye Ci could direct a question at him, Clear Moon told her about everything he hade across in the past two days as if he was delivering a report.

    He was getting better and better at mining ores.

    Ye Ci was not bored by such talk that others would normally find petty. Instead, she was intrigued.

    In her past life, should anyone nag at her nonstop, she would have been pissed off, but the new Ye Ci felt warmth. It was the kind of warmth one would feel from the dependency of others.

    She did not interrupt Clear Moon.

    ¡°Oh yes, sister, the cksmith gave me another quest!¡±

    Another Hidden Quest?

    ¡°What is the quest about?¡±

    ¡°The cksmith said that if I could give him 100 ores with the quality of 20 and above, he would teach me the skill, Forging,¡± Clear Moon was jovial, ¡°I am 2 ores away from acquiring the skill!¡±

    Ye Ci was surprised. A newbie learning the skill Mining in the newbie vige was already surprising enough, but Clear Moon could even learn Forging!

    Ye Ci had always thought that she knew a lot about the game. It seemed to her that her knowledge regarding Fate was only the tip of the iceberg.

    Clear Moon was persistent, but it was his persistence that allowed him to acquire two skills that no one had ever expected to learn.

    Clear Moon let out a surprised yelp which startled Ye Ci. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Sister! I¡¯ve gotten another piece of ore with the quality above 20! I need only 1 more! Talk to youter, I¡¯m going to resume mining!¡±

    With that, Clear Moon cut off the voice connection and continued mining. Meanwhile, Ye Ci decided to have a look at Sandy ins....

 Chapter 25 Sandstorm Scorpion

    Chapter 25 Sandstorm Scorpion

    Sandy ins was situated near the Human race¡¯s Sunset City. It was not a fertilend. Howling winds blew over the ins constantly, creating sandstorm that obstructed one¡¯s vision. The in-game timer was at sunset when Ye Ci arrived at Sandy ins.

    The setting sun was like a huge ball of fire that scorched thend.

    Ye Ci could only squint at the road as she made her way to the Flowing Sand vige. She purchased a gauze cap from the tailor with 1 silver coin. The cap had no special uses aside from shielding its wearer against the raging sandstorm.

    Ye Ci was relieved after putting on the cap.

    She travelled into the depth of Sandy ins from Flowing Sand Vige with Ol¡¯ Three, thetter of whom had reached 80 Loyalty points.

    Sandy ins was the map hosting the dungeon Forest of Stone. There were not many yers around as the minimum level requirement for the yers to enter the dungeon was lv8. If they followed the flow of their main quest, they would have reached here by the time they were at least lv11 or lv12.

    That was why Ye Ci didn¡¯t encounter many other yers on her way to her destination aside from a few parties. Ye Ci was not in a hurry. Her main aim was not the Forest of Stone. She was going after the Wild BOSS of Sandy ins ¡ª Sandstorm Scorpion.

    Sandstorm Scorpion was a lv15 BOSS that spawns once every 10 days. If it was not defeated within 3 days of its appearance, it would disappear until the next reset.

    Ye Ci had been keeping track of wild World BOSSes ever since Fate wasunched. Although the lv5 Wild BOSS Rabid Boar was in, there was no news regarding the Sandstorm Scorpion.

    The position of the Sandstorm Scorpion yed an important role.

    There were no monsters in the Sandy ins except for some lv1 and asionally lv2 Yellow named (neutral monsters). The yers arriving at the ce were at least lv10. They had no time for the neutral monsters. Their goal was the Forest of Stone dungeon.

    Besides that, the Sandstorm Scorpion was well hidden. It was hidden beneath the sands and would never attack unless a yer directly stepped on it....

    Ye Ci walked as slow as possible on the warm and soft sand. She had deviated quite far from the Forest of Stones and was the only one within visual range.

    This was where the Sandstorm Scorpion was hiding itself.

    In a quiet and isted corner of the Sandy ins, a BOSS that would sought after by countless yers in theter stages of the game, Sandstorm Scorpion,id in wait.

    The sands beneath Ye Ci¡¯s feet gave way all of a sudden...

    It appeared!

    Ye Ci leapt backwards like a kite unaffected by gravity. Ol¡¯ Three was already on the move, casting Taunt on the shifting sands. Ye Ci had also casted her Hunter¡¯s Mark and Snake Venom Needle in the blink of an eye.

    Critical! Armor Pration! -571

    Ye Ciughed at the damage she dealt.

    Critical Strikes and Armor Pration were rare against a World Boss, but her first attack achieved just that.

    She performed several attacks in the blink of an eye, heavily damaging the Sandstorm Scorpion which had yet emerged from the sand.

    The Sandstorm Scorpion was agitated. It crawled out of the sands, raising its two gigantic pincers and tail stinger with angry hisses. It ignored Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s Taunt and charged straight at Ye Ci.

    The BOSS was 3 to 5 timesrger than Ol¡¯ Three. It appeared intimidating with its ck carapace gleaming underneath the red sun.

    Ye Ci was fast, but the Sandstorm Scorpion was even faster than her. Just as it was about to grab Ye Ci....

    She jumped onto one of its pincers and somersaulted away. The Sandstorm Scorpion grew even more agitated and this process repeated several times. Its red eyes red at Ye Ci menacingly.

    Ye Ci repeated again the maneuver she had been using on the scorpion but immediately felt a sharp pain. She was stung.

    ¡°You have been poisoned.¡±

    The system notification chimed in, announcing Ye Ci¡¯s status. She creased her eyebrows and jumped onto a por tree not far away.

    The Sandstorm Scorpion was still charging at Ye Ci angrily in the direction of the tree.

    As Ye Cinded in front of the por tree, she could hear a loud ¡°crack¡± from behind her.

    A smile formed on Ye Ci¡¯s lips.

    She had seeded.

    She turned around slowly while chugging down a health potion and chuckled at her handiwork.

    The upper torso of the Sandstorm Scorpion was stuck in between a few por trees. The branches were like a steel cage, entrapping the Sandstorm Scorpion. Its two pincers were entangled between the branches and its stinger was trapped as well. It could do nothing but hiss angrily at Ye Ci.

    A wild World BOSS was far superior than a BOSS in the dungeons. They had a very low spawn rate and were way tougher than a dungeon BOSS of the same level. A more important factor was that World BOSSes had a wider movement area in the wild, gravely increasing their lethality.

    Of course, a wild World BOSS would drop rare loots such as mounts, special essories, and treasure maps..... Those were things that normal BOSSes could never produce.

    That was also a main reason why yers would camp at the spawn locations of World Bosses at theter stages of Fate.

    Ye Ci bandaged the sole of her foot and directed Ol¡¯ Three towards the Sandstorm Scorpion, allowing it to attack at will.

    The scorpion was too venomous! If not for her fast reaction time as well as therge amount of health potions she carried, Ye Ci would¡¯ve died right there and then.

    The strategy of trapping the Sandstorm Scorpion between the por trees was not originally Ye Ci¡¯s idea. She had learnt it from a video that was taken down by Fate officials 3 minutes right after its release. They imed that it was a BUG exploitation.

    The BUG took three whole days to be rectified after the release of the video. Within that period of time, Ye Ci did nothing but train vigorously to achieve the bug.

    She finally mastered the art after dozens of times. By the time the BUG was repaired, Ye Ci had already memorised all the necessary steps.

    It was because of her practice that Ye Ci that could easily entrap the Sandstorm Scorpion at lv12.

    After burning through 3 bottles of Large Health Potions and dozens of bandages, Ye Ci finally escaped from the verge of death. Staring at the few bandages she had left, she decided to hand more fabrics to Flutter n¡¯ Sway for her to craft more bandages.

    Life is precious.

    Ye Ci stood up and walked up to a spot where she could have the best view of the Sandstorm Scorpion. She began to fire arrow after arrow at the BOSS.

    Wild World BOSSes were indeed rare creatures. The Sandstorm Scorpion, at lv15, had an astonishing 800,000 hit points. It took her approximately 4 hours to finish off the Sandstorm Scorpion.

    As usual, the system allowed Ye Ci the choice of revealing her name, to which she declined.

    Red words flooded the system channel, ¡°yer xxx have sessfully in the lv15 wild World BOSS, Sandstorm Scorpion, alone and survived. Special rewards: Global Prestige Points x 3000, Sunset City Prestige Points x 10000, 100 Gold Coins, 3 Talent points!¡±

    ¡°yer xxx have sessfully in the lv15 wild World BOSS, Sandstorm Scorpion, alone and survived. Special rewards: Global Prestige Points x 3000, Sunset City Prestige Points x 10000, 100 Gold Coins, 3 Talent points!¡±

    ......

    The world channel and official forums went mad. It was not because of the 3 Talent points, nor was it because of the wild World BOSS. It was because of the word ¡°alone¡±.

    World BOSSes was synonymous to meat grinders. And someone had in a World BOSS alone! How could the yers not go crazy with this news?

    The madness and mayhem had nothing to do with Ye Ci. At that moment, there was only one word that could describe her, and the word was ¡ª tired.

    She was so tired that she almost threw up.

    Ye Ci could no longer feel her arms. Her Stamina was stillcking. She was lucky she had the overpowered skill that could replenish her mana. A normal person would not be able tost three to four hours of continuous attack without consuming vast amounts of mana potions...

 Chapter 26 Brooch Of Deceit

    Chapter 26 Brooch Of Deceit

    Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s mood was bing terrible. It did not even acknowledge Ye Ci as she threw a few pieces of roasted meat at it. Ye Ci rubbed her hands and walked up to the Sandstorm Scorpion¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°Dear God, I¡¯ve already been shrouded by bad luck for so long. Please let me be lucky just this once.¡± Ye Ci muttered under her breath and began looting the Sandstorm Scorpion¡¯s corpse.

    Scorpion Stinger x1

    Venomous Scorpion Armor x1

    Venomous Scorpion Headband x1

    Venomous Scorpion Gauntlet x1

    Brooch Of Deceit x1

    Mysterious Treasure Map x1

    Gold coins x629

    High Health Potion x7

    High Mana Potion x9

    Rage Potion x7

    Defence Potion x6

    The moment Ye Ci¡¯s hands touched the corpse, a long list of loot appeared before her eyes, and she shouted excitedly, ¡°Dear God, you¡¯ve finally graced me with your blessing. Thanks for not letting me go home empty handed....¡±

    As she read the long list of loot, she could only mumble dumbfoundedly, ¡°Oh my God, oh my God....¡±

    Each World BOSS would produce their exclusive armor set. A typical armor set in Fate had 8ponents, which were: head gear, shoulder guard, mantle, armor, belt, gauntlet, leggings, and boots. Some of the armor sets would have 9ponents with weapon included.

    Sandstorm Scorpion was one such BOSS that produced a 9ponent armor set. Ye Ci could not believe that she got 4 out of the 9ponents in one go. What¡¯s more, the weapon that came with the armor set, the gear with the lowest drop rate of them all, was one of her loot!

    Of course, Ye Ci was not shocked because of that, but rather the appearance of an item ¡ª Brooch of Deceit.

    Brooch of Deceit:

    Unique Attribute: Allows user to randomly change appearance. (ss, Race, Gender and Level are randomized)

    Unique Attribute: Allows user to hide Massacre Value.

    Unique Attribute: Greatly empowers the user¡¯s ¡°Sly¡± trait, you will be able to trick all NPCs!

    All World BOSSes had a unique loot item, and the one dropped by Sandstorm Scorpion was Brooch of Deceit!

    With the Brooch of Deceit, Ye Ci could change her appearance, level, ss, and race at any time. She could even hide her Massacre Value. This was the item that every Red named yer could dream of, and it was one of the main reasons why Sandstorm Scorpion was one of the most sought-after BOSS in Fate.

    However, the drop rate for Brooch Of Deceit was just too low, with the drop rate of a mere 1 out of 100,000.

    Again, this did not meant that yers would definitely get it after killing Sandstorm Scorpion for 100,000 times...

    Ye Ci noticed one of the Brooch of Deceit¡¯s attribute. Sly was one of her character¡¯s personality trait! This meant that she would be able to hide her stats even from the NPC!

    Ye Ci almost shouted out in joy!

    The Brooch Of Deceit was one of her greatest discoveries!

    She took a look at the other Venomous Scorpion armor set.

    Venoumous Scorpion Stinger:

    Short Sword

    Purple Equipment

    Attack Speed: 1.5

    Attack: 129-180

    Strength +16

    Agility +123

    Bnce +125

    Perception +125

    Special Attribute: Target has 20% chance of being poisoned, target will receive continuous damage,sts for 12 seconds.

    Special Attribute: 5% chance of stunning target,sts for 5 seconds.

    Special Attribute: Additional 5% Armor Pration

    Required level: 20

    ss: Ranger, Rogue, Hunter, Druid

    Venomous Scorpion Armor:

    Clothing

    Purple Equipment

    Defense: 585

    Strength +89

    Endurance +85

    Intelligence +70

    Agility +92

    Bnce +90

    Special Attribute: 30% resistance against poison.

    Special Attribute: Increase defence value by 50%,sts for 8 seconds (passive)

    Required level: 20

    ss: Ranger, Rogue, Hunter, Druid

    Venomous Scorpion Headband:

    Headwear

    Purple Equipment

    Defense: 298

    Endurance +67

    Stamina +65

    Intelligence +60

    Agility +71

    Perception +71

    Special Attribute: 50% bonus to Night Vision

    Special Attribute: Detection. Can see through any enemy movements,sts for 15 seconds, cooldown: 30 seconds.

    Required level: 20

    ss: Ranger, Rogue Hunter, Druid

    Venomous Scorpion Gauntlet:

    Gauntlet

    Purple Equipment

    Defense: 325

    Endurance +80

    Stamina +68

    Strength +73

    Agility +80

    Bnce +80

    Perception +80

    Special Attribute: 10% chance of blocking melee damage

    Special Attribute: 20% chance of poisoning enemies,sts for 12 seconds. (passive)

    Required level: 20

    ss: Ranger, Rogue, Hunter, Druid

    Purple equipment was the best pre-lv60 equipment in Fate. It was way superior than Blue equipment. The Sandstorm Scorpion armor set had far more attributes than Ye Ci¡¯s equipment. It even came with passive and active skills, which were good tools inbat.

    From the four pieces of equipment, she already had 2 poison based skills, a defensive skill, and an OP skill ¡ª Detection. It was a shame that she had not reached the level requirement to equip these equipment.

    The huge experience points awarded for killing the Sandstorm Scorpion raised her level to lv14 with 75% progress. It was still a far cry from the required lv20.

    Post lv10 leveling progress was rather slow. yers could only grind the game nonstop to level up. Even with countless trips to the Icy Cave, Ye Ci could only raise her level up to lv12. It showed that leveling was very tough at this point.

    The Mysterious Treasure Map could only be identified after being appraised by an Appraiser in the city.

    After collecting all the loots into her inventory, Ye Ci pinned the Brooch Of Deceit to her chest and a small icon immediately appeared at the lower right corner of her vision. She clicked the icon softly and the system notification rang in her ears: Disguise sessful.

    Ye Ci was disguised as a lv20 Orcish Druid with a magical staff. Her GS was also raised to 267 from 110.

    A sudden realisation struck Ye Ci. She took the Venomous Scorpion Stinger out of her inventory and attempted to equip it.

    She seeded!

    Ye Ci¡¯s assumption was correct. After disguising her actual level, she could equip any equipment that she could not equip with her current level.

    Was this a BUG? In Ye Ci¡¯s perspective, a BUG was something that could be exploited by everybody. But since this advantage was one given to her and her alone, even if it was a BUG, Ye Ci would not report it.

    Ye Ci equipped the four Venomous Scorpion equipment set under the guise of the lv20 Druid. Her GS soared past the 400 mark, reaching an astonishing 472 points! In a time where the average yer GS was only 100, her GS was insanely high. Ye Ci canceled her disguise, and shot an arrow at the nearest lv2 scorpion.

    Critical hit -1261!

    It was a 1 hit KO!

    Ye Ci briefly calcted her damage and discovered that it was raised from approximately 100 to over 550. It was a great improvement ofbat strength.

    Two fists were no match for four hands. Despite having such superior equipment, her appearance would attract attention and people might want to kill her for her armor. After contemting her situation, Ye Ci disguised her GS as 85, and her armor¡¯s appearance was also altered.

    Humans were afraid of being famous, while pigs were afraid of growing strong. With her disguise, Ye Ci was satisfied.

    Ye Ci wasted no time in contacting the online customer service. After selecting a few options, a warm and kind voice rang in her ears, ¡°Hi, I am Z nation Customer Service #79246, how may I be of assistance?¡±

    Ye Ci looked at the corpse of the Sandstorm Scorpion, and exined to the customer service word by word about the Sandstorm Scorpion¡¯s BUG.

    The operator was stunned for quite awhile before replying, ¡°Are you reporting a BUG for Sandstorm Scorpion?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Please wait, I will contact the manager on duty of the development team.¡± The customer service operator replied before disappearing.

    Ye Ci waited patiently. She gathered the carapace, meat, venom sac, and other innards from the Sandstorm Scorpion¡¯s corpse and stored them into her inventory. The very corpse of a World BOSS was a treasure trove. They were all priceless materials in theter stages of the game.

    Ye Ci originally nned to exploit the Sandstorm Scorpion BUG for a few more times, but she was deterred by the possibility of being discovered by Fate¡¯s high end system. If she repeated the process and again, the system might automatically record her actions and report the BUG to the development team. The development team would definitely fix the BUG right away and confiscate all her loots.

    If she was the one who took the initiative to report the BUG, she could keep all her loots and might even receive some special reward.

    And of course, Ye Ci did not believe in her own luck. She did not believe that she would be able to get any more than she already had with her luck. It would be great loss for her if the BUG was discovered by the system.

    This was why humans must always be happy with what they have to ensure a happy life.

    Even if Ye Ci did not report the BUG, it would still be discovered by somebody else eventually. She might as well report it earlier and get the rewards of turning in a BUG for herself....

 Chapter 27 Customer Service No.094

    Chapter 27 Customer Service No.094

    Just when Ye Ci was busy dissecting the Sandstorm Scorpion, a lvl 1 human smurf suddenly appeared three meters in front of her. After logging in, the first thing he did was to turn around and survey his surroundings. It was after confirming his coordinates did he notice the inelegant Ye Ci who was currently squatting by the side, butchering the Sandstorm Scorpion...

    That human smurf stared at Ye Ci¡¯s butchering fearlessly for a moment before clearing his throat to greet her so as to capture her attention. ¡°Nice to meet you, I am the manager from the development team of¡¶Fate L¡·, Customer Service No. 094.¡±

    Actually, from the moment No. 094 appeared, Ye Ci, who had her sensitivity heightened by her equipment, had already noticed his existence. However, as she was busy trying to remove the poison sac from the Sandstorm Scorpion, she didn¡¯t have the time to bother about him.

    Now, sitting on the carcass of the Sandstorm Scorpion, which was hanging on a desert por tree, Ye Ci stared at No. 094 with a smile. To think that it would be No. 094 receiving her...

    There were a total of 400 customer service smurfs in Fate¡¯s development team and they numbered from 001 to 400. These customer service smurfs follow these developers for life. Even if they were to leave the game and Glory Corporation, these customer service smurfs will be retained for them forever.

    Fate¡¯s customer service No. 094 was probably still an unexceptional development assistant at the moment. However, three years from now, he would be one of the chief developer of Fate! Although not a single yer might know of his existence right now, three yearster, countless gamers will have his name etched their heads.

    He was the chief developer of Fate¡¯s 2nd update ¡®Another World¡¯, and it was due to this very update that Fate managed to amodate to all age groups over the world.

    If one had to list some unforgettable names which had appeared in the history of Fate, then customer service No. 094 was definitely at the top of the list.

    Even until now, Ye Ci still remembered the words of a human priest that No. 094 said through an update CG.

    ¡°Give me three seconds, and I will bring you to an entirely different world! I am Fate.¡±

    Perhaps, Ye Ci wasn¡¯t the only one who remembered these words. Perhaps, all of the yers in Fate remembered these words. Yes, they remembered these words, Fate, as well as the human priest who said them.

    Fate Customer Service No. 094 ¡ª Wang Jiang Nan.

    ¡°Nice to meet you. May I ask if you were the one who reported the BUG?¡± Wang Jiang Nan was extremely polite. Seeing Ye Ci staring at him, he had scratched his head awkwardly before greeting her.

    This was the first time Wang Jiang Nan had met a yer reporting a BUG. Very possibly, this was the first BUG which had appeared since the inception of Fate. This made the development team pay particr importance to it. One must know that they had conducted tests on every single detail of the game more than several hundred times. Although they couldn¡¯t im that their system was entirely wless, a major BUG wouldn¡¯t appear so easily at the very least.

    Thus, when Ye Ci reported this BUG to the customer servicedy, Wang Jiang Nan, who was on shift, came to look at this BUG without hesitation.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes as she nodded her head, ¡°Yes, I am the one who reported the BUG.¡±

    ¡°Is this with regards to the Sandstorm Scorpion BUG?¡± Seeing Ye Ci answer his questions, Jiang Wang Nan opened the development system to check on the logs.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how I reported it.¡±

    Wang Jiang Nan stared at the development system for a moment before pausing suddenly. Then, he raised his head and stared at Ye Ci with an astonished expression, ¡°Did you kill this Sandstorm Scorpion alone just now?¡±

    ¡°There is this panther as well.¡± Ye Ci pointed at her pet. Ol¡¯ Three immediately growled and stretched its back to make its existence known.

    ¡°...¡± Jiang Wang Nan stared speechless at the Elf Huntress sitting on the Sandstorm Scorpion. Then, he seemed to have suddenly recall something. He typed Ye Ci¡¯s ID out on the development system and soon, all of the actions Ye Ci did ever since her entry into Fate is appeared on the interface.

    Actually, a typical developer wouldn¡¯t do such a thing as it was too troublesome. Furthermore, if he didn¡¯t carry it out properly, he could be sued by the yer for revealing their personal information, consequently causing him to be punished by thepany. At worst, he might be jailed. However, Jiang Wang Nan couldn¡¯t help but be curious about the previous deeds of a yer who used a BUG to kill a Sandstorm Scorpion and reported it right after.

    After looking through Ye Ci¡¯s log, Jiang Wang Nan no longer felt puzzled by how Ye Ci could have possibly found the bug.

    There were many kinds of yers. Some yers would y the game within the boundaries determined for them while some would break the rules of the game to create their own. There were even those who would ascend beyond the rules of the game and used everything they couldy their hands on to create their own glory.

    It was apparent that the Huntress before him was the third type of yer.

    There were normally two types of ending for these kind of yers. They could end up banned or...

    ¡°No. 094, it can¡¯t be that you are reading through my logs. That is against the rules and regtions.¡± Upon seeing Wang Jiang Nan busying himself and sneaking asional nces towards her, she couldn¡¯t help but guess his actions.

    The moment her wordsnded, Jiang Wang Nan immediately panicked and closed down Ye Ci¡¯s logs.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Jiang Wang Nan tried to hide the fact that he had been exposed by Ye Ci. After which, he cleared his throat again and said, ¡°I thank you for your help on our negligence on behalf of Fate¡¯s customer service team. We will...¡±

    ¡°Traces will be left behind in the system when one checks a yer¡¯s logs. A yer can apply for an inquiry into these traces. Say, do you think that I should apply for one now?¡± Upon seeing Wang Jiang Nan¡¯s dodgy appearance, Ye Ci could ascertain that he was looking at her logs a moment ago.

    The edges of her lips curled up into a faint smile as she started to threaten the customer service No. 094 which had yet to make his name ¡ª Wang Jiang Nan. She was thinking of the fact that a few years from now, if she were to tell others that she had once ckmailed Wang Jiang Nan, what kind of expressions would be awaiting her?

    Wang Jiang Nan freezes for a moment. Then, the corners of his lips twitched.

    What did he just say? There were some yers who would ascend beyond the rules of the game and use everything they couldy their hands on to create their own glory.

    It was obvious to see that he is about to turn into something usable to this huntress before him...

    The Glory Corporation did not demarcate the job scope of the development team clearly and granted them too much authority. Initially, the purpose of it was to avoid risk but never would they expect that it would be exploited now as a stepping stone to step over their heads.

    Just like that, the two of them stared at one another, as if it would never end until one of them died.

    ¡°What kind of help do you need from me?¡± In the end, Wang Jiang Nan sighed helplessly and asked Ye Ci irritatedly. Then, he further added, ¡°Within the scope of my abilities, I can grant you some rewards. However, this reward must not destroy the bnce of the game. So, what can I help you with?¡±

    There were so many restrictions even to granting a reward. Ye Ci frowned and asked, ¡°Then, my beloved customer service No. 094, stop giving me so much empty talk. What can you give me?¡±

    After pondering for a moment, Wang Jiang Nan retrieved a shiny egg from his bag and threw it to Ye Ci, ¡°This is the best reward that I can give you within the limits of my abilities.¡±

    Ye Ci caught the egg which was about the size of a bowling ball. She wanted to take a look at its attributes but what she got in return was: This is a mysterious egg.

    ¡°This is a pet egg. It just happens that you are a Huntress, so you are able to use it. However, I cannot guarantee you what would hatch from it.¡±

    ¡°By chance?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, by chance.¡± Wang Jiang Nan nodded his head. Then, he recorded the coordinates for the BUG and the incident into the development system before hurriedly bidding Ye Ci farewell. If he were to continue interacting with this Huntress, who knew what kind of mess would arise from it?

    Just when he was about to log off, he suddenly thought of something. He gazed at Ye Ci, who was busy studying the egg, and said, ¡°I want to ask you something. If Fate were toe up with trailer, what kind of contents would you like to see?¡±

    Actually, Fate¡¯s first trailer was already in the midst of its development. In regards to it, Wang Jian Nan was only in charge of the minor details. He knew that with his identity, he might be unable to be a chief developer in his entire life. Even so, he couldn¡¯t resist visioning it, about what would happen if he were to be the chief nner one day. Today, meeting Ye Ci and reading through her ¡®glorious past events¡¯, he suddenly wanted to know the thoughts of a yer who ascended beyond the rules of the game.

    Ye Ci found this extremely sensationally wondrous.

    For a chief nner of Fate who would shine three years from now to ask about her opinion on the game, no matter how one looks at the matter, it was a wondrous interaction.

    She kept the egg and stared at Wang Jiang Nan seriously. His eyes were passionate and resolute.

    A person with a such gaze would definitely meet with sess. Regardless of whether time had flowed back or whether he had met her, he would definitely seed in life.

    Ye Ciughed. That was a sincereughter without any meaning behind it. She straightened her body and imitated the actions of Wang Jiang Nan in the CG, ¡°Give me three seconds, and I will bring you to an entirely different world! I am Fate.¡±

    This was the action of Wang Jiang Nan back then. However, at this moment, when Wang Jiang Nan gazed at Ye Ci as she performed those actions, the agitation rippling through his heart could not be described through ink. His lips trembled as he shot a wide smile towards Ye Ci, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Give me three seconds, and I will bring you to an entirely different world! I am Fate.¡±

    This time, Wang Jiang Nan didn¡¯t stop. He waved at Ye Ci and disappeared soon afterwards, bringing along indescribable agitation and motivation with him.

    After sending away Wang Jiang Nan, Ye Ci continued to dissect the Sandstorm Scorpion. It took her half an hour before she finished stuffing the items she had retrieved from the Sandstorm Scorpion into her bag. Satisfied with her returns, she walked back to Red Lake City.

    Although the 10000 Sunset City reputation was rewarded to her by the system ..., she did not intend to bind her City Recalling Crystal to Sunset City. After all, she had been doing quests in Red Lake City for almost twenty days by now and she almost had sufficient reputation to activate the city official system.

    Throwing everything in her inventory into the storage, Ye Ci walked towards the auction house. This was a habit she had cultivated whenever she walked intorge cities...

 Chapter 28 Peacock Blue

    Chapter 28 Peacock Blue

    When a person was reborned 10 years back into the past, what would he or she do? Studies spected that it was to make investments in...things.

    Things like property, the stock market, and... Pork....

    Ye Ci was no exception to such behavior. Her only problem was that she did not have the funds in real life. Her greatest hobby was to hang out at the auction houses and stock up on ¡°rubbish¡±.

    Of course, those things were ¡°rubbish¡± as no one knew of their true value.

    Every single piece of ¡°rubbish¡± acquired by Ye Ci would be worth a fortune 10 years into the future. Sellers sold them at 1 or 2 gold coins, sometimes even a few silver coins. If they knew about the truth, they would¡¯ve gone crazy.

    Ye Ci had always felt that she did not behave like a woman.

    She did not like shopping, did not like jewelleries, and hated to have to shop for clothings. But in the auction house, she was a real woman.

    She would fight to the end for whatever she had her eyes on to the end.

    Herbs, gem shards, enchanted materials.... Nothing could escape her sharp eyes.

    Ye Ci would always put her loots on sale in the auction house anonymously after her big purchase.

    When she thought about it, she realised that she had been quite the wastrel.

    With her loot from the dungeon everyday, she could¡¯ve made at least 1,000 gold coins per day, but she had spent all the money stocking up on things.

    With her inventory full of items, Ye Ci headed to thergest bank in Red Lake City.

    ¡°Give me another vault, the one with 50 slots!¡± Ye Ci pped 500 gold coins in front of the bank¡¯s clerk.

    ¡°Ah, Miss Gongzi You, it¡¯s good to see you again!¡± The clerk said to Ye Ci with ttery written all over his face. If it was not for the uniform the clerk was wearing, Ye Ci was certain that it would even wag its tail at Ye Ci.

    It was not easy to trigger such behavior by the bank clerk. There were some conditions to be met. One¡¯s prestige in Red Lake City must reach ¡°Friendly¡±, and more importantly, one must be rich and have spent a lot of money on the Red Lake City bank.

    In Ye Ci¡¯s case, the vault she had bought in the bank exceeded the value of 5000 gold coins. She was a major customer, which was why the bank staff treated her so well.

    Ye Ci dumped all the items into the storage and, before she had the time to sort them out, a private message rang in her ears, ¡°Little Ci, are you there?¡±

    It was Yi Cang.

    There was a hint of odd cautiousness in his voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, anything?¡±

    ¡°Are you free right now?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± replied Ye Ci without pausing her task at hand.

    ¡°Can youe to the guild encampment?¡±

    To the guild encampment? Ye Ci had not been there for a long time. She had even forgotten that she was a member of the guild.

    ¡°Is there anything you need help with?¡±

    ¡°Sister Blue wants you back here. She said that there¡¯s something she needs to discuss with you.¡± Yi Cang¡¯s voice was soft, as if he was intentionally suppressing it.

    ¡°Sister Blue?¡± Ye Ci could not remember the name.

    ¡°She¡¯s... The.... Uh... The Guild Admin... Sister Blue.¡± Yi Cang¡¯s voice became even more softer to the point where Ye Ci was having a hard time listening to him.

    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll be there.¡± replied Ye Ci. She guessed that Yi Cang was in a very awkward situation and therefore did not question him much.

    Ye Ci sighed at the state of disarray her storage was in. She had no choice but to postpone in sorting out the mess. She walked towards a Guild NPC and paid a few silver coins to be transported back to the guild encampment.

    The encampment had a lot more buildings than Ye Ci could remember, and the original facilities had also been upgraded. Thousand Sunsets invested quite a lot in the guild. Ye Ci was lost. She did not know where to find Yi Cang. Before she could contact him, however, she heard a voice not far from her.

    It was a shrill, angry female voice.

    ¡°What¡¯s with your friend! He secretly cleared dungeons and get First Blood for it, muting himself when the guild ordered her back to the encampment! He¡¯s not even here yet! Who does he think he is? Is his dad Li Gang? (1) What the hell! He thought that I don¡¯t have the guts to kick him out from the guild! Let me tell you something Leftie, what we need in Steel-Blooded Battle Axe is teamwork, not some individualistic prick....¡±

    Ye Ci leaned at the door frame while assessing the situation.

    A Human Cleric beside Leftie wasining nonstop and thetter listened silently with his head bowed.

    Ye Ci knew the Human female Cleric. It was Peacock Blue. It was the ¡°Sister Blue¡± that was mentioned by Yi Cang.

    Peacock Blue, the administrator of Steel-Blooded Battle Axe. She was a beauty. In a guild where males were the majority, her looks was something to be proud of. This was why she was arrogant. The guys in the guild treated her like a princess.

    Ye Ci knew that she had greatly offended Peacock Blue.

    Yi Cang helplessly listened on, unable to defend himself.

    Ye Ci knocked softly on the door. The sound was not loud, but it was enough to announce the presence of a third person in the room.

    Leftie raised his head and saw Ye Ci. He was truly d to see her, but before he could greet her, Peacock Blue exploded.

    ¡°Who the hell are you! Why are you here! Can¡¯t you see this is the administrator¡¯s office? I¡¯m busy here! Where¡¯s your discipline! Which squad are you from! Tell me your name!¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Peacock Blue who was seething with anger. She did not even flinched. She smiled at Peacock Blue and smiled, ¡°I¡¯m Gongzi You....¡±

    ¡°So what? Which squad are you from! I will punish you for insubordination.....¡± Peacock Blue continued to grumble a bit more before stopping abruptly.

    She looked at Ye Ci up and down and shouted, ¡°YOU are Gongzi You! You¡¯re a girl?¡±

    Ye Ci touched the tip of her Elven ears and smiled, ¡°If the system did not scan my features wrongly, yes. I¡¯m a girl.¡±

    Peacock Blue was speechless. She red at Ye Ci without uttering a single word. Nobody would be able maintain theirposure when they were caught talking behind someone¡¯s back.

    ¡°What do you want from me?¡±

    ¡°The guild is organising an expedition into the Chilly Wend dungeons. We¡¯ll begin clearing the first dungeon, Cruel Pit, in three days. All guild members with 100 GS must be present!¡± said Peacock Blue with distaste in her tone.

    ¡°MY GS is only at 85.¡± Ye Ci sighed and showed her Character information which was already disguised by the Brooch Of Deceit.

    Peacock Blue¡¯s brows creased. Gongzi You¡¯s equipment were garbage. So how could someone like her clear Icy Cave at Hard Difficulty?

    It seemed that she was just lucky to have a good party.

    This did not faze Peacock Blue at all, ¡°I don¡¯t care. This is an order from the guild leader. Even if your GS is not 100 yet, you¡¯ll still be a substitute.¡± With that, she left the room.

    She could not understand Sunset Cloud¡¯s attention to such an individual.

    Leftied let out a breath that he had been holding after Peacock Blue left. He smile awkwardly at Ye Ci and said, ¡°Little Ci, don¡¯t mind Sister Blue. She¡¯s an admin. Sometimes she need to state her authority. She has nothing against you.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded and said to Leftie, ¡°Yi Cang, not everyone is suitable for you even if they might look good. Don¡¯t hurt yourself for something that¡¯s not worth it.¡±

    ¡°Little Ci, what do you mean....¡± Leftie was confused.

    Ye Ci did not borate. She could see that Yi Cang liked Peacock Blue. When a man was afraid of such arrogant women, it was usually due to the fact that he liked her, not because of her abilities.

    However, there were times when ¡°like¡± doesn¡¯t necessarily mean ¡°suitable¡±. Yi Cang¡¯s case was the perfect example.

    Ye Ci had never been afraid of such empty threats. She could totally ignore Peacock Blue, but she decided to go with the guild.

    The reason was none other than Peacock Blue¡¯s words.

    ¡°What we need in Steel-Blooded Battle Axe is teamwork, not some individualistic prick.....¡±

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    (1) ¡°ÎÒ°ÖÊÇÀî¸Õ¡± ¡°My dad is Li Gang¡±: It was an incident back in October 16th 2010. A car was speeding in campus and was involved in a hit and run ident. When intercepted by guards and students at the campus gate, the driver, the son of a Chinese official named Li Qiming shouted, ¡°ÓÐ±¾ÊÂÄãÃÇ¸æÈ¥, ÎÒ°ÖÊÇÀî¸Õ!¡± which meant ¡°Sue me if you can, my dad is Li Gang¡±. It immediately became trolling material for Chineseizens.

    GS: Equipment rating

    DKP: Guild contribution points

 Chapter 29 A Citizen of Red Lake City

    Chapter 29 A Citizen of Red Lake City

    Individualism.

    No teamwork.

    Ye Ci was reminded of herst life. She was always alone and she never epted any friendship.

    As a result, she was rejected by everyone.

    Even if Steel-Blooded Battle Axe was not something she wanted, she felt that she had no right to be rebellious.

    She could never forget what the Glory Corporation said to her. ¡°Fate is not about an individual. Only with the help of your most trustedrades can you stand at the top of the world.¡±

    She took in a deep breath. Since she had made her decisions, there were matters that she needed to attend to. She contacted Four Seas.

    There was no story without coincidences.

    Before she could contact Four Seas, she received a message from him.

    ¡°Gongzi, I¡¯m so sorry. We might need to dy our appointment. I¡¯ve received orders from my guild. We¡¯re going into the Chilly Wends tomorrow.¡±

    It was a beautiful coincidence, but it was bound to happen. Most of the yers have reached lv10, and the Chilly Wend dungeons were the ones first post-lv10 dungeon to be explored. Many guilds had made preparations for expeditions into the Chilly Wend.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I was about to contact you as well. My guild had an expedition nned into the Cruel Pit 3 dayster.¡±

    ¡°What a coincidence. Which guild are you in?¡±

    ¡°Steel-Blooded Battle Axe.¡±

    ¡°Ah, the guild that is quite famoustely.¡± Four Seas was a veteran gamer, so he knew almost anything happening in the game. ¡°You must be part of the main force!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a substitute.¡±

    If Ye Ci could see Four Sea¡¯s expression, she would be amazed. Four Seas was shocked beyond believe. He stood still with mouth agape.

    ¡°How strong Steel-Blooded Battle Axe really is? Even you are a substitute!¡± asked Four Seas.

    Ye Ci did not answer directly. She did not know the guild¡¯s true strength, and she was never one to gossip. She hung up after talking briefly with Four Seas.

    With her inconvenience settled, Ye Ci decided to make some preparations despite being a substitute.

    No battles could be won without preparations.

    In the following days, Ye Ci gathered a lot of fabric and sent them to Flutter n¡¯ Sway to be made into bandages. She then headed to the Forest of Stone.

    The First Blood of Forest of Stone was already taken by a secretive organization called ¡°Cain¡¯s Wrath¡±, but this did not reduce Ye Ci¡¯s enthusiasm towards the dungeon.

    Blue equipment was always inferior to Purple equipment. With Ye Ci¡¯s previous damage output based on Blue equipment, it was hard for her to clear the Forest of Stone. With the Venomous Scorpion equipment set and Ol¡¯ Three, however, she steamrolled the dungeon easily.

    She couldn¡¯t help but let out a whistle after defeating the BOSS John.

    Purple equipments. With them, it was almost a massacre. Before having such equipment, Ye Ci could not clear Forest of Stone unharmed.

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyes lit up after receiving book from the BOSS. It was a skill book.

    Rapid Fire (level 1): Unleashes an Hunter¡¯s innate ability, each arrow fired will turn into four arrows. Required level: 12

    Rapid Fire was one of the most important Hunter skill. A level 1 rapid fire can shoot 4 consecutive arrows. When it was maxed out at lv15, it can fire 20 arrows at one go. With critical hits, the damage dealt to a target would be enormous.

    Ye Ci was jovial. The drop rate for the skill book was 2%. This was the first time Ye Ci hade across this skill book despite all her past life¡¯s experiences.

    Ye Ci pped her hands together and the book vanished into a sh of white light, entering her body.

    Other than quest items such as ¡°Lemmy¡¯s Doll¡± and ¡°John¡¯s Right Hand¡±, Ye Ci received some other equipments as well, but only a ring caught Ye Ci¡¯s eyes.

    Ring of Unjust:

    Blue Equipment

    Strength+5

    Stamina+5

    Intelligence +8

    Required level: 12

    Although it was a ring mainly for mages, it was better than nothing. The additional 5 points of Strength would be of much help to Ye Ci. After putting everything into her inventory, Ye Ci returned to Red Lake City.

    John¡¯s Right Hand was the third quest item for Ye Ci¡¯s quest. She could hand it to the mayor of any major city and would subsequently be rewarded huge amounts of prestige points in that city.

    Ye Ci, of course, handed it to the mayor of Red Lake City.

    ¡°Ah, young Huntress, I¡¯m impressed!¡± The mayor adjusted his spectacles and, with a face full of disgust, took a look at John¡¯s Right Hand that wasying there. ¡°This is John¡¯s right hand alright! You¡¯re a braved! Ok, this thing is disgusting, take it away.¡±

    Ye Ci picked the hand up and stored it back into her inventory.

    ¡°Okay, you can get your rewards from the administration official. He¡¯ll give you your reward!¡± With that the mayor left the room.

    Ye Ci bowed at the mayor half-heartedly and left.

    The administration official was way more generous than the mayor. He rewarded Ye Ci greatly after receiving John¡¯s Right Hand.

    Red Lake City prestige points x2000, Gold coins x1000, Talent points x2

    Ye Ci¡¯s prestige in Red Lake City soared to ¡°Intimate¡± from ¡°Friendly¡± within an instant. This meant that she could receive a lot more quests in the city. She could also unlock the ¡°Military Rank¡± system for Red Lake City.

    The Military Rank System could be unlocked when a yer¡¯s prestige with a city reached ¡°Intimate¡±. They could receive quests with increasing quality and difficulty proportional to a yer¡¯s military rank.

    ¡°There¡¯s a bunch of bandits northwest from here. I want you to investigate them.¡± The administration official gave Ye Ci her quest.

    The official then gave Ye Ci another quest, ¡°Young Huntress, you¡¯ve done a lot for this city. The citizens of Red Lake City remember your deeds. Although you¡¯ve been here for only a short time, I believe you love this city sincerely. I would now like to invite you to be a citizen of Red Lake City. Do you agree?¡±

    Ye Ci agreed without hesitation.

    A yer could be a citizen of a city in Fate when their City-recalling Crystal was bound to the city, and yers can only be a citizen of one city.

    Some of the cities that were situated in more lush areas were suitable for potion makers and cooks. Cities that were closer to mines were suitable for miners and cksmiths. There were also cities situated closely to dungeons, which were the favourites of guilds and other warmongering yers.

    The city was crucial for the growth of its citizen. Many of the yers did not understand this important factor. They did not think clearly about the choice city and, in theter stages of the game, had to pay huge fees to change their citizenship.

    As for Ye Ci, she chose Red Lake City because it was one of the cities with no Steel-Blooded Battle Axe members as residents. More importantly, however, it would be one of Fate¡¯s top 10 most developed cities in the future.

    Although Red Lake City was more isted, high level dungeons would appear near it in the future. The surroundings of Red Lake City was rich with nts, animals, and mines. It was the perfect ce.

    Ye Ci could remember clearly that Red Lake City would be packed full of yers in a few years¡¯ time.

    ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯re now officially a Red Lake City citizen.¡± The official said with a stoic voice, after which his expression soften. This gave Ye Ci a sense of belonging.

    A bright golden light emitted from Ye Ci¡¯s body, and at the same time, a system announcement rang out.

    ¡°The young Huntress Gongzi You has settled in Red Lake City after a long journey and is now a citizen of Red Lake Citizen! This is a very joyous event!¡±

 Chapter 30 Substitutes

    Chapter 30 Substitutes

    The system message naturally did not have the shock value of something like First Blood. Not many peoplemented over it.

    However, to Ye Ci, it carried a different meaning.

    ¡°You are the first outsider to join our Red Lake City. I will definitely reward you well.¡± The official seemed extremely happy and took out a medal from the box on the office table, giving it to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci received the medal and took a look. It was a citizen¡¯s medal.

    Red Lake City Citizen¡¯s Medal: 5 HP regeneration per second.

    The medal appeared to be rted to the Prestige within the city. The greater the Prestige, the better the bonuses the medal provided. Although the stats of the medal was average, it was better than nothing. Ye Ci immediately stuck it on her chest.

    Afterwards, the official urged Ye Ci again, ¡°There are not enough people in the Military Department. Gongzi You, are you perhaps interested in helping?¡±

    Here it is.

    Ye Ci had worked so hard and so long just for this question.

    Before her, there were two options: yes or no.

    If she replied yes, she would activate her own Military Rank System. If she replied no, the Military Rank System would not have any connection with her ever again.

    She obviously answered yes. Next, Ye Xi was sent to the Military Department by the official.

    ¡°Gongzi You, you now are a citizen of Red Lake City. Do you want to protect this city?¡±

    Naturally, Ye Ci¡¯s answer was again yes. Afterwards, the Military Officer immediately helped Ye Ci with her registration, and her Citizen¡¯s Medal was switched to a lvl 1 Soldier¡¯s Medal. Although the medal was changed, he stats remained the same.

    After bing a lvl 1 Soldier, Ye Ci received a quest from the Military Officer¡ª patrol Red Lake City. If your immediate superior instructed you, you must directly follow their orders. The quest seemed easy, but it actually proved to be very hard upon attempting toplete it.

    A patrol officer had a lot of duties to fulfill . From protecting the citizens, to maintaining order, to cleaning, the patrol officer was required to do everything. Although it was only one patrol a day, it would take at least an hour. It was tiring as hell and about as rxing as fighting a BOSS.

    After the patrol wasplete, Ye Ci could go to the Military Officer to collect the Sry Pack of the Day. Inside were fifty silver coins and fifty Military Honor points.

    Military Honor points were needed for promotions. Other than doing the Military Officer¡¯s quests every day, there were no other ways of obtaining it. If one wanted to be promoted, they would need to patiently bear with the oppression.

    After finishing the day¡¯s worth of oppressive work, Ye Ci left the Administration Office, and epted another few simple quests, conveniently raising her to lvl 15. Afterwards, she traveled towards the Hunter Instructor.

    The Combat Skills in Fate do not require mastery like the Life Skills. As long as the lvl of a character fit the requirements, one can always level up a Combat Skill as long as the fees were paid.

    Since Ye Ci¡¯s reached lvl 15, she could level up all her skills. She could even learn a skill at lvl 15, a very important one ¨C Mount.

    Quite a lot of yers were already riding horses. With them galloping at full speed with their hoofs, it was a morous sight. Even Ye Ci felt quite tempted to ride one. She wasted no time in learning the skill right after she hit lvl 15.

    Skills that could be learned by spending money were never cheap, and Mount was especially expensive. Ye Ci spent almost 30 gold coins in the process of leveling up her skills and acquiring the skill Mount. With her wealth, Ye Ci did not even flinch at the price, but any other average yer would be able to feel the pain for a long time.

    The next step after learning Mount was to get a horse. Horses were cheap. They only cost 10 gold coins each. After almost half a day of ¡®careful selection¡¯, Ye Ci finally bought a small maroon colored horse, and rode around Red Lake City happily.

    Something that ran on four legs was obviously faster than someone with two legs. Despite only increasing movement speed by 40%, the horse that costed 10 gold was a way better alternative than walkingon foot.

    After showing off her horse, Ye Ci noted that it waste. She logged out of the game and did her school work.

    Life of a college student was tough, isn¡¯t it true! With loads of school work every day, isn¡¯t it! Can¡¯t miss a ss! Isn¡¯t it true! Isn¡¯t it true!

    Ye Ci went online early in the morning the following day. She immediately received a mail. It was the bandages from Flutter n¡¯ Sway.

    With the fresh bandages, Ye Ci took out a series of potion from her storage and headed to the guild staging area.

    Ye Ci thought that she was already early, but she realized that it was nothing to be proud of when she arrived at the guild staging area, as hundreds of yers had already gathered there.

    Ye Ci took a look at her friend list. Yi Cang, Liu Chang, and Dong Yin were not online yet. Since she knew nobody else from the guild, she sat in an empty corner. The three logged into the game not long after.

    Just as the four gathered, Peacock Blue¡¯s voice rang in the guild channel, ¡°All participants please take note, please find out which party you belong to from the bulletin board and report to your party leader. Our mission today is to clear Cruel Pit, and achieve First Blood! Any party that clears the pit will be rewarded. The party leader will be awarded 10 DKP, while party members will be awarded 5 points each. If we can achieve First Blood, the party leader will be awarded 200 DKP, and the members 100 each!¡±

    The yers present were excited. 1 point = 100 bucks. Anybody would be excited!

    Ye Ci was left speechless. He Xiao was truly willing to spend a lot. She thought that he was just someone who was slightly rich, but she did not expect him to be that wealthy. Even if they could not achieve First Blood for the Cruel Pit, he¡¯d need to pay out hundreds of thousands RMB.

    As expected of a rich person.

    After taking a look at the bulletin board, Ye Ci was the only one of her friends left without a party.

    Liu Chang creased her eyebrows, ¡°Did they identally leave you out, why was your name not there?¡±

    Ye Ci, of course, knew the truth. She stopped Liu Chang and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, you guys go on ahead. I¡¯m fine.¡±

    ¡°But....¡± Liu Chang was still unsatisfied, but Peacock Blue was already giving orders for party members to gather. Liu Chang had no choice but to leave for her party.

    With her three friends gone, Ye Ci contacted Peacock Blue, ¡°Peacock Blue, I did not see my name on the bulletin board.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you, you have insufficient GS, you¡¯re just a substitute. Stand aside. I¡¯ll call for you when somebody from a party left or was disconnected from the game.¡± Peacock Blue retorted after realizing that it was Gongzi You.

    ¡°Can I form a party of my own then?¡±

    ¡°Do what you want, as long as it¡¯s not with some wild party [1]. Take whoever that¡¯s willing to go with you.¡± Peacock Blue replied.

    With that, Ye Ci immediately shouted in the guild channel, ¡°Looking for party members for Cruel Pit. Need Tank, Healer, and DPS.¡±

    Two yers immediately requested to join her party. It was a Dwarven Mage named Timely Rain and an Orcish Warlock named Pickled Pepper Phoenix w.

    Ye Ci shook her head. Dwarves were meant to be Warriors or Knights, while Orcs were most suited to being Rogues, Rangers, Druids or Priests. A Dwarven Mage and an Orcish Warlock... It was a rather oddbination.

    Both of them were lvl 12, and their equipments were a mess. They suffered greatly due to the oddbination of race and ss and ended up as substitutes.

    ¡°Are we really going to the Cruel Pit?¡± asked Timely Rain right after joining the party.

    ¡°Can we clear it?¡± Pickled Pepper Phoenix w sounded desperate.

    ¡°Why not give it a try? We¡¯ll proceed if we can handle it and leave immediately if we can¡¯t.¡± Ye Ci didn¡¯t like to make superficial promises , ¡°Even if we can¡¯t clear the dungeon, we can at least get to know the map. It¡¯d be easier to look for a party next time.¡±

    The two agreed immediately.

    Nobody else joined their party.

    Timely Rain and Pickled Pepper Phoenix w almost gave up, ¡°Just forget about it, we¡¯ll just wait here as substitutes.¡±

    ¡°If we can¡¯t find someone from the guild, we¡¯ll just find some random Tank and Healer.¡±

    ¡°But Peacock Blue forbade us to form wild parties.¡±

    ¡°The party belongs to our guild if more than half its members are from our guild.¡± Ye Ci exined, ¡°Come with me if you want. If not, you can leave the party.¡±

    The two did not leave the party. They¡¯ve been benchwarmer for quite some time already. They would never easily let go of such an opportunity.

    With all their doubts cleared, the two followed Ye Ci to the Cruel Pit.

    Perhaps due to the fact that Cruel Pit was the focus of a lot of big guilds, the ce was packed with yers. Ye Ci shouted, ¡°Cruel Pit, need a Tank and a Healer. Three people in the party, we¡¯ll start as soon as we have enough members!¡±

    She immediately received requests. She was puzzled. She had thought that she would need at least half a day to form aplete party. Were Tanks and Healers so unpopr in this her current life?

    But, as she looked carefully, Ye Ci was ovee with joy.

    The people who joined her party were none other than Little Icy Cold Hands and Icy Cold Little Hands....

    TL Notes:

    [1] Wild party: party with members w/o a guild.

    Phoenix w: a fancy way of calling ¡°chicken feet¡±. It¡¯s actually a delicacy though hmm...

 Chapter 31 Why?

    Chapter 31 Why?

    It was such a small world.

    The two greeted Ye Ci right after they joined the party, ¡°Gongzi, what a coincidence, we¡¯re here for the fun, but we only found guild parties. We were just about to leave and then we saw somebody looking for party members.¡±

    We never thought that it¡¯ll be you. We joined immediately without thinking!¡± Icy Cold Little Hands idolized Ye Ci, she was happy to be in her party.

    ¡°I was wondering, had all the Healers and Tanks lost their jobs?¡± Ye Ci was happy to see people that she was familiar with. Their skills were not that good, but she knew their strengths and weaknesses, having already partied with them before. It would be easier to control the situation once they entered the dungeon.

    ¡°Wow! Both of you are from the Freaking Awesome People! You¡¯re the ones who got First Blood on Icy Cave hard difficulty!¡± Timely Rain and Pickled Pepper Phoenix w said excitedly.

    Normally, Little Icy Cold Hands would¡¯ve bragged about it. But he could not bring himself to do so in front of Ye Ci. He scratched his head awkwardly and asserted, ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence. Just a coincidence.¡±

    Those two underestimated the power of idols. Despite Little Icy Cold Hands¡¯ reserved behavior, Timely Rain and Pickled Pepper Phoenix w treated him warmly. Ye Ci sighed. She was also part of the people who cleared it you know....

    ¡°Have you guyspleted the prerequisite quest?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    ¡°Yes,¡± replied the four collectively.

    With the average yer progressing towards the Chilly Wends, even those without a party would have themon sense toplete the prerequisite quest just in case.

    Ye Ci nodded her head and led the four into the Cruel Pit.

    Just before she entered the dungeon, Ye Ci¡¯s private voice message channel rang. The conversation also appeared in her text message channel.

    The person had a Fate Logo beside his name in the word channel. It was a Fate Official.

    ¡°Hello, I am Customer Service No.094. Miss Gongzi You, do you still remember me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, what do you want?¡± It was Wang Jiang Nan. Ye Ci was bewildered. Why was a person from the development team looking for her? Was he taking back her pet egg?

    ¡°We¡¯ve been studying the bug that you submitted. It is in the opinion of the entire development team that this BUG is impossible to be exploited. Are you hiding the presence of other BUGs?¡± Wang Jiang Nan was in a difficult position. He knew that Ye Ci could kill the Sandstorm Scorpion with the BUG and he had reported it after investigating her movement records.

    Of course, he could not tell that to his boss. He would be fired.

    He could only try his best to exin the BUG reported by Ye Ci to his bosses and tell Ye Ci about the results of the investigation.

    Ye Ci was momentarily puzzled. She then answered coldly, ¡°Since you do not believe me, why are you here? Handing out punishment? Confiscating my loot?¡±

    ¡°No, Miss Gongzi You. The development team wishes for you to demonstrate the BUG you used to kill the Sandstorm Scorpion so that we can confirm the problem and fix the BUG.¡± Wang JiangNan sighed. He knew that it was almost a mission impossible.

    Ye Ci remained silent as if she did not hear his words. She stayed with the party in the gloomy dungeons, clearing away the asional monster.

    The first floor of the Cruel Pit was slightly brighter. Scattered rays of light shone in from the cracks of the ceiling. The glittering light made the atmosphere even scarier. The mobs on this floor was scattered and it was easy to take care of them. The party could even joke around as they progressed through the floor.

    ¡°Miss Gongzi You, what do you think of my proposal?¡± Wang Jiang Nan was desperate when he received no response from Ye Ci. He was the one who reported the BUG to the higher ups, if it turned out to be a fraud, his bonus for the month would be gone. He might even lose his position in the development team that was nning the release of a new trailer.

    Money did not matter to him. But if he was kicked out of the development team, it would be truly troubling.

    But it was impossible for him to tell that to Ye Ci. Thus, he could only urge her to make up her mind faster.

    Ye Ci gave the matter a moment of consideration before she replied, ¡°Why?¡±

    It made Wang Jiang Nan speechless. Then again, It had always been that way. yers had no obligation to report a BUG. To repair a BUG was the Official¡¯s responsibility. It had nothing to do with the yers. And to seek help from a yer to repair a BUG without any reason.....

    Exactly. Why?

    Wang Jiang Nan did not know what to say, but he couldn¡¯t just hang up like that. As such, the two continued to remain silent.

    It was Ye Ci who spoke first, ¡°If you can let me have all the dropped items, I¡¯ll do it again.¡±

    Wang Jiang Nan immediately ryed Ye Ci¡¯s condition to the higher up and it was approved immediately. They agreed that if Ye Ci could get in touch with Customer Service No.094 whenever she was free, they could work together to repair the BUG.

    The party was preparing to enter the second floor just as the conversation ended. Little Icy Cold Hands was curious about Ye Ci¡¯s silence (She was talking to Customer Service No.094) and asked, ¡°Gongzi, you¡¯re quiet today....¡±

    Ye Ci was puzzled, was she normally very noisy? ¡°Then what do you want me to say?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that.... It¡¯s weird to not hear you giving out orders in the dungeon.¡±

    A smile lit up the pale face underneath the dim light, ¡°Be careful on the second floor, the mobs are no longer scattered. They¡¯ll be swarming us.¡±

    ¡°How do you know.....¡± before Timely Rain could finish his sentence, loud noises emanated from all around them.

    A horde of skeletons were rising from the ground and moved slowly towards the party. The dim light in the dungeon shone on the bits of rotten flesh that still hung loosely off the skeletons, making for a horrible sight.

    Icy Cold Little Hands let out a yelp and fell onto the stairs. Timely Rain also had his wits scared out of him by the skeleton horde.

    The party would be annihted at this rate. Ye Ci pulled Timely Rain backwards and shouted at Little Cold Icy Hands, ¡°Little Cold Icy Hands, have you learnt Charge!?¡±

    Little Cold Icy Hands was also shivering out of fear, but when his name was mentioned, he regained his wits and answered, ¡°Yes¡±.

    ¡°Charge at them! Charge at the ce where they¡¯re most concentrated!¡±

    Charge was a Warrior¡¯s only means of building up mass aggro. It could attract the aggro of eight monsters at most along its trajectory. Little Cold Icy Hands charged at the skeletons, and a sharp sound resounded when his armor collided with the skeletons.

    Ol¡¯ Three followed close behind Little Cold Icy Hands and attracted the attention of the skeletons around him, relieving some of the pressure from him. At the same time, Ye Ci fired arrows at the skeletons and, with her high bnce, began kiting them without attracting the attention of more skeletons.

    Ye Ci finally found the time to give instructions to the three mage ssed yers who had lost their morale, ¡°Warlock, cast Frost Beam! Aim for the skeletons nearest to the Healer and the Sorcerer! Healer, don¡¯t just stand there, heal the Tank! Sorcerer, attack whichever target that the Warrior is attacking, be careful of what you hit! Control your aggro, be careful not to OT!¡±

    Icy Cold Little Hands were frightened by the horrifying scene. She would¡¯ve cried out loud if not for Ye Ci. She suppressed her fear, raised her staff with a trembling hand, and healed Little Cold Icy Hands.

    Despite being men, Pickled Pepper Phoenix w and Timely Rain did not fare any better. With the scenery assaulting their senses, they would¡¯ve been in utter confusion if not for Ye Ci¡¯s instructions.

    With Ye Ci¡¯s careful and precise instructions, the party slowly got used to her orders and herbat style. With Ye Ci¡¯s perfect positioning and controls, their fear of the skeletons decreased and they began to fight with order.

    But the GS of the two DPS was too low, which badly affected their damage output. It was Ye Ci¡¯s superior equipment that raised the party¡¯s damage output.

    The battle ended.

    All of them sat on the ground, tired and sweating. Ye Ci threw a piece of roasted meat at Ol¡¯ Three and patted its head, and to show its happiness, Ol¡¯ Three rubbed its head against Ye Ci¡¯s thigh.

    A pale-faced Little Icy Cold Hands looked at Ye Ci but detected no hint of unusualness on her. Even her facial expression remained the same. He sighed and said, ¡°Gongzi, you¡¯re brave.... Aren¡¯t you afraid of this scary dungeon?¡±

    Ye Ciughed. She was tempted to tell them that there were even scarier dungeons in theter stages of Fate. Cruel Pit was just the tip of the iceberg. She replied with half of the truth, ¡°It¡¯s just a game. It¡¯s not real. There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of.¡±

    The rest of the party sighed and shook their heads. They were impressed by Ye Ci.

    After resting for a short moment, Ye Ci said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, there are more skeletons ahead. Be careful.¡±

    The group gulped, and clutched their weapons tightly....

 Chapter 32 Cleared! Cruel Pit!

    Chapter 32 Cleared! Cruel Pit!

    Cruel Pit was the introductory dungeon to the Chilly Wends. Its design was different from the other dungeons within the Chilly Wends. The dungeon itself was themed after Gothic horror. The entire dungeon was filled with an eerie atmosphere, and yers who enter it for the first time were likely to be affected by the psychological induction of fear and ended up underperforming.

    That was one of the reasons why a dungeon that was not exactly hard bogged down the progress of millions of Fate yers for quite a while.

    Ye Ci could remember herself being scared senseless when she first entered this dungeon. The only solution offered by the forums at the current stage was to watch more horror films to build up the resistance to the horror themed dungeon. It was useless. One would never be able to rte to the horror when one was watching a film as they were not directly experiencing it. The only way to ovee such fear was to visit the dungeon more often. After experiencing the dungeon for at most ten times, the fear of seeing skeletons with bits of meat hanging loosely off them will start to fade.

    And what was the second key to clearing this dungeon one might ask? It was of course.... Damage output.... And.... Puzzle solving.

    The damage output required was an issue for a lot of yers. In Ye Ci¡¯s knowledge, an average yer must possess at least 150 GS to clear the dungeon. Even with someone like her around, the average GS of the party members must reach 130. Without reaching this condition, their attacks might not even be able to prate the BOSS¡¯s defense.

    Although Timely Rain and Phoenix w in her party did not have more than 100 GS, Little Icy Cold Hands and Icy Cold Little Hands had 140 GS. As long as she moved faster, her party could clear the dungeon easily.

    As for the puzzle....

    Ye Ci looked up into the sky, it all depended on luck.

    For example, the puzzle currently faced by the party was one that tested the dexterity of one¡¯s thoughts.

    The door leading to the first BOSS was in a small square patio. Four chairs were set at each corner of the room, and when the puzzle was activated, only one yer of the party could try to solve it, while the four other party members had to sit on the chairs.

    One mistake could possibly end the lives of the other four members.

    Ye Ci made a slight mistake, and Little Icy Cold Hands was impaled by a spike that suddenly rose off the ground. He was left with only the slightest amount of HP. He was scared shitless and yelled, ¡°Gongzi, you must be careful, be careful! Luckily it was me who got impaled, if it was the others, they would¡¯ve died!¡±

    ¡°Ah, it was a mistake, it won¡¯t happen the next time.¡± Ye Ci nodded and chuckled.

    ¡°You¡¯re taking revenge on me!¡± Icy Cold Little Hands cried.

    Something clicked, and the door opened.

    Ye Ci straightened up and walked towards the door. The four asked with uncertainty, ¡°It¡¯s done?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    The four immediately jumped off the chairs and rushed into the first BOSS¡¯s room after offering different sorts of prayers.

    The first and second BOSSes were defeated easily. After being in the scary dungeon for three hours, the group was finally used to the atmosphere. Eventually, they reached the door leading to the third and final BOSS.

    The third BOSS of Cruel Pit was the Head Warden Tito.

    Cruel Pit was crowned as the milestone of the humanization of the A.I. It was not because of the difficulty of the dungeon. It was due to the fact that the final BOSS of this dungeon, Tito, was the first high intelligence BOSS that yers encountered in the game.

    A conventional BOSS was designed to follow several programs, but Tito used his own wits to bring out the maximum potential of his skills. This was the hardest factor in the entire dungeon, and part of the reason why many yers were bogged down in this dungeon. They could not figure out a pattern to Tito¡¯s attacks.

    ¡°...... Timely Rain have you learned Exhaust?¡±

    Exhaust was the only Debuff skill that a Warlock possessed. Exhaust reduces the target¡¯s attack damage by 30% for 8 seconds. Despite that, it had a 20 seconds cooldown. It was one of the life-saving skills.

    ¡°I did,¡± Timely Rain nodded. He did not dare to continue... He¡¯d never used the skill before.

    ¡°Ok, Tito will have a skill called Anger. When you see the skill channeling, use Exhaust on him.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Timely Rain learned a lot about positioning after partying with Ye Ci. He¡¯d even mastered skills that he normally would not use and had got used to the casting timing. It could be said that he had benefitted a lot.

    He only had the mindset of exploration when he first entered the dungeon. He was thoroughly impressed by this Huntress. He couldn¡¯t help but imagine that they could clear this dungeon under her guidance.

    ¡°Phoenix w, have you learned Weaken?¡± Ye Ci asked because most beginners did not have many coins with them and were forced to selectively learn skills. They sometimes would overlook skills that were crucial in dungeons and PVP.

    ¡°Let me see, I could¡¯ve sworn that I learned it,¡± Phoenix w¡¯s face was red with embarrassment. He finally found Weaken in his skills panel, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve learned it.¡±

    ¡°When Timely Rain¡¯s Exhaust duration is finished, cast Weaken immediately. Weaken has a low cooldown, you can keep using it. But you must take care not to use it when Exhaust is still in effect, they will cancel each other out. It will greatly increase the pressure for the MT and the Healer.¡± With the exception of Phoenix w, all the members of the party were fast learners. Despite being a slow learner, Phoenix w was a good follower, he followed every instruction to the letter.

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi, they¡¯re not going to attack the BOSS?¡± Little Icy Cold Hands asked, he noticed that Ye Ci only instructed the two to use Debuff on the BOSS, but did not mention a word about them attacking.

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°This BOSS has a high GS requirement. yers that are not lvl 15 can¡¯t even damage the BOSS without 180 GS. It would just be a waste their mana. It¡¯s better if they spend all of their mana on Debuffs. At least they would be able to keep some of the pressure off you.¡±

    The four of them were afraid, seeing as only Little Cold icy Hands had reached lvl 15. The others were not even lvl 15 yet. They began to sweat profusely.

    ¡°Gongzi, if that¡¯s the case, can we clear this dungeon?¡± Timely Rain¡¯s confidence was slightly shaken.

    Ye Ci could understand his thoughts. She looked at Timely Rain and affirmed, ¡°In a dungeon, it¡¯s either the BOSS or us, there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. Even if we die ten times, we¡¯ll only lose half a level worth of experience. With some work, we can get those back within a week. What? Can¡¯t bear the loss?¡±

    With Ye Ci¡¯s words, and seeing that nobody else had the intention to leave, Timely Rain kept quiet and forced himself to stay.

    Phoenix w said, ¡°You¡¯re a guy, act like one! Are you going or nah? The treasure chest is waiting for us, don¡¯t be a pussy!¡±

    Timely Rain was a shy person, with the words of Phoenix w, he was too embarrassed to leave. He gritted his teeth, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    At the next moment, the battle started immediatel.

    Icy Cold Little Hands, Timely Rain and Phoenix w stood together, distancing themselves in a straight line 20 m away from Little Icy Cold Hands. Ye Ci stood between them, acting as a barrier.

    All they needed to do at the beginning of the fight was to stand still and dish out damage, nothing else was really needed. Five minutester, Tito grabbed the hem of Little Icy Cold hands angrily, intending to throw him aside. If it¡¯s not for Little Icy Cold Hand¡¯s reaction speed, he would¡¯ve been thrown away.

    Tito shouted in a loud voice, ¡°Damned ants, you¡¯ve pissed me off!¡±

    Ye Ci was shocked, in her countless visit to the dungeon, she¡¯d never seen Titobining the skills of Anger and Ignite together. She shouted, ¡°You three, move in the same direction as I do after Exhaust is cast, don¡¯t stay in the area of his attack.¡±

    Timely Rain immediately cast Exhaust. Just as Ye Ci¡¯s voice died down, mes burst out of Tito¡¯s mouth in a fan shape. yers within the affected area suffered sustained and serious burn damage.

    The three mage ssed yerswere immediately put into a state of disarray. Noticing that Little Icy Cold Hands was nearly dead, Ye Ci drank a bottle of Rage potion and took the aggro of the BOSS away from him with a few critical hits. She released Ol¡¯ Three to the front line as a meat shield.

    ¡°The four of you hurry up and recover your health with potions and bandages. We¡¯ll do it again!¡± Ye Ci said and began kiting Tito in the small room.

    In Fate, thebat state would not be removed unless the entire party left the area or was annihted. It was not worth to die just like that, and Ye Ci refused the exit the dungeon, leaving behind a BOSS that only had 37% of its health left. She immediately instructed the members of her party to recover themselves.

    The four of them were gasping for air by that time. The three mage ssed yers were especially ashamed of their performance. The used the best consumables they had.

    After healing up, Little Cold Icy Hands charged up to Tito and took over the Aggro with the help of Phoenix w. Ye Ci immediately returned Ol¡¯ Three to the pet storage and went back to her position.

    By that time, they were used to Tito¡¯s tricks. They dodged his Ignite with ease.

    There were asions where time passes real quick, and there were also asions where time was slow. Half an hour was normally not a long period of time, but in the party¡¯s situation, it felt like 10,000 years. Tito¡¯s hit points finally hit 1% and Ye Ci immediately reminded her party members, ¡°Be careful, he will now randomly release an ultimate skill!¡±

    At that moment, Tito began to channelthe skill Mutual Destruction!

    Ye Ci was shocked, nobody had the skill that could cancel other skills at this point. If this ultimate skill was sessfully released, it would deal 999,999 points of damage, annihting everything in the area! She chugged down another bottle of Rage potion.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t let me die now,e on, lemme have a critical hit! Armor break!¡± Ye Ci shouted, and cast Rapid Fire, at the same time, a Weaken debuff appeared on Tito.

    Critical hit! Armor break! -3749!!

 Chapter 33 F*ck Off

    Chapter 33 F*ck Off

    Mutual Destruction¡¯s channeling was finally canceled when the countdown timer hit 0.03 seconds. Tito¡¯s softened body crumpled onto the ground, and he did not move again.

    Suddenly, an eerie silence crept over the Pit.

    The group could not believe the scene unfolding before them, Tito had actually died?

    Icy Cold Little Hands even pinched his own face while mumbling, ¡°Did our party get annihted? Are we standing here as spirits?¡±

    While the four were stunned, Ye Ci was not. She took a deep breath. It was finally over. That was so surreal.

    ¡°Do you want to keep the guild name and party ID hidden?¡± the system announcement immediately popped out after Tito had fallen.

    Ye Ci chose ¡®no¡¯. It was not the time to stay hidden. After all, getting First Blood on this dungeon will raise the prestige of the guild. One must go on tolling the bell as long as one was a monk, as she was a member of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, she should at least fulfill her minimum duties as a guild member.

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Steel-Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s five members for being the first in the world to achieve First Blood for the Cruel Pit dungeon, Rewards: 500 Guild Prestige points, let us remember their names!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Gongzi You¡¯ for clearing the Cruel Pit, Rewards: 100 gold coins, 1000 global prestige points, 2 Talent Points.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Timely Rain¡¯ for clearing the Cruel Pit, Rewards: 100 gold coins, 1000 global Prestige Points, 1 Talent Point.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Phoenix w¡¯ for clearing the Cruel Pit, Rewards: 100 gold coins, 1000 global Prestige Points, 1 Talent Point.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Little Icy Cold Hands¡¯ for clearing the Cruel Pit, Rewards: 100 gold coins, 1000 global Prestige Points, 1 Talent Point.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Icy Cold Little Hands¡¯ for clearing the Cruel Pit, Rewards: 100 gold coins, 1000 global Prestige Points, 1 Talent Point.¡±

    The World Message channel was spammed by the red words of the System Announcement. At that moment, the entire world exploded. The group¡¯s friends channel began beeping nonstop. Little Icy Cold Hands and Icy Cold Little Hands had already experienced such matters and immediately muted their channels. Timely Rain and Phoenix w finally were able to mute their friend chat channel and the world returned to silence.

    ¡°Gongzi You! You went out with a Wild Party, am I right!¡± Peacock Blue¡¯s message reached Ye Ci just as she was about to mute her private message channel.

    ¡°We did not have a MT and a healer, so that¡¯s why I randomly looked for two more extra members.¡±

    ¡°Little Icy Cold Hands and Icy Little Cold Hands were the ones who cleared Icy Cave with you, and you tell me you met them by chance? Do you think that I¡¯m an idiot?¡± Peacock Blue raised her voice after hearing Ye Ci¡¯s neutral tone, ¡°Are you trying to help them get equipments!¡±

    ¡°So what? You¡¯re the one who asked me to look for members on my own.¡±

    ¡°But I did not ask you to form a Wild Party!¡±

    ¡°The achievement belongs to the guild, what do you mean by wild party?¡± Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows. She had never liked having arguments over trivial matters, but Peacock Blue was doing exactly that.

    ¡°Do not give them any equipments, you must hand in all MT and healer equipments!¡± Peacock Blue continued after a pause, ¡°Give the MT equipments to Thousand Sunsets, send the healer equipments directly to me!¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, her expression turning cold. This woman, Ye Ci was toozy to deal with her, but she thought that she could bully her? Finding fault with her, like that, did she think that Ye Ci was just someone soft?

    Ye Ci said in a cold voice, ¡°Cut the nonsense, f*ck off.¡± She then turned off her private message channel and muted that woman.

    Although Ye Ci¡¯s channels finally became quiet again, Peacock Blue that was rejected and then scolded by her was extremely agitated. She shouted in the guild channel, ¡°Gongzi You! Who do you think you are! Clearing a dungeon with a wild party! I would¡¯ve let it slide if you handed in the equipments, but you told me to f*ck off! Who do you think you are? Tell you what, if you hand in the equipment for MT and healer right away, I¡¯ll let you off the hook, if you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll kick you out right away! Don¡¯t you think you¡¯ll be getting any money from us!¡±

    Little Icy Cold Hands and Icy Cold Little Hands were not guild members of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear and had no ess to the guild channel. They did not know what was urring between the two. Timely Rain and Pickled Pepper Phoenix w were stunned after reading Peacock Blue¡¯s words.

    They looked at Ye Ci, but she shook her hand, signaling that she did not mind at all, ¡°Ignore her, we¡¯ll split the loot, and sell anything that we can¡¯t use.¡±

    ¡°But... ¡± Timely Rain was wary of Peacock Blue. After all, she was an administrator in the guild and had some power. He was afraid to offend her.

    ¡°But what? These items are more important. In the worst case scenario, you can just go join another guild, a lot of them are recruiting, just what are you afraid of?¡± Pepper Pickled Phoenix w was way smarter than Timely Rain. Like Ye CI, he paid no heed to Peacock Blue.

    ¡°Gongzi You! I will kick you out of the guild!¡± Peacock Blue was already in a state of rage when she was ignored by Ye Ci.

    At that moment, a system message shed across the screen: Peacock Blue has been stripped of her admin rights by Thousand Sunsets.

    ¡°Thousand!!¡± Peacock Blue screamed. Thousands of guild members were either waiting for Peacock Blue to continue her rage or were waiting for Gongzi You¡¯s response, but nothing else surfaced in the guild channel.

    ¡°Something happened in your guild?¡± Little Icy Cold Hands immediately guessed that it had something to do with Ye Ci¡¯s guild.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just some petty quarreling in the guild,¡± Pepper Pickled Phoenix wughed.

    ¡°I see, this is why I don¡¯t want to join a guild, too troublesome.¡± Little Icy Cold Hands scartched his head and looked at Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi are you going to pick up the loot? If you¡¯re not gonna do it, I¡¯m going to pick up all of them!¡±

    Ye Ci smiled at Timely Rain and Pepper Pickled Phoenix w ¡°Which one of you has a better luck? Go open the chests,¡± pointing at the three glimmering chests at the corner.

    Cruel Pit was a dungeon that a lot would prefer not to revisit after clearing it once. Other than its eerie theme, the loot was also given in a very disgusting way. yers would only obtain a treasure chest key each from the first and second BOSS. They can only obtain the rewards after defeating the third BOSS and open the treasure chests behind it with the keys dropped from ying each BOSS.

    Frankly speaking, if one could not clear the dungeon, it¡¯s a waste of one¡¯s effort.

    The two shook their heads, stating that they were members of the ¡°ck hand¡± (unlucky) army.

    The mission of opening the boxes fell to Little Icy Cold Hands and Icy Cold Little Hands.

    Their luck were unprecedented. Other than the quest items to activate the rest of the dungeon cluster, they obtained 6 Blue equipment that were fully lvl 15.

    Sadly, none of them were bows or crossbows. Ye Ci could only watch as they distributed their new weapons.

    The Barbarian two-handed axe and the Druid staff that were leftover were sold in the auction house and the profits would split between the five party members.

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but suspect if she would only had the luck with skill books in her current life. The three chests gave them 17 pieces of equipments in total, and they got one or two each, with the exception of Pepper Pickled Phoenix w, who obtained three items. Ye Ci was the only one who did not get anything other than two skill books.

    The drop rates of skill books however, was in an entirely different realm whenpared an equipment¡¯s drop rate. With Ye Ci¡¯s two new skill books, it¡¯s worth it.

    Frost Trap: Deploying it along the opponent¡¯s movement path will freeze the target for 12 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

    Poison: Coat the user¡¯s weapon with poison, target will be poisoned along the skill¡¯s duration. All physical damage against targets will be have the Poisoned effect. Duration: 60 seconds. Cooldown: 90 seconds. ss: Rogue, Hunter, Ranger.

    Some of the sses in Fate will share simr skills. Poison was a skill used by Rogue, Hunter and Ranger sses. It¡¯s one of the best skills for assassination and killing BOSS.

    The five added each other as friends after splitting up the loot and left the dungeon.

    Ye Ci went back to Red Lake City and cleared the daily quest and obtained the sry pack containing 50 silver coins and 50 Military Honor Points. Just as Ye Ci was about to go offline after sorting out her item storage, a pigeon approached her. It was Liu Chang. She had heard about Ye Ci¡¯s confrontation with Peacock Blue after being leaving a dungeon upon her death.

    ¡°Nothing, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s anything big.¡± Ye Ci dismissed it as something petty.

    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t mind, that b*tch might not feel the same. She thought that everybody should listen to her. She might have added much more oil to the fire whenning to Thousand Sunsets¡± said Liu Chang coldly.

    ¡°She can say what she wants. It¡¯s not like my life depends on her. If worstes to the worst, I¡¯ll just leave, not that I care.¡± Ye Ci yawned, appearing to not even care about the topic, ¡°I¡¯m so tired, getting a First Blood is not easy, I¡¯ll go to sleep.

    Liu Chang did not say much to Ye Ci with her current condition. She said goodbye to Ye Ci, and went offline as well.

    Ye Ci had not eaten for the entire day while exploring the dungeon. With her exerting so much of her attention in the game, she did not feel hungry. However, hunger assaulted her senses as soon as she went offline. She went to bed after a quick meal and was asleep the moment her head touched her pillow.

    After an unknown period of time, her phone rang.

    Ye Ci buried her head in her nket and continued sleeping, not paying heed to the phonecall. But the caller did not give up, and the phone rang on and on to the point where Ye Ci had to pick up the call.

    It was Yi Cang.

    Yi Cang seemed to be contacting her frequently nowadays, thought a sleep-addled Ye Ci.

    ¡°Litle Ci, let¡¯s have a meal together tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Your dad gave you more pocket money?¡±

    ¡°No, Brother He said that it¡¯s a guild activity.¡±

    ¡°Which Brother He?¡± Ye Ci was still groggy.

    ¡°He Xiao, Thousand Sunsets.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s mind immediately cleared. To call her out for a meal at this time? It did not seem like a good timing. Ye Ci could not help but remember the events that urred in the afternoon.

    Trantor note: Due to previous mistrantion, ¡°Steel Blooded Battle Axe¡± will now be renamed as ¡°Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡±

 Chapter 34 Flutter nâ€™ Sway

    Chapter 34 Flutter n¡¯ Sway

    Reason number one, Yi Cang found it hard to suppress her own joy out of excitement. Number two, she couldn¡¯t really afford to miss the activity organized by the guildmaster since she was still in the Steel-Blooded Battle Spear guild. Third and most importantly, she wanted to know what kind of trickery Thousand Sunsets was trying to pull off.

    However, Ye Ci didn¡¯t really get to interact much with Thousand Sunsets the next day. Both of them had only met with each other at the specified restaurant.

    He Xiao looked like he was in a hurry, but he still wore a friendly smile on his face upon seeing Ye Ci. ¡°Oh it¡¯s you, Gongzi. Hurry and go upstairs, they are all in the big private room on the third floor. I¡¯ll excuse myself for awhile since I have some business to attend to, but I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±

    As soon as he finished his sentence, he let the smiling man who had escorted him down earlier to bring Ye Ci upstairs at once. He then briskly walked towards a luxury car that was parked at the roadside, opened the door, got in, and pulled away.

    Ye Ci took a nce at that car. Although she couldn¡¯t really urately estimate its price value, she could easily tell that it was worth at least a few million just from its brand.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head up.¡± the man beside her reminded Ye Ci with a smile.

    Ye Ci gave him a nod and followed behind him as they walked upstairs.

    This man introduced himself with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m Zero Arsenic, the vice guildmaster.¡±

    The moment Ye Ci heard the name Zero Arsenic, she couldn¡¯t help but to take another few good look at this man. So he was Zero Arsenic.

    Although guildmaster of the Steel-Blooded Battle Spear guild was Thousand Sunsets, ording to the experience of the previous generation, this man was the guild¡¯s true mastermind.

    ¡°How do you do?¡± Ye Ci nodded as she gave a greeting that was neither humble nor pert. She didn¡¯t show much enthusiasm either.

    This was somewhat a surprise to Zero Arsenic. Most members were enthusiastic to meet him, but this person was quite unusual.

    ¡°You are Gongziyou, right?¡± Ye Ci wasn¡¯t much of a conversationalist and Zero Arsenic didn¡¯t want the atmosphere to turn awkward either. Hence, he took the initiative to converse with her as they climbed the stairs.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°The first time I saw that name, I thought you would be a guy.¡± Zero Arsenic¡¯s gaze never once left Ye Ci¡¯s face when he was speaking, wanting to catch any trace of emotions on her face. But much to his disappointment, the expression on Ye Ci¡¯s face remained cid. There was neither excitement nor the intention to converse further. Even her replies to him were dull and a little inarticte.

    ¡°It was randomized by the system.¡±

    The invitation today to Ye Ci was not Thousand Sunsets¡¯ idea, but Zero Arsenic¡¯s.

    Her name, Gongziyou, was in two First Kills and she had caught Zero Arsenic¡¯s attention. Although Peacock Blue was a hundred percent sure that the GS of this equipment was only 85, the Icy Cave was cleared because of a good team. However, something still felt off to him.

    After she had once again imed the First Kill of the Cruel Pit Boss: Warden Tito, Zero Arsenic immediately contacted Timely Rain and Pickled Pepper Chicken Feet who had just exited the dungeon. The two of them were immediately singing praises of this huntress¡¯ control andmand, as if it had been raining flowers. It was nothing like what Peacock Blue had said.

    This had greatly piqued Zero Arsenic¡¯s interest in Gongziyou.

    As the proverb says: Money can make the devil push the millstone.

    Or even better: Problems that can be solved by money are not problems.

    And so, he had actually paid someone yesterday evening to investigate Gongziyou¡¯s past. The result that turned up had him screaming in excitement. He didn¡¯t expect at all that this somewhat pale girl was actually one of the best ten yers in the previously popr game of the world, the ¡®Otherworld Online¡¯.

    It seemed like these two First Kills were not mere idents. Perhaps... Zero Arsenic couldn¡¯t help his mind that was running wild. To think that the repeated First Kills were the achievements of this huntress.

    He took another nce at Ye Ci and remembered the words of Timely Rain. ¡°She was so familiar with that dungeon that it almost as if it was the backyard of her house. Her controls were really perfect too. I never knew the true definition of friggin¡¯ awesome until I tagged along with her to the dungeon.¡±

    Ye Ci turned her head to the side to look at Zero Arsenic, wondering what was wrong with this man and why did he keep giving her these bizarre stares.

    Right then, they arrived at the entrance of the private room. Zero Arsenic immediately showed Ye Ci the way in. There was about ten tables in the room with quite a lot of people seated around them. Zero Arsenic was doing introductions and it turned out that they were all the main members of the Steel-Blooded Battle Spear guild. Their guild stronghold was also in the same city that Ye Ci had stayed. The objective of this gathering was to discuss the matter of advancing into the Chilly Wends.

    However to her surprise, Peacock Blue did not attend this gathering of the main members. This made Ye Ci a little disappointed. She really wanted to see how b*tchy Peacock Blue looked like.

    As soon as Ye Ci took a seat, someone immediately came up to give her a toast. Fortunately, it was stopped by Zero Arsenic. But she could still feel the the excitement of these main members over yesterday¡¯s First Kill and their great hopes on advancing the Chilly Wends.

    ¡°How do you feel about the First Kills of these two dungeons? Were they difficult?¡± They drank three rounds and were half done with their meals. Zero Arsenic, who was sitting beside Ye Ci suddenly questioned her with a smile.

    ¡°As long as everyone work well as a team, time will be the only issue in clearing a dungeon,¡± Ye Ci gave him a look as she evaded the crucial point of his question and gave him a vague response.

    After hearing her reply, Zero Arsenic didn¡¯t question her further. He only chuckled and engaged in a few idle chats with Ye Ci. Then he pulled out a bank card and ced it in front of Ye Ci. ¡°Gongziyou, there¡¯s fifty-thousand dors in here. It¡¯s your reward for getting the First Kill on the Cruel Pit Boss.¡±

    Ye Ci looked at that card. The corner of her mouth curled up into a cold smile. She was right all along.

    It seemed like after her two First Kills, Zero Arsenic was a little curious about the previous First Kills she had done anonymously and wanted to rope her in. A new guild like the Steel-Blooded Battle Spear would never match up to veteran guilds that had been established for over more than ten years. Theycked elites, experience and skillful yers. There was nothing but one thing that had allowed this kind of guild to sustain up to this scale ¨C money.¡±

    But then again, money was not a long term solution. If they wanted to be powerful, they would inevitably need to pull a few experts into their guild. Without saying further, ever heard of the celebrity effects?

    The reason Ye Ci had joined the Steel-Blooded Battle Spear guild now was because she had let Thousand Sunsets down in the previous world. But this didn¡¯t mean that she nned to stay there for her entire life. After all, it was too exhausting to serve a guild attentively and on top of that, she was someone who was used to soloing. Just being restrained in a guild was a great ordeal to her.

    But she was afraid that rejecting Zero Arsenic outright would not only make things difficult for her but also Zero Arsenic. After all, he was the vice guildmaster.

    And so Ye Ci gave him a smile. ¡°I like to hoard contribution points. Let¡¯s just stick to the 200 points of DP that Peacock Blue had promised me.¡±

    Zero Arsenic was a little startled by her response, but it was very quickly concealed by his smile. When he saw Ye Ci¡¯s firm gaze, he stopped insisting. Because he knew that once she had made up her mind, the oue would not change or worse, it would make things unhappy for both parties. So it was better to pull back at the right time and wait for the next opportunity.

    The gathering was celebrated with songs and dances on the surface, but ended with ulterior motives in each of their minds.

    Zero Arsenic invited Ye Ci for a song, but she indirectly turned him down. She called for a cab by herself and returned home.

    She logged on to the game. After she did some daily missions, Ye Ci immediately went into the auction.

    The few equipments dropped by the Cruel Pit Boss yesterday that no one wanted had all been sold out. A profit of about 2,000 gold coins was made after deducting the auction fee. She sent out 400 gold coins to each of the other four people and then started searching for other auction items that piqued her interested.

    Suddenly, a Pure Iron Arrow recipe came into her view. It was every hunter and ranger¡¯s wish to craft their own arrow because it would save them a big sum of money. But not everyone was lucky enough to get their hands on that damned Beginner Arrow Crafting skill book.

    This Pure Iron Arrow recipe had been put up on auction for almost 24 hours but it didn¡¯t seem like it had attracted anyone¡¯s attention, or at least not much people could do arrow crafting.

    The recipe costed only 10 gold coins, so Ye Ci immediately bought it and learnt it. The Copper Arrows she had been crafting no longer raised her proficiency level so a higher-level recipe was just what she needed. She didn¡¯t expect things to go so smoothly for her to be able to get her hands on a recipe today.

    Ye Ci was enthusiastically crafted the arrow at one corner of the Red Lake City when she suddenly received a private message.

    ¡°Ye Ci, are you there?¡±

    No one other than Flutter n¡¯ Sway would call her by that name. Or at least, for now.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Are you busy right now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m crafting arrows.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you alone then,¡± Flutter n¡¯ Sway said as she was about to close the private chat.

    Ye Ci hurriedly stopped her. ¡°Just tell me if you have something to tell me.¡± Flutter n¡¯ Sway was a nice person, but she always ced everyone else before her. She¡¯d put others problems before hers even when she was struck by an emergency situation. If someone was a little busy, she didn¡¯t want to bother them.

    But then again when would you be free of trouble in game? You¡¯d even get into trouble when you were searching for a ce to nap.

    Flutter n¡¯ Sway hesitated for a moment before speaking. ¡°Our guild is fighting the Wild Boar King at ins of Despair but we kept getting wiped out. Can youe over to help?¡±

    The Wild Boar King at ins of Despair? Ye Ci was just thinking of going to fight it too but she didn¡¯t expect the World Conqueror to be so quick on their feet and had already beaten her to the punch.

    The Wild Boar King and the Sandstorm Scorpion were lvl 15 World BOSS. They had about the same amount of difficulty.

    However, three cities were scattered around the ins of Despair so it was frequently visited by many yers and guilds, unlike the isted desert where the Sandstorm Scorpion hid. It was unknown if anyone had ventured into there over half a month. That respawn point of the Wild Boar King had been a chaotd of battles ever since the day Fate¡¯s server opened.

    There was so much hesitation in Flutter n¡¯ Sway¡¯s words. She was just worried that it wasn¡¯t that they couldn¡¯t handle the Wild Boar King but they had instead met someone who was kill snatching. So they was hoping that she could snatch the final killing blow for them. (In Fate, the right to loot a Wild BOSS belonged to the yer or the party whonded the final killing blow).

    Since she was friends with Flutter n¡¯ Sway and she had requested, there was little reason for her to not go.

    Ye Ci agreed without any reluctance. She asked them to manage for a little more while she¡¯d arrive at most half an hourter. She then rode on her red pony and dashed towards the Teleportation NPC.

    Fortunately, the Teleportation Master in Fate was very responsible. Very soon, Ye Ci was sent to Scarlet Sand City, which was the closest to the ins of Despair. She then immediately bolted towards the respawn point of the Wild Boar King without stopping, and not forgetting to ask ¡°Shushu, you didn¡¯t tell Qin Churuo that Gongziyou is Ye Ci right?¡±

    ¡°Nope. If I did, he would be looking for you every single day to make you join the World Conqueror,¡± Flutter n¡¯ Sway knew Ye Ci¡¯s personality well so she naturally wouldn¡¯t tell. ¡°But hurry, we are almost at our limits.¡±

    After hearing that, Ye Ci immediately ran even faster...

 Chapter 35 Killing the Wild Boar King

    Chapter 35 Killing the Wild Boar King

    The ins of Despair appeared to be lush green grasnd, it did not even give off the air of despair. But as one travel deeper into the ins, the grass grow more yellowed, and in the deepest parts of the ins, a deste piece ofnd reced the lush green scenery and crows flocked the sky. It indeed gave off an air of despair.

    Ye Ci, however, was not here for the scenery. Her destination was their of the Wild Boar King.

    The Wild Boar King¡¯sir was not hidden in the deepest part of the map. It was situated right beside a main road. This was the reason why the Wild Boar King wandering the ins of Despair alone, or being a walking disaster for isted pre-lvl 10 yers.

    However, when most of the yers had reached the level requirement, the glorious days of the boars were over as well.

    The guilds based in the nearby cities will always form parties to y the Wild Boar King. But when too many people are out for a single BOSS, there will always be conflicts, which usually ended with a huge melee between several guilds. The Wild Boar King still roamed free, killing anybody it came across, this was why the Wild Boar King had not been in even once.

    Ye Ci did not even need to ask for the coordinates, all she had to do was to go in the general direction where people were headed, and she reached the melee.

    As expected, World Conqueror was part of the melee between several guilds. They were all famous guilds in her past life.

    Street Assistance Guild: The founders were rumored to be a group of yers in their 50¡¯s. They had been ying games from a young age and they¡¯re all veterans, the best of the best. With the growth of their guild, they managed to attract quite a number of younger yers to join their guild. They ranked no.9 in Z Country¡¯s Fate OL guilds.

    de of Darkness: Ranked 8 in Europe and America. They were a bunch of hot-blooded caucasian. They¡¯ve been in internationalpetitions for various games as well. Although Ye Ci did not interact much with guilds from foreign countries, not to mention it was rare to see a foreign guild on Fate¡¯s Eastern Continent.

    And then there¡¯s the Z Country¡¯s 12th ranked guild, World Conquerer.

    Other than the three big guilds, there were a lot of smaller ones lurking around, trying to sneak in and grab the First Blood of the BOSS.

    ¡°ShuShu, add me to your party.¡± Ye Ci immediately sent a message to Flutter n¡¯ Sway.

    Almost immediately, Ye Ci received a party invitation from ¡®wless Reflection¡¯.

    Ye Ci joined the party immediately without hesitation. She could hear a jovial voice as soon as she entered themand channel, ¡°Are you Gongzi You? I¡¯ve never thought that you¡¯re a friend of Flutter n¡¯ Sway.¡±

    Everybody else was muted in the Command Channel, even text messages were limited to one every 30 seconds. That was why Ye Ci asked directly with a text message, ¡°Do I take care of the yers or the BOSS?¡±

    ¡°All you need to do is to secure the BOSS, leave the rest to us.¡± wless Reflection¡¯s voice gave Ye Ci a sense of familiarity. It was Qin Churuo!

    Although she had tried her best toy low, the two First Blood she obtained along with Timeless Rain and Pickled Pepper Phoenix w¡¯s bragging, even when her name did not pop up in the forums, Gongzi You the Huntress went viral. Within a fortnight, many knew her name.

    That was the reason why wless Reflection immediately made Flutter n¡¯ Sway fetch Gongzi You as soon as she mentioned that she was a friend of Gongzi You. The reason was none other than the two dungeon First Bloods achieved by her. She must be good. As long as they could get the BOSS, nothing else mattered.

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    wless Reflection continued after receiving a reply from Ye Ci, ¡°As long as we can get the BOSS, you can choose between 50,000 real word cash or the priority to choose any piece of equipment you want.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled at wless Reflection¡¯s words. He was just as she remembered, he never wanted to take advantage of others.

    This time, however, Ye Ci wanted him to owe her one. wless Reflection was a man of honor. He¡¯ll always repay someone who did him favors. It was exactly this sort of behavior that got him betrayed in the end.

    Since he was loyal to any of his friends, Ye Ci would not avoid things that are unavoidable. It would be better to be his friend, and then put his loyalty to good use.

    Ye Ci replied after 30 seconds, ¡°I¡¯m only helping Flutter n¡¯ Sway out, I don¡¯t need your gratitude.¡±

    wless Moon did not expect Ye Ci¡¯s words, Flutter n¡¯ Sway was also touched by her actions. She messaged Ye Ci in private, ¡°Thanks a lot.¡±

    Ye Ci did not say much, she dashed towards the Wild Boar King. Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark, Falcon Protection, summoned Ol¡¯ Three and Snake Venom Needle were casted almost at the same time. In the blink of an eye, the Wild Boar King roared and charged towards Ye Ci, brushing aside the MT¡¯s surrounding it.

    Even with the Wild Boar King¡¯s speed, there were just too many yers around. It took the BOSS quite some time to reach Ye Ci, and she kited the Wild Boar King with the other yers acting as her ¡®barrier¡¯.

    Before Ye Ci arrived on the scene, the Wild Boar King was already badly beaten up by yers and it had lost almost 70% of its HP. Although locked in a vicious melee, the guilds retain their original goal of trying to get the BOSS. But at that moment, the Wild Boar King that they¡¯ve been steadily building aggro on was snatched away by someone. The persons in charge of the guilds present became desperate.

    They immediately switched tactics. They abandoned relying on the MT¡¯s to build up the aggro, and instead ordered their ranged yers to attack the Wild Boar King.

    However, it was not an easy task. First of all, Ye Ci¡¯s movement speed was very fast. As she zipped left and right all around the ce, the Wild Boar King did the same. Neither one of them was moving in a straight line. The mages with their slow channeling speeds cried. Just as their spells were done channeling, the Wild Boar King was already out of their range.

    Secondly, the Wild Boar King would sometimes umte energy with its hind legs and then leap towards Ye Ci. But Ye Ci had very high Bnce and Perception stats. She jumped away from the Wild Boar King¡¯s attack before it couldnd. This however, was a case of misfortune for the yers trying to chase after the Wild Boar King. If they kept their distance, they could never get close enough, but if they followed closely, they¡¯d be kicked to death by the Wild Boar King.

    And the third factor that caused their desperation was because of the yers the other guilds. Despite having themon goal of killing the Wild Boar King, the yers from different guilds were fighting among themselves. They needed to chase after a raging boar in the midst of so many yers engaged inbat, whilst having the need to constantly cast spells while on the move. It was a near-impossible feat.

    wless Reflection stood on a tree in the ins of Despair. At the height that he was at, he could clearly see Ye Ci in action. Although he appeared calm, he was actually deeply awed. He¡¯d always thought that he¡¯s one of the experts, and it was the truth. Butpared to Gongzi You, wless Reflection felt that he still had much to learn.

    Even without factoring in the skills owned by her that he did not even possess, to jump around with her high bnce and to wlessly achieve a continuousbo with her skills, it was not something the average yer could do. From the perspective of yers from different sses, Gongzi You¡¯s movements were elegant, but only Hunter ssed yers would be able truly understand the true mechanical skills required behind those elegant movements.

    To be honest with himself, even if wless Moon could jump leap around with his Bnce, to be as masterful as Gongzi You was still far from possible.

    Gongzi You, just who the hell are you?

    If wless Moon asked for Gongzi You¡¯s help through Flutter n¡¯ Sway, he saw her merely as an extra pair of helping hands, and did not recognise her strength, his views of Gongzi You had entirely changed. Gongzi You was not just an average joe, it would be best if she could be part of his guild...

    ¡°The Wild Boar King is nearly dead, everybody hurry up!¡±

    Someone randomly shouted, and the yers maddeningly hastened their chase. Spells after spellsnded on the enraged Wild Boar King. Ye Ci chugged down a bottle of Rage Potion, turned around in midair, and casted Rapid Fire.

    Copper arrows coated with poison from the Venomous Scorpion gauntletnded right between the Wild Boar King¡¯s eyes. That was its weakness. Attacking that spot will have a 100% chance of triggering a critical hit and armor pration. However, due to the Wild Boar King¡¯s massive size, it was impossible to hit that spot unless one did a backwards jump like Ye Ci.

    Critical Hit! Armor Pration! -3281!

    The Wild Boar King let out a roar, and its body that was as big as a small hill crashed down with a ¡®Boom!¡¯, kicking up dust.

    System messages began to flood the World Channel: ¡°Congrattions ¡®World Conqueror¡¯ guild to be the first to y the lvl 15 Wild BOSS Wild Boar King, Rewards: Guild prestige 300, Red Sand Sity prestige 1000, gold x 100. Let us remember their names!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®wless Reflection¡¯ for ying the Wild Boar King, Rewards: Red Sand City prestige x100, Talent Points x2.¡±

    ......

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Flutter n¡¯ Sway¡¯ for ying the Wild Boar King, Rewards: Red Sand City prestige x100, Talent Points x2.¡±

    ......

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Gongzi You¡¯ for ying the Wild Boar King, Rewards: Red Sand City prestige x100, Talent Points x2.¡±

    ......

    Ye Ci was d to earn more Talent Points. She said goodbye to Flutter n¡¯ Sway and immediately left the area. She rushed towards the Red Sand City frantically. If she stayed, she would¡¯ve been surrounded and annihted by the other guilds.

    The entire World Conqueror guild erupted into cheers. The cheers of World Conqueror guild could be heard throughout the entire ins of Despair. They carried wless Reflection down from the tree and threw him into the air repeatedly.

    wless Reflection himself was delighted. But what got his attention was the golden words that appeared right after the announcement, ¡°Gongzi You left has the party.¡±

    He did not ask for anything, nor did he say his goodbye. He left the party right after ying the BOSS.

    A strange feeling formed gripped wless Reflection¡¯s heart. It was not his style to owe somebody. But he could not do anything for the time being, and could only n to contact Gongzi You after the celebration was over.

 Chapter 36 What is a Player?

    Chapter 36 What is a yer?

    From the day the forum was invented, it became the ce where gossip and news originated.

    Wasn¡¯t there a saying? Forums were like the People¡¯s Square. No matter what it was, everyone would know so long as you hung it up.

    The second night after the brutal dungeon was cleared, three B videos had been edited and posted up on the forum as usual. These video recordings had always been a timely help. Of course, he was still very wise to post it in the technology exchange forum and not in the busy gossip forum. Even on these kind of forums, however, the page views were already climbing to seven million on the second day!

    There were only two reasons. Reason number one, he never yed with a guild and therefore had never learned from other¡¯s experiences within a team. Reason number two, the elf huntress inside was literally like a BUG. She had excellent controls and her positions were urate. Suddenly, she became a target of examination and study for many hunters.

    There were even some yers who liked to mind other people¡¯s businesses and screenshotted all of Gongzi You¡¯s controls. They made a section which provided exnations on how to improve a hunter¡¯s skills.

    This post suddenly became the most popr in the hunter¡¯s career forum. For the hunters who seemed unable to y any further, it looked like they all found a new learning target and a direction to develop their skills upon seeing this post.

    The following days would be a little different.

    To be exact, Ye Ci¡¯s days in the association would be a little bit different.

    As the guild channel will notify when a member goes online, many people greeted Ye Ci as soon as she came online.. She wasn¡¯t aware of when this had started, but numerous people greeted her everyday. It made Ye Ci, who was naturally aloof and lonely, weary of dealing with this situation. At most times she just replied: ¡°Hello everyone.¡±

    Not only that, Peacock Blue was abnormally quiet, even though she still managed the big and small matters in the guild, she left Ye Ci alone.

    The matter of her asking for equipment wasn¡¯t even mentioned and her attempt of kicking Ye Ci out of the guild hadn¡¯t been mentioned. It seemed as if the rage from that day on the guild channel had never existed.

    Although she didn¡¯t know the reason, Ye Ci was nevertheless happy by the quietness. Everyday, she just rubbed the arrow, picked herbs, and practiced life skills.

    Two or three days passed in a sh. Ye Ci was currently rubbing the arrow, having just reached the most important stage. She only needed 1% more to receive the intermediate level of arrow crafting, so Ye Ci held in a vigorous effort to finish it in one hour.

    Coincidently, her private messages started ringing at this time. After a look, it turned out to be Jiangnan.

    ¡°Miss Gongzi You, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, do you have time tomorrow?¡± These few days, Wang Jiangnan was online every day to wait for Ye Ci¡¯s call, but he hasn¡¯t even seen a shadow. Every day, he looked up to his boss who always kept a straight face and seemed like he was punishing him for lying. It made him very irritated.

    Due to the BUG repair matter, Wang Jiangnan paid especially close attention to Ye Ci, therefore he knew that Gongzi You recently suicided in the brutal dungeon and helped someone else kill the Wild Boar King. She had probably already forgotten about his matter, so he felt that he really shouldn¡¯t carry on waiting for her message. He could only contact her voluntarily.

    Ye Ci was rubbing the arrow when she heard Wang Jiangnan asking very carefully. She couldn¡¯t control herughter. This lead designer, one who would control the future destiny and attain a worldwide reputation, always has a high and vigorous spirit with a condescending attitude. When did he ever talk to someone in a distressed attitude?

    ¡°You will know the day after tomorrow of what happens tomorrow.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan was so embarrassed. How is he meant to answer after this sentence? ¡°Then when can we kill the Sandstorm Scorpion again?¡±

    Ye Ci didn¡¯t want to be too harsh on this future lead designer. If she offended him now, what if he held a grudge in the future? In the end, her arms were still no match for the thigh. After rubbing a few more arrows, Ye Ci snorted: ¡°I am rubbing arrows now. At the very longest, I would take half an hour to upgrade to intermediate level of archery craftsmanship. How about I go after that?¡±

    ¡°Then I will go first to contact the development team.¡±

    ¡°There are also people observing from the sidelines?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it needs to be judged.¡±

    This time it was Ye Ci¡¯s turn to be confused. Why did she feel so strange? She felt as if she was going to participate in a talent show and perform a talent in front of the judges.

    This fact proves that her feeling waspletely correct. When Ye Ci rode on her little red horse to the Sandstorm Scorpion¡¯s new location, she could see from a distance the level 1 subsidiary characters from five or six different races, just standing there.

    Her eyesight was very good, so she could see a Human Cleric smurf from far away. He waved at her. Ye Ci waved back and dismounted, but she didn¡¯t walk towards where the crowd of people were gathered. Instead, she walked in the opposite direction to where the Sandstorm Scorpion was hidden.

    She believed that the Sandstorm Scorpion should have respawned after so many days. Even if it hadn¡¯t respawned, the crowd of developers gathered there should would already have made it respawn.

    The soft but burning hot sand covered Ye Ci¡¯s steps. It seemed that with every step she took, it sunk into the ground.

    Her footsteps were slowing down, slower and slower. Then, she suddenly faced back and sprang away. The Falcon¡¯s Protection, Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark, Snake Venom Needle, and the Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s Taunt were casted simultaneously. Before shended on the ground, the Sandstorm Scorpion was still underground and it¡¯s head had already trailed with big red words that showed the damage.

    ¡ª1729£¡

    A few evaluating developers stared at Ye Ci with mouth agape.

    They had seen a lot of people with good mechanical skills, but there were not many as swift and as ferocious. The number of such yers could be counted with the fingers of both hands.

    After this, there was something that happened which surprised the designers even more. That Sandstorm Scorpion was like a chicken trying to find its chicks just after opening its eyes. It was following behind Ye Ci without missing one step. In less than fifteen minutes, it got pushed by Ye Ci to the edge of a pile of dead Cottonwood trees.

    In a sh, the Sandstorm Scorpion got stuck in the Cottonwood forest without being able to move. After that, the huntress didn¡¯t show any more of her skills. She just stood somewhere near the Cottonwood forest to shoot using the stationary, no-brainer shooting style.

    That ferocious Sandstorm Scorpion, stuck there like a gigantic bullseye, began hissing. It wasn¡¯t able to move, not to mention getting out ofbat.

    Following this procedure, it would be shot dead in no time. There was no point to carry on watching from here. A few designers sighed because they had to admire the yer¡¯s ability to discover something. They thought that they tested the game hundreds of times and repaired numerous BUGS. However, there were still many BUGS from the yer¡¯s perspective.

    ¡°Miss Gongzi You, we are very thankful for you to spend your precious time with us, doing this important evaluation. We will repair this BUG.¡± There was a leader among the designers who walked in the front. This was a gnome. Ye Ci had to look down when talking to him, which made her neck very ufortable.

    ¡°Anything dropped by it belongs to me.¡± Ye Ci mentioned it again. Some things have to said face to face. Otherwise, who knew how these fellows would change the condition: ¡°including the carcass.¡±

    The few developers looked at each other, the Gnome that was their leader nodded his head. ¡°Of course. This was what we agreed on in the beginning.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t go back to change the drop rate now, right.¡± Ye Ci squinted her eyes and looked at a few people with mistrust.

    A few developers acted as if Ye Ci read their minds, and they repeatedly waved their hands. ¡°No, no. You gave us such a good tipoff, we wouldn¡¯t do these kinds of things.¡± They didn¡¯t wait for Ye Ci to speak. Instead, they turned around and told Wang Jiangnan to apany Ye Ci until she finished tidying up the carcass before going back. The just disappeared without a trace into shes of white light.

    Wang Jiangnan could actually just help Ye Ci finish up the Sandstorm Scorpion in one action, but he didn¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t want to do it. He sat down on a piece of rock nearby and quietly looked at Ye Ci using her skill non-stop.

    Neither person said anything. It felt like the whole world¡¯s time just solidified like that.

    Who knew how much time had past before Wang Jiangnan suddenly turned his gaze from Sandstorm Scorpion to Ye Ci. He asked, ¡°Gongzi You, is this game fun?¡±

    Ye Ci was slightly taken aback. She turned her face to look at Wang Jiangnan a little puzzled. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this game designed by your team? Why would you ask me?¡±

    ¡°It was designed by us and we think it¡¯s fun because we see a lot of peopleing to y, so we thought it should be fun.¡±

    ¡°Then why do you still ask me?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know. I just wanted to ask a normal yer what this game actually feels like.¡± Wang Jiangnan sighed and gazed at the distant desert. His gaze was a little confused. ¡°I suddenly don¡¯t have much confidence. I don¡¯t know if people actually like the things we create.¡±

    Ye Ci quietly stared at Wang JIangnan. She couldn¡¯t tell how old he was from that randomly generated Human character. From Ye Ci¡¯s memory, however, Wang Jiangnan should only be 20 years old now, the youngest designer on the designing team. Although he was known as genius by the historians, geniuses probably had their own confusion and distress.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like because you¡¯re the one designing it, then go experience it as a yer.¡± Ye Ci lightly said as she turned her head around and looked at the Sandstorm Scorpion with only 10% of blood left.

    ¡°I already tested this game.....¡±

    ¡°No matter how many times you test it, be it a hundred or a thousand times, you will always be one of the developers. You have the highest ranked weapon, wear the coolest equipment, cutt bosses down like you would vegetables. Even one person can just solo the LORD God. This is not called a yer, this is called a evaluation machine.¡± Ye Ci immediately interrupted Wang JIangnan.

    ¡°A so called yer means that from the start of the game, they are full of anticipation for it and they take every option seriously. For example, things like whether the eyebrows look good or whether the name sounds nice. yers think about how to earn more coins and how to level up faster; theyugh around with friends and fight with opponents for revenge. yers fight over each other for a single equipment and battle between millions of people. This is a yer. The game is their life.¡±

    When Ye Ci spoke up to this point, she turned to look at Wang Jiangnan with a smile. ¡°The lovely customer service number 094, do you still need to ask me this simple question?¡±

 Chapter 37 Fruit Jelly

    Chapter 37 Fruit Jelly

    Sunset.

    The Sandy ins were coated a shade of amber red by the setting sun. The scene itself was beautiful.

    Wang Jiangnan stood in this beautiful scenery, staring at Ye Ci as if she was an alien. He was known as a genius even when he was young. It was said that geniuses are lonely. Wang Jiangnan felt just that. He was alway left out from his school days until work, so this was the first time someone talked to him like that.

    It was a strange feeling.

    He suddenlyughed along with Ye Ci, ¡°Heh, wouldn¡¯t it be cheating for me to y the game? I know everything about the game.

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes, ¡°And what good can it do you? You think the yers are ying with those privileged ounts of yours? Getting any items you want just by knowing where they would drop?¡± She felt as it there was a gap between them. She waved her hand impatiently, ¡°Whatever, you don¡¯t have the time to y the game anyways, why bother asking so much? I¡¯ll kill this Sandstorm Scorpion, you guys record it, and we¡¯re done.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan was not angry. He grinned at Ye Ci, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to like me.¡±

    ¡°I hate game developers.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°There are two things you guys will do. One, Punish the yers exploiting the BUG and then fix the BUG. And two, use the yers to fix the BUG. How do you expect me to feel good about you guys?¡± Ye Ci was a gaming veteran, how could she not understand how the gamepanies work? yers are like sheep, and the fures from the sheep.

    Wang Jiangnan was stunned for a moment before letting out a heartyugh. This was the first time he had heard a yer¡¯sments about game developers. It was very urate. Heid on the sand, squinting at the red sky, not betraying a hint of his thoughts.

    Ye Ci paid him no heed. A game developer was not somebody she could afford to offend, and she would not offend them even if she could afford to.

    The final arrow hit its mark, and the Sandstorm Scorpion went limp. It turned into a huge amount of experience points and surged into Ye Ci¡¯s experience gauge. Her level instantly rose to lvl 16 with 20% experience. Although she was still two levels below the Let Go Of That Girl who was ranked first in the level rankings, it was good enough.

    After throwing a few chunks of meat to Ol¡¯ Three that was acting cute, Ye Ci happily went to loot the carcass.

    ¡°Give me a chance, let meplete the Venomous Scorpion set in one go.¡± Ye Ci made a cross gesture with her hand and prayed to God with all sincerity.

    She then extended her ¡®ck hand¡¯ [1] towards the Sandstorm Scorpion.

    Apparently, God felt no obligation to fulfill Ye Ci¡¯s wishes and ignored her prayer. She was once again shrouded by her ¡®ck hand aura¡¯.

    The Sandstorm Scorpion only yielded two equipment, two skill books, a bunch of potions and several hundred gold coins.

    Venomous Scorpion Greaves x1

    Venomous Scorpion Cape x1

    Decoy x1

    Resurrection x1

    ......

    Although she could notplete the equipment set, the two equipment she received were not something that she already had. This at least made Ye Ci feel somewhat better. Especially with the +7 Speed of the Venomous Scorpion Greaves as well as the additional active skill called Dash.

    Dash: Dashes 25m to the front, cooldown: 1 minute.

    It was a lifesaving skill, especially when ites to PVP and kiting!

    Ye Ci immediately activated her Brooch of Deceit and adjusted her level so that she could equip the two equipment. She was still feeling a bit of regret for not being able to obtain aplete set of the Venomous Scorpion item set and unlock its secret attribute. She immediately let go of that thought. A lvl 20 Purple equipment set would onlyst her up to when her character reached lvl 35.

    After equipping the Greaves and the Cape, Ye Ci¡¯s GS immediately hit 627! She had 200 or so more points than the ranked one yer on the equipment rating ranking.

    Decoy was also one of the Godlike skills of the Hunter ss. It could move the aggro of its caster to a specific target. This was a must-have skill when it came to exploring dungeons and kiting Wild BOSSes.

    Resurrection was a skill for Clerics and Priests. It was a skill usually found in lvl 35 dungeons. It was a must-have skill for Clerics and Priests. Although it could be learned by a lvl 12 character, it was only dropped in lvl 35 dungeons. It was a very rare drop.

    Ye Ci believed that not a single person in the game had this skill book already. She couldn¡¯t even imagine the chaos that would erupt if she sold it in the auction house.

    Ye Ci never expected the skill book to drop from the Sandstorm Scorpion. Her luck was not that bad after all. However, Ye Ci had no thoughts of selling the skill book. The main reason was that the game and real life currency exchange system was not yet avable, she would not be able to sell the skill book at a good price.

    That was why Ye Ci decided to hold on to that skill book temporarily.

    After equipping the necessary equipment, learning some necessary skills and sorting out the loot, Ye Ci climbed onto the Sandstorm Scorpion¡¯s carcass and dissected it.

    Wang Jiangnan had also finished his report. He walked towards the Sandstorm Scorpion, looked up at Ye Ci and smiled, ¡°Gongzi You, we¡¯ll meet again.¡±

    Ye Ci simplyughed, ¡°I, for one, hope that we¡¯ll never meet again.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan did not respond, he waved his hand at Ye Ci, ¡°Goodbye.¡±

    Ye Ci waved back, and continued dissecting the Sandstorm Scorpion carcass.

    Ye Ci was done after half an hour. She summoned her steed and galloped back to Sunset City.

    Ye Ci saw a Cleric in gray robe fighting against a bear. The Cleric¡¯s movement was adept, and she was able to masterfully use her skills. She did not waste even one bit of CD time, and managed to follow up her attacks with skills after skills. She defeated a lvl 13 monster with only 4 skills.

    That Cleric could deal some serious damage. Although she only stood still, but with some training, she could be an excellent Cleric.

    Ye Ci silently praised the Cleric as she rode past her. She noticed the Cleric¡¯s info the moment they brushed past each other. The Cleric did not hide her information.

    ID: Fruit Jelly

    Race: Elf

    ss: Cleric

    Level: 12

    Fruit Jelly?

    Ye Ci hesitated for a moment. The name was familiar. Ye Ci finally remembered the name after traveling for quite some distance. Isn¡¯t that one of the top 10 Offensive Clerics, Fruit Jelly? If Ye Ci could be counted as someone who loved to PK, but Fruit Jelly was even more fanatical when it came to PKing. When the arena opened during theter stages of the game, she spent 10 months in the arena, earning enough Kill Glory to redeem the firstplete General-ss equipment set in Fate.

    But to say that she was famous only because of her PK tendencies was unfair. Her mana conservation was one of the best. She once took care of a 25-man squadron, and none of them died. However, she had a w. She would ensure that her target¡¯s survival, but there was no guarantee that the target that was healed would walk away with full health.

    She waster known as ¡®The Undying Fruit¡¯ because of that.

    Of course, it was something that would happen only in the future. Fruit Jelly was still a Cleric who had spent her stats points wrongly.

    Fruit Jelly was an honest person with a good character. As a girl, she never hid her feelings, and she was loyal to her friends and a straightforward person. Ye Ci suddenly stopped, and a thought slowly formed in her head.

    What if she had an Offensive Cleric like Fruit Jelly in her team some day?

    Her own team?

    That thought grew in her head like grass in the spring. Despite not having a clear n, Ye Ci turned back and headed towards the direction of Fruit Jelly.

    Fruit Jelly was still fighting against monsters one at a time. Fate was the first game she had ever yed. She was a real beginner, and she had distributed her stats incorrectly. Thoughts of deleting her ount and starting from scratched had surfaced, but she could not bring herself to let go of her lvl 12 character.

    ¡°Hey, Cleric.¡± a voice suddenly rang out. Fruit Jelly turned around and saw an Elf riding on a red horse besides her. The Elf who was smiling at her had fair skin, and her amber eyes glittered gems. A panther followed her close by, also eyeing her with amber colored eyes.

    ¡°Greetings Huntress.¡± Ye Ci grinned at Fruit Jelly, while thetter replied after carefully examining her and Ol¡¯ Three, ¡°Anything I can help you with?¡±

    Ye Ci immediately started a trade with her, and included the Resurrection skill book, ¡°Do you want to have this?¡±

    As expected, Fruit Jelly¡¯s eyes brightened up right away, she believed that the Huntress knew the worth of that book.

    ¡°How many coins do you want for it?¡± Fruit Jelly stared at the Resurrection skill book, and then raised her head and looked at Ye Ci, her eyes were filled with caution, and a hint of glee.

    ¡°10,000 gold coins.¡± Ye Ci gave her a random priced.

    Fruit Jelly was momentarily stunned, and her facial expression changed slightly. She eyed the skill book again and reluctantly ended the trade, ¡°Sorry, I do not have that amount of money.¡±

    ¡°Are you not going to consider it?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyes formed into slits, her smile not betraying any of her true intentions.

    Fruit Jelly turned her head around and joked dejectedly, ¡°Do you ept a 10 years installment?¡±

    It was Ye Ci¡¯s time to be stunned. She did not know that Fruit Jelly had a sense of humor. Sheughed and then shook her head, ¡°Of course not, I¡¯m not the bank.¡±

    ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing to consider.¡± Fruit Jelly turned around, it was obvious that she wanted that skill book very much.

 Chapter 38 A Rigged Quest

    Chapter 38 A Rigged Quest

    Ye Ci issued out another trade. She selected the Resurrection skill book on top and then pressed down to confirm deal.

    Fruit Jelly turned around a little angrily, ¡°I said I don¡¯t have the money...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s for you.¡± Ye Ci said quietly as she gazed at Fruit Jelly¡¯s slightly angry face.

    ¡°Eh? ¡°Fruit Jelly froze there immediately without finishing her words. She stared wide-eyed at the huntress in front of her and then picked her ears. Sheughed in disbelief: ¡°Did I hear you wrongly?¡±

    ¡°No, I said I will give you this book as a gift.¡± Ye Ci smiled.

    ¡°Why?¡± Fruit Jelly was surprised to the extent that she couldn¡¯t speak, ¡°This is the Resurrection skill book, its value is...¡±

    ¡°I know, I check the auction house every day. I know better than you.¡± Ye Ci stopped Fruit Jelly¡¯s words by mentioning it casually.

    ¡°Then why would you give it to me?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Ye Ci lifted her head and thought about it for a while. She obviously couldn¡¯t tell her that she would be a famous Cleric with top-notch controls and mana conservation in the future, so she wanted to befriend her. ¡°I find you pleasing to my eyes, I feel like you are the type I can interact deeply with.¡± Ye Ci said after thinking for a while.

    This answer made Fruit Jelly¡¯s forehead crease. She was given the Resurrection skill book just because she looked pleasing to Ye Ci¡¯s eyes. Just because Ye Ci thought that she could interact deeply with her?

    Is there something wrong with this person or do they just have too much money? Although it was suspicious, Fruit Jelly had to say that she admired Ye Ci¡¯s personality. She hesitated for a while, ¡°I might delete my ount.¡±

    ¡°Then just assume that this book will go to waste.¡± Ye Ci looked like she didn¡¯t care at all. She didn¡¯t believe that Fruit Jelly will delete her ount after learning the Resurrection skill book.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to trade with it, nor do I have money...¡±

    ¡°I said before, I find you pleasing to my eyes, I want to befriend with you.¡± Ye Ci repeated.

    Fruit Jelly looked towards the book and hesitated for a while. Atst, she bit her lips and agreed to the deal. Then she immediately sent out a friends request to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci epted the request and added her.

    Fruit Jelly stared nkly at Ye Ci¡¯s name, ¡°You are Gongzi You?¡±

    Ye Ci scratched her head. She didn¡¯t think that they had interacted before so why did she have a strange ¡®oh, so it¡¯s you?¡¯ face? ¡°Yes I am, so?¡± said Ye Ci.

    Fruit Jelly seemingly dropped all her previous precautions and enthusiastically looked at Ye Ci¡¯s eyes, ¡°Your controls are so impressive. I go to the forums everyday to see your exnatory post. Even though I am a Cleric, I still learnt a lot of things!¡±

    What post? Ye Ci was confused, she was busy crafting arrowstely and the practice life skills were never posted on the forum. What is she talking about?

    Fruit Jelly was a very talkative person once she got close to someone. She chatted with Ye Ci for a while. Fruit Jelly trusted Ye Ci more than before and was also more grateful, ¡°Gongzi! Even though I¡¯m not very good at ying games but just call me if you have anything that needs my help in the future!¡±

    This was obviously what Ye Ci wanted the most. They said a few words to each other before parting to do their own things.

    Although the Resurrection skill book was given away, resulting less ie but making friends with Fruit Jelly, the future top ranked Cleric, was worth it.

    Ye Ci rushed to the auction house immediately after she finished her daily routine from Sunset City to Red Lake City. She already learnt the ming Arrow Crafting book but she still hasn¡¯t gathered all the materials yet so she was still a bit worried.

    After she cleared the Cruel Pit, she could move on to the Chilly Wends where all the BOSSes had ice attribute. Fire based skills and weapons with burn effects could deal a lot of damage to them.With her ming arrow, her DPS would be increased by a lot in the Chilly Wends¡¯ dungeons.

    It¡¯s such a pity that in the auction house, the Fire Crystal Shards that were necessary to craft the ming Arrows were very few in number. The sparse quantity avable were already all bought by Ye Ci. However, she still did not have enough of them.

    Just as she was mulling over this problem, her private message channel rang. Clear Moon¡¯s excited voice traveled through, ¡°Sister! My Mining and Forging skills have reached 50% of the Beginner level!¡±

    Ye Ci was surprised. No way, 50% of the Beginner level?!

    It was very hard to level up the Life Skills in Fate. These skills were divided into seven levels: Apprentice, Beginner, Medium Tier, Advanced Tier, Expert, Master and Grandmaster. To progress to the Beginner tier from the Apprentice tier, a yer needed to either gather ores non-stop or repeatedly practice a particr skill. The advancement from Beginner to Advanced required a huge amount of time and gold coins or experience points. Moreover, for a yer to progress from Advanced to Grandmaster, they¡¯re required to spend tremendous amount of time, money and experience. Additionally, they had toplete a randomly generated high difficulty quest.

    Clear Moon was not very wealthy. The fact that he was able to have reached 50% of the Beginner level meant that he spent a great portion of his experience points on his Forging and Mining.

    ¡°What¡¯s your level now?¡±

    ¡°Lvl 11.¡± Clear Moon replied with a grin.

    It was as she expected. Rangers were usually very fast when it came to leveling up solo. With Ye Ci¡¯s guidance, Clear Moon would¡¯ve been at least lvl 13 or lvl 14. However, since he was still at lvl 11, it was proof that he had spent all his experience points leveling up his Life Skills.

    ¡°With your level, it must be dangerous to go out mining.¡± Ye Ci let out a sigh.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, sister, I¡¯ve mastered the art of escaping. Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t like leveling up, it¡¯s boring. I¡¯m more interested in mining and forging. Clear Moon obviously did not even care about his level and experience points.

    Fate was all about creating one¡¯s own fate. Some yers wanted to earn lots of money, some prefer to level up, while there are others who love to learn Life Skills.

    Apparently Clear Moon had chosen to learn Life Skills. Ye Ci could only encourage him so that he would not give up. After a brief talk, Clear Moon mentioned that he was mining at the edge of Scorching ins.

    Scorching ins was the lvl 15 to lvl 20 leveling area. The ce was rich with ores, and Fire Crystal Shards were a unique product of Scorching ins.

    ¡°Do you have many Fire Crystal Shards?¡±

    ¡°I have so many of them that I can¡¯t even fit them all into my storage anymore. These things are a must when ites to crafting weapons that deal burn damage. Sadly I do not have the blueprints to craft such weapons. I originally intended to just stockpile some of them. But now I have so many that I have half a mind to sell them to the NPC¡¯s.¡± Clear Moon¡¯s eyebrows creased after he mentioned his Fire Cyrstal Shards. He appeared to be distressed.

    Ye Ci was overjoyed, and she immediately said, ¡°Don¡¯t sell them to the NPC. Sell them to me instead. I¡¯ll pay you 50 gold coins per a stack. Give me 20 stacks.¡±

    ¡°Take them if you want, sister. You don¡¯t have to pay me.¡±

    ¡°You need the money for forging things. Don¡¯t act generous. I will need a lot of them in the future.¡± Ye Ci declined Clear Moon¡¯s offer, and immediately sent 1000 gold to Clear Moon.

    Within moments, a mail had arrived from Clear Moon. It contained the Fire Crystal Shards. He even sent 10 extra stacks of them, and wouldn¡¯t ept money for them from Ye Ci no matter what she said.

    With the necessary materials acquired, Ye Ci began to focus on crafting the ming Arrows.

    After crafting around 10 stacks of them, Ye Ci received another private message. It was from Ideal Height 1.7m. Despite having onlypartied once, they remained in contact, and were friends who shared a healthy rtionship with each other.

    ¡°Gongzi, are you free? Can you help me?¡± Ideal Height 1.7m was frank as ever.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci was also straightforward.

    ¡°I have a quest that can only bepleted with 3 people. It is to retrieve an item. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s the most suitable for this job. Please help.¡±

    ¡°What quest is that?¡±

    Ideal Height 1.7m immediately sent Ye Ci the quest details. It was a quest to retrieve an item from a mountain. This was a quest every Mage ss yers had to do. The mission was to retrieve a package from a pine tree at the cliff at Thousand Sect Mountain.

    This quest tested not only bnce, but also the reaction speed of a yer.

    yers who epted the quest must retrieve a package from the tree that was at a crumbling cliff. A slightly lost of bnce would cause the yer to fall into the bottomless cliff. Even if the package was sessfully retrieved, a lvl 15 Elite Python would appear from the hollowed out tree to snatch the package away. If the yer could not attract the aggro of the python and reacquire the package, the quest would be reset and could only be initiated the next day.

    If the quest was done of a tnd, it was not hard. But to do it on a cliff with a nted tree was an entirely different matter.

    Ye Ci spent an entire week in her past life to pass this mission. Ideal Height 1.7m seemed to be having troubles with the quest as well. Ye Ci did not decline her request and instead epted it straight away.

    She crafted a few more sets of ming arrow, sorted out some of her equipment, and headed out to the Thousand Sect Mountain outside of Notting City.

    Teleportation was nifty. Ye Ci arrived at Thousand Sects Mountainwithin half an hour. Ideal Height 1.7m and Let Go Of That Girl were talking at the foot of the mountain. After they spotted Ye Ci, they immediately greeted her. The three of them then summoned their mounts and raced towards the top of the mountain.

    Ye Ci had a sense of reminiscence as she stood at that exact spot. It was as if she was still a Mage, and her past as a Mage shed through her mind. She smiled and looked at Ideal Height 1.7m and Let Go Of That Girl, ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll go get it.¡±

    ¡°Please be careful, I¡¯ve died for more than ten times already.¡± Ideal Height 1.7m creased her eyebrows, ¡°To make us Magesplete this quest that requires high Bnce, isn¡¯t it rigged?¡±

    Let Go Of That Girl said, ¡°When the snake appears, jump back as fast as you can, I will cast Taunt on it. Don¡¯t fall down.¡±

    Ye Ci showed the duo an ¡®OK¡¯ sign, and jumped gracefully onto the nted tree. She extended her arms towards the package.

    But, at that moment...

 Chapter 39 This Has Nothing To Do With Me

    Chapter 39 This Has Nothing To Do With Me

    A ck python as thick as amppost slithered out of the hollowed bark, extending its red tongue. It crashed into Ye Ci, and held the package in its mouth.

    When Ideal Height 1.7m saw the python she shouted, ¡°Gongzi, watch out!¡± and she cast a Frost Arrow, hoping to draw the aggro of the python.

    Let Go Of That Girl panicked. He was a melee ssed yer, and could not perform any ranged attacks, ¡°What the hell! It¡¯s not supposed toe out so early! Who¡¯s the one who designed this quest, it¡¯s rigged!¡±

    The python had appeared early, which was why the group was caught off guard. Fortunately, Ye Ci was someone who who was a mage in her past life, and she just happened to be a Huntress in her current life. She knew that the time which the python will appear was flexible, and her Bnce was high.

    She leaped into the air, intending to grab hold of the package.

    ording to Ye Ci¡¯s calction, as long as she couldnd on either the snake or the dead tree, she could bounce back onto the cliff with a little force.

    However, reality would not always unfold as one would expect.

    In a sh, the python coiled itself around Ye Ci and she fell downwards.

    Even with her past life experiences as a Sorceress, this sudden change managed to surprise Ye Ci. Reflexively, she tried to break free, but the python¡¯s coil tightened around Ye Ci.

    It all happened in the blink of an eye. Ideal Height 1.7m was so startled that she shouted out in a shrill voice, ¡°Gongzi! Be careful!¡±

    Let Go Of That Girl leaned forward, trying to grab hold of Ye CI, ¡°Gongzi, give me your hand! Grab on to me!¡±

    The Frost Arrow cast by Ideal Height 1.7mnded on the python precisely at that moment. The python opened its mouth and roared with anger. The package in its mouth fell out, and Ye Ci caught it. She then threw the package up the cliff.

    The python breathed poison at the two trying to help Ye Ci, and fell down the cliff with Ye Ci in its embrace.

    The bottom of the cliff was like a deep abyss, if one fell down that would be the end of them. There would be no chance for survival. Losing experience points while helping somebody out with their quest? What a joke. Ye Ci was determined to not let this happen. She drew out her Venomous Scorpion Stinger and stabbed at the python.

    With slippery scales covering the entire length of its body, Ye Ci¡¯s stab only dealt a little more than 100 damage, which was nothing to the python that had 200,000 HP.

    Fortunately, the Venomous Scorpion Stinger¡¯s passive managed to proc. The python turned into a shade of green after being poisoned, causing it to struggle in pain. The python¡¯s struggle caused its body to tense up, further constricting Ye Ci and forcing the air out of her lungs.

    Ye Ci could feel her head spinning and darkness began to creep into her vision. She waspletely at the python¡¯s mercy. Even with her godlike skills, she could do nothing in this situation.

    .

    Before her world waspletely enveloped by darkness, Ye Ci thought helplessly: What an embarrassing first death ever since her rebirth!

    Ideal Height 1.7m and Let Go Of That Girl could only watch with eyes wide as Ye Ci fell down the cliff, along with the python that had coiled around her. Ideal Height 1.7m was especially panicked, she was still holding the quest item that Ye Ci had thrown upwards.

    ¡°Gongzi!!¡± she shouted.

    Let Go Of That Girl grabbed hold of her, ¡°Let¡¯s go down there!¡±

    Before the duo could descend from the mountain, a party notification chimed in, ¡°Your party member ¡®Gongzi You¡¯ was kicked out from the party by the System.¡±

    Kicked out of the party by the System!! What the hell had happened?

    The duo was immediately shrouded with astonishment and uneasiness. Without hesitation, they immediately tried to send private messages to Ye Ci, but they would only receive a system notification, ¡°The user that you¡¯re trying to contact could not be reached at the moment.¡±

    Even the Messenger Pigeon that could reach anywhere could not get in contact with Ye Ci.

    What the hell happened !?

    Drip.

    Drip.

    Chilly water droplets fell onto Ye Ci¡¯s forehead as she slowly regained conscious. She quivered and sat up abruptly. Before she could get her bearings straight, she felt something wet on her back.

    She almost jumped as she looked back.

    She was lying on top of the python, the wet feeling was actually the mucus from the snake¡¯s body. Ye Ci would not be able to fight back if a lvl 15 Wild Boss chose to strike at such a close range. She would definitely die there and then. However, the python unexpectedly chose not to attack. It stared unmoving at Ye Ci with cold and malicious eyes.

    Ye Ci had always disliked snakes. Her skin would be covered with goosebumps whenever she sees one, not to mention one at such a close distance.

    Despite her dislike of snakes, Ye Ci discovered that something was off with the python. She stood up, and slowly backed off. The python, however, merely flicked its tongue at Ye Ci. She then took a look at its status.

    She couldn¡¯t resist the urge to purse her lips. The python was heavily wounded, having only a sliver of HP left. If she could strike at this time, she would be able to defeat it.

    Ye Ci let out a whistle, and Ol¡¯ Three appear. It stretched itself outzily, and then bared its fangs at the python, showing its dominance.

    The python¡¯s gaze grew even icier, but it could not move its body. It struggled and breathed out poison at Ye CI.

    Ye Ci was instantly covered by a green mist, and her HP began to drop rapidly. She could only drink two bottles of potions to recover, and after healing Ol¡¯ Three as well, she set it loose upon the python.

    Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark, Decoy, Venomous Snake Needle, Rapid Fire.

    The python did not possess a high level of intelligence. Its attention was immediately drawn to Ol¡¯ Three by the use of Decoy. Despite reacting, the python¡¯s immobilized body meant that it was only a paper tiger.

    It might be the simplest battle that Ye Ci had ever experienced since she started the game. In three minutes, the python disappeared into a huge quantity of experience points and flowed into Ye Ci¡¯s and Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s experience gauge. Experience points provided by a Wild Elite BOSS such as this was a lot. Ye Ci¡¯s experience points was immediately filled up to 78% of lvl 16.

    It was a shame that the python was only a quest monster. It did not drop any loot, save for some gold coins and potions.

    It was still better than nothing. Ye Ci began to dissect the python¡¯s carcass after she stored all the items into her inventory.

    The python¡¯s entire length was covered with wounds. There were huge patches where it scales had dropped off and blood poured out from its wounds. Ye Ci was curious. What happened to the snake? Ye Ci only found out the truth when she saw its bones.

    Every single joint of its bones was dislocated.

    Ye Ci looked up, she could not even see the top of the mountain.

    It seemed that they fell right from the top. Ye Ci surveyed her surrounding while dissecting the carcass. It was a haven. Tall trees were everywhere and the ground was covered by lush grass. The impact of their fall snapped quite a few trees, messing up part of the scenery.

    Ye Ci, who was coiled tightly in the python¡¯s embrace, had survived the fall. The python was the one that took the damage from the impact, while Ye Ci was able to walk away with her life.

    Snake meat, snakeskin, scales, bones, snake gall, venom sac, and 108 glossy snake ribs.

    These were all the spoils from Ye Ci¡¯s battle with the python. She wrinkled her nose. The blood covering her body made her ufortable. She jumped into a clear pond not far away to wash away the blood.

    She suddenly felt a sharp pain on her right hand. She was shocked. Was she bitten by something? She had no antidotes left. She came out of the water and noticed that the source of the pain was a small fishhook.

    A fishhook?

    A fishhook !!

    What was a fishhook doing at a ce like that! Ye Ci pulled the fish hook out of her hand, and traced it to the source using the fishing line. Her face began to twitch.

    At the other end of the line was a fishing rod, held by a hand, and the hand was crushed underneath one of the trees that had snapped in half.

    Ye Ci realised that she seemed to have done something that she shouldn¡¯t have...

    She climbed back up to shore and pushed aside the broken trunk with all her might. A blond many underneath the tree, he was already dead. Ye Ci looked at him, puzzled. There were a few words below his name.

    Johnny¡¯s Corpse (Grandmaster Fisherman)

    Tears streamed down Ye Ci¡¯s cheeks. She swore that it had nothing to do with her!

    The person must¡¯ve been murder! The corpse must have been left behind because of a quest! That must be it!

    She would never admit that she identally killed a Grandmaster Fisherman when she fell down with the python.

    After calming herself, Ye Ci looked at the dead Grandmaster Fisherman and began to consider doing some funeral arrangements.

    How kind was she? She even thought of burying him. Where could one find such a kind yer?

 Chapter 40 Under Attack

    Chapter 40 Under Attack

    The Grandmaster Fisherman was not a normal NPC. He was entirely different from the NPCs who could be found in the game and were programmed with just one or two lines of nonsense. If Ye Ci recalled correctly, instructor NPCs were usually categorized as high grade NPCs, while Grandmaster instructor NPCs were Legendary NPCs. Only one of them would be present on any given continent.

    If a Grandmaster instructor died, the system would automatically respawn one.

    However, it took a a longer period of time to respawn such NPC. A total of three years time in real time.

    Ye Ci dragged Johnny¡¯s corpse into a ditch she dug out as she talked to herself, ¡°Three years are actually quite short, they¡¯ll pass by in the blink of an eye,¡± said Ye Ci. She then turned around and asked, ¡°Ol¡¯ Three, what say you! Let¡¯s be more artistic, time passes quickly like a white pony¡¯s shadow across a crevice [1], the passing of a millennium is just in the mere blink of an eye. Am I right, am I right! Even a thousand years can pass in the blink of an eye, not to mention three years!¡±

    It was uncertain if Ol¡¯ Three could understand Ye Ci¡¯s words, but it was wagging its tails at her, acting all cute.

    With great effort, Ye Ci threw Johnny into the ditch and covered him with soil. She then let out a long sigh.

    It was definitely not in vain.

    A Legendary NPC¡¯s corpse would disappear in 18 months of real time upon its death, and an NPC with a simr tier would respawn in another 18 months. This meant that in the next 36 months, the East Continent would not have any Grandmaster Fisherman.

    If any Life yers [2] wanted to learn fishing skills from a Grandmaster, she was sorry, but they could only look for one in the other four continents. And to leave the continent... Ye Ci looked up into the sky, this really had nothing to do with her!

    Although she kept telling herself that, Ye Ci still fulfilled her ¡®responsibility¡¯ and buried the body. If someone was to discover the death of the Grandmaster Fisherman, and noticed that a NPC of a simr tier did not respawn, they would definitely report if to the game officials and God knows if they¡¯d link the incident to her.

    She really had nothing to do with it!

    After properly burying Johnny¡¯s body, Ye Ci picked up the fishing rod that nicked her hand earlier. It was an ordinary fishing rod. Ye Ci immediately threw it away and began surveying the small col once again. She wanted to get out of the ce.

    Of course, the scenery of the ce was still beautiful. Birds were chirping happily and soft green grass covering the floor. If one ignored the mess that Ye Ci and the python had created with the impact of their fall, the ce was still beautiful.

    The trees would respawn soon anyways. Now, Ye Ci needed to get out of this ce.

    Ye Ci took a final nce at the col before she hurriedly left the ce as if it was haunted. There was only a narrow path leading away from the col and Ye Ci reached a small wooden house after jogging down the path.

    There was a sign on the door: Johnny¡¯s House.

    This Grandmaster Fisherman sure likes leaving his name everywhere! He even wrote his name on his house! Originally, she nned to leave as soon as possible but Ye Ci stopped as soon she saw the house.

    That guy was a Grandmaster Fisherman, shouldn¡¯t he have something valuable?

    Ye Ci walked into Johnny¡¯s house and began rummaging through the ce. The interior of the house was simple, there was nothing of value. Ye Ci then found a row of fishing rods and a fish basket at a corner of the house.

    She reached out and grabbed the closest one, and the system notification immediately chimed in, ¡°Are you sure you want to choose this fishing rod? The fishing rod will be bound to you, and you will not be able to choose another fishing rod.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately chose the ¡®No¡¯ option.

    This was it!

    The most valuable thing owned by a Grandmaster Fisherman was of course fishing rods! But there was such a big row of fishing rods, with stats that were unable to be seen, which one should she pick? Ye Ci looked from left to right, and then from right to left, but she still couldn¡¯t make up her mind.

    Some of the fishing rods were glossy, some were surrounded with silvery sparkles, while others were delicate in design. Each and every one of them looked like a good choice.

    Although Ye Ci had not learned fishing skills, she would be an idiot to just pass over something free. She wanted to pick the fishing rod with the best stats. Her sightid on a fishing rod at the end of the rack.

    The fishing rod was dusty and it looked nothing out of the ordinary but Ye Ci just couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that it was the one for her.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to choose this fishing rod? This fishing rod will be bound to you, and you cannot choose another fishing rod.¡± the system notification chimed in. Ye Ci chose ¡®Yes¡¯ without hesitation.

    Even if the fishing rod was not something good, it did not matter too much anyways because Ye Ci had not learned fishing skills. Besides, to have such a mediocre looking rod in the midst of all the other delicate looking ones, something was obviously off.

    With the fishing rod in hand, Ye Ci could finally see its stats.

    Balesan¡¯s Precious Fishing Rod

    Bound

    Orange Equipment

    Unique

    Double Handed

    Attack: 447-672, attack speed: 3.0

    Can be equipped by Master Fisherman and above.

    Special Attribute: Can breath under water after equipping.

    Special Attribute: Increase fishing skill mastery and fishing speed by 10%.

    Special Attribute: 5% increased chance to encounter rare fishes.

    As expected of an orange equipment. Even if it served little use to Ye CI, its stats would drive any fishing Life yers mad.

    Ye Ci was especially happy with the additional ability to breath underwater after equipping the fishing rod. However, it was a double handed rod, which meant Ye Ci could not equip any other weapons while equipping the rod. It meant she would have to sacrifice her ability to attack. Under this circumstances, Ye Ci could only visit the shallow waters, but had to stay away from the deeper areas.

    Despite that, Ye Ci wanted to try the orange equipment that she had obtained. She activated her Brooch of Deceit, she wanted to disguise herself as a Master Fisherman. Unfortunately, she received a notification telling her that the Brooch of Deceit could not allow her to replicate a skill that she had not learned yet, forcing her to give up.

    Ye Ci then picked up the fishing basket that was at the other corner of the house. It was a purple equipment, ¡®Johnny¡¯s Fish Basket¡¯. It was also bound to Ye Ci. the fish basket was somewhatlike a backpack, with 48 slots for fishing rted items. With 1 stack of items per slot and 99 items of the same name per stack, the fishing basket¡¯s capacity was rather big.

    Regrettably, it was only for fishing rted items and could not be used as a normal backpack.

    Even though she could not put the two items to good use, Ye Ci was still happy. After all, she was satisfied just by looking at the grade of those items. Ye Ci continued to ransack the house looking for anything valuable, and after confirming that she¡¯d scrounged through the entire house, she left.

    Of course, she did not forget to take down the sign hanging on the door.

    Ye Ci then summoned her steed and continued her way along the narrow path.

    The map was called the Deste Lands and everywhere was barren except for the small patch of greenery that Ye Ci had left behind. Even the rays of light shining down were grim and gloomy. The ce was a lvl 30 to lvl 40 leveling area, hosting the Deste Tombs dungeons. A lot of yers would be leveling up in this map in the near future.

    But with the average level of yers below 20 at this time and as such, not a single soul could be seen in the Deste Lands.

    Ye Ci rode along the main road, wary of the monsters spawning at both sides of the road.

    Ye Ci suddenly fell from her steed, and was hit with dizziness. She was rooted to the spot and could not move. It was a situation that Ye CI was familiar with. She was under attack by a yer.

    ¡°You have been attacked by an unknown yer.¡± the system notification then chimed in. There was only one possibility when the notification hinted that a yer was attacked by an unknown yer. The assant had hidden his name.

    Ye Ci eyed the DEBUFF, it was Staggering Blow. The effectsted for 6 seconds.

    It was a Rogue¡¯s skill.

    But where did the Rogue came from?

    It was very unlikely for yers to appear in the Deste Lands at this time, and even if there were any yers, Ye Ci was not a red named yer, why would the attack her?

    She felt a chilly pain at her back.

    Ye Ci could see her HP dropping rapidly.

    6 seconds seemed short, but in this situation, it felt like a millennia for Ye Ci.

    yers under the ¡®Stunned¡¯ status could not move. Ye Ci could only watch as her HP dropped. She was filled with remorse. Why did she went so fast? If only she did not dismiss Ol¡¯ Three, then she¡¯d not be at the mercy of her assant.

    The Rogue was fast. He cast one skill after another on Ye Ci. Bleed, Assassinate, Searing Stab, Eviscerate... Within six seconds, he had almost finished using all his main skills on Ye Ci.

    What surprised him the most was that despite dealing more than hundreds of damage, the Huntress did not fall. She had also hidden her personal info, which meant that the Rogue could not see her HP bar. Why was she so hard to kill?!

    In truth, Ye Ci was not that well off. If it were not for the equipment she had, she would¡¯ve been killed instantly after receiving damage from so many of the Rogue¡¯s skills.

    When the effect of Staggering Blow was finally over, Ye Ci activated the Dash ability of her boots and dashed away...

    Trantor Notes:

    [1] time passes quickly like a white pony¡¯s shadow across a crevice Ê±¼äÈç°×¾Ô¹ýÏ¶

    A Chinese saying describing how fast time passes

    [2] Life yers

    yers focusing on Life Skills

 Chapter 41 The Other Continent

    Chapter 41 The Other Continent

    In the blink of an eye, Ye Ci was already 25m away. She did not stop there. She activated Stealth and disappeared into the gray map.

    The Rogue was baffled. His second stunning skill, ¡®Stun¡¯ was ready but the target had disappeared before he could cast it. He then received a system notification: ¡°Target has disappeared, skill casting failed.¡±

    The scariest thing during a PK was not an opponent¡¯s mechanical skills or even their damage output, it was if your opponent disappeared and you could not spot them.

    Ye Ci¡¯s sudden disappearance turned the tables. The Rogue¡¯s brief moment of hesitation meant that he had alreadypromised his position even after he turned on his Stealth.

    Ye Ci lurked 25m away from the Rogue. She chugged down bottles of Health Potion while watching the Rogue closely.

    In a PK match against a Hunter, one must be careful to not ce oneself more than 2m away from the Hunter. A Hunter¡¯s attack had a blind spot of 2m. If a target was within the 2m range of a Hunter, the Hunter could notunch ranged attacks against their target. A Hunter without their ranged attacks was no different from a bird that had lost its wings.

    When one was in a PK match against a Rogue, one must always remember to not give the Rogue a chance to get to one¡¯s back. A Rogue had a lot of control skills, once they got behind a yer, the yer would lose all initiative. Once someone was hit by a Rogue¡¯s control skill, unless the yer had some very OP items, the battle would be over then and there.

    Ye Ci silently calcted the path that the Rogue would take and nted a Frost Trap there. She¡¯d appear out of Stealth when she cast a skill. It was very dangerous as Rogues and Hunters shared the simrity of relying on agility. Both sses had high speed.

    A trap needed three seconds to bepletely set up. Within that three seconds, if the Rogue had an additional speed buff, he would be able to dash up to her and use a Staggering Blow.

    That was why Ye Ci kept an eye out for the Stealthed Rogue.

    In thest few milliseconds of the Frost Trap¡¯s deployment, Ye Ci detected a presence creeping up from behind her with her high Perception. The person pounced at her at high speed.

    It¡¯s finished... Ye Ci felt a chill creep down her spine, and her body dodged to the side out of reflex.

    Miss!

    The Rogue was disheartened when he saw his Staggering Blow miss at a crucial moment like that! It was a crucial moment, how could he miss it!

    That was not as depressing as the fact that the Huntress dodged his follow up attack by lowering her body and rolling away on the ground.

    If that was not depressing enough, what happened next would sink the Rogue further into depression.

    Ye Ci¡¯s movement caused the Rogue to miss and he stumbled forward due to his momentum. He then stepped on Ye Ci¡¯s Frost Trap.

    The Rogue was instantly frozen in a huge ice block.

    Ye Ci stood back up and immediately cast a red Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark on him. At the same time, she released Ol¡¯ Three and backed off.

    A Frost Trap would typicallyst for 12 seconds. But if attacked, the ice will shatter and the frozen target would regain freedom of movement.

    Since this was not a fight against mobs, Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s Taunt had no use. Instead, Ye Cimanded it to cast a damage over time (DOT) skill ¡ª Bleed. Ye Ci herself jumped onto a wilted tree and used Venomous Snake Needle and Rapid Fire on the Rogue.

    The Rogue¡¯s first course of action was to cast a Stun on Ol¡¯ Three, then he headed straight for Ye Ci.

    Despite his speed, Ye Ci remained calm. They were close to each other in terms of Agility, and she also had a slightly better Bnce than the Rogue. However, when it came to Speed, she had a Purple Equipment with +7 Speed bonus. With the distance between them, as long as he did not possess and dashing skills, the oue of the battle was already sealed.

    The Rogue had good equipment as well.

    Ye Ci¡¯s excellent equipment could only deal a little more than 400 to the Rogue.

    Despite his high attack, Rogues were still ss cannons. After taking two to three hits that carried more than 300 damage, the Rogue¡¯s lifeless body crashed onto the ground before he could get close to Ye Ci.

    ¡°You received Kill Glory +2¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned, he was a yer from another continent.

    There were five continents in Fate, the North, South, East, West and the Middle continent. The East Continent and South Continents were allies, yers from these continents could not kill each other. It was the same for yers from the West Continent and North Continent. The Mid Continent was not open yet at this stage of the game.

    In contrast, the East-South Alliance and the West-North Alliance were enemies. yers from both factions could kill each other on sight. There would be no penalties, and they would receive Kill Glory instead. A yer could exchange for unique PVP equipment with enough Kill Glory.

    Killing the Rogue granted Ye Ci Kill Glory. It meant that the Rogue was from either the West or North Continent. But what was a lvl 20 Rogue doing in the hearnds of the East Continent?

    Since a yer from a hostile continent came here to give away Kill Glory, Ye Ci would feel really bad if she did not try and kill him a few more times.

    The moment the Rogue¡¯s body fell lifeless to the ground, Ye Ci entered Stealth and dismissed Ol¡¯ Three, it was basically a beacon announcing her presence!

    Not two minutester, the Rogue¡¯s corpse turned into a pile of bones, and Ye Ci leaped out. She drew her bow and cast Rapid Fire at a silhouette not far away from the original position of the corpse.

    yers who had just revived possessed only 40% of their HP and mana, which of course meant that it was easy for Ye Ci to make a short work out of him.

    Puff, the Rogue dropped dead once again.

    He was depressed. He had spent a great effort sneaking into the East Continent in search for some stuff. When he saw the Huntress, he thought that he could take her down easily because her equipment appeared to be low tier. He had not expected to run into someone so tenacious.

    He was sure that his skills were on par with the Huntress, but... she seemed to have some very good equipment. He misjudged her strength and had paid the price.

    If the Rogue knew that he would end up like this, he would have definitely avoided the Huntress.

    East Continent NPCs were hostile towards him. He could not repair his broken equipment in the city if they were damaged too much or if he had died too many times. He was d that his items had not drop, and decided to just stay on the ground.

    Ye Ci crouched on the branch of a nearby tree, staring at the Rogue¡¯s corpse. He did not even move for a full ten minutes. He realized that Ye Ci was camping nearby.

    Just as Ye Ci was hesitating on whether to continue camping the Rogue or not, a few messenger pigeons flew towards her.

    Ye Ci deactivated Stealth and received the letters sent by the pigeons. The Rogue that was lying on the ground had a 360 degree field of vision after he diedt. He finally saw the Huntress on a branch 23m away from him. He was d that he had not immediately revived himself again.

    The letters were from Ideal Height 1.7m and Let Go Of That Girl. They were asking if she was okay, they sounded worried.

    Ye Ci was touched. A warmth that she could not describe crept up her heart. To not further worry her twopanions, she replied to the letter and told them that she was safe.

    ¡°Gongzi You, where are you right now?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s private message channel rang up. It was Peacock Blue. After she muted Peacock Blue for the first time, the system would automatically unmute her after 72 hours and Peacock Blue could send her private messages once again.

    However, Peacock Blue appeared to be different. She did not act high and mighty, nor did she actas if she was superior to Ye Ci. Her tone was so ordinary that Ye Ci nearly mistook her for a stranger. Although Ye Ci had never liked Peacock Blue, but since she decided not to find fault with Ye Ci this time, Ye Ci would not do anything to provoke her either.

    ¡°I¡¯m in the Deste Lands.¡±

    ¡°The Deste Lands?¡± Peacock Blue was obviously surprised by Ye Ci¡¯s answer. She mumbled to herself for a moment and did not try to question Ye Ci any further. She immediately stated her reason for contacting Ye Ci, ¡°the Guild will challenge the Automaton Formation in three hours, are you free?¡±¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m free.¡± Ye Ci calcted the time it would take her to return to the Chilly Wends dungeon before she gave Peacock Blue an answer.

    ¡°I have a spot for you, are youing?¡± Peacock Blue still acted as if it was just official business, her voice did not betray any emotion.

    ¡°Sure, but I might be slightlyte.¡±

    After receiving a reply from Ye Ci, Peacock Blue immediately ended the conversation. It seemed that she was not happy to have to talk to Ye Ci, but to Ye Ci, it did not matter.

    Knowing that, she did not have anymore time to waste on the Rogue. Ye Ci jumped down from the tree and said to the Rogue, ¡°There¡¯s something that I need to do, let¡¯s fight again some other time!¡± then she left.

    The Rogue revived right after Ye Ci left. But before he could stand still, he heard another puff, and he dropped dead again!

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be gone already!¡± the Rogue could not hold himself back anymore and shouted at Ye Ci.

    ¡°To tell you the truth, even if someone gave up on camping you, you shouldn¡¯t revive so quickly you know.¡± Ye Ci grinned at the Rogue from 20m away. She summoned her steed and waved gracefully at the Rogue, ¡°This time I¡¯m gone for real!¡±

 Chapter 42 The Top of the Charts

    Chapter 42 The Top of the Charts

    The Rogue waited for a while before he got up. Unexpectedly, more Pew Pew noises resounded, and he once again fell into the embrace of the earth.

    ¡°What are you doing! Stop toying with people!¡± The Rogue almost went mad.

    Ye Ci¡¯s heartyughter rang out from afar as she said, ¡°Hey, hasn¡¯t anyone taught you to observe your surrounding before getting up? I am really leaving this time~~¡±

    The Rogue was so depressed that he was about to weep. He was really unlucky today. Originally, he had just wanted to earn some Kill Glory. Why did this fiend appear? This time, no matter what she said, he firmly decided to not respawn.

    However, this time, Ye Ci had not lied. She really left and rode her little red horse, heading towards the Red Lake City through the road of the Deste Lands.

    In order to get to the Red Lake City from the Deste, one would need to bypass four to five maps, some of which contained lvl 50 mobs. Ye Ci had to be very careful throughout the journey and it took her over three hours to finally reach the Red Lake City. She asked in the guild channel whether it¡¯s time to assemble. A reply told her that the team was already at the entrance. She immediately threw the fishing rod and the fishing basket into her warehouse and rushed towards the dungeon.

    Although she had suffered throughout the journey as she rushed back to the Red Lake City from the Deste Lands, Ye Ci still felt very sorry. When she saw the group of yers that had already assembled at the gathering rock in front of the Automaton Formation dungeon, she felt even more embarrassed.

    She had never really been that great. This time, she had actually made everyone wait this long during a guild gathering event, which was very unreasonable. Therefore, the moment Ye Ci joined the team, she apologized sincerely to the entire team.

    ¡°Everyone, really sorry that I¡¯mte.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I heard from Little Blue that you came back from the Deste Lands.¡± Zero Arsenic responded, his face full of smiles. Zero Arsenic was a Sorcerer equipped in a top notch equipments. Without the aid of equipments simr to the Brooch Of Deceit, one could tell his G was over 200 with a nce.

    Zero Arsenic was the vice leader of the guild and he was also the best Sorcerer in the guild. He stood out among the rest with his superior armor.

    Since Zero Arsenic said so, there was no need for Ye Ci to exin anymore. As such, she just replied with a nod.

    ¡°Rushing back from that ce must have been dangerous. I remember that there were a few high level maps on the route back. ¡°Was it easy for you when you when you were on your way back?¡± Zero Arsenic¡¯s smiling eyes appeared rather gentle and his voice also sounded extremely gentle. However, from the beginning to the end, Ye Ci felt that his eyes were conveying something indescribable.

    His eyes were liike that of a fox, studying its prey.

    ¡°I just needed to run along the big road without deviating left or right. Even a level one smurf could run back by following this route.¡± With neither a servile nor overbearing tone, Ye Ci warded off Zero Arsenic¡¯s probing with a soft answer.

    The smile in Zero Arsenic¡¯s eyes became deeper. No one could tell what emotions hid deep within his ck eyes. He nodded and stopped talking to Ye Ci. He then turned and said to the team, ¡°Today, two squadrons will advance into the dungeon and explore it. Everyone, don¡¯t be greedy. Just do your best. Everyone will obtain a reward of five points. If we managed to pass it, then the points will naturally be higher.¡±

    Joyful chatter could be heard amidst the assembled group. One could tell that with the stimtion of money, many people were eager to give it a try.

    Afterpleting his briefing, Zero Arsenic assigned Ye Ci to the second squadron and ordered the leaders of the two squadrons to lead their members into the dungeon.

    The Automaton Formation dungeon was a 25-man dungeon. Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s core members consisted of around a hundred yers. They were split into two squadrons to explore the Chilly Wends, with 50 yers in each squadron. However, the ones who were present to explore the Automaton Formation dungeon, were the cream of the crop. All of them were selected from the Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s core members. Their game sense and awareness were more than a match for normal guild members and wild party members.

    The GS of the entire squadron had an average of 240 and above, they were especially eye-catching as they gathered and awaited orders.

    Ye Ci followed the second squadron into the Automaton Formation dungeon. She suddenly felt that she went overboard in her attempt to disguise her equipment. In the midst of the second squadron, she stood out the most due to her disguised poor quality weapon.

    The person inmand was Crimson Millions. His voice had a hint of Jiang Nan[1] ent. His voice was soft and nice, with a little passion in it. But in exploring a dungeon, clearing it was the most important. Anything else simply did not matter.

    Ye Ci blended into the midst of the ranged ssed yers, keeping a low profile. However, due to her superior equipment, her DPS was always at the top. She dealt more damage than the top yer of the second squadron, Seductive Dance.

    As Crimson Millionsmanded the squad orderly, he opened up the damage chart habitually. He was bbergasted after just one nce. Gongzi You was at the top of the chart! Her damage dealt was several hundred thousands points more than Seductive Dance. And on the damage taken chart, Gongzi You was at the bottom of the list. She hadn¡¯t taken any damage!!!

    This attracted the attention of Crimson Millions.

    Despite her two dungeons First Blood, and her First Blood of Wild Boar King with World Conqueror, Crimson Millions view of Ye Ci was simr to Peacock Blue. In his opinion, Ye Ci was merely lucky.

    Crimson Millions had been paying attention to Gongzi You ever since they¡¯ve entered the dungeon. But she appeared to be mingling in the midst of the ranged sses, and did not appear to have much of a performance. He was more convinced than ever that Ye Ci was merely lucky with her First Bloods.

    That was, of course, until he took a look at the damage charts.

    The Automaton Formation was filled with tiny metal balls that would explode and deal damage in a wide area. Even Purple Corydalis, one of the best yers with the best positioning skills in the second squadron suffered some damage. But this Huntress had not even suffer a single point of damage!

    For an average yer, the charts were simply rows of numbers. But in the eyes of an expert or amander, it was the thing that determined the strength of their party members.

    Dishing out the highest damage while receiving none.

    The automated generated charts would never be wrong. Crimson Millions perspective of Gongzi You instantly changed. This Huntress was just like what Zero Arsenic described. Her strength was very well hidden.

    Crimson Millions closed the damage charts and continued giving out orders, ¡°DPS beware of your aggro, be careful of any OT.¡± Ye Ci took a nce at her aggro after listening to Crimson Millions¡¯s words. Her aggro was among the lowest.

    Seductive Dance noticed the damage charts as well, and his facial expression changed. He had been gaming for almost eight years, and he was always ying as a DPS. His skills are undeniably good.

    He also had very excellent equipment. His damage could even be on par with Zero Arsenic. After being used to be on the top of the damage chart for so long, how could he retain hisposure after being ced in the second spot?

    Since Ye Ci was in the midst of the ranged sses, she could see the facial expression of Seductive Dance.

    Sorcerers are different from Warlocks. They do not have much aggro controlling skills during the early stages of the game. If they did not control their damage output, their aggro would almost always rise to the point where they could no longer control it.

    In a short period of time not more than 10 seconds, the Elite Guardian that was focused on the MT and secondary tank turned and charged towards the ranged sses.It was the first time such an incident ured under Crimson Millions¡¯smand.

    ¡°The sorcerer Seductive Dance is now OT!¡± a system notification chimed in. Crimson Millions shouted, ¡°Seductive Dance, stop! You¡¯re OT! MT, do your job, don¡¯t let the mobs reach the ranged sses!¡±

    Before his words died away, before the MT could arrive, Crimson Millions saw a light and nimble figure jumping out from the group of ranged sses. A red mark immediately appeared on the elite guardian¡¯s head. Seeing this, Crimson Millions was shocked again as he eximed, ¡°The Mark of Hunter!¡± He didn¡¯t expect that a hunter in their team would know how to use this skill!

    When he saw the one who had jumped out, he suddenly felt that everything made sense.

    Of course, this person was Gongzi You.

    Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark, Falcon Protection, Snake Venom Needle and Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s Taunt were casted in that short moment. She then made a 180 degrees turn and changed course in midair.

    Ye Ci released Rapid Fire and Decoy in midair, dealing four to five critical hits with 2000 damage each. She had sessfully transferred the Elite Guardian¡¯s aggro to herself from Seductive Dance.

    As the Elite Guardian was dashing towards the ranged sses, it suddenly stopped and made a turn, heading towards Ye Ci. The danger of the team of ranged sses was alleviated.

    Her movements were extremely quick. From defending to attracting aggro, it only took her three seconds. Her beautiful and acute control amazed everyone.

    Even Crimson Millions stopped in surprise. He couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Could an ordinary Huntress get up this way? Can an ordinary Huntress borrow external forces and fly in the air as if the force of gravity didn¡¯t exist?

    ¡°Mortal! You have enraged me!¡± Although the elite guardian was not the Boss but it was still one of the monsters in the dungeon that were very hard to deal with. The Elite Guardian roared and dashed a few steps forward. The instant it approached Ye Ci, it casted Fear towards Ye Ci.

    It actually hit!

    Ye Ci had just descended the ground and was about to jump when she got stunned. Her whole body trembled and she could no longer make any movements, showing a rigid state. This was the normal behavior of someone that was hit by the Fear.

    The duration of the Fear was 5 seconds and Ye Ci counted the time. The elite guardian could release two attacks during these five seconds, and Ye Ci didn¡¯t know whether she could endure it or not.

    As the sound of the wind blew, the Elite Guardian had already caught up to Ye Ci and with the raise of his hand its de swooped down and it hacked down towards Ye Ci...

    Trantor¡¯s notes:

    Jiang Nan: A province in China

 Chapter 43 Challenging the Automaton Formation

    Chapter 43 Challenging the Automaton Formation

    Before anybody could react...

    The sharp de of the Elite Guard hit a silvery shield with a sharp nk.

    Ye Ci felt that someone had abruptly dashed out from behind her. They pressed their back against hers, then she heard the sounds of metal shing.

    ¡°Heh, Gongzi You, leave the rest to me.¡± A light, smiling voice rang out from behind her. Ye Ci could not turn back, but she felt as if a huge boulder in her heart was released in that moment.

    ¡°What are you guys standing around in a daze for? DPS and Healers keep up!¡± Crimson Millions¡¯smanding voice once again rang out.

    As expected of a well-trained main force. Although such an unexpected event had urred, within a few seconds, everyone had regained theirposure. Such incidents were insufficient to disrupt their initial battle rhythm.

    Ye Ci finally recovered. She turned to see that the person who was standing behind her and had taken that blow for her earlier wasn¡¯t team two¡¯s MT, but the second tank, Traceless Insanity.

    While retreating back to the long-range attack team, she recalled the things that had urred earlier. She then looked at Traceless Insanity¡¯s handling of the role of tank. She noticed that although his skills as a tank were slightlycking, his teamwork and positioning were all quite on point. A good party would be an ideal tform for him to get more training, in less than a year, he would probably be one of the top MTs around.

    Very quickly, the elite guards were all knocked out and a blue robe for Warlock¡¯s appeared. Such equipment was not dropped by the BOSS. Three Warlocks rolled the dice and the one with the highest number happily acquired the equipment.

    After splitting up the equipment amongst themselves, Crimson Millions got everyone to take a break while he made adjustments for the party¡¯s battle rhythm.

    ¡°Seductive Dance, I kept saying we need to control the damage output, don¡¯t be too greedy, don¡¯t OT. What¡¯s wrong with you? You¡¯re also an old timer DPS now, there¡¯s no need for me to repeat that you need to handle aggro properly. Since this is an ident, I won¡¯t deduct your points. But the next time this happen again, I¡¯ll deduct five points straight away.¡± Although Crimson Millions¡¯s voice had had a certain softness unique to Jiang Nan, thought with his authority and slow enunciation, he exuded a tremendous pressure.

    Seductive Dance lowered his head as he munched on his bread. He knew that he had been too greedy and too concerned about his reputation, thus he did not dare to rebut any of Crimson Millions¡¯s words. However, when Crimson Millions once again announced that there were going to press on forward, he looked toward Ye Ci, who appeared as if she had no regard for the others around her.

    Ye Ci intended to send a friend request to Traceless Insanity while they were having a break, but he unexpectedly sent her a friend request of his own.

    After the two of them added each other as friends, Traceless Insanity sent a private message, ¡°Hey, your mechanical skill was really good. Earlier, when I saw it, it really stirred me up. Would you be able to teach me?¡±

    Ye Ci did not reject him and said, ¡°A Hunter¡¯s and a Warrior¡¯s movements are different. But if you don¡¯t mind, we can exchange pointers when we have time.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s do it when we get out of the dungeon.¡± Traceless Insanity was an impatient person. If not for the fact that they were still in the dungeon, he would have wanted to immediate exchange pointers with Ye Ci.

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    The party continued to advance and very quickly, arrived at the deepest point of the dungeon. Rows and rows of automaton were perfectly lined up, seemingly inanimate.Behind these automatons, there were two tall stone towers, with a few Dark Gnome on the top. There were two huge gates behind the two blocks of towers, with a giant robot right in front of it.

    That was the Automatons Formation¡¯s final BOSS, Number 48.

    Based on the dungeon¡¯s design, this was the entrance that lead to a cold and humidnd. They must bring out the quest item from the Cruel Pit and it must be brought out and ce onto therge gates behind robot number 48. When that was done, the path toward the cold and humidnd would be unobstructed.

    Number 48 was massive in size, but the most challenging point of the dungeon was not the BOSS. After all, even a tough BOSS would not be able to hold its ground if it was swarmed by yers. Moreover, Number 48 was merely a blockhead. It was simply too easy to defeat.

    The hardest challenge in the dungeon was that Automatons Formation and the two blocks of stone towers behind them.

    Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s intention was for them to explore the new dungeon, various guilds had just broken through the Cruel Pit recently and there were not many of them who had challenged the Automatons Formation. With no information and no video guides online, Steel Blooded Battle Axe could only brace themselves and challenge the dungeon head on.

    Crimson Millions did not know how difficult this dungeon was, but Ye Ci knew very well that it was not easy.

    There were a total of 81 automatons and attacking one of them would trigger the rest of the automatons to attack all at once. The Dark Gnomes on the two towers will also fire their cannons at targets that were besieged by the automatons. Those did not know of clearing away the swarm of automatons would suffer massive casualties.

    Crimson Millions got the others to take a break while he looked toward the automatons Formation from afar, remaining silent. After a short while, he turned to say to the rest, ¡°Although there are many monsters around, we¡¯ll do what we usually does, attract them one at a time and slowly kill them all.¡±

    When Ye Ci heard this, she was dumbfounded. Wasn¡¯t that just asking for defeat? Not wanting to rebut the party leader in front of so many yers, Ye Ci sent a privately message to Crimson Millions,¡°Leader, I don¡¯t think that is usible. These monsters seemed to be linked and if one was attacked, it¡¯s likely that the others would be triggered and attack all at once. Can we use another method to tackle this? ¡±

    Those in the lead would tend to have their own way of thinking, as most of them would feel as if they had more battle experiences and had seen more things. There were not many who would be willing to ept other people¡¯s opinions before they were put into an unfavorable position.

    Crimson Millions was no different. He had been ying games for five to six years and had taken the lead in parties for over four years. He took pride in the fact that his leadership ability was not too bad. Although he thought well of Ye Ci, it did not mean that he fully recognized this strength of this Huntress.

    Therefore, he interrupted her with his unique and pleasant voice, ¡°Gongzi, have youe here before?¡±

    It was bullshit. Not only that she had entered the dungeon before, she even did it multiple times. She was extremely familiar with the entire Fate. But these were all things that Ye Ci could not say. Therefore, she shook her head, ¡°No.¡±

    Crimson Millions smiled and continued to use that pleasant voice to emphasize, ¡°Since we¡¯re exploring a new dungeon, we should try things a little at a time. Only then would we be able to find the best solution. You don¡¯t have to try and resort to trickeries right from the start.¡±

    Although what Crimson Millions said was not wrong, Ye Ci was still speechless. What did he meant by resorting to trickeries? Her intention was not to have unnecessary sacrifices and she had not wanted to waste money on fixing her equipment. How could he call that as resorting to trickeries?

    However, no matter what she says, Crimson Millions would probably not be willing to listen. Humans are creatures who would only learn after experiencing the worst. Ye Ci sighed, and retreated back to the very back of the long-range attackers, no longer trying to persuade Crimson Millions. She would just wait for hismand tounch their attacks. Once the monsters began to swarm up, she would immediately make her escape out of the dungeon.

    She had wanted to tell Traceless Insanity to get him to escape together with her, but eventually only sent out a private message, ¡°During times of emergencies, you got to be smart and think for yourself.¡± She did not want to tantly tell him to escape. Moreover, she had just met Traceless Insanity and they could not even be considered close. She did not wish to let her words be spread out or it would eventually be ckmail materials for others.

    Traceless Insanity actually did not really agree to Crimson Millions¡¯s n either. When he received Ye Ci¡¯s private message, he instantly understood that they had both thought of the same thing. He immediately replied, ¡°Understood. If things doesn¡¯t look right, immediately escape out of the dungeon.¡±

    The two were still talking when Crimson Millions gave themand and the long-range attackers began tounch their attacks on a robot in the extreme corner and then...

    Ye Ci only remembered that the whole ce became a big mess and that all the automatons swarmed toward them like gushing waves.

    Looking at the multitude of automatons, the people who had trypophobia immediately turned pale and their legs gave way. Those whose legs did not give way also immediately turned to run. Under this situation, they could no longer care for any battle rhythm or whatsoever. If they did not run, the many automatons would only bring about their utter destruction.

    Ye Ci was standing furthest away and also she also had great agility and speed, thus she was the first to escape out from dungeon. Following behind her were a few other Rogues, Hunters, and Rangers who were quick on their feet. These sses with high agility showed their superiority while they made their escape.

    Traceless Insanity was not as lucky. He was a Warrior and did not have high agility. Although he had started making his escape at the first possible moment, he eventually died a heroic death right before the dungeon¡¯s entrance.

    The few who escaped reckoned that those inside were all dead, and the entered the dungeon once again. As expected, the long line of corpses really formed a trail of marker, guiding their way.

    The party managed to regroup.

    As they were exploring a newnd and he had not epted Ye Ci¡¯s suggestion in the first ce, Crimson Millions did not me the members who managed to make their escapes. Saving their actual strength was also an important battle technique.

    Ye Ci also pretended that she had not mentioned anything to Crimson Millions, and instead lowered her head and sat in a corner, munching on her bread, asionally throwing two pieces of roasted meat to Ol¡¯ Three who was unrelentingly acting cute. Suddenly, the sound of a private chat rang out. It was Crimson Millions.

    ¡°Gongzi, what method do you think is best to deal with this automatons Formation?¡±

    Although Crimson Millions was a leader with his own views, this did not meant that he was obstinate. When they first attacked, he had already realized that he had made an extremely grave mistake. Therefore, now that everyone was taking a break, he sent Ye Ci a private message, hoping to get the Huntress¡¯ opinions.

    Ye Ci turned to look toward Crimson Millions, only to realize that he was looking at her, smiling as he nodded his head, appearing very humble...

 Chapter 44 Expert of Destruction

    Chapter 44 Expert of Destruction

    Since this was for the sake of clearing the dungeon Ye Ci wasn¡¯t petty about it. She wasn¡¯t holding any grudges about what had happened just now either.

    She looked at Crimson Millions and thought for a moment before speaking. ¡°Do you realize that the grass here is denser than other ces in this dungeon?¡±

    She had said this in hopes of Crimson Millions catching on because she couldn¡¯t really tell him directly that there was an NPC hiding among the dense grass around the Northwest corner that must be found in order to clear the dungeon. If she had said that, she was pretty sure Crimson Millions would then be wondering howshe knew so much even though it was her first time entering the dungeon.

    Crimson Millions only turned his head and checked out his surroundings after hearing Ye Ci¡¯s words. The grass here was indeed a lot denser herepared to the areas they had went through and had already grown taller than a person in most of the ces here. If something was hidden among this dense grass, one would definitely miss it if they didn¡¯t search for it carefully.

    ¡°Everyone, search among the grass around the Automatons Formation and look for clues to clear the dungeon.¡± Crimson Millions was also an experienced leader. Ye Ci had only briefly pointed it out and he had already caught onto it so he immediately issued his order to the party members who were still taking a break together.

    As expected of a well-trained party, everyone stood up and started to search towards the denser areas around the Automatons Formation. Ye Ci purposely didn¡¯t go in the Northeast direction but she instead went in the opposite direction.

    Since she was the one who suggested the problem, people would be suspicious if she was also the one who found the NPC.

    Just as expected, a party member shouted towards Crimson Millions very soon. ¡°Leader, there¡¯s an NPC here!¡±

    Crimson Millions ran towards that party member as soon as he heard him. Ye Ci didn¡¯t follow him but instead walked to the front of Automaton Formation and sat down. The NPC woulde hereter anyway.

    After talking to the NPC for what seemed like half a day, that little Gnome finally came towards Ye Ci while cursing.

    ¡°You damn big fellows. Can¡¯t you see that I was trying to hide? I¡¯m on a mission b that my boss gave to me, but it¡¯sonly to watch these traitors but not defeat them.¡±

    Ye Ciughed. This Gnome NPC was still the same as ever. What could he possibly see crouching among such dense and tall grasses?

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you all that I¡¯m only helping you out this time because of the money. If you guys fail, don¡¯te looking for me. I have my own principle.¡± The little Gnome took out some tools from somewhere and then instructed the yers to push out some cannon emcements that looked no different than trash from the bushes.

    As an old saying goes, ¡°a little body often harbors a great soul¡±. Although the Gnomes were small in stature, they were the best experts in machineries and their race specialized in engineering and alchemy.

    In just a short moment, the little Gnome had repaired all three cannon emcements.

    ¡°Just these. These are all I¡¯ll offer to help fix.¡± The little Gnome jumped down from thest cannon emcement that he repaired and returned to his ce of hiding.

    He was the key to clearing this dungeon because there were many monsters in the Automatons Formation. There was no way to clear them out in one go other than relying on these cannon emcements. But even so, the shells of the cannon emcement were limited. Only a total of six rounds were prepared for the three cannon emcements.

    This was also where the difficulty of the dungeon lied. If the six rounds of shells couldn¡¯t kill all 81 automatons, then many Dark Gnomes would immediately appear from the Stone Tower to repair these automatons. After ten seconds, these automatons would all be fully repaired and continue their assault at the yers. By that time, the dungeon would pretty much be considered a failure.

    In the process of this challenge, many parties were stuck here. They either couldn¡¯t kill all the automatons or tried to kill them all with brute force but got annihted in the end instead.

    After the three cannon emcements were set up, Crimson Millions started assigning members to get on them. One of them was Traceless Aftermaths and the other was a rogue by the name of Grim Moon. Just when Crimson Millions was pondering about the candidate for thest cannon emcement, Ye Ci took the initiative to volunteer, ¡°Leader, can I have a go at it?¡±

    People immediately started whispering at her self nomination. Ye Ci¡¯s performance was exceptional, and she had impressed others even more after entering the dungeon. But even so, this was the first time they had worked together as a team sopared to others, most people weren¡¯t too familiar with her so they¡¯d naturally worry about leaving such an important task in her hands.

    Needless to say, Crimson Millions had also thought about this. But in the end, he decided to take the risk. He was curious to see how capable this huntress, Gongziyou, was.

    So he gave her a nod as he ignored the distrust of other party members and assigned thest cannon emcement to Ye Ci.

    ¡°Everyone has two rounds of shells. Aim to kill as many of them as possible, don¡¯t waste any the shells. The more automatons you kill the less pressure for us at the back.¡± Crimson Millions briefed the three of them and let them get on to the cannons. As soon as he saw the three of them had mounted the cannon, he spoke again. ¡°At the count of three, fire...¡±

    Before Crimson Millions could even finish his sentence, he heard the sharp noise of the feathers on the tip of an arrow rustling in the air as it flew towards the Automaton Formation.

    -1742.

    The automatons immediately dashed towards the attacker¡¯s direction. Crimson Millions was shocked at the sudden turn of events as he turned around to the initiator immediately and shouted angrily. ¡°Gongziyou, what are you doing? Are you trying to get us all killed?¡±

    Although Crimson Millions was extremely pissed off right now, he couldn¡¯t afford to waste his time cursing at Ye Ci. He hurriedly ordered the party to retreat.

    For a moment, the whole party was in chaos. Like a headless chicken, they had lost their bearings. The whole party channel was filled with curses directed towards Ye Ci andins towards Crimson Millions. It was so noisy that it was irritating.

    Grim Moon had already jumped off from the cannon emcement at the side and joined the fleeing team. Traceless Aftermaths jumped off from the cannon emcement too and was about to escape with the others. But then he lifted his head and saw Ye Ci was still standing on the cannon emcement with a calm face. An inexplicable calmness emerged in his heart.

    But even so, he still called out to her frantically. ¡°Gongzi, hurry up and go!¡±

    Ye Ci still remained silent as she stood on the cannon emcement. She readjusted her angle without caring about the rest. She didn¡¯t even bother about Crimson Millions¡¯ anger and the other party members who were already in chaos. When the automatons rushed to a specific spot, a ¡®bang¡¯ noise was heard as the explosive wasunched out.

    ¡°Pass me a shell.¡±

    Before the shell was sent flying, Ye Ci¡¯s hand was already extended towards Traceless Aftermaths.

    Traceless Aftermaths was a little baffled but his body actually reacted faster than his brain as the next moment as he quickly picked up another shell from the ground and passed it to Ye Ci with lightning speed. Ye Ci skillfully loaded it beforeunching it out.

    The first shellnded exactly at the spot where most automatons were gathered. A crowd of red figures shed by, followed by a dense smoke and fire sparks flying astray. A calm system announcement was made monotonously in the party channel: ¡°Gongziyou has shot down 67 automatons and achieved abo of 157.¡±

    Ye Ci thenunched another shell. The system announcement rang out again. ¡°Gongziyou has shot down 73 automatons and achieved abo of 189.¡±

    Traceless Aftermaths stood there,pletely dumbfounded. What in the world... She¡¯s that fierce?

    ¡°Shell.¡± Ye Ci shifted her gaze to Traceless Aftermaths who was standing there dumbly as she extended her hand to him again.

    ¡°Roger.¡± Traceless Aftermaths quickly ced another shell in her hand without any doubt this time.

    ¡°Gongzi You has shot down 81 automatons and achieved abo of 234.¡±

    After that, everyone unlocked the ¡°Berserk Destroyer¡± achievement.

    There was quite a few achievements unlockable in the Automatons Formation. The ¡°Destroyer¡± was the lowest so any party that could defeat 81 automatons before all the six shells were used up would be able to unlock this achievement. However if 81 automatons could be defeated with three shells or less without suffering any damage, then the ¡°Berserk Destroyer¡± achievement would be unlocked. If only two shells were used, then the ¡°Violent Destroyer¡± achievement would be unlocked. If only one shell was used, then the ¡°Bane of the Automatons¡± achievement would be unlocked.

    Ye Ci was extremely dissatisfied with this result. She was someone who could y 81 automatons with a single shell consecutively for 50 times in her previous life and was awarded the ¡°The Terminator¡±, thus leaving behind a glorious record in Fate.

    Seemed like she had gotten so rusty that she needed three shells to get them all.

    Despite Ye Ci¡¯s dissatisfaction, the rest were already speechless. The people who were able to join the second squadron were not ordinary yers and they could basically be considered elites. After getting annihted thest time, they already knew how difficult it was to kill all these automatons with cannon shells.

    With such a massive amount of them, six shells might not even be enough yet this huntress before them was able to take care of everything with just three shells. Of course some refused to ept it and were nning toe try again once the dungeon had been reset tomorrow, but none of this mattered anymore.

    Crimson Millions was rendered speechless at this too as he walked to the side of the cannon emcement and saw Ye Ci who had just jumped off from it. He stared at her and finally spoke after a long while. ¡°You¡¯vee to this dungeon before?¡±

    Ye Ci chuckled as she gave away a half truth ¡°I was a Sniper on Fire Shooter Online before.¡±

    But Crimson Millions still had a lot of doubts. Could she be a beta yer? Or she was somehow rted to the core team of Fate? Or could this be the side ount of one of the GMs? The guesses and doubts could go on forever, but the reason that Ye Ci gave seemed to be the most usible one.

    ¡°About the things I¡¯ve said...¡± Crimson Millions felt a little embarrassed when he suddenly remembered about what he had said in his anger. He scratched his head and was thinking of apologizing to Ye Ci, but then again he felt a little reluctant to do it. After mumbling to himself for a bit, he told her firmly again, ¡°You should have listened to the orders just now. We were able to clear with this stroke of luck, but if we were unlucky....¡±

    Ye Ciughed again and interrupted his lecture. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s been awhile since Ist touched anything with a scope so I got excited.¡±

 Chapter 45 Automaton Formation! First Five!

    Chapter 45 Automaton Formation! First Five!

    Even though Ye Ci had spoken to her in such a way, she didn¡¯t show any trace of remorse. It wasn¡¯t that she was seeking the limelight this time, but if these cannons were to be fired by three people simultaneously, they¡¯d need extremely good coordination to kill their enemies in one attack. However, if their teamwork was poor, they could easily cause the eighty-one automatons to scatter, and with the automatons split up, a team wipe wouldn¡¯t be to far off.

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t say that Grim Moon and Traceless Aftermaths had poor coordination, but her own personal coordination with the two was definitely poor. Rather than wait for the the team to me it on her arrogance when their uncoordinated team was wiped out, it was better for her to take care of everything herself.

    Crimson Millions couldn¡¯t bring himself to believe what Ye Ci had said. But since she¡¯d already given them an exnation, it would be bad for him to pry any further. He was only able to nod awkwardly and said to the other party members, ¡°Press forward, towards the stone tower.¡±

    Cannonballs rained down on them the stone towers, but after several party members had been sacrificed, the rest of them figured out the way to dodge the cannonballs. They managed to easily destroy the cannon emcements within 20 minutes.

    ¡°These foolish mortals have trespassed into the machine world. No.48 is angry. The invaders made up of flesh and blood are to be annihted.¡± An ear-piercing sound of metal creaking resounded through the area.

    Thus the battle against the reanimated Automaton No.48 began. With the most difficult part of the Automaton Formation taken care of, it was rtively easy to defeat the BOSS. A tank with decent skills was all that was needed to aplish the job.

    The MT of the second squadron was barely qualified for the job. Despite nearly dying several times, he¡¯d survived thanks to the five healers they had in the party.

    After a tough battle thatsted about half an hour, Automaton No.48 was finally defeated. The system notified them the moment Automaton No.48 had been defeated.

    ¡°Congrattions to Steel-Blooded Battle Spear Guild forpleting the ¡®First Kill¡¯ of the Automaton Formation dungeon. Rewards: 300 guild prestige points, 5,000 global main city prestige points, 1,000 gold. Let us remember their names.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions on clearing the Automaton Formation Dungeon, Crimson Millions. Rewards: 100 ck Rock City prestige points, 1 Talent Point. Achievements: [Automaton Formation First Five].¡±

    ......

    ¡°Congrattions on clearing the Automaton Formation Dungeon, Traceless Aftermaths. Rewards: 100 ck Rock City prestige points, 1 Talent Point. Achievement: [Automaton Formation First Five].¡±

    ......

    ¡°Congrattions on clearing the Automaton Formation Dungeon, Seductive Dance. Rewards: 100 ck Rock City prestige points, 1 Talent Point. Achievement: [Automaton Formation First Five].¡±

    ......

    ¡°Congrattions on clearing the Automaton Formation Dungeon, ¡®Gongzi You¡¯. Rewards: 100 ck Rock City prestige points, 1 Talent Point. Achievement: [Automaton Formation First Five].¡±

    ......

    The party was initially stunned when they heard the announcement. After they overcame their brief shock, they hugged each other tightly, and erupted with cheers. Ye Ci, who was standing to the side, also felt excited after witnessing their excitement. However, she didn¡¯t betray any emotions, as she still didn¡¯t have any sense of belonging.

    ¡°Gongzi, cheer up!¡± Out of the blue, a person gave Ye Ci a tight hug and pped her on the back. ¡°I¡¯m so happy that we were able to get a First Blood! I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d ever get one!¡±

    It was Traceless Aftermaths.

    Ye Ci¡¯s back hurt from the continued ps she received. However, she was influenced by Traceless Aftermath joy, and didn¡¯t stop him. She instead imitated his actions, and pped him on the back as well.

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but think of the first ever First Blood she¡¯d gotten in her past life. The ecstasy that hade from the deepest part of her heart¡ªthe sheer excitement that had caused her to spread her arms wide and spin around in circles, screaming loudly as she spun, venting her joy.

    Even though it was a long time ago, even though she¡¯d been reborn, even though she¡¯d achieved countless First Bloods, her blood still boiled from the excitement.

    There were billions of yers in the game. To be the first to clear a dungeon amongst countless other people was certainly a glorious and exciting feat.

    However, Crimson Millions was probably the happiest amongst them. He was usually a rtively reserved person, but his current behavior was in direct contrast to his usually calm self. He hugged each and every party member, his eyes red with emotion. He probably would¡¯ve cried out had nobody else been around.

    The yers present couldn¡¯t hold back their excitement, thus their joysted for quite some time.

    Crimson Millions walked to the fallen BOSS and took a deep breath before he looted it. There were yers from both the ¡°ck Hand¡±[1] army and the ¡°Red Hand¡±[2] army. Ye Ci was from the ¡°ck Hand¡± army, while Crimson Millions was from the ¡°Red Hand¡± army.

    A long list of items appeared. The rewards were much more plentiful than normal because this was the First Blood. Being one of the first five parties to clear the dungeon had lucrative benefits. After the five spots had been taken, no more additional rewards would be given out. The average loot dropped would be three to four pieces of equipment, along with some misceneous items.

    However, they¡¯d received fourteen pieces of equipment, along with four skill books, and a huge amount of various items.

    As an unspoken rule, the MT, the healer that had healed the most, and the DPS that had dealt the most damage, all had the privilege of taking precedence when it came to equipment distribution. Seductive Dance was usually the top DPS, but his ce had been taken by Ye Ci. She alone had dealt a staggering 1.7 million damage in the dungeon. Seductive Dance, who was in second ce, had only dealt around 1 million points of damage total. The difference in their total damage dealt was just too great.

    Seductive Dance was impressed after when he saw Ye Ci¡¯s mechanical skills and ability to adapt,. He was open-minded, and knew that he wasn¡¯t as good as Ye Ci. His could only work hard and improve himself. He hoped that he could, one day, clear a dungeon with this Huntress again, andpete against her.

    Ye Ci examined the equipment closely, and realized that none of them were ideal for her, even though there were a few that could be worn by professions rted to agility, so Ye Ci gave up on choosing any of the equipment. Instead, she aimed for the ¡°Multi-Arrow¡± skill book that she¡¯d seen when she was first looking over the rewards. At that time, she¡¯d decided that she¡¯d give up on everything else, just to get this skill book.

    The Multi-Arrow skill book wasn¡¯t considered rare, but certainly didn¡¯t have a high drop rate either, with a 1 in 5000 chance. The skill book would be dropped from BOSSes between Level 20 and Level 50, but with many new yers ying as the Hunter ss, the Multi-Arrow skill book was still considered a valuable item. Before Ye Ci had reincarnated, a Multi-Arrow skill book could be auctioned for up to 10,000 gold coins.

    This was why Ye Ci had picked the skill book without any hesitation.

    The Multi-Arrow skill was one of very few Hunter skills capable of dealing damage to multiple targets. At its initial stage, Multi Arrow would release three arrows in a cone shape, dealing damage to any enemies in its path. At lvl 20, Multi Arrow would release 48 arrows in a circle around the Hunter. It was an overpowered skill. However, the skill could only be leveled up by a specific NPC after it reached lvl 12. As to where that NPC was.....

    Only God knew.

    In her past life, the highest level Multi-Arrow that she¡¯d encountered had only been lvl 12, which fired arrows out in a 160 degrees cone shape. She could clearly remember her fight against Fleeting Years from her past life. She¡¯d been defeated by that lvl 12 Multi-Arrow.

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but tear up at that particr memory.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want any of the equipment? Just that skill book?¡± Although Crimson Millions had already expected Ye Ci to choose the Multi-Arrow skill book, he was still surprised that she didn¡¯t want any of the equipment.

    ¡°No thanks, everyone did their part. I¡¯m content with just this skill book. I don¡¯t need anything else.¡± Ye Ci shook her head. There was no way that she could tell Crimson Millions that the equipment dropped wasn¡¯t as good as her current equipment.

    Crimson Millions didn¡¯t insist on giving Ye Ci anything else after witnessing her generosity. He proceeded to distribute the equipment and items amongst the remaining party members. Ye Ci¡¯s action left a good impression on the other party members. The Rogue, Ranger, and other Hunters expected her to hoard all of the equipment, but she¡¯d unexpectedly only taken a single skill book. Their appreciation towards Ye Ci wasn¡¯t something that could be described with words.

    Each of the party members received quite arge amount of loot due to the First Blood rewards being as they were. The ones who were able to obtain equipment were happy despite having to deduct the DKP they received, while the others were happy with whatever they got, as they could exchange the guild rewarded DKP for real world cash.

    Everyone was happy.

    After leaving the dungeon, Ye Ci checked the time. It was nearly 3 in the morning. She hurriedly said farewell to Traceless Aftermath, logged out of the game, and went to sleep.

    The person in charge of the second squadron, Crimson Millions, headed straight to their guild¡¯s encampment, and walked into the conference room.

    The guild conference room was a special room that could only be entered by yers invited by the guild leader.

    Thousand Sunsets and Zero Arsenic were currently watching the recording from the second squadron¡¯s First Blood. Thousand Sunsets pointed to the part when Ye Ci had been aggroing the Elite Guards and said, ¡°Rewind it, let¡¯s watch this part again.¡±

    Zero Arsenic rewound the video, and the two began to carefully study her movements.

    Crimson Millions stood there silently for almost an eternity. He then realised that the Guild leader and the Vice Guild Leader were so focused that they hadn¡¯t noticed his presence. He could only take the initiative to greet them. ¡°Leader, Vice Leader.¡±

    ¡°Crimson, you came?¡± Zero Arsenic greeted him promptly, and told him to sit. Afterwards, he pointed at the recording and smiled. ¡°Have you seen it yourself?¡±

    ¡°I was there myself, but I didn¡¯t see the whole thing.¡± Crimson Millions walked to the front of the room to see the recording with a strange look on his face that was hard to describe.

    Thousand Sunsets suddenly asked, ¡°What do you think of her performance?¡±

    Trantor¡¯s Notes:

    [1]ck Hand: Very unlucky especially when ites to looting

    [2]Red Hand: Yeah, you guessed it.

 Chapter 46 As Long As You Shoot Properly

    Chapter 46 As Long As You Shoot Properly

    The way an expertmander judges a yer is entirely different from the way an average yer or even an expert yer would.

    Thousand Sunsets was a very careful person. So even after hearing first hand ounts from Timely Rain and Zero Arsenic¡¯s investigation, even after watching the process of obtaining the First Blood in person, as well as studying every single frame of the recording, he still wanted to listen to what Crimson Millions had to say.

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about her skills, you¡¯ve already seen it for yourself. There¡¯s nothing much to say about it, really. She¡¯s simply too good. She has a very good grasp of the situation, and is very adaptable to changes.¡± the video reached the part where Ye Ci was firing the cannon, ¡°She was quite a brave one. She tends to solve problems in a very bold fashion, and I¡¯m not used to something like that.¡±

    Thousand Sunsetsughed as well, ¡°You were in the army once, and you¡¯re still more hesitant than a woman.¡±

    Crimson Millions was not angry since they had once beenrades in the army. So he could onlyugh out loud, ¡°Better safe than sorry. That¡¯s what you taught us.¡±

    Zero Arsenic smiled at the two, ¡°So, it¡¯s decided then?¡±

    ¡°It is.¡± Thousand Sunsets said as he mmed his hand onto the table.

    With a shocked expression, Crimson Millions said, ¡°Guy, you must be kidding.¡±

    The duo shook their head.

    ¡°You are the ones who are truly bold...¡± Crimson Millions muttered as he rolled his eyes.

    Due to ack of sleep, Ye Ci was currently dozing in ss. By the time ss ended she was already slumped over the table.

    Fang Shushu, at the same table as her, started teasing, ¡°What happened to you? Did you secretly go on a date with some guyst night?

    Ye Ci grinned, ¡°I wish. I just don¡¯t have the time for that. I¡¯d spentst night clearing the Automaton Formation.¡±

    ¡°You guys are tenacious. We¡¯ve just cleared cruel pit recently and you¡¯ve already started exploring the Automaton Formation. It must¡¯ve been quite hard.¡± Fang Shushuughed. ¡°We were exploring the same dungeon yesterday, our party has been annihted so many times that I¡¯m about to cry. I¡¯ve heard that we¡¯ll explore it again today. I¡¯m almost out of money for repairing my equipment.¡±

    ¡°Cleared it.¡± Ye Ci yawned.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Fang Shushu¡¯s eyeballs popped out of their sockets, she thought she¡¯d misheard what Ye Ci had said, ¡°Are you serious?¡±

    Fang Shushu pestered Ye Ci with questions but she remained silent. A clear voice then suddenly rang out from outside of the ssroom, ¡°Shushu,¡± it was a very familiar voice. Ye Ci raised her head and saw Qin Churuo running towards where she was sitting.

    Fang Shushu¡¯s face instantly gained a a shade of red when she heard Qin Churuo calling her name, ¡°Senior Qin.¡±

    The two greeted each other and Qin Churuo stated his business, ¡°Shushu, you¡¯re close to that Gongzi, right?¡±

    Fang Shushu subconsciously nodded, ¡°You could say that.¡±

    ¡°The first thing I heard after when I arrived in campus today was that Steel-Blooded Battle Spear had cleared the Automaton Formationst night and won First Blood. I also heard that Gongzi You was a member of the party that did it.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Despite having already heard the news from Ye Ci, Fang Shushu was still mildly shocked. She cast a nce at Ye Ci, who was unfortunately fast asleep, andpletely disregarding the two of them.

    ¡°The forums went crazy. People are asking for Steel-Blooded Battle Spear to release videos of them clearing the dungeon. The guild refused. I just hope you can contact Gongzi You and ask if she is willing to help us out.¡±

    ¡°About that...¡± Fang Shushu stole another nce at Ye Ci. She wanted to tell Qin Churuo that Gongzi You was right there, but this was something she was not allowed to do. She could only reply vaguely, ¡°I¡¯ll try to get in touch with her.¡±

    Qin Churuo let out a breath he¡¯d been holding. After a brief conversation, he left the ssroom and invited Fang Shushu toe and clear the dungeon at night.

    ¡°Did you hear that Ye Ci? Hurry up and tell me how to do it!¡± Fang Shushu immediately grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s hand and started begging for answers as soon as Qin Churuo left the ssroom.

    Ye Ci looked at Fang Shushu with half-opened eyes, and paused briefly before saying, ¡°Just tell him to shoot properly[1].¡± Fang Shushu¡¯s face immediately reddened. After confirming that Ye Ci had not pulling her leg, she noted down Ye Ci¡¯s word in all seriousness.

    When Fang Shushu ryed this to him that night, Qin Churuo also felt puzzled by Ye Ci¡¯s words. .

    By the time Ye Ci logged into the game, it was already 5 in the afternoon. The first messaged in her mailbox was from Liu Chang. It told Ye Ci in a gossipping tone, ¡°Little Ci, I have some news for you.¡±

    Ye Ci was never interested in gossips. Even if she did not hear any of it, it didn¡¯t matter. She would never be as inquisitive as Liu Chang.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci responded absent-mindedly, while she was crafting some arrows.

    ¡°Dong Yin has a boyfriend.¡± said Liu Chang with a mischievous smile.

    ¡°She¡¯s almost 19, it¡¯s normal to have a boyfriend, why are you acting as if you¡¯re her mother?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that isn¡¯t so strange. But, do you know who her boyfriend is?¡±

    This wasn¡¯t very interesting to Ye Ci. A friend¡¯s boyfriend was none of her concern. She asked her interest waning, ¡°Well, who is it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be surprised. It¡¯s He Xiao.¡± said Liu Chang slowly, word by word.

    Ye Ci¡¯s hands immediately froze. She could see that Dong Yin liked Thousand Sunsets, but she never thought that things would work out between those two. Ye Ci resumed her arrow crafting after a moment¡¯s pause, ¡°Is Thousand treating her well?¡±

    ¡°He is, ording to Dong Yin.¡± Liu Changughed and wanted to continue discussing the topic with Ye Ci, but eventually gave up due to herck of interest.

    Steel-Blood Battle Spear¡¯s two First Bloods in a row was like a ripple on a calm surface that rocked its entire Fate. Its influence continued to grow, along with its fame. The guild that was already considered a ck horse once again captured everyone¡¯s attention, and more and more yers came to join the guild.

    The leadership of the guild was extremely busy. Within the short span of five days, the guild had grown a lot. and Its members increased by a staggering additional 5,000.

    Ye Ci had a lot of free time since she hadn¡¯t been pressed into service to explore the new dungeons. She had the choice to go and clear some smaller dungeons on Hard Difficulty or just level up in the normal dungeons. Her days were simple, but satisfying.

    After several days hard work, Ye Ci finally reached lvl 18, she was catching up to the Let_Go_Of_That_Girl who was in the leaderboards. She received a message from Gleaming Sunshine as she was leveling up in a dungeon, ¡°Little Ci, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m leveling up. What¡¯s up?¡± Ye Ci noticed that it was a message from Dong Yin, and with her conversation with Liu Chang from earlier, Ye Ci¡¯s instincts told her that it was Thousand¡¯s idea to have Dong Yin approach her.

    It was as Ye Ci expected. After a short conversation with Ye Ci, Dong Yin¡¯s revealed his intention, ¡°Can you pleasee to the guild conference room,¡± she continued after a brief pause, ¡°Thousand wants to talk to you.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ye Ci let loose a few arrows, ending the life of a monster in front of her, then prepared to return to the guild encampment.

    The encampment was bustling with yers, but all of them were new faces. Most were members who had just joined the guild. Of course, with thousands of members in the guild, there were also veterans who Ye Ci has never even seen before.

    Ye Ci knocked on the door of the conference room, and was immediately transported into the room.

    It was her first time in a guild¡¯s conference room. Despite being a top-10 Sorceress in her past life, her despicable character meant that no guild would ever ept her. So this was an entirely new experience for her.

    A long table was situated in the middle of the conference room that could easily fit a hundred yers. It was identical to those dining tables used by the European aristocrats. Thousand Sunsets sat at the host¡¯s seat at the end of the table. Gleaming Sunshine was seated on his right.

    Only 3 yers, including Ye Ci, was present in the conference room.

    Gleaming Sunshine immediately greeted Ye Ci upon seeing her. Her face was a slight shade of red, her eyebrows moist, and she appeared to be in a good mood. It was all thanks to the quality production of Fate. Even the yer¡¯s mood could be portrayed on his or her character with a 95% uracy. This allowed a yer¡¯s emotion to be conveyed to the people around the yer.

    Thousand Sunsets sent a friend invite to Ye Ci, which she did not reject. She nodded at Gleaming Sunshine and took a seat opposite Thousand Sunsets. She spoke, neither servile nor overbearing, ¡°What do you need from me?¡±

    Thousand Sunsets remained silent. Gleaming Sunshine stood up and said to Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    Thousand Sunsets nodded and smiled at her, ¡°Let¡¯s go leveling up togetherter.¡±

    Gleaming Sunshine was happy. Her face reddened even further. She lowered her head and left hurriedly. She was so happy that she even forgotten to greet Ye Ci on her way out.

    Ye Ci studied the interaction between Gleaming Sunshine and Thousand Sunsets, feeling slight ufortable.

    Thousand Sunsets slowly spoke after Gleaming Sunshine left the room, ¡°Gongzi, I¡¯ve heard that you yed before?¡±

    Otherworld OL? Ye Ci tilted her head. For an average person, Otherworld OL was one of the most popr video games before Fate¡¯s open beta, and it was 2 months since Fate wasunched. But for Ye Ci, it was something she had done 10 years ago. And her memories of that game had already faded by this time.

    Trantor¡¯s note:

    [1]shoot properly (°ÑÅÚ´òºÃ): ¡°´òÅÚ¡± literally tranted as ¡°firing the cannon¡± is a ng for ¡°having sex¡±. So the author was making a naughty sexual joke here XD

 Chapter 47 In Command of the First Squadron

    Chapter 47 In Command of the First Squadron

    Receiving no reply from Ye Ci, Thousand Sunsets assumed her silence was due to ack of trust. And so he smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m just asking. It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t feelfortable answering.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Thousand Sunsets. She knew he had misunderstood her silence. But she merely nodded and didn¡¯t try to offer an exnation.

    ¡°May I know your name in Underworld OL?¡± Thousand Sunsets cautiously asked after seeing Ye Ci respond.

    This was an especially hard question for Ye Ci. For her, that memory was from a time long long ago. Even back when she¡¯d been famous in Otherworld, it hadn¡¯t necessarily meant that she remembered everything that had happened at that time. She tilted her head, and racked her brain before shifting her gaze over to Thousand Sunsets, and replied, uncertainty evident in her eyes, ¡°I think... It¡¯s... Oceanic Lantern...¡±

    Her voice was soft, so much so that Thousand Sunsets missed the uncertainty within her voice. Yet the name itself still managed to stir up his emotions. He was also a former yer of Otherworld, and was familiar with the name Oceanic Lantern since it was quite renowned.

    She was a Sorceress with top notch skills and an unprecedented position. Although she appeared immature in some ways, it was an undeniable fact that Oceanic Lantern was one of the best Sorceress in the entire Otherworld.

    Thousand Sunsets had already learned from Zero Arsenic that Ye Ci was Oceanic Lantern. But he¡¯d had his doubts.

    Despite being skillful, Oceanic Lantern was immature and somewhat impatient. She¡¯d never been as ruthless or efficient as Gongzi You was. Besides, Oceanic Lantern was a difficult person to interact with. She was rebellious, cold, and selfish. The direct opposite of what people imed Gongzi You was.

    So as a guild leader who needed to always stay cautious, Thousand Sunsets felt he needed to make a final confirmation that Ye Ci was indeed the famous Oceanic Lantern.

    A hint of surprise sh past his eyes but he quickly took hold of his emotion. He then smiled and went on to say, ¡°I always thought that Oceanic Lantern was someone older, but it turns out you¡¯re the same age as Yin Yin.¡±

    The nickname Thousand Sunsets had given Dong Yin caused Ye Ci to cringe. She was curious about Thousand Sunset¡¯s intention. He¡¯d had Dong Yin contact Ye Ci and then talked to her about the game Otherworld. What was he hoping to achieve by doing this?

    Regardless, Ye Ci still remained silent.

    In the past 10 years, Ye Ci had learned a valuable lesson.

    In the process of making a deal, one must always let one¡¯s opponent be the one getting the ball rolling. The calmer you were, the more distressed your counterpart would be.

    With that, Ye Ci merelyughed and stared at Thousand Sunsets.

    Thousand Sunsets knew that Ye Ci was only 18 years old. It was an age where people tend to be fickle and immature, and their thoughts could easily be grasped. They would usually be cated by a few praises. Despite this, he was still unable to figure out Gongzi You¡¯s thoughts.

    She was not as naive as Dong Yin and Yi Cang, nor was she as impulsive as Liu Chang. She was calm like water, both silent and unmoving. It was as if her silence could swallow everything he tried to throw her way.

    Thousand Sunset¡¯s current situation was the perfect example of this. Even after praising Ye Ci for her exploits in Otherworld OL, she remained unmoved. She merely kept on silently gazing at him, as if those things had nothing to do with her.

    Thousand Sunsets lost his patience. He was trying to be friendly and intimate to Ye Ci, and with that he could take the opportunity to show her some favors and ensure that she would stay in the guild and remain loyal to it.

    He did not expect Ye Ci to do nothing but smile and silently gaze at him. The conversation immediately turned into a one-sided dialogue.

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but yawn after realizing that she had wasted almost an hour in this room. Thousand Sunsets was able to maintain hisposure. Must Ye Cipromise and give him what he wanted? Well, sorry to disappoint, she wasn¡¯t nning on doing so.

    Ye Ci stood up and said, ¡°Guild leader, I have a friend asking me for help in clearing a dungeon. If you have nothing else to say, I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡±

    Ye Ci turned around and was about to leave without saying anything else. But Thousand Sunsets could not longer hold himself back, ¡°Gongzi, I have something else to say. Please hold on.¡±

    ¡°What is it? Is it about Otherworld OL?¡± Ye Ci turned around, seemingly sneering at him.

    ¡°No.¡± Thousand Sunset let out a sigh. He really felt helpless now, this little girl was quite good, since she was able to force his hand, ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. The guild would like to nominate you as the vicemander of the Guild Battle Command¡±, he sent a trade request to Ye Ci, which containing a virtual ount, ¡°You¡¯ll be paid a sry of 10,000 RMB per month through this ount. Of course, there will be other bonuses as well. All you need to do is to help us clear the dungeons. You¡¯ll be offered lots of rewards if you¡¯re able to secure the First Five for our guild....¡±

    10,000 RMB was arge sum for an 18 years old girl. So Thousand Sunsets¡¯ intention had been made very clear.

    Was he trying to buy her loyalty? Ye Ci narrowed her eyes.

    Steel-Blooded Battle-Spear would definitely take the opportunity to boost their public image if Ye Ci were to ept this offer. The guild would definitely reveal her identity as Oceanic Lantern in the forums. Even when she hadn¡¯t been the best yer, she¡¯d still been the only female yer to be crowned as the top 10 experts of the game. If Steel-Blooded Battle Spear used this fact to promote their guild, they would easily be able to increase their fame. And with so many First Blood being secured by ¡°Oceanic Lantern¡±, the sheer benefit...

    Only idiots would not able to understand the reasoning behind it.

    Ye Ci remained unmoved by Thousand Sunset¡¯s offer. She hated being used by someone else. Besides, she could not guarantee that she would be staying in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear forever. Why would she sell herself out for something so trivial?

    Was she worth so little?

    ¡°I don¡¯t like to be in a position of power. I also don¡¯t want a sry. I¡¯m just ying for fun, money is not really something important to me.¡± she smiled slightly, and declined Thousand Sunsets¡¯ offer without hesitation. Which left Thousand Sunsets slightly embarrassed, ¡°If you need my help in clearing dungeons, I will of course do my best.¡±

    At that point, Thousand Sunsets had given up trying to appear courteous, ¡°Then go clear the Automaton Formation with the first squadron,¡± he paused, then continued, ¡°You¡¯ll be put in charge.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded her head, ¡°You think highly of me. I¡¯ll try my best.¡±

    Ye Ci left the conference room, and Zero Arsenic stepped into the room a moment after, ¡°How did it go?¡±

    Thousand Sunsets creased his eyebrows and sighed, ¡°I¡¯m beginning to doubt that she¡¯s only 18. She too cunning. I can¡¯t take advantage of her.¡± Zero Arsenic raised his eyebrow as Thousand Sunsets continued, ¡°She refused to be a Battle Commander, but she did not oppose to the idea of being a party leader.¡±

    ¡°What about that thing about Otherworld...¡± Zero Arsenic¡¯s eyebrows also began to crease.

    ¡°She almost did not say a word. I was f*cking talking to myself like some sort of ape!¡±

    Zero Arsenic yed the voice recording he set up in the conference room beforehand. He listened for a short moment and sighed, ¡°Her voice is so unclear, we can¡¯t possibly use it to publicize the fact that Oceanic Lantern is now in our guild.¡±

    Thousand Sunsets grimaced, ¡°Let¡¯s just forget about it, and stop thinking of using such things to publicize our guild. It¡¯s shy but it ain¡¯t useful. As long as our guild is able to progress well in terms of dungeon clearing, we will gain poprity anyways.¡±

    Ye Ci had managed to guess that Thousand Sunsets wanted to use her, but she hadn¡¯t expected them to even go so far as to record her voice.

    At 6 in the evening on the second day, Ye Ci punctually went online and led the already formed party into the Automaton Formation dungeon. Since the second squadron had already cleared the dungeon, the members of the first squadron had gotten wind that the Huntress with the unprecedented performance would be the one who led their party into the dungeon. Some of them rejected her and so kept a distance. This was human nature. It was clearly shown when they chose to keep a distance from Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci did not mind at all. Her job was to help them clear the dungeon. She was not there for camaraderie.

    To takemand of a party was not something new for Ye Ci. She had experience doing so in her past life. Due to certain reasons however, no guild had been willing to ept her.

    It had been awhile since she had to take charge of a group of yers, which made her feel quite nervous.

    She regained herposure after a short time. Ye Ci¡¯s style ofmanding was both simple and concise. She would only repeat something twice, and her style relied heavily on the cohesion of the entire party. One would need to expend a considerable amount of energy to focus on her words and also needed very good team work.

    The first squadron was not used to Ye Ci¡¯s style. Added up to their initial rejection of Ye Ci, they were unable to bring out their full potential. So everything erupted into chaos when they were fighting against the Elite Guards and three tanks instantly died from an Ultimate Skill from a monster. The fourth and fifth tank were unable to follow up and the failure of the healers to control the aggro caused the aggro to go OT, which caused dozens of yers to die within seconds.

    ......

    The party channel was flooded with grumbling,ints, and even curses. They were regretting not being able to kill Ye Ci to vent their frustration and anger.

 Chapter 48 First Squadron, First Five!

    Chapter 48 First Squadron, First Five!

    At this moment, Ye Ci was able to hold back the Elite Guard with her exceptional adaptability and her fantastic mechanical skill. She kited it to death in an extravagant fashion while the party just watched. At this point, those who were still filled with indignance were finally epted Ye Ci. An Elite Guard that would usually take 25 yers to take down was defeated by her alone. If this news got out, it would be an embarrassment for them.

    The party members revived themselves and ate some supplies to recover their health. They no longer gossiped about Ye Ci. Her actions earlier were like a p to their faces.

    Ye Ci sat on a rock at the side, patting Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s head. She quietly scanned the crowd with an icy gaze.

    The group of twenty four yers were all scared witless by her stare. It was only after a while that some of the more courageous yers finally asked, ¡°Leader, do we still push onwards?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s intimidating gaze immediately swept over the few who were still chattering. Those she stared at were all frightened and no longer dared to speak.

    The world was just like that, if you wanted others to obey you, a few flowery words would not be enough. The most direct method would be to let the other party know of your valiance. Then they will automatically submit to you.

    ¡°I know that you might think that I do not have the capabilities to lead you guys. However, I¡¯m only here to clear this dungeon. Your thoughts are none of my concern.¡± Ye Ci said in an icy, unsympathetic tone.

    The moment she said this, one of the yers who were discontented with Ye Ci immediately spoke out, ¡°Who do you think you are? You don¡¯t speak clearly, you don¡¯t give us many pointers, and you expect us to clear the dungeon? What do you think we are? Demigods?¡±

    Ye Ci nced sideways at the yer, then she stood up with a gentle expression and spoke in an indifferent tone, ¡°The elites of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear can¡¯t even do their job with a change inmander.¡±

    Although this sentence was as light as the feather of a goose, its impact however was as heavy as that of Mount Tai, causing all of the yers to turn red with anger. In reality, Ye Ci had already clearly exined the method to clear the dungeon right at the start.In between, she had given relevant heads-up at the appropriate times. However, the real issue was that they were not used to being given such efficientmands. Additionally, they were not really willing to follow Ye Ci¡¯s orders therefore they weren¡¯t able to disy the full extent of their abilities.

    This was a matter that nobody wanted to admit. It was without doubt that they would rather push all the me to Ye Ci, this ¡®outsider¡¯.

    Turning around, Ye Ci ignored the angry rants of those behind and said tranquilly, ¡°Those who don¡¯t wish to fight can choose to retreat, those who wish to fight can just continue.¡±

    Instantly, she heard consecutive sounds from the system notifications.

    ¡°Random Dance of the Sakuras has left your party.¡±

    ¡°Only One Meter Four has left your party.¡±

    ¡°Strange Differences has left your party.¡±

    ......

    After the sound from the system notifications stopped, Ye Ci nced around at the yers left. There were roughly 10 yers who left, not a lot but not very little either, there were only 15 yers left. The remaining yers who stayed backprised of those that werepletely convinced of her strength, those that were simply not resigned to giving up after such a long fight and those who wanted to earn DKP.

    The MT and Secondary Tank had left the party, while the main healer stayed behind along with the third and fourth healer. Some of the DPS left as well. The party only had half its strength left.

    The main healer was a woman of few words. She had excellent equipment and a good character. She was originally skeptical of Ye Ci. However, after witnessing Ye Ci¡¯s outstanding performance, she made the choice to follow Ye Ci¡¯s lead and clear the dungeon since the Huntress was willing to continue pressing forwards. Despite that, she was still discouraged by the desertion of a portion of the party members, ¡°Leader, do we still continue?¡±

    Ye Ci studied the Cleric named Cherry Blossom and smiled, ¡°Let¡¯s go, carry on.¡± She then shouted into themand channel, ¡°Steam, you¡¯re now the MT. Don¡¯t panic, and just do what you would normally do. If the healers does not OT, Steam will be alright. As for the DPS, just dish out the highest damage possible.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s words rmed Steam, who was only the third tank. His equipment was not as good as the MT, and he did not have much experience. His palms began sweating after hearing Ye Ci¡¯s , ¡°Leader, I¡¯m afraid that I can¡¯t control the aggro.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. There¡¯s only one rule. All the DPS can only attack the monster being engaged by the tank.¡±

    The requirements set by Ye Ci was as low as possible. It was the basic task of any DPS yer. However, the DPS yers were afraid. Was it payback for their insubordination? Was she trying to get the party annihted?

    Despite that, there was a golden rule that the party leader was the highest authority in a dungeon. The DPS yers could only obey Ye Ci¡¯smand and dish out as much damage as possible. Strangely, none of them seemed to have the problem of OT. No matter how much damage they¡¯ve dealt, their aggro did not exceed the value of their tank.

    The DPS yers began gossiping among themselves, ¡°That¡¯s weird, I had to hold back when it was the MT. We¡¯d even OT if we¡¯re not careful. Why did we not OT just now?¡±

    The reason was simple. Ye Ci had beenzing off earlier. But with so many party members deserting, she had to put her back into the task and dish out damage to make up for theck of numbers. Her aggro immediately exceeded everybody in the party. But with her Decoy skill that has a 10 seconds CD, she was able to transfer her aggro to the tank every now and then. It was impossible for the others to OT.

    Other than that, the DPS yers soon discovered that the damage output of Ye Ci, which had always been mediocre, was higher than every one of them and was rising rapidly. Despite the fact that the dungeon was filled with Elite Monsters, Ye Ci could still deal enormous amounts of damage to the mob.

    The remaining 14 party members of the first squadron could not believe themselves when they reached the Automaton Formation. Despite being slower in terms of progress, their survivability had greatly increased.

    Ye Ci located the rted NPC, set up the cannon emcement, and instructed the remainder of the party members to take a rest.She left Steam to pass her the ammunitions of the cannon.

    By now, the group¡¯s trust towards Ye Ci had be iparably firm. Although they had been annihted several times in this part of the dungeon, they still had confidence. They believed that as long as Gongzi You was with them, the Automaton Formation would be nothing.

    Even when she was facing the Automaton Formation alone, the party believed firmly that they would be able to make it.

    Ye Ci delivered. After attracting the attention of the mob with some arrows, Ye Ci bombarded the formation with the cannon. The results were better than that time with the second squadron. She was able to annihte the entire Automaton Formation with two shots. The entire processsted less than 30 seconds, and the 15 party members all received the achievement [Berserk Destroyer].

    Cheers erupted among the party. They could not believe their eyes. The problem that had hindered their progress for days had been solved in a sh.

    Ye Ci was the center of attention. Many of the party members offered her hugs. Ye Ci, who was not used to such intimate social interaction felt overwhelmed. Her face reddened. She waved her hands and said, ¡°It¡¯s too early to celebrate. Do it when we clear the dungeon.¡±

    With high morale, the party continued their advance. With the Automaton Formation defeated, the did not face any more difficulties. They had a minor setback in the fight against Automaton No.48 because the equipment of their tank were not on par, and there were several asions where he was nearly killed. However, he was able to survive with the help of Cherry Blossom and the other two healers.Finally, they were able to clear the dungeon.

    The moment Automaton No.48 was defeated, the system message began to flood the channel.

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Gongzi You¡¯ for clearing the Automaton Formation dungeon. Rewards: 100 ck Rock City prestige points. Achievement: Automaton Formation First Five.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Cherry Blossom¡¯ for clearing the Automaton Formation dungeon. Rewards: 100 ck Rock City prestige points. Achievement: Automaton Formation First Five.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®Steam¡¯ for clearing the Automaton Formation dungeon. Rewards: 100 ck Rock City prestige points. Achievement: Automaton Formation First Five.¡±

    ......

    The remaining 14 members of the first squadron showed the same reaction as the second squadron when they cleared the dungeon. They screamed in joy. Even when they were unable to get the First Kill, they still managed the achieve the second ce of the First Five since no other guilds were able to clear the dungeon yet in the past few days. Additionally, they did it with only 15 members in their party!

    Facing the excitement from her party members, Ye Ci originally nned to just hide in a corner and hoped to slip away undetected. However, she was found and the group tossed her into the air repeatedly.

    As the group was celebrating in the dungeon, regret welled in the 10 deserters who had gathered in the guild conference room. They were embarrassed when Zero Arsenicughed and said to them, ¡°You guysck patience.¡±

    The deserters were the ones who had asked for a live broadcast of the dungeon clearing process. Although they had difficulties with the first few monsters they encountered,the party with only fifteen members remaining was able to reform itself into a formidable fighting machine under Ye Ci¡¯smand.

    The 10 were especially surprised when Ye Ci was able to defeat the Automaton Formation. Their hatred and distaste against Ye Ci turned into endless regrets.

    wless Reflection cringed after Steel-Blooded Battle Spear grabbed another spot of the First Five for the Automaton Formation dungeon. He felt pained as he looked at Automaton No.48 who was at the end of its life. They were very close in defeating the BOSS. Although they were also featured in the system announcement, the attention they garnered was not as much as Steel-Blooded Battle Spear.

    After all, Steel-Blooded Battle Spear was able to achieve First Five twice.

    The BOSS was looted by Steam. His luck was quite good. Although their loot was not as much as the second squadron, they were still able to obtain 3 skill books and 11 equipments. Ye Ci received an equipment and Skill Book after the spoils were distributed.

    The entire party was overwhelmed with joy.

    Upon exiting the dungeon, Ye Ci sent a message to Thousand Sunsets. Despite being offered numerous rewards by Thousand Sunsets, Ye Ci insisted upon receiving only DKP. She then immediately went offline.

    Hi guys! I¡¯ve set up my Patreon! Yanno *cough cough* If anybody wants to throw in some monies $$$ for Jimmi *cough cough*

 Chapter 49 Winter Hotspring

    Chapter 49 Winter Hotspring

    In both lives that Ye Ci¡¯s had lived, Steel-Blooded Battle Spear had always been a ck horse.

    The only difference this time was that a ck horse usually only appeared in theter part of the game. Totally unlike what was happening in Ye Ci¡¯s current life, where they had presented themselves as the ck horse only two to three months after the game had started.

    They¡¯ve managed to take 2 of the 5 Automaton Formation First Five, and have be the focus of every yer. They received all sorts of request on the forums to reveal the dungeon clearing video. They¡¯ve also gotten a lot of new applicants, within a few days Steel-Blooded Battle Spear had be one of the most popr guilds within the Eastern Continent.

    Even with her remarkable performance while takingmand of the first squadron, her simple and concise style ofmand was rejected by the more conservative veteran yers. However, this did not affect Thousand Sunset¡¯s desire to rope in Ye Ci. So from that time on Ye Ci had be the only yer to enjoy such extreme freedom in a guild that formerly had such a highly militarized management system.

    She could literally do anything she wanted.

    Although not many had knowledge of such arrangement, those who knew of it were extremely dissatisfied. Peacock Blue being one of them.

    ¡°Thousand, you can¡¯t do this. She¡¯ll destroy the order in our guild!¡±

    Thousand Sunsets ignored Peacock Blue¡¯s objection. He already knew that his action of letting Ye Ci roam freely might affect the other guild members. But after considering the fact that Ye Ci was somewhat of a loner, this influence was actually quite limited. With that in mind, Thousand Sunsets had chosen to not restrict Ye Ci¡¯s movements.

    ¡°She is only here to help take charge of our dungeon clearing team. We don¡¯t have to care about the rest.¡± Thousand Sunsets said and dismissed Peacock Blue.

    Peacock Blue stormed out of the conference room in anger then ran into Zero Arsenic. They had been friends for many years, and Zero Arsenic was concerned after witnessing her anger.

    Peacock Blue immediately spilled her thoughts about Gongzi You, ¡°She¡¯s merely a huntress, but Thousand allows her so much freedom just because she¡¯s a friend of Leftie.¡±

    Zero Arsenic patted her shoulder, ¡°You know that she¡¯s Oceanic Lantern right?¡±

    ¡°So what? This is Fate, not Otherworld. Everybody should be treated the same. Why does she receive such special treatment?¡± Peacock Blue couldn¡¯t help but feel wronged, her tone filled with a hint of bitterness, ¡°What¡¯s so good about her that she attracts Thousand¡¯s attention?¡±

    Zero Arsenic knew that Peacock Blue held some feelings towards Thousand Sunsets, heughed, ¡°Hey, Gleaming Sunshine is the one who is his girlfriend, not Gongzi You. It¡¯s unfair that you¡¯re angry at her because of this.¡±

    Noticing that Zero Arsenic saw through her thoughts, Peacock Blue was embarrassed and angry, ¡°I don¡¯t care! I just think that with such example, it¡¯ll be hard to keep the other guild members in line.¡± with that, she ran away.

    Zero Arsenic could only let out a long sigh. As an administrator, Peacock Blue was quite narrow-minded. Despite her exceptional administrative skills, she¡¯d failed to see that Gongzi You would greatly aid in the growth of their guild.

    Zero Arsenic, of course, did not inform Thousand Sunsets of Peacock Blue¡¯s tantrum. In the following days, Thousand Sunsets did not give any more assignments to Ye Ci. he spent most of his time in the Automaton Formation dungeon, practicing the method of clearing the dungeon by studying Ye Ci¡¯s video.

    Despite having two of its squadron having First Five, Steel-Blooded Battle Spear still owed these achievements to Ye Ci. Thousand Sunsets had always been careful. Even if he wanted to rope Ye Ci in, she was after all someone he still couldn¡¯t fully trust. It was only appropriate for someone who is a core member to master the way to clear a dungeon with such a high difficulty.

    The elites of the squadrons, especially those who¡¯d originally yed First Person Shooter games, were all required to practice firing the cannon.

    Despite it appearing easy, the yers quickly learned that it was a difficult task to kill all the monsters with only 2-3 shots.

    Thousand Sunsets did contact Ye Ci on the day after the first squadron was able to clear the Automaton Formation. He indirectly tried to entice Ye Ci, but thetter pretended to not understand his meaning. He could only give up and instructed Ye Ci to make preparations for the Frosty Wastes that the guild was nning to clear two weeks from now.

    Ye Ci was very familiar with the dungeon. There was no specific strategy of clearing it. All that was needed was a few specified potions.

    Ye Ci spent an entire week leveling up and training her Life Skills.

    She was finally able to learn the Huntress¡¯s trademark skill, ¡°Feign Death¡± after reaching lvl 20.

    A Hunter without Feigned Death was not a Hunter. Ye Ci had tried to loot the skill book before she hit lvl 20 but to no avail. In her moment of sadness, Ideal Height 1.7m had been the one to send her a Feigned Death skill book.

    She was extremely touched.

    After learning the skill Feigned Death, Ye Ci went through the Forgotten Volcanoes and arrived at the Winter¡¯s Hotspring.

    It was situated at the western part of the Eastern Continent and was crawling with monsters at lvl 40-50. But there was a special herb that grew only in that area called the Herb of Warmth.

    It was a crucial material in crafting a novice Frostbane Potion. But because it was a novice-tier material it¡¯s growth was also limited to a small area. It would only grow around the hotsprings found in the Winter¡¯s Hotsprings map.

    A novice Frostbane potion did not have a high efficiency, but it was enough to handle the frost attacks of the mobs in the Chilly Marshes. The potion could protect yers from a certain percentage of frost damage and also render yers immune to the frost debuff.

    The herb wasn¡¯t avable from the auction house due to its unique location.

    With Stealth activated, Ye Ci carefully crept towards the hot spring in the center of Winter¡¯s Hotspring. She avoided the monsters lurking around the area, and use Feigned Death to remove aggro whenever she was detected, then used Stealth and pressed forward one again.

    The entire process took her more than 2 hours.

    The big hot spring in the middle of the map was called Big Hot Spring. Ye Ci was bewildered by this name. Could those developers be anyzier?

    As she approached Big Hot Spring, Ye Ci noticed a gigantic tortoise resting near the hot spring and her heartbeat increased.

    It was Winter¡¯s Hotspring¡¯s Wild BOSS, Armored Giant Tortoise.

    At her level, Ye Ci could not even peek at the stats of the Armored Giant Turtle, but it was something that she still remembered quite well.

    The Armored Giant Turtle was a lvl 40 monster, it was one of the few ¡°passive¡± Wild BOSSes in Fate, also know as ¡°yellow-named monster¡±. As long as it was left alone, it would not actively attack any of the yers.

    The BOSS itself was extremely tanky. Despite having a low attack value whenpared to the other lvl 40 Wild BOSSes, it was still a tough opponent for a lvl 20 yer to fight.

    The Armored Giant Tortoise was the only monster in the vicinity.

    Ye Ci started to harvest the herbs around the area, but she still paid close attention to the Armored Giant Tortoise, only barely managing to hold herself back from trying to y the BOSS.

    She knew very well that she did not have the capabilities to defeat the BOSS. But any yer would feel the urge to try their luck against a Wild BOSS that was literally represented a pile of top-tier equipment as they saw it.

    While waiting for the herbs to respawn after having harvested them, Ye Ci could do nothing but keep on staring at the Armored Giant Tortoise.

    Despite the high amount of BUGs discovered in Fate, the Giant Armored Tortoise was an exception.

    After harvesting more of the herbs Ye Ci left the area. But turned back after having walking a short distance. The temptation of the loots dropped by a Wild BOSS as well as the chance to obtain an Epic Quest was just too great for her to resist. The Armored Giant Tortoise did not have a fixed spawn point. She was lucky to have run into the Wild BOSS. If she missed this chance, she might not get another.

    The situation was ideal for her. There were no other monsters around. The chances of her identally triggering the aggro of the other monsters were next to none.

    Ye Ci finally made up her mind. She¡¯d regret it if she didn¡¯t even try to take down the Armored Giant Tortoise.

    Feel free to track me down in Vre¡¯s Discord channel yo! Ping me and I shall heed your summons!

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 Chapter 50 Armored Giant Tortoise

    Chapter 50 Armored Giant Tortoise

    It was easy to have dreams. But in the face of a real challenge, dreams may not be that easy to achieve.

    Ye Ci sat at the edge of the hot spring, staring at the Armored Giant Tortoise. She was considering strategy after strategy in order to defeat the BOSS.

    Armored Giant Tortoise, lvl 40. It was known for its tough hide and an unprecedented amount of HP. Along with its incredibly hard shell, its defense was not something that one could underestimate. When angered, the BOSS will breath out a thickyer of mist. yers affected by the mist will have their lowered speed and take continuous frost damage. This frost damage will slowly chip away at a yer¡¯s HP. An even more absurd trait of this BOSS was that it will dive in the water to hunt for fishes to heal itself.

    With its tremendous amount of HP and its self-heal ability, the Armored Giant Tortoise could be called overpowered.

    Despite that, when the average yer level reaches lvl 40, hordes of yers would still challenge the BOSS. This was because they wanted to obtain a shield with absolutely broken stats that would be dropped by the BOSS. This shield could be used by a Warrior or a Knight until they reach lvl 80.

    ording to Ye Ci¡¯s experience in her past life, Winter¡¯s Hotspring was one of the most popr maps in the Eastern Continent. The ce was basically a second home for Warrior and Knight yers. The spawn points of the Armored Giant Tortoise was always crowded by yers.

    Even back then, only 15 of those shields were dropped in the span of 10 years. The drop rate of the shield could only be said to be ridiculously low.

    Although she had no interest in the shield, Ye Ci was still tempted to try and defeat the BOSS. A Wild BOSS such as this would usually drop skill books and was also a chance for yers to discover Epic Quests. Of course, one of the most crucial reasons for her desire to y the BOSS was the 4 Talent Points rewarded for drawing First Blood on Wild BOSSes that were lvl 30 and above.

    These 4 Talent Points were very crucial for Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci circled the Armored Giant Tortoise, trying to figure out its weak points. Its movements were slow, a perfect victim to kite. But with Ye Ci¡¯s current stats, it¡¯s level and defense were far too high. She would not be able to break through its defense. This meant that she could not dish out much damage to the BOSS.

    The creature was covered by a thick shell as tough as iron walls on all sides. But this did not mean that there was nothing Ye Ci could do.

    The Armored Giant Tortoise has two weaknesses.

    One weakness was at its neck, while the other was at its tail. These two spots were not covered by its armor. Instead, they were covered by ayer of very thin skin. Even at lvl 20, Ye Ci could deal a high amount of damage to the BOSS if she was able to hit those 2 spots.

    But how?

    After pondering a bit, Ye Ci gave up on attacking the neck. Although it was the easiest spot to hit and could even potentially damage the Armored Giant Tortoise¡¯s heart, Ye Ci had to position herself near its head to pull that off. Despite having a slow speed, the BOSS had rows of sharp teeth that Ye Ci was particrly wary of. With her level, she¡¯d die instantly if she got bitten.

    The only ce left was the spot on the tail was... Also known as... The ¡®ass¡¯ ...

    Ye Ci looked up atthe sky and prepared herself mentally. As long as she was able to defeat this monster, she was willing to try anything.

    Ye Ci gave up on attacking from a distance after taking their level differences into ount. Besides, the weak spot was too small for her to hit urately. Instead, she chose to use her Venomous Scorpion Stinger for melee attacks.

    Attacks delivered by the Venomous Scorpion Stinger had a chance of poisoning its target. Once poisoned, the target will continuously receive poison damage that ignored level differences.

    Ye Ci walked up to the Armored Giant Tortoise and nted a Frost Trap. She then backed off and fired an arrow at the monster.

    The arrow hit the Armored Giant Tortoise that was still sleeping. It opened its eyes and studied its surroundings, looking for whoever or whatever that had dared to disturbed its nap time. It saw Ye Ci and let out an angry roar. The BOSS began to ¡®charge¡¯ towards Ye Ci at the ¡®speed of light¡¯.

    It took two steps forward, stepping on the Frost Trap nted by Ye Ci earlier. The BOSS was instantly frozen. Ye Ci ran towards the back of the big block of ice, resisting the urge of taking a selfie with the biggest block of ice she had ever created.

    Ye Ci dashed to the location of the Armored Giant Tortoise¡¯s tail and stabbed its backside repeatedly.

    ¡ª781

    ¡ª311

    ¡ª345

    Damage values floated in Ye Ci¡¯s vision, along with a poisoned indicator that showed that the BOSS was poisoned. The ice entrapping the Armored Giant Tortoise immediately disintegrated. It roared and attempted to turn around to attack Ye Ci. However, she immediately released Ol¡¯ Three to attract the aggro. She leaped away, spun around in midair, and shot an arrow aimed at the base of the Tortoise¡¯s neck.

    ¡ª511

    The attack triggered another poison attack, which stacked with the previous one.

    The arrow damaged the Armored Giant Tortoise. It released the near-dead Ol¡¯ Three and charged towards Ye Ci, who kited the BOSS in circles with Ol¡¯ Three attacking its tail.

    The entire situation was somewhatical.

    Ye Ci¡¯s strategy was simple. That was the only thing she coulde up with against a BOSS that had no known BUG. She put a distance between the BOSS and herself, then nted a Frost Trap whenever it was off CD. The BOSS would then get frozen and she would repeat the process of attacking its backside again and again as she had previously done.

    Slowly, the HP of the Armored Giant Tortoise dropped. It was only a matter of time before it was defeated.

    It took Ye Ci almost 8 hours to chip away the HP of the Armored Giant Tortoise to 8% of its HP left. If she could hold on for another half an hour, Ye Ci would be able to defeat the Armored Giant Tortoise.

    However, at that moment, Ye Ci felt a presence 10 meters away from her. In a sh, that feeling once again appeared directly behind her. She subconsciously shifted her body and heard a system notification chiming in, ¡°You¡¯ve sucessfully avoided an attack from Lazy Blue.¡±

    Lazy Blue was an Orcish Rogue. When he cast Staggering Blow on Ye Ci, he would be forced out of Stealth. He was surprised that his attack missed. He hesitated briefly, which was enough time for Ye Ci to dart away and put up some distance between them.

    Inbat, a yer could not enter Stealth. The first thing the Rogue did after noticing Ye Ci¡¯s disappearance was to look around to locate her. The moment the Rogue caught sight of Ye Ci, two arrows buried themselves into his body, almost taking away his life. He immediately drank a health potion and retreated.

    Ye Ci did not know the Rogue, nor could she possibly have any grudges with him. The only possible reason for him to appear at this ce and time was for the Armored Giant Tortoise. They must¡¯ve been hiding for a long time, awaiting the right moment to strike as Ye Ci tired herself out.

    But if the Rogue was here for the Armored Giant Tortoise, why would he retreat immediately after getting hit by two arrows? What if...

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart sank as the HP of the Rogue was filled up immediately.

    A Cleric was nearby.

    In a fight against a Wild BOSS, there would be more yers than merely a Cleric and a Rogue.

    As expected, three more yers appeared. One of them was a Human Warrior, an Undead Sorcerer and a Human Cleric. She narrowed her eyes, and began formting a strategy.

    The Warrior used Charge on Ye Ci as soon as he spotted her.

    A Warrior¡¯s Charge was very different from the Charge skill possessed by Ye Ci¡¯s boots. The active skill carried by Ye Ci¡¯s boots was solely for escape. A Warrior¡¯s charge would stun its target if the skill hit.

    What is the deciding factor in a PK?

    A yer¡¯s adaptability and the yer¡¯s ability to predict his or her enemy¡¯s movements.

    Ye Ci had expected a Charge from the Warrior. She immediately dismissed Ol¡¯ Three and the Armored Giant Tortoise immediately made its way towards Ye Ci. She released a Decoy with the Warrior as the intended substitute. With a roar, the Armored Giant Tortoise changed its course towards the warrior.

    Ye Ci ced herself at the position where the Armored Giant Tortoise and the Warrior would collide. The sess of her strategy depended on being at the correct ce at the correct time and...

    The moment the Warrior and the Armored Giant Tortoise collided, Ye Ci immediately activated Feigned Death.

    Her body fell onto the ground like a ragged doll, just like a real corpse.

    Everything happened so fast that nobody was able to notice anything peculiar. The Warrior was the only one who witnessed Ye Ci¡¯s supposed death.

    He was distracted by the sudden drop of his HP and was rmed. He immediately associated the gigantic tortoise in front of him with the sudden damage he received.

    ¡°This guy¡¯s damage is just crazy! Hurry! Heal me!¡± with Ye Ci feigning death, along with the use of Decoy which transferred all her aggro towards the Warrior, the poor Warrior became the focus of the BOSS¡¯s attention. Even with his tough defenses, a lvl 20 Warrior could never withstand the attacks from a lvl 40 Wild BOSS. This was why he had shouted out in panic...

    I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

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 Chapter 51 Which girl hadnâ€™t fallen in love with all the wrong bastards when they were young?

    Chapter 51 Which girl hadn¡¯t fallen in love with all the wrong bastards when they were young?

    The Cleric was actually quite capable. He was able to rescue the Warrior from death¡¯s grip in such a dire situation.

    Despite having the strength of an entire party, nobody would be able to fight against a Wild BOSS like this using conventional means. The party that arrived had either made serious preparations, or they¡¯re outright stupid.

    Apparently, these guys came with a n.

    They lured the Armored Giant Tortoise to a specific spot near the hot spring, where a group of man-sized rocks stood. These rocks formed a perfect camping spot for at least five yers. As long as the Warrior stood still in between these rocks, the monster¡¯s underbelly would be stucked between the rocks, exposing it to attacks from ranged yers.

    However, the BOSS was not entirely stuck. As soon as the Warrior moved away from the group of rocks, the Armored Giant Tortoise would follow suit. This would mean the annihtion of the entire party.

    Ye Ci had originally thought of fighting the Armored Giant Tortoise using the same method. But Ol¡¯ Three was not a yer. When it was hungry, its attack damage and aggro value would be halved. If Ye Ci fed Ol¡¯ Three at that moment, Taunt will be interrupted. This would cause the Armored Giant Tortoise to phase out ofbat status or shift its aggro.

    This was why Ye Ci chose to kite the BOSS instead.

    However, with the strength and cooperation of a party, Ye Ci¡¯s assants would be able to defeat the Armored Giant Tortoise that had 8% of its HP left within an hour.

    Ye Ciid silently not far from their location. Thanks to her reflexes, she was able to avoid suffering any damage.

    As one of the most wanted person in her past life, Ye Ci pushed herself to the extreme in order to survive. Her action of dodging the attack from the Rogue was a very rare skill in Fate. The skill was dubbed ¡®Superior Dodge¡¯.

    ¡®Superior Dodge¡¯ was not a skill that can be learned from NPCs. It was a result of a yer¡¯s experience inbat. Despite appearing to be only a slight shift of position, it requires a lot of skill to pull off sessfully.

    When was the best time to dodge? How to dodge a physical attack? How could a magical attack be dodged? How to achieve the highest efficiency of dodging with the slightest amount of movement? How does one increase their chances of dodging an attack?

    Ye Ci was able to find the answers to all of these question after gaining a lotbat experience.

    Nobody was born a pro. Even the pros were once newbies.

    Ye Ci discovered ¡®Superior Dodging¡¯ by chance. But she was very perceptive when it came to gaming. She was able to seize that exact moment and store it into her brain. She then fought in the arena for months to hone her skills. She pressed on despite death after death and spent tens of thousands of gold to repair her damaged equipment.

    She finally mastered her skill in a fight for her life against other yers.

    Ye Ci was reminded of her ¡®Superior Dodging¡¯ when she was previously ambushed by the Rogue from the Western Continent. At first, she was not able to use it sessfully as she was not used to her body that was 10 years younger. She was no longer able to adapt to the tempo and she was troubled by herplete change in ss. She trained day and night in Red Lake City¡¯s arena to reacquire her long lost skill. As the basics were already ingrained in her mind, she was able to reacquire the skill.

    But with littlebat experience, Ye Ci had notpletely mastered ¡®Superior Dodging¡¯.

    It was out of sheer luck that she pulled it off against Lazy Blue and the Warrior.

    The party did not hide their names. Ye Ci was able to see their name while lying on the ground. The Warrior¡¯s name was Potato-Eating Dace, while the Sorcerer was MuQing, and the Cleric¡¯s name was Glistening Snow.

    The group stood not far from Ye Ci, dealing blows after blows to the Armored Giant Tortoise while chatting with each other.

    ¡°Glistening Snow, are you sure that it¡¯s Gongzi You?¡± asked Potato-Eating Dace while staring at Ye Ci¡¯s ¡®corpse¡¯ with disbelief.

    ¡°Of course she is. I¡¯ve heard about her from someone from Steel-Blooded Battle Spear and had seen her performance in the video. I recognize that panther. She¡¯s definitely Gongzi You.¡± Lazy Blue nodded.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Gongzi You a little too fragile? She died just like that!¡± Potato-Eating Dace still could not believe his eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re not the one who killed her. It was the Armored Giant Tortoise. You really think that she¡¯s weak? Didn¡¯t you see her reaction when I tried to sneak up on her? She disappeared before I could blink.¡± said Lazy Blue, reminiscing the moment when he was about to cast Staggering Blow on Ye Ci. He shook his head with creased eyebrows.

    ¡°Enough. Lazy Blue, beware of our surroundings. Take her out as soon as she revives. Don¡¯t miss the 5 seconds window where she is weakened upon respawning.¡± the Cleric, MuQing interrupted the conversation.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Don¡¯t worry, I got this. After all, I¡¯m one of the best in the Tang Dynasty.¡± Lazy Blue waved his hand dismissively at MuQing.

    MuQing immediately turned quiet.

    Ye Ci grimaced. They were yers from the Tang Dynasty guild.

    She had thought that she would be able to avoid certain things after her reincarnation. But she was wrong. The Goddess of Fate would not let her off the hook that easily. She would still run into certain people that she had no intention of ever meeting again. She took a deep breath and remembered the things that she had intended to forget.

    There was once a saying: Which girl hadn¡¯t fallen in love with all the wrong bastards when they were young?

    Ye Ci had the misfortune of falling in love with the wrong person. She had always been cold and detached. She even expected herself to be single until she died. She had not expected to fall in love. But she did. And her naive self expected her love to have a happy ending just like in a typical romance movie.

    However, her romance brought her nothing but woe and sorrow. She had always thought that everything was worth sacrificing if it was for love. Although she was able to foresee the beginning of their rtionship, but the ending was not something she expected.

    She gave her all to that man. But he parted his way with her after enjoying the glory she brought him with a simple apology. The reason was a curt, ¡°We just don¡¯t suit each other¡±.

    All those memory felt so distant. She used to feel that the entire world owed her everything. She took vengeance on everybody who ever loved and cared about her. In the end, she had no one left. The memory felt like a dream. It felt stupid.

    Ye Ci looked up into the sky.

    She tried to remember that man¡¯s face. She tried and failed.

    ¡°Wandering Cloud says that he¡¯ll be here soon.¡± said Glistening Snow all of a sudden.

    The group¡¯s spirit soared after the heard Wandering Cloud¡¯s name.

    Ye Ci¡¯s mind went nk after hearing the name. She already had a bad feeling after learning that the yers were from Tang Dynasty. An unsettling chill crept up her limbs when she heard the name ¡®Wandering Cloud¡¯.

    ¡°Slow down, we must wait for Wandering Cloud,¡± said MuQing, ¡°To get that shield, he bought information from the ck market for 200,000 RMB.¡±

    The party members nodded.

    The corner of Ye CI¡¯s mouth twitched. It was all for that shield. It was that particr shield on Wandering Cloud¡¯s hand that had attracted Ye Ci to him. As the first person to obtain that shield, he was of course an extraordinary person.

    She had never thought that he got that shield from this ce.

    With each passing second, Ye Ci was able to slowly regain herposure. Her wandering thoughts came back to the reality. She peeked at the amount of HP the Armored Giant Tortoise had left. It was already under 2%. Should she take them out right now? Or should she strike when Wandering Cloud arrived?

    Just as Ye Ci was hesitating, a voice she knew so well that it was almost unfamiliar rang in her ears, ¡°Damn, without the Invisible Potion, I wouldn¡¯t have made it here!¡±

    Ye Ci finally understood how the party was able to make their way to Winter¡¯s Hotspring. It was through the help of Novice Invisible Potions. The potion itself is not cheap. Each of them could onlyst one minute. For the five of them to arrive at this spot, they must¡¯ve invested a lot.

    ¡°Cloud, you¡¯re here? Hurry up. You risk missing the loot.¡± said Glistening Snow.

    Wandering Cloud joined the battle. He casted a nce at Ye Ci who was lying on the ground and asked, ¡°So this is Gongzi You?¡±

    The party members nodded.

    ¡°Not bad, you¡¯ve defeated her.¡± Wandering Cloud smiled at his men.

    ¡°We did no such thing.¡± Lazy Blue mumbled. He was the one who had fought directly against Ye Ci. He knew her strength but he was too afraid to speak loudly.

    Wandering Cloud did not hear Lazy Blue¡¯s words, and continued asking, ¡°She was afraid to respawn after being killed by you guys?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she might be good in PVE, but her PVP skills sucks! I guess she was afraid that we would kill her again. So she stayed like that.¡± Glistening Snow told a lie.

    Wandering Cloud nodded. He then immediately recalled something important, ¡°What was the BOSS¡¯s HP before you guys stole it from her?¡±

    ¡°Around 10% I think, Potato-Eating Dace¡¯s Charge pushed her in front of the Armored Giant Tortoise and she was killed by it.¡± MuQing described what they had witnessed truthfully.

    Enjoyed the chapter? Comment below and tell us what you think!

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 Chapter 52 1 vs 5? Or was it 5 vs 1

    Chapter 52 1 vs 5? Or was it 5 vs 1

    Wandering Cloud quickly realized that something was wrong from Potato-Eating Dace¡¯s words, ¡°I thought you guys said that you had defeated her? Why would she just lie there when you guys stole the monster when it has 10% of its HP left? How is that possible...¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence, Ye Ci rose from the ground like a phantom and fired an arrow at Glistening Snow.

    Ye Ci¡¯s equipment was superior and a Cleric was a soft target. Nobody expected her to suddenly rise and attack. They were not prepared for Ye Ci¡¯s sudden movement. Glistening Snow was taken out by Ye Ci¡¯s attacks before he could react.

    Lazy Blue managed to react and attempted to deliver a Staggering Blow at Ye Ci, but she had already leaped away. Even the arrow that she first shot at Glistening Snow was fired while in mid-air.

    The party was not new to PK. They immediately counterattacked right after Glistening Snow was taken out. With the exception of Potato-Eating Dace who had to hide within the rock formation and maintain the Armored Giant Tortoise¡¯s aggro, the other three charged at Ye Ci.

    MuQing began channeling a spell while he moved, while Wandering Cloud Charged at Ye Ci. Affected by her feelings from her past life, Ye Ci did not dare to look him in the eye. She dodged his Charge with a slight adjustment andnded on Lazy Blue. Using him as a springboard, Ye Ci once again leaped into the air and cast Rapid Fire on MuQing.

    MuQing fell lifelessly to the ground after receiving a flurry of critical hits with additional poison damage.

    After taking out two enemies in one go, Ye Ci dashed towards the Armored Giant Tortoise. She cast the Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark at the BOSS, cast Falcon Protection on herself, and fired a Viper Needle at the BOSS¡¯s eyes. She then cast Decoy on herself.

    The aggro of the Armored Giant Tortoise on Potato-Eating Dace was not that high. With Ye Ci¡¯s rapid attacks, she was able to snatch the aggro away from him. The Armored Giant Tortoise immediately moved away from the rock formation and headed straight for Ye Ci.

    ¡°Dace, secure the BOSS¡¯s aggro!¡± shouted Wandering Cloud.

    But his order was more or less impossible for Potato-Eating Dace. This was a lvl 40 Wild BOSS that they¡¯re talking about. Even if he was able to hold the aggro, he would¡¯ve easily been killed by the BOSS.

    Despite that, Potato-Eating Dace cast Taunt at the BOSS. Ye Ci, however, was very generous. She fired a Decoy at Potato-Eating Dace, generously transferring all her aggro to the Warrior. The Armored Giant Tortoise turned its head towards Potato-Eating Dace and chomped down on him. With a scream, he fell lifelessly onto the ground.

    The 5 man party had been reduced to only 2 in less than 30 seconds.

    Wandering Cloud gritted his teeth, ¡°I thought you said she¡¯s bad at PVP?¡±

    The ones who had already diedid there and did not dare to speak a word. Glistening Snow was especially quiet as if he had truly died.

    Lazy Blue who was still alive paled. He did not expect Gongzi You to fake her death for nearly half an hour just beside him.

    This Huntress was truly skillful and bold. Lazy Blue felt like he was outyed. Not only in terms of skill but in terms of intelligence as well. He was toyed by this Huntress called Gongzi You.

    Lazy Blue was enraged, and he charged straight at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci, on the other hand, darted towards her 2 remaining opponents, with the Armored Giant Tortoise following close behind. A spell casting indicator appeared on the monster¡¯s icon. It was casting Mist.

    It¡¯s finally using that spell. Ye Ci faced Lazy Blue with a sinister smile.

    Lazy Blue and Wandering Cloud were so focused on Ye Ci that they did not notice the small changes taking ce behind Ye Ci. The moment they saw Ye Ci¡¯s sinister smile, they knew that something was wrong.

    They were unable to react in time. Ye Ci activated Charge and darted away from between the two.

    The Armored Giant Tortoise let out a mighty roar and sted towards Ye Ci with Mist. It missed Ye Ci but Lazy Blue and Wandering Cloud were not so lucky.

    They received a full st from the BOSS.

    Wandering Cloud could feel himself slowing down. He nced at his status and was shocked to see a 50% slowed debuff as well as a 20 seconds damage over time debuff. He took out a potion and shouted out to Lazy Blue, ¡°Blue, be careful...¡±

    At the next moment, Wandering Cloud¡¯s eyes almost popped out of their socket. Lazy Blue was already dead.

    How did he die? He noticed a wound on Lazy Blue¡¯s throat and was hit with a sudden realization. Lazy Blue was at the side of Gongzi You¡¯s dominant hand when she dashed them.

    That woman had slit Lazy Blue¡¯s throat in the short moment when she dashed past Wandering Cloud and Lazy Blue!

    Having Ye Ci as its target, the Armored Giant Tortoise was totally oblivious to Wandering Cloud. It moved steadily forward, plowing into Wandering Cloud and sent him staggering to the ground.

    Wandering Cloud couldn¡¯t help but shudder as he stared at the Huntress who was leaping around, kiting the Armored Giant Tortoise in the process.

    She was just too strong.

    Her skills in PVE, her perfect timing when it came to PVP, and also her unprecedented bravery in faking her death.

    It was not something an average person could pull off.

    Wandering Cloud felt a coldness creeping up the tips of his fingers. He knew that Gongzi You was skillful. That was obvious since she was able to obtain so many First Bloods. But while she was good in PVE, he had never expected her to be as good when it came to PVP.

    She was able to react instantly to her environment.

    The way she took Lazy Blue out... Perhaps even Lazy Blue himself did not expect her to be able tond a hit in that short time window.

    Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Three, which continuously attacked the Armored Giant Tortoise¡¯s backside. Ye Ci herself, on the other hand, led the Armored Giant Tortoise towards Wandering Cloud.

    Was she trying to kill him the same way she killed Potato-Eating Dace? Wandering Cloud ran for his life.

    He really wanted the shield that dropped from the Armored Giant Tortoise, but apparently, this was not the time for him. He was the sole survivor of a 5-man party. With Gongzi You¡¯s unprecedented skill and cunningness, he stood no chance.

    Despite the temptation, Wandering Cloud knew that he had to run away and ept his blunder. Tang Dynasty was one of thergest guilds in the Eastern Continent. As long as he could get away safely...

    What Wandering Cloud had overlooked was that he was under a ¡®slow¡¯ debuff. Ye Ci caught up with him and stabbed him in the back of his knees.

    He felt a sharp pain and strength immediately left his right leg.

    ¡°Your right leg has been crippled.¡±

    The act of crippling an opponent was something unique to the PVP in Fate. The system employed concepts from Chinese martial arts. Damaging an opponent¡¯s ligament with des will cripple his or her body parts and the only way to repair the damage was to return to one of the main cities and seek medical attention from specific NPCs.

    Being crippled was a status that will not take away a yer¡¯s HP. However, to cripple an opponent, one must act fast and strike with precision. It was impossible for a yer to master such a skill without a long time of practice.

    The crippled Wandering Cloud was shocked out of his mind. The ¡®crippled¡¯ debuff was only mentioned briefly on the official Fate website but the section was left without much description. He did not pay much heed to that particr piece of information. He assumed that one could only be crippled by chance, but he was wrong.

    Wandering Cloud stared at Gongzi You. Was his luck that bad? Before he could react, he felt another sharp pain in his left leg. He could no longer feel both his legs.

    The Armored Giant Tortoise had finally reached Ye Ci and was about to attack her.

    Was it Karma? Would the Huntress be killed by the Armored Giant Tortoise?

    Joy soared within Wandering Cloud¡¯s heart. He unsheathed his sword and wildly swung in the general direction of Ye Ci and the Armored Giant Tortoise. His n was simple: It would be a great payback if he could somehow kill Ye Ci and if he was able to y the Armored Giant Turtle with a lucky hit...

    He immediately felt a stabbing pain in his arm, ¡°Your left hand has been crippled.¡±

    ¡°Your right hand has been crippled.¡±

    ¡°F*ck.¡±

    Wandering Cloud could only curse in frustration as he red at Ye Ci, waiting for the Armored Giant Turtle to bite down on her. However, he didn¡¯t expect that Ye Ci would suddenly disappear. Wandering Cloud adjusted his view and saw Ye Ci leaping into the air andnding on the Armored Giant Tortoise¡¯s back with a summersault. She held a de in each hand and stabbed the monster¡¯s neck.

    The Armored Giant Tortoise let out one final roar and fell.

    The system notification immediately chimed in.

    ¡°yer Gongzi You has in the lvl 40 Wild BOSS Armored Giant Tortoise with her own strength and survived the ordeal. Special Rewards: Global prestige x8000, Chilly Wind City prestige x1000, Gold coins x1000, Talent Points x4¡±

    The entire Fate universe exploded into madness.

    Somebody was able to y a lvl 40 Wild BOSS when the average yer level was at lvl 20? Was that a BUG? A lot of them began gossiping about Gongzi You and some of them even reported Gongzi You to the customer service. The reply they received from the customer service was, ¡°The yer defeated the BOSS through normal means, there was no BUG involved.¡± This statement further plunged the yers into insanity.

    Ye Ci was oblivious to the chaos that she stirred up. She had muted the World Channel a long time ago.

    She stood on top of the Armored Giant Tortoise¡¯s carcass, looking down on Wandering Cloud who knelt in front of her.

    Her face was calm.

    In her past life, this man, had brought her fake joy with his deceit and had used her heartlessly. She hated him. She had sworn to grind him into dust if she ever met him again one day.

    Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

    Aaaaaand please support Reign of the Hunters on Patreon XD

 Chapter 53 The Past Doesnâ€™t Matter

    Chapter 53 The Past Doesn¡¯t Matter

    Ye Ci had always felt the scar left in her heart by this man.

    Even after her reincarnation, she had trod carefully, ignoring any and all information regarding the Tang Dynasty. When she learned anything about Wandering Cloud, she acted as if she was illiterate and could not understand anything at all. She did not want to face him.

    However, the Goddess of Fate was headstrong.

    She was hit by this drama in her moment of peace.

    She was caught off guard by his sudden appearance.

    Truth to be told, Ye Ci knew that she could not ostracize herself and hide from him forever. The Tang Dynasty ranked no.2 in the East Continent. They ranked no.5 in Country Z. Their paths would meet eventually no matter how hard she tried to avoid him. But she had never thought that they would meet so soon.

    How do I face him? Ye Ci had thought, thinking of the scenario when she would meet Wandering Cloud once again.

    With hatred? With anger? Or with meek expectation?

    It was a question that she had thought of many times but had no answer to.

    However, life is strange.

    When she once again faced this man, she only felt an odd unfamiliarity and nothing else.

    Wandering Cloud knelt on the ground, looking up at the Huntress before him. Her skin was pale. While her eyes were not gorgeous, there was something about her gaze that intimidated him. She stared at him with her amber eyes. It was as if those eyes were devoid of any human emotions. They were so calm that he even felt despair as she stared on.

    Wandering Cloud gulped and said, ¡°You really are Gongzi You...¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence, Gongzi You had grabbed him and her face inched closer to his. He could even feel the warm breathing out of the Huntress¡¯s mouth. It was as if tens of thousands of ants had burrowed themselves into his skin, gnawing at his nerves. He felt afraid.

    Ye Ci took a careful look at the face so close to hers. It was so young, so handsome. It was a face that had once deeply enchanted her. However, she no longer cared for it.

    When the system gave her the choice to hide her name, she chose to announce it. It was not for the fame. But rather because... she had realized that the past doesn¡¯t matter anymore.

    No matter what she did in herst life, what rtionship she shared with this man, they were all in the past.

    She was Ye Ci. She was Gongzi You. She had begun a new life. There was no point in torturing herself with something that had happened in herst life.

    At that moment, she felt a sense of rxation that she had never experienced.

    She was herself. She lived for herself. Her joy and happiness were all for herself.

    Just these things were enough.

    Ye Ci smiled.

    It was a rxed smile that Ye Ci never had before. A smile that was so warm that it could even melt the snow.

    Wandering Cloud looked at the unforgettable face so close to his. Coldness has always been her only expression. Then that expression was suddenly reced with a smile. He then heard her cold voiceing out of her moist lips.

    ¡°What is mine, nobody else can take.¡±

    Her voice was soft and carefree. Additionally, there was a hint of coldness and detachment in her eyes despite her smile.

    ¡°Whatever belongs to me, Gongzi You, don¡¯t you even think about taking it away. Not even the Tang Dynasty has that right.¡± her smile disappeared, reced by an icy gaze as cold as the steel of her de.

    She let go of Wandering Cloud and stood up, never taking her eyes off him. In the blink of an eye, she nocked an arrow and let it loose. Glistening Snow, who had just revived fell back onto the ground with a yelp.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to drop any items, tell your men to stay put, or... ¡° Ye Ci¡¯s lips formed into a grin.

    That is, if, it counted as one.

    Wandering Cloud¡¯s eyes burned with anger.

    He was the vice guild leader of Tang Dynasty. Never had he suffered such a great humiliation. He had paid attention to Gongzi You and he had guessed that the previous First Bloods had something to do with the Huntress.

    After he confirmed that Gongzi You was on the same continent as him, he was afraid that the Huntress would try to steal away his most prized loot, the shield dropped by the Armored Giant Tortoise. It was information he had bought from a certain Fate GM before the open beta test had begun with 200,000 RMB.

    He had already known that the Armored Giant Turtle had a chance of dropping one of the best pre-lvl 80 shield, the Swordback Hold. Since the average yer level was still quite low, he was not worried that someone else would seek out the Armored Giant Tortoise and try to defeat it. As a precaution, he had ordered some of his trusted guild members to pay close attention to Winter Hotspring.

    After finally getting to lie on the bed after staying up all night long, Wandering Cloud received a phone call from Lazy Blue before he could even close his eyes. He was then informed that Gongzi You was collecting herbs at Winter Hotspring. He was anxious, but did not pay too much heed to it. After all, the Armored Giant Tortoise was a lvl 40 monster, even Gongzi You could never defeat it by herself.

    But after five to six hours of sleep, Lazy Blue called once again. Gongzi You had already started fighting the Armored Giant Tortoise and had already chipped away half of its HP. It was at that moment that Wandering Cloud truly became nervous. He immediately arranged some of his men to meet up with Lazy Blue and stop Gongzi You from getting the First Blood. He got off from his bed and raced to the spot from the other side of the Eastern Continent.

    What happened next you already know.

    This entire fiasco was all Wandering Cloud¡¯s idea. He told nothing about the BOSS stealing to the guild leader, NightAndDay. He was an honest and upright person. He would be very angry if he learned that Wandering Cloud had tried to snatch a First Blood and BOSS away from somebody else. Wandering Cloud was very afraid of NightAndDay.

    He wanted to call for help badly, but... he couldn¡¯t.

    He knew that NightAndDay would never allow him to use guild resources for this matter. He was a smart man. He knew that NightAndDay would question his words even if Wandering Cloud told him that Gongzi You was the one who tried to KS the BOSS. The guild leader had once promised Wandering Cloud that once most of the members of the guild had hit lvl 40, they would help him acquire the shield. Except this incident would definitely arouse NightAndDay¡¯s suspicion.

    The shield was definitely valuable. However, to lose his standing in the guild for a mere shield was a very dumb move.

    However, Wandering Cloud couldn¡¯t bring himself to admit defeat to Gongzi You. He bit his lips and red at Ye Ci as she casually killed any of his friends who tried to revive themselves.

    He couldn¡¯t bear to watch his brothers sacrifice themselves again and again for his sake. He finally relented, ¡°Do not revive.¡±

    ......

    Wandering Cloud¡¯s men were shocked by his decision. He was not someone who could stomach humiliation, but...

    ¡°I already said, don¡¯t revive yourselves,¡± although Wandering Cloud had deceived Ye Ci in her past life, he still cared about his friends. His roar had managed to stop his men from their continuous attempts to revive. He then looked at Ye Ci and said, ¡°Gongzi You, I¡¯ll remember you.¡±

    Ye Ciughed at his words. She sat on the Tortoise¡¯s shell and said, ¡°I will never forget someone who tried to steal something that¡¯s rightfully mine.¡±

    Wandering Cloud gritted his teeth and remained silent. He could only watch on as Ye Ci dissected the carcass of the Armored Giant Tortoise.

    Ye Ci collected the loot from the carcass with the fastest speed possible. She did not even take note of her loot. She knew very well that Wandering Cloud was the vice guild leader of Tang Dynasty. If that bastard called for help, she¡¯d be in a pinch.

    At this stage of the game, she only had single target attacks. She could easily handle a few yers inbat but if more were to arrive on the scene, she¡¯ll certainly get defeated.

    After solving the matter that has been gnawing at her heart, Ye Ci did not have the mood to stay at this ce for any longer.

    The past doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Not to mention that at this point in her new life, she did not have the strength to defend herself against arge guild. It would be stupid to not run away as soon as possible.

    As she was about to leave, Ye Ci took onest nce at Wandering Cloud¡¯s angry face. Her eyes narrowed and her lips formed into another sinister grin. She walked up to Wandering Cloud and stooped down.

    Wandering Cloud gritted his teeth, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Ye Ci leaned in closer to Wandering Cloud seductively and said in a small voice, ¡°Floral Apartment, Room 612. Don¡¯t always do it in the same ce. Go somewhere new once in a while.¡±

    With that, she patted Wandering Cloud¡¯s shoulders and summoned her steed. Ye Ci smiled at him, ¡°Till we meet again, o¡¯ great guild leader,¡± then left.

    As soon as Ye Ci disappeared from their sight, the people who were previouslyying on the ground immediately got up. ¡°Cloud, let¡¯s gather some yers from the guild, we¡¯ll go after her.¡± said MuQing.

    ¡°No.¡± said Wondering Cloud. His face was pale white and sweat dripped from his forehead. He was trembling with fear.

    ¡°Why?¡± Wandering Cloud was known to be a vengeful person. His reaction was something out of his character.

    ¡°I said no!¡± Wandering Cloud roared in anger. The others were shocked after noticing his expression. Knowing that he had lost control, Wandering Cloud immediately changed the topic, ¡°I¡¯ve been crippled, carry me back to the city, I can¡¯t move.¡±

    The four knew that Wandering Cloud was hiding something and it had something to do with the what that Gongzi You had whispered to him. Nobody dared to ask. They carried him up from the ground and prepared to return to the city.

    Enjoy the chapter!!! We will also be releasing a special chapter tomorrow dedicated to a certain Jay whose talent in singing is unprecedented. XD

    And feel free to check out Jimmi¡¯s dank ass Patreon here!

 Chapter 54 Bai Mo

    Chapter 54 Bai Mo

    After leaving Winter Hotsprings, Ye Ci headed straight to Red Lake City.

    The wind caressed her long hair, reminding her of the past.

    She wasn¡¯t exactly a kind person. If she was kind, she wouldn¡¯t have threatened Wandering Cloud.

    Ye Ci had learned about the scandal a little toote. The guild leader of Tang Dynasty, NightAndDay treated Wandering Cloud like a brother. There was nothing unusual, but then shit happened.

    Wandering Cloud and NightAndDay fell in love with the same girl but Wandering Cloud chose to let it go. The girl then became a couple with NightAndDay. From that day onwards, Wandering Cloud had never talked to that girl. The story would¡¯ve ended there. But when the Fate servers opened, the girl joined the game as well.

    Sometimes, things happened not because of right or wrong but because of the timing.

    What Wandering Cloud and the girlcked was the so-called ¡®timing¡¯. But in Fate, their time finally came. In the end... one of them betrayed a lover, and the other betrayed a brother. This was the beginning of a shocking scandal, but also a testimony of their ¡®love¡¯.

    After that incident, Wandering Cloud used Ye Ci as a tool to increase his influence. He was able to rece NightAndDay as the guild leader of Tang Dynasty and also reced NightAndDay as well as the husband of his wife.

    All these things were learned by Ye Ci after she left Wandering Cloud. At that time, Wandering Cloud¡¯s rtionship with the girl was exposed, and it became one of the top 10 scandals in Fate. Ye Ci was quite pitiful. She was merely cannon fodder in arger scandal.

    However, looking back on it as a reborned person, the entire incident was like a joke.

    She wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with the fire deep within Wandering Cloud¡¯s eyes. It was exactly the fire she saw in her past life when he found his resolve to take down NightAndDay. He was a man who would go to extreme lengths to achieve his ambitions. Despite not being afraid of him, Ye Ci didn¡¯t want trouble. After all, she want nothing to do with Wandering Cloud anymore.

    She took a look at the time. It was right after the time when Wandering Cloud had an affair with the girl in Floral Appartment, room 612. It was a widely-known fact in Ye Ci¡¯sst life. But in her current life, it was still a secret.

    Wandering Cloud thought that his secret was safe. But how could he maintain hisposure when his supposed secret was known by Ye Ci?

    His expression... was rather funny.

    Recalling Wandering Cloud¡¯s reaction earlier on, Ye Ci flipped her hair, throwing everything to the back of her mind. She galloped at full speed back to Red Lake City.

    The moment she stepped through the city gate, she received N numbers of messenger pigeon. All of them asking were asking about the same incident: The First Blood.

    Ye Ci¡¯s head hurt with the sudden influx of messages. She had originally wanted to give herself a chance to face her past. But she had never thought that it would bring her so much... ¡®troubles¡¯.

    Helpless, Ye Ci decided to go offline to hide herself.

    This was probably the longest period of time that Ye Ci had spent online. She was totally exhausted when she went finally offline. She didn¡¯t even care about eating and headed straight to sleep.

    Even Ye Ci herself did not know how long she had slept. She was woken up by the the ringing of her phone. Ye Ci curled underneath her nket as she made up her mind to ignore the phone call. But her caller was even more persistent. The phone rang and rang and finally Ye Ci relented.

    ¡°Hello?¡± Ye Ci didn¡¯t even open her eyes, her voice full of sleepiness.

    ¡°Ye Ci, look at the time, get your ass down here!¡± a maic male voice entered her ears.

    That voice sounded so familiar... Ye Ci was still in a daze. Suddenly, a realization struck her. She immediately sat upright. With trembling lips, she asked cautiously, ¡°Bai Mo?¡±

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s me! Is there another man who would patiently call you on the phone while you doze on like thezy pig you are?¡±

    Ye Ci felt something flowing out from her eyes, clouding her vision. She clutched her phone tightly and pressed it closely to her ear, listening intently to Bai Mo¡¯s voice. She didn¡¯t even dare to let out even a tiny breath.

    What¡¯s wrong with her eyes, dammit.

    She rubbed her eyes and discovered that her hand was wet.

    She tried her best to suppress her emotion, worried that Bai Mo would notice something peculiar from her voice. Despite that, tears were already flowing freely down her cheeks.

    He¡¯s alive, Bai Mo is alive.

    Bai Mo was one of Ye Ci¡¯s cousins. He was one year older than her. The two had a close rtionship when they were young, they were just like siblings. When Ye Ci broke up with Wandering Cloud in herst life, Bai Mo was deeply concerned about her. He brought her out for a ride but Ye Ci had insisted on taking the wheel. Because of her insistence, Bai Mo had allowed her to drive.

    Ye Ci had sped on the highway. Bai Mo had told her that she was driving too fast but she wouldn¡¯t listen. She elerated the vehicle. In the end, shit happened. She could only remember a loud bang, and the warmth when Bai Mo clutched her in his embrace.

    She would always remember thest words Bai Mo had said to her: ¡°Little Ci, be happy.¡±

    If her parents were her regrets in herst life, then Bai Mo¡¯s death was like a debt that she would never be able to repay. His death was caused by her own hads.

    But right now, Bai Mo was still alive.

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t even being to describe her feelings with words. She wasnt even sure herself if the onught of emotions were tremendous joy or extreme shock. The words in her entire vocabry were not enough to describe her current feelings.

    ¡°Say something, don¡¯t tell me you went back to sleep.¡± After receiving no answer from Ye Ci, Bai Mo scratched his head and said, ¡°Is my voice so hypnotic that it became a luby?¡±

    ¡°Nope, where are you right now?¡± Ye Ci recovered from her raging emotions and asked with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯ve almost reached your home, but I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve moved out...¡±

    Ye Ci jumped down from her bed before Bai Mo could finish his sentence, ¡°I¡¯ll be back right away. You better wait for me.¡± She immediately hung her phone and basically flew into her bathroom to clean herself up.

    Bai Mo was puzzled and mumbled to himself, ¡°What¡¯s with her today? Why is she sudden acting so friendly...¡±

    When Ye Ci reached her home, Bai Mo was already there. The first thing that Ye Ci saw after opening the door was Bai Mo¡¯s handsome face. Her hands trembled. Even Ye Ci herself didn¡¯t expect that she would embrace Bai Mo in a tight hug, feeling his warmth and energy.

    Bai Mo was extremely confused by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden actions. Despite his close rtionship with Ye Ci, they never had such intimate contact ever since they were seven or eight years old due to Ye Ci¡¯s cold nature. He didn¡¯t even know how to react to her sudden intimacy.

    It really was Bai Mo, he was alive.

    Ye Ci burried her face into his chest, holding back the tears that were very close to flowing out. She raised her voice, putting on an air of being carefree, ¡°Long time no see Bai Mo!¡±

    Zuo Xian was momentarily stunned to see Ye Ci dragging Bai Mo along, she smiled and called out to them, ¡°Why are you still standing there? Come, wash your hands and eat!¡±

    Ye Ci felt as if she was in a dream. Although she was able to calm herself down, Bai Mo¡¯s presence still felt surreal.

    Bai Mo was the son of her mother¡¯s sister, who lived in another city. He moved to Ye Ci¡¯s city as a transfer student.

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, ¡°You transferred here? This is the first time I¡¯ve heard of somebody doing that. Aren¡¯t you a postgraduate already?¡±

    Bai Mo did very well in his studies when he was young. He had even skipped a few grades. This was why he was already a postgraduate by the time that Ye Ci had enrolled into the university.

    ¡°Professor Xia in your campus is the mentor to my professor and my professor suggested that I should enroll in your university and thus, here I am.¡± said Bai Mo with a mouthful of rice, ¡°I thought that I¡¯d need to rent a room near the campus. But since you¡¯ve already rented one, let¡¯s share!¡±

    Ye Ci replied with a hint of disdain, ¡°Then what am I going to do if you bring your girlfriend home at night?¡±

    Bai Mo immediately blushed. He nced at Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian, ¡°Hush, I don¡¯t have a girlfriend.¡±

    Ye Ci once again showed her disdain.

    Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian were happily watching the two bicker. It had been quite awhile since the atmospherein their house had been so lively.

    In the end, Ye Cipromised and allowed Bai Mo to move into her rented unit. The two said goodbye to Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian and returned to their own ce.

    Ye Ci could see a truck parked near her dormitory the moment they arrived. Bai Mo immediately rushed towards the truck and began to talk to the workers. He then shouted to Ye Ci, ¡°Dammit open the door already, can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m trying to get things moved here?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes. There was a saying ¡®The dove taking over the magpie¡¯s nest¡¯. Bai Mo was doing just that.

    Ye Ci¡¯s ce was a small unit with 2 bedrooms and a living room. It was the only avable unit left. The small unit was now a humble abode of two residents. Ye Ci was exhausted after helping Bai Mo with his stuff. She couldn¡¯t help but grumble, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have rented this ce.¡±

    Enjoy this chapter! (Jay especially)

    Oh, and if you guys click >>>here<<< you¡¯ll be able to visit Jimmy¡¯s awesomtacr Patreon page!

 Chapter 55 Remote Depths

    Chapter 55 Remote Depths

    Bai Mo shamelessly pretended that he hadn¡¯t heard any of Ye Ci¡¯s grumbling. He went downstairs, preparing to move more of his stuff.

    Arge box was carried into Bai Mo¡¯s room. Ye Ci stared at the box, stunned. Wasn¡¯t that a Fate gaming cabin? She had never known that Bai Mo yed the game, even in herst life.

    Ye Ci and Bai Mo were the only ones left when the movers finished. Ye Ci asked while unpacking the gaming cabin, ¡°Since when did you start gaming?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been gaming for years now,but it¡¯s a secret. I haven¡¯t told anybody else, not even my parents.¡± Bai Mo cleaned the surface of the gaming cabin carefully with a piece of cloth

    ¡°Gaming is almost like an everyday thing now. Why don¡¯t you tell them?¡±

    ¡°They expected me to be a scientific researcher, but I want to be a professional gamer. I know that that they¡¯d be pissed if I told them.¡± Bai Mo tossed the cloth and leaned on the gaming cabin. He smiled, revealing his shining white teeth.

    Ye Ci blinked as she suddenly realized something. She pursed her lips and said, ¡°You¡¯re so enthusiastic about studying here. Now I know why. You¡¯re just here so that you can game in peace...¡±

    ¡°Ayy, you¡¯re not cute at all. How can you say such things?¡± He hugged Ye Ci from behind and messed up her hair.

    Their difference between their strengths was too great. It took all of her strength to get free from the bear hug. She panted, gasping for air, ¡°So you¡¯re lying abouting here to study?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s for real though. I wanted to tell them after I¡¯ve gained sess in-game. With that, they¡¯ll not object to me being bing a professional a gamer.¡± Bai Mo observed Ye Ci¡¯s already messy hair and ruffled it again.

    Ye Ci pped his hand away and was satisfied when he let out a yelp, ¡°So what¡¯s your name in Fate?¡±

    ¡°Remote Depths.¡±

    Bai Mo immediately gave Ye Ci his in-game name. She was deeply shocked and stood still as if she was hit by lightning.

    Bai Mo was Remote Depths!

    Remote Depths was one of the top 20 MT in Fate in Ye Ci¡¯sst life. He was a member of Tang Dynasty. His position as a tank in the guild was only second to Wandering Cloud. His skill was far superior to Wandering Cloud¡¯s, but Wandering Cloud¡¯s equipment was on an entirely different level.

    Wandering Cloud was a narrow-minded person. He attempted again and again to sabotage Remote Depths. Left with only the worst of members of the guild in his party, Remote Depths was still able to be famous due to his top-notch skills and good character.

    Remote Depths suddenly disappeared from the game one day. Even Ye Ci felt that it was odd back then. She now knew that Remote Depths was her very own cousin, Bai Mo.

    Ye Ci had received calls from Bai Mo when she dated Wandering Clouds. He had been advising her discreetly and indirectly to open her eyes and beware of Wandering Cloud. Of course, Ye Ci had chosen to not listen to him.

    Bai Mo had called her several times in real life, while Remote Depths was one of the few people who still supported Ye Ci in-game. She thought that he was someone who wanted to take advantage of her but...

    ¡°What, is my name too cool?¡± Bai Mo noticed that Ye Ci had spaced out and waved his hand in front of her face.

    Ye Ci pped his hand away and smiled, ¡°Which guild are you in right now?¡±

    ¡°I just joined Tang Dynasty a few days ago.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s the treatment over there?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just doing my part, I don¡¯t mind.¡± Bai Mo smiled mischievously, ¡°I know you¡¯re ying Fate too.¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows as Bai Mo continued, ¡°Uncle told me. So, do you need help leveling up?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows were even higher now. A creepy smile slowly formed on her lips.

    Bai Mo could feel the hair on the back of his neck rise after looking as Ye Ci¡¯s smile, ¡°Hey hey hey, don¡¯t look at me like that. Say, what¡¯s your in-game name?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a warrior right?¡± Ye Ci asked despite knowing the answer.

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°Hurry, clean up and go online, I have something for you.¡± Ye Ci cut off whatever Bai Mo had to say and walked out of the room.

    ¡°Hey, you said you were gonna to give me a hand.¡±

    ¡°The thing that I¡¯m giving you may or may not be some good stuff. If you don¡¯t want it, I can help you tidy up your things up.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s threat was obvious.

    ¡°Fine, fine. Take your time. I¡¯ll finish tidying up on my own.¡± Bai Mo was initiallyzing around but after being tempted by the ¡®thing¡¯ that Ye Ci had mentioned, he relented and tidied his room up in a sh.

    ¡°I¡¯m in Red Lake City.¡± said Ye Ci, while heading back to her own room.

    An entire day had passed since Ye Ci had soloed the Armored Giant Tortoise, and the yers had calmed down. There were no longer crazed cheers when Ye Ci went online. She still received a lot of pigeons, most of them from friends writing to congratte her. She replied to their messages one by one, thanking them.

    Liu Chang was one of the people who congratted her. Ye Ci¡¯s heart sank as she received a letter from Dong Yin. She was asking about the loot dropped by the Armored Giant Tortoise.

    Ye Ci was 100% sure that it was Thousand Sunsets who was asking her about the loot through Dong Yin. She began to loathe Thousand Sunsets. After all, he was in her friend list. Why couldn¡¯t he ask her directly?

    Ye Ci replied to Liu Chang¡¯s letter and purposely left Dong Yin¡¯s letter untouched.

    After replying to the letters, Ye Ci loitered around the gate of Red Lake City, patiently waiting for Bai Mo.

    A Warrior in mediocre-looking armor appeared half an hourter; he didn¡¯t hide his character¡¯s info and Ye Ci was able to click it open.

    ID: Remote Depths

    Race: Human

    ss: Warrior

    Level: 17 (Progress: 12%)

    It was Bai Mo.

    Remote Depths grumbled as he ran towards Red Lake City, ¡°That damned girl is ordering me around again. I¡¯m supposed to be the older brother.¡±

    He was still grumbling as he walked pass Ye Ci. She held back augh and called out to him, ¡°Yo, that guy over there, are you interested in doing a quest for me?¡±

    Remote Depths immediately turned towards the source of the voice and saw a female Elf leaning on the Red Lake City gate. Could that be a random NPC giving out a Hidden Quest?

    Random NPCs were something unique to Fate. The system would randomly generate nameless NPCs and randomly select yers for some random quest. These NPCs were rare and the quests they usually gave out were nothing short of bizarre. But there was something all these quests had inmon: the rewards they offered were enormous! These NPCs were like the God of Wealth to an average yer.

    Remote Depths couldn¡¯t bring himself to believe that the female Elf was talking to him. He looked around, and then pointed at himself, ¡°Are you talking to me?¡±

    Ye Ci held back augh, ¡°Would you rather that I talk to somebody else?¡±

    ¡°No no no, here Ie. Don¡¯t call out to someone else, I¡¯m here.¡± Remote Depths immediately dashed to Ye Ci¡¯s side, afraid that she would look for someone else to hand the quest to.

    Ye Ci immediately sent him a trade request.

    Remote Depths immediately lost his wits after noticing the name of the yer who was trading with him. It was Gongzi You.

    This person wasn¡¯t an NPC?

    This person was Gongzi You?

    The Gongzi You that was so popr in the forums?

    The Gongzi You who had gotten so many First Bloods?

    He sucked in a deep breath. He had never expected himself to be able to meet such a top-tier godlike yer.

    ......

    He stared at the female Elf. Her skin was fair and her silvery hair was tied into a ponytail. Her pointed ears twitched asionally and her amber-like eyes were all so captivating. There was fire in her eyes, giving her an air of dominance. He was already impressed by Gongzi You after watching videos of the Huntress in action, but to see her for real...

    Remote Depths began to stutter, ¡°G-gongzi Y-yo-you, I-I am a f-fan of yours. C-can you t-take a selfie w-with me...?¡±

    Ye Ci was puzzled. She had never seen Remote Depths idolizing anybody before. To think that his first idol was a virtual character... Mischievous thoughts floated into her mind. What if Bai Mo learned that she was Gongzi You? What would his expression be?

    Looking at Bai Mo¡¯s blushing face, she decided to further stir up his emotion. It would be better if he fainted right then and there. It would be a very good clickbait in the forums.

    The title: The First yer to Faint After Meeting Gongzi You...

    That was of course, merely Ye Ci¡¯s imagination. She ced the Swordback Hold into the trade column and confirmed the trade.

    Swordback Hold was the shield that Wandering Cloud sought. Ye Ci had never expected that she would be able to obtain that shield on her first try. She intended to sell it right after real-world currency conversion was introduced into the game. But when she learned that Bai Mo was Remote Depths, she decided to give the shield to him instead.

    As the saying goes, don¡¯t let one¡¯s fertile waters flow into somebody else¡¯s fields.

    You can always track Jimmi down in vre¡¯s Discord server! Reign of the Hunters has its own channel there! Ping me and I shall heed thy summons!!!

    And uhh... Click >>>here<<< to visit an amazing page.

    And a shoutout to Mehhh and his series, History¡¯s Strongest Senior Brother for reaching the 200 milestone! Cheers!

 Chapter 56 The Most Important Thing Is: Does He Treat You Well?

    Chapter 56 The Most Important Thing Is: Does He Treat You Well?

    ¡°Confirm the trade.¡± said Ye Ci. Remote Depths was still recovering from the excitement of meeting Gongzi You in person. He hadn¡¯t even noticed what Ye Ci had put into the trade column. He slowly shifted his gaze to what was being traded after a reminder from Ye Ci. His legs almost gave way.

    Swordback Hold:

    Purple Equipment

    Defense: 271-347

    Required level: 0

    Required Strength: 105

    Special attribute: 64% of physical attacks blocked, 52% chance of blocking magic attacks, bonus 80-110 defense, increased 20% block chance.

    Special attribute: All skills level +1.

    Special attribute: Increases mana by 10.

    Special attribute: Bonus 10 resistance to Burn, Frost and Poison damage.

    ss: Warrior, Knight.

    (T/N: Name totes not borrowed from a certain game XD)

    ¡°M-miss, I-I-I d-don¡¯t h-have that m-m-m-m-much money...¡± Remote Depths stuttered even more.

    ¡°Hurry up and ept the trade.¡± Ye Ci was puzzled to see Bai Mo¡¯s reaction. Poor thing, to be so overexcited because of a shield, he must¡¯ve never seen a truly top-notch piece of equipment before.

    ¡°I r-really d-don¡¯t have that m-much money...¡± Remote Depths¡¯s face reddened even further, ¡°C-can y-you w-wait for a moment? I-I-I w-will borrow some m-money from m-m-my sister.¡±

    ¡°For me to lend you some money just so that you can buy something from me? Am I the idiot or are you the idiot?¡± Ye Ci decided that she had enough fun with Remote Depths and revealed her true identity.

    Remote Depths was once again dumbfounded. He stared at Ye Ci for a full 3 minutes, as if he was studying an alien. He then asked in a meek voice, ¡°Ye Ci?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Remote Depths let out a breath. The next thing he did was something that Ye Ci hadn¡¯t expected. He ¡®gracefully¡¯ epted the shield and said, ¡°Silly girl, do you have any money? Give me some. I¡¯ll go buy some equipment.¡±

    ......

    What defines a shameless person? Just look at Remote Depths.

    Ye Ci¡¯s lips formed a slight smile, ¡°You like it?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do! You¡¯re just too goddamned amazing!¡± Remote Depths even kissed the shield. If he could hug it as he slept, he definitely would.

    ¡°I got this right from under Wandering Cloud¡¯s nose. If you¡¯re going to walk around in Tang Dynasty with that thing...¡± Ye Ci let out a mischievousugh.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Wandering cloud was Tang Dynasty¡¯s MT and the vice guild leader as well. His equipment was awesome and his character was equally ¡®awesome¡¯ as well. Remote Depths¡¯ curiosity was immediately aroused after learning that Ye Ci had snatched the shield away from Wandering Cloud.

    Ye Ci gave a brief exnation to Remote Depths, minus the part about her past life and also gave him some words of caution, ¡°You¡¯re in Tang Dynasty right now. Don¡¯t just walk around with that shield casually. He might do something to you.¡±

    Remote Depthsughed. He stored the shield into his inventory and ruffled Ye Ci¡¯s hair. She pped his hand away, and he yelped in pain. ¡°I¡¯m not as skillful as you, but I¡¯m not afraid of him. Don¡¯t worry about me. Besides, Tang Dynasty is just a guild, not a friggin bank vault. I can just leave anytime I want.¡±

    Ye Ci was about to continue her conversation with Remote Depths when she received a pigeon from Zero Arsenic, asking her to report to the guild encampment. She creased her eyebrows. She left on her steed, not forgetting to once again advise Remote Depths to not show off the Swordback Hold.

    Remote Depths mumbled his reply and left to clear some quests. Meanwhile, Ye Ci headed to the teleportation NPC and teleported into the guild encampment. She headed straight to the guild conference room.

    It was crowded.

    Most of them were people that Ye Ci had met before. People like MT¡¯s and main healers from the first and second squadron, as well as Peacock Blue, Thousand Sunsets and Crimson Millions. There were, of course, some unfamiliar faces too.

    Zero Arsenic introduced them to Ye Ci with a smile. One of them was Little Dan, the person inmand of the first squadron, and the other two were White Shallows and DuDu, also DPS yers from the first squadron.

    After all of them were seated, Zero Arsenic began a short briefing about the guild¡¯s expedition to explore the Chilly Ruins. ¡°Gongzi, I know that you are still not very familiar with certain members, so that¡¯s why I¡¯ve gathered everybody here. You can take this chance to interact with them and perhaps discuss a n to clear the Chilly Ruins in the shortest time possible.¡±

    The elites of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear were deeply impressed by Ye Ci after she helped the guild secure two of the First Five. They no longer spoke to Ye Ci in an arrogant manner.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to it. Fate Officials have released a notice stating that the mobs in Chilly Ruins have the ice attribute. I think we should all prepare some Ice Resistance Potions.¡± Of course, Ye Ci couldn¡¯t directly tell them about the way to clear the dungeon as nobody had ever set foot in the dungeon yet.

    Hence, she could only remind them to create the potions needed to clear the dungeon.

    Thousand Sunsets immediately instructed Peacock Blue to oversee the process of creating the potions, while the others began discussing their different views of the dungeon. Ye Ci merely sat at a corner, letting her mind wander.

    Was there any meaning to sheer theoretical discussion? The more practical way would be heading out to the dungeon in person.

    Ye Ci immediately left the conference room after the boring meeting. She saw Dong Yin, who immediately stood up from her sitting position beside the flowerbed. She waved at Ye Ci, ¡°Little Ci.¡±

    Ye Ci greeted her as well, ¡°You¡¯re waiting for Thousand Sunsets?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m waiting for you. You want to go for a walk?¡± Dong Yin proceeded to drag Ye Ci towards the flower garden.

    Ye Ci didn¡¯t decline. She looked Dong Yin up and down. Perhaps it was because of Thousand Sunsets, but her equipment was way better than Liu Chang and Yi Cang. Dong Yin strolled around the garden with Ye Ci in tow, gossipping here and there and asionally talking about the scenery.

    Ye Ci was very familiar with every de of grass and every single tree in Fate. She didn¡¯t care for the scenery. She was only there with Dong Yin for two reasons. One, it was alreadyte and she didn¡¯t have the time to do anything else. Two, she was interested in finding out what Dong Yin wanted her for.

    After quite a while, Dong Yin stopped walking and studied Ye Ci, ¡°Little Ci, why are you so quiet?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t talk much. You guys know that.¡±

    Dong Yin pouted and her eyebrows creased. If it was the past Ye Ci, she might¡¯ve asked her friend what was distressing her. But the current Ye Ci knew what was going on.

    She wanted nothing more to do with Thousand Sunsets.

    Hence, she refused to speak.

    ¡°Little Ci, congrattions for getting First Blood on the Armored Giant Tortoise. You¡¯re really amazing!¡± Dong Yin finally said with a smile. Ye Ci could see the sincerity in her smile. It was the sincerity of a friend.

    ¡°It¡¯s merely a coincidence.¡± Ye Ci nodded. As expected, it was all about that shield.

    ¡°Uhh...¡± Dong Yin immediately fell into a dilemma after congratting Ye Ci. Even if it was hard for her, she still had to say it, ¡°Uhh... was something called the ¡®Swordback Hold¡¯ included in the loot dropped from the Armored Giant Tortoise?¡±

    Would Dong Yin know about the Swordback Hold? Of course not. Thousand Sunsets was obviously the one who knew about the Swordback Hold.

    Ye Ci was stunned. She knew about the item from her past life, while Wandering Cloud bought the information from the ck market. How did Thousand Sunsets learn about it? There were no mentions of the shield on the official websites about the loot drops of Wild BOSSes.

    ¡°Swordback Hold? What¡¯s that?¡± Ye Ci pretended that she had no knowledge of the shield.

    ¡°It is a shield. Used by a Warrior.¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    ¡°If you have it with you, T-Thousand would like to buy it.¡± Dong Yin¡¯s voice became very quiet. She knew that Thousand Sunsets treated her better than everybody else because of Ye Ci. She was bitter at the ugly truth, ¡°With real-world currency.¡±

    ¡°I have never seen that thing before.¡± Ye Ci stared at Dong Yin, her voice cold as usual.

    ¡°Oh...¡± Dong Yin let out a breath. She then continued, ¡°T-then, do you have any guides on how to defeat the Armored Giant Tortoise? With your current level, you m-must have exploited some sort of BUG right... C-can y-you show it to me? I-I can pay you...¡± Dong Yin could no longer bring herself to continue. Her face was pale and tears began to cloud her vision.

    At that moment, Ye Ci knew that she could no longer stay in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. It wasn¡¯t just for herself, but for Dong Yin¡¯s sake as well. She had her own values and Dong Yin had somewhere she belonged too. They were not the same type of people. If she stayed, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for her. She was tough. But Dong Yin would definitely get hurt.

    3 First Bloods and 2 First Fives. She had repaid her past life¡¯s debt to Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. It was enough.

    ¡°There was no BUG. I simply kited it with the help of Frost Trap.¡± Ye Ci told her the truth.

    She was pained to see Dong Yin¡¯s tears that had almost rolled down her cheeks.

    ¡°Oh, I-I see.¡± Dong Yin nodded with a little hint of gratitude.

    ¡°Dong Yin, how is Thousand Sunsets treating you?¡± Although Ye Ci preferred to not mind other people¡¯s business, she could no longer hold herself back after seeing Dong Yin¡¯s expression.

    ¡°H-he¡¯s a good person.¡± Dong Yin replied meekly; she couldn¡¯t look Ye Ci in the eyes.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s a good person. The most important thing is: Does he treat you well?¡± Asked Ye Ci slowly with a soft voice.

    Dong Yin lowered her head and answered after a short pause. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Ye Ci didn¡¯t waste any time in trying to determine the truth. She caressed Dong Yin¡¯s hair and said, ¡°I have ss tomorrow. I¡¯ll go to sleep now.¡±

    With that, she turned around and left.

    It wasn¡¯t because Ye Ci did not care about her. Everybody had to grow up at some point. They had to pay the price for the choices they made and pain was one of the prices to pay for someone to grow up.

 Chapter 57 Bane of the Automatons

    Chapter 57 Bane of the Automatons

    After clearing the daily quest in Red Lake City, Ye Ci saw a figure walking into the municipal building. It was Remote Depths.

    ¡°I thought you had some quests to attend to? Why are you still loitering around?¡± Ye Ciughed at Remote Depths. This future top tier MT was still a poverty-stricken Warrior.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to bind my City-Recalling Crystal.¡± Remote Depths chuckled.

    ¡°What was your original home city?¡±

    ¡°Champion City.¡±

    Champion City was thergest city in the Eastern Continent. It was one of the top 5 most flourishing cities. It was not as quiet as Red Lake City and was very developed. The city was packed full of people and of course, offered more quests than Red Lake City. The majority of the yers would naturally choose Champion City as their home city.

    ¡°Are you sick? Just stay there. Why would youe to such a backwater ce like Red Lake City?¡± Ye Ci was astonished. An official nearby creased his eyebrows when he overheard that Ye Ci had described the city as ¡®backwater¡¯.

    ¡°Tsk tsk, yeah right. I refuse to believe that the famous Gongzi You would bind her City-Recalling Crystal to such a ¡®backwater¡¯ ce!¡± Remoted Depths snorted, ¡°Sis, you tryna trick me? You¡¯re still too young!¡±

    Although the official was offended, he still kept his calm and did his job, approving Remote Depths¡¯s request to bind his City-Recalling Stone. The official then prepared the necessary documents so that he could be a citizen of the city.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to ept the Repeatable Quest.¡± Ye Ci reminded Remote Depths before leaving.

    Ye Ci received a private message after clearing her daily quest. It was from Four Seas, ¡°Are you free tomorrow? I need your help to clear the Automaton Formation.¡±

    Four Seas was a very skillful Cleric. There weren¡¯t many things that could trouble him, especially to the point where he had to ask for help. This was his first time doing so. ¡°You¡¯ll have to pay me,¡± said Ye Ci jokingly.

    ¡°Heck I was afraid that you wouldn¡¯t say that.¡± Four Seasughed. He was not joking. ¡°I¡¯ll pay you 5,000 gold if you can finish them off with six shots. If you can do it with three, I¡¯ll pay you 10,000 gold. I¡¯ll pay you 20,000 gold if you can clear the automatons with two shots, and if you can finish them all with only one shot...¡± Four Seas continued after a short pause, ¡°If you kill them all with one shot, I¡¯ll pay you 30,000 gold. But... Uhh... You won¡¯t seriously be able to clear the wave away with only one shot right?¡±

    ¡°Are you for real?¡±

    ¡°Yes. My guild¡¯s progress has been hindered. Three of the First Five were taken by Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, while World Conqueror has the other two spots. They refused to share the info with us. We¡¯ve been trying to clear it for a week. But we can¡¯t afford to keep trying anymore, or we¡¯ll be left way behind.¡± Four Seas sighed. It seemed that he really was in trouble this time. Even if he was tough, an excellent team is what mattered in Fate. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have called for outside help if the situation was not dire. Can you help me out?¡±

    Ye Ci knew that it wasn¡¯t in Four Seas¡¯ nature to call out for help. She also knew that Steel-Blooded Battle Spear would not allow her to help another guild.

    But, she was Gongzi You. And Gongzi You wasn¡¯t a property of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. Ye Ci would be an idiot to reject an offer that would let her help a friend out while allowing her to earn some money.

    ¡°Sure, I have ss tomorrow morning. Gather your yers after lunchtime tomorrow.¡± said Ye Ci.

    Four Seas agreed to Ye Ci¡¯s proposal. He then said, ¡°We¡¯ll take care of the mobs. All you need to do is to st that Automaton Formation away with the cannons.¡±

    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡±

    After agreeing upon a time, Ye Ci went offline.

    She immediately went online after lunch the next day. Four Seas immediately sent her a party invitation which she epted without hesitation.

    There were two other yers in the party who Ye Ci was familiar with other than Four Seas. The moment she saw the names Good Ol¡¯ Days and Lukewarm Water, she knew that Four Seas was from the nk Space guild.

    Although Good Ol¡¯ Days wasn¡¯t one of the top yers in Ye Ci¡¯s past life, he was still someone who could get things done. He was steadfast and romantic. He was the one who had led nk Space to new heights. nk Space was widely known as a neutral guild which didn¡¯t take part in a lot of PVP battles. The guild was popr with Life yers and yers who were good in PVE.

    Ye Ci was even more familiar with Lukewarm Water. He was the first person she met in Fate that had a poor sense of direction.

    Four Seas greeted Ye Ci warmly immediately after she joined the party. Lukewarm Water greeted her as well, ¡°Little Youyou, We¡¯ve finally met again! I couldn¡¯t sleepst night knowing that we¡¯ll meet again~~¡±

    Ye Ciughed and said, ¡°Did you lose your way today?¡±

    The party immediately made fun of Lukewarm Water. Ye Ci felt a sense of belonging even when she was surrounded by strangers. They soon arrived at the dungeon. The mobs were already cleared away.

    When Ye Ci arrived at the spot near the Automaton Formation, there was already a crowd at the ce. They ate and drank in groups, some of them were even dancing. It was as if they weren¡¯t there to clear the dungeon, but for a pic instead.

    Good Ol¡¯ Days stood up when he saw Ye Ci. He greeted her immediately and sent her a friend request, ¡°Hi, the name¡¯s Good Ol¡¯ Days. I¡¯ve heard a lot about you Gongzi You.¡±

    Good Ol¡¯ Days was someone who would rarely take the initiative to send out friend requests. He wasn¡¯t like Thousand Sunsets who preferred to befriend any and every person he met. Instead, he chose his friends well.

    Ye Ci approved his friend request and nodded. The Elven Sorcerer had a good looking face and a warm smile. He gave off an air of familiarity.

    The crowd immediately surrounded Ye Ci when they saw her. Some were curious about her, some were there to idolize her, and there were even two Hunters who insisted on bing her apprentice. It was a very joyful atmosphere.

    Ye Ci was able to rx. She wasn¡¯t very good when ites to interacting with people. Such a situation was perfect for her.

    Without offering many words, Ye Ci walked towards the cannon emcement that awaited her.

    To Ye Ci, it wasn¡¯t something special. Every single yer in the dungeon was tense as she skillfully took aim. Would they seed this time?

    They held their breaths as the Huntress fired an arrow at the automatons.

    The arrow flew straight and true, hitting an automaton at the far left.

    ¡°Intruder... Intruder...¡±

    The automatons began to activate themselves and swarmed towards Ye Ci.

    The group of yers behind Ye Ci panicked upon seeing the horde of automatonsing their way. Even if Gongzi You was very famous, they still had some doubts.

    At that moment, Ye Ci chuckled, ¡°Four Seas, how much did you said you¡¯ll pay me if I can take them all out in one shot?¡±

    All of Four Seas¡¯ attention were on the automaton. He didn¡¯t expect the sudden question from Ye Ci, the person who was holding his life in her hands. He simply answered subconsciously, ¡°30,000 gold...¡±

    He then recovered from his daze and shouted, ¡°Gongzi, here theye!¡±

    ¡°It seems that... You¡¯ll have to pay me that 30,000 gold.¡± as if she hadn¡¯t heard Four Seas¡¯s words, Ye Ci jumped down from the emcement and walked towards the yers gathered behind her.

    Just as they were about to run for their lives, a loud ¡°BOOM!¡± resounded, followed by the sound of metal bits hitting the ground.

    System messages began to flood the screen.

    Every member of the party had received the achievement [Bane of the Automatons].

    Silence settled over the dungeon. At that moment, it was as if everything had disappeared. For the 24 party members, the only thing left in their vision was the Huntress who was still calm and indifferent. She walked towards the group. There was no bragging.

    It was as if the entire ordeal was nothing out of the ordinary.

    Although Good Ol¡¯ Days was able to remain calm and collected, he was deeply impressed by Ye Ci. He let up a breath as Ye Ci walked up to him, ¡°Gongzi You, you sure live up to your reputation.¡±

    Without dy, he immediately traded 30,000 gold to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci politely epted the gold. A deal was a deal.

    ¡°Okay, now that the most difficult part of this dungeon is cleared, I¡¯ll be on my way,¡± with the 30,000 gold in her pocket, Ye Ci was happy. She then left the party, ¡°I wish you guys good luck.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi, how about joining our guild?¡± Lukewarm Water sent a guild invitation to Ye Ci who had left the party.

    Ye Ci smiled but didn¡¯t offer an answer.

    ¡°You no longer belong to the party in this dungeon. You¡¯ll be kicked out of the dungeon in 29 seconds.¡± the system notification chimed in and a timer appeared. Ye Ci shook her head and said, ¡°We¡¯ll meet again.¡±

    Lukewarm Water was about to say something when he was cut off by Good Ol¡¯ Days who smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi You, don¡¯t hesitate to seek our help in the future. nk Space will always be your friend.¡±

    Hope you guys enjoy the double chapters!

    Visit Jimmi¡¯s Patreon >>>here<<< and pledge your support to Reign of the Hunters yo!!!

 Chapter 59 The Mystifying Battle Commander

    Chapter 59 The Mystifying Battle Commander

    Ye Ci¡¯s daily tasks in the guild were quite simple. In the current stage of the game, eight 5-man dungeons had already been explored. The were 10 daily entries for normal difficulty dungeons, while there was 5 entries for the hard difficulty. Ye Ci did not have to use all of her entries. What her task was, was to help clear the hard difficulty version of in each of the 8 dungeons once per day.

    The feeling of working for someone else was totally different from the feeling of working hard only for oneself. Even Liu Chang felt that heading into the dungeon was a chore after fully upgrading her equipment. She would¡¯ve given up on clearing the dungeons if not for the sake of improving her skill.

    After four days of leading parties into the dungeon, Ye Ci discovered that she had mysteriously received an administrator position, the Battle Commander. The guild warehouse that was only open to the guild leader and vice leader was also made avable to Ye Ci.

    If assigning her to help clear dungeon¡¯s was Steel-Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s way of restricting Ye Ci, then their action this time was a very obvious attempt at buying her loyalty.

    What is a guild¡¯s Battle Commander? It could be considered as the very soul of that guild, a figure that could lead the guild forward. A Battle Commander of a guild was always somebody who was a very experiencedmander or a very skillful yer. In a fight, the Battle Commander would always be the focus of attention.

    As for the rights to freely use the guild warehouse, it¡¯s the highest benefit a guild member could receive.

    The wealth of the guild was stored in the guild warehouse. Top-tier equipment, materials and skill books... Everything in the guild warehouse was high quality.

    Even a small 100-person guild viewed their guild warehouse as something very important. In normal circumstances, only their leader and vice leader of a guild have the authority to freely use the guild warehouse. The normal guild members could only watch from the sidelines and dream about it.

    For Thousand Sunsets and Zero Arsenic to grant such a great authority to Ye Ci that even Peacock Blue did not have, their intention of buying her loyalty was very obvious.

    ¡°Oh, Gongzi, you came online?¡± (Jimmi: no shit Sherlock.) Ye Ci¡¯s curiosity was aroused when Thousand Sunsets contacted her on his own ord, as it was very rare for him to do so.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Zero Arsenic that you¡¯re learning Life Skills. It must be hard. I¡¯ve given you ess to the guild warehouse. Take anything you need.¡± Said Thousand Sunsets.

    ¡°It¡¯s inappropriate for me to do so. After all, they¡¯re the blood and sweat of the other guild members.¡± Ye Ci understood the saying ¡°after dinneres the reckoning¡± as well as the idiom ¡°carrot after stick¡±. She knew that Steel-Blooded Battle Spear was giving her the ¡°carrot,¡± but she had no attention of epting that ¡°carrot.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s okay. You¡¯re one of us after all.¡± Thousand Sunsets let out a heartyugh. Ye Ci thought to herself, if he wasn¡¯t so driven by benefit, it would be easy to befriend someone like this. Unfortunately, there was a huge gap between them that could not be crossed.

    ¡°You can take any equipment and potions you want as well.¡±

    Ye Ci did not want to argue with Thousand Sunsets on this matter. It was their choice to grant her the authority, but to use it or not was up to her. She got straight to the point and addressed the matter that bothered her the most, ¡°Thousand Sunsets, I think you should appoint someone else as the Battle Commander, as I¡¯m not the one for the job. I¡¯m not a veteran, nor have I contributed much to the guild. It is inappropriate for me to be appointed as the Battle Commander.¡±

    ¡°Who said that you have no contribution? Who else can achieve 3 First Bloods and 2 First Fives for the guild?¡±

    ¡°It was teamwork. Fate is all about teamwork. Everybody did their part, there was no heroism. Maybe I¡¯ve performed outstandingly, but I was merely doing my part. I believe that the guild will still be able to have such achievements even without me. If you appoint me as Battle Commander just like that, it¡¯s inappropriate.¡± Ye Ci spoke gently. She was being courteous, but her intention of rejecting her position as Battle Commander was clear.

    Thousand Sunsets, of course, would never let the matter go so easily, and the two were unable to reach amon ground regarding this matter.

    ¡°Thousand Sunsets, shit just hit the fan!¡± Thousand Sunset¡¯s conversation was interrupted by Zero Arsenic.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Our boys went to hunt for the Sandstorm Scorpion, but they ran into Tang Dynasty¡¯s yers. A fight broke out.¡± Zero Arsenic continued with a pause, ¡°Little Dan and Crimson Millions were slightly dissatisfied with the whole Battle Commander thing, and they vented their frustrations on Tang Dynasty.¡±

    Thousand Sunsets cursed under his breath and said, ¡°Get them to pull back. We¡¯re still no match for Tang Dynasty. We still need to explore the Frosty Wastnd in 3 days, so we must cut our losses to the minimum!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already ordered them to pull back, but they won¡¯t listen!¡±

    Thousand Sunset¡¯s anger rose. He decided to take a look himself, and led the guild¡¯s elites along with Zero Arsenic to the Sandy ins.

    When Ye Ci found out the fight between Steel-Blooded Battle Spear and Tang Dynasty, the battle was already at its climax.

    Tang Dynasty lived up to its name as the rank 2 guild in the Eastern Continent. Although it had no First Bloods, the guild very well organized and has a strong sustainability. As soon as themand was given by their Battle Commander, hordes of Tang Dynasty yers swarmed into the Sandy ins.

    Despite being a dark horse, Steel-Blooded Battle Spear was a new guild that was held together with money. They were able to stand their ground in the beginning of the fight, but as Tang Dynasty¡¯s main force arrived, they were slowly pushed back. At that point, Thousand Sunsets no longer cared about conserving their strength. He immediately called for reinforcements in the guild channel, promising rewards in terms of DKP for those who were willing to join the battle, and managed to hold the line.

    Victory will increase Steel-Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s ranking, but defeat will greatly humiliate the guild.

    In that situation, Thousand Sunsets had to try and win.

    ¡°Say, our guilds are at each other¡¯s throats right now. My guild is already giving out benefits so that our yers will join the fight, isn¡¯t your guild going to do anything?¡± Remote Depths ran into Ye Ci who was on her way toplete her daily quest.

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned.

    Steel-Blooded Battle Spear had a confrontation against Tang Dynasty? When did that start? Thousand Sunsets was still having an idle chat with her one and a half hours ago, and he did not mention anything about the fight. What the hell happened?

    Ye Ci did not realize that since she had muted the guild channel, she would not know about it even if the channel is in chaos, unless somebody sent her a private message.

    ¡°How long ago was that?¡±

    ¡°Around an hour I think,¡± Remote Depths thought for a short moment before asking, ¡°Why? You¡¯re not joining the fight?¡±

    It was a question that Ye Ci did not have an answer to. She instead threw the question back at Remote Depths, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go?¡±

    Remote Depths shook his head, ¡°I finally have enough Strength to equip the Swordback Hold, I ain¡¯t going to that hellhole. There¡¯s no skill involved in such battles, it¡¯s a fight of sheer numbers. What if I died and the shield dropped?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I receive a sry from the guild. I¡¯m not going as well.¡± Ye Ci answered. It was something that she had thought deeply of. She had no sense of belonging at all to this guild. There was no need for her to join the chaotic melee going on in Sandy ins.

    Besides, Wandering Cloud might still be holding a grudge against Ye Ci after her PK incident with that person. He was still wary of Ye Ci because she knew about his arrangement in Floral Apartment. What if he took the opportunity to take her out if she showed up?

    That was why Ye Ci decided to not join in the fight.

    A fight between guilds in the same continent was meaningless. They did it for honor, but it would bring more harm than good to the guild. Despite being a big guild, there were still investors behind the scenes. Would any investors waste their money in fighting such meaningless battles? The situation was the same for Steel-Blooded Battle Axe.

    At the beginning of the guild battle, both sides poured in considerable efforts in an attempt to gain the upper hand. But when their core members began suffering casualties, they began to slowly pull their elites off the frontlines and sent in the auxiliaries instead.

    Suchrge scale battles do not require skills. All the participants needed to do was to charge in the general direction of wherever everybody was charging. But even then, the auxiliaries were not idiots, especially those who died and lost some of their equipments, and the battle slowly died down.

    By the time Ye Ci got wind of the situation, the only battles that were fought between both guilds were in the global chat.

    Sending a message in global chat cost 100 gold coins. Before the Game Coins to Real Word Cash conversion system was introduced, 100 gold coins was considered arge sum. Even if both sides were rich, the fight that got carried into the world chat finally died down.

    Even after suffering massive losses, Steel-Blooded Battle Spear managed to fight Tang Dynasty into a standstill. As news of the battle was posted in the forum, Steel-Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s poprity soared. Of course, Tang Dynasty would not take it quietly. Once again a battle between the two guilds was ignited, but it was fought in the forums instead.

    Even after the battle against an external enemy had ended, an internal struggle was still taking ce.

    The leaders of the first and second squadron were extremely dissatisfied that Ye Ci did not show up in the battle despite being the Battle Commander. They argued with Thousand Sunsets in the guild conference room for hours. Even Zero Arsenic¡¯s attempt to defuse the situation failed, and they had no choice but to remove Ye Ci from the position of Battle Commander.

    When Ye Ci received the system notification, she was on her way to meet Clear Moon. She received no exnations. Ye Ci mysteriously lost her position as the Battle Commander, just like how she mysteriously gained it.

    Ye Ci however, did not mind. She had never once done her duties as a Battle Commander anyways. After a few moments, she was contacted by Zero Arsenic, ¡°Gongzi, we¡¯re going to explore the Frosty Wastnd the day after tomorrow. You¡¯ll be the third inmand. We¡¯ll let Little Dan and Crimson Millions try their best. If they can¡¯t make it, you¡¯ll be taking their ce.¡±

    Enjoy the chapter! And check out Jimminx¡¯s Patreon >>>here<<< XD Support ROTH, pledge your support!!!!

    You can always track me down in Vre¡¯s discord server: https://discordapp/invite/p76aXMR

 Chapter 61 The Beginning of the End

    Chapter 61 The Beginning of the End

    Ice covered everything as far as the eyes could see, transforming the depressing atmosphere of the dungeon into an enchanting scenery.

    Ye Ci and a few ranged yers were the only ones who survived the wave of frost, while the rest of the party were frozen solid. Their HP dropped rapidly under the effect of frost damage.

    ¡°Those Clerics who aren¡¯t frozen, hurry up and heal!¡± shouted Little Dan, who had not expected something like this to happen.

    The Cleric who previously casted a healing spell was already frozen solid. Cherry Blossom was the only healer left among those yers who could still move. She was standing not far away from Ye Ci, and she immediately raised her staff and chanted a spell slowly after hearing the order from Little Dan. It was the Novice Mass Light Healing.

    Ye Ci was very familiar with the spell. As a veteran Human Sorceress, she spent most of her time dealing with Clerics. She could tell the skill that a Cleric was releasing just by looking at the character¡¯s action while casting the spell. But what surprised Ye Ci was the fact that Steel-Blooded Battle Spear managed to acquire a skillbook for that healing skill.

    Novice Mass Light Healing: Randomly heals a small amount of health of 8 random teammates within a 20 yards radius of the caster. Casting time: 5 seconds, cooldown: 8 seconds

    Most Clerics in the earlier stages of the game do not have any AOE healing spell. A mass healing spell is the deciding factor of a party¡¯s survivability and endurance.

    But it was not the case this time.

    The problem here was that if Cherry Blossom casted any healing spell, she would be the next to get frozen, along with the yers within a 15 yards radius of her position.

    ¡°Cherry, don¡¯t heal...¡± Ye Ci immediately tried to stop her.

    Little Dan exploded angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re just going to let them die? Gongzi You, where¡¯s your team spirit? Don¡¯t you know there¡¯s a death penalty?¡±

    Cherry Blossom looked at Ye Ci with doubt in her eyes, and thetter sent her a private message, ¡°Drink arge health potionter.¡±

    Cherry Blossom was rmed. She understood that something bad would happen to her. As she was about to stop the incantation, Little Dan roared in anger, ¡°Cherry, hurry up and heal them up!¡±

    Her long term obedience kicked in and she continued casting the spell.

    Knowing that it was impossible to stop Cherry Blossom from casting the spell, Ye Ci roughly calcted the distance between Cherry Blossom and herself and darted away. Cherry Blossom let out a surprised yelp just as Ye Ci stopped 15 yards away from her.

    Just as expected, Cherry Blossom was frozen along with the yers around her.

    ¡°Phew, that¡¯s peculiar.¡± a lost gasp entered Ye Ci¡¯s ears. She turned around, and noticed that a Rogue had also managed to escape the freeze¡¯s area of effect.

    Ye Ci was slightly surprised. She had not expected someone to have retreated away from the freeze¡¯s area of effect. She did it out of her past life¡¯s experience. So what caused the Rogue to have the same reaction? The Rogue grinned at her, ¡°Heh, Gongzi You, we meet again.¡±

    The person was an Undead Rogue with ashen skin and withered limbs. His sunken eye sockets hid his pitch-ck eyes. The Rogue was able to catch up with Ye Ci despite his small build, meaning that he was a full-Agility Rogue.

    Ye Ci initially felt that he was somewhat familiar-looking and realized that he was the only Rogue who have not left the party when she led the first squadron to secure the Automaton Formation First Five.

    The Rogue¡¯s name was Evil Winds. Ye Ci had not noticed anything out of the ordinary about the Rogue, but his performance a few moments ago was a surprise to Ye Ci. She responded with a smile of her own, ¡°Well met indeed.¡±

    Evil Winds chuckled and looked at Little Dan. His tone was as if he was telling Little Dan ¡®this has nothing to do with me¡¯ as he asked, ¡°Little Dan, are you guys going to leave the dungeon, or do you want the both of us to go die as well?¡±

    Little Dan couldn¡¯t help but felt depressed as he nced at the two surviving yers and sighed, ¡°We¡¯ll leave the dungeon. Help us pick up our equipment.¡±

    ¡°Sure, y¡¯all can go rest in peace now.¡± Evil Winds let out another chuckle.

    There was nothing wrong with the sentence itself. But it brought out different feelings for different audiences. For those who were frozen, they almost coughed up blood. As for Ye Ci, it was as if he was taking joy in the misfortunes of the other party members.

    But truth to be told, watching silently while the rest of the party slowly got annihted was something quite wonderful, especially when numbers signifying the loss of their HP floated on their heads constantly.

    Within 20 seconds, 23 of the party members who were frozen vanished into shes of white light and left the dungeon.

    Evil Winds spoke up just at that moment, ¡°Gongzi, how are we going to retrieve all o¡¯ that equipment?¡±

    Ye Ci remained silent. She turned around and looked at Evil Winds, whoughed, ¡°I think they must¡¯ve stepped on some sorta OP trap. But I noticed that you were being very cautious as you moved about. I thought you¡¯ve had something figured out.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯ve merely picked a safe path that was already taken by somebody else.¡± Ye Ci nodded. The Rogue was good. Even if his mechanical skills failed to leave an impression on Ye Ci, his perception of the situation was excellent.

    Evil Winds did not doubt Ye Ci¡¯s words. He nodded at her and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go retrieve the equipment.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡±

    Evil Winds smiled and shook his head, ¡°You¡¯re obviously the better among the both of us. If I die, you can still clean up my mess. However if you fail, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have the ability to pull it off. So I¡¯ll go.¡± he stood up and moved towards the closest piece of equipment.

    Ye Ci did not reject his offer, and paid close attention to his movements.

    Rogues have the highest Perception among all of the sses, just like how Hunters have the highest Bnce.

    A heightened Perception allows Rogues who were usually soft targets to detect danger and allows them to be more aware of their surroundings. Whenever Evil Winds took a step forward, he would turn his head around and observe his surrounding carefully. He was using his Racial Trait, Detect Danger.

    Under such circumstances, Evil Winds was able to safely retrieve every single piece of equipment and walk away safely.

    Before he could sit down and rest, footsteps could be heard in the area. It was the yers who had revived themselves and they were led by Thousand Sunsets. After Evil Winds returned the items to hisrades, Little Dan spoke up, ¡°Are you the one who retrieved all the items?¡±

    Evil Winds did not deny it, and Little Dan continued after a slight pause, ¡°You take point. Lead the way with your Racial Trait. I want the rest of you to follow him closely.¡±

    Evil Winds hesitated before nodding in confirmation, ¡°Alright.¡±

    The party members replenished themselves, repaired their equipment, casted BUFFs on themselves, and were ready to move out.

    Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows. Having Evil Winds lead the way did not solve the root of their problems.

    And it was just the first problem they would face in the Frosty Wastnd.

    Frosty Wastnd was a ¡°very easy¡± dungeon ording to Fate officials. But were their words right or wrong? There was no definite answer. It depended wholly on the definition of ¡°simple¡± and ¡°difficult¡±.

    It it waspared to the dungeons in theter stages of the game, Frosty Wastnd was of course child¡¯s y. But at this period of time... The difficulty of the Frosty Wastnd was unprecedented.

    Fate is a game that stressed heavily on teamwork. This teamwork was not limited to the average yer. It also includes the teamwork between the normal yers and the life yers. And this stage of the dungeon was exactly one that is testing the capability of a life yer¡¯s culinary skill.

    There was an invisible monster hidden not far away from the party¡¯s position, and its biggest weakness was gluttony. yers must ce a dish called ¡°Fragrant Seafood¡± at a very specific location to trick the monster into showing itself. Upon appearance, it will cast an AOE spell that will annihte any yers within a 35 yards radius. The skill will activate an old clock tower not far away from the yers.

    yers must position themselves ording to the clock hand or risk being frozen. As soon as somebody casted a spell on the yer who was frozen, yers within a 15 yards radius around the caster will in turn be frozen.

    When the yers reposition themselves, ranged yers must focus all of their attacks on the invisible monster. If the damage output did not hit the requirement set by the system within a certain amount of time. The monster will release the same AOE skill when its HP hits 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20%. If the party was unable to dish out enough damage, the only thing that awaits them was annihtion.

    But the monster was only an appetizer. In the face of the dungeon¡¯s BOSS, it was very simple.

    Evil Winds advanced slowly and carefully. He was able to sense a grave, unknown dangerous presence looming ahead, but was unable to find its exact location.

    Perspiration formed on his forehead. He eventually stopped, and sent a private message to Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi, I can feel a dangerous presence ahead, but I can¡¯t locate it.¡±

    ¡°Be careful and pay close attention to your surroundings and see if you can find any hints.¡± Ye Ci of course could not tell him that there was an invisible monster resting not 30 yards away from him.

    Evil Winds listened intently and heard a soft voice. He took a step forward reflectively and heard the system announcement, ¡°You have been frozen by the Wastnd¡¯s ice...¡±

    A crippling pain crept up his body along his legs, and Evil Winds felt panic rising in his heart...

    Here¡¯s your Monday chapter. Same old thing, if you wanna support ROTH on Patreon, here¡¯s the link:

    https://.patreon/Jimminx

    But ayy, I see 4 people ubsubscribing from my Patreon, guess they hate the ¡°shameless message¡± and my on point punctuality T__T

    Anyways, here¡¯s the chapter, Imma go indulge myself in a game of Civilization V

 Chapter 62 A Confusing Difficulty

    Chapter 62 A Confusing Difficulty

    ¡°Heal.¡± Little Dan ordered without any hesitation.

    Ye Ci retreated without any hesitation either. Her movements were rapid as she retreated to a spot which was 15 yards away from thest yer with lightning speed.

    As a party leader, one must be observant and alert. Ye Ci¡¯s movements were naturally detected by Little Dan. While he ordered them to cast a healing spell, he asked Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi You, why are you retreating? I haven¡¯t given you any orders to retreat...¡±

    Before he could even finished his sentence, members of the party let out blood-curdling screams. They were all frozen after the Cleric cast the healing spell.

    Ye Ci had retreated far enough and was out of the battle. She sat down pleasantly. There was a slight mocking tone in her cheerful voice. ¡°There ought to be someone to stay here and help you all pick up your equipment.¡±

    Little Dan was filled with gloom because the party was going to be annihted again, and also because Ye Ci was acting as if this was none of her business. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry back into the dungeon again,¡± he said angrily and didn¡¯t say anything else after that.

    Ye Ci was blinded by the white glow from the death of other yers in no time. She squinted her eyes as the corner of her mouth lifted cooly into a faint smile. ¡°This is really quite a splendid scenery.¡±

    By the time the party had once again returned to the dungeon, the equipment they had dropped were all neatly arranged on the floor. Ye Ci was still sitting at the same spot, as if she had never budged.

    No one spoke. People who had dropped their equipment picked them up from beside Ye Ci before quietly sitting down to recover their HP.

    To be annihted two times in a row was quite a blow to their confidence. Even Peacock Blue, who had always been arrogant, was silent right now and seemed to be in low-spirits.

    There was an old saying in dungeons: You must be alive to be useful.

    No matter what ss you were, if you wanted to have a high DP, or to tank against monsters, or even have the highest heal value, you must be able to satisfy the first rule, which was also the only bottom line ¨C to survive. One could only be able to disy their greatest strength when they were alive. If they were a dead body, even the most awesome yer would only be a good-for-nothing who free loaded on experience points and equipment.

    Although the Steel-Blooded Battle Spear was a new guild, they have managed to clear quite a few dungeons. The reason was naturally understood by everyone who was a member.

    So right now, no one dared to me Ye Ci about anything. She had only done the most urate choice under the worst situation.

    Little Dan didn¡¯t say anything either. He just sat at one corner, silently staring at the ruins that weren¡¯t really special ahead of them while he reflected on the problems and the lessons they had gained through these two annihtions. After awhile, he turned his head to look at Evil Winds, ¡°Evil, did you discover anything just now?¡±

    ¡°I only sensed a great danger ahead of us. There should be an Elite Monster there. But I canno detect it.¡±

    ¡°Have you tried using Detection?¡±

    ¡°Not yet.¡±

    Little Dan nodded and then ordered another Elf Rogue from the party to follow the route that Evil Winds had taken just now towards the area ahead of them to cast Detection. After just a short while, he heard the rogue scream as he got frozen once again.

    Little Dan wasn¡¯t panicked. He just remained stoic as he quietly ordered another healer to heal him and then quietly observed Ye Ci. When he discovered Ye Ci standing up immediately to retreat a distance after he ordered for a heal, he pretended to retreat by ident too and retreated to almost the same distance as Ye Ci.

    He then turned to the front again. As soon as the cleric started to chant the healing spell, the ice that had enveloped the rogue quickly travelled towards that cleric and instantly froze her. Not only that, the other few yers who were within 15 yards radius from the cleric got frozen again too.

    So this was how it was.

    Little Dan had finally figured out the pattern and the things that would trigger the ice to freeze the yers as well as its freezing radius. He threw Ye Ci another nce again. Although he was still pissed over the incident when Ye Ci was made the Battle Commander, he couldn¡¯t deny the fact that this Huntress¡¯s observation skills were extremely formidable when it came to PVE.

    After greeting a few people who had been resurrected, Little Dan seized the opportunity to talk while everyone was still recovering. ¡°After thinking through about it just now, there must be some sort of mechanism in the area ahead and this mechanism is very concealed. If we step on it by ident, we will be frozen.¡± He stopped here and lifted his head to look at the previous spot where the rogue got frozen then confirmed again. ¡°yers within a radius of 20 yards from the first person who got frozen will also be frozen. We will basically die once we get frozen.¡±

    He paused for a moment and looked at everyone. He discovered that they were all attentively listening to his analysis so he subconsciously casted a nce at Ye Ci again. But instead, he saw that she was just polishing the bow in her hands with her head lowered and he couldn¡¯t see the expression on her face. He let out a sigh again but didn¡¯t say anything.

    ¡°Those who are frozen shouldn¡¯t be healed. Otherwise the person who is healing them and those who are within a 15 yards radius from that healer will also be frozen.¡± Little Dan¡¯s eyebrows were knitted together again as he exined. ¡°Not only healing, anyone who attacks with magic spells will also be frozen.¡± He continued uncertainly.

    Ye Ci was only polishing the Icy Shortbow. She had already embedded a Tetra ting on it to slightly raise its attack. With that, it had only barely be able to perform on par. If it wasn¡¯t for its additional effect of reducing agility, it was really time for this shortbow to be retired.

    Ye Ci didn¡¯t show any emotions in particr towards Little Dan¡¯s spections. Little Dan was a decent leader. If he couldn¡¯t even make such deductions on this kind of pattern even after dying consecutively for a few times, then he really couldn¡¯t live up to his reputation of being a decent leader. However, just knowing these few things wasn¡¯t enough. He needed to figure out how to solve this.

    As for how to solve this... She wasn¡¯t the leader so it was none of her business.

    Although Little Dan had figured out the theory, he still had no idea on how to solve it and had led the party to its consecutive annihtion for another few times. However, he had been consciously following Ye Ci¡¯s movements, so his death counts were less than the other yers. But this situation wasn¡¯t any better either.

    Especially when it came to the special rules of the death penalties in Fate.

    After level 10, yer would drop by one level regardless of how they died outside of dungeon and zero to two of their equipment would be dropped by random. There wouldn¡¯t be any penalties for dying under 20 times a day within the dungeon, but the equipment¡¯s endurance would be reduced and a few equipments would be dropped by random. These could be fixed by money. However, if the death count went over 20 times in one day within the dungeon, 50% experience points would be deducted.

    So normally if a yer had died 20 times in a dungeon, they would not continue ying anymore. After all, levelling up after level 10 was a very difficult task. Any slight deduction in experience points would be a heartache to anyone, let alone losing 50% experience points every time.

    This area was indeed a difficult one. If one was going to find a solution without any guides, there wouldn¡¯t be any results even after dying 50 times. The party had been stuck here for too long, from 4¡¯o clock in the afternoon until almost midnight, but they were still not making much progress.

    The team sat together to discuss among themselves but nothing was really working.

    Ye Ci was growing drowsy at one side instead. The characters in game could eat the food in game to ay their hunger

    Without eating for so many hours and without any nutrient fluids provided, Ye Ci was about to pass out from her hunger. To make the situation worse, Remote Depths was dropping her a private message of dishes names every hour, which drove her even crazier.

    ¡°How many times can everyone still die?¡± The dungeon¡¯s death count reset every morning at 7 o¡¯clock. Little Dan looked at the time and it was already 1 o¡¯clock in the morning.

    ¡°6 times.¡±

    ¡°8 times.¡±

    ¡°7 times.¡±

    ¡°......¡±

    After going around, the lowest count was only 3 times. The most was of course, Ye Ci. She didn¡¯t die even once.

    Little Dan frowned as he listened to the death counts. This really didn¡¯t look good.

    All of a sudden, Thousand Sunsets spoke up. ¡°Little Dan, why not let Gongzi You lead?¡±

    Little Dan was a bit shocked and immediately turned around to look at him. He then looked at Gongzi You who was leaning against the wall drowsily before shifting his gaze back to Thousand Sunsets again and shook his head. ¡°Thousand Sunsets, you should believe in me,¡± he insisted.

    Thousand Sunsets opened his mouth, as if about to say something again, but Little Dan was still shaking his head insistently. ¡°She¡¯s never been here before, too. You have to believe in me in this kind of situation.¡±

    In the end, his insistence was stillpromised by Thousand Sunsets. Thousand Sunsets nodded his head and gave Little Dan a pat on his shoulder. ¡°The person with the highest death count only has three more chances. You better make the most of it. If things still don¡¯t work out, think about it after you go offline. You will still be leading tomorrow. If we still can¡¯t clear this tomorrow, I¡¯ll have to switch the leader.¡±

    Little Dan took a deep breath as he gathered the party once again.

    The oue wasn¡¯t really of any difference. After the whole night¡¯s confusion, they were only certain that there was a powerful elite monster at a ce no one could see, and this monster was groaning about being ¡®hungry¡¯ in a very soft voice. Other than that, they basically ended up empty-handed.

    Ye Ci crawled out of the gaming cabin, about to be starved to death. She dashed into the kitchen. Bai Mo had left some food for here there, but she couldn¡¯t be bothered to heat it up in the microwave and shoved it right into her mouth. Everyone had something they couldn¡¯t tolerate and for Ye Ci, hunger was something she couldn¡¯t tolerate the most. Skipping one meal was her highest limit. If she were to skip two meals... she was pretty sure someone would have toe collect her corpse.

    Ye Ci went online early the next day. She had initially nned to buy some stuff off the auction before heading to the dungeon. However she had received ast minute notice that the meeting of the leaders of the first and second squadron would hold a meeting to discuss the strategy of clearing the dungeon, and their operation to start clearing the dungeon was dyed to 6pm on the same day.

    But it was only 8 in the morning right now...

    If they were going to change the time, they should have informed earlier. At the very least she could have slept in.

    While she was fuming, she heard a system notification...

 Chapter 63 Second Rally

    Chapter 63 Second Rally

    ¡°The yer wless Reflection would like to add you as a friend.¡±

    Qin Churuo? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. Senior Qin was a person with his own principles. He must¡¯ve decided to contact Ye Ci personally instead of troubling Fang Shushu as the middleman.

    She epted the friend request.

    Qin Churuo immediately contacted Ye Ci. After giving Ye Ci a conventional greeting, he stated his intention for contacting her, ¡°Gongzi You, we¡¯re stuck before we could even reach the first BOSS. Our Rogues figured out that there was an Elite Monster hidden somewhere, but we just couldn¡¯t find it. I thought it was a BUG, but the officials imed that there was nothing wrong with it. Do you have any ways of getting past that guy?¡±

    World Conqueror¡¯s progress was hindered by the same problem faced by Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. Ye Ci gave thought about the matter for a moment, and then decided to not share any info with Qin Churuo.

    She had always been a responsible person. Since she was still part of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, and have not helped the guild to clear the dungeon yet, she would never share any information with somebody else. ¡°We¡¯re stuck at the same ce as well.¡±

    Ye Ci managed to dodge Qin Churuo¡¯s question skillfully. She avoided the topic of her knowledge of a possible solution to the problem, and instead directed her words towards Steel-Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s progress.

    Thinking that Ye Ci had no solution for getting past the Elite Monster either, Qin Churuo let out a sigh. ¡°This dungeon is so hard. I thought that as a leader of a party, you¡¯d know a thing or two.¡±

    Ye Ciughed, ¡°I¡¯m not the one in charge.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± wless Reflection was shocked, ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors that you¡¯ll be leading Steel-Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s progress in exploring the Frosty Wastnds. That was why all the other guilds were so desperate to clear the dungeon. They¡¯re afraid that you guys will get the First Blood. Why are you not the one in charge?¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She had no knowledge about the rumor. She had unintentionally let a vital piece of information slip. Unable toe out with an excuse to cover it up, Ye Ci said, ¡°We¡¯re taking turns tomand the party.¡±

    wless Reflection¡¯s suspicion was not aroused. After all, every guild has multiplemanders, and each of them needed time to familiarize themselves with the dungeon.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re not the currentmander, how about helping us out? I will fullypensate you.¡± wless Reflection immediately had the thought of enticing Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci however, declined the offer, and wless Reflection decided to let that matter go. He instead asked for Ye Ci to share information with him if her guild managed to make any progress.

    While the two was busy chatting, another conversation was taking ce. Dong Yin who was unable to find Ye Ci during the meeting of the first and second squadron sent Thousand Sunsets a private message, ¡°Thousand, why is Little Ci not here?¡±

    ¡°Oh, this is a meeting for core members, she was not informed.¡± Replied Thousand Sunsets.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t she one of themanders?¡±

    ¡°She was not the one in charge yesterday, she wouldn¡¯t know anything. So it¡¯s meaningless to call her over anyways. Besides, she¡¯s famous, I don¡¯t want to waste too much of her time.¡±Ssaid Thousand Sunsets to Dong Yin with a dull tone.

    ¡°B-but she obtained so many First Bloods, maybe she¡¯s experienced in this kind of stuff. Don¡¯t we need more ideas and opinions to solve this dungeon? Besides, she¡¯s so skillful...¡±

    Thousand Sunset¡¯s anger began to rise. He knew that Gongzi You was very capable, and had tried his best to buy her loyalty. But he came to realise that Gongzi You¡¯s thoughts were not as simple as those that a normal 18 year old would have. She was not as easy to manipte as Dong Yin and Yi Cang. That was why Thousand Sunsets began to harbor some hostility towards Ye Ci.

    A capable person who couldn¡¯t be controlled was of course less favourable than his brothers that were like his own arms.

    Hisck of restriction towards Ye Ci earlier on, followed by appointing her as Battle Commander and granting her ess to the Guild Warehouse were his attempts to buy her loyalty. Thousand Sunsets had never expected Ye Ci to be so unenthusiastic towards Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. That was the main source of his anger. Ye Ci¡¯s behavior of passiveness after being provoked by Little Dan had also provoked Thousand Sunsets¡¯ anger.

    Must she throw a fit after being reprimanded by themander? Although she was probably right in that matter, would it hurt to just let it go? Can¡¯t she give some constructive suggestions about clearing the dungeon? Was she a princess or something?

    Thousand Sunsets cut Dong Yin off before she could say more, ¡°I granted her ess to the Guild Warehouse exactly because she¡¯s skillful. I even made her the guild¡¯s Battle Commander. But what has she done for the guild? She didn¡¯t even show up during our battle with Tang Dynasty. Little Dan and Crimson deserved the position more than her, but I gave her that position anyways. But how did she repay me? It¡¯s just a few First Bloods, does that give her the right to be so high and mighty? She doesn¡¯t even give a shit about the guild¡¯s regtions. I have never doubted her capabilities, but someone must also have a good personality. One must not forget the guild even when one bes famous. Yin Yin, let me tell you something, stay away from people like this. She¡¯s selfish and cold. She might sell you out someday.¡±

    Dong Yin was also angry after listening to Thousand Sunsets¡¯ words, ¡°We¡¯ve known each other for more than 10 years. I know her very well. She¡¯s just awkward when ites to social interaction. She¡¯s a good person.¡±

    Thousand Sunsets creased his eyebrows. He did not want to argue with Dong Yin. A little girl like her was always overly naive and stubborn. It was very hard to change her views once she made up her mind.

    He started his rtionship with Dong Yin because she was a childhood friend of Ye Ci. He had hoped to gain useful information from Ye Ci through Dong Yin. But Ye Ci had never shared any guides and tips with her. This gave him an impression that Gongzi You was someone who would disregard even her best friends.

    He sneered at Dong Yin, ¡°If she¡¯s such a good person, why don¡¯t she tell you anything about the Armored Giant Tortoise when asked?¡±

    Dong Yin was made speechless. She stared at the sneer showing on Thousand Sunset¡¯s face. Was this the Thousand Sunsets who had always treated her very very well? Was this the Thousand Sunsets that wouldn¡¯t even use any harsh words on her?

    Deep down, Dong Yin knew that Thousand Sunsets epted her because of her rtionship with Ye Ci. But she had always tried to convince herself that it was not the truth. She was deeply shocked by Thousand Sunsets¡¯ sudden words.

    She suddenly remembered something Ye Ci had said to her.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s a good person. The most important thing is: Does he treat you well?¡±

    Noticing Dong Yin¡¯s silence, Thousand Sunsets softened his tone, ¡°Yin Yin, you¡¯re different from people like Ye Ci. You¡¯re pure and sincere, while she¡¯s cunning and calctive. I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll get hurt by her. That sort of person would never be epted into a guild if not for us taking her in. She has absolutely no team spirit.

    Dong Yin stood up, pped away Thousand Sunsets¡¯ hand that was resting on her shoulders, and left the conference room. This attracted the attention of the others who were present. Thousand Sunsets merely waved his hand, ¡°She¡¯s just throwing a tantrum, don¡¯t mind her.¡±

    Dong Yin sought out Liu Chang after leaving the conference room. She had intended to tell Liu Chang the whole story, but in the end kept it to herself.

    Not able to leave Red Lake City, as her guild would resume exploring Frosty Wastndter that day, Ye Ci had nothing to do but loiter around the city while clearing her daily quests. Through her efforts, her Military Rank had risen from First Rank Soldier to Second Rank Soldier.

    Afterpleting her daily quests, Ye Ci hunted for beasts nearby the city and collected their meat to level up her cooking skills. Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s appetite increased along with his level. He was no longer satisfied with normal food. This was why Ye Ci was forced to learn some cooking skills.

    At 5pm that evening, Ye Ci went offline with Bai Mo to eat dinner before going back online.

    She went online just in time to gather with the party at 6pm.

    The entry limit for a 25-man dungeon was once a day. If one wished to store their progress, they¡¯d need to pay certain amount of gold coins ording to the dungeon¡¯s difficulty to a specific NPC.

    There was, however, no need for the party to record their progress, as they had not even met the first BOSS. They started all over again, but the atmosphere was gloomy, and even Peacock Blue was overly quiet.

    When they reached the ce where their progress was halted, Little Dan immediately ordered a Rogue to remove all his equipment before he ced some food at a very specific spot.

    Little Dan andpany were quite smart. They were able to figure out the key to lure out the invisible monster within a day. But with nearly 200 different kinds of food, it would take a long time for them to figure out the right one.

    Ye Ci sighed as she watched the Rogue.

    If the food ced by the invisible monster was not the one it liked, the person who ced the food would be killed instantly. Ye Ci could still remember the countless lives lost when yers tried offering different sorts of food to lure the monster out. It could be said that the path to clearing the dungeon was paved by the corpses of countless yers.

 Chapter 64 Dispute for Commanderâ€™s Position

    Chapter 64 Dispute for Commander¡¯s Position

    When the Rogue retreated to a distance about 10 yards away from the food, an angry voice rang out, ¡°Shameless fools, do you think this will make me happy? I¡¯ll punish your insolence!¡±

    The voice was not loud, but it echoed around the enclosed space, causing headaches to the yers. Their hit points even dropped a little.

    The Rogue who ced the food wasn¡¯t as lucky. He was turned into a giant popsicle and died instantly.

    The Rogue didn¡¯t drop any equipment, as he had removed everything before cing the food. He revived himself and continued to try different types of food. He tried 10 times, and was killed each time without finding the correct type of food. After his 10th attempt, he looked at Little Dan and shook his head, ¡°Brother Dan, I have no food left.¡±

    Little Dan nodded and said to Evil Winds, who had also removed all his equipment, ¡°Evil, it¡¯s your turn.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long for Evil Winds to die for 10 times as well. He also indicated that he ran out of food.

    Little Dan sighed, ¡°Seems like these 20 foods are no good.¡± He then turned towards Thousand Sunsets, ¡°I¡¯ll ask Crimson if they made any progress.¡± Judging from Little Dan¡¯s facial expression after contacting Crimson Millions, they had failed as well.

    ¡°Forget about it, we¡¯ll try again tomorrow. We¡¯ve exhausted all the food we brought.¡± Thousand Sunsets was annoyed. He stood up and was about to leave the dungeon.

    Ye Ci wrinkled her eyebrows. They were going to try again tomorrow? How long would it take with such trial and error method? Ye Ci let out a breath. She no longer cared if she was not the person in charge. They were ultimately wasting her time as well. She would rather spend her time doing something else. She stood up and spoke softly, ¡°Let me try.¡±

    Thousand Sunsets was momentarily stunned. He had not expected Ye Ci to act. He was also curious at the same time. Had this Huntress figured out the problem that they¡¯d spent a whole day trying to crack? He the asked, ¡°You¡¯ve prepared some food?¡±

    ¡°It dropped from a monster.¡± Ye Ci replied with a random answer, and it cleared any suspicions that Thousand Sunsets had. He pursed his lips. It appeared to him that Ye Ci was only good in solving the smaller dungeons that were not so difficult, and she was less experienced than Little Dan when it came to therger dungeons.

    After all, she was an 18 year old girl.

    Little Dan had been staring at Ye Ci ever since she spoke. He watched as she moved with careful steps towards a position entirely different from where the previous 2 Rogues had ced their food, ¡°Gongzi You, your position is wrong. You can¡¯t do it from there.¡±

    Wrong position? Can¡¯t do it from there? Ye Ci¡¯s lips almost twitched. She had ced the Fragrant Seafood countless times in herst life, and now somebody was telling her that her position was wrong.

    ¡°I¡¯m just trying it out.¡±

    Little Dan was a little unhappy after hearing Ye Ci¡¯s answer. He did not remind her to unequip her gear, and was even looking forward to watching her die and drop her equipment.

    Despite doing the same thing, the vast difference between their skills was obvious. A Hunter¡¯s Perception was lower than that of a Rogue¡¯s, and they do not have the Detection skill. Despite that, Ye Ci¡¯s steps were light as feather, and she was able to reach the spot in no time.

    After quickly cing the food, Ye Ci bent her knees and leapt onto a rock. Using it as a springboard, she leapt gracefully into the air andnded amidst the party members.

    Shepleted the action within seconds, and her grace attracted countless pairs of eyes.

    Just as shended, a hoarse voice sounded, ¡°Mortals are always the most pretentious. Do you think I¡¯ll let you live just because you brought my favorite food? No! You mortals only deserve the embrace of death!¡±

    Ye Ci immediately shouted, ¡°Back off now, as far as you can!¡± She chose not to include the safe distance of 35 yards to avoid the attack, as it would be very hard to exin herselfter on.

    Most of the yers in the first squadron had the experience of being under Ye Ci¡¯smand and were able to react immediately. Little Dan was surprised that Ye Ci had survived after cing the food, but he was also annoyed when Ye Ci immediately instructed the party to back off right afternding in their midst. Who¡¯s the one inmand here?

    Little Dan¡¯s anger increased when he realised that most of the yers have reacted to Ye Ci¡¯s instruction. He spoke loudly, ¡°You guys, hurry up and back off, listen to mymands!¡±

    Ye Ci had warned the yers out of reflex, and had not put much thought in it. She was momentarily stunned by Little Dan¡¯s words.

    It was like a p to her face.

    Somebody patted her shoulder. It was Thousand Sunsets. He smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, he was supposed to be the one in charge, after all.¡±

    Ye Ci twitched her lips. Little Dan¡¯s reaction was totally unnecessary. She did not have the intention to steal all the glory. It was very ungraceful for a such a big guild to act so stingy over something so trivial. Ye Ci¡¯s anger was ignited. She made the decision to never intervene no matter how high the casualty of the first squadron was.

    The party retreated 35 yards away from the invisible monster, the Wastnd Lurker, and dodged its ultimate thanks to Ye Ci¡¯s warning.

    But another challenge immediately arose. As the Wastnd Lurker devoured the Fragrant Seafood, ayer of frost seeped up from underneath a nting clock tower not far away.

    Theyer of frost spread towards the crowd with a slow but steady speed. If yers in the dungeon did not position themselves ording to the clock hand, they would be frozen. There were also skills that could counter the frost, such as a Cleric¡¯s Expel Frost, a Warlock¡¯s Resist and a Hunter¡¯s Feigned Death.

    Unfortunately, Expel Frost and Resist had very low drop rates, and yers from Steel-Blooded Battle Spear were not outfitted with such skills. However, this was none of Ye Ci¡¯s concern. She would not be harmed by the creepingyer of frost as she had learned Feigned Death.

    She activated Feigned Death the moment theyer of frost touched the sole of her feet.

    ¡°Immune.¡±

    As expected, the entire party was annihted, with the exception of Ye Ci.

    The frost would disappear after all the frozen yers in the dungeon were dead.

    ¡°Cuck! Not again!¡± Some of the male yers began to curse under their breath, but they did not dare to raise their voices. The game promoted civility. If the yers cursed with vulgarities recognised by the system, they would be struck by lightning, or even have their stats reduced at random. That was why the yers did not even dare to curse loudly despite their anger.

    Ye Ci rose up from the ground after the party disappeared into shes of white light and the frost disappeared. She then waited silently for the party to revive themselves.

    The Wastnd Lurker turned back towards the clock tower and disappeared after the system registered that all the yers were dead (Ye Ci had cast Feigned Death, and was counted as being dead.)

    The members of the party re-entered the dungeon momentster, and Little Dan asked, ¡°Gongzi You, where is the Wastnd Lurker?¡±

    ¡°It exitedbat.¡±

    Little Dan clenched his fists. They¡¯d found a solution to draw out the Wastnd Lurker, but why would something like that happen? Wasn¡¯t the dungeon supposed to be ¡°simple?¡±

    The death of the party was not in vain. They had managed to discover the Wastnd Lurker¡¯s favorite food. Little Dan immediately passed the information on to Crimson Millions, while the guild¡¯s Life yers began their preparation.

    If the Fragrant Seafood was not one of the dishes that could be learned from an Life Instructor NPC, Ye Ci would be able to make a huge profit out of it.

    The preparations were finished at around 10pm. Although they¡¯d tried countless times to deploy the Fragrant Seafood just like how Ye Ci did, the party was still annihted time after time, to the point where several members of the party had died 20 times. Little Dan could only call off the exploration temporarily.

    Noticing that themander for the next day was not announced, Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but ask aloud, ¡°Who will be inmand tomorrow?¡±

    Little Dan shared a look with Thousand Sunsets. Remembering Thousand Sunset¡¯s words the day before, he remained silent. Zero Arsenic knew of the deal between Little Dan and Thousand Sunsets. But before he could confirm with him that Ye Ci would be in charge, Thousand Sunsets spoke up, ¡°We¡¯re still exploring this dungeon. Since Little Dan and Crimson Millions have been leading the party for thesest few days, I think it¡¯ll be best to keep them inmand. You¡¯ll be ced inmand of the next 25-man dungeon.¡±

    Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows. She had been waiting patiently just because she wanted a Disrupting Shot skill book dropped from this dungeon. But with Thousand Sunsets¡¯ sudden decision, her patience was at its limit. Disrupting Shot was a Hunter¡¯s only way of interrupting a BOSS skill in the early stages of the game, and it would only be dropped in the Frosty Wastnd. Aside from the 100% drop rate in the event of a First Blood, the drop rate of the skill book was very low.

    The decision to not ce her inmand meant that her rights to have priority on the skill book was taken away.

    If that was the case, Ye Ci had no more reason to continue wasting time with the bunch.

    Ye Ci nodded, ¡°Alright, then I won¡¯t being tomorrow.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s words were like a pebble cast into a pond, the ripples spreading long after she finished speaking.

    The party members showed different reactions. Some were astonished, some remained calm, while there were others who were whispering amongst themselves.

    Thousand Sunsets was momentarily taken aback, he then said with a smile that did not reach his eyes, ¡°Gongzi You, this is a guild activity. It¡¯s not good for you to just go absent like that, right?¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. She was not asking for their permission. She was simply informing them about her decision. [EN: Finally!]

    ¡°Little Blue, would you tell her what is the 4th rule under the Guild Activity Regtions?¡± Noticing Ye Ci¡¯s expression, Thousand Sunsets gave his instruction to Peacock Blue who was standing behind him.

    Hi peeps! I¡¯m bored, so I posted released the double chapters earlier! Hehe XD

    Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

    Aaaaaaaand, if you wanna give Jimmi some freebies and make him happy, click here!

    After all, Uncle Ben did say, ¡°with great poweres great responsibility¡± and with great motivationes great trantion speed XD

 Chapter 66 Nightmare Difficulty

    Chapter 66 Nightmare Difficulty

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned.

    She would¡¯ve stood there for a long time if not for Remote Depths pulling her back to reality. Sheughed along with Bai Mo and epted the guild invitation.

    A system notification immediately dered to the world that she had joined a guild.

    System: Gongzi You has joined the guild Upward Ho!.

    The entire world channel went crazy once again. The memory of the big and powerful guilds of the Eastern Continent trying to recruit Gongzi You was still vivid in everybody¡¯s minds. There were even bets going on in the Eastern Continent forums about what guild she would join. It was a shocker to everyone.

    What kind of guild is Upward Ho!? Who the hell were they? Why would Gongzi You join them?

    Gossip immediately surfaced in the world channel.

    Ye Ci had the foresight of muting all her chat channels before calling up the guild interface.

    It was a very ¡°clean¡± guild.

    There were only 2 names in the member list.

    Leader: Remote Depths.

    Member: Gongzi You.

    Remote Depths promoted Ye Ci to the vice leader andughed at her, ¡°You¡¯re now the vice leader, you can now bully themon people.¡±

    Ye Ci was puzzled as she stared at the nk member¡¯s list, ¡°Bullying themon people? Are you referring to yourself?¡±

    This of course, faced strong objections from Remote Depths, and greatly improved Ye Ci¡¯s mood. She turned off the guild interface and headed for the Frosty Wastnd.

    The elites of World Conqueror had already gathered at the entrance of Frosty Wastnd. wless Reflection immediately stood up upon seeing Ye Ci, and introduced her to the rest of the party. He then asked with a smile, ¡°What kind of guild is Upward Ho!? What drove you to join that guild?¡±

    Ye Ci chuckled, ¡°My cousin created it.¡±

    wless Reflection had not given up yet, ¡°Then you can all just join my guild. The benefits are negotiable.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, my aspiration is not in the guild.¡± Ye Ci shook her head, clearly declining his offer. wless Reflection was a sensible person. He immediately kept quiet and steered the topic to another direction.

    After each of the party members were introduced to her, Ye Ci nodded and asked,¡±What is the highest defence value of your tanks?¡±

    ¡°382.¡± The MT, Dragonwitch reported his defence value.

    As expected of a tank from one of the best guilds in the nation.

    ¡°How high is your block chance?¡±

    ¡°21%.¡±

    Before the existence of something as overpowered as the Swordback Hold, a 21% chance of blocking was already decent for a lvl 20 tank, even if it was not as high as what Ye Ci had expected. Even the 4th tank had a defence value of 345 and a block rate of 19.7%.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to activate the dungeon.¡± Ye Ci said to the rest of the party.

    There were 5 dungeon difficulties in Fate: Normal, Hard, Expert, Inferno and Nightmare.

    A regr 5-man dungeon had only 3 difficulties: Normal, Hard and Expert, while Inferno and Nightmare difficulties were only avable to 25-man orrger dungeons.

    The difficulty system of a 5-man dungeon was very different from a 25-man man dungeon. One mustplete all the difficulties in ascending order while clearing a 5-man dungeon, while in arge dungeon, the choice of difficulty was not limited.

    ¡°Gongzi You, are you sure you want to activate the 25-man dungeon, Frosty Wastnd?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Please select the difficulty for your party.¡±

    Without the slightest hesitation, Ye Ci selected the hardest difficulty, which was Nightmare.

    She was never a quiet person. Her veins were pumped full of adventurous spirit. It¡¯s either go big or go home. To her, merely clearing the dungeon at the normal difficulty was no challenge at all.

    A notification chimed in the party¡¯s channel, ¡°World Conqueror has activated the 25-man dungeon Frosty Wastnd, difficulty: Nightmare. This is the beginning of a new nightmare. The dangers within the dungeon are beyond your imagination. Come forth, heroes, write a new epic in the history of the Dyar Continent.¡±

    The notification was exclusive to the Inferno and Nightmare difficulties. It also came with a BUFF thatsted for the entire duration when yers were in the dungeon.

    A reddish-gold glow emanated from the bodies of the party members and the received a BUFF named Blessing of Dyar: Increases all stats by 15 points.

    Despite having such a good BUFF, challenging the Nightmare difficulty dungeon was still a terrifying experience.

    Good lord, she selected the Nightmare difficulty. They¡¯d not even passed the first BOSS of the Normal difficulty yet. To challenge Nightmare difficulty...

    wless Reflection was shocked. He walked up to Ye Ci¡¯s side and asked worriedly, ¡°Gongzi, did you choose the wrong difficulty? This is the Nightmare difficulty...¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Ye Ci turned around and grinned at wless Reflection, ¡°Why? Do the members of World Conqueror not believe in themselves?¡±

    ¡°This is not a matter of confidence...¡± wless Reflection sighed, ¡°Do you want to try the Normal difficulty first instead?¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ll only do Nightmare and nothing else. If you think that we can¡¯t make it, consider our contract voided.¡± Her voice was not loud, but the other party members heard her clearly. The party was silent. They stared at the Huntress. She was calm, and she was serious. Her calmness impressed even the veterans of the guild.

    Although they did not have full confidence in Ye Ci, the members of the party had reached the same conclusion in their hearts.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this! wless, we¡¯re the World Conqueror! We must trust in our strength!¡± Shouted a Rogue. His cry was echoed by countless others, and the morale of the party soared.

    wless Reflection was also infected by their eagerness. He nodded his head at Ye Ci and smiled, ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll leave this to you. Commander, our lives are in your hands.¡±

    Ye Ci kept quiet and turned towards the dungeon entrance. She then waved her hands, ¡°Let¡¯s move out.¡±

    The Nightmare difficulty was on an entirely different level from the Normal difficulty dungeon. Even the mobs at the beginning of the dungeon were very tough. But they were nothing in the face of World Conqueror¡¯s firepower. They were able to reach the difficult spot in no time, and Ye Ci began to exin the strategy of clearing the hidden monster.

    ¡°The moment I start engaging the monster, you guys must make sure that you¡¯re at least 15 yards away from me. When the Wastnd Lurker appears, reposition yourselves on mymand and focus your attacks on the monster. You don¡¯t have to worry about OT, just hit it with all you got. We must kill it within the shortest time possible. Remember, we must deal at least 20% of its health within a minute or we¡¯ll get annihted. So I want all the ranged yers to time your attacks properly, and take note of your mana consumption.¡±

    It was not a simple request. It called for excellent timing and tempo of releasing skills. The yers must make sure that their attacks were continuous while simultaneously controlling their mana consumption. It could not be achieved by normal yers. But, the yers present were all the best of the best, the elites of World Conqueror.

    ¡°What about the melee sses?¡± Asked wless Reflection.

    ¡°All they need to do is to move around like the rest of the ranged yers and make sure that they don¡¯t die. By the way... Clerics are not required to heal, all you guys need to do is to attack the monster like the rest of the ranged yers.¡±

    The yers looked at each other in confusion. They had never heard of a dungeon where healing was not required.

    But since wless Reflection had passed themand on to Ye Ci, they followed her orders without voicing out their suspicions.

    When the battle started, Ye Ci was able to deploy the Fragrant Seafood and returned to the party safely. Her speed and the height of her leap deeply impressed the yers present. wless Reflection was especially in awe. He was a Hunter himself, and he paid extra attention to Ye Ci¡¯s actions.

    After all, almost all experts went through the process of imitation, learning, and finally surpassing their predecessor.

    The moment the Wastnd Lurker let out a mighty roar, Ye Ci stared intently at the nting clock tower. The moment its only clock hand moved, Ye Ci immediately shouted out, ¡°Move to the 7 o¡¯clock position!¡±

    The members of the party were in the state of constant alertness(feels like my wording is cancerous). The moment Ye Ci shouted out to them, the party moved as one towards the 7 o¡¯clock direction.

    ¡°Stop. Start attacking.¡±

    The 25 members of the party were able to act as one, meeting Ye Ci¡¯s expectation of the elites from a top guild. wless Reflection noticed that Ye Ci had not lifted a finger in the entire process, even when the situation is in dire need of every ounce of damage output.

    It was not because Ye Ci waszy. She wanted to determine the firepower of the ranged yers of the party when they concentrated their attacks on the same target.

    The result satisfied Ye Ci. Despite not receiving aid from Ye Ci, the ranged yers of World Conqueror were able to defeat the Wastnd Lurker within the given time.

    A hint rang out in the dungeon the moment the Wastnd Lurker fell.

    ¡°The road forward is no longer cold.¡±

    ¡°Go, loot the corpse.¡± Ye Ci smiled at wless Reflection.

    ¡°Uhh?¡± wless Reflection could not believe his eyes. They¡¯d managed to defeat the Wastnd Lurker just like that?

    It was the reality.

    They were able to conquer something that had taken countless lives. And it was at Nightmare difficulty.

    Cheers erupted from the World Conqueror yers after a few seconds of pause. They were deeply impressed by Ye Ci. wless Reflection was able to obtain a lvl 18 Warlock equipment from the loot.

    They pressed on forward, and ran into a group of elementals. There were at least 18 of them, and each of them had 20,000 hitpoints. In a 5-man dungeon of the same level, that was equal to the hitpoints of a small BOSS.

    ¡°Have any of your Hunters learned Feigned Death?¡±

    So here¡¯s a new chapters for y¡¯all! With yet another cliff~

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 Chapter 67 The Dungeon (Part 1)

    Chapter 67 The Dungeon (Part 1)

    Ye Ci eyed the elementals.

    wless Reflection and another Hunter called An Apple A Day nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Go and attract the aggro of those mobs. If you can¡¯t handle them, activate Feigned Death.¡± Ordered Ye Ci. She then began to instruct the rest of the party to began preparations for battle and headed towards the elementals alone.

    After Ye Ci left, An Apple A Day whispered to wless Reflection, ¡°Trying to hold the aggro of the mobs as a Huntress... I thought it was really hard to control the aggro for our ss? Hunters only have Decoy to redirect aggro, how is she nning to pull it off?¡±

    wless Reflection did not understand Ye Ci¡¯s intention either. He shook his head, ¡°We¡¯ll just have to wait and see.¡±

    Ye Ci crept carefully to a small hill 50 yards away from the elementals. She grabbed hold of the low hanging vines and climbed upwards. She stood at the top of the hill, nocked an arrow and took aim, silently estimating the distance between her and the elementals.

    They were closely packed together. Each elemental was only 2-3 yards away from the others. There was a thin line separating a safe distance and a fatal one.

    If the elementals were 2 yards apart, their aggro would be linked once triggered. But when an elemental was 3 yards away from another elemental, their actions wouldn¡¯t be linked. It was a very clever design.

    As the queen of soloing dungeons in her past life, Ye Ci required no aiming assistance. Her eyes were her most trustworthy tool.

    There were once a lot of buildings in Frosty Wastnd. After thousands of years of decay, some became nothing but soil, while some formed into little hills like the one that Ye Ci was on. Hordes of monsters scoured the spaces between buildings. A party that was not familiar with the terrain would easily be annihted.

    Ye Ci¡¯s position was the best position she had found in her past life¡¯s experience of soloing the dungeon. She would only trigger 5 monsters at most from her position. If she was able to grasp the firing angle, timing and the distance perfectly, she would only trigger 2 monsters at a time.

    Ye Ci nocked an arrow and waited quietly for the elementals to move to a position that favored her the most.

    One minute passed, and then another.

    Ye Ci stood as still as a statue on the hill, as if she had blended in as part of the dungeon. The yers who were waiting below were so anxious that their hearts were already in their mouths. They stared at Ye Ci, not wanting to take their eyes off her, fearing that things would take a 180 degree turn if they took their eyes off her.

    wless Reflection stared intently at Ye Ci as well. He was even very careful when he blinked, afraid that he would miss something.

    Without warning, Ye Ci let loose the arrow and immediately headed back towards the group.

    Did she hit? Or had she missed? Did she trigger an entire horde of them or only a few? wless Reaction¡¯s anxiety was at its maximum as he asked, ¡°How many are there? How do we handle them?¡±

    ¡°Get the tanks to do their jobs.¡± Ye Ci did not even turn her head as she calmly gave the instruction.

    The tanks immediately got into position. 3 elementals appeared, baring their fangs at Ye Ci¡¯s direction.

    ¡°Shield Bash.¡±

    ¡°Taunt.¡±

    The tanks immediately engaged an elemental each, and the healers followed up.

    The elites of a top guild were very different from the others. They knew what needed to be done even without instructions from Ye Ci. Their positioning was excellent, and their game awareness was good. It would be absurd for a party like this to not be sessful.

    Ye Ci then pulled the mobs in the same way, bit by bit. The horde of elementals were nothing but dead carcasses before long. After wless Reflection looted the carcasses, the Warlocks immediately swarmed all over the elementals carcasses for their elemental dust.

    17 elementals yielded 2 Blue Equipment and a Green Equipment, all of them lvl 18 and above, which were perfect for the current stage of the game.

    ¡°Why is the drop rate in this ce so high? Even themon mobs dropped Blue Equipments.¡± a Sorcerer yer was surprised.

    ¡°This is the Nightmare difficulty. If only a BOSS dropped loot, then it would be an outright fraud.¡± wless Reflection was satisfied with the loot. Ye Ci had specifically asked to be given priority only on Hunter equipment. Although it was not beneficial for wless Reflection as an individual, he was amander, it did not matter to him even if his equipment was slightly out of date. The most important thing was that the performance of the party was increased.

    With Ye Ci¡¯s help, they were able to clear all the obstacles they faced before reaching the first BOSS with zero casualties.

    It was not because of Ye Ci¡¯s talent alone. The experience of a party of veterans who had spent years ying together was on an entirely different level whenpared to a guild like Steel-Blooded Battle Spear that had been formed for only 3 to 4 months.

    ¡°The first BOSS is an easy one.¡± Ye Ci smiled at the first BOSS, Liepi that was lying on the ground asleep, ¡°Druid, transform and go and pull his aggro.¡±

    ¡°The BOSS deals magical damage?¡± wless Reflection was slightly surprised. This was the first time he came across a magical damage BOSS since the beginning of Fate.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The Druid must consume the Frost Resistance potion when the BOSS began chanting his spell. The ranged yers do not have to consume any potions, but it is important that you guys do not stick together. You must take note that the BOSS will name a yer randomly. The yer who is named by the BOSS must immediately get at least 50 yards away from the BOSS or you¡¯ll explode. This might lead to the annihtion of the entire party.¡± Ye Ci exined the strategy to defeat the BOSS briefly, ¡°This first BOSS is easy. All you need to do is to stand still and fire away. It¡¯s not as difficult to take care of as the monster back at the clock tower. Let¡¯s do our best and take it out in one go.¡±

    This was a 25-man Nightmare difficulty dungeon. But the yers had this illusion that the BOSS was very easy to defeat because of Ye Ci.

    The party was still annihted once.

    The Druid was too unlucky. Ye Ci had never seen the BOSS cast a ¡°Freeze¡± spell immediately after the battle began. Before the Druid could even get near the BOSS, he was frozen solid by the BOSS¡¯s skill and became a giant block of ice.

    Although Ye Ci had given the order to retreat, 20-odd yers still died as they were unable to react.

    Because of that, the Druid cursed silently at the first BOSS. Maybe it was due to the Druid¡¯s cursing, the BOSS was easily defeated on their second try. Despite that, there was still an incident where the Druid almost died to the BOSS because his magic resistance was slightly lower than expected, but was able to survive after being healed by thebined efforts of the Clerics in the party.

    Even Ye Ci was slightly shaken when it happened.

    Even with a slightly lower magic resistance, the Druid was like a beast. He was able to control the aggro of the BOSS perfectly. With the help of the Decoys from the Hunters who were present, the aggro of the BOSS was firmly held by the Druid.

    After expending a lot of mana, the party was able to defeat the first BOSS within 40 minutes.

    In the Nightmare difficulty dungeon where even themon mobs yielded equipment, the loot drop from the BOSS was not overly abundant. The first BOSS merely dropped 6 items: 4 weapons, 2 armor, 200-odd gold coins and nothing else.

    One of the 4 weapons caught Ye Ci¡¯s attention.

    Liepi¡¯s Hasty Crossbow

    Crossbow

    Blue Equipment

    Attack speed: 0.7

    Attack: 112-165

    Strength: +57

    Agility: +62

    Bnce: +71

    Special Attribute: Attack speed +1, reload speed reduced by 0.5 seconds.

    Special Attribute: 5% chance of stealing 1% of target¡¯s hitpoints.

    Special Attribute: Increases Armor Pration value by 5.

    Required ss: Ranger, Rogue, Hunter.

    The crossbow was one of the equipment with the lowest drop rate yielded by Liepi. Ye Ci had nevere across this crossbow even after clearing the dungeons countless times. She had only seen a screenshot of the crossbow in the forums.

    Ye Ci imed the crossbow as her own without hesitation.

    Although wless Reflection and An Apple A Day were also drooling over the Liepi¡¯s Hasty Crossbow, they did not object to Ye Ci¡¯s action due to their previous agreement. A sudden thought urred to Ye Ci after she equipped the crossbow, ¡°Let¡¯s roll points and see if I can get it.¡±

    ¡°67.¡±

    ¡°81¡±

    ¡°7¡±

    Ye Ci stared expressionlessly at the points that she had rolled. She was d about the decision about asking for priorities over Hunter gears. (author¡¯s note in the bracket, so it¡¯s irrelevant.

    The road ahead, however, was not so smooth. World Conqueror managed to defeat the second BOSS after getting annihted a few times and had finally reached the third BOSS.

    The third BOSS was a gigantic bird. ording to the lore, it was the mistress of the dungeon that preys on adventurers who dared venture close to itsir. It was especially fierce, as it was about toy eggs soon.

    ¡°The third BOSS has several skills. The first one is ¡®Wing p¡¯. It will continuously deal wind type damage to yers in a 270 degree area. If you¡¯re unlucky, you¡¯ll be blown away. The second skill it has is ¡®Spit¡¯. Those who are hit by its saliva will be frozen. This is why you shouldn¡¯t be stingy about consuming your potions. The tank must pull the BOSS around in circles. All the ranged yers must be direction opposite of the tank and rotate around the BOSS ording to the tank¡¯s position. If you don¡¯t move, you might be blown away if you¡¯re unlucky enough.¡± Ye Ci was very satisfied with the party¡¯s progress. She let out a satisfiedugh.

    The party members, especially the Druid earlier on who had be theughing stock of the party,ughed as well after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s exnation.

    ¡°To all the Rogues, remember to go steal the eggs.¡± Ye Ci pointed at the huge nest not far away.

 Chapter 68 The Dungeon (Part 2)

    Chapter 68 The Dungeon (Part 2)

    ¡°Whenever the BOSS loses 10% of its hitpoints, it willy an egg. When that happens, the Rogues must go and steal its eggs and then throw them off the cliff behind the nest. Remember, don¡¯t let her see you, or she¡¯ll be enraged.¡±

    Despite sounding simple, it was Nightmare difficulty. Even when one know of the strategy, it was still hard to pull it off.

    The first time the party got annihted, it was fault of the main healer. He was so focused on healing the tank that he was 2 seconds too slow to reposition. Misfortune struck, and he was blown away to a far far away ce.

    The second party annihtion came when the party¡¯s tank died. The entire party with the exception of 3 Hunters and a Rogue were blown away.

    As for the third time, the Rogues were discovered when they tried to steal the eggs. If Ye Ci had not realised it early and activated Feigned Death, she would¡¯ve died along with the rest of the party.

    The fourth time...

    The fifth time..

    ......

    The tenth time...

    Once again, the party was annihted. Ye Ci asked around for the lowest death count, and then remained silent.

    The yers from World Conqueror still had high morale. Even if it was Nightmare difficulty, even if they were still on the pioneering stages of this dungeon, they did not keep quiet. The party members interacted with each other actively, discussing and sharing information.

    wless Reflection nced at Ye Ci, ¡°Do we start again?¡±

    Ye Ci stared silently at the party members. Amander is merely someone who lowers the mistakes made by his or her party members. But to totally avoid mistakes, it was up to the members themselves. An obedient party member was the best party member, but a blindly obedient party member was the worst.

    Those who were not willing to think were the reason why a party was repeatedly annihted.

    They had died for the 12th time in the hands of the third BOSS.

    Ye Ci stood up and said, ¡°This is thest time. I hope that we can clear this dungeon in one go.¡±

    Although they¡¯d only known Ye Ci for a few hours, the members of the party seemed to have already figured out her speech patterns and their hidden meanings. They knew that when Ye Ci said ¡°in one go¡±, it meant that it was not a simple statement, it was a must.

    With that, the party members were pressured.

    But at times, the pressure was just what people needed as a driving force. When pressured, people tend to have extraordinary performance.

    The battle began.

    Dragonwitch raised his shield and braced himself, standing right in front of the BOSS. Shield Bash, Taunt, Stunning Blow were released on the BOSS, building up its aggro.

    ¡°Shift 30 degrees to your 4 o¡¯clock direction.¡± Shouted Ye Ci after observing the BOSS¡¯s spell channeling.

    Dragonwitch was already moving, and the BOSS moved with him. The ranged yers repositioned themselves as well. At the next moment, the spot that they move away from was covered with ice.

    The BOSS suddenly flew up, ignoring the yers as it flew towards its nest. A Rogue immediately entered Stealth and crept towards the nest.

    The BOSS flew back towards the crowd afterying its egg. Dragonwitch immediately pulled the BOSS¡¯s aggro back from the Clerics with a Shield Bash. The Rogue immediately climbed into the nest and grabbed the egg. He then ran as fast as he could towards the cliff.

    The egg was heavy, reducing his movement speed by 50%. He rushed towards the cliff and dumped the egg just as the BOSS turned its back towards him. The timing was very hard to grasp. They have only figured it out after the sacrifice of several Rogues.

    When the BOSS had only 20% of its hitpoints left, a Sorcerer moved too slowly and was frozen. He consumed a Freeze Resistance Potion but was then blown away by the BOSS¡¯s Wing p. The other ranged yers began to feel anxiety, and their resolve faltered.

    Ye Ci immediately spoke up, ¡°Keep it up, don¡¯t lose heart, it¡¯s just 1 person.¡°

    Before she could finish speaking, a Cleric and a Druid were also blown away.

    The party members became even more distressed. Ye Ci creased her eyebrows, ¡°I want the rest of you to keep attacking. Just make sure that you don¡¯t die. Do your part. Be more professional.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s voice was not loud, but it was filled with authority. She managed to calm the faltering party though. Although the damage output of the party was slightly reduced, the members were still doing their best to fulfill their task.

    The BOSS began to move faster and faster, killing more and more of the party members and blowing some of them away. The ones who remained, however, carried on Ye Ci¡¯s order: As long as you live, fight on.

    By the time the BOSS had 5% of its hitpoints left, the only ones remaining in the party were a Rogue, the MT Dragonwitch, the main Cleric, and Ye Ci.

    To take pressure off of the Cleric from having to continuously heal the MT up, the Rogue hid behind the BOSS andnded skill after skill on the BOSS. He asked, ¡°Commander, what will happen if I OT now?¡±

    ¡°If you managed to OT, the chances of us defeating this BOSS will be higher.¡±

    The Rogue nodded, chugged down a bottle of Rage Potion, and began to attack the BOSS as if there was no tomorrow.

    His aggro values began to rise rapidly.

    34£¬47£¬59£¬71£¬88£¬97.

    It was going to overtake the aggro of the MT.

    Ye Ci immediately gave out an instruction, ¡°I want the MT and healer to switch positions by mymand.¡±

    The Rogue¡¯s aggro value was still climbing.

    103£¬107£¬114£¬126.

    OT.

    ¡°Now!¡± Ye Ci shouted out when the Rogue¡¯s aggro was at 114, and the MT and the main healer immediately moved to each other¡¯s location.

    The BOSS chomped down on the Rogue, killing him instantly. His sacrifice bought the party another 20 seconds.

    The main healer died when the BOSS¡¯s hitpoints was at 3%.

    Dragonwitch took in a deep breath and chugged a health potion. He died after holding on for 6 more seconds.

    At that moment, all eyes were on Ye Ci. The entire party¡¯s hopey on Ye Ci¡¯s shoulders. She took in a deep breath and summoned Ol¡¯ Three while leaping 25 yards away from the BOSS.

    Ol¡¯ Three could stand it ground against the BOSS for approximately 15 seconds. But the 15 seconds was enough.

    The BOSS had a ranged attack just like Ye Ci, which was very unfavourable for her. Despite the odds, Ye Ci knew that she had to fight on.

    Ye Ci expended all her skills within 8.5 seconds, which meant she had 6.5 seconds left before Ol¡¯ Three was killed by the BOSS. A few lucky critical hits reduced the BOSS¡¯s hitpoints to 1%.

    But the BOSS¡¯s attention had shifted towards Ye Ci. It ignored Ol¡¯ Three and flew straight at Ye Ci. Ye Ci immediately darted at the cliff wall that the bird¡¯s nest was leaning against, and leapt into the air. She used the cliff wall as a springboard andunched herself at the BOSS.

    Ye Ci brushed past the BOSS at high speed. She drew her Venomous Scorpion Stinger and stabbed the BOSS¡¯ wing.

    Poisoned.

    Ol¡¯ Three finally caught up with the BOSS and reacquired its aggro with Taunt.

    4 seconds remaining, and the BOSS had only 0.8% of its hitpoints left.

    Ye Ci cast a Pet Heal on Ol¡¯ Three andunched herself 25 yards away from the BOSS while firing at the BOSS nonstop.

    She had already equipped Liepi¡¯s Hasty Crossbow. Although having a high firing speed, the crossbowcked crowd control as it does not slow down its target upon hitting it.

    The BOSS let out a mighty cry and chomped down on Ol¡¯ Three. The strike was fast and ferocious, and Ol¡¯ Three was instantly killed.

    Ye Ci was slightly shocked. The situation had taken a bad turn. She ran as fast as she could, keeping a 25 yards distance between the BOSS and herself while continuously casting skill after skill at the BOSS.

    With each passing moment, Ye Ci¡¯s Stamina dropped. If her Stamina dropped below 10%, her movement speed would be reduced.

    She had only 12% of her Stamina left.

    Ye Ci analysed the situation calmly. As long as she avoided making mistakes, she would be able to defeat the BOSS.

    Although Ye Ci was calm, the party members who were lying dead on the ground were extremely anxious. They did not even dare to breath. It was as if they have died along with their in-game characters.

    The BOSS let out a roar and pped its wings frantically when it had only 0.5% of its hitpoints left.

    Empowered Wing p.

    Even Ye Ci couldn¡¯t resist the urge to curse under her breath.

    She was lifted up by the strong gust and was blown towards a cliff wall.

    Ye Ci raised her crossbow and fired herst skill at the BOSS before her death.

    Bang!

    She was mmed into the cliff wall, and her hitpoints plunged. She had only 100+ hitpoints left.

    The entire party sighed. It was over.

    As Ye Ci¡¯s body fell, her hitpoints bar was suddenly filled. She was shocked when a tremendous amount of experience points flooded her experience gauge, raising her level to lvl 20 with 89% progress.

    Plop.

    Before Ye Ci could recover, she fell into the BOSS¡¯s nest. The thick interior of the nest cushioned her fall, but she still lost half her hitpoints.

    A system announcement immediately chimed in.

    ¡°Congrattions ¡®World Conqueror¡¯ for being the first guild to clear the Nightmare difficulty Frosty Wastnd. Rewards: 800 Guild Prestige Points , 10000 Global City Prestige Points , 5000 gold coins. Let us remember the name of these heroes.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Gongzi You for leading the party of World Conqueror to be the first to clear Frosty Wastnd Nightmare difficulty. Rewards: 300 ck Rock City Prestige Points , 5 Talent Points . Achievement: [Nightmare Frosty Wastnd First Five]. Her name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions wless Reflection for achieving First Blood on Frosty Wastnd Nightmare difficulty. Rewards: 300 ck Rock City Prestige Points , 5 Talent Points . Achievement: [Nightmare Frosty Wastnd First Five]. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Dragonwitch for achieving First Blood on Frosty Wastnd Nightmare difficulty. Rewards: 300 ck Rock City Prestige Points , 5 Talent Points . Achievement: [Nightmare Frosty Wastnd First Five]. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate.¡±

    ......

    The world channel was flooded by the system¡¯s messages.

    At this moment, the world chat belonged to only one guild: World Conqueror. At this moment, the attention of the world was focused on one yer: Gongzi You.

 Chapter 70 Morrow Canyon

    Chapter 70 Morrow Canyon

    All of them gave answers of their own, but all of them were directed at Remote Depths.

    Ye Ci found it odd, and she immediately sought out Remote Depths for an answer, ¡°How did you find them? You actually know them?¡±

    Remote Depths chuckled, ¡°You¡¯re wise as a rule, but this time a fool. How would I know any of your friends other than Liu Chang?¡±

    Ye Ci found it even more odd, if he did not know them, how did they join the guild? ¡°Did they request to join our guild?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Remote Depths chuckled, ¡°It was quite simple actually. I sent a message to the world channel, looking for those who are in Gongzi You¡¯s friend list to add me as a friend.¡±

    ¡°And then they added you?¡±

    ¡°Ahh, quite a lot of yers added me, but not many of them actually know you. I asked them a few questions, and I was able to confirm if they really knew you.¡± Remote Depths rubbed his hands, ¡°Sis, your rtions with people are so wide, you even know Let Go Of That Girl who is the number one of the leveling ranking list.¡±

    Ye Ci was dumbfounded. With her ways of doing things, she would never even consider trying what Remote Depths did in her entire life. She looked at Remote Depths and let out a long sigh, ¡°Are you not afraid of trouble?¡±

    Remoted Depths smiled at Ye Ci¡¯s words. He patted her hair out of habit and said, ¡°Why are you always worrying? Little Ci, this game is your stage to shine. Don¡¯t think too much. Be Happy. y the game. Make some noise. Don¡¯t think too much about it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not happy, it¡¯s just that...¡± Ye Ci could not describe her feelings with words, but she felt that what Bai Mo did was not exactly right.

    Remote Depths shook his head, ¡°Problems exist to be solved. Why are you worrying about them? I¡¯ll be there for you, not matter what happens.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Remote Depths, and broke intoughter. Yes, this was the Bai Mo she knew, this was the Remote Depths she knew.

    Sociable, knowledgeable, and overly optimistic. He was the direct opposite of Ye Ci. There was confidence in his heart, and there was nothing that he couldn¡¯t do. To be with such person, even the world would appear brighter.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go farm some monsters. Let Go, please show us the best leveling spot, we¡¯ll form a party and head there.¡± Bai Mo grinned, and his jolly mood was infectious.

    With the exception of Ye Ci, the entire guild, although only around 10 yers, went out to the leveling spot. Ye Ci objected to their action of ¡°discriminating¡± against her, but was met with disdain. The group then headed for a lvl 18 leveling area, leaving Ye Ci behind in an empty guild encampment, or to call it in a glorified way, to ¡°watch the fort¡±.

    Ye Ci nced at all the yer sses in the guild and suddenly thought of a person. She pulled up her friend list and the person was online. She then sent them a message.

    ¡°You there?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s counterpart immediately replied, ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Do you have a guild now?¡±

    Fruit Jelly was saddened after hearing the question. At the earlier stages of the game, she was unable to learn Novice Healing as her level was too low. That was why parties rejected her and in dejection, she decided to level up on her own. She was already lvl 18, but she hadn¡¯t learned any basic healing skills. She had totally given up on joining any guilds.

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Ci was astonished at the answer she received. Fruit Jelly was an excellent Cleric. The yers who partied with her would definitely be impressed. Especially with her Revival, how could she not have a guild?

    Fruit Jelly was also dumbfounded by Ye Ci¡¯s astonishment. She sighed, ¡°Nobody wanted to party with me earlier on, so I have always been alone, and I got used to it.¡±

    ¡°You... Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve never entered a dungeon before.¡±

    ¡°Yeah...¡±

    Ye Ci sobbed internally. The life of Fruit Jelly before she became an expert was tough.

    ¡°Do you wanna join our guild? They¡¯re partying up and are headed for the leveling zone.¡± Ye Ci immediately sent her a guild invitation.

    Fruit Jelly didn¡¯t even think as she epted the invitation. There was no other reason. Gongzi You was the one who gave her the Revival skill book. Besides, she knew that it was almost impossible to go solo in Fate. It was a pity that she was always a quiet person, and she was too shy to join a guild on her own ord. How could she reject an invitation from Gongzi You?

    After inviting Fruit Jelly into the guild, Ye Ci immediately instructed Remoted Depths to help direct her to his location. Fruit Jelly immediately shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll go look for them myself.¡± This was the first game that Fruit Jelly had ever yed, and it was her first time partying up with others in her 4 months of gaming. She was very nervous.

    Remote Depthsughed, ¡°Nah it¡¯s okay, we¡¯re family after all. Stay put, I¡¯ll go get you.¡± Once Fruit Jelly was in the party, Ye Ci sent Remote Depths a private message and exined Fruit Jelly¡¯s situation to him, and told him to watch her skills in healing carefully.

    Remote Depths, of course, agreed to it.

    As Ye Ci was going to continue doing her daily quest in Red Lake city, a system notification suddenly chimed.

    ¡°There is a strange change to your equipment, please take note.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately thought of the Mysterious Ring on her finger, and immediately pulled out the ring¡¯s stats.

    Mysterious Ring

    Gray Equipment

    Strength +2

    Required level: 0

    Able to grow

    It was no different from before, but there was a small row of hints underneath the stats: There seems to be some strange changes happening to this ordinary ring. Perhaps the Dwarven schr La¡¯ Pito at Morrow Canyon knows what is going on.

    Ye Ci had been wearing the ring ever since she¡¯d gotten it from the mysterious dungeon. She had thought of looking for hints about the ring in the game, but she had never been able toe across one until the system notification rang out.

    This got Ye Ci excited. ording to the NPC called Frodo, the ring was rted to the Dark Lord Naga, and it seemed that it could unlock Naga¡¯s treasure trove.

    Even if it might not be real, the sheer possibility of it was alluring enough.

    Without thinking too much about it, Ye Cipleted her daily quests with haste and immediately headed for the Morrow Canyon. Before she left, she instructed Remote Depths to lead the guild members who do not have good enough equipment into the dungeon to loot some equipment.

    The Morrow Canyon was situated at the northernmost part of the Eastern Continent.

    It would take Ye Ci 5 whole in-game days to reach the canyon from Red Lake City. Not only that, the road to Morrow Canyon was filled with lvl 40 to lvl 60 leveling zones. Ye Ci had to be very careful as she passed through the area.

    Even though Ye Ci wanted to reach her destination as soon as possible, her safety was still her top priority. She cast Feigned Death multiple times along the way to avoid death. By the time she reached Morrow Canyon, it took her 7 in-game days.

    Although the leveling ranking did not experience many changes during the 7 in-game days, their leveling experience progress was raised by a lot.

    Although Ye Ci felt that it was very embarrassing for her to be quite behind in terms of leveling as someone who had reincarnated, she made the decision to ce priority on the ring.

    The Morrow Canyon was a very picturesque ce. It was covered by lush green nts that bore countless unknown wild fruits. Sunshine shone on the entire map, nketing the ce in a brilliant gold. But, if one assumed that the ce was safe just because of the scenery, then he or she was horribly wrong.

    It was said that a Master Rogue resided in the canyon. The ce was littered with traps and mines, along with monsters that were lvl 65 to lvl 75. There was also a high concentration of Elite monsters and even Field BOSSes. The map was a very dangerous ce.

    The only reason Ye Ci had dared to set foot in this ce was because of her Feigned Death skill. She wouldn¡¯t dare to venture into that map otherwise.

    She had even maxed out her Advanced Concealment and Empowered Stealth trait in the Survival category to increase her level of security and movement speed when she activated Stealth.

    She could walk safely past a monster with the same level or 5 levels higher than her within a 5 yards distance. If the monster was more than 5 levels higher than her, then the safety distance would be increased to 10 yards. If a monster was 10 levels higher than her, she would need to be at least 15 yards away from the monster to avoid detection. This meant that with Ye Ci¡¯s level, she would be detected by monsters as soon as she was within a 15 yards range of a monster even during Stealth.

    Fortunately for Ye Ci, she knew the approximate location of La¡¯ Pito, and she was able to reach the deepest part of the Morrow Canyon safely after avoiding countless monsters.

    It was apletely different world.

    The deepest part of Morrow Canyon was a direct contrast to its outer part. The ground was covered by red soil, and the scent of machine oil filled the air.

    Ye Ci was impressed by herself. She was able to remember the ce that she had stumbled upon while avoiding severalrge guilds¡¯ manhunts.

    She sniffed the air and walked deeper into the canyon. The smell of machine oil was bing stronger and stronger. A small cave then appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s view.

 Chapter 71 Itâ€™s A Small World

    Chapter 71 It¡¯s A Small World

    Ye Ci took a step forward and heard a ¡°click.¡± She immediately froze, and knew that she had messed up...

    It was a very familiar feeling.

    The feeling of a spring beingpressed. The feeling of metal parts grinding together. Ye Ci immediately realised what it was.

    Andmine .

    In Fate, yers who had learned Engineering could build and create different types of firearms including bombs,nd mines, hand grenades or even high explosives. But how could there be a yer madendmine in this map? The only possibility was that...

    It was done by an NPC.

    Ye Ci sighed. She was too careless. She knew that there was a Master Rogue and an Gnome Schr who was a Great Engineer, but she had forgotten about them.

    The only thing Ye Ci could do was to avoid as much damage as possible as she lifted her leg away from thendmine .

    An NPC-madendmine was on an entirely different level from a yer¡¯s. Especially for someone as ingenious as La¡¯ Pito, thendmine s that he created would definitely bring devastating effects. Ye Ci crouched slowly, and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She did not want to die for the first time in Fate because of her own careless mistake.

    Ye Ci looked around, trying to look for an object with a simr weight as her body. She might be able to ce it on thendmine and then she¡¯d be free. Ye Ci could not find any pieces of rock after studying her surrounding, but instead found danger approaching from behind.

    The ¡°danger¡± approached her at a very high speed. By the time Ye Ci had noticed, his presence was already behind her.

    It was a Rogue.

    Before the Rogue could bury his dagger into Ye Ci¡¯s back, she leaned to the side and dodged the attack.

    She turned her head and saw her assant. The person looked quite familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere. He wore a badge on his chest that had a different color from Ye Ci¡¯s badge. She immediately knew that the person was from the North-West Continents Alliance.

    It was not very favorable conditions for Ye Ci to PK another yer. She could not move, and was unable to use her ranged weapons. This meant that she had lost a huge chunk of her damage-dealing capabilities. Aside from that, with the area full ofndmine s, summoning Ol¡¯ Three was not a smart move. It might step on otherndmine s buried nearby and trigger chain explosions.

    Just as Ye Ci was pondering of different ways to deal with the Rogue, she heard another ¡°click.¡± The Rogue immediately stopped moving. His eyes that were visible through his face mask showing his expression that said, ¡°D*mmit, why am I so unlucky?¡±

    Heh! Lady Luck is on my side, thought Ye Ci. Even if she was still in harm¡¯s way, somebody else was here to suffer alongside her. She let out a smirk, ¡°This is why you don¡¯t hit a person who¡¯s down. Look at you, Karma sure is a b*tch.¡±

    The North-West Rogue¡¯s anger rose after being taunted by Ye Ci. He red at the Huntress not 3 yards away from him. His expression immediately changed as he eximed, ¡°Oh my god! You again!¡±

    Ye Ci felt odd. Judging from his tone, she must¡¯ve known him from somewhere? Ye Ci stared at the Rogue for a few seconds and chuckled, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡±

    They had fought in the Deste Lands before, and Ye Ci had ended up defeating him and spawn camping him a few times. To think that Ye Ci would run into him again in such a ce, it was really a small world.

    The two stared at each other. They could not do anything at all. The slightest of movements could possibly trigger thendmine s detonation. However, they could also not just continue staring at each other.

    Ye Ci drew out her Venomous Scorpion Stinger and pointed it at the Rogue, ¡°What are you, a yer from the North-West, doing in the Eastern Continent?¡±

    The Rogue snorted, he was very unhappy to meet Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m doing some quests, of course! Who cares about this goddamned piece of dirt if not for a quest?¡± He then red at Ye Ci, ¡°Are you some sort of mercenary? I keep running into you.¡±

    They were both considered experts, but under such circumstances, they could only trash talk each other. Both of them insulted each other¡¯s continent for quite some time, but the topic of their conversation eventually strayed back to the problem at hand. The Rogue, ¡°I¡¯m a gentleman, I¡¯ll take you out once I¡¯m safely away from thesendmines.¡±

    Ye Ci sneered at him, ¡°If you have the skills, kill me now. You¡¯re just all talk.¡±

    The Rogue red at Ye Ci, and sighed, ¡°Thisndmine packs a punch. I¡¯ve already died once.¡±

    Ye Ci naturally knew of thendmine¡¯s killing power. One of them almost killed her back when she was a lvl 85 Sorceress. Both of them were lvl 20. Ye Ci thought for a moment and said, ¡°Do you have a short sword?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Ye Ci crouched down and said, ¡°We¡¯ll slide our swords underneath the sole of each other¡¯s feet, and press it on the mine¡¯s trigger mechanism. We¡¯ll jump off simultaneously.¡±

    With Ye Ci¡¯s idea as the only solution, the Rogue had to agree. He crouched down as well and drew his short sword and inserted it at the sole of Ye Ci¡¯s foot.

    The leg that was stepping the mine could not let go before the sword could be safely ced on the trigger mechanism, or thend mine would detonate. This was why the entire thing sounded simple, but was not easy to pull off.

    After much effort, the two managed to secure the the trigger mechanisms of each other¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Put your back into it! Don¡¯t let go, or we¡¯re dead.¡± The Rogue was very worried at Ye Ci¡¯s strength, but he was met by Ye Ci¡¯s icy re, and he decided to drop the matter and said, ¡°I¡¯ll count to three, and we¡¯ll jump off together.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡±

    Seeing that Ye Ci had already agreed to it, the Rogue began to slowly count down. Ye Ci took a deep breath. She calmly analysed her surroundings, and immediately found a safending spot after she jumped off whileing up with strategies on how to defeat the Rogue.

    She was not trying to throw stones at somebody who fell down. They were from opposing factions after all. Although they¡¯re working together, their sincerity was thin as paper, and no one could change that.. The game was just like society in real world, although there were some who were above thew, there was still a bottom line that nobody would want to cross.

    Ye Ci secretly locked onto the Rogue so that she couldunch her attacks on him in the shortest time possible.

    Of course, the Rogue did the same.

    ¡°One... Two... Three...¡± Ye Ci immediately sprang up like a coiled spring towards the safe spot that she had found earlier. Two gigantic explosions followed, showering the ce with shrapnel and dirt. Although Ye Ci had a high Perception, she was unable to dodge all of the shrapnel. She was hit midair and her health dropped rapidly.

    The moment Ye Cinded on the rock, she immediatelyid down on top of it, narrowly being missed by a few pieces of shrapnel. Even then, she had lost a huge chunk of her hitpoints. She immediately chugged down a Large Health Potion and managed to survive.

    Even after the explosion had subsided, dust still filled the air. The thick dust meant that Ye Ci¡¯s visibility had dropped, and she was unable to pinpoint the Rogue¡¯s location.

    However, since she had locked onto the Rogue beforehand, she was able to know the Rogue¡¯s general direction.

    He was on a rock at Ye Ci¡¯s 8 o¡¯clock direction, 43 yards away. The rock that he was on was of simr height to the one Ye Ci was standing on. She had no advantage over him, but she was not at a disadvantage either.

    There was a breeze blowing in the area, and 43 yards was a rather long distance¡¯; the arrows might be blown off course by the breeze. Ye Ci drew out Liepi¡¯s Hasty Crossbow, measured the wind speed, and fired an arrow at the Rogue.

    The Rogue had also fired an arrow at Ye Ci. Ye Ci immediately knew that she was under attack when she heard the screeching sound of the arrow. She judged the trajectory of the arrow by its noise, and rolled to the side. The arrownded on the spot where Ye Ci had just been lying.

    In battles with low visibility, Perception and both side¡¯s awareness to their surrounding yed an important role.

    As ranged sses, Rogue and Hunters have very simr stats. They have high Agility, high Perception and also a high Bnce. In a fight where both were on equal footing,bat experience was the deciding factor.

    Ye Ci of course, had much more experience than the Rogue. Although he was skillful, it had only been 4 months since Fate wasunched. His skills would be no match to Ye Ci¡¯s 10 years worth of experience.

    That was why, before long, he made his first mistake.

 Chapter 72 Featherfall

    Chapter 72 Featherfall

    As the dust slowly settled, the two could see each other more clearly. They were both using crossbows. If they fired normal attacks at each other, neither would gain the upper hand. But Ye Ci was a Huntress; she had more abilities in her arsenal. Before long, she was able to gain the upper hand.

    They hopped from rock to rock. Although he had a lot of Health Potions, the Rogue¡¯s weakness was soon exposed: His attack range was shorter than Ye Ci¡¯s, and his arsenal did not include the ¡°Fire on the Move¡± Talent, which meant he would be immobile for 0.5 seconds whenever he fired off a shot.

    Ye Ci was quick to discover the Rogue¡¯s problem. She smiled coldly and cast a Rapid Fire on the Rogue.

    He had only 30% of his hitpoints left, if one of the arrows fired under the effect of Rapid Fire was a critical hit, the Rogue would¡¯ve died then and there. Ye Ci pulled the trigger of her crossbow, fwiip, fwiip, fwiip, The bolts sliced through the air with a screeching sound, flying straight and true towards the Rogue.

    The Rogue knew that he would not be able to dodge the bolts. He had just fired off a shot and was still immobile. He had lost again.

    Before the bolts could hit the Rogue however, several even sharper noises rang out, and the couple of bolts fired by Ye Ci were knocked away by an unknown assant¡¯s bolts.

    It happened so quickly that even Ye Ci was unable to react.

    Was that a yer? If she was here because of the ring, and the Rogue was here because of a quest, who else would venture to this ce? Had a lvl 70 map became a hotspot for lvl 20 yers?

    ¡°You¡¯re a sorry excuse for a Rogue.¡± Remarked a sarcastic voice. Ye Ci looked in the general direction of the voice, and saw a tall man wearing a cape and holding a jet-ck crossbow.

    His name and level were unknown to Ye Ci.

    However, he was not a yer, but an NPC.

    Ye Ci almost immediately knew who he was. He must¡¯ve been the Master Rogue hiding in the Morrow Canyon.

    The NPC stared at the Rogue with disgust written all over his face, ¡°Our ss¡¯ high standards have declined exactly because of Rogues like you.¡±

    The hair on Ye Ci¡¯s neck immediately stood up, and she sensed a grave danger approaching.

    As expected, the NPC raised his crossbow and pointed it at Ye Ci, ¡°Although I hate Rogues who are utter trash, there¡¯s nothing more that I hate than the Hunter who brought embarrassment to the Rogue ss.¡±

    Ye Ci of course, would not just sit and wait for death toe to her. The moment the Master Rogue pull the trigger, she dodged and rolled on the floor, several crossbow bolts barely missing her.Just when she was about to counterattack, she discovered that the name of her assant was green.

    In Fate, if an NPC¡¯s name was green, it meant that the NPC was considered friendly. A yer could never attack an NPC with a green name. If the NPC¡¯s name was yellow, it was neutral. It meant that it would only attack yers after being attacked by yers. NPC¡¯s with red names would actively attack any yers they came across.

    The Master Rogue that was attacking Ye Ci had a green name.

    It meant that Ye Ci could only give up on counterattacking. Her only option was to run away, as she could not even attack the NPC.

    ¡°Andy, you can¡¯t act so impetuously, it doesn¡¯t suit your age.¡± Said a sharp voice just as Ye Ci was having a hard time trying to dodge the bolts.

    So the Master Rogue¡¯s name was Andy. He lowered the crossbow and shrugged at the owner of that voice. He thenughed, ¡°I went easy on her. Do you think she could reallyst that long if I didn¡¯t?¡±

    Ye Ci stopped moving and gasped for air after noticing that Andy¡¯s attacks had stopped. The past 30 minutes were quite eventful for her. First she stepped on a mine, got ambushed, almost got blown up, ended up in a PK with a yer from the opposing faction and was then chased around by an NPC. If Andy did not stop, she would¡¯ve definitely died.

    The one who spoke was a Gnome with a white beard. He was La¡¯ Pito, the NPC that Ye Ci was looking for.

    La¡¯ Pito did not waste his time on Andy. He looked up at Ye Ci and shouted, ¡°Hey, Tall One, get down here! We Gnomes hate to have to look up at people.¡±

    Ye Ci climbed down from the rock that she was standing on and stood beside La¡¯ Pito. Before she could speak, La¡¯ Pito closed his eyes and sniffed at Ye Ci. His expression changed, ¡°I can smell the scent of Naga...¡±

    He then opened his eyes and turned around immediately, ¡°Oh, what are you waiting for, Tall One? Follow me. You must be here to see me.¡±

    Ye Ci followed La¡¯ Pito into the cave. As she nced back, the Rogue had also left with Andy.

    Ye Ci felt that it was worth it to meet with La¡¯ Pito, despite the troubles she had faced earlier. She handed the ring to La¡¯ Pito, who held the ring in his palm and stared at it with a face full of anxiety. He sped the ring between his palms and when he opened his hands again, the ring looked more delicate than it was before.

    La¡¯ Pito returned the ring to Ye Ci, and she immediately too a look at its stats.

    Mysterious Ring

    White Equipment

    Strength +20

    Intelligence +2

    Required level: 0

    Special Attribute: Can activate ¡°Featherfall¡± for 3 minutes. Cooldown: 20 minutes.

    The ring was not as simple as it appeared to be. The Featherfall was a high tier Sorcerer spell that could only be learned by lvl 50 Sorcerers. It was a spell that could slow down the speed at which a yer was falling from high ces. Featherfall was a very useful survival skill.

    Ye Ci hade across equipment that had Featherfall as well, but they were usually rare and pricey, which were something that could never be afforded by the average yers.

    She had never thought that the ring would have such a skill after being appraised by La¡¯ Pito. At that moment, all the troubles she went through were worth the effort.

    ¡°Oh, Tall One, you¡¯re certainly not a bearer of good news.¡± Said La¡¯ Pito with a face full of depression. When an NPC showed such behavior, it usually meant that there was a questing; ¡°Although I¡¯ve been living in the Morrow Canyon, I do not wish to see my homnd destroyed by Naga. My strength alone is not enough. I need the help of others. Can you help me get in touch with a few of my friends?¡±

    A quest was definitelying.

    Ye Ci immediately bowed to him and said with a tone full of respect, ¡°Mister La¡¯ Pito, it¡¯s an honor to be of service.¡±

    La¡¯ Pito was very pleased with Ye Ci¡¯s manners. He handed a letter to her and began giving her instructions. Ye Ci of course, skipped the conversation. It seemed that she would be acting as a courier.

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth as she saw the quest targets. She had to contact people from three different continents, as well as one underground and another up in the skies. This was not a simple mission. By the time Ye Ci had located all the NPCs, she would be at least lvl 80.

    The quest definitely had something to do with the Dark Lord Naga.

    Ye Ci was immediately reminded of the Death¡¯s Abyss dungeon.

    Despite the inhumanely difficult task required by the quest, Ye Ci epted it. She then shifted her attention to La¡¯ Pito. His ce was stashed full of high-tier products such as automatons, high-powered bombs, mechanical birds and even a semipleted ne.

    Since she was already in the house of this Great Engineer, she would feel sorry if she left just like that without some of the good stuff. But La¡¯ Pito was very stingy. He tly rejected Ye Ci¡¯s request to take some of his items. He even rejected Ye Ci¡¯s request to learn Engineering because she ¡°did not have the talent.¡± Ye Ci could only leave with her heart full of anger.

    Ye Ci did not run into the Rogue on her way out, nor did she step on anyndmines.

    After travelling carefully for 2-3 hours, Ye Ci had finally reached the Expeditionary Forces Camp at the entrance of the Morrow Canyon. She suddenly sensed danger, before she could teleport away from the map.

    Ye Ci turned around while simultaneously jumping away, and cast Snake Venom Needle at the source of the danger.

    -171

    -50

    -50

    Red letters representing damage values appeared, revealing the form of the Rogue that Ye Ci had encountered earlier. The NPCs in the Expeditionary Forces Camp immediately slew the Rogue after noticing that he was not an allied yer.

    Ye Ci was baffled. Even if her assant wanted to farm some Kill Glory, why would he be so stupid as to try it in a camp full of lvl 70 NPCs...?

 Chapter 73 Melodious Flute

    Chapter 73 Melodious Flute

    The Rogueid on the ground, refusing to revive. He shouted at Ye Ci, ¡°You goddamn jinx! Why do I always have bad luck when I run into you?¡±

    Ye Ci was puzzled. Why was he so immature? He was the one who made the mistake. She gave up on the thought of leaving and walked over to the Rogue¡¯s corpse. She snorted, ¡°You can¡¯t me me for your own stupidity. Haven¡¯t you looked around before trying to ambush me? You¡¯re literally surrounded by lvl 70 Elite NPCs. You¡¯re the one who had a death wish.¡±

    The Rogue was also puzzled, ¡°Who said that I was going to ambush you?¡±

    ¡°Then why are you tailing me while Stealthed?¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t go into Stealth in such a high-leveled map, aren¡¯t I asking to be killed? I¡¯m not tailing you, I just wanted to borrow something from you.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just ask me?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know your name! Besides, I can¡¯t send you a message because we¡¯re not from the same faction!¡± The Rogue felt bitter. He had merely wanted to borrow something from Ye Ci and then return to his own continent. His level! His experience points! The Rogue had a sudden urge to cry.

    Ye Ci¡¯s face did not show any expression. Years of experience told her that she must be merciless when dealing with her enemy, especially one who had just attempted to ambush her. She would never consider trusting the words of her enemies, but...

    ¡°What do you want?¡± She narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°Can you buy a Flying Shard for me?¡±

    The Rogue sighed, he would¡¯ve died countless more times if he were to return to his own continent without the help of the Flying Shard.

    ording to the legends, Flying Shards were pieces of a Flying Gem forged by a great Mage of the Dyar Continent a long time ago. The gem could transport an individual to any and all locations. It was then broken into countless pieces during a great war. The Teleportation Crystals in the main cities of each continent were made from therger pieces of the broken Flying Gem. Some Mages had then created tiny pieces of crystals based on the remaining magic of the Flying Gem. They share the same magical property, and they allow yers to fly between cities.

    But...

    Even though a Flying Shard can allow yer to travel to the main cities in different continents, there were still some limitations. If a yer was at the Eastern Continent, the yer could only fly around with a Flying Shard bought from the Eastern Continent. But if the yer flew to the West Continent using an Eastern Continent Flying Shard, he or she could only return to the Eastern Continent by purchasing a Flying Shard in the Western Continent.

    In Fate, yers from opposing factions were not prohibited from traveling on each other¡¯s continents. But, if one travelled to an opposing faction¡¯s continent, one must also have a means to return from said continent. In the earlier stages of the game, yers were not able to talk to NPCs from an opposing faction through conventional means. It was not easy for a yer to return to a friendly continent from a hostile one.

    But when yers reached lvl 60, the La¡¯Shur City in the Middle Continent would be made avable to them. When their prestige level in La¡¯Shur City reached ¡°Intimate¡±, they would be able to purchase Flying Shards from all the continents, which would allow them to travel freely between continents.

    But at this stage of the game...

    Ye Ci was not really a kind hearted person. She knelt down beside the corpse and asked, ¡°I can buy it for you, but you have to tell me something.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°If you did not have the shard, how would you get back?¡±

    The Rogue remained silent, not willing to reveal his secret to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci stood up, and walked towards to Teleportation Master. She knew that the Rogue would reveal his secret. It must¡¯ve been quite a dangerous way of travelling. Ye Ci¡¯s theory was supported by the fact that the Rogue had chosen to try and borrow a Flying Shard from her rather than to use that secret method of travelling.

    Seeing that Ye Ci was about to leave, the Rogue sighed and called out to her, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you if you buy a shard for me.¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. She wasn¡¯t afraid that the Rogue would lie to her. After all, she was the one having the upper hand. Ye Ci nodded, ¡°No problem.¡± Then she headed to the camp¡¯s merchant NPC.

    The merchant in the Expeditionary Forces Camp would also randomly sell certain items. yers who had reached lvl 60 would usually loiter around the merchant and waited for the items sold by the merchant to be refreshed, and if they were lucky they might be able to find some rare items.

    Ye Ci¡¯s luck was good. She saw quite a few rare items when she opened the store page, such as the recipe of High-tier Paralysis Potion, Morrow Soup recipe, Silvery Moon Robe recipe and a lot of Scarlet Bombs.

    The Scarlet Bombs were sold at 100 gold each, and there were only 20 of them. Ye Ci did not even hesitate as she bought all of the Scarlet Bombs. With these 20 Scarlet Bombs, a bold thought formed in Ye Ci¡¯s mind.

    She bought all the high-tier recipes along with the Scarlet Bombs and also a Flying Shard. She walked up to the corpse and showed the Flying Shard to the Rogue, ¡°See, it¡¯s here. Now spill.¡±

    ¡°You can find an NPC named ¡®Filthy Dick¡¯ at the border between 2 continents. He will teleport you into a special tunnel. If you¡¯re lucky, you might be able to reach the neighbouring continent. But...¡± The Rogue continued with a slight pause, ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±

    Filthy Dick? Ye Ci had never heard of that name before. It seemed that she did not know the game as well as she thought.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the NPC? Do you have his coordinates?¡±

    ¡°No, he¡¯ll keep moving along the border continents. You¡¯ll run into him if you walk around that area.¡±

    Ye Ci stood up after she got what she wanted. She threw the Flying Shard on the ground and said, ¡°Good luck.¡± She then turned around towards the Teleportation Master.

    The Rogue cried out to her, ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t throw it here! At least ce it outside the camp! You want me to die?¡±

    Ye Ci waved her hand without looking back, ¡°Have a safe and happy journey~¡± Then she disappeared into a white sh of light.

    Ye Ci immediately headed for the House of Thieves and spent 100 gold coins to find out the name of the Rogue that she kept running into. She did the same thingst time, but was too busy clearing dungeons at that time. By the time she had time to collect the information, it had already expired.

    But this time, she would not miss the chance.

    With enough money, even the Devil Himself would work for someone.

    As long as you pay, the House of Thieves could get almost any piece of information you want within the shortest amount of time. But there¡¯s a bottom line. They will not give you everything you want. If a yer was to buy information regarding BUGs, the NPCs in the House of Thieves would report the yer to the system.

    ¡°Heh, Elf, the person you¡¯re looking for, I have info on him.¡± Said a ck clothed Dwarven Thief as he walked up to Ye Ci¡¯s table. He pour her a ss of water, and after making sure that nobody was eavesdropping, said in a low voice, ¡°He¡¯s a Rogue from the Northern Continent.¡± He then coughed, and with a greedy expression rubbed his thumb and his index finger together..

    Ye Ci gave him another 50 gold.

    A Thief asking for tips was something designed into the game, and hence Ye Ci thought nothing about it. If one haggles for the price during their first time in the House of Thieves, they might even get rejected by the NPC.

    ¡°His name is Melodious Flute.¡± Was the only thing that the NPC would tell Ye Ci.

    Melodious Flute! Ye Ci was shocked. It was Melodious Flute!

    Melodious Flute was a renowned Rogue in Ye Ci¡¯s past life. He was a very skillful yer, and a cordial person. He was also a Great Engineer, and the damage he could deal out was crazy. There was a saying, ¡°As long as Melodious Flute has a cannon shell left, he might be able to y an Epic BOSS.¡±

    As one can imagine, this guy was a formidable opponent.

    It was no wonder that Melodious Flute ranked third in the top 10 Rogues of Fate.

    Ye Ci had never came into contact with him in herst life, but she had ran into him twice in her current one. It was a shame that such a skillful yer was in the opposing faction. He might even cause her trouble in the future.

    Ye Ci immediately left the House of Thieves after getting the information she wanted. She no longer doubted that Melodious Flute was lying about the secret tunnel. After all, he was someone that could be trusted in her past life.

    The trip to the Morrow Canyon meant that Ye Ci had lost 10 days of time to level up. Quite a lot of yers had already reached lvl 21. As a reincarnator, if her level was lower than the average yers, it would be an embarrassment.

    She would be sorry for herself if she did not go out and farm some experience, especially after the 20 Scarlet Bombs that she had bought. She decided to head to the Boneyard.

    In Fate, maps that were below lvl 30 were filled with animals-type mobs. Humanoids and Undead type monsters began to surface in the lvl 30 and above maps.

    The Boneyard was a lvl 30 map. The edge of the map was filled with wolves and sabertooths. As one traveled deeper into the map, there were more and more skeletons, the trademark monsters of the Boneyard (obviously!). At the very heart of the Boneyard was a deserted monastery, which was Ye Ci¡¯s destination: Buren Monastery.

 Chapter 74 Buren Monastery

    Chapter 74 Buren Monastery

    Ye Ci had reced all her munitions with Novice Fire Arrows before heading to the Boneyard as undead and skeleton type monsters were vulnerable to fire type damage. Mage yers who go down the Elemental Talent pathway while selecting their Talent would usually party up and farm experience points in the ce.

    By that time, they would have their first AOE damage skill, Starfall. 10 mages with the help of a Hunter or Ranger to pull in the mobs could level up very fast.

    At this point, the Boneyard was still a decently quiet ce. Chilly winds blew throughout the entire map, adding to the creepiness and the already eerie background music of the map. Ye Ci¡¯s destination was the Buren Monastery. She did not try and fight the mobs roaming around the area. She would walk around them, or simply activate Feign Death.

    Before long, she was able to reach the Buren Monastery.

    ording to the lore, Buren Monastery was one of the five great monasteries that were corrupted during the Great War. However, the zealots of Buren Monastery were not like the zealots in the Blue Shirt Monastery who willingly joined the Dark Side. Their zealots were one of the most faithful in the entire Dyar Continent. The zealots fought to thest man to protect the pride of their monastery from Naga¡¯s minions. The tenacious resistance of the zealots caused great casualties to the Dark Lord Naga¡¯s army. Out of rage, he burned the entire monastery with his demonic mes.

    The corpses of the zealots were bathed by the demonic mes and were demonized. But their owner¡¯s craving for the Holy Light brought them grave pain and suffering. They rose from the dead, turning into skeletons to protect their once holy temple.

    Although Ye Ci had read about this sad story in the library of Champion City, she was more concerned about the location of the sacred artifact in Buren Monastery. In herst life, a yer imed on the forums that the sacred artifact that eluded Dark Lord Naga was hidden in a secret ce within the Buren Monastery itself.

    The thread itself became a hot topic. But the person who posted that thread did it anonymously, and had not given any updates regarding the topic. Many began to doubt the credibility of the poster. As a Sorceress, Ye Ci had tried to search for the artifact, but to no avail. It was revealed after many years that there was indeed a sacred artifact in the Buren Monastery. It was a shard of the Eral Gem.

    If Ye Ci was not interested in the Eral Gem as a Sorceress, then as a Huntress, it was definitely the gem that she was dreaming day and night about. The gem was split into 5 pieces during the Great War, and those pieces were ced in 5 monasteries in 5 different continents. Should all 5 of the gems bebined together, it would be a God-tier ornament that yers would die for.

    Ye Ci¡¯s objective in the Buren Monastery, other than leveling up, was to find the Eral Gem shard before other yers began exploring the map.

    As Ye Ci stood in front of the Buren Monastery, the background music immediately switched into a sad and sorrowful one, adding a tint of dismal atmosphere to the already ruined monastery.

    Ye Ci¡¯s equipment was way better than yers of the same level. With those equipment, her level difference penalty between her and the skeletons were slightly reduced.

    However, Ye Ci still avoided getting tangled with too many skeletons. Before she could get to a safe farming spot, she had limited her fights to kiting one melee skeleton at a time. Ye Ci would definitely avoid confrontations with the ranged skeletons. It would be suicide to try and fight one when she was at a level disadvantage.

    Fighting monsters that were at a higher level than her did give a lot more experience points.

    In Fate, if the monster¡¯s level was 5 levels above that of a yer, the yer would receive twice as much experience points than they normally would. If a monster was 8 levels ahead, a yer would receive 4 times the experience points. Monsters that were more than 10 levels ahead of a yer would yield 5 times more experience points while monsters that were 20 levels ahead of a yers would reward them 10 times the normal experience points rewarded.

    But... The higher the level, the higher the penalty as well. The case was especially true for monsters that were 10 levels higher than a yer. They might not even able to damage it. This factor greatly limited the yers¡¯ ability to fight monsters that were at a higher level than themselves.

    The skeletons within Buren Monastery itself were 10 levels higher than Ye Ci. Even she would need to kite a single skeleton for nearly 20 minutes. But whenever Ye Ci slew a skeleton, she received 5 times the normal experience rewarded and she was able to level up to lvl 21 in 4 hours.

    There was an NPC that could teach yers very OP skills when paid a certain amount of gold coins in the northern quarters of the Buren Monastery. The usage of the skill would be limited to only within the Buren Monastery itself. High leveled yers would not even bother with that NPC, but at the current stage, the NPC¡¯s presence was like a blessing.

    The problem was that there were just too many skeletons roaming around the area where the NPC was. Ye Ci could only climb onto the nearly crumbling roof of the monastery and head northwards.

    The road to the NPC was a very dangerous one. Ye Ci was spotted by Skeleton Mages several times as she moved along the roof. Had she not cast Feigned Death in time, she could really be dead. Ye Ci was able to creep her way to the top of the room and jumped in through a small hole on the roof.

    Ye Ci cursed as she squeezed through the hole. It was too small. If she was of another race like a Dwarf, Orc or even Human, she would never be able to pull it off.

    Ye Ci made it into the room. As she dropped in, she identally stepped on a piece of debris, attracting the attention of all the skeletons within the room. Feigned Death was still on cooldown, but the skeletons were already approaching to investigate. Ye Ci looked around and saw a broken beam that she could use to hide herself.

    Without much time to think, Ye Ci leapt up and climbed onto the beam. She pressed herself closely to the beam, not daring to move.

    Her hiding spot was 15 yards from the entrance of the room. In her current hidden state, she would be safe as long as the skeletons did not go within 8 yards of the beam.

    The ttering of bones announced the presence of the skeletons. There were at least 8 of them. Ye Ci held her breath, wary that the sound of her breathing might betray her location.

    The skeletons stood at the entrance and surveyed the room. They then spoke to each other with anguage that Ye Ci could not understand. In Fate, every race had their ownnguage which could only be understood by beings of the same race. There was also a lingua franca used by the races of the 5 continents but that was the onlynguage known to the yers other than their own racialnguage. Languages from the other races must be learned through specific items or NPCs.

    The skeletons left after chattering to each other. However, one of the Skeleton Mages turned around after walking a few steps away and headed straight towards Ye Ci¡¯s hiding spot.

    Ye Ci immediately feel panic surging through her. She was not afraid of a single skeleton. But... If it saw her, it would definitely call for help. It would be the end of her.

    As the Skeleton Mage approached her, Ye Ci counted the distance until it would detect her presence.

    4 yards, 3 yards, 2 yards...

    Ye Ci took out her crossbow and loaded it up with ming Arrows, ready to ambush the Skeleton Mage as it came near.

    1 yard left.

    The Skeleton Mage stopped. The skeletons outside of the room began chattering again, as if summoning the Skeleton Mage. It then left.

    Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief. Her palms were sweating. She could¡¯ve died back there. She slung her weapon and jumped down from the beam. She was careful, not wanting to alert the skeletons.

    There was a zealot in purple robes named Hank in the room. He was dead, and all that remained of Hank was his spirit. He had not realised his own death, and thought that he was still conducting his research.

    ¡°Oh, an Elf!¡± Hank appeared happy to see Ye Ci, ¡°Have words of my great research spread throughout thend?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Zealot Hank.¡± Ye Ci bowed respectfully, ¡°Your research is very famous in the entire Dyar Continent.¡±

    ¡°I knew it!¡± Hank¡¯s spirit was gleeful. He patted Ye Ci shoulder, but she could not feel his touch, ¡°And you must be here to tell me of this great news?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Zealot Hank.¡±

    ¡°Good, good.¡± Hank was very satisfied with the answer, ¡°As a token of my gratitude, I will teach you one of the fruits of my research.¡±

    A choice of 3 skills immediately appeared in front of Ye Ci...

 Chapter 75 Sacrificial Altar

    Chapter 75 Sacrificial Altar

    me Pir, Starfall, Light of Enticement.

    me Pir and Starfall were both high level magic spells. After level 25, yers who came here to clear out monsters would mostly pick these two high level AoE magic spells to defeat the monsters. Ye Ci however, picked the third one ¨C Light of Enticement.

    She had her reasons for picking it.

    me Pir and Starfall were high level AoE magic spells, and she didn¡¯tck MP. But since it was an offensive skill of mage, any offensive skills that were rted to mage sses would definitely involve one attribute ¨C intelligence. Only yers with high intelligence could dish out high damage with these kinds of magic spells. If agility-based sses that had rtively lower intelligence or melee sses used this type of magic spell, then its effectiveness would be halved.

    Light of Enticement was a skill from the mage¡¯s Necromancer Talent tree. This skill could summon different beings to make up for a mage¡¯sck in attack power. Although this skill depended on the Intelligence stats, it only affected the amount of time needed to entice monsters instead of the sess rate.

    So for Ye Ci, whose ss had low intelligence, picking this skill was the most sensible choice. Looking for some fighters to serve her was the wisest thing to do.

    After making her choice, Ye Ci saw an additional skill in her skill panel. There was also an exnation below the Light of Enticement skill: Can only be used within the Buren Monastery.

    Ye Ci picked a skeleton mage that was closest to the door and then started to use the Light of Enticement on it. She only heard a buzzing noise from the electrical current that was coursing around the skeleton¡¯s body. Its name had also temporarily turned yellow from red. If Ye Ci was able to sessfully summon it, its name would turn green. If she didn¡¯t seed, then the skeleton mage would immediately shatter and Ye Ci wouldn¡¯t gain any experience points either.

    Casting the Light of Enticement was a test of patience. Although Ye Ci could brag that she was quite patient, to continuously maintain a pose to cast a magic on a monster could get a little tiring over a period of time. She couldn¡¯t help but yawn. She was just thinking to herself that if she couldn¡¯t seed in summoning this Skeleton Mage, she might as well kill it instantly. Just then, she heard the system announcement. She had sessfully summoned the Skeleton Mage.

    Ye Ci cheered up. The Skeleton Mage¡¯s name had already turned green and then it came walking towards her. Ye Ci felt so much more confident after her first sess. In just a short while, she managed to ¡°recruit¡± another three Skeleton Mages. Their names and levels were white in color. If Ye Ci kept roaming around the Buren Monastery without going offline, these skeletons would gradually level up. The highest they could reach was the grade 7 with a dark blue name.

    Although there were only four white name levelled Skeleton Mages, they were all monsters above level 30. Their strength shouldn¡¯t be underestimated. Skeletons were monsters with very low intelligence. As long as they were sessfully enticed, they would very rarely be traitors. Therefore, they didn¡¯t go easy at all on the other Skeleton Mages who were theirpanions just before.

    With these four Skeleton Mages, Ye Ci could finally walk around the Buren Monastery without any worries. Regardless of whether it was the speed of killing monsters or moving, everything sped up by a lot. She passed through the corridor and arrived at the once Sacred Pond of the Buren Monastery.

    There used to be pure and holy spring water flowing here. The pilgrims would pass through the Sacred Pond to cleanse the filth on their body. Now, the Sacred Pond had long been destroyed. Not only that, the spring water had also long since dried up.

    The skeletons that roamed around the public square of the Sacred Pond were all melee skeletons. Compared to those skeletons in the corridors outside, they were not only holding a weapon but also wearing armor. Even so, they still didn¡¯t stand a chance against the four mages. Ye Ci could pretty much pass through very quickly. Soon enough though, she stopped dead in her tracks because she saw a level 35 elite monster not far away ¨C Skeletal Guardian

    The Skeletal Guardian was a lot taller than normal skeletons. It was fully dressed in armor,plete with a helm on its head. There was a shield equipped in its left hand and an extremely sharp broadsword in its right hand. Sunlight shone on the de, causing it to gleam coldly. Ye Ci didn¡¯t notice it earlier because it had been sitting on a rock. Now that it stood up, she was able to notice its existence at a single nce.

    She started to assess the situation in her heart. This guy was an elite monster. Its HP and defense were nearly twice as high as a normal skeleton. Not only that, it also moved very fast. If she dragged the four skeleton mages along with her to attack it, even though the odds of winning wasn¡¯t high, it didn¡¯t mean that there wasn¡¯t any hope. Elite monsters would normally drop Blue grade equipment. However, this was a level 30 training area. The Blue graded equipments would all be above level 30. Even so, Ye Ci wouldn¡¯t necessary be satisfied with them.

    Since this was the case, she might as well entice this Skeletal Guardian into her fold. That would greatly increase her safety factor.

    Thinking up to this point, she let the four Skeleton Mages start attacking the Skeletal Guardian while she started to entice it. The Health Points and Defense of this Skeletal Guardian were higher than normal skeletons, so if she wanted to raise the sess rate of enticing it, she would need to bring its HP down to critical level before attempting to entice it.

    Fortunately the spawn rate of skeletons around the Sacred Pond wasn¡¯t very fast. Ye Ci went around the Skeletal Guardian while leading it towards the smallwn at the side of the Public Square. There wouldn¡¯t be any monsters spawning there, so it was the best ce to entice it.

    Ye Ci stopped the Skeleton Mages¡¯ attacks when the Skeletal Guardian ¡¯s HP was lowered to about 15 points. She then started to continuously shine the Light of Enticement on it. Even though most of its HP had been depleted, it still wasn¡¯t easy to entice it. She saw the skeletons around her spawning more and more. Ye Ci could only assign the Skeleton Mages around her so that they could surround her and the Skeletal Guardian for protection.

    Her Light of Enticement must not be interrupted at all cost, otherwise all of her previous efforts would go down the drain.

    As the old saying goes: What you fear is more likely to happen. While Ye Ci were seriously using her Light of Enticement, she saw another Skeletal Guardian slowly making its way towards her.

    Why was there another one here? Wasn¡¯t there normally only one elite monster in this kind of area? How could two of them spawn at the same time? Ye Ci was anxious as she watched the path of the Skeletal Guardian . She was just afraid that it woulde over here. So when it had just walked into the attacking range of the Skeleton Mages, Ye Ci immediately activated them, letting them go attack the Skeletal Guardian .

    When the Skeletal Guardian was attacked, it immediately raised the broadsword in its hand and rushed towards Ye Ci. It raised its gigantic sword against the four Skeleton Mages without any restraint. In just a sh, thest Skeleton Mage that she had enticed was smashed into pieces. The HP of the other Skeleton Mages were also starting to go down. Since one of the Skeleton Mages by her side was smashed, there was a gap that could allow the Skeletal Guardian to pass by. The Skeletal Guardian was obviously way more intelligent than the normal skeletons. It shifted its feet and shed towards Ye Ci through that gap.

    Damn.¡± Ye Ci felt a chill in her heart. Her efforts were all going down the drain.

    ¡°Sessfully summoned the Skeletal Guardian .¡± Heaven never bars one¡¯s way. Just when her heart was sinking, the system announcement rang out. The Skeletal Guardian who had just been sessfully summoned dashed towards his own kind despite its critical HP.

    Ye Ci didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer either. She immediately leapt a few steps backwards to put a certain distance between them before she started to attack.

    Although the Skeletal Guardian was tough, it was no match for Ye Ci¡¯s posse. It became a pile of bone remains on the floor in a sh. Ye Ci exhaled. What a close call. The skeletal guardian was at itsst drop of HP as well. The other three Skeleton Mages were also on the verge of dying. She went up looted the pile of bone remains and found a Blue grade equipment. It looked like a barbarian¡¯s belt, but it was yet to be appraised.She didn¡¯t mind and threw the belt into her bag, then led her posse towards her next bjective ¨C the Sacrificial Altar.

    She summoned another Skeleton Archer on their way. Ye Ci¡¯s party couldn¡¯t be said as inferior. The Skeletal Guardian acted as a meat shield at the front, while the other few small skeletons trailed behind it. They would take care of any skeleton that appeared in a sh.

    While Ye Ci hurried on with her band of skeletons, another party of more than ten people also came to the Sacred Pond.

    ¡°Twilight why are there so few monsters here?¡±

    ¡°Someone was here.¡± The leader, Crimson Twilight, was a mage dressed in a dark red mage robe that seemed to have mes faintly flowing on it. This was a unique item from the Scorching Canyon dungeon located at the southern part of the Eastern Continent ¨C the Scorching Mage Robe Set. Other than its exceptional attributes, it also had an additional Fire attribute. This was the best equipment for clearing skeleton monsters. This set of equipment was the only reason why this group of people dared toe grind at the Buren Monastery when they were only level 20.

    All of them looked at the scattered bones remains on the floor as their heart sank. Their guild had went through all the trouble of getting three sets of Scorching Mage Robes beforeing here to clear monsters. There was someone who actually managed toe here earlier than them? Could it be another guild?

    Crimson Twilight was the guild¡¯s vice president and also the organizer of this grind session. His heart sank a little when he saw the mess before his eyes. After contemting for awhile, he called out towards a rogue from one side. ¡°Mallow, follow the trail of bone remains and see what¡¯s up ahead. Find out which guild hase. Stay safe.¡±

    Mallow nodded and immediately switched to stealth mode, then started to follow the trail of bone remains and went in the direction of the Sacrificial Grounds.

    Crimson Twilight immediately ordered all members to start clearing out monsters at the Sacred Pond¡¯s public square while they waited for news from Mallow.

    At this moment, Ye Ci wasn¡¯t aware that a guild had also entered the Buren Monastery. She was just hurrying towards the Sacrificial Grounds along with her little juniors. The area here was gourd shaped. The entrance was very narrow, but very spacious in the abdomen area. The Sacrificial Altar leaned high up against the mountain. Standing on the Sacrificial Altar was a monster that could be mass killed for privilege points. This was heaven for mages to farm monsters in the future, but for now only Ye Ci knew of this ce.

    Hello peoples! So here¡¯s Chapter 75 for y¡¯all! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

    I¡¯ve been extremely busy these few days and I think that I¡¯ll continue being busy throughout the week. So... Apologies in advance if I couldn¡¯t post double chapters on Friday.

    Aaaaand.... If you wanna give Jimmi some freebies hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page. (Anybody ys Grim Dawn? *cough cough* it¡¯s not like I want the game yanno but *cough cough* maybe somebody can send it to me in Steam? jk gonna save up for that)

    Anyways, FIRST IN COMMENT TYPE FIRST BLOOD!

 Chapter 76 Sacred Hall

    Chapter 76 Sacred Hall

    Ye Ci¡¯s position was very strategic. In a ce with such a geographical shape, it was very easy to enter the room, but near-impossible to leave it quickly. Ye Ci ced her 5 ¡°henchmen¡± on the Sacrificial Altar that was at the side of the mountain, and began to draw in monsters from the narrow entrance. Due to the low movement speed of the skeletons, a ss with high Agility like Ye Ci¡¯s Huntress was very suitable for the job.

    The monsters that were drawn in locked their aggro on Ye Ci¡¯s skeletal henchmen on the Sacrificial Altar, drawing them deeper into the area.

    Had the skeleton that swarmed into the ce not been melee ones, Ye Ci¡¯s skeletal henchmen would¡¯ve been torn apart within moments.

    With Ye Ci¡¯s efforts, the Sacrificial Grounds was packed full of monsters. Ye Ci ran along the the side of the mountain with her high Bnce, and was able to make it safely to the Sacrificial Altar. Her aggro value was very high, so the melee skeletons charged at her, waving their weapons as they went. Their bones ground together with a cking sound. yers with trypophobia would definitely have their wits scared out of them. The narrow choke point was crammed full by hundreds of skeletons. Their ghastly white bones appeared eerie under the sunlight.

    To be honest, Ye Ci was ufortable being stared at by so many skeletons. She did not dare to spend the time to appreciate her own ¡°achievement¡±. She took a Scarlet Bomb out, pulled the pin, and lobbed it into the densest part of the skeletal horde. As if sensing the impending danger, the skeletons tried to escape, but it was impossible.

    The skeletons at the front that had sensed danger tried to turn around and run, but the skeletons swarming in from behind could not see what was happening in front of them. They continued to charge at Ye Ci. With this, the skeletons became tightly clumped together. Ye Ci¡¯s Scarlet Bombnded right in the midst of a huge group of skeletons.

    ¡°BOOM!¡± arge explosion shook the area. Ye Ci could only see red numbers blotting out her screen, and her experience gauge was filled up rapidly.

    There was only a crater left where the Scarlet Bomb exploded. The system would automatically fix any damage done to the terrain within a few hours, or Ye Ci would¡¯ve been used of destroying terrains in the game. The skeletons around the crater were pushed in by theirrades and they fell into the crater. Ye Ci did not hold back. With the help of her 3 Skeleton Mages and a Skeleton Archer, she began harvesting the lives of the trapped skeletons.

    The wail let out by the dying skeletons sent shivers down Ye Ci¡¯s spine.

    It was a very efficient way to farm experience. Before long, Ye Ci had leveled up from lvl 21 to lvl 25 with 67% progress, and her experience points were still rising. She might even be able to reach lvl 27 by the time she was done with all the skeletons. She would have a higher level than the top yer in the leveling rankings.

    Mallow, who was hiding just outside the chokepoint, was utterly shocked. He couldn¡¯t believe that this was something that could be done by a lone yer. He immediately sent a message to Crimson Twilight and ryed the information.

    Although not witnessing the scene first hand, Crimson Twilight shivered at the thought of it, ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s alone?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she is. She¡¯s a...¡± Mallow stared at the tiny silhouette standing on the Sacrificial Altar, unsure, ¡°I think she¡¯s a Huntress.¡±

    ¡°You think?¡±

    ¡°She was surrounded by quite a number of skeleton minions, so I figured she could be a Necromancer. I¡¯m not too sure.¡±

    By the time Mallow hadpleted his report to Crimson Twilight, Ye Ci had cleared away all the monsters and was preparing to leave the Sacrificial Grounds.

    Ye Ci was already lvl 27. With her level, her survivability as she looked for the Eral Gem shard was raised exponentially. As she approached the entrance of the Sacrificial Grounds, Ye Ci stopped dead in her tracks. She had felt the presence of a Rogue.

    Mallow was anxious. He thought to himself: The Huntress won¡¯t be able to detect me, right? When the Huntress stopped abruptly, Mallow¡¯s anxiety increased. But she then continued walking forward.

    There was only 2 possibilities that could exin the presence of a lvl 20 Rogue in the ce. He could be part of a party, or he had been tailing Ye Ci for quite some times. Ye Ci did not feel the presence of the Rogue earlier, which meant that he was part of a party.

    A party was here to farm higher level mobs... Ye Ci gave it a thought, and decided to not deal with the Rogue. She wanted to find out which party he belonged to.

    Since Ye Ci¡¯s farming method was already discovered, the ce would soon be crawling with yers. Ye Ci herself, who had already benefitted from it, did not have the need to continue it anymore.

    Thinking that the Huntress had not detected him, Mallow let out a sigh of relief and continued tailing Ye Ci while in Stealth. He reported everything he observed to Crimson Twilight. Ye Ci was not in a rush. She used Hawkeye which was one of the skills in her Talent to survey the area, and was able to detect traces of a party nearby.

    Confront them, or avoid them?

    After a pause, Ye Ci decided to avoid the party. She didn¡¯t want a confrontation, as her priority was to locate the Eral Gem shard. Ye Ci immediately headed to the Sacred Hall.

    Ye Ci rounded a corner and stopped. A 12-yer party let by a man in a Scorching Mage Robe was in front of her.

    The man stopped as well after seeing Ye Ci. He studied Ye Ci carefully.

    It was an Elven Huntress with a very nd appearance. If she were to appear in the crowd in a city, she would easily be overlooked. But... the skeletons surrounding her sent chills down his spine. The most notable of the 5 skeletons was an especiallyrge armored one following closely behind Ye Ci. Itsrge frame, neat armor, and the sword and shield in its hands, as well as the blue mes lighting up its eye sockets, made the skeleton very intimidating.

    The moment heid eyes on Ye Ci, Crimson Twilight was able to tell that she was the Huntress that Mallow was talking about. He stared at Ye Ci and began assessing her strength. Her equipment appeared inferior to that of his party. Common sense dictated that a Huntress could not summon undead minions, but the Huntress in front of him had 5 of them. What scared him the most was that the skeletons were quite high-leveled, and the biggest among them gave off an intimidating vibe.

    Then again, they had strength in numbers. They would not be at a disadvantage if they went into a confrontation with the Huntress. The flow of the battle would depend on how the Huntress reacted as well.

    Ye Ci stared back at the party and began calcting her odds. She was contemting if she should take the party on. They definitely outnumbered her, and 3 of them were equipped with the Scorching Mage Robe set. They could deal some damage. Ye Ci had the Skeleton Guardian on her side. She would not have trouble taking out the party, but she had no time to waste.

    Just as she was still giving the topic a thought, a lvl 32 Skeleton Warrior appeared in her view. Ye Ci immediately thought of a way to solve this. She directed the 3 Skeleton Mages and the Skeleton Archer to attack the Skeleton Warrior. The lvl 32 Skeleton Warrior didn¡¯t evenst 2 seconds under the onught.

    The scene shocked Crimson Twilight deeply. Their party would need at least 30 seconds to defeat a lvl 32 Skeletal Warrior, but the Huntress did it in 2... Immediately, he gave up on trying to take Ye Ci on. He smiled at her warmly and greeted her, ¡°Greetings.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded. She chose not to speak and instead walked past Crimson Twilight¡¯s party with her ¡°skeleton entourage¡± towards the Sacred hall.

    By then, Mallow had already rejoined the group. He stared at Ye Ci who was already leaving and asked, ¡°Boss, we¡¯re not going deal with her?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t.¡± Crimson Twilight shook his head. He knew that the skeletons following Ye Ci around were no ordinary skeletons. If they shed, their party would be wiped out within seconds. However, Crimson Twilight was curious. If Huntress was here to farm experience point, wouldn¡¯t the monsters at the outer area of the map be sufficient for only 1 person?

    Unable to suppress his curiosity, Crimson Twilight led his party and followed Ye Ci towards the Sacred Hall.

    Ye Ci had reached the Sacred Hall after walking through a corridor.

    The entrance of the Sacred Hall was filled with lvl 35 Elite Monsters. Ye Ci walked quickly. Noticing that Crimson Twilight was tailing her, she did not clear away all the monsters she encountered. She instead left a few of them here and there to slow them down. Although the entrance was crowded with Elite Monsters, the Sacred Hall itself was empty. As long as Ye Ci was able to enter the Sacred Hall, she would be able toplete her objective.

    Unfortunately, the Ye Ci¡¯s skeletal henchmen would have to act as bait to draw the monsters away. She would no longer be able to keep them around.

    Shemanded her Skeletal Mages to run circles around the Sacred Hall, baiting the Elite Skeletons away from the entrance. Ye Ci then entered the empty Sacred Hall safely.

    The interior of the Sacred Hall was dark. The once glorious candles that used to light up the hall had long ago been extinguished.

    As an Elf, Ye Ci had perfect night vision. She could still see the interior of the Sacred Hall. It was a mess. Literally nothing was left intact, save for a statue of the God of Light. It was definitely something fishy.

    Ye Ci walked up to the statue and grabbed hold of the staff that the statue was holding. A ring light lit up the ce all of a sudden, and the ground underneath Ye Ci disappeared. She fell.

    Ye Ci¡¯s head was spinning. By the time it stopped, she was already at the bottom of a very deep hole.

    Hi guys, sorry for thete chapter, and uhhh the inability to post a double. Been very busy throughout the week, a lot of shit to get done, a lot of things to sort out, barely had any time to actually sit in front of myptop.

    Well, I¡¯m sure you guys know of the crisis with QI. I¡¯m quite worried about it, as Reign of the Hunters is also a Qidian title. I have no idea when the hammer will fall and whoop Jimmi¡¯s sorry ass, but hey, let¡¯s be optimistic here, we¡¯re smol and not as well known maybe we¡¯ll stay under the radar yanno. Hope you guys will continue to give me the support that you¡¯ve been giving me in an event where I¡¯m no longer able to trante Reign of the Hunters and had to move to another project.

    Anyways.... Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. And thank you for supporting Reign of the Hunters.

    PS: We¡¯re counting First Five for this chapter.

 Chapter 77 A City Under Siege

    Chapter 77 A City Under Siege

    The devs are toozy. This was literally a plot right out of a wuxia novel! Making sure that she was not hurt, Ye Ci stood up. The only remaining skeleton with her, the Skeleton Guardian, stood up as well.

    The space was not big. There was a huge throne in front of Ye Ci, and on that throne sat a gigantic skeleton. It appeared dead; there were no signs of iting to life. Ye Ci¡¯s gaze roamed around the skeleton¡¯s body, and stopped at a box sitting on itsp.

    If her assumption was correct, it contained the Eral Gem shard that she was looking for.

    Without a moment of hesitation, Ye Ci bounded for the box. As she opened it, she saw a multicolored gem. She scooped the gem out of the box, but before she could put it into her inventory, something had grabbed hold of her arm.

    It was the hand of the giant skeleton. The giant skeleton¡¯s eyes glistened with a red light as it stared at Ye Ci, and a name appeared on top of his head: Nameless Zealot. His stats and level were all represented by question marks.

    It meant that the skeleton was at least 20 levels higher than Ye Ci.

    The skeleton said in an eerie voice, ¡°Elf, unhand the gem. If you let go of that gem with your sinful hand, I shall let you leave this ce alive.¡± An undeniable pressure was exerted upon Ye Ci, nearly suffocating her.

    It was the aura of a high-level BOSS. yers affected by the aura would feel a certain degree of pressure exerted upon their bodies. The pets or minions summoned by yers would also be affected by a debuff that would make them shudder, reducing their movement speed and attack.

    But, would Ye Ci let go of that shard? Ye Ciughed and sneered at the Nameless Zealot. She would be an idiot to let go of that Eral Gem shard. She looked at the Skeleton Guardian. It was shuddering, affected by the aura of the gigantic skeleton as well. Ye Cimanded the Skeleton Guardian to attack the Nameless Zealot.

    Although the Skeleton Guardian was terrified, it had to act in the face of amand from its master. It charged at the Nameless Zealot, raised its sword with a trembling hand, and brought it down on the hand that was grabbing on to Ye Ci.

    ¡°Foolish ant, you attack me because of a lowly Elf?¡± The Nameless Zealot immediately let go of Ye Ci and shifted its attention to the Skeleton Guardian. Ye Ci took the opportunity to put the Eral Gem shard into her pocket and took out a City Recalling Stone.

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to use the item in this ce.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s attempt to leave however, was met with the cold voice of a system notification.

    If she couldn¡¯t recall to a city, there were only 2 ways of leaving the ce. Kill the big guy, or get killed by it. Truth to be told, Ye Ci did not wish to try either one of those options. As she directed the Skeleton Guardian to fight against the Nameless Zealot, Ye Ci studied her surroundings, looking for a way out.

    Because of its sheer size, the Nameless Zealot was very slow. Despite having powerful attacks, they could be easily dodged.

    The Nameless Zealot was thoroughly enraged when the Skeleton Guardian dodged its attacks under Ye Ci¡¯s direction. It raised its hand and roared. The roar formed into a shockwave and dealt damage to Ye Ci. She immediately drank a Large Health Potion to prevent herself from being killed. The sound wave attack did not affect the Skeleton Guardian though, as it had absolutely no hearing. It resumed its attacks on the Nameless Zealot.

    ¡°I¡¯ve held back, thinking that you¡¯re myrade. But you did not repent. You shall share the same fate with this shameless Elf.¡± The Nameless Zealot swung its hand at the Skeleton Guardian.

    The Nameless Zealots hand was able to stretch and retract at will. With that mighty swing, it smashed the Skeleton Guardian into the wall. The ground began to tremble. Had Ye Ci not held onto a protruding rock, she would¡¯ve lost her bnce.

    ¡°Crack!¡± The stone wall ruptured and a ray of bright light shone into the hole. Ye Ci cast a nce at the source of the light, and saw that a huge opening was created in the wall of the hole by the Nameless Zealot. The Skeleton Guardian had already disappeared. It must¡¯ve gotten thrown out by the force of that hit.

    Since there was already a way out, Ye Ci immediately headed towards the opening.

    ¡°Shameless ant, you shall not escape!¡± The Nameless Zealot gained a sudden burst of speed and rushed towards Ye Ci. He was a BOSS, which meant that his intelligence was way higher than a normal skeleton. It was able to tell that Ye Ci was trying to escape through the opening, and it moved to intercept her.

    Ye Ci did not even hesitate as she jumped onto the extended hand of the Nameless Zealot that was in her way. With the aid of the force of his swinging hand, Ye Ci leapt again andnded on his ribcage. Using the Nameless Zealot¡¯s ribs asdder, she was able to climb towards his shoulder.

    The Nameless Zealot was enraged. It began to shake its body and attempted to swat Ye Ci away from his body. Ye Ci darted between the seams of his bones, avoiding his attacks. The few times his fingertip was able to scratch at Ye Ci, her health dropped rapidly.

    Ye Ci continued her great escape while using bandage after bandage to sustain her hitpoints, not daring to stop. She headed straight for the opening.

    Ye Ci leapt right as she climbed onto the Nameless Zealot¡¯s shoulder. She stood at the opening, and realised that she was at a really high ce.

    Down below, she could see an an oasis and a prospering city. Ye Ci then remembered that the Boneyard was a upward rising slope, and the Buren Monastery was at the highest point of the hill. The map directly connected to the Boneyard was called the Green Ark. One of the top 3 prospering cities, the Oasis City, was situated in the Green Ark.

    She was in a secret chamber underneath the Sacred Hall. And since the wall had already been broken by the Nameless Zealot, the opening naturally led to her current position.

    ¡°You shall not escape! Come and face your doom!¡± The Nameless Zealotughed maniacally as he advanced towards Ye Ci. Rocks fell after being dislodged by his booming voice. The secret chamber was about to copse.

    Ye Ci smiled and said, ¡°See yater, Nameless Zealot.¡± She then activated Charge, and she dashed 20m into the air, and fell.

    ¡°Nooooo!¡± The Nameless Zealot roared, and the chamber¡¯s walls shook even more violently.

    As the speed of Ye Ci¡¯s descent elerated, the soft winds became sharp as de, slicing at Ye Ci¡¯s skin. She grimaced at the pain. As the ground was nearer and nearer, Ye Ci activated her Mysterious Ring¡¯s additional skill, Featherfall. Her body instantly became light, and shended on the ground with the speed of a feather floating downwards slowly.

    She would definitely have died if not for the Mysterious Ring¡¯s additional skill. She let out a deep breath, and summoned her steed.

    Just as Ye Ci took off, the roar of the Nameless Zealot boomed behind her, ¡°Stand still, you despicable vermin!¡±

    Ye Ci was shocked. She nced backwards and found out that the Nameless Zealot hadnded not far away from her, snapping several trees in half. Ye Ci shivered out of fear, and immediately galloped towards Oasis City.

    Oasis City was surrounded by lvl 20-lvl 25 monsters. It was a ce where yers gather to farm experience and level up. In her current situation, Ye Ci headed straight for the most popted area. She darted left and right in the forest, giving the expression that she was merely returning to the city for supplies.

    Ye Ci was the only one who knew that she was running away. Running away for dear life.

    Despite his height, the Nameless Zealot was hindered by the tall trees in the forest. He was slowed down considerably by the trees.

    As Ye Ci left the forest, the yers leveling up nearby the area finally spotted the Nameless Zealot.

    The yers immediately shouted, ¡°It¡¯s a BOSS! A Wild BOSS!¡±

    The yers in the vicinity immediately charged at the direction of the Nameless Zealot.

    Ye Ci mumbled heartlessly under her breath, ¡°You guys sure are good people. Thanks for dying the monster for me. You¡¯ve saved my life, such a trifling matter is not worth mentioning, am I right?¡±

    The Nameless Zealot was at least lvl 80, and it was a BOSS. No matter how many yers went after it, they only faced death. Before long, most of the yers were already dead or dying. The Map Channel of the Green Ark instantly mored in an uproar. There were yers who ranted and cursed nonstop. It was very lively.

    By that time, Ye Ci had already reached the Oasis City. She immediately rushed towards the Teleportation Master. Before she could leave, she noticed a message in the chat, ¡°That giant skeleton thingy is headed for the city! Is it trying to attack the city?¡±

    Ye Ci immediately gave up on leaving. She instead headed towards the City Hall.

    Ye Ci was stopped by the sentry as she rushed into the city hall. ¡°Sir Mayor, i¡¯m a Second Rank Soldier of Red Lake City, I have something of utmost importance to report!¡± Shouted Ye Ci as she showed the mayor her badge.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a guest from Red Lake City? Ah, forgive ourck of manners. Let her pass.¡± the Administration Officer motioned at the sentries, signaling for them to let Ye Ci pass while smiling warmly at her.

    Hey peeps! Chapter 77 is here!! Only 23 more chapters until we hit 100!!! Ooooorah!!!

    If you think this chapter is awesome and want to reward Jimmi for the awesome chapter, hit that ¡°Sponsor¡± button at the right side of the page!

    And, I¡¯ve been thinking... Is anybody interested in drawing some fanart for Reign of the Hunters? XD Unleash your artistic talents people!!! (Will whatever piece of work I receive in the new chapters I post)

    You can always track me down in Vre¡¯s discord server: https://discordapp/invite/p76aXMR

 Chapter 78 Van der Loofâ€™s Request

    Chapter 78 Van der Loof¡¯s Request

    Fate is arge scale game. Different yers have their own social circles. Even NPCs have their own social circles. The lord of Oasis City, Van der Loof, and the lord of Red Lake City, Sha¡¯gar, wererades that fought side by side in the Great War. They were very close to each other. However, because the distance between their cities was great, the two lords normally wouldmunicate with each other through letters.

    Despite the distance, the friendship of the two lords was as thick as blood. They treated each other¡¯s citizens in a friendly manner as well. This was why Ye Ci was not punished for barging into the City Hall and was instead received as a visitor.

    Of course, the only reason she had dared to barge into the City Hall was exactly because she had knowledge of the rtionship between the two city lords. Had it not been the case, she would¡¯ve been chased out of Oasis City by the sentries, and her prestige in the city would also drop.

    The rtionship between the NPCs of each continent was recorded in the public library. As long as yers were willing to invest time in the library, they would discover a lot of secrets about Fate. But yers were generally always busy leveling up, so who would actually think of going to the library? Ye Ci was no exception. In herst life, she was forced to hide in the library for 2 months to evade her foes. Out of boredom, she had read all the history of the continent during her stay, and was able to gain much knowledge from her experience.

    ¡°Your Honor.¡± Ye Ci bowed towards the mayor as she was led into his office, ¡°I have something important to report.¡±

    ¡°And what would that be, our friend from Red Lake City?¡± The mayor was of course not the city lord, but simply a ¡°butler¡± appointed by the lord. Their behavior varied, just like the behavior of any other human being. The mayor of Oasis City was apparently much more sincere than the mayor of Red Lake City.

    ¡°As I was going through the Green Ark, I saw a gigantic skeleton heading straight for Oasis City. Oasis City and Red Lake City have always maintained a good rtionship. As a citizen of Red Lake City, how could I ignore this matter? This is why I made my way here as fast as I could to report my sightings to you, Your Honor.¡± Ye Ci looked at the the mayor with an expression full of sincerity, totally ignoring the fact that she had twisted the truth.

    ¡°What? A giant skeleton?¡± The mayor of Oasis City immediately stood up, rmed. He was able to quickly hide his worried expression as he nodded at Ye Ci, ¡°Dear friend, please rest here for a moment. I will send some of my soldiers to check it out.¡± He immediately gave out his orders.

    Before long, a soldier returned, ¡°Sir, a giant skeleton has breached through the city¡¯s outer defensive shield and is now heading to our middle tier shield.¡±

    The mayor was anxious. ¡°Dear friend, thank you for bringing us this news, I thank you in my lord¡¯s stead. I¡¯m in a rush now, I have to inform the City Lord of this.¡± Said the mayor promptly as he rushed towards the City Lord¡¯s castle.

    The administration officer and the captain of the guard who were left in the office discussed the contingency ns against the giant skeleton, and none of them paid attention to Ye Ci. She stood in a corner and looked out of the office¡¯s window, staring at the activity far away while reading the rants of yers in the map chat channel.

    The Nameless Zealot had be bigger. When he was at the secret chamber, Ye Ci noticed that the Nameless Zealot was only 3 timesrger than her. But he had already grown to the point where he was even taller than the city wall of Oasis City. It was apparent that the Nameless Zealot was growing. Countless spells flew towards the Nameless Zealot and sshed across his bones. But when the Nameless Zealot swung his arm, countless white lights flickered, reaping the lives of an unknown amount of yers.

    Ye Ci suddenly heard a flurry of hasty but powerful footsteps heading towards the City Hall and she turned around just in time to see a blonde middle aged man walking towards her, his blue cape flowing behind him and a sword hanging on his hips. The handsome looking man was the Lord of Oasis City, Van der Loof.

    ¡°Ah, dear friend, thank you for bringing me this valuable information. Please forgive my inability to thank you properly, for I must now lead my troops into battle.¡± Van der Loof nodded at Ye Ci.

    ¡°Your Grace, please allow me to fight alongside you.¡± Ye Ci immediately proposed her request to Van der Loof. That was the reason she was waiting in the mayor¡¯s office. Although she was not sure if her request would be epted, Fate¡¯s theme was ¡°infinite possibilities¡±. Hence it was worth a try.

    ¡°Dearest friend, this is a very dangerous task. I cannot allow a friend to ce herself in danger.¡± Van der Loof¡¯s face showed a hint of surprise, but he shook his head.

    It seemed that something was definitely up. Despite rejecting Ye Ci¡¯s offer, Van der Loof sounded hesitant. Ye Ci decided to press the matter further, ¡°Your Grace, as a friend, I can understand why you rejected my offer. But as a friend, I must fight.¡±

    Van der Loof appeared very touched, ¡°Dearest friend, you shall always be a friend of Oasis City.¡±

    Right after he finished speaking, Ye Ci heard a system notification, ¡°Your prestige in Oasis City has reached ¡®Intimate.¡¯¡± Eh? She managed to reach that level of prestige so fast? Ye Ci would need toplete at least 3 months worth of daily quests in order to have her prestige at ¡°Intimate¡±. But a few words from her was able to achieve such a result. The old Chinese saying was right.

    It¡¯s easier to win over the heart.

    Although Van der Loof had agreed to allow Ye Ci to take part in the defence of the city, she did not receive any special treatment. Riding in the midst of armor-d soldiers on tall white horses, Ye Ci¡¯s own little red steed was an unusual sight.

    As a city lord, Van der Loof did not join the battle himself. General Bruce of the Oasis City was in charge of the city¡¯s defence. He was a lvl 120 BOSS-ss NPC. His tremendous amount of hitpoints was a testimony of how tough he was. He shouted in a loud voice, ¡°Deploy the magical barrier!¡±

    In the heart of every cityid an enchanted stone in a fountain. The fountain was usually guarded by groups of lvl 100 Elite Soldiers. It was nothing but mere decoration during peaceful times, but when faced with incidents where monsters attack the city, the enchanted stone could be used to deploy a ghostly blue barrier that cannot be breached around the city.

    However, there was a time limit for the magical barrier; It would onlyst for 2 hours. If the enemy could not be defeated within that period of time, the barrier would be breached and the city could suffer destruction. If the situation was truly dire, the city might be turned into ruins.

    A lvl 120 BOSS was totally different from the other BOSS. He himself did not even need to join the battle. He directed the musketeers, archers and sorcerers under hismand to continuously attack the Nameless Zealot from the other side of the barrier. The NPCs were not the only one who had joined the battle. yers from different parts of the Eastern Continent had flocked to Oasis City. The already bustling city was instantly packed full of yers.

    Some of them were here to fight, some just for the fun, while some of them wanted a piece of the loot the monster might drop. In short, guilds with their separate aims from all over the Eastern Continent had gathered at Oasis City.

    Lurking in the midst of the NPCs, Ye Ci saw members from Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, World Conqueror, Wolf Pack, Tang Dynasty, Street Assitance Guild, de of Abyss... All the renowned guilds of the Eastern Continent were on the scene, and even the smaller guilds had joined the battle.

    The NPC army was tenacious, and they were aided by yers, but the Nameless Zealot was ferocious as well. He consumed the life force of yers who attempted to charge at him, using their lives to strengthen himself. He had grownrger andrger. Even though his hitpoints were dropping continuously, but...

    ¡°This is the power of Naga!¡± Van der Loof shouted out in a sorrowful tone.

    Ye Ci nced at the time. The magical barrier would onlyst for 20 more minutes, but the Nameless Zealot had at least half of his hitpoints left. It seemed that the battle was lost. But she had reached ¡°Intimate¡± prestige with Oasis City, it was worth it.

    ¡°Dearest friend, I know this is hard, but can you help me with a very important task?¡± said Van der Loof to Ye Ci out of the blue, and a quest marker immediately appeared on top of his head.

    Oh? A quest? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She then immediately dismounted and knelt in front of Van der Loof, ¡°Your Grace, it is an honor to be of assistance.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m very touched.¡± Van der Loof sighed, and Ye Ci¡¯s prestige in Oasis City increased by several hundred points, ¡°I¡¯ve sensed the power of Naga on this terrifying monster, but I shall never give up. I have here with me a shard from the gem in the God of Light¡¯s shrine. Although it can¡¯t defeat the Dark Lord Himself, it is enough to take out one of his minions. Can you stab this shard into the monster¡¯s heart?¡±

    Adjusting her gaze to where Van der Loof was pointing at, Ye Ci saw a beating heart in the Nameless Zealot¡¯s chest that was previously empty. However... It was easier said than done. Ye Ci was lvl 27, but the Nameless Zealot was at least lvl 130. How would she be able toplete this quest?

    ¡°Your Grace, I would really like to help, but I¡¯m weak. I don¡¯t think I can make it.¡±

    ¡°Ah, all is well, I will protect you.¡± Van der Loof directly handed the shard to Ye Ci. Ye Ci stared at the shard and grit her teeth. He was forcing her to carry out the quest. If she refused, would she be beaten to death by the soldiers around her?

    Fine, at most I¡¯ll just drop a level. Ye Ci sighed. She took the gem shared and immediately noticed a Buff in her status.

    Holy Light: You¡¯re covered by the shard¡¯s holy light. You are immune to all damage. Duration: 5 minutes.

    Because Jimmi is a totally awesome person, and does not want his readers to get stuck by a cliff for too long, he had decided to post Chapter 78 early! Isn¡¯t Jimmi a kind person? xDD

    Anyways, hope y¡¯all enjoyed the chapter! Last chapter of the month!

    If you think this chapter is awesome and want to reward Jimmi for this awesomtacr chapter, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page.

    Aaaaaand first in thement type First Blood!

 Chapter 79 Hero!

    Chapter 79 Hero!

    How extravagant, Ye Ci received an invulnerable status straight away. With this, she was, of course, not afraid of dying. She bowed to Van der Loof, ¡°Your Grace, I¡¯ll try my best to aid you.¡± Just as she was about to leave, Ye Ci remembered something else, and continued ¡°negotiating¡± with Van der Loof, ¡°Your Grace, I have something of importance to ask.¡±

    ¡°Dearest friend, what is it?¡±

    ¡°If I am to fall on the battlefield, what about my stuff?¡± Ye Ci gestured at her equipment, while looking at Van der Loof, hinting at him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll definitely retrieve your memento.¡± Said Van der Loof with a smile that says ¡°I gotchu fam!¡± Ye Ci almost gagged, what do you mean by memento...

    But since Van der Loof had indicated that he would take care of her items should they drop, Ye Ci had no more worries. In the worst case scenario, her level would only drop by 1. She took the shard of the Holy Light Gem and charged at the Nameless Zealot.

    The countdown of effect of the Holy Light Buff would begin the moment Ye Ci was 20 yards away from Van der Loof. She was still quite far away from the Nameless Zealot. She summoned her little red horse and galloped at top speed. The people who knew her spotted her and in an instant, the chime of iing private messages filled her ears. Ye Ci however, had no time to reply them. Her attention was on the Nameless Zealot.

    ¡°Oi! Damn brat, where you going? Remote Depths¡¯ voice rang out. Ye Ci turned her head around, and saw Remote Depths and the members of Upwards Ho! Standing at one side of the road, throwing skill after skill at the Nameless Zealot. Apparently they were here for drops.

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t spare the time to exin the situation to him, so she simply waved and continued galloping onwards at full speed through the crowd of yers.

    The yers were not stupid. The moment they realised that a magical barrier was deployed around the city, they immediately retreated into the safety of the barrier and let the NPCs do their jobs, while they waited for the moment the Nameless Zealot fell and the loot dropped.

    When Ye Ci arrived at the city gate, it was already opened by 2 soldiers. She galloped straight and fast, zipping out of the city gate. It was closed again the moment she left the vicinity of the city, as if it had never been opened.

    The Nameless Zealot was a skeleton, which was among the lowest tier, being among the undead race. Although he had evolved and his level had increased from lvl 80 to lvl 130, his intelligence level did not increase. At least, he did not recognise Ye Ci as the person who had stolen the Eral Gem shard.

    ¡°You¡¯re here to die, little ant?¡± The Nameless Zealotughed, his bare lower jaw trembled, letting out the sound of bones grinding together which sent chills down Ye Ci¡¯s spine. ¡°Come, your strength shall be mine!¡±

    Ye Ci eyed her invulnerability timer. 3 minutes left. It was enough for her to climb up to his chest.

    The yers who had already retreated to the safety of the magical barrier quickly noticed that the person galloping out towards the Nameless Zealot was Gongzi You. Discussions among the crowd soon began.

    Some said that Ye Ci had a death wish, some said that she was just trying to be the hero; the vast majority of them climbed onto the city wall, wanting to have a front row seat of how the legendary Huntress would defeat the Nameless Zealot, or how she would be defeated.

    The Nameless Zealot¡¯s speed had increased considerably. He swung his hands at Ye Ci again and again, forcing her to focus her full attention on dodging the iing attacks. Although Ye Ci had the invulnerable BUFF, she weaved left and right, sometimes jumping and even rolling to the ground to avoid hits out of instinct. Her maneuvers were like a high quality tutorial for the yers gathered on the city wall.

    A lot of them had even started recording Ye Ci¡¯s maneuvers.

    ¡°.... it¡¯s been awhile since we¡¯ve partied with her. She¡¯s improved.¡± Said Little Icy Cold Hands as she observed Ye Ci.

    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen her live in action...¡± Fruit Jelly mumbled. She was also recording Ye Ci¡¯s movement, ¡°I want to be able to do the same.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. She¡¯s a Huntress, you¡¯re a Cleric. Your movement speed is slow, you¡¯ll never be able to achieve that.¡± Pickled Pepper Phoenix w immediately rained on Fruit Jelly¡¯s parade.

    Fruit Jelly red at him, ¡°Just you wait!¡±

    ......

    The members of Upwards Ho! were worried for Ye Ci despite their cheerful appearance. She was just too reckless.

    When the Nameless Zealot mmed his hand down on the ground again, Ye Ci was prepared. She held onto one of his fingers and was lifted into the air when he raised his hand. It was a risky move, but since the Nameless Zealot¡¯s speed was too fast, Ye Ci needed a change in strategy.

    The Nameless Zealot was baffled when he could not see Ye Ci when he lifted his hand. He looked around, and noticed Ye Ci clinging onto his finger. He was enraged. Feeling that he had been insulted, the Nameless Zealot waved his hand around, causing Ye Ci to be dizzy. She hung on, not daring to lose consciousness. She paid close attention to her altitude, waiting for the perfect timing.

    Some of the crowd cried out in rm as they saw Ye Ci on the hand of the iling Nameless Zealot. It was like watching a 3D movie.

    When the Nameless Zealot raised his hand higher than his head, Ye Ci saw the opportunity and let go. She dropped down towards the shoulder of the Nameless Zealot at high speed.

    ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± Some of the more timid yers among the crowd shouted out.

    With her invulnerable state, Ye Ci did not receive any damage when she fell onto the giant¡¯s shoulder, but the audience witnessing the entire process could feel their hearts in their mouths. As Ye Ci regained her bnce, a huge palm was already mming down on her. She did not hesitate to slip down through the small chink between the corbone and the shoulder de,nding on one of the Nameless Zealot¡¯s ribs.

    The Nameless Zealot became even more enraged after noticing that Ye Ci was inside his body. He could not swat Ye Ci away with his hands, so he opted to jump up and down frantically, trying to throw Ye Ci out.

    Although Ye Ci would not fall as long as she clung tightly to the rib, it did not mean that she was in a good spot either. She was beginning to feel nauseous, and she still couldn¡¯t reach the heart that was dangling right in front of her.

    33 seconds of invulnerability left.

    If she did not find the chance to reach the heart, Ye Ci would definitely be jolted to death. Staring at the dangling heart, Ye Ci realised that she was aligned with the heart in a straight line. She took a deep breath. There was only one way.

    The moment the Nameless Zealotnded, Ye Ci had only 21 seconds of invulnerability left. She let go, and activated the Charge ability. Her body surged forward, no longer affected by the skeletons movement. In the blink of an eye, she bumped into the heart.

    18 seconds of invulnerability left.

    Ye Ci clung onto the beating heart tightly. She no longer cared if it felt gross. She stabbed the gem shard into the heart.

    A system notification began to chime, ¡°The Holy Light is purging the Darkness. Please do not let go of the Holy Light Gem shard. 14 seconds remaining until the purge isplete.¡±

    It was not what Ye Ci had nned. She had originally thought that she would be able to jump away andnd on the ground right after stabbing the gem shard into the heart. She did not expect that she could not leave instantly. There were only 17 seconds of invulnerability left. She gritted her teeth. She could not let her efforts go to waste. Even if she died, she would drag this big guy along with her.

    15 seconds was considered short by most, but at that moment, it was like Ye Ci was counting down to thest moment of her life. She could no longer hear anything but her own heartbeat.

    Ba thump, ba thump. One beat sounded at a time, strong but steady.

    ¡°Lord Naga, return to me my faith!¡± The Nameless Zealot raised his hand and bellowed when the countdown waspleted. He was enveloped by the Holy Light, and then he exploded into pieces.

    Ye Ci could only feel herself falling and falling amidst the bright Holy Light. The explosion happened just when she had 2 seconds of invulnerability left. The BUFF protected her from the damage. Ye Ci¡¯s mind suddenly cleared, if she fell to her death after surviving that explosion, it would be daft.

    Featherfall.

    She activated the skill just in time, right before she hit the ground. As she was too close to the ground, nobody noticed that she had cast Featherfall. Ye Ci¡¯s body fell lightly onto the grass.

    ¡°Congrattions to the yer Gongzi You for aiding in the defence of Oasis City. You have defeated a formidable foe, and with your life and wits you protected the city. You have won the respect of all the citizens of Oasis City.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions to the yer Gongzi You for reaching the prestige of ¡®Respected¡¯ in Oasis City. Reward: 5 Talent Points.¡±

    If it was said that Ye Ci¡¯s previous achievements were low-profile, her achievement on this day waspleted in front of countless yers.

    Instant fame.

    The city gate opened, and General Bruce led his soldiers out of his city. The soldiers stood at both sides of the road, while Bruce dismounted, walked up to Ye Ci, and knelt. He then announced in a loud voice, ¡°Honorable hero, you¡¯re Oasis City¡¯s eternal friend. You are an unprecedented legend.¡±

    To have a high level Elite BOSS such as General Bruce kneeling in front of her, Ye Ci was still shocked even when she had lived her life twice.

    ¡°Hero, the city lord is waiting for you.¡± Bruce stood up. He treated Ye Ci in a very respectful manner...

    Hooray! The first chapter of the month! No double today, but we might have a double tomorrow!

    Jimmi is featured in Trantor Thursday on Vre¡¯s Facebook page! Hit the link >>>here<<< and check it out! Gib meh some likes, gib meh some support!!!

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    And well... You know what to type in the firstment!

 Chapter 80 Experts Were Born Through Deaths

    Chapter 80 Experts Were Born Through Deaths

    Ye Ci nodded and bowed in response, ¡°Very well, General.¡±

    General Bruce saluted Ye Ci, ¡°Hero, follow me.¡± Then he turned around. Wind blew at the general¡¯s green cape, making him look exceptionally handsome. He led the way, and walked into the city at Ye Ci¡¯s pace.

    When Ye Ci walked through the city gate, she noticed that a red carpet was already spread across the white pavement. Soldiers d in silvery armor and helmets, with appearances simr to that of medieval knights, stood at both sides of the red carpet. All the other yers were blocked by the soldiers, and not a single of them was allowed onto the red carpet.

    ¡°Salute the hero!¡±

    The moment Ye Ci stepped onto the red carpet, the soldiers at both sides knelt down as Ye Ci walked forward, paying her the highest respect.

    There were no less that 500 soldiers in Oasis City, and each one of them knelt down as Ye Ci walked pass them. For Ye Ci, in was an awe-inspiring sight that she was not able to describe with words, and to the audience, it was equally stunning.

    The entire ceremony was recorded by yers and uploaded online. It then became one of the hottest topic on the forums. Of course, that was something that happened after the fact.

    The city lord, Van der Loof was already waiting for Ye Ci at the city hall¡¯s entrance. He too knelt down before Ye Ci, giving her the highest honor as a knight, ¡°Dear hero, you¡¯re an eternal friend of Oasis City. Our gates shall always be open to you. As long as you require it, Oasis City will always be at your service.¡±

    Although it was just a scenario forpleting the quest, it was still an event that would make one¡¯s blood boil. For Ye Ci and the rest of the audience, this would be something memorable even if it only happened once in their entire life.

    Although the scene forpleting the quest was shy, for a ¡°normal person¡± like Ye Ci, a materialistic reward was more important than that of a spiritual one. What mattered the most to her was of course the rewards forpleting the quest.

    Other than being recorded into the history of Fate, thepletion of this quest had also unlocked the highest level of interaction possible between a yer and an NPC. The system was very stingy. It gave nothing but 5 Talent Points and a couple of useless titles to Ye Ci. Van der Loof, however, was way more pragmatic. He gave her the title of honorary citizen, thousands of gold coins, and a Hero¡¯s Medal.

    The medal had very good stats. Although no experience points were awarded uponpleting the quest, Ye Ci felt that all her efforts worth it after looking at the stats of the medal.

    Oasis City Hero¡¯s Medal: Upon equipping, you and your party¡¯s morale will be boosted by the Hero¡¯s Aura. All stats are increased by 20 points in areas under Oasis City¡¯s jurisdiction, including: Green Ark, Boneyard, Bloodied ins and Savage Swamp.

    Oasis City was the thirdrgest city of the Eastern Continent, and very prosperous. Aside from being in a strategic location, there were a few lvl 40 dungeons near the city, with the most notable ones being Bloodied ins and Savage Swamp. They were the dungeons that would yield the first equipment sets for all the yers. These 2 maps would be very challenging for yers. Ye Ci would never forget that in her past life, therge guilds had spentrge fortunes so that their MT would have enough defence and their DPS yers could deal enough damage. There were even guilds who went bankrupt because of it.

    Now though, with Ye Ci¡¯s medal, the entire party¡¯s stats would be increased by 20 points each. They would fare way better than the other guilds when they explored those dungeons. Thinking of that, Ye Ci was itching to get to lvl 40.

    Being an honorary citizen of Oasis City was one of Ye Ci¡¯s biggest catches. Everything she bought from the NPCs would be 50% cheaper than the other yers, and she would receive 20% more rewards when shepleted quests in the city. She would totally be able to purchase items from NPCs and sell them at 10% higher than what she bought them for, to turn a profit.

    Ye Ci¡¯s achievement did not merely attain fame for herself, the reputation of Upwards Ho! had also soared. The guild began to receive a lot of applications from yers. Bai Mo was vexed by such an incident. He had only wanted to create a guild just for Ye Ci¡¯s friends, but in a short span of 3 days, the guild¡¯s members had increased to more than one thousand.

    ¡°Say, what do I do now? There¡¯s so many members around, it would be he tiring to manage this guild. As you know, I¡¯m a veryzy person...¡±

    Ye Ci nce sideways at Bai Mo, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you want to be a professional yer? If you don¡¯t have a guild, how would you earn money?¡±

    ¡°Managing a guild requires a lot of investment. The guild that I was originally in would give out benefits. How can we afford that?¡±

    ¡°The most important aspect of a guild is the quality of a member, numbers don¡¯t matter. Skills can be acquired. What matters most is the loyalty and the character of your guild members. Get a grip. Not all of them will stay for long. Just wait and see.¡± In contrast to Bai Mo¡¯s worries, Ye Ci was quite calm. She no longer paid heed to the matter after that.

    A guild with Gongzi You in it would definitely offer very good benefits.

    That was what 9 out of 10 yers who had applied to join Upwards Ho! had thought. Once they noticed that there were no special benefits for them, they immediately left the guild. In 3 days, there were only around 200 members left in Upwards Ho!.

    Among the 200-odd yers that were left, some of them were those who truly admired Ye Ci; some of them were Life yers who had been kicked out by their original guilds; some of them were friends of the guild members who had joined previously. In short, they remained in the guild because of different reasons.

    Out of the 200, 50 of them were Life yers while the rest werebatants. But, due to various reasons, their equipment was very low grade. A brief headcount by Bai Mo revealed that the more decent ones had 2-3 blue equipment at most; the rest had only the lowest quality equipment.

    Some said that a person¡¯s behavior while ying poker was an indicator of the person¡¯s character. Based on the same theory, one could determine a person¡¯s character by observing their actions in a dungeon. Of course, Ye Ci had only talked about it with Bai Mo privately. The two then divided the 150 members into groups of 15, appointed the original members of Upwards Ho! as the leader of each group, and sent them into the dungeons.

    As always, Ye Ci did not concern herself with guild matters. Since she was lvl 27, she continously went on a rampage in lvl 20 dungeons. To call her action by a glorified name, she was leveling up.

    Before long, the results were clear. Of the 150 members who went to clear dungeons, many left. Only 30 of them remained. A lot of the Life yers had left the guild as well due to the guild¡¯s inability to provide them with materials. Only 15 of them were left.

    Within 2 weeks, Upwards Ho! was reduced to a guild with less than a hundred members.

    From the member¡¯s list that Icy Cold Little Hands handed to Ye Ci, she noticed a few names that stirred her up. She immediately asked, ¡°Who recruited See No Evil, Dragon Battling Heavens, Ashen Cliff, Pea Cake and Cutie Lemon?¡±

    Icy Cold Little Hands replied after a short pause, ¡°We recruited them by chance.¡±

    By chance? Ye Ci was puzzled. They would never know that these yers would be very famous in Fate in the future. Where had they met them ¡°by chance¡±? Why was it so easy to run into famous people these days?

    See No Evil was a very famous Elementalist in Fate. There was even a legendary moment where she annihted a thousand enemies during a siege battle. Ye Ci remembered that she had faced a lot of hardships before joining the Streeet Assistance Guild, which gave rise to a legend.

    Dragon Battling Heavens was the number 1 Barbarian in the Eastern Continent. He was a man of few words, and he was always honest and straightforward. He was somehow recruited into Tang Dynasty.

    Ashen Cliff, one of Fate¡¯s top 10 Priests. He was a healer, but could also act as a DPS and was very skillful in controlling mana consumption. Ashen Cliff was a loyal yer who had never left World Conqueror.

    Pea Cake was a Grandmaster tier Engineer. He became very famous even in the foreign continents. ording to Pea Cake himself, his earlier days in the game was full of hardships. He was very distinct when it came to the way he treated people. He would be totally devoted to people he was close with, and very harsh towards outsiders.

    Cutie Lemon was a Grandmaster tier Tailor. She was said to be a young girl. She was in Wolf Pack in the mid andter stage of the game.

    ¡°What¡¯s special about them?¡± Icy Cold Little hands stared at Ye Ci with curious eyes. Why would Ye Ci regard them so highly?

    Ye Ciughed and replied with a question of her own, ¡°How did they perform?¡±

    ¡°They have decent character, and were obedient even after dying for so many times. They have good behavior as well, but...¡± Icy Cold Little Hands continued with a sigh, ¡°Gongzi, their equipment and skills are just too bad. The party got annihted multiple times because of them...¡±

    Ye Ci waved her hand dismissively and smiled at Icy Cold Little Hands, ¡°Every expert was once a rookie. We¡¯re not the best around in town, so what rights do we have to resent them for doing badly?¡±

    Icy Cold Little Hands was lost in thought for a moment. She was reminded of her times as a newbie. She thenughed, ¡°I understand.¡±

    Pea Cake and Cutie Lemon were and exception. They were Life yers anyways. But... the rest of them had awful equipment and skills. Ye Ci went to a 10-yer dungeon with them once, and she felt like crying after observing their positioning and mechanical skills.

    When they finally took down the BOSS, the 3 of them stood at the back, not daring to walk up and get their share of the loot. They did not even dare to look at Ye Ci, who silently gave them an equipment each that suited their ss.

    They were shocked. See No Evil shook her head frantically, ¡°Leader, t-this is unnecessary, we...¡±

    Ye Ci cut her off. She turned around said, ¡°Even if you guys are bad, your patience and determination in clearing the dungeon deserves a reward. In Upwards Ho!, skills matter, but what matters most is your effort. As long as you put your back into it, you¡¯ll get your share of the loot.¡±

    ¡°We... We¡¯ve been dragging down the entire party...¡± Ashen Cliff was touched by the blue equipment that he received. He was nearly choked with sobs. This was the first blue equipment that he received after gaming for 3 months.

    ¡°Experts were born through deaths.¡±

    *cough cough* was unable to make a double or even a new chap yesterday *sobs* I¡¯ve failed!

    I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

    And well... If you wanna rewards Jimmi for his ha- Just hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page!!! xDD

    Life¡¯s boring... Everything¡¯s boring... Anybody got any nice games, preferrably of the RTS and RPG genre, that you guys think is cool?

    Aaaaaand.... First in thement type...

 Chapter 81 Unavoidable Confrontation

    Chapter 81 Unavoidable Confrontation

    After 2 weeks of hard training in the dungeons, the equipment of the members in the guild was finally on par. If the benefits in other guilds was their DKP, then in Upwards HO!, it came in the form of experience points, equipment, and the guidance of an expert. Although there was no mary benefit for the members, the benefits they received could not be bought by money. The remaining guild members were allowed to stay in the guild after much consideration. They might not have the best of characters, but they appeared to be trustworthy, at least for the time being.

    Not only that, when the members had ¡°graduated¡± from the lvl 15 dungeons, Ye Ci opened the guild warehouse, which was full of the fruits of herbor in the lvl 20 dungeons. The guild members drooled at the blue equipment and materials that filled the warehouse. The yers who originally were loyal to Upwards Ho! had even more sense of belonging after seeing the items. They finally understood why Ye Ci had not led them in clearing the dungeons.

    Ye Ci was a person who could not be forced to do something, but when she had made up her mind to get the job done she would give it her best shot. She did not think that such amitment was not worth it. Instead, she did it willingly.

    It had been almost a month since Ye Ci had aided Oasis City in defeating the Nameless Zealot. In that one month, the envy of the yers had slowly subsided.

    After all, envy would not help them achieve sess. The yers would rather increase their own skills instead. A lot of guilds had already cleared Frosty Wastnd, and many of them had moved on to the Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum.

    With lvl 22 being the highest level on the leveling ranking, the average level of Upwards Ho! members was at lvl 18 and above. Although they had the will to explore the Inner Sanctum, they knew that they were severely under-leveled. With their level, it would be very difficult.

    Ye Ci understood the fact as well. After giving it some thought, she felt that it would really be a waste for her to not put the Oasis City Hero¡¯s Medal to good use. She decided to put together a party and level up in the Boneyard.

    It was the first time Upwards Ho! had organized such arge scale leveling activity, and the yers were looking forward to it. Although they knew that the monsters in Boneyard were high leveled, they still couldn¡¯t help but feel excited.

    The guild members had finished gathering early in the morning, and the 50-odd yers formed themselves into a squadron and headed for the Boneyard.

    Although the Boneyard was a lvl 30 map, the isted monsters roaming around at the edge of the map were no match for a squadron of 50-odd yers. With Ye Ci¡¯s Hero¡¯s Badge that gave the Hero¡¯s Aura Buff, the squadron¡¯s stats were each increased by 20. That was why the monsters were steamrolled by the squadron.

    Before they¡¯d even reached the Buren Monastery, quite a number of the squadron¡¯s members had reached lvl 19. The speed at which they were leveling up was a satisfying experience. With their numbers, Ye Ci no longer had the need to entice more skeletons. She led the rest of the squadron straight towards the Sacrificial Altar.

    Ye Ci pulled in the monsters and then threw a bomb into their midst, and the yers¡¯ level immediately soared to lvl 20. Pea Cake, who was forced toe along, was shocked. ¡°Holy shit, what¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Engineering.¡± Ye Ci looked at Pea Cake and smiled. Although Pea Cake was an Engineer, his sess rate in crafting items was not all that high. He was sad because of that. Since Ye Ci had decided to go and level up, she dragged him along as well. Although Pea Cake¡¯s interest in farming and grinding was not that high, he relented and reluctantly came along. He would actually rather stay in the encampment and craft some items.

    But after witnessing the aftermath of Ye Ci¡¯s Scarlet Bomb, Pea Cake was shocked beyond words.

    Due to the limitations of Engineering in the earlier stages of the game, not many yers were willing to go down the path of an Engineer. Pea Cake himself chose to be an Engineer because of his personal interest in machines. He had not thought that an Engineer was next to useless in the early stages of the game.

    But after what he had witnessed, Pea Cake was fired up. He was curious because the Engineering product that Ye Ci had was entirely different from what he was learning.

    ¡°If you can advance yourself to be a Medium Tier Engineer, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll receive a pleasant surprise.¡± The true OPness of Engineering would only be unlocked by a Mid Tier Engineer. Nobody would understand how powerful an Engineer could be at the current stage of the game as yers were still Apprentice Engineers.

    Pea Cake was able to ovee his doubts. If not because of his low level, he would¡¯ve left the Boneyard and went back to the guild encampment to train his Engineering skills.

    There were simply too many members around. That was why despite the efforts of Ye Ci and a few other Rangers and Hunters drawing in monsters and then bombing them with Ye Ci¡¯s Scarlet Bomb, the guild members¡¯ level had only increased to lvl 23. This was, however, a very exciting matter for the guild members. They had managed to gain more experience points in half a day than they could if they were to go solo for a month or two.

    The mass level up by Upwards Ho!¡¯s members brought big changes to the leveling ranking. People had begun to question and suspect the guild of exploiting a BUG. Fate officials once again received a torrent ofints from yers. The officials were quick to reply that it was not a BUG.

    Of course, it was something that happened after.

    After a few more rounds of the same method, quite a number of guild members had leveled up to lvl 24, and Ye Ci decided to call it a day. They would be able to clear Frosty Wastnd with ease with their level. The only thingcking now was the equipment of the guild members. That was why Ye Ci had decided to level them up first before farming for equipment.

    The members of the guild were excited when they found out that the guild was making preparations to explore the Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum. Ye Ci, however, did not rush it. She divided the members into two squadrons, which were led by Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu.

    Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu were yers who had proven themselves in thest month¡¯s ¡°dungeon training camp.¡± They were able to think and analyse the situation quickly. They managed to catch the eye of Timely Raid, who rmended them to Ye Ci as suitable candidates to bemanders.

    Ye Ci had also gone into a 10-yer dungeon with them personally. Although they were over eager at times and might spout unnecessarymands, they were still full of potential. And though they were not famous in Ye Ci¡¯s past life, she felt that with enough training they would be able to bloom into experts. Since her life was changing after her reincarnation, she had no problem with the game¡¯s direction changing as well.

    Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu, who were munching on their bread while sitting on the ground, shook their heads in horror as Ye ci announced that they would each lead a 25-yer party into the dungeon. ¡°Guild leader, we¡¯ve done badly even with a 10-yer dungeon, what if we get the entire party into trouble in a 25-yer dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Then you can simply repeat it again and again. If the party was annihted because of the yers¡¯ck of cohesion, then do it until they¡¯re able to fight as one; if the party got into trouble due to your inability tomand them, keep trying until you guys can do it properly.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s expression did not even change as she continued, ¡°Every time you guys explore a lvl 25 dungeon, I will only allocate 100 gold coins to the party leader for equipment repairs. If the cost of your repairs exceeds 100 gold coins...¡± She raised her head and smiled at the two, showing her white shiny teeth, ¡°You¡¯ll pay for them out of your own coffers.¡±

    The guild members, especially Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu, were pressured. The two immediately began to do research on the art of being a sessfulmander.

    After making the arrangements for the next few days, Ye Ci assembled the guild members and headed out.

    Although the guild members were pressured, they still joked around with each other on their way back.

    Just as they walked out of the entrance of the Sacrificial Grounds, Ye Ci suddenly stopped and raised her hand. The guild members following close behind immediately went silent. A Rogue named Homeless Drifter listened intently and said in a low voice, ¡°Somebody¡¯sing, and there¡¯s a lot of them.¡±

    Ye Ci was curious. Who else would be farming monsters at this ce with the current average yer level?

    Her question was answered very soon. At the other side of the za with the Holy Fountain, Ye Ci saw the other party.

    They too had not expected to run into other yers, and had stopped dead in their tracks. Ye Ci was able to recognise their leader.

    Wasn¡¯t that the same person she ran into thest time? She had a deep impression of the party with 3 sets of the Scorching Mage Robes. Their equipment had improved by a lot. Of the 30-odd yers in the party, 8 of them were now equipped with the Scorching Mage Robe Set. Apparently they had been busy in the past month.

    Crimson Twilight had also recognised Ye Ci. He gritted his teeth. It was the Huntress! This Gongzi You! When they were leveling up in the areast month, she was the one who directed her Skeletal Mage to lure a bunch of lvl 35 Elite Skeletons their way. As a result, their party was annihted. Their levels went down, and two of the pieces from his Scorching Mage Robe set was were dropped.

    When they respawned in Oasis City and were about the head back to the Boneyard to retrieve their items, she rushed into the city with the Nameless Zealot in tow, which wiped out their party.

    Great! As Ye Ci became the hero of Oasis City, their guild¡¯s core members suffered losses and had their level reduced by 2. This affected their progress in dungeon exploration and clearing. As a result, the ranking of their guild dropped down by 2 within the month.

    Ayooo! Chapter for Monday!!! Ayyyy!!! You see, Jimmi is here to fix your Monday Blue despite suffering from its symptoms as well!

    Welp, I¡¯ve tried Tales of Zestiria for like 40 minutes and I¡¯ve already loved that thing!!! OOOOHHH!!!! Y¡¯all can always add me on steam, name¡¯s (not surprisingly) Jimminx ahahah!

    Anyways, if you wanna give Jimmi some freebies, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page!

    Oh and.... I got chat banned in League for being toxic *cough cough*

    First in thement typeee.....

 Chapter 82 The Valiant Shall Emerge Victorious

    Chapter 82 The Valiant Shall Emerge Victorious

    For a moment, nobody spoke up.

    Ye Ci did not pay the neers any heed once she had identified them as the party that was here to level up thest time. She turned her head around and said to her guild members, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, let¡¯s go. They¡¯re just here to level up.¡± With that, the entire group rxed, and they were about to move around the Holy Water Fountain and leave the Buren Monastery.

    Crimson Twilight refused to let his nemesis walk away just like that, despite the difference in numbers. In the past month, his guild had been working hard to level up. They have farmed some Scorching Mage Robe sets from the Scorching Canyon as well. He nned to push his guild¡¯s dungeon exploration progress after further raising his members¡¯ level and then he would exact revenge on Gongzi You.

    After losing 2 levels thest time, they have managed to level up as Mallows had discovered Gongzi You¡¯s leveling secret. They gathered all the Sorcerers in their guild and copied the exact same thing Ye Ci had done. No one had thought that they would run into each other at this ce.

    Crimson Twilight had made up his mind to teach Gongzi You a lesson. Once he had confirmed that the Huntress he saw was indeed Gongzi You, he ordered the Rogue in his party to cast Detection on Ye Ci¡¯s guild members. Although all 50 of them had hidden their levels, the Rogue was able to get information of their equipment. They all had lvl 15 equipment. It meant that even if Crimson Twilight¡¯s party only had 39 members, they were able topensate for the inferior numbers just by having lvl 20 equipment.

    ¡°Twilight, they¡¯re leaving.¡± A Hunter who was standing behind Crimson Twilight was watching Ye Ci and her party closely, he immediately notified Crimson Twilight of their actions.

    ¡°Hmph! Leave? Sure. I¡¯ll send them back to the spawn point.¡± Crimson Twilight snorted, and immediately began to cast Explosion.

    Against a concentrated mass of enemies, Explosion was a Sorcerer¡¯s best offensive skill before he or she had learned anyrge AOE attack spell. Explosion had a short cast time and ssh damage. With Crimson Twilight¡¯s Scorching Mage Robe set that increased fire-based spell damage, Explosion¡¯s damage was raised exponentially.

    A scorching fireball growrger andrger at the tip of Crimson Twilight¡¯s staff, the amber color of the fireball was dazzling. Another skill however, flew towards Ye Ci before Crimson Twilight fired off his spell. It was a Viper Needle.

    Although Ye Ci was already preparing to leave Buren Monastery, her past life experience had taught her to not let her guard down in any and all situations. Even though she did not think she had any conflict with the bunch before, she was not familiar with them. Besides, it was verymon for yers to clear the leveling area of other yers, even if Upward Ho! was about to leave, she still took some precautions.

    It paid off. Ye Ci shifted herself slightly and was able to dodge the Viper Needle. A Summoner standing behind her was not that lucky and was hit. Her Fire Minions immediately charged at the enemy.

    ¡°XXX has attacked your party.¡± A warning generated by the system immediately chimed in every member¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Disperse!¡± Ye Ci immediately gave the order.

    Unfortunately, most of the guild members were newbies. They were able to keep their calm when it came to PVE, but when they have to go up against other yers, their minds instantly went nk. They immediately lost their game sense. The members of Upward Ho! lost their cohesiveness especially when under attack by enemies. They did not even know how to react when Ye Ci gave the order for them to disperse.

    The Explosion that followed threw them into further disarray. They¡¯d even forgot to dodge, and a lot of them were damaged by the spell. Fortunately, they¡¯d been leveling the entire day with Ye Ci. If they were still all lvl 18, many of them would¡¯ve died.

    Fighting monsters was an entirely different matter than going up against yers.

    The game designers would never provide monsters with simr stats as yers, and the NPCs would not haveplete gear like the yers. That was why pure damage was the only fact taken into consideration when yers fought against monsters. It was known as PVE. But in a battle against other human yers, one should factor in how their opponents would react as well as the equipment and stats of their opponents. That was why in most situations, the equipment used in PVE were not suitable for PVP.

    That was also the reason why yers would have two different sets of equipment with them.

    However, in the early stages of the game, there was no difference between PVE and PVP equipment.

    Even if Upward Ho! members were newbies who werepletely new to PVP, they were equipped with lvl 15 blue equipment, while having an average level of lvl 25. They were able to withstand the damage dished out by Crimson Twilight¡¯s party.

    Ye Ci called up the Party Damage Received chart and was able to urately judge the enemy¡¯s level and their equipment. She then said in the party channel, ¡°They¡¯re only around lvl 20, with their highest level being not more than lvl 21. You¡¯re all above lvl 24. There¡¯s no need to worry. Just listen to mymands and we¡¯ll crush them with our level advantage.¡±

    Even in their state of disarray, Ye Ci was a very influential person in the the guild members¡¯ hearts. They trusted Ye Cipletely. When Ye Ci gave out her orders, they were able to calm themselves down and were ready to counterattack.

    ¡°Fruit Jelly, Ashen Cliff, Floral Water, AAA, BBB, CCC, DDD, retreat to at least 20 yards away from the main force. We¡¯ve just cleared away the monsters, they won¡¯t respawn in the next 10 minutes or so. Stay safe, and start healing!¡± [Staff Note: lol, apparently the author got a bit sick of making up names.]

    ¡°Warriors, Holy Knights and Barbarians, spread out, stay mobile. Keep the Healers safe, don¡¯t be too focused on trying to attack the enemy. They¡¯re all ranged, so make sure you try your best to dodge their attacks, don¡¯t create additional burden for the Healers.¡±

    ¡°Rogues, enter Stealth and cast Detection around the Healers and our ranged DPS. Don¡¯t let their Rogues and Rangers get close.¡±

    ¡°As for the mage sses and ranged yers, clump together in one group. Remember how you position yourselves in dungeons. You guys have higher levels and their attacks are weaker because of the level penalty. You guys on the other hand will deal bonus damage to them. Don¡¯t be afraid, give em all you got!¡±

    After Ye Ci gave out her orders, the members who had experience in PVP immediately sprang into action, and the newbies followed suit.

    ¡°Leader, why are they attacking us?¡± As a Life yer, Pea Cake was confused. In his perspective, PVP was something very scary and he thought it was something that would never happen to him.

    ¡°This is a game. Killing or getting killed in a PVP battle is very normal.¡± Ye Ci of course did not know of the reason behind Crimson Twilight¡¯s aggression. She did not know that her action of using the Skeletal Mages as bait to lure the Elite Skeletons away from the Sacred Hall had brought disaster to Crimson Twilight¡¯s entire guild.

    However, the cause itself was not important. What was important to Ye Ci was that she would not allow herself and her guild to be in a pinch.

    And so the battle began.

    Crimson Twilight was not able to gain any advantage over his opponents when the battle started. Although he had reached a conclusion that his opponents were mainly newbies with next to 0 experience in terms of PVP, he could not gain the upper hand. His party¡¯s spells were not able to deal much damage to their opponents, and they were even immune to most of their spells¡¯ effects. Crimson Twilight was shocked. He began re-evaluating the level of his opponents.

    His opponents seemed inexperienced in PVP despite having a higher level. Despite having a few skillful ones, the vast majority of them were mediocre, and the ranged yers¡¯ attack were very inurate.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid of dying. If you die, you can still regain your level. But if you are afraid, you have no chance of winning, ever. You will be bullied by others for the rest of your life.¡±

    Ye Ci noticed that although her guild members listened to hermands, they were underperforming due to anxiety. She immediately shouted out loud in the party channel, ¡°What will happen when two enemies meet down a narrow path?¡±

    ¡°The valiant shall emerge victorious!¡± Everyone replied.

    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you!¡±

    ¡°The valiant shall emerge victorious!¡± The entire party roared, and their fear and anxiety disappeared.

    ¡°Fruit Jelly, remember to resurrect dead members.¡± Ye Ci further set the guild members¡¯ mind at ease. Other than reviving a dead yer, Resurrection could also ensure that the level of the yer revived would not drop. The yer would only lose 50% of his or her total experience points.

    ¡°Understood.¡± Fruit Jelly replied in a loud voice.

    With the fervor of battle and the worry of death removed, the members of Upward Ho! became more and more tenacious.

    The ranged yers began tond their attacks urately, and while a few of the melee yers stayed back to protect the healers and ranged yers, most of them charged at the enemy and managed to scatter them. Rogues from both sides fought furiously against it other. It was a magnificent sight.

    ¡°Minna-san, stay safe! Be careful of the monsters around you.¡± Ye Ci reminded her guild members even though the area was full of melee monsters which did not pose much danger. They were all still too inexperienced. Some of them had never even been through any tough battles. She refused to allow them to get trampled before they could bloom. This was a party that could sincerely ept her as a person. She would not allow to get stomped on.

    That was why they must win.

    When the monsters respawned, Ye Ci immediately dashed out and lured the Skeletal Warriors near Upward Ho!¡¯s healers. She charged towards the enemy¡¯s¡¯ direction with the skeletons in tow. Apparently a Hunter from Crimson Twilight¡¯s party had the same idea. He did exactly the same thing and dashed straight at Ye Ci.

    When it came to escaping, Ye Ci was confident that she was the best of the best. When it came to courage, Ye Ci was outright suicidal. While the gap between Ye Ci and the enemy Hunter closed, she raised her aimed crossbow at him.

    A lvl 29 Ye Ci killed her opponent almost immediately. The skeletons that were originally being lured by the Hunter switched their attention to Ye Ci. From afar, it seemed that Ye Ci was being drowned by a sea of white...

 Chapter 83 Gaming and Life

    Chapter 83 Gaming and Life

    The party channel was filled with rmed cries the instant Ye Ci disappeared into the swarm of skeletons. Overflowing Ink shouted out, ¡°What are you panicking for? Do your part! Keep it together!¡±

    Ye Ci was impressed by Overflowing Ink. She had noticed that he was good when it came to PvE, but had not expected him to be able to handle a PvP situation just as well. This guy could be groomed into a sessfulmander, Ye Ci had thought. s, it was not the time to be thinking of such matters. Ye Ci activated Charge and dashed out towards Crimson Twilight.

    Charge had a range of 20m. When the effect ended, Ye Ci was already at the rear of Crimson Twilight¡¯s party. She drew out her Venomous Scorpion Stinger and slew a Cleric with a few hits.

    Crimson Twilight was a PvP veteran, so he immediately directed several melee yers to gang up on Ye Ci and drive her away from their midst. After all, when one was within 8 yards of a Huntress, she would lose much of her damage-dealing capability.

    However, there was something that Crimson Twilight had overlooked. A Warlock shouted, ¡°Twilight, the skeletons!¡±

    Crimson Twilight then saw the skeletons that were chasing after Ye Ci and immediately gave the order.: ¡°Don¡¯t kill her, just drag her away or something.¡±

    A Priest who was standing quite a distance away cast a Priest¡¯s unique skill, Binding Chains at Ye Ci, pulling her to his side. ¡°I got her!¡±

    Crimson Twilight was very mad as his party suffered loss after loss. He said through gritted teeth, ¡°Focus all your attacks on that Huntress.¡± Ye Ci who was caught by the Priest, however, smiled. She looked at the skeletons swarming towards her and took out a bottle of Novice Invisibility Potion that she had bought at a high price from the auction house and drank it.

    She disappeared.

    The Priest was shocked, ¡°Twilight, she¡¯s gone.¡±

    Crimson Twilight was rmed by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden disappearance as well. He cast spells at the swarm of skeletons that were charging at his party in an attempt to catch up with Ye Ci. Most of their melee yers were already engaged inbat. There was nobody around to help protect the mage yers from the skeletons.

    He immediately shouted, ¡°Fall back! Get to a safe spot! Stop casting skills, beware of the aggro!¡±

    It was toote. A lot of Crimson Twilight¡¯s party members were unable to react in time. They had cast their skills, and it attracted the skeleton horde. They swarmed at the party. It was a decisive turning point of that entire battle.

    Panic appeared to be something contagious. The state of panic that was guing Upward Ho! had infected Crimson Twilight¡¯s party. They were thrown into disarray by the skeletons. A lot of the members had even lost the ability to save themselves.

    Ye Ci was still invisible. A yer who consumed a Novice Invisibility Potion would be invisible for a duration of 20 seconds while having his or her movement speed reduced by 50%. She moved slowly back to Upward Ho!¡¯s side.

    The most fatal thing in a PvP was: Confusion

    Especially when it came to group PK with mobs roaming about. If the yers panicked and were unable to recover from it quickly enough, they risked attracting the attention of monsters around them, which would cause the annihtion of the entire party.

    Crimson Twilight¡¯s party had originally managed to avoid attracting aggro from nearby monsters, but the sudden onught by the group of skeletons smashed through their defences. They panicked and started fleeing, no longer paying any attention to the details that they normally would.

    One by one, the members of Crimson Twilight¡¯s party disappeared into shes of white light.

    The members of Upward Ho! could not believe that they¡¯d won in a PvP fight. They erupted into cheers of joy. Ye Ci¡¯s words were able to settle them down, ¡°We must leave this ce quickly. More and more monsters are spawning. We¡¯ll be in a pinch if we don¡¯t leave soon.¡±

    The party members immediately reigned in their excitement and left the ce hastily.

    Although emerging victorious in the battle, Upward Ho!¡¯s victory was a pyrrhic one. 13 of them had died in the battle and lost half of their current level¡¯s total experience points.

    ¡°Unless you¡¯re dead set on being a Life yer, the need to fight against other yers will arise sooner orter. Even if you¡¯re not the one who provoked a fight, people will still find all sorts of excuses just to mess with you. That¡¯s why I hope you guys don¡¯t let this minor setback get to you. We will not make the same mistake twice.¡± Although they were joyful because of their victory, there was a lot of hidden sadness in the party members who had lost their experience points. Ye Ci took the opportunity to console the bunch.

    A strong team must not only be good in PvE, it must also be able to hold its own in PvP as well.

    After all, one was ying against AI in PvE. Only through PvP would you get to fight against other yers. Wasn¡¯t there a famous quote by Chairman Mao? To battle with people is great fun. That was why Ye Ci was imbuing such a concept in the minds of her still newbie team.

    ¡°Guild leader, what do we need to do?¡± Dragon Battling Heavens asked after a long silence. He was the only one who had died twice in the battle. Despite Fruit Jelly¡¯s Resurrection spell, his level had dropped by 1. His eyes brimmed with tears from the humiliation.

    Ye Ci smiled and pointed at the arena in the middle of the guild encampment, ¡°You can spar against each other here. You won¡¯t die in a duel. Help each other out. Of course, what is most important is that you must thoroughly understand the ss that you¡¯re ying.¡±

    With this, Ye Ci looked up, deep in thought. ¡°There was a saying. It¡¯s been around ever since the dawn of online games. I¡¯ve always believed it. You might¡¯ve heard of it, but I hope that you can believe it just like I do.¡±

    Facing the inquisitive gaze of the members of the guild, Ye Ci smiled, ¡°There¡¯s no garbage sses, only garbage yers.¡±

    Many had heard of this saying before. But when it came from Ye Ci, the guild members felt a surge of emotion. They stared at Ye Ci, with her crossbow slung at her back and the smile on her face, they saw the truest portrayal of that saying represented by Ye Ci.

    The weather had be colder. Ye Ci had her final exams for her first semester. To make sure that she would not fail her subjects as a reincarnator, Ye Ci went inactive in the game for a week. She studied hard and was able to end her first semester with a decent grade.

    On the first day of winter holiday Ye Ci and Fang Susu were walking out of campus while carrying some books. Fang Susu was smiling happily, a shade of rosy red dotting her cheeks. She appeared to be in a good mood. Ye Ci was able to guess what was going on by the way Fang Susu spout out things about totally random stuff.

    ¡°Say, Ye Ci, do you think it¡¯s too early for an 18 year old to go looking for a boyfriend?¡±

    ¡°Nope, unless you want to wait until you¡¯re too old to date someone?¡±

    ¡°Erm... Uhh.. You see... Will you look down on a girl who starts dating at 18?¡±

    ¡°Being in a rtionship is a good thing. A girl can learn a lot of stuff from it. Like how to be strong, be brave, and how to let go.¡± Ye Ci smiled at Fang Susu.

    Fang Susu bit her lips as she stared at Ye Ci. This girl in front of her, with her ck hair, fair skin, childish looking face, and her determined unyielding eyes was simply dazzling. She was a little bit in awe of Ye Ci. Her efficiency in getting things done, her ability to be far-sighted, her well-defined likes and dislikes about things, and her perseverance were all the traits that Fang Susu envied. She sighed, ¡°Ye Ci, you sure know a lot.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled. In reality, she didn¡¯t know that much. She was merely speaking out of experience from herst life.

    ¡°Ye Ci, Senior Qin confessed to me.¡± Fang Susu suddenly spoke up, she was nervous, ¡°you won¡¯t think that I¡¯m a bad girl right?¡±

    Ye Ciughed out loud, ¡°What took Senior Qin so long? He¡¯s slow. Isn¡¯t he afraid of rivals? He¡¯s not afraid that you¡¯d get desperate during the long wait?¡±

    ¡°Ye Ci, Ye Ci, you¡¯re making fun of me!¡± Fang Susu¡¯s face reddened even further, and she chased after Ye Ci, swatting at her with her books.

    The two girls chased after each other under a parasol tree, radiating youth. Ye Ci finally slowed down andughed at Fang Susu, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t value your lover over your friend and sell me out, would you?¡± [Ed Note: If you don¡¯t know what a parasol tree is like me... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmiana_simplex]

    ¡°What are you talking about? Do I look like that sort of person?¡± Fang Susu red at Ye Ci. Before she could continued, somebody called out to her. ¡°Susu!¡±

    It was Qin Churuo. He was cycling towards the two, wearing a clean jacket.

    ¡°Susu, you¡¯re carrying so many books, lemme send you home.¡±

    ¡°T-there¡¯s no need...¡± Fang Susu¡¯s face was as red as a steamed crab the moment she saw Qin Churuo. She then looked at Ye Ci, ¡°I-I¡¯m going back with Ye Ci.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Junior Ye can alsoe with us.¡± Qin Churuo looked at Ye Ci and offered her a warm smile.

    Ye Ci immediately jumped to a side, ¡°I ain¡¯t going to be a light bulb!¡± She took a few steps away and waved at Fang Susu, ¡°Susu, remember to call meter okay?¡± And then she ran off.

    Qin Churuo smiled, ¡°Your friend is quite observant.¡±

    Fang Susu grew shy. She flipped her hair and walked in the campus with Qin Churuo. She suddenly spoke up, ¡°Senior Qin, do you need me to contact Gongzi You for you?¡±

    Qin Churuo shook his head and patted Fang Susu¡¯s head, ¡°You thinking that I¡¯m dating you because of Gongzi You?¡±

    Fang Susu felt embarrassed after her thought was spoken out loud by Qin Churuo.

    ¡°Silly, we need to draw a line between gaming and real life.¡± Qin Churuo looked up into the azure sky and let out a smile. ¡°She was just part of the game. But Susu, you¡¯re life.¡±

    Trantor¡¯s note:

    Be a lightbulb (µ±µçµÆÅÝ): a Chinese ng for yanno, that person who ruins your date by being there and mess up your special moment

    Hi people, I noticed quite some of you wereining about the ¡°minna-san¡± thingy. I love tranting, and I enjoy it. I¡¯m happy that people are able to enjoy Reign of the Hunters. I¡¯ll try my best to be open-minded about all the criticism, and I will definitely do my best to improve myself and my work. I hope that even if you disagree with what I might do sometimes, heck, I beg of you, if you don¡¯t like it, maybe turn a blind eye perhaps? Please? All the weeb bashing I got from chapter 82 is quite disheartening. Okay, I get it, maybe you don¡¯t see the humor in it, sorry. If you have a problem with it, you can always track me down on discord or something and we can talk it out in a peaceful manner, I¡¯m definitely okay with that. You see, trantors are also humans, we¡¯re not some robot working with pinpoint uracy with 100% efficiency, we¡¯re beings of flesh and bones and we have feelings as well. I would say I¡¯m one of those who trante for fun and did it as a hobby, I¡¯m not a ve that has to cater to your every whim and then receive your bashing just because I did something that you don¡¯t like. Yeah, I might sound like an immature kid whining, but hey, I just want to share my peace of mind. Sorry for the long rant.

    Special announcement:

    A shoutout to those artistic souls out there who read this novel and love it, if you¡¯re interested in drawing fanarts for Reign of the Hunters, you can always send them to me via e-mail. Fanarts will be posted along chapter releases! Thanks for your time!

 Chapter 84 Shaâ€™gar

    Chapter 84 Sha¡¯gar

    Since it was now the winter holiday, Ye Ci and Bai Mo no longer had an excuse to stay in their apartment. They had no choice but to return to Ye Nantian¡¯s ce. Earlier that month, Ye Ci had sent 500,000 real world cash to her parents through the conversion system. Although that amount was still a far cry from being able to afford arger house, it was more than enough to make life better for her parents.

    There was a spare room in the house, so Ye Ci got to sleep in her old room while Bai Mo stayed in the guest room. The two logged into the game after dinner.

    The guild members greatly weed Ye Ci in the guild channel. They¡¯d been busy; Other than training themselves in the dungeons, the guild members had also sparred in the arena against each other. Even the Life yers took part in it.

    Ye Ci went to the guild encampment just in time to see a sparring match. Pea Cake waved something in his hand around, fighting against a Ranger in the arena. Judging from the situation, Pea Cake was not losing, but the Ranger didn¡¯t have the upper hand either.

    Ye Ci was very interested in what Pea Cake was holding. She could not see clearly what it was, as he was swinging it around at high speed. After a short moment, the Ranger gave up. ¡°Pea Cake, you¡¯re too shameless! You told us to not use skills and fight you with our bare hands, but you¡¯re iling your own weapon around.¡±

    Pea Cake chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m just experimenting for the greater good of the guild.¡± He then spotted Ye Ci, who was standing not far away, and smiled, ¡°Guild leader, do you want toe and try your hand? If you win, I¡¯ll give my new invention to you.¡±

    Ye Ciughed and entered the arena, being cheered on by the rest of the guild members, ¡°No weapons allowed?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°No abilities either?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. You can only use your flesh and bones.¡± Pea Cake let out a smile so shameless that one would feel the urge to beat the living shit out of him.

    Ye Ci nodded, ¡°No problem.¡±

    ¡°Ready?¡± Ideal Height 1.7m stood on a tall table, holding a little g, ¡°Begin.¡±

    Gaining experience from his previous battles, Pea Cake began iling the weapon in his hand around right after Ideal Height 1.7m gave the signal to start the battle. Ye Ci was fast, and she was able to dodge that thing by slightly shifting herself. She noticed a w attached to the tip of the weapon, but was still unable to discern the exact shape of the weapon.

    Ye Ci dodged several more of Pea Cake¡¯s attacks, not showing any intention that she would attack. Pea Cake chuckled, ¡°Guild leader, it seems that you¡¯re right. A Huntress¡¯ effectivebat range was beyond 8 yards. See? You can¡¯t do anything against me without your weapon.¡±

    Ye Ci was ridiculed by his words, and decided to teach him some humility, ¡°Pea Cake, haven¡¯t you heard, an arrogant army is bound to lose.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Pea Cake nodded. But before he could continue, Ye Ci whistled, and a jet ck panther appeared out of nowhere. It roared and pounced on Pea Cake.

    Pea Cake was merely bragging to his own people. If he ran into a PvP situation, he would immediately be panicked. He let out a cry and ran right after seeing a panther pouncing on him. But he could not leave the arena before the battle had ended and as a result, Ol¡¯ Three pinned him onto the ground and tore into him savagely.

    ¡°I give up, I give up.¡± After such an intimate interaction with Ol¡¯ Three, Pea Cake surrendered. Ye Ci did not make things difficult for him, andmanded Ol¡¯ Three to stop.

    ¡°You cheated!¡± Pea Cake struggled to get up from the ground, drawingughter from the other guild members. He straightened up his clothes and climbed out of the arena with a saddened expression, ¡°We agreed that you¡¯d only fight me bare handed, with flesh and bones. You¡¯re bullying a Life yer.¡±

    ¡°Ol¡¯ Three is made up of flesh.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes.

    Pea Cake who was already standing below the arena still had lingering fears as he stared at Ol¡¯ Three that was stretching beside Ye Ci. He was someone who had basically never tried leveling up before, and had nevere into contact with such creatures. Fate was a highly realistic virtual reality game. At that moment, Pea Cake thought that he would be eaten alive by Ol¡¯ Three.

    ¡°There you go.¡± Pea Cake threw the object in his hands towards Ye Ci, not daring to get close to her, ¡°I just made it.¡±

    Ye Ci caught the object thrown at her by Pea Cake. It was a three-headed cat w, a very useful tool when it came to climbing walls. But considering the fact that Pea Cake was still a low level Engineer, the durability of that item was something that must be considered.

    Pea Cake knew about it as well. He told Ye Ci, ¡°I got the blueprints for this thing when the guild cleared the Frosty Wastnd thest time, and I learned it back then. But I¡¯m still a Novice Engineer, and the stuff that I create is a little bit inferior in quality. I wouldn¡¯t dare to give it to anybody else, what if it snapped when they¡¯re climbing a cliff or something? So I decided to let you try it out, guild leader.¡± He said it as if he was sure that Ye Ci would never die.

    Ye Ci cast a nce at the other guild members gathered at the side of the arena, who were all looking at her with faces of approval, appearing to be agreeing to Pea Cake¡¯s words. Ye Ci was puzzled, ¡°Say, do you guys think that I won¡¯t die even if I fall?¡±

    She suddenly felt like an idiot, and thought that she shouldn¡¯t have asked such a stupid question. The guild members nodded their heads and it puzzled Ye Ci even further.

    After a brief moment of rxing, the guild members returned to their tasks. Ye Ci began doing her daily quests in Red Lake City. When she was about toplete her quest, Ye Ci was surprised. An NPC that was rarely seen, the mayor, was standing beside the administration official.

    He twisted his obese body, wiping sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, and once he saw Ye Ci, he ¡°rolled¡± his ball-shaped body towards her. ¡°Hey, hey! Gongzi You is back! Long time no see! I¡¯ve been missing you.¡±

    ncing at the mayor¡¯s pea-sized eyes and sly smile, Ye Ci nodded indifferently, ¡°What is it?¡± She did not even wait for a response, and immediately went andpleted her quest. The mayor followed closely behind her, and Ye Ci, who was annoyed, asked, ¡°What do you want? If it¡¯s nothing, I still have other matters to attend to.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes.¡± The mayor wiped away more sweat from his forehead. ¡°The city lord wishes to see you.¡±

    The Lord of Red Lake City, Lord Sha¡¯gar was an even more mysterious character than Lord Van der Loof. In herst life, Ye Ci had only seen portraits of him in Red Lake City¡¯s city hall. She had never seen the NPC in person. It was said that he had been living in the gigantic castle in Red Lake City, preferring not to meet anyone. There were also some who imed that the city lord was actually dead, which was the reason why nobody had seen him before. If there was a ranking for Fate¡¯s top 10 mysterious NPCs, Sha¡¯gar would easily be one of them.

    This was exactly the reason why Ye Ci was momentarily stunned when the mayor of Red Lake City told her that Sha¡¯gar wanted to meet her. She then followed him to the gigantic castle in the eastern part of Red Lake City.

    There were a lot of NPC servants in the castle. After silently observing the levels of the servants, Ye Ci noted that they were all lvl 100 elites. The soldiers in the castle had even higher levels; They were all lvl 120 Elite Soldiers.

    Ye Ci met Sha¡¯gar in therge library within the castle. The man who was the city lord was not as tough as Van der Loof, and was rather scrawny inparison. He was sitting in front of a table, reading a book. He raised his head and looked at Ye Ci after the mayor announced her presence. He let out a warm smile, ¡°So you¡¯re Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°Greetings milord, it¡¯s an honor.¡± Said Ye Ci respectfully. After all, he was her superior.

    ¡°I received a letter from Van der Loof. He highly praised you and expressed his endless gratitude towards you. This made me happy. Van der Loof is a very close friend of mine. I¡¯m d that when he was threatened by one of Naga¡¯s minions, a citizen of Red Lake City was able to help him out.¡± With that Sha¡¯gar stood up and nodded at Ye Ci, ¡°In honor of your great deed, I¡¯ve decided to reward you.¡±

    Although it had been a month since the event in Oasis City and the reward came a littlete, Ye Ci was still happy. After all, what¡¯s free is free.

    Sha¡¯gar was very generous. He gave Ye Ci a prestige points pack. When Ye Ci opened the pack, her prestige in Red Lake City became ¡®Respected.¡¯ Although it was not as high as the ¡®Intimate¡¯ prestige with Oasis City, Ye Ci was very happy with the reward.

    After giving Ye Ci her deserved reward, Sha¡¯gar dismissed Ye Ci and the mayor led her away from the castle. Once she was back in the city hall, Ye Ci immediately made a request to the mayor to buynd in the city.

    In Fate, when a yer became a citizen of a city and had a prestige of Respected or higher in the city, the yer could buynd in the city. Because of such a high requirement, not a single yer in the 4 continents had bought anynd yet.

    ¡°Which plot ofnd do you wish to purchase?¡± Although Ye Ci disliked the mayor of Red Lake City for being despicable, he was able to do his job efficiently. Ye Ci could onlyfort herself. ¡®Nobody is perfect.¡¯

    Ye Ci stared at the map of Red Lake City in front of the mayor. She then shifted her gaze to the western district. The western district was popted only be a fewmoners as well as somemon NPCs. Other than the soldiers patrolling the streets, almost no one would venture to the western district.

    ¡°I strongly advise against choosing the western district. There¡¯s nothing good over there. Look, it would be wise of you to choose from the eastern district. The city hall is here, and most of the shops are here as well. You will not regret it.¡±

 Chapter 85 The Parents Want to Play Too?

    Chapter 85 The Parents Want to y Too?

    Although the mayor of Red Lake City vehemently tried to dissuade Ye Ci, she ultimately still chose a ring of houses surrounding the small za in the Western District. Unlike the extremely expensivend in the Eastern District, the houses in the Western District were extremely cheap. Even though Ye Ci bought more than ten storefronts in one go, it only cost her around three thousand gold. This amount of money would not have been enough to get a storefront in a somewhat better position.

    Ye Ci naturally would not make unprofitable transactions. She did not forget that after the Lunar New Year, Fate had a more substantial update, primarily for the purpose of increasing a yer¡¯s convenience in exchanging game currency and real life currency. Currently, only thergest cities in the four continents had such bank exchanges, which were overcrowded with yers everyday and were extremely inconvenient, causing many yers toin. Hence, in the following update, banks would be dispersed to every city.

    Red Lake City¡¯s bank exchange would be precisely in this small za.

    At present, as everyone¡¯s levels gradually rose, Red Lake City also gradually became bustling with excitement, due to its surroundings having many maps with ore and herbs, as well as many nearby areas suitable for yers from level 35 to 75. Although the degree of liveliness was iparable to Champion City and Oasis City, at the very least it was unlike previously where there were only a small number of people strolling around the city.

    When Red Lake City¡¯s mayor saw that Ye Ci was determined to buy the houses in the Western District, he was somewhat disappointed. After he helped Ye Ci handle the procedures for the deeds, he calmly and unhurriedly asked, ¡°Have you investigated the bandit nest northwest of the city that we spoke of before?¡±

    Recently there were truly too many matters, so this matter was unfortunately forgotten by Ye Ci. She vaguely made a sound to answer before taking the deeds and leaving the municipal hall.

    Taking a boat to the Western District, Ye Ci quickly reached the small za. At present, there was only a crude fountain, with NPC children happily ying around it. The houses surrounding the fountain were all covered with a yellow cloth which wasn¡¯t originally there. Originally, these were a few low private houses. Currently, the yellow cloth symbolized that the ce had already been sold, but was yet to open for business. Once the owner decided to start a business here, they could go to the municipal hall¡¯s construction engineers to choose the building¡¯s model, pay a fixed fee and then start their business.

    As for the small fountain, soon it would be the future circr bank exchange. At that time, the number of yers in this area would suddenly increase, inevitably guiding the business of the surrounding storefronts. On the other hand, the Eastern District¡¯s poprity would gradually wither down.

    Although she had bought the storefronts, Ye Ci temporarily did not n to open a business in all of them. First, she did not have that many items to sell. Second, she did not have that many suitable people to manage the store. Therefore, she nned to leave them unupied for the time being. Opening after the bank exchange opened was pretty good as well.

    With the Lunar New Year, the moment came to intensely work on the teampatibility of Upwards Ho!. Bai Mo¡¯s parents went on their own vacation, therefore Bai Mo didn¡¯t return home for the new year and instead remained in Ye Ci¡¯s house. To Ye Ci, this year¡¯s Lunar New Year had an especially important significance.

    This was because she not only had the opportunity to go back in time and once again care for her parents; She could also amend all her former mistakes. Most importantly, her whole life could start afresh. When the bell chimed at midnight, Bai Mo pushed Ye Ci to make a wish.

    Ye Ci¡¯s wish was very simple. She hoped that the new year would be as happy as the present.

    Not unsurpassed fame and profit, it was fine as long as her parents, rtives and friends were by her side.

    As the piping hot dumplings were served, Ye Ci and Bai Mo stuffed their faces with countless dumplings in a bid to eat the one that contained a copper coin.*

    Ye Ci could tell that Zuo Xian had something to say, so she asked as she burped, ¡°Mum, what do you want to say?¡±

    Zuo Xian was embarrassed, in the end, she nudged Ye Nantian, saying, ¡°Your father will tell you.¡±

    Ye Nantian also appeared to be rather embarrassed. He red at Zuo Xian before whispering, ¡°This sort of thing, this sort of thing, how could you make me say it?¡±

    ¡°Aunt, Uncle, what are you doing, acting as though there¡¯s something shameful?¡± Bai Mo looked at the two of them, smiling provokingly.

    Hearing Bai Mo¡¯s sentence, the two of them felt even more embarrassed, evading and again pushing the responsibility to the other. Finally, Ye Ci couldn¡¯t stand it any longer, bluntly asking, ¡°Is it that the two of you want to tell me that you¡¯re going to give me another sibling?¡±

    ¡°Stupid girl, what nonsense are you talking about?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s noble suggestion was met with Zuo Xian¡¯s fisting down on her head. Soon after, she again started to hum and haw. In the end, it was still Ye Nantian that was more brazen. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Actually it isn¡¯t much. We have retired and always felt bored at home. Seeing you two ying that game everyday seemed very interesting. Could you teach us how to y too?¡±

    Ye Ci and Bai Mo looked at each other, before they could respond, Zuo Xian already shook her hand, ¡°Aiya aiya, we only said it casually. We know this is something yed by youngsters like you. We never yed games when were were younger, how would we have no shame in ying with you now?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡± Ye Ci grinned. She was not disagreeing and was instead too astonished. In her previous life, not only did her parents not ask to y the game with her, they simply loathed the game deeply. Nevermind that ten yearster, Fate was already not merely a type of game. Rather, it was a way of life. Many people went into the game to make money to spend in the real world. Also, many people simply earned money to enjoy within the game.

    In short, Fate became the world¡¯srgest virtual investment industry. Every important political leader and financial group around the world continuously injected funds. It had already be a necessary part of life. At that time, almost everyone was ying Fate.

    ¡°There are people even older than you that are currently ying.¡± Ye Ci looked at Bai Mo. ¡°Ask Bai Mo if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, there is a guild called Neighbourhood Officials on our continent. The main members in their guild are all people of your age, with some of them even older than you. They are equally ying happily.¡± Bai Mo totally agreed with Ye Ci¡¯s statement, so much so that he was a little envious that Ye Ci¡¯s parents were so open-minded to want to y together with Ye Ci.

    ¡°What can we do in the game?¡± Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian were considered more outdated than when they were younger. Although they lived from the era of desktop games to the present with VR games, they never yed any games, which was considered unusual.

    ¡°Fighting monsters, training levels,pleting missions, PVP, running a business etc... You can do whatever you want to do.¡± Bai Mo answered as he still continued stuffing dumplings into his mouth.

    ¡° Fighting... We aren¡¯t fond of that.¡± Zuo Xian promptly shook her head. In the real world, they tried to never offend anyone and never quarreled, much less fought before. ¡°How about we forget it, I feel we don¡¯t quite fit in...¡±

    Ye Ci smiled as she interrupted Zuo Xian, ¡°Mum, Dad, fighting and leveling are just a small part of the game. Actually there are still many ways to y. For example, you can develop your interests in the game. Look, Dad likes to cook and even took the exam for an amateur chef¡¯s permit. You can just open a restaurant in the game. Doesn¡¯t Mum like sewing, being a tailor is also pretty good.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s possible that way?¡± Their eyes brightened.

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely possible. If you can create good items, you can even make money. Perhaps you might even earn more than you currently do.¡± Bai Mo breathed rapidly as he ate, speaking with his mouth full of food. ¡°Uncle, your dumplings are so delicious, if they were put into the game, many people will definitelye to eat.¡±

    Ye Ci merely grinned as she looked toward her parents that were getting more and more excited. Just at that moment, she suddenly thought of an exquisite idea. That is to gift the best store that she bought to her parents to operate and let the two of them who had slogged their whole life truly find pleasure in life. Furthermore, they would also often see her within the game. To them, that is also roughly a kind offort.

    Regarding the matter of Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian joining the game, Ye Ci could only wait for them to make up their minds. Therefore she rested well that night. However, Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian almost fought.

    That was because the two of them disagreed on whether they should open a restaurant or a tailor¡¯s shop. The next morning, Ye Ci saw her parents still continuing to argue over this issue as they prepared the meal with dark circles around their eyes. She couldn¡¯t helpughing as she said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it possible for both of you choose a profession each, why do you insist on only picking one?¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do. She (He) needs to be my assistant.¡± Both of them spoke in unison.

    Ye Ci shrugged her shoulders, no longer bothering her parents. In any case, they would eventuallye to a conclusion in their own way.

    On New Year¡¯s Day, it was a rest day for Upwards Ho!, with no guild activities. There was also a distinct decrease in yers in every continent. Not knowing when it started, China¡¯s Lunar New Year had be a significant holiday across the world. Not only the Chinese celebrated the new year, foreigners also celebrated the new year. Thus, there were rtively few yers within the game.

    However, at noon the developers had scheduled a new year¡¯s event, therefore, at 11am, many yers came online one after another. Very quickly, Dyar Continent was again unusually lively.

    Since it was China¡¯s Lunar New Year, the event waspletely filled with Chinese features.

    This year¡¯s activity was a dragon dancepetition. The venue for thepetition was each continent¡¯srgest city. Thus, thepetition for the Eastern Continent was naturally held in Champion City. Before logging off on the eve of the Lunar New Year, the members of Upwards Ho! had already agreed to head to Champion City on New Year¡¯s Day to participate in thepetition. Therefore, Ye Ci and Bai Mo rushed towards Champion City once they logged in.

    Champion City was filled with the sounds of gongs and drums, red gs swayed in the wind and firecrackers popped among a crowd too numerous to count.

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    Dumplings looked like ingots (currency used in ancient China), hence eating the dumplings during the New Year is a metaphor for eating money. When people eat jiao zi during the New Year celebration, they hope that it will bring prosperity and good luck for the forting year.

    Rich families in ancient times added gold, silver, and other precious stones in their dumplings. To get one of these dumplings was considered good luck. Later this transitioned to adding coins in the dumplings. Copper coins, for example, meant that one would neverck money. In contemporary times, only a few coins are washed and added to the batch of dumplings, and the person who discovers the coin would enjoy good luck and make a lot of money in theing year.

    Hi people! I¡¯ve decided go double chapters whenever it is possible until we can reach Chapter 100, and this good guy ed.L has offered to help me out! I hope to make 3 double releases every week until we reach 100!! Ooorah!!

    If you think today¡¯s double release is awesome, and you wanna reward Jimmi and his friend ed for such awesome chapters, don¡¯t hesitate to hit the ¡°sponsor¡± button at the right side of the page!

    Wanna help me buff up my patron count? Visit my Patreon page here: https://.patreon/Jimminx

    (Jimmi is so shameless)

    Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the double chapters!

 Chapter 86 Dragon Dance Competition

    Chapter 86 Dragon Dance Competition

    Champion City deserved the title of thergest city in the Eastern Continent. This human city was at least 5-6 timesrger than Red Lake City, and that wasn¡¯t all. The economy in the city was at its peak. The NPCs in the city were generally leading very happy lives. With around a hundred guilds based in the city, the city was very prosperous.

    Clear Moon, who was standing outside of the teleportation point, said to Fruit Jelly beside him, ¡°T-this is the first time I¡¯ve been to Champion City.¡±

    Fruit Jelly nodded as she observed the people in the city that were more numerous than a hive of ants, mouth agape. ¡°M-m-me too...¡±

    ¡°Why have you guys not visited this ce? It¡¯s not that expensive to teleport here. You¡¯re acting like country bumpkins entering the city for the first time.¡± Golden Man was someone who visited Champion City often, but the crowd gave him a headache as well. ¡°My goodness, why are there so many people? I bet we¡¯d be scattered in the crowd before we could find the registration NPC.¡±

    ¡°This ce is just too big and with so many people around, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll get lost.¡± Clear Moon sniffed again. He was still in awe of Champion City¡¯s grand scale and the sheer number of yers in the city. ¡°If only Red Lake City was this prosperous.¡±

    Ever since Upwards Ho! had bound its staging area to Red Lake City, all the members of the guild had also bound their city-recalling stones to the city as well. A lot of them joined Red Lake City as a citizen. Although they¡¯d benefitted from the daily quests in Red Lake City, they still couldn¡¯t help but envy the prosperity of such a huge city.

    Just as the group was still contemting how to enter the city, Bai Mo sent a message in the guild channel. ¡°I¡¯ve managed to to register our guild. Don¡¯t leave the vicinity of the city or we might not be able to locate youter.¡±

    Ye Ci, of course, went into the city alongside Bai Mo. She was able to put her high Agility and Bnce to good use in the crowd and reached the registration NPC before Bai Mo. There were a total of 5 NPCs in charge of registration in Champion City, situated in the North, South, East, West and Central Districts. All the NPCs were surrounded by crowds of yers.

    The Dragon Dance Competition required teamwork. There was only one rule: No solo yers epted, only teams with between 5-100 members were allowed. The condition was announced on the official website before the New Year, and a lot of solo yers had banded into groups.

    The registration was done by the leader of a party. Judging from the sheer amount of party leaders registering their parties, one could roughly guess the number of yers in the city.

    As the guild leader, Bai Mo was fast to register the name ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ to the NPC. A notification panel then appeared in front of all the party members: The emcee of the Dragon Dance Competition wishes to invite you to thepetition arena, do you agree?

    The panel would only appear once. If a yer selected ¡®reject¡¯ by ident, it meant that they forfeited from thepetition and could not enter the arena. Bai Mo shouted in the guild channel, ¡°Look closely, choose ¡®confirm?¡¯ Y¡¯all must choose ¡®confirm!¡¯¡±

    After some white shes, they were transported into a special arena. It was a very vast in with soft green grass. One could not even see where the in ended. There was a little g nted on the ground every 20m, and the name of each registered party was written on the g, while the party members stood below the g. The props for dragon dancing were ced beside the g.

    The dragon props for each team were different. Ye Ci¡¯s party¡¯s was a green one decorated with golden patterns. The dragon¡¯s eyes were bright and full of life, as if the entire prop was a real dragon.

    yers who took part in this activity were divided into 3 categories: parties with 20 members and below were the Lightweight category; parties with 21-60 members are categorized as Middleweight; parties that had 61-100 members were of the Heavyweight category. They wouldpete in different arenas and receive different rewards.

    The rewards for being the champion in the Heavyweight category were abundant. The winner would receive a lvl 5 guild encampment and an Epic tier title for all the guild members. That was why all the 72 members of Upwards Ho! had taken part in the event, forming a Heavyweight team.

    The members had decided their positions. Bai Mo and Let Go Of That Girl had the highest Strength in the party. That was why Bai Mo was at the head of the dragon while Let Go Of That Girl was at the middle part of the dragon. These 2 positions were the key for the dragon to move forward smoothly. Because of her high Agility and Perception, Ye Ci was ced at the tail so that she could have a better view of what was going on.

    The entire area was bustling with activity due to the huge number of contestants. Just then, a siren red across the field, and countless multi-colored ball shaped objects appeared all over the ce. They were the very crucial items in the 4 rounds ofpetition: ¡®Pearls.¡¯

    The first round was simple. yers were to collect the ¡®pearls¡¯ scattered all over the ins. The top 10 teams would advance the the next round. yers were allowed to use any means at their disposal to grab the pearls as long as they did not leave the vicinity of their dragon. Of course, the usage of weapons and abilities were not allowed in the arena.

    A few more sirens red, notifying yers that thepetition was about to begin. The yers raised their dragons, and with a signal from the system, the hundred-something Chinese dragons headed for the ¡®pearls¡¯ scattered around the ins.

    Dragon Dancing was no longer exclusive to China. The culture had spread to foreign nations as well, and many foreigners would enjoy watching the Dragon Dance. However, simply spectating it was an entirely different matter than doing it for real. Dragon Dancing had the same working concept as 3 legged racing. The people involved must have synchronized pace and tempo.

    However, to synchronize the tempo and pacing of nearly a hundred individuals was easier said than done. A few moments after the event started, chaos erupted as yers lost their footing and fell. Sometimes it was one of the yers and the dragon¡¯s body fell, sometimes the head or the tail.

    Laughter, mor and all sorts of noise filled the ce. Although the prize was their ultimate goal, the yers were able to remain cheerful despite their blunders, as it was the New Year. The atmosphere was jovial.

    Upwards Ho! was one of the parties who had done some minor preparations. It was said in the rules that if one let go of both hands from the pole supporting the dragon¡¯s body, the person would be counted as forfeiting from thepetition. That was why despite falling down a few times, none of them had dared to let go of the pole.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, everybody remain calm. Humans, Orcs, Elves and Lycans please slow down so that the Dwarves, Gnomes and Undead can keep up.¡± Bai Mo himself had tripped and fallen several times. Heughed and then shouted into the guild channel, ¡°We gain nothing from being so rushed, if some of us get disqualified identally, it¡¯s not worth it.¡±

    The members of Upwards Ho! stopped, got into formation, and marched in ce as they followed Bai Mo¡¯s marching cadence. They began to advance once they¡¯d gotten used to the pace.

    Ye Ci spotted a colored ball in front of her, and just as she moved to retrieve the colored ball, somebody in front of her threw something out and grabbed hold of the ball.

    ¡°Pea Cake, what¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the cat w that I gave you. I thought I couldn¡¯t use it. But it seems that the use of tools was not prohibited alongside the usage of weapons.¡± Pea Cake chuckled as he fiddled around with the cat ws.

    So that was how it worked.

    Ye Ci took the cat w out of her inventory as well. After swinging it around for a few times, Ye Ci was able to get used to it. As a ranged ss, Ye Ci was able to grasp the range of it well, and she was able to collect more than 10 colored balls within a short period of time.

    ¡°Pea Cake, do you have any more of those cat ws?¡± Shouted Bai Mo after noticing the two having fun with their tools. If all members of the party could have one, it would definitely be great.

    ¡°I have 11 of them right now. That¡¯ll be a total of 12 including the one Gongzi has.¡±

    ¡°Hand them to the Hunters, Mages and the Rangers. Those who received the cat ws, just remember to keep up with the rest of us, and try and grab those color balls that are too far away from us.¡± Upwards Ho!¡¯s dragon stopped once again under Bai Mo¡¯smand. When they once again resumed moving, Upwards Ho!¡¯s dragon was like Spiderman.

    Whenever they advanced, there were not any colored balls left as long as they were within range of the cat ws.

    The other guilds were quick to notice the method used by Upwards Ho!. They were unable to identify the the tool used by Upwards Ho!, and thought instead that it was some sort of rope as they began to imitate it, greatly improving their efficiency.

    ¡°Bang!¡± A dragon head suddenly bumped right into Bai Mo, and a wave of dizziness washed over him, ¡°What the heck, collision in such a wide space?¡±

    ¡°Dammit Steel Blooded Battle Spear, why do you bump into us?¡± Ideal Height 1.7m was standing behind Bai Mo. The moment they bumped into him, she immediately recognised the guild. She then remembered the incident where Ye Ci left Steel Blooded Battle Spear, and associated their as an act of revenge, ¡°You wanna fight?¡±

    ¡°Well, even idents could happen in the highway, so what if we identally bumped into you?¡± The person replying was Peacock Blue, who then showed off her perfectly round breasts to Ideal Height 1.7m and snorted, apparently looking down on her height.

    ¡°What, who do you think you are?¡± Seeing that somebody was trying to bully Ideal Height 1.7m, Let Go Of That Girl rushed out with his portion of the dragon¡¯s body andnded a kick on a Steel Blooded Battle Spear member.

    A section of the Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s dragon that was moving smoothly fell, and the guild members from both sides began shoving and kicking at each other.

    ¡°To the members of Upwards Ho! and Steel Blooded Battle Spear, if you do not break away, you will be disqualified immediately.¡± A familiar voice rang out just was the two dragons were ¡®shing¡¯ with each other.

    Trantor¡¯s note:

    Dragon Dance (ÎèÁú) is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance, it is most often seen in festive celebrations. The dance is performed by a team of dancers who manipte a long flexible figure of a dragon using poles positioned at regr intervals along the length of the dragon. The dance team simtes the imagined movements of this river spirit in a sinuous, undting manner.

    The dragon dance is often performed during Chinese New Year. Chinese dragons are a symbol of China, and they are believed to bring good luck to people, therefore the longer the dragon in the dance, the more luck it will bring to themunity.The dragons are believed to possess qualities that include great power, dignity, fertility, wisdom, and auspiciousness. The appearance of a dragon is both fearsome and bold but it has a benevolent disposition, and it was an emblem to represent imperial authority. The movements in a performance traditionally symbolize historical roles of dragons demonstrating power and dignity.

 Chapter 87 Brick

    Chapter 87 Brick

    Ye Ci was slightly puzzled.

    If she was not mistaken, the voice belonged to Customer Service No. 094, who she hadn¡¯t seen for a long time. Wasn¡¯t this an event? Shouldn¡¯t it be handled by the Marketing Department instead of one of the developers?

    Could it be that... Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but think, was he demoted?

    Despite No. 094¡¯s warning, it was impossible for the sh to stop. The members from both sides were still kicking and shoving at each other. Although Bai Mo and Thousand Sunsets were afraid that something might happen, there was no force in this world that could stop them.

    ¡°Gongzi You, Miss Gongzi You, please instruct your guild members to leave, or you¡¯ll receive a formal warning from the System.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s ¡°beloved¡¯ Customer Service No. 094 called out her name after he was ignored by the members of both guilds.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened. She gritted her teeth. This Wang Jiangnan... Did he hold a grudge against her? She was just slightly slow when helping him out with the BUG, did he really have to call her name out? But she was a yer while he was taking control of an NPC, so she was totally powerless against him. Ye Ci could only concede defeat and wait for her chance for revenge.

    The members of Upwards Ho! immediately stopped after they heard Ye Ci¡¯s name. They retreated to a far corner and began discuss what they heard spiritedly.

    ¡°Aiya, aiya, why would the emcee of thepetition know our guild leader?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? Our leader is freakin¡¯ awesome! She¡¯s famous!¡±

    ¡°Yep, yep, those Steel Blooded Battle Spear bastards are lucky this time.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll get¡¯em next time, there are plenty of chances...¡±

    Although they were unclear about what really happened between Ye Ci and Steel Blooded Battle Spear, they¡¯d heard a lot of stories from Timely Rain and Pickled Pepper Phoenix w that Ye Ci was treated unfairly back when she was in the guild. They felt angry because of that, and they¡¯d found the perfect opportunity to get back at Steel Blooded Battle Spear today.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened even further after listening to the discussions. She did not wish to be famous. Although the things that she had done contributed to her fame, it did not mean that she agree to Wang Jiang Nan¡¯s action of announcing her name and making her even more well-known... This... This...

    ¡°Go and grab more balls, there¡¯s only 3 minutes left until thepetition ends.¡± Noticing that they¡¯d wasted a lot of time, Bai Mo was distressed. They were aiming for the reward as the champion of Heavyweight category: A lvl 5 guild encampment and the Epic tier title. It would be a shame if they got eliminated in the first round.

    The guild members knew what was at stake. They immediately kept quiet and focused on grabbing more colored balls.

    All the colored balls disappeared after the bell signifying the end of the round rang. The parties returned to their respective gs, and the system began counting the balls collected by each party.

    It was a close call. With the difference of 3 balls, Upwards Ho! had managed to be part of the top 10. The guild members let out a collective sigh of relief. It was just too close. But what was even more embarrassing was that... The first 3 spots of the Dragon Dancepetition were held by foreign guilds...

    yers from the 3 other continents immediately ¡®congratted¡¯ the yers of the Eastern Continent.

    ¡°We of the Five Millennium guild wish to express our deepest condolences and greatest disdain to the Chinese yers in the Eastern Continent in the stead of all the Chinese yers in the Western Continent.¡±

    ......

    ¡°Good job, de of Abyss! You guys ranked no.1 in the Eastern Continent Dragon Dancepetition, you make America proud!¡±

    ......

    ¡°Oi, Eastern Continent, aren¡¯t you guys supposed to be like, freaking awesome? Didn¡¯t you guys get First Blood like literally everyday? How could you lose to those Westerner bastards in Dragon Dance? What the f*ck are you guys doing?¡±

    ......

    The Chinese yers in the Eastern Continent did not respond to all the taunting in the World Channel. They were not the only ones who remained silent. Even the foreign guilds that had obtained top 3 were silent. The reason: They were busy opening the colored balls...

    The pearls that yers obtained from the Dragon Dancepetition contained different items including: materials, potions, skill books, gold coins, and even weapons. It all depended heavily on luck.

    However, the chances of getting good stuff from the pearls in the first round was low. Most of the items obtained from the pearls were potions, materials and gold coins. Ye Ci¡¯s luck was not that great. After opening 30-40 balls, she obtained 30 unrefined copper ore and several thousand gold coins. Icy Cold Little Hands however, was very lucky. It took her 10 tries to obtain a Barbarian skill book and a Priest skill book. She was the officially made the ¡®colored ball opener¡¯ of the guild.

    Her luck was really good. The Life yers in the guild cheered happily as she obtained a huge pile of Medium Tier materials from the colored balls. She had even gotten 3 blue equipment from the colored balls. One of them was a Warrior¡¯s longsword, one was a Druid¡¯s staff, while the other one was a Ranger¡¯s dagger. The equipment was handed to Bai Mo, who stored them into the guild warehouse and would distribute them to the guild members once thepetition was over.

    After a short break, the second round of thepetition started. The top 3 parties from thepetition would be taking part in the third round of thepetition. Upwards Ho! was in an awkward position, as they ranked 10th in the first round and the points for each round were cumtive.

    They were still required to grab the colored balls in the second round, but this time instead ofpeting on a t in, the arena was a hugeke which was covered by ayer of ice with uneven thickness. The rules were the same: All usage of weapons and skills were prohibited.

    This round was way harder than thest round.

    Because of the uneven thickness of the ice, if yers stepped on the thin portion of the ice and fell into theke, they would be eliminated.

    ¡°Those with the cat ws please take note, try your best to get more of those red and golden colored balls. Those 2 give the highest points.¡± Ye Ci reminded the party as they tread carefully across the surface of theke.

    In this round, the one at the second position was no longer Ideal Height 1.7m, but a Rogue called Milk Popsicle instead. He had high Perception, which allowed him to detect hidden danger in front of him. He would then warn Bai Mo who was at the head to steer clear of dangerous areas.

    Everybody wanted a spot in the third round, and every party gave their all to grab the red and golden colored balls. This led to the constant sound of cracking ice. If the yers were able to react fast enough they were able to continuepeting, while those who were unable to escape dropped into theke and were eliminated.

    Ye Ci waved her cat w around, grabbing all the multi-colored pearls within her sight.

    3 guilds from the Eastern Continent were eliminated after falling into the water. With the help of their cat ws, Upwards Ho! was able to squeeze their way into the fourth ce despite having a horrible performance in the first round.

    Wolf Pack, Steel Blooded Battle Spear and de of Abyss were ahead of them in terms of score.

    Ye Ci observed her surroundings. A lot of guilds were forced together because of the cracking ice, and Upwards Ho! was forced together with Steel Blooded Battle Spear once again.

    ¡°Popsicle, is there a thinneryer of ice at our 2 o¡¯clock?¡± Asked Ye Ci after eyeing the position of Steel Blooded Battle Spear.

    Milk Popsicle took a nce and replied, ¡°Yes, the ice beneath the red ball and that golden ball is thin.¡±

    Steel Blooded Battle Spear could of course detect what Milk Popsicle had detected. Their score was in an awkward position. de of Abyss and Upwards Ho! were very close to overtaking them with just 1-2 red balls. They need to secure their position. They could not afford to let go of those 2 balls.

    But after their run in with Upwards Ho! in the first round, Thousand Sunsets was wary of the guild. He ordered 2 Gnomish Rogues to try and retrieve the balls while the Rangers kept an eye out for Upwards Ho! in case they attempted to foil the ns of his guild.

    Upwards Ho! was at a position with more balls. While her guild members were busy grabbing the balls, Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and nced at Steel Blooded Battle Spear. If she did not act, Upwards Ho! would definitely lose their chance at winning the grand prize when Steel Blooded Battle Spear obtained the 2 balls. She was fast to spot the 2 Gnomish Rogues that Thousand Sunsets sent to retrieve the balls.

    Gnomes were the lightest among all the races. As long as they tread lightly on the thin ice, it would not break, and with the Rogue¡¯s high movement speed, they were the best people for the job. Steel Blooded Battle Spear had even swapped a Ranger to the dragon tail¡¯s position to ¡®conduct surveince¡¯ on Upwards Ho!.

    Ye Ci sneered at Thousand Sunsets¡¯ narrow-minded behavior. She had originally decided to leave Steel Blooded Battle Spear alone. But with their attitude, she would be sorry if she did not act.

    She flipped the object in her hand: a crude iron brick.

    It belonged to Pea Cake. His inventory was full of the ¡®products¡¯ of Engineering that were junk in the eyes of an outsider. The piece of crude iron brick became Ye Ci¡¯s precious treasure.

    It came from where it was supposed toe from, and went to where it was meant to be.

    Ye Ci casually tossed something out and in the blink of an eye she was grabbing more colored balls with full concentration. Her movement was so fluid as fast that nobody saw what happened.

    ¡°Oh by the way, guild leader, why did you want my brick?¡± Asked Pea Cake.

    ¡°It was nothing.¡± Ye Ci replied with a smile.

    Right after Ye Ci spoke, a loud ¡°pop¡± was followed closely by the cracking sound of the ice and then the sshing of water and angry strings of curses.

    ......

    The members of Upwards Ho! turned their heads towards the source of the sound. There was only a huge hole left at the spot where Steel Blooded Battle Spear was supposed to be.

    Hayooo! Second Double Chapters in a row! Ooorah!

    Calling out to all the talented and artistic souls out there, are you people interested in drawing some fanart for Reign of the Hunters? You can always send your work to me and they¡¯ll be featured in ROTH chapters.

    email:

    Discord: Jimminx#3821

    If you enjoyed the chapters and think that they¡¯re awesome and you want to reward Jimmi for his hard work, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page! Oooor you can go to Jimmi¡¯s Patreon >>>here<<<

    And to those who suggested Tales Of Zestiria to me, thank you guys so much! It¡¯s a fun game, enjoyed it immensely!

    Aaaaaaaand.... The first in thement, you know the drill, type FIRST BLOOD!

 Chapter 88 White Bomb

    Chapter 88 White Bomb

    If the sudden disappearance of Steel Blooded Battle Spear was a relief for the members of Upwards Ho!, then Clear Moon¡¯s question that followed was the trigger to their heated discussion.

    ¡°Eh? Where did they disappear to?¡±

    After a few seconds of silence, a lively discussion exploded in the party. Some said that the surface of the ice was actually a jerry-built project, some imed that it was divine intervention, while there were some who said it was a glitch in the system. The guild members discussed the topic enthusiastically while collecting more colored balls.

    The culprit, Ye Ci, did not take part in the discussion. She focused all her attention on collecting more balls.

    The second round ended without much suspense. The representatives of the Eastern Continent who would join the third round of thepetition were Wolf Pack, Upwards Ho! and de of Abyss.

    After a short rest, the 3 parties were transported to the arena for the third round.

    Ye Ci took a quick look at the arena and noticed that they were in the sky. With this, they¡¯d been to air,nd and sea.

    The rules were slightly different in this round of thepetition. With exception to the tform that the 12 parties were standing on, yers would levitate whenever they left the tform. All the parties were required to collect blue colored balls while bringing along their dragon. But in the process of grabbing the blue balls, yers must also beware of the white colored ones, which would randomly explode. Parties that had their dragon¡¯s HP depleted due to the explosions would be eliminated.

    To win the round, a party must collect 999 blue balls, and each blue ball was worth 1 point. When a party had umted 999 points, a giant colored pearl ball belonging to the party would appear in a specific location. The party must then rush into the giant pearl with their dragon.

    The game sounded simple. But for humans who were used to walking onnd to suddenly have to fly in the sky was a huge challenge in terms of controlling their direction and the force needed to maneuver.

    Upwards Ho! was not the only party to face trouble. All the participants had the same problem as well. Not only that, Upwards Ho! was unable to fully utilize their cat ws as they were unable to grasp the distance of objects in this 3-dimensional space.

    Thepetition wouldst for 1 hour. If no party was able to achieve victory within the round, 3 of the parties with the highest score would be selected to proceed to the 4th round. Although yers would only need to hang on for an hour, the blue balls offered rare items and would be bound to whoever collected them. The yers were fired up to acquire as many blue balls as they could.

    It was a sinister design by the developers. Such arrangements in a group activity that offered rare items that were bound to a yer was obviously meant to incite disharmony within a party. Before long, a party from the Northern Continent had an internal dispute, and their yers began shoving each other.

    Just then, Customer Service No.094¡¯s anger inducing voice rang out again along with a system message, ¡°Everyone remain calm. You can always talk things out. Don¡¯t fight~~ Or your points might be deducted~~¡±

    What¡¯s with the ¡®~~¡¯? Ye Ci strongly disdained Wang Jiangnan¡¯s action of fanning the mes. Why are you typing out that symbol? Are you trying to act cute or something?

    ¡°Everyone, turn on your distance assistance plugin. I want everyone to only grab the balls closest to them. I don¡¯t wish to see our own members quarrel because of the balls. Those who get into a fight because of the blue balls will have 50 DKP deducted from them.¡± Bai Mo immediately warned his guild members after seeing what happened to the Northern Continent party.

    Although blue equipment could be gained from the blue balls, they were still more inferiorpared to blue equipment of the same level obtained from dungeons. DKP was the thing needed for guild members to redeem items from the guild warehouse. Nobody was willing to risk their DKP for a couple of blue balls, and the party became rather harmonious.

    The ursed white balls were rapidly growing in numbers. They did not move slowly like the blue balls. They moved fast and they exploded randomly. Some would have a 10 second dy before exploding, while some would explode instantly upon contact. There was nothing much the yers could do against them.

    ¡°Bai Mo, slow down, we¡¯ll advance slowly and steadily. Keep your eyes peeled everyone, if you see a 10 second dy one, kick it away.¡± Said Ye Ci calmly after she was hit by an instant explosion white ball and a time dyed one.

    ¡°T-then what about those that explode instantly?¡± Cutie Lemon was so nervous that the bridge of her nose was sweating. A white ball exploded right on top of her, scaring her to the point where her face turned white.

    ¡°Then... Chug down more health potions. Don¡¯t die before the dragon¡¯s health ispletely gone.¡± Ye Ci spread out her hands, indicating that she had no solution to the problem either.

    In the hearts of Upwards Ho! members, Ye Ci was a know-it-all and the synonym for ¡®awesomeness.¡¯ There was nothing that she couldn¡¯t solve. The emergence of such a problem drove them to a state of nervousness. They no longer chatted in the party channel. All of their attention was focused, for fear that they would trigger an instant-explosion white ball.

    ¡°Thump.¡± A white ball bumped into Ye Ci¡¯s pole. It was a dyed-explosion type. Without thinking, Ye Ci kicked the white ball away towards a spot where several other white balls were clustered together.

    ¡°Thump thump thump...¡± The white ball that was kicked away by Ye Ci collided with the other white balls, triggering severalrge explosions.

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. It worked like that as well? Even the collision between balls would trigger a detonation? She immediately shared her discovery to the rest of the members, ¡°If you encounter a dyed-explosion white ball, kick it towards the other white balls.¡±

    The ranged yers were way more adept at doing it than the melee yers.

    After spending a short period of time to get used to their environment, the 12 teams were able to stabilize their pace. They no longer quarrelled because of the blue balls, and they were more skillful when it came to maneuvering in the air.

    The 11 other guilds were different from Upwards Ho!. Their dragons were crewed by a fullplement of 100 yers. It was easier for them to collect 999 blue balls whenpared to the 72-yer party of Upwards Ho!. They could easily get more balls.

    Ye Ci realised that it would be hard for her guild to get into the top 3 with conventional methods. She narrowed her eyes, and kicked a white ball which was flying towards her to the direction of a party closest to her. Her timing was perfect. The dyed-explosion ball exploded right after it came into contact with the party¡¯s dragon, dealing quite a huge amount of damage.

    Everybody was busy with dodging the white balls, and there would certainly be those who were not that lucky. Nobody had noticed Ye Ci¡¯s dirty trick. They simply became more alert when it came to dodging white balls. If one continuously pull tricks on the same target, one would be discovered very soon.

    When her guild¡¯s dragon spiraled upwards, Ye Ci did the same trick on several other parties. Quite a few of them realized that they were victims of somebody¡¯s antics, but they were unable to locate the culprit as their attention was focused on thepetition. They began to retaliate on the parties that were closest to them. Right then, Ye Ci urged Bai Mo to stay away from her victims, and turned towards another direction.

    It would be daft to get involved in the mess that she herself had created.

    Upwards Ho! stayed far away from the 11 other teams, showing clearly that they were not involved in the plot. They collected blue balls at the edge while watching the other parties plot against each other. Ye Ci in particr was enjoying the show.

    ¡°What are they doing...?¡± Pea Cake was curious. ¡°Everything was fine just now.¡±

    It did not take long for the other parties to realise that Upwards Ho! was steering clear of the mess. They immediately shifted their attention to Upwards Ho!. In their eyes, Upwards Ho! that had only 72 members was the one that was supposed to be eliminated.

    ¡°Hurry up and ascend.¡± Ordered Ye Ci as she noticed the other parties closing in while simultaneously sabotaging each other¡¯s progress.

    The 72 yers of the guild were very united. They immediately ascended while furiously grabbing blue balls right after Ye Ci gave hermand.

    973... 974... 986... 992... The number of balls collected by Upwards Ho! increased along with their altitude. Several parties that were close to achieving their goal gave up on going after Upwards Ho!. Those parties that had entirely no hope at all to advance to the next round gave chase, hoping to drag Upwards Ho! down along with them.

    ¡°Bang bang bang.¡± Explosions continuously rocked Upwards Ho!¡¯s dragon, and its HP dropped rapidly...

    997... 998...

    One ball left. A white ball flew towards Upwards Ho!¡¯s dragon. Ye Ci shifted herself slightly, and spun in midair. She raised her foot and kicked the white ball away while reaching out towards a blue ball that happened to be within sight. She grabbed hold of the blue ball and a system notification immediately chimed in, ¡°Upwards Ho! has collected 999 blue balls. The pearl shall now activate.¡±

    When Ye Ci thought about it, she had never had good luck in her entire life. She had never won any lotteries, nor was she lucky when it came to item drops. But reality proved that every cloud has a silver lining, just like...

    The pearl appeared right above Upwards Ho!¡¯s dragon. The guild members were delighted. They immediately headed towards the pearl. Right at that moment, a few more explosions rocked their dragon.

    It was close. By the time they made it into the pearl, Upwards Ho!¡¯s dragon only had one tiny bit of HP left.

    That, however, was not important. They had managed to advance to the next round.

    The one to announce the news was not the system, but Customer Service No. 094. ¡°Congrattions to the party from the Eastern Continent, Upwards Ho!, for being the first party to enter the 4th round. All the yers of Upwards Ho! please stand still, you¡¯ll be transported to the arena for the 4th round.¡±

 Chapter 89 Genesis

    Chapter 89 Genesis

    Ye Ci remembered that she had previously read a novel named < 0 Degrees Ultimate Fantasy>. Within the novel, there was a quote that left a profound impression on her.

    ¡°At times, luck is also a type of ability.¡±

    Therefore, she had always imed that she had no such ability. Even if she did, she reckoned that her luck would only backfire and cause her harm. However, fate would make fun of you at times, letting you suddenly have real luck.

    The fourth round of the Dragon Dancepetition was, frankly, a contest of this type of ability. The fourth round of thepetition was the easiest round of thepetition. It didn¡¯t even require a dragon. It only requiredpetitors to hold the dragon as they headed to the sides of the pool in the middle of the arena, and then they just needed to open the colored pearls. The colored pearls would produce different items, with the obtained items belonging to the one who opened the pearl. The points for every item were also different.

    For example, a skill book was worth 100 points, blue colored equipment was worth 80 points, green colored equipment was worth 50 points, a BUFF potion was worth 10 points, the red and blue ones were both worth 5 points, materials were worth 5 points, gold was worth 3 points. The guild who umted the highest points from the items they obtained when thepetition ended would obtain the final victory.

    The stipted duration for the fourth round was ten minutes, but this time would only start counting down when every member of the participating teams entered the arena. The time spent opening pearls bypetitors who entered the arena earlier was not counted within the ten minutes given. Hence, the earlier a team entered the arena, the more points they could umte.

    However, what did this round test?

    The fourth round of thepetition was a round which tested luck. Such luck basedpetitions were usually more unpredictable.

    Take opening chests for example, some people might open ten thousand chests without even finding a gem, while others might found one with the first chest they open. This was called luck, which was also called deception.

    The team from Upwards Ho! were the first to be cast into the fourth round¡¯s arena. As all of them understood the rules of each round before thepetition started, there was no hesitation as they raised the dragon and dashed toward the edges of the pool in the middle of the arena.

    Bai Mo shouted as they charged forward, ¡°Those that have ck hands, please wash your hands and ensure that it¡¯s clean.¡±

    Everyone replied in unison, ¡°Understood!¡±

    Bai Mo then detestably pointed out, ¡°Friend Gongzi You, you especially, it¡¯s best if you washed your hands a few more times.¡±

    All those who had partied with Ye Ci before understood the extent of Ye Ci¡¯s ¡®ck hand.¡¯ Thus when they heard Bai Mo¡¯s statement, they were in agreement and all nodded toward Ye Ci, saying, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes as she replied, ¡°It¡¯s not like I wished for it...¡±

    ¡°guild leader, you shouldn¡¯t pull down our team¡¯s overall luck because of your own.¡± Pea Cake, who was standing beside Ye Ci, had a regretful expression as she patted Ye Ci¡¯s shoulder, making thetter wish that she could directly kick her into the pool.

    The pool was actually veryrge. The entire team from Upwards Ho! only upied a fifth of the circumference of the poolside. It was obvious that everyone was even more driven than when they were clearing dungeons.

    There were often people shouting, ¡°I found materials here, Leader Bai, please deposit in in the guild storage.¡±

    ¡°Who obtained gold again, why are you so unlucky as to obtain gold? You should at least get BUFF potions!¡±

    ¡°Wawawa, I¡¯ve got a skill book!¡±

    ......

    Within the group showing off their gains, Ye Ci silently sat in a corner with a dark expression as she opened the colored pearls. Whenever someone obtained gold, all of them would look toward her in concert, their looks causing her heart to bleed. Sure, although the majority of the gold was obtained by her, but that didn¡¯t mean that she didn¡¯t have the intention of obtaining a skill book.

    ¡°guild leader, did you obtain gold again...?¡± The usually silent Dragon Battling Heavens had long since silently turned his head to look at Ye Ci when prompted by the system. Of course, countless pitiful sighs apanied his words.

    Ye Ci bit her lips, fiercely grabbing another colored pearl. These group of beasts, how could they bully others like this?

    Just when Ye Ci was facing unbounded disdain from the other members in Upwards Ho!, the hateful voice of Customer Service No. 094 once again sounded. ¡°Congrattions to party from the Western Continent, Genesis, for being the second team to advance to the fourth round. All the yers of Genesis please stand still, you¡¯ll be transported to the arena for the fourth round. There is onest spot for the remaining teams, who will obtain that spot?¡±

    Genesis?

    Ye Ci was surprised. They were the second-ranked guild in the world. In her previous life, their strength could be said to be heaven defying. They, along with the world¡¯s top ranked guild, which was also China¡¯s top guild, Storm Totem were embroiled in a closely-fought contest thatsted nearly ten years in the scramble for ranking within Fate. In the Western Continent, they were the strongest guild. Essentially, the First Blood for all therge-scale areas and wild BOSSes in the Western Continent were obtained by them. Not only that, there were many extremists within their guild

    This was a team that was extremely strong in terms of both the guild and members. Just their elite members already numbered 500. It could be said that any one or two randomly picked members from their elite group could defeat a hundred others by themselves.

    In the previous rounds, Ye Ci was focused on gaining points for her guild¡¯s rise in rank and didn¡¯t have the time to check which other guilds had advanced. Now that they had reached the fourth round and only needed to open coloured pearls, she finally had the time to take note of information about the other guilds.

    Within a minute, Ye Ci could see a silver dragon with red patterns already rushing to the side of the pool. Setting their dragon aside, a hundred or more people appeared. They sat together and began opening coloured pearls.

    ¡°Quickly open the pearls, there¡¯s no need formunication this round. The person who opens the most pearls will be rewarded with 20 DKP.¡± When Bai Mo saw the opponent had 100 members, he immediately announced a reward in the guild chat. Suddenly, the group buried themselves in opening colored pearls.

    Ye Ci also continued opening pearls, but her gaze was sweeping over every person of the opposing guild Genesis. In her previous life, she didn¡¯t have any grudges with Genesis. However, in the Grand PvPpetition, she had fought with quite a few of them; She just didn¡¯t know if these people hade today.

    The equipment of the current members of Genesis wasn¡¯t that great. Even though their guild was very strong, equipment was scarce, especially for arge guild with so many members. Therefore, Ye Ci could asionally see members that only had the lousier green equipment.

    These faces were familiar yet foreign. As she looked over them once more, she was surprised that there wasn¡¯t a single person that she could remember. Could it be that none of the yers that she previously dueled hade?

    Suddenly, her gaze faltered . Soon after, the colored pearl in her hand fell into the water...

    [Editor¡¯s Note: So fun facts for those who didn¡¯t know... 0 Degrees Ultimate Fantasy was the first novel this author published. They¡¯re totally plugging their previous novels. XD]

    Well guys, Sorry that I couldn¡¯t postst Friday, was very very busy IRL. Orientation started, and it will continue for like ughh... 12 hours a day for like 3 more days... Sooo.. I can¡¯t really post a double on Wednesday as well, really sorry. It¡¯s just very tiring and all... I¡¯ll be back posting on Friday okay? xDD

 Chapter 90 Final Victory

    Chapter 90 Final Victory

    After a pause, Ye Ci bent down and picked up the colored pearl and opened it calmly.

    ¡°Balm of Blessings x1¡±

    Balm of Blessings was a rare item which could increase a yer¡¯s luck. To Ye Ci, the Balm of Blessings was something with multiple purposes. When an unlucky person drank a bottle of Balm of Blessings before looting a monster, his or her chance to obtain a high-leveled item was increased by 20%. When a yer applied the Balm of Blessings to a weapon, the attack power of said weapon would be increased for a period of time. The Balm could even be used when refining items with the effect of 20% increased sess rate.

    Everybody knew how precious that thing was. Not many were willing to use it in the earlier stages of the game. First of all, they did not have the need of such an item as their level was still too low. There¡¯s also the fact that the item was simply too rare.

    Ye Ci blinked. You must be joking?

    To obtain such an item after obtaining gold coins thru dozens of tries was just too intense. Couldn¡¯t her life be more normal? God must¡¯ve dozed off, thought Ye Ci, it would be impossible for somebody with her luck to get such an item otherwise. It was simply...

    Unimaginable.

    Hence, this stingy person silently slid the Balm of Blessings into her inventory, and made the decision to take a photo of it. Even if she would be extremely unlucky for the next 10 years, it would be proof that she had experienced some luck at some point of her life.

    With the appearance of the Balm of Blessings, Upwards Ho!¡¯s points soared by 500. This was a shock to all the yers. Who got what? Bai Mo intervened before the members could start a discussion about the matter, ¡°Pay attention to what you¡¯re doing. They¡¯re all parties with 100 yers. We are at a disadvantage here. Don¡¯t forget what we¡¯re here for.¡±

    Although Bai Mo was pretty average when it came to his managing skills, he radiated the aura of a guild leader. He enjoyed a good rtionship with other yers, and was fair. He was able to have an imposing figure despite his humble behavior. The whisperings stopped right after he spoke up.

    He was right. Upwards Ho! was nothingpared to the other guilds. Even then, there was always a time where the weak could shine. At this point, nobody wanted to go home with a third ce. They were aiming to be the champion! The guild members immediately hastened to open more pearls after listening to Bai Mo¡¯s words.

    Right at that moment, Customer Service No.094 announced the arrival of the Apex Guild from the Northern Continent into the arena for the 4th round.

    The countdown timer began as soon the Apex Guild entered the arena. With their 1 minute and 47 seconds advantage, Upwards Ho! had already umted 1729 points.

    Ye Ci took note of the points of the 3 other guilds while opening more pearls. She felt remorse that the world¡¯s top guild, Storm Totem was unable to advance to round 4. She had always wanted to meet their mysterious guild leader.

    The ce was even more crowded with the presence of Apex Guild. The other guilds, however, paid no heed to them. The distance between the yers clustered together showing clearly that they were from 3 different teams.

    Such contests of luck meant that advantages came from numbers. The more members there were, the chances that somebody obtaining a rare item became higher was well. Despite a few members in Upwards Ho! possessing very good luck and obtaining quite a few equipment and skill books, most of them had only acquired materials or potions. With only 72 members, their speed and luck was at a disadvantage whenpared to the other 100-yer parties.

    After 5 minutes into the round, the other guilds were slowly catching up to Upwards Ho! despite their lead of 1729 points. Genesis exceeded their points at the 6 minutes and 34 seconds mark, followed close behind by Apex.

    The members of Upwards Ho! was dispirited, and they slowed down.

    Ye Ci knew how they felt. She spoke up calmly, ¡°It¡¯s okay even if we ended up third. Just keep opening the balls. Don¡¯t forget that all the items that we open belong to us.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s words were able to stir up their spirits. Since they were here, they must make the most out of it. The guild members then continued their journey to open more colored balls.

    However, Ye Ci still felt unwilling to let it go that easily.

    To give up on being the champion just like that? The reward was a lvl 5 guild encampment and an Epic tier title! Just the lvl 5 guild encampment was very enticing by itself. It would cost a tremendous amount of gold and prestige points to upgrade a guild encampment to lvl 5, with a lot of conditions. The reward would raise the level of a guild encampment to lvl 5 unconditionally. If they did not seize the opportunity, they would lose it forever.

    Ye Ci lowered her eyes and resumed opening more colored balls while calmly observing the points of the 3 parties.

    Although Upwards Ho! was surpassed by the 2 other parties, the differences between their points was not much. Thepetition was tough, with a 100 point gap, which was the amount of points awarded for obtaining a skill book.

    Fruit Jelly was able to obtain another skill book, and their points exceeded that of Apex Guild¡¯s. A blue equipment from another member was able to grant them a 60 point lead over Genesis. But they were once again overtaken by their opponents in the blink of an eye.

    The points of the 3 guilds were very close. Their scores constantly surpassed each other. It was a very closepetition.

    If Upwards Ho! was unable to widen the gap between their points and the other two guilds, they might lose to the other 2 parties. Even if everybody else believed in their luck, Ye Ci did not share their confidence due to her ¡°ck hand¡± aura.

    2 minutes were left.

    Ye Ci paused for a moment, and took the Balm of Blessings out of her inventory. Even if it was the one time she was lucky in her entire life, she knew that her gain would not make up for her loss if she kept it to herself. Even if it was just one short moment of luck, so be it.

    Ye Ci gulped down the bottle of Balm of Blessings. She pursed her lips. It tasted like Sprite.

    ¡°The Goddess of Luck appears to have descended upon you. You feel a stroke of good luck.¡± A system notification rang out, and a BUFF called Lucky Aura that increased her Luck by 20% andsted for 2 minutes appeared.

    Good. It was the final 2 minutes of thepetition, and Ye Ci hoped that Lady Luck would smile upon her.

    Reality proved that Balm of Blessings was an overpowered presence in the game. Even Ye Ci, who was unlucky for the entirety of her life, was able to improve her luck after consuming a bottle of Balm of Blessings. Her colored balls no longer yielded gold coins, but materials instead.

    This... Was this the so-called ¡°20% increased chance of obtaining high grade items?¡± Were these materials high grade? Ye Ci was very puzzled. Even something as overpowered as the Balm of Blessings could not change her luck.

    ¡°Balm of Blessings x1.¡± A system notification suddenly chimed in. Ye Ci smiled after a moment of surprise. Oh boy! There goes another bottle of Balm of Blessings. Even though Upwards Ho!¡¯s points soared, they did not have much of a lead on Genesis who were in second ce.

    It was still a good sign. At least their lead was significant enough.

    With the sudden increase of points, Upwards Ho! was leading thepetition with 300 points. It was not much, but it was able to boost the morale of the guild members. They immediately hastened, not wasting a single second.

    After obtaining the second bottle of Balm of Blessings, Ye Ci¡¯s luck finally improved. She began obtaining green and blue equipment and an asional skill book. Just as Dragon Battling Heavens had said, her ck hand was the factor that dragged down the overall luck of Upwards Ho!.

    The 2 other parties were following close behind in terms of score in the final 30 seconds. The party channel was as silent as a grave. The movements of nearly 300 yers in the arena was fluid like flowing water. It was an awe-inspiring sight.

    ¡°Balm of Blessings x1.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyes brightened up. She almost jumped in delight. With this bottle, their remaining 100 point lead was raised to 600 points. Although she was still unable to let her guard down fully, at least Upwards Ho! had a 50% chance of winning the first ce.

    ¡°Balm of Blessings x1.¡±

    Another bottle appeared. Ye Ci¡¯s breathing almost stopped. She could not believe her luck.

    It was impossible to close the gap of more than 1100 points within 30 seconds.

    Unless their opponents were able to produce 2 Balm of Blessings within the 30 seconds.

    The score of Genesis suddenly increased by 500 points. Ye Ci was slightly shocked. 13 seconds left. It seemed that Genesis was able to obtain a bottle of Balm of Blessings as well. The oue of thispetition was unpredictable. Ye Ci took in a deep breath and continued opening her colored balls.

    10 seconds left.

    8 seconds left.

    5 seconds left.

    Genesis and Apex both had their score suddenly increase by 500 points. Ye Ci was slightly panicked. There were 5 seconds left and her guild was only leading by 100 points. They might...

    ¡°Balm of Blessings x1.¡± A system notification rang out in Ye Ci¡¯s ears and the score gap widened once again.

    Ye Ci had always felt that she had a strong heart, but at that moment, she felt weak. Dear System, can you not y with my feelings like that? Not everyone could withstand such ups and downs.

    1 second left.

    The round ended.

    Upwards Ho! was emerged victorious with a 397 point lead over Genesis that was in second ce while Apex was in third ce.

    It was... Finally over. The Lucky Aura BUFF ended as well.

    Ye Ci let out a long sigh. Such a test of luck was not something that she, as a member of the ck hand army, could easily pass. Her heart... Had almost stopped.

    ¡°We¡¯re the champions!¡±

    Upwards Ho! members lept up and screamed out their joy after a moment of silence. Their cheers were thunderous.

    ¡°The victor was decided. All yers will now be transported away from the arena. Stand still, it might be a rough ride...¡± Wang Jiangnan said with a mysterious tone after clearing his throat.

    Right after he spoke, all the yers felt a sudden lost of weight and they fell.

    ¡°Ahhh!¡± All of them screamed out in horror.

    ¡°Bump! Bump! Bump!¡± The continuous dull thuds were testimony that quite a lot of objects had fallen from a high ce.

    ¡°Ouch...¡±

    ¡°It hurts...¡±

    ......

    The countless screams were transformed into moans of pain after the fall. The contestants realised that they were back in the arena of the first round. However, they were not alone. A gigantic arena had appeared, and all the eliminated teams were seated in the spectator¡¯s seats.

    They included not only the heavyweight category, but the medium and lightweight categories as well.

    After a short observation, Ye Ci concluded that there could easily be almost a million yers in the arena. As expected of the world¡¯s best server, Ye Ci thought to herself, not even a hint ofg even with so many yers at the same spot. It was simply too awesome.

    ¡°Congrattions on being the champions.¡± The leader of Genesis was a Sorcerer called Absalom. He smiled warmly and walked up to Bai Mo to shake his hand. As a Human Sorcerer, Absalom¡¯s facial feature was clearly that of a Westerner.

    As expected of a top guild, they were able to ept a loss. Even if they were defeated by a small and unfamous guild such as Upwards Ho!, Genesis guild was able to maintain theirposure. Absalom smiled in a friendly manner at Bai Mo.

    ¡°Will you think that I¡¯m pretentious if I congratte you for getting the second ce?¡± Bai Mo winked slyly, and Absalom was momentarily stunned. He then let out a heartyugh.

    ¡°This is an event. The next time we meet on the battlefield, I will not hold back.¡± Absalom was very honest.

    They belonged to the Western Continent, while Upwards Ho! was from the Eastern Continent. Even if they were friendly towards each other right at that moment, they were still sworn enemies.

    ¡°Same.¡±

    Ye Ci retracted her gaze from where Bai Mo was standing alongside Absalom. She calmed herself down and walked towards the members of Genesis.

    If Absalom and Bai Mo were conversing with each other for diplomacy¡¯s sake, Ye Ci¡¯s action was a little out of the ordinary.

    Although she was very famous in Fate, as a party member, what was she doing?

    The yers¡¯ gazes followed Ye Ci¡¯s steady footsteps as she walked steadily towards the gathered Genesis members.

    Ye Ci straightened up, and extended her hand towards that person...

    This is Double Chapters yo! Don¡¯t forget to hit that ¡°Next Chapter¡± button! xDD

    Calling out to all those artistic souls out there, if you¡¯re interested in drawing fanarts for Reign of the Hunters, feel free to send it to me to my email:

    First toment type: First Blood!

 Chapter 91 Duel

    Chapter 91 Duel

    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Gongzi You.¡± Ye Ci stood in front of that person, a shallow smile on her face. She extended her hand naturally and without reserve.

    The person she was talking to was a tall and robust elf with silver hair just like Ye Ci. However, his eyes were ck. The obsidian-esque pupils were a rarebination chosen for the elf race.

    He was rather surprised by Ye Ci¡¯s actions. After a slight pause, he narrowed his eyes and stared at the Elven Huntress in front of him. His gaze was sharp as de, stabbing at Ye Ci without restraint. A normal person would awkwardly retract his or her hand under such gaze.

    Ye Ci, however, did not do so. She stood still, arm extended, not backing down from his provocative re.

    Finally, the person¡¯s ears twitched slightly and his mouth formed into a ghost of a smile. He extended his hand and shook Ye Ci¡¯s hand lightly, and said with a soothing voice, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Fleeting TIme.¡±

    Fleeting Time.

    That¡¯s right, it was Fleeting Time.

    He was the Fleeting Time that was christened as the God of Hunters, the Fleeting Time that ruthlessly steamrolled over Ye Ci, and the Fleeting Time that Ye Ci could not find when she was ready for a rematch.

    She never knew that he was a member of Genesis.

    Ye Ci could not describe her emotions when she saw Fleeting time. She felt joy as well as excitement, and her blood boiled.

    Having a rematch with this person was a dream that she had carried on from her past life. How could she let this chance slip by?

    Ye Ci restrained the intensity of her gaze, and retracted her hand. She then attempted to send Fleeting Time a duel invitation. The usage of weapons and abilities were prohibited in the arena earlier on and it meant that they were unable to fight each other. But it might just be different this time.

    ¡°Gongzi You sends you a duel invitation.¡±

    There were many style of PVP within Fate. If both parties involved were in the same alliance, they would be able to attack each other once they turn on the Massacre Mode. If they did not do so, the only way was to duel. If yers were from different alliances, they would be able to attack each other directly.

    The current situation however was quite unique. Although Ye Ci was in an opposing faction from Fleeting Time, all the yers¡¯ names were green (unable to attack) in the event arena. Under such circumstances, the only way they could fight each other was through a duel.

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes at the sudden duel invitation. He knew the Huntress standing in front of him. She was very famous in the Eastern Continent, and her gamey videos were highly sought after by Hunters from all 4 continents. Fleeting Time was different from her. He had always been a team yer. Although his moves were not as elegant, it did not mean that he was not strong.

    However, that was not the point. The point was that he was not the only Hunter in Genesis. Even if this Huntress wanted to show off her skills, she wouldn¡¯t have picked him out of coincidence, would she? What was the reason?

    ¡°Why do you want to duel with me?¡± Fleeting Time did not ept nor reject the invitation. He stared at the Huntress. She was very young, and her face even betrayed a hint of childishness, but her eyes shone with determination and maturity. ¡°There are a lot of Hunters in Genesis, so if you¡¯re looking for an opponent, there are others who are better.¡±

    ¡°Because, they¡¯re not Fleeting Time.¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips.

    Fleeting Time creased his eyebrows. The answer was just... something undeniable.

    Fleeting Time epted the duel.

    A g bearing the symbol of dueling immediatelynded from the sky in between the two, stirring up dust.

    The jovial atmosphere immediately quieted down after the gnded, and all the yers shifted their attention towards the g.

    There was 5 seconds of preparation time before the match officially started from the time the gnded. The moment Ye Ci and Fleeting Time saw the g, they reacted just the same, as if they were a reflection of each other. They backed up 20 yards from each other and hid themselves into the crowd.

    5, 4, 3, 2, 1, begin.

    Both released an arrow at each other at the same time, which were both Frost Arrows. Both of them moved in the same direction; both of them darted between the crowd. They were like a reflection of each other in a gigantic mirror. One of them would always do what their opponent did...

    Ye Ci paused momentarily.

    Fleeting Time did the same as well.

    The overly simr opening moves caused both sides to lose the initiative. It was now a mimicking show between the two.

    This situation must not continue.

    Ye Ci slung her crossbow, bent slightly, rolled on the ground, and disappeared into the crowd. Fleeting Time slung his bow as he dashed towards Ye Ci¡¯s position. He darted through the crowd with incredible speed, quick as the wind. He suddenly leapt up, nocked an arrow, and fired it into the crowd.

    Although they knew that they would not receive damage from thebatants in a duel, the crowd became scared and dispersed immediately, exposing Ye Ci who was Stealthed in their midst.

    She wouldn¡¯t have been discovered under normal circumstances, but it was as if Fleeting Time could see his opponent who was in Stealth. His arrow flew right towards Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci had not wanted to move. But as the arrow approached her, she was forced to dodge. Like her, Fleeting Time was using Frost Arrows during PvP, if she was hit by that arrow, her movement speed would be reduced by 50%.

    In a duel between Hunters, speed was of the essence. Once her speed was reduced, Ye Ci would¡¯ve already lost the battle. That was why Ye Ci shifted herself without hesitation, and dodged the arrow.

    Thwack! An arrow covered with frostnded where Ye Ci just was. Paying no heed to the arrow, Ye Ci jumped backwards. Her form emerged from Stealth immediately. If she was Fleeting Time, she would definitely seize this opportunity to put down her opponent. If even she would do that, Fleeting Time, who was renowned for his ferocity and uracy, would never let go of such a chance.

    As expected, as Ye Ci leapt backwards, arrows chased her along her flight path. Fleeting Time¡¯s movements were so fast and precise that Ye Ci even suspected that the guy had a built-in radar.

    Fleeting Time had hidden his level from the Leveling Ranking Board as well. Although Ye Ci could not see his level, she determined that his level was quite close to hers by observing his speed, the strength of his attack and how agile he was.

    In a situation where both of them were equals in a lot of ces, the duel was particrly intense. Both of them had the same ss, had the same level, and were using equipment of the same tier. Their skill level was equally matched, despite having differentbat styles. The duel between the two was like a very marvelous documentary.

    The crowd that originally surrounded both thebatants had already dispersed, leaving both of them arge empty space.

    ¡°Damn, this is what you call a Hunter educational video!¡± wless Reflection recorded the duel while observing it with a pair of binocrs.

    ¡°wless, he was able to have a draw with Gongzi You; just who is he?¡± Flutter ¡®n Sway was also observing the duel with a pair of binocrs, ¡°Are they that good?¡±

    Flutter ¡®n Sway was only halfbat yer. She was utterly useless in PvP and could barely survived in PvE. She was unable to grasp anything as she observed the duel between the two Hunters. In her heart, Ye Ci was the synonym of expert, as for the other guy...

    ¡°Awesome, he¡¯s simply awesome.¡± wless Reflection clicked his tongue, ¡°Goddamn, this is a duel between experts. They¡¯re still low-leveled. Imagine if they fought each other when they were both lvl 100. I can¡¯t even begin to imagine how thrilling it would be.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a Hunter as well, is he better than you?¡± Flutter ¡®n Sway¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. She felt that PvP was meaningless. It was too stressful. It was way more fun to fight against monsters.

    ¡°They¡¯re both on an entirely different level.¡± wless Reflection gave the highest of praise to both of thebatants. He lowered his binocrs and looked at Flutter ¡®n Sway, ¡°They¡¯re way better than I am.¡± He then continued observing the two and said in a serious tone, ¡°I must work harder. I want to be one of the best Hunters as well!¡±

    The two were just reading each other too well, and both of them were unable to gain an advantage over their opponent.

    After 4 minutes into the duel, both of them had half of their HP left. Neither side was able to gain the upper hand.

    The time limit for a duel was 5 minutes. When there was no victor after the 5 minutes was up, the duel would end in a draw.

    Fleeting Time was giving his all into this duel. He had actually been fighting seriously when the duel had reached the 1 minute marker. Watching somebody fight in a video was entirely different from fighting the same yer in person. Fleeting Time had thought that the Huntress¡¯ fighting style was overly mourous. It was directly opposite of his fighting style that was meant to deal killing blows to his opponent, while being not at all shy.

    He had thought that Ye Ci¡¯s shy fighting style was utterly useless inbat and she would definitely be the first to get killed in a fight. But when he fought against her on this day, he had to admit that there was a reason that the Huntress was crowned as the role model for all the Hunters.

    Her fighting style was shy and elegant, but it was not just for show. Beneath that elegancey a strong killing intent.

    Hey people! I¡¯m finally able to post again! Weeee!!! Done with orientation oooohhh yeahhh! (but sses will start next month on the 3rd of July I hope I could still do Doubles until we get to 100 chapters!!!)

    And ayy it¡¯s Steam Summer Sale! Anybody wants to sponsor me something? *wink wink* nahhh jk

    If you think these 2 chapters are awesome and you wanna throw in some rewards for the chapters, hit that ¡°sponsor¡± button at the right side of the page yo! You can also support me on my Patreon page https://.patreon/Jimminx

    And... You know the drill, first inment type ¡°First Blood!¡±

 Chapter 92 Happy New Year

    Chapter 92 Happy New Year

    Just as Ye Ci had remembered, Fleeting Time¡¯s moves were like ackluster de. It might not look good, but it was definitely deadly. Ye Ci felt that she had done her best, but Fleeting Time was still calm andposed.

    The time was up, and the system determined that the duel ended in a draw.

    Both of them exitedbat status. Although the difference between their remaining HP was not high, Ye Ci knew that her skills were slightly inferior to that of Fleeting Time. She had basically used all of the additional abilities that came with her equipment, but Fleeting Time was able to suppress her with the Hunter¡¯s original ability, not allowing her to gain the upper hand. If the duelsted for 8 minutes, or even 6 minutes, it would not have ended with a draw.

    She would definitely be the one who had lost.

    ¡°Thanks for the lesson.¡± Fleeting Time had already slung his bow. He walked up to Ye Ci and extended his hand.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips, which then formed into a slight arc. She then put her hand into his and said softly, ¡°I will surpass you.¡±

    ¡°That seems to be quite unlikely.¡± Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows. He squeezed Ye Ci¡¯s fingers softly and let go of her hand politely. He turned around and left.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath and left as well. Both of them walked towards their own party. They acted as if it was just an ordinary duel, and in reality, it was indeed merely an ordinary duel.

    ¡°Fleeting Time, was she good?¡± Absalom chuckled as he observed Fleeting TIme¡¯s calm face, ¡°I heard that she¡¯s the best Hunter in the Eastern Continent.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s good.¡± Fleeting Time gave a very objective evaluation. ¡°She¡¯s still slightly inexperienced, but...¡± He then paused.

    ¡°But what?¡±

    Fleeting Time recalled every moment of his duel with Ye Ci, and shook his head, ¡°Nothing.¡± He replied as he looked back. The Huntress was walking slowly towards her own party.

    If he was not wrong, she had the potential to be a first-rate Hunter. It seemed that he had quite a lot ofpetition.

    ¡°Uhh, guild leader, that was definitely an educational video for hunters. It¡¯s just amazing!¡±

    The members of Upwards Ho! were still chattering joyously. Although Ye Ci had a draw with Fleeting Time, it did not affect their mood. They were happy that they had won the first ce of the Dragon Dancepetition.

    Ye Ci only shrugged. She did not wish to spoil the cheerful mood, ¡°It was just a duel, nothing educational there.¡±

    Bai Mo noticed something wrong with Ye Ci¡¯s expression. He walked to her side and asked in a low voice, ¡°What is it? You feel bad over having a draw?¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. She had no way of telling Bai Mo that Fleeting Time was one of the milestones in her life that she had worked so hard, but failed, to surpass. She was slightly saddened by the fact. Noticing her mood, Bai Mo did not say much and instead patted her. ¡°It was just a duel, don¡¯t let it get to you. They¡¯re from the Western Continent, you¡¯ll have more chances in the future.¡±

    Exactly. They were enemies, and she had a lot of opportunities.

    With that thought, Ye Ci¡¯s spirit was lifted. That¡¯s right, it was still in the early stages of the game. She would have more chances to face off against him.

    The next time she met this person, she would not lose.

    It was unknown that if it was intentional or unintentional, but the awards ceremony of thepetition was dyed until the duel ended. Just when Ye Ci was being gloomy, Wang Jiangnan¡¯s voice rang up again, ¡°What an exciting duel. It sure added more fun to our event. We would now like to invite the top 3 leaders of the lightweight tier to the stage.¡±

    Although the duel was intense, and Fleeting Time who had always kept a low profile had left a deep impression in the hearts and minds of all the yers, it was not a PvPpetition after all. It was a New Year¡¯s event. The duel was fun to watch, but the one thing that everybody present cared about most were the prizes.

    The event was basically at its end by then, but there was still a tiny episode left.

    Every leader who epted the award would have the chance to say a few words. Most of them said the same old stuff, thanking various people for their sess. When it was Bai Mo¡¯s turn, he cleared his throat, smiled at the gorgeous emcee, and asked in a low voice, ¡°Is it okay for me to say anything?¡±

    The gorgeous emcee nodded, ¡°Of course, this is the time for you to deliver you speech. You can say anything.¡± The emcee even exchanged looks with Wang Jiangnan after noticing Bai Mo¡¯s flustered expression, and said, ¡°If you have somebody you would like to confess to, now would be the best...¡±

    Before she could even stop speaking, Bai Mo snatched the microphone away, cleared his throat and said, ¡°Upwards Ho! guild from the Eastern Continent is recruiting yers of different sses. There are no other requirements. Those with a good character who are interested can contact Remote Depths, Icy Cold Little Hands and Timely Rain. Our goal is...¡±

    The gorgeous emcee was stunned; Wang Jiangnan was stunned; even the guests of honor handing away the awards were stunned.

    Bai Mo¡¯s expression was clearly stating that he was waiting the members of Upwards Ho! to shout out their guild¡¯s motto, but their numbers were just too few. This situation could be perfectly described by the saying ¡°the words of the few carried no weight.¡± Their voices could not even be heard. The yers of the other guilds however, gave their cooperation and shouted out alongside the members of Upwards Ho!, ¡°Zero dental cavities.¡±

    At this point, the emcee, Wang Jiangnan and the guest of honor were not the only ones who were stunned. All the other leaders who were on the stage, along with Bai Mo himself, were stunned.

    The ¡°zero dental cavities¡± was shouted out very neatly. Bai Mo scratched his head, feeling awkward. It was not something that he had expected. When the voices died down, he chuckled, ¡°We¡¯re recruiting. Any yers of any ss. Those who are interested can contact us.¡± He then handed the microphone back to the gorgeous emcee, and walked down from the stage with the other guild leaders with a calm and collect demeanor, as if nothing had happened.

    Ye Ci, who was part of the audience, almost buried her head into the ground.

    Wasn¡¯t Bai Mo supposed to have an IQ of 140? How could he have done something so daft...?

    Despite that, the effects of the advertisement worked very well. Right after they left Champion City, Remote Depths, Icy Cold Little Hands and Timely Rain immediately became busy with applications.

    Going back to Red Lake City with a lvl 5 guild encampment module, all that needed to be done was to track down the NPC in charge of guild administration in the city hall and rece it with the old one. A lvl 5 guild encampment was very different from a lvl 1 guild encampment.

    A lvl 5 guild encampment was wayrger and had a lot of special functions. There was a Life Area specifically designed for Life yers that provided a 20% buff to their proficiency level growth as they leveled up their life skills in the area. At the same time, there was also a 10% bonus sess for item crafting. It was not surprising that a lot of the major guilds were desperate to acquire the lvl 5 guild encampment. With the Life yers in the guild working in the Life Area, the overall strength of the guild would be increased by a significant margin.

    Other than the benefit of the Life Area, there were also other BUFFs as well. The guild canteen would provide different types of food that could increase either the HP or mana of yers by 2000 for a duration of 3 hours. The guild warehouse had also received extra protection. In Fate, if a guild encampment was breached by another guild during a Guild Battle, its warehouse could easily be looted. But the chances of a guild warehouse of a lvl 5 encampment being looted was only 5%. It was as if the guild warehouse was outfitted with an anti-theft door whenpared to the guild encampment of other levels.

    Other than that, yers could receive different daily BUFFs from guild encampments with different levels. The BUFF of a lvl 5 guild encampment gave yers 20% bonus experience points and a 5% defence bonus. The existence of such buff was enough to entice yers to apply to Upwards Ho!.

    Other than the lvl 5 guild encampment, all yers who had participated in thepetition were awarded with a title called ¡°Soaring Dragon of Prosperity.¡± The title had no other function except to allow yers to resurrect. yers could resurrect using the title¡¯s special ability once every day, especially duringbat, with a cooldown of 24 hours.

    This title was next to useless for Life yers, but for thosebat type yers who needed to constantly explore new dungeons, the title was very useful. During a time when most Clerics still hadn¡¯t learned Resurrection, the capability for a yer to Resurrect himself or herself was very overpowered, especially when they were exploring a dungeon. This ability was a very scary tool inbat.

    With this title, the members of Upwards Ho! were itching to explore the Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum. After all, quite arge number of the guilds had already defeated the first BOSS. After a short discussion with Bai Mo, Ye Ci decided to venture into the dungeon once they¡¯d settled some guild internal affairs.

    The guild members were, of course, excited to learn the news.

    With the Dragon Dancepetition officially over, the system immediately reminded yers to go offline at a safe spot as there would be a system maintenance that wouldst for 12 hours. The Upwards Ho! guild members, who were full of excitement, went offline in the guild encampment after wishing each other a happy new year.

    The atmosphere in real life was just as warm and joyous as the atmosphere in the game. Ye Ci, Bai Mo, Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian began living out their national culture to the fullest after setting up a mahjong table. The game ended with the argument between Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian deciding upon the jobs that they would take in Fate.

    The night sky of the city was lit up by fireworks.

    Ye Ci stood on the balcony and gazed up into the night. She took a deep breath, breathing in the heavy smell of gunpowder. Ye Ci then heard Bai Mo¡¯sughter, ¡°Heh, sis, happy new year!¡±

    Ye Ci turned around and smiled at Bai Mo as well, ¡°Heh, cousy, happy new year!¡±

    Hiya! Jimmi is back posting!!!

    First in thement type: First blood!!!

 Chapter 93 A Hunterâ€™s bottleneck

    Chapter 93 A Hunter¡¯s bottleneck

    Tragedyes without warning, and things were not always predictable.

    It was originally an auspicious and peaceful Spring Festival, but in the end tragedy struck.

    On the morning of the second day of the new year, Fate¡¯s system had just finished updating, but before Ye Ci and Bai Mo could even go online a phone call arrived.

    The call was from an old ssmate of Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian. Ye Ci did not know what transpired in the conversation. She only knew that even before the call had ended, Zuo Xian had already started crying. Zuo Xian was a strong and optimistic woman. Even if she would at times shed some tears while watching Korean dramas, she was able to have a normal conversation with Ye Nantian right after, ¡°The intion nowadays, even a steamed bun is now a buck each.¡±

    For a woman like her to be crying so profusely, Ye Ci and Bai Mo felt their hearts likewise constricting in sympathy. They immediately attempted to console Zuo Xian who continued crying without giving them answers. Ye Nantian who was standing at a side let out a long sigh and told them the news.

    Zuo Xian did not do well academically when she was young and was always looked down upon by her teachers. Her ss teacher, however, treated her very well. He did not look down on her and instead gave her special treatment. Zuo Xian¡¯s family was very poor at that time. When her pants were cut open during the winter and her family could not even afford to repair it, her ss teacher simply bought her new ones.

    It was because of her ss teacher that Zuo Xian managed to graduate from high school. In Zuo Xian¡¯s heart, her ss teacher Mr. Tan was like a second parent to her, and she would always pay him a visit every year. In fact, Mr. Tan had treated every student very well, and he was well-respected among the student body.

    Mr. Tan¡¯s family was on a ne trip to Europe for a 10-day vacation when the flight was met with mishap. There were no survivors. The only remaining member of the family was Mr. Tan¡¯s grandson who was sick at home.

    The ss rep immediately contacted all their ssmates by phone once he had learned of the news. Zuo Xian was the first to be informed as she was closest to the city that Mr. Tan was living in, and that was also the reason why Zuo Xian broke into tears.

    Zuo Xian could no longer sit still. She stood up and began packing her bags, preparing for a trip to City A. No one stopped her, and Ye Nantian began packing his stuff as well. Ye Ci wanted to go along, but she was stopped by Bai Mo.

    ¡°All right, I¡¯m going, you stay at home.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go, you stay.¡± Ye Ci shook her head.

    ¡°Forget about it. It¡¯s the new year, there are people everywhere. If a little girl like you tags along, uncle has to take care of auntie and you at the same time, don¡¯t go and create more burden for him. If I go, at least I¡¯ll be able to help out.¡± Bai Mo patted Ye Ci on her shoulders, ¡°Besides, it¡¯s the new year! No restaurants are open, what do you want me to eat if I stay home alone?¡±

    Noticing that Ye Ci was about to protest, Ye Nantian spoke up, ¡°Little Ci, just listen to Bai Mo. Stay at home and look after the house.¡±

    Since even her parents had spoken, Ye Ci could only agree to it, despite feeling worried.

    The trio headed straight for the train station after they were done packing their stuff.

    As City A was quite near, they were able to buy tickets for the train quickly and by 3pm they would be on a train to City A. By the time Ye Ci got home from sending the 3 of them off, it was already 2 in the afternoon. She was still worried, and even called Bai Mo and insisted that he call her back the moment they arrived at their destination. After a simple meal, Ye Ci went online.

    The game¡¯s update waspleted.

    The update opened the Guild Battle system and the Nemesis system. It meant 2 things: Fate was not afraid of their yers fighting, and Fate was encouraging fights between yers.

    Other than that, one of the most significant updates was the changes in the cities. An exchange bank had appeared unnoticed in almost every city, with new special NPCs. With Red Lake City as an example, an exchange bank appeared right between the shops that Ye Ci had bought, and the city instantly became bustling with life.

    There was previously only one exchange bank in the Eastern Continent, situated in Champion City. yers who wished to exchange real world cash with game coins could only perform their transaction in Champion City, no matter where they were from. It was just too money and time consuming to travel to Champion City. With an exchange bank open in every city, yers no longer had the need to travel far far away to Champion City.

    With that, the yer poption in Red Lake City soared. After all, there were quite a few maps around the city that yielded a lot of items, as well the presence of several small dungeon clusters nearby. A number of far-sighted guilds had recognised the strategic cing of Red Lake City and moved their guild encampment to such a backwater ce, bringing with them prosperity.

    As she walked in the packed Western District, Ye Ci¡¯s eyes narrowed as she surveyed the shops around the exchange bank. She felt an unspeakable joy in her heart. It was her one true moment when she felt that being someone who reincarnated paid off.

    The guild chat was livelier than usual after Bai Mo¡¯s advertisement. A lot of yers had applied to join Upwards Ho!, adding a lot to the workload for the administrators Icy Cold Little Hands and Timely Rain. Ye Ci had to apologise to them in Bai Mo¡¯s stead and exined to them the reason leading to his inactivity.

    The duo, however,ughed candidly, ¡°Gongzi, what are you talking about? Having Upwards Ho! being one of the major guilds in Fate has always been our wish.¡±

    Feeling guilty that she was unable to help out, Ye Ci directed Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu to tighten up the training schedule of their party members for Upwards Ho!¡¯s push into the Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum 5 dayster.

    After receiving their instruction, the two immediately marshalled their parties and headed to the Frosty Wastnd. Not only were the two goodmander material, they were hardworking and eager to learn. They¡¯d managed to forge Upwards Ho! yers from a ragtag band of amateurs into a well-oiled fighting machine. Ye Ci had even heard from Bai Mo that they¡¯d cleared the Frosty Wastnd Hard difficulty. This deeply impressed Ye Ci.

    As a dummy vice leader, Ye Ci felt that that was the only thing she could do.

    She was already lvl 29, which was the bottleneck for Hunters. The main cause for that was the limitations in terms of Talent Points. There was literally nothing special for Hunters during their lvl 29 to lvl 35 stage. This however, did not hinder Ye Ci that much as her Talent Points were way higher than that of an average Hunter.

    The second cause was the limitations when it came to skills and abilities. The skill books yielded in the current stage were not good for Hunters. In actuality, all the other sses were affected, but the Hunter ss was the one affected the most. Skill books suitable for the current stage were just very rare and their prices were high. Luckily for Ye Ci, her level advantage meant that she was able to acquire the skill book from auctions before everyone else. Despite that, the 2 skill books that were sought after by Ye Ci had not appeared.

    One of them was an AOE damage skill called ¡°Random Shot,¡± while the other was a skill used for ambushes and pulling monsters, ¡°Disguise.¡±

    Ye Ci refused to believe that not even one of either skill book had dropped. People were just too smart and they knew that skill books were very valuable. This was not a knowledge exclusive to a reincarnator like Ye Ci, but was known by all administrators of the major guilds as well. If they came across such skill books, they would of course store it up. Who in their right mind would sell them away?

    Thest problem faced by Ye Ci was in terms of pet. One of the key things for a Hunter to be sessful was pets. Pets were not that easy to rear in Fate. It would be a waste of time and money if a Hunter would wantonly obtain a pet and in the end it was useless.

    As a result, ces that spawned Elite monsters would be be crowded with Hunters that were looking for pets.

    Ol¡¯ Three was a good pet, but he was an Elite Monster from a lvl 10 dungeon. Even if its growth was great, it was less desirable at the lvl 30 milestone. The situation was especially true when Ye Ci was trying to solo a dungeon. Ol¡¯ Three could barely tank against the monsters anymore. Ye Ci had nned to find a Pet Tamer to try and evolve Ol¡¯ Three as his ¡°Intelligent¡± attribute was very rare. Unfortunately, Ye Ci had not found any Pet Tamer NPCs.

    Her top priority now was to obtain a good pet.

    There were a lot of choices for a Hunter¡¯s pet. As long as they were wild animals, they could be captured. But animals such as sheep, cows, pigs and rabbits were docile and domesticated, which was why no one would usually make them their choice of pet. Leopards, bears, wolves and spiders were usually a Hunter¡¯s favourite.

    Ye Ci gave the matter a lot of thought. In her current leveling stage, her best choice was to go to Swamp of Vines and capture a lvl 35 Elite Diseased Crocodile. But to get to the Swamp of Vines, Ye Ci had to travel past a destroyed temples crawling with lvl 40 cyclops. These monsters were adept in seeing through Feigned Death and Disguise. Ye Ci was only lvl 29, it would be suicide for her to venture into the area. Acquiring a crocodile seemed to be a lost cause. Her next choice was to obtain a lvl 35 Tyrannosaurus Rex from the Tropical Rainforest or a lvl 35 Fury Lion in the Greasy ins.

    After pondering for a short moment, Ye Ci decided to travel to the Tropical Rainforest. She remembered a post about the forest mentioning the presence of a Lycan who would offer good quests in the Tropical Rainforest if one was lucky. Although Ye Ci knew that luck was not one of her forte, she still wanted to try her luck.

    Making up her mind, Ye Ci immediately made preparations to travel to the Tropical Rainforest. She walked along the stone road in the Western District, and as she walked past an alley, she heard a conversation between 2 yers, ¡°What a weird NPC. He said that he¡¯d help incubate eggs. What eggs? Are there even eggs in Fate?¡±

    ¡° Yep, yep. Must be one of those pranks by the devs.¡±

    Incubation? Ye Ci paused in her steps.

    Uhhh... Well.... This is awkward... I don¡¯t know what to say... But well.... Uhh.... HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY THE CHAPTERS!!!

    And well... Uhh... If you wanna reward Jimmi for the awesomtacr chapters, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page! Or well, you can visit and support my Patreon!!!

    Aaaaaaand.... First in thements type.... FIRST BLOOD!

 Chapter 94 Anthony the Hunter

    Chapter 94 Anthony the Hunter

    If memory served, there was a Mysterious Egg in Ye Ci¡¯s storage. She could still remember her joy as she received the egg from Wang Jiangnan. However, she was unable to get the egg to hatch.

    When she tried to crack it open, the system hinted that it was a ¡°treasure¡± that needed to be handled with care. When she was trying to appraise the egg with the help of an appraisal NPC, the NPC merely snorted and imed that their job was to appraise objects, not living creatures. After a few days of trying in vain to search for answers, the precious egg was stored away in Ye Ci¡¯s personal storage.

    Ye Ci had never thought that after looking for the answer far and wide without results, she was able to find it so easily. The way to hatch the egg surfaced right under her nose.

    Without thinking about it too much, Ye Ci rushed towards the storage warehouse and retrieved the egg that was as sleek as a bowling ball. She put it into her bag and rushed straight towards the incubator NPC. She was quick to spot the shop after taking a turn into the alley.

    The shop, which was situated between some shabby houses, was not eye-catching at all. Ye Ci would¡¯ve missed the shop entirely if not for the shaky signboard in front of the shop. She spotted an Undead with messy hair brewing a greenish concoction in a corner as she entered the shop. The racks at the side was line with several sks whose contents were unknown to Ye CI.

    The Undead went to and fro in the shop, as if he did not see Ye Ci at all. He threw ingredient after unknown ingredient into the pot, as if he was a witch who was brewing some hideous poison. Of course, the Undead must be a female to fit that criteria.

    After observing the Undead for some times, Ye Ci cleared her throat, drawing his attention. She then stated her purpose of visiting the shop, and handed the Mysterious Egg to the NPC.

    The NPC took the egg from Ye Ci and chuckled, ¡°This is quite an egg.¡± With that, he took out a magnifying ss and began studying the egg, ignoring Ye Ci¡¯s expression. After a short while, he nodded and casually dumped the egg into a ss container, spilling the blue liquid within the container. A sizzling sound could be heard as the liquid dripped onto the floor.

    ¡°You need some Magical Crystal to incubate the egg. If you happen toe across some, bring them to me. The more crystals you get, the faster the egg will hatch. Do as you see fit.¡± The NPC¡¯s yellow eyes in his already withered sockets were unlively.

    Ye Ci was rather worried for the egg. Although she did not really care about what was inside, she had no intention at all to waste it just like that after handing it to the NPC. Ye Ci called up the status window for the egg.

    Mysterious Egg

    Owner: Gongzi You

    Status: Incubating

    Seeing that the egg was doing fine, Ye Ci did not stay for long. She turned around and left the ce. She took in deep breaths after leaving the ce. The smell was just too pungent. She then headed to the Teleportation Master, her destination: Damp Tropical Rain Forest.

    As the name implied, Damp Tropical Rain Forest was a map with a tropical rain forest. Unlike the other forests however, the map was hot and stuffy, and would rain constantly as well. One would need to be constantly vignt when traversing through the map, as there would be venomous bugs lurking around. These tiny creatures were not well-known, but if yers did not pay attention to them, they might get poisoned and even receive damage over time. Unless they were protected by yers that were tanky and had high survivability, mage yers would usually stay away from the map.

    Damp Tropical Rain Forest was a lvl 35-lvl 40 map filled with monsters ranging from lvl 30 to lvl 45. The majority of the monsters that appeared in the map were beasts, with asional humanoid monsters. A nest of Tyrannosaurus Rex resided in the northwest part of the map, with quite a number of Elite T-Rex lurking around the area. They were perfect pets for Hunters.

    Ye Ci¡¯s intended destination was the T-Rex¡¯sir. But before that, she went to Camp Hamor at the center of the Damp Tropical Rain Forest to activate her waypoint, as it would be a waste of time to have to enter the map from the edge every time she visited the ce.

    Ye Ci was able to make her way safely to Camp Hamor. There were a lot of quests offered in the camp, but most NPCs refused to hand them to Ye Ci as her level was too low. In Fate, even if one could not receive a quest, one would still receive a hint about an avable quest. The NPCs would be able to tell a yer¡¯s level. If the difference between a yer¡¯s and an NPC¡¯s level was not more than 4, the yer would be able to ept a quest from the NPC. The lowest level quest offered in the area was lvl 34, and Ye Ci was one level away from the minimum requirement.

    Not a single NPC in the camp was willing to hand quests to Ye Ci after she had activated the waypoint. She appeared to have been looked down upon. Ye Ci eventually gave up, as she was not there for quests in the first ce. Before she could leave however, an Orc who had been roasting meat suddenly raised his head and called out to her, ¡°Heh, Elf, are you free?¡±

    It seemed to be a quest. And since Ye Ci was already there, she was okay with epting the quest if it wasn¡¯t hard. ¡°Sure, what can I help you with?¡±

    ¡°In the camp...¡± Ye Ci immediately skipped the Orc¡¯s dialogue as soon as he began to speak. She then read the quest description, ¡°Help the orc Bobo to deliver some roasted deer meat to the Hunter Anthony at Refuge No.17.¡±

    An errand quest.

    Ye Ci called up the map for the Damp Tropical Rain Forest and located the position of Refuge No.17. It was close to the T-Rex Lair. Since Ye Ci was on her way there anyways, she epted the quest.

    The quest however, wasn¡¯t as easy as it seemed.

    Refuge No.17 was located on a very steep mountain with a very eye-catching stone tower at the top that served as andmark for travellers. Ye Ci could see Anthony at the top, but how could she get up there?

    She had not learned Climbing yet, but she could still jump her way up to the top of some of the lower hills. She was unable to climb a tall and steep mountain. After observing her surroundings, Ye Ci spotted vines hanging from the side of the mountain.

    It was one of the good things about a tropical rain forest. There were a lot of vines around. This quest would be hard had it been a desert area. Ye Ci began to climb up along the vines. Her speed was slow and her effort tiring, as she had not learnt the skill ¡°Climbing.¡±

    After much struggle, she had finally reached Refuge No.17.

    The first thing she saw was the dispirited Anthony sitting beside a flickering bonfire. She handed in the quest and received a few silver coins from Anthony as a reward.

    ¡°Elf, are you a Huntress?¡± Anthony stared at Ye Ci and asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Anthony nodded and let out a long sigh.

    ¡°What is it? Is there anything that I can help you with?¡± Asked Ye Ci. NPC behaviors such as sighing, smiling or hesitation while speaking were signs of a quest.

    ¡°I¡¯m the camp¡¯s Hunter...¡± Anthony began to tell Ye Ci his story while eating the roasted deer meat. He did not appear sad at all.

    It turned out that the Hunter was not quite skillful in his job and was looked down upon by the residents in the camp. He had boasted that he would be able to kill a T-rex in a drunken stupor. He headed to the T-rex¡¯sir, but before he could even begin his hunt, he lost his bow. He asked for Ye Ci¡¯s help to retrieve his tool, and bring back to him a piece of T-rex meat as well.

    The reward forpleting the quest was a casing with unknown purposes.

    After epting the quest, Ye Ci descended carefully down the mountain. She tread carefully in the forest and soon reached the T-rexir. It was a huge grass nest with a few unhatched eggs. A few green-skinned T-rex were lurking around the area. There was a shiny object on the ground not far away, which appeared to be Anthony¡¯s belonging.

    Ye Ci observed the T-rex, and noticed that they were all lvl 35 Elite Beasts. Although they were tough, they acted alone. Ye Ci had no problem taking them on one at a time, but their rate of respawning was a problem.

    She summoned Ol¡¯ Three,id down some traps, activated some BUFFs and cast Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark, then began attacking the first T-rex. It was quite an easy task for Ye Ci. Her abundant Talent Points and superior equipment meant that her strength was that of a lvl 35 yer, and she was able to y a T-rex without much difficulty.

    The lvl 35 Elite T-rex gave her quite a few experience points. She was rewarded bonus experience points for each kill due to the level difference. Before long, the T-rex in the area had turned into experience points that flowed into her experience gauge. She harvested the dinosaur meat from their carcasses and then retrieved Anthony¡¯s tool. Ye Ci then looked at the eggs in the nest. Could they be hatched into pets? Ye Ci pondered.

    She couldn¡¯t hold herself back from touching the eggs in the nest. Just when she was about to reach them, a growl emanated from her back.

    Ye Ci immediately tumbled to a side and turned around towards the source of the sound. What she saw was a pair of cold, malicious eyes staring at her...

    Hi people! This is the first chapter for the month of July!!! Thank you for all who supported Reign of the Huntersst month, we hope that you¡¯ll continue to stay with us until the end of this novel! Yippee!!!

    Sorry that I¡¯ve not been posting for like 5 days, school¡¯s starting and everything is hectic and all... Aaaaaand I somehow got sick... I¡¯m a little bit behind the schedule *blushes* and I hope that you guys could bear with me.

    Anyways, I present to you Chapter 94 with a *cough cough* CLIFF!!! Huehuehue... Will release Chapter 95 ASAP no worries XDXD aaaaaand well if you want to reward the ROTH team for our work, hit that sponsor button on the right side of the page! See you guys next chapter (and in thements!!!)

    First one in thements type: First Blood!!!!

 Chapter 95 Half-Eyed Garrison

    Chapter 95 Half-Eyed Garrison

    Ye Ci immediately felt the pores of her body opening, and the tiny hairs of her body stood straight up as well. All the cells in her body were telling her that danger was approaching.

    Ol¡¯ Three had obviously detected danger as well. It arched its hind legs and stretched out its forelegs, raising its backside slightly. Ol¡¯ Three eyes stared widely at the threat, a low growl emanating from its throat. It was apparent that Ol¡¯ Three would attack the moment Ye Ci gave the order.

    The assant stood still, hidden behind theyers of leaves, only exposing one half of its golden eyes that were staring Ye Ci. That¡¯s right, it was exactly one and a half, with the other half obstructed by something.

    Its eyes were not small at all. Even from the distance that Ye Ci was viewing them, each of them was about the size of a basketball. With a rough estimation, one could guess the actual size of the monster. A thought urred to Ye Ci to cast an Identify spell on her assant to gauge its level.

    But because her assant was hidden too well, she could not even select it as a target. Both parties remained still, facing each other.

    Although Ye Ci was superiorpared to the other yers as a reincarnator, she was still a lvl 29 Huntress. The world in a web game is very different from the world of xianxia or cultivation. A yer¡¯s strength came from abination of his or her mechanical skills, abilities and equipment. It was impossible to suddenly gain strength all of a sudden out of sheer force of will.

    The rules in a web game were something inflexible. If you¡¯re lvl 29, you would still have the performance of only lvl 29, no matter how well you y your character. If one wishes to y a lvl 29 character like a lvl 30 one, sorry, it was impossible.

    In Fate, the max level penalty was set at 20 levels. In other words, a lvl 29 yer could defeat an opponent of up to lvl 49 with all their means and BUFFs avable to the yer, but as soon as the yer faced a lvl 50 opponent, everything the yer had would be disregarded. No matter how hard you tried, you would not be able to defeat that opponent. You would not even be able to break its defence.

    In situations like this, a yer should not expect a sudden surge of strength to defeat his or her opponent like what one would expect in a fantasy or cultivation novel. The only choice a yer had was to run away as fast as you could, or suffer the consequences of losing experience points and dropping equipment.

    Ye Ci was slightly panicked when she was unable to even target her opponent. Under such circumstances when her opponent was untargetable, there was another reason other than the geographical factor... Her target was toorge. Ye Ci roughly calcted the distance between herself and her assant. She concluded that it was not the time to fight it head on. It was best for her to retreat when their distances were still far apart.

    Ye Ci move slightly backwards, appearing as if she had not moved at all, but her body had already shifted for at least 2 yards.

    The pupils on the pair of cold golden eyes contracted visibly.

    Fate was a virtual reality game imed to be unprecedented. The game¡¯s attention to detail was superb. With the Beast type monsters as example, you could see with your eyes the glossiness of their fur, feel the softness with your very own touch and their pupils will change ording to the surroundings.

    If Ye Ci remembered correctly, when a Beast type monster¡¯s pupils contracted, it was either angry or it was a sign that the monster was going to attack.

    Ye Ci did not dare to move. Her enemy was hidden while she was in the open. Acting rashly was not a wise choice.

    A shiver-inducing roar emanated from behind the trees. The leaves shuddered and Ye Ci could finally see the face of her enemy.

    It was a huge face with pitch-ck skin that had a surface as rough as rock and one half lidded eye on both sides of its face. What was more terrifying was the monster¡¯s gigantic mouth, and the white teeth that were as sharp as daggers. The face was familiar, as it was quite simr to the few monsters that she had in. Butpared to this fellow, they were tiny.

    That¡¯s right. It was the face of a T-rex. It was the face of a gigantic T-rex.

    What is a Tyrannosaurus Rex? In an introduction of the animal kingdom, it was a ferocious carnivore, and the natural predator of all dinosaurs. Of course, in the game, it could not just walk up to another dinosaur, chomp down on it, and then open its mouth wide and tell you that the meat was delicious. But it could definitely kill Ye Ci with one hit.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath as her enemy appeared. She could finally select and target the enemy. She cast Identify, which seeded. It meant that the dinosaur was not 20 levels ahead of Ye Ci. She immediately felt relieved. It seemed to Ye Ci could defeat it once she found a suitable spot to kite it.

    But, that thought onlysted up to the moment before Ye Ci took a look at its stats. After reading through the stats of the T-rex, Ye Ci immediately made the decision to retreat.

    Half-eyed Garrison

    Race: Dinosaur

    Level: 48

    Category: Epic Monster

    Abilities: Tearing Bite, Tail Whip, Stampede, Tremor

    Epic Monsters were on an entire level than a normal monster. An Epic Monster¡¯s strength would usually be 3-4 times its level, meaning that Half-eyed Garrison had the strength of a lvl 150 or even lvl 200 monster. All the yers from the entire Eastern Continent might not be able to defeat it at this stage of the game, not to mention Ye Ci attempting to do it alone.

    Only a fool would try to show off and be a hero in the face of such opponent.

    Ye Ci felt odd. She didn¡¯t remember evering across any Epic Monster in this particr map. Most of them appeared in the Middle Continent, which was still a forbidden area for yers. As for the other continents, Ye Ci as a reincarnator had not even heard of more than 3 asions regarding any Epic Monsters. And even then, it was when yers were already at lvl 80.

    Why would she run into one right now?

    Ye Ci did not ponder much on this question, as she began to run the moment she saw Garrison¡¯s stats. Half-eyed Garrison let out a loud roar in the forest behind her and began its pursuit. Ye Ci directed Ol¡¯ Three to attempt to slow Garrison down. Although futile, in that situation, every second she bought for herself added up to her chance of survival.

    Pitching Ol¡¯ Three against the Garrison was no different from striking a stone with an egg. Garrison merely lowered its head and roared at Ol¡¯ Three, and its HP dropped rapidly. Ol¡¯ Threeid dead on the ground, and before long its carcass disappeared.

    A yer could not revive their pets while on the move, and it was impossible for Ye Ci to stop and revive Ol¡¯ Three and then once again direct it to slow Garrison down. The only thing she could do was to run. Abilities, Speed Potion, Speed Scroll, all the items that could boost Ye Ci¡¯s speed were used. She no longer had the luxury to care about the price.

    Garrison was still in pursuit. Just as it was about to catch up with Ye Ci, her Charge ability¡¯s cooldown was ready, and she immediately activated the ability, dashing an additional 20m forward. Eluded by its prey once more, an angry Garrison stopped.

    It raised its head, let out an angry roar, and stomped on the ground with its thick and strong right leg. The Epic-tier skill Tremor rocked the ground. Multiple cracks spread out in all direction with Garrison as its center, with a radius of 30 yards.

    Ye Ci was fortunately not within the range of Tremor, and had avoided receiving damage. However, Tremor¡¯s effect was not only to damage its opponent, the ground would tremble as an effect. Ye Ci could not escape that particr effect and was hit by a DEBUFF called ¡°Fall Down,¡± and she fell onto the ground.

    As expected of an Epic-tier ability. It had a strong destructive power, massive range, and could even affect its surroundings. All of them were perfect tools to destroy the enemy.

    Noticing that its prey had fell onto the ground, Garrison immediately charged at Ye Ci, who after a struggle to stand up, nted a Frost Trap.

    It took Ye Ci 1.5 second to recover from her fall, 5 seconds to nt the trap, which added up to a total of 6.5 seconds. Garrison that had released an Epic-tier skill was immobile for 2.5 seconds, and from its position, it would need 4.5 seconds to reach Ye Ci, which would take it 7 seconds in total.

    Ye Ci did a brief calction. All of her abilities, potions and scrolls were on cooldown. She had also fallen down. If she continued running away, she would never be able to escape. That was why Ye Ci had decided to take the risk and nt a Frost Trap. The level difference between Ye Ci and Garrison was 18. Despite being an Epic Monster, it could not ignore the rules of the game no matter how strong it was. With an 18 level difference, the sess rate of the Frost Trap was 5%.

    Since she would die even if she ran, and would die anyways if the Frost Trap failed to freeze her opponent, Ye Ci decided to gamble. What if her luck was good and Garrison was frozen?

    0.5 seconds was a short amount of time. It was the time an individual would take to blink his or her eye. It was so short that it could be neglected and overlooked. What can you do in 0.5 seconds? You might not even have enough time to sneeze before the time is up.

    But that short amount of time left a tiny space between Ye Ci and Garrison. With that, she was able to tumble to the side.

    Before she could even turn around, a huge block of ice formed behind Ye Ci.

    It... Seeded.

    The effect of Frost Trap was to freeze an enemy without dealing damage to the owner. Ye Ci¡¯s tumble did not put much distance between herself and Garrison. She was still right under Garrison¡¯s foot. That was why the big block of ice appeared to be weird.

    There was a small space beneath the ice block. And in that small space was Ye Ci who was not frozen by the trap.

    Without thinking, Ye Ci crawled out of the space, and ran towards the edge of the map. She had been thinking of a safe ce, and she had finallye up with one. She was headed for the Burning Crevice.

    There was a deep ravine at the edge of the Damp Tropical Rain Forest. It was so deep that one could not even see the bottom of it. It was a safe zone, or at least it was safe in the current stage of the game. It was Ye Ci¡¯s destination.

    Yay! Chapter 95! One more step closer to Chapter 100!!! I really can¡¯t wait to get to Chapter 100, it means a lot to me. When I started tranting Reign of the Hunters, I was like ¡°shit, will people like it?¡± ¡°will I give up tranting the story at some point?¡± BUT LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE NOW? 95!!! Wooohh!!! Thank you all for staying with Jimmi and ROTH, and thank you all for your support! Can¡¯t wait to reach 100, and will probably do some weird thing as celebration who knows.

    A special thanks to:

    Ben.P and Elizabeth.V for their donations!

    I¡¯d like to rify that we¡¯re currently not doing any sponsored chapters, but we¡¯ll always wee donations from readers who wish to support our efforts in tranting this novel.

    Hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and the first in thement type.... FIRST BLOOD!!!

 Chapter 96 The Burning Crevice

    Chapter 96 The Burning Crevice

    12 seconds was a short period of time. Before Ye Ci could put a significant distance between them, Garrison had defrosted. Apparently Garrison waspletely angered by Ye Ci. After the ice melted away, Half-Eyed Garrison let out a roar. The roar shook the sky itself, creating sound waves that swept through the forest. Despite Ye Ci¡¯s best effort to run away, she was unable to escape the effects of the soundwave and her HP dropped rapidly.

    ¡°This fe is truly OP.¡± Ye Ci cursed out loud, and immediately drank a Health Potion to replenish some of her HP. She then continued desperately dashing forward.

    Garrison was just too big. In front of such a massive creature, it was just a waste of time for Ye Ci to even try to outmaneuver Garrison with her bnce and agility. That was why Ye Ci gave up on maneuvers like jumping around on tree branches, and instead opted to just dash madly through the forest.

    There were a lot of tall trees in the forest, and Ye Ci would always dart through between them. This hindered Garrison, who was in pursuit, greatly, and managed to slow it down.

    The temperature of the air was rising rapidly.

    As Ye Ci ran, perspiration formed on her forehead and flowed down through her hair, seeping into her leather armor. The wet feeling surrounding her body made Ye Ci ufortable. She raised one of her arms, wiped away sweat from her face, and drank another Speed Potion. If she was running in the correct direction, she was getting closer and closer to the Burning Crevice.

    A normal monster would stop chasing after a yer once they¡¯d moved out of a certain range. They had their own territory, and couldn¡¯t be bothered with leaving the ce. Epic Monsters, however, were different. They had the same behavior as dungeon monsters: as long as you¡¯re not dead, they¡¯ll never give up. But even the monsters in dungeons were conscious about their range limit. As long as you leave the dungeon, you¡¯re safe. An Epic Monster, however, was a different story. It appeared in the wild, and could move anywhere in the map. As long as you weren¡¯t dead, as long as you didn¡¯t flee into a dungeon, its aggro would always be on you, and you could never escape from it.

    Half-Eyed Garrison was irritated by the thick branches, and he suddenly jumped up. Of course, his jump height wascking, but that was not the point. The point was that when itnded, Garrison swept its tail that was a thick as an electric pole at the trees.

    The movement of Garrison¡¯s tail produced sharp gusting winds that stung the back of Ye Ci¡¯s neck. Sporadic cracking sounds followed after the wind. Ye Ci stole a nce backwards, and saw that all the trees around Garrison, no matter how thick they were, had all fallen, forming a fan shaped clearing. It was a horrible sight to see.

    Ye Ci cursed inwardly. She could imagine that if she was hit by the skill, she might¡¯ve died without even having time to feel the pain.

    Waves of heat assaulted Ye Ci¡¯s senses. It seemed that she was getting nearer and nearer to the Burning Crevice, while Garrison was also getting closer and closer to her. At longst, the trees in front of Ye Ci parted, and a wide open space appeared. The ground was charred ck, with scorching hot air rising from the ground. Ye Ci took a deep breath and jumped down the crevice.

    Quicker than words can tell, right at that moment before Ye Ci leapt into the air, Garrison activated another Epic-tier ability, Stampede. He shot out like an arrow discharged from a bowstring... No, it was more like a derailed atomic bomb, dashing towards Ye Ci.

    Fortunately, Ye Ci threw herself high enough into the air, and Garrison could barely scratch at the soles of her feet before falling down the crevice. Ye Ci took in a deep breath, it was too dangerous. Had Garrison collided with her in midair, she would¡¯ve been killed.

    Despite dodging Garrison¡¯s Stampede, Ye Ci still had to obey Newton¡¯s First Law. She fell into the crevice right after Garrison. The gushing wind sliced at her ears, while the surging heat wave scalded her skin.

    The bottom of the Burnice Crevice was covered with soil that was charred ck, with thick smoke rising from the ground. There were even ces whereva was visible with ring red. Garrison was much heavier than Ye Ci, which meant that it fell faster than Ye Ci. Garrison kicked up a lot of dust and smoke as it impacted on the ground, clouding Ye Ci¡¯s vision.

    Just then, Ye Ci activated Featherfall, and her body immediately became light, and the speed that she was falling became slower and slower. Shended at the bottom of Burning Crevice softly, just like a feather.

    ording to the National Library, the crevice was carved out by Naga¡¯s w, which had charred the ground with its demonic energy, and the resulting mes burned for years, maintaining a scorching temperature. Anything that set foot on that plot ofnd would lose HP rapidly as a result of the burn.

    The ce was just too hot. Ye Ci was sweating even more than she was previously. Before long, a ¡®dehydrated¡¯ status appeared in her status bar, and the movements of her body became slow. She took out a bottle of Refreshing Spring Water and drank a mouthful. The Refreshing Spring Water immediately brought refreshment to Ye Ci, and she greedily gulped down more of the sweet spring water.

    After taking care of the debuff, Ye Ci began searching for the carcass of Garrison. She hadnded a kick on Garrison during the fall. She did not know if she dealt any damage, but if she got lucky, then all the equipment dropped by Garrison would belong to her.

    Although the odds were not on her side, Ye Ci could still feel the joy just by thinking about the equipment that would be dropped by an Epic Monster.

    Ye Ci was able to locate Garrison quickly. It fell not far away from Ye Ci, but was hidden behind a gigantic boulder, which was why Ye Ci did not see it right away. After climbing onto the boulder, Ye Ci immediately discovered that her hopes of getting her dream equipment was gone...

    Because that fe was still alive despite falling down from such a high ce. 90% of its HP was gone, but it was still alive. Itid on the ground, gasping for air. The rise and fall of its stomach was slow. It seemed that it was still quite alive.

    Perhaps Garrison had not seen Ye Ci, as when Ye Ci climbed onto the boulder, Garrison did not move at all. Itid still, gasping for air.

    Do I kill it? A thought arose in Ye Ci¡¯s mind, but she immediately gave up on the n. It was an Epic Monster. Even if it had like 10% of its HP life, Ye Ci had no means to kill it. Even if she could kill it, it would take her several hours to do it. But this ce that they were in had a burning effect. It was not a good ce for a prolonged fight. The thing that Ye Ci was wary about the most was that this monster could move, and would definitely kill her if she was spotted. It was definitely not worth it.

    After pondering about her possible actions, Ye Ci decided that it was better for her to run away. Even though it was an Epic Monster, even though the equipment dropped by this monster was mouth watering, Ye Ci was at a disadvantage and she was running out of potions. She would definitely lose her life in a prolonged fight.

    After reaching a decision, Ye Ci turned around to leave. But right at that moment, she slipped and a rock rolled down the slope. An rmed Ye Ci tried to catch the rock, but she failed. The rock tumbled towards Garrison¡¯s leg.

    Oh shit! Ye Ci immediately ducked down, pressing herself close to the boulder, and activated Disguise. Her body immediately blended as one into the background. Ye Ci remained still while fixing her eyes on the rock, which smacked into Garrison.

    Ye Ci closed her eyes, praying that she would not be discovered by Garrison. However, it was very unlikely as their 19 levels difference meant that Garrison could see through her Disguise very easily.

    What Ye Ci had not expected was that Garrison simply trembled slightly when the rock connected with its leg. This... Was very peculiar. Epic Monsters were usually very sensitive to their surroundings, but it did not even move when the rock connected with its leg. The word ¡®abnormal¡¯ could not even fully describe the situation.

    Ye Ci felt the urge to cast Identify on Garrison, but such action would deactivate her Disguise. What if she was discovered?

    Making up her mind, Ye Ci jumped out and tumbled behind another rock. After a few seconds, Ye Ci slowly rose up and cast Identify at Garrison after sensing no activity. Garrison¡¯s status popped up before her.

    Half-Eyed Garrison

    Race: Dinosaur

    Level: 48

    Category: Epic Monster

    Abilities: Tearing Bite, Tail Whip, Stampede, Tremor

    Status: Crippled

    HP: ????

    As expected of an Epic Monster. Even when its portrait was showing that it had only 10% of HP left, the exact amount of its HP was still hidden. Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at the status that had caught her attention: Crippled.

    Crippled, as in unable to move. Ye Ci had pulled such a thing off on Wandering Cloud, and the results were very remarkable. She had not expected such a thing to happen to an Epic Monster.

    However, that was not the point.

    The point was that being crippled meant one thing...

    Epic Monster or not, Garrison, that was unable to fight back at its current state, was like amb waiting to be ughtered.

    There you go people! Jimmi proudly presents Chapter 96!!! Well I guess I still managed to churn out like 3 chapters this week despite the tight schedule, are you guys proud of me?? *shameless* xDD

    Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you wanna reward the team (especially Jimmi) for the hard work, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page, as hard as you can!!! Or you can uhhh... Go to my Patreon page, link also at the right side of the page #makeJimmisPatreonGreatAgain xDD (how shameless)

    Well you know the drill, first toment type FIRST BLOOD!

 Chapter 97 Tamed! Epic Tier Monster!

    Chapter 97 Tamed! Epic Tier Monster!

    Ye Ci stood up.

    She steadied herself on the boulder, watching Garrison, whoid motionless on the ground, with a calm expression. Garrison stared back at Ye Ci with its golden one and a half eyes. Ye Ci unslung her crossbow and took aim at Garrison. She, however, was unable to pull the trigger.

    Garrison was not acting how a monster normally would. The overly extraordinary eyes gave Ye Ci an indescribable feeling.

    Right at that moment, Ye Ci even felt that the thing thatid before her was not a monster, but a hero who once reigned over the battlefield and was now calmly waiting for its ultimate ending¨C death.

    At such a moment, Ye Ci really had such an impression. She was not sure if she was ill, or was simply too immersed in the game. She had detected a hint of human emotion from Garrison.

    Since ancient times, heroes and beauties shared the same fate. They would never live to see the day their hair turns white. (1)

    At this very moment, Garrison gave Ye Ci the vibe of the sorrow of a hero who was past his prime.

    In the end, Ye Ci lowered her crossbow and mumbled, ¡°Even if this is an Epic-tier monster, the items that it drops will get outdated eventually. But, an Epic-tier pet might not be the same.¡± With that, she jumped down from the boulder and walked towards Garrison that was staring at her with its cold eyes, until she was within the range of Light of Enticement.

    She began to cast Light of Enticement, and a red halo appeared on Garrison¡¯s head. The casting time for Light of Enticement was 12 seconds, and was also affected by level penalty. Not only was Garrison 19 levels higher than Ye Ci, it was an Epic Monster as well. The sess rate of capturing it as a pet was quite low.

    Light of Enticement consumed 20% of a Hunter¡¯s total mana points each time it was cast. It meant that one could continuously cast the skill 5 times. Ye Ci had never had to worry about mana consumption due to her Strength Conservation passive ability. It was different in this situation, as Light of Enticement would not deal damage to its target, which meant that there were no damage points that could be converted into mana.

    Due to the level penalty, Ye Ci could not tame Garrison even after exhausting her mana. Ever since Ye Ci had obtained the Strength Conservation skill book, she never brought any mana potions with her. That was why the only thing she could do was sit still and wait before continuing after exhausting her mana pool.

    After countless failed attempts, Ye Ci was on the verge of falling asleep. As expected of an Epic Monster, Garrison, with its high defence and high HP, was able to survive the burning debuff in the Burning Crevice that would have been fatal to a normal monster.

    ¡°Being my pet is pretty good, at least I won¡¯t mistreat you. I¡¯ll feed you well, and you even get to fight alongside me. Don¡¯t you like to fight? Aren¡¯t you a violent one? Juste with me. If you die here today, it¡¯s not worth it.¡± The boredom and her drowsiness drove Ye Ci to talk to Garrison in an attempt to stay awake. She was not even sure if it understood her anyways. She was just looking for something fun to do so that she would not be bored.

    It was something weird, but after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s words, Garrison narrowed his cold eyes that had been staring at Ye Ci.

    It went unnoticed by Ye Ci, who yawned and continued speaking, ¡°They say that a bad life is better than a good death. Look at yourself, you¡¯re an Epic-tier monster. If you die here just like that, don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s not worth it? Epic-tier, which is a high grade. I know, I know. You don¡¯t want to be my pet. If it was me, I wouldn¡¯t want to do that either. I¡¯m the king in the wild, I¡¯ll kill whoever gets in my way. But have you thought about something? The yers¡¯ level will grow as well. Sooner orter they will defeat you. Even if you don¡¯t die today, you will die the next time youe across somebody else. I know that Epic-tier monsters only appear once. If you die here and now, it¡¯s game over. It¡¯s better toe with me. If youe with me, as long as the game does not go bankrupt, you can still show off your might to the world, how good is that...?¡±

    With that, Ye Ci let out another yawn. She was too sleepy. There was 4 seconds left until the Light of Enticement could be cast, and her mana would be depleted again after that. It seemed that she would need to wait for her mana to regenerate again.

    After spending so much time, Ye Ci¡¯s mood began to grow sour. She swore to herself that she would not give up until this big guy was burned to death or was tamed by her. She wanted results, or all her efforts would be wasted...

    Garrison¡¯s eyes closed slowly, and it exhaled through its huge nose, its consciousness appearing to be dissipating...

    A dazzling golden light suddenly appeared around Half-eyed Garrison, and a system notification rang out: ¡°You¡¯ve sessfully tamed Half-eyed Garrison as your pet.¡°

    Perhaps it was due to her countless failed attempts, Ye Ci failed to react to her sudden sess. After a short pause, she cried out in surprise, and immediately called out her pets¡¯ status window. Sure enough, other than Ol¡¯ Three, there was another pet in her pet column. It was the the ck-skinned golden eye Garrison.

    Name: Tyrannosaurus Rex

    Owner: Gongzi You

    Level: 1

    HP: 1100/19320

    Stamina: 14000/14000

    Abilities: Taunt, Speed Up, Tearing Bite, Tail Whip, Stampede, Tremor

    Attributes: Intelligent, Loyal, Blood-Thirsty, Violent, Keen

    Special Ability: Combat Steed

    Loyalty: 1

    Damn, as expected of an Epic-tier monster! It could even be used as a steed. A normal steed couldn¡¯t be used in a battle, and yers would need to dismount in a fight. But this Epic-tier Monster allowed yers to ride it into battle, how could it not be overpowered?

    Dammit, as expected of an Epic-tier monster! It had nearly 20,000 HP even at lvl 1! Ye Ci¡¯s HP was nowhere near Garrison¡¯s, and she was already lvl 29. It was... Embarrassing.

    As Ye Ci took a nce at her pet¡¯s Loyalty, she couldn¡¯t resist the urge to curse. Dammit! As expected of an Epic-tier monster! Even an Elite or Sub-Elite monster would have 10 points of Loyalty by default. But this guy only had 1 point of Loyalty.

    It meant that if either Garrison or Ye Ci died at that moment, Garrison would immediately escape...

    Speaking of the HP, when Ye Ci noticed that it had only a very low percentage of its HP left, she had immediately attempted to heal Garrison with Pet Heal. But her mana was basically almost exhausted, and it got depleted after she healed Garrison to the point where it had 3000 HP. The only thing she could do was to take out some bandages to dress Garrison¡¯s wound at the back of its legs. She had observed its condition when she was casting Light of Enticement. There was a deep gash at the joint of the back of Garrison¡¯s right leg, which might be the reason it was crippled.

    Ye Ci bandaged Garrison¡¯s wound while pouring thest of her Health Potions into its mouth. She was lucky that Garrison¡¯s size shrunk after it was tamed, or Ye Ci¡¯s bandages would not be enough to bandage even one of its toes.

    Garrison stared coldly at Ye Ci with its one and a half eyes throughout the entire process, not showing even a hint of intimacy. Ye Ci sighed, Epic-tier monsters were just so difficult to serve.

    After her hard work, Ye Ci once again cast Pet Healing on Garrison when her mana was replenished. Ye Ci was able topletely heal Garrison with repeated attempts. She was so tired that she sat beside Garrison, leaning against it for support while gasping for air. Ye Ci¡¯s stamina was already nearly depleted. She took out some roasted meat and ate the one with the lower grade, while feeding a high grade roasted quail to Garrison.

    If her assumption was correct, a T-rex was as picky as a panther. A T-rex would not eat anything like a bear or a tortoise type pet. It only eats meat, especially those that were cooked.

    Garrison chewed on the roasted quail. Satisfied with the taste, it nudged Ye Ci with its head, indicating with a hint of pampered arrogance that it wanted more.

    Ye Ci let out a sigh. Such was an Epic-tier monster. She must serve it as best as she could. Ye Ci fed a few more pieces of roasted quail to Garrison, and its mood improved. It let out a satisfied burp, and Ye Ci received a system notification: ¡°Your pet is very satisfied with your treatment, Loyalty increased to 5.¡±

    Satisfied... Ye Ci was puzzled. She had the urge to tell this guy, ¡®Please give me more good ratings, please.¡¯

    Then again, the fact that Ye Ci had tamed an Epic-tier monster was very satisfying. The next task at hand was to leave the ce. But before that, another more important thing in Ye Ci¡¯s mind was to name give Garrison a name. After all, the name Garrison was generated by the system. Since it was now her pet, it must go by her rules.

    ¡°Do you want to name your pet?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Please name your pet.¡±

    ¡°Ol¡¯ Four.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Naming sessful.¡±

    Ye Ci was satisfied when Garrison was renamed as Ol¡¯ Four. That¡¯s what she called a family. She was number one, the eldest, while Ol¡¯ Three was the third, and Ol¡¯ Four was naturally the fourth. As for Ol¡¯ Two(2)... That name was too unclean, and Ye Ci decided that she would never use it in this lifetime.

    When a pet was crippled, it was different from a yer¡¯s crippled state. If a yer was crippled, he or she must be treated by a specific NPC in a major city. But when a pet was crippled, it could be healed by its owner. As Ye Ci stood up, Ol¡¯ Four stood up shakily as well.

    Although Ye Ci could ride on Ol¡¯ Four, she gave up after staring at its 5 points of Loyalty. What if she angered it after riding on it and it ran away? Who would she cry about it to? After all, it was an Epic-tier monster. Even if it was arrogant, Ye Ci had to let it be. It was not toote when its Loyalty reached 100 points.

    The DEBUFF in the Burning Crevice was continuously reducing Ye Ci¡¯s and Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s HP. Ye Ci had depleted her stockpile of potions. She dismissed Ol¡¯ Four and headed in the general direction of an opening of the crevice based on her memory. If memory served, she would be able to climb out of the crevice to a neighbouring map.

    Trantor¡¯s Notes:

    (1)×Ô¹ÅÓ¢ÐÛÈçÃÀÈË£¬²»ÐíÈË¼ä¼û°×Í·(Proverb): A Chinese proverb carrying the meaning that heroes and beauties do not live long.

    (2)ÀÏ¶þ(ng): Literally tranted as ¡°old two¡±. A Chinese ng for a man¡¯s penis.

    There! Finally a chapter with NO cliff!!! Yay? XDXD Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!!!

    AND

    *shameless mode on*

    If you guys think that this chap is dank and want to reward us (especially Jimmi) for the hard work, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page, or support Jimmi¡¯s Patreon (also at the right side of the page)

    *shameless mode off*

    We¡¯re getting closer and closer to the 100 CHAPTERS MILESTONE people!!! YEAAAAAAHHHH!!!! LET¡¯S GOOOOOO!!! JIMMI IS EXCITED!!! ARE YOU?? *violent coughing* stay tuned for more chapters! See y¡¯all soon!

    First in thements type: First Blood!!!

 Chapter 98 Eavesdropping

    Chapter 98 Eavesdropping

    The vertical distance from the bottom of the Burning Crevice to the top was not more than 200m. But of course, the so-called vertical distance did not take into ount of all the protruding rocks and uneven surfaces of the cliff wall. In Fate, a character could learn an Innate Ability, Climbing.

    An Innate Ability was something that could be learned by all characters every 10 levels. When a character was lvl 10, the yer could learn Jump, while a lvl 20 could learn Crawl and Backwards Jump could be learned by a lvl 30 character. Climbing was only made avable to a lvl 40 character while Swimming was unlocked when a character reached lvl 50.

    Of course, not learning an Innate Skill did not mean that a yer could not carry the actions out. These skills were capable of being achieved by the human body. Even if yers did not learn these Innate Skills, they could still pull them off. However, the proficiency of such maneuvers and the sess rate was affected by the physical attributes of an individual. A person with an agile body and excellent coordination would naturally have a better sess rate. If a person who was non-athletic tried to perform such actions, the sess rate would be low. Not all yers were born knowing how to leap onto roofs and vault over bars. That was something that was done by the wuxia experts. Hence, the game offered Innate Abilities to assist yers who were not athletic. As long as they met the level requirement, they would be able to learn the Innate Abilities, and as long as they¡¯ve learned the Innate Abilities, they would be able to perform better.

    Ye Ci was not really an expert athlete, and only had slightly better motor coordination, which did not distinguish her much from an average person. Before learning Climbing, it was not an easy task for her to climb up to the top of the Burning Crevice from the bottom.

    With tremendous effort, Ye Ci had finally reached a protruding chunk of rock. She leaned close to the wall and sat down, munching down on pieces of roasted meat and gulping down spring water. Scaling such a steep cliff without learning the Climbing ability meant that a yer¡¯s speed would be greatly reduced and the yer would spend more stamina than usual in his or her attempt to climb. It was also very likely that one would fall to their death. Ye Ci had thought that her Stamina would be able tost until she reached the top, but just when she was about to get there, her stamina was nearly exhausted. If she did not replenish her stamina right then, she would¡¯ve fallen to her death.

    Leaning close to the cliff wall, Ye Ci wolfed down the roasted meat, slowly recovering her stamina.

    All of a sudden, her pointed ears twitched reflexively as she heard a soft voiceing from the top of the crevice.

    ¡°Are you sure the ck Plum Guild will be here today?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe it, why bother asking?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t believe you, it¡¯s just that...¡± After a short pause, the person continued with a hoarse voice, ¡°This is not a map that people woulde here toplete quests. There¡¯s only a Wild BOSS here. Why would theye here?¡±

    The other individual did not reply.

    The one with the hoarse voice continued, ¡°Besides, the major guilds tend to keep their whereabouts a secret. You¡¯re not one of the higher ups, how did you find out about such a secret? You¡¯re not trying to dupe me are you...?¡±

    ¡°You doubt my good intentions?¡± The person snorted, ¡°I have my ways, you do not have to know about it.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I know you¡¯re like a brother to Fluttering Red Feathers. But, I¡¯m a vile person, and you are not noble at all as well.¡± The man with the hoarse voice chuckled, disdain clearly shown in his voice.

    The other person remained quiet, and continued after a brief moment, ¡°I¡¯ve received the down payment. When it¡¯s done, I¡¯ll get in touch.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± The person with the hoarse voice chuckled again. There was something special about his voice. It gave off a wretched feeling.

    The two must¡¯ve thought that the ce was far too remote and that it was a high level leveling spot. They did not expect to have anybody eavesdropping on them, and had talked without using private message. There were times when Ye Ci totally agreed with the old saying ¡°A careful helmsman can steer the ship for thousands of years.¡± Had those two spoke using private message, she wouldn¡¯t be able to hear them. And if she had not heard them, she wouldn¡¯t have made the decision to find out what was happening.

    At that moment, Ye Ci¡¯s head was raised as she leaned close to the cliff wall, looking up at the ck rock and was listening intently. She began climbing up to the top of the crevice after she heard footsteps leaving the scene.

    Ye Ci hung from the edge to survey the surrounding, and after making sure that there was nobody around, she climbed out of the crevice and entered Stealth. She then headed to the direction of where the footsteps were moving to.

    Ye Ci was not a curious person. She did not usually like to gossip and meddle with somebody else¡¯s business. She had followed the two because the name of ck Plum Guild was mentioned. ck Plum Guild was a guild from the Southern Continent. They took part in the Dragon Dancepetition as well, but were unable to enter the finals. That was why Ye Ci was unable to meet them. In herst life however, Ye Ci had quite a few dealings with them.

    Ye Ci was a skillful yer, and they decided to put her skill to good use. They¡¯d always ask for Ye Ci¡¯s help when they explored new dungeons. However, Ye Ci had made too many enemies in her past life, and ck Plum Guild was unwilling to invite her to be part of the guild.

    In the eyes of ck Plum Guild, Ye Ci was a high damage tool in a dungeon, while in Ye Ci¡¯s eyes, ck Plum Guild was the source of her ie and new equipment. Both sides had their own needs, and neither of them treated each other sincerely, but they did work well with each other.

    It had been half a year since Ye Ci had reincarnated. The only impression she had left of ck Plum Guild was that they used to be her source of ie and that they were quiteid-back. There was nothing much else that she could remember of the guild. The conversation that she had eavesdropped on was obviously somebody selling out ck Plum Guild to their enemies, and it perked Ye Ci¡¯s interest.

    Of course, she was not there to help. She was merely there to see if she could gain anything out of it. Since she was at this ce, she could only purchase a Flying Shard from a major city to return to the Eastern Continent. Since she was leaving, she refused to leave empty-handed.

    Ye Ci¡¯s current position was in the map connecting the Southern Continent to the Eastern Continent: Warsong Tribe. Just like the Damp Tropical Rain Forest, the average level of the monsters here was lvl 35 to lvl 40. Most of them were humanoid, and they had a higher chance of dropping equipment. It was a very good spot for parties to level up.

    Ye Ci, however, doubted that ck Plum Guild was here to level up. ording to her memories from herst life, they were here for a lvl 35 humanoid Elite Field Boss, Warsong Priestess Dorian. Achieving First Blood on the BOSS would drop a quest item called ¡°Golden Premium Scroll.¡± When used, the scroll would unlock a 100-yer dungeon that offered rich rewards. One of them was an item that was the envy of all the guilds, The Guild Banner.

    This Guild Banner was different from the normal Guild Banner. When The Guild Banner was hung on the gpole in a guild encampment, the level of the guild encampment would be raised by 1.

    Who wouldn¡¯t want that benefit? If it wasn¡¯t too much of a hassle to transport yers of Upwards Ho! from Red Lake City to this ce, Ye Ci would want to join in on the fun as well. ck Plum Guild must be interested in Dorian because of the Golden Premium Scroll. Ye Ci did not know how they found out about the scroll. But to her knowledge, ck Plum Guild was the one who scored a First Blood on Warsong Priestess Dorian, and they were the first guild to have The Guild Banner.

    When she thought about it, the timing was about right.

    The butterfly effect of her reincarnation had not affected the progress of Fate greatly.

    Ye Ci approached Warsong Priestess Dorian carefully.

    The monsters in the Warsong Tribe had a very high movement speed. Although their attack damage was not high, they would often debuff yers and then overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Since they were all humanoids, there was a visible difference between monsters of different tiers. The lower leveled monsters were usually unarmed, and could only cast skills like Slow, Stun or Terrify. The medium tier ones were armed with light weapons. They would usually cast debuffs such as Burn, Freeze or Poisoning on yers. Those monsters that were from the higher tier were equipped with Armor and heavier weapons. They could Petrify, Stun and Metalize yers. [1] Their leader, Warsong Priestess Dorian was way stronger. She had skills from all 3 tiers of monsters, and could cast AOE debuffs. If Dorian cast an AOE damage over time debuff, the Priests in the party would definitely have a fun time.

    Monsters roamed the map in small groups. They were grouped together by their tiers, but there were also groups that were made up from monsters from all 3 tiers. Ye Ci did not dare to take them head on and thus decided to avoid them.

    As she was Stealthed, Ye Ci¡¯s movement speed was reduced by 50%. When she approached Warsong Priestess Dorian¡¯s spawn point, there was already a group of yers hiding in a ditch nearby. Their location was well hidden. Had Ye Ci not been intentionally seeking them out, she wouldn¡¯t have found them. They were camouged with tree branches and leaves as theyy hidden. If one did not pay attention, he or she could easily past them off as a shrub.

    Editor¡¯s Note:

    [1] Metalize: Literal trantion is turn a yer into like a metal statue type thing, so we¡¯re calling it Metalize, because there isn¡¯t really a good trantion for a term to do that, that we know of, and petrify is already taken. If anyone has a better idea, we¡¯re up for suggestions.

 Chapter 99 Sneak attack

    Chapter 99 Sneak attack

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help butugh as she observed them from afar. Which guild had so much animosity for the ck Plum Guild, that they would go to such measures to prepare such an ambush against them? She already had prior knowledge that they were ambushing someone. If she didn¡¯t, she would have thought that they were conducting a military exercise.

    However, their position was chosen very well. It was precisely in a dead angle of the small monsters¡¯ patrols and was hidden well with natural obstacles. Furthermore, it was near the BOSS, which made it a good ambush spot. Ye Ci roughly counted the number of people present. There were at least 180 of them. Although she couldn¡¯t see their names or attributes, with detailed observation she could see that they were all wearing decent equipment. She estimated that they were all level 21 and above. This team¡¯s fighting strength should not be looked down upon, regardless of their coordination.

    At this moment, Ye Ci was a little puzzled.

    The ck Plum Guild didn¡¯t seem to have any feuds. Why would someone make such arge move to mount a sneak attack? Of course, this wasn¡¯t the reason why Ye Ci was here. She was here to reap some benefits as the two sides shed.

    It didn¡¯t seem very honorable. However, passing up such a good opportunity doesn¡¯t seem like a good gaming habit. Ye Ci always felt that she was a good gamer, and a good gamer must abide by good gaming habits.

    While she was letting her imagination run wild, she heard waves of chanting close by. Looking over, she saw all kinds of magic unceasingly raising winds in a withered grasnd. Just from what she saw, she knew that it would be a hair-raising battle. Although she currently couldn¡¯t definitively determine how many people were there, for the people to be able to create such arge scale spell, there should at least be 100 yers.

    Ye Ci looked at the faraway Warsong Priestess Dorian, who currently had her eyes closed in prayer while facing the sacrificial altar. She roughly calcted, deducting the level penalty, with so many people chasing her, as long as their tactics were reasonable and no one messed up, they would be able to corner her within two to three hours. Unfortunately, the ck Plum Guild was down on luck today.

    The people concealed within the trench were as still as corpses. Ye Ci reckoned that there wouldn¡¯t be any sound of activity for the time being. Although the enemy the ck Plum Guild faced was an odd mixture of different people forming parties, they had superiority in numbers. Imagine the scene of fifty magicians hurling fireballs at the same monster! In any case, even before many of the fireballs reached the monster, it would have already died.

    While they were refreshed from battle, Ye Ci followed them from behind, slowly drawing close to the ceremonial altar where Warsong Priestess Dorian was. When the ck Plum Guild finally wiped out thest wave of monsters, Ye Ci had already climbed up the altar. Dorian was worthy of being an elite wild BOSS, such human NPCs that had intelligence were in fact hard to deal with. She had a strong awareness and in addition to the level penalty, she would easily discover any danger that entered her territory.

    Ye Ci had just walked up the altar when she saw Dorian¡¯s eyes slightly open. She looked towards Ye Ci¡¯s direction, and an rmed Ye Ci immediately froze. She managed to prevent herself from being discovered by Dorian. However, Dorian was still tensed as she gazed at Ye Ci¡¯s direction for a while before turning her head back and silently continuing her prayers.

    Dorian was dressed in a red robe, holding a very shy staff. On top of the altar she faced was a gold chest.

    Golden treasure chest.

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyes brightened. With the new year¡¯s patch, there was a line which stated that in eachrge map there would be many treasure chests appearing and there would be many treasures within the chests.

    However, there was one thing that only Ye Ci knew. That was that although these treasure chests would repeatedly appear, for gold and above treasure chests, only the first opening would bring about good items. Although opening the chests afterwards would still reward considerable experience and gold, the rate of good items would be greatly decreased.

    Golden treasure chests would give off a special light. However, this light could only be discovered if one was within 10 meters of the chest. Clearly, the ck Plum Guild and that mysterious guild would currently be unable to discover this treasure chest. Ye Ci suddenly felt that her luck was still decent. At the very least, she could have such an enormous find.

    A Golden Treasure Chest being guarded by a Dorian who had not being First Blooded. Heh.

    The people from the ck Plum Guild were all situated more than 50 yards away from Dorian. That was the boundary where they wouldn¡¯t disturb Dorian. If they moved forward any closer, Dorian would notice them.

    They stood in their positions, listening to instructions from a barbarian right at the front.

    Ye Ci recognised this barbarian. He was the ck Plum Guild¡¯s leader, Fluttering Red Feather. The ck Plum Guild was the third ranked guild in the South Continent. They were well known for their collective strength, as well as Fluttering Red Feather. He was one of the top twomanders in the Southern Continent, and was also ranked in the top twenty of the whole of Fate. Furthermore, he is the only one with a melee ss in the top twentymanders in Fate.

    Generally, ranged yers were more suited asmanders, as ranged sses could view the whole situation rtively easier, and were also able to view the interaction between yers and the BOSS much more easily. This was especially true in cases where the BOSS constantly summoned minions. Ranged sses would be able to better control the ground, directing the yers¡¯ movements. However, if themander was a melee ss, various fields of view would be inhibited and hismanding would suffer from many restrictions.

    Ye Ci always felt Fluttering Red Feather was an expert barbarian and an expertmander at the same time. However, for these two professions to be ced on the same person, it would decrease the yer¡¯s performance by 50%. That was why although Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s leadership was very famous, he was always ranked outside of the top 10.

    When Fluttering Red Feather had finished exining the strategy to all the party members, the ck Plum Guild got into formation. With amand from Fluttering Red Feather, they started their attack. Dorian roared and charged down from the altar. Ye Ci had actually considered attacking Dorian a fore the ck Plum Guild started their attack so that she would be able to kill steal. Perhaps she might even get First Blood. However, by doing that, she would definitely not be able to withstand the retaliation from the ck Plum Guild and that mysterious guild. She was now no longer alone and was a member of Upwards Ho!. If she was just by herself, such actions could still be done. However, now that she was part of a guild, such actions that would only harm others without benefitting oneself should never be done.

    Besides, Ye Ci had currently ced all her attention on that gold treasure chest. Who cared about Dorian?

    However, she still couldn¡¯t reveal herself now, as behind her was a team eyeing her covetously. If she revealed herself now, she might be cannon fodder. Although she was confident in her ability to escape, there was no need for her to face over 100 level 21 yers right?

    For now, what she needed to do was to just wait silently.

    Apparently, the ck Plum Guild had already done extremelyprehensive preparation to take down Dorian. They had even done simtions multiple times and their strategy was on point. Which moment they had to disrupt the BOSS¡¯ skill, when to collectively avoid negative effects, when to collectively pause and wait for the BOSS¡¯ invincibility to disappear, each and every timing had been blocked out precisely. So precisely that Ye Ci felt they were the ones who had been reincarnated. If not, how could they have nned in such a perfect manner?

    By the time she saw that Dorian¡¯s only had 10% HP left, Ye Ci¡¯s legs were already sore from squatting. As for those that were crouching within the entrenchment behind her, they weren¡¯t feeling any better. However, they had been waiting for this moment to arrive.

    10% HP was a very tiny amount. If they hadunched their attack when the the BOSS had a considerable amount of HP left, the ck Plum Guild could just abandon their battle against Dorian and face them instead. In that case, they wouldn¡¯t have the upper hand. However, once the BOSS battle had progressed to the point where the BOSS had only 10% of its HP left, members of the ck Plum Guild would have already expended most of their potions and scrolls. At that time, they would definitely not give up on the BOSS easily. For them to ambush the ck Plum Guild at that time, not only would they catch the ck Plum Guild off guard, they could even steal the First Blood of Dorian.

    Therefore, 10% HP was the crucial point for the ambush to be a sess.

    At this moment, Ye Ci looked at Fluttering Red Feather, she understood Fluttering Red Feather and knew that he usually wouldn¡¯t restrict strangers from privately messaging him, unlike herself where she at times even blocked messages from friends and had never allowed strangers to message her.

    Sure enough, his private message channel was not closed.

    ¡°There are people preparing to ambush you.¡± Ye Ci did not beat around the bush.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Fluttering Red Feather appeared slightly tense. In this kind of situation, no matter who it was that received such a message, they would be slightly tense.

    ¡°I¡¯m not your enemy.¡± Ye Ci answered after a pause.

    ¡°How did you find out about it?¡±

    ¡°I just happened to be in the neighbourhood.¡±

    ¡°Why should I believe you? I don¡¯t even know you...¡±

    ¡°To your 9 o¡¯clock direction, approximately 100 people, level 21 and above.¡± Ye Ci wasn¡¯t interested in ying senseless guessing games, immediately closing the private message window after she finished saying what she wanted to say. Now, she only had to wait for both sides to start fighting. When no one paid attention to her, she would open the gold treasure chest and escape.

    She didn¡¯t have any other intention in informing the ck Plum Guild. Although in her previous life they only had a mutually beneficial rtionship, she had also gotten a lot of money from them. Considering the payment of money... She didn¡¯t want them to be in a difficult situation.

    That was all.

    Fluttering Red Feather clearly hesitated at Ye Ci¡¯s words. However, he ultimately still held the mentality of caution was better than regrets, as he adjusted his troops. Just as he finished adjusting his troops, he heard a shout of ¡°Charge!¡± Following that, he saw more than a hundred yers advancing toward the direction of the ck Plum Guild.

    Ye Ci seized the opportunity to quickly reach the side of the gold treasure chest, extending her hand to start opening the treasure chest. Luckily, this treasure chest wasn¡¯t locked.

    Opening the treasure chest, 3%... 17%... 78%...

    The time needed to open treasure chests varied ording to the chest¡¯s rank. For example, a gold treasure chest needed 20 seconds to open. Taking advantage of this time, Ye Ci looked into the distance. The two troops had already shed; spells, sword light, heals and all kinds of techniques were mixed together. This actually allowed the overgrown map of the Warsong Tribe to be unusually lively.

 Chapter 100 Fluttering Red Feather

    Chapter 100 Fluttering Red Feather

    ck Plum Guild¡¯s situation instantly became dire as they needed to take on the BOSS and 100-something yers at the same time. Fortunately, other than the MT, the Warriors of ck Plum Guild reacted fast enough and began protecting their Clerics and ranged yers. Although they were still under attack by ranged enemies, they were still rtively safe. This, however, did not give ck Plum Guild any advantage. In the span of 10 seconds, quite a few of the guild¡¯s ranged yers were dead.

    Ye Ci¡¯s gaze returned to the Golden Treasure Chest, which had been sessfully opened.

    In the chest there was a lvl 30 blue grade Priest gauntlet that gave additional Divine damage when donneder. It was the perfect equipment for Priests with a damage dealing ystyle. There was also a decent Ranger¡¯s belt in the chest. Ye Ci would¡¯ve equipped the belt if it were not for her Venomous Scorpion set. A skill booky at the bottom of the chest.

    It was a very old skill book that was made out of goat skin, with a totally unremarkable look. But when Ye Ci read what was written in the book, she was thoroughly surprised. It was a skill book for Disguise, a skill shared by Hunters, Rogues and Rangers, that allowed a yer to blend in with his or her surroundings once the skill was activated. As long the yer who cast Disguise did not move, he or she would not be discovered.

    It was strange. This was the skill book that Ye Ci had been looking for. She had never expected toe across it here. She literally found it by sheer luck after searching for it far and wide.

    Without much thought, Ye Ci sped her hands together and used the skill book. She then turned around and prepared to leave.

    Most of the monsters in the area had already been cleared away. Even those that had respawned were killed off almost instantly when they were caught in the crossfire between the two guilds. Ye Ci calmly made her way towards the crowd. As long as she did not attack any of them, her status would appear green, and nobody would attack her, there would not be a problem.

    As expected, Ye Ci was able to wade through the scene of the battle unscathed, and she then entered Stealth again. Ye Ci spared a nce backwards, noting that the ck Plum Guild was already at a disadvantage. Most of their yers were dead, while the ones who were still alive had to fight against the BOSS while fending off attacks from their enemies. They were on the verge of defeat.

    By that time, the main force of their enemy had started to shift their attacks onto Dorian. Despite losing quite a few of their yers, they were better off than the ck Plum Guild. Dorian, that was firmly under their control, had only 3% of her HP left.

    After a brief moment of consideration, Ye Ci sent a message to Fluttering Red Feather, ¡°Add me into your party, I¡¯ll steal thest hit of the BOSS for you.¡±

    Fluttering Red Feather immediately replied, ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±

    ¡°Not an enemy.¡± Ye Ci answered truthfully.

    Not questioning Ye Ci¡¯s answer, Fluttering Red Feather said, ¡°You¡¯ve hidden your name, I can¡¯t add you. You have to apply to join the party.¡±

    Without much dy, Ye Ci immediately sent a party request which was immediately epted by Fluttering Red Feather. Due to Ye Ci¡¯s name, the only details he could see about Ye Ci was ***. Of course, it was also due to the fact that he was not of the same continent as Ye Ci. If they were from the same continent, he would be able to immediately see Ye Ci¡¯s name.

    After joining the party, Ye Ci headed straight for the crowd that was locked in battle. She felt awkward herself. Even she did not know why she was helping Fluttering Red Feather out. She had thought it out before joining the fray, but was unable toe up with an answer. She simply dismissed it as her conscience trying to repay ck Plum Guild after making so much money off of them in her past life.

    Ye Ci immediately summoned Ol¡¯ Four after charging into the crowd. Although, Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s Loyalty points were not high, Ye Ci¡¯s exceptional treatment had greatly improved its mood, making it much more willing to obey hermands. Despite being lvl 1, Ol¡¯ Four was still an Epic-tier monster, and its ability to wreak havoc was not something that could be looked down upon.

    On Ye Ci¡¯smand, Ol¡¯ Four charged eagerly at Dorian. Stampede, Tearing Bite, Tail Whip and Tremor caused Dorian¡¯s HP to plunge further while dealing varying amounts of damage to the yers who did not belong to the ck Plum Guild. Tremor, which came with a Stunning effect, was especially devastating. Although quite a few of the enemy yers were immune to the Stun due to the level penalty, a significant number of them were affected by the skill.

    Ye Ci was struck speechless. Ol¡¯ Four was simply too ferocious. It was a shame that he was still at lvl 1. If only he was at the same level as her. She wouldn¡¯t have the need to lift a finger. Ol¡¯ Four alone would be enough to take care of all the yers.

    The members of ck Plum Guild were no newbies. They were experienced veterans... They were quick to adapt to the sudden turn of events and focused their attacks on the enemy yers who were Stunned. Within seconds, they¡¯d managed to kill arge number of them.

    Ye Ci¡¯s main objective was still Dorian, and of course she needed to constantly heal Ol¡¯ Four at the same time. She was hidden in the midst of ck Plum Guild yers so that the enemy could not locate Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s owner. The situation was entirely different for Ol¡¯ Four. The moment the yers around it spotted such a terrifying pet, they focused their attacks on Ol¡¯ Four, and its HP dropped rapidly.

    Ye Ci was forced to heal Ol¡¯ Four non stop and eventually dismiss it. Its Loyalty points were still too low. If it died then and there, it would definitely run away.

    The enemy yers shifted their attacks back to Dorian once Ol¡¯ Four had disappeared. Ye Ci did the same as well. There was nothing shy about it; It was a contest of damage output.

    Ye Ci boosted her attack with potions and scrolls, and immediately began to attack Dorian. Positioning was no longer an issue. With so many yers dead on both sides, the only thing that mattered was to y Dorian. It had very little HP left anyways.

    Fluttering Red Feather had been taking note of Ye Ci¡¯s damage output the moment she joined the party. He was shocked by the amount of damage that she could dish out. It was way higher than what he had expected.

    Ye Ci¡¯s assistance in the battle turned the tables around for ck Plum Family. They were able to stabilize the situation in both their PvE and PvP frontiers.

    Dorian¡¯s HP was bing lower and lower. By the time it had only 0.2% of its HP left, Ye Ci immediately re-summoned Ol¡¯ Four. Like hell she would miss this chance to get experience points for Ol¡¯ Four, surely it was easier than her having to kill monsters on her own, yes?

    Dorian let out a sorrowful screech shortly after Ol¡¯ Four appeared, ¡°This will not end well for you! The God of Warsong will curse you!¡± Then she dropped dead, turning into a huge amount of experience points in the experience gauge of the ck Plum Guild yers.

    The battle, however, raged on.

    The enemy guild flew into a rage. They were so close to seeding, but a sudden setback turned things around, causing them to lose Dorian¡¯s First Blood to ck Plum Guild. Their fallen members had already suffered great losses in experience points. Wasn¡¯t it a total loss for them if they gave up just like that? ck Plum Guild, of course, would not back down when their opponents had obviously chosen not to do so.

    That was why the battle raged on.

    It raged on despite the system announcement, ¡°Congrattions to ck Plum Guild for achieving First Blood on the lvl 35 Elite Field BOSS Warsong Priestess Dorian. Rewards: Guild prestige points x800, Gale City Prestige points x5000, Gold coins x3000. Let us remember their names!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Fluttering Red Feather for defeating Warsong Priestess Dorian, Rewards: Gale City prestige points x300, Talent Points x3.¡±

    ......

    ¡°Congrattions *** for defeating Warsong Priestess Dorian, Rewards: Gale City prestige points x300, Talent Points x2.¡±

    ......

    Ye Ci was very pleased. She had only joined the battle at its end, but she was able to reap the rewards as well. And when a person was pleased, they would have extraordinary performance.

    At this point, Ye Ci¡¯s Multi Arrow could fire 5 arrows at a time, and her Random Shot had already reached lvl 2. She had never truly test out the firepower of her abilities. But when such a good opportunity presented itself, she would not hold herself back. She raise her crossbow and attacked. Countless purplish arrows showered down from the sky, and a sea of red damage figures appeared.

    Truth to be told, it was a magnificent sight.

    It was not a good day for the enemy.

    They could¡¯ve easily won. If only Ye Ci had not decided to head out to catch a pet, if only Ye Ci did not run into Half-eyed Garrison, if only Ye Ci was killed by Garrison, if only Ye Ci did not fall down the Burning Crevice, if only Ye Ci did not climb up from the crevice, if only Ye Ci did not overhear the conversation...

    The moral of the story was: The wall have ears. This was a conclusion that had been passed down through the ages.

    The battle was a hard-fought one, with both sides suffering horrendous losses. There was only a few surviving members of ck Plum Guild by the time it was over. Ye Ci left the party and was about to leave when she was stopped by Fluttering Red Feather, ¡°Wait up.¡±

    Ye Ci nced at him, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Heh, it was such a familiar face. Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of her cooperation with the person in herst life.

    Fluttering Red Feather scratched his head. He had wanted to say something, but was unsure of how to express himself. He the decided against it and said with a smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know your name.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes without answering. After a short pause, she sent him a friend request.

    Fluttering Red Feather was shocked when he saw her name, ¡°You are...¡±

    Ye Ci held up a hand, and Fluttering Red Feather was able to understand what she meant. He chuckled, ¡°I should¡¯ve known. Not many could obtain Random Shot at this stage of the game.¡±

    ¡°See ya.¡± Ye Ci summoned her little red horse and smiled at him, bidding him farewell.

    ¡°Are you going to Gale City? Our guild encampment is in the city.¡± Fluttering Red Feather summoned a horse as well, after giving orders to his guild members to revive in the city, intending to ride back to the city along with Ye Ci. He could¡¯ve used a city recalling stone like he ordered his surviving guild members to do, but he chose not to.

    At this point, Ye Ci knew that there was something that he wanted to discuss with her. Fluttering Red Feather was a person who would never give up before he could get the answers to the questions he needed answers too, and Ye Ci knew that. She did not want to receive mail from this person in the future asking about all sorts of things. Might as well get things sorted out right now.

 Chapter 101 Tan Polang

    Disimer: This is a celebratory release of a parody version of Chapter 101 that will be releasedter. If you do not appreciate my humor or will get offended easily, DO NOT read past this message.

    Trigger warning: Weebification, Singlish

    Chapter 101 Tan Png

    As expected, Fluttering Red Feather oppa immediately spoke to Kano Chi(Ye Ci) after his remaining nakama had left, ¡°Comee. We go here faster, this one closer route to Gale City.¡±

    Kano Chi of course knew about the ¡°closer route.¡± In herst life, she was very familiar with the Southern Continent. But of course, she couldn¡¯t tell Fluttering Red Feather oppa about her identity as a reincarnator. She turned her nakama mount around and followed Fluttering Red Feather.

    Fluttering Red Feather oppa did not stop even for a moment along the way. He knew that it was dangerous to ride alone back to the city. If his enemies were to go after his head at that moment, he would be in a dai pinchi desu vault.

    Kano Chi understood his keikaku as well. She matched Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s speed, keeping silent the whole way (probably thinking about getting vengeance on Itachi).

    After going through 2 maps, Fluttering Red Feather oppa slowed down right before entering the Gale City map. He turned around and asked Kano Chi, ¡°Gongzi, how you know, that sohai Ó¢ÐÛ¤Î¥¢¥¤¥é¥ó¥É(EIYUU NO AIRANDO) want to sabo us??¡±

    So that guild was called Ó¢ÐÛ¤Î¥¢¥¤¥é¥ó¥É(EIYUU NO AIRANDO). Kano Chi could not recall any jianghu blood feuds between the Ó¢ÐÛ¤Î¥¢¥¤¥é¥ó¥É(EIYUU NO AIRANDO) and ck Plum ¥®¥ë¥É(GIRUDO) in herst life.

    ¡°Oh, I happened to have heard about it.¡± Said Kano Chi with a smile.

    Fluttering Red Feather oppa could not ept her answer. He pulled the reigns of his nakama mount and stared at Kano Chi, ¡°What you saying leh? Where you hear from one??¡±

    Kano Chi pursed her lips. She had really happened to hear about it. But she was not a person with many words, and was toozy to exin the whole thing. Kano Chi stopped and looked at Fluttering Red Feather, ¡°Uhh.. Just beware of your subordinates.¡±

    ¡°Siminjiao??¡± Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s expression darkened. As the leader of such arge ¥®¥ë¥É(GIRUDO), it was impossible for him to not understand Kano Chi¡¯s words.

    Kano Chi knew that he was anxious, but how could she exin herself clearly? She merely heard about the conversation by chance, and had not seen the faces of either party involved. She did not even know the full story, but only part of a conversation. She shook her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ve said what needed to be said. I don¡¯t know anymore than that. You be careful.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Fluttering Red Feather oppa seemed to have guessed something, but could still not grasp at the big picture.

    Kano Chi spurred her horse and left.

    She was quite familiar with the Southern Continent. Thisnd had given her much wealth in herst life. After replenishing her consumables in Gale City and repairing some of her equipment, Kano Chi bought a flying shard and prepared to leave.

    She had a sudden change of mind before she left. Since she was here, why not go level up? Ol¡¯ Four was good in dealing AOE attacks, and there was a good leveling spot right outside of Gale City, so she could level Ol¡¯ Four there.

    With her decision made, Kano Chi brought Ol¡¯ Four out of Gale City right after replenishing her supplies.

    The monsters in the outskirts of Gale City were not high leveled. Kano Chi was able to find a bandit nest at the top of a hill. It was packed full of lvl 15 humanoid monsters that moved in groups. They would attack any yers they came across in droves, and were quick to respawn. This made the ce the favorite leveling spot for newbies.

    Kano Chi summoned Ol¡¯ Four which charged forward and attacked the monsters with its AOE skills. Any monsters that were left out by Ol¡¯ Four were picked off by Kano Chi.

    Kano Chi did not gain many experience points by killing low level monsters, but for Ol¡¯ Four that was only at lvl 1, it was the ideal spot. After the span of 4 days, Ol¡¯ Four was already lvl 17.

    When Kano Chi went offline one day and was having a bowl of instant ramen as her meal, she heard the front door being unlocked. Knowing that it was her parents and Bai Mo, she rushed to the door and pushed it open before the person unlocking the door could turn the doorknob. She shouted with excitement, ¡°Outou-sama! Oka-sama! Okaerinasai!!¡±

    Right after Kano Chi called out her greeting, she was momentarily stunned. The first to enter through the door was a 15 year old shota. His skin was shiro and his face was pale. The boy appeared moody as well, which was a direct contrast to Kano Chi. He looked up at Kano Chi, and nodded at her lightly as a form of greeting.

    Who the hell was this?

    As a baffled Kano Chi was still standing at the doorway, Zuo Xian entered the house. She pulled Kano Chi to a side and said, ¡°Ah girl, you very big liao leh! Wo eh! Siamh! Stand there for what? Collect toll money ah?¡± Then she said to the boy with a gentle tone, ¡°Png, from now on you live here with us ah, nonid paiseh one.¡±

    Unable to fully grasp the situation, Kano Chi stared at Zuo Xian. Ye Nantian entered the house right after. He sniffed, looked at Kano Chi and said, ¡°Ah girl, you sure you got eat properly? Eh, still got food or not? Cook something for Png leh.¡±

    Kano Chi was even more confused. What the hell was going on?

    Bai Mo was thest one to enter, with the luggage in tow. He grumbled at Kano Chi, ¡°Oi, don¡¯t stone down there, fastere help! Outside still got more.¡±

    When Bai Mo settled the stuff that he was carrying upstairs, Kano Chi pulled Bai Mo downstairs with the pretense of going outside and carrying in the remaining luggage. The entire situation was too confusing, and she just had to find out what was going on.

    Bai Mo was a generous person. He did not keep Kano Chi in suspense. When he dragged all the stuff upstairs, he told Kano Chi the full story. The boy was the grandson of Zuo Xin¡¯s former teacher, Tan Png.

    Both his parents and grandparents had died in the ne crash. Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian were there because of that. Mr.Tan did not have many rtives around, which meant that there was nobody around to make funeral arrangements. It was decided that his former students would handle the matter. But Tan Png was an underaged boy with no legal guardians and he had refused to go to an orphanage. Hence, the decision was made to adopt the boy.

    Because of her close rtionship with Mr.Tan, Zuo Xian had volunteered to bring Tan Png home.

    ¡°Sodeska.¡± Said Kano Chi as she was panting while carrying a huge box upstairs, ¡°This stuff belongs to that shota then.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Although Bai Mo was a guy with a strong body, he was also gasping for air after taking a few trips outside.

    ¡°So the shota¡¯s sharing a room with you?¡±

    ¡°Ha. Arbo u want to share a room with him instead meh?¡± Bai Mo rolled his eyes at Kano Chi, having felt that her level of IQ had dropped after he had not seen her for a few days.

    ¡°B-baka! Of course I know! What I meant was.. Don¡¯t we have no more extra beds in the house? If he¡¯s sharing the room with you, you¡¯ll be sleeping on the floor!¡± Kano Chi made fun of Bai Mo¡¯s misfortune.

    It was Bai Mo¡¯s turn to be depressed, ¡°Eh? Why I didn¡¯t think of that ah? It¡¯s winter liao...¡±

    Although the two were grumbling about it, Kano Chi still treated Tan Png warmly when they were having dinner. For a 15 years old to lose his parents, it was indeed a very sad event...

    Tan Png had not recovered from the incident at all. He was dispirited and had no appetite for food. He had not even finished one third of the rice in his bowl. Zuo Xian felt sorry for the boy. She sent him to bathe and then to sleep.

    At that night, Bai Mo still got to sleep on the bed. It was a queen sized bed, which was enough for the both of them, but Bai Mo felt awkward. Tan Png was very quiet throughout the night. He was so quiet that Bai Mo felt something was wrong.

    When Bai Mo woke up the next morning, Tan Png was sitting on the bed, silently staring at the gaming cabin ced in the corner of the room. Thinking that the kid was daydreaming, Bai Mo patted his head and left the room.

    The moment Bai Mo left the room, Tan Png climbed down from the bed and followed him out. When he saw Kano Chi¡¯s gaming cabin through her open door, he stared at it in a daze as well, until he was called by Zuo Xian to the dining table.

    ¡°Png,i, eat this. This ah, is auntie¡¯s best dish. It¡¯s your brother and sister¡¯s favorite!¡± Zuo Xian ced a piece of fried eggnt into Tan Png¡¯s bowl.

    ¡°Kamsiah ah.¡± Tan Png kept his head lowered as he thanked Zuo Xian.

    ¡°Aiya, no nid thank. Later want go out with auntie uncle or not? Bai Mo gorgor and Ye Ci jiejie will also. I tell you ah, the scenery here ah, damn nice one!¡± Ye Nantian said with a happy smile.

    ¡°I dowan to go leh.¡± Tan Png¡¯s reply was soft.

    Tan Png¡¯s words were like a bucket of cold water that was poured onto Zuo Xian¡¯s and Ye Nantian¡¯s good mood. Everybody was lost for words, and the atmosphere immediately became awkward.

    Kano Chi looked at Tan Png who was eating with his head lowered and narrowed her eyes. She then said slowly, ¡°You still have a long way to go desu, why do you have to act so goddamn sorrowful? You going to star in a tragedy film when you grow up desu?¡±

    A 15 year old kid is quite intelligent. Kids around that age could be counted as half an adult. They understood a lot of stuff, but sometimes they just liked to sort things out by themselves, and pamper themselves.

    A message from PyonPyon:

    ¡°Konnichiwa minna-san, it is I! Xun! The legendary weebifier! If this chapter isn¡¯t legible for you, then that means you¡¯re just a baka!¡±

    Singlish expert:

    Sigil of Singapore

 Chapter 102 Your Sorrow Is Your Own Problem

    Chapter 102 Your Sorrow Is Your Own Problem

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian¡¯s expressions changed right after hearing Ye Ci¡¯s words. They red at her, wishing that they could make her swallow her words.

    Bai Mo was shocked as well. In his eyes, Ye Ci was a little brat. Since when did she learn to say such things?

    Tan Png, of course, heard her words as well. His hand that was holding the chopsticks trembled. He then raised his head and red at Ye Ci with an expression full of sorrow and some hints of anger as well. The despair in his eyes were gone, reced by a fury threatening to explode.

    His expression reminded Ye Ci of how she felt when her parents died in herst life. She seemed to have had the same behavior as well. Ye Ci pursed her lips and ced more food into Tan Png¡¯s bowl, ¡°Eat, eat. Then you can have the strength to cry, to be as sorrowful as you want. Where would you find the strength to do all of that if you¡¯re hungry?¡±

    Tan Png stood up abruptly after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s words. His body trembled, and his anger appeared to be at its peak. Despite that, he remained quiet as he red at Ye Ci with his bloodshot eyes that were filled with anger. If looks could kill, Ye Ci would¡¯ve been dead.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and smiled. It was a smile that did not reach her eyes.

    The boy could not stand her provocation any longer. He set down his chopsticks, pushed aside his chair, and dashed out of the house.

    ¡°Png! Png!¡± Zuo Xian immediately shouted after him, ¡°Bai Mo! Quick! Follow and check on him!¡±

    Bai Mo was stunned by the sudden turn of events. He sprang into action and chased after Tan Png when Zuo Xian shouted at him.

    ¡°You damned brat! How could you say that!? Don¡¯t you know what happened to his family?¡± Zuo Xian, who was thoroughly angered, pped Ye Ci. ¡°How could you do that as a sister? Why are you making fun of somebody else¡¯s misfortune?¡±

    Ye Nantian knew that Zuo Xian had lost control of her temper, and he immediately held her back, ¡°Honey, you have to calm down.¡± He the gave Ye Ci a meaningful look, ¡°Damned brat, why are you still standing over there? Go after him! What if he gets lost or something?¡±

    Ye Ci mumbled an affirmation under her breath and slowly walked away. She did not even take Zuo Xian¡¯s cussing seriously. She let out a sigh. What an egoistic boy.

    Tan Png had not eaten well for days, and Ye Ci had heard about it from Bai Mo. Because of that, she knew that Tan Png would not be able to get far.

    She walked downstairs slowly, then pulled out her phone and called Bai Mo. After confirming that Bai Mo had caught up with the kid and that they were at the park, Ye Ci headed to the ce slowly. She could see the two sitting on a bench from afar, and Bai Mo was consoling Tan Png like a caring older brother. It did not work out well. He was totally being ignored by the kid.

    Ye Ci turned around and walked towards a beef noodles restaurant nearby and ordered 2 bowls of noodles. She instructed the employees to deliver the noodles to the park, and left. As she approached the Bai Mo and Tan Png, Bai Mo, who heard her footsteps, turned to look at her. She smiled and said, ¡°Bai Mo, you can head back first.¡±

    ¡°Uh?¡± Bai Mo was baffled, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°So I¡¯m not allowed toe here? You head home, or there¡¯ll be no dishes left for you.¡± Said Ye Ci who was standing behind Bai Mo with a calm expression.

    Just as Bai Mo was about to open his mouth, Ye Ci shook her head, and he immediately understood her intention. Sometimes, the person who hung the bell on the tiger¡¯s neck must untie it [1]. Bai Mo stood up, patted Tan Png on the head, and left.

    Ye Ci sat down after Bai Mo left. She stared up into the sky, remaining silent. The weather would be perfect, if not for the cold. The chilly winds were like tiny knives slicing across Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    Tan Png nced at Ye Ci and immediately wanted to stand up and leave, but was surprised by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden words, ¡°With that scrawny body of yours, you¡¯d definitely fall t on your face before you could get far.¡±

    Tan Png¡¯s body trembled. Ye Ci was not sure if it was out of his anger or because of the cold. Even Ye Ci who was wearing a sweater was trembling in the cold, not to mention a kid in thin clothing. After a long moment of silence, Tan Png could no longer hold himself back, and his anger finally erupted, ¡°Do you have something against me?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Have I done anything to offend you?¡±

    Ye Ci nced at him sideways, ¡°Not yet.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you bullying me? Is it because I¡¯m an orphan now?¡± The wimpy kid was finally thoroughly angered. He was originally angry because he was bullied by Ye Ci. Ye Ci¡¯s indifferent tone just added fuel to the fire. The attitude that Ye Ci was treating him with was thest straw that broke the camel¡¯s back.

    Ye Ci did not utter a single word, and instead continued staring silently at Tan Png.

    When somebody ignored your anger, it was like throwing a punch at a sack of cotton. It was obvious that Tan Png would feel frustrated because of that, ¡°So what if I¡¯ve lost my parents? I didn¡¯t do shit! Yes, I¡¯m an orphan! So I¡¯m not weed in your house? Did you feel that I¡¯ll be stealing away your parents or something? Let me tell you! I don¡¯t even want to be here! I¡¯m here because of your meddlesome mother! Do you think I want to be here? Do you think I like to lodge underneath somebody else¡¯s roof?¡±

    Tan Png¡¯s voice became hoarser and hoarser as he shouted out his frustration. He had even began to sob. Although he was a boy, at that moment, his face was filled with tears.

    Ye Ci however, remained silent and continued watching him. Her face betrayed no emotion. The little brat was still cursing and shouting and sobbing. At that point, he was sweating profusely. It was as if he was tormenting himself. Right at that moment, the boss of the noodle restaurant delivered two lunchboxes filled with beef noodles. The reddish soup was very appealing.

    Ye Ci paid the boss, and began slurping down the noodles after cing another lunch box beside Tan Png.

    After a few days of not eating well, and with his earlier fit of anger earlier on, Tan Png¡¯s tummy was grumbling. He can¡¯t help but swallowed visibly as he observed Ye Ci slurping down her noodles. In his mind, Ye Ci was his enemy. He must not give in.

    However, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Tan Png¡¯s was betrayed by his rumbling tummy. This ced him in a desperate situation. He expected Ye Ci to make fun of him, but she did not even raise her head, and merely said in a light tone, ¡°This restaurant¡¯s beef noodles are nice. Their food is way better than mine. It¡¯d be a shame if you waste it just like that.¡±

    Tan Png had an urge to give in to his hunger, but did not do so out of fear of ¡°losing face¡±. He snorted and remained still. A chilly wind blew past, and he began trembling.

    ¡°You¡¯re a guy. Act like one. If you want to eat, just do it. But you have to pay for it after you eat.¡± Ye Ci was still eating the noodles without even looking at Tan Png.

    Tan Png tried his hardest to resist, but he was unable to withstand the constant protest of his rumbling tummy. He gritted his teeth and began slurping down the noodles as well.

    For a moment, the only sound in the park was that of the two of them slurping their noodles.

    ¡°Having lost your parents is indeed sad.¡± Said Ye Ci as she was eating her noodles. She caught a glimpse of Tan Png¡¯s hand trembling and continued, ¡°But, that sorrow belongs to you alone. It has nothing to do with anyone else.¡±

    It was Tan Png¡¯s turn to remain silent. He was immersed in eating the noodles.

    ¡°Everybody has a sob story. But do you really need to proim it to the world? Wasn¡¯t that just asking for sympathy?¡± Ye Ciughed grimly as she looked into the distance, remembering herself in herst life, ¡°You don¡¯t need to look for sympathy. Nobody would understand your sorrows. No matter how sad and how tragic your story is, it will always be ¡®somebody else¡¯s matter¡¯ in the eye of another person. They can sympathize with you, and they can feel sorry about it. Heck, they can even enjoy watching your suffering. But who would truly care about it?¡±

    ¡°I did not show it openly!¡± Tan Png protested while he was still stuffing noodles into his mouth.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing it right now?¡± Ye Ciughed, ¡°It¡¯s okay to feel sad, but only in moderation. If you overdo it, you¡¯ll go apathetic before long.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a child anymore! Of course I know!¡± Tan Png thought that Ye Ci was still having a go at him, ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me that!¡±

    Ye Ci was not angry. She knew how he felt.

    ¡°Sometimes, some sorrows should be hidden in your heart. It¡¯s a precious emotion. You don¡¯t get to experience it often in your life. You must learn restraint.¡± And with that, Ye Ci gulped down thest of her noodles and washed it down with the soup, ¡°Everybody is busy. They don¡¯t have the time or energy to spare on somebody else¡¯s happiness or sorrow. This is why you must not trouble others with such matters.¡±

    ¡°You must learn in order to grow.¡± Ye Ci let out a sigh, as if she was her past self. Her despicable past self who was full of scars, ¡°Try to be more cheerful.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m alone from now on.¡± Tan Png spoke up after a long moment of silence. It was apparent that he no longer loathed Ye Ci as much. Or at least his words were way more gentle now.

    Ye Ci did not want to stir Png¡¯s emotion any further. She patted his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you have us?¡±

    The beef noodles were spicy and hot, making it ufortable. Tan Png¡¯s tears were flowing freely at this point, and he couldn¡¯t see clearly. The boy sniffled, wiped his face with his sleeves and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have money to pay for the noodles.¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯ll lend some to you. You can repay meter.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re annoying.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be a very likeable person either.¡±

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    1. The person who hung the bell on the tiger¡¯s neck must untie it: ½âÁåÖÕÐëÏµÁåÈË

    A head monk once asked his students, ¡°How does one untie a bell that was tied around a tiger¡¯s neck?¡± which one of them answered, ¡°Only the person who tied the bell can untie it.¡± Moral of the story, boys and girls, you¡¯re the only who can sort your own shit out.

 Chapter 103 Guild War

    Chapter 103 Guild War

    Tan Png eventually decided to follow Ye Ci home. He was sweating after slurping down the the beef noodles, and his body was able to warm up. He followed behind Ye Ci, head lowered. Zuo Xian immediately pulled him into a tight embrace and began to console him. Tan Png felt a little embarrassed after receiving her treatment. It was as if he had grown more sensible after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s words. The bitterness and sorrow were gone.

    This perked the curiosity of Zuo Xian, Ye Nantian and Bai Mo. What exactly had Ye Ci said to Tan Png? Both of them tacitly remained quiet, keeping it a top secret. Neither of them spoke a word.

    After the matter was settled, Ye Ci and Bai Mo were ready to go online. Bai Mo who had not yed for at least 4 days was especially antsy. Deep down, Bai Mo was suffering. How he wished that he could instantly waltz online and check in on the guild members. He had left in a hurry, without even notifying the guild members, and he felt guilty. The guild was preparing to explore the Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum, but he left at the most crucial moment. Bai Mo felt bad about his actions.

    Tan Png, who hadposed himself, stared at Ye Ci and Bai Mo for a short moment and suddenly spoke up, ¡°What are you guys ying? Is it Fate?¡±

    Quite a few of the youths were ying the game Fate. Ye Ci was not surprised that Tan Png knew of the game. She told him the truth, ¡°Yes, we¡¯re ying Fate. You interested in ying as well?¡±

    Before Tan Png could answer Ye Ci¡¯s question, Zuo Xian¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Just y your game, don¡¯t corrupt Png. The holiday is going to end in half a month, and Png has lots to learn at school. You want him to be like you two? ying to the point where you don¡¯t even eat and sleep?¡±

    Bai Mo and Ye Ci shared a look andughed after Zuo Xian spoke up. They looked at Tan Png, shook their heads, and sighed, ¡°Work hard in your studies, you can do it. Upwards ho!¡±

    With that, the two went back to their separate rooms. Tan Png immediately followed Ye Ci into hers. Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but felt odd when Tan Png followed her into her room, ¡°Didn¡¯t my mom told you to go study? Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°What is your in-game name?¡± Tan Png could only watch as Ye Ci opened up the gaming cabin.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m just asking.¡± Tan Png seemed to have something to say, but he held his words back.

    Ye Ci knew that there was something that Png had wanted to say. She knew that he would eventually spill everything out without her pushing, so she didn¡¯t press the matter.

    ¡°Okay then. Since you¡¯ve asked your question, you can go study now.¡± Ye Ci was already climbing into the gaming cabin. She waved her hand dismissively, apparently no longer having any intention to talk to the little brat. She still needed to go online and level Ol¡¯ Four up.

    ¡°Sister Ye Ci, have you heard about King?¡± Tan Png suddenly spoke right before Ye Ci was about to close the lid to her gaming cabin. He had gained much more respect for Ye Ci after her ¡°life lesson¡± session. Even the way he addressed her had changed.

    King? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. Of course she knew about that guy. He was the champion of the International E-Sports Tournament for 5 years. His low-profile character was as famous as his skills. He had never shown his face. Even when he attended the tournament, he did so by wearing a pair of sunsses and a mask. The identity of the yers in the E-Sports tournament were confirmed by fingerprint and a retinal scanner, which was why he was not disqualified.

    It was a rather distant memory for Ye Ci, as it was something that had happened 10 years ago. She simply nodded, ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t know about the 5-time champion of the International E-Sports Tournament?¡±

    ¡°He seems to be ying Fate.¡± Tan Png mumbled under his breath.

    ¡°Oh, this game is very popr. It¡¯s not that strange.¡±

    ¡°About that...¡± Just as Tan Png was about to finally get to the point after beating around the bush for so long, a pale-faced Bai Mo rushed into Ye Ci¡¯s room. Anxiety was written all over his face, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gotten online yet?¡±

    Ye Ci was baffled, and a feeling of uneasiness began creeping into her heart, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Hurry up! Somebody dered war on our guild 6am today!¡± With that, Bai Mo left the room, leaving behind Ye Ci with a calm expression on her face, and Tan Png who was utterly shocked.

    ¡°Shit¡¯s hit the fan. I have to go online now. You can go study now.¡± Ye Ciid down in the gaming cabin.

    Tan Png immediately sprung up, ¡°You haven¡¯t told me what your name in game is!¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You.¡± Ye Ci had satisfied the little brat¡¯s wish and told him her name before closing the lid of the gaming cabin. He would probably force it open to get the answer, had Ye Ci not revealed her name.

    Ye Ci could see that Tan Png was just like Fluttering Red Feather. He was stubborn and relentless. She decided to give him the answer to avoid being disturbed by the kid.

    Ye Ci immediately returned to the Eastern Continent with a Flying Shard after she logged into the game. She then teleported to Red Lake City with her city-recalling stone.

    There were 2 ways to initiate a Guild War in Fate, which were closely rted to the level of the guild encampment of a guild. Guild encampments that were lvl1-lvl5 were ced in specific guild servers, and could only be reached through certain NPCs. To dere war on a guild, a yer must enter a very specific map and locate a very specific NPC to dere war on a guild. This was different for lvl6-lvl10 guild encampments. An encampment that met the level requirement must be built on a plot ofnd adjacent to the city that the guild was bound to. It was easier for the development of the guild to have their encampment right beside a major city, but it was also easier for somebody to dere war on them. The moment somebody attacked a guild banner within the guild encampment, it meant that war had been dered. Of course, with the growth of guilds in the game, the second type of Guild War became more and more popr.

    Ye Ci¡¯s guild encampment was lvl5, which meant that the Guild War was dered using the first method. This was why there were no fights going on within Red Lake City. Ye Ci headed straight for the NPC in charge of guild affairs and teleported back to the guild encampment.

    The fight was already in full swing by the time Ye Ci arrived. The entire encampment was a mess. The strong walls of the encampment were badly damaged. It seemed that their opponent had packed some serious firepower that could ovee even the walls of a lvl 5 guild encampment.

    ¡°I want the 1st ranged squad to retreat from the wall and heal up. 2nd squad, go with them as well. 3rd squad, take their ce! I want the 4th squad to heal our melee fighters that are fighting outside the wall! Summoner Team 1, continue patrolling the area with your minions, direct them to actively attack any enemies! All the Rogues patrolling the encampment¡¯s perimeter, widen your patrol area, we must not let them seed in another sneak attack!¡± Mi Lu¡¯s voice rang out in the guild channel. His voice was calm and powerful. It was the quality of a goodmander.

    It was not hard to tell from Mi Lu¡¯s words that Upwards Ho!¡¯s guild encampment had suffered from a sessful sneak attack by their opponent, which resulted in such devastation.

    With the situation temporarily stabilized, Ye Ci headed straight for the guild conference room. She knew that the guild administrators, including Bai Mo, Timely Rain, Icy Cold Little Hands, Pickled Pepper Phoenix w and Let Go Of That Girl were having a meeting in the room when she noticed that they were not taking part in the battle.

    As expected, they were in the guild conference room having a lively discussion.

    ¡°Those cowards! They attacked when most of our members were not online! If it wasn¡¯t for our lvl 5 guild encampment, we would¡¯ve lost by now!¡± Let Go Of That Girl brought his fist down on the table. He was so angry that he¡¯d pulled on his beard until it was inplete disarray.

    ¡°Forget about it. They¡¯re just too many of them. Our guild might be popr and famous, but we are actually quite understrength. Even after we¡¯ve managed to recruit a quite a few members, they left right after somebody dered war on us. If this continues...¡± Fruit Jelly let out a sigh, worry written all over her face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Ink, what¡¯s the situation? How goes the battle?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s stable. But we¡¯re at quite a huge disadvantage. Our guild was still young, and the members¡¯ loyalty is not that firm yet. A lot of them were demoralised once we began losing ground. It¡¯s a tough fight.¡± Overflowing Ink let out a sigh, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. If only I¡¯ve came online earlier...¡±

    ¡°Forget about it...¡¯

    ¡°Who was the one that dered war on us?¡± Ye Ci had been standing unnoticed at the doorway for quite some time. In their heated discussion, none of the guild admins noticed her presence. She was able to grasp the gravity of the situation by listening in on their conversation. Other than Steel Blooded Battle Spear, there seemed to be no other guilds that had beef with Ye Ci. Why would somebody dere war on them?

    ¡°Full Moon¡¯s Night.¡± Somebody immediately offered Ye Ci a seat.

    Full Moon¡¯s Night? Ye Ci was baffled. The guild was not quite well-known, and was not even a top-10 guild in the Eastern Continent. However, theirbat strength was actually higher than Upwards Ho!, or at least they had more members. But that was not the point. That point was that Ye Ci didn¡¯t even know them!

    ¡°Who¡¯s the guild leader?¡±

    ¡°Crimson Twilight.¡± It was Icy Cold Little hands, who was in charge of the guild¡¯s public rtions, who answered Ye Ci¡¯s question. She knew almost all the the higher ups of the major and medium-sized guilds in the Eastern Continent.

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She couldn¡¯t say that she did not know the name. So it was them. Ye Ci grimaced. They did have beef with her guild.

 Chapter 104 The Battle

    Chapter 104 The Battle

    All the guild admins in the room were present during that PvP battle. Once the name was mentioned, they immediately understood what was going on. Ye Ci eyed the admins that were still intending to continue the meeting andughed. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to discuss anymore. Since it¡¯s them, it only means that they held a grudge against us. Let¡¯s go out there and fight them.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re severely outnumbered. Mi Lu is now directing members to take turns in joining the battle. Their engagement endurance is not that good, and they¡¯re in constant need of replenishment.¡± Overflowing Ink raised a rather important issue, ¡°Although we have managed to gather a lot of new recruits after the Dragon Dance event, the number of those who would truly fight for the guild is questionable. Most of them don¡¯t have a sense of belonging to the guild. Even they helped out, they did not even try their best, and that...¡±

    ¡°That affected the original members of our guild as well.¡± Ye Cipleted Overflowing Ink¡¯s sentence.

    Everyone remained silent. It was the truth.

    Although there were quite a few members in Upwards Ho!, most of them joined the guild because of the lvl 5 guild encampment. They had their own little agendas, and unity was thest thing in their minds. In this Guild Battle where they were needed dearly, only the original guild members and a very miniscule number of the new members were willing to join the fight.

    Full Moon¡¯s Night must have had prepared thoroughly for this battle. They¡¯d nned their strategy well. Their attack on the guild encampment was fast and unexpected. To have war dered upon them at such an early hour, the guild encampment of Upwards Ho! would¡¯ve been sacked if not for the tough defences of a lvl 5 guild encampment.

    Although a lot of Upwards Ho!¡¯s yers hade online and were fighting back, morale was low. Despite not having any advantages, the enemy¡¯s sudden attack had greatly affected the members of Upwards Ho!. Although Upwards Ho! was protected by the strong fortifications of a lvl 5 guild, victory was within their grasp.

    The enemy, however, had a weakness.

    There were NPCs who sold supplies stationed in the guild encampment. Even if the guild¡¯s own Potion Masters were unable to keep their production of potions equal to the pace of the battle, the guild members could always purchase potions from the NPCs. Those on the attacking side did not have such a convenience. They had to carry their own supplies, and they¡¯d brought only a limited number of Potion Masters. They could not afford to drag out the fight.

    If Upwards Ho! was able to prolong the fight, Full Moon¡¯s Night would¡¯ve lost. However, there was a time limit for Guild Battles.

    The time limit for attacking a lvl 5 guild encampment was 5 hours. In other words, when Full Moon¡¯s Night began their attack on Upwards Ho! at 6am in the morning, the battle would end at 11am. If the oue of the battle was not decided by then, the system would then decide the victors by calcting the casualties on both sides and the damage sustained by both side¡¯s fortifications.

    ¡°What¡¯s the time now?¡± Ye Ci asked all of a sudden.

    ¡°10.27am.¡± Timely Rain answered.

    Ye Ci nodded and left the conference room. ¡°I¡¯ll take a look at the encampment wall.¡±

    Things were definitely not going well.

    The ranged yers of Full Moon¡¯s Night were positioned 20 yards away from the encampment wall. There were roughly 100 of them, which included mages and those who dealt physical damage. It was actually not something that needed to be worried about, as the attack range for ranged sses was generally the same. The factor that had ced Upwards Ho! in a pinch was the fact that the skill range in Fate was calcted by distance traveled in a straight line. The yers of Upwards Ho! were all stationed on the encampment¡¯s wall. This meant that there would be an angle when they fired downwards downwards, and the angle meant that there would be an extra distance of 2 yards between their range and enemy¡¯s range. Because of that, only abilities that dealt AOE damage could reach their enemies.

    AOE attacks were mana consuming, and had a long cast time. Because of that, the ranged sses of Upwards Ho! could deal very limited amount of damage to their enemies, and they could barely defend their encampment wall.

    The melee yers that had charged out to meet the enemy were bogged down by the enemy¡¯s melee yers. Both sides were evenly matched, which was a bad news for Upwards Ho!. They could not break the siege, while the enemy was unable to sessfully break through their lines. This quickly became a battle of attrition. There were numerous Rogues and Rangers lurking beyond the boundaries of the encampment¡¯s wall, trying to look for a way in while simultaneously preventing nking attacks by Upwards Ho!¡¯s yers.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. Crimson Twilight had put in quite a real effort to defeat Upwards Ho!. She took a look at the wall¡¯s status, and noticed that the enemy had dealt 80% damage to the wall. If the situation continued, even if they could not break through Upwards Ho!¡¯s defences, the guild would steal lose due to the damage they¡¯d sustained.

    Time was of the essence.

    Ye Ci immediately climbed down from the city wall and walked up to the guild member guarding the main gate, ¡°Open the gate.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± The guild member was hesitant.

    Ye Ci did not make things difficult for him. She immediately spoke to the person inmand, Mi Lu. ¡°Mi Lu, open the gate, let me out.¡±

    ¡°Guild leader...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m heading out seeking death.¡± Ye Ci knew that Mi Lu was worried for her, and she consoled him with augh.

    After a moment of contemtion, Mi Lu ordered the guild members to open the gate and let Ye Ci out.

    Ye Ci immediately ran into Remote Depths and Let Go Of That Girl who had joined the battle. They were stunned to see Ye Ci, and Remote Depths spoke up, ¡°This is a melee battlefield, what is a ranged yer like you doing here?¡±

    Ye Ci ignored his question and said, ¡°Focus all your attacks on one of them in a while.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Before the two could fully understand the situation, Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four. The appearance of Ol¡¯ Four brought shock to the yers in the area with his sheer size and intimidating look. The yers of Full Moon¡¯s Night began whispering to each other.

    ¡°Crimson, there¡¯s a Huntress among them, could she be Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Mallow, go take a look.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    At the same time as Crimson Twilight gave the order, Ol¡¯ Four cast Tremor. Ol¡¯ Four was now lvl 17, while the yers in the area were all below lvl 22. There was no level penalty for Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s skill. The Tremor dealt horrifying damage to all yers in a 30 yard radius, and a majority of them were Stunned.

    The melee yers in Full Night¡¯s Moon had been fighting for at least 3 hours. Most of them were exhausted. They had not expected such a sudden change. The only thing they saw was a Huntressing out from the encampment¡¯s gate.

    The Huntress whistled as she ran towards them and a gigantic ck T-rex appeared out of nowhere. Before they could even react, the dinosaur let out a roar and stomped on the ground. Cracks appeared underneath their feet, and their HP dropped rapidly.

    It was nothingpared to what happened to them next. Almost all of the melee yers of Full Moon¡¯s Night were Stunned.

    Chaos immediately erupted in the guild channel of Full Moon¡¯s Night.

    ¡°F*ck! What the hell is that pet? Are T-rexes so tough?¡±

    ¡°Where are the healers? Hurry and heal us up!¡±

    ¡°Boss! We¡¯re screwed! That thing is just too fierce! I got taken out in one hit!¡±

    ......

    After a few days of leveling up and pampering, Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s loyalty was raised to 69. Although its loyalty was not maxed out, and it would still throw asional tantrums, it would definitely not back away from a fight. And the thing that brought tears to Ye Ci¡¯s eyes was that... She could finally ride Ol¡¯ Four.

    Ye Ci climbed onto Ol¡¯ Four right after it cast Tremor. She could see Crimson Twilight. He was just sticking out too much with his Crimson Mage Robe Set.

    When Crimson Twilight noticed that 90% of the melee yers of Full Moon¡¯s Night were stunned, he immediately gave an order. ¡°I want all the Clerics to heal the melees up, be careful of your positioning, don¡¯t let the enemy ranged yers catch you clumping together. Move it!¡±

    Their distance of around 20-30 yards away from the encampment¡¯s gate was not that far. Ye Ci had already brushed past the melee yers of Full Moon¡¯s Night and closed the distance to the ranged yers with Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s Stampede. At least 8 yersid dead in front of Ol¡¯ Four. It was the result of them being pushed away by the tremendous force of Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s Stampede as he plowed through their ranks. Their HP was already depleted when they were hit by Stampede.

    ¡°It¡¯s Gongzi You! Concentrate all your attacks on her!¡± Crimson Twilight was quick to spot Ye Ci, who was riding on top of Ol¡¯ Four, his eyes were red with anger and he immediately gave the order.

    It was still toote.

    Ol¡¯ Four jumped up and used Tail Whip. Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s thick tail sliced through the air like a gigantic de, drawing a crescent shape in the air. The yers who were unable to dodge let out blood-curdling screams and dropped dead at Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s feet.

    Crimson Twilight, who had managed to back away, managed to avoid the full damage of Tail Whip, but he was still at the edge of the effective range of the skill and had lost two thirds of his HP. He immediately chugged down a bottle of Health Potion as he ran.

    Ye Ci took aim at Crimson Twilight¡¯s back with her crossbow. But before she could fire off a bolt, the system notification chimed in, ¡°You¡¯ve been attacked by Mallow.¡±

    And sure enough, Ye Ci was Stunned. She sat still on Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s back, unable to move.

    The situation was bad for Ye Ci. Everything happened too fast. She had charged in too fast. She had not expected that there was a Rogue lurking nearby despite the speed of her advance. Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows. She could even sense the movements of the mages of Full Moon¡¯s Night who had regrouped and were pointing their staffs at her...

 Chapter 108 Yep! Iâ€™m a Thief!

    Chapter 108 Yep! I¡¯m a Thief!

    Ye Ci could not get Ol¡¯ Four to move no matter how hard she tried. It stood behind her, refusing to do anything at all. If its loyalty was not at 72, it might have even thought of running away.

    ¡°Gongzi, hurry and get your pet to attack the BOSS, we don¡¯t have enough damage output!¡± Let Go Of That Girl shouted out in panic. As the secondary tank, he was suffering due to theck of damage output in the party. If they had enough damage output, he would need to hold the BOSS for a lesser amount of time. With theck of damage output, he was literally dancing between the thin line of life and death.

    Ye Ci looked at Ol¡¯ Four helplessly and let out a sigh, ¡°This fe¡¯s loyalty is not high enough. I don¡¯t have any food to feed him left, and he¡¯s now on a strike and he refuses to listen to mymands.¡±

    ¡°What kind of pet is that? The arrogance is real in this one!¡± Let Go Of That Girl¡¯s words caused the Hunters in the party to begrudgingly shed tears. Yep, yep, before the Loyalty bar was filled up, pets were like their masters! Especially those rare pets, they were like the masters among masters.

    Why couldn¡¯t a Hunter¡¯s pet be like a Summoner¡¯s minions? They were always hard working, and could endure hardships. They weren¡¯t picky and snobbish like a Hunter¡¯s pet. Ye Ci had exchanged notes with several other Hunters about their experiences in rearing their pets. She discovered that every one of them had at least a Novice tier cooking skill... They were such a misfortunate bunch.

    It was fortunate that the BOSS had very little of its HP left. The healers however, had to go through a lot of trouble. After consuming a lot of Mana Potions, they barely managed to sustain their healing spells. Just as the BOSS was about to fall, Ye Ci¡¯s private message channel rang up. Since she had nothing to do but stand still and hit the BOSS, Ye Ci connected the private call.

    Flutter ¡®n Sway¡¯s voice immediately entered her ears, ¡°Ye Ci, Ye Ci, what happened?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®What happened¡¯?¡± Ye Ci was baffled by Flutter ¡®n Sway¡¯s sudden question. Just what was she talking about?

    ¡°The forums! Things are going crazy over there!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Are you talking about that thing between my guild and Full Moon¡¯s Night? It¡¯s all settled now, there¡¯s no need to panic, it¡¯s nothing big...¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by Full Moon¡¯s Night?¡± Fang Susu immediately cut Ye Ci off. She seemed to not understand Ye Ci¡¯s words. Apparently, it didn¡¯t matter for her even if she did.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She had noticed that something was off, ¡°Susu, what are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you read what¡¯s going on in the forums? The forum, and the world chat is in an uproar right now!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in a dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Somebody posted a thread anonymously this afternoon.¡± Realising that Ye Ci did not know about the entire ordeal, Flutter ¡®n Sway began telling her the entire story. A thread with the title ¡°The Eastern Continent¡¯s Top Huntress Gongzi You Is A Thief¡± appeared in the forums after lunch hour. It was posted by a smurf. Apparently the person who posted it did so anonymously.

    All the attention that was originally focused on the Upwards Ho! vs Full Moon¡¯s Night thread immediately shifted to the thread, and its views soared. Gongzi You was like an iconic symbol for a lot of yers. She was a role model for Hunters. Her mechanical skills and game awareness were what the Hunters sought after. Her equipmentbo and the distribution of her Talent Points were secrets that all the Hunters had dreamt to obtain.

    Somebody had even offered to buy information regarding Gongzi You¡¯s Talent Points and equipment in real world cash.

    If something happened to a person like Ye Ci, not matter good or bad, it would still be a source of gossip. That was why the thread immediately attracted countless attention.

    The content of the thread was: Gongzi You went against the arrangements made by the higher ups of Steel Blooded Battle Spear and had acted willfully. She disregarded guild rules and always went out to dungeons with random yers. After receiving no restrictions from the guild admins, Ye Ci¡¯s attitude worsened. She did not take part in any guild activities. The most infuriating fact was that she had refused to take part in the guild battle against another guild as a Battle Commander. This cost a huge amount of losses to the guild. Gongzi You was not even remorseful of her actions, and had instead gotten into an argument with the guild¡¯s administrators for the rights to be a partymander.

    When the guild admins did not appoint Gongzi You as amander in thest ever dungeon she took part in as a member of Steel Blooded Battle Spear, she refused to help the guild out, and once again caused massive losses. She then left the guild when her request to be granted the rights to takemand was refused, and immediately led another major guild into the Frosty Wastnd and got the First Blood for them. Gongzi You was literally using Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s resources while colluding with the enemy.

    If such actions were proof that Gongzi You¡¯s character was questionable, then her most abominable act was to ransack the guild warehouse when she left the guild. She had been granted ess to the guild warehouse due the the trust of the guild admins, but she had betrayed that trust! The losses suffered by Steel Blooded Battle Spear were immeasurable. This had hurt the guild greatly.

    As a summary, Gongzi You was only a skillful thief. She stole from the guild. A thief like her did not deserve to be idolized! A person like this should get the hell out of Fate!

    The person who posted the thread had even said that he was a normal guild member who had joined the guild at the same time as Gongzi You. He had posted the thread because he was angered when he saw the the guild was ruined by such a despicable yer. The guild had even left Gongzi You alone after she left, but she had still tried to sabotage the guild time after time. She was even the cause of Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s disqualification in the Dragon Dancepetition.

    Those were the reasons that drove the person to post the thread.

    Flutter ¡®n Sway read almost all the content of the thread out loud. There was a literacy grace within the thread. It managed to portray Gongzi You as a totally despicable person with a mere hundred words. The thread had managed to stir up emotions among the yers. Since the thread was written from the viewpoint of Steel Blooded Battle Spear, the guild was portrayed as the victim who was very generous and sincere. It was as if it was a yer¡¯s good fortune to be able to join that guild.

    Ye Ci did not say much after listening to Flutter ¡®n Sway¡¯s words. She soothed her emotions and told her that she would look into the matter after she was done with the dungeon. Knowing that Ye Ci was in a dungeon, Flutter ¡®n Sway hung up, not wanting to disturb her.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. Even if she had not seen the thread with her own eyes, she could guess what was going on. But, since she had not seen it in person, it was too early for her to make a conclusion. She then made up her mind to prioritize clearing the dungeon.

    The second BOSS was taken down without a hitch. It yielded a lot of equipment. However, it was not something that Ye Ci was interested in. She sent a private message to Overflowing Ink, ¡°Are we going to continue?¡±

    ¡°Nope, I think everybody is tired. We¡¯ll call it a day and continue tomorrow.¡± Overflowing Ink looked at Ye Ci. It was already well past dinner time. If they continued exploring the dungeon, it would disrupt the sleeping schedules of the party members.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be on my way. You can inform Remote Depths of the the time we¡¯ll be gathering tomorrow. He¡¯ll let me know.¡± With that, Ye Ci went offline.

    The thread was easy to locate. It was at the most notable spot in the forums.

    If the words had already stirred up a lot of emotions, the OP had even attached a lot of pictures to the thread. For example, a screenshot of Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild warehouse before and after it was ¡°ransacked¡± by Ye Ci. There was also a supposed ¡°screenshot¡± of the guild warehouse of Upwards Ho!, proving that Ye Ci had stolen from Steel Blooded Battle Spear... This caused yet another uproar.

    There was of course, arge number of yers questioning the validity of the thread. A number of them were just there to flog the cur that had fallen into the water. A vast majority of them however, were only there for the gossip. The thread quickly became more popr than the Upwards Ho! vs Full Moon¡¯s Night thread.

    There were a few types of individuals that were hated in games:

    Liars

    Traitors

    People who betrayed the goodwill of others

    People with bad character

    The Ye Ci that was portrayed in the thread fit all four criterias. Her reputation reached rock bottom. Despite the overwhelming public opinion condemning Ye Ci, there were still people who questioned the authenticity of the thread. World Conqueror and nk Space were the first to question the contents of the thread.

    The were others who had questions of their own as well.

    Good Ol¡¯ Days: I¡¯ve got some suspicions regarding the screenshots. You¡¯ll only know that you¡¯ve been ransacked AFTER you¡¯ve been ransacked. Who the hell would readily take a screenshot of the state of their guild warehouse before it was ransacked? Not only that, how did a picture of Upwards Ho!¡¯s guild warehouse ended up with a ¡°normal guild member¡± of Steel Blooded Battle Spear? I¡¯m afraid we still need to further investigate this matter.

    ......

    wless Reflection: The person imed that he was merely a ¡°normal guild member.¡± This makes me wonder. How did a ¡°normal member¡± find out about what happened between the guild administrators? Is this a result of the guild admins proiming it to the public? How could they be generous if they¡¯ve literally told everyone about it? I¡¯m actually very interested in the identity of the OP.

    ......

    NightAndDay: Was the ¡°guild battle¡± mentioned in the thread the fight between Steel Blooded Battle Spear and Tang Dynasty? I didn¡¯t see Gongzi You around that time. But even if she was there, could she turn the tide of a battle involving thousands of yers? What you think Gongzi You is, a GM?

 Chapter 110 Leaving After The Deed Is Done

    Chapter 110 Leaving After The Deed Is Done

    There were several ways to interpret a burry.

    Some would call it ¡°robbing the rich to help the poor,¡± some might say that it was an act of upholding justice, some even portrayed it as an act of heroism. Since ancient times, burries were constantly beautified by art and literature. Not taking The Four ssic Novels of Chinese Literature[1] into ount, even the TV dramas had frequently portrayed it as such. A lot of the main characters were literally bandits. Uhh... That... Was totally off the wall.

    But, without exception, a heist was usually done at night. Even the Elegant Thief Chu Liuxiang [2] had once said, ¡°I¡¯ll be here tonight, riding the moonlight.¡± Nobody had even heard of a thief stealing in broad daylight. Of course, one could see that no matter how you beautified an act of thievery, it was still a shady business.

    Using the same logic, Ye Ci, who was prepared to do the same thing, would of course choose to do it in the middle of the night.

    Fate¡¯s weather was every changing. There was wind and rain, thunder and lighting, and even brilliant white snow. There were even nights with a clear moon where the stars were few, or even a clear and boundless sky at times. The weather here was 100% realistic. The changing of the four seasons was the most basic feature.

    That night had been perfect.

    Night in Fate coincided with the night time in real life. ording to the system¡¯s internal calendar, it was an autumn night. The night was dark. Not even a single star illuminated the sky, and chilly winds blew softly. Most of the yers had gone to bed. Even those who had not were doing random stuff like fishing or perhaps leveling up. In short, there were not many yers around in the guild encampment.

    Such weather, such a silent night. It was the perfect timing for a thief to go to work.

    It was not the first time Ye Ci had pulled off a heist. She had quite some experience in herst life, but she had never done it alone. This was the first time Ye Ci went in alone, and it was a whole new experience for her.

    At that time, she had a group with her. Everybody had their own task. Once they¡¯d confirmed the target, they would carry out their operation methodically. There were yers who acted as lookouts, there were those who were tasked with breaking into the guild warehouse, while some others served as distraction. With this, they saved a lot of time and had a high sess rate. But, all these heists happened 3 years after Fate was officiallyunched.

    After quite a few years of getting to know the game, therge scale battles between the 2 opposing factions began. It meant that fights between guilds of the same continent became less interesting for yers. After all, a war between guilds of the same continent was a waste of resources. That was why yers came up with an even more despicable way to deal with theirpetitors: ransacking their guild warehouse.

    When the market for such services arose, parties that were specialised in heists quickly emerged. As long as they were paid, they would rob a target. Such groups hid their identities well, eluding even their employers, not to mention their victims.

    ¡°Leaving after the job was done, leaving behind glory and fame.¡± This saying could best used to describe such individuals.

    Such heists caused huge losses to guilds. Althoughints were made by the yers, Fate officials showed no intention of changing the feature. ording to the game¡¯s developers, ¡°This will add more fun to the game.¡± People would even rob banks in real life, so why can¡¯t a guild warehouse be robbed? That was the official exnation by Fate¡¯s developers. This answer meant that guilds with encampments that were lower than lvl 5 could only bemoan their bad luck and work their hardest to level up their guild encampment to lower the chance of their guild being robbed.

    Of course, that all happened 3 yearster. The guilds at this time did not even know that their warehouse could be robbed. They were not the ones to be med. Fate officials¡¯ exnation of the game¡¯s features were very brief. They had never warned yers about such matters, but instead talked about trivial stuff in their guide. There was never a statement made by the officials stating that a guild¡¯s warehouse could be robbed. It was not even hinted in the description of the guild encampment.

    As for the security measures of a lvl 5 guild encampment, Ye Ci had already knew all about it as a reincarnator.

    She had never mentioned it to anybody, and naturally nobody would know about it.

    Every yer in the game thought that the guild warehouse was the safest ce in the game. They had even mistook it to be even safer than their personal storage. Humans are creatures of habit, and they were easily blinded by their habit. For example, if a man in tattered clothing sat in a train station with his bag, nobody would ever think of robbing him. Even if the bag was filled with millions of dor, people would probably think that there was nothing but useless stuff in the bag. But if somebody with expensive-looking clothing walked around with a password protected briefcase, everybody might have the perception that he was rich, even if the briefcase was only filled with toiletries.

    Such is human nature.

    And human nature can be a very scary thing.

    Before theunch of Fate, it was impossible to rob a guild warehouse in any other games. That was why people assumed that Fate¡¯s guild warehouse could not be robbed.

    And then...

    Although Ye Ci had not done this for a long time, she still made preparations in sequence with the necessary steps. She first headed to the Western District of Red Lake City. There was a mysterious shop hidden in the slums of all the major cities. The shop did not have any signs, and was well hidden. It was very hard to locate.

    Walking through the alleys under the cover of darkness, Ye Ci reached the outskirts of the slums. A young beggarid there. He looked innocuous, and he did not even have a name, but Ye Ci walked up to him and threw a gold coin into his bowl. The gold coin made a sharp noise as itnded, echoing in the silent night.

    The sharp noise woke the young beggar up. He opened his eyes and stared at the gold coin excitedly. He picked up the gold coin and smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡±

    He then went back to sleep. Ye Ci threw another gold coin into his bowl the moment he shut his eyes. The young beggar once again woke up, and showed the same reaction. And when he slept, Ye Ci threw yet another gold coin into his bowl.

    Ye Ci repeated the process over and over again, and the young beggar sat up straight when she threw in the 10th coin. He looked at Ye Ci, ¡°You¡¯re a weird person.¡±

    That¡¯s right, it was a hidden quest. A hidden quest that must bepleted before one could perform a heist. There was a beggar just like this one in the slums of every major city. If a yer threw precisely 1 gold coin into his bowl continuously for 10 times within 20 minutes, the beggar would tell the yer a secret. But, after the beggar had told the yer his secret, he would disappear. This meant that the condition to unlock the secret mission in the city would disappear as well.

    This was an indirect way designed by the Fate officials to limit the yers¡¯ from robbing. If everybody could do this quest, wouldn¡¯t everybody end up a thief?

    ¡°I can tell you a secret, do you want to hear it?¡± said the young beggar. Ye Ci smiled and passed a sack containing 100 gold coins to the beggar, ¡°For you.¡±

    The young beggar epted the sack and shook it in his hands. The gold coins within rattled with a loud noise. He narrowed his eyes with satisfaction, ¡°You¡¯re a person with good taste.¡± He stood up and smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Follow me, don¡¯t get lost.¡±

    With that, the young beggar began sprinting.

    It was rare for an NPC to run at such high speed. If Ye Ci was not a Huntress, she would¡¯ve lost him after a few turns. The beggar stopped in front of a row of messy and smelly houses, and walked towards one of them.

    Ye Ci followed him into the house, which was decorated by some old furniture covered by grease. An unknown stench filled the air within the house. A table that looked as if it was going to fall apart anytime soon was ced in the deepest corner of the house, and behind the table sat 3 old men with tattered clothing. They were ying poker. The dim light shining onto their faces gave them an eerie look.

    ¡°We have business.¡± said the young beggar as he walked up to the trio. They raised their heads and looked at Ye Ci with ambiguous smiles.

    Don¡¯t be afraid. This is not the human-meat bun shop of Sun Erniang. This was only a shop selling special items that only receive customers brought in by the young beggar. Others who walked into the ce would only see 3 old beggars ying poker.

    ¡°Honorable customer, what do you wish to buy?¡± Old beggar A showed his yellowish teeth while rubbing his fingers together, ¡°I sell the best clothes, you might find use for one of them.¡±

    One of them was selling clothes, the other various tools, while thest one sold special potions. All of them were necessities for a heist.

    They were not cheap. These were the so-called initial investment. Because of that, yers who did such things would normally demand a high price from their employers.

    A ck Suit that enabled its user to go invisible for half an hour cost 2000 gold coins, a mask that could hide a yer¡¯s face and namepletely for half an hour cost 500 gold coins, and a grappling hook that could assist in scaling walls cost 1000 gold coins, and a master key that could unlock the door to the guild warehouse of guild encampment of levels 1-5 cost 3000 gold coins, while a potion that could put other yers to sleep for 30 minutes cost 300 gold coins each.

    Ye Ci had prepared 10,000 gold coins for her operation. She bought the suit, the mask, a grappling hook, the master key and 11 sleeping potions.

    Trantor¡¯s note:

    [1] The Four ssic Novel of Chinese Literature ÖÐ¹úËÄ´óÃûÖø:

    Dream of the Red Chamber(ºìÂ¥ÃÎ), Water Margin(Ë®ä°´«), Romance of the Three Kingdoms(Èý¹úÑÝÒå), Journey to the West(Î÷ÓÎ¼Ç).

    [2] Elegant Thief Chu Liuxiang:

    Chu Liuxiang is the fictional protagonist of the wuxia novel series Chu Liuxiang Series by Taiwanese writer Gu Long. His given name ¡°Liuxiang¡± literally means ¡°lingering fragrance¡±

    Yeap, Chapter 110 is here people! FIRST CHAPTER OF THE MONTH HELL YEAH! So.... Hope y¡¯all enjoyed!

    If you wanna reward Jimmi for the dank chapter, hit the sponsor button on the right side of the page!

    Aaaaand first toment in the teaser next chapter type FIRST BLOOD!!! Aaaaand don¡¯t forget to spam DESU-VULT IN THE COMMENTS!!!

 Chapter 111 Not Thirsting For Fame and Glory (Part 1)

    Chapter 111 Not Thirsting For Fame and Glory (Part 1)

    The night was as dark as ink, concealing everything in thend with darkness. Ye Ci activated her Brooch of Deceit, disguising herself as a dark-clothed Gnomish Rogue. The tiny body size and clothing were impossible to spot on such a dark night.

    Her pace was quick, darting through the streets like a shadow, leaving behind no traces of her presence. Before leaving Red Lake City, Ye Ci went to her personal storage and stored everything she had. She also took out four 24-slots bags from her storage that she had acquired while clearing dungeons. She was nning to sell them. Although they only cost a thousand gold coins each, it was still money, right? But Ye Ci now found a better use for them. She summoned Ol¡¯ Four and tied them all onto his body.

    Because of a Hunter¡¯s need to have a quiver, it meant that the Hunter ss would have one less slot for their bag. In the game, only a Hunter¡¯s pet could carry bags, and each pet could only carry 4 at most. Not only that, the bags carried by pets were different from those carried by a yer: they had a weight limit. If the weight limit was exceeded, the pet could not run or be dismissed. Other than that, a pet could not pick up items by themselves. Everything had to be stored into their bags by their owners.

    In reality, a pet¡¯s bags were just there to appear cool. There was nothing extraordinary about them. Everything had to be done manually anyways.

    Ye Ci originally wanted to use Ol¡¯ Three as her mule, as his Loyalty was already maxed out. It would not go on a strike even if it received no food. However, Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s carrying capacity was lower than that of Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s. Ye Ci chose Ol¡¯ Four in the end, as she did not know exactly what Steel Blooded Battle Spear had in store in their warehouse. If there were a lot of heavy stuff in there, it would be a shame if she chose to use Ol¡¯ Three instead.

    After all the preparations were made, Ye Ci dismissed Ol¡¯ Four and headed to the ships docked at the gate of Red Lake City. After paying the necessary fees, she arrived at Bluestone City, where the Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild encampment was stationed. She was unable to enter Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild encampment directly through guild management NPCs as she was no longer a member of the guild. The only way she could enter was to travel to the city that the guild was stationed at and enter the encampment through an NPC in the city by searching for the guild encampment using its serial number.

    Ye Ci had always had good memory. She remembered that the serial number for Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild encampment was No.491.

    ¡°What is the serial number of the guild encampment that you wish to enter?¡±

    ¡°491.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    After paying a fee of 50 gold coins, Ye Ci appeared outside of a guild encampment. From afar, the wall of the encampment was not high, and the crude archer tower told her that the guild encampment¡¯s level was not even 3.

    Ye Ci saw a guild g hanging on top of the not-so-tall encampment gate. It was a g that she was extremely familiar with. What else could it be if not the g of Steel Blooded Battle Spear?

    Although it was a lvl 2 guild encampment, there were a lot of NPCs patrolling the perimeter. After Upwards Ho!¡¯s defeat to Full Moon¡¯s Night, the other guilds noted that Upwards Ho! did not have many sentries patrolling in their guild. All of them began to purchase a lot of sentries for their guild as a measure of security. Ye Ci hid herself in the furthermost edge of the map, observing the western wall. There seemed to be less sentries in the area.

    After confirming a point of entry, Ye Ci entered Stealth and began to approach the western wall.

    The sentries in the guild encampment had an alert range of 5 yards. They would automatically attack any yers that were not part of the guild that were within 5 yards of them. Although they were actively moving around as they patrolled the area, avoiding them was an easy task for Ye Ci. She easily avoided the dozen sentries patrolling outside the wall and was soon at the bottom of the wall.

    She equipped the night suit and mask, took out the grappling hook and disappeared into the night. The suit and mask could only be used once, which was what made them expensive. Ye Ci threw the grappling hook out with all her might, and with a ¡°ding¡± sound, it was firmly hooked to the wall.

    The sound was not loud, but it attracted the attention of the sentries patrolling on the wall. They looked around, and resumed their patrol after noticing nothing suspicious. Ye Ci climbed onto the wall, and began calmly putting away the grappling hook. Her movements were slow, not wanting to attract any attention from the sentries.

    The grappling hook could only be used twice. Once to get in, and once to get out. It was indeed a very expensive item. Ye Ci then fished out 2 Sleeping Potions and threw them at the 2 sentries closest to her. They immediately passed out.

    Ye Ci had not wanted to waste her Sleeping Potions on the 2 sentries. But she discovered that they were archers, and immediately made the decision to neutralize them. The most dangerous opponent when performing a heist was a ranged sentry. If the yer was spotted by ranged NPCs, it would be impossible to escape. The price must be paid.

    After taking care of the archers, Ye Ci jumped into thepound from the city wall. The walls of a lvl 2 guild encampment were not high. Ye Ci could easily jump down without taking significant damage. Shended as gracefully as a cat. She did not immediately move, but instead observed the disposition of the sentries patiently, identifying the safest route with the least guards. She had a very limited amount of Sleeping Potions with her, and they must be used sparingly.

    Thanks to her experience as a lookout and also serving as distractions, she was an expert in spotting safe routes. She was able to spot a perfect one within 3 minutes and she began creeping towards the guild warehouse.

    Ye Ci did not use any Sleeping Potions unless it was really necessary. Before long, she stood in front of Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s warehouse. 2 Golden Armored Guardians stood guard at the door. These guardians were considered the highest leveled and toughest NPC in the entire encampment other than the guardians guarding the guild hall. Without the Sleeping Potions, Ye Ci would not be able to deal with them.

    But, with the Sleeping Potions, dealing with those 2 NPCs was like child¡¯s y. Before she made her move, Ye Ci scanned her surroundings with Eagle Eye to make sure that there were no other yers around. She then struck with stunning speed, taking out the two Golden Armored Guardians. She then dashed towards the entrance of the guild warehouse, and inserted the master key into the padlock¡¯s keyhole.

    ¡°Unlocking...¡±

    The system notification did note with any sound, but a row of golden words appeared on top of the keyhole, showing the unlocking progress. The sess rate of unlocking the door of a lvl 2 guild warehouse was 80%, which meant that there was a 20% chance that Ye Ci would fail. A master key could only be used thrice. If she failed all 3 times, this would be a wasted effort for Ye Ci.

    ¡°Unlocking failed.¡±

    The first attempt was a failure. This greatly irritated Ye Ci. Despite herst life¡¯s experiences in robbing guilds, this was the first time she had to do the breaking-in part. But, even if you haven¡¯t tasted pork in your life, you¡¯ll still have seen a pig before[1]. Although Ye Ci had not done it, she knew the concept behind it.

    She took in a deep breath, and once again inserted the master key into the keyhole. When the progress was at 40%, a patrolling sentry approached her position. If she gave up at that moment, she process would be a failure, but if she pressed on, she would be discovered...

    After quickly weighing her options, Ye Ci gave up on unlocking the door. She dove and hid in the shadows.

    Not 3 secondster, the NPC walked within 5 yards of Ye Ci. If she was still there, she would¡¯ve been discovered. After stopped for 2 seconds, the NPC continued its patrol route, not noticing that the 2 Golden Armored Guardian were already put to sleep.

    Based on her past experience, Ye Ci could roughly estimate that the sentry would be back in around 8 minutes. Within that 8 minutes, Ye Ci had 30 seconds to unlock the door, and 7 and a half minutes to loot whatever she want. She had quite a lot of time left.

    When the sentry disappeared from sight, Ye Ci emerged from the shadows and took a deep breath. She tried her hardest to calm herself down, and then inserted the master key into the keyhole. She only had 1st chance left. It must not fail.

    ¡°Unlocking...¡±

    ¡°26......48......73......99......¡±

    ¡°Sess.¡±

    The padlock to the door of the guild warehouse fell down just like that. Ye Ci extended her a hand to catch the lock, and hung it lightly on the lock catch. She slowly opened the door to the warehouse, slipped in, and closed the door lightly.

    From the outside, other than the 2 Golden Armored Guardian appearing to be dozing off, there was nothing suspicious at all.

    At that moment, Ye Ci, who had entered the guild warehouse was as safe as if she were in her own house. There was not a single source of danger. The only thing that she must take note of was the 7.5 minutes time limit when the patrol will once again pass by the area. She must also beware of any guild yersing to the guild warehouse. If any of the situations mentioned earlier happened, all of Ye Ci¡¯s efforts would be wasted. Time was of the essence.

    Although Steel Blooded Battle Spear was fairly new, they were still a ck horse among the new guilds. With a strong backing by a financial group supporting them, one would expect their guild warehouse to be packed full of riches. Ye Ci had expected this even before she entered the warehouse, but what she saw still did not fail to amaze her...

    Hiyaaa!!! ROTH Chapter 111!!! Here you go!!! Hope y¡¯all enjoyed the chapter! Spam ¡°DESU VULT¡± in chat if you love this chap!!! Wooooh!!!

    Anyways.... Thank you for all the peeps who donated to ROTH or had supported and Patreon, I LOVE YOU PEOPLE!

    So... If you wanna reward Jimmi for this awesome, awesome chapter, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page!!!

    Aaaaand first toment in the teaser next chapter, type FIRST BLOOD!!!

 Chapter 112 Not Thirsting For Fame and Glory (Part 2)

    Chapter 112 Not Thirsting For Fame and Glory (Part 2)

    As expected of the wealthy.

    Ye Ci felt at times that some differences couldn¡¯t be discerned without making a directparison. She had always felt that the contents of Upwards Ho!¡¯s guild warehouse was quite decent, even if they weren¡¯t exactly rich. But whenpared to the Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild warehouse, it was barely enough.

    They possessed top tier equipment, high quality gems, high leveled materials, rare blueprints and recipes. Where had they gotten them from? Ye Ci gritted her teeth. Even the Heavens could not tolerate her if she did not steal all of this good stuff. Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four and loaded him up with the lighter stuff such as jewelry, recipes, skill books, gems and other misceneous items, filling up all 4 bags carried by Ol¡¯ Four.

    Ol¡¯ Four had a very high weight limit. Even after its bags were filled with the lighter stuff, Ol¡¯ Four still had 96% of its carrying capacity left. Ye Ci then dismissed Ol¡¯ Four after filling it up with goodies. Ol Four was tough, but its looks were just too unique. If Ye Ci walked around with Ol¡¯ Four in tow, people would recognise her even if she was disguised as an NPC.

    After dismissing Ol¡¯ Four, Ye Ci did not hold herself back. She began shoving every rare item she could get her hands on into her inventory slots, ignoring anymon materials and potions. Despite that, there was still a lot of valuable stuff that Ye Ci was unable to carry.

    Ye Ci would feel guilty if she left just like that.

    That was why after confirming that she still had time left, Ye Ci moved all the items that she was unable to carry from the storage rack onto the floor. Items ced on the floor, no matter the location, would be removed by the system after half an hour.

    Tears streamed down Ye Ci¡¯s cheeks as she did the deed. It was too wasteful. If only she could carry more of those items. Letting them go to waste like this was felt like she was being tortured. Lastly, Ye Ci cracked open the safe of Steel Blooded Battle Spear which held the guild¡¯s funds.

    Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s funds were not as impressivepared to the valuable items they possessed. They had only 270,600 gold coins. Ye Ci left 1 gold coin in the safe, as the guild¡¯s funds could not be totally emptied. But before she left the warehouse, Ye Ci had a change of mind. She took out a copper coin, deposited it into the safe, and took out the single gold coin.

    Zuo Xian had taught her since she was young. One must be frugal, and should not waste when the situation allows it.

    That¡¯s right! That¡¯s the way!

    There were 35 seconds left before the sentry on patrol would pass by the guild warehouse once again. Ye Ci opened warehouse¡¯s door and peeked outside. She could already see the silhouette of the sentry. Without hesitation, Ye Ci slipped out the door and closed it behind her. In the blink of an eye, Ye Ci had melted into the shadows, hiding right by the warehouse¡¯s wall. She was just about to seize the opportunity to leave, the voices of yers entered her ears, ¡°Dang, they¡¯re exploring the Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum again tomorrow. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to join in as a substitute. It¡¯s been awhile.¡±

    ¡°Being a substitute doesn¡¯t bring you any benefits at all. I myself am one of the weaker members of the first squadron. They¡¯ve never given me any of the spoils, but theyined that my DPS is not enough, and told me that if I couldn¡¯t keep up my damage output, they¡¯d kick me out of the party. F*ck it, they¡¯ve never given me any good equipment, how do they expect me to deal damage? This is bullsh*t!¡±

    ¡°How bout changing guilds? We could join one that shows more love towards its members. We can start over...¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ve earned so much DP, if I don¡¯t even get an equipment out of it, I¡¯ll feel bad.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m actually jealous of Phoenix w and Timely Rain. When they left the guild along with Gongzi Yo, I¡¯ve evenughed at them. When I ran into Phoenix w the other day, his equipment was even better than that of the members of our second squadron. Back then, his position in this guild was lower than mine.¡±

    ¡°Why not talk to Phoenix w? We can go to Upwards Ho!.¡±

    ¡°It might have worked before today. But after the thread this morning... I ran into Phoenix w at around 10pm and he treated me coldly as I greeted him. I guess it¡¯s impossible for us to join Upwards Ho! now.¡±

    ¡°Say, I¡¯ve been thinking, why do they store so much good stuff in the guild warehouse? They ain¡¯t gonna give em to us. What are they for? Just for disy?¡±

    The duo approached the guild warehouse as they talked. Ye Ci hid herself deeper into the shadows. Although she was wearing the ck suit and was not afraid of being detected, the yers would definitely sound the rm. It would make things hard for her.

    The more panicked you are, the easier it¡¯ll be to mess up. This was an unchangingw since the ancient times.

    Ye Ci pressed herself closer to the wall and slowed down her breathing. She stared unblinkingly at the duo while she backed away slowly. She left the way she came, which was littered with sentries who were put to sleep.

    The night gale was blowing, rustling the grass in the guild encampment. Ye Ci followed the direction of the wind, advancing cautiously, stepping onto the grass to hide her footprints. The dark night and the chilly winds were the perfect cover for Ye Ci.

    She managed to avoid the sentries with her light steps, and was soon under the east side wall. By then, the 2 yers should¡¯ve discovered that the guild warehouse had been robbed, so why was the rm not sounding? Ye Ci knew it was an unnecessary question, but she was just curious. She took a few steps forward and looked back.

    Ye Ci could see the two yers talking to another yer. It was obvious that they were called away by someone else.

    A smile formed on Ye Ci¡¯s lips. What is this situation called?

    God is on my side.

    No longer hesitating, Ye Ci threw the grappling hook up the wall and climbed up. She evaded all the patrolling sentries and disappeared into the night.

    With a sh of white light, Ye Ci had left the guild encampment¡¯s server. She retained her Gnomish Rogue outlook as the ck suit¡¯s effect had already faded away. Of all the stuff she bought with 10,000 gold coins, only a single Sleep Potion was left.

    Ye Ci did not feel any heartache for all the gold spent. She looked at the spoils in her inventory, reliving the sheer joy of ransacking a guild warehouse. It was just awesome! There was a reason why people would only dly ept such missions when they were offered at least 300,000 gold coins.

    Even though it was still in the early stages of the game, the items that Ye Ci had stolen were worth at least 1 million gold coins. When the game progressed to theter stages and people learned of their true worth...

    The gold spent for the heist was just worth it.

    Ye Ci teleported back to Red Lake City and spent another 10,000 gold for 2 more storage slots and deposited all of her stolen goods. Ye Ci decided to allocate 60,000 gold coins from the money she¡¯d stolen to repair the guild encampment¡¯s fortifications and hire some NPC sentries.

    Ye Ci¡¯s trip to Steel Blooded Battle Spear had made her realize that the defences of Upwards Ho! were toocking. Even a lvl 2 guild was packed full of guards, while Upwards Ho! only had 8 NPCs. It was... An ungainly sight.

    Ye Ci fed some roasted quail to Ol¡¯ Four after unloading all the goods from his bags and went offline.

    It took Ye Ci about one and a half hours to sort out all the loot. Before she slept, Ye Ci took a look at the time. It was 5:17am in the morning. Ye Ci was overjoyed. There was an indescribable happiness in her heart.

    Things like trash talking were meaningless. Silently getting rich is what Ye Ci liked to do the most.

    Of course, Ye Ci would not go into details about it with anybody else, including Bai Mo and Tan Png. They followed Ye Ci around, pestering her with questions. When Ye Ci went to the bathroom, they waited patiently outside. When Ye Ci was done with her meal, they rushed over to wash her dishes for her. When Ye Ci went out for a jog, they followed closely behind her.

    They were constantly pestering Ye Ci with the same question, ¡°How did you pull off the heist? Tell us!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just ying a trick on us right? It wasn¡¯t even you, you¡¯re just trying to stir us up! Right? Right?¡±

    ¡°Please! Tell us!¡±

    Provocation, sibling love, bribery... The two were like the secret service, employing all sorts of psychological warfare on Ye Ci to make her talk. They wanted answers to the question that literally all the yers in the game were asking.

    How did it happen?

    Ye Ci, however, remained silent. When she was finally thoroughly annoyed, Ye Ci told the duo, ¡°All you need to know that I was the one who did it. As to how I did it, it¡¯s not yet time for you to know.¡±

    The two finally gave up.

    It was entirely different in the forums. At 6am, Thousand Sunsets had only gotten online when he received a system notification, ¡°Dear Leader of Steel Blooded Battle Spear, I regret to inform your that your guild warehouse has been robbed.¡±

    Thousand Sunsets was stunned. He could not believe his ears. The guild warehouse was robbed? How could that be possible? Was it some sick joke? Just then, Thousand Sunsets noticed that it was a system notification. While he was still in shock, a guild member said in the guild channel, ¡°Guild leader! The guild warehouse has been robbed!¡±

 Chapter 113 Why Canâ€™t It Be Robbed?

    Chapter 113 Why Can¡¯t It Be Robbed?

    Thousand Sunsets could not shake the feeling he had in his heart. It was preposterous! Was today April Fool¡¯s day? His heart sank, deep down an endless hole, and coldness gripped his heart tightly.

    He immediately entered the guild encampment. There were not many members around as it was 6:30am in the morning. But, the few that were already online had already gathered in the guild encampment. They stood in front of the guild warehouse, chattering at each other, pointing at the lock that was still hanging on the lock catch with panic-stricken faces.

    The door to the guild warehouse was closed, but no one had the courage to push it open. They subconsciously stayed at least 6 yards away from the door, forming a semicircle around the doorway. One of them spotted Thousand Sunsetsing from the teleportation point, and shouted out, ¡°The guild leader is here!¡± In an instant, the crowd opened up a path for Thousand Sunsets and immediately quieted down. As though a ticking timebomb had appeared in their midst, the guild members remained silent.

    Thousand Sunsets¡¯ expression was grave. He walked up to the guild warehouse at a quick pace. With a path cleared by the guild members, Thousand Sunsets was able to reach the warehouse door in no time. Zero Arsenic had alsoe online by that time. He walked up to Thousand Sunsets.

    Unlike Thousand Sunsets who was strict, Zero Arsenic had the image of being a yes-man in the eyes of the guild members. A lot of them greeted him after noticing his presence. Zero Arsenic nodded his head at them and sprinted towards Thousand Sunsets.

    ¡°Sunsets, how is it?¡±

    Zero Arsenic asked urgently before he had even reached the door to the warehouse, ¡°I received a call from Lil¡¯ Dan. He told me that our guild warehouse was robbed. Is that for real?¡±

    Thousand Sunsets opened the warehouse door, and his expression darkened. It was darkened to the point where it was as dark as ink.

    ¡°See for yourself.¡± He stepped out of the way, and motioned for Zero Arsenic to have a look for himself.

    The guild members standing outside of the doorway stood on the balls of their balls of their feet, wanting to see what was going on. They had never been able to open the warehouse door, and could only peep into it through special equipment. This was the first time they saw their guild warehouse door opening.

    They shoved against each other, standing on the tips of their toes, extending their necks, trying to get the best view. Some of them even wished that they could squeeze their way into the warehouse. With so much movement, some rustling noises were bound to be unavoidable. This caused Thousand Sunsets who was already in a bad mood to lose his temper. He was like an exploding volcano. He shouted at the guild members, ¡°What are you looking at!? Are you guys so free? Why is everybody gathered around here?¡±

    Zero Arsenic knew that he must stop Thousand Sunsets, who had exploded in a fit of rage. Although his thoughts were whirling about crazily, Zero Arsenic immediately turned around and stopped Thousand Sunsets. He then faced the guild members with a smile on his face, ¡°Alright, alright, there¡¯s nothing to be worried about, go on and carry out your duties. Aren¡¯t we going to explore the Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum? If you¡¯re not going along, join the third and fourth squadron who will be exploring the Frosty Wastnd for equipment. Move it people! We¡¯ll get this sorted out.¡±

    The best thing about Zero Arsenic was that he could manage his expression very well. He could change his expression faster than the Face Change in the Sichuan Opera. No matter the situation, he would be able to defuse it with a smile. You could say that a person like this was pretentious, but you couldn¡¯t deny that such person definitely yed an important role at some point. Especially in Steel Blooded Battle Spear, Zero Arsenic¡¯s role was very important.

    The guild members heard Zero Arsenic, stared at each other, and dispersed. Those who had asionally suffered from Thousand Sunsets¡¯ wrath snorted and left.

    After the members dispersed, Zero Arsenic let out a sigh and said to Thousand Sunsets, ¡°Even if you¡¯re angry, you can¡¯t vent your frustration onto the guild members.¡±

    ¡°Why not? They¡¯re just a bunch of trash waiting for me to give them sry! Who do they think they are? My ancestor?¡± When Thousand Sunsets¡¯ anger was at its peak, he would snap at anybody who tried to calm him down.

    Zero Arsenic creased his eyebrows. He was about to say something, but decided against it at thest moment. He turned around and entered the guild warehouse. It had indeed been ransacked, and quite decently at that. Other than the 1 copper coin in the safe, there was absolutely nothing left.

    Almost 2 million gold coins. The stolen items were Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s sweat and blood ever since the server wasunched. They were gone just like that. Zero Arsenic felt a throbbing pain in his heart and a wave of nausea washed over him. He leaned against the wall for support. It took quite a while for the nausea washing over him to subside.

    The loss of the gold coins in the safe was a small matter. But all the rare materials, recipes, skill books and equipment... They were all priceless. To lose them all just like that... Zero Arsenic felt that the future of the guild was grim.

    ¡£

    ¡°Wait, how could a guild warehouse be robbed?¡± Asked Zero Arsenic, as he stared at Thousand Sunsets. The question popped up in Zero Arsenic¡¯s mind after he had recovered.

    Realisation had also hit Thousand Sunsets, ¡°That¡¯s right! The guild warehouse is a ce safer than personal storage! How could it be robbed? This must be a BUG! It must be!¡±

    ¡°Hurry and contact the customer service!¡± Said Zero Arsenic to Thousand Sunsets.

    Thousand Sunsets immediately contacted Fate¡¯s customer service, which also immediately responded. But Thousand Sunsets just exploded into a fit of rage right after the voice of the customer service employee entered his ears. He began yelling and cursing at the customer service employee without even exining the situation. Zero Arsenic immediately signaled for him to drop the call, and decided to call customer service himself.

    Zero Arsenic was not sure if it was the same employee who picked up his call, but her voice was sweet. He greeted her politely and calmly told her the supposed ¡°BUG¡± that the guild had encountered. He then concluded, ¡°The guild warehouse had always been the safest ce, but somebody managed to rob our guild warehouse. I feel that this is impossible. Can you please give me an answer to this?¡±

    ¡°Okay, your issue had been recorded. We¡¯ll give you an official answer within 30 minutes. Please hang up the call and wait patiently.¡±

    Zero Arsenic let out a long sigh after hanging up the call. He walked out of the guild warehouse and closed the door. He patted Thousand Sunsets on the shoulder, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head to the conference room, they¡¯ll give us an answer within half an hour.¡±

    Although Thousand Sunsets¡¯ face was dark as ash after his fit of anger, he had slightly calmed down. He nodded and followed Zero Arsenic into the conference room. Before they could take their seats, Zero Arsenic was contacted by the customer service.

    The person who was calling them however, was no ordinary customer service employer. It was a member of the development team, Customer Service No.197.

    ¡°Hello, are you Zero Arsenic? I am Customer Service No.197.¡±

    Zero Arsenic was a smart person. He knew that No.197 was no ordinary employee, but one of the developers, ¡°Yes, I am.¡±

    ¡°Allow me to answer your question. About the ransacking of your guild warehouse, it is definitely part of the game mechanics. We can confirm that it is not a BUG.¡± Customer Service No.197 went straight to the point, informing the two that the entire incident was not a BUG.

    ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s not a BUG? Somebody cleared out our guild warehouse!¡±

    ¡°In theory, it¡¯s not a BUG.¡±

    Even a Buddha has limits, Zero Arsenic¡¯s anger finally surfaced, ¡°What do you mean? Have you ever heard of a guild warehouse being robbed before? Do you think this is the first day I¡¯m ying an online game? Do you think I would believe such a retarded answer, and then quietly ept my bad luck?¡±

    Customer Service No.197 was apparently used to solving such problems. He chuckled, and answered Zero Arsenic¡¯s question calmly with a question of his own, ¡°Fate is a game iming to be 100% realistic, so why can¡¯t a guild warehouse be robbed? Just because you can¡¯t rob a guild¡¯s warehouse in other games? Even Citibank in the United States can be robbed, so why not a guild warehouse?¡±

    Zero Arsenic was lost for words after listening to Customer Service No.197¡¯s question. He then eximed after a few seconds of being momentarily stunned, ¡°If there¡¯s such a setting, why don¡¯t you warn all the yers!? It is highly irresponsible towards the yers, and the game!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve already made a statement about that on our official website. We¡¯ve announced that the official website would only reveal 5% of the game content, while the rest of the 95% must be discovered by yers on their own. As for that incident, I can only give you my deepest condolences, while congratting you for discovering new game content. I will forward this to the development team, and reward you with a special achievement.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Zero Arsenic was so angry that he was lost for words, ¡°I will report you!¡±

    Customer Service No.197 was aggrieved by the usation and he let out a sigh, ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve given you an official answer regarding the problem you have faced. Is there anything else that you need help with?¡±

    Zero Arsenic¡¯s temper was at its maximum. Even his hands trembled. He said after a long pause, ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°Good, I wish that you have a good gaming experience. If there¡¯s something else you need help with, feel free to contact us again.¡±

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    The title of Chapter 110bined with the title of Chapter 112/Chapter 113 is actually a Chinese idiom!

    ÊÂÁË·÷ÒÂÈ¥, Éî²Ø¹¦ÓëÃû!

    Hehe... Surprise surprise!!! DOUBLE CHAPS!!! It¡¯s been awhile since we have a double chapter right? Soooooo I hope you peeps enjoy!!!

    Also, after such a long time of working solo, with ed.L (great trantor of GDK) asionally helping, we¡¯ve finally have a new trantor working on ROTH!!! Everyone please wee Rozenbach aka Rose to the team!!!! Everybody say hi to Rose in thements please!!!

    Aaaaaand... (the same ol¡¯ sheet really) if you wanna reward Jimmi for them awesome chaps, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page! Or you can support us on Patreon!

    I¡¯d also like to try something today... If we hit $50 in donations today, we¡¯ll release a third chapter as bonus!

    First in thements type FIRST BLOOD! (teaser in next chapter)

 Chapter 114 Weâ€™re A Family

    Chapter 114 We¡¯re A Family

    Zero Arsenic hung up the call, pale faced. He leaned onto the chair as if he had been sapped of energy. He closed his eyes, remaining silent. Thousand Sunsets immediately moved closer to him and asked with a worried tone, ¡°Zero, what did customer service say?¡±

    Zero Arsenic could not muster the strength to speak. He waved his hand, signaling to Thousand Sunsets to allow him a moment of silence. Despite being extremely anxious, Thousand Sunsets waited quietly after noticing Zero Arsenic¡¯s condition. After a while, Zero Arsenic let out a long breath and looked at Thousand Sunsets with a pair of dead eyes, ¡°The customer service said that it was not a BUG. It¡¯s something normal.¡±

    Perhaps the answer was too unexpected, Thousand Sunsets was momentarily stunned, ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s normal?¡±

    ¡°The customer service said that even the United State¡¯s Citibank could be robbed, and Fate is a 100% realistic game, so it¡¯s normal for someone to rob the guild warehouse.¡±

    Thousand Sunsets became deathly quiet. Zero Arsenic stole a nce at him and saw a gloomy face instead of rage. Thousand Sunsets was so calm as it nothing had happened. Zero Arsenic knew it very well. If Thousand Sunsets had exploded into rage and anger, the matter would be over very quickly, and there was no need to dwell upon it. But if he was silent, it meant that he had been truly angered, and he would not stop until he had his payback.

    ¡°Thousand...¡±

    ¡°So it means that it was caused by a yer?¡± Thousand Sunsets ignored Zero Arsenic.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Who do you think it is?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You.¡± Thousand Sunsets let out a coldugh, ¡°Who else could it be? She did not even speak up after we posted the thread about her. Do you think it¡¯s possible? Do you think Gongzi You is a person like that? She showed me quite the attitude over a small matter back when we were exploring the Frosty Wastnd. And what do you think yesterday¡¯s incident ispared to the one in Frosty Wastnd? Do you think she¡¯ll just take it quietly?¡± Thousand Sunsets was sure that Ye Ci was the culprit.

    In fact, Thousand Sunsets was right about Ye Ci. Your enemy is the person who understands you the most in this world. Although Ye Ci had never seen Thousand Sunsets as an enemy, she had became a thorn in his side the day she left Steel Blooded Battle Spear.

    Zero Arsenic thought about Thousand Sunset¡¯s theory and said, ¡°If we based it on the culprit¡¯s motive, Gongzi You is definitely the most likely suspect. But, we have no proof that it was her.¡±

    ¡°Proof? Do you even need proof? This is a game, we don¡¯t need that shit.¡± Thousand Sunsets stood up and narrowed his eyes, ¡°If I don¡¯t kill that beach, then my surname is not He.¡±

    ¡±

    ¡°Thousand...¡± Zero Arsenic creased his eyebrows after listening to Thousand Sunsets¡¯ words. He was straightforward with his response, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little too rash?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m rash?¡± Thousand Sunsetsughed out loud, ¡°Do you expect me to discuss something over afternoon tea before taking action? Only a god has such patience! Not a human!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. What I mean was wasn¡¯t it too rash for you to go against Gongzi You just like that?¡± Zero Arsenic stood up calmly, ¡°Gongzi You is a member of Upwards Ho!. Although they¡¯re a small guild, they have gained quite the reputation. If I¡¯m not mistaken, a number of financial groups wish to invest in them. If you make trouble with Gongzi You just like that, do you think you can justify your actions to the Old Master?¡±

    Thousand Sunsets mind wentpletely nk, and he kept quiet.

    Zero Arsenic narrowed his eyes, ¡°Our guild warehouse has just been robbed, and we don¡¯t even know how the Old Master will react yet. If you¡¯re going to create more trouble at a time like this... Do you think that you¡¯ll be able to hold firm to your current position?¡±

    Perspiration formed on the ridge of Thousand Sunsets¡¯ nose.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that the Old Master funded us so that we could have a share in Fate¡¯s market. It was for business purposes, not your personal vendetta.¡± Zero Arsenic stared at Thousand Sunsets. He walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder with a hint of warning, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that there are others in the He family that can rece you. You¡¯re here simply because of good luck.¡±

    Thousand Sunsets¡¯ face immediately paled. He looked at Zero Arsenic, ¡°T-then you mean that I should let it slide?¡±

    ¡°Of course we¡¯re going to pursue this matter, but...¡± Zero Arsenic¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°I want solid proof. If we can prove that it indeed was Gongzi You who did it, even I would want her dead. But if it¡¯s not her...¡± Zero Arsenic cast a sideway nce at Thousand Sunsets, ¡°I hope you won¡¯t repeat something like the immature act you did yesterday. What we need is to raise our guild rankings and push forward our dungeon exploration progress. If I remember correctly, Upwards Ho! began exploring Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum yesterday, and they¡¯ve even defeated the first and second boss. If... They defeat the third BOSS and get First Blood...¡±

    Thousand Sunsets visibly gulped as he looked at Zero Arsenic¡¯s expression.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see how you¡¯ll exin to the Old Master about why Gongzi You left our guild.¡± Zero Arsenic¡¯s voice was soft as ever, but in this moment, he was like Asura who had crawled out of Hell in the eyes of Thousand Sunsets.

    As the saying goes, ¡°Good news never goes beyond the gate, while bad news spread far and wide.¡±

    Just when Thousand Sunsets and Zero Arsenic were still trying to figure out the identity of the culprit behind the heist, a thread appeared in the Eastern Continent¡¯s forums, garnering a lot of attention.

    The title of the thread was simple, ¡°I¡¯ve heard a rumor, and I only wish to seek confirmation.¡± The content of the post was quite simple as well, with only one sentence, ¡°I overheard a conversation between my friends. They say that Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild warehouse was ransacked. Is this real?¡±

    It was a simple gossipping post, but it umted over a million views, with people replying with all sorts of theories. Before long, the total replies to that post had exceeded 200,000. Some said that it was fake, as it was impossible to steal from a guild warehouse. Some dismissed it as an attempt by Steel Blooded Battle Spear to attract attention, just like what they did the other day, while some said that it was definitely a BUG. This thread had attracted the attention of quite a number of major guilds. After all, if the person was speaking the truth, it was not good news for them.

    There were more and more replies to the thread, most of them mainly trying to gauge the truth. At the 17th page, an anonymous yer iming to be a member of Steel Blooded Battle Spear confirmed the news. He imed that the guild warehouse had indeed been ransacked. The thread immediately became even hotter than the thread who was talking about Gongzi You the other day. After all, things were just for the show when it came to matters regarding personal grudges. But the incident today was closely rted to them.

    The forums erupted into chaos. Even the world channel was flooded with messages about the incident.

    Bai Mo and Tan Png were not among the first who found about about the heist, but they were definitely not thest ones. When they found out about it, they immediately realised the gravity of the situation, and immediately talked to Ye Ci, wanting to find out about her opinion. They had not expected her to be the culprit. The boiling mood to gossip hidden deep within their hearts immediately cooled down.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not afraid of danger, you can go and spread the news about it.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s lips formed into a cold smile as she looked at the pair of men in front of her.

    Bai Mo and Tan Png exchanged looks, and felt their limbs going cold. This... Who would have balls to spread it around? Ignoring the negative effects it had on public opinion, Steel Blooded Battle Spear seemed to have a strong backer. If they revealed Ye Ci¡¯s identity as the culprit and it was spread... They... Would be... They would be definitely asking for trouble.

    The two shook their heads while looking at Ye Ci with panicked looks. They swore that they would keep the secret to their deaths.

    Although it was finally spring, Tan Png felt cold creeping down his spine as he looked at Ye Ci. Was this girl in front of him... Only 18 years old? He had a sudden thought of crying out loud, a sudden thought to rush to the balcony and shout towards the sky, ¡°Mom! Take me away from Earth, it¡¯s too dangerous here! I wanna go to Mars!¡±

    Ye Ci winked at Tan Png, and smiled warmly at him, with a sweet smile that she had never used before, ¡°Png.¡±

    Tan Png shivered involuntarily. He looked at Ye Ci, trembling with fear, ¡°What is it, sis Ye Ci?¡±

    ¡°My mom told me that the the process of adopting you isplete.¡± Ye Ci stood up, and rested her hands onto Tan Png¡¯s shoulders with love, and continued in a gentle and soft tone, ¡°From now on, we¡¯re a family. I¡¯m your sister, and you¡¯re my brother. Do you understand?¡±

    It was just too scary.

    It was so scary! It was an obvious threat. Did it mean that if he dared to reveal the truth, he would not be safe from Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s wrath when they went after Ye Ci?

    It was just too scary. Tan Png had finally understood that ignorance is bliss. He blinked rapidly, forcing back the tears that were about to flow out of his his. He nodded and said in a very sincere tone, ¡°Sis Ye Ci, you¡¯re my sister. I don¡¯t know anything. I really do not know anything.¡±

    Hiya! We¡¯ve managed to post a double chapterst release! Do you peeps love the double chaps? Do you peeps want more?? Shout it out loud in thements below!!!

    Also, thank you Laetitia for you donation!

    Anyways, if y¡¯all love the novel and wants to help the team out, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page. Donations will be motivation for us to keep pushing forward, and every bit of donation would make our lives easier!

    Don¡¯t forget to check out the teaser next chapter. FIRST BLOOD for firstment!!!

    CHECK THIS OUT!

    For those who like to read mystery novels with some supernatural and romance elements, check out Split Zone 13 tranted by mayy here!

    Synopsis:

    When Li Shen¡¯s second personality acts out, her consciousness is sent to a strange ce called Split Zone No.13. She is then informed that only if she can unravel the truth, will she be able to return home.

 Chapter 115 Objective

    Chapter 115 Objective

    Ye Ci was pleased with the reply, nodding her head before speaking, ¡°Actually, you¡¯re ying Fate too, right?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s words confused Tan Png. He was indeed ying Fate but he had never told anyone about it, so how did Ye Ci know about this? Thus, he inclined his head to one side, subconsciously asking, ¡±How did you know?¡±

    ¡°I guessed it and then you just confirmed it.¡± Ye Ci shrugged and made a sly smile.

    Tan Png was speechless, this person was simply too... too sly.

    Bai Mo expressed his deepest sympathies for Tan Png, sighing while draping his arm around Tan Png, ¡°This child, you¡¯re not using your brain enough, exposing yourself the moment you open your mouth, you¡¯re revealing your secrets too easily. I think the date of my death is drawing near, if this kid were to be caught by that person, I think we¡¯re all going to be sold out.¡±

    Tan Png was at a loss for words. Whilst attempting to protest, he heard Ye Ci call out, ¡±Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll buy a gaming cabin for you.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡±

    Tan Png was instantly struck dumb. Even after the gaming cabin had been delivered by the employees of Fate, he still remained in a dazed state.

    ¡°Did you bring your game¡¯s memory card?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡±

    ¡°Then put it in.¡±

    ¡°But... Aunt and Uncle, they...¡±

    Ye Ci waved her hand impatiently, letting Bai Mo take care of this adolescent whilst walking towards her own gaming cabin. It was almost time for the afternoon gathering. She hoped to be able to break through the Frosty Wastnds Inner Sanctum today. She ced at the electronic clock. If she remembered correctly, in her past life, Tang Dynasty had obtained the First Blood of the Frosty Wastnds¡¯ Inner Sanctum at eight thirty-seven in the evening on this very day. Would history be rewritten this time?

    Entering the game, she found that everyone was discussing the incident of Steel Blooded Battle Spear being raided. Ye Ci knew that this incident would cause arge disturbance, but not to this extent. Returning to the guild encampment, she found that the teams for clearing the dungeon has already been assembled. Timely Rain was just in the middle of bringing Remote Depths and a few guild administrators to one side to speak.

    Regardless if they were battle-orientated yers or life skills-orientated yers, they were all basking in the sun and chatting in the square. Additionally, there was only one topic of discussion, and that was the raiding of Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild warehouse. At 11 in the morning, due to the ruckus caused by the incident, the game¡¯s management had posted a notice on the official site. This notice stated that this incident was normal and it belonged to an unexplored element of the game. The management also took the opportunity to remind everyone that it is possible to raid a guild warehouse and that they should take precautionary measures.

    As for how the guild warehouse was raided, the game developers maintained a tight lip. They only said that this was something that the yers should deduce and investigate themselves. The game¡¯s secrets would definitely not be disclosed so easily.

    Although the notice caused many yers to cry foul at the management, it also raised a sense of wariness amongst the yers, especially therge guilds. As of now, the method for raiding guild warehouses was still being kept under wraps, which meant that no one was able to sniff out the culprit who ransacked Steel Blooded Battle Spear. Just this very fact caused all therge guilds to shudder.

    As the saying goes, ¡®Don¡¯t be afraid of being robbed, be wary of being remembered by the criminal¡¯. The wealth contained in their guild warehouses wereparable to Steel Blooded Battle Spear. If Steel Blooded Battle Spear was robbed without the guild knowing anything about it, then who would the next target be?

    Ye Ci suddenly found herself in a dilemma.

    If there were no other yers that were able to rob a guild warehouse, wouldn¡¯t that imply that this incident was her doing? Even if she was able to avoid doubt at the moment, she would eventually fall under Steel-Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s suspicion given enough time. If that was to ur...then she would really lose out big time.

    It looked like she needed to think about how to wrap up this matter once and for all.

    ¡°Gongzi, did you know that somebody robbed Steel-Blooded Battle Spear?¡± Timely Rain saw that Ye Ci had arrived and immediately grabbed her to share his woes.

    ¡°Yeah I do, the entire world is talking about it.¡± Ye Ci nodded her head and assumed her usual expression. ¡±What are game developers up to? Even the guild warehouse can be raided, have they gone crazy from game development?¡±

    ¡°Will we be the next guild to be robbed?¡± Timely Rain creased his eyebrows, looking at the guild fortifications that were in a decrepit state after the guild war with Clear Moon¡¯s Night, as though his words could happen in the near future.

    Ye Ci could not very well reassure him by saying that this was a Lvl 5 Guild Encampment and it would be difficult to break into their warehouse. Instead, she faked a worried expression. ¡±I don¡¯t think the next victim will be us, since our guild is not as wealthy as the otherrge guilds.¡±

    Remote Depths also quipped, ¡±Let¡¯s hurry up and clear the Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum and organize some gold-earning teams, the guild doesn¡¯t have a lot of money left, we should repair the fortifications of our guild encampment with the money earned. Let¡¯s purchase more NPCs while we¡¯re at it. Our guild won¡¯t be able to withstand another guild war like the one we had with Clear Moon¡¯s Night. Even if it¡¯s a thief trying to rob our guild warehouse, we would be helpless.

    This exnation immediately received the approval of everyone, inlcuding the guild¡¯s officers. Everyone suddenly felt that today¡¯s pioneering was a huge weight that had settled on their shoulders and they all tensed up as they entered the dungeon.

    Since she had already recorded the dungeon¡¯s progress yesterday, the team did not encounter any trouble as they made their way to the third BOSS, Duo¡¯Ma the Sunderer. Eliminating the surrounding mobs, a group sat down and began to eat to regain their BUFFs. At this moment, Ye Ci received a private message from Overflowing Ink, ¡°Leader, I am not confident in this at all.¡±

    If it was any other day, Ye Ci would definitely let Overflowing Ink have a second attempt. Today, however, was a different case. Today was the day that Tang Dynasty would take this dungeon¡¯s First Blood. Ye Ci did not wish to let Tang Dynasty have it in the slightest. Thus, she contemted for a bit before asking, ¡°Have you devised a battle strategy yet?¡±

    ¡°Mi Lu and I have beening up with strategies sincest night but we¡¯re both unsure if they will work out.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s do it like this, you¡¯ll lead the first round. If we¡¯re wiped out, then Mi Lu will take over. If a party annihtion happens again, then I¡¯ll take charge for the third round. Is that okay?¡±

    Hearing Ye Ci¡¯s words, Overflowing Ink instantly felt as though the pressure weighing him down had been halved. Feeling less tense, he replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it a shot, we¡¯ll fight till the end.¡±

    Following that, Ye Ci informed Mi Lu of her decision. Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink had a good rtionship, so naturally he understood Overflowing Ink¡¯s situation and promptly agreed. Ye Ci then notified Remote Depths who then ryed the n to the entire team.

    It was only now that the party realized that the guild was here with the First Blood in mind and everyone sobered up. Even though they knew that Ye Ci had led multiple teams in bagging numerous First Bloods, none of them belonged to Upwards Ho! But today...was a First Blood finally going to belong to Upwards Ho!? A First Blood that belonged to everyone?

    And that¡¯s why, when Ye Ci asked, ¡°Today¡¯s objective is First Blood, is everyone confident that we can take it?¡±

    She received an overwhelming ¡°YES!¡±

    ¡°FIRST BLOOD!!! FIRST BLOOD!!!¡± It was unknown who said it first, but everybody soon pumped their fists up and joined in. The crowd¡¯s emotions peaked in an instant.

    Duo¡¯Ma the Sunderer¡¯s difficulty lies in its ability to create doppelgangers. Furthermore, the dopplegangers would indiscriminately kill anyone around them. If one¡¯s positioning was off or one¡¯s equipment failed to provide a hint of cold resistance, they would be killed in an instant. In the event that they did not have any equipment that had cold resistance, they would have to tide it over with the help of potions. Potions were synonymous to money and apart from positioning and the rapport between DPS and the Tanks, the most important thing was to wealth when it came to dealing with this BOSS. A single Ice-resistance potion required 50 silvers to craft, but when a group of 50 yers continuously drank these potions over the course of thirty minutes...It was simply a massive amount that was almost impossible to wrap one¡¯s head around.

    Even Ye Ci knew that urately grasping when to take the potions would only mean that she would be able to control potion wastage better and notpletely remove her reliance on them.

    ¡°Begin!¡± Overflowing Ink exined his battle strategy once more beforemanding everyone to spread out. Progress was good due to the high morale of the members, and even their movements were swift when they weremanded to position themselves. It was a pity, however, that when the first clone appeared there were quite a few yers who panicked. It was, after all, a BOSS that no one has ever fought before. Thus, when the first clone appeared from the northeast corner, Overflowing Ink had immediatelymanded everyone to move to the southwest corner, and yet a priest and two mages perished after being unable to react in time.

    When clearing the dungeon for the first time, yers dying was the most frightening thing that could happen. If someone were to drop dead, the tense emotions that it brought upt would immediately cause a ripple effect amongst the rest and even the cautious yers might slip up.

    To put it nicely, they were shaken. Another way to look at it would be that they were stillcking in spirit. This kind of mentality yed a certain role when one cleared a dungeon. Inparison to therger guilds, most of the members of Upwards Ho! were beginners or casual yers. Additionally, they had never yed into an important role, nor were they subjected to any systematic training, let alone grouping up to grind for a dungeon. Naturally, upon witnessing team members dying, all of them would be affected.

    The remainder of the team barely held on for 5 to 6 minutes. When they finally fought till the second stage of the BOSS, the entire team had been decimated.

    Ye Ci reacted quickly. Upon seeing that almost everyone had died, she immediately let Ol¡¯ Three out and sent it to hold off the BOSS while she retreated from the battle.

    The second attempt was led by Mi Lu. Before starting the fight, Mi Lu had carefully analyzed why they were wiped out and carefully pointed it out to everyone. After making sure that everybody understood what to look out for, they started the battle.

    From this turn of events, Ye Ci was able to tell that Mi Lu¡¯smand was very causal. He was the kind ofmander that improvised based on the situation, the type that demanded a lot from the reaction time of hispanions. yers who had slow reaction times or were not used to this type ofmand tactic would drop easily. This drew a sharp contrast with Overflowing Ink¡¯s meticulous personality.

    Hey people! This is the first chap by our new TLer ROOOOOOOOZENBACH!!!! Everybody say hi to Rosie!!!

    Here¡¯s a message from Rose:

    Hello, this is Rozenbach! I¡¯ve been tranting for 6 years now but this is my first time tranting a chinese novel, so I am very, very nervous! (((¦Õ(¡ò¥í¡ò;)¦Õ))) I am new to the CLNmunity but hope that you readers will continue to support my leader Jimminx and I till to the end of the series! m(?_?£»))m Till the next time we meet, DESU VULT!! (¨R¦Ø¨Q)©g

    And if any kind hearted generous soul out there wish to support the ROTH, HIT THAT SPONSOR BUTTON AT THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAGE!!!

    im first blood in the teaser next chapter!!! DESU VULT!!!

 Chapter 116 The Troublesome BOSS

    Chapter 116 The Troublesome BOSS

    However, although Mi Lu exercised great control over the party, hismand method does has its fatal ws; It demanded too much on the reflexes of other yers. You cannot expect everyone to immediately react with a mere thought just like your own limbs. Therefore, even though this method is eptable if the party members have good teamwork and were used to the situation, it revealed fatal weaknesses when deployed in a pioneering attempt at clearing dungeons.

    Even though they smoothly made it past the first stage without any casualties, it was evident that a majority of them had been mentally stretched to their limits. Fortunately, Mi Lu had realized his shorings and quickly controlled the pace of the battle, enabling the yers to gradually adapt to the situation. Unfortunately, just when all seemed to be under control, the BOSS unleashed a ultimate skill that wiped out the entire party upon reaching the third stage of the fight. Not even Gongzi You was able to escape such a horrible fate, joining the fallen party in death.

    This was Ye Ci¡¯s first death ever since she reincarnated. Ye Ci let out a sigh as sheid on the ground. She had thought that she would be able to avoid dying all the way until she had reached lvl 60. Never did she expect herself to die in a dungeon when she was still in her early lvl 30s.

    Respawning, Ye Ci sat on the ground. Both Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu also sat nearby, eating without speaking a word. As Ye Ci pointed out their errors one by one, the duo could only nod repeatedly in agreement.

    ¡°Leader, how about you take over for this attempt? We¡¯ll observe and learn from you.¡± Mi Lu replied after taking a gulp of water.

    Ye Ci nodded her head in agreement. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they arepeting with Tang Dynasty for the First Blood, she would have allowed these two to try again. s, this was not the time to allow them to continue trying. So she stood up and addressed the party. ¡°I¡¯ll be exining the new strategy to everyone. I understand that it is not easy to adapt to so many new battle tactics in such a amount of short time, so I will take everybody¡¯s difficulties into ount. Mymand method will not differ too much from the previous ones As long as you people stay focused and not get distracted, we¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    She received the indication from the party that they would be able to abide by hermand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do an inventory check now. How many cold-resistance potions does everyone have left? If you have less than five, go grab more from Timely Rain.¡±

    ¡°I only have 1 bottle remaining.¡±

    ¡°I still have 4.¡±

    ¡°I have 4 remaining as well.¡±

    ...After reporting the amount of cold-resistance potions left in their inventory, they flocked towards Timely Rain to replenish their potions. When the team was just about done refilling their inventories with potions, Ye Ci continued to speak. ¡°Each of you has only 5 cold-resistance potions with you. As long as you listen to mymands, they will be sufficient. That is why I hope that you will only consume them when instructed. When it is time, I will notify all of you. During the first stage of the fight, I want yers of all sses to attack the BOSS from the farthest distance possible. At this stage, the BOSS will use his Frost Embellishment. Just as everyone saw earlier, once the Frost Embellishment appears, the tank will definitely receive constant damage. The radius of this frost circle is 22 yards, but the maximum healing range of a healer is 20 yards. This means that the main healer will have to heal the tank from within the circle, while another healer remains outside the circle to heal the main healer.

    With that, Ye Ci started to assign roles. ¡°Fruit Jelly, you are to stand inside the circle and heal Remote Depths. Icy Cold Tiny Hands will be in charge of healing you.¡± The two acknowledged Ye Ci¡¯s arrangement and she continued. ¡°I want the rest of the healers to be flexible by healing the yers around you when needed and dealing damage when no one requires healing. For the melee yers, all of you can take it easy during the first stage of the fight, but you must not get distracted. The first stage willst for about 5 minutes and the fight will proceed to the second stage right after these 5 minutes. In the second stage, the BOSS will create doppelgangers of itself, which will appear randomly at any of the four corners. When this happens, only the main healer, sub-healer and the tank should remain in their positions, while the rest of the party run towards the doppelganger appeared.¡±

    ¡°As for the third stage of the BOSS fight...be alert and listen to my instructions, everyone has to stop attacking when I give the instruction, or you will be afflicted with an Explosion DEBUFF that will cause you to explode, catching anyone in the explosion¡¯s radius. If you get afflicted by the DEBUFF, rush to a corner where there¡¯s nobody around so that you will not kill the other party members when you explode.¡±

    After briefly exining the battle n, Ye Ci rallied the yers and started the battle.

    Having already fought the first and second stage and thanks to Ye Ci¡¯s pre-assigned objectives, not a lot of mistakes were made. However, the team¡¯sck of experience started to show itself upon reaching the third stage of the BOSS fight.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Ye Ci, who had unblinkingly observed the BOSS¡¯s state, immediately gave out the warning the moment it began channeling its skill. This skill was uninterruptible and the only way to avoid the skill was to stop and wait for the skill to finish casting.

    At Ye Ci¡¯s shout, almost everyone halted their skill casting and even the tank turned his back towards the BOSS. Unfortunately, a person failed to listen to Ye Ci¡¯smand. A mage called Crescent Night¡¯s Solo failed to stop, and so arge fireball flew out andnded on the BOSS. The BOSS roared out ¡°Crescent Night¡¯s Solo, you dare to anger me? I¡¯ll teach you a lesson!¡±

    Crescent Night¡¯s Solo was momentarily stunned. He had not been in a situation where a BOSS that would call out a yer¡¯s name. He couldn¡¯t help but shudder when the BOSS roared at him. At the very next instant, the BOSS threw something onto him and white smoke to sprout from his body.

    Noticing the situation, Ye Ci cried out. ¡±Crescent Night¡¯s Solo, run towards a deserted area!¡±

    The DEBUFF¡¯s countdown timer was six seconds. If one was quick on their feet, they would definitely be able to move to a ce far away from the group before the explosion. If he wasn¡¯t to grasp this time window, the whole group will be dragged down with him.

    It was evident that Crescent Night¡¯s Solo had never encountered this kind of situation before. Ye Ci¡¯s words only caused him to panic even more, and he dashed around like a headless fly. Looking at the situation, Ye Ci could not care less about the battle¡¯s pace anymore as she had to ensure that the remainder of the party was able to maintain their assault on the BOSS. She yelled. ¡°Everybody spread out, keep 20 yards away from Crescent Night¡¯s Solo!¡±

    Although she gave the warning in time, the team was still not used to adapting to sudden situations like this. Despite Ye Ci¡¯s warning, a majority of the team still were blown up by Crescent Night¡¯s Solo 6 secondster.

    Ye Ci had no choice but to give up on this attempt, and she shouted, ¡°Retreat!¡±

    At that time, the BOSS had only 13% of its HP remaining, so this attempt¡¯s failure weighed heavily in everyone¡¯s hearts. No words were exchanged, but the dejected sighs pierced deep into Crescent Night¡¯s Solo, he sat alone in a corner with his head miserably hung low.

    Ye Ci sat not too far away from him, eating but did not speak a word.

    This caused Crescent Night¡¯s Solo to feel even more ufortable. Time slowly ticked by and Ye Ci still remained silent, Crescent Night¡¯s Solo aside, even the entire team felt that they were being suffocated by the atmosphere. They whispered amongst themselves but did not dare toe up and say something.

    Just then, Crescent Night¡¯s Solo stood up and walked up to Ye Ci with a remorseful expression. ¡°Leader, I messed up. I¡¯ll back out from the team. You guys can continue without me.¡± With that, he turned to leave.

    In response, Ye Ci red at him and said curtly. ¡±Come back.¡±

    Crescent Night¡¯s Solo had never seen Ye Ci acting so sternly before. He just stood there, stunned and at a loss of what to do.

    Ye Ci continued to look at him, softening the tone of her voice. ¡°You¡¯re going to leave the team over a small matter like this? What are your team members to you? If you¡¯re backing out after making a small mistake, then there¡¯ll be another person backing out tomorrow because they messed up. So should this party just disband? Should we stop attempting dungeons in the future?¡±

    At Ye Ci¡¯s words, Crescent Night¡¯s Solo became even more depressed.

    ¡°You made a mistake this time, so remember how you did it, amend your mistake and make sure you don¡¯t repeat it again. If you can¡¯t even take such a minor setback, how can you even talk about getting First Blood?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Leader, I was wrong.¡± Crescent Night¡¯s Solo took a deep breath and nodded.

    ¡°Solo, let me ask you. If the same situation happens in the next battle, will you make the same mistake again? ¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± Crescent Night¡¯s Solo shook his head. ¡±I guarantee it with my life!¡±

    ¡°What about you guys?¡± Ye Ci raised her voice, taking this moment to stand up and nce at everyone.

    ¡°We won¡¯t!!¡± Everybody exchanged nces and answered unanimously, their voices loud and clear.

    Ye Ci nodded her head in satisfaction. ¡±Good, then let us start the fight.¡±

    This time, everyone held their breaths and yet, their morale was high. The first stage, they managed to clearing mobs whilst stationary, was cleared without a single death. No one had their HP fall below 90% and their mana control was excellent. In the the second stage, the appearance of the BOSS¡¯s doppelgangers, everybody ran together as a whole and did not pull the team down. After 20 minutes, the ursed third stage arrived.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Upon Ye Ci¡¯smand to halt, everyone immediately stopped in their tracks and not a single person did anything excessive. This repeated a few times and everyone was able to avoid getting afflicted by the BOSS¡¯s skill. As the fight dragged on, the skill¡¯s frequency increased and yers who were unable to keep up started to appear. These yers proactively dashed towards a deserted area and did not cause trouble to the team.

    When the BOSS¡¯s HP bar was down to 5%, the entire team had been whittled down to 6 members.

    Ye Ci, Remote Depths, Fruit Jelly, Let Go Of That Girl, Ideal Height 1.7m and Pickled Pepper Phoenix w.

    Everyone paid close attention to the BOSS¡¯s state, hardly blinking at all, afraid of being afflicted with the DEBUFF.

    The corpses on the ground also didn¡¯t dare to make a sound as though worried that themotion caused might end up affecting the mental states of the remaining six.

    In the end, Ideal Height 1.7m was a fraction too slow.

    ¡°Ideal Height 1.7m, you dare to anger me? I¡¯ll teach you a lesson!¡±

    ¡°F**K!!¡± Ideal Height 1.7m cursed as she turned to run but the countdown for the DEBUFF¡¯s timer was now reduced to 3 seconds. Everyone had to run in the opposite direction as her if they wanted to avoid getting caught by her explosion.

    Just at that moment...

    This is another chapter tranted by Rozen! Hope y¡¯all enjoy!

 Chapter 117 First Blood! Frosty Wasteland Inner Sanctum!

    Chapter 117 First Blood! Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum!

    Ye Ci fired Rapid Fire at Ideal Height 1.7m. Her Rapid Fire was already at lvl 7, and she could fire 10 arrows in one go. Despite having some degree of damage resistance, Ideal Height 1.7m¡¯s equipment was just too inferior whenpared to Ye Ci¡¯s. 10 arrows buried themselves into Ideal Height 1.7m¡¯s back.

    Since all of the arrows hit vital areas, they dealt critical damage. Before the damage value of all 10 arrows could be shown, Ideal Height 1.7m let out a shriek- she was already dead. Since there was still time left on the DEBUFF¡¯s timer, she did not explode. Because of that, she did not bring harm to the rest of the party members, despite being in close proximity to their position.

    Nobody protested against Ye Ci¡¯s actions as they understood her reasons. All of them were paying close attention to the fight.

    When the BOSS only had 3% of its HP left, Pickled Pepper Phoenix w was also hit by the DEBUFF. Because of what happened with Ideal Height 1.7m, he knew that Ye Ci would take him out as well. He simply stood still and threw every skill he had at the BOSS, while Ye Ci fired at him after he received the DEBUFF.

    There were four of them left and the BOSS had 0.7% of its HP remaining. It could basically go berserk really soon. If they didn¡¯t attack the BOSS now, they would definitely get killed. If all of them concentrated their attacks on the BOSS and were hit by the DEBUFF, they still had 3 seconds to do as much damage as they could.

    After a brief moment of contemtion, Ye Ci calmly gave an order, ¡°Concentrate all of your attacks on the BOSS. He can only call one name at a time. There are 4 of us left and he only has 0.7% of his HP left.¡±

    F*ck it all! These were the thoughts left in all of the party members¡¯ minds. They began to hit the BOSS with everything they had. Even Fruit Jelly began to attack the BOSS as she healed her party members. After all, if somebody was affected by the DEBUFF, there was no point in healing them.

    ¡°Remote Depths, you dare to anger me? I will teach you a lesson!¡± Remote Depths was then hit by a DEBUFF and Let Go Of That Girl immediately took his position. The former was the main tank of the party while thetter was the secondary tank, their game awareness was sharp. Knowing that Let Go Of That Girl will take his position, Remote Depths immediately activated Charge, dashed to a safe ce and exploded.

    The BOSS had 0.2% of his HP left. With her own HP rapidly dropping, Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four, which immediately charged at the BOSS and Pow! Pow! Pow! The BOSS was hit by 3 Epic-tier skills. It then shouted, ¡°Gongzi You, you dare to anger me? I will teach you a lesson!¡±

    A mournful screech of the BOSS followed right after, ¡°No! Duo¡¯ma will not fail! Duo¡¯ma will not fail!¡± and the white blizzard bellowed through the ce. Those who had died were resurrected, while those that were alive had their health and mana replenished. The BOSS dropped dead with a loud boom.

    It became deathly quiet. The yers stood still, momentarily stunned. They had been revived? What does this mean?

    Before they could recover from their shock, Ye Ci received a system notification, ¡°Upwards Ho! has sessfully obtained First Blood for the 50-yer dungeon, Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum. As the party leader, do you want to announce this result to the world?¡±

    During her previous First Bloods, Ye Ci was not the party leader. She was not given the chance to decide if she wanted to announce her name. Party leaders would of course not wish to hide the fact that they¡¯ve gained First Blood. This was why even if Ye Ci had the mentality of ¡®Humans fear getting famous like pigs fear fattening¡¯, people would usually announce a First Blood.

    It was different this time. This time, she was the guild leader. She had the initiative. However, she no longer had any thoughts of remaining low profile. This time, they, Upwards Ho!, must announce it to the world!

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Right after Ye Ci made the selection, a system announcement rang out, ¡°Congrattions to Upwards Ho! for being the first guild to clear the Normal difficulty 50-yer dungeon Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum. Rewards: Guild Prestige points x1000, Global Prestige Points x15000, Gold coins x8000. Let us remember the heroes¡¯ names.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Gongzi You for leading the Upwards Ho! team in achieving First Blood in the 50-yers dungeon Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum (Normal Difficulty). Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige Points x300, Talent Points x5. Achievement: ¡®Nightmarishly Normal! Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum First Five!¡¯. May her name be engraved in the history of Fate.¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Remote Depths for achieving First Blood in the 50-yers dungeon Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum (Normal Difficulty). Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige Points x300, Talent Points x5. Achievement: ¡®Nightmarishly Normal! Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum First Five!¡¯. May his name be engraved in the history of Fate.

    ¡°Congrattions Let Go Of That Girl for achieving First Blood on the 50-yers dungeon Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum (Normal Difficulty). Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige Points x300, Talent Points x5. Achievement: ¡®Nightmarishly Normal! Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum First Five!¡¯. May his name be engraved in the history of Fate.

    ¡°Congrattions Fruit Jelly for achieving First Blood in the 50-yers dungeon Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum (Normal Difficulty). Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige Points x300, Talent Points x5. Achievement: ¡®Nightmarishly Normal! Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum First Five!¡¯. May her name be engraved in the history of Fate.

    ......

    Although they had merely cleared the dungeon at Normal Difficulty, it was still the first 50-yer dungeon in the Eastern Continent. The World Channel was flooded with glowing red words that were very dazzling.

    The World Channel erupted into chaos.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that Upwards Ho! was pioneering a dungeon, yet they¡¯ve cleared one just like that? Are they using cheats?¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, they started yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Yesterday? Wasn¡¯t there a thread using Gongzi You of being a thief? No wonder Upwards Ho! was so quiet about it! They¡¯re all in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always thought that Upwards Ho! was mediocre, and that their members were unwanted trash from the other guilds. How did they even get First Blood? Gongzi You did help World Conqueror to obtain First Blood for Frosty Wastnd. But they¡¯re a major guild with a lot of resources. What the hell happened this time? How the hell did a small guild like this get First Blood?¡±

    ¡°By the way, I heard that Tang Dynasty was also exploring this dungeon today. Didn¡¯t they say that they¡¯ll clear it today? Why have we not heard anything from them?¡±

    ......

    The members of Upwards Ho! did not even have the energy to pay attention to the World Channel. They rushed towards Ye Ci, screaming as they went, throwing her into the air. Quite a number of yers burst into tears. It was a very emotional moment. This First Blood belonged to Upwards Ho! and it was also their very first.

    Ye Ci was filled with excitement as well. Despite clearing this dungeon countless times in her past life, this was the first time she did it for her own guild, and her own friends. It was an entirely different sensation.

    ......

    Meanwhile in Tang Dynasty...

    Wandering Cloud was the one who was leading the expedition into the dungeon. The guild leader, NightAndDay, had not shown up. He was busy leveling up, and had left themand to Wandering Cloud.

    Tang Dynasty¡¯s team was far superiorpared to Upwards Ho!. To them, Upwards Ho! was a rag-tag bunch of weaklings. They did not have good equipment, and their teamwork was mediocre. The elites of Tang Dynasty were veterans that had gone through countless hardships together. Their discipline and awareness were amongst the best if not the best.

    To clear this dungeon, they had sent their regrs into the dungeon countless times, using them to test the waters and gather intelligence about the skills of each BOSS. After a long time of careful research and study, the guild selected 50 of the best elites and sent them into the dungeon.

    Although they¡¯ve been trying for three days in a row, they were confident that they will be able to achieve First Blood. They had purchased intel from information dealers regarding the progress of other guilds. With the exception of Wolf Pack, the other guilds were not any cause for rm. Wolf Pack was the same as Tang Dynasty and had challenged the 3rd BOSS Duo¡¯Ma a day earlier than Tang Dynasty, but their luck was bad and they had suffered heavy casualties. This meant that they needed a few days to recover before they could challenging the BOSS once more.

    Tang Dynasty would be able to achieve First Blood within the said few days. Despite receiving reports that Upwards Ho! had also started to exploring the dungeon, Wandering Cloud did not take it seriously. He knew that Gongzi You was very capable. However, a single yer would not be able to bring that much of an impact. In his eyes, Upwards Ho!¡¯s yers were all subpar. How could they possibly clear this dungeon within two days?

    This was why Wandering Cloud was sure that Tang Dynasty had the First Blood in the bag.

    He was sure until the system announced that Upwards Ho! had achieved First Blood. Wandering Cloud was stunned, and had only recovered when the partymander shouted out loud, ¡°Guild leader, you¡¯ve been DEBUFFed!¡± He reacted just in time to cast Charge and dropped dead in a safe ce. As heid dead on the ground, Wandering Cloud felt like he was going to cough up blood. How? How could this happen? How in the world was that even remotely possible?

    Two minutester, the system notification rang up again. Tang Dynasty had achieved First Five in the 50-yers dungeon, Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum.

    Although it was only 2 minutes, it was still overwhelming...

    Wandering Cloud felt a tightness in his chest. He sat down, and pounded the ground. ¡°Upwards Ho!, I will not allow you to get First Blood so easily next time!¡± Wandering Cloud bellowed with rage.

    In contrast with Tang Dynasty¡¯s low morale, Upwards Ho! was practically going crazy from joy. Not only did they bag the First Blood, the looter, Icy Cold Tiny Hands had extremely good luck, instantly looting several items. With the exclusion of yers who had already received equipment from the first and second BOSS, the eyes of the remaining yers almost popped out from their sockets.

    Purple Equipment, it was actually a Purple Equipment!

    BOOM! Double chapters!! Hope y¡¯all are enjoyed these 2 chapters!

    Welp, if you wish to reward Jimmi and the team for these awesome chaps, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page!

    If we receive a donation of 50$ today, we¡¯ll be posting a bonus chapter!

    FIRST TO COMMENT TYPE FIRST BLOOD!!!

    Teaser next chapter.

 Chapter 118 Trade

    Chapter 118 Trade

    Ye Ci had cleared a number of dungeons before, but this was her first time seeing a purple equipment drop . Even Ye Ci herself was excited by the purple drop, not to mention the other yers in the party. Although the piece of equipment was not for the Huntress ss, Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh when she saw it, the goddess of fortune really did favor Icy Cold Little Hands after all.

    The most-treasured drops of the Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum were Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Staff, Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Shield, and Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Ring respectively. Among these purple equipment, Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Staff was the best equipment for Ice-Type Mages below Lvl50. Not only were the attributes of the equipment overpowered, it also increased the damage dealt by Ice-Type Magic by 30. This caused numerous Ice-Type Mages to repeatedly clear this dungeon in the hopes of obtaining Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Staff.

    Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Shield was just as broken. It offers a 40% bonus resistance against ice-type damage and was also Fate¡¯s first defensive equipment that was able to improve one¡¯s resistance to ice. However, Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Ring was the one equipment that drove yers crazy .

    Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Ring was mediocre on paper as its stats was only slightly better than a Blue ring of the same level. However, the ring possessed an active ability¨CSummon Duo¡¯Ma. This ability could be said to be one of the most broken equipment abilities in Fate.

    When activated by a yer, Duo¡¯ma with the same level as its summoner will appear to fight for the yer for 15 minutes. The cooldown of the skill was 3 days.This ring will enable its user to steamroll through enemies in countless dungeons and battlefields. However, the drop rate for this particr piece of equipment was extremely low. To Ye Ci¡¯s knowledge, there were only 6 to 7 instances where the ring had dropped during her 10 years of gaming in herst life. Numerous parties had lined up outside the dungeon on a daily basis for a chance to obtain Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Ring.

    Of course, Icy Cold Tiny Hands was not that lucky. Besides, it was impossible for Duo¡¯ma¡¯s Ring and Duo¡¯ma¡¯s Shield to drop in the Normal Difficulty of Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum. The only item that would drop in the Normal Difficulty was Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Staff, with only a drop rate of 0.01%, one did have to admit that Icy Cold Tiny Hands really had excellent luck to be able to cause it to drop.

    Besides Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Staff, the distribution of the other equipment were done easily. After all, Duo¡¯Ma¡¯s Staff was a purple equipment. Who wouldn¡¯t want a purple equipment? Two Ice-Type Mages were currently present in the dungeon clearing team of Upwards Ho. One was Timely Rain and the other was Eyes Closed In Silence. The main role that an Ice-Type Mage does in the early stages was crowd-control; they did not have a lot of damaging spells unlike Fire-Type and Arcane-Type Mages who were all out damage dealers. That¡¯s why yers who seek high DPS would rarely choose to be an Ice-Type Mage which inadvertently caused the yer poption of Ice-Type Mages in Fate to be slightly smaller.

    This was a difficult situation. Timely Rain was an administrator of the guild as well as the main fighting strength of the dungeon clearance team. Thus, no one would object if he imed it for himself. However, Eyes Closed In Silence was also an expert amongst the mages with excellent crowd control as well as high damage output. Most importantly, the two had identical DPS. Hence, the choice would be unfair regardless of who they gave.

    Ye Ci looked at Duo¡¯ma¡¯s Staff and spoke bluntly. ¡°The two of you should roll for it. Whoever rolled the higher value should take it. As for the person who rolled the lower value, please don¡¯t me society for being unfair now.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s words caused chuckles to ripple through the party. Everyone then promptly sat down and began to watch the two roll for the equipment.

    For a moment, both Timely Rain and Eyes Closed In Silence felt pressured and started to pray for their good fortune. The results came out quick, Timely Rain had 11 points while Eyes Closed In Silence had 16. Naturally the staff went to Eyes Closed In Silence. Ye Ci took the opportunity to snark at the two. ¡°Your point rolls were too low; none of you actually got higher than 20. The two of you wouldn¡¯t stand a chance if there was another person who rolled for it!¡±

    Although Timely Rain found it a pity, he was not a petty person. He cracked a joke to Eyes Closed In Silence,¡±It¡¯s fortunate that there¡¯s just you and me, if there¡¯s another Ice-Type Mage present, we¡¯d probably be passed immediately.¡±

    Eyes Closed In Silence felt slightly embarrassed., Upon hearing Timely Rain¡¯s words, she felt even more embarrassed and said. ¡°Administrator, I¡¯m really sorry...¡±

    Timely Rain shook his hand repeatedly. ¡°What are you talking about, we¡¯re all part of the same guild, isn¡¯t it the same if we give it to another person?¡±

    Upon noticing that the both of them were able to look past the issue, Ye Ci took her attention off from them. Turning around to address everyone, she gave themand to disband. While everyone was leaving, Liu Chang suddenly grabbed Ye Ci. ¡°Little Ci, I need to discuss something with you.¡±

    Ye Ci looked at her and saw Liu Chang¡¯s hesitant eyes, this was different from her usual self. She was exceptionally listless today, a far cry from her usual, energetic self which caused Ye Ci to be somewhat puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    The corners of Liu Chang¡¯s mouth as she hesitated to speak, letting out a long sigh instead.

    ¡°If you have something to say, then say it. I¡¯m not a curious person. I won¡¯t be moved even if you try to keep me in suspense.¡± Ye Ci was always blunt when speaking to Liu Chang and it was the same for Liu Chang. It¡¯s just that something was bothering her today.

    ¡°I got it! I got it!¡± Liu Chang¡¯s mncholic mood had been dashed by Ye Ci¡¯s words, she spoke. ¡°It¡¯s not me, it¡¯s about Dong Yin.¡±

    ¡°Something to do with Thousand Sunsets?¡± Even if Liu Chang didn¡¯t say, Ye Ci was able to deduce the matter.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Liu Chang nodded before looking up at Ye Ci. ¡°But it has something to do with you as well.¡¯

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, she could roughly guess what Liu Chang wanted to say. In this period of time, there was only one thing that could have involved herself, Dong Yin and Thousand Sunsets, which was the raiding of Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild warehouse. Putting on a nonchnt expression. ¡°What does it got to do with me?¡±

    ¡°You know about Steel Blooded Battle Spear raving at you yesterday right?¡± Liu Chang began to beat about the bush. Upon seeing Ye Ci nod her head, she continued. ¡°And that Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild warehouse was raided this morning?¡±

    ¡°It caused such a big ruckus, anyone would have known by now.¡± Ye Ci did not answer Liu Chang directly.

    ¡°Thousand Sunsets was infuriated when Dong Yin defended you on the forum where Steel-Blooded Battle Spear was defaming you. When their warehouse got raided today, Thousand Sunsets blindly used you of being the one who robbed their warehouse and Dong Yin was the insider that cooperated with you.¡± With that, Liu Chang began to stutter.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Dong Yin is currently being treated extremely badly. Is it possible for you to intervene and invite her into our guild?¡± Liu Chang knew that her request was going slightly overboard but she was pained as she recalled Dong Yin crying over the phone when she called her in the afternoon. She had no choice but to plead with Ye Ci out of desperation. ¡°A-also, Yi Cang. Let¡¯s take him along as well.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes slightly, she knew that Liu Chang¡¯s request was purely fueled by emotion and yet, she was unable to immediately agree to that request. If Ye Ci were to agree to it, it would definitely create an misunderstanding. Thousand Sunsets would think that she and Dong Yin were involved in the heist of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild warehouse. Even though she was indeed the culprit, she did not intend for anyone to find out about the truth. After all, Thousand Sunsets had quite a background in real life and was well aware of her true identity. No matter how famous and formidable she was in the game, she and her family were nothing more thanmoners in reality. If revenge were to be wrought onto her because of this incident, she would pay dearly for this.

    However, she could not ignore Dong Yin¡¯s present situation either.

    ¡°If she wants to leave Steel Blooded Battle Spear ande to Upwards Ho! on her own ord, I will wee her with open arms. However, if you want me to go to take her away from Thousand Sunsets...¡± Ye Ci paused. ¡°Liu Chang, you do know of Thousand Sunsets¡¯s background right?¡±

    Liu Chang momentarily froze. Of course she knew about this, even if she wasn¡¯t clear about the details, she learned from Dong Yin that Thousand Sunsets was not an ordinary person. He was not someone that small fries like them could afford to mess with. Yet, this was the very reason she was worried for Dong Yin. If she continues to be around Thousand Sunsets...the very thought caused Liu Chang to shudder.

    Ye Ci saw through Liu Chang¡¯s thoughts and shook her head,¡±It¡¯s not a big issue, so long as Zero Arsenic is still with Steel Blooded Battle Spear, Thousand Sunsets wouldn¡¯t do anything to Dong Yin. It¡¯s just that... she needs to think for herself.¡± With that, Ye Ci grimaced as though mocking herself. ¡°Girls you see, as long as we fall into the trap known as love, our IQ will be reduced by a frightening degree. We need to let her understand on her own before she can snap out of it. Besides...¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips, her tone cold. ¡°Has she said anything about wanting to leave Steel Blooded Battle Spear anding to our side?¡±

    ¡°She hasn¡¯t.¡± Liu Chang shook her head.

    Ye Ci did not ask further. She patted Liu Chang on the shoulders,and let out a long sigh. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, everything will be fine in the end.¡±

    After leaving the dungeon, Ye Ci rented out a small boat and stopped it in the middle of Red Lake City¡¯ske. She had just learnt Fishing and this was the perfect ce for her to level up her proficiency as a Beginner Fisherman.

    Bait and reel, bait and reel. After repeating this series of actions for an unknown amount of time, Ye Ci sent out a message to Zero Arsenic. ¡°The video for clearing Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum for two of your yers. Deal?¡±

    Zero Arsenic¡¯s reply was swift. ¡°Gongzi, it would be better if you negotiate with our guild leader about this.¡±

    Ye Ci snorted. ¡°Since I came to see you in person, it means that I know some things.¡±

    Zero Arsenic chuckled after a momentary pause. ¡°I knew that long ago. Not only do you have excellent skill, you are an intelligent person as well. If I am not wrong, you are here for Gleaming Sunshine and Leftie?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know that if you do such something like this right now, it will cause people to suspect that you are the culprit behind the heist of our guild warehouse?¡±

    This was the one thing that Ye Ci was most worried about. However, when it came to scheming, Ye Ci was confident that she who had experienced one more lifetime was not a pushover either. Zero Arsenic was an extremely cautious person. The more you try to pronounce your misdeeds to such a person, the more they will doubt your words. This was their so-called personality w.

    ¡°What if I say that I was the one who did it?¡± She openly admitted to the deed without any hesitation.

    High quality TL by Rozen. Those who disagree gets a smash from uhh.... Uhhh.... Jun Huang Yuuko!

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 Chapter 119 Carnivore

    Chapter 119 Carnivore

    Ye Ci¡¯s words were like a rock that had been tossed into the ocean. Zero Arsenic immediately went silent, a reaction that caused her mood to improve.

    If the enemy doesn¡¯t make a move, neither shall I.

    Deciding to not say another word, Ye Ci casted another bait into the water. Although she was fishing, Ye Ci was distracted. Her gaze wandered all over the ce. She would even forget to reel in fishes that had bit onto the bait. Her gaze then abruptly rested on the shore not far away from her, where a yer dressed in normal looking, or some might even call it, totally garbage equipment, was standing. It was a Human with a thin build, with his brown hair tied into a messy bun behind his head. He was standing in the water with his pants rolled up, appearing to be looking for something.

    Ye Ci had excellent eyesight and it wasn¡¯t long before she realized that he was looking for ms.

    Looking for ms? There are only two professions that required ms; either the person is a Chef or... a Jeweler. Ye Ci¡¯s instincts told her that the man before her was a Jeweler. The reason being that she had never seen such a poor-looking Chef before.

    Upon attaining the Beginner proficiency, the Chef would be able to make food that provides a variety of attribute bonuses, which are highly prized by all when sold in the auction house. Any cook with a proficiency of Beginner or higher would be slightly wealthier than the average yer. Since this person in front of her was actually in such a sorry state, she could only conclude that he was definitely a Jeweler. Jewelers, like Engineers, are trashy and poor in the early stages of the game but they would only be considered to be totally awesome in theter stages of the game.

    Whilete stage Jewelers were highly sought by everyone, the early stage Jewelers were abhorred by all as they wasted both materials and equipment alike. A Jeweler who achieved Master tier through his or her own efforts without any support of therge guilds was someone who deserves respect.

    The person seemed to have been digging for ms even before Ye Ci had arrived. Based on her estimations, he should have been digging for at least two hours. For reasons unknown, Ye Ci felt a sudden interest towards this person and she made a decision. If that person was still around when she was done with her conversation with Zero Arsenic, she will definitely go over and say hello.

    At this moment, Zero Arsenic was sitting in the meeting room all by himself. He was looking at the footage he had received in the afternoon, deep in thought. In the video, a male Dwarven Rogue crept into Steel-Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild encampment map, swiftly evading the patrols before dashing to the bottom of the encampment¡¯s wall, disappearing out of sight.

    The footagested for about 3 minutes and was rather blurry. However, despite all that, it was clear enough to identify the culprit that broke into the guild warehouse. That person was not Gongzi You.

    This person had acted on his own.

    Gongzi You confessed that she was the one who raided Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. As for her intentions for doing so... Zero Arsenic was able to quickly deduce the sequence of events. She definitely knows about the matter between Thousand Sunsets and Gleaming Sunshine. Zero Arsenic pursed his lips at the thought.

    That¡¯s right, their guild was definitely stuck at the third BOSS. However, since they knew that it was no longer possible to get the First Blood, Steel Blooded Battle Spear was not as impatient as before with progressing through the dungeon, instead taking the time toe up with a battle strategy. A few hours had passed since Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum was cleared, Tang Dynasty had kept their dungeon clearing video under tight wraps, Upwards Ho! was also silent regarding the matter. Thus, wanting to find out the dungeon¡¯s clearing method was extremely difficult. Just at this moment, with Gongzi You delivering the video to their doorstep, Zero Arsenic could not see any reason to refuse. However, the conditions that Gongzi You had set for the exchange made him believe that she was just a person who had let her interpersonal rtions get the better of her.

    ¡°Gongzi, you certainly know how to crack a joke.¡± Zero Arsenic rewound the footage, calmly replying Ye Ci while still observing the nimble movements of that male Dwarven Rogue in the video.

    Receiving Zero Arsenic¡¯s reply after so long, Ye Ci was slightly confused, she chuckled in response, not continuing the conversation.

    ¡°To be honest, I really do want your dungeon clearance footage, it¡¯s just that...¡± Zero Arsenic paused for a moment, as though he was trying to keep Ye Ci in suspense.

    At this moment, Ye Ci¡¯s bobber moved. She leisurely lifted her fishing rod, took a lively loach off the hook and threw it into the creel next to her. She then replied without much excitement. ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Humans aren¡¯tmodities. Even if you and I are willing to make the trade, they might not necessarily be willing to leave. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Zero Arsenic¡¯s words sounded sincere and true, Ye Ci knew that he was just stating facts and couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly depressed.

    How would she not understand this logic? However, despite her unwillingness, some things still had to be done. The four of them had grown up together since young, and were childhood friends who saw each other on a daily basis. If she did not take action, it would definitely leave a topic for discussion, but even if she did take action, it might not turn out as she had hoped. With their one-track minds, Yi Cang and Dong Yin would never feel that they were suffering, even if the onlookers might feel otherwise.

    As she continued to ponder, an unknown anger welled up from within her. What the hell is this?

    Zero Arsenic noticed that Ye Ci remained silent and couldn¡¯t help but inquire: ¡°Gongzi, have you made your decision?¡±

    Ye Ci sighed: ¡±How about this? I¡¯ll only meet them once. If they want to leave, help me make the arrangements. If they don¡¯t want to leave, then you can act as if nothing had happened.¡±

    Unlike Thousand Sunsets, was not a petty person. Unless it was under extreme circumstances, he would not burn bridges with Ye Ci. That¡¯s why he was fully supportive of Ye Ci¡¯s suggestion, even suggesting an additional point. ¡°Of course, I will not tell another soul about the video.¡±

    ¡°Although, this is your problem after all.¡± Ye Ci was in low spirits. Anyone would be depressed when dealing with an issue like this, which was why Zero Arsenic expressed his understanding towards the matter. He agreed to contact herter on so that they could set up a time and ce for the meeting.

    Ye Ci put away her fishing rod, ending the most depressing conversation ever since she had reincarnated. Right now, she nned to do something that was not as dispiriting. Rowing her boat to the shore, she noticed that that man was still fervently looking for ms. His IGN was not hidden, probably due to the fact that most Life yers did not see the point in hiding their IGNs. At least it was true for the Life yers who Ye Ci had came across.

    It was a familiar name. It was so familiar that Ye Ci was slightly shocked.

    Carnivore.

    He was the first Jeweler who became a Grandmaster in her past life. A yer who had countless major guilds licking his boots. He was a solitary person who had a poisonous tongue, apanied with a cold and aloof personality. These were the signature traits this mysterious Grandmaster Jeweler had in her past life. However, Carnivore was indifferent towards his negative image. During an interview where he shared about his experiences in the game, he spoke of gruelling and thrifty times. Receiving neither assistance nor respect from other yers, he was disillusioned towards the gaming world. As a result, he was unable to forgive those people who had hurt him before even after he became sessful. In short, he was a narrow-minded person.

    Ye Ci recalled her past self bringing several overpowered equipment to this person for gem socketing but was splendidly rejected in the end. His reason for that was¡ª¡ªhe would not socket gems for people of poor character.

    F**k!! Even though Ye Ci¡¯s IGN was on the list of yers with the worst character but Carnivore wasn¡¯t a saint either. Due to his aloof and cold personality, he rejected numerous yers and was even listed amongst the top ten Fate yers who you do not want to interact with.

    It was precisely due to being snubbed by this person that Ye Ci never went to look for him ever again. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that his reputation resounded far and wide, Ye Ci would have probably forgotten about this yer¡¯s existence already. With Carnivore suddenly appearing before Ye Ci in such a dishevelled state, the contrast was almost unbearable for her.

    Carnivore watched this female Elf disembark from her boat with envious eyes. People who were able to rent a boat to fish in the middle of theke had to be wealthy. Looking at the mud on his hands, he let out a long sigh and continued to dig for ms.

    ¡°Are you digging for ms?¡± Ye Ci reined in her negative emotions, before shing a faint smile at Carnivore.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± The current Carnivore was not the cold and aloof Grandmaster level Jeweler she met in her past life, but a newbie who had just entered the game to earn a living.

    ¡°I have a few here, do you want them?¡± Ye Ci took a handful of ms from her creel and showed them to Carnivore.

    Carnivore¡¯s eyes brightened. He stretched out his trembling, mud-encrusted hands with the intention of epting before he paused, looking up and giving Ye Ci a helpless smile. ¡°Forget it, I don¡¯t have the money to pay you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need the money, I was also practicing my Fishing Proficiency. If you don¡¯t want it, I¡¯ll just treat them as trash and toss them into the shop.¡± Ye Ci said cooly.

    ¡°T-then, I shall humbly ept your offer.¡± Carnivore was slightly moved, this was his first time receiving another person¡¯s care ever since he started ying. It also made him realize that there was still warmth in this cruel world of the game filled with cold hearted people.

    Ye Ci immediately initiated the trade, passing over more than a hundred ms in her inventory over to Carnivore before faking an ignorant expression and asking. ¡°Are you a Chef who is in need of ms to level up your skill proficiency?¡±

    ¡°No, I am a Jeweler.¡± Carnivore shook his head, his voice wasn¡¯t loud but it was filled with determination. It seems that he held a fondness towards his profession.

    ¡°That is a profession that one rarely hears of.¡±

    ¡°Y-yes.¡± Under Ye Ci¡¯s gaze, Carnivore suddenly became extremely nervous. He looked down at his dishevelled appearance and wished for a pit to appear so that he can jump inside.

 Chapter 120 Slavery Contract

    Chapter 120 very Contract

    Humans tend to be full of contradicts. Carnivore was the perfect example of this. He was grateful that Ye Ci did not make fun of him and hoped that he could talk with her more. On the other hand, because of the contrast between her shy appearance and his sorry state, he hoped that Ye Ci would just leave.

    Then again, thekeside didn¡¯t belong to anyone. He couldn¡¯t just ask Ye Ci to leave, but he was also unwilling to leave the area, as it had taken him quite a lot of effort to locate a shallow water region that yielded more mshells. He could only lower his head and continue digging for ms, pretending that Ye Ci did not exist.

    Ye Ci, of course, knew nothing of the turmoil within Carnivore¡¯s heart. She was only interested in his talent and wanted to recruit him into her guild. Clear Moon and Cutie Lemon had ¡®defiled¡¯ a huge amount of materials in order to forge equipment, so was it time to get someone to ¡®abuse¡¯ the finished goods as well? Since they¡¯d already been defiled and abused, it didn¡¯t matter.

    Ye Ci continued watching Carnivore digging for ms, and had even summoned Ol¡¯ Four alongside her. Carnivore¡¯s hands shook. Why was this female Elf not leaving yet? Why had she summoned a freaking dinosaur to watch him? That dinosaur had even walked up to him and sniffed at him after detecting no danger...

    Carnivore was only lvl 10 and had never visited any maps that were above lvl 10. He had never seen a Tyrannosaurus Rex. When a member of this extinct species interacted with him intimately, he involuntarily took a few steps back.

    ¡°Uhh, d-does it eat ms?¡± Carnivore found the courage to ask Ye Ci. The thing he had the most of right now were those ms anyways.

    Ye Ci casted a nce at Ol¡¯ Four, and at Carnivore. She then said with a sly grin, ¡°He doesn¡¯t eat them raw.¡±

    ¡°Ohh...¡± Carnivore scratched his head awkwardly, identally coating himself in mud. He let out a long sigh after noticing that Ye Ci had backed Ol¡¯ Four away slightly, then continued to dig for ms just like before, as if he was never disturbed by Ol¡¯ Four.

    ¡°What¡¯s the current level of your skill?¡± Ye Ci suddenly spoke up.

    ¡°Beginner Tier with 11% progress.¡±

    Ye Ci was slightly surprised. To be able to get a skill like that to the Beginner Tier with only his own capabilities was indeed an impressive feat.

    ¡°How long did it take you?¡±

    ¡°3 months.¡± Carnivore felt odd. Why must this female Elf ask him questions in such fine detail?

    Ye Ci was even more surprised. To be able to reach Beginner Tier with 11% progress within a period of 3 months, the person must be very passionate about his job. She then realized another problem, ¡°How much money have you spent?¡±

    This question reminded Carnivore of his sorrows. He remained silent for brief moment and then repliedmely, ¡°This seems to have nothing to do with you, right?¡±

    Indeed, they were strangers who met by chance. Even if Ye Ci had given him more than 100 ms, it did not mean that he had the obligation to tell her everything. Especially... when money was involved. He could not bring himself to say that he was at the end of the line. Not only that, he was facing a huge debt. And especially, right at that moment, he...

    From his reaction, Ye Ci could guess that Carnivore had spent a lot of money. And... he was very, very broke right now.

    Money was a bitch. You could look down on it, but you had to chase after its ass. You could despise it, but when your stomach was hungry, having a lot of money would not be a bad idea.

    ¡°Oi.¡± Ye Ci was not angry at Carnivore¡¯s hostile tone. She narrowed her eyes and grinned, ¡°Do you wanna join my guild?¡±

    Her offer came as a surprise for Carnivore. He had tried applying to countless guilds, but all of the major guilds had their own Jeweller, while the smaller ones could not afford him. Hence, nobody was willing to take him in. Just as he had given up hopes of joining a guild, a huge meat pie fell right on hisp. Was it April Fool¡¯s day?

    ¡°Say what?¡± Carnivore could not believe his ears.

    ¡°I said, do you wanna join my guild?¡± Ye Ci answered patiently. Although she was still agitated at Zero Arsenic¡¯s words, it all flew to cloud nine once she saw the sorry guy in front of her. Her mood was greatly improved.

    ¡°Your guild would ept me?¡± Carnivore was stunned, ¡°What¡¯s your guild?¡± It was a very important question. A major guild would have no problem hiring him, but a small one would never be able to sustain a money-burning ss like him.

    ¡°Upwards Ho!.¡±

    Although Carnivore was a Life yer, he still paid attention to the forums. He naturally knew about Upwards Ho!. He was shocked. Although the guild was not veryrge, its reputation had already surpassed that of manyrge guilds. He quivered when he once again took note of the amber-eyed Huntress in front of him, and a thought entered his mind. It was a very shocking revtion. Carnivore began stuttering, ¡°Y-y-you are... G-g-gongzi You?¡±

    Heh. She didn¡¯t know that Carnivore would stutter when he felt anxious.

    ¡°What do you think? Do you want to join my guild?¡± Ye Ci did not answer his question, but instead asked a question of her own.

    This was one of the most famous people in the Eastern Continent! Carnivore was excited. His blush was visible even through his mud covered face. But after his moment of excitement, he began considering Ye Ci¡¯s proposal. He then extended his hand, with 3 fingers raised, ¡°You must first give me 30,000 gold coins.¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. She was correct after all. This person was indeed at the end of the line. If she was not mistaken, he needed the 30,000 gold coins to pay his debts.

    Carnivore became nervous as Ye Ci remained practically expressionless. The 3 raised fingers became 2, ¡°H-h-how about 25,000 gold coins?¡± After still receiving no reaction from Ye Ci, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°20,000 gold coins, nothing less than that!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you 50,000 gold coins up front. All the materials you need will be provided by the guild, and you¡¯ll be paid 3,000 gold coins as your monthly sry as a Beginner Tier Jeweller. If you manage to advance to Medium Tier, your sry will be raised to 5,000 gold coins per month. And if you hit the Advanced Tier, your sry will be 10,000 gold coins. Being a Master Tier willnd you with 20,000 gold coins per month, and if you¡¯re a Grandmaster, you¡¯ll receive a sry of 30,000 gold coins per month.¡± At that point, Carnivore was openly staring agape at Ye Ci, even his eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, but Ye Ci was not done yet, ¡°If businessese looking, we¡¯ll give you 10% of the revenue as amission.¡±

    Carnivore was totally speechless for a long period of time. After staring nkly for quite a while, he finally regained hisposure, ¡°Gongzi You, you¡¯re not kidding me, right...?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, we can go sign a contract.¡± With that, Ye Ci stood up, motioning for him to follow her to the City Hall to sign the contract.

    ¡°Are you for real?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes once more, ¡°Do you dare to sign the contract?¡±

    Carnivore was momentarily stunned. He then leapt out of the water abruptly and said to Ye Ci, ¡°Of course! If even you dare, why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±

    When the two sat in the City Hall, Carnivore was already getting used to the Mayor¡¯s ttering of Ye Ci. He suddenly realised that it was not strange for a lot of things to happen all around this girl.

    After stating the content of her promise with Carnivore to the Mayor, she turned around and talked to Carnivore, ¡°This will be a 10 year contract.¡±

    ¡°10 years?¡± Carnivore was once again shocked, but he was able to calm himself down soon, and nodded, ¡°Fine.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I have some conditions of my own as well.¡±

    Of course, there¡¯s no free lunch in this world. Carnivore took in a deep breath, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t get to the Medium Tier within a year, I reserve the rights to cancel my contract with you, and you¡¯ll have to pay me my losses.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, and had replied in a tone devoid of emotion.

    If he could not reach Medium Tier within a year even when he was funded by someone, Carnivore himself would be ashamed. He nodded without hesitation.

    ¡°Also, the 50,000 gold coins I¡¯m going to pay you up front is not for free. It¡¯s an advance. You¡¯ll have to repay it every month.¡± With that, Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°which means that you¡¯ll receive no sry for a year starting from the time our contract is made official. Of course, if you¡¯re able to reach Medium Tier earlier than expected, such days would also be over.¡±

    Carnivore hesitated at that. But he gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement. He was at the end of the line. There were no other choices for him.

    ¡°Alright then.¡±

    Ye Ci was satisfied with Carnivore¡¯s straightforward answer. She then nodded to the mayor, and 2 digital contracts recognised by thew appeared in front of the two. Ye Ci signed her name, and Carnivore did the same. The system then announced that the contract was in effect, and a printed version would be mailed to the current address of both Ye Ci and Carnivore.

    ¡°Well then, wee to Upwards Ho!.¡± Ye Ci invited Carnivore into the guild, and extended her hand towards him.

    Carnivore immediately stood up and stuttered at Ye Ci, ¡°Y-Yes boss.¡±

    ¡°Call me guild leader, or Gongzi You.¡± Ye Ci shook hands with Carnivore, and handed him 50,000 gold coins. She then sent a private message to Let Go Of That Girl, who was in charge of managing the Life yers in Upwards Ho!. After introducing Carnivore to Let Go Of That Girl, she sent him on his way to the guild encampment.

    There you go peeps! Chapter 120 ripe for reading!!

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    Roses are blue,

    sses are tiring,

    And the boredom is real!

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 Chapter 121 The Young Appraiser

    Chapter 121: The Young Appraiser

    After she made arrangements for Carnivore, Ye Ci decided to go clean up her warehouse. She took out all of the items she stole from the Steel Blooded Battle Spear that she felt like would be best utilised for the guild¡¯s purposes.

    When she was clearing out the warehouse, Ye Ci noticed a Mysterious Map. Upon closer examination, she remembered that this was one of the loot drops from the Sandstorm Scorpion. She had reported the Sandstorm Scorpion BUG right after and had forgotten to appraise the map. It was left in her warehouse, and now that she thought of it, it was a waste to leave it there.

    She took the map out and decided to go get it appraised. She took some materials out of her warehouse before leaving and handed them to Remote Depths in the guild encampment. She then headed to the Red Lake City Appraisal Hall.

    Appraisal Halls were always lively in every game. In Fate, most of the equipment had visible stats, but there were some special equipment and items with hidden attributes that would only show up after they were appraised. There were a lot of big guilds, but there were more smaller guilds than there were big guilds, and the number of solo yers greatly outnumbered the small guilds. Guilds tended to favor dungeon clearing. while it was moremon for solo yers to grind their experience in the wild. Almost anything dropped in the wild needed to be appraised. Thus, the Appraisal Hall was always crowded no matter what happened.

    Ye Ci entered the Appraisal Hall, looked around and made a beeline towards the youngest looking Appraiser who was sitting in the corner.

    Of the 20-odd Appraisers in the Red Lake City Appraisal Hall, this Appraiser¡¯s booth was the most unfrequented one. Although technically they were in a game, people would still tend to apply their values in the real world to the gaming world. In real life, people would prefer to look for an older individual, as an older person might have more experience.

    For example, old Chinese traditional medicine practitioners, older masters, etc.

    Youths, inparison, gave people the impression that they would be inept at their job. That was why all the older Appraisers¡¯ booths were swarmed with yers who mored for their services, whereas this younger Appraiser had no more than 3 customers.

    However, Ye Ci knew something that the others do not.

    In the future, Red Lake City would be able to attract arge poption of yers. This would not be solely due to its good geographical location, but also for another reason: The city was home to Dyar Continent¡¯s one and only Grandmaster Appraiser. The aforementioned Appraiser was none other than this very youth who appeared to be unreliable: Tick.

    Of course, all of this would only happen in the next two to three years. At the current stage of the game, Tick was nothing more than just a Medium Tier Appraiser.

    Just like yers, the various NPCs in Fate are also able to level up by honing their skills. Appraisers could level up by appraising a huge quantity of items. There was, of course, another way: appraising a rare item. This would greatly raise the proficiency of an Appraiser.

    Appraisers started their career at Medium Tier mastery. Compared to the other Appraisers, Tick¡¯s proficiencygged behind by arge margin, as many of the yers refused to let him appraise their items due to his young appearance... Even if he was approached to appraise something, they were usually low value items. As a result, his proficiency progression was stagnant. Quite a few Appraisers had already increased their mastery to High Tier.

    An NPC would be penalized by the system if they were unable to raise their proficiency level. This was something all NPCs wanted to avoid.

    Besides, Tick had a good personalitypared to the other Appraisers who were all bad tempered. Although it was really hard to level up, he did not let the frustration show. Instead, he was cheerful and made sure he was on his best behaviour when he was serving his customers.

    ¡°Hello, Miss Elf. May I ask if you have anything for me to appraise?¡± Tick showed a warm expression and asked in a very pleasant manner the moment Ye Ci sat in front of his booth.

    Ye Ci studied the face of this polite Human. To be honest, she would never allow the Appraiser, who was at the young age of about 16 years old, to appraise her item if she didn¡¯t have prior knowledge that he would be a Grandmaster Appraiser one day. It seemed that the journey to be a Grandmaster Appraisal was not an easy one.

    ¡°It¡¯s this item I have here.¡± Ye Ci took out the Mysterious Map, ced it on top of the table, and pushed it in front of Tick. ¡°Can you please take a look?¡±

    Tick smiled, and then took the map from Ye Ci. Tick¡¯s expression unexpectedly changed after studying the map. He then pushed the map back towards Ye Ci. ¡°Miss Elf, are you sure you don¡¯t want somebody else to appraise this?¡±

    What the? Ye Ci did not understand. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°With an item like this, are you sure you don¡¯t want somebody more experienced to...?¡±

    Tick was interrupted by Ye Ci before he could finish his words. She raised her eyebrows. ¡°So, do you mean that you are unable to appraise this?¡±

    Her words were a direct mockery of Tick¡¯s capabilities. A hint of sorrow appeared on Tick¡¯s youthful face, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean it like that.¡±

    ¡°Then, why?¡±

    ¡°I just feel that Miss Elf would definitely give this item to an Appraiser with more experience to appraise it.¡±

    ¡°Are you me? How would you know what I¡¯m thinking?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. This Grandmaster NPC was definitely very different from the other NPCs. He even had a higher mental function that allowed him to contemte about the ways of the world.

    ¡°Appraise it. I can afford the fees.¡± She silently pushed the map back at him.

    Tick was momentarily stunned before he fumbled with the map and began studying it intently. His hands trembled slightly and a golden light emanated from his palms. The map was bathed in this golden light. The time taken to appraise the map was apparently way longer than the time it normally would take to appraise a normal item. It was a good thing that there were very few visitors to Tick¡¯s booth, or people would begin grumbling.

    Ye Ci began to grow impatient after a full minute had passed. However, she did not wish to disturb Tick who was appraising the map intently, and opted to continue waiting. Sweat beaded on Tick¡¯s forehead.

    Suddenly, dazzling rays of golden light shone from Tick. He rested his hands on the table and opened his eyes, beaming at Ye Ci. ¡°Miss Elf, the appraisal is done.¡± With that, he pushed the map towards Ye Ci.

    ¡°How much doest it cost?¡±

    ¡°I-It¡¯s free.¡± Tick shook his head, his cheeks were flushing red. ¡°Because of your trust, I¡¯ve managed to level up. This is my biggest gain. How can I still ask for your money?¡±

    It seems that the golden light was an indication that Tick had leveled up. Ye Ci nodded as she stood, and prepared to leave, ¡°Alright then.¡±

    ¡°The next time you need some good stuff appraised, do not hesitate to seek me out, I will give you the best price for the best value.¡± As Ye Ci left, Tick stood up and bowed towards her. A system notification followed, ¡°You¡¯ve reached an intimacy level of ¡®Respected¡¯ with the High Tier Appraiser Tick.¡±

    She had struck it big this time. To be able to gain the friendship of the future Grandmaster Appraiser through that one Mysterious Map was worth it. Just what sort of map was it? Upon leaving the Appraisal Hall, Ye Ci then took out the map out of her pocket.

    Only now did the name of the item was revealed. The Mysterious Map was actually a map called Hidden Treasure Gulf.

    The Hidden Treasure Gulf.

    It was a good ce.

    In Fate, there were hidden mysterious maps avable to yers other than the one listed on the maps of each continent. To enter these hidden maps, yers had to obtain the map pieces. Only yers who had the map in their possession were able to enter these ces. yers had 72 hours to explore the map. Once the time was up, even if the yer was unable topletely explore the map, everything in the map would be made avable to the rest of the yers, including the spoils within.

    Hidden Treasure Gulf was one of the four Hidden Unexplored Maps in the Eastern Continent. Its difficulty was mediocre. As for the loot...Ye Ci had no knowledge of the loot as she had never been there in herst life.

    Ye Ci would be lying if she imed to not be happy to obtain the map.

    Ye Ci almost passed out from the excitement. She immediately began to set off in the direction of her warehouse. She headed straight to the Hidden Treasure Gulf after making the necessary preparations. As she made her way to the Hidden Treasure Gulf, Ye Ci contacted Remote Depths, informing him that she would not be around to help with any guild-rted stuff for a few days. As they were having their conversation, a private message from Zero Arsenic arrived.

    ¡°Gongzi You, are you there?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± The private message from Zero Arsenic spoiled Ye Ci¡¯s good mood, but she was able to recover her spirits after a short moment.

    ¡°Gleaming Sunshine and Leftie have agreed to meet with you. When are you avable?¡±

    ¡°Now.¡± Ye Ci gritted her teeth. Weren¡¯t they childhood friends? Why was a stranger arranging their meeting for them?

    Zero Arsenic then sent her the location, and Ye Ci replied curtly. ¡°Give me a few moments, I¡¯ll be there shortly.¡±

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 Chapter 122 Blue Light Coast

    Chapter 122 Blue Light Coast

    The location was at Scarlet Sand City.

    An area that was neither close to Steel-Blooded Battle Spear nor Upwards Ho!¡¯s territory¨CIt fell right smack in the middle.

    The Cripple Inn. Located in a corner of the Eastern District of Scarlet Sand City, it could not be considered crowded. In a small room on the second floor, Ye Ci found Zero Arsenic, Yi Cang and Dong Yin. The three people sat there quietly, almost as if they didn¡¯t know each other. Upon Ye Ci¡¯s entrance, Zero Arsenic stood up and politely smiled. ¡°That was fast.¡±

    Ye Ci noddedd. Zero Arsenic was quite reliable. As he walked towards the door, he said, ¡°You guys chat while I¡¯ll go explore Scarlet Sand City.¡± Upon finishing his words, he left.

    They waited until the sound of Zero Arsenic¡¯s footsteps faded from the stairway before Ye Ci turned to the two people in front of her. ¡°Today I...¡±

    Just as she spoke up, the one who had not uttered a word thus far, Dong Yin, raised her head and interrupted her. ¡°I know what you want to say, Xiao Ci. However, please don¡¯t say it.¡±

    At this moment, Yi Cang also spoke up,l ¡°We already heard what Zero Arsenic said. You exchanged your dungeon clearance footage for the opportunity to meet us today.¡± The corners of Yi Cang¡¯s mouth twitched as he grimaced, ¡°You didn¡¯t need to do that. A clearance video is so valuable, and you actually gave it away just so we could meet? If you really wanted to meet up, wouldn¡¯t calling us be better instead of going to all this trouble?

    Ye Ci didn¡¯t know what to say. Her mind was nk. She did not speak a word, only stared at Yi Cang. She knew anything she said would be misunderstood. It would be better if she waited for them to speak their minds to make them feel better.

    However, these words meant nothing to her.

    ¡°Did you think that I cannot tell what you¡¯re thinking if you don¡¯t speak? Xiao Ci, we were childhood friends who grew up together, but that¡¯s all in the past now.¡± Yi Cang stood up, his countenance expressionless as he faced Ye Ci¡¯s tranquil, emotionless face. ¡°I will not leave Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. Although you¡¯ve be renowned as a part of Upwards Ho! and your guild is incredibly powerful, I will still not leave Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. Don¡¯t assume that we¡¯re suffering just because you¡¯re leading the good life. Even if I am suffering, I will never...¡±

    His words were going nowhere. Dong Yin pulled on his arm, hinting at him to stop.

    Yi Cang immediately shut his mouth. He nced at Dong Yin, before looking at Ye Ci. ¡°Xiao Ci, as friends, as childhood friends. If you wish to eat out or sing karaoke, just give me a call and I¡¯ll be there. However, we don¡¯t need to stand together in a game. Since Liu Chang has already left with you, that is enough. You are famous; you are a god yer. If she wants to follow you for the rest of her gaming life, that¡¯s her choice. But I¡¯m not willing to. So, no matter what you say, I will never go to Upwards Ho!.¡±

    The words stabbed at Ye Ci¡¯s heart, upsetting her. She let out a sigh. As expected, friendship could not be put into contact with personal interest. Otherwise, any friendship would be twisted beyond recognition. Ye Ci nodded with a faint smile: ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve even said anything yet.¡±

    Just with a simple sentence, she was able to stopper Yi Cang¡¯s spew of words. Now that he recalled, she had not spoken a single word ever since she had sat down. He was the one rambling on and on without anything to back up his ims. Yi Cang felt stifled, and his temper detedpletely.

    When Dong Yin saw that the two had fallen silent, she bitterly smiled at Ye Ci. ¡°Xiao Ci, I know why you came here today. It must be Liu Chang who told you something, right? Actually, it¡¯s not as bad as you think. Both Yi Cang and I are fine. Although you¡¯d always been the quiet one since we were young, I know that among the four of us, you were the most caring one. But Xiao Ci, we¡¯re all grown-ups now. You don¡¯t have to...¡±

    Ye Ci nodded, standing up with a smile. ¡°As long you are all right, then everything is fine. You know my character¨CI¡¯m not a kind person and I¡¯m disinterested in most things. The reason I came here today is because I felt obligated to. Since you two said that you¡¯re doing well then everything is fine. Since everyone has their own preferences, I will not specte anything. If there¡¯s anything you need my help with, just give me a call.¡±

    Saying that, she got up and left the room.

    Dong Yin also stood up. She gazed. She gazed at Ye Ci¡¯s perfectly straight back and hurried footsteps before she sniffledand hurried footsteps before she sniffled. ¡°I feel like we did something wrong.¡±

    Yi Cang scowled. ¡°Yin Yin, just think of it this way. We¡¯re only ying a game, is there a need to be so serious? The most important thing is to be happy.¡± When he finished speaking, he turned to leave but was held back by Dong Yin. She had suddenly remembered something that Ye Ci had once asked her. Now, she realised that she too wished to ask Yi Cang about that.

    ¡°Yi Cang, how are you and Blue Peacock?¡±

    Yi Cang¡¯s footsteps stopped as he paused for a few seconds.Without turning back, he replied: ¡°We¡¯re good.¡±

    ¡°Is she treating you well?¡±

    Yi Cang hesitated once again: ¡°If you look past her bossy attitude, she is actually- she is actually quite a nice person beneath all that.¡±

    Dong Yin opened her mouth again, but ultimately, the words that Ye Ci once asked her did note out. She felt that this was the difference between her and Ye Ci. When Ye Ci noticed some things, she would definitely raise it up whereas she would remain silent even if she did notice that something was amiss.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go train my levels.¡± Yi Cang didn¡¯t want to linger around anymore so he walked away briskly, leaving Dong Yin standing there all alone.

    When she exited the inn, Ye Ci noticed Zero Arsenic standing across the street. As she walked over without hesitation, she informed her guild officers about her decision to give Zero Arsenic the dungeon clearance footage. Although the guild officers found it a pity, they understood that her actions must have had something to do with Dong Yin and Yi Cang, and they allowed her to do as she wished.

    Standing in front of Zero Arsenic, Ye Ci traded the footage to him. Uponpleting the trade, Ye Ci left without a word.

    ¡°Gongzi, you¡¯re leaving already?¡± Zero Arsenic asked.

    ¡°Yes, I still have things to do.¡± Ye Ci turned towards him and grimaced..

    ¡°Do you not regret what you did today?¡±

    ¡°The deed¡¯s already done. Why should I regret it?¡± Ye Ci had a calm, stoic expression on her face as she summoned Ol¡¯ Four. She waved at Zero Arsenic without looking back, and quickly left Scarlet Sand City.

    Aggrieved.

    She felt so goddamn aggrieved.

    What the hell was this? The more Ye Ci thought about the issue, the angrier she felt. She directed Ol¡¯ Four to head in the direction of Blue Light Coast, which the map indicated was closest to Concealed Treasure Gulf.

    ording to Murphy¡¯s Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. This waspletely true, just like the situation Ye Ci was facing at the moment. Originally, she nned to have a nice journey with Ol¡¯ Four to her destination while taking a detour to avoid the bunch of Nagas.

    Nagas are creatures that can only be found near bodies of water. It was said that the Nagas were once from the same species as the Elves. However in the primordial past, they were corrupted by the dark energies of Dark Lord Naga and had fallen from grace. Although their upper bodies were the same as the Elves with pointed ears and a beautiful appearance, their bottom half devolved into that of a snake¡¯s tail. They can only appear and move around on coastal areas, unlike Elves who can run around freely onnd. However, they as nimble as fishes when they¡¯re in the water and are able to breathe underwater.

    Although the Naga race had branched from the Elves, they still retained many Elven abilities. For example, Nagas possess very strong spiritual power, allowing them to execute powerful magic attacks. Their ranged attacks were formidable as well.. Furthermore, they were high leveled monsters, with levels higher than lvl 30, that moved in groups, Ye Ci had to be wary when travelling through their domain.

    Ol Four¡¯s loyalty had already hit 90%. His temper tantrums had lessened drastically. As Ol¡¯ Four continued to sprint, Ye Ci soon heard the sounds of a battle nearby. From all themotion, it seemed to be arge-scale battle. In between the tter of battle, she could also hear the howls of Nagas. Ye Ci¡¯s instincts told her that it was probably a guild who hade here to level up. She did not think further about it and continued to rush towards the battlefield without slowing down.

    As Ye Ci had thought, there was indeed a battle going on, but it was slightly different from what she had expected. Instead of merely finding yers leveling up, it was arge-scale battle between two groups of yers. Although the yers had simr levels and the battlefield was extremely chaotic, one was still able to tell that the battle involved two guilds. As for the reason for their battle...

    Ye Ci scanned the area and soon realized what caused the fight. The ce was a spawning point for Nagas, which will spawn more than 100 Naga, and had a certain chance of spawning a Naga Elite. Due to its fast spawn rates and a rewarding loot drop by the Naga Elites, a lot of guilds would tend to hog this ce as their leveling spot. It appeared that these two yers were fighting over this leveling spot for this exact reason.

    This happens often in games, so it¡¯s not that big of a deal.

    Ye Ci calmly rode past the two groups of yers, not paying them any heed. Just then, a Holy Burstnded on her, dealing 30 points of damage.

    The damage value was not high, indicating the level and equipment difference between Ye Ci and her assant.

    System Notification: ¡°You were attacked by Glistening Snow. You are free to retaliate within 20 minutes.¡±

    This name was rather familiar, but Ye Ci could no longer remember where she had seen it before.

    As she was pondering, another Fireball flew over andnded on her back.

    -113

    System Notification: ¡°You were attacked by MuQing. You are free to retaliate within 20 minutes.¡±

    Ye Ci abruptly stopped in her tracks, realizing the identities of her assants.

    Hiya people! Another chapter by Aruthea! Also, a nice artwork by Silvery! Everybody please give Silvery some cheers!! Yippee!!

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    Also, DON¡¯T FORGET TO CLAIM FIRST BLOOD IN THE TEASER NEXT CHAPTER!!!

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    Summary (totes not copied from my NUment):

    So, to avoid getting recognized by her friends IRL, MC decided to build a very, very ugly looking character, which well, affects how NPCs interact with her. And since her character was literally the ugliest in the game, the system rewarded her with a very high luck stats. And as the tag suggested, this is aedy novel, with a hint of romance. Thoughedy is not my cup of tea, the story was well-written enough to keep me reading.

    Sneak Peak:

    Shen Jingchen gave her a look that seemed to say, ¡°don¡¯t worry about it¡±, and replied, ¡°Nothing. How could I tell them that you¡¯re the one I¡¯m preparing to give to our Leader as a present? Apart from our guild leader, the rest of them don¡¯t need to know anything... Right, tell me honestly, what do you think of our guild leader?¡±

    Shen Jingbin wore a look of confusion on her face, ¡°What do you mean what do I think of him?¡±

    ¡°Little thing, stop pretending. I¡¯m asking you what you think of our guild leader. Do you think there¡¯s a chance of anything happening between the two of you? I¡¯ll say this, I really do think our Leader treats you differently. Although it¡¯s allegedly because of how much luck you have, I still feel that it¡¯s a done deal as long as you aren¡¯t against it. Look at how ugly you are in-game, even I can¡¯t stand it! But, our guild leader doesn¡¯t seem to mind at all and even willingly bears the burden of looking at you.¡±

    Shen Jingbin nearly spat her milk at his face, ¡°Are you sick in the head? What kind of development are you talking about? We¡¯ve only just met and you¡¯re already itching to get us hitched? Shen Jingchen, why didn¡¯t I ever realize that you enjoyed ying matchmaker as a hobby?¡±

 Chapter 123 The Pot Calling The Kettle Black

    Chapter 123 The Pot Calling The Kettle ck

    Ye Ci took out a few roasted quails and stuffed them into Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s mouth, who shook its head in delight. She then instructed it to turn around and retrace their original route. In deference to the roasted quails earlier, Ol¡¯ Four immediatelyplied and started galumphing back.

    A few more Fireballs and Holy Bolt struck Ye Ci, leaving her with only a quarter of her HP.

    ¡°Glistening Snow has attacked you, you may freely retaliate for twenty minutes.¡±

    ¡°MuQing has attacked you, you may freely retaliate for twenty minutes.¡°

    ...

    So it was the yers from Tang Dynasty. Ye Ci pressed herself as close to Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s back as possible while she observed her surroundings, searching for her two attackers; it wasn¡¯t long before she saw a few familiar faces. It turned out that yers from Tang Dynasty and Wolf Pack were having a turf war. If it was a turf war between other guilds, perhaps Ye Ci would be astonished. However, it was of no surprise to her once she saw that these two guilds were the ones fighting.

    Both were famous, powerful guilds with the ambition to be ranked first in the Eastern Continent. The guilds were already at odds with each other over the rankings, butting heads at every opportunity. It was not umon to see them conflicting over anything that would benefit their guild.

    Ye Cimanded Ol¡¯ Four to run in an erratic manner whilst making a break towards an area with more people, By doing so, not only would she be able to decrease her probability of getting hit, it¡¯d also maximize her chances of concealing herself. Once she ran into the crowd of yers, Ye Ci immediately leapt off Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s back and started sprinting.

    It was clear that MuQing and Glistening Snow had locked onto her. Despite escaping into the yer crowd, Fireballs and Holy Light Bullets still asionallynded on her. Ye Ci took out a red potion from her inventory and downed it to replenish her diminishing HP bar. Keeping her body as low to the ground as possible, she swiftly made her way towards the rear of the Tang Dynasty¡¯s yers, where the Clerics were clustered together. Glistening Snow had spotted Ye Ci as she passed by the Clerics¡¯ gathering spot.

    At first, Ye Ci had believed that it was an idental attack and thought nothing of it. However, MuQing¡¯s attack had convinced her that the assault was intentional, and it is possible that Glistening Snow might be trying to take revenge on her for stealing the BOSS the other day.

    Before long, Ye Ci was able to close in on Tang Dynasty¡¯s Clerics. At that point, she had already gone into Stealth and recalled Ol¡¯ Four, sessfully giving Glistening Snow and MuQing the slip. Taking out her Venomous Scorpion Stinger, she stepped towards Glistening Snow.

    At that moment, Glistening Snow was ncing about while she healed the yers at the frontlines. She was apparently worried by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden disappearance. Meanwhile, as the distance between the two gradually reduced, Ye Ci could smell the store-bought perfume from Glistening Snow.

    To be honest, the perfume smelled good; it was a scent that any female would love, Ye Ci included. However, she would never use something like this on herself, not because she didn¡¯t like to dress up, it was just that her profession as a Huntress would never allow her to do something that would riskpromising her actions.

    Easily circling behind Glistening Snow, Ye Ci looked at her back where the heart was located. While melee sses equipped heavy armor to protect this vital area from any possible enemy attacks, sses with cloth equipment did not enjoy such special features. In order to wield their immense spiritual powers, they had to wrap themselves in light, soft cloth equipment. Although aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, the equipments¡¯ defence values were close to zero.

    Glistening Snow¡¯s level should be somewhere around 20 and was definitely not above 22. The level gap between Ye Ci and her was fairlyrge, which was the reason why her attacks were ineffective against Ye Ci. Even Ye Ci felt that she had an unfair advantage against Glistening Snow.

    As Ye Ci¡¯s de moved, Glistening Snow felt a chill at her breast as her HP bar was instantly cleared. She only managed to look down in time to see a sharp de protruding out of her chest before her vision started to blur. Glistening Snow did not have enough strength to turn around, and the system soon informed her that she was the first one to die.

    ¡°Due to the attack that you initiated, Gongzi You attacked you in retaliation and you have been sessfully killed.¡±

    Glistening Snow¡¯s death happened in an instant, Ye Ci¡¯s figure was revealed for just a moment before she immediately drank an invisibility potion and hid herself once more before running towards MuQing¡¯s direction.

    Glistening Snow¡¯s death happened so quickly, not even the surrounding clerics or the warriors protecting them noticed Ye Ci before her body fell to the ground. This caused Tang Dynasty¡¯s yers to be somewhat flustered: ¡±Glistening, how did you die?¡±

    ¡°I was ambushed by a Huntress.¡± Glistening Snow remained lying on the ground. As Ye Ci was still alive, she didn¡¯t dare to immediately revive. She could only wait for Ye Ci to exitbat or die before she could respawn. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you warriors? How could no one have realized that someone snuck in?¡± Glistening Snow was furious and chose to take it out on the people that were tasked with protecting her.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, if she did sneak in, we would have definitely noticed. Furthermore, we didn¡¯t even spot anybody in the vicinity right after you died. Since it was a Huntress that killed you, it¡¯s got nothing to do with us, you must have been targeted and sniped to death.¡± The warriors that were charged with protecting the clerics immediately rebutted Glistening Snow. As they really did not see anyone just now, they too were in a state of confusion.

    Normally this was nothing to be puzzled about, as usually, Rogues and Hunters could rarely max out their Stealth due to theck of talent points. Furthermore, Ye Ci¡¯s level was around 5 to 6 levels higher than theirs. With that kind of level penalty, the chances of them detecting Ye Ci couldn¡¯t be any lower.

    ¡°I was definitely instakilled by a stab to the heart, and you guys are trying to tell me that I was sniped... What is wrong with you guys?¡± Glistening Snow fumed but she soon realised something was amiss, immediately opening up the guild channel and cried: ¡±MuQing, Gongzi You killed me, be careful!¡±

    Even before she managed to finish her sentence, MuQing¡¯s sullen voice sounded out: ¡±Your reminder came toote, I¡¯m already dead.¡±

    ¡°Where is she?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, she vanished.¡± This was the fact that made MuQing depressed the most. As a Mage, he had added his talent points into Mobile Casting, not allowing Ye Ci any opportunity to kill him. When Glistening Snow fell, he had a hunch that it was Gongzi You¡¯s doing and immediately went on guard. However, for some unknown reason, he was still instakilled by a single stab from Gongzi You. Since he was a mobile caster, him dying in the midst of casting a spell did not attract too much attention. Probably only MuQing knew the the true cause of his death, while most yers believed that he had been done in by a ranged yer on the enemy side.

    He had been killed by a single backstab through the heart. Instakill, it was an undeniable instant kill.

    He was already Lvl 24, which was already good enough to be ced on the leaderboards, and yet he was instakilled by Gongzi You. This caused MuQing to feel extremely cautious and depressed whenever this Huntress was involved. Just like how when Glistening Snow was about to warn him, he was already lying dead on the ground.

    His gauntlets had dropped, and yet no one had picked it up.

    It was precisely due to this fact that MuQing had no idea of Gongzi You¡¯s whereabouts. If she had picked up his dropped equipment, then he would at least have an idea of her area of operations, but she didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid towards the dropped item. It was as though MuQing had fallen dead because he had reached the limits of his lifespan.

    ¡°Snow and MuQing, what the hell are you two doing!? This expedition has already had too many casualties and now you two joined them? MuQing, weren¡¯t you supposed to be really good at PvP? Tell me, how did you die?¡± Wandering Clouds never imagined that MuQing, an expert in PvP, and a Cleric that was heavily protected, would be suddenly eliminated. The fact that this happened frustrated him to no end.

    Currently, Tang Dynasty was in desperate need of healing. Although Glistening Snow was unable to provide a lot of healing as a whole, but under this kind of situation, even a little was better than nothing. Furthermore, their mobile turret MuQing who was in charge of bombarding the enemy¡¯s clerics and ranged sses was now lying dead on the ground, so didn¡¯t this put Tang Dynasty in an extremely precarious position?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I wanted to die, I was insta-killed.¡± Muqing was extremely depressed.

    ¡°Quit trying to make up excuses, who is capable of insta-killing you?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You.¡±

    Wandering Clouds paused before making a weird cry: ¡°Gongzi You, is Gongzi You here? How did she instakill you?¡± Whether it was about her yer skill or his secret, Wandering Clouds was extremely cautious of this woman. As long as he was able to avoid butting heads with this person, he swore to never face her again.

    Presently, Tang Dynasty was currently in a turf war with Wolf Pack, so why did this woman show up? This question only caused his head to ache.

    ¡°She passed by just now, Snow attacked her and I identally locked on to her...¡±

    MuQing wasn¡¯t done speaking when Glistening Snow butted in: ¡±What do you mean ¡®I attacked her?¡¯ She was riding a damned T-Rex and ran past me, it was just legitimate self-defence! She must have been the reinforcements that our opponent called to ambush us from the back! Even if I did attack first, so what!? She even took the initiative to kill me the previous time!¡±

    Their conversation was made over the guild channel so all guild members could see what has happened. NightAndDay suddenly asked: ¡°What ¡®previous time?¡¯ Was there any conflict between you guys and Gongzi You?¡±

    Wandering Clouds hastily covered it up: ¡±It¡¯s nothing, just a small misunderstanding.¡± Saying that, he hurriedly switched to the region channel and dered: ¡±Gongzi You, this is a fight between Tang Dynasty and Wolf Pack, it has nothing to do with you, do not interfere.¡±

    As she had killed who she needed to kill, Ye Ci was already riding Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s back with the intention of leaving when she heard Wandering Clouds¡¯s deration. She let out an angry snort, wasn¡¯t this the pot calling the kettle ck?

    She wasn¡¯t going to let this go either and replied with a single line: ¡°Continue with the self-deception, I see you¡¯ve mastered the phrase ¡®The pot calling the kettle ck¡¯ well.¡±

    She had just finished speaking when she heard a system message: ¡±Sir Ditty has invited you to join his party.¡±

    Even the guild leader of Wolf Pack was taking part in this fight. The corners of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth twitched, wondering if NightAndDay, that poor cuckold, would make an appearance as well.

 Chapter 124 Man Proposes, God Disposes

    Chapter 124 Man Proposes, God Disposes

    How does the saying go? Speak of the devil...

    As Ye Ci was contemting on epting Sir Ditty¡¯s invitation, she received a private message from a stranger. It was NightAndDay. His tone was rather polite, ¡°Gongzi You, perhaps you¡¯ve had some misunderstanding with some of my guild members, but this is a fight between Tang Dynasty and Wolf Pack. You don¡¯t have to get involved, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    His reasoning was actually sound. Although Ye Ci did have issues with Wandering Cloud and co., she had nothing against NightAndDay. She did not wish to get involved in a feud between two major guilds either, especially in a situation when her actions would reflect upon Upwards Ho!. Compared to Wolf Pack and Tang Dynasty, Upwards Ho! was very very weak.

    She was only here to open Hidden Treasure Bay. It was totally unnecessary for her to get involved.

    Before she could give her response, a huge group of Tang Dynasty melee yers began charging at her. She was taken aback. What the hell were they trying to do?

    NightAndDay could smell danger the moment Ye Ci spoke in the map channel. He creased his eyebrows, looking at Wandering Cloud who was not far away. He had a vibe that Gongzi You did not exactly have a ¡°small misunderstanding¡± with Mu Qing and Glistening Snow. And with how well he knew Sir Ditty, the person would not let go of the opportunity of Ye Ci¡¯s appearance. He would definitely persuade her to join his side. That was the reason why NightAndDay immediately sent a private message to Ye Ci.

    Before he could get a response from Ye Ci, Lazy Blue shouted out in the guild channel, ¡°Gongzi You, that bully! Follow me guys! Let¡¯s take this Huntress out! Do not allow her to join forces with Wolf Pack!¡±

    If Gongzi You was the only one mentioned by Lazy Blue, not many would have followed him into battle. But he had associated her with Wolf Pack, and such an action provoked the yers¡¯ animosity towards Ye Ci. A number of the melee yers fighting at the front line had turned around and dashed towards Ye Ci along with Lazy Blue.

    ¡°No! Hold it right there!¡± shouted NightAndDay, who noticed how bad the situation had turned. He could feel that Gongzi You was already on her way to leave the battlefield, but with his members attacking Gongzi You right at that moment, the situation would definitely take a turn for the worst.

    NightAndDay was 2 seconds toote. Within that 2 seconds, the melee yers had already charged at Ye Ci.

    ¡°Hold still! Those who attack Gongzi You will have 500 DKP deducted!¡± NightAndDay roared into the guild channel. He was, however, toote.

    The dozens of melee yers were already dead before he could even finish his sentence. Lazy Blue, was of course one of the casualties.

    Ye Ci was never one to sit and wait for death. Although getting involved in the fight between Tang Dynasty and Wolf Pack was thest thing she wanted, it did not mean that she would justugh it off when somebody was trying to attack her. Ye Ci summoned and mounted on Ol¡¯ Four, thenmanded the beast to cast Tremor.

    All enemy yers within 30 yards of Ye Ci were Stunned, while some softer targets died almost instantly. Those who had tougher defences were dispatched one by one with Ye Ci¡¯s crossbow.

    After taking care of the opponents who were attacking her, Ye Ci epted Sir Ditty¡¯s invitation and joined Wolf Pack¡¯s party.

    ¡°Well met, Gongzi You! I¡¯ve heard a lot about you.¡± Sir Ditty, who had given up hopes of trying to persuade Ye Ci into joining his side, was surprised when she joined the party.

    ¡°The pleasure is mine.¡± Ye Ci chuckled. After dispatching thest yer who was Stunned, Ye Ci headed straight towards Wolf Pack¡¯s party.

    She was directly behind Tang Dynasty¡¯s position, which was the perfect position for a surprise attack. But even she would be in a pinch if she was surrounded. The situation was especially true when Tang Dynasty yers began to slowly form up around her. Despite her higher than average level, and the fact that Ol¡¯ Four was an Epic tier monster, even an elephant could be killed by swarming hordes of ants. If Ye Ci engaged herself in a prolonged fight, she would be at a disadvantage. That was why Ye Ci headed straight towards the Wolf Pack¡¯s main force without a single ounce of hesitation.

    She sent NightAndDay a private message while she was on the move, ¡°Guild Leader ck, is this what you mean by not wanting me to get involved? I was ready to back away, but you tried to kill me? What sort of logic is this?¡±

    ¡°No, Gongzi You, this is just a misunderstanding. I did not give the order!¡± NightAndDay was ced in an awkward position. He was very distraught. The fight against Wolf Pack was distress enough for him. With the involvement of Gongzi You in the fight, he was even more pressured. He was not afraid of Gongzi You, but her T-rex with unknown origins was just too strong. It was able to kill a lot of his members within seconds. Tang Dynasty was lucky that most of their yers were quite far away from the beast. If it rushed into the heart of their formation... The results would be unimaginable.

    NightAndDay could not offer Ye Ci a valid exnation as Tang Dynasty yers were swarming her in a tidal wave of bodies.

    Noticing that Ye Ci was rushing towards Wolf Pack¡¯s side with skills constantlynding on her, Sir Ditty immediately ordered the Clerics of Wolf Pack to support her. Despite her high level and superior equipment, it was impossible for Ye Ci to make her way to Wolf Pack¡¯s side from the rear of Tang Dynasty¡¯s formation without a scratch. With so many skills fired her way, even if most of them missed, a lot of them would connect. As Ye Ci made her way to join up with Wolf Pack, she had never stopped using bandages on herself while chugging down bottle after bottle of Health Potion. Despite that, she was very, very close to dying.

    Fortunately, Sir Ditty had a good sense of the situation, and immediately directed his people to heal Ye Ci. Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief, ¡°That was too close.¡±

    In a fight where both sides were evenly matched, even a small detail could turn the tide of battle.

    In the battle between Tang Dynasty and Wolf Pack on this day, the ¡®small detail¡¯ came in the form of Ye Ci. Although she had thought about it thoroughly, and knew that the battle would affect Upwards Ho! as well, but she couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. She wanted to dive into battle and give it everything she had.

    Tang Dynasty¡¯s failure to kill Ye Ci as she ploughed through their ranks was a blow to the guild¡¯s morale. With Wolf Pack and Ye Ci joining forces, the victor was already decided.

    A battle like this greatly taxed a guild¡¯s manpower and wealth. The two sides were unwilling tomit too much of their firepower in a dispute for a leveling spot. They had originally nned to end the battle quickly, and Ye Ci¡¯s arrival served only to speed things up for them.

    Before long, Tang Dynasty sounded a retreat.

    There was no eternal victory nor was there evesting defeat in a fight between big guilds. The victors today might not be able to have thestugh tomorrow. Losing this day did not mean that one will forever be the underdog. Not many paid attention to the results of this battle, and the resentment between members of both side settled down within 2 to 3 days.

    Once Tang Dynasty¡¯s yers had fully retreated, Sir Ditty immediately sent a friend request to Ye Ci. Despite his youth, there was a hint of maturity behind his dark eyes. He smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi You, thanks to you we¡¯re able to beat Tang Dynasty back today without a hitch. You¡¯ve done us a great favor.¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips, ignoring Sir Ditty¡¯s ttery, ¡°I¡¯m only passing by, but I got trapped in the crossfire.¡±

    Sir Ditty nodded, ¡°Today¡¯s incident is nothing big for Wolf Pack, but it could bring a huge impact to Upwards Ho!. To be frank with you, we¡¯ve dragged you into this, and that¡¯s our fault.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Since we¡¯re already ying this game, we don¡¯t have to be afraid of fighting and dispute. Upwards Ho! might be few, but we¡¯re no pushovers.¡±

    ¡°If Tang Dynasty ever tries to mess with you people, let me know.¡± Despite Ye Ci¡¯s answer, Sir Ditty gave a solemn promise of his own.

    It appeared that Sir Ditty was a dependable person. Ye Ci chuckled after listening to his words. Although she had no thoughts of relying on Sir Ditty to solve her problems, but she respected the person for making such a promise as the leader of Eastern Continent¡¯s no.1 guild.

    ¡°Since great leader Ditty has spoken, then I won¡¯t hesitate to call for help.¡± Ye Ci cupped her hands together in greeting towards Sir Ditty like a warrior of ancient times and summoned Ol¡¯ Four, ¡°I have something else to attend to. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±

    She then waved at the officers of Wolf Pack and left.

    The experts in a game tended to offend other experts, idental or not. However, they would prefer to have friendship over rivalry, which was why the experts in online games were usually friends with each other.

    Sir Ditty let out a sigh as Ye Ci left. He felt a great pity welling up within him. If only there was such a Hunter in Wolf Pack, their guild would be like a tiger that had sprouted wings. It was a shame that not everything in this world could go as he wished.

    Ye Ci made her way to the Blue Light Coast at her best speed. Before long, she was beside a cliff with vines covering its entire face.

    Ye Ci dismounted from Ol¡¯ Four and took out her map. There was a very ordinary piece of metal at the top right corner of the map, which she extracted. Although Ye Ci had never entered an unknown map in herst life, she still knew about the process of doing so. After all, it was announced by the officials in theter stages of the game.

    Holding the weird piece of metal in her hand, Ye Ci knew that it was the key to unlock the Hidden Treasure Gulf.

    Hiya! A bonus chapter forpleting the quest: [Reaching for the Stars]!!

    Thanks for all of you who wrote revies for ROTH on NU!! xDD

    I also wish to take this opportunity to call out to all those artistic souls out there!! If you wish to submit a fanart, feel free to mail it to me at the email I¡¯ve just set up:

    Aaaaaaaand if you wish to reward Jimmi for his hard work TLing this awesome chapter, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page!!!

    See y¡¯all on Wednesday!!

    Don¡¯t forget there¡¯s a teaser next chapter!!

 Chapter 125 The Empty Harbour

    Chapter 125 The Empty Harbour

    Actually, this was logic-defying on several levels.

    It was actually illogical for a small piece of metal notrger than a finger to be a key to a hidden map within a mountain. [Editor¡¯s Note: Uhm author, that¡¯s exactly what a typical key is... only thing illogical here is your thought process...]

    However, there were times like these special circumstances where logic would take a step back to make room for fantasy. Just like how one side of a mountain right now was depending on this very small key to be unlocked. Ye Ci dismounted from Ol¡¯ Four and quickly found the Hidden Treasure Gulf¡¯s entrance. She lifted the vines covering the cave entrance and carefully studied its walls.

    Soon after, her close inspection revealed the small slot that had the exact same shape as the metal piece in her hand.

    Without much thought, Ye Ci pressed the metal piece into the tiny slot. Ye Ci had envisioned that there would be a rumbling sound apanied by smoke and dust like how they usually portrayed these things in television shows or movies whenever somebody opened the entrance to a cave, but that wasn¡¯t the case. A simple notification from the system appeared in front of her instead.

    ¡°Are you sure you wish to enter this map ¨C Hidden Treasure Gulf?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°As this is an unexplored map, you might face untold dangers. Do you still wish to enter the map, Hidden Treasure Gulf?¡± The system would always warn yers to proceed with caution while pioneering these unexplored maps, hinting that they should not underestimate the difficulty of these ces.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have exclusive rights to explore the map for 72 hours. Once 72 hours have passed, the map will be made avable to all yers regardless of your exploration progress. We wish you good luck.¡± After cautiously informing Ye Ci of the limited time she had to explore the map, the system teleported Ye Ci into a map that she was unfamiliar with.

    Out of habit, Ye Ci called out her minimap to assess her current whereabouts. However, all she could see on the minimap was darkness. She was momentarily shocked before remembering that this was the unexplored map, which would exin why it appeared differently. Closing her minimap, Ye Ci dug into her bag and took out a sheepskin roll.

    This was the map Tick had appraised for her. However, Ye Ci noticed that the outer edges of the area were dark and it was unclear what the map said about these areas. She took out a torch from her bag and lit it up to see the minor details on the map more clearly.

    ¡°The map is now synchronized with the terrain, would you like to virtualize the map?¡± The system asked.

    Virtualize the map? Even Ye Ci, who was a reincarnator, did not understand what the system meant. Yet as she thought about it, she epted the choice. Immediately, the map in her hands disappeared and a transparent map appeared in front of her. She could see a tiny golden blip and a tiny green blip on the map, with the former indicating her position, and thetter was Ol¡¯ Four.

    With this, she would be able to traverse the ce with the aid of her minimap.

    Lifting the torch, she could see where she was very clearly. She was in a narrow cave. Tree roots grew unchecked throughout the cave via a hole in the ceiling. Mushrooms lined the walls of the cave, appearing full of vitality. The ground was moist, giving off a sticky sensation.

    Ye Ci advanced carefully with Ol¡¯ Four following closely behind her, always half a step away. The two soon walked into rays of golden light. It was the rays of a setting sun.

    She heaved a sigh of relief upon realizing that the cave was actually not as long as she had expected. She hastened to walk out, when suddenly a sharp piercing voice screeched through the air. ¡°Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!¡±

    This voice was metallic and stiff. It was obvious the voice of an automaton. Ye Ci immediately sprinted towards the exit of the cave after a moment of hesitation. She spotted at least 8 automatons charging towards her.

    Ye Ci cast Detection. The automatons didn¡¯t have very high levels, with most of them at lvl 32 or lvl 33. However, they were Elite Monsters, which meant that they had higher HP than the average level of 32 or 33 monsters, and their damage would be higher as well. Without the slightest hesitation, shemanded Ol¡¯ Four to attack while she supported it from behind with her ranged attacks.

    Since Ol¡¯ Four was a heavyweight mount, as long as it had high Loyalty, it would be an effective killing machine. It did not take long for Ye Ci to turn the automatons into scrap metal. She then proceeded to the drawbridge at the exit of the cave leading to the Hidden Treasure Gulf.

    Perhaps due to the fact that the automatons were dispatched quickly, their cries of rm did not summon any other monsters to their aid. It could also be that the automatons were just a farce designed to scare the yers. Regardless of what it might be, Ye Ci became alert. She unslung her crossbow and advanced carefully, maintaining her vignce. She would be ready if something were to happen.

    What was strange was that Ye Ci had never encountered any offensive type NPCs. In fact, there was not a single NPC in sight. Ye Ci remained alert as she traversed through the Hidden Treasure Gulf. Before long, she was already at the harbor.

    This was strange.

    There wasn¡¯t even a single NPC in sight. If Ye Ci remembered correctly, the Hidden Treasure Gulf was a popted ce with not just a lot of NPCs, but with many yers as well. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t just yers from the Eastern Continent that would gather here, there were yers from other continents as well.

    This was the advantage of being the pioneer explorer for the map.

    Even though she had the benefit of exploring the map first, the area would eventually be avable to the public. In order to receive yers from the other continents, there would usually be a harbor in every hidden map. Of course, for the yers from the other continents to visit the hidden map in a certain continent, they would need to fulfill a special requirement: They needed to unlock a hidden map in their home continent so that the harbors could be connected with each other.

    However, Ye Ci remembered that in her previous life, the first hidden map to appear was in the North-West alliance. Furthermore, it was something that would only happen two and a half yearster. If history hadn¡¯t been affected by all the changes she had made by now, then that meant the Hidden Treasure Gulf wouldn¡¯t wee their first yers from other continents for a long time.

    Of course, this was what would happen in the future. The most pressing question right now was, why was there not a single NPC here?

    She looked at the map in front of her. Ye Ci had already explored every inch of the map, but there were no signs of human life in the entire map, including the harbor.

    Ye Ci made multiple rounds around the map, but still hadn¡¯t discovered a thing. She hadn¡¯t found even a single coin or anything worth value in this ce. Was it because Hidden Treasure Gulf meant nothing could be seen, as indicated by its name? Ye Ci dug around in her memories for the day the map was revealed to the public. She could only remember that the invitation to the opened map had written, ¡°It shall not disappoint!¡± illegibly. Remembering this did not help, as at the time she didn¡¯t feel that it was inappropriate. Furthermore, only one person had the opportunity to unlock the map, so it was likely that it wasn¡¯t helpful to anyone else either.

    This appeared to be a fraud.

    Sighing, Ye Ci decided to stop thinking of that invitation that didn¡¯t even exist in this timeline. It was better to use her own wits to solve this instead.

    Eight hours has passed and yet Ye Ci had still not found a single clue. Finally she decided to return to the entrance and search that area again.

    She unsummoned Ol¡¯ Four and explored the ce by herself.

    After one minute, she entered Stealth and slowly headed back to the port.

    Just as she left the cave, Ye Ci could see the picture she clearly. Opposite the bridge was the deathly empty port. Now it was a splendidly lit town,pletely different from before. She could even hear those sea songs being sung happily from one of the inns.

    What was this situation?

    Ye Ci decided to try out something and immediately came out of her Hidden State. Upon doing that, she could hear the voices of those small robots roar up once again. ¡°Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!¡± At this point, Ye Ci saw that opposite her, the lights in the beautiful harbor had been extinguished and becamepletely dark.

    So it was like this.

    The corners of her mouth raised as Ye Ci summoned Ol Four to destroy the robots. Then she returned to the entrance and did the following. She dismissed Ol Four and cast camouge as she pretended not to know anything. This time round, she chose not to encircle the area, and headed for the top of the Hidden Treasure Gulf.

    This was because the leader of the Hidden Treasure Gulf, Town Leader Finny stayed there.

    In this state, her movement speed was slow. To use this method to reach his hut was very time consuming. It was a good thing Ye Ci had patience. After spending over an hour to climb the hill, she finally reached Finny¡¯s small wooden hut.

    He was a leprechaun, cowardly and timid, but also at the same time shrewd yet cautious. Finny was standing at the window looking out at the surroundings. It appeared he was searching for something. After a while, he put down his binocrs and walked to his office to sit behind the table. He was proud of himself as he smiled. ¡°Hey hey, that foreigner left. If they think they can y with me, they can forget about it!¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Ye Ci answered in a slight mocking tone, a glint shining off the dagger she had pointed at his neck.

    Hiya!! Jimmi is back with a chap! Hope you peeps enjoy this chapter!!!

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 Chapter 126 The Treasure of Hidden Treasure Gulf

    Chapter 126 The Treasure of Hidden Treasure Gulf

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Finley instantly cried out in a sharp voice that was evidently devoid of any authority. His high-pitched voice had a slight tremble of fear mixed in. Of course, this would not have been possible if it was not for Ye Ci¡¯s short sword that was at his throat.

    As a reincarnator, Ye Ci was not ignorant about Finley. Finley was an NPC who can be considered to be a famous individual in Fate and he has quite the personality. This was probably a major innovation within the Fate game as all NPCs have their own unique personalities as well as weaknesses. Some might be extremely valorous butck the intelligence, others might be geniuses who are afflicted with chronic illnesses, there might even be NPCs who look ordinary but keeps their true prowess hidden. In a nutshell, different people, different personalities.

    Just taking Finley for example, he¡¯s a cowardly person who has an obsession for being in power. ording to an official character description in the future, Finley came from an extremely old family and was loaded with money. Aside from his own shrewd thinking, another reason why he was able to be the mayor of Hidden Treasure Gulf was his wealthy family background. Anything can be done as long as you have money.

    It seems like the damned concept known as money is something that no one will be able to shake off, either in the virtual world or the real world.

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Finley¡¯s voice wavered even more. Although he liked to put on airs, he would be as cowardly as a mouse once his life was threatened. He didn¡¯t even dare to turn around as he trembled violently with his hands by his sides.

    Ye Ci noticed his left hand feeling its way towards his pocket and grinned: ¡°Put your hands above your head.¡±

    While she spoke, she held the Venomous Scorpion Stinger closer to Finley¡¯s neck. The ice-cold sensation of the de caused Finley to shiver from head to toe and he immediately raised both his hands in submission.

    ¡°I¡¯m raising them! I¡¯m raising them already so don¡¯t kill me. Don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    Ye Ci extended a hand, thrusting it into Finley¡¯s left pocket and sessfully retrieved a switch. Ye Ci was not unfamiliar with this switch at all; it was a switch that was used to summon automatons. So long as Finley pressed the switch, numerous automatons would swarm in and assault Ye Ci and Finley would be able to subdue any intruders with ease.

    This was originally a quest that would be unlocked after Concealing Treasure Gulf had been released, so she didn¡¯t expect it to work at this time as well.

    ¡°Are you trying to call for help?¡± Yi Ci yed with the switch in her hand while giving Finley a enigmatic smile.

    ¡°No, absolutely not.¡± Finley immediately shook his head from side to side,pletely denying his schemes.

    ¡°Is that so.¡± Ye Ci nodded before throwing the switch onto the floor inside the building without hesitation. Finley cried out in rm and attempted to dive after it, before being stopped by the sensation of the de at his neck. He had no choice but to remain still, watching dumbly as the switchnded on the ground and was subsequently trampled by Ye Ci¡¯s summoned Ol¡¯ Four.

    ¡°Wuuuuu, that thing, that thing was expensive.¡± Finley¡¯s face contorted in agony when he saw the remnants of the switch that was trampled by Ol¡¯ Four. ¡°What the hell do you want?¡±

    ¡°Where is the treasure chest of Hidden Treasure Gulf located?¡± Ye Ci did not wish to waste any more time talking to him and went straight into the heart of the matter.

    ¡°Hidden Treasure Gulf has no treasure chest.¡± Finley immediately denied Ye Ci¡¯s query.

    Ye Ci did not bother with Finley¡¯s drivel, it was better to bring out the big guns when dealing with these kind of NPCs. Removing the Venomous Scorpion Stinger from Finley¡¯s neck, Ye Ci then poked it at his arm and fresh blood immediately began to flow from the wound which caused Finley to cry aloud in fear.

    If they were in another location, Finley¡¯s cries would have summoned reinforcements a long time ago. However, Finley was a person who wanted to feel like he was in charge and chose to have his residence at the very top, where hardly anyone frequented. At this distance, let alone hearing him, even the nearest NPC would take over 10 minutes before they cane to his aid. Finley, who had lost his robot switch, quickly became a target for Ye Ci¡¯s bullying.

    Someone who was afraid of death was naturally afraid of pain as well. After a poke from Ye Ci, Finley immediately rolled along the ground while howling, sttering his blood all over the floor which caused it to look no different from a murder scene. However, Finley understood the ways of the world and after evaluating the difference in power between Ye Ci and himself, he could only fearfully agree to assist Ye Ci in looking for the treasure chest of Hidden Treasure Gulf.

    However, despite all this, Finley still decided to warn her in advance: ¡°Foreigner, let Finley warn you first, the people guarding the treasure chest are all extremely terrifying, if you die, I¡¯m not going to take responsibility for your death.¡±

    Ye Ci had long prepared herself for death. There¡¯s no such thing as a free meal in this world. That¡¯s why one has to be prepared to fight for it in order to get excellent equipment, that is an indisputable fact.

    ¡°Finley has joined your party.¡± The system announced: ¡°Quest objective: Defeat the Treasure Chest¡¯s Guardian, and ensure Finley¡¯s survival. Quest timer: 24 hours.¡±

    So this can be considered to be a quest.

    Upon epting the quest, the entirendscape of Hidden Treasure Gulf took on massive changes. Although it was dusk, a thinyer of fog had started to envelop the surroundings, causing everything to look hazy. Witnessing the entire change, Ye Ci immediately understood that Hidden Treasure Gulf has now be a massive dungeon.

    All NPCs were now hostile monsters with high HP and damage. Finley, on the other hand, was now a Cleric. This must really be a scam, as Ye Ci had no idea that Finley¡¯s original ss was a Cleric. After all, it would have been disgusting if all Clerics were to look like Finley.

    However, this partyposition can be said to be pretty good. Ol¡¯ Four can undertake dual roles as a DPS and a Tank, while Ye Ci deals constant damage. Now, there¡¯s an additional healer in the backlines. Although she had been fighting small fry all this time, it can be said to be rather effortless for her.

    Just at this moment, the virtual map indicated the locations of the treasure chests. There were six chests in total, and they were located within the smithy, grocer, auction hall, fishing instructor, the statue by the coast as well as the ship moored at the shallow coast. With a general location, things became much easier for her.

    It¡¯s just that Finley had to sit down and rest each time they finish clearing a mob. Ye Ci could not just ditch him and leave as that would result in a quest failure. Persuading him to rest after fighting a few more mobs was also not an option, so she had no choice but to proceed at Finley¡¯s pace. Ye Ci was not used to this pace, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that she had to drag a burden along with her, she would probably need not to use 24 hours to clear this dungeon.

    Constantly proceeding and stopping, fighting and resting, it took her lot of effort to reach the cksmith¡¯s house. In that building, a massive chest was ced there, glittering and extremely pleasing to the eyes. However, wanting to take out its contents was apletely separate matter.

    Unexplored maps are benefits that the game developers had left for the yers, the difficulty would be automatically adjusted ording to the level of the yers that entered it and was not designed to cause too much inconvenience.The game was just like real life. There were those who were at the bottom, and there were those who were at the top.

    As for the game itself, it doesn¡¯t matter whether one makes it to the very top, the game will always present a fair opportunity to those who are able to grasp it, allowing them to reach the heavens in a single step. It might seem fair, but unequal treatment is still prevalent.

    An abstract thing such as luck always had something to do with one¡¯s personal abilities.

    Grappling with the cksmith was not difficult, as least Ye Ci felt that it was not as difficult as Finley had made it out to be. The cksmith quickly fell, leaving behind the glittering box in the house.

    Aside from gold coins, numerous pieces of equipment were found lying in the chest that were unusable by Ye Ci, all of them were excellent items that belonged to other sses. Ye Ci kept all of them into her backpack, intending to sell them out and fetch a high price.

    The next 3 NPCs which were the grocer, auctioneer and fishing instructor, were just like the cksmith as Ye Ci did not encounter much trouble at all in defeating them. Arge amount of gold and expensive equipment was delivered to Ye Ci just like that. s, none of the equipment were of Ye Ci¡¯s Huntress ss. This made Ye Ci extremely depressed.

    She couldn¡¯t have very well clear an unexplored map just to only benefit others right?

    After looting the four treasure chests, Ye Ci stood by the harbour and looked at the two locations where the two treasure chests were kept. She turned to look at Finley: ¡°How do we get the remaining two chests?¡±

    Finley nced at the huge statue and the ship in the shallows, replying immediately: ¡±By climbing of course.¡±

    Climbing up? Ye Ci evaluated the statue¡¯s height, confident in her ability to make her way up. Making her way up with Finley in tow...is going to be tough. Furthermore, the ship seemed like it would be much easier. After a moment of deliberation, Ye Ci finally decided to retrieve the treasure chest in the ship first.

    She leapt into the water without hesitation and started to swim towards the ship, intending to use the cat w to scale the ship¡¯s sides. However, uponnding into the water, she could hear the system announcement: ¡°You¡¯re too far away from Finley, you might fail the quest.¡±

    Ye Ci stopped in her tracks and turned around. Finley was still standing on the harbour¡¯s wooden deck with Ol¡¯ Four shaking its head alongside him.

    ¡°Come down.¡±

    ¡°No way. Finley hates water the most, and Finley will drown in water.¡± Finley immediately waved his hands and refused.

    Ye Ci¡¯s face darkened. He refuses to get into the water? F*ck, now this is a problem. If he doesn¡¯t get in the water, how was she going to get on the ship?

    She had a staring contest with Finley before scratching her nose in defeat. Sometimes, you just can¡¯t ovee the game¡¯s stubbornness. Returning to shore all drenched, she red down at Finley: ¡°You¡¯re sure you¡¯re not going into the water?¡±

    ¡°Hell no.¡± Finley was exceptionally adamant.

    Ye Ci could only take out the cat w from her backpack and began to tie it to the hemp rope at the harbour. Alright then, since the other party won¡¯t agree, then she¡¯ll have topromise.

    Tying the cat w, Ye Ci swung the rope in wide circles, tossing it towards the side of the ship after taking careful aim...

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    Finny is now Finley

    Hiya!!! Jimmi is finally back!! Enjoy the chapter!!!

    Oh by the way, anybody ys a text-based RPG called Lost Heir? I¡¯ve been having problems trying to get the ¡°Hero Ending¡± with Lost Heir 3: Demon Wars. Any kind peeps out there gonna gimme a guide? xDD

    If you wanna reward the team for this awesomesauce chapter, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page!

    If you wish to submit any fanarts of ROTH, feel free to email them to:

    DESU VULT!

    Don¡¯t forget to im First Blood in the next chapter!

 Chapter 127 Land of Dauâ€™er

    Chapter 127 Land of Dau¡¯er

    The grappling hook firmlytched onto the side of the ship with a nk. Ye Ci pulled on the hemp rope in her hands a few times, and determined that the rope was taut enough. She then climbed onto the rope, intending to cross the water just like that. Hanging from the rope, she spoke to Finley who remained on the shore: ¡°Hurry up and get on, we¡¯ll cross together.¡±

    ¡°No! Finley will absolutely not do something so dangerous.¡± This NPC chose an excellent time to be stubborn and rejected Ye Ci shrilly. Ye Ci peered down. No wonder he would cry out, the height from the rope to the water was considerably far. Anyone with acrophobia would feel dizzy, much less Finley who was afraid of both water and heights.

    Alright then, for the sake ofpleting the quest as well as obtaining the remaining two chests, Ye Ci would be extremely patient, extremely loving and extremely kind as she made apromise. Returning to shore once again, she squatted down and patted her shoulders. Finley did not dawdle and immediately got on.

    Goddamn, Finley did not have arge build, but he certainly was not light. As Ye Ci carried Finley on her shoulders, she immediately received a notification: ¡°You are over-encumbered, movement speed will be decreased by 30%.¡±

    As expected, when she moved her footwork has slowed down significantly. Fortunately, it was fine even if they proceeded slowly. Methodically getting back onto the rope, she slowly inched along the rope. Looking from afar, she looked just like an insect that continued to crawl forward. However, midway across the rope, Finley gave a loud cry: ¡°Aiya, my arms are tired.¡±

    And then, Ye Ci looked on with wide eyes as Finley simply just let go and fell into the water below with a ssh.

    ¡°Quest Failed. Please receive the quest once more and try again.¡± The system notification immediately sounded out in deration of Ye Ci¡¯s hrious waste of effort.

    Ye Ci was stunned. She promptly let go of the rope and fell into the water. Finley was no longer in the water, but had already returned to his home. What the hell was this?

    Ye Ci swam ashore and sprinted towards Finley¡¯s house. This time she did not have to go through all of the earlier nonsense. Instead, she immediately went to find Finley and walked out with him after epting the quest. There were no monsters encountered along the way, so they reached the shore extremely quickly.

    Tying the hemp rope to the grappling hook and fastening it to the side of the ship once more, Ye Ci found a thinner rope which she used to securely tie Finley onto her back before getting on the rope. This time however, Ye Ci only had her luck to me, she had made her way past the halfway mark when the spot where the grappling hook was fastened to had loosened. Ye Ci and Finley, who was tied to her back, fell into the water with a ssh once more. Another quest failure.

    Having experienced two quest failures, when Ye Ci stepped onto the harbour, she inspected every single detail carefully. From the tight knot, all the way to making sure that Finley didn¡¯t pull a fast one on her. Only after everything had been thoroughly checked did she get on the rope once more. After an arduous journey, she finally made it across onto the deck of the ship. Sailors were bustling about on the deck. Upon seeing Ye Ci¡¯s arrival, everyone promptly stopped whatever they were doing and came forward to greet her fully armed.

    Now that Finley was on her back and Ye Ci was unable to release him in time, her movement speed was pitifully slow. She had no choice but to summon Ol¡¯ Four and use it to shield herself from the flurry of kicks and punches from the oing sailors. Ye Ci on the other hand, had no choice but to stand behind Ol¡¯ Four and be a standing turret. Fortunately, Ye Ci was sticking close to the side of the ship. In this situation, at least her back was safe from enemy attacks and she only needed to deal with the sailors before her in a frontal battle.

    The sailors on the deck were just small fry. Although they had both high HP and attack, with a Legendary grade beast like Ol¡¯ Four blocking their way they were still unable to put up much of a fight. Legendary grade creatures really were on a different level whenpared to your usual Elite ss monsters.

    Ye Ci suddenly realized that she had done the right thing by choosing to invest her Talent Points into Pet Mastery. If she had distributed fewer Talent Points into Pet Mastery, even a Legendary grade creature may not be able to withstand the onught of so many Elite monsters.

    She opened the Talent Menu and ced her remaining 7 Talent Points into Talents rted to Pet Mastery. Thick Hide, Dexterity, Lacerate, Bleed and Ferocity. These were all Pet Mastery Talents, and if she upgraded them, Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s attacks would be even more overpowered. Ye Ci¡¯s abilities in Archery could be adjusted via her skills and equipment, but Ol¡¯ Four did not have such benefits, so she had no choice but to rely on her Talent Points. It was fortunate that she had obtained more Talent Points than others, or else she wouldn¡¯t be able to upgrade them as much.

    ...

    It didn¡¯t take long for the mobs to fall under Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s feet. Extremely pleased with itself, It wagged its enormous tail while acting coy towards Ye Ci in exchange for the roasted quails that it loved so much. Ye Ci took out a few more quails and tossed them at Ol¡¯ Four. She raised her hand to feel Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s scaly skin and sighed. Ol¡¯ Four, you¡¯re really not suited for acting cute. In fact, your attempts at acting cute are actually very frightening.

    After Ol¡¯ Four had had its meal, its loyalty to Ye Ci rose again by 2 points. Now, she only needed 8 more to reach 100 points. As its loyalty rose, the more submissive it would be to Ye Ci. At present, it rarely refused Ye Ci¡¯s order to enter a battle.

    Releasing Finley, the trio used the stairs on the deck to enter the ship. Upon entering, they were surrounded by mobs once again. This time, however, was way easier since Finley was avable to heal them. The room furthest to the right was the captain¡¯s room, and it was where the treasure chest was held. However, the monster that guarded the chest was ferocious. s, as the monster did not have any overpowered skills and was alone, a BOSS like this would still end up being killed in the end.

    It didn¡¯t take long before the monster copsed onto the ground, dead. After looting several gold coins from the body, Ye Ci rubbed her hands as she opened the chest behind the corpse.

    The chest only had three items: one of them was the Gale Ne while the remaining two were all quest items. Ye Ci was somewhat depressed, was her luck really that bad?

    It was fortunate that the Gale Ne was a Purple essory, it only had two attributes, but it was extremely useful to Ye Ci.

    Gale Ne

    Purple essory

    Movement Speed increase +15%

    Attack speed increases by 1 second.

    Between the two attributes, Ye Ci was more amazed by thetter. Amongst all the equipment that increased a yer¡¯s attack speed, the best one she knew of only increased it by 0.7 seconds. This equipment was actually able to improve it by a full second, that was too overpowered! In Fate, a yer¡¯s attack speed dictated one¡¯s attack frequency, and attack frequency would directly affect one¡¯s total damage output.

    Take two-handed weapons and a dagger for example. The attack speed for two-handed weapons was 3.0 seconds on average, while the dagger¡¯s attack speed was about 1.5 seconds. That meant that a dagger would be able to attack twice in the same amount of time it took for a two-handed weapon to make a single attack. To make up for this, the damage caused by a two-handed weapon was at least 50% higher than a dagger¡¯s damage. With this ne, the attack speed for two handed weapons would be improved from 3.0 seconds to 2.0 seconds. The user¡¯s attack frequency would be increased and their total damage output would be iparable to before.

    The weapons that Ye Ci used were mainly daggers, short swords as well as a crossbow for ranged attacks. The attack speed for these weapons were around 1.5 to 2.5 seconds on average. Now that she had equipped this ne, Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but feel excitement at the thought of the amount of damage she would be able to dish out. Although for the crossbow, her increase in attack speed also meant that she would end up using more crossbow bolts, Ye Ci did not worry too much about it. After all, she was one of the few Hunter sses that was capable of being self-sufficient.

    After equipping the Gale Ne, Ye Ci then scrutinized the two quest items that remained.

    The first one was a letter that was written by Felix. It was a long letter and Ye Ci couldn¡¯t be bothered to read it in its entirety and skipped right to the end. The quest details were written there. Bring this letter back to the king of Champion City.

    A delivery quest, Ye Ci didn¡¯t mind that too much and ced the letter inside her backpack. It was only when she picked up the other quest item that she started to get excited once again.

    What kind of situation did the phrase ¡°travelling far and wide in search of something, yet finding it effortlessly¡± describe?

    It was probably describing the item that was in her hands.

    A Fragment of Dau¡¯er¡¯s Map.

    Those words were written on the piece of parchment in her hands. Aside from a few strange squiggly lines that were illustrated on the parchment, nothing else could be gleaned from it. If Ye Ci wished to find out what was drawn on it, she¡¯d probably have to find the remaining fragments of the map to do so.

    Ever since she received this quest that was rted to the Elf King Dau¡¯er from Natasha, she has never seen anything like this. Half a year had passed since then, so long that even Ye Ci had forgotten about the quest. To think that she would find one piece of the map today, it reignited Ye Ci¡¯s determination after jogging her memory about the quest.

    Thend where Dau¡¯er, the Elf King, had sealed his soul...

    Just thinking about it filled her with boundless excitement.

    With jubtion in her heart, Ye Ci carried Finley back across the sea and returned to the harbour via her grappling hook. Ye Ci retrieved her grappling hook and carried Finley on her back once more as they headed for the massive statue by the harbor together.

    The statue was a sculpture of a human. It held a longsword in its hands, which was stabbed into the ground. The statue looked into the far distance with a decisive expression on its face. Fully armored with a cape, his hair and cape were wildly flying as though blown by the wind. In a nutshell, this statue was extremely well-sculpted.

    However, this could be said to be a tough challenge for Ye Ci. First of all, her grappling hook did not have that long of a reach, so she could only climb up an inch at a time. Secondly, Finley was really annoying, he kept raving about how scary it was on her back, causing Ye Ci to have a massive headache.

    In the end, she roared at Finley, threatening to silence him once and for all with a single stab before he finally quieted down. The only question left was how was she going to find a foothold to make her way up the smooth statue walls.

    Ye Ci missed her previous life for just a split second. It was a time when Master Engineers were aplenty, she could have just bought a small ne and flown straight over, how wonderful would that have been...

 Chapter 128 Exploration Completed

    Chapter 128 Exploration Completed

    Despite the burden Ye Ci was carrying on her back, she swung the cat ws again and again. Fortunately, Pea Cake was skillful with his work, and the cat ws he produced were sturdy enough. One of them would only be broken after more than a dozen usages. Ye Ci however, remained careful. She avoided using cat ws with lower durability during her climb in order to ensure her safety. Should the cat w break when she was nearly at the top, she would definitely die.

    ¡°Oh God! It¡¯s so high! Finley is afraid!¡± Finley, who had remained quiet, suddenly grumbled. He looked at Ye Ci with a saddened expression, twitching his greenish ears as he said in a sobbing tone, ¡°Oh, Elf, I admit that you¡¯re a very great person, can we make a deal?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Climbing was especially tiring for Ye Ci with Finley on her back. She gasped for air as she swung the cat ws, while simultaneously having to console the burden on her back. Was there anybody suffering as much as her right now?

    ¡°If you want to climb on top of that statue, why not let me go back and do it by yourself?¡± Finley patted Ye Ci¡¯s shoulder carefully in an attempt to tter her.

    Ye Ci was utterly confounded. Did he seriously think that she would willingly carry such a burden while scaling a statue? Did he think that she carried him because she liked him? She was forced to do it alright!? Forced to do it!

    Noticing that his question went unnoticed, Finley continued to beg in a soft voice, ¡°Dear Elf, I know you¡¯re very awesome, you can defeat so many opponents alone. But things like climbing a statue... I don¡¯t think I need to participate in this. Let me go...¡±

    Ye Ci was finally fed up with Finley¡¯s nonsense, ¡°You have 2 choices. First, shut the hell up. Second, I will drop you down from here.¡±

    Finley looked at the altitude they were at and let out a gasp. He covered his eyes with his hands and sobbed, ¡°Finley will not speak again, Finley will not speak again...¡±

    ¡°Shut up.¡±

    The world finally quieted down.

    A cool breeze blew past just as Finley finally quieted down. Ye Ci suddenly had a feeling that such an extreme sport was actually quite fun. This gave her the drive to carry on to the top.

    The time limit toplete the mission grew shorter and shorter. After a brief calction, Ye Ci realised that she had not gone offline for more than 40 hours. She had attached the nutrient solution to her gaming cabin before going online. Had she not done so, she would have definitely died of starvation and dehydration while ying the game. [Ed note: uhh... obviously author has not researched this... would take at least 3-10 days to die of dehydration...]

    At longst, Ye Ci was able to climb to the statue¡¯s shoulder. Although it was not overly broad, the statue was just huge enough that his shoulders would of not be a narrow ce. Ye Ci knelt on the ground, gasping for air before finally standing up straight, looking for the treasure chest.

    Before she could locate the treasure chest, she was deeply stunned by the beautiful scenery.

    As a reincarnator, Ye Ci of course knew that the stunning sceneries in Fate were one of its selling points, but she had never been able to experience it first hand. Today however, was different. In a map that only she had ess to, in a map so quiet that even her own breath could be heard, all the adventures she¡¯d had seemed trivial.

    She set her sight upon the borderless ocean where there reddish gold sun was setting over the horizon, covering the sea in a shade of gold. It was as if the entire world was made of gold. There would be asions where several seagulls streaked over the surface of the ocean, squawking as they went. The entire scenery was like a great art masterpiece.

    ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful.¡± whispered Ye Ci, who was truly amazed.

    The art design in Fate could be said to be one of the best in the world.The true beauty of mother nature was realistically portrayed by the game¡¯s developers. Ye Ci took in a deep breath and the smell of the sea entered her nostrils. At that very moment, she couldn¡¯t even tell if she was in the real world.

    ¡°You climbed all the way up here just to watch the scenery?¡± Finley finally spoke up.

    Ye Ci snapped out of her daydreaming. She smiled, not saying a word. After after, Finley was just an NPC. Even if he possessed a certain level of intelligence, it was still a far cry for him to understand human emotion. Ye Ci then looked around and found a treasure chest hidden within the creases of the statue¡¯s cor.

    Perhaps because the site was a ce with remarkable scenery, the developers did not ce any monsters there. Despite that, Ye Ci moved cautiously, not lowering her guard. She even summoned Ol¡¯ Four to take point.

    Up until the moment when she opened the chest, not a single movement appeared. Ye Ci was finally able to rx.

    There was only a skillbook and a letter in the chest.

    Before taking a look at the letter, Ye Ci reached out for the skillbook. She felt nothing but excitement as she studied the words written on the skillbook. It was no wonder the chest was ced at such a high ce. The skillbook was good stuff.

    Rain of Arrows.

    At level one, Rain of Arrows would fire 5 arrows in a random AOE, dealing 110 physical damage to any targets caught within the zone. The level required to learn the skill was lvl 60.

    In Fate, every character ss had a few overpowered skills designed in the game. These skills, however, could only be learned from very specific NPCs or through skillbooks. Very few had the ability to acquire such skills. It was said that their numbers could be counted on one¡¯s fingers.

    Rain of Arrows one of the most overpowered skills of the Hunter ss. When Ye Ci was still a Sorceress in herst life, she drooled over the Firestorm skillbook, and Rain of Arrows was the skillbook that was drooled over by all the Hunters.

    She had never thought that she would have the chance toe across such an overpowered skillbook.

    Of course, Ye Ci¡¯s luck was not the contributing factor at all. It was something that was scripted by the developers. The first yer to explore an unknown map would always receive a top tier skillbook of his or her ss. As a Huntress and the first yer to explore Hidden Treasure Gulf, it was natural that she received Rain of Arrows.

    Ye Ci activated her Brooch of Deceit, changing her level to lvl 60, and then learned Rain of Arrows. Although the Brooch of Deceit did not have many uses, its ability to cheat even the system proved its worth by itself.

    Ye Ci had the urge to test out her newly acquired ability, but a system notification popped out, indicating that she was prohibited from using any skills from her current position. She then took out the letter from the chest.

    It was a very old letter. Even the words written on it had already faded away. Ye Ci could only make out a few sentences that were written on the letter.

    ¡°... When you read this letter, I believe you¡¯ll have already seen the magnificent scenery. Have you understood the real meaning behind the name ¡®Hidden Treasure Gulf?¡¯ O¡¯ brave adventurer, do not let your eyes be clouded by the wealth contained within the chest. This beautiful sunset is the most precious treasure...¡±

    Ye Ci put the letter away. The person who wrote the letter was correct, the scenery was indeed marvelous. For amon person like Ye Ci however, the best treasure was of course the one contained within the chest. As for the scenery, maybe she would truly be able to enjoy it when she got old.

    A system notification popped up right after Ye Ci had finished reading the chapter, ¡°Congrattions forpleting your exploration of the Hidden Treasure Gulf. Your exploration progress is: 100%. Exploration time: 47 hours. The Hidden Treasure Gulf will be made avable to all yers in 35 hours.¡±

    ¡°You havepleted the exploration of a hidden map. Do you wish for your ID to remain hidden?¡±

    Even something like this could make it into the system announcement? Ye Ci immediately selected the option to hide her yer ID. Upwards Ho! could have all the exposure, but Gongzi You... It was best for her toy low. ¡°Yes.¡±

    A system announcement immediately appeared in the World Channel. Other than the Talent Points rewarded, nothing else was of use to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci stored the letter into her inventory and said to Finley, ¡°Oi, we¡¯re going down there now.¡±

    ¡°How are we going to get down there?¡± Finley was visibly excited, ¡°Hurry up and...¡± before he couldplete his sentence, Finley felt a loss of weight. At the next moment, he came to a sudden realization. By ¡°going down,¡± the Elf had meant that they would jump down.

    ¡°AHHHHHHHH!!!¡± Finley screamed in a shrill voice, to the point where Ye Ci felt as if she was going deaf.

    The screaming continued even after Ye Ci activated Featherfall. She cupped her ears, trying to reduce the amount of torture they received from Finley. She floated onto the ground lightly, just like a feather. Even after they hadnded, Finley was still screaming. Ye Ci loosened the ropes and sat him down on the ground. She took out a bottle of water and nudged Finley who was covering his eyes with both hands, ¡°Are you feeling thirsty?¡±

    ¡°Ah, thank you.¡± Finley lowered his hands and handed the bottle back to Ye Ci politely, ready to resume his screaming. Ye Ci immediately stopped him, ¡°We¡¯vended.¡±

    Finley was momentarily stunned. He then looked at Ye Ci with eyes full of disbelief, ¡°Heh, Elf, we didn¡¯t fall to our deaths?¡±

    Before Ye Ci could offer him a reply, a loud thump sounded from the sky above. It was not the sound of thunder... It was.... It was... Before Ye Ci could figure out the answer to her question, a system warning rang out: ¡°Somebody is pounding on the exterior of your machine. To prevent any losses in-game, please go offline as soon as possible.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately went offline after receiving the notification. She pushed open the lid of her gaming cabin, and saw Bai Mo¡¯s worried face, ¡°What happened, Bai Mo?¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s your character at right now? I¡¯m unable to reach you! Get to the entrance of Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum quickly!¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Upwards Ho! is under attack.¡±

    Hiya people!!! Hope y¡¯all enjoy the double chapters!!!

    Calling to all the artistic souls out there!!! If you wish to submit any fanarts, feel free to send em to the email: yo!

    Quest: [Bonus Chapter] Description: If we reach a donation amount of $50, I¡¯ll release a third chapter as a bonus!!!

    FIRST TO COMMENT TYPE FIRST BLOOD! And don¡¯t forget there¡¯s a teaser next chapter!!!

 Chapter 129 This Day

    Chapter 129 This Day

    Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum.

    A fifty man dungeon.

    TIll this day, there were only two guilds who had managed to clear the instance.

    Those guilds were Tang Dynasty and Upwards Ho!.

    However, there were rumors said that Steel Blooded Battle Spear and Wolf Pack were already knocking on the doors of third ce. It wouldn¡¯t take long for them to clear the dungeon too.

    Just as each guild was trying their hardest to clear this dungeon, Upwards Ho! had actually managed to take two of the First Five consecutively in the past two days. This undoubtedly caused a certain amount of pressure on the rest of the guilds. Especially today, where the queue for Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum had just started to form in the early morning and then the guilds saw an announcement sh past on the world channel.

    Remote Depths: Earnestly looking for people to sponsor ¡°Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum.¡± Thirty thousand gold coins per run, all items that drop will belong to you. Contact me if you¡¯re interested. Firste, first serve. Only one request per day.

    yers of Fate could be said to becking in everything but money. Ever since the game started its real-world currency conversion, there were a lot more enterprises that began to join the game. Needless to say, the wealthy heirs of the rich were also aplenty in the game.

    For the wealthy second generation heirs, if they weren¡¯t in a guild that invested their effort in setting up a dungeon clearing team, they would actually prefer this method of sponsoring a team. One only needed to spend a rtively small amount of money for a full set of equipment from the dungeon, which was way faster than slowly clearing a dungeon with a team.

    Of course, it was impossible for the dungeon to drop an entire set of equipment. However, even if it took the team 10 runs to get an entire set of equipment to drop, it was merely three million gold coins over a 10 day period. It was pretty affordable if you thought about it.

    That was why the moment Remote Depths made his announcement, his private channel was immediately flooded with messages. Furthermore, the request fee of thirty thousand gold coins quickly rose to fifty thousand gold coins. When the request fee reached sixty thousand gold coins, Remote Depths finally epted a yer¡¯s request.

    Following the usual rules of the contract: before entering the dungeon, the requestor had to pay half of the amount upfront for the raid party to prepare for the dungeon clearance. Once the dungeon had been cleared, the requestor would then pay the remaining sum of money to Remote Depths.

    This day, was really strange.

    This was Upwards Ho!¡¯s first sponsored dungeon clearing attempt, so all of the members were pumped up. ording to Remote Depths¡¯ understanding of these yers, a number of them were not doing well in real life; They would be satisfied if they could earn a bit of money from the game. Thus, when Remote Depths announced to everyone that the price for this sponsored clear had risen to sixty thousand coins, and that everyone would be able to receive about five thousand gold coins after deducting the guild maintenance fees and preparation costs for clearing the dungeon, everyone was over the moon with joy.

    ording to the current exchange rate which was roughly 1:5, this meant that five thousand gold coins could be treated as 1000 yuan in real world currency. Although there were people earning a monthly average of 10,000 yuan, they were able to earn 1000 yuan just by clearing a dungeon in a few hours. This was much easier and more profitablepared to going to work. This made everyone hold their breaths in anticipation of disying their skills.

    It was also a strange day for Tang Dynasty.

    Aside from clearing the dungeon that one time, their team had been stuck at the third BOSS either due to their bad luck or their poor coordination, failing over and over again, which of course gave them immense pressure. Coupled with the fact that Upwards Ho! had been clearing multiple dungeons in session and their recent bagging of two of the First Five, this made them even more gloomy. The other day while they were fighting with Wolf Pack over the territory of Blue Light Coast, they were ambushed by Gongzi You which led to a massive defeat. So their resentment of Upwards Ho! Grew even more.

    It wouldn¡¯t be exaggerating if the phrase ¡®A thorn in their side¡¯ were to be used here.

    And now this thorn in their side had actually opened a sponsored dungeon clearing team while they were still stuck trying to clear that same dungeon. This action inadvertently added fuel to the fire in the hearts of Tang Dynasty¡¯s yers.

    Glistening Snow spoke hatefully in the guild channel: ¡°What the hell are this bunch of fools doing? The leader only knows how to make money while the vice-leader only knows how to assassinate women. I really want to see these trash kneel in front of us.¡±

    Every guild would have some female yers who were extremely popr, like Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s Peacock Blue or Tang Dynasty¡¯s Glistening Snow. She had joined Tang Dynasty early and was considered to be their main healer. Furthermore, she had uploaded her own photos onto the guild forum, Her looks were pretty decent, so she was delegated a role in HR management and almost everyone who entered Tang Dynasty¡¯s voice chat channel would have heard her entrancing voice, causing her to have quite a good reputation amongst the yer poption.

    Now games had bemonce, and the number of female yers was growing each day. Gone were the days when female yers were rarer than precious metals; however, they were still a precious existence. As long as the yer was pretty, there would be a number of supporters behind her.

    Needless to say, for a female yer who had a good reputation in the guild and the game like Glistening Snow, the number of youths in the height of puberty and would get enraged for a beauty like her was nothing tough about.

    Thus, after reading Glistening Snow¡¯s words, a few blockheaded yers of Tang Dynasty really did go to the entrance of Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum. Upon seeing the people from Upwards Ho!, they immediately attacked. The yers from Upwards Ho! who had gathered in front of the dungeon could be considered to be the guild¡¯s elite yers. Not only did they have good coordination, they also had excellent equipment. Having been ambushed out of nowhere, they did not allow their attackers to do as they pleased and retaliated, demanding an exnation.

    The mouths of these blockheads were really rotten. They gathered up to fight and began to run after fighting, but did they really expect them to not be chased? However, these idiots still dared to retort: ¡±We¡¯re hitting you trash from Upwards Ho! of course!¡±

    Who would be willing to bebelled as trash? Probably no one.

    At this provocation, the yers from Upwards Ho!, who were originally ying around, were incensed. Relying on their strength in numbers and equipment, they swiftly wiped out the idiots.

    How could these dumbasses take this lying down? They immediately reported the incident in the guild channel, exaggerating the series of events as they did so. Tang Dynasty lumped their past grudges together with this incident and were riled up. They couldn¡¯t wait to go up and exterminate everyone in Upwards Ho!. Currently, NightAndDay was not present and Wandering Clouds was the one in charge. Although he was still wary of Gongzi You knowing his secret, it was impossible for him to suppress this incident due to a personal matter. He knew that if he were to suppress this incident, it would be difficult for him to answer to everyone.

    Wandering Clouds had no choice but to privately message a yer who had died, inquiring if Gongzi You was at the scene. Upon determining that she was not there, he then led arge group of men, making their way towards Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum to confront Upwards Ho!.

    However, they had really bad timing. When they arrived, the victorious Upwards Ho! had already led their sponsor into the dungeon and it would take hours before they woulde out. Tang Dynasty were not going to leave empty handed after just missing their quarry. Instead, they dispersed and started to ughter any Upwards Ho! member they could find on the map.

    This was probably the most heart-wrenching dungeon clearance Remote Depths had ever done. They were in the dungeon on a sponsored dungeon clearance while Tang Dynasty were killing his guild members outside, regardless of their level or position in the guild, which infuriated him. In the end he gave out an order: Everyone remain in the guild encampment, do not go out and grind levels orplete quests. Wait for the raid team to finish clearing the dungeon.

    At present, everyone from Upwards Ho! who were in the dungeon felt stifled. What the hell was this? Every one of them knew that they were in for a fight upon leaving the dungeon, but none of them were afraid. There were even some yers who were almost unable to stop themselves from rushing out. Which was why this dungeon clearance proceeded extremely well, to the point that their sponsor could not stop grinning. Even though only two pieces of equipment for his profession had dropped from the third BOSS, he still booked the next day for the dungeon clearance with Remote Depths and paid the deposit for the next day as well.

    Due to being distracted, the members of Upwards Ho! did not dawdle too long in the dungeon, quickly leaving after collecting all of the equipment.

    As expected, there was a lookout when they left the dungeon. The instant they caught sight of someone leaving, a bombardment of skills were unleashed upon them. Even though everyone in Upwards Ho! had drunk a bottle of elementary invisibility potion, there were some yers with lower HP who still died instantly.

    And thus, the chaotic battle began.

    Although the elites of Upwards Ho! were not many, they did not lose in numbers. Due to their excellent performance in the Dragon Dance Competition as well as Gongzi You¡¯s presence, the members of Upwards Ho! had long since reached over 1000 yers, which meant that there were over 1000 people that were able to fight for Upwards Ho!

    Once Remote Depths left the dungeon, hemanded the raid team to retaliate against the yers who were standing by, while calling out for all guild members in the guild encampment toe over.

    Actually, any yer who chose abat profession in the game would definitely have traces of a battle-hungry spirit in them. Upon hearing that someone was bullying their guild, they immediately answered the call and rushed over.

    There wasn¡¯t much of arge gap at the start of the chaos. After all, a group brawl like this depended on who was livelier. Since both sides had begun PK-ing, the maximum limit for dying under this state would be a 10 levels. However, equipment drops were still dependent on chance.

    This change in death was only recently rolled out in the New Year¡¯s patch, with the aim of encouraging yer to yer interactions. However, this also eased the worries the yers had whenever they were PKing, greatly increasing the number of PvP battles.

    There was no such thing as an endless battle. There was also no guild who would be willing to throw money into a meaningless battle, let alone Tang Dynasty who had already been through a battle previously and was extremely reluctant to waste their energy on something like this.

    However, at that moment, it seemed that the battle¡¯s turning point had arrived.

    Arge scale blizzard descended from the heavens, hitting squarely onto the members of Upwards Ho!. A dense field of red damage values started to appear...

    Cough cough Aherm aherm... So... Uh.... How do I say this... Erm.... I have a confession to make people... You see...

    Actually...

    I WAS SUPPOSED TO POST THIS CHAPTER YESTERDAY BUT I FORGOT PLEASE DON¡¯T KILL ME!!!

    Anyways, enjoy this chapter ya? xDD

    Interesting eventing up today, stay tuned!

    And.... Last but not least... DON¡¯T FORGET TO CLAIM FIRST BLOOD IN THE TEASER NEXT CHAPTER!!!

 Chapter 130 Deathmatch

    Chapter 130 Deathmatch

    Mages have strong attack power, yet they are ss cannons.

    However, when bombarded by a group of mages, even the toughest of characters will soon realize that life would be difficult.

    There were Ice-type Mages that reduces speed, Fire-type mages that deals sustained DoT, and Arcane-type Mages with absurd DPS. When these three types of mages are grouped together, regardless of one¡¯s ss, you will feel that you are extremely weak. Needless to say, for a long-time guild such as Tang Dynasty, the one resource that they did notck was manpower. After shing with Upwards Ho! for a period of time, they realized that although Upwards Ho! were small in numbers, their speed was exceptionally quick, allowing them to easily evade Tang Dynasty¡¯s armies, which caused Tang Dynasty to be extremely passive.

    The instant NightAndDay got online and caught wind of the scuffle, he immediately sent out amand to the entire Mage squadron to raid Upwards Ho!.

    Although personally speaking, NightAndDay was extremely unwilling to butt heads with Upwards Ho! and Gongzi You. But after the battle with Wolf Pack, he deduced that Upwards Ho! and Wolf Pack had an alliance. He could not help but be infuriated just by recalling the humiliation dealt to his guild by Gongzi You. Regardless of whatever triggered today¡¯s battle with Upwards Ho!, NightAndDay was determined to win.

    And thus, NightAndDay dealt a massive blow towards Upwards Ho! with just a sweep of his hand.

    Being sted by such firepower, the members of Upwards Ho! were immediately decimated. There were many who respawned in order to retaliate but were swiftly put down once more. This situation persisted for a while. In the end, to prevent more losses, Bai Mo went offline to look for Ye Ci after having a few words with the guild¡¯s officers.

    Bai Mo was unwilling to seek Ye Ci¡¯s help for anything and everything. Ye Ci had her own matters to handle as well and he could not expect Ye Ci to be handling guild matters all the time. However, in this situation, he was forced to look for Ye Ci¡¯s aid.

    Before Bai Mo made his decision to look for Ye Ci, World Conqueror and Zero Space had already contacted him, offering to send reinforcements. Bai Mo, however, was wary. They were allrge guilds, and Bai Mo knew that their offers of assistance was due to Ye Ci. If he were to ept, he knew that he would be unable to repay their favor. Unless Upwards Ho! was strong enough to hold its own against theserge guilds, Bai Mo was not willing to ept their help.

    Bai Mo was someone who thoroughly studied interpersonal psychology, and he had always been a cautious person. Faced with such a situation, he had weighed the pros and cons and had decided that he would not wish to be a pawn in an internal struggle between the major guilds unless the situation is dire.

    And so, he needed to discuss it over with Ye Ci first.

    Unfortunately, ever since Ye Ci told him that she¡¯ll be leaving for a few days, he was unable to contact her through the game at all. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he was able to determine that she was in the gaming cabin, he would have suspected that that damned girl ran off somewhere to fool around.

    Since Bai Mo was unable to contact Ye Ci in the game, he had no choice but to log off in the midst of battle to look for her. Of course he knew that what he did was taboo, since who knows what those members lying on the ground were feeling when they received notice of his departure. Thus, he could only instruct the guild officers to stabilize the guild¡¯s morale after reassuring them that he will be back online within ten minutes.

    Once he was offline, Bai Mo immediately ran towards Ye Ci¡¯s room. Looking at the gaming cabin on the floor, its signal lights indicated that she was currently within the game. Heaving a sigh of relief, he began to knock on the surface of the gaming cabin. The gaming cabin was a piece of advanced technology, where an alert would be immediately sent to the yer within the gaming cabin upon detecting an impact. That¡¯s why it did not take long before Ye Ci opened the gaming cabin.

    Ye Ci knew Bai Mo¡¯s character, since she already told him that she had something to take care of, he would never find her in the gaming cabin unless it was something really important. So she didn¡¯t ask for the specifics and immediately got online.

    Meanwhile in Hidden Treasure Gulf, Finley was no longer at Ye Ci¡¯s side. He probably went back to his house, waiting for Ye Ci to hand in her quest. However, Ye Ci could spare no time in doing so as she could only do so after the crisis was over.

    Ye Ci activated the city-recalling stone, returning to Red Lake City a short momentter. Soon after her arrival at Red Lake City, she swiftly received a message from Bai Mo. He summarized the entire turn of events for Yi Ci, ¡±I don¡¯t understand if Tang Dynasty had gone crazy, Upwards Ho! shouldn¡¯t have any enmity with them before! Just how did this happen?¡±

    Ye Ci coldly harrumphed, although she wasn¡¯t sure what caused this brawl, but she believed that her involvement in the fight between Wolf Pack and Tang Dynasty was definitely one of the factors. She immediately sent out two words to Wandering Clouds. ¡±Retreat, now.¡±

    Knowing that Ye Ci had dirt on him, Wandering Cloud did not dare to talk back, but he was evidently in a dilemma. ¡±Gongzi You, I¡¯m not the one who started this, it was Glistening Snow! With things as it is, not even I can do anything about it...¡±

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t be bothered to listen to his nonsense, even if she did know that Wandering Clouds currently did not have the power to control the entire guild, it would not be enough to quell the rage she felt against these people. Thus, no longer receiving any other private messages, Ye Ci immediately headed to the teleporter and travelled to the Frosty Wastnd Inner Sanctum.

    Exiting the teleport point, she immediately saw the carnage of the battle. The map channel was even more rowdy. The members of Upwards Ho! refused to revive themselves, while Tang Dynasty was spawn camping them.

    Once a brawl devolves into a verbal war, it essentially meant that the battle was almost over. Everyone here was a veteran at ying games and naturally knew this rule as well. Some Tang Dynasty yers at the outer encirclement had already started to retreat but most were still densely circling the corpses of Upwards Ho! members, as though iming that they will not let it end like this.

    Ye Ci remained stealthy throughout the way and swiftly ascended a small mountain next to the dungeon. The terrain was a tad empty but one was able to observe the entirety of this chaotic brawl from here. She nced around to the sides and discovered that there were no Tang Dynasty yers nearby. Exiting stealth, she hid behind a cluster of boulders. She took out a Dark Iron Bomb from her bag, which she did not have the opportunity to use ever since the incident at the Buren Monastery. She would be able to put them to good use in this situation.

    Pulling out the pin, Ye Ci tossed the Dark Iron Bomb into an area where most of the Tang Dynasty yers had gathered. It also happened to be the ce with the highest concentration of mages.

    ¡°What was that thing falling on the ground?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°It seems to be a bomb.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, it¡¯s a bomb!!!¡±

    Following the mumblings of the Tang Dynasty¡¯s members, they immediately spread themselves out. However... a lot of inconveniences happen when one tries to evacuate in a crowd. Either you bumped into people or people would step onto you. Simply put, it was chaos and only a few truly managed to escape.

    Mere secondster, the sound of a massive explosion could be heard. A huge pit was sted into the ground and the corpses of Tang Dynasty yers were scattered around the vicinity and the bottom of the pit.

    This move pinned a lot of Tang Dynasty yers in ce, ¡°What on earth is happening here?¡±

    Once a ripple appears within the human heart, it is extremely difficult to bring it back under control. The sudden appearance of a bomb caused even a well-trained guild such as Tang Dynasty to be caught off guard. NightAndDay repeatedly instructed everyone to calm down over the guild channel with little effect, infuriating him to no end. It was at this moment that Wandering Clouds contacted him in private. ¡°Night, could it be Gongzi You is here?¡±

    Wandering Clouds could not tell NightAndDay outright that Gongzi You had appeared. Not only has she appeared, she had also spoken to him. To Wandering Clouds, he would rather die than let NightAndDay find out about the incident between Gongzi You and him. He did a good job keeping it under wraps, but that wretched Glistening Snow nearly blew his cover a few times already, just like today¡¯s incident. Wandering Clouds still had no idea how is he going to exin it to NightAndDay yet, if that incident were to be identally revealed......

    Wandering Clouds shook his head, he would rather die than to imagine what would the situation between him and NightAndDay be like if that were toe to light.

    At this moment, his hatred for the female yer Glistening Snow intensified.

    NightAndDay heard Wandering Clouds¡¯s words and was slightly startled. He was cautious of Gongzi You as well. It was not because this person had a lot of things that warranted his attention. Although arrogant, she was still just one person. What truly made him cautious, was that through yesterday¡¯s battle, he deduced that Gongzi You had a deep rtionship with Wolf Pack. If Wolf Pack were to intervene at this stage, this would not bode well for Tang Dynasty.

    Just as he was in a daze, a sharp noise tore through the air, followed by a myriad of firing sounds. Countless arrows began to fall, descending like rain.

    This was an overpowered ability that was insane enough to overturn the tide of battle.

    This was originally a level 60 skill. Furthermore it was an advanced skill that was extremely rare for one to have whilst between level 60 to 100, let alone the fact that everyone still had a level average of 25. Just this fact will cause one to involuntarily shudder.

    Due to this downpour of arrows, the Tang Dynasty yers who weren¡¯t blown to death and were in the midst of recovering from their depleted HP bars started falling.

    Everybody was in a state of chaos, searching for the culprit for causing this mayhem. NightAndDay thought he saw a ck shadow sh past his eyes, before an enormous Tyrannosaurus-Rex rushed towards a wave of grouped up yers, decimating a portion in its wake. Following in the primordial lizard¡¯s path was another shower of arrows......

    What kind of skill is this? And what kind of battle strength is this? Everyone knew very well that Gongzi You was strong, but personally witnessing it for themselves caused shivers to run down their spine.

    ¡°Gongzi, where exactly are you guys on that map? I just received notice that Upwards Ho! and Tang Dynasty are butting heads again. I¡¯ll rush there soon.¡± Just as Ye Ci and NightAndDay were standing face to face, Sir Ditty¡¯s private message appeared by Ye Ci¡¯s side.

    Hiya!!! A chapter a day keeps boredom away, but Jimmi is unable to trante a chapter a day!! (Daheck what am I even saying??)

    Hope you peeps enjoy the chapter!!!

    Oh... Don¡¯t forget to answer the 2 questions in the Labor Day Bonanza thingy here to stand a chance to unlock TWO bonus chapters of Reign of the Hunters!!!

    Aaaaaand first toment in the teaser next chapter type: First Blood!

 Chapter 131 Retreat

    Chapter 131 Retreat

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to trouble you. I¡¯ll settle this matter on my own.¡± Ye Ci stared at NightAndDay calmly while replying to Sir Ditty¡¯s message.

    Sir Ditty felt that it was not right to stand by and said, ¡°I feel that it¡¯s not right for me to stay out of this. Tang Dynasty must be retaliating against you for helping us out earlier on.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll seek for your aid the next time we get into trouble with Tang Dynasty. As for the fight today, Upwards Ho! can handle it on our own.¡± Ye Ci knew that Sir Ditty was desperate to strengthen their ties. However, she did not wish for Wolf Pack¡¯s intervention today.

    ¡°Alright, if things go south, lemme know. I¡¯ve ced my guild¡¯s elites on standby.¡± Noting that Ye Ci¡¯s mind was set, Sir Ditty could only agree to her words.

    Right after Ye Ci¡¯s conversation with Sir Ditty ended, wless Reflection sent her a message, offering his aid, which was declined by Ye Ci. She knew that from the first moment she ran into Wandering Clouds, conflict with Tang Dynasty was inevitable. Even if she was willing to let the incident go, somebody might not be able to forget about it. That was why a situation like the standoff today was bound to happen, It was just that Ye Ci had not expected it to happen so soon.

    After all, Upwards Ho! was quite a small guild, and it was definitely unable to stand up to Tang Dynasty¡¯s might. Having the guild locked in a vicious battle against Tang Dynasty was like striking a stone with an egg.

    But, Ye Ci¡¯s reluctance in causing trouble did not mean that she was afraid of trouble. Since the incident had already broke out, she decided to settle the matter once and for all.

    With her mind made up, Ye Ci rushed a smile at NightAndDay, ¡°Greetings, Guild Leader Night, we meet again.¡±

    ¡°So it seems. The Eastern Continent is not arge ce, but it¡¯s definitely not small. It seems like fate has brought us together again.¡± Although Tang Dynasty lost its momentum after suffering from Ye Ci¡¯s attacks, they were still arge guild. Their ability to sustain themselves in a fight was far superior. Even if Ye Ci was a ferocious fighter, she was still one person. As long as Wolf Pack did not intervene, she was nothing to be afraid of.

    ¡°Fate?¡± Ye Ci snorted, and switched to the private message channel, ¡°You call this fate? I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    NightAndDay was momentarily stunned. He knew that there was a hidden meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words. He was able to keep his cool, and pretended that he did not understand what Ye Ci had meant, ¡°Oh, what do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I was not nning to pick sides on that day. But, some of your guild members crossed the line.¡± Ye Ci did not wish to y word games with NightAndDay, and got straight to the point.

    NightAndDay did not immediately offer her a response. He reminisced the scene on that day. Gongzi You was indeed riding past the battlefield on her dinosaur. Judging from her speed and the direction at which she was travelling however, she did not appear to be going to Wolf Pack¡¯s aid. She was simply passing by the area. But why did she turn aroundter on?

    After some pondering, he immediately remembered the situation back then, and a name popped up in his mind. Glistening Snow.

    He knew for a fact that Glistening Snow was always acting like a princess, but she had never acted impudently towards outsiders. What prompted her to act against Ye Ci? What was the cause that led to such an incident?

    After giving the matter a thought, NightAndDay replied to Ye Ci¡¯s words half-heartedly while contacting one of his trusted aides. He was very curious about what happened between Glistening Snow and Gongzi You. Why would she keep acting against Gongzi You?

    However, no matter what happened, Glistening Snow was still one of his people, while Gongzi You was an outsider. NightAndDay would naturally take sides.

    ¡°Gongzi, you¡¯re an expert, and Glistening Snow is just a skilless Cleric. Do you really have to bully a poor little girl like her?¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Ye Ci chuckled coldly, ¡°I sincerely think that Great Guild Leader Night should clean up the mess in your own guild before trying to sort things out with Upwards Ho!.¡± And with that, she set her sights on a pretty-looking female Cleric standing not far behind from NightAndDay. Ye Ci could definitely identify the woman. She was the one who had sparked the rivalry between NightAndDay and Wandering Clouds. Her name was Into the Sunset.

    Although Ye Ci was unwilling to delve into personal matters, but in a situation when she was weaker than her opponent, she could only use such tactics.

    The edges of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth lifted and formed into a cold smile, ¡°And... When you¡¯re charging and fighting in the front, you might want to take note if your backyard is on fire. Or... If somebody had stolen the flowers in your garden.¡±

    At this point, Ye Ci¡¯s hint was quite obvious. It was impossible for NightAndDay to be unable to discern the hidden meaning in her words. His facial expression changed abruptly, staring at Into the Sunset, and thetter who was shocked by NightAndDay¡¯s expression asked in an rmed tone, ¡°Is something the matter?¡±

    NightAndDay took in the deep breath and smiled coldly at Ye Ci, ¡°Do you think that your petty tricks will work? What a joke.¡±

    Ye Ci was not angry. She knew that he would respond in such a way. Expecting the worst case scenario, she had even considered the possibility of asking Sir Ditty for help. ¡°If there¡¯s no wind, there won¡¯t be a wave. You and I were still strangers to each other before that day.¡±

    ¡°Guild Leader! Let¡¯s kill them all!!!¡±

    The members of Tang Dynasty were impatient when NightAndDay and Ye Ci were still conversing with each other through the private message channel. They stood behind NightAndDay, pumping their fists into the air and letting out shouts of anger.

    NightAndDay narrowed his eyes, unable to reach a decision. He was very distraught. He would be lying if he imed that Ye Ci¡¯s words did not affect him a single bit. Those words were like an earthquake, shaking the faith that he had built up towards his partner. That faith was now cracked, and he did not know if he could fix the crack, or would it disintegrate totally.

    NightAndDay lost his calm. He became indecisive.

    ¡°O¡¯ great leader Night, sometimes, showing mercy to somebody else is also mercy towards yourself. You¡¯re trying so hard, but for what? Who is it that you really have a grudge again?¡± Ye Ci offered him the ghost of a smile. Although appearing calm, Ye Ci was anxious. If NightAndDay¡¯s resolve was not faltered by her words, she would definitely die.

    NightAndDay could not make a decision. He studied Ye Ci¡¯s weird smile, and had the illusion that reinforcements from Wolf Pack would arrive anytime soon. After giving the matter a serious thought, he raised his hand, and gave the order, ¡°Retreat.¡±

    ¡°But, guild leader.¡±

    ¡°Retreat.¡±

    Violets are red,

    Roses are blue,

    Here¡¯s a new chapter,

    By Jimmi for you!!!

    Hiya everyone! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!! If you wanna reward Jimmi for his hard, hard work, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page!

    Calling out to all the peeps with artistic souls out there, if you wish to draw and submit a fanart for Reign of the Hunters, feel free to email it to me at:

    im your First Blood at the teaser next chapter!! Desu Vult!!!

 Chapter 132 Hongmen Banquet (Part 1)

    Chapter 132 Hongmen Banquet (Part 1)

    Although they were unwilling, Tang Dynasty¡¯s members were well disciplined. They immediately retreated after receiving the order. Those who were dead chose to respawn themselves in the guild encampment.

    The battlefield quieted down almost instantly.

    Upwards Ho! members began reviving shortly afterwards, and a lively discussion about the battle ensued. Most of them were disappointed that they were unable to perform better, while a small number harbored resentment against Tang Dynasty. The atmosphere was still rather harmonious for the guild.

    There was a question in each of the member¡¯s heart: Why did Tang Dynasty abruptly retreat? What did Gongzi You, who arrivedte to the battle, say to NightAndDay? It was a question that none of them dared to ask, and thus could only specte.

    Bai Mo, however, had no such reservations. It was the first question he directed towards Ye Ci after reviving. ¡°What did you say to NightAndDay?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°Then why would he suddenly call for a retreat?¡±

    Ye Ci looked at Bai Mo¡¯s curios face and let out a sigh. ¡°I told him that I asked for reinforcements from Wolf Pack.¡±

    Bai Mo did notpletely believe Ye Ci¡¯s words, but had no grounds to doubt them either, so he chose to believe Ye Ci. After a small talk, Ye Ci was able to hand in her Concealed Treasure Gulf quest to the rted NPC and went offline. Knowing that she had not gone offline for quite some time, Bai Mo did not say much and urged Ye Ci on to get some rest.

    Before she went offline, Ye Ci received a private message from Liu Chang, ¡°Little Ci, are you free tonight?¡±

    After reading the message, Ye Ci knew that Liu Chang had the intention of asking her to go out that night, and could only grimace at the fact. Dang, Ye Ci had wanted to go grab some sleep.

    ¡°I¡¯m free, but I¡¯ve been online for quite a long time now, so I¡¯ll need to go grab some sleep.¡±

    ¡°Why not sleep after our meal then?¡± Liu Chang let out a sigh. She was reluctant to force Ye Ci to attend the meeting, but she was only the middleman, ¡°Dong Yin and Yi Cang called me. They wanted to have dinner with us.¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She then let out a chuckle, ¡°Appointing you as the messenger to ask me out... Don¡¯t you think this is a little...¡±

    ¡°Little Ci, haven¡¯t we always been like this? There¡¯s no need to bother about it.¡±

    ¡°Back then, it might be nothing at all. But at a time like this, I don¡¯t like it.¡±

    Liu Chang of course understood what Ye Ci meant. She knew about Ye Ci¡¯s dealing with Steel Blooded Battle Spear a few days back, and understood Ye Ci¡¯s anger. ¡°I¡¯m sure that they didn¡¯t mean to hurt your feelings, so don¡¯t take it to heart. Besides, it¡¯s just a game, don¡¯t take it too seriously.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s face remained expressionless. She then let out a sigh. Liu Chang reminded her of something that Qin Churuo had said to Fang Susu, and her anger dissipated. That¡¯s right, gaming and real life are two separate entities. Reaching a decision, Ye Ci nodded her head, ¡°Alright, call me when you¡¯re heading up. I¡¯m going to grab some sleep.¡±

    Liu Chang immediately agreed to Ye Ci¡¯s words. At that point, Ye Ci¡¯s mood was thoroughly ruined. She immediately went offline without a word. Ye Ci had literally justid on her bed after a shower before receiving Liu Chang¡¯s phone call, informing her of the location of the dinner. Ye Ci got up from bed and went out after bading farewell to her parents, Bai Mo, and Tan Png.

    The ce was quite far from Ye Ci¡¯s residence. It took her an hour¡¯s ride in the town bus to get there. She spotted Liu Chang, who had just arrived as well, before getting off the bus. She then greeted Liu Chang and the duo headed to the meeting ce.

    It was an exclusive room in the restaurant.

    Ye Ci felt that something was amiss right after stepping into the restaurant. The ce was quite ssy, and the seating was limited as well. Why would Dong Yin and Yi Cang invite them to dinner in a ce like this? Ye Ci did not pay much heed to that thought. After all, Dong Yin and Yi Cang both came from rather wealthy families, and they would naturally have more money to spendpared to Liu Chang and herself. It might not be a problem for them to be able to afford such a ce.

    Despite her lingering suspicions, Ye Ci did not voice her concern to Liu Chang, who was visibly excited. ¡°Wow! This restaurant has really expensive seafood. Perhaps both Dong Yin and Yi Cang are sincerely trying to apologize to you?¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips, remaining quiet. In her mind, Ye Ci was trying to convince herself that ¡°Gaming and real life are two different things.¡±

    However, those thoughts disappeared right after Ye Ci pushed open the door to the exclusivepartment. That was because she saw two faces that were not supposed to show up; Thousand Sunsets and Zero Arsenic.

    Ye Ci stopped dead at the door. She knew immediately that she was not going to enjoy her meal tonight. How she wished that the meeting was in-game, and she could send a private message to Liu Chang. Liu Chang however, was equally stunned. She waspletely blindsided as well.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here?¡± Dong Yin stood up and smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Sit, sit. We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±

    Liu Chang nodded and sat down after exchanging greetings with the four. Ye Ci allowed her gaze to stray from each of the four faces before finally taking a seat. She knew that this asion had something to do with the heist of Steel Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s guild warehouse. Although Ye Ci had confidence that she pulled the heist off withplete discretion, she was still slightly worried. After all, the world in-game is totally different from real life. She could do whatever she wanted in the game, but in real life, she was nothing but a student and had her family to worry about.

    Furthermore, Thousand Sunsets was not an average joe. If she did not tread carefully, it might cause her endless trouble in real life.

    After taking a seat, Ye Ci nodded at Thousand Sunsets and Zero Arsenic as a form of greeting. They¡¯d met each other before anyways.

    ¡°Leftie, everyone is here, go get someone to start serving the meal.¡± Zero Arsenic was smiling, not betraying his real intentions. Yi Cang immediately stood up and called for a waiter.

    Before long, all the dishes were served.

    As a restaurant famous for its seafood, the dishes served were naturally expensive-looking seafood. Ye Ci wasted no effort at being modest. She lifted her chopsticks and began gobbling down the food. Since they were all here, she needed the energy to deal with them.

    On the surface, the atmosphere was very warm. Although each of them had their own agenda, each of the attendees managed to put up a harmonious and happy front. They toasted and made small talk with each other, as if they were old friends who hadn¡¯t seen each other for years.

    First chapter of today¡¯s Triple Release!!! Hell ye!!! Enjoy the chapters!!!

 Chapter 133 Hongmen Banquet (Part 2)

    Chapter 133 Hongmen Banquet (Part 2)

    Ye Ci¡¯s mind was set. She wasn¡¯t the host of today¡¯s dinner, and she would definitely not be the one to let the cat out of the bag. Since her opponents had decided to remain quiet, she showed no mercy towards the freevish meal that was served. If they decided to confront her, however, Ye Ci would of course be d to entertain them.

    Seafood was a rare delicacy for a family like Ye Ci¡¯s. They would only have the chance to have some during festive seasons, and would never even think of treating guests. Hence, Ye Ci literally buried her face into the te as she gobbled down the food. Of course, part of the reason she did so was to avoid looking directly at He Xiao, and therefore she had never raised her head since the feast began.

    Ye Ci had a big appetite, and no matter how much she ate she would never grow fat. He Xiao raised his eyebrows as Ye Ci devoured four mitten crabs while Zero Arsenic smiled on.

    Whenpared to Ye Ci¡¯s unrestrained actions, Liu Chang was more reserved. She carefully observed the situation around the table. Although her chopsticks never stopped moving, she was not as bold as Ye Ci. In contrast, Dong Yin, who was sitting beside He Xiao, had barely eaten anything.

    Ye Ci stole a nce at Dong Yin and noticed her eating delicately. A bitter smile formed on Ye Ci¡¯s lips. She could still remember scrambling for everyst scrap of food with her childhood friends. Although Dong Yin¡¯s appetite was not a big as Ye Ci¡¯s, she was still a far cry from being delicate. If He Xiao was not present, Dong Yin would definitely have wolfed down all the seafood ced in front of her. She would definitely not behave like she was currently doing.

    Was it really necessary?

    Was it really worth it?

    Changing herself into an entirely different person because of a so-called ¡°love?¡± If He Xiao had really loved her, he would definitely appreciate her ability to eat. Was it necessary for her to pretend to be so graceful?

    Of course, the onlooker sees more of the game.

    Unfortunately, Ye Ci could no longer bring herself to say such words. She would probably have reminded Dong Yin of such things before this meal, but after tonight, she would never be able to do so again. There was no turning back from some things, even if they had years of friendship.

    It was apparent that He Xiao had something in mind. While he was eating, his left hand was tapping rapidly on the table and his gaze was fixed on Ye Ci. He tried his best to gauge Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts through her bodynguage, looking for signs of fear and uneasiness. He Xiao, of course, got nothing out of Ye Ci. The girl was busy chomping down on the food in front of her, as if nothing else in this world was of interest to her.

    He Xiao could still remember his first meeting with Ye Ci. Dong Yin, Yi Cang and Liu Chang were the ones who cheerfully interacted with him, while Ye Ci was silently gobbling down food at a side, as though she had never eaten in her life before. If the situation continued, she would probably excuse herself after she was full and part ways with them as she burped loudly. He Xiao did not want to stay passive for much longer and finally spoke up, ¡°It¡¯s been awhile since we¡¯ve eaten together.¡±

    His words of course, were aimed at trying to smooth it over and lighten up the mood.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips slightly and resumed burying her face into the te in front of her. They were never close to begin with. She remained silent. Noticing Ye Ci¡¯s unwillingness to talk, Dong Yinughed and began talking with Liu Chang, ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re all busy and it¡¯s not easy to get the chance to get together.¡±

    He Xiao was actually expecting Ye Ci to respond, but the girl hadpletely ignored him. He was slightly annoyed, but was able to get his temper under control. He chuckled and said with a hint of mockery, ¡°Ye Ci, the dishes in this restaurant must taste really good. I noticed that you¡¯ve never stopped eating.¡±

    Ye Ci of course would understand the meaning behind his words. She looked up at He Xiao and smiled, while her hands never stopped. She cracked open the shell of a crab, extracted the meat, and nommed it down after dipping it into vinegar. Her eyes narrowed visibly, appearing to be enjoying the crab meat, which was a rare delicacy during winter.

    ¡°When I was young, my grandma used to say that the happiest thing for a cook is to see his or her dish being finished. I¡¯ve always eaten with a heart full of appreciation. This was why I¡¯m very serious and try my very best whenever I¡¯m eating, hoping that whoever that prepared the meal can feel my appreciation, that¡¯s all. The taste is not important. As long as the food is not poisonous, I don¡¯t really mind.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a very good habit.¡± Zero Arsenic, who had totally adopted the mentality of an onlooker instead of scheming like He Xiao, was surprised by Ye Ci¡¯s words. He nodded and gave Ye Ci his praise.

    He Xiao rolled his eyes at Zero Arsenic.

    He didn¡¯t want to beat around the bush. He had witnessed first hand Ye Ci¡¯s ability to y dumb. It wasn¡¯t an easy task to try to worm facts out of Ye Ci. The easiest way would be to confront her directly. With that, he might even be able to get an unexpected answer.

    ¡°Today¡¯s asion was for us to gather and have fun. Of course, I have something to ask Ye Ci as well.¡±

    As expected, thevish seafood was not for free. See? Ye Ci was not even finished with her meal yet and trouble was already knocking on her door. Ye Ci answered absent-mindedly while her hands worked on yet another piece of crab meat, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± He Xiao responded with a question of his own.

    Ye Ci looked at He Xiao and scoffed, ¡°How would I know? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re getting married and want me as one of the bridesmaids?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s words were purely gossip, but it disrupted He Xiao¡¯s tempo. Dong Yin blushed and sneaked a sideway nce at He Xiao. She then red at Ye Ci, ¡°How could you say things like that!? I¡¯m still too young!¡±

    Ye Ci chuckled and remained silent.

    He Xiao spoke up awkwardly, ¡°You do know that our guild warehouse was robbed, right?¡±

    ¡°Everybody who ys Fate knows about it, how could I not?¡± Replied Ye Ci as she stuffed a piece of lobster meat into her mouth, with sheer bliss showing on her face.

    He Xiao visibly gulped. He then stared at Ye Ci and squeezed his question out word by word, ¡°With your knowledge of the game, who do you think did it?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s movement paused slightly. She narrowed her eyes and stared coldly at He Xiao. She the pursed her lips, ¡°I think great leader Thousand¡¯s real question is this: was I the one who did it?¡±

    The warm atmosphere of the room froze instantly the moment the words left Ye Ci¡¯s mouth. All the conversation in the room immediately died down.

    This is the second chapter of today¡¯s Triple Release!!

    FIRST TO COMMENT TYPE FIRST BLOOD!!!

 Chapter 134 Hongmen Banquet (Part 3)

    Chapter 134 Hongmen Banquet (Part 3)

    It was not a question with an easy answer.

    If He Xiao replied with a ¡®yes,¡¯ he would immediately fall out with Ye Ci. Zero Arsenic had even reminded him earlier to not make matters worse. If it was not Gongzi You who had broken into their guild warehouse, she would definitely not be able to do anything in real life. It was however an entirely different matter in-game. Gongzi You would definitely do her best to retaliate, and if her actions were to affect the Old Master¡¯s investment, He Xiao would definitely not have a good time.

    If the answer was ¡®no,¡¯ even He Xiao could not convince himself with that answer. Although Zero Arsenic had found evidence that it was a male Gnomish Rogue instead of a Elven Huntress who had ransacked their guild warehouse, he was still deeply doubtful. After all, the heist happened right after he tried to raise issues with Gongzi You. Was it really that much of a coincidence? If so, who on earth would believe such a thing?

    He Xiao stayed silent and Ye Ci did not press for a response. She continued nibbling on more food, as if the answer to the question had nothing to do with her.

    Liu Chang was visibly frightened. She grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s sleeve and whispered, ¡°Little Ci, be careful. We can¡¯t afford to cross somebody like them.¡±

    Despite her soft voice, Liu Chang¡¯s words could be heard clearly by the everyone in the room due to the quiet environment.

    Ye Ciughed coldly and then looked at Dong Yin and Yi Cang, ¡°You think that I can¡¯t afford to cross such a person, but some people apparently believe so. There are people who believe that I would strike a stone with an egg. Since they believed so much in me, why don¡¯t I just fulfill their expectations?¡±

    Her words were as sharp as daggers, stabbing right at Dong Yin and Yi Cang. In an instant, both of their faces immediately paled.

    Especially Dong Yin, who knew about both Ye Ci¡¯s and He Xiao¡¯s backgrounds. She knew about their circumstances very well, but she had never thought that it would bring such an impact to Ye Ci. She had only wanted to dine with Ye Ci, but from what she had heard from Liu Chang and Ye Ci, she felt as if she was pushing Ye Ci to her demise. At that moment, tears almost spilled out of Dong Yin¡¯s eyes.

    She really liked He Xiao, but... she never had the intention to harm Ye Ci. They had been friends for so many years. Besides, their parents had a very good rtionship. If the slip up made by herself and Yi Cang brought harm to Ye Ci, it would utterly destroy the rtionship between the four families.

    When she thought about this, Dong Yin then turned to nce at a pale-faced Yi Cang, who avoided her gaze. It was very likely that he shared the same thoughts as Dong Yin.

    Zero Arsenic was momentarily stunned by Ye Ci¡¯s words. He poured her a cup of tea andughed, ¡°Gongzi, you think too much. It¡¯s just a simple dinner tonight. Thousand asked because he was still a wee bit doubtful. It¡¯s not that he suspects you. Don¡¯t think too much about it.¡±

    Ye Ci lifted the cup of tea and smiled at Zero Arsenic. She said without a shred of courtesy, ¡°A little doubtful? I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ve already concluded that I was the one who did it!¡±

    Zero Arsenic noticed the mes within Ye Ci¡¯s gaze and knew that she was angry. He immediately stomped on He Xiao¡¯s foot under the table. He Xiao, who was in a daze, immediately forced augh. ¡°Ye Ci, we¡¯re all friends here, there¡¯s no need to say something like that.¡±

    Ye Ci let out a sigh and set her cup of tea down. She gazed at He Xiao with sincerity in her eyes and said, ¡°There were indeed a few unpleasant things that have happened between us, be it about the Armored Giant Tortoise, the First Blood for Frosty Wastnd or our previous quarrels. I admit that I tend to be rebellious and acted rashly. It¡¯s normal for you to get offended.¡±

    ¡°Ahaha, what do you mean?¡± Although Ye Ci had spoken what truly was in Thousand Sunsets¡¯ mind, he attempted to deny what Ye Ci had said as it was very awkward for someone to be able to speak out your exact thoughts. If word got out that a grown man like him was causing a fuss because of a teenage girl, it would be a total embarrassment.

    Thousand Sunsets shook his head, appearing unaffected. ¡°It¡¯s all in the past. Besides...¡± He paused momentarily. Despite being unwilling, Thousand Sunsets squeezed out each of the following words. ¡°Besides, when you were still in our guild, you brought quite a lot of First Bloods for Steel Blooded Battle Spear. To talk about these matters now is not giving me face.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled insincerely and raised her eyebrows, staring at Zero Arsenic who was smiling at her. She then shifted her gaze back to He Xiao and said calmly, ¡°Although I was quite stunned when I saw the forum thread, I was still clearing a dungeon with my guild, and did not know what happened. By the time we cleared the dungeon, it had all settled down...¡±

    ¡°It was all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!¡± He Xiao hurriedly cut Ye Ci off. It was a huge blunder for him, and he did not wish that incident to be mentioned again.

    However, even if he was unwilling, Ye Ci would not pass up the opportunity. She stared at He Xiao¡¯s slightly embarrassed expression and continued, ¡°I think so too. I¡¯m sure great leader Thousand would not do something so tasteless.¡±

    He Xiao¡¯s expression darkened.

    ¡°Of course, it was logical for you to suspect me of plundering your guild warehouse. With our tense rtionship before I left the guild and all the misunderstandings after I left, it is very likely that I would retaliate...¡± With that, Ye Ci took in a deep breath and looked at Zero Arsenic and He Xiao with sincerity showing in her eyes. ¡°I am not the one who did it.¡±

    He Xiao was silent. He did not believe Ye Ci¡¯s words. Even Yi Cang, Dong Yin and Zero Arsenic could not believe her words, but they did not voice out their doubts.

    ¡°I know all of you do not believe me. But I¡¯m not an idiot.¡± Ye Ci stood up and let out a sigh, ¡°Although I¡¯m doing quite well in the game, I¡¯m still a normal 19 year old student and my parents are just ordinary workers. We¡¯re just an averagely normal ordinary family.¡±

    She then grimaced at Zero Arsenic and He Xiao, her expression full of sincerity, ¡°As for you? Although I¡¯ve never asked about it, but I know that for a guild to be able to expand so rapidly in the game, you¡¯re definitely not some random person. I y the game just to earn enough money to help my family out. I only hope for a peaceful life. Despite our many disputes, aren¡¯t all of them quite trivial? But is robbing your guild warehouse a small matter? Can it be done without suffering many consequences? I¡¯m just an ordinary person seeking out a peaceful life. If I did it, would you let it slide?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    Not one of them spoke up. Ye Ci let out a sigh, andughed, ¡°I¡¯ve said what I have to say. Whether you believe me or doubt me is up to you.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi...¡± Zero Arsenic began to speak, but Ye Ci raised her hand, cutting him off mid sentence.

    Ye Ci looked straight at He Xiao and said, ¡°Yi Cang and Dong Yin know where my house is and who my family members are. I¡¯m sure that they will be happy to let you know as long as you ask. If you think I¡¯m the one who did it, then I have nothing to say. My family and I await your wrath.¡±

    With that, Ye Ci dragged Liu Chang along, ignoring her pale face, ¡°Thanks for the meal. We¡¯ll be leaving now.¡±

    The others remained quiet, silently observing the two as they left the private room.

    Hiya!!! This is thest chapter of today¡¯s Triple Release!!! Wooooo!!

    Thank you for taking part in the Labor Day Bonanza and congrattions for earning yourselves 2 bonus chapters from the event!!

    Yes, Jimmi is a 21 y/o uni student from Mysia ahahaha... Australian ent is DANK I swear I want to migrate to Australia just because of the ent xDD

    I was aimlessly browsing thru Steam store the other day and I saw Warhammer 40k: Inquisitor Martyr... It looked like a very fun an interesting game... So... shameless mode on any kind and generous souls out there willing to sponsor Jimmi that game? xDD shameless mode off

    FIRST TO COMMENT TYPE FIRST BLOOD!!!

 Chapter 135 Damned Interpersonal Relationships

    Chapter 135 Damned Interpersonal Rtionships

    It was only until they had left the restaurant that Ye Ci finally let go of Liu Chang¡¯s arm, patting her on the shoulder, ¡°Liu Chang, can you make it back home by yourself?¡±

    Liu Chang still seemed to be in a daze. Despite hearing Ye Ci, she didn¡¯t respond for a long time.

    Ye Ci looked at Liu Chang and sighed as she spoke, ¡°Although I have decent gaming skills, I¡¯m not an almighty god. Do you know how to rob a guild warehouse?¡±

    Liu Chang shook her head.

    ¡°Me neither. Even though I seem to be stronger than most yers, Liu Chang, you should know that I¡¯m actually nothing more than just an ordinary yer.¡± Ye Ci bitterly smiled, ¡°Of course, I can¡¯t do anything if you don¡¯t believe me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe you.¡± Liu Chang heard Ye Ci¡¯s words and finally rxed, ¡°I¡¯m just worried about you. If you really were the culprit, it won¡¯t be an easy thing to settle now that you¡¯ve provoked someone troublesome like Thousand Sunsets.¡±

    ¡°I know that too, that¡¯s why even though he rebuked me so much on the forums, I didn¡¯t say a single word.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes before continuing, ¡°The first reason was to help Dong Yin and Yi Cang out of trouble. Secondly, I can¡¯t afford to offend him any more further. He must have already been holding a grudge against me ever since I left the guild. If I were to argue with him, wouldn¡¯t that be shooting myself in the foot?¡±

    Liu Chang saw sense in Ye Ci¡¯s words andpletely believed her, sighing, ¡°Haa, I just don¡¯t know what Dong Yin and Yi Cang were thinking, have their brains been submerged in water? How could they continue to interact with that man, and even...¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head and smiled with a look of helplessness on her face, ¡°Everyone has their own choices, you don¡¯t have to be so harsh on them.¡±

    Liu Chang bit her lip, speaking only after a period of time, ¡°You, you¡¯re too soft hearted.¡±

    The duo then chatted for awhile, before each took their respective public transport and returned home.

    The bus that Ye Ci got on had very few passengers. Finding a window seat, she had just sat down when she noticed Thousand Sunsets and the other three walk out from the restaurant. The quartet stood by the entrance, their conversation inaudible. Her lips curled up coldly and she wondered; Would they believe her words?

    Probably, right?

    They had better believe it. Even if they didn¡¯t believe it, they had better not make any reckless actions. She was... not in the mood.

    The bus started moving. Ye Ci looked away and closed her eyes, erasing all traces of the cold cruelty from her lips. Returning home, everyone had already finished eating; her parents had gone out on a stroll, leaving three people in the house. Tan Png, who still had the heart of a juvenile, immediately asked Ye Ci about the delicacies that she had eaten.

    Ye Ci let out a long sigh before half-jokingly replying, ¡°I went to eat myst meal.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Bai Mo and Tan Png originally thought that she was joking. But after looking at her unsmiling expression, they couldn¡¯t help but be serious as well, going up to her to ask, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    Ye Ci didn¡¯t hide anything from them, narrating the series of today¡¯s events to the duo, which caused them to grow anxious. Bai Mo furrowed his brows and looked at her, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call me?¡±

    ¡°Why should I call you?¡±

    ¡°To be your bodyguard? I don¡¯t mind to go being an extra¡±

    Ye Ci smiled and waved her hand, ¡°Enough, didn¡¯t I safely return? I didn¡¯t intend to tell you two about this, but since the both of you already know what happened, I can¡¯t hide it. Be careful from now on, don¡¯t be careless.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± The two naturally understood the importance of this issue and nodded repeatedly in agreement.

    The days passed by like flowing water, and the date for the trio¡¯s next school term drew even closer. The gaming cabin that Ye Ci had bought for Tan Png had finally made it into the home with Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian¡¯s arrival, which caused Tan Png to almost jump about and burst out singing in joy. However, it wasn¡¯t long before the start of the new semester, which would restrict him from ying at any time. Therefore, he can be said to be rather pitiful.

    These days were peaceful, so peaceful that it was rather unsettling. Numerous conflicting emotions filled Ye Ci¡¯s heart. On one hand, she was hoping for something to happen, while on the other, she hoped that it would continue to be peaceful and for nothing to happen at all.

    Finally, one night before she was about to leave her home and return to school, her phone rang.

    The number on the phone belonged to Dong Yin. Ye Ci became distracted as she stared at the phone¡¯s shing screen. Even after it stopped shing, she still didn¡¯t return to her senses. However, Dong Yin seemed to be stubborn and she soon called again, repeatedly. In the end Zuo Xian, who was sitting in the living room, couldn¡¯t stand it anymore, so she raised her voice and yelled, ¡°Ye Ci, what are you doing? That phone has been ringing for half an hour now. Are you going to answer it or not? If you aren¡¯t, then turn the phone off!¡±

    At her mother¡¯s yell, Ye Ci finally returned to her senses. She couldn¡¯t help but grumble. Did she have to exaggerate things like that? This phone hasn¡¯t been ringing for half an hour, it has been ringing for 2 to 3 times at most. Despite her griping, she answered the call after releasing a long sigh.

    Dong Yin probably didn¡¯t expect Ye Ci to pick up the phone. When she heard Ye Ci¡¯s voice from the receiver, she was stunned.

    ¡°Hello?¡± Ye Ci didn¡¯t know if the other party was still there, so she slightly increased her volume, indicating to the other side that she had already picked up the phone.

    ¡°Hello.¡± Dong Yin seemed to have returned to her senses, a slight hint of panic in her voice, ¡°I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci felt that she had nothing much to say to Dong Yin right now, so she may as well just be frank about it.

    ¡°I-its nothing.¡±

    Hearing Dong Yin¡¯s weak-sounding voice, a trace of ridicule crept onto the corners of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth, ¡°Did you call to ask if you can give Thousand Sunsets my address? If that¡¯s the case, you don¡¯t have to ask, it¡¯s your decision.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it, it¡¯s not.¡± Dong Yin heard Ye Ci¡¯s usations and immediately spoke up in denial while sniffling, sounding extremely agitated, ¡°It¡¯s really not, Ye Ci, listen to me, he didn¡¯t ask that.¡±

    Ye Ci snorted in clear disbelief.

    ¡°I-I just called today to say that I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°That day over dinner, it was because of me...¡±

    ¡°Alright, Dong Yin, there¡¯s nothing right or wrong between us. I¡¯m not ming you, really, it¡¯s just that... don¡¯t call me next time, it¡¯ll be detrimental for your rtionship with him.¡±

    ¡°Little Ci...¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nothing...¡±

    Hearing Dong Yin¡¯s weak voice, Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but feel angry and frowned, ¡°Then I¡¯m hanging up.¡± With that, she threw her phone onto the bed and buried her face in the nkets.

    How irritating.

    The one thing she hated the most was dealing with these damned interpersonal rtionships.

    Hiya!! Here¡¯s Chapter 135 just for y¡¯all!!

    If you can spare the time, please head to Novel Update and write some reviews for Reign of the Hunters! Please help Jimmi out with this orz

    Aaaaand.... If you want to reward the ROTH team for our hard work, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page!! Donation will definitely help us out a lot and I¡¯d like to thank you guys for your support!

    First toment type First Blood!! (Oh and then there¡¯s the teaser next chapter)

 Chapter 136 Itâ€™s Over

    Chapter 136 It¡¯s Over

    Just like that, everything seem to have settled down. It was as though Dong Yin and Yi Cang had never existed,pletely vanishing from Ye Ci¡¯s everyday life. News about them seemed to have disappeared entirely, even from Liu Chang¡¯s mouth.

    Perhaps they¡¯re just burying their heads in the sand, or they just simply chose to cut off all their ties. The ten odd years of friendship, as well as the various entanglements before and after her reincarnation, all seemed to have settled down over the course of thesest few days.

    As it turned out, if a person had totally given up on something, the person could ignore everything about that something. Time passed like flowing sand, and the new school semester arrived.

    A day earlier, Ye Ci and Bai Mo had already moved their gaming cabins back into the rented apartment. Today, both of them returned home together after dinner.

    Bai Mo pulled out a bicycle from god knows where. He stopped outside the apartment, smiling as he patted the rear seat, ¡°Do you dare to ride with me?¡±

    Ye Ci gave Bai Mo a onceover beforeughing contemptuously, ¡°Heh, won¡¯t we be caught by the traffic police?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve checked the route beforehand, we will definitely not be caught.¡± Bai Mo sat on the bike, a smile as dazzling as the setting sun creeping up on his handsome face, ¡°How about it, will you give me an opportunity to be your knight?¡±

    Ye Ciughed and jumped on the rear seat behind him, ¡°I¡¯m a fake princess and you can be considered to be my fake knight.¡±

    The setting sun painted thendscape a scorching red. Ye Ci leaned against Bai Mo¡¯s back as she gazed at the receding scenery gradually descending into darkness. Humming a tuneless song, Ye Ci allowed herself to rx. To be honest, this was the most rxing moment she had experienced since her reincarnation.

    ¡°Ye Ci.¡± The wind blew Bai Mo¡¯s soft hair past his forehead. In the chilly spring winds, Bai Mo voice wasn¡¯t loud, but the sound flowed into Ye Ci¡¯s ears with the wind.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice sounded lethargic as she leaned against Bai Mo¡¯s back with her eyes narrowed, a trace of insouciance seemed to be mixed into her reply.

    ¡°Is the incident with Steel Blooded Battle Spear over?¡± Bai Mo¡¯s voice was soft, till the point that it was barely audible. At this volume, it would easily be drowned out by the wind, but Ye Ci was still able to hear a few parts.

    Ye Ci didn¡¯t reply, remaining silently seated at the rear of the bicycle instead. She idly swung her legs, as though it was not a question that required an immediate answer.

    Bai Mo, on the other hand, acted like he hadn¡¯t said anything and didn¡¯t raise the issue again. Just like that, the two continued to maintain their position while they made their way towards school.

    After a period of silence, Ye Ci slowly replied, ¡°Who knows? As long as Thousand Sunsets doesn¡¯te and find me, I think it can be considered to be over. ¡±

    ¡°Then, what about Dong Yin?¡±

    Although Bai Mo was not familiar with Dong Yin, he did know the name, the four of them being childhood friends and all. Bai Mo, who had been hanging about his aunt¡¯s house since young, had seen them quite often, even though their rtionship was only at the level of just nodding their heads in greeting. However, he did know that the rtionship between Ye Ci and the others were nothing short of actual siblings. In reality, Bai Mo wasn¡¯t worried about Ye Ci¡¯s way of handling the incident regarding Steel Blooded Battle Spear. She was an adult and was assertive; he was confident that Ye Ci would be able to handle the matter well.

    It¡¯s just that Bai Mo couldn¡¯t help but worry whenever Dong Yin and the others were involved. Despite having a calm and rational mind, Ye Ci was still just a neen year old girl, and it was never easy to deal with human rtionships. Especially when they got along so well in the past.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s probably over.¡± Ye Ci released a sigh. As she squinted at the setting sun, hints of regret welled in her heart. Although she was cold in nature, a person of few words, and was also someone who ced benefits above a lot of things after her reincarnation, it didn¡¯t mean that she was someone who was devoid of emotions.

    In truth, it was the exact opposite, precisely because of her reincarnation. All the precious things that she had lost in herst life and had regained in this life were reasons why she was unable to let go.

    It¡¯s just that there were asions when not everything waspletely under her control. Actually, since the beginning, there hadn¡¯t been a single incident where she was in control at all.

    ¡°They¡¯re unable to keep a clear line between the game and reality, and neither can I. Since that¡¯s the case, then let¡¯s break it off.¡±

    Bai Mo smiled bitterly and spoke no further.

    Life was just like that, one had to gain experience before they could change.

    The game had also be as mundane as her daily life.

    Not even somebody like Ye Ci would constantly face spectacr events in the game. The Eastern Continent was extremely lively ever since Hidden Treasure Gulf had been discovered. Ye Ci had turned in her quest to Finley, but the quest rewards were extremely ordinary, possibly due to Ye Ci having a low questpletion rate, or because she had turned in her quest toote. With the exception of reaching a high intimacy rate in the Hidden Treasure Gulf map region, there were no other benefits left. This was a massive contrast with what Ye Ci had been expecting.

    However, Ye Ci didn¡¯tin. To her, the fact that she was able to start over was already something to feel fortunate about.

    After Upwards Ho!¡¯s first sessful clearance of a sponsored dungeon, many requests started toe in. In just under a month, the guild¡¯s vault had a fattened up manifold which caused Timely Rain, who was in charge of the guild¡¯s finances, to be unable to stop smiling.

    Steel Blooded Battle Spear seemed to have vanished from Ye Ci¡¯s eyes altogether. Although they were hard at work, with their guild name asionally appearing on the World channel, it didn¡¯t have any meaning to Ye Ci anymore. Ever since that one battle, Tang Dynasty seemed to have disappeared as well. Correction. Tang Dynasty vanished from the ces that Upwards Ho! roamed, leaving behind no traces that they had ever been on the Eastern Continent.

    Actually, Tang Dynasty was still active. What puzzled Ye Ci was why the guild fell into silence after that one fight.

    She had originally thought that the days would continue to peacefully pass by like this, when one day she received a private message. It was from Fluttering Red Feathers.

    ¡°Hey, Gongzi You, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    It had indeed been a long time.

    They were not yers on the same continent, so Ye Ci had originally believed that it would be a long time before they met up again. Who would have thought that this person would appear in her life so soon.

    ¡°Eh? Why did you suddenly think of striking up a conversation with me?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi, your words are really too cold.¡± Fluttering Red Feathers drylyughed and began to engage in small talk. After chatting for awhile, he finally spoke, ¡°Gongzi, to be honest, I have a favor to ask from you.¡±

    Hiya! Another awesome chapter of this awesome novel tranted by awesome trantors hope you people enjoy!!!

    Oh, and minna-san, here¡¯s an artwork by Gubba Gubba!

    Aaaand Jimmi needs your help! Can you help Jimmi out? Head to the Novel Updates page and write reviews for Reign of the Hunters please! Thank you awesome people in advance!!! OTL

    Don¡¯t forget the teaser next page!

 Chapter 137 Blitz Cavern

    Chapter 137 Blitz Cavern

    Hearing Fluttering Red Feathers¡¯s words, Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows raised up slightly. ck Plum Guild could be considered to be one of the leading guilds in the Southern Continent, Ye Ci could not fathom why the leader of a guild woulde and seek her help.

    To be honest, she was a little curious.

    However, Ye Ci knew that there were times when one should not be overly curious. If not, one might risk not even knowing why they died.

    Pondering for a moment, Ye Ci felt that it would not be good if she were to reject him outright. Thinking that she should at least find out what the other party wished of her, Ye Ci replied, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go ahead and tell me how can I help?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting at the Broken Horn Tavern in North Desert City.¡± Fluttering Red Feathers thought for a while before giving a location and emphasized, ¡°I¡¯ll be awaiting your arrival, I hope...You have toe.¡±

    With that, he immediately hung up without giving Ye Ci a chance to speak, as though afraid that she might give an unfavorable response.

    After a moment of deliberation, Ye Ci finally decided to travel to North Desert City. First of all, she had nothing to do at the moment. Secondly, Fluttering Red Feathers had piqued her damned curiosity. Finally, she felt that she would be able to easily escape even if she was facing a dangerous situation alone.

    Taking those points into ount...Ye Ci¡¯s trip towards North Desert City was quickly decided.

    North Desert City was located at the northernmost area of the Sioux Desert, a territory on the Southern Continent that was closest to the Eastern Continent. It would be slightly troublesome if one were to travel there from the Eastern Continent without the use of a teleporter. However, it was fortunate that Ye Ci had already activated the transfer point at the Southern Continent¡¯s main city. All she had to do was proceed towards North Desert City directly from the main city itself, which would save her a lot of time.

    The Sioux Desert, like Blue Light Coast, was a map that was suitable for Lvl 30 to 40 yers. This was why the yers who were leveling up there were mostly grouped with their guilds or in their own parties. Not wishing to attract attention, Ye Ci summoned her little red horse and went straight for North Desert City . Along the way, there were people at each new location and the area seemed to be very lively.

    Since the wilderness was so lively, it probably wouldn¡¯t be very deserted in North Desert City either. Ye Ci entered and found out that although it was a small city, it was very well equipped. What came as a surprise to her was that a remote city near the border such as this actually had an auction house as well. Of course, it was not asrge or as grandpared to the auction houses inside therger cities. There was only one auctioneer in the building seated on top of a pile of earth. Yet, he was surrounded by yers, which made it seem strangely lively.

    Although Ye Ci was exceptionally familiar with the game known as Fate, there were things that even she didn¡¯t know, such as the location of the Broken Horn Tavern. Ye Ci was unable to find its precise location. She was only able to see a marker on the map that indicated where the Broken Horn Tavern was after asking directions from a city soldier.

    Following the signs, Ye Ci soon found herself in front of an unimpressive two-story building.

    A mailbox was at the front, while the entrance had an old sign with a faded illustration of a goblet hanging from it that would definitely be overlooked if one did not look closely.

    Stepping into the inn, the interior was bustling with people and had a rowdy atmosphere.

    The yers from the 4 continents did not differ much from one another. Even their yable races were the same, which was why an Elven Huntress like Ye Ci did not attract much attention when she entered the inn. ncing around, Ye Ci was unable to spot Fluttering Red Feathers and sent him a message.

    Momentster, Fluttering Red Feathers bolted out from a corner and stood in front of Ye Ci. Hisrge build was outfitted with an exquisite set of armor and he carried a massive two-handed axe on his back, evidence that he was a formidable yer. Heartily patting Ye Ci¡¯s shoulder, he said, ¡°Gongzi, I didn¡¯t expect you to arrive so quickly, let me treat you to North Desert City¡¯s specialties.¡±

    He cordially dragged Ye Ci into a corner where a wooden table with no other people was at. As the two took their seats, Fluttering Red Feathers ordered North Desert City¡®s specialty dish, Charcoal-Grilled Buzzard, for Ye Ci.

    He did not make idle chatter, so Ye Ci did not proactively speak first. It was already inappropriate for her to take the initiative ande here. If she were to speak first, wouldn¡¯t it make Fluttering Red Feathers feel that she was being too curious about the issue?

    Compared to Ye Ci, Fluttering Red Feathers did not have that manyplicated thoughts and went straight to the point, ¡°Gongzi, the reason I¡¯ve asked you toe here today is to ask for your help.¡±

    ¡°What sort of help?¡±

    ¡°Our guild wishes to enter Blitz Cavern, but we ran into a little problem.¡±

    Ye Ci looked at Fluttering Red Feathers wordlessly. He had just begun to speak when Ye Ci already had a rough idea why he approached her.

    Blitz Cavern was a unique dungeon. It was ssified as a battle dungeon, simr to a battlefield, yet different at the same time. This dungeon could only be entered once a week and whenever a party from the Southern Continent entered, there would be a party entering from the Northwestern Continent.

    After the two guilds experienced their respective tribtions upon entering the dungeon, they arrived before the final BOSS. However, before fighting the final BOSS, the two needed to engage in a bloody war with each other. 5 minutes after the battle, a g would appear before the BOSS. Only the party in the possession of the g would have the right to challenge the final BOSS. Despite that, there was another catch: After taking the g, if the opponent was unable to eradicate the other party or if someone in either party were to leave the dungeon, then both parties would be considered to have failed the dungeon even if the opponent did seize the g.

    The ck Plum Guild encountered a problem.

    The guild who entered Blitz Cavern with them was a guild called Awing The Heavens. The prowess of the two guilds were roughly equal, with neither having a clear advantage even if they were to fight seriously.

    However, in this dungeon, it was precisely because their strength was equal that it became a problem.

    At first, the opportunities to capture the g was roughly equal for both guilds, with neither having an advantage over the other, while at the next five minute interval, the fighting prowess of the guilds was still equal. Essentially, it was impossible toe out on top within five minutes.

    At first, Fluttering Red Feathers thought that so long as they handled the situation carefully, defeating the opponent would be but a matter of time. Little did he know that Awing The Heavens would be so shameless as to call for an external helper who was able to suppress ck Plum for two weeks already. If it were not for Fluttering Red Feathers hiding a card up his sleeve by instructing a Thief to not enterbat and to exit the dungeon once something was amiss, Blitz Cavern would probably have been conquered by Awing The Heavens.

    That¡¯s why Fluttering Red Feathers also wished to look for reinforcements, and contacted Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci did not immediately reply after hearing Fluttering Red Feathers, instead sheughed, ¡°I don¡¯t seem to be that exceptional, with so many professional yers around, why did you look for me?¡±

    Fluttering Red Feathers let out a long sigh: ¡±That¡¯s because of the opponent¡¯s backup.¡±

    ¡°What kind of backup?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a Hunter as well.¡±

    Ye Ci suddenly became anxious, ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°You two have exchanged blows before.¡± Fluttering Red Feathers sighed once more, ¡°It¡¯s Fleeting Time.¡±

    Hi minna-san! I know I¡¯ve not been posting for awhile, but here¡¯s a chapter!! Been busy with midterms, assignments and shit... It¡¯s killing me!! AHHHHHHH!!

    Anyways, minna-san, I do hope that you people enjoy this awesome chapter of an awesome novel tranted by even more awesome trantors!

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 Chapter 138 Rivals

    Chapter 138 Rivals

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned after hearing the name. She narrowed her eyes and did something she usually might not do. She asked again with uncertainty, ¡°Who was it again?¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time.¡± Fluttering Red Feather did not know Ye Ci that well. Their encounter was entirely by chance and they had no conflict of interest, even their character was quite simr. That was why they had managed to form a good friendship. Despite that, Fluttering Red Feather did not know Ye Ci enough to understand her habits.

    That was why Fluttering Red Feather repeated his answer again without doubting Ye Ci¡¯s request.

    In Fate, there was no possibility that yers would have the same name, just like every other game. That was why Ye Ci remained silent after receiving confirmation from Fluttering Red Feather.

    Fluttering Red Feather, who had no idea what was going in in Ye Ci¡¯s mind, thought that she was afraid of trouble and did not wish to help his guild out. He began to beg Ye Ci earnestly, ¡°Gongzi, I know my request is very unreasonable. You¡¯re not a member of my guild and have a guild of your own. I know that your guild is also trying to explore a dungeon as well, and it¡¯s unfair for me to ask for your help at the expense of your own guild, but I really have no choice.¡±

    After listening to Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s words, Ye Ci did not immediately speak her mind. She narrowed her eyes again while silently waiting for him to continue his exnation.

    ¡°My guild is one of thergest in the Southern Continent, but we haven¡¯t obtained many First Bloods. Although it does not affect the growth of our guild, there will still be people who doubt our capabilities. I do not wish for my guild to get bogged down. I thought we could have it easy with this dungeon since Awing The Heavens is way weaker than my guild. I did not expect them to receive outside help.¡±

    With that, Fluttering Red Feather let out a long sigh. He stole a nce at Ye Ci and was slightly disappointed to find a calm face. It was as if Ye Ci was devoid of emotion, ¡°And also, that outside help happened to be Fleeting Time.¡±

    Ye Ci was able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Although Fleeting Time had better mechanical skill than even Ye Ci, he tended to be low profile. He was keeping everything low key, to the point that not many knew that he was a very skillful Hunter. Nobody would¡¯ve thought that he would be dubbed the ¡°God among Hunters¡± in the future.

    If Fluttering Red Feather was wary of him, they might have already fought against him, or it might because of Ye Ci¡¯s match with Fleeting Time back in the New Year¡¯s event.

    Although Ye Ci did not care about her fame, she was nheless very famous in the Eastern Continent and even the entirety of Fate due to her exploits. To be able to obtain a draw against the role model of all Hunters in Fate, Fleeting Time had gained instant fame overnight.

    Even if both of them were unwilling, the name of Gongzi You would always be associated with Fleeting Time by yers. They were a pair... Of rivals.

    That was why Fluttering Red Feather immediately asked for Ye Ci¡¯s help right after he found out that Fleeting Time was going to fight alongside Awing The Heavens.

    Ye Ci made up her mind after observing Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s desperate and helpless face. She had always wanted to defeat Fleeting Time. Especially after theirst battle, she did not think that she could defeat her extremely skillful opponent easily. Besides, it was only a friendly matchst time. This time however, they would be facing off against each other in an actualbat between 2 guilds.

    One should not be afraid of a godlike enemy, but a pig-like ally.

    This was a saying that had been passed down throughout the history of gaming. In a web game, having a good team was very important.

    Ye Ci had never worked together with ck Plum Guild before. Ye Ci hesitated, because this meant that she would have to challenge a strong opponent under such circumstances. She was not afraid of losing, but she did not like losing because of dubious reasons. Not having any experience working with ck Plum Guild would ce her in such dubious environment. This was the source of her hesitation.

    Although ck Plum Guild was way stronger than Ye Ci thought they were, she was somebody who expected the worst. Expecting the worst gave you the ability to handle any and all situations.

    Should she help ck Plum Guild out?

    Ye Ci leaned against the back of the chair, staring silently at Fluttering Red Feather. She did not pay attention to the man and was instead immersed in her own thoughts. After weighing her options, Ye Ci felt that it was an opportunity that she did not want to miss.

    She spoke up slowly.

    ¡°I can help, but...¡± Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s expression immediately brightened up after Ye Ci agreed to help. The ¡°but¡± however, made him shudder internally.

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°But, I¡¯m only there to fight against Fleeting Time. As for your First Blood... There¡¯s no guarantee.¡± Ye Ci felt the need to be careful.

    Although it was not an answer that Fluttering Red Feather was expecting, it did not stop him from feeling overjoyed. After all, having Gongzi You agreeing to fight for his side meant that there was someone who could keep Fleeting Time at bay. With a little more effort from his own members, his guild would be able to achieve First Blood easily.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Gongzi. As long as you can pin Fleeting Time down for us, we¡¯ll handle the rest.¡± Joy was practically radiating off Fluttering Red Feather.

    Ye Ci nodded.

    She was actually very pressured. She had never felt that she herself was strong. She would never be able to help Fluttering Red Feather out against enemy yers while simultaneously fending off an opponent as tough as Fleeting Time.

    With an agreement reached, both parties parted ways after agreeing on a time and ce to meet upter.

    After leaving the tavern, Ye Ci walked along the bustling street and stopped just outside the city.

    Far in the distant horizon, the morning sun was rising.

    The red sun rose slowly above the horizon, casting its warm light on thend, chasing away the cold of the night. Warmth seeped into Ye Ci¡¯s body, followed by rxation.

    Ye Ci squinted her eyes, staring at the sun. There was excitement in her heart.

    Fleeting Time, oh, Fleeting Time...

    Do you know? I get to challenge you once again.

    And this time, I will defeat you.

    The day was Friday, and the scheduled time to explore the dungeon was set for 4 dayster ording to real world time. Ye Ci and Bai Mo had already gone back to her parents¡¯ ce early after sses were over.

    Since they were early, there was nobody home, just a huge pile of snacks on the coffee table. Bored out of their minds, the two switched on the TV and began wolfing down the snacks.

    Shortly after that, the main door creaked open and Tan Png entered the house. He studied the 2 happy faces and gritted his teeth as his sight drifted towards the empty snack bags on the table.

    ¡°Ah, Png, you¡¯re back? Do you want some chips?¡± Ye Ci shook a bag of half-eaten chips in front of Tan Png, offering him some food.

    Tan Png mmed the door shut and rushed at the duo, trying desperately to rescue his remaining few bags of snacks while shouting, ¡°You shameless bastards! Those are mine!¡±

    The two calmly evaded Tan Png while finishing up the rest of the snacks.

    When they finally settled down on the sofa while sipping freshly brewed tea, Tan Png was left with empty snack bags. He wept silently in a corner while cursing the shameless thieves.

    ¡°Those are my weekly snacks! Aunty bought them for me this afternoon! You two bastards! I hate you!¡± Tan Png grumbled, tears welling in his eyes.

    The two did not even pay Tan Png any heed.

    A newssh went across the TV screen, attracting Ye Ci¡¯s attention.

    ¡°The annual International Cyber Games Tournament will be held in our nation¡¯s D City. Many famous yers from all around the globe have signed up to join the tournament. The number of contestants this year has hit a new height, with 5,000 participants. ording to the organizers, the mysterious yer named King who was the champion of the tournament for 5 years straight will not take part in this year¡¯s tournament. This leads to a question: who will be the champion this year? One of the most likely contestants to be champion would...¡±

    ¡°Wow, King will not take part in the tournament?¡± Bai Mo sighed, ¡°It¡¯s a shame. He was one of the best yers in China. If he does not take part this year, I guess the tournament will not be held in China the next year.¡±

    Ye Ci was unconcerned, ¡°He was champion for 5 years. I think it¡¯s a wise choice for him to not take part.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°With the rise of new stars, his ystyle has already been studied by gamers for so many years. It¡¯s good if he wins this year, but what if he lost? It¡¯s tactful for him to retire this year. He¡¯ll be able to keep his fame and record. If I was that person, I would definitely not take part in the tournament this year as well.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Bai Mo nodded.

    ¡°Hmph! King is not that kind of person!¡± Tan Png, who had been silent, spoke up all of a sudden.

 Chapter 139 Dungeon Exploration Begins

    Chapter 139 Dungeon Exploration Begins

    After spouting out his words, the young boy Tan Png retreated back into his own room from the living room.

    Ye Ci did not mind him at all. She chuckled and shouted after Tan Png, ¡°Are you telling me that you know King?¡±

    Tan Png didn¡¯t immediately reply. He was still mourning for his lost snacks that were devoured by the two shameless robbers.

    Paying no heed to Tan Png, Ye Ci and Bai Mo continued their gossiping. The topic of their conversation eventually strayed back to Fate.

    ¡°The Sponsored Clearance Team has earned quite a small fortune for the guild. When should we continue to explore more dungeons?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not in a rush, I have something to attend to in a few days.¡±

    Bai Mo would, of course, pester Ye Ci with questions. He was always intrigued by her mysterious whereabouts. He was curious as to what she was always up to.

    Ye Ci kept no secrets from Bai Mo. She told him of her deal with Fluttering Red Feathers. Bai Mo stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes at Ye Ci, ¡°You only agreed to help because deep down, what you truly want is to have a rematch against Fleeting Time, right?¡±

    Since Bai Mo had seen through her intentions, Ye Ci didn¡¯t have to cover up the truth. She chuckled and said, ¡°Yup, you¡¯re right.¡±

    Bai Mo let out a sigh, ¡°You¡¯re letting your feelings get ahold of you. In such a chaotic battle, and in a situation where you and your opponent are evenly matched, it¡¯s easy to fall for his traps. If you die just like that and lose your items and experience points, it¡¯s not worth it.¡±

    Ye Ci remained silent.

    Tan Png, who had left his room and was listening in on their conversation in the living room, spoke up, ¡°Sister Ye Ci, do you want to have a PK with Fleeting Time?¡±

    Ye Ci smiled, ¡°It¡¯s just a mere thought, he might not even show up.¡±

    Tan Png silently stared at Ye Ci.

    Right at that moment, Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian arrived home and the topic was halted, and a warm family time began.

    The weekend passed quickly, and Sunday afternoon arrived in the blink of an eye. Ye Ci, Bai Mo, and Tan Png, who had to go back to their schools went to the bus station together. While they were waiting for the bus, Tan Png spoke up all of a sudden, ¡°King didn¡¯t chicken out of the International Cyber Games Tournament. He had something else to attend to!¡±

    Ye Ci looked at him andughed, ¡°Heh, as if you know him.¡±

    Tan Png¡¯s temper red, and he immediately talked back at Ye Ci, ¡°Of course I know him! How can you be sure that I don¡¯t?¡±

    Bai Mo let out a chuckle and said, ¡°How do you know him?¡±

    Feeling that a female will not understand such a thing, and a person with simr gender would be easier to talk to, Tan Png turned around and said to Bai Mo, ¡°I used to y on the national team. I met King during my time there.¡±

    It was the first time they¡¯ve heard Tan Png talking about this. Ye Ci¡¯s view of this adolescent child was changed. She had never expected such a young child to be able to make it into the national team.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stay in the team?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s question seemed to be a stab to Tan Png¡¯s wound. The fervour left his eyes, and he grimaced mockingly, ¡°Gaming is not the way of life, only studying and having good results is important.¡±

    Thinking that it might have had something to do with Tan Png¡¯s dead parents, Ye Ci didn¡¯t pursue the topic, and immediately redirected their conversation, ¡°So what was King like?¡±

    Being the child he was, Tan Png didn¡¯t seem to care, or he was very good at pretending. He acted as if he hadn¡¯t noticed Ye Ci¡¯s attempt to redirect the conversation, and the sadness on his face disappeared, reced by a cheerful smile, ¡°I think he¡¯s a good guy.¡±

    And he continued on with a mysterious manner, ¡°Actually, I know why he didn¡¯t take part in this year¡¯s tournament.¡±

    Although Ye Ci didn¡¯t pay much heed to such matters, Bai Mo was intrigued. After all, he used to y the game as well, though not as good as Tan Png. He remembered King as the expert amongst experts. And when there¡¯s gossip about such a yer, how could he not take part in it? He must know!

    ¡°And why is that?¡±

    ¡°Because he¡¯s ying Fate.¡± Tan Png replied calmly. He spotted the bus that he was waiting for and boarded it right away, ignoring Bai Mo¡¯s questions about King¡¯s name in Fate.

    Although Bai Mo was disappointed, it didn¡¯t affect him that badly. After all, it was still something rather trivial.

    Four days passed in the blink of an eye, and Ye Ci arrived at the ce where she and Fluttering Red Feather had agreed to meet; the Blitz Cavern.

    She was on time, while the ck Plum Family wasn¡¯tte. By the time she stepped into the ce, the ck Plum Family members were already there.

    Since they¡¯d received help from Ye Ci in the past, and had asked for her help this time, they greeted her warmly.

    Without much words, they headed into the Cavern.

    There were 5 BOSSes in the Blitz Cavern, and the map itself has 2 entrances. One of them was from the Southern Continent, while the other was an entrance from the Northern continent. Thest BOSS was ced right at the middle. Anybody entering from whichever entrance would only face 3 BOSSes in the dungeon.

    The ck Plum Family had explored the dungeon multiple times. They managed to clear away the monsters quickly and were able to reach the first BOSS. But before the door leading to the first BOSS could fully open, a system notification rang out: Attention! yers from the Northern Continent have entered the dungeon. You will be running into each other soon. Prepare forbat.

    Ye Ci clicked open her map, and saw that the map that was originally half-revealed was now fully revealed, and tiny red dots were moving in from the other side of the map.

    Before Ye Ci could speak up, Fluttering Red Feather was already by her side, ¡°Awing the Heavens is here.¡± And he stopped, biting back his words, hesitating to speak out his mind. Ye Ci who was curious, asked out loud, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time is definitely with them this time, or else they wouldn¡¯t be able to clear away the monsters so fast.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s lips formed into a smile. She didn¡¯t say a word, but she knew that Fluttering Red Feather was implying that she had beenzing around. Ye Ci reviewed her actions and began to seriously take part in the monster-clearing.

    This hastened up the ck Plum Family¡¯s progress.

    Hi minna-san!!! Jimmi is back and he brought 2 chapters with him!! Enjoy the double release!!!

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 Chapter 140 The Battle Begins

    Chapter 140 The Battle Begins

    Blitz Cavern was a Lvl 30 to 35 dungeon. Although it had a high difficulty, the items found within were decent. Furthermore, the equipment that the ck Plum Guild had were excellent, so the battle was not arduous. The first and second bosses were all sessfully defeated in session, dropping a few valuable items. Even though there was a ne amongst the drops that would be useful to Ye Ci, she did not roll for it. After all, the main reason why she joined this dungeon was to challenge Fleeting Time; these drops did not catch her eye at all. Moreover, she didn¡¯t really need thesemon drops anyway.

    ¡°Gongzi, this ne is pretty good, are you sure you don¡¯t want it?¡± Fluttering Red Feather felt extremely apologetic. Gongzi You had lent him a helping hand when they had met for the first time. When he asked for her help again, she did not refuse and arrived as per their agreement. He had decided to himself, that if anything that Ye Ci could use dropped, he had to give it to her.

    Now that a ne that added both Agility and Strength attributes had dropped. He had intended to allocate it to Ye Ci, only for her to refuse it even before he could even take action. Hence, he once again mentioned the ne to Ye Ci after distributing all of the equipment.

    ¡°Nope, you don¡¯t have to give it to me. Give it to any of your guild members who need it.¡± Ye Ci shook her head once more, she knew that her the appearance of her current equipment was extremely shabby thanks to the Brooch of Deceit, which was why Fluttering Red Feather insisted upon giving her the ne.

    It¡¯s just that she was unable to exin herself and could only decline his offer once again.

    ording to her personality, if the drop was indeed a really good equipment, she would definitely not refuse. However, this ne was only slightly better than the one she had right now. Why make everyone unhappy over a few attribute points?

    Ye Ci¡¯s refusal made Fluttering Red Feather feel extremely embarrassed, but it caused the yers of the ck Plum Guild to be extremely surprised, looking at her in a new light even though no words were exchanged. However, Ye Ci never took note of such changes and thus she did not pay them much attention.

    With the equipment distributed, the party continued to venture into the dungeon and quickly arrived at the third boss. Although this was the first time Ye Ci has set foot into this dungeon in this lifetime, she was a frequenter in her past life, since this was a ce where one could legitimately PK. For a PvP expert like her, her favorite hangout locations were dungeons and battlefields like this one.

    The group stopped in front of the final boss of Blitz Cavern.

    A dungeon like this would always have a requirement in front of the final boss. That requirement was that the boss would only be activated when the two parties had all entered the dueling arena. The signature g would only appear after this boss was done delivering his totally unnecessary speech. When the ck Plum Guild arrived, Awing The Heavens had yet to reach the arena. So the guild stood still and silently waited for their opponent¡¯s arrival.

    Of course, it didn¡¯t mean that they would be merely waiting for their opponents.

    Why did the two parties scramble to take down the earlier bosses as fast as possible? The main reason was that the party who arrived first would be able to upy an advantageous position. Not only was the location closer to the g, it was also easy to hold while being difficult to take down, and thus was a valuable military position.

    If the battle capabilities of the two were evidently clear, then it was entirely possible for the weaker party to achieve aeback victory should they upy this advantageous position. However, if the two parties were just about equal in strength, then the team who had upied this position first would undoubtedly have victory in their grasp.

    Actually, the ck Plum guild already umted some experience from their numerous dungeon runs, they¡¯d almost always upied this crucial position ever since they shed with Awing The Heavens. They would never have been in such a sorry state if it weren¡¯t for the fact that Fleeting Time was aiding their opponent.

    However, this time was going to be different.

    Fluttering Red Feather nced at Gongzi You, who was sitting on a boulder and wiping her crossbow. He took a deep breath. He had a premonition that as long as she was around, Fleeting Time would have a hard time trying to take them down. His thoughts stopped there as he walked beside Ye Ci and smiled, ¡°Gongzi, it¡¯s all up to you this time.¡±

    Ye Ci raised her head, the corners of her mouth twitching. She made a humble response, ¡°I¡¯m just an ordinary yer, don¡¯t look at me as if I¡¯m a god yer. There will be moments where I mess up, especially since the opponent this time isn¡¯t weak.¡±

    Fluttering Red Feather nodded. He had considered this possibility as well, which was why he was not offended at Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°I understand, if we¡¯re unable to stop Fleeting Time, I¡¯ll give up on the First Blood. The game has just begun after all, we still have a long way to go.¡±

    Seeing that Fluttering Red Feather was able to have an open mind, Ye Ci was slightly grateful. She was not the kind of person who deserved to be so relied upon, especially since there were times when even she felt that she did not deserve to be so trusted by others. However, despite all that, she was willing to give it her all. After all, to her, having someone¡¯s faith in her was something to feel d about.

    ¡°I will do my best.¡±

    Soon, a mix of hurried footsteps could be heard from the other entrance of the cavern. The footsteps sounded rushed and anxious, clear evidence of the uneasy feelings of the other party.

    All of a sudden, Ye Ci felt her heart race. It was a strange, helpless feeling, as though she was a soldier who had finally gotten his wish to step onto a battlefield. Something seemed to boil and smoulder within her veins, her face heated up and sweat started forming in the palms of her heated hands.

    Tightly gripping the crossbow, she slowly lifted it up and took aim at the entrance while waiting for the ¡®prey¡¯ to step into her attack range.

    Closer and closer.

    The footsteps had gotten increasingly closer.

    She finally spotted a group of people appear in front of the entrance, all decked out in ck. Looking over them, she was unable to immediately spot Fleeting Time, but was able to see a man who had the ckstone Staff in his hands and paused momentarily. If she remembered correctly, the ckstone Staff was the best Cleric equipment that one could have before Lvl 35. This staff highlighted a yer¡¯s position in within the guild as well as indicated that he was the party¡¯s main healer.

    A cold sneer crept into the corners of Ye Ci¡¯s lips.

    Since Fluttering Red Feather had so much faith in her, she would feel guilty if she did not repay a little of that trust.

    ¡°Abhorrent insects, who gave you permission to set foot into my cavern?¡±

    The final boss, who had been a decoration the whole time, finally moved from his throne just as the first yer of Awing The Heavens entered the dueling arena. He huffed and puffed huge volumes of air with a look of apparent rage.

    ¡°What? There are actually two groups coveting my treasure? Alright then, duel for it! I will never fight with cowards!¡±

    Along with the boss¡¯s loud bellow, the real battle had finally begun.

    Hi minna-san!!! Here we go, first chapter of the week!! Hope y¡¯all enjoy this chapter!!!

    I¡¯ve just watched No Game No Life Zero in the cinema yesterday, and I have to say, IT¡¯S AWESOME!! I¡¯d rate it a solid 10/10 xDD Good story with dem feels... *tears welling in my eyes* Damn those invisible ninjas cutting onions! (Damn, I swear I¡¯d shed a tear or two if I¡¯m watching this alone)

    Fanart submission email:

    Don¡¯t forget the teaser next page yo!

 Chapter 141 Face to Face

    Chapter 141 Face to Face

    Ye Ci¡¯s guess was correct. The man with the Obsidian Staff was Sinbad, the main healer of Awing the Heavens. His equipment was top tier and his skill was among the best. Although he was Ye Ci¡¯s opponent, he could easily be among the top 20 healers in Fate.

    He had a high healing capacity and could dish out tremendous amount of damage. This was a rather rare trait among Clerics. Ye Ci, at least, did not know of many offensive type Clerics.

    It could be said that thanks to this main healer, Awing the Heavens had be one of the top guilds in the Northern Continent.

    Such a person could not be taken out easily. However, his luck ran out today. He ran into someone who shouldn¡¯t even show up. That person was Gongzi You.

    From the very moment members of Awing the Heavens stepped into the circle, they were designated as enemies. Fleeting Time was her intended target. However, it was Ye Ci¡¯smon practice to hide herself at the rear of her team and she would not show herself easily, and she deduced that Fleeting Time would do the same and hide at the very rear of Awing the Heavens¡¯ formation.

    She was correct. Fleeting Time was indeed lurking around the rear of Awing the Heavens. His sole mission was to grab the gs. As for everything else, they were none of his concern.

    With Fleeting Time temporarily out of sight, Ye Ci focused her attention on Sinbad, since she had nothing better to do.

    Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark, Falcon Protection, Rapid Fire. It was thebo that Ye Ci had always used. These simple skills screeched through the air towards Sinbad.

    Fwish, fwish, and bright red damage values appeared above Sinbad, taking away more than half of his hitpoints.

    Sinbad was adept in PvP and was the main healer of Awing the Heavens. It was a verymon sight for him to be the focus of enemy attention during a fight. He was prepared for the iing attack, but was utterly startled by its ferocity.

    He knew he was under attack by a Hunter and that he had suffered from attack from the Hunters from ck Plum Guild in the past. Since when were their attacks so ferocious?

    Before he could even react, another of Ye Ci¡¯s skills, Scorpion Stinger, buried itself into his body. In the list of skills most hated by mage sses, the Hunter¡¯s Scorpion Stinger was among the top 3.

    There was no other reason other than the fact that the skill caused a rage-inducing debuff after dishing out high damage to its target. The debuff would drain a yer affected by Scorpion Stinger¡¯s mana for 8 seconds. To make matters worse, the skill had a cooldown of 1 second and its debuff could be stacked up to a staggering 12 times. At 3 stacks, melee sses such as Warriors and Barbarians would have their mana instantly drained. At 8 stacks, even sses like Sorcerers, Clerics and Warlocks which had a lot mana could notst for 10 seconds.

    Sinbad creased his eyebrows after noticing the debuff. Because of the existence of this skill, he had even embedded a gem into his equipment which gave him a 30% chance of ignoring the mana drain effect. Although it was as low as 30%, not many Scorpion Stingers that hadnded on him were able to affect him with the debuff. But today, the first hit was able to trigger the debuff. Was it his unlucky day?

    Sinbad did not dwell on the matter. After all, the gem had only a 30% chance of activating; it was only normal to get hit. He healed himself and began searching for the Hunter who had attacked him.

    Just then, a Viper Fang and a Scorpion Stingernded on him.

    The debuff stacked!

    Sinbad once again furrowed his eyebrows. He shrugged it off and healed himself again. This time however, he was already affected by 2 debuffs. One of them dealt damage to him over time, while the other was continuously draining his mana. How troublesome.

    While Sinbad was healing up, a volley of Rapid Fire and yet another Scorpion stingernded on him, reaping away arge portion of his hit points, and stacking his debuff.

    Sinbad¡¯s mana level plunged as a result of the 3 stacks of mana drain. Even a good natured veteran yer like him could not resist the urge to curse out loud, ¡°F*ck me! Who the hell is that Hunter?¡±

    After instructing the Clerics from his guild to heal him up, Sinbad shifted his attention to Ye Ci who was hidden behind the crowd. Before he could give the order for the Hunters of his own guild tounch their attacks, that shameless Huntress fired off a few more arrows and slew Sinbad.

    Sinbad, who had never died in such a pathetic manner in arge scale battle, was depressed while staring at his empty hitpoints and mana bar. He shouted out in frustration in the party channel, ¡°F*ck me sideways! Where the hell did ck Plum Guild acquire such a Huntress? Was that a BUG? Sheunched 3 Scorpion Stinger at me and all of their debuff effects were triggered! What the hell was that?¡±

    It was so aggravating.

    A mage¡¯s ultimate goal was to expend all of his or her mana before dying inbat. Failure to do so would be a testimony that a mage yer was just not skillful enough. It was exactly what happened to Sinbad in this fight.

    With the nerfing of the auto targeting system in PvP, yers were only left with the option of manually locking on to their assant after they had been attacked. This meant that Sinbad was unable to quickly spot that damned Huntress who was hiding behind a mass of yers. After using less than 10% of his mana, he was in by the Huntress. If word of this got out, how embarrassing would it be? Even if this matter slipped unnoticed, Sinbad himself was so sullen that he could cough up blood. As a Cleric with top-tier equipment and a top-tier gem, he was taken out so easily.

    Anyone else would have coughed up blood as well if such thing happened to them.

    ¡°A Huntress?¡± Fleeting Time did not have much of a friendship with Awing the Heavens. He was only helping because of the hefty pay they offered. His job was to secure the g and ensure the victory of Awing the Heavens. Anything else was none of his concern.

    Despite being famous in the Western Continent, Fleeting Time preferred to keep a low profile and had rarely spoken in the party channel. The yers of Awing the Heavens might¡¯ve even forgotten about the existence of such an expert Hunter in their party if not for Fleeting Time¡¯s important role.

    Quite arge number of yers were weirded out when he spoke up.

    Sinbad was one of those yers. He responded to Fleeting Time¡¯s question reflectively, ¡°It was a Huntress. I think she¡¯s an Elf...¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence, Sinbad saw a figure leaping out, flitting past Awing the Heavens¡¯ party with the agility of a bird.

    As he leapt up, Fleeting Time spotted a Huntress in green clothing dashing for the g. She was as graceeful as a deer, heading straight for her objective with her cloak bellowing behind her like a g.

    It was her.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s lips formed into a slight smile.

    It was just like the saying ¡°to travel far and wide looking for something, only to have it appear right in front of you.¡± It was such an interesting day. Fleeting Time had never thought that he would run into such an interesting person in this ce. His otherwise mundane job had suddenly be meaningful.

    Ye Ci was dashing towards the g as a figure suddenly leapt out of Awing the Heavens¡¯ formation, appearing in the corner of her eyes.

    Fleeting Time.

    Ye Ci could not hold back her excitement. He was indeed here.

    Despite her excitement, Ye Ci was still headed straight for her objective: the g.

    Fleeting Time, of course, could not allow Ye Ci to get her hands on that g. He nocked several silvery arrows, shooting them directly into Ye Ci¡¯s path.

    Hearing the sharp screeching sound in the air, Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She leaned slightly backwards, and slid to her left. She dodged 5 silvery arrows like a slippery eel.

    ¡°Puff puff puff,¡± the arrowsnded not far away from Ye Ci. Because of the evasive action she took, Ye Ci had to slow down. When she was able to regain her footing, Fleeting Time was already dashing towards the g.

    Ye Ci focused her strength and pushed off the rock in front of her, propelling herself forward. She threw a punch, aiming at Fleeting Time¡¯s chest while simultaneously reaching out for the g.

    ording to Ye Ci¡¯s way of thoughts, although her punch would not deal much damage, humans tended to subconsciously dodge attacksing their way. If she was able to cause Fleeting Time to dodge sideways to avoid her punch, she would be able to secure the g.

    Ye Ci, of course, would not be the only person to have thought of this. But, she did not expect that when she threw her punch...

    Hello minna-san!!! How¡¯s everybody doing? It¡¯s Wednesday.... Which means... 2 more day until we get to Friday again!!! Wooooohh!!

    I hope you people enjoyed this awesome chapter of this awesome novel tranted by an awesomtacr trantor (ehehe shameless Jimmi)

    *cough cough* As you know, the ROTH team will always wee freebies donations from readers! If you wish to reward us for our hard work so far, please hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page!!!

    Also, anybody interested in submitting some fanarts for ROTH? It¡¯s been awhile....

    Fanart submission:

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    Aaaaaand.... Don¡¯t forget the teaser next page!!

    DESU VULT!!

 Chapter 142 Ambitionist

    Chapter 142 Ambitionist

    Ye Ci¡¯s punch missed, but Fleeting Time did not dodge her blow. Instead, he grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s wrist and pulled at her abruptly.

    The fingertips of Ye Ci¡¯s left hand brushed at the g, but just at that instant, she was pulled forward with force.

    A heartbeatter, Ye Ci realized that she was flung away. She gritted her teeth. That guy... He used the Strength difference between a male and female character to fling her out of the g¡¯s vicinity.

    If this happened to anybody else, they wouldn¡¯t be able to salvage the situation. Her opponent was very close to iming the g, and once the g was imed it would be very hard to take it back from him. Of course, Ye Ci was an exception.

    Just what sort of person was Ye Ci? She was a person who would never give up. She was someone who would do whatever it took to achieve her goals. For Ye Ci, the oue was the most important. The process through which she achieved results, was in actuality, not that important.

    Just like in this moment, Ye Ci spun around in the air and threw a Cat w out at Fleeting Time. The grappling hook was entirely different from what Ye Ci had used in the Dragon Dancepetition. The current version of Cat w had already been improved by Pea Cake as his mastery in Engineering grew. The current Cat w was more urate and powerful.

    Ye Ci sincerely felt that she had a talent as a rascal. Of course, it was not something that she would want to show to the world. If she was not such a rascal, she wouldn¡¯t have thought of such a shameless solution, and would definitely not resort to such methods that would shame the Hunter ss¡¯ pride.

    Was there ever a Hunter or Huntress who resorted to petty tricks instead of fighting with a bow and arrow?

    However, her petty trick paid off. The Cat w flew straight and true, connecting with Fleeting Time¡¯s belt right before he coulde into contact with the g. Ye Ci tugged with all her might and managed to pull Fleeting Time away from the g. She flung the cat w, throwing Fleeting Time clear of the area as shended. A dull ¡®thud¡¯ could be heard from behind Ye Ci. Fleeting Time must¡¯vended hard.

    Of course, Fleeting Time¡¯s fate was none of Ye Ci¡¯s concern. Her objective was to secure the g. The moment Fleeting Time was flung out of the zone, Ye Ci put away her Cat w and sprinted towards the g.

    As Gongzi You threw her punch at him, Fleeting Time had shifted his position slightly out of reflex, and his hand shot out at a quicker speed, grabbing hold of Gongzi You¡¯s wrist. What followed next was purely reflex too.

    Fleeting Time leaned sideways, and using Gongzi You¡¯s inertia, flung her away. Right after tossing her out, Fleeting Time realized that his action was not quite gentlemanly. After all, his opponent was a female. To be tossed away by him in such an ungraceful manner...

    However, under such circumstances, even if Fleeting Time felt sorry for her, it disappeared quickly. After all, a thought was just a thought. He did not make any attempt to rectify his mistake and headed straight for the g. Gongzi You¡¯s performance today was slightly disappointing. Just as the thought floated into his mind, Fleeting Time could feel a sharp object burying itself into his waist. What the hell was that?

    Before he could react, he was flung backwards into the air. What the hell just happened?

    Before Fleeting Time couldnd, the force that was tossing him backwards increased, and he flew towards the cave wall like an arrow. Just then, he spotted a long rope in Gongzi You¡¯s hand with a 3 wed hook attached to its tip. There was no such weapon in Fate, which meant that it was an Engineering product.

    Fleeting Time was hit by realization. He finally knew what manner of tool had Gongzi You used to toss him out of the ring. In the next moment, he was hit by the cave wall. Despite the pain that jarred his bones, Fleeting Time smiled. Gongzi You was sprinting towards the g.

    It seemed that he would not be the one to im the g today.

    The impact had been fairly hard. Although it did not cause any flesh wounds, Fleeting Time lost a few hundred points of his HP.

    Fleeting Time stood up and stared calmly at Gongzi You who was iming the g. He stood still, his lips forming into a slight grin as he observed Gongzi You. The appearance of a yer¡¯s character in Fate was based on his or her looks in real life. The girl in front of him was so petite. She appeared so weak in her Huntress¡¯sbat gear.

    As expected, one must not judge a person by his or her appearance.

    Fleeting Time could still remember their first encounter. The girl was pale and so petite. He would even consider her form to be small. Yet there was strong determination in her eyes as she fought against him in their first battle.

    Although the battle was tough for her, Fleeting Time himself was unable to gain the upper hand. She had given her all and proved to him that in the world of experts, gender did not matter.

    Gongzi You had an unorthodox fighting style as a Huntress. The first impression the Huntress named Gongzi You had left with Fleeting Time was that she was a morous assassin with a deeply hidden killing intent. When he was caught off guard by her trickery, Fleeting Time realized that the Huntress in front of him was also a wildly ambitious person withplete disregard to the Hunter ss¡¯ pride.

    He felt a sudden excitement.

    It was something that he had not felt for a very long time. It was the excitement an expert felt after so many lonely years of not having a worthy opponent.

    It turned out that he wasn¡¯t the best at Fate. At least, at this moment, he found a target. The target might be something that he was unable to grasp, but at least it was there.

    The blood in Fleeting Time¡¯s veins and arteries boiled. Every cell of his being was screaming, yearning for a showdown against this Huntress.

    That¡¯s right, instead of squaring off against just another Hunter, Fleeting Time preferred to have an ambitionist as his opponent. As a Hunter, he would be able to easily read another Hunter¡¯s next move, but against an ambitionist, he would never know what surprise was waiting for him at every turn.

    Fleeting Time took in a deep breath while still observing Gongzi You, who was iming the g. His grin grew wider. He strung his bow and fired arrows at Ye Ci¡¯s back.

    The time required by a yer to im the g was 5 seconds. If a yer iming the g was attacked within that 5 seconds, the yer¡¯s attempt would be counted as a failure.

    It was a nerve-wrecking 5 seconds for Ye Ci. That was why Ye Ci did not even care about what happened to Fleeting Time. In a game like Fate, mere seconds could turn the tide of a battle.

    Hurry up... Hurry up...

    With a huge battle raging around her and a strong opponent like Fleeting Time, even somebody like Ye Ci would lose her calm. She remained vignt of her surroundings while iming the g. She could not allow her efforts to go to waste.

    The hair on Ye Ci¡¯s neck stood up all of a sudden, and she immediately realized that something was wrong. Fleeting Time might¡¯ve gotten back on his feet and was attacking her.

    It was indeed the case. Ye Ci¡¯s urate judgement of the situation was due to her high Perception and most importantly, her knowledge about her own ss.

    1.5 seconds left until the g was imed...

    Could she make it? Could she make it in time?

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath and summoned Ol¡¯ Four, giving him the order to stand guard.

    Ol¡¯ Four that had just appeared was about to wag its tail at Ye Ci and ask for snacks, but a few arrowsnded on his tough hide. Ol Four¡¯s temper red, and he turned around to face his assant.

    Fleeting Time was momentarily stunned. He was very puzzled by Ye Ci¡¯s action.

    Hunters would usually refrain from bringing pets that actively attacked enemies into a dungeon. It was almost like a norm among Hunters. Fleeting Time refused to believe that Gongzi You was unaware of the practice. Even so, she defied his expectations and summoned such a huge pet that was an active-offensive type.

    Fleeting Time held back hisughter. Gongzi You would definitely know that summoning such a huge pet in the middle of a chaotic PvP fight meant trouble for herself and her party. Despite the knowledge, Gongzi You was willing to do such a thing. Was she really so inconsiderate of her allies?

    However, Fleeting Time himself was not any better. Right after the appearance of Ol¡¯ Four, Fleeting Time blew a whistle and summoned his own pet. A gigantic Vampire Bat appeared and pounced on Ol¡¯ Four.

    The two creatures faced each other inbat not far from Ye Ci. Their loud angry roars were a source of difort for her. Fortunately, she was able to sessfully im the g, and a marker appeared on her back, making her a moving bullseye.

    She was momentarily stunned as she saw the gigantic Vampire Bat. Damn, it was a formidable creature.

    As Ye Ci stood in awe, arrows once again sliced through the air towards her...

    So.... I woke up at like.. 5-something and I thought to myself.... Hmm... Why not post a chapter? And BOOM! here¡¯s a chapter ahahaha ??

 Chapter 143 Showdown

    Chapter 143 Showdown

    It was impossible to dodge the arrows.

    Ye Ci took the full brunt of the damage.

    Fortunately for her, Ye Ci¡¯s level was not low. Although the level difference between her and Fleeting Time was unknown, it was quite insignificant judging from the damage of the arrows. The arrows took 20% of her HP away, but Ye Ci knew that the situation was anything but good. The skill cast by Fleeting Time was Multi Arrow. This meant that only 3-4 arrows wouldnd on her. If he had decided to cast Rapid Fire instead, Ye Ci would¡¯ve lost more of her HP to his attack.

    With this factor taken into consideration, Ye Ci deduced that Fleeting Time¡¯s attack damage was nearly as powerful as hers. She would need to proceed with caution in this fight.

    A duel between two hunters, who were both among the best of the best, was never a boring thing.

    Ye Ci had an advantage over Fleeting Time, which was her passive ability, Strength Conservation. This ability meant that Ye Ci could use her skills without restraint, with the cooldown of the skills themselves being her only worry. Fleeting Time, without the Strength Conservation ability, had to take note of his mana consumption. Despite the mana-stealing attributes of his equipment, he was unable to achieve Ye Ci¡¯s condition of having her mana constantly full. He was, however, able to keep his mana level from dropping too rapidly.

    The two were evenly matched in battle, with neither side gaining the upper hand.

    With such a ferocious battle raging on between the two top-tier Hunters, the other yers present, especially the Hunters, were distracted. Those Hunters who had died in battle were enjoying the fight in particr. They observed the duel with joy.

    A Hunter was always alone.

    They only associated themselves with their pets. They could always level up on their own. This meant that they seldom had the need to attend any party activities.

    A hunter, however, was never lonely.

    The Hunter ss was the only ss in Fate that could capture monsters as their pets. These pets were different from the monsters summoned by Warlocks. Hunters could interact with their pets, which was why they were never alone. They would always have apanion by their side.

    The pets, as a Hunter¡¯s best friend, were unique. Each of them had their own habits, their own attributes, and each would react to matters differently.

    Tortoises tended to be docile and would never attack unless given the order. Bear type pets were less intelligent. Although they were tough, they tended to have problemsprehending amand from their masters. Wolves and leopards were agile and cunning. They would often show intelligence in a fight. There were other even rarer pets which had their own unique behaviors and tastes. Feeding them was a very troublesome ordeal.

    Animals such as dinosaurs and bats were rarely reared as pets. It was not because they were dumb, nor were their attacks weak. It was due to the sheer difficulty to raise their intimacy level. The time taken to raise the intimacy of such animals to 100% would be the same amount of time taken to tame at least 3-4 pets of other species. Other than that, it was really hard to please them. They were picky eaters, and would always judge their owner¡¯s character. They would not hesitate to abandon an owner with bad character...

    Ye Ci¡¯s Ol¡¯ Four and Fleeting Time¡¯s Giant Vampire Bat had the same attitude when facing off against a unique pet.

    Violent, Bad Tempered, Ferocious.

    They were like two children fighting over a piece of candy, wreaking havoc across the battlefield.

    Ol¡¯ Four was gigantic. Although his two tiny front paws were next to useless, its huge jaws and long, thick tail were deadly weapons. The Giant Vampire Bat might not have a tough hide like Ol¡¯ Four, but it was a flying animal. It pped around with its gigantic wings and circled Ol¡¯ Four like a fly armed with its sharp ws. The bat would asionally dash at Ol¡¯ Four, biting down on his weak spots, causing Ol¡¯ Four to fly into a rage.

    Despite their ferocious fight, those two were active-offensive pets. They shared the same trait. Their aggro was easily attracted. If a member of the opposing team had a higher aggro than their default maximum aggro, which belonged to Gongzi You and Fleeting Time, they would immediately pounce at the person with that aggro value.

    A duel between Hunters would usually not generate much aggro. Besides, the main objective of both Gongzi You and Fleeting Time was to secure the g. Their duel definitely not a simple slugging match. This meant that their aggro was lower than usual. It was just all too easy to surpass their aggro value.

    That was why the two beasts were often seen breaking off mid-fight and engaged other yers from the opposing team. After spilling blood, the bat and the dinosaur would then once again engage each other inbat.

    ording to the rules of the game, a team could only hold the g for 5 minutes. The party holding the g needed to annihte the members of the other party to proceed to the next stage of the BOSS fight.

    The members of Awing the Heavens grew anxious with each passing second as Fleeting Time was unable to snatch the g away from Gongzi You. Sinbad, whoid dead on the ground, was especially worried. He had basically missed the entire battle today and had died in a very pitiful way.They were in a very unfavourable situation caused by his death. Without their main healer, Awing the Heavens¡¯ party was in a pinch. This was the main cause of Sinbad¡¯s anxiety.

    He was so anxious that he even raised his voice. He was extremely worried when he noticed the dwindling numbers of his party members and that Fleeting Time was still unable to defeat Gongzi You. He grumbled loudly at Fleeting Time, ¡°Fleeting Time, can you do it? Or do you need me to get some of the DPS yers in our party to help with taking Gongzi You out?¡±

    Fleeting Time, who was still keeping a calm demeanor despite his battle with Ye Ci, stared coldly at Sinbad lying on the ground. Although he was just acting as a mercenary, he could understand Sinbad¡¯s feelings. After all, who the hell would be able to remain calm in this situation?

    He pursed his lips, and replied indifferently, ¡°A man must be able to do the deed.¡±

    Despite the dire situation, a lot of the party members chuckled at Fleeting Time¡¯s response. Those whoy dead on the ground broke out into loud guffaws.

    Perhaps he was just too anxious, but Sinbad did not catch the hidden meaning behind Fleeting Time¡¯s words. The urgency in his voice increased, ¡°If you can do it, then push her down and be done with it! See? See? Her damned dinosaur is back again...¡±

    Otherwise, how could we say that Chinese culture was diverse and profound? How could we say that the Chinesenguage was deep and extraordinary?

    Under normal circumstances, there was nothing wrong with Sinbad¡¯s words. But given all the time in the world they had, the yers who were already lying dead on the ground twisted the meaning of his words out of boredom. Some of them even began tough out loud, ¡°This a lil¡¯ too mean. She¡¯s not a loli, it¡¯s not easy to push her down.¡±

    ¡°Pushing down a loli is nothing, it¡¯s those onee-san type ones who are tasty...¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time! Don¡¯t you let the onee-san push you down instead...¡±

    Fleeting Time pursed his lips as he was being teased by the ¡®corpses¡¯ying on the ground. He then replied indifferently, ¡°It is unlikely that you could kill her, anyways.¡± With a slight pause, he spoke up again in an unyielding and firm tone with a hint of warning clear in his voice, ¡°Besides, she¡¯s my opponent. You people stay out of it.¡±

    After all, Fleeting Time was merely working for Awing the Heavens and was not under their control. Awing the Heavens had paid quite a heavy price to hire such an expert helper. Even somebody like Sinbad held nothing but fear and respect for Fleeting Time. He didn¡¯t dare speak up against the man.

    He let out a sigh after surveying the battlefield. He knew that it was impossible for them to win. The members of both sides were nearly all dead, but the g was still with the Huntress. If the situation continued, ck Plum Guild would emerge victorious.

    With that thought in mind, Sinbad let out another sigh, ¡°First Blood... The First Blood...¡±

    The mood of the other party members immediately dampened upon hearing his words. Just then, Ol¡¯ Four and the Giant Vampire Bat broke off their fight once again, bringing death to the rest of the few remaining yers.

    ¡°Fleeting Time, you¡¯re the only one left! Get the g! All hopes are on you now!¡± Sinbad was depressed at the situation that his guild was in.

    ¡°Gongzi, Gongzi, hang in there! Don¡¯t die! The ck Plum Guild is depending on you!¡± with Ye Ci aiding his guild, Fluttering Red Feathers hadmitted all the members of his guild into the fight. With all of them dead, he could only give his encouragement to Ye Ci who was bouncing around in the battlefield.

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Stop pressuring me, or I swear I¡¯ll leave right now~¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You, you can do it!¡± shouted a member of the ck Plum Guild, and his words were echoed by all of the guild members.

    Awing the Heaven members were unwilling to back down as well, ¡°Victory to Fleeting Time!¡±

    Despite the bustling cheers, the twobatants who were locked in a stalemate were exceptionally calm. Both of them had only a third of their HP left. They studied each other intently with sharp gazes, trying to find an opening that would allow them to finish their opponent off.

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart was thumping. Right at that moment, the only thing in her eyes was the man with silvery hair. His every expression, his every tiny movement was taken in by Ye Ci. When a chance presented itself, she would take him out with one strike.

    All of a sudden, Fleeting Time twitched slightly...

 Chapter 144 Are You F*cking Kidding Me?

    Chapter 144 Are You F*cking Kidding Me?

    There was a unique chill in the Blitz Cavern. It was unlike the cold in any other dungeon. The cold air in the Blitz Cavern was something that would chill yers to their bones. It was so cold that it induced pain. The source of this coldness was the Frost Gem hanging right above the BOSS. The cold would not deal damage to yers, nor would it cause any DEBUFFs. However, for such a highly realistic game like Fate, staying in a cold ce for such a long time would cause some difort to the yers.

    For example, having cold feet or hands.

    Right at this moment, Ye Ci¡¯s fingers were very cold. They were so pale and rigid that it was as if they were icicles. She could no longer feel her fingers. Ye Ci took in a deep breath and sucked in a lungful of air so cold that it could almost freeze her very thoughts.

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time faced each other in a stalemate.

    They were separated only by a small distance, slightly more than 8 yards. Whoever that took a small step forward would enter the danger zone for Hunters, which was 8 yards.

    8 yards was a very dangerous distance for the Hunter ss. As long as a target was beyond 8 yards, a Hunter could engage the target using bow and arrows, but once the target had managed to close in on the Hunter up to the range of 8 yards, the Hunter would be forced to engage the enemy using only melee weapons. Although the Hunter ss could equip simr weapons as the Warrior ss, they were not good in meleebat. The traits of the Hunter ss meant that they were unable to deal high amount of damage in melee, and they did not have high amounts of HP or defence.

    That was why there had been a saying among yers: If you were able to get within 8 yards of a Hunter, then the Hunter was as good as dead.

    This was why the distance of 8 yards from a Hunter was also dubbed as the ¡°Death Zone¡± for the Hunter ss.

    However, that condition applied only to the rest of the melee sses and did not include Fleeting Time, who was also a Hunter. Although Ye Ci remained wary, she was not overly worried. The only thing that rmed her was the fact that she had never fought in close quarters against Fleeting Time.

    She had never done it in herst life, nor had she done it in her current life.

    The only knowledge Ye Ci had of Fleeting Time was of the ferocity of his ranged attacks. As for how he would perform in a melee fight... She knew nothing.

    In actuality, the Hunter ss was a physical damage output ss armed with a wide array of means to deal damage to their enemies. They could engage their enemies in rangedbat and fight them up close and personal as well. Despite having few meleebat abilities, they could be used to deal staggering amounts of damage to enemies. However, 99% of the Hunter ss yers tend to focus more on developing their rangedbat prowess while totally ignoring their ability in meleebat.

    The reason was none other than the Hunter ss¡¯ck of damage in meleebat. Hunters made the worst melee fighters in the game. But if two Hunters engaged each other in meleebat, the oue would be uncertain.

    Ye Ci studied Fleeting Time intently, fearing that she would miss any detail. Fleeting Time did the same as well.

    With each passing second, Fleeting Time knew that the battle would be lost if he did not act. And ¡°losing¡± was not in his dictionary. Fleeting Time let out a breath and narrowed his eyes. He was not mistaken, Gongzi You was on high alert. She would definitely notice even the slightest of his movements.

    After a brief pause, he lowered his body slightly and began moving to his left.

    The time was now.

    Ye Ci began to move as well, dashing towards Fleeting Time¡¯s right. But in the blink of an eye, Ye Ci was startled when Fleeting Time disappeared from her view.

    That¡¯s right. Fleeting Time had disappeared.

    It was definitely not the effect of Fleeting Time entering stealth. He had disappeared into thin air in the blink of an eye. This was something Ye Ci had not expected. Although Ye Ci was a skillful yer, she was still a human being. She could still be startled by something that was totally out of her expectations. However, she took in a breath, calmed herself down and jumped backwards.

    Before shended, Ye Ci realized her mistake.

    You should never show your back to the enemy. Although Ye Ci could not see Fleeting Time, activating backwards jump enabled her to jump back a considerable distance, but rendered her unable to turn around. This meant that her back was exposed. If Fleeting Time showed up behind her as shended, it would be the end of her.

    There were 15 seconds left until the end of the battle.

    Ye Ci had never felt such unease. She was even afraid that the duel between her and Fleeting Time woulde to an end right when shended.

    Sometimes, life¡¯s a bitch. The thing that you¡¯re afraid of the most would happen to you.

    Ye Ci¡¯s right arm was twisted and pinned to her back the moment shended. Her left hand was also pinned as well. She lost the ability to fight back. Ye Ci¡¯s heart was gripped by coldness. Had she lost?

    ¡°There¡¯s just been too many distractions in these 5 minutes. Do you want to fight for another 5 minutes?¡± Fleeting Time stood behind Ye Ci, pinning her hands to her back. There was a hint of delight in his voice.

    Ye Ci nced at the timer. There were 10 seconds left. She could not ept it. 10 seconds. 10 more seconds. In the end, she had lost.

    ¡°If you remain silent, I¡¯ll just take it as a yes then.¡± Fleeting Time then grabbed the g on Ye Ci¡¯s back and pushed her away.

    Ye Ci staggered forward. The crazed roars of ck Plum Guild and Awing the Heavens members filled her ears. She then heard the icy cold voice of the system notification, ¡°You have lost the g. If you are able to reacquire the g, the countdown timer will continue. The battlefield will reset if you fail to secure the g within 5 seconds.¡±

    5 second left.

    Ye Ci immediately turned around dashed towards Fleeting Time. She drew her dagger as she approached Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time however, had no intention of defending himself or fighting back. He merely backed away from Ye Ci. He was agile, dodging left and right, always staying ahead of Ye Ci. All of her skillsnded on thin air.

    1 second left.

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyes had almost redded. She let out a loud shout and pounced forward at Fleeting Time, aiming her dagger at his throat.

    Fleeting Time smiled as he looked at Ye Ci. He opened his mouth to speak, but...

    Ye Ci realized that her target had disappeared. Unable to stop her forward momentum, Ye Ci fell hard onto the ground.

    She then heard a system notification, ¡°Your target is no longer online.¡±

    Ye Ci was puzzled...

    In such a crucial moment, Fleeting Time was disconnected from the game.

    Are you kidding me? Are you f*cking kidding me?

    Hi minna-san! After gulps *almost* one week of not posting, I¡¯m finally able to post again!!!

    Ughh... These past few days suck... So many shit to get done but so little time... I hafta prepare for my presentation (oh I can post a pic of myself if anybody¡¯s interested ahahahaha) ... I hafta n for ss enrollment... Aaaaand... Train for the uing League of Legendspetition held by my school¡¯s E-games Club xDD

 Chapter 146 Epic Quest

    Chapter 146 Epic Quest

    Under the numerous requests from the life yers, the wastrel Carnivore moved from the northeastern life sector to the southwestern sector of the guild encampment, distancing himself from the life sector as much as possible. In response to this arrangement, the life yers apuded in approval, whereas Carnivore did not feel pressured in the slightest.

    Ye Ci thought that the issue has been settled once and for all. Little did she know that a few dayster, a majority of the life yers would seek her out once more to get Carnivore to relocate. This time however, it wasn¡¯t to get Carnivore to stay as far away from them as possible. Rather, it was to invite him to move back to the life sector once again.

    However, Carnivore threw a tantrum this time and refused to budge. Looking into the sky with the corner of his lips pointed at a 45 degree angle and snorted in a high pitched voice, ¡°You guys told me to scram and I did. Now you guys want me to go back? Sorry, I refuse.¡±

    So everyone immediately sought out Ye Ci to resolve this issue once and for all.

    At the moment, Ye Ci was in a corner outside the guild¡¯s conference room crafting her arrows. Looking up to find a whole mob of life yers rushing towards her, all of whom had sorrowful and enraged expressions as though they were deeply hurt, causing Ye Ci to feel extremely puzzled.

    What was this now? Were they going to start a riot? Were they going to go on strike? Or were they going to announce their independence from the guild?

    ¡°Leader.¡± As Ye Ci was carefully scrutinizing the numerous life yers who had surrounded her, wondering what should she say, she heard Pea Cake¡¯s sonorous voice sounding out from the first row. This guy is as rude as always, what¡¯s wrong this time? Ye Ci felt even more uneasy now.

    The corners of her mouth twitched as she looked at the numerous life yers. She nonchntly asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you all? Are you all going for a mass shopping spree in the city?¡±

    ¡°Guild leader, now¡¯s not the time for jokes.¡± Pea Cake widened his eyes. The expression on his face was as though it was a matter of the country¡¯s imminent destruction. He cried aloud, ¡°It¡¯s already a matter of the guild¡¯s survival!¡±

    Survival? Ye Ci was slightly shocked: Did something happen? She never did care much about handling guild matters, could Bai Mo have hidden something from her, taking it upon himself so as to not let her worry? Feelings of unease surging at the thought, Ye Ci sprung up and asked Pea Cake sternly, ¡°Did you say that it¡¯s a matter of the guild¡¯s survival?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right...¡± Before Pea Cake could finish, Ye Ci immediately turned away to contact the management heads. Failing to get a response after repeatedly calling out her name, Pea Cake could only wait for her to finish.

    ¡°Little Hands, is there anything strange going on in the auction? Did the items that I asked you to sell experience a change in the prices? Did the prices spike, dip or crash?¡± The first people Ye Ci contacted were the lovebirds Little Icy Cold Hands and Icy Cold Little Hands. The two had talent in buying low and selling high and they were in charge of matters such as purchasing necessities and selling loot.

    ¡°Ah? There shouldn¡¯t be. I just came out from the auction house just now. I bought a load of stuff from there, but they were all within the expected price range. Did you happen to obtain some insider information from somewhere?¡± Hearing Ye Ci¡¯s queries, Little Icy Cold Hands became anxious, ¡°I¡¯ll go back again just to be sure.¡±

    A few minutester, a message from Little Icy Cold Hands debunked the spection regarding the auction house.

    After that, she contacted the diplomats, Battle Commander, Dungeon Commander and several other officers of the guild. The responses were the same: Nothing out of the ordinary. After receiving confirmation that nothing was amiss, Ye Ci let out a long sigh and eased up. The guild matters were mostly handled by Bai Mo, while she took the role of a manager who solely delegated tasks, so she couldn¡¯t be med for being in a panic. At present, Bai Mo was not online for her to get to the bottom of the matter, so she had no choice but to look for the various yers in charge for confirmation.

    ¡°Pea Cake, everything is normal with the guild. Where¡¯s that crisis that you spoke of? Don¡¯t go off believing anything you hear.¡± Ye Ci rxed and her mood brightened. She did not tell Peacake off too strictly and jokingly spoke, ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll organize an archery contest amongst the guild¡¯s Hunters with you as the live target.¡±

    As Pea Cake listened to Ye Ci, he immediately raised a ruckus. ¡°Guild Leader, this is unfair! Why did you only check with the guild¡¯s procurement, diplomatic affairs, battlemand and dungeonmand when the guild¡¯s survival was mentioned? Don¡¯t tell me you never considered other factors?¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, roughly understanding what Pea Cake was referring to. However, she chose to sit down and continue crafting her arrows, saying, ¡°Aren¡¯t those the areas that may cause a guild to prosper or flounder? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s more?¡±

    ¡°The ruination of a thousand-mile dam starts with a single termite¡¯s nest...¡± Able to tell that Ye Ci was indifferent to his petition, Pea Cake immediately began to speak out vehemently, as though he was going to take part in the presidential elections.

    Ye Ci looked at him in silent bemusement, allowing him to continue beating around the bush.

    After several minutes, some of the life yers who stood behind Pea Cake couldn¡¯t take it any longer, begging him to get to the point. Especially Cutie Lemon, who stepped up to kick Pea Cake in the ass, saying, ¡°Hey, be specific and get to the main point. Stop wasting everyone¡¯s time!¡±

    Smarting from the pain, Pea Cake turned back and nced at hisrades who had furious looks in their eyes before finally voicing their objective. It turned out that Carnivore had received the better end of the deal when he moved to the southwestern sector.

    Looking back to when they were still in the same life sector, Carnivore always took unwanted, worthless equipment back to practice his socketing on. Now, while it was true that Carnivore did not bother them anymore, he went directly to look for Timely Rain instead. Thus the equipment that he received was much more numerous than that which was distributed to the life sector.

    Originally, the life yers thought that the unwanted equipment could either be sold for cheap or disassembled for their materials. However, this equipment now fell directly into Carnivore¡¯s hands. It would be fine if the socketing was a sess. If it failed however, then the equipment would be scrapped. Wouldn¡¯t that be a waste?

    Having experienced this for themselves, after another bout of discussion all the life yers felt that they should ask Carnivore to move back once more, as that way they could at least salvage some of the equipment. However, the suggestion was met with Carnivore¡¯s strong opposition. He was extremely satisfied after having tasted the good life, Why should he move back? In the end, a mob of life yers went to look for Ye Ci with the intention of letting the instigator of the incident clean up the mess she caused.

    Hearing Pea Cake¡¯s side of the story, Ye Ci replied without looking up, ¡°You guys should talk to Timely Rain for something as simple as this. Just ask him to pass Carnivore the unwanted and unseble equipment.¡±

    ¡°But, but...those are all our hard work!¡± The mob of life yers cried out in protest.

    Ye Ci stopped what she was doing for a moment, raised her head and looked at the group of life yers cooly and spoke with a smile that did not reach her eyes, ¡°Then, what about the crafting materials that all of you use to level up your skill proficiency? Were they not due to the hard work of everyone in the guild...?¡±

    Despite having some rough moments, it was only after Ye Ci¡¯s attempt at reconciliation that the matter finally resolved itself. Although the life yers were somewhat unsatisfied with the oue, they were now more willing to provide Carnivore with equipment to raise his skill proficiency. Being used to practicing with good equipment, Carnivore was not used to the switch at first due to the difference in equipment quality, However, he was aware that it was not a good thing to be too wasteful.

    Which was why both sides agreed topromise.

    Timely Rain only appeared after the group of life yers was sent away. Brushing the tip of his nose, he spoke, ¡°As expected of Gongzi. But why did they not agree when I first suggested that theypromise?¡±

    Ye Ci thought for a while before making a sly grin, ¡°The carrot and the stick.¡±

    The two looked at each other and smirked.

    Just as the guild was busily making preparations to attempt Castle Ruins, the new dungeon, Ye Ci received an unusual quest from the mayor of Red Lake City. The quest giver was not the mayor but the mysterious city lord, Sha¡¯Gar himself.

    It was just an errand quest and the details were simple. As an exemry resident of Red Lake City as well as a close confidant to the city lord, Lord Sha¡¯Gar hoped that Gongzi You would be able to visit his bosom friend, ck Mud City¡¯s City Lord Mo¡¯er in his stead.

    Upon receiving this quest, Ye Ci was slightly stunned before her fingers started trembling in excitement.

    It couldn¡¯t be, one of the fabled Ten Great Mythological Grade quests in her past life appeared before her just like that? Didn¡¯t this seem a little too effortless?

    In Fate, the entire quest system was unique. Although quests had already existed at the start of the game, the developers had put in extra effort in Fate¡¯s quest system. Aside from themon collection, exploration, training, dungeon and hidden quests, there were also battlefield quests and random quests.

    Random quests were an extremely unique type of quest in Fate. The number of random quests in the game were few, even less than hidden quests. ording to Fate¡¯s ssification of quests, there were usually two grades of random quests: Legendary Grade and Mythological Grade quests.

    That wasn¡¯t all. What was unique about these random quests were that they were side quests to the game¡¯s main quest. Which meant that thepletion rate of these quests, as well as the choices that the yers made would more or less y a part in affecting the game¡¯s storyline.

    These settings would not only allow the yers feel the effects of their actions on the game, it would even make them feel a sense of belonging to the game, as though they were a protagonist. Of course, aside from the spiritual rewards, yers who received random quests would also receive an extremely rare material reward.

    However, the activation conditions for random quests were extremely odd: One might be required to achieve a certain level of reputation with a territorial power or one might have to embark on an unimaginable adventure; the quest might even be hiding in an insignificant corner of a house.

    In short, it was entirely left up to the yer himself to go and find out.

    Furthermore, the reason why Ye Ci received this quest was too simple. She was the first resident in any city whose reputation had reached Respected.

 Chapter 147 A Request

    Chapter 147 A Request

    It had been quite a while since school started again and the weather had be warmer. Putting away her thick winter clothing, Ye Ci began dressing for summer. Although she had been reincarnated, she retained the mental age of her old self. She was reluctant to wear clothes with brighter colors that were more befitting for young women and preferred to wear gloomy and dark colors.

    Zuo Xian was very dissatisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s choice of clothing and did not hold back in voicing out her disdain, ¡°You¡¯re only 19! Why the hell would you wear something as dark as this? It¡¯s hideous! You¡¯re not a crow...¡±

    Ye Ci, who could not offer a valid exnation, pursed her lips and made up a random exnation, ¡°It¡¯s called fashion.¡±

    Zuo Xian rolled her eyes, ¡°What, you think I¡¯ve never been a teenager before? You think I was born old?¡±

    When faced with these situations, Ye Ci would always keep her mouth shut. If she talked back, it would be like digging herself a deeper grave. When Ye Ci entered her rented house with a bag of her clothing, Bai Mo was humming to himself while cooking in the kitchen. He popped his head out of the kitchen and upon seeing Ye Ci¡¯s outfit, his lips twitched, ¡°You really think that you¡¯re young and gorgeous? Why would you dress yourself like a 40 year old?¡±

    This was the second time Ye Ci¡¯s outfit had taken a hit from someone else. She rolled her eyes and snorted, ¡°Yep, I¡¯m young and am blooming with youth. So what? Jealous?¡±

    Bai Mo apparently disdained arguing with Ye Ci on this topic. He pouted and snorted out, ¡°Yeah, young and dumb. Oh, by the way, when this young girl was not home, her phone was ringing nonstop. Does this young girl wish to go have a look?¡±

    ¡°Eh? I didn¡¯t bring my phone?¡± Ye Ci patted her pocket and found no trace of her phone. It seemed that she had forgotten her phone on her trip back home. She then headed into her room with her bag and immediately saw her phoneying on her bed after entering the room. Putting her stuff aside, Ye Ci reached for her phone, only to find 27 missed calls had almost depleted her phone¡¯s battery. They were from Liu Chang.

    Before she had the chance to return the call, her phone rang again. It was, of course, Liu Chang. She answered the call, and heard Liu Chang¡¯s exhausted voice, ¡°Goddammit you¡¯ve finally picked up the phone! You dislike me so much that you won¡¯t even answer my calls now?¡±

    ¡°W-what? I went back home this morning for some summer clothes and forgot my phone.¡±

    ¡°Bai Mo went back with you?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Then why the hell did he not pick up the phone? I¡¯ve been calling since morning! I¡¯m so depressed!¡± Liu Chang strongly denounced Bai Mo¡¯s irresponsible action with anger.

    Ye Ci let out augh and continued bickering with Liu Chang. Soon enough, the conversation came back to the main topic.

    ¡°Oi, Little Ci, let¡¯s go have dinnerter tonight.¡±

    ¡°Are we splitting the bill?¡±

    ¡°Nope, it¡¯s on me.¡± Liu Chang chuckled, ¡°I¡¯ve just received my sry today, so allow me to treat you.¡±

    Just then, Ye Ci heard the swishing sound of when Bai Mo was stir frying some dish, ¡°Forget about it, it¡¯s your hard-earned sry, keep it for yourself. Bai Mo has already started cooking. If I tell him, he¡¯ll kick my ass.¡±

    ¡°Thene with Bai Mo.¡± Liu Chang snorted her nose, refusing to give up, ¡°I am very offended by his irresponsible actions, but I¡¯m not a petty person. I¡¯ll treat him to dinner to show him what a huge mistake he made towards ady.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask him, then.¡± With Ye Ci¡¯s financial capabilities, she had no problem with treating Liu Chang for dinner every single day. She, however, held back from doing so. In Ye Ci¡¯s mind, friends should always treat each other sincerely. Money would only corrupt the pure rtionship shared between friends. That was why she did not reject Liu Chang¡¯s offer of treating her to a meal. Although she treated Liu Chang to meals quite frequently as well, she always thought that they were best friends. It would be best for her to not dwell on other things.

    After getting a confirmation from Bai Mo, Ye Ci gave Liu Chang the news, ¡°He agreed. But you have to give him some time to get changed. You know him, he cares a lot about his looks.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll see you at 6:30!¡± the location was a ce where the food was affordable and the atmosphere was lively. It was once their favourite ce. Yes. Them. The four of them.

    After getting changed, Ye Ci and Bai Mo headed for the closest station. ¡°All of the calls were from Liu Chang?¡± asked Bai Mo as they were on their way.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. Both her hands were in the pockets of her coat and her face was expressionless. It was impossible to fathom her thoughts.

    ¡°She called you for nearly 30 times just to ask you out for dinner?¡± Bai Mo chuckled. He was unable to bring himself to believe Liu Chang¡¯s intentions.

    Ye Ci did not reply, but instead stole a nce at Bai Mo and a weird smile formed on her lips. Bai Mo¡¯s hair stood at their end as he saw the smile. He rubbed his arms and shivered, ¡°Say, can¡¯t you not smile like that? It¡¯s creepy!¡±

    Ye Ci turned around and faced Bai Mo, squeezing a few words through her mouth, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an idiot?¡±

    Bai Mo was momentarily stunned, ¡°Then why are you still going?¡±

    ¡°Guess I¡¯m just curious.¡± Ye Ci let out a sigh, ¡°Although I¡¯m not always a curious person, it doesnt mean that I don¡¯t have an ounce of curiosity at all.¡±

    Bai Mo replied calmly after a moment of thought, ¡°Do you know who else will be there?¡±

    ¡°Dong Yin, maybe Yi Cang. He Xiao might even be there as well.¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips and continued, ¡°Why do you think I invited you along?¡±

    Bai Mo let out a sigh and patted Ye Ci¡¯s head, ¡°I found out that you¡¯re not true to yourself.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re done with them? But you still can¡¯t let it go.¡±

    ¡°Who the f*ck knows.¡± Ye Ci was obviously very distressed. She even cursed under her breath. Bai Mo, who was beside her, smiled. It was only in times like this that Ye Ci, who was overly calm, behaved like a teenager. Although Bai Mo was helpless in this situation, he liked the Ye Ci who was under these circumstances.

    At least, in such a way, there would be no mysterious gloominess in her eyes that he was unable to read.

    As expected, other than Liu Chang, Dong Yin and Yi Cang were present as well. He Xiao however, was absent. Come to think of it, somebody like He Xiao would never be willing to have his meal at a roadside stall.

    Ye Ci stood beside the table and stared at Dong Yin and Yi Cang with narrowed eyes, a weird smile hanging on her face. Liu Chang immediately offered her a seat, trying to break the tense situation. Dong Yin was trying her best to open up a conversation with Ye Ci, and even Yi Cang had ordered a bottle of coke and ced it in front of Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci stared at the coke. It felt so distant. It seemed to be her favorite drink when she was in around 18 years old. She seemed to prefer cold water now. The sort that was so cold that it would chill even the bones. s, wasn¡¯t she a teenager in the eyes of everybody else?

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Ye Ci smiled at Yi Cang with narrowed eyes.

    Yi Cang¡¯s expression immediately stiffened, but was ignored by Ye Ci.

    Making it clear that he was just at the ce to apany Ye Ci, Bai Mo did not utter even a single word. He sat beside Ye Ci quietly, as if he did not exist. The dishes on the table were ordered by Liu Chang and the others. They were all Ye Ci¡¯s favorites. Ye Ci felt a strange coldness while staring at the warm dishes on the table. Despite her reincarnation, despite her efforts to set things right, why were things still taking a turn for the worst?

    Ye Ci was silent and Dong Yin was a person of few words, while Bai Mo was not close with those who were present. This meant that Liu Chang and Yi Cang were breaking out in cold sweat to carry on the conversation and telling jokes that were not at all funny. The entire situation was very awkward.

    Ye Ci lowered her head and ate silently. When she was almost full, she raised her head and stared straight at Dong Yin. She pursed her lips and spoke up, ¡°Say it. What do you need from me this time?¡±

    Her voice was low, but it was enough to cause Liu Chang and Yi Cang to immediately keep their mouths shut. They silently shifted their gaze towards Ye Ci and Dong Yin.

    Dong Yin raised her head in a flurry and looked at Ye Ci. She could feel that Ye Ci had distanced herself, or was she the one who was distancing herself from Ye Ci? In short, Dong Yin felt pressured by Ye Ci¡¯s demeanor.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. W-we are j-just... We just wanted to have a little gathering.¡± Dong Yin subconsciously dodged the question.

    ¡°Is that so? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll be leaving. I have something else to attend to.¡± Ye Ci stood up and was prepared to leave.

    Dong Yin could no longer hold herself back, ¡°No, n-no. I-I have s-something very trivial to ask.¡±

    Ye Ci had her back to Dong Yin, but her lips had formed into a cold sneer. She slowly turned around and smiled at Dong Yin. It was a hollow and distant smile. Ye Ci then sat down once again. Raising her eyebrows, she spoke up with an unfathomable expression, ¡°Alright. Tell me. What ¡®trivial matter¡¯ do you need help with?¡±

    Dong Yin sat down after Ye Ci had taken her seat. After a long moment of hesitation, she finally found the courage to speak up, ¡°Little Ci, since we¡¯ve been friends for so many years, please help me out.¡±

    ¡°Mmhmm?¡±

    ¡°Please help He Xiao with the First Blood of Castle Ruins. Please help Steel Blooded Battle Spear get a First Blood once again.¡± Dong Yin¡¯s face reddened as she spilled her request out.

    The atmosphere became deathly still.

    Hi minna-san! Here¡¯s another chapter of this awesomtacr novel! Hope y¡¯all enjoy!!!

    So what do you peeps think of Dong Yin? Write yourments below ??

    Jimmi would like you to help Jimmi with part of your free time. Please head to Reign of the Hunter¡¯s Novel Update page and write a review for us!!! Here¡¯s the link: http://.novelupdates/series/reign-of-the-hunters/

    Fanart submission email:

    Don¡¯t forget we always have a teaser next page!

 Chapter 148 Friends?

    Chapter 148 Friends?

    Ye Ci was stunned and Bai Mo was stumped for words, while Liu Chang was utterly dumbfounded. She stared at Dong Yin as if she was a stranger.

    With Ye Ci remaining silent, Dong Yin stole a nce at Yi Cang, who nodded at her discreetly. Dong Yin then looked at Ye Ci and took in a deep breath, ¡°We¡¯ve prepared for quite a while now. We just need a little more help. We¡¯ve already reached the first BOSS. Ye Ci, as long you¡¯re willing to help, I¡¯m sure First Blood will belong to Steel Blooded Battle Spear. That¡¯s why, Little Ci, I¡¯m begging you to help my guild out. Just think of it as doing me a favor, okay? Just think of it as helping me and Yi Cang out, please?¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Dong Yin. She remained silent while seated. Her deep ck eyes were calm, not betraying any emotions nor showing her sorrows.

    Dong Yin visibly gulped. She walked up to Ye Ci¡¯s side and knelt down. She held on tightly on Ye Ci¡¯s hands and shivered at their coldness. She looked up at Ye Ci¡¯s pale face and said, ¡°Little Ci, I know that He Xiao wronged you in the past. I know that he treated you poorly. You¡¯ve suffered a lot of grievances during your time in Steel Blooded Battle Spear. But Little Ci, I beg of you. I don¡¯t usually beg somebody else, but I¡¯m begging you now. Please help He Xiao onest time. Please?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Ye Ci squeezed the word out of her mouth after a long moment of silence.

    Dong Yin was taken aback. She replied in a low voice, ¡°I do not know about the details, but if He Xiao does not produce any satisfying results in the game, his position will be jeopardized.¡± with that, Dong Yin bit on her lips and continued in her low voice, ¡°Y-you might¡¯ve known that He Xiao is f-from a rich family. He is not the only heir. If... If...¡±

    Dong Yin did not continue speaking. She believed that Ye Ci understood her meaning.

    ¡°Y-you get what I¡¯m trying to say, right?¡±

    Of course Ye Ci knew. The contest over inheritance in wealthy families was as fierce as the battles between princes to secure the crown in olden times, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°T-then you...¡± After hearing Ye Ci¡¯s response, Dong Yin¡¯s voice was filled with surprise, ¡°You¡¯re a-¡±

    Before she could finish her sentence, Ye Ci raised her eyebrows and smiled, ¡°But what does that have to do with me?¡±

    ¡°Ye Ci,¡± Yi Cang¡¯s eyebrows furrowed when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s answer. Before he could continue speaking, he caught sight of Dong Yin shaking her head, and immediately quieted down. Bai Mo, who had been quietly sitting at a side, smirked as he lifted the teapot and poured tea into Yi Cang¡¯s cup and said in a calm voice, ¡°Young man, you must be able to control your impulses.¡±

    Yi Cang red at Bai Mo and snorted. Liu Chang was about to stand up out of anger, but Bai Mo, who was sitting beside her, tugged at her hand and smiled, ¡°You could use some drinks as well.¡±

    ¡°Bai Mo!¡± Liu Chang was a short-tempered person. She had asked Ye Ci out for dinner at Dong Yin¡¯s request in an attempt to repair the rtionship between the childhood friends. She did not expect Dong Yin and Yi Cang to have hidden motives. She felt betrayed. Yi Cang¡¯s behavior was thest straw for Liu Chang. She was ready to pounce on him and beat some sense into him.

    Liu Chang¡¯s temper red when she was stopped by Bai Mo. She red at Bai Mo, who shook his head slightly. Suppressing her anger, Liu Chang sat down and remained silent.

    Dong Yin did not even have the courage to look at Liu Chang. She knew that she was in the wrong. She had betrayed Liu Chang¡¯s friendship, but she had no other choice.

    She took in a deep breath and her grip on Ye Ci¡¯s hands tightened. She then spoke up in a sorrowful voice, ¡°Ye Ci, I know what you¡¯re thinking. Perhaps you think that this has nothing to do with you at all. But Ye Ci, we¡¯ve been like sisters since we¡¯re young. We were like hands and feet. Maybe you¡¯re thinking that my request is way overboard, but I¡¯ve not begged anything of you since we¡¯re young. Can you, please just ept my request this time? There may be a lot of misunderstandings between you and He Xiao, but can you do this for me? Think about it, we were so close together when we were young. As long as you¡¯re willing, we can still be be like that. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a good thing?¡±

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. She stared right at Dong Yin. Since she was young, Dong Yin was a very beautiful girl. She was so pretty that people around her would have a strong urge to protect her. Dong Yin¡¯s beauty remained throughout the years. Ye Ci loved her as a friend and was very willing to protect her. But since when had it be twisted? Since when had Dong Yin changed?

    Heh, love sure was powerful.

    Perhaps beauty was indeed in the eye of the beholder. Ye Ci could not bring herself to understand why Dong Yin would sell her past memories, her friend and even her pride for Thousand Sunsets. Could Dong Yin herself not see it? The moment Dong Yin made such a request to Ye Ci, she had ceased to be a person in Ye Ci eyes. She had be a merchandize waiting to be sold.

    Every piece of merchandize had its own price. Dong Yin was no exception from that. To Ye Ci, Dong Yin was merely a record of her happy childhood memories. Was she so sure that it was so important to Ye Ci? Did she seriously think that childhood memories mattered much for a reincarnator like Ye Ci?

    Nope, definitely not.

    Ye Ci treasured her past, but not to the point where she was willing to sacrifice herself for it. She wanted to cherish her moments after gaining a second chance. But to Ye Ci, it no longer mattered if Dong Yin was part of her most treasured memories.

    Dong Yin was taken aback by Ye Ci¡¯s words. Her lips began to tremble. Was she... Was she issuing a threat to Ye Ci? No! She wouldn¡¯t! How could she? How could she threaten Ye Ci? But... Just now... What has she done?

    The two remained in the same position for quite some time, to the point where Dong Yin could feel her legs going numb. She then spoke up slowly, with her dampened eyes showing courage and determination behind her tears. Her voice was soft but firm, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m threatening you. I¡¯m threatening you with our 18 years of friendship. I¡¯m threatening you with all the good memories we once shared. I¡¯m threatening you as a friend!¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Dong Yin, impressed. A Dong Yin like this was... Not bad. At least she could finally stand up for herself. At least she could finally voice out her own thoughts. How... Nice.

    Ye Ci let out a smile. It was a hearty smile. It was as warm as wind in the spring. Even Dong Yin herself was bedazzled. She had discovered that Ye Ci was even prettier than her when she smiled.

    Ye Ci withdrew her hands from Dong Yin¡¯s grip. She moved her hands away and flipped her hair. In the next moment, Ye Ci¡¯s slender fingers traced themselves along Dong Yin¡¯s face right down to her chin. And before anybody could react, she pinched on Dong Yin¡¯s cheeks and raised her head.

    There was a hint of coldness in Ye Ci¡¯s sharp gaze. Her voice was even more scary. It was like an assassin¡¯s deced with poison, sending its victim to the abyss, ¡°And you¡¯re sure that I will give in to your threat?¡±

    ¡°Little Ci...¡± Dong Yin could feel the pain on her cheeks, and tears began welling in her eyes.

    Yi Cang stood up in an attempt to help, but was suppressed by Bai Mo. Yi Cang could only shout out as he was unable to move, ¡°Ye Ci, let go of her! Ye Ci, don¡¯t bully her!¡±

    As if she was unable to hear Yi Cang¡¯s voice, Ye Ci let out a cold and cruel sneer, ¡°Dong Yin, oh, Dong Yin... Are you so sure that I won¡¯t cast her away?¡± she then narrowed her eyes and let go of Dong Yin, turning her attention to Yi Cang, ¡°I¡¯m bullying her? You¡¯re telling me that only somebody with a delicate appearance would be bullied?¡±

    Dong Yin sniffed and bit down on her lips. She felt ashamed.

    ¡°You worshipped Thousand Sunsets. You like him. And because of that I have to join Steel Blooded Battle Spear? Just because we¡¯re childhood friends? Because we¡¯re friends, I have to help Steel Blooded Battle Spear with First Blood after First Blood without any form ofpensation, all while being treated unfairly? Just because we¡¯re friends, I have to let you in on all of my secrets? Secrets about my PK and SOLO performance? Just because we¡¯re friends, I have to bear their ndering silently? And was falsely used of thievery? All of that just because we¡¯re friends? Okay, I admit that my action of trading the First Blood footage for your freedom was meddlesome, but I believe that you¡¯ve decided to part ways with me. So why are you still asking such a thing from me?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice was soft, but it was like a steel stake that was embedded into the hearts of Dong Yin and Yi Cang.

    ¡°We¡¯re no longer friends if I don¡¯t ept your request?¡± Ye Ci sneered, ¡°Heh, I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯m still a friend in your eyes anymore. You have the gall to ask for my help to get a First Blood for Thousand Sunsets? To help strengthen his position as the heir? Am I the one being ridiculous here, or are you?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s voice was sharp, like a cat scratching its ws against the surface of a ss. It was unsettling.

    Hiya minna-san!!! Another chapter is up! I believe this is like the third chapter in a row?

    And soooo.... The drama with Dong Yin continues... Hmm... I wonder how will it end ?? What do you people think? Leave ament below to tell us how you feel!!

    Fanart submission:

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    Desu vult!!

 Chapter 150 Severing Ties

    Chapter 150 Severing Ties

    Thwack!

    It was the sound of a p.

    A loud and resounding p.

    The palm belonged to Ye Ci, and the face was Yi Cang¡¯s. The two objects that were unrted had an intimate interaction with a beautiful sound, a stunned silence following right after.

    Since they were at a roadside food stall with a lot of patrons, the five youths were collectively stared at following the sound of the p. The expressions in their eyes showed their different analysis¡¯ of the rtionship between the five youths.

    Yi Cang was from a family with a good background. Although his family was not overly wealthy, they were still the wealthiest amongst the four families. Being pampered all his life, Yi Cang had developed quite an attitude. How could a person who could get the stars from the sky themselves be able to stand having been pped? Yi Cang was utterly stunned and he stared at Ye Ci, dumbfounded. Anger slowly crept into his eyes, rage soon following.

    Ye Ci¡¯s movement was even faster. She grabbed at the ss bottle on the table and smashed it. Pointing the sharp end of the broken bottle at Yi Cang, she coldly said, ¡°F*ck off, don¡¯t you ever dare appear before me again.¡±

    Although he was bossy and arrogant, a person like Yi Cang had his weakness as well. He¡¯d back down in the face of force. He looked at the sharp end of the bottle that Ye Ci had pointed at his throat and visibly gulped. ¡°Just you wait.¡±

    ¡°Wait?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, and the broken ss bottle in her hand inched closer towards Yi Cang. ¡°I¡¯ve made it clear, don¡¯t you dare appear before me ever again! You want me to wait? I¡¯ll end you right now!¡±

    Dong Yin and Liu Chang were shocked by such a turn of events as well. Bai Mo calmly stood up and smiled at Dong Yin. ¡°Since we¡¯re unable to reach an agreement, this meal¡¯s on me. If you want to have another discussion at ater date, let¡¯s pick another spot,¡± He then turned around to face the boss of the stall who was amongst the bystanders. ¡°Boss, the bill.¡±

    ¡°Coming,ing,¡± The boss walked up to Bai Mo after a moment of hesitation.

    Bai Mo then calmly took the bottle away from Ye Ci and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s just a rehearsal for next week¡¯s performance, why are you so serious? You¡¯re even practicing when we¡¯re having dinner.¡±

    Although the crowd didn¡¯t exactly believe Bai Mo¡¯s words, they still dispersed.

    After paying the bill, the five of them walked away from the stall. Dong Yin and Yi Cang were walking in front, with Bai Mo, Ye Ci, and Liu Chang following behind.

    Liu Chang lowered her head, tears silently dripping down her cheeks. She was truly hurt by Yi Cang¡¯s words. The four families were originally quite the same, but Yi Cang¡¯s family was able to gain sudden wealth by chance, and Dong Yin¡¯s family was able to gain some benefits from them as well for they enjoyed a closer rtionship with each other. Ye Ci¡¯s and Liu Chang¡¯s parents however, were content with what they already had. They led poor but upright lives. Liu Chang¡¯s family was especially riddled with poverty. As the only son, Liu Chang¡¯s father spent almost the entire family fortune for her grandmother¡¯s medical fees when she fell ill. That was why Liu Chang had to work right after graduating from high school.

    Despite her fiery temper, Liu Chang was actually softhearted. With each passing year, the bonds between the four families held strong despite the differences in their backgrounds. Liu Chang had always thought that it wouldn¡¯t affect the children of the four families. After all, she had always had feelings for Yi Cang.

    But, on this day, Liu Chang was hit by a harsh reality. In Yi Cang¡¯s heart, she was nothing but a poor bastard. How could Liu Chang not be sad? It was as if her heart was thrown onto the ground and was repeatedly stomped on.

    Ye Ci knew what was in Liu Chang¡¯s mind and anger rose in her heart. Narrowing her eyes at Yi Cang, she wished that she could have the chance to beat the shit out of the brat. Liu Chang kept her head lowered throughout the entire walk. She tried to hold back her sobs, but her sniffling was audible to the group. Ye Ci let out a sigh and patted Liu Chang on her shoulders. ¡°What are you crying for? If you¡¯re crying because you¡¯re poor, then this world will be full of people who are crying.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± Liu Chang¡¯s voice was depressed.

    ¡°Then shut the hell up. He¡¯s just an arrogant brat. Just pretend that you were ying with a dog. What? You¡¯re going to bite a dog back because it bit you?¡±

    Yi Cang was still putting up his arrogant demeanor even after they¡¯d walked into a neighbouring street. Dong Yin, however, turned around, her expression sullen. It appeared that she was troubled by the incident earlier. It was not something that she had wished to happen. Dong Yin looked at Ye Ci and pursed her lips, before slowly speaking up, ¡°Ye Ci, I¡¯m sorry. I know this sucks, but really, could you please consider my earlier proposal?¡±

    Ye Ci suddenly discovered one of Dong Yin¡¯s merits; she would not give up easily. After the earliermotion, nobody would¡¯ve had the courage to be so persistent. Dong Yin however, soldiered on and continued to press her views.

    Ye Ci stopped a few steps away from Dong Yin. Inhaling a deep breath, she tried her best to ignore Yi Cang who was standing beside Dong Yin. She then spoke up in a very calm voice, ¡°Dong Yin, as your childhood friend, I¡¯ll tell you this; it¡¯s impossible. You know I have my own guild. Even if my guild might not mind the First Blood at all, we¡¯re on a sponsored dungeon clearing. This means that we need the First Blood...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need the First Blood. As long as you give the First Blood to us, I guarantee you that you¡¯ll be paid...¡±

    ¡°Dong Yin, our sponsored dungeon clearing group was formed to raise money; that was true. But, it¡¯s not only me. There are a lot of people like me and Liu Chang in the guild. We¡¯re doing this to earn some living expenses for ourselves. We¡¯re not doing it for wealth. All we want is to improve our lives through our hard work. This is not something rich people like you could understand,¡± Ye Ci revealed a cold sneer. ¡°Besides, there are a lot of guilds in the Eastern Continent. There¡¯s Wolf Pack, Tang Dynasty, and also World Conqueror. Between so many strongpetitors, what makes you think that you¡¯re guaranteed the First Blood, even if Upwards Ho! give up on it?¡±

    ¡°Little Ci...¡± Dong Yin¡¯s lips were trembling, her face paling.

    ¡°Dong Yin, this is thest time I¡¯ll ever talk to you. Don¡¯t you ever bother me and Liu Chang again. We...¡± Ye Ci bit her lips before continuing, ¡°We were never friends.¡±

    Dong Yin stood dumbfounded as she watched the trio board their bus. She lowered her head, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn¡¯t even know who the tears were for; were they for Ye Ci? Were they for He Xiao? Or...were they for herself?

    Hi minna-san! With this, WE¡¯VE REACHED THE 150 CHAPTERS MILESTONE!!! YAY!!! Hope y¡¯all enjoy the chapter!!

    Anyways... If you wish to reward the ROTH team for our hard work, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page! We are always happy to receive donations, and they are good motivation for us in the team!

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    Don¡¯t forget the teaser next page. Desu Vult!!!

 Chapter 153 The Pauper Green Hillâ€™s Moon (Part 1)

    Chapter 153 The Pauper Green Hill¡¯s Moon (Part 1)

    ¡°May I ask, do you have something that you¡¯d like me to do?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon naturally knew that this anonymous person could very well be the person who had epted his quest request. However, he was still cautious, which was why he asked again to be sure.

    The other party did not speak. Instead, they opened a quest request inside themunication window. Green Hill¡¯s Moon took a look; the request was the exact same one that no one had epted since he¡¯d put it out a few days ago, and not someone else¡¯s. At this point, he had finally ascertained the other party¡¯s identity.

    Someone revealing your cards basically means that there is a quest. A quest meant ie. Furthermore, it was ie that didn¡¯t bear any risk of penalties; just that thought was enough to make him happy. For someone that was about to go broke like him, something like this was as stimting as receiving a shot of adrenaline. Not only did he feel energized from head to toe, even his voice was charged with excitement.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon wanted to immediately rush over to Red Lake City before his rationality reminded him of one thing: He had just epted 5 quests. If he were to be unable toplete the 5 quests by the end of the day, he would have to pay arge sum of money as a penalty. Although the penalty amounted to less than 100 gold coins, but for the impoverished Green Hill¡¯s Moon, it was a frightening sum. He did not wish to pay this amount, because he was unable to pay.

    But if he were to do the 5 quests... What would happen to his employer? What if the rewards from his employer were much higher? If so, wouldn¡¯t he regret it if he were to miss out on such an opportunity? But, what if the rewards were not that high?

    Just like that, the usually straightforward Green Hill¡¯s Moon was trapped in a dilemma for a long period of time due to his financial problems. He felt as though he was trapped between a rock and a hard ce. As expected of the saying: ¡®A single cent brings down all heroes.¡¯ Although he couldn¡¯t be said to be a heroic person, but with his very survival at stake, he couldn¡¯t help but be calctive.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon hesitated for a while over this dilemma, not knowing which way to go. In the end, he felt that he should raise it up to this employer of his, evaluating the rewards and probability of questpletion before worrying about the 5 errand quests.

    ¡°A-about that, I have a small problem to ask you about.¡±

    ¡°What problem?¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon thought for a while before asking, ¡°Before that, I would like to ask a question. How should I address you?¡±

    ¡°Call me however you wish to call me.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon was speechless, he didn¡¯t even know if the other party¡¯s ID was male or female, how was he supposed to address them? This employer doesn¡¯t seem to be easy to work with. This thought would never be voiced aloud. Green Hill¡¯s Moon could only gripe to himself mentally before adjusting his mentality to inquire, ¡°Then...Boss, do you have a quest for me toplete?¡±

    ¡°I guess so.¡± This time, the other party did not give an immediate reply, giving a single line in reply after a while. However, the same line caused a ripple to appear in Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s heart. What if the other party has not thought of what to do, or the other party was just doing this for fun?

    ¡°U-um...¡± He gulped nervously before starting to back out. However, due to his inexperience with such matters, he began to stutter and couldn¡¯t form a proper sentence. ¡°I-if you don¡¯t have a quest nned or haven¡¯t thought of what you¡¯d like me to do... Could I...Could I not go to Red Lake City first?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Do you have something else going on?¡± The other party gave an unhurried response in reply. However Green Hill¡¯s Moon stared at the sentence, at the ¡®Oh?¡¯ with a question mark at the end. For some reason, a deity whose facial expressions was obscured seemed to be raising an eyebrow in displeasure appeared in his mind.

    Slightly stunned, he shook his head in an attempt to remove the thought from his head. What was there to think about? What deity? The other party might be some loser who was trying to find some entertainment for all he knew. ¡°That¡¯s right, I received a few quests at the Mercenary¡¯s Guild, if I were to go to Red Lake City at this time, I would definitely be unable toplete them and I¡¯ll have to pay a sizable penalty for that...¡±

    Despite not finishing his sentence, Green Hill¡¯s Moon believed that the other party understood what he was trying to say.

    Looking at Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s hesitant reply, Ye Ci raised her head slightly and tried to recall: What was Green Hill¡¯s Moon doing at this point of time in her past life again? After a while, she sighed. It really was too long ago, she had actually forgotten about it. Ye Ci was always a person who would not waste her time on things that she couldn¡¯t remember. Hence, she asked him directly, ¡°How much is the penalty?¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon felt his face burn... Just 100 gold coins. This shouldn¡¯t be arge sum for an ordinary yer. However, he still felt embarrassed to say it out. ¡°W-w-why must I tell you...?¡± He despondently retorted.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay it for you.¡±

    Eh? Green Hill¡¯s Moon was stupefied... Don¡¯t tell me that this employer was a super wealthy person? Or was he an idiot? Was he not afraid of getting conned, freely paying for others like that? He deliberated on whether he should overstate the amount, but he decided against it. That was because Green Hill¡¯s Moon had always seen himself to be a reliable person.

    ¡°Around 100 gold coins.¡±

    Ye Ci was currently in the Mercenary Guild¡¯s room for Diamond members. Not every city had this room. The only reason why Red Lake City had this room was because the building that was used as the Mercenary Guild¡¯s headquarters was the storefront that Ye Ci had bought in the past. Thanks to the experiences from her past life, she had already purchased thend that was to be used for the Mercenary Guild even before the system was released. When the Mercenary Guild was just getting established, the mayor had spent half the day negotiating with her before finally agreeing to her request¡ª¡ªThe rent would be waived, but Ye Ci would receive 5% from the Mercenary Guild¡¯s earnings each month in return.

    Although the mayor agonized over this decision for a while, after looking at the roaring business in the Mercenary Guild, he soon forgot about the meager amount that Ye Ci had imed.

    It was precisely due to this reason that although Ye Ci did not have any say in the Mercenary Guild¡¯s management, she did have arge room all to herself in this gigantic, elegant building. So whenever she was free, she would be either at the guild encampment or idling here.

    However, the moment she read Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s message, she was startled before roaring out inughter, banging her fists on the table as she did so, not a sign of her usual demeanour to be seen! Although she knew that it wasn¡¯t right for her to do this, she was really unable to hold back anymore!!

 Chapter 154 The Pauper Green Hillâ€™s Moon (Part 2)

    Chapter 154 The Pauper Green Hill¡¯s Moon (Part 2)

    Heavens, she had thought that by ¡®sizeable¡¯ it would be...

    In the end it was just around 100 gold coins. For a person like Ye Ci whose earnings went into thousands of gold coins each day, this was just...

    Afterughing with reckless abandon for a while, Ye Ci started to consider another problem: What kind of expression should she make when she meets with Green Hill¡¯s Moon? Although in her past life, Green Hill¡¯s Moon was already making huge waves when she got to meet him, she had no clue about his situation before he became sessful. However, judging from the current situation, someone who treated 100 gold coins as an astronomical sum would never be equated with a sessful person.

    Naturally, Ye Ci had already ruled out the possibility that Green Hill¡¯s Moon was a miser, something that no man could control. One must know that although the Green Hill¡¯s Moon that Ye Ci knew from her past life was not wealthy enough to treat money like dirt, he was definitely not a petty person. Therefore, at this strange situation, Ye Ci could only arrive at one conclusion¡ª¡ªThe current Green Hill¡¯s Moon did not have a lot of money on him, and in the worst case scenario, he was mired in poverty.

    However...this situation was a little hard for her to take in.

    Ye Ci had originally believed that Green Hill¡¯s Moon was already formidable from the moment he had joined the game. Although from the quest request that Green Hill¡¯s Moon had put out, his equipment and particrs were pathetic. Ye Ci had thought that it was his bid toy low, little did she expect that it was a scenario that she had never believed would happen.

    However, for just an instant, Ye Ci¡¯s curiosity was piqued. In her past life, exactly what kind of life did Green Hill¡¯s Moon lead before Ye Ci had known him? Now that she was unable to ask the past Green Hill¡¯s Moon anymore, the only thing she could do now was to get to know him properly this time.

    With no reply from Ye Ci, Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s mind was thrown into turmoil once more. Although 100 gold was not arge sum, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone in their right mind who would hand out money to others for no rhyme or reason, right? Let alone strangers who have yet to meet each other. However, with Ye Ci remaining silent, Green Hill¡¯s Moon could not think of a way to restart the conversation. He had no choice but to continue waiting for her reply. He was so nervous that he felt as though he had ran a marathon in the hignds.

    Finally, the other party¡¯s message finally appeared in his chat window, ¡°I¡¯ve sent you 300 gold, is that enough to cover the penalty?¡±

    Hm? What? Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s eyes widened at the message in the chat window before rubbing his eyes furiously, thinking to himself deep down that he must have made a mistake. While he was watching, his ears suddenly caught the ring of a system announcement, ¡°You¡¯ve received mail, please receive it soon.¡±

    In Fate, delivering mail or equipment always required some time to be delivered to the other party, usually about an hour, and the postal service in Fate didn¡¯t offer anything like express delivery. Of course, there were exceptions, for example: the delivery of money. The postal service did not want to be held responsible for any loss of gold during the delivery. Which was why if one were to send money via postal, the other party would usually be able to receive it in under a minute.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon heard the system announcement and immediately turned around and sprinted for the mailbox. Standing in front of the mailbox, he was slightly nervous. That person wouldn¡¯t really have sent 300 gold to him, right? Opening his mailbox, he found a single letter; a letter from an anonymous sender. Green Hill¡¯s Moon gazed at the anonymous letter and swore within his heart.

    There was no other reason than that the fee for sending an anonymous letter was extremely expensive: it was the same price as the items that were sent over. Of course, there were people who theorized that one might be bankrupted if they were to anonymously send over an Epic grade equipment! Were they insane? Is there anyone who would anonymously send an Epic grade equipment to another person? Let¡¯s take several thousand steps back. Even if someone were to be so idiotic, to do something so dumb, an Epic grade equipment was merely expensive in the eyes of yers. The system would not prize it so highly, so it would cost several dors at most.

    However, sending over money was different. The pricing for that was 1 gold for every gold sent!

    Since that person had sent over 300 gold, that meant that the other party had paid 300 gold in postal fees!

    Heaven was so unjust! Right now, Green Hill¡¯s Moon was filled with the urge to howl to the sky. How could there exist such a hateful person? Would it kill them to just reveal their name? Wouldn¡¯t it be alright if they had just handed over the extra 300 gold to him instead of using the postal service?

    Despite his envy and resentment, Green Hill¡¯s Moon still swiftly withdrew the gold, dashed into the Mercenary Guild and started to carry out the procedures for failing the 5 quests. As expected, he had to pay around 100 gold before everything was settled. Before Green Hill¡¯s Moon could even take a breath, another message from the other party appeared in his chat window, ¡°You should be done, right? Be in front of the Mercenary Guild at Red Lake City in an hour. Do not bete. If not...¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon shuddered at the sight of those ellipses. Based on the life experiences that he had umted for 25 years, there was something ominous at the back of these ellipses.

    Which was why, he immediately made his way towards Red Lake City. It was fortunate that the city he was currently in was near Red Lake City and it did not take him long before he arrived at the Mercenary Guild there. Although Red Lake City was not arge city like Champion City, due to leaks from the game management that revealed the distribution for the dungeons atter levels, it had attracted a number of guilds, be it from China or overseas, to set up camp there. If one were to walk down the streets without using the omni-trantor tool, they would probably be flooded with the differentnguages spoken.

    Although Green Hill¡¯s Moon was not wealthy, he was not some gaming noob. On the contrary, despite his ordinary ystyle, he had been deciphering these kind of games since primary school and could be considered to be an expert in the gaming world. Despite never having set foot into Red Lake City, with many years of experience under his belt, it did not take long before he found the Mercenary Guild.

    Standing in front of the Mercenary Guild, he couldn¡¯t help but click his tongue. The Mercenary Guild in Red Lake City sure was extravagant.

    ¡°Are you Green Hill¡¯s Moon?¡± An NPC walked over and interrupted Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s appreciation of the scenery.

    ¡°Yes...¡± What sort of situation is this? Green Hill¡¯s Moon was at a loss.

    ¡°Someone has been waiting for you, follow me please.¡±After confirming his identity, the NPC led Green Hill¡¯s Moon towards the VIP room where Ye Ci was. Not one word was exchanged, as the NPC ignored Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s ramblings.

    Finally, Green Hill¡¯s Moon walked up to a massive marbled door and the NPC signaled for him to enter. At this time, numerous conflicting emotions had caused him to fall into a daze. Extending his hand, Green Hill¡¯s Moon pushed the door open.

    Looking up, he saw a lean figure standing near the room¡¯s window. Her back was ramrod straight and she exuded an aura as though nothing could hold her back.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon narrowed his eyes. For some reason, light seemed to be stabbing into his eyes...

    Hiya minna-san!! Jimmi is back posting!! Here¡¯s a double release of this awesomtacr novel tranted by totally awesomesaucec people *cough cough*

    I¡¯d like to try this: For every double chapter released, I¡¯ll post a 3rd bonus chapter if an umted donation of 40$ is reached within... 24 hrs? ?? (I¡¯ll be updating the progress here)

    Current donation progress: 0$/40$

    Anyways, if you wish to submit any fanart, please send them to the email:

    Don¡¯t forget we¡¯ll always have a teaser!! Desu Vult!!!

 Chapter 155 Perseverance Due to the Lack of Bargaining Chips.

    Chapter 155 Perseverance Due to the Lack of Bargaining Chips.

    ¡°Come in and close the door.¡± That was the first sentence Green Hill¡¯s Moon heard from the other party. To be honest, her voice wasn¡¯t exceptionally silvery; at the very least, it did not have any trace of weakness unique to the female gender. Instead, the frigid voice had a trace of sharpness to it. It was unforgettable to the one who heard it, as though someone was stabbing them with an icicle.

    Likewise, her countenance was just as unforgettable. This person was not a beauty in any sense of the word. Her eyebrows were far too high, which gave the impression that they were fine pieces of calligraphy that were produced by an expert instead of the innate gentleness of a girl; with just the right thickness, they imparted an uncanny spirit to her. Her almond eyes were not that of a beauty, but the phoenix eyes that wasuded by the Chinese millennia ago. The corners of her eyes were raised, which imparted a sense of authority when coupled with those raised brows of hers.

    Her skin was pale, to the point where she seemed bleak. She was lean, but one would be able to feel an invisible, hidden pressure emanating from that wiry frame. One might even feel that this pressure was not something that could be held back once its restraints were broken free.

    At this very moment, she was currently walking to the side of the lone conference table in the room with an air of confidence. It was a long table made of solid wood and was of exquisite make. An extremelyfortable, high backed chair was ced behind it. Walking over to the chair, she seated herself in it and turned her eyes towards Green Hill¡¯s Moon. After that, her unforgettable voice softly rang out once more, ¡°Please be seated.¡±

    Numerous questions were currently flitting through Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s mind. Such as, ¡®my employer is actually a female!?¡¯ or ¡®Who is this girl?¡¯ or ¡®What business does she have for me?¡¯ etc. etc. A whole load of nonsense was swirling around him, causing him to be slightly dull in reacting.

    After slowly making his way and sitting by the side of the table, Green Hill¡¯s Moon had yet to think of what to say when he saw the other party toss a bag of money onto the table.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s eyes abruptly widened as he recognized the size of that bag of money. In Fate, aside from being able to transfer money to other yers via the trade window, there was another method that was more realistic, which was to directly let the other party see the money for themselves.

    Granted, it wasn¡¯t really a huge pile of money like one would expect to see in real life, but bags of money. In Fate, bags of money would appear in different sizes ording to the amount of money taken out. These bags of money would appear of different quality based on the quantity of money inside the bags.

    For example, the bag that has been thrown onto the table by Ye Ci, the bag of money that was right in front of Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s eyes; it was arge, bulging bag that was made of golden threads. Even though Green Hill¡¯s Moon had never seen one with his own eyes before, with the knowledge that he gleaned from the game development, he was able to deduce that the bag contained at least 10,000 gold coins, based on the size and quality of the money bag.

    10,000 gold coins...

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon suddenly felt that he wasn¡¯t living up to his expectations. Staring at the bag of gold, he was overwhelmed with a sense of dizziness, taking a long time before he could find his voice again. Raising his head to face the girl seated opposite him, he matched her carefree smile with a dry one and spoke, ¡°Are you asking me to help you deposit this bag of money into the bank?¡±

    ¡°There are 100,000 gold coins here, it¡¯s for you.¡± Ye Ci spoke without even a change in her expression. Her tone was in, it was as though the amount she had said earlier was not arge sum at all but...something insignificant.

    As expected, Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s legs felt weak. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he had tightly gripped onto the chair¡¯s handles, he might have slipped right of his chair. His throat felt parched and his heart threatened to almost jump right out of his chest, desperately taking in a deep breath to calm himself, it took him a lot of effort before he could find his voice. However, the trembling in his voice still betrayed his emotional state.

    ¡°What kind of task exactly?¡±

    ¡°Something that you can do.¡±

    ¡°Something that I can do?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon was cautious, 100,000 dors toplete a task, what kind of task? He stared at the girl opposite him. Why did this girl look so familiar? Had he met her somewhere before?

    ¡°Help me investigate a person.¡± Ye Ci did not wish to beat about the bush with Green Hill¡¯s Moon and cut straight to the point. ¡°It is totally legal, something that is not rted to murder or arson.¡±

    Investigate someone? Green Hill¡¯s Moon was stunned. His actual upation in the real world, or should he say former upation, was a private investigator, and it wasn¡¯t hard for him to look into someone. However, not once had he ever revealed his job to anyone inside the game before. So how in the world did this girl find him?

    Was it a coincidence? No no, that can¡¯t be right, this girl must know something. However, Green Hill¡¯s Moon did not dare to ept this quest so readily. One should know that something like an investigation in the real world always required the signature of an extremely confidential contract. The reason for that was because in the real world, a private investigator was a job that was both dangerous and skirted the border between ck and white. One small step and you might find yourself attracting some unwanted trouble.

    That was the situation in the real world. Inside the game, even though he was faced with virtual numbers, Green Hill¡¯s Moon was unwilling to ce himself in unwanted harm¡¯s way for just 100,000 gold coins.

    And so he tried to y it off with augh, ¡°You¡¯d be better off with the guild Ends Of The Earth for that, why would you look for me? I¡¯m just a small fry...¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and watched as Green Hill¡¯s Moon attempted to reject her offer. Any other yer would definitely have been fooled by him, but not Ye Ci. In her past life, Ye Ci had an amiable rtionship with Green Hill¡¯s Moon. Although it was just a working rtionship, but this kind of rtionship was the safest one in the world. That¡¯s why Ye Ci waspletely in the know about Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s background and was why he was the first person that she thought of in her ns to take down a certain individual.

    ¡°200,000.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really just a small-fr...¡±

    ¡°300,000.¡±

    ¡°I-if this case is really impossible for me...¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s expression changed, he was struggling deep down in his heart, he looked at Ye Ci with an expression as though he was about to cry. Big Sister, please don¡¯t test my ability to persevere, I¡¯m actually very weak-willed, r-really...

    ¡°500,000.¡±

    ¡°Boss...¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s face was flushed red with tears threatening to overflow.

    ¡°After the job is done, I¡¯ll give you another 500,000.¡± Ye Ci leisurely looked at Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s twisted expression that was on the verge of breaking down and smiled. Right now, she had recalled a line that Green Hill¡¯s Moon had said to her before: There was no such thing as perseverance in this world. If there was, it means that you¡¯re not paying enough.

    Right now, she¡¯d like to see just how far before Green Hill¡¯s Moon reached his limit.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s face turned crimson, he stood up and let out a long sigh before asking with a heroic expression on his face, ¡°Who do you need to investigate?¡±

    Ye Ci did not speak again, the raised corners of her lips indicated her excellent mood.

 Chapter 156 Unbridled Willow

    Chapter 156 Unbridled Willow

    Hot Spring Valley

    The Armored Giant Turtle was currently resting at the shallows of the river bank, with a Warrior fully outfitted in te armor sitting nearby. At a nce, the te armor that he wore seemed to be of decent quality, but judging from the difference in the decorative patterns, it was evident that he was not wearing aplete set of equipment. Furthermore, his te armor currently seemed to be tattered, with smoke still emanating from numerous ces. It was clear that he had just been through a tough battle.

    At this very moment, the moon was bright and the stars were dim.

    It was currently midnight in the real world, where everything was silent.

    This made Hot Spring Valley, which was not often frequented by yers, seem even more deste and quiet.

    The Warrior was currently seated at a beachhead not too far away from the Giant Armored Turtle, with a bonfire in front of him which added a degree of warmth to the frigid night on the Eastern Continent. The Warrior took off his helmet and tossed it aside with a single hand before releasing a deep sigh.

    The helmet was simply too stifling. Although its defences were high and he looked extremely domineering when he wore it, it was simply suffocating when the helmet encased his entire head. Only his eyes were exposed for him to look at his surroundings. If not, he would really be akin to an iron wall with all the steel armor wrapping tightly around his body.

    The night air was cold to the point that it prickled, yet this Warrior didn¡¯t seem to be afraid. Taking a deep breath, he actually grabbed a handful of snow and leisurely shoved it in his mouth. The loose, cold ball of snow entered his mouth, seemingly chilling his teeth in the process.

    ¡°It¡¯s best if one drinks wine on a cold day instead of eating snow,¡± A calm voice called out of the blue. The Warrior immediately stood up and pulled out the long sword that was stabbed into the ground. He surveyed his surroundings in alertness, paying special attention to the direction where the voice hade from.

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Rx, I¡¯m just a stranger,¡± The tone in that calm voice now contained a hint of amusement. With the sound of rustling leaves, a sharp figure lept off from a nearby tree,nding right beside the Warrior.

    With the illumination of the bonfire, the warrior was able to see that his guest was a female Elf. Judging from the crossbow on her back, she seemed to be a Hunter. However, this game had much inmon with the real world; who knew if this stranger came with ulterior motives? He felt that it was best if he was wary of others.

    The female Huntress saw that his face was full of wariness and wasn¡¯t fazed in the slightest. Smiling in response, she seated herself by the fire¡¯s side and gazed at the Giant Armored Turtle that was lying prone in the middle of the hot springs. ¡°Are you here for the shield drop?¡±

    The Warrior warily nced around and rxed slightly when he realized that there was no one tailing them and there was nothing out of the ordinary in the surroundings. Observing that the Huntress didn¡¯t seem to have the intention of kill stealing, he too sat down and the corners of his mouth twitched. ¡°Are you here for the shield as well?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a Huntress, that thing is of no use to me.¡± The Huntress turned her head and smiled, and with the warm firelight shining on her elegant face, it added warmth to her facial expressions. She raised her hand and pointed to the distance before replying, ¡°I¡¯m here for the herbs, since there¡¯s no one here at night.¡±

    The Warrior didn¡¯t question her further upon hearing her reply. The reason for that was because guilds would frequently hunt the Giant Armored Turtle in turns, and he had waited many hours before he could have this opportunity to hunt the turtle alone. The guilds farming mobs meant a proportional increase in the yers who came here to hunt mobs as well, and amongst these yers, there were definitely some who were Apothecaries. That¡¯s why the herbs here might even be fought for as well. If he considered it from this point of view, this Huntress could be said to be telling the truth.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Didn¡¯t you bring anything to eat?¡± The Huntress noticed that the Warrior was still shivering even though he was next to the fire; one could only imagine the cold he must be feeling. Hot Spring Valley had always been enveloped by snow, so potions that provided cold resistance should always be carried when clearing mobs in this area. Alternatively, one should be carrying items that provided warmth or wine. If not, they would be afflicted with a debuff called ¡®Frozen¡¯ which caused the limbs of yers to be dull. Along with a decrease in movement speed, even certain attributes would decrease as well.

    However, as the recent dungeons pioneered by the guilds of the Eastern Continent were mainly of the ice type, the prices for potions that provided cold resistance were driven up. This was why the yers that usually visited this ce would either bring food or wine instead.

    ¡°I¡¯ve finished them all already,¡± The Warrior looked at the Giant Armored Turtle that was still snoozing in the distance and bitterly smiled.

    ¡°I still have some. Here, take them,¡± Taking out two jugs of wine from her inventory, the Huntress tossed one over to the Warrior before offering him some roast deer leg as well.

    The Warrior didn¡¯t decline, receiving them without hesitation and started to feast away.

    ¡°How many times have you fought it already?¡± The Huntress looked at the Giant Armored Turtle and faintly smiled before asking half-heartedly.

    ¡°I can¡¯t remember,¡± The Warrior furiously chewed into the meat; it looked like the Frozen debuff really did make him feel extremely ufortable.

    ¡°Judging from your equipment, I think they¡¯re nearing the end of their durability?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s about right.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a wild Elite Boss after all, it¡¯s too difficult for a Warrior to solo.¡±

    The Warrior naturally knew that the Huntress spoke the truth, but he didn¡¯t immediately respond. Instead, he paused for a slight moment before raising his head to look at her, replying, ¡°I¡¯m worried that if it really did drop, I¡¯ll have to pay the others to get it. I don¡¯t have a lot of money on me.¡±

    ¡°Is your equipment good for one more battle?¡± The Huntress idly munched on the leg of venison and her tone sounded light and unconcerned.

    ¡°It is,¡± The Warrior nodded before smiling bitterly, ¡°But I can only fight one more time.¡±

    ¡°If you trust me, party up with me. I¡¯ll help you this once.¡±

    The Warrior was nonplussed, and he stared at the Huntress curiously without making a sound.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be the party leader, just set it so that the leader takes all. I won¡¯t take money from you even if that thing drops,¡± The Huntress took another swig of wine and wiped the corners of her mouth. ¡°As expected, one has to drink this kind of wine on a cold day like this.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± It took a long while before the Warrior could squeeze out a reply.

    ¡°Because I feel that it¡¯s destiny? Because I¡¯m a busybody? Or maybe its because I fell in love with you at first sight?¡± The Huntress tossed away the wine jar in her hand before standing up to stretch. ¡°Who knows, perhaps I¡¯m crazy. If you really can¡¯t understand why, feel free to use any of the reasons I said before to convince yourself.¡±

    This Huntress was simply too gracious, to the point where the Warrior felt somewhat embarrassed. Hastily shoveling the remaining meat and wine into his mouth, he stood up and said, ¡°My name is Unbridled Willow.¡±

    The Huntress turned her head and looked at Unbridled Willow. The golden light of the fire illuminated her head of silver hair, which gave it an indescribable glow. Her eyebrows were slightly raised as she mildly replied, ¡°I¡¯m Gongzi You.¡±

 Chapter 157 The First Boss of Castle Ruins

    Chapter 157 The First Boss of Castle Ruins

    She was different from normal yers.

    In her self-introduction, she did not say ¡±My name is XXX;¡± instead she used ¡°I am XXX.¡± UnbridledWillow knew a thing or two about psychology. He thought to himself, the people who introduced themselves this way were more confident than most people. This was due to their subconscious belief that everyone knew about them already.

    This was very understandable. For Fate yers, especially those who were ying on the eastern continent, if they didn¡¯t know of the yer Gongzi You, then they really could not be said to be ying the game Fate at all. Strangely enough, although this yer had top-notch skills, it was not her technical skill that caused her to be very well known, but the numerous, nonsensical gossip that had been swirling about in the game.

    If it were anyone else, today¡¯s event would definitely be a rare opportunity.

    It was being circted in the forums that Gongzi You was a selfish person, one who only knew how to sweep her door clear of snow, not caring if others were snowed in. Although there were many different voices, this was the general direction that one could glean from the entire forums. Here was the question: If the rumors were true, then was the yer who offered to help him knock out the Armored Giant Tortoise really Gongzi You? Or was she just someone who was using the name of Gongzi You?

    To do what?

    Be a good Samaritan?

    UnbridledWillow suddenly felt that he was overly careful. The reason for that was because while he was stuck in his own delusions, Gongzi You had been silently watching the whole time.

    Of course, these weren¡¯t the reasons that caused UnbridledWillow to be taken aback. The real reason for that was...

    UnbridledWillow slightly lowered his eyelids before looking at Gongzi You with a raised eyebrow, quickly denying the real reason that he was afraid. It must be a coincidence, how could this be? At this point, he no longer hesitated, meeting Gongzi You¡¯s gaze, he sent out a party request.

    If UnbridledWillow was still in doubt about whether this huntress before him was the real Gongzi You, then all would be revealed after they started the battle. Gongzi You¡¯s technical skill had been streamed multiple times. However, due to the positioning of the filming yer, people were unable to clearly see the minute details of Gongzi You¡¯s technical handling.

    The huntress in front of UnbridledWillow had exceptional technical skill, to the point where he could only give her a thumbs-up. Regardless of whether he liked it or not, during the battle with the Giant Armored Tortoise, his wretched method of receiving attacks ended up entuating Gongzi You¡¯s performance.

    The entire battlested for over an hour. Upon closer inspection, UnbridledWillow, who had been dealing out damage behind the giant tortoise, realized that not once did Gongzi You allow the tortoise to get near her, let alone deal damage to her. Throughout the entire duration, she had been kiting the entire time without rest, nor has she spoken a single world. UnbridledWillow felt that Gongzi You was fully immersed in this kind of atmosphere as well as enjoying the entire battle process. A better way to put it would be that Gongzi You was a person who loved to fight.

    The Armored Giant Tortoise copsed onto the ground.

    In this chilling night, that massive corpsey prone on the white field of snow. Under the moonlight, the surroundings were gilded in ayer of pale, cold glow.

    ¡°Check the drops, I¡¯m not responsible if your luck is bad.¡± Ye Ci walked over to the bonfire and grinned at UnbridledWillow.

    UnbridledWillow nodded his head and said in a joking tone, ¡°If it does drop, I¡¯ll give you everything I have.¡±

    Ye Ci did not make a sound. Instead, she silently nced at UnbridledWillow once before turning her head away and ignoring him.

    UnbridledWillow slowly stepped towards the corpse of the giant tortoise tensely. After standing over the corpse for a long while, he finally crouched down to pick up the drops. He did not speak immediately after picking up the drops, instead, he lightly sighed after a long time had passed.

    ¡°Did it drop?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Ye Ciughed. Her heart couldn¡¯t help but feel envious. Damn it all, everyone had better luck than her. Even this guy was able to obtain that shield that had a low chance of dropping. If she were to pick up the drops, she probably would not have even gotten anything. Whatever, she wasn¡¯t here for the shield anyway.

    ¡°My friend called me for something, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Just as UnbridledWillow was about to say something, Ye Ci interrupted him first, using the Town Return Stone and disappearing before UnbridledWillow¡¯s very eyes without even waiting for him to reply.

    ¡°Party Member ¡®Gongzi You¡¯ has left the party.¡±

    ¡°Your party has been disbanded.¡±

    The consecutive messages caused UnbridledWillow to feel slightly stunned. He attempted to send a private message to Ye Ci, but soon realized that Gongzi You had set it so that it would automatically reject messages from strangers. As he had not added Gongzi You to his friends list, there was no way for him to send a private message to her.

    Then, that basically meant that unless they met again, or Gongzi You took the initiative to contact him, UnbridledWillow was unable to contact Gongzi You in any way. In the worst case scenario, he may never be able to actively contact her again. This made UnbridledWillow extremely displeased, as he made it a point to never owe people anything, which was why he was unable to tolerate the fact that he owed such a huge favour to Gongzi You.

    When Ye Ci returned to Red Lake City, it was almost dawn. Now that she recalled, other than the time when she burgled Steel Blooded Battle Spear, this was the first time she had turned in sote since reincarnating. After settling her character down at a safe location, she promptly logged off.

    It looks like I¡¯ll be sleeping through the morning lessons tomorrow, but...it was worth it.

    The next day, it was Ye Ci¡¯s first attempt at pioneering Castle Ruins.

    In fact, Upwards Ho! had been pioneering Castle Ruins for a very long time and they were almost done withing up with a strategy for defeating the first boss. However, they didn¡¯t know what they were missing and always came up short, which was why Ye Ci participated in the pioneering of Castle Ruins as their number one backup.

    Arriving in front of the first boss, Mi Lu, as themander, gave Ye Ci a brief idea of how they usually approached the boss before looking at Ye Ci in anticipation, ¡°Guild Leader, what do you think about this strategy?¡±

    Actually, Mi Lu¡¯s strategy did not veer too far away from the correct strategy, but Ye Ci was unable to point that out. To everyone else, it was her first time entering this dungeon. If she were to point out the correct method right now, wouldn¡¯t that be too strange? Nodding her head in response, she replied. ¡°Let¡¯s battle it once first. I haven¡¯t encountered this boss yet, so let¡¯s see how it goes.¡±

    As expected, they did not make it through. The first boss would name a yer every two minutes before throwing out a massive AOE damage skill. Although the skill did not deal too a lot of damage, it dide with a debuff¡ª¡ªParalyze. It caused all affected yers to halt in ce for 3 seconds, and in this 3 seconds the boss could either take the opportunity to kill a yer or rest.

    If the luck of the party members was good, then the boss would always be resting. Unfortunately, none of the yers of Fate had good luck; not one party encountered a situation where they could take a break two times in a row, which was why the yers were all wiped out.

 Chapter 158 Birth Of The Dark Cleric Fruit Jelly

    Chapter 158 Birth Of The Dark Cleric Fruit Jelly

    After holding on for half an hour, when they were down to about 5 or 6 yers, Ye Ci decisively made the call to retreat.

    As everyone revived and sat down on the ground to recuperate by eating and drinking, Mi Lu was speaking to a seated Ye Ci beside him. ¡°It¡¯s always like this. We were unlucky this time, we only managed to bring him down to half HP. Usually, if we¡¯re lucky, we might be able to bring him down to a third of his HP.¡±

    ¡°Is there any difference between dealing two thirds of his HP as damage and dealing no damage at all?¡± The corners of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth were raised as she softly answered Mi Lu.

    Naturally, Mi Lu understood the underlying meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words. He nodded his head in agreement and sighed, ¡°I know, I even went to the ck market to check on the progress of other guilds. It seems that they are stuck, just like we are.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded and turned to look at the boss who was standing not too far away. After what seemed to be a brief moment of contemtion, she asked, ¡°Have you tried the crowd control skills of Rangers, Druids, Priests and Clerics?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve tried them all. None of them could interrupt the boss¡¯s naming.¡± Mi Lu continued to sigh, ¡°I¡¯m even starting to doubt myself whether this dungeon is bugged. If it wasn¡¯t, why aren¡¯t we able to beat this guy?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a bug. The forums were raising hell over this dungeon¡¯s first boss. If there really was a bug, the game developers would have patched it by now. However, since there were no moves made by thepany, it means that it¡¯s possible to defeat this boss, it¡¯s just that we don¡¯t know the method to do so yet.¡±

    ¡°My head feels as though it is about to explode. It¡¯s not just me. Everyone in the party has been losing brain cells over this boss, and we still can¡¯t take it down. It¡¯s too difficult.¡± Mi Lu stretched his legs and made a grimace, ¡°Guild Leader, I invited you here today because it¡¯s all up to you now. You have to help use up with a way.¡±

    ¡°Are you all really treating me like a god?¡± The corners of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth twitched. Lowering her head in thought, she took a while before responding, ¡°I still feel that this has got something to do with the crowd control skills of those sses I mentioned earlier.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about this as well. Although until now, any crowd control skills that we threw at him all missed.¡± Mi Lu was extremely frustrated, he gave Ye Ci a report of all the experiments that he had attempted in the hopes that she could shed some light on how to approach this boss battle.

    Ye Ci merely smiled before calling out to Fruit Jelly, who was nearby, ¡°Hey, Miss Violence,e over here for a moment.¡±

    Fruit Jelly¡¯s reputation as a violent healer was starting to bud. To exin, in the beginning, she was still properly healing like a cleric should. However, as time went by, she started to ck off on healing, instead taking the opportunity to dish out damage whenever she could. The yers that she was in charge of were never at full HP, always hovering between life and death.

    Even though this raised quite a lot of concern for a lot of yers, the yers that Fruit Jelly was in charge of had a slightly lower mortality rate than others. With these results, themander was not in a position to say anything, opting to close one eye on the matter. Since Fruit Jelly¡¯s actions had received themander¡¯s silent agreement, so she started to really treat herself like a DPSer. Fruit Jelly even felt regret for not choosing a Mage as her ss; it was so much fun to be a DPSer after all. The yers that Fruit Jelly were in charge of healing, however, had it rough. Not only must they concentrate on the battle while paying attention to where they were standing, the yers also had to take extra care of their HP values.

    Which was why each time themander allocated the clerics, yers that Fruit Jelly was not in charge of cheered in joy. The yers that Fruit Jelly was in charge of however...were basically all those who were the best¡ª¡ªat staying calm.

    It was simple if you thought about it. Would you expect a Cleric who was always among the top 5 DPS-ing yers to keep people alive?

    It was probably at that moment, the yers who called her Fruit Jelly dwindled, calling her Miss Violence instead. At first, Fruit Jelly was rather unhappy with this nickname. Although she loved to be a DPS-er, it did not mean that she really wanted to be called that. Despite her numerous protests, her nickname stuck.

    Which was why she immediately ran over when Ye Ci called her nickname. ¡°You called for me, Gongzi?¡±

    ¡°Do you like to deal out DPS?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right! Every healer has a DPS-ing heart and my heart is always beating!¡±

    Ye Ci nodded before continuing, ¡°Go and reset your talent points, be a Dark Cleric.¡±

    ¡°Ah?¡± Fruit Jelly¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, as though she was hit by a falling pie from the heavens.

    ¡°Guild Leader, we have sufficient DPSers, we¡¯re notcking in damage, but in healers. If you take out a Cleric now...¡± Mi Lu was stunned, immediately objecting. Was she joking? The Clerics all had their hands full after that massive skill was used and now she was reducing the Clerics further? Wasn¡¯t that...That was just too crazy.

    ¡°Since we can¡¯t clear it, why not try?¡± Ye Ci rejected Mi Lu¡¯s protests with a smile.

    ¡°Really? Really?¡± Fruit Jelly was probably the most excited one of them all; she was excited to the point of incoherency, as though she had finally won the lottery she¡¯d been dreaming about.

    Ye Ci nodded in affirmation before beckoning her closer and whispering something in her ear. ¡°Can you do it?¡±

    ¡°I can, I can! As long as you let me be a DPS-er. I¡¯ll do anything!¡± Fruit Jelly¡¯s rationality seemed to have been turned to mash, hastily rushing out from the dungeon to reset her talent points back in the city.

    Mi Lu had a face full of curiosity, ¡°Guild Leader, what did you say to her?¡±

    Ye Ci did not n on showing her hand; he¡¯d know when the time was right.

    As expected, all was revealed when the time arrived.

    ¡°Everyone pay attention! The boss is starting its channeling its skill, be ready to defend yourselves!¡± Mi Lu immediately cried out upon noticing the boss¡¯s actions.

    At this moment, Ye Ci sent Fruit Jelly a private message, ¡°Cast Silence now!¡±

    Fruit Jelly was a top-tier Cleric in Ye Ci¡¯s past life. Naturally, she wouldn¡¯t wait for Ye Ci to prompt her to cast her skills. Ye Ci¡¯s words had just left her mouth when Fruit Jelly had already beautifully cast Silence. Fruit Jelly was still apprehensive about doing so, since the boss had shrugged it off every time she had cast it on him even before she had added the Dark Cleric¡¯s talent points. Although she had done what Ye Ci had told her to do, max out the three talent points required for Enhanced Silence, she was still uneasy.

    The incantation below the boss¡¯s portrait abruptly turned red and was interrupted.

    This phenomenon caused the entire party to be stunned in ce, and even Mi Lu was at a loss, ¡°No way, are my eyes deceiving me?¡±

    ¡°What are you guys doing? Hurry up and take him down!¡± Ye Ci hastily yelled, snapping the party out of their stupor.

    It took a few seconds before the party could regain the battle¡¯s flow.

    Two minutester, the boss started to read its incantation skill and was promptly interrupted once more. Mi Lu understood that this must be what Ye Ci had spoken to Fruit Jelly about. Although he wasn¡¯t sure what the contents were, in this situation, he only had one thought in mind: The First Blood of this boss was theirs!

 Chapter 161 A Surprise?

    Chapter 161 A Surprise?

    Although everyone wasining, their excitement from taking down the first boss remained; not one of them were discouraged and quit. Even Mi Lu was paying full attention to the snow marten¡¯s movements, trying to figure out a pattern.

    However, as long as the snow marten had not entered the special field, it would really run rampant. If it was lured too far away, it would immediately disengage from the battle, causing the party a lot of trouble.

    As Ye Ci was facing a monster that was immune to physical damage, she would not allow her ammunition to be wasted. After firing a few arrows in the beginning of the battle, she fell to the back of the party to rest.

    A long whileter, Mi Lu breathed heavily as he ran to Ye Ci¡¯s side and sat down. His potions were almost depleted and yet he still saw no signs of a usible strategy against this snow marten. It ran all over the ce, indiscriminately biting and disengaging from battle, causing chaos amongst the party.

    ¡°Guild Leader, do you have any potions left?¡± Mi Lu was huffing and puffing. It was really astonishing to see the bloody marks on his face thanks to that snow marten when one looked closely.

    Digging out a fewrge health potions and tossing them to Mi Lu, Ye Ci said, ¡°I¡¯ve only got health potions, I ran out of mana potions.¡±

    ¡°You used up your mana potions? This boss wastes too many mana potions.¡± Mi Lu did not know that Ye Ci did not require mana potions. Seeing Ye Ci sitting motionlessly on the ground, he thought to himself that his assumption was right.

    Ye Ci did not answer his question, smiling in reply, ¡°Are we going to continue?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to try again, I think I might be onto something and I need to go back and try it out again.¡± Mi Lu mumbled incoherently with a pastry in his mouth as he gave the order for everyone to disengage from battle to rest.

    Ye Ci did not refute his decision and nodded her head; it was a good thing to be willing to try out new things.

    Afterwards, they tried again another two times. Although Mi Lu had noticed some clues, he was unable to make any headway. Furthermore, everyone was almost out of potions. Despite everyone¡¯s high spirits, without any potions, they had no choice but to leave it at that. They¡¯d have to go back and think it through before attempting again.

    Mi Lu recorded the guild¡¯s dungeon progress at the Meeting Stone located at the entrance before everyone in the party left the dungeon.

    Ye Ci was right at the back. Before she even left the dungeon, she had received a private message from Remote Depths, ¡°What¡¯s up with today?¡±

    What do you mean ¡®What¡¯s up with today?¡± Ye Ci was confused.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once youe out.¡± Remote Depths had a mysterious tone in his reply, causing Ye Ci to feel extremely curious. Just what was Bai Mo ying at?

    Ye Ci was desperate to exit the dungeon now thanks to Bai Mo¡¯s words. Unlike the dungeon¡¯s interior, the outside was full of flora and illuminated by bright sunlight. Although the atmosphere given off by the surroundings seemed slightly deste, it was notcking in either flora or fauna and was many times better whenpared to what was inside the barren dungeon. yers who had just left the dungeon often required some time before they could limate to the stark contrast.

    However, what made Ye Ci truly surprised was the unusuallyrge number of yers who had gathered outside the dungeon.

    Usually, once everyone exited the dungeon, they would have already used their Town Return Stones and gone back to the city already. So why has everyone gathered in front of the dungeon entrance without moving with battle-ready expressions? ¡°What are all of you doing? Aren¡¯t you all returning to the city? Do you think that we¡¯ll be rich by huddling here?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi, it¡¯s someone from Steel Blooded Battle Spear.¡±

    The yers in front of her, as though linked by telepathy, made a path for her, allowing her to see what was going on at the opposite side.

    It really was the guild members of Steel Blooded Battle Spear.

    Thousand Sunsets was standing at the very front, while Dong Yin, Peacock Blue, Yi Cang and familiar as well as unfamiliar faces trailed behind them. However, she did not spot Zero Arsenic among them.

    This seemed mildly suspicious.

    Although the argument Thousand Sunsets, Dong Yin and the others had with Ye Ci was a private matter, Upwards Ho! was incensed over the fact that Steel Blooded Battle Spear had maligned Ye Ci on the forums and even used Ye Ci of raiding their guild warehouse. This was understandable. After all, who would like it if others were to point at their leader and call her a criminal?

    Which was why even if the management of Upwards Ho!, Ye Ci and Bai Mo in particr, did not say anything about the matter; everyone in Upwards Ho! had already treated Steel Blooded Battle Spear as their mortal enemies and couldn¡¯t wait to beat them into the ground.

    The two guild encampments were situated in cities far apart from each other, which meant that they would hardly meet each other when they entered the dungeons. However, since Upwards Ho! had finished early, it caused the situation where the two guilds had inadvertently met with each other. When enemies met, the atmosphere was sure to be tense. If anyone from either side were to step out, the two parties would probably cause an all out war to break out.

    Ever since Thousand Sunsets had noticed Ye Ci, his eyes had never left her. His gaze was cold and sharp, as though forming a keen edge that homed in on Ye Ci¡¯s heart. Ye Ci, on the other hand, did not even flinch; her eyebrows were raised and her expression calm, yet a hint of panic was sprouting in her heart. Upwards Ho!, in their current condition, was in no shape to start a guild war. The other party was well-armed and full on potions, while they already had none left. If they were to fight, Upwards Ho! was at a disadvantage.

    As such, she averted her gaze and turned towards her party, paying no heed to Thousand Sunsets. ¡°Everyone, return to the encampment. I believe Mi Lu will be holding a meeting to discuss today¡¯s dungeon attempt.¡±

    Everyone was somewhat dissatisfied. However, seeing that Ye Ci was being firm, they had no choice but to use their Town Return Stones. Ye Ci looked at Liu Chang, who was still standing there in a daze. Ye Ci knew that she must be feeling horrible inside and gave her a light prompt, ¡°Clingy Wolf, is your Town Return Stone on cooldown?¡±

    ¡°N-no, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Liu Chang lowered her head and immediately rubbed her Town Return Stone, leaving behind a stream of white light before vanishing.

    Bai Mo looked at Ye Ci, ¡°You¡¯re still not leaving?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave soon.¡± Ye Ci looked at the people on the other side with a faint, indiscernible smile and softly replied.

    Thousand Sunsets noticed that most of the other party was leaving and let out a sigh in relief. To be honest, he was kind of worried about needing to fight with Upwards Ho! at the moment, since it would prove to be extremely disadvantageous for him.

    ¡°Guild Leader, only Gongzi You¡¯s left. Should we...¡± Most of Upwards Ho! had departed, leaving behind only Gongzi You. A yer standing behind Thousand Sunsets had noticed and couldn¡¯t help but scheme.

    ¡°Cut the crap and enter the dungeon.¡± Thousand Sunsets turned and red at him before leading the party into the dungeon.

    Ye Ci watched them from the side in silence. When Ye Ci¡¯s gaze fell upon Dong Yin, she saw an expressionless face, as though she never was in Dong Yin¡¯s line of sight in the first ce. Ye Ci softly chuckled. That¡¯s right, that¡¯s the way. If you still had any emotions or guilt, it¡¯ll be harder for me to take action.

    With the warm sunlight shining on top of Ye Ci¡¯s head, she instantly warmed up from head to toe.

    ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a surprise for you, have you seen it yet?¡± Just then, Ye Ci had just received a private message from Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    A surprise? o_o

    Hiya-minna san!! Jimmi is releasing chapters 2 days in a row!!! Are y¡¯all proud of me?? XD

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    Don¡¯t forget we always have a teaser next page! Desu Vult!

 Chapter 162 What a Mess

    Chapter 162 What a Mess

    What sort of surprise?

    Why would he send such a message out of the blue?

    Ye Ci was baffled. She reflexively looked around, but found nothing peculiar. She then replied Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s message, ¡°What surprise? Don¡¯t tell me that the sun, the rain, the blossoming flowers and the moon are the surprises that you have in store for me. Those are not from you. They¡¯re created by God.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, boss, why can¡¯t you have just a little bit of sense of humor?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon chuckled, and started to mumble, ¡°They should¡¯ve been there by now... Did they ran into trouble along the way?¡±

    ¡°What the hell do you want? I¡¯m going back to the guild encampment. If you have nothing good to tell me, stop pestering me.¡± Ye Ci spoke up coldly. She did not wish to waste time on somebody as talkative as Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    ¡°Hold up, hold up. You¡¯re still at the entrance of the Castle Ruins, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yep. Why? You¡¯re hired by someone to keep track of my movements?¡±

    ¡°No way! I am an ethical person! Even if I were to ept the job, I¡¯d finish my business with you first.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon replied in a jovial tone, ¡°Just look around. They¡¯ll be there soon. I¡¯m sure you will love the surprise waiting for you.¡±

    With that, Green Hill¡¯s Moon did not utter any additional words, as if he was never there. Despite her business dealings with the person in herst life, Ye Ci could feel the veins on her temple bulging every single time she had a conversation with Green Hill¡¯s Moon. How annoying. Why must he beat around the bush?

    Despite her dissatisfaction, Ye Ci took a walk in the surrounding area ording to Green Hill¡¯s Moon rmendation. She then saw a cloud of dust rising on the road leading to the dungeon. There seemed to be a group of yers heading her way.

    So this is the surprise that Green Hill¡¯s Moon was talking about? Ye Ci was puzzled. Did he think that Ye Ci had never seen arge group of yers travelling together? Besides, he was employed by her as an investigator. He wouldn¡¯t have done something so idiotic, would he?

    Despite her strong urge to return to the city with a city-recalling stone, Ye Ci changed her mind once the entourage of yers entered her view. She happened to know the Warrior riding on a snow white horse at the front of the group.

    This person was d in aplete set of armor. If Ye Ci was not mistaken, the armor was the current top-tier Warrior armor set, the Bones of Ciel. The gleaming sword slung on the man¡¯s back was recognised by Ye Ci as the Snow Piercer, an item dropped by the final BOSS in the Frosty Ruins inner sanctum. It was the best item the dungeon had to offer, with an absurdly low drop rate. Ye Ci and the rest of Upwards Ho! had neverid eyes upon the item.

    Within a short span of 3 days, the person¡¯s equipment had improved enormously. Had she not seen the Swordback Hold on his back, she might not even recognise the person.

    It was Unbridled Willow.

    If this came as a surprise for Ye Ci, the person behind Unbridled Willow was a shock. The person was someone she was familiar with. It was a person Ye Ci knew so well that she was astonished that he appeared beside Unbridled Willow.

    ¡°Eh? Gongzi? Why are you still here?¡± The person was the first to spot Ye Ci, and astonishment was written all over his face, just like how it was for Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci could feel herself stiffen, ¡°What do you mean by ¡®why am I still here¡¯?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not what you think. I heard from my guild members that Upwards Ho! had left the dungeon. Have you just arrived?¡± Noticing that he had made a slip, the person smiled awkwardly.

    ¡°Ah! It¡¯s you! Gongzi You!¡± It was at that moment that Unbridled Willow had spotted Ye Ci. Apparently, his eyesight was not that good. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking of a means to get in touch with you.¡± With that, he sent a friend request to Ye Ci.

    However, what happened next was even more inconceivable. Unbridled Willow and that person asked each other with surprise in their voices at the same time, ¡°Willow, you know Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Zero, you know Gongzi You?¡±

    Ye Ci, who was the center of both their attention, was having a private conversation with Green Hill¡¯s Moon, ¡°Green Hill¡¯s Moon, you bastard! Why did you not tell me that Unbridled Willow is from Steel Blooded Battle Spear?¡±

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d know, seeing how smart you are.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon replied matter of factly. If Ye Ci could see the expression on his face, she would¡¯ve smashed his face into a pulp.

    ¡°You told me that Unbridled Willow was a rival of Thousand Sunsets, but you never told me that he was a member of Steel Blooded Battle Spear! How would I know that these 2 rivals would be in the same guild? It¡¯s simply illogical!¡± Ye Ci cast a nce at the 2 men looking at her. It was driving her nuts. She had never been in such an awkward situation. It was all because of Green Hill¡¯s Moon!

    ¡°You¡¯re so simple minded. What, you think by ¡®rivals¡¯ I meant that they were rivals in-game? Do you know who Unbridled Willow is? He is the biggest threat to Thousand Sunsets¡¯ position in his family and hispany as well. Think about it for a moment. Doesn¡¯t that make them rivals?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon replied with an undaunted tone, as if he was intentionally setting Ye Ci up.

    ¡°Why did you not tell me about this earlier?¡± Ye Ci could feel her temples bulging. Just what sort of person had she run into?¡±

    ¡°Aiya aiya, I forgot.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon replied.

    Ye Ci almost coughed up blood. She took in a deep breath and calmed herself down. She then replied calmly, ¡°Very well, say goodbye to your payment of 500,000 gold coins.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh!!! No! Boss...¡± Ignoring Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s pleas, Ye Ci immediately cklisted the man. With this, she would never hear a thing from Green Hill¡¯s Moon for 7 days.

    ¡°What? Is it wrong for me to know the both of you?¡± Ye Ci smiled faintly at the duo. She then summoned Ol¡¯ Four and mounted the beast. It was a nice view. They were on horseback while Ye Ci was standing on her feet. She hated looking up to them. She preferred to look down at them, just like what she was doing right this moment.

    Ye Ci was in afortable position. But how should she clean up this mess?

 Chapter 163 Someone Elseâ€™s Gossip

    Chapter 163 Someone Else¡¯s Gossip

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Zero Arsenic chuckled. Yet the disbelief in his eyes was clear. He didn¡¯t believe that Unbridled Willow knew Gongzi You by chance. ¡°Say, since when is the great Gongzi You so free that she began meddling in somebody else¡¯s business?¡±

    ¡°Are we very close with each other? Why are you talking as if you know me very well?¡± Ye Ci sneered coldly, then shifted her gaze to Unbridled Willow.

    Zero Arsenic pursed his lips, ignoring Ye Ci¡¯s sarcasticments.

    Unbridled Willow remained smiling. He was not as skeptical as Zero Arsenic, despite being surprised to run into Ye Ci. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you. Thank you for helping me with the Swordback Hold.¡± He patted the shield on his back.

    After hearing the words from Unbridled Willow, Zero Arsenic broke into a guffaw. It was something not known to Unbridled Willow, but anybody who knew Gongzi You would know that her luck was so bad that it could drive someone tomit suicide.

    Unbridled Willow was slightly embarrassed. He casted a confused nce at Zero Arsenic before continuing, ¡°Gongzi, thank you so much.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and spoke out her next words calmly, as if she was just reminiscing about old times with Unbridled Willow. But only Ye Ci knew that her words were actually directed at the sly old fox Zero Arsenic, ¡°When did you join Steel Blooded Battle Spear? You weren¡¯t one of them when I first saw you.¡±

    ¡°About that...¡± Unbridled Willow was guarded when faced with this question.

    The answer was not important to Ye Ci. She raised her eyebrows, ¡°You¡¯re good, and your game sense isn¡¯t bad either. Have you ever thought of joining a different guild? Come over to Upwards Ho!. Although we¡¯re not as rich as Steel Blooded Battle Spear, we¡¯re quite capable when ites to obtaining First Bloods. Interested in joining us? I can pull some strings and ce you into the first squadron.¡±

    ¡°Uhh... About that...¡± Unbridled Willow was lost for words. He originally suspected Ye Ci of approaching him because of his rtionship with Thousand Sunsets, and that she was trying to gain some benefits from doing him some favors. But after hearing Ye Ci¡¯s words, he was unable to respond.

    There were times when one would be faced with dilemmas, and Unbridled Willow was in such a situation. He felt that it would be troublesome no matter what his answer was. It was impossible for him to ept Ye Ci¡¯s invitation. But as a yer, who would decline such an offer from Gongzi You? How could he decline Ye Ci¡¯s offer?

    Just as Unbridled Willow was faced with such difficulty, Zero Arsenicughed, ¡°Hey hey hey. Gongzi, you¡¯re way over your head. You¡¯re poaching my guild member right in front of me. Give me some respect. This is ourtest top Warrior yer, you can¡¯t do that!¡±

    ¡°Doing things under the table is not my nature. Since I¡¯m going to poach, I¡¯ll do it right in the open.¡± Ye Ci looked at Unbridled Willow and then at Zero Arsenic with a smile on her face.

    Since Zero Arsenic had spoken up, Unbridled Willow was no longer in a difficult spot. He smiled sheepishly at Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯ve already promised Zero Arsenic. But I still need to thank you for helping me with the shield...¡±

    Ye Ci did not want to waste time on superfluous words. Speaking would only increase the chances of her making mistakes. It was better for her to leave the scene as soon as possible, ¡°If you care about it so much, then you should not forget about it. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± She then departed on Ol¡¯ Four.

    ¡°She¡¯s always like that. But please do not mind her.¡± Zero Arsenic patted Unbridled Willow on his shoulder. Despite being suspicious that Gongzi You had inside information regarding their guild, Zero Arsenic has no solid proof, and he opted to overlook the situation.

    ¡°Yeah, she must be one of those gaming whizzes. They tend to have the own sense of pride.¡± Unbridled Willow retracted his gaze from Ye Ci¡¯s direction. Although he was new to the game, he had some knowledge about what was going on in the game.

    Zero Arsenicughed. ¡°So what if she¡¯s good in the game? A person can¡¯t be ying the game for his or her entire life.¡± ?He spoke with a hint of disdain, ¡°Being an expert in the game does not mean that a person is sessful in real life.¡±

    Unbridled Willow did not immediately respond to Zero Arsenic¡¯s words. He once again stared at the direction where Ye Ci had departed and pursed his lips. In truth, despite agreeing with Zero Arsenic, this was a time where logging into the game was like entering a whole new world. Unbridled Willow decided to keep his opinion to himself.

    This girl named Gongzi You was definitely not a nobody in game or in real life.

    If... If he had the chance, he would definitely not be as foolish as Thousand Sunsets. He would definitely not be enemies with a person like Gongzi You.

    The ghost of a smile formed on his lips. It was befitting of his image of having lukewarm attitude in the eyes of outsiders. He then looked at Zero Arsenic after a long moment and smiled, ¡°So, what¡¯s my assignment?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of experts in the Eastern Continent. It¡¯s almost impossible for a newbie like you to obtain First Blood. The Old Master wants you to get First Five of the Castle Ruins.¡±

    ¡°Is this one of my conditions or an opportunity?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s both.¡±

    Without offering more words, Unbridled Willow squeezed his legs against his horse¡¯s sides, pulled the reins, and the horse¡¯s head reared up.It let out a long neigh as it raised its two front legs. From afar, Unbridled Willow was exceptionally handsome. With that, he galloped into the dungeon without looking back.

    The first thing Ye Ci saw as she returned to Red Lake City was the face of Green Hill¡¯s Moon that was decorated with a sly smile. As he hurried his way towards Ye Ci, she wished that she could just disappear. Not every wish however, could be granted so easily. Green Hill¡¯s Moon grabbed at her arm and smiled, ¡°Boss! Boss! I¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±

    ¡°Let go, or you¡¯ll die a horrible death.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s hand was already on her Venomous Scorpion Stinger as she issued her threat.

    Who are the scariest people in this world? Those who were not afraid of death? They were scary, but you could still put them down by simply killing them. Who was even more scary than someone who is not afraid of death, you ask? The answer is simple: someone who is shameless.

    When a person is shameless, he can do a lot of unexpected things that will definitely impress you.

    Ye Ci regretted associating with Green Hill¡¯s Moon. His intelligence was vast and he was a decent person who could keep a secret. Besides, he was ratherpatible with her in herst life. There was, however, a downside to Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s character: he was a shameless person. As someone who was bad when it came to interpersonal rtionships, dealing with such a shameless individual was something Ye Ci was incapable of.

    ¡°Aiya, aiya, don¡¯t be angry! I merely wanted to forge a better rtionship with you! It was not my intention to make a fool out of you.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s face was lit up with a broad smile, as if Ye Ci¡¯s torrent of abuse had not ured.

    Ye Ci immediately pulled her arm away and turned around. She had no intention at all to deal with this person at the moment. The run in with Unbridled Willow had foiled her n. She needed time for herself to decide if she could follow through with her original n.

    If Green Hill¡¯s Moon would leave just because of that, he would not be Green Hill¡¯s Moon. One could see a male Elf in shabby clothing wearing a mask following close behind the famous persona of Red Lake City, Gongzi You. As if it was not weird enough, the male Elf was boisterous, while Gongzi You¡¯s expression was cold as ice. The sharp contrast was a sight for sore eyes.

    ¡°Boss! Boss! Just listen to me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve said this before. I¡¯m not paying the downpayment. I¡¯d rather face the penalty from the system for breaching the contract.¡±

    ¡°Boss, please don¡¯t be angry! To make up for my mistake, I¡¯ll tell you some gossip. It will definitely be very useful for you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m never interested in gossip.¡±

    With that, Ye Ci walked into the Mercenary Guild and headed for her room.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon was still following close behind, ¡°No, listen, you might be interested in this.¡± Seeing that he was still being ignored by Ye Ci, Green Hill¡¯s moon stomped his foot while gritting his teeth, ¡°Alright, if the gossip that I¡¯m about to tell you is of no interest to you, I¡¯ll cancel the contract myself, and not ask for the downpayment. How about that?¡±

    For someone as greedy and shameless as Green Hill¡¯s Moon to say something like that, it was like red rain would pour down from the heavens. For a gossip to be held by Green Hill¡¯s Moon with such high regard, Ye Ci¡¯s interest was suddenly aroused. She stopped abruptly in front of the carved doors and looked at him coldly. ¡°Alright,e in and tell me what you know.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon was as happy as a inmate on death row who had just been pardoned.

    As expected. Ye Ci was interested in this gossip.

    Ye Ci had originally nned to get Green Hill¡¯s Moon to investigate the background of Thousand Sunsets so that she would have a contingency n if everything went wrong. She did not expect Green Hill¡¯s Moon toe up with so much information.

    Thousand Sunsets was indeed from a wealthy family with a long history. The family¡¯s business was very renowned in Ye Ci¡¯s city, spanning into multiple sectors throughout the nation. The person who wielded power in the family was none other than the grandfather of Thousand Sunsets. Despite being healthy and well, his grandfather was desperate to appoint an heir.

    The family was very cautious when it came the the selection of heirs. Thousand Sunsets¡¯ family, however, was rathercking in terms of offsprings. The grandfather of Thousand Sunsets had 2 sons. The eldest was the father of Thousand Sunsets, while the second son was a willful child. It was said that he had broken ties with the family a long time ago. This incident saddened Thousand Sunsets¡¯ grandfather, and he made the decision to leave all the family¡¯s wealth to his eldest son.

    In truth, among both of the Old Master¡¯s sons, the second son was more talented in running a business. His interests however,y elsewhere...

 Chapter 164 Mausoleum of Blades

    Chapter 164 Mausoleum of des

    The second son was a profligate, just like the ones described in novels and movies. He was unruly and rebellious. After rejecting the marriage arranged by his parents, he left the family and went overseas. He even married a waitress from a fastfood restaurant during his time overseas and had a son with her. This caused much anger for the Old Master, and he had even disowned his second son.

    After his second son ran away from home, the Old Master passed on all his responsibilities to his eldest son, thinking that his son would have more offspring that would be suitable heir candidates. Unfortunately, the Old Master¡¯s son had only had one son as well before he died young in a car ident. Carrying the sorrow of seeing his child die before him, the Old Master poured all his efforts into raising his grandson. But... The performance of this eldest grandson was somewhat dissatisfying. It was as if he was alwayscking when it came to doing business.

    At that moment, the Old Master received yet another terrible news. His second son, who was staying abroad, died in a fire along with his spouse, leaving their 15 year old son behind.

    Despite being angry at his son¡¯s decision, blood was still thicker than water. Being curious about the innate talent of the child, the Old Master secretly went overseas and met with the child. After a few months of interaction, he noticed that the child was a more talented and suitable candidate to be his heir. He was happy. Fearing that the transition from being poor to suddenly bing rich would spoil the child, the Old Master ced the child under the care of a normal family. He was, however, still prudent when it came to the child¡¯s education.

    With that, the 2 children grew up without knowing about each other. They grew up, studied and began working... Until Fate wasunched.

    The Old Master, who had always been doing business through conventional means, was very interested in Fate before its open beta. He even made the decision to invest 60% of his assets into the game. With that, he ordered Thousand Sunsets to enter the game. The initial growth of Steel Blooded Battle Spear was satisfying, and the Old Master had even considered naming Thousand Sunsets as his heir. He did not anticipate the severe altercation Thousand Sunsets had with Ye Ci. If the incident provoked some dissatisfaction from the Old Master, the damage suffered by the guild and his fall out with Ye Ci caused his extreme anger.

    After expressing his anger at Thousand Sunsets¡¯ stupidity, the Old Master told him about the presence of the other child and another heir candidate. He sent the child into the game as well, beginning thepetition between the two.

    The clearing of Castle Ruins this time was not the deciding factor of the two¡¯s position as heir, but it was an important way of indicating their abilities. That was why both of them were determined to win.

    ¡°And that person is Unbridled Willow?¡± Ye Ci let out a yawn after patiently listening to a gossip that had nothing much to do with her.

    ¡°Yep, yep, that¡¯s him.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon nodded, ¡°That¡¯s why I told you that they¡¯re rivals.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded. Apparently this piece of information had a very huge effect on her n. In fact, it even made her original n obsolete. All of a sudden, a question shed across Ye Ci¡¯s mind, ¡°Then who the hell is Zero Arsenic?¡±

    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s the Head Secretary of the Old Master, his trusted aide.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not a subordinate of Thousand Sunsets?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! He answers directly to the Old Master.¡±

    ¡°But why was he so loyal to Thousand Sunsets then?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s loyal only to the heir appointed by the Old Master.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon lifted the cup and took in a greedy whiff. His words were of great enlightenment to Ye Ci.

    So that was why he wasn¡¯t with Thousand Sunsets.

    Ye Ci could not hold back herughter.

    ¡°Why are youughing?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon stared at Gongzi You. The sunlight shone in through the colored ss, striking on her face. Her slight smile made her usually stern face much more gentle. Gongzi You was unexpectedly beautiful!

    ¡°What ame story,¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°Even I coulde up with something like that. It¡¯s all over the novels and TV shows nowadays.¡±

    ¡°It isme. If not, why would people say that art is born from life, but is greater than life?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon agreed to Ye Ci¡¯s views. He was, however, paying most of his attention to the wine he held in his hands. He narrowed his eyes, appearing to be savoring the taste.

    ¡°Normal people like us will never understand the worries of the rich.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon could understand Ye Ci¡¯s meaning clearly. He let out augh, ¡°Money is no good thing, but without money, it¡¯s really...¡±

    Ye Ci lowered her gaze and dumped the remaining 500,000 gold coins onto the table, ¡°I¡¯m very satisfied with this tiny piece of gossip, keep up the good work.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon did not hold himself back. He collected the money calmly, ¡°Of course.¡±

    His calm demeanor aroused Ye Ci¡¯s curiosity, ¡°You seem to be very sure that I will pay you the down payment.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Just like I¡¯m sure that I will run into you in certain ces.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon stood up and turned around. He waved his hand as he left the room, ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way, don¡¯t miss me.¡±

    As expected, he was a smart man. Ye Ci smiled at the figure that was Green Hill¡¯s Moon. She enjoyed having dealings with people who were smart. Of course, it would be better if that person was less shameless.

    Ye Ci shifted her gaze from the closed door to the windows. The golden sunlight was unforgettably ring. However, it was just a normal afternoon.

    Ye Ci then retracted her gaze and looked at the mural painted on the ceiling, and the corners of her lips lifted up. It was such good news.

    These days were always so tranquil.

    Whenever Upwards Ho! was not involved in dungeon exploration, Ye Ci was very idle. At times like these, she would explore the maps that were rarely frequented by yers. It would be great if she happened to run into any unopened treasure chests.

    The Mausoleum of des.

    This was the least visited map in the entire Eastern Continent. Despite having a high experience drop from monsters and an abundant amount of quests, there were hardly any yers in the map.

    The reason was simple. Just as the name Mausoleum of des implied, the terrain was rocky and hilly, with the peak of each hill sharp as des. One would easily fall down while climbing, with only death awaiting them.

    That was why the map was once known as the most useless map in Fate. The monsters here were lvl 40, but they were very scattered. This made it a very good training spot for ranged yers. However, in this ravenous terrain with hardly any footholds, it was very difficult for yers to travel from one spawn point to another. A yer would need to be at lvl 80 to be able to traverse the map safely.

    If Ye Ci had remembered correctly, when yers have reached the lvl 80 cap in herst life, Fate released a patch that raised the maximum level of yers to lvl 120 and introduced a Flying System. In that version of the game, there was no longer any barriers keeping yers out.

    However, if the Flying System would only be introduced when yers were at lvl 80, they could only traverse this map safely by then. Monsters in this map however, were all lvl 40. That was why the map was said to be useless. It was something that Ye Ci believed in herst life. In her current life, Ye Ci began to doubt that theory.

    Fate was a game ahead of its time designed by experts from all over the world. How could they make such a silly mistake? This was a fact that nobody had realised in Ye Ci¡¯sst life. That was why Ye Ci, who was already reincarnated, grew more and more suspicious about this map and decided to have a look.

    Ye Ci rode Ol¡¯ Four through the narrow road with caution so that she would not fall down into the deep ravine and suffer unnecessary damage. Ye Ci thought to herself as she traversed through the map. Perhaps the secret of this map was discovered by someone, but was never announced, and that was why she never knew of the anything about the map. This time, however, she would not miss that chance.

    Ye Ci saw the monsters unique to Mausoleum of des, which were Ogres. Despite having a low movement speed, Ogres could deal high amounts of damage and preferred to live alone. A capable ranged yer could easily fight these monsters to level up.

    Ye Ci would never miss a chance to y any Ogres she encountered. Even after a few days of exploration without discovering the map¡¯s secret, Ye Ci was already at lvl 42. For Ye Ci, who had not leveled up for quite some time, it was a rare chance toe by indeed. Of course, other than scouting out the Mausoleum of des, there was another reason that drove Ye Ci to level up. The first spot on the leveling leaderboards was now taken by NightAndDay. Ye Ci felt pressured when the person was able to increase his level to 43 within the span of a few months.

    As a person who had reincarnated with almost all of the game¡¯s secret, wouldn¡¯t it be shameful for her to be surpassed by someone who was not a reincarnator?

    After exploring the Mausoleum of des without discovering any clues, Ye Ci took a rest at a rtively t hillside, since Ol¡¯ Four was hungry. She began feeding the hungry beast while filling up her own grumbling tummy.

    The Mausoleum of des was at the north eastern side of the Eastern Continent and was the highest spot in the entire continent. This meant that the wind was strong. As she sat on the hillside, the strong wind blew Ye Ci¡¯s hair all over her face. Sweeping her messy hair aside, Ye Ci gulped down some water from her bottle.

    All of a sudden, her ears twitched.

    The Elven race had a better perception about their surroundings whenpared to the other races. Any subtle changes and movements would not be able to escape their sense.

    That being the case, Ye Ci tilted her head slightly, listening intently to the movement behind her...

 Chapter 165 How Did You Know That?

    Chapter 165 How Did You Know That?

    The strong wind blew, and not only in a single direction. Sometimes it blew northwards and westwards, while at times the wind blew southwards and eastwards. There was no sign that the wind would stop.

    Ye Ci¡¯s long, pointed Elven ears twitched in the wind. She detected a distinctive sound mixed in the howling of the wind. It was something foreign to the natural sound of the map, and it was not the rumbling of the Ogres as they moved about. It was something that Ye Ci felt very familiar with.

    She sat quietly on the hill for a short moment and noticed that the sound came with the southeastern wind but she could hear nothing when the wind was blowing from the northwest. Apparently there was something going on at the southeastern side.

    After feeding Ol¡¯ Four, Ye Ci climbed onto his back and headed southeast.

    ¡°Heading southeast¡± sounded simple enough, but actually pulling it off in a ce like the Mausoleum of des was no simple feat. The mountainous terrain meant Ye Ci would need to traverse past mountain after mountain just to reach the southeastern sector of the map.

    Ye Ci, however, was in no hurry. The further she went, the clearer the sound was. She listened intently to the source of the sound. It was the dying wail of Ogres as they were ughtered, followed closely by the sound effect from a very specific character ss.

    But... What ss was that?

    Ye Ci kept her eyes shut, trying to discern the sound.

    Frost Ray, Bursting mes, Giant Fireball... Ye Ci could identify each ability cast by the yer. It was a Sorcerer. As a top Sorceress in herst life, Ye Ci knew the sound effects of the ss¡¯ abilities very well.

    It was quite a shame. Due to her ythrough as a Huntress in her current life, Ye Ci had grown unfamiliar with the Sorceress ss. Listening to such sounds reminded Ye Ci of things in herst life.

    Judging from the sound, there was only one yer in the area, and for a Sorcerer to be able to reach a ce like this alone, it was not through luck. The person was a skillful yer. Ye Ci originally wanted to refrain from interrupting the person, but since she was unable to discover the secrets of the Mausoleum of des, she decided to join the person in leveling up. Perhaps she could get something out of it.

    With such thoughts in her mind, Ye Ci made her way towards the source of the sound.

    After traversing through yet another treacherous hill, the source of the sound was finally in sight.

    It was an open basin. In a map such as the Mausoleum of des, such a basin was very rare. The ce was small and very well hidden. One could even miss this ce entirely if one was not paying attention even when he or she was near the area.

    There were little nts in the basin, with only ferns and some asional azalea covering the ground, which was rather fitting for a dry and chilly ce like the Mausoleum of des. The azaleas were in scattered groups of twos and threes, giving off a lonely feel.

    In such a deste ce however, was a huge number of Ogres. They did not appear to be from the same tribe and were roaming around. Each Ogre stayed clear of each other¡¯s territory. It was the perfect solo-leveling spot.

    A Sorcerer in light green robes was standing in a corner of a basin that was near a cliff¡¯s wall. The Sorcerer was raising his staff and channeling spell after spell. First came the crowd control (CC) abilities, then the damage over time (DOT) abilities and a few high damage single spells. The Sorcerer cast his spells within 20 seconds, and an Ogre fell onto the ground with a loud rumble right before it could reach him. Of course, there were times when the Sorcerer¡¯s aim was off, and he was forced to use his Ultimate to st away the iing ogres. Despite taking a few hits, the Sorcerer was able to endure.

    Right after the monsters around were in, the Sorcerer would immediately sit on the ground and munch on replenishment to recover his hitpoints and mana. It was not an efficient way to level up, but with the Sorcerer being the only yer around, there was nobody else that would steal his kill and disrupt his fight. This meant that the yer was able to easily dispatch the Ogres near him. This was a rather effective way of leveling up, especially when the level of the monsters in the map was at lvl 40. Despite being slower and dangerous, the Sorcerer would be able to receive more experience points, the Sorcerer was able to level up quicker.

    There were times when Ye Ci¡¯s superb vision was not a good thing.

    This was one such asion. Ye Ci could turn around and leave after spotting the mage. But she knew who he was after setting her eyes on him. With that, she no longer wanted to leave.

    The yer was an acquaintance of Ye Ci. Even though she was not very close with the person, they¡¯d had a few fights before. More importantly, they both knew a certain someone who was an asshole.

    Perhaps it was because of that reason that Ye Ci made up her mind to greet the person.

    She rode down the hill, easily getting rid of any Ogre that stood in her way, and arrived before the Sorcerer.

    He had expended great effort in discovering this perfect leveling spot, and thought that no one would be able to get this far. The sudden presence of another yer would of course cause some bad mood. It was something that could not be described with words. If he realised that the yer who appeared in front of him was someone that he had a conflict with, his displeasure would definitely increase. If he then discovered again that the yer was not somebody he was able to defeat, the depression in his heart would be something that even the best linguist in the world would be unable to describe.

    NightAndDay was experiencing such a feeling. He looked at Gongzi You who was riding on her dinosaur and put on a smile with trembling lips. It was a smile that did not reach his eyes. He held back the urge to curse out loud. F*ck! What the hell was this luck!? Why would such a person appear in a ce like this!?

    ¡°Hi!¡± Ye Ci waved at NightAndDay as a form of greeting. Truth to be told, she was in an excellent mood, especially after witnessing the changes of the expression on NightAndDay¡¯s face from discrepancy to surprise and finally confusion.

    ¡°Hey.¡± NightAndDay replied without much enthusiasm, ¡°Gongzi You, what a coincidence that we run into each other in this ce.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I happened to be passing by.¡± Ye Ci replied truthfully. Of course, she happened to pass by intentionally. She was not lying at all.

    Keep up your bullshitting. You happened to pass by in this ce where even birds would not take a crap? Do you think I¡¯m dumb? These were the exact thoughts of NightAndDay. A thousand ¡°f*ck yous¡± flew through his mind, but he was unable to voice out his thoughts. He could only chuckle dryly in response to the smile on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°What a coincidence... What a coincidence...¡±

    ¡°I see that you found a good leveling spot.¡± Ye Ci jumped down from Ol¡¯ Four and stood not far away from NightAndDay, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder your level increased by a lot these days. I haven¡¯t heard any news of Tang Dynasty exploring new dungeons for quite a while. Looks like it¡¯s because you¡¯re busy leveling up.¡±

    NightAndDay exploded after Tang Dynasty was mentioned by Ye Ci, ¡°What? Gongzi You happened to be passing by and wishes to exact revenge on me while she¡¯s at it?¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows and snorted, ¡°Why should I? You¡¯re not the one I have enmity with.¡± with that, Ye Ci¡¯s lips form into another sincere smile, ¡°I have to thank you for your willingness to retreat on the other day. If the fight continued, Upwards Ho! would have suffered a serious blow.¡±

    NightAndDay¡¯s expression darkened when he was reminded of the incident on that day. He turned around, and said with an indiscernible tone, ¡°My thoughts were not on the fight, it¡¯s meaningless anyways.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at NightAndDay¡¯s back. She could feel the presence of some hidden meaning within his words, and there was something troubling his mind. It was something that Ye Ci could not understand. Although she was not interested in somebody else¡¯s trouble, she could still manage a wild guess. It seemed that it had something to do with the affair between Into the Sunset and Wandering Cloud.

    Then again, could any man stand an affair between his lover and his best friend? Even if he was unsure, but as soon as his suspicion is aroused, it is nigh impossible to brush it off so easily.

    Despite not regretting her action and despite her hatred for Wandering Cloud, such an underhanded method was something she would like to avoid. She then sent a party invitation to NightAndDay after a brief moment of thought

    NightAndDay looked at her incredulously, ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t clear away so many Ogres alone anyways. Let¡¯s party up, it¡¯ll quicken up our leveling speed.¡±

    NightAndDay could see Ye Ci¡¯s sincerity and understood that she was not here for revenge. She was correct as well. He¡¯d witnessed Gongzi You¡¯s destructive power first hand and knew that she was a very skillful yer. Partying up with her would definitely speed up his leveling progress.

    With that, NightAndDay epted the party invitation.

    Ye Ci was already at lvl42. She barely received any damage from the Ogres. She rode on Ol¡¯ Four and pulled hordes and hordes of the monsters at a time and then took them out with Rain of Arrows. Watching that experience gauge rising rapidly was a very satisfying experience.

    However, the two remained quiet throughout the entire process.

    After clearing away all the monsters on the basin, the two sat down for a rest. The astonishment that NightAndDay felt when he first saw Ye Ci in action was gone. He appeared calm. He silently retrieved a bottle of wine from his inventory and handed it to Ye Ci while gulping down another bottle of his own. He then took in a deep breath, looked square at Ye Ci, and squeezed out his question word by word, ¡°How did you find out about that thing?¡±

    Hi minna-san! Ohaiyo!! Jimmi is having monday blue, but Jimmi does not wish for his readers to experience monday blue! Here¡¯s a chapter to cure your monday blue!

    Anyways *cough cough* *clears throat* as we know.... Steam sales ising.... *cough cough* Anybody wants to sponsor Jimmi some games? *cough cough* I-i-it¡¯s not like I want Fallout 3 GOTY edition! B-baka! jk XD

    So... Enjoy the chapter folks! Don¡¯t forget we always have a teaser next page! Desu Vult!

 Chapter 166 Western Continentâ€™s Surprise Attack

    Chapter 166 Western Continent¡¯s Surprise Attack

    That thing? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned before realising what NightAndDay had meant. She did not intend to tell him anything. After all, an outsider like her should avoid meddling too much in such an affair. If not, she ran the risk of causing trouble for herself while not benefitting from it.

    Hence, Ye Ci who imed to be part-genius began to y dumb, ¡°What thing?¡±

    NightAndDay studied Gongzi You silently. Her pale face betrayed no emotion, as if she was a mass-produced toy from a factory. There was no happiness nor was there sorrow on her face. It was impossible to discern what she wastruly thinking. NightAndDay felt helpless. It would be difficult for him to repeat himself again. He was but a human, and was unable to speak of something of this nature without a hint of emotion.

    He gulped down another mouthful of wine. Fate is such a well-designed game. Even the hint of acrid taste in the wine felt real. In that moment, the taste lingered right at the tip of his tongue, no matter how hard he tried to wash it away.

    However, there were times when curiosity and doubts could overpower one¡¯s sense of shame. NightAndDay looked at Gongzi You and said in a low voice, ¡°Do you remember the thing you said to me when you told me to retreat.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh?¡± Ye Ci replied nonchntly.

    NightAndDay went straight to the point when Ye Ci continuously refused to disclose any bit of information, ¡°You told me that my backyard was on fire. What did you mean by that?¡±

    What do you mean by that? Ye Ci would never bring herself to believe that NightAndDay had not a single clue at all at this point. He must¡¯ve known something all along, but hecked the courage to voice it out, or even the courage to bring himself to admit the truth. He was looking for a strong reason to force himself to believe the truth, and Ye Ci¡¯s words were exactly what he needed.

    But, Ye Ci was not one to meddle in arduous and thankless affairs that would not benefit herself. She replied with an indifferent tone, ¡°There are things that you should not be so curious about.¡±

    Her voice was low and soft, and NightAndDay could only vaguely hear her words. He immediately asked out loud, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Ye Ci turned around and stared at NightAndDay with a smile lighting up her face, ¡°What did I say? I said nothing.¡±

    NightAndDay grimaced. He believed that Ye Ci¡¯s behavior was a sign that his assumptions were correct. Ever since that day Gongzi You told him that his backyard was on fire, he was able to make sense of certain things that were off.

    Why had he always felt that the way Wandering Cloud and Into the Sunset were talking to each other was quite weird? Why had he always felt that the indifference Into the Sunset had towards Wandering Cloud was weird? He did not think, or was rather too afraid to think about the answer to his questions. He had always felt that Glistening Snow and Wandering Cloud were a couple. That was why such a thing between Wandering Cloud and Into the Sunset did not ur to him. Or perhaps he was indeed the victor in hispetition with Wandering Cloud. He was the one who would be walking into a church with Into the Sunset.

    He held on to such a belief, but there was still a sliver of doubt in his heart. However, his unyielding belief was quick to suppress such doubt, until Gongzi You pointed the matter out to him. So even an outsider like her could see it so clearly? Or perhaps she knew something about this?

    NightAndDay¡¯s faith was shatteredpletely. The strong castle of confidence that he had been building up crumbled just like that. Despite appearing strong on the outside, NightAndDay¡¯s heart was in turmoil. That was why he gave up on everything, including guild affairs, and spent his time leveling up in such a secluded ce.

    Although Ye Ci was able make a guess about such things, the details were unclear. Based on her memory of herst life, Wandering Cloud was the final victor. He was able to take over Tang Dynasty and Into the Sunset. As the saying goes, ¡°the background of a hero does not matter¡±. Despite being the guild leader with the most scandals in the forums, his ce in Tang Dynasty held firm. But, who would remember the true founder of Tang Dynasty, and the poor little girl who was one infatuated with Wandering Cloud?

    The past is ever so painful. Ye Ci could feel the shame even with a mere thought of such an event. Whenever she thought of the foolish self she once was, Ye Ci hoped that she could grind herself into paste and pour her remains into the sewers. Truth be told, despite telling herself to let go, Ye Ci could still feel anger when she faced Wandering Clouds.

    Alright, alright, Ye Ci had to admit that she had always been a narrow minded person. The virtue of tolerance had nothing to do with her. She had always been petty throughout her entire life.

    Although it happened in herst life, although things changed with the passing of time, Ye Ci was still unhappy about it.

    This unhappiness drove Ye Ci into scheming as she stared at NightAndDay. However, that thought did not stay in her mind long. Ye Ci¡¯s expression reverted to her previous smile within a fraction of a second, ¡°I think that you¡¯re such a lucky person. A guild leader of such a huge guild is able to leave everything behind and level up solo. How wonderful it is to just leave matters to your subordinates.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing exactly the same thing?¡± NightAndDay was rather gloomy.

    ¡°You and I are different. I¡¯m just a guild leader in name. I¡¯m not the one who created the guild, nor was I the one who had recruited our members. All the administrative work of the guild hasnothing to do with me. I¡¯m just somebody who is muddling along. We have our own guild officers to manage the guild. A person like me is basically not at all important. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re just like that as well?¡± Ye Ci answered honestly.

    ¡°Whenever I¡¯m not around, I¡¯ll leave matters to Wandering Cloud, he would usually...¡± NightAndDay shut his mouth abruptly, and his expression darkened. He the stood up and looked at Ye Ci with a gloomy expression, ¡°I¡¯m almost running out of potions. I¡¯ll head back to the city, and I don¡¯t think I will being back for a while.¡±

    ¡°Oh, alright. Let¡¯s party up again next time!¡±

    NightAndDay took out a city-recalling stone, and suddenly spoke up, suddenly remembering something, ¡°Can you please keep our meeting today a secret?¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. If the folks in Upwards Ho! finds out that I¡¯ve been leveling up with you, Remote Depths might choke me to death.¡± said Ye Ci in an exaggerating tone. Her eyes formed into slits. She was in a good mood. She could almost wave NightAndDay goodbye with her handkerchief. A question floated into Ye Ci¡¯s mind: Would Bai Mo have the courage to choke her to death? He certainly would not.

    ¡°Ok. Goodbye.¡± with that, NightAndDay began to activate the city-recalling stone. He stared straight at Gongzi You, and the corner of his mouth twitched, as if he was about to speak up, but decided against it. NightAndDay disappeared from Ye Ci¡¯s view and from the Mausoleum of des in a sh of green light.

    Since both of them have added each other as friends, Ye Ci was able to clearly see NightAndDay¡¯s location: Das City. Ye Ci¡¯s lips formed into a beautiful curve. That was the home city of Tang Dynasty.

    Sigh. Ye Ci let out a breath. Her mood was very good.

    As he stood in Das City, NightAndDay could not help but think of Gongzi You¡¯s calm demeanor earlier. That girl... Was just too subtle, too shrewd. Despite being unwilling, he was still being led by the nose by Ye Ci. Even though he harbored some contempt towards her in his heart, but for the sake of his benefit, he could not afford to waste his energy on an outsider like Ye Ci. NightAndDay took in a deep breath before looking up at the sky. He loathed the thick clouds ahead. It was a clear portrait of his mood.

    As they were fighting the Ogres earlier on, Ye Ci had the opportunity to observe her surroundings. Despite being a rare ce in the Mausoleum of des, there was no hidden secrets in this little basin. It seemed that this was not the ce she was looking for.

    Ye Ci climbed onto Ol¡¯ Four and was readying herself to explore other areas within the map.

    Just then, a message appeared in the World Chat.

    ¡°Champion City is under attack. The city is under attack by yers from the Western Continent. All Eastern Continent yers please rush to the city¡¯s defense. This is a life and death moment for our continent! If the pce within the Champion City falls, you know damn well what will happen! Let us set aside our past feuds and differences and unite! We must defend the city!¡±

    The message was sent by Sir Ditty, and it received responses from the leaders of several other major guilds. Bai Mo¡¯s message followed right after.

    ¡°To allbat able yers of Upwards Ho!, I want you to head to Champion City. The rest of the Life yers should start storing supplies into our guild warehouse so that ourbatants could retrieve them from the warehouse in Champion City when they run out of supplies.¡±

    The guild channel was silent, with Bai Mo¡¯s voice being the only source of audible sound, ¡°Everybody! Head to Champion City ASAP! Any of you who does not show up will be kicked from the guild!¡±

    ¡°Roger that boss!¡± the members of Upwards Ho! let out a spirited roar.

    ¡°Icy, go to Tang Dynasty¡¯s voice chat with Fruit Jelly. Ask them who is inmand, and which squadron does our guild belong to.¡±

    ¡°Okay, right away.¡± both yers who were diplomats for Upwards Ho! immediately switched channels.

    ¡°Gongzi You!¡± after giving out orders to his guild members, Bai Mo noticed that Ye Ci was still in the Mausoleum of des, and he shouted her name out in the guild channel.

    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Ye Ci of course did not talk back against him at a time like this.

    ¡°Why the heck are you still there? Get your ass to Champion City or I¡¯ll kick your ass!¡±

    ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing, you don¡¯t have to worry about me. I will be at Champion City.¡± Ye Ci at that moment was making her way to the highest peak in the Mausoleum of des on Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s back.

    ¡°Hurry up Ol¡¯ Four, don¡¯t let me down.¡± said Ye Ci as she stuffed pieces of meat into Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s mouth as they went.

    The Western Continent is attacking! It¡¯s too soon! Have they opened up a tunnel? How did they do it?

    Hi minna-san! Here¡¯s another chapter! Hope y¡¯all enjoy this chapter!

    Any kind-hearted peeps out there who would love to reward the team for our hard work? Hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page! Or you could support Jimmi on Patreon! Your simple gesture means a lot to us in the team! We thank you for your support!

    If you have the time to spare, please visit the Novel Update page and write a review for Reign of the Hunters. Thank you in advance.

    Don¡¯t forget that we always have a teaser next page! Desu Vult!

 Chapter 167 Sudden Attack

    Chapter 167 Sudden Attack

    In the current stage of Fate, the maps that were already made avable to yers consisted mainly of maps in the 5 continents, namely the North, South, East, West and Middle continent. No yers would be spawned in the Middle Continent, and ess to the continent was limited to lvl60 and above. No level limitations were imposed on the 4 other continents, and when yers started their game, they could choose a continent of their own, or spawn in a random continent.

    There were no races that were unique to any continents in the current stage of the game. yers in different continent could choose their own races as they created their characters. The map distribution in all 4 continents were the same, and their maps were simr as well. Despite having different dungeons, the difficulties of said dungeons were the same. A yer¡¯s choice in choosing a continent would not affect his gamey experience in any way. What mattered the most is what happened after a yer chose his continent.

    Among the 4 continents, the the Eastern and Southern continents were allies, while the Western Continent was an ally of the Northern continent. There were allies, and there were enemies. In theory, yers would only be able to move around in their own continent before they reach lvl60, and gamey at the pre-lvl60 stage was mainly PvM. Once yers have reached lvl60, they could move to the Middle Continent. At that stage of the game, PvP would be amon urrence.

    This of course, was all a theory. In truth, Fate did not restrict the movement of yers. A yer is always free to move between friendly and hostile continents as long as they have the capabilities to do so.

    It was also a known fact that the Hidden Quests were the most intriguing part in Fate¡¯s quest system. If a certain Hidden Quest waspleted by yers, it might even unlock a secret passage that leads to an enemy city, opening up a path for invasion. The passageways that led to cities varies with the difficulty of the hidden quest. If a yer was able toplete a hidden quest of the highest difficulty, there was a possibility that the yer could open up a way to the enemy¡¯s royal capital.

    That was not the scariest part. If a city was sessfully invaded by a hostile force, only the city¡¯s economy would be affected. yers could restore the city to its former glory bypleting daily quests in that city. If the royal capital of a continent was upied by the enemy, the entire continent would be in jeopardy.

    First of all, the morale of NPCs in the entire continent would plunge, and any NPCs who died would never respawn. If a yer received a quest from an NPC in the capital, and the NPC was killed, the yer will never be able toplete his quest. In Fate, the penalty imposed on a yer for failing toplete his quest was high. It might affect the attitude of other NPCs towards the yer, and the yer might even be shunned from the city.

    Other than that, the fall of the royal capital would bring a huge impact to the economy of the entire continent. Rewards received from quests would be drastically decreased, and the prices of items sold in shops owned by NPCs would soar. An even more outrageous condition was that a lot ofmon items that would usually be sold in the shops would disappear from the market. This condition wouldst until the morale of the NPC¡¯s recovered and the city itself stabilized.(something like ¡°until the morale of NPCs had recovered).

    But when would the NPCs recover their morale? Nobody knows.

    Andstly, the most rage-inducing effect: the loot drops from dungeons and monsters were reduced by 50%. Where did the other half disappear to? Was it confiscated by the system? No. They were allocated to the to the victor of the war. In other words, no matter how good you are at the game, or how hard you worked toplete a quest, you¡¯re doing it for somebody else.

    Of course, there were many other consequences for losing an intercontinental battle that were not announced by the officials. yers had to figure it out themselves.

    But, with the 3 outrageous conditions imposed on the losing side, would any yers be willing to ¡°explore¡± the hardships of losing their royal capital? There shall never be such a yer. Not today, not tomorrow, not in a million years.

    Right after Sir Ditty made his announcement about the invasion, yers from the Eastern Continent swarmed towards Champion City, regardless of what they were doing, regardless if they were exploring a dungeon, or if they were even above lvl20. This ced a huge burden on the server hosting the Champion City map.

    Ye Ci of course joined in the fray. Since ancient times, the prosperity of the people depended on the wellbeing of the nation. Although Fate offered services for yers to migrate to other continents, not many were willing to do such a thing. After all, who would want to put all their efforts to waste by starting anew?

    Ye Ci thought to herself as she made her way to the Jagged Peak: Somebody in the Western Continent must¡¯vepleted a high level Hidden Quest! They wouldn¡¯t be able to reach Champion City otherwise. But how did theyplete such a high level Hidden Quest? Setting the difficulty of such a quest aside, the process ofpleting the quest was a tough one.

    What scared Ye Ci the most was the ability to keep such a quest that consumed a tremendous amount of resources and manpower a secret. How did they do it? There was no news at all about such a thing in the official site nor was there any news on the forums. Their ability to maintain secrecy was just extraordinary. This was something that the Eastern Continent wascking.

    There was an NPC on the Jagged Peak. She was a child who makes kite. When a yer pays the child with gold coins, the child would send yers to any nearby maps with her kite.

    Despite being rtively near to the Mausoleum of des, Champion City was separated from Ye Ci¡¯s location by a lot of deep ravines and gorges. The fastest way to reach Champion City was with the help of this NPC named Lily. The terrain however, was rather hostile. It was almost impossible for Ye Ci to reach the peak had she not brought the Cat ws along.

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    Cat ws: A unique grappling hook made by Pea Cake of Upwards Ho!

    Since Ye Ci was a reincarnator, she was not unfamiliar with the map despite not knowing the area very well. She quick to spot a route to the Jagged Peak. A girl sat with her back leaning against a small wooden cabin with a small campfire in front of her, and a huge kiteid by her side.

    Ye Ci greeted Lily and she smiled and looked up at Ye Ci, ¡°Heh, big guy, you¡¯re tall.¡±

    That¡¯s right. Lily was a Gnome. Gnomes were a race adept in engineering and machines created by Gnomes were always state-of-the-art.

    ¡°Hello Lily, I would like to go to Champion City.¡±

    ¡°No problem, 100 Gold.¡± Lily was wee to the idea of making business, it¡¯s just that the price wasn¡¯t that cheap.

    Handing over 100 gold, it did not take long before Ye Ci was gliding through the skies with the help of a kite. To be honest, it would be an excellent ce for sightseeing if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the altitude the kite was in was simply too cold. At present, Ye Ci felt that she was about to be frozen solid by the chilling air. Unable to bear with the cold, she resorted to the use of a cold-resistance potion from her backpack, downing it before she was able to move her limbs.

    The kite was swift and it did not take much time before Ye Ci could glimpse Champion City.

    Champion City was undoubtedly thergest city, or capital, in the eastern continent; upying more than half of the map with itsnd area alone. From a bird¡¯s eye view, Champion City was a tapestry of grandeur. Exquisite buildings lined the streets and it would definitely be a sight to behold in most cases. However, at present, Ye Ci could only see a field of densely popted people.

    Ye Ci opened her game settings, and turned on the PVP mode. Red and green lights immediately illuminated yers within the city. It was a friend or foe indicator. The yers in red were enemies while yers in green where allies. yers would be able to distinguish friends from foes in a PVP battle using such a configuration.

    As she approached Champion City, Ye Ci took out the few remaining ck Iron Bombs from her inventory. These things dealt horrendous damage to Tang Dynasty thest time, and Ye Ci hoped that it would have a greater impact on the battlefield this day. After all, the enemy yers in Champion City were even more tightly packed than the Tang Dynasty yers the other day.

    Ye Ci lit the fuse of one of the bombs and threw it at the spot with the most red blips the moment she streaked pass Champion City. A bright sh and a thunderous boom followed right after. Ye Ci¡¯s screen was flooded by the Kill Glory points she was able to harvest with that ck Iron Bomb.

    Now that¡¯s what you call Glory Farming! Ye Ci thought to herself as she readied another ck Iron Bomb. She threw the bomb at thergest concentration of red yers, and the result was just satisfying.

    Ye Ci¡¯s two bombs could truly be called a surprise attack. Currently, with the average level of yers being 30, they had absolutely no idea that a flying system would be released in the future. Thus, no one would ever think of what might go on above their heads. Furthermore, Ye Ci¡¯s manner of riding a kite over and dropping two weapons of mass destruction to attack them turned the entire situation even more chaotic.

    Not only would dropping bombs onto the ground like this reap the lives of many, it would also leaverge craters in the ground. Unlike the countryside, the streets inside the city also had boundaries. The two bombs Ye Ci dropped happened to split the pavement in two, and the yers on either side of the craters had no way of crossing, instantly adding on to the already chaotic scene.

    Western continent¡¯smander-in-chief, Absalom, was hollering in themand channel: ¡°What¡¯s going on? How did so many people die instantaneously? What¡¯s the matter with the western and southern defense lines, weren¡¯t they proceeding smoothly? Xinhua Dictionary, Wenshan, what¡¯s going on at your end?¡±

    Hi minna-san! Sorry for not posting for like 2 weeks... This semester has been shitty so far... And the past few weeks been... Not going so well for me..... I won¡¯t be able to post as frequent as before, but I promise I¡¯ll try my best to TL and post as many chapters as I can manage. (Just out of curiousity, any chance that anybody reading this is from MMU Mka XD XD)

    Aaaaaaaaaaand.... LADIES AND GENTS PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR AMORA FOR HER BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL ART WORK!

 Chapter 168 Opponents

    Chapter 168 Opponents

    Xinhua Dictionary and Wenshan were important figures of some of thergest guilds of the Western Continent and were well-known battlemanders. However, any experiencedmander will be caught unprepared in such a situation. Xinhua Dictionary shouted in dismay into themand channel, ¡°F*ck me! I was pushing towards to Royal Pce and a bomb dropped from the sky right into the midst of my main force. It killed them all!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same over here.¡± Wenshen let out a sigh after replying with a sullen tone.

    ¡°Bombs falling from the sky?¡± Absalom was baffled. This doesn¡¯t sound right. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®bombs falling from the sky¡¯? Speak clearly! Don¡¯t spread panic within our ranks!¡± said Absalom as he looked up in the sky. He was unable to spot Ye Ci was she was flying at a lower altitude and was obstructed from view by the various tall buildings within Champion City. That was why he was unable toprehend the words of Xinhua Dictionary and Wenshan.

    ¡°Somebody flew by silently on a huge glider while dropping bombs below her. With Champion City packed with so many yers, and the fact that we have never expected something like this to happen, her bombs wiped us all out.

    Wenshan saw the kite streaking northeast and immediately reported the situation to Absalom, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, she¡¯s headed to the eastern and northern sector. I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s controlling that thing and how she got her hands on such a thing, but you guys be careful! Spread out immediately!¡±

    Before Absalom could give out the order, themanders of the Western Continent yer in Champion City¡¯s Northern and Eastern Sector, Intoxicated and Joyless had already ordered their men to take the necessary precautions. Due to the suddenness the situation, Western Continent yers were slow to react. If there were only Western Continent yers in the map, they would be able to carry out their orders. The ce however, was a battleground with both Eastern and Western yers locked inbat against each other. By the time the yers from the West Continent received the order to retreat, they were unable to immediately maneuver themselves.

    Just at that moment, a ck silhouette appeared in the sky of the eastern sector, like a phantom spreading its wings.

    Intoxicated, who was themander of the eastern sector knew what would happen the moment heid eyes on the silhouette. He screamed into themand channel, ¡°Everyone! Spread out! Don¡¯t stick together! Blend into the ranks of the Eastern Continent yers...¡±

    Before he could finish his sentence, Intoxicated¡¯s vision turned grey.

    ¡°You have been in.¡± the cold voice of the system notification rang in his ears.

    Intoxicatedid on the ground, and swallowed his unspoken words. He looked around with his greyed field of vision and cursed at the top of his lungs, ¡°F*ck!¡±

    Absalom was in the Eastern Sector as well, but was not among the main force, and was at a higher ground. He immediately noticed what had happened after hearing the voice of Intoxicated, ¡°Intoxicated?¡±

    ¡°Dead.¡±

    Absalom took in a deep breath. He was being forced into a corner by this situation. He looked up at the gigantic kite, and said to themander of the northern sector who was not yet ravaged by the bombs, ¡°Joyless, be careful, that flying thing is headed your way!¡±

    ¡°I know, I¡¯ve already began evacuating my men. The streets are packed full of yers, and the NPC soldiers in Champion City are chasing us down. We are barely able to fall back.¡± and with that, Joyless went silent. Absalom could feel his heart in his mouth during the few seconds of silence before Joyless let out a sigh, ¡°We¡¯re still toote. We¡¯re packed so closely with each other on the ground, but she soared effortlessly on the air. We were not able to outrun her and got bombed as well. At least the casualties over here are slightly lower than yours. At least I¡¯m still alive.¡±

    Absalom could not contain his rage. The thing flying in the sky was not the only problem he was facing. He was facing an even more dire issue: respawning. In a siege battle, the spawn location of yers from both sides were already fixed by the system and were far and apart from each other. However, with the high casualty suffered by the Western Continent forces, their yers that were defending their spawn location would be overrun by the tides of onrushing Eastern Continent yers.

    And most importantly, after most of their yers respawned, it was not an easy task to push towards the areas that they were able to conquer earlier on. With that, the advantage that the Western Continent had gained was lost. They have formed a formidable battle line in all the sectors within the city. If they were able to hold their ground, they would eventually be able to emerge victorious.

    But with the sudden turn of events, their lines had copse due to the sudden massive casualties suffered by their forces. It would be as hard as walking towards the moon to reform their battle line. Under such circumstances, their chances of taking down the royal pce was greatly reduced. Doubt began to cloud Absalom¡¯s mind. Should they continue the fight, or should they retreat?

    Even if he could solve the problems at hand, Absalom would still have the person flying around in the sky to worry about. What if she attacked the spawn location?

    As he remained silent, the 4 battlemanders were waiting for his orders.

    ¡°Boss, stop pondering too much, what do we do now? Do we respawn all at once or ording to the sector we¡¯re assigned to?¡±

    ¡°Boss, do we charge out of our spawn location once we¡¯ve all respawned?¡±

    ¡°Stop pestering him. This sudden change of events was just too unexpected. Let him think for a while.¡±

    Just as the 4manders were waiting for his response, Absalom received a private message. It was from Fleeting Time, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. Since we¡¯re already here, we¡¯ll go off with a bang even if we¡¯re defeated. Don¡¯t retreat.¡±

    Fleeting Time¡¯s words removed any shred of doubt within Absalom¡¯s heart. As expected of his best friend for years. Fleeting Time was able to discern what was within Absalom¡¯s mind. There was nothing he could hide from him. Taking in a deep breath, Absalom replied, ¡°I understand. I¡¯m just worried about the person up there...¡±

    ¡°All you need to worry about the battle on the ground, and how do our people respawn and the n of our next offensive. As for that person...¡± a yful smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face, ¡°Leave it to me.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you can handle it?¡± despite knowing of Fleeting Time¡¯s capabilities, Absalom was still worried with the urrence of such an event.

    ¡°Just leave it to me.¡± Fleeting Time repeated himself again.

    Absalom knew Fleeting Time very well. If he imed to be able to handle the situation, it meant that he had confidence inpleting the task. Not wanting to argue with Fleeting Time further, Absalom replied, ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t you die out there. We still need you to take over the royal pce.¡±

    Fleeting Time smiled, ¡°You don¡¯t have to tter me. You have a lot of skillful DPS yers with you.¡±

    Absalom chuckled. With Fleeting Time around, there was no need to worry about the pest in the sky. No matter the situation, Fleeting Time had the ability to bring hope to people around him even in their most dire time.

    There was nothing but absolute trust between Absalom and Fleeting Time. They have been the best of friends ever since they knew each other.

    Fleeting Time leapt onto the nearest rooftop, and began running on the rooftops of Champion City, utilising his high Bnce . His movements were graceful and acute as he followed close behind the giant kite.

    This was the first time Fleeting Time had pulled off such a maneuver with his high Bnce. Before knowing Gongzi You, Fleeting Time was disdainful of using the Hunter ss¡¯s high Bnce to flee and to run. To him, it was something overly stylish but did not serve an actual purpose. But when he tried imitating Gongzi You¡¯s movements, he was deeply impressed. She was indeed an unscrupulous person. Even the slightest advantage could be magnified by her.

    He could not help but smile.

    It was thrilling to have such an opponent.

    Despite his speed, Fleeting Time was still slower than the kite. He would of course not attempt to catch up with Ye Ci¡¯s kite. He chose the spot closest to Ye Ci¡¯s location to begin his pursuit, and with the Ye Ci¡¯s area of movement shrinking as she approached the city center, the kite was quick to make a turn. Right at that moment, Fleeting Time took the opportunity and dashed towards Ye Ci, cing her well within his attack range.

    Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark, Empowered Viper Singer, and Empowered Rapid Fire dealt tremendous amount of damage to Ye Ci in that short window.

    Ye Ci who was prepared to drop a bomb on the Western Continent yers¡¯s spawn location as her kite took a turn had never expected an attack. One third of her hitpoints disappeared before she could pull the pin. She immediately turned her head around, searching for the source of the iing attack. At the same time, a system notification rang out in her ears, ¡°You have been attacked by the Western Continent yer, Fleeting Time.¡±

    Fleeting Time! It¡¯s Fleeting Time!

    Ye Ci spotted a silhouette on the rooftop, dashing towards her. The effortlesslyunched attack after attack while in pursuit of Ye Ci.

    At that moment, Ye Ci realised that her options were limited while riding on that kite. She was unable to control the flight path of the kite as it was predetermined by the system. This was a great inconvenience for Ye Ci as she was unable to maneuver and position herself like Fleeting Time.

    You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me!

    When the hell will this thingnd ?!

    There was a brief moment when Ye Ci¡¯s was trying her best to dodge Fleeting Time¡¯s attack left and right, that a myriad f*ck yous flicked through her mind...

    Hiya minna-san! Jimmi managed to squeeze out enough time to trante a chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!!!

    Hey! Christmas is just around the corner! Are y¡¯all excited to Xmas? I sure as hell am! Long weekend holiday FTW!!!

    *cough cough* Any kinds souls out there *cough cough* wants to give Jimmi and xmas present? *cough cough* N-n-not l-like I-I r-really w-want one y-you know? B-baka!

    Now I want you to do something very simple for Jimmi. If you¡¯re on mobile, it SHOULD be at the bottom side of the page, and if you¡¯re on PCptop it should be on the right side of the page. Now, look for that button that says ¡°Sponsor¡± and click it and then you can donate some monies to Jimmi!! A simple gesture to make Jimmi happy!

    *shameless to the max*

    Anyways, hope y¡¯all have an exciting weekend! Have a Merry Christmas and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!! AYYY!!!

 Chapter 169 Your Nemesis Knows You Best

    Chapter 169 Your Nemesis Knows You Best

    The kites rented from Lily were usually meant for sightseeing, and the kite followed the route through some of the most beautiful ces in Champion City, showcasing the many glorious buildings within the map. If Ye Ci was here as a tourist on this day, she might¡¯ve even felt that the kite was flying too fast.

    On this day however, Ye Ci was here as a reaper of the countless lives of enemy yers. It would be a walk in the park if nobody was going after her. But right at this moment, Fleeting Time was following close behind Ye Ci in hot pursuit. Logically speaking, a yer¡¯s movement speed will never be able to match that of the kite, but Lily¡¯s kite was designed to fly in an ever-shrinking spiralling pattern within Champion City. If Fleeting Time was able to position himself well enough, he would be able to spot Ye Ci¡¯s kite and take potshots at her. The spiral was shrinking smaller and smaller, and it seemed that the kite was about tond.

    Ye Ci had never felt so helpless in her life, at least it was true in her life after her reincarnation. She was unable dismount from the kite, which was limiting her action. In such a tight space, it was very difficult to take aim at Fleeting Time while making sure that he was within her attacking range at the same time. The limitation to her actions also meant that she was unable to dodge attacks from Fleeting Time, and she would need to on constant alert for iing abilities by Fleeting Time. Ye Ci had leveled up by a lottely, which meant that there was a gap between their levels. Despite Fleeting Time¡¯s ferocious attack, his hit chances were reduced due to the level penalty. She would¡¯ve been dead by now if the attacks were able to connect.

    Fleeting Time of course noticed the same thing. After noticing that Ye Ci was unable to react effectively to his attacks, he was able to deduce that Ye Ci was unable to control the flight path of the kite. If she was able to do so, the situation would have been reversed, and he would never be able to gain such a huge advantage over Ye Ci.

    Based on Fleeting Time¡¯s observation, other than the fact that Gongzi You¡¯s actions were extremely limited, the most important thing was that she was about tond. If he was able to time his attacks properly and pay attention to his positioning, it would be easy to take Gongzi You out. This however, was not a thrilling prospect for Fleeting Time. In his perspective, the oue of his fights against Gongzi You was not important. He was intoxicated by the excitement from the fight, and the entire process of trying to outwit his opponent. That was the thrill of a fight between experts. A one-sided ughter was just too boring.

    Besides, Gongzi You was a female. In Fate, female characters would have slightly lower Strength than male characters while having higher points in their Agility. It would be borderline cheating if he took her out with such a huge advantage.

    Fleeting Time was quick to discover another problem. He noticed that quite a number of his attacks on Gongzi You missed, and that his hit rate on Gongzi You was reducedpared to thest time they fought. There was not much changes to her equipment, which meant that her level must¡¯ve been increased to a point where it was 3 levels above him.

    If that was not the case, it was impossible for him to have such a low hit rate.

    Fleeting Time was once again impressed by Gongzi You. In an online game, level could be the instrument of your opponent¡¯s demise. To be able to win, one must always be ahead in terms of level other than having good skills. That was why Fleeting Time was an enthusiast when it came to leveling up. He had never expected Gongzi You to level up at such a quick pace.

    Judging from his hit rate during theirst duel, the level difference between Fleeting Time and Gongzi You was not that great. But in such a short well, Gongzi You was able to surpass him and was at least 3 levels ahead of him. Where did she went to level up so fast?

    Despite his train of thoughts, Fleeting Time pressed on with his attacks on Gongzi You.

    Ye Ci, on the other hand, was furiously gulping down bottles after bottles of Health Potion. Due to her confidence in her abilities, Ye Ci would usually not have an abundant of supplies with her. She had never been forced into such a dire situation before!

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth and activated her Empowered Spiritual Monkey Blessing to increase her rate of evasion. The potions that she carried with her were not enough for her tost that long. Ye Ci¡¯s dire situation came to an end when the kite finallynded at the top of Champion City¡¯s auction house. Despite unable to best the glorious royal pce, the Champion City Auction House was one of the tallest building in the city. This gave Ye Ci an advantage over Fleeting Time.

    With her health bar nearly empty, Ye Ci did not dare to carelessly consume herst 2 remaining potions. In a fight against Fleeting Time, she could not afford to be careless. The 2 bottles of health potions might be of use to herter. Ye Ci opted to use the bandages given to her by Flutter n¡¯ Sway instead after jumping down from the kite. Despite having a weaker healing effect than a Large Health Potion, Ye Ci was able topensate the difference with the numbers. After applying multiple bandages to herself, she was able to recover her hitpoints from 10% to 80%.

    Time is of the essence, and Ye Ci headed to the edge of the building¡¯s rooftop, paying no heed to her health bar that was not full. Her priority was to find an opportunity to counterattack against Fleeting Time. There was no time to waste.

    The height of the buildings in Champion City were not uniform. Some of them were tall while the others were built low. Traversing through the area at the rooftops was entirely different from travelling on a t terrain. One must constantly jump up and down while paying close attention to the distance between houses or he or she would risk falling onto the streets below. Under normal circumstances, it was not a huge problem at all. But with the streets packed full of yers from both sides locked in gruesomebat, one tiny bit of mistake could bring fatal results.

    And because of such a fact, even an expert like Fleeting Time would need very careful as if he was treading on thin ice while making his way to Ye Ci¡¯snding spot.

    For Ye Ci, it was the perfect opportunity.

    Raising her head, Ye Ci spotted a clock tower that was rather close to Fleeting Time¡¯s position. Before she could finish her thought process, Ye Ci¡¯s body reacted and made the best decision for her in ce of her brain. She took a few steps backwards, and dashed forward. She then leapt into the air, shooting towards the clock tower like an arrow.

    Controlling her rapidly descending body while dashing towards the clock toward was no easy task. Thanks to Ye Ci¡¯s relentless drilling of her body¡¯s sense however, the action of adjusting the angle of her body came as a second nature, and she was able tond perfectly.

    Ye Ci swiftly stepped on one corner of the clocktower wall with one of her feet. With her other foot, she made use of the momentum to propel herself towards Fleeting Time along the wall. Watching from a distance, she was vertically running along the wall, seemingly unaffected by earth¡¯s gravitational pull. But Ye Ci was the only one who knew that the momentum which had allowed her to run on the wall would disappear soon.

    Fortunately for her, the wall of the clock tower was not very wide, and she was able to reach from one corner of the wall to the other. Just when it felt as if she was about to fall off, Ye Ci kicked against the wall hard and propelled herself towards Fleeting Time like an arrow that had been released from its bow.

    As Ye Ci leapt towards Fleeting Time, she activated Empowered Falcon Protection and the bright red sigil of her Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s heard. In the blink of an eye, skills such as Rapid Fire, Multi Arrow and Viper Stinger flew towards Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time who had been dashing along the rooftops had his sight trained on Gongzi You while navigating the terrain carefully. When Gongzi You leapt out from the top of the Auction House, Fleeting Time was ready tounch his attack. He had to admit that Gongzi You was way better at using the terrain to her advantage the he would ever be. She was as magnificent as a gem encrusted in the hilt of a dagger as she leapt from the rooftop of the Auction House towards the clock tower and then dashed towards him. She was so beautiful at that moment that even Fleeting Time was awed.

    A worthy opponent is the best thing that someone could have in his in her life. A worthy opponent is also the person who understood you the most.

    This was especially true for Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. It was as if Ye Ci could predict Fleeting Time¡¯s movement with an 80% uracy while Fleeting Time could do the same as well.

    When Ye Ci casted her Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark, Fleeting Time was able to guess her action, and he immediately stopped in his tracks and jumped backwards to his left.

    As he jumped, Fleeting Timeunched a flurry of attacks at Ye Ci as well. Both of them tried their best to evade each other¡¯s attacks. Fleeting Time however, made a slight miscalction. He did not expect Ye Ci¡¯s Multi Arrow to be able tounch 7 arrows at once, and was damaged by 2 of them, losing one thirds of his hitpoints.

    Level does allow you to steamroll your opponent. Fleeting Time eyebrows furrowed as he took a look at his hitpoints. Most of his attacks on Ye Ci were misses, while Ye Ci was able to hit harder and more urately.

    If this goes on, things would go really bad for him.

    Narrowing his eyes, Fleeting Time put his fingers into his mouth and whistled. A gigantic Vampire Bat instantly materialised by his side.

    Ye Ci smiled coldly. So you think you¡¯re the only one who can summon your pet? Ye Ci let out a whistle, but she immediately coughed up blood as a system notification immediately appeared: You are unable to summon a ground-type pet at this location.

    Hiya minna-san! Two days in a row! Are you guys happy minna-san?? Christmas is just round the corner, so MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!! (Now where¡¯s my xmas presents??)

    Anyways, if you have the time to spare, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE head out to Novel Updates and write us some reviews THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

    And to all of you artistic people out there, feel free to submit any of your fanart for Reign of the Hunters to the following email:

 Chapter 170 It Has Only Just Begun

    Chapter 170 It Has Only Just Begun

    Was there any other system notification that could make matters worse when things were already bad?

    Ye Ci did not think so. As a Huntress who focused heavily on the Beast Taming branch of her Talent tree, there was nothing more miserable than this. In truth, focusing on the Beast Taming branch of her Talent tree was not part of Ye Ci¡¯s n. With the addition of 2 top-tier pets however, it would be a total waste to not spend her Talent points on Beast Taming when the game was still in its mostly PvE stage. If the game was in the PvP stage, Ye Ci would have spent more of her Talent points on the Archery branch. It was a rather unfortunate situation for Ye Ci.

    There was only one exnation when Ye Ci could not summon her pet at this location: Ground-type pets could not travel on rooftops. It might be one of the game¡¯s ultra realistic feature, bute to think of it, if Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four in such a ce, he would not be able to cross the gaps between roofs. Besides, wouldn¡¯t the rooftops of houses be destroyed should Ol¡¯ Four dashed on top of them? It would be a problem as well.

    It seems that despite being ferocious, Epic tier pets were still restricted by terrains. Fleeting Time¡¯s Giant Vampire Bat did not suffer from the same restriction faced by Ye Ci¡¯s pet. It was a flying type pet that could be summoned as long as there is space in the air.

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth at this fact. What the hell is this? Why do bad things happen whenever she ran into Fleeting Time? He was such a pain in the ass.

    Fleeting Time expected the huge dinosaur to appear after Ye Ci blew a whistle, and he was suddenly uncertain of the situation. After all, Ye Ci was a few levels ahead of him, and pets share the same level as their owner. His Vampire Bat would be at a level disadvantage when it squares off against Ye Ci¡¯s dinosaur.

    Pets are unlike yers. They were data generated by the system. No matter how intelligent or how smart a pet might be, it was still data generated by the system. They were unable to predict their enemy¡¯s movement like a human could, and were unable to strategize their fights like a human would. The only thing they¡¯re best at doing was to attack, attack and attack.

    This will definitely pitch the Vampire Bat against the dinosaur head on. In such a fight, the bat that was a few levels lower would be suppressed and it would definitely ce Fleeting Time in a disadvantageous position.

    But for some reason, Ye Ci¡¯s pet did not appear after she blew the whistle. Fleeting Time of course would not be so dumb as to assume that Ye Ci¡¯s pet had ran away. The only logical exnation was that she was unable to summon a gigantic ground type pet in their location.

    The time hase.

    Despite not really caring about the oue of their fight, Fleeting Time will never let go of any opportunity that presented itself during the fight. After guessing that Ye Ci was unable to summon her pet, Fleeting Time began giving outmands to his Vampire Bat and directed it against Ye CI.

    Time is of the essence. He was unsure if Ye Ci had a flying type pet just like his. The presence of such a pet would nullify his advantage instantaneously.

    In truth, Ye Ci did not own any flying-type pets. Ol¡¯ Four and Ol¡¯ Three that she had not summoned for a long time were the only pets Ye Ci owned. That was why Ye Ci immediately started running as soon as the system notification appeared, heading for narrow spots with high roofs.

    As a ss with high survivability, Hunters must be confident in their skills and have the ability to adapt to their surroundings in the shortest amount of time in a battle at the countryside. This allows them to locate the best position to avoid any possible danger.

    This was a fact known not only to Ye Ci, but to FLeeting Time as well. As Ye Ci headed for the nearest narrow space, he knew what Ye Ci was up to immediately. If she was able to make her way into the spot first, Fleeting Time would lose his advantage.

    His bat could never follow Ye Ci into such a confined space, and it would be very hard to him tond a shot on her in a ce with so many hiding spots. It would be easy for her tond an attack on him as he was out in the open. This would turn the tables on him immediately. Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes as he dashed after Ye Ci, appearing deep in thought. He then let out a long whistle.

    Ye Ci could feel the Vampire Bat that was basically on her heels pping its wings as it climbed higher into the sky. What is happening? Is Fleeting Time giving up? How is that possible? Would he let go of such an opportunity? Ye Ci tilted her head for a sneak peek, and was shocked by what she saw.

    Fleeting Time was a sly person after all. Using the bat¡¯s spiraling flight path as it ascended, he directed the bat to position itself ahead of Ye Ci, and then dived at her right from the front. This guy. He was just like her. Despite appearing polite and having the demeanor of a gentleman, he was a crafty bastard inbat.

    Ye Ci did not feel anger or rage. She was amused. A lot of yers were crafty fighters, but not all of them could pay attention to all the little details inbat, and it would be very boring to square off against such yers. Fleeting Time however, was just like Ye Ci. To be able to cross swords with somebody like Fleeting Time was truly joyful.

    The Vampire Bat was fast. As it was about to pounce on Ye Ci, she could no longer afford to keep up her graceful image. Diving forward and then rolling away, Ye Ci avoided the bat¡¯s attack. The sharp ws of the Vampire Batnded on Ye Ci¡¯s previous location, and with a loud ¡°crack!¡±, the roof tiles shattered. If the bat had pounced on Ye Ci with such force, she would¡¯ve lost a huge chunk of her hitpoints and experience a world of pain as well.

    Dodging the constant attacks from the bat, Ye Ci continued to flee towards the safety of the narrow rooftops. Fleeting Time however, did not fail to get in her way. He bombarded Ye Ci with attacks, forcing her into the attack path of the Vampire Bat.

    The Hunter ss was also known as the ¡°8-yards Retard¡±. In other words, the strength of the Hunter ss came from its ranged attacks. A Hunter would be harmless as soon as an enemy was able to close in within 8 yards of the Hunter. Other than the Hunter ss¡¯sck of closebat abilities, all ranged sses focused mainly on their Agility stats, while melee sses relied heavily on the Strength. An Agility focused ss like the Hunter ss would definitely be in a disadvantage in meleebat.

    This was exactly the situation Ye Ci was facing.

    Ye Ci¡¯s opponent was a Hunter that could summon his pet. She herself however, was unable to summon a pet to fight on her side. Despite her level advantage, she lost the initiative when her pet was taken out of the picture. Her opponent couldunch attacks after attacks at her from afar while his pet kept her distracted, forcing her to fight against the pet with the few closebat abilities in her arsenal.

    Ye Ci had never been in such a pinch before.

    Ye Ci always thought that she was an excellent Huntress with exceptional skill. However, once she was ced in such a dire situation where her opponent was as skillful as her, Ye Ci realised that her crisis management ability was not on par. In most of her close encounter with danger, she managed to outy her opponents with her high Agility and Bnce. In a real battle between experts, she had totally lost her way.

    This disadvantageous situation is very annoying. Noting that her equipment¡¯s skill ¡°Charge¡± was ready, Ye Ci activated the skill without hesitation, putting a distance between Fleeting Time, the bat, and herself. Grabbing the opportunity, Ye Ciunched some of her strongest attacks on Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time who was unable to dodge, took the brunt of Ye Ci¡¯s attacks. Even when he was not dispatched instantly, Fleeting Time barely had any hitpoints left. He immediately chugged down a bottle of potion to remove the Bleeding debuff and began running in an ¡°S¡± shaped path while applying bandages to heal himself.

    As his bat flew towards Ye Ci, he let out another long whistle.

    Ye Ci, of course, knew what Fleeting Time was up to. She would not fall for the same trick twice. She leapt into the air and spun around, firing off some of her abilities that were low in damage but would apply a DoT (damage over time) effect on its target. When shended, Ye Ci gulped down some potions and rushed at Fleeting Time, ignoring the bat.

    As the two ran, they were not just charging at each other, they were rushing at each other while trading shots back and forth. Fleeting Time was running in an ¡°S¡± pattern while Ye Ci was not running in a straight line as well. Both of them were running in an overly simr pattern, with an overly simr speed while attacking in an overly simr fashion. It felt as if they were fighting against a mirror image of each other.

    The gigantic bat that was chasing after Ye Ci let out a loud screech and fell due to the effect of multiple DoT debuffs. Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes, but did not pay much heed to the death of his pet. After all, it was just one of the tricks he had up his sleeves. It was not the tool he had intended to depend on to emerge triumphant in his battle against Ye Ci.

    He preferred to fight against her head on.

    ¡°You will never win, not when you¡¯re in the Eastern Continent.¡± said Ye Ci coldly as the two brushed pass each other.

    Fleeting Time smiled at Ye Ci¡¯s tensed expression, ¡°I know no defeat, no matter where I am.¡±

    The battle has only just begun.

    Hiya minna-san! Chapter 170 is finally here! Ahaha... Ahahaha... Ahahahahaha...

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 Chapter 171 Western Continentâ€™s Objective

    Chapter 171 Western Continent¡¯s Objective

    While Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were squaring off against each other on the rooftops, Eastern and Western Continent yers were locked inbat on the streets. Facing the endless tides of Eastern Continent yers, Absalom knew that he¡¯d lost the initiative. The Eastern Continent wasn¡¯t their home turf, which meant that they were unable to employ human wave tactics like the Eastern Continent yers that were swarming against them in droves, unfearing their deaths.

    The Western Continent yers that were selected to join this daring assault were elites even amongst their most elite yers. They had good equipment and high levels which were more than a match for the average Northern Continent yers. With the movement of yers restricted by the narrow street, the invaders were able to hold their ground. Despite the absence of system restriction of yers travelling to another continent before the official release of the Middle Continent, yers would still suffer from some degree of penalty while travelling to a hostile continent.

    When yers were on their home continent, their level would be reduced by 1 if they were killed 10 times. While invading a hostile continent, a yer would lose a level for every 5 deaths he or she suffered. Besides that, their equipment had a higher chance of dropping upon death in a hostile continent.

    With his ns ruined by Ye Ci, Absalom gave up on following his original battle n. With the sudden change of the situation, it was impossible tounch another simr attack. Their initial sesses owed a lot to the element of surprise as they emerged from the tunnel and dealt a decisive blow to unsuspecting Eastern Continent yers. With more of the elite Eastern Continent forces arriving on the scene, sticking to his original n was an utterly foolish course of action.

    That was why Absalom gave up on attacking the Royal Pce without hesitation.

    It was a wise decision that was immediately epted by the frontlinemanders. They had a clear picture of the situation and knew that the elite yers of the Eastern Continent were already stationed within the pce. Despite the fact that Champion City wasn¡¯t the home base of any guilds, the city had its own defence measure. The King residing in the Royal Pce would¡¯ve definitely deployed his forces within the pce grounds. With thebined might of the Eastern Continent yers and high-level NPCbatants, an attack by Western Continent yers on the pce would be futile.

    The invading Western Continent yers were some of the best the continent had to offer. They were high-level yers that were able to respond quickly tomands, were equipped with superior equipment, and had a good gaming sense. Right after receiving a confirmation that the attack on the Royal Pce was called off, they began to disperse.

    ¡°Boss, what¡¯s the objective?¡± Xinhua Dictionary was nervous. If the situation continued, they would eventually be annihted.

    After a moment of thought, Absalom spoke up, ¡°Are themanders of all 4bat zones here?¡±

    ¡°Here!¡± The 4 frontlinemanders replied as one.

    ¡°Whichbat zone is the Royal Monastery located in?¡±

    As the royal capital of a continent, Champion City was equipped with various facilities including, but not limited to; a library, an auction house, and a monastery. The same could be said for all the royal capitals in the other continents. The buildings in the capitals, however, were arranged differently and weren¡¯t avable to yers from foreign continents. They also weren¡¯t readily avable on Fate¡¯s official website.

    A yer could easily obtain the map of the royal capital of his or her royal continent, as a map of a yer¡¯s home continent was already ced in the yer¡¯s inventory once they¡¯d finished their characterpletion. With this map, a yer could gain knowledge about their home continent. To gain knowledge about the maps of a foreign continent, a yer would need to purchase a map of a foreign continent from the continent¡¯s NPC or physically explore the ce.

    The Western Continent yers were of course not here for sightseeing; they were enemies of the Eastern Continent. As ¡°invaders¡± they were unable to purchase maps from the local NPCs and the only way they could confirm their location was through word of mouth.

    That was why Absalom asked out loud in themand channel before making his decision.

    ¡°It¡¯s in the northern sector. I¡¯m in charge of this sector,¡± Joyless immediately replied.

    ¡°I want a short briefing about the terrain in your sector. I¡¯ll grant you the authority to give your report in the mainmand channel,¡± said Absalom, and immediately spoke out in the mainmand channel, ¡°May I have your attention please! No matter where you are, listen up! The following will be a short briefing about the northern sector, I want you to remember it well.¡±

    With that, Joyless gave the briefing with a slow but steady voice, providing details of the terrain in the sector to the Western Continent yers.

    Every Western Continent yer, including Fleeting Time, could clearly hear Joyless¡¯s voice. Fleeting Time immediately understood Absalom¡¯s intention of shifting thebat area to the northern sector of the city. He was, however, locked inbat with Ye Ci, with neither of them gaining the upper hand.

    ¡°Now that I¡¯m done exining things about the northern sector, I will begin sharing the map of thebat area to the frontlinemanders. Please pass the maps around.¡±

    Absalom nced at the detailed map of the northern sector and immediately spotted the Monastery that was marked on the map by Joyless. He immediately barked out orders into themand channel, ¡°I want yers in the northern sector to continue upying the main streets, while yers in the other sectors move towards the Monastery in small groups. Remember, rendezvous at the Monastery as soon as possible. There aren¡¯t too many of the yers in that sector yet. Those people from the Eastern Continent thought that we were going tounch an attack on the Royal Pce, so they didn¡¯t station much of their forces in the Monastery. Kill as many yers as you can on your way there, but don¡¯t get too greedy. Our objective is the Monastery.¡±

    After giving out his orders, Absalom again reminded the Western Continent yers to avoid hastily attacking the Monastery before the main force arrived.

    Despite theck of defenders in the Monastery, Absalom knew that the monks and nuns in the Monastery were tough opponents. They had high magical attacks, as well as self-healing properties. A hasty attack on the Monastery meant high casualties for the Western Continent yers.

    The yers from the Western Continent immediately carried out their orders and made their way towards the Monastery. Living up to their status as elites, the yers moved in small groups, avoiding detection by Eastern Continent yers. They retreated from the other battle zones in an orderly fashion, giving off the facade that they were trying to lure their enemies into a trap.

    Eastern Continent yers were not as organized as their Western counterparts that were made up entirely of elite yers. They were mostly normal yers without an established chain ofmand and didn¡¯t have any experience inrge-scalebat, which resulted in the streets of Champion City being filled with the corpses of Eastern Continent yers.

    Wenshan stared at the streets littered with the corpses of the Eastern Continent yers. Many of them respawned right after they were killed inbat, leaving behind countless skeletons and tombstones. The city would¡¯ve felt like a ghost town had it not been for the grandiose background music of Champion City and the glittery sun hanging in the sky. Wenshan couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the same thing would happen if the Royal Capital of the Western Continent was invaded one day.

    Other than the skeletons and tombstones, the streets were covered with a sea of equipment. Some of the equipment looked expensive, while there were also others that were worthless. At a time like this, however, who would have the time to pick up all this equipment?

    As he retreated, Intoxicated spotted an Eastern Continent yer who was at least lvl25 sneaking around, picking up equipment that was dropped by other yers. Intoxicated raised his staff and cast Explosion on the yer. The yer hadn¡¯t expected that the retreating Western Continent yers wouldunch such an attack. With his low level and inferior equipment, the yer was instantly killed, and the items and equipment he¡¯d picked up fell to the ground.

    Wenshan, who was passing by, couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°You don¡¯t have to kill everyone in sight you know... He¡¯s not a threat to us.¡±

    Intoxicated snorted, ¡°I didn¡¯t kill him because of any threats he might pose. The yers from their separate continents are fighting to the death on the front lines, but somebody like him is here trying to make a profit! Why should I let him live?¡±

    Wenshan let out a chuckle. The importance of teamwork was a philosophy that was always preached by Intoxicated. With such a philosophy, he became one of the most famousmanders throughout the entire Western Continent.

    ¡°Fleeting Time, who was the one dropping the bombs?¡± Absalom sent a message to Fleeting Time after reorganizing his forces.

    ¡°Gongzi You.¡±

    Absalom was momentarily stunned. Unlike Fleeting Time who would only pay attention to people who were of interest to him, Absalom who was the leader of thergest guild in the Western Continent; as well as the continent¡¯smander in chief, knew the names of all the expert yers from all four continents. He immediately followed up with another question after hearing the name, ¡°Wasn¡¯t she the Huntress who had a draw with you in a PK during the Dragon Dance Competition?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    After a slight pause, Absalom let out a sigh, ¡°So it¡¯s her... I feel vindicated now.¡±

    Hiya minna-san! Ladies and gentlemen, babies and elephants! Jimmi proudly presents to you Chapter 171 of Reign of the Hunters! Desu Vult!!

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    Oh... First in thement type First Blood!

 Chapter 172 Since You Want Me To Wait, Then Wait I Shall

    Chapter 172 Since You Want Me To Wait, Then Wait I Shall

    Absalom was not a person that was easily impressed. Even the experts from the 4 continents were not at all impressive to him. No matter how skillful they appear in videos, they were simply dismissed as being shy by Absalom. To him, a yer¡¯s ability to adapt to situation was the most important, and right at this moment, he was deeply impressed by Gongzi You.

    Nobody knew that Western Continent yers would be attacking Champion City in the Eastern Continent. From the frantic and confused reaction by the Eastern Continent yers, Absalom knew that their surprise attack was a sess. Since nobody in the Eastern Continent knew about the attack, Gongzi You would of course have no knowledge of such thing. Despite that, she was able to react to this sudden event in a very unexpected way and dealt a decisive blow to in the shortest amount of time.

    From this fact alone, 3 conclusions could be formed. Firstly, this person is very familiar with the Eastern Continent, allowing her to formte the most effective attack n within the shortest amount of time. Secondly, the person was highly imaginative, enabling her to think of some of the most unimaginable ns. Thirdly, this person is always equipped with things that yers would usually disregard but are very handy in certain situations and are able to help her turn the tables.

    There were a lot of expert yers, but those who could pull such things off.... Were few and far between.

    And because of that, Absalom was deeply impressed. Fleeting Timeughed, ¡°There are not many out there that could impress you.¡±

    Absalom responded with a question of his own, ¡°Which sector are you in? Have you begun moving towards the Monastery?¡±

    ¡°What if I tell you that I¡¯m still fighting neck and neck with Gongzi You at the rooftops? What would you think?¡±

    Absalom was shocked, ¡°You haven¡¯t defeated her yet? You can¡¯t be serious!¡±

    ¡°You said that you were impressed by her. Do you think somebody that can impress you could be dealt with so easily?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s good, but you¡¯re the best. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯re unable to defeat her.¡± Absalom was very confident in Fleeting Time¡¯s capability.

    ¡°Say, stop viewing the sky from the bottom of a well,¡± said Fleeting Time as he was hit by one of Ye Ci¡¯s arrow which nearly took his life. Not only that, the arrow was very close of one of his joints, and would almost cripple him. Fleeting Time groaned at the piercing pain.

    ¡°What happened? Did she kill you?¡± shouted Absalom.

    ¡°I¡¯m still alive, but I almost got crippled by her.¡± Fleeting Time replied calmly, ¡°Then again, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she managed to kill me. She¡¯s at least 3 levels higher than me, and my attacks on her have a low hit rate.¡±

    ¡°Since you can¡¯t defeat her promptly, make way to the Monastery as soon as possible.¡± said Absalom after a brief moment of consideration.

    ¡°......¡± with the oue of the battle undecided, Fleeting Time was reluctant to leave. He wasn¡¯t willing to ept this oue!

    ¡°Hurry up! You know that the Archbishop is very tough, go kite it or we won¡¯t be able tounch our attack.¡± Unlike Fleeting time and Ye Ci, Absalom was always a person who had his eyes on the bigger picture. People like Absalom will never understand the reluctance felt by Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Can it wait?¡± Despite knowing that his action might cost his side the battle, he was hesitant to leave the battle unconcluded.

    Even though Absalom could never understand how Fleeting Time felt, he knew what was going on in his mind. He declined Fleeting Time¡¯s request, ¡°This is a very crucial moment. If it¡¯s on any other day, I would definitely not mind if you do it all day and all night. But right now, you can¡¯t. Your mission is not to contend with Gongzi You. Head to the Monastery right away and bait the Archbishop away from that ce before we have arge scale engagement with the monks and priests in the Monastery.

    Fleeting Time did not reply immediately.

    Absalom then continued, ¡°Brother, it¡¯s not easy for us to get here. Don¡¯t let your emotions get the better of you.¡±

    Fleeting Time took in a deep breath. Absalom was right. No matter how hard he wanted to continue his battle with Gongzi You, their objective today was to restrict the growth of the Eastern Continent, and to take over its Royal Capital. Since the n was already in ruins, they can¡¯t afford to fail again.

    After making up his mind, Fleeting Time smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi You, we¡¯ll meet again.¡± and with that, he dove away from the rooftops into the streets below, disappearing the crowd.

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned and confused. Anger then rose within her. Fleeting Time ran away!

    If Fleeting Time fled after nearly dying, Ye Ci would understand. In this situation however, Ye Ci had depleted her potions and Fleeting Time would definitely have a lot more consumables with him, she would definitely lose in a drawn out fight. Fleeting Time fled under such circumstances while Ye Ci was still carrying on the fight. How could Ye Ci not be angry?

    She tried to chase after fleeting time, but could only see a sea of red and green on the streets, and had totally lost sight of Fleeting Time. Bai Mo¡¯s voice rang in her ears just at that moment, ¡°Gongzi You, where are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m at the rooftops, near the auction house.¡± replied Ye Ci as she sprinted on the streets.

    ¡°Rendezvous with me at the entrance of the Grand Theatre.¡± Bai Mo immediately gave his order. He was themander of the Eastern Continent¡¯s 4th Battle Group, and his orders were absolute.

    ¡°But...¡± a reluctant Ye Ci began to refute.

    Bai Mo of course knew what was in her mind. But right at this moment, the survival of their continent was at stake, and personal matters would have to give way. Bai Mo continued in a strict and unyielding voice, ¡°Rendezvous at the Grand Theatre, now!¡±

    ¡°......¡± Ye Ci stopped dead in her tracks and bit her lips. Despite understanding Bai Mo¡¯s reasoning, she was still reluctant.

    ¡°Gongzi You, I said now!¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Ye Ci took in a deep breath. If this was her old self in herst life, she would definitely have ignored Bai Mo¡¯s orders. She was a different person in this life. She could no longer afford to be as selfish as she was. She could not bring herself to ignore herrades, especially in such a dire situation. Her rationale was screaming at her to not act willfully because of her feelings.

    Hence, despite her severe unwillingness, Ye Ci turned around and headed to the Grand Theatre. With anger boiling her as she headed to her destination, Ye Ci send the her first ever message in the World Channel.

    ¡°Fleeting Time, just you wait!¡±

    Despite the chaotic situation, many of the yers would still pay attention to the World Channel. After all, there might be slivers of information that could be of use to them. As yers prepare for battle, most of them would pay attention to the World Channel. The appearance of a message from Gongzi You drove the yers crazy.

    Almost all of Fate¡¯s yer knew that Gongzi You was a top expert in the Eastern Continent. She however, had always taken a low profile, and had seldom shown herself, not to mention in the World Channel. Her message on this day was definitely a first. And to add up to the surprise, her message was directed to the expert yer of the Western Continent, Fleeting Time. A lot of yers that were bored out of their mind began guessing the meaning behind Gongzi You¡¯s message.

    As if Ye Ci¡¯s message was not surprising enough, Fleeting Time¡¯s reply blew the minds of countless yers.

    At that point of time, Fleeting Time was already approaching the entrance of the Monastery and had already rendezvoused with the rest of the Western Continent yers. He was in fact standing beside Absalom and the other front linemanders of the Western Continent. Despite not being in the same group, they were all famous in their home continent, and knew each other well. Before Absalom could brief Fleeting Time about the situation, Gongzi You¡¯s message appeared in the World Channel, and themanders cast meaningful nces at Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Timeughed and muttered under his breath, a mischievous grin began to form on his lips. ¡°Since Gongzi You wants to wait, no matter where and when, no matter how long it takes... Wait, I shall.¡±

    This...

    This was just...

    With Ye Ci¡¯s message and such a reply from Fleeting Time, even those that were not lewd-minded felt that there was a scandal going on between the two.

    Absalom¡¯s mouth twitched as he casted a nce at Fleeting Time, have you developed some sort of love-hate rtionship for each other?¡±

    Xinhua Dictionary immediatelyughed out loud, ¡°Love born from hatred. How romantic.. Boss, don¡¯t tell me... You¡¯re jealous?¡±

    Fleeting Time who was being made fun of cracked a joke of his own, ¡°A battle is not all about fighting, negotiations can be a form of battle as well.¡±

    The few men gathered around him rolled their eyes. This, however, was just a tiny episode that happened. The most important task at hand for the Western Continent yers was to take over the Monastery. Absalom and the few other frontlinemanders began shifting their attention to directing the battle at the front.

    Ye Ci who had just regrouped with the rest of her guild members almost fainted out of anger as she saw the reply from Fleeting Time. Her desire to kill soared especially after noticing the nces casted upon her by Bai Mo, Liu Chang, Timely Rain, the Little Hands couple and the main force of Upwards Ho!.

    She had always thought of Fleeting Time as someone who was remote and stern. It seems that Fleeting Time turned out to be a rather cheeky person. What the hell is he saying? Ye Ci could feel her blood boil and that she could burst a vein.

    Timely Rain patted Ye Ci on the shoulder, ¡°Good job, good job.¡±

    This earned Timely Rain a re from Ye Ci with her bloodshot eyes.

    Hiya minna-san! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!

    Roses are red,

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    Here¡¯s a new new chapter,

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 Chapter 173 Whatâ€™s This Feeling?

    Chapter 173 What¡¯s This Feeling?

    Liu Chang moved forward and patted Ye Ci on the shoulder as she walked past, followed close behind by the couple of Tiny Hands and Little Hands, Pickled Pepper Phoenix w, Fruit Jelly, Mi Lu...and even Pea Cake. What infuriated Ye Ci the most was that they didn¡¯t even speak a single word, but simply let out long sighs as they walked past her. Ye Ci was ready to explode with rage.

    Bai Mo, who was walking at the very back, patted Ye Ci¡¯s shoulders like the people before him. He let out a long sigh, and said with a knowing look, ¡°No wonder you refused to regroup with us. So that¡¯s how it is...As expected, you can¡¯t expect to keep your daughter around when she bes of age.¡±

    Bai Mo¡¯s words were like a spark that lit the fuse to a bomb and at that moment, her rationalpletely copsed. No longer caring if Bai Mo was themander, Ye Ci kicked Bai Mo on his back. This caused him to lose his bnce and fall t on his face in full view of all the yers present.

    ¡°Hey hey, you can¡¯t vent your anger at me like that! ¡± Bai Mo protested.

    Ye Ci snorted coldly, ignoring Bai Mo¡¯s plight.

    Just then, Sir Ditty¡¯s voice rang out in themand channel, ¡°All battle groups, listen up! Head to the Monastery immediately!¡±

    Despite enjoying the little scene between Gongzi You and Bai Mo, the yers immediately tensed up after Sir Ditty¡¯s voice rang out in themand channel.

    Sir Ditty gave more orders in themand channel, assigning different tasks to each of the battle groups, ¡°The First Battlegroup listen up, I want you to attack from the main road. Do it at all cost! You have the most men and the best equipment. Remember, this is a battle of survival for a continent; a battle for our mutual benefit. Even if the opposition is strong, even if you die, at least you¡¯ve died on the battlefield!¡±

    Sir Ditty then continued after a short pause, ¡°And I¡¯d like to say this to the members of all battle groups, don¡¯t you dare ask the question: What if I lose my equipment? Just so all of you know, if the Western Continent is sessful in taking over the Monastery, you¡¯ll lose more than your equipment and ie; you¡¯ll lose your pride as well! Your pride as an Eastern Continent yer! The growth of our continent is the best in the world! If we lose, we¡¯ll be the worst continent! Everything will be affected by this! Is this something that you want?¡±

    Not everyone could speak in themand channel, but the thunderous roars of yers in Champion City was a testimony to how effective Sir Ditty¡¯s speech was. The speech was rousing for normal yers, but Ye Ci who had experienced countless siege battles in herst life was unaffected. She was, however, impressed by Sir Ditty¡¯s charisma. Not everymander possessed such charisma.

    It would be a waste if a person like this didn¡¯t end up as a politician.

    Ye Ci was no longer paying attention while Sir Ditty continued giving outmands in themand channel. Her mind was upied with another matter. Did Fleeting Time run away because he was recalled by hismander? How could that be? Is Fleeting Time the sort of person that would care about the bigger picture? If that was the case, however, themander that had been able to convince Fleeting Time time to disengage from their battle must be someone very remarkable. After all, the one who could order a person as arrogant as Fleeting Time was definitely not someone simple.

    A question continuously gnawed at Ye Ci¡¯s mind: No matter how you looked at it, Fleeting Time was a top-tier yer in the Western Continent. A skillful yer like him couldn¡¯t unleash his full potential in a chaotic melee, but he left anyways. Was he leaving to regroup with the main force to take down the Monastery?

    Was this the case? But if that was true, did it mean that there was nothing special about thismander?

    A thought suddenly sprang into Ye Ci¡¯s mind.

    Choosing to attack the Monastery was a very sound choice on the Western Continent¡¯s part.

    If the Royal Pce could be said to be the symbol of the Royal Capital; conquering the Royal Pce was the equivalent of conquering the entire continent, bringing forth a tremendous impact to its economy and culture. Then the same could be said about the Royal Monastery as it represents the continent¡¯s glory of religion, as well as the morale of the NPCs throughout the entire continent. Should the Monastery fall, even if the economy of the continent wasn¡¯t affected, the NPCs would still suffer from low morale and cause them to act in a negative manner. It would even result in them doing their jobs poorly as a way of striking. This would bring about a huge impact on the dungeon exploration progress of the major guilds.

    In most siege battles, if an invading force was unable to seize control of the Royal Pce, they would usually try taking over the Monastery. If that failed, then the National Library and National Auction House would be their next targets. If the invaders failed to seize any of these objectives, they would lose the siege battle.

    The Western Continent¡¯s objective was clear. Since they were unable topletely seize control of the Royal Capital, they would try and take over the Monastery instead in an attempt to deal some damage to the Eastern Continent. If they left just like that, it would be a great waste of their efforts. Was Fleeting Time called away to join in on an unorganized and chaotic battle? It was very unlikely.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. The Royal Monastery could only be taken down with 2 conditions: The death of the Archbishop, or the destruction of the Grand Statue in the Monastery.

    Fleeting Time must¡¯ve been called toplete either one these tasks. The Grand Statue was not as solid as it seemed; a ranged yer could easily destroy it using normal attacks within minutes. The elite troops guarding the Grand Statue, however, were not pushovers. They would never abandon their post around the Grand Statue. Before the Monastery was taken over, nobody could even dream of getting within range of the Grand Statue.

    In that case, taking down the Archbishop was the only option left.

    In the eyes of the Eastern Continent yers, the Archbishop was a benign-faced high-level NPC. To the Western Continent, however, he was an abnormally strong monster. However, as long as yers were willing to die for their cause, even an impossibly strong BOSS could be defeated.

    Besides, the Archbishop was a mage-type NPC. Despite being able to deal massive amounts of damage, the Archbishop had a very low defence. As a Hunter; and the top Hunter in the Western Continent at that, Fleeting Time would, of course, know one of the basic skills required to being a Hunter: Kiting.

    If Fleeting Time imed that he couldn¡¯t kite well, then there wasn¡¯t a single yer in the entire Western Continent that could kite.

    So that¡¯s how it is. Ye Ci crossed her arms. She was riding on Ol¡¯ Four, tapping her arms with her finger while a hint of coldness appeared in her eyes. She then turned around and spoke to Fruit Jelly who was following behind her, ¡°Fruit Jelly, do you have any Health Potions with you?¡±

    As a Cleric, Fruit Jelly preferred involving herself inbat instead of healing herrades. No matter how much damage a Cleric could dish out, it was still a soft ss. Whenever Fruit Jelly was unable to heal herself, she would gulp down Health Potions to sustain her hitpoints. That was why Fruit Jelly would always carry all sorts of Health Potions with her.

    ¡°Of course, what kind of Health Potion do you need?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m almost lvl 43, give me what you think is best,¡± Ye Ci told Fruit Jelly the truth, as she would never hide her level from her friends.

    Fruit Jelly smacked her lips together and red at Ye Ci, ¡°You bastard! How did you level up so fast? I¡¯m only lvl 33 and you¡¯re like 10 levels ahead of me!¡± Despite her grumbling, Fruit Jelly¡¯s hand didn¡¯t stop moving and she traded 20 of her best Health Potions to Ye Ci.

    Fruit Jelly was never stingy when she was dealing with Ye Ci. Even when the 20 Health Potions cost almost 4,000 gold coins, Fruit Jelly would never be stingy when her friend was in need.

    ¡°Will you have enough left after giving me so many?¡± Ye Ci epted the potions without a second thought.

    ¡°All is well. It¡¯s a waste for me to use such a high tier potion anyways. You¡¯ll be able to put them to good use,¡± Fruit Jelly shook her head and then grinned mischievously, ¡°If you feel guilty about it... Tell me, is there something going on between you and Fleeting Time?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes and rode away on Ol¡¯ Four, ¡°I wish you a happy 20 deaths on the battlefield today.¡±

    Fruit Jellyughed out loud, ¡°If this could prove that there¡¯s a scandal going on between you two, I would dly die!¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes yet again. She was on fire. Just what the hell is this?

    ¡°Ditty, I¡¯ll head into the Monastery first to guard the Archbishop,¡± As Ye Ci rode past the building acting as a storage warehouse, she found that the NPCs had already left. Fortunately for Ye Ci, her guild badge allowed her direct ess to the guild warehouse, and she was able to replenish herself with the Fire Arrows and Frost Arrows that she had stored within the warehouse beforehand. With her consumables replenished, Ye Ci immediately sent a message to Sir Ditty.

    As the suprememander of the Eastern Continent forces, Sir Ditty had already realised the same problem as Ye Ci and he immediately directed a question to her, ¡°Gongzi, I have to ask you something. Were you fighting against that one called Fleeting Time just now?¡±

    If Ye Ci didn¡¯t know that Sir Ditty wasn¡¯t someone who liked gossipping or asking meaningless questions in such a grave situation, she would¡¯ve refused to answer him. Fortunately, though, Ye Ci knew that Sir Ditty wasn¡¯t that kind of person which was why she answered truthfully, ¡°Yes, at the rooftops.¡±

    ¡°Has he regrouped with the main force yet?¡±

    ¡°Well, he ran off just like that in the middle of the fight, so I think it¡¯s safe to assume that he did,¡± Their conversation reminded Ye Ci of Fleeting Time¡¯s earlier message in the World Channel, which caused her temper to re.

    The strong wind blows,

    The sky is raining cats and dogs,

    Jimmi¡¯s eyelids are almost shut,

    But he still posted this chapter just for you!

    Hiya minna-san! I hope you peeps enjoyed thistest chapter of Reign of the Hunters!

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    Also, any donation or any form of support will really, really help Jimmi with his life out a lot. I¡¯m just a college student trying to survive the 3 years of my course over here so I really hope that y¡¯all can help me out. Thank you for supporting Reign of the Hunters people!

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 Chapter 174 Hi~ We Meet Again!

    Chapter 174 Hi~ We Meet Again!

    Sir Ditty mumbled something under his breath, and directed a question at Ye Ci, ¡°What do you think Fleeting Time is doing?¡±

    Ye Ci knew that Sir Ditty would not ask such a question out of the blue. He must¡¯ve already had an answer of his own. She pursed her lips and replied, ¡°You know the answer to the question, why are you still asking?¡±

    ¡°I need a second opinion. I want to know if I¡¯m right.¡± Sir Ditty smiled. He had always been a cautious person. In a time like this, even Sir Ditty would not dare to make a decision based on his personal assumption.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to go kite the Archbishop.¡± that was the only answer Ye Ci could think of.

    After a brief pause, Sir Ditty let out a long sigh, ¡°Be careful, that ce is definitely surrounded by Western Continent yers by now. Don¡¯t die in there! I need you to dy them as long as possible and buy us some time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± Ye Ci grinned. She enjoyed talking with people with intellect. Such conversation was simple, brief, and straight to the point.

    After concluding her conversation with Sir Ditty, Ye Ci jumped down from Ol¡¯ Four and dashed through the tightly packed streets to the direction of the Monastery.

    Knowing that Sir Ditty would have spoken to Bai Mo, she did not worry about her cousin. Her main concern at the moment was to figure a way out to sneak past the many Western Continent yers into the Monastery.

    After giving the matter a long thought, Ye Ci decided to sneak into the Monastery through the rooftops. Although the Western Continent yers would put the rooftops under heavy guard after her battle with Fleeting Time, but with waves after waves of Eastern Continent yers rushing their positions, they would be forced to divert men to the defence on the ground.With that, Ye Ci would be able to sneak safely into the Monastery within minutes.

    Despite the dangers, victory always favors those who were able to surprise their opponents. Without any shred of hesitation, Ye Ci climbed onto the rooftops and lowered herself. She the dashed towards to Monastery.

    With the impending attack from invaders, the Monastery is on full alert. Before reinforcements from the Royal Army could arrive at the Monastery, the monks and priests prepared themselves forbat. There was nearly 300 monks and priests in the Monastery, with levels ranging from 40 to 50. Priests were good in attacking while monks were adept at healing. Despite theck of thanks, suchbination of NPCs were very effective inbat. Despite their level advantages, the NPCs were barely able to stem the tide against the numerical superiority of the Western Continent yers. As Ye Ci entered the Monastery through its eastern entrance, the NPCs of the Monastery were barely holding the invaders back.

    Only the northern roof of the Royal Monastery was the only spot without a foothold. There was also sentries lurking around the northern side, which meant that there were rtively less Western Continent yers would seek to enter the Monastery from the north. Without hesitating, Ye Ci entered Stealth and approached the northern side of the Monastery. Entering Stealth would impose a 50% reduced bonus speed on Ye Ci, but it was the only way to sneak in undetected in the midst of so many enemies.

    Making her best effort to avoid the staging areas of the Western Continent¡¯s Rogues and Rangers, Ye Ci arrived at the northern side of the Royal Monastery. She could see priests and monks shouting out their devotion to God with their dying breath and Western Continent yers that were marching steadily forward. As expected of elite yers. Only God knows how long they been training for this day. The quality of Eastern Continent yers paled inparison whenpared to such an organized force. Their only solution to defeat such an enemy it seems, was the employment of human wave tactics. (USSR did it quite sessfully against the Third Reich no?)

    However, there were times when using a human wave tactic proved to be the best solution in a battle, and the waves of Western Continent yers swarming over and overwhelming the NPCs within the Monastery was the perfect example.

    Ye Ci then slipped into the Monastery itself through its western entrance. It was rtively safe within the building. Any Western Continent Rogues and Ranger who had managed to slip in were swiftly dealt with by the guards stationed in the sacred hall.

    ¡°Gongzi, are you in the Monastery?¡± Ye Ci received a message from Sir Ditty right after leaving Stealth, and couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the person had installed a tracking device on her. How did he track her movements so well?

    ¡°I just got here.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s it going inside?¡±

    ¡°Nothing out of the ordinary. There are still enemy Rogues, Rangers and Hunters lurking around despite the soldiers and priests stationed within the Sacred Hall. They pose no real threat, but the area is not exactly entirely safe.¡± Ye Ci offered a brief overview of the situation. Judging from the amount of Western Continent corpses lying around, quite a number of enemy yers had entered the Sacred Hall, but were defeated by the guards.

    But how long could their defencest?

    ¡°I¡¯ve sent a strike team your way. They¡¯ll provide support and help you with the Western Continent yers that have managed to sneak into the Monastery. Go take Fleeting Time out.¡±

    ¡°Roger that.¡±

    Ye Ci was impressed by Sir Ditty¡¯s (something like meticulous nning). He was able to handle everything within the shortest amount of time without prior preparation in such a chaotic situation. It was not something that everybody could achieve. That was why Wolf Pack has be the top guild in the Eastern Continent under his leadership.

    ¡°Gongzi You, where are you?¡± Ye Ci received a private message from an unfamiliar yer, ¡°I¡¯m Five Petaled Flower, the leader of the strike team Sir Ditty sent to help you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m at the entrance of the north side sacred hall. Be careful, there are a lot of Rogues and Rangers lurking around.¡± casting a final nce at the corpses littering the ground, Ye Ci once again entered Stealth.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re at the northern gate, we¡¯re heading your way now.¡± replied Five Petaled Flower. After a short moment, Ye Ci could see 20 blurry figures heading her way.

    yers from the same faction could see each other despite being in Stealth. They could make out the blurry outlines of friendly yers and could urately determine their movements that were otherwise invisible to hostile yers. That was why Western Continent yers were able to slip into the sacred hall.

    ¡°We¡¯ll protect the statue in the sacred hold. Leave this ce to us.¡± Five Petaled Flower walked up to her and spoke to her softly.

    Ye Ci could see the blurry face of the yer. It was not a face that could be easily remembered. Ye Ci knew that a person like this was best suited to be a Rogue. A good Rogue would not have a face that could easily be imprinted in one¡¯s memory. If a girl was to have such a in look, it might be a bad thing for her. For a Rogue however, it was the best possible oue.

    Five Petaled Flower was the best Rogue in Wolf Pack, and was best of all the Eastern Continent as well.

    Ye Ci nodded her head. The person was dependable, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be heading to the Archbishop.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± Five Petaled Flower nodded. The two did not know each other, but the mutual understanding between them was as if they were best friends for years.

    As she made her way to the Archbishop¡¯s chamber, Ye Ci encountered an acquaintance of her: Lazy Blue. She did not expect him to be the strike team at all. Despite their past feuds, Lazy Blue acted calmly, as if they have never met before. He even spoke in a low voice as he walked past Ye Ci, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare die before you defeat him. Don¡¯t shame our continent, or I¡¯ll be hunting you to the world¡¯s end.¡±

    The corners of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth twitched. At a time like this, this guy was not at all obnoxious.

    ¡°Take good care of yourself. If the statue is destroyed, I¡¯ll being after you.¡± it was not Ye Ci¡¯s nature to lose in a trash talk.

    Despite the rather empty Monastery, and theck of presence of monks and priests in the hallways, Ye Ci knew that she was in the heart of the Monastery, and not many Western Continent yers could easily enter the area. She immediately left Stealth and dashed towards the Archbishop¡¯s chamber.

    The Archbishop¡¯s chamber was very close to the main entrance but was heavily guarded. It was not an easy task to break into the ce to confront the Archbishop.

    Ye Ci heard the Archbishop¡¯s roar as she approached the chamber, ¡°Foolish heathen! How did you enter my chamber? I shall cleanse your soul! I shall make you a sacrifice to God!¡±

    There was only one reason that will cause the Archbishop to go into such a rage: There was a Western Continent yer had infiltrated his room. Ye Ci knew full well who the yer was. She pushed the doors open without hesitation and rushed into the room.

    Her appearance attracted the attention of the Archbishop and Fleeting Time as well. Thetter was momentarily stunned before letting out a faint smile. He knew Gongzi You will never allow him to have his way and would definitely appear. What he did not expect, however, was the fact that she had arrived so soon. It was not even 3 minutes since he had snuck all the way into the Archbishop¡¯s chamber using Stealth and he had not even build up an aggro from the Archbishop yet.

    Despite that, he could not hold back the urge to greet the Huntress with a frosty expression on her face, ¡°Hey Gongzi You, we meet again!¡±

    Ye Ci stared coldly at him and snorted, ¡°Exactly, we meet again...¡± putting emphasis on the word ¡°again¡± to show her displeasure.

    Hi minna-san! Hope you people enjoyed the chapter! We¡¯ll be reaching C.200 real soon! Yay! 200 chapters milestone!!

    *Looks at calender* Hmm... Chinese New Year is just around the corner people!! Anybody wants to give Jimmi some red packets? *wink wink* Huehuehuehue....

    Anyways... I hope that all of you are having a good year so far in this first month of 2018!

    If you have any fanarts for Reign of the Hunters, don¡¯t hesitate to send em to me via email! Awaken your artistic soulds people! And unleash your inert artistic talent!!! ?? (Submission email: )

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 Chapter 175 The Thrill of the Battle

    Chapter 175 The Thrill of the Battle

    There was actually a time limit for a siege battle in the Royal Capital of a foreign continent. A battle wouldst only for 4 hours. If the attackers were sessful, they would be weed home with a grand victory celebration. However, if the attacking side failed to achieve their objective and take over the capital, the system will automatically transport the ¡°invaders¡± back to their home continent.

    It was 3 hours since the Western Continent yers first set foot in Champion City, and they were still unable to take over the Monastery.

    Of course, it was not because theck of effort by Western Continent yers, and was not due to the fact that the Monastery was too heavily guarded. Their progress was impeded by the waves of Eastern Continent yers swarming at their positions. Each attack by Eastern Continent yers will cause casualties to their enemy. With their spawn point surrounded by Eastern Continent yers as well, the Western Continent yers werepletely surrounded.

    Absalom knew very well that they would definitely lose if the battle continued to drag on. They were running out of supplies, while Eastern Continent could resupply literally everywhere. From the 3 hours of battle, the Western Continent yers were already exhausted.

    Despite sensing their imminent defeat, the Western Continent yers fought on tenaciously and refused to back down. If they lose, at least they¡¯d go off with a bang.

    The Western Continent yers had suffered from horrendous casualties, but it was nothingpared to the casualties of the Eastern Continent yers. With their continent at stake, yers of different levels from the Eastern Continent threw themselves into the battlefield in Champion City. As a result, the poption cap in Champion City has reached its limit, and yers were forced to queue up just to enter the map. Some were even forcibly removed from the map by the system. Hordes of yers gathered at the maps adjacent to Champion City.

    In such a situation, the Eastern Continent yers would surely lose the momentum of their attack. As Champion City was surrounded by low level maps, many low level yers swarmed into the ce at the start of the battle. They refused to leave the map despite countless deaths, blocking the way for the high level yers. This meant that Sir Ditty was robbed of the fighting force that he badly needed.

    With the fate of the continent hanging by a thread, Sir Ditty was forced to appeal to the yers through the Continent Channel, ¡°Champion City has already reached its poption limit. To ensure our victory, I would like all yers that were below lvl25 to leave the area.¡±

    Despite his repeated pleas, arge number of yers refused to budge. The leaders of the other major guilds began speaking up in the Continent Channel as well.

    [nk Space] Good Ol¡¯ Days: ¡°To all yers that are below lvl25: Please leave Champion City so that higher level yers can join the battle. I know you¡¯re all fired up for the battle, but please look at the bigger picture. We¡¯re facing an invasion force of 5000 men strong. They¡¯re the elites of the Western Continent. We do not wish for yers on our side to make meaningless sacrifices.¡±

    [Tang Dynasty] NightAndDay: ¡°yers that are below lvl25 please stay out of the battle for now. Wait for any updates in the maps adjacent to Champion City. We¡¯ll keep you posted. But for now, please leave the Champion City map.¡±

    [World Conqueror] wless Reflection: ¡°There are many more battles toe, please don¡¯t let your feelings get the better of you. Please give way to yers who are above lvl25 and leave the Champion City map.¡±

    [Street Assistance Guild] CorruptingDaLiving: ¡°yers who are below lvl25 please leave Champion City at once.¡±

    [de of Abyss] Dane: ¡°Please follow instructions and leave Champion City immediately. Don¡¯t let yers of the other continent make fun of us for being undisciplined.¡±

    ......

    Persuaded by the messages of the guild leaders, the low level yers in Champion City began withdrawing from the map, and high level yers began streaming into the battlefield. Sir Ditty was relieved. With so many of their fighting force joining the battle, their momentum will not be broken.

    What came as a relief for Sir Ditty was a huge trouble for Absalom. He could see the drastic reduction of the number of low level Eastern Continent yers. yers with higher and higher levels and with better equipment were beginning to appear. The lines held by the Western Continent yers began to show signs of copsing.

    ¡°Absalom, I think their main force has arrived.¡± said Intoxicated to Absalom in themand channel.

    ¡°Yup, there were a lot of low level yers a few moments ago, but now I don¡¯t see any of them. I think the higher level yers were kept away from the battle zone by the streets clogged with low level yers. The Eastern Continent must¡¯ve moved the lower level ones out of the battle zone just now.¡± Wenshan stated his observation.

    Absalom of course knew of the situation. He let out a long sigh before speaking up, ¡°Xinhua Dictionary, Joyless, how much longer can you guys hold out?¡±

    Xinhua Dictionary was in charge of countering any attacksunched by the Eastern Continent yers while Joyless¡¯s objective was to upy the Monastery. They were the main force of the Western Continent, and received priority when it came to the resupplying of consumables and supplies. Absalom had even directed any supplies from the sectors covered by Intoxicated and Wenshan to Xinhua Dictionary and Joyless. If they ran out of supplies, it would mean defeat for the Western Continent yers.

    ¡°Our supplies can¡¯tst longer than 15 minutes. Heck, it would take nothing short of a miracle for us tost 20 minutes!¡± Xinhua Dictionary¡¯s sector was besieged by yers, which meant that they would expand a lot more resources.

    ¡°My men can hold out for another half an hour, but more and more Eastern Continent yers have snuck into the Monastery. They¡¯reunching attacks from both sides, and the men I¡¯ve sent into the Monastery were all taken out, and their equipment forever lost.¡± Joyless furrowed his eyebrows. The situation was not going well.

    A distressed Absalom immediately sent a message to Fleeting Time, ¡°Fleeting Time, are you able to bait the Archbishop out here?¡±

    Fleeting Time responded with a sigh, ¡°Absalom, I think we¡¯re going to fail today...¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°I ran into a ¡®friend¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You?¡± Absalom eximed with bewilderment.

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°When did you run into her?¡± Noticing his mistake, Absalom rephrased his question, ¡°What I meant was: When did she sneak into the Monastery?¡±

    ¡°5 minutes after I arrived in the ce. I think she came in here form the north gate.¡± Fleeting Time directed his Vampire Bat towards Ye Ci while simultaneously casting Multi Arrow.

    In a room with such confined space, Multi Arrow was the perfect Hunter skill. With so many tight spots, it was easy to score a hit. The skill however, has a high mana consumption.

    As the Vampire Batunched its attack, Ol¡¯ Four would of course not stand idle. It charged into the fray, engaging the Vampire Bat in a vicious melee. Unfortunately for Ye Ci, most of Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s abilities were more effective against ground type creatures, and could barely affect a flying type creature like the Vampire Bat. On the other hand, despite the Vampire Bat¡¯s lifesteal ability, Ol¡¯ Four had a huge amount of defence and hitpoints, and had a high resistance to poison. The Vampire Bat¡¯s attacks could barely scratch its hide. The 2 pets let out roars as the shed in the chamber.

    Ye Ci dashed around in the chamber, using the pirs or other furnitures as cover and sometimes as foothold for her tounch herself into the air, attacking Fleeting Time from different angles. There was something, however, that was troubling Ye Ci. She wanted to cast Multi Arrows continuously just like Fleeting Time, but it was a very mana consuming ability. Ever since she acquired her Strength Conservation, Ye Ci did not carry any mana potions with her. The ability would only activate if Ye Ci was able to deal damage to an enemy, converting a portion of the damage dealt into mana points for Ye Ci. It was something that was troubling Ye Ci. Despite its ability to shoot out arrows in a fan shape, if an opponent was able to dodge the arrowsunched with Multi Arrow, no damage would be dealt. If Ye Ci was unable to deal any damage, she would not receive any mana.

    Ye Ci¡¯s opponent was Fleeting Time, a yer who was very agile and could easily dodge Multi Arrow. As the battle dragged on, Ye Ci began to run out of mana. Unlike Ye Ci, Fleeting Time had quite a number of mana potions in his inventory, and could afford the trade. Without mana potions, Ye Ci could not use Multi Arrow as often as Fleeting Time could.

    Ye Ci¡¯s method of attack aroused suspicions form Fleeting Time. He could notprehend why Ye Ci was reluctant to cast Multi Arrow. Fleeting Time¡¯s Multi Arrow could only fire 6 arrows simultaneously while Ye Ci¡¯s ability released 7 at once. Statistically wise, Ye Ci would be able to deal more damage in a wider area.

    He knew that Gongzi You would definitely notice this simple fact. But why did she not use Multi Arrow? Ye Ci¡¯s trouble was like an enigma for Fleeting Time, rendering him incapable of predicting Ye Ci¡¯s next move.

    The problem was not apparent at the beginning of the battle, but as the fight drew on, Fleeting Time came to realise that an expert opponent whose movement he was unable to predict was a very tough opponent. His ability to predict Gongzi You¡¯s movements gave him an edge in their previous fights, however, it was different in this battle.

    Gongzi You¡¯s logic-defying actions was able to confuse Fleeting Time,and when he was confused, he was bound to make a mistake.

    As Fleeting Time turned around, Ye Ci noticed the positioning mistake he made. It was a perfect angle of attack for Ye Ci. Such opportunity might be missed by any other yer, but how would Ye Ci miss such a great opportunity?

    Fleeting Time was quick to realise his mistake, but it was toote. With his back exposed to Gongzi You, his opponent showed him no mercy. A perfectly timedbo almost took away the life of Fleeting Time.

    Hiya minna-san! Jimmi is back posting another chapter!!! Hope you people enjoy!!!

    Jimmi took part in a chesspetition yesterday! All is well until Jimmi underestimated his opponent *cries* How do you deal with castling? T__T

    The strong wind blew,

    The sky is raining cats and dogs,

    Jimmi¡¯s heart is beating fast,

    As he looked desperately at the chessboard.

    *shameless mode on*

    That¡¯s a nice poem rite? Rite? Guys? xDD

    ATTENTION:

    Jimmi would like to invite you to join him in Vre¡¯s Discord server at the #roth-desu-vult channel! Let¡¯s hang out in the chat and have fun xDD

    Click >>>here<< to join Vre¡¯s discord channel now, and head straight to the #roth-desu-vult channel!

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    If you want to help Jimmi out, you can always hit the sponsor button at the right side of the page and throw in some bucks! Or, you can support Jimmi on his Patreon here.

    Teaser next page yo ??

    Don¡¯t forget to im First Blood! Desu Vult!!

 Chapter 176 A Comparison

    Chapter 176 A Comparison

    This woman... She really wasn¡¯t giving her opponent the chance to catch a breath.

    Fleeting Time pressed himself close to the ground, rolling sideways as he chugged down a health potion. In that short moment, Ye Ci¡¯s arrows quickly covered the carpet. Had Fleeting Time been any slower, he would¡¯ve had arrows sticking out of his back like a porcupine.

    The only way to turn the tables around was to be faster than Gongzi You. Fleeting Time drank an Agility Potion, boosting his Agility by 15% for 10 minutes. The 15% increase was trivial in a battle between experts, but even that miniscule improvement was enough to affect the flow of the battle.

    He used a potion! Ye Ci was quick to realize Fleeting Time¡¯s increase in speed. His movements were quicker and he was suddenly able to dish out higher damage. She thought of consuming an Agility Potion too, but then realized she was out of stock. What a stroke of bad luck. Yet Ye Ci felt that it would not ce her at a disadvantage.

    Her calctions were correct. Taking in a deep breath, Ye Ci hastened her movements. She must continue to control the tempo of the battle, and continue to press her attacks in ways that Fleeting Time couldn¡¯t predict, forcing him to show an opening.

    Fighting in one¡¯s home turf often gives a lot of advantages. As Ye Ci and Fleeting Time battled against each other, the Archbishop¡ªwho¡¯d remained seated throughout the entire ordeal¡ªslowly stood up and apuded.

    ¡°This might be a battle between the Good and the Evil, but I have to thank the both of you for such a wonderful performance,¡± said the archbishop with a slight smile, his demeanor entirely different from before.

    Despite being slightly distracted by the Archbishop¡¯s sudden movement, the duo did not stop. They were in the heat of the battle, and had no time to spend on an NPC. Ye Ci and Fleeting Time fought on in the Archbishop¡¯s chamber, adding more chaos to a ce already in ruins.

    Even though the twobatants were studiously ignoring him, the Archbishop droned on, seemingly unaffected by the fact that his words fell on deaf ears.

    ¡°My dear child... Look at you... You¡¯ve worked so hard to protect me... I shall bless you in the name of God...¡± the Archbishop continued to speak, and began to chant a spell in an unknownnguage.

    Ye Ci could feel a sudden surge of Strength and an increase in Agility. After her initial shock, she realized that she¡¯d received an additional buff.

    Blessing of God: A blessing from God to His devout believer. Effect: Increase all stats by 20% for a duration of 30 minutes.¡±

    As expected of an Archbishop¡¯s buff. It¡¯s really awesome! thought Ye Ci as she examined the buff. If yers could acquire such a buff when they explored dungeons, that would be awesome! Her guild would at least be able to clear the Castle Ruins without being bogged down by the 4th BOSS. They always had issues with their tanks, the healing capabilities of their healers and theck of damage dealt by the DPS yers. It was just so frustrating!

    In this situation, however, if Ye Ci could still fail to defeat Fleeting Time with such an awesome buff, she would smash her face against a wall.

    Ye Ci¡¯s attacks intensified, not giving Fleeting Time the opportunity to catch his breath. She seized on every single mistake he made with a flurry of attacks, disrupting his attempts at counterattacking.

    One was always at an advantage when fighting in one¡¯s home turf¡ªthey even had a cheerleader that would give out BUFFs. Fleeting Time watched as the Archbishop casted a long spell on Ye Ci, raising her speed and attack exponentially. He immediately understood that the BUFF was an overpowered one. How else could Ye Ci suddenly be so much more fearsome?

    The battle was about toe to an end.

    That was what Fleeting Time told himself despite his reluctance to admit such a fact. His consumables were depleted, and his buff was almost ending, and the most important thing was that...he was running out of arrows.

    What difference was there between a Hunter without arrows and a Warrior without his sword?

    There was none. Despite his unwillingness to lose a battle, Fleeting Time could only try his best to survive. He didn¡¯t have even a shred of an advantage in this battle. The only thing he could hope for was to preserve a modicum of dignity when he was defeated.

    Ye Ci, on the other hand, was getting desperate as well. Just how strong is Fleeting Time? Why am I still not beating him with such a buff? He¡¯d always been able to survive the attacks that Ye Ci deemed would be fatal, only to thenunch a counterattack of his own. This was a very infuriating experience for Ye Ci.

    Without warning, Fleeting Time sprang into the air, as if defying gravity itself, andunched a flurry of attacks on Ye Ci, who immediately tried to evade the blows. Due to his height and position, as well as his ability to predict Ye Ci¡¯s reaction, almost all of Fleeting Time¡¯s attacksnded on Ye Ci, who would¡¯ve died had she not gulped down a health potion.

    After the attack, Ye Ci dodged behind a pir, circling around it in an ¡°8¡± shape movement. She then dashed out from behind the pir andunched her own counterattack on Fleeting Time.

    She was astonished when Fleeting Time made no attempt to dodge her attacks, and didn¡¯t even try to counterattack. He stood his ground and smiled at Ye Ci, who furrowed her brow. Something¡¯s wrong, thought Ye Ci, as she changed course, cing herself behind Fleeting Time before firing off another shot.

    Despite that, Fleeting Time remained unmoving, as if he was experiencing ag. However, in such an age with such advancements in technology, would he even begging?

    Before Ye Ci could finish analyzing the situation, her attacknded on Fleeting Time with a critical hit, and he fell to the ground.

    ¡°Kill Glory +2¡±

    Golden words floated in front of Ye Ci¡¯s vision, signifying the death of her opponent.

    What? He died?

    Ye Ci was dumbfounded. You must be kidding me, I killed Fleeting Time? Ye Ci stared at the corpse lying on the floor, feeling dazed. She snapped out of her astonishment when Ol¡¯ Four walked up to her and demanded to be fed. After feeding strips of roasted meat to Ol¡¯ Four, Ye Ci walked slowly towards Fleeting Time¡¯s corpse.

    He¡¯s dead? You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me? Fleeting Time, who definitely could have countered Ye Ci¡¯s attack, had stood still, as if he¡¯d intentionally allowed himself to be killed.

    Was Fleeting Time someone who would let himself be trampled upon? No; the answer would definitely be ¡°no¡±. In her previous fights against Fleeting Time, she knew that he was a person who would fight back as long as he was still alive. He was the kind of person who would try to turn the tables on his opponent even at thest remaining second of a fight. Even if he was unable to win, he would make sure that his opponent was mutually destroyed in the process. Why would he stand still and allow himself to be killed by Ye Ci?

    No no no... This must be a dream.

    Ye Ci walked up to Fleeting Time¡¯s corpse. In Fate, if a yer did not attempt to respawn upon his or her death, the yer would still be able tomunicate via text with any nearby yer. His vision, however, would be in a shade of ck and white, signifying the destion of death.

    Fleeting Time stared at Gongzi You, who was openly staring at his corpse, her already pale face appeared even whiter, and her amber eyes were a shade of grey. Even the dark green color of her equipment appeared dark. The thing that intrigued Fleeting Time the most however, was the expression on Ye Ci¡¯s face. She was staring at his corpse as if she had seen a ghost. As if she was expecting him to be using Feigned Death.

    At that moment, Fleeting Time felt good despite his loss. It was all worth it just to see such an interesting expression from a Huntress who had always worn an icy expression.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me like that? Are you worried that I¡¯m faking my death?¡± Fleeting Time couldn¡¯t hold back hisughter. Ye Ci, however, could not hear hisughter, and could only see the line of words floating just above Fleeting Time¡¯s corpse.

    Ye Ci came to the sudden realization that she was making a fuss out of nothing. After all, it was just a game. It was entirely normal for a yer to die, no matter how good a yer might be. That, however, did not stop Ye Ci from stepping on Fleeting Time¡¯s chest and nudging his corpse, ¡°Feigned Death?¡±

    This was probably the first real conversation between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time¡¯sughter redoubled after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s words. It was such a shame that Ye Ci couldn¡¯t hear him or catch his current expression, ¡°Didn¡¯t you receive a Kill Glory?¡±

    ¡°Yup, 2 points.¡±

    ¡°Then that settles it. Why would you ask if I¡¯m faking my death if you received the Kill Glory points for killing me?¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and spoke, disdain clear in her voice, ¡°The points were too few, which is why I asked.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I have only received 2 points for all my efforts in killing you. If I counted the time it took to sneak out and throw a bomb into the crowd of Western Continent yers outside, I would¡¯ve obtained at least 500 points. This is just not worth it.¡± Ye Ci clicked her tongue. She studied Fleeting Time¡¯s corpse with disgruntlement. ¡°The reward for killing you was just too low.¡±

    If voice chat could be enabled for corpses in Fate, Ye Ci would definitely have heard the heartyughter let out by Fleeting Time. The Huntress named Gongzi You was not as cold and unyielding as she seemed. She was entirely different from the Huntress who the forums dered as ruthless and hard to deal with. At the very least... Fleeting Time enjoyed conversing with Gongzi You.

    Of course, if Ye Ci could hear Fleeting Time¡¯s thoughts, she definitely wouldn¡¯t hesitate to mutte his corpse.

    Hiya minna-san! How¡¯s everybody doing? Genki-deska? (*cough cough* Jimmi¡¯s been watching too much anime.. but then again... Are you still a weeb if you¡¯re an Asian? hmmm... *intensive thinking*)

    Anyways... Hope y¡¯all enjoy this chapter, where the battle between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time draws to a conclusion!!

    And uhh.... *cough cough cough cough* *fidgets* Something caught my eyes and uhh... *mumbles* I really, really like that it... and uhhhh.... *more mumbling* You know.... Maybe.... If you¡¯re a kind soul... PleasedonatetoROTHsothatJimmicanaffordit!!! *cough cough* It¡¯s a Tamamo no Maencer figurine... *mumbles*

    Link here: https://hlj/product/KBYPP-687/Fig

    ACHTUNG!:

    Jimmi would like to invite you to join him in Vre¡¯s Discord server at the #roth-desu-vult channel! Let¡¯s hang out in the chat and have fun xDD

    Click >>>here<< to join Vre¡¯s discord channel now, and head straight to the #roth-desu-vult channel!

    IF YOU HAVE THE TIME

    Please head to the Novel Updates page and write us a review here.

    If you want to help Jimmi out, you can always hit the sponsor button at the right side of the page and throw in some bucks! Or, you can support Jimmi on his Patreon here.

    Teaser next page yo ??

    Don¡¯t forget to im First Blood! Desu Vult!!

 Chapter 177 Farewell

    Chapter 177 Farewell

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m the one who is at a loss.¡± Fleeting Time replied with a serious tone.

    ¡°You? At loss?¡± Ye Ci was confused. What the hell is he talking about? ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t even earn a single Kill Glory point after such a long battle, don¡¯t you think I¡¯m the victim here?¡± Fleeting Time replied through a row of text floating above his corpse. Even when Fleeting Time could not express himself well enough through his lifeless corpse, Ye Ci could still feel that she was being teased by Fleeting Time.

    She narrowed her eyes and stared silently at the corpse of Fleeting Time, her face devoid of expression, and her thoughts known only to herself.

    A curious Fleeting Time did not waste any time in guessing Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    Ye Ci snorted, ¡°I¡¯m thinking that... Are you even Fleeting Time? Has your ount gotten hacked? Or are yougging or something?¡±

    ¡°Things like this would only happen like 30 or 40 years ago... Such cases are few and far between nowadays. Why would you ask?¡±

    ¡°The Fleeting Time I know is someone who would never give up even at thest moment. Why did you not fight back?¡± Ye Ci was extremely curious. If she was unable to gain an answer from Fleeting Time, she might even be downtrodden for a long time.

    Fleeting Time remained silent after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s question. It was as if he had really turned into a corpse. After a short moment of silence, even Ye Ci began to suspect that Fleeting Time had chosen to respawn.

    She raised her foot and nudged lightly at the corpse of Fleeting Time, ¡°Oi, are you still here?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± the answer came quickly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to give me an answer if you don¡¯t want to.¡± despite her curiosity, Ye Ci was not someone who would force someone to speak their mind. After receiving no answer from Fleeting Time, Ye Ci simply assumed that there was something that was troubling her opponent, and decided not to pursue the matter.

    Fleeting Timeughed. He was having a conversation with Absalom when Ye Ci directed such a question at him. After learning that Fleeting Time was defeated by Ye Ci, Absalom made the decision to retreat and ordered Fleeting Time to respawn as Western Continent yers are preparing to return to their home continent.

    ¡°I ran out of arrows.¡± said Fleeting Time, ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m someone who would grasp at any opportunity to defeat my opponents. However, there are times when fate does not give you any opportunity.¡±

    Fleeting Time¡¯s words were met with silence by Ye Ci. If Fleeting Time had his way, he would have remained at the ce and had a longer conversation. After all, it was the only time when he could interact with her without hostilities.

    However, there was very little time for them.

    ¡°I need to be on my way.¡±

    ¡°To respawn?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re retreating.¡± Fleeting Time knew that such information was not for Ye Ci¡¯s ears, but at this point, he opted to state the truth, ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯ve won the siege battle,¡± and he continued after a short pause, ¡°You won¡¯t win so easily the next time.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled. For an unknown reason, at that very moment, she felt rxed around Fleeting Time. Of course, it was not because Fleeting Time was lying on the ground. It was the tone they were using with each other. It was as if they were friends who had known each other for a long time. She had rarely felt such a feeling of mutual understanding with someone else.

    ¡°As long as I¡¯m in the Eastern Continent, you will not seed.¡± Ye Ci bent over and faced Fleeting Time who wasying on the ground. She knew he was able to see her expression. The corner of Ye Ci¡¯s lips raised as she spoke, ¡°You¡¯re the one who lost today, but it was not a fair fight. Next time, however, I will achieve a convincing victory. That is why... Before our next battle, you must not let anyone defeat you.¡±

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes. He stared at the face that was so close to his. The brows, that expression she was wearing, and the smile on that face... They were all very captivating. He had the urge to sh her a wide smile, or at least shake hands with her. Wasn¡¯t this an apt way to ept her challenge?

    He was, however, unable to do such a thing. He could onlyy on the ground and typed out the following words, ¡°Gongzi You, your kill streak ends when we meet next.¡±

    Ye Ci let out augh. She was happy. She was already looking forward to their next meeting.

    Fleeting Time left his body in spirit form, but did not choose to resurrect at the spawn point, and instead chose to revive on the spot. He had nothing to gain out of it, and it confused even himself, why did I choose to respawn here?

    As he approached his corpse, Gongzi You was still there, staring at the corpse silently. Her face was calm and devoid of expression as usual. Fleeting Time walked up to Gongzi You in spirit form and knelt down in front of her.

    He realised that Gongzi You was quite petite. Such a small form however, was able to have demonstrate so much destructive power inbat. This was why people would tend to forget how frail and petite the Huntress actually was, with only her ferocity and ruthlessness embedded deep in their minds.

    The two were so close to each other that Fleeting Time could even imagine Gongzi You¡¯s breath on his face.

    Sensing the gaze of a person, Ye Ci retracted her gaze from Fleeting Time¡¯s corpse. She raised her head and studied surrounding, almost questioning her own finely tuned senses after not discovering anyone¡¯s presence. Just then, Ye Ci received a private message from Sir Ditty, ¡°Gongzi You, how¡¯re things going over there?¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time is dead.¡± Ye Ci turned around and stared the Fleeting Time¡¯s corpse. She felt calm, but could not feel even a shred of happiness in defeating her opponent. If felt unreal.

    ¡°As expected of Gongzi You! Even Fleeting Time is no match for you.¡± Sir Ditty was overjoyed after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s news, ¡°I need you to stand guard in the Archbishop¡¯s chambers to prevent any more attacks on the Archbishop.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Ye Ci extended her hand a plucked a strand of silvery hair from Fleeting Time¡¯s head that was not unlike her own and answered absentmindedly.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be hanging up. Hang in there, the battle¡¯s going to be over soon.¡± Sir Ditty joyfully ended his conversation with Ye Ci and shifted his attention to the effort of annihting the Western Continent yers.

    ¡°Is a victory obtained by a fluke a victory at all?¡± a cold smile formed on Ye Ci¡¯s lips. Despite the saying that ¡°luck is also an ability¡±, Ye Ci hated to win by luck. It meant that her ability was inferior to her opponent¡¯s. She wanted a win achieved through her own power, even if there was a long road ahead of her.

    In their spirit form, yers were unable to hear the speech of the living, but could still observe their expression. As he observed Gongzi You¡¯s moving lips, Fleeting Time knew that she was speaking. He, of course, could not hear what even a single word.

    ¡°Fleeting Time, have you respawned? How long are you going to stay dead? Get your ass over here now!¡± Fleeting Time grimaced after receiving a message from Absalom, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±

    Fleeting Time turned around and smiled at Ye Ci. He whispered something into Ye Ci¡¯s ears that she would never be able to hear, ¡°Gongzi You, we¡¯ll meet again.¡±

    With that, Fleeting Time took a few steps back, picked a location that was in Gongzi You¡¯s blind spot and respawned. He immediately went into Stealth and left the room.

    Ye Ci blinked after noticing that the silver strand of hair had disappeared from her hand. The corpseying in front of her had turned into a skeleton. Ye Ci was startled, and began searching her surroundings for Fleeting Time who was long gone.

    Ye Ci let out a long sigh and pursed her lips. The battle... Was finally over.

    Should I continue to stand guard here? Ye Ci stared at the Archbishop who was beaming at her. It was totally unnecessary as the 4 hours time limit of the siege battle was about toe to an end. Even if she left the Archbishop unguarded, a squad of Western Continent yers would need at least an hour to take out the Archbishop. And right at this moment, they did not even have enough time.

    If that was the case, do I really need to guard the Archbishop?

    As Ye Ci stood up and dusted her boots, she noticed a glimmering ring on the skeletal remains of Fleeting Time. It must¡¯ve been a piece of equipment that he dropped upon his death. Despite its normal appearance, the ring was well polished. It appeared to be something Fleeting Time had always carried around with him.

    Ye Ci picked the ring up without much of a thought.

    Ring of uracy (Blue Equipment):

    uracy +10%.

    Bonus 35% uracy.

    Has a chance of ignoring target¡¯s level and equipment, gaining a 100% chance of hitting the target.

    Required level: 15.

    Creator: sped Sunlight

    This shit is lit fam!

    So that was why Fleeting Time had such a high hit rate on her despite their level differences and the level penalties that he was facing. It was all because of this ring.

    sped Sunlight was a famous Jeweller from the Western Continent. It was not an exaggeration when one would say that she had extraordinary luck. She would often produce god-tier equipment due to her luck. Despite having the lowest Life Skill points amongst the top 10 Jeweller¡¯s in Fate, she was one of the best because of such fine luck. Almost everything she made was of the best quality.

    The ring in Ye Ci¡¯s hand was the perfect example of sped Sunlight¡¯s work. A normal Ring of uracy would only give its wearer a bonus of 10% uracy. This ring however, had an extra attribute giving its wearer a bonus of 35% uracy. Adding up to its additional effect, the ring could be said to be severely overpowered.

    A yer could only equip 4 rings at a time in Fate. For a Hunter, this ring was so overpowered that it would be able tost even when the game moved on to itster stages where yers were at lvl200.

    Hiya minna-san! Sorry for posting sote, I was supposed to trante moar and post somethingst week, but I was down with a severe case of food poisoning for the better part of the week (That moment when you threw up so hard you literally had pukeing out of your nose *cries*) which set back my schedule by A LOT... I missed out on a lot of things in ss and I had to catch up and all...

    Oh and don¡¯t get me started with my assignment... Had a POS who refused to do the task assigned to him, iming ¡°I don¡¯t know how¡± so naturally I had to clean up his mess (Good news we dropped him from the group!)

    I¡¯m really terribly sorry for being so slow, I¡¯ll be able to upload more when I¡¯m done with my finals!

    And to anybody celebrating, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! Gotta get em red packets!

    ACHTUNG!:

    Jimmi would like to invite you to join him in Vre¡¯s Discord server at the #roth-desu-vult channel! Let¡¯s hang out in the chat and have fun xDD

    Click >>>here<< to join Vre¡¯s discord channel now, and head straight to the #roth-desu-vult channel!

    IF YOU HAVE THE TIME

    Please head to the Novel Updates page and write us a review here.

    If you want to help Jimmi out, you can always hit the sponsor button at the right side of the page and throw in some bucks! Or, you can support Jimmi on his Patreon here.

    Teaser next page yo ??

    Don¡¯t forget to im First Blood! Desu Vult!!

 Chapter 178 The Higher One Climbs, The Colder They Feel

    Chapter 178 The Higher One Climbs, The Colder They Feel

    Ye Ci pondered for a while as she gazed at the ring in her hands before throwing it inside her backpack. Although she wished to improve her uracy, she felt that she would be able to achieve it without relying on the ring. Of course, this was just a reason that Ye Ci came up with to persuade herself. The truth was that she had been in a dilemma; since this was something that Fleeting Time had worn, what does that represent if she used it?

    Even if this is a game, and stats are very important to her character, Ye Ci was still troubled by such a fat. In the end, she gave up and decided to leave it in her backpack to gather dust.

    Ye Ci intended to rush out of the gates and toss out another bomb to gather some glory points if possible; however, she had just reached the abbey¡¯s entrance when she saw the noisy group of western continent yers vanish on the spot with a sh of white light.

    Was she really that unlucky? She was fully prepared to collect the loot but it turns out there was nothing for her to loot at all.

    ¡°Due to the yers of the Western Continent activating the transfer device, the Western Continent¡¯s siege on Eastern Continent¡¯s Champion City has been forcibly ended. Congrattions to Eastern Continent yers for sessfully defending Champion City and to Western Continent yers for being the first brave individuals to challenge the unknown.¡±

    After the yers from the Western Continent vanished, the system announcement reached every yer¡¯s ears. Furthermore, it was repeated numerous times.

    Ye Ci listened to the system announcement, and was deeply puzzled. The developers are so kind. Since this was the first siege battle ever, no serious penalties were imposed on the losing side.

    However, it seemed that Ye Ci was the only one dissatisfied with the situation. The rest of the yers of the Eastern Continent couldn¡¯t help but scream with exhration at the announcement that they had sessfully defended Champion City. The entire city echoed with joyful roars and cheers, as though it was insufficient to vent out the excitement they had just kept bottled up for a few hours.

    Afterwards, the system even set up a celebratory banquet in Champion City. Colourednterns were hung everywhere and wine was served from all restaurants to wee their heroes.

    Ye Ci did not like festivities. She was unable to get used to situations where crowds of people would gather for a celebration. Silently, Ye Ci walked out of Champion City, summoned Ol¡¯ Four and once again set forth towards the Mausoleum of des with the intention of grinding.

    She had just taken a few steps, when she received a PM from Sir Ditty, ¡°Where did you go?¡±

    ¡°I just left the city.¡±

    ¡°What are you doing outside? Hurry up ande back, the king is holding a banquet in the pce square, you have to participate!¡±

    ¡°Just go in my stead.¡± The corners of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth raised slightly, she was never the one for festive asions.

    Sir Ditty attempted to persuade her time after time but was politely declined each time. In the end, Sir Ditty could only give up. However, Good Ol¡¯ Days, wless Reflection, CorruptingTheLiving, Dane and several guild leaders of major guilds began to pepper her with private messages, inviting her to have a drink with them. Left with no way to refuse, Ye Ci had no choice but to turn Ol¡¯ Four around and make her way back to Champion City¡¯s pce.

    This night, the entire Champion City seemed to be immersed in joyous mirth, the never-ending sea of yers feasted, danced and sang non-stop. Massive fireworks appeared in the night sky, beautiful and dazzling. Ye Ci saw many familiar people, there were those who were on good terms with her and those that weren¡¯t.

    However, just for tonight, it seems that everybody had set aside their past grudges and celebrated. What happens after that, will be left till tomorrow.

    Bai Mo and Ye Ci sat at the stairs by the National Treasury¡¯s fountain, arge bottle of wine located by Bai Mo¡¯s side. As part of the system¡¯s celebration, the wine distributed was much more deliciouspared to the usual alcohol served in restaurants; furthermore, it was entirely free. Bai Mo took arge swig and smacked his lips in content, ¡°How good would it be, if we could drink fine wine like this everyday?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I know that you have such a high tolerance for alcohol?¡±

    ¡°You wish, it¡¯s precisely because I¡¯m usually down after just a bottle that it¡¯s impossible for me to feast on wine and meat like what you¡¯d see on TV! That¡¯s why I can only do so in the game.¡± Bai Mo chuckled as he took another swig of the wine, it was clear that he was truly delighted.

    ¡°You don¡¯t look very happy?¡± Bai Mo noticed that Ye Ci was serenely gazing at the fountain without a sound, and used his elbow to nudge her.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°How could I not be after we sessfully defended the city?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just that you¡¯re not that happy.¡± Bai Mo chortled, ¡°To you, the greatest thing that came out of defending the city was that you wouldn¡¯t have to suffer the punishments set by the system, no?¡±

    Ye Ci turned to look at Bai Mo. This person really understood her as he had hit the nail on the head. However, in all honesty, after being through numerous siege battles in her past life, Ye Ci had long treated them as apetition and whether she was able to gain some form of an advantage from it. This time was something different, she felt as though she had contributed just a little towards today¡¯s siege. Perhaps this contribution would have meant nothing to her in her previous life, but she felt a strange feeling.

    That emotion, was not joy, nor was it agitation, it was a very foreign emotion...a sense of belonging.

    That¡¯s right, belonging, a sense of belonging that proves that she had started over, a sense of belonging that proves that she was now a part of this world

    It was really incredible.

    Of course, there was still some dissatisfaction lingering in her. Although it seemed that she had defeated Fleeting Time from the results, she instinctively felt that something was not right, the sense of joy that everything has ended was absent.

    ¡°I heard Ditty say that you killed Fleeting Time?¡± Bai Mo abruptly changed topics.

    This caused Ye Ci to pause briefly before nodding with a bitter smile, ¡°Looking at the result, that seems to be the case.¡±

    ¡°Then, you¡¯re still unhappy? Haven¡¯t you always seen that fellow as your strongest rival?¡± Bai Mo noticed that there was no joy in the smile that Ye Ci had shown him.

    ¡°It was just luck, not ability.¡± Ye Ci stretched her limbs, gazing at the moon that hung in the sky like a silver tter and sighed, ¡°If I really won based on my ability, I¡¯m afraid I would be jumping about in joy right now.¡±

    Bai Mo looked at Ye Ci¡¯s face from the side with the corners of his lips raised, but remained silent.

    ¡°What are you trying to say? Don¡¯t just smirk there, I dislike that kind of expression.¡± Ye Ci noticed Bai Mo¡¯s queer behaviour and immediately protested.

    ¡°I just feel that it¡¯s alright if you are unable to beat him.¡± Bai Mo said as he raised his wine bottle and took another mouthful.

    ¡°Why?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s volume immediately doubled as she eximed in apparent puzzlement at Bai Mo¡¯s statement. From her point of view, Fleeting Time has to be defeated. If not, she would be missing out on a lot of exciting things in her new life.

    ¡°Have you heard of the saying ¡®The higher one climbs, the colder they feel¡¯?¡± Bai Mo turned to look at Ye Ci with a look that radiated warmth.

    Ye Ci froze and did not reply.

    Without waiting for a reply, Bai Mo continued, ¡°Little Ci, you¡¯re already plenty strong already. The reason why you¡¯re so fixated on Fleeting Time is merely because he¡¯s stronger than you. However, Little Ci, have you ever thought about this: If you were to defeat Fleeting Time one day, who would your next target be?¡±

    Ye Ci still remained silent.

    ¡°Currently, the yers who can stand toe to toe with you can be counted with a single hand. If you were to win against that Fleeting Time, wouldn¡¯t you think that Fate means nothing to you anymore?¡±

    ¡°I can still go and clear dungeons...¡± It took a while before Ye Ci finally gave a reply.

    ¡°Dungeons are designed to be cleared by yers eventually. Furthermore, dungeon clearing is basically ying against aputer, since when is that more interesting than ying against other yers?¡± Bai Mo chuckled, his smile as clear and warm as the moonlight.

    This was the first time Ye Ci had considered this question: So what if she defeated Fleeting Time? Would she really turn out to be the way Bai Mo had described? That she would never meet a rival again?

    ¡°You¡¯ve read Jin Yong¡¯s novels before right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Then you know of Dugu Qiubai?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡±

    Bai Mo did not immediately speak, instead he turned to look at that deste moon, slowly sighing once before speaking, ¡°He was invincible throughout his entire life and what came out of it? ¡®Wandering the four seas in search for a single defeat¡¯. Most people would feel that this saying is overly arrogant and about how famous and invincible he would be. However, have you noticed the feelings of destion hidden in this phrase? Having no equal in the four seas, do you know the loneliness of standing on top of everyone else? ¡±

    The look in Ye Ci¡¯s eyes flickered as though recalling something.

    ¡°You know about King right?¡± Bai Mo changed topics once more and gave a name.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°When we returned homest time and Png and I went to swim, he told me about King. Do you know why King did not participate in this year¡¯spetition?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Png say that it was because he went to y Fate?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just one of the reasons, the most important reason was...¡± Bai Mo turned his head, gently yed with Ye Ci¡¯s long hair whilst sighing, ¡°Because King felt that there was no one that could match him in the eSports scene ¡±

    ¡°Hah?¡± The answer caused Ye Ci to feel extremely puzzled.

    ¡°King once said that the reason he participated inpetitions season after season was not because he was passionate about eSports. It was to look for a rival. However, five years had gone by and the person that he could call a rival did not appear, which was why...¡±

    ¡°Which was why he retired?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s face had an expression of incredulity.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Bai Mo smiled.

    ¡°His brain got waterlogged.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes as she refused to ept thatment.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that because you have yet to stand on the peak and therefore, you¡¯re unable to understand that feeling.¡± Bai Mo chuckled.

    ¡°You¡¯rementing as though you know everything.¡± Ye Ci snorted in displeasure.

    ¡°Little Ci, allow yourself to have an opponent, you¡¯ll be happier in the long run if you do that.¡± Bai Mo felt that there was no point in continuing this tireless debate with Ye Ci. Which was why, instead of arguing with her, he chose to voice his thoughts with a slight smile.

    Ye Ci looked at Bai Mo as he said, ¡°I just want you to be happy.¡±

    The moonlight that night was truly beautiful. Radiant as polished silver, the world was covered with warm light, as though the entire world was enveloped by Bai Mo¡¯s smile.

    ........................

    ...

 Chapter 179 A Certain Depressed Someone

    Chapter 179 A Certain Depressed Someone

    Wandering Cloud could feel that something was fishy recently.

    He was unable to figure it out, but he could feel a sense of danger.

    When the dust settled after an intense love making, he leaned his head against the headboard and lit a cigarette. The man frowned with deep puzzlement.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Into The Sunset snuggled closer to him from underneath the bed sheet, tracing circles on his chest with her petite fingers. Her face was flushed and her voice hoarse. It was apparent that she had been doing something earlier on.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Wandering Cloud stared at Into The Sunset, at a loss for words. He then shook his head gloomily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s nothing,¡± Into The Sunset pouted, rubbing her breasts across his chest, ¡°You¡¯re normally not like this.¡±

    ¡°How would I normally be?¡± Wandering Cloud narrowed his eyes and asked in a low voice.

    ¡°Aiya! You meanie! Do you really have to ask such a thing?¡± answered Into The Sunset shyly as she buried herself into Wandering Cloud¡¯s embrace.

    ¡°You little whore.¡± Wandering Cloud smiled, ¡°You insatiable little whore.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the cause of it!¡± Into The Sunset was not angry, and instead became even more flirtatious.

    ......

    Into The Sunset leaned into Wandering Cloud¡¯s embrace with a satisfied expression and closed her eyes. Making love passionately twice in a row left her slightly exhausted.

    Wandering Cloud, however, was unable to rx. As he held Into The Sunset in his embrace, he thought about the ongoing issues in the guild recently. Something was very fishy. The Tang Dynasty that he and NightAndDay had invested in took 6 years to reach its current prime. Although he was betraying his friend by having an affair with Into The Sunset, he did not want to be a loser for the rest of his life.

    Since they had all invested in the guild, he deserved to reap the rewards from it. It was the same when ites to women. He had been careful, and NightAndDay trusted him. Buttely, the man had been treating him differently.

    ¡°Sunset, have you noticed anything strange about NightAndDay recently?¡± After being unable to figure it out himself, Wandering Cloud decided to wake Into The Sunset who was fast asleep.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing out of the ordinary. Aiya, don¡¯t disturb my sleep, I¡¯m tired!¡± Into The Sunset grumbled unhappily at her sleep being disrupted by Wandering Cloud. She turned around and tried to go back to sleep.

    ¡°Wait, I need to ask. Has he been treating you differently? Have you noticed anything weird?¡± Wandering Cloud once again roused Into The Sunset from her sleep.

    ¡°It¡¯s still the same!¡± Into The Sunset forced herself awake, ¡°Eating, sleeping and ying games. He did mention something about taking me out for my birthday,¡± she yawned sleepily, and continued after noticing Wandering Cloud¡¯s expression, ¡°I declined it of course! I told him that I¡¯m going to celebrate it with a friend. Hehe, you must keep mepany alright?¡±

    Different emotions shed across Wandering Cloud¡¯s face, then he spoke up after a long pause, ¡°I think he is beginning to suspect our rtionship.¡±

    At this point, Into The Sunset was startled wide awake. She sat up abruptly and stared at Wandering Cloud, her face full of fear, ¡°AH! Don¡¯t scare me like that!¡±

    Wandering Cloud did not respond immediately. He studied Into The Sunset with an odd expression, as if he did not know who she was at all. This put more fear into her heart. She was even more worried that she originally was when she first heard Wandering Cloud¡¯s words.

    ¡°Why are you staring at me like that?¡± Feeling ufortable under Wandering Cloud¡¯s gaze, Into The Sunset nudged him lightly.

    As her hand came into contact with Wandering Cloud, he grabbed ahold of her wrist. He was not as gentle as Into The Sunset and grabbed her with force. Feeling the pain, Into The Sunset creased her eyebrows and cried out, ¡°What are you doing? You¡¯re hurting me! Let go!¡±

    Wandering Cloud tightened his grip the more she struggled, and his expression darkened with each passing second. He stared sharply at Into The Sunset, having no intention of loosening his grip. It was as if he would eat her alive.

    Into The Sunset became even more afraid after witnessing Wandering Cloud¡¯s behavior, and her struggling intensified. Right at that moment, she was terrified of the man in front of her, ¡°Let go of me! Let go of me!¡± she raised her voice, almost breaking into tears.

    At this moment, Wandering Cloud seemed to realize what he was doing. The scary expression on his face vanished, and he released his grip on Into the Sunset. He then spoke up calmly, ¡°You¡¯re afraid of Night?¡±

    Into The Sunset pulled her hand back and stole a nce at Wandering Cloud. It was as if the man who she was so afraid of moments ago was just an illusion. She massaged her hand while casting a re at Wandering Cloud and replied after a short pause, ¡°What is there to be afraid of?¡±

    ¡°Then why are you so surprised?¡±

    Into The Sunset let out a sigh, ¡°Even if I¡¯m not afraid of him, he¡¯s my fiance. We¡¯ve even met our respective family members. I¡¯m not really afraid of him if he finds out about our rtionship, but my family would definitely create a hugemotion.¡±

    Wandering Cloud remained silent for a long moment, ¡°You¡¯re right, you and Night are a legitimate couple. We¡¯re just having an illicit fling?¡±

    Knowing that Wandering Cloud was angry, Into The Sunset leaned in closer to him and smiled. ¡°Aiya, don¡¯t be angry, aren¡¯t I by your side right now? Aren¡¯t I in front of you right now? Is there anything more important than this? Even though I¡¯m Night¡¯s fiance, we rarely meet.¡±

    Wandering Cloud snorted, ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re not living together. Won¡¯t you be seeing him every day if you¡¯re living with him?¡±

    Into The Sunset narrowed her eyes as she smiled, ¡°How can I live with him? My mother taught me that a good girl must not live with a man before her marriage.¡±

    ¡°And what are you doing right now?¡±

    ¡°Aiya! Aren¡¯t I your little whore?¡± Into The Sunset smiled seductively. Her demeanor was entirely different from the dignified andposed persona that she disyed in her daily life.

    Wandering Cloud smiled at her without saying a single word. His heart was filled with frustration. If I have what NightAndDay has, I would be the one marrying Into The Sunset. When such thoughts surfaced, it would never disappear easily and would only be more and more engraved into one¡¯s mind. Such was the case for Wandering Cloud. The more he thought about it, the stronger his desire to take NightAndDay down.

    After lightly teasing each other for a while, Into The Sunset resumed their earlier conversation, ¡°You mentioned that he has noticed something going on between us? Is that for real? Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just a hunch.¡± Wandering Cloud shook his head. He did not wish to keep anything secret from Into The Sunset. After all, they were in the same boat.

    ¡°Aiya, if it¡¯s just a hunch, don¡¯t make such irresponsible remarks. You scared the shit out of me.¡± Into The Sunset let out a long breath of relief. She was truly rmed by Wandering Cloud¡¯s earlier words.

    ¡°You said he¡¯s going to celebrate your birthday with you?¡± asked Wandering Cloud after a slight pause.

    ¡°Yup. And I told you that I declined. I want to be with you.¡±

    ¡°Has he ever taken the initiative to ask you out during your previous birthdays?¡± Wandering Cloud¡¯s spider senses were still tingling. There was this weird feeling in his gut that he was unable to exin, and he asked that question to clear his suspicions.

    ¡°Nope. That man does not know what it takes to be romantic. When I asked to watch fireworks with him, he told me that it¡¯s dangerous at night. I wouldn¡¯t even dare to dream of him taking the initiative to celebrate my birthday with me, I just don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on in his brain this year,¡± Into The Sunset snorted, ¡°I will show him that it¡¯s toote for him now.¡±

    Wandering Cloud¡¯s expression darkened, he had finally confirmed his suspicions. He grabbed ahold of Into The Sunset and asked, ¡°When did he invite you?¡±

    ¡°About a month or two ago...¡± Into The Sunset tilted her head, and let out a sigh, ¡°I can¡¯t remember. I tend to forget the words of people that I¡¯m not interested in.¡±

    ¡°Think carefully. When did it happen?¡± Wandering Cloud was frustrated by Into The Sunset¡¯s behavior.

    Despite her tendency to tease Wandering Cloud, Into The Sunset earnestly tried to recall after noticing his behavior. After a brief moment, she shouted in reply, ¡°Ah! I remember now!¡±

    ¡°So, when was it?¡±

    ¡°Do you remember that time when we had a fight with Upwards Ho!? It happened 2 days after that incident.¡±

    Wandering Cloud froze. What happened that day was still deeply engraved in his memory. After a brief conversation with Gongzi You via private message, NightAndDay called for a retreat. He was curious but afraid at the same time. When asked, NightAndDay told him that Gongzi You agreed to give them a dungeon clearance video if he agreed to retreat.

    At that time, Wandering Cloud epted NightAndDay¡¯s exnation. But right at this moment... He realized that NightAndDay might have lied to him.

    Hiya minna-san! Long time no see! How have you people been doing?? Jimmi¡¯s been busy with stuff IRL... Iing exams and shit yanno... *sob*

    New year was fun though... Enjoyed myself visitting friends and rtives, collecting them red packets eks dee (Valentine¡¯s just before New Year Eve, and I got to spend it with Jill and Lilli! *cries*)

    And uhh... I¡¯ve been active on Twitter recently, so if any of you has a Twitter ount, you can... Yanno... Follow me on Twitter? I-it¡¯s n-not like I¡¯m h-hoping that a-a-anybody would f-follow me yanno *mumbles* (Twitter link: https://twitter/XDJimminx)

    SO... All said and done.... WHERE ARE MY RED PACKETS PEOPLE??? HIT THAT SPONSOR BUTTON ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PAGE TO GIVE JIMMI SOME RED PACKETS!!! *shameless*

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    Don¡¯t forget to im First Blood! Desu Vult!!

 Chapter 180 Everybody has a Headache-inducing Problem

    Chapter 180 Everybody has a Headache-inducing Problem

    From that day onwards, NightAndDay had been treating him differently. Their rtionship grew distant. At the time however, he did not realise the change. When he thought about it seriously, something Gongzi You had said to NightAndDay must¡¯ve triggered his decision to call for a retreat.

    The more Wandering Cloud thought about it, the more his fear grew. Although he has nned to take over NightAndDay¡¯s position, and has always wanted to do so, he was not ready yet. If NightAndDay caught wind of his intentions at this time, wouldn¡¯t his careful nning for so many years go to waste?

    His lover, money, and the guild... He would get end up with none. It would be bad if he was caught in a scandal. Should he have a fall out with NightAndDay now? Even if he could not get everything he wanted, he could still gain something out of it.

    However, such measure was only ast resort that Wandering Cloud would only take it as the worst case scenario. Even when he was gripped by fear, all of it was just spection at this point. After all, NightAndDay hasn¡¯t done anything substantial since the battle with Upwards Ho!. The man had only secluded himself and began leveling up like a madman. It shouldn¡¯t be much of an issue. Isn¡¯t he a little too nervous?

    After giving the matter some thought, Wandering Cloud decided to show some restraint while trying to gauge information from NightAndDay. He would also need to clear things up with Gongzi You.

    With his decision made, Wandering Cloud told Into The Sunset, ¡°I think we should avoid meeting up so much. You should stoping over.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°We should be be more careful for now. I want to see how NightAndDay will react.¡±

    Despite her reluctance, Into The Sunset was afraid that her affair with Wandering Cloud would be found out.This would tarnish her reputation, thus it would not be worthwhile. If this caused her to lose NightAndDay, then it definitely is not worth the risk.. A lot was at stake here. Especially at this time when Wandering Cloud was not as capable as NightAndDay, she did not want to lose NightAndDay, who was her god of wealth.

    ¡°Okay, I understand.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to question Gongzi You about thister, don¡¯t tell anybody about this.¡± Wandering Cloud was very reluctant in letting Into The Sunset in on his n, but he was afraid that the woman would do something silly if she found out.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re going to meet with Gongzi You?¡± Into The Sunset¡¯s anger immediately red, ¡°Have you fallen for her? As expected, a dog can¡¯t stop himself from eating shit! You are going to hit on her like what you did with that bitch Glistening Snow am I right?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Wandering Cloud knew that Into The Sunset would react negatively to his words, but had not expected her to have such an explosive reaction. He was irritated by her behaviour.

    ¡°How the hell would I know? Who knows maybe you¡¯ve developed an interest in washboards with non-existent breasts and ass...¡± Into The Sunset was so angry that she was about to spring up.

    ¡°I am doing it under the suspicion that Gongzi You told NightAndDay something about us that day! That was why he called for a retreat! He has been acting weird since that day! Don¡¯t you think Gongzi You was the one responsible for this?¡± with his patience spent, Wandering Cloud roared at Into The Sunset, effectively shutting her up.

    Into The Sunset was momentarily stunned. She then narrowed her eyes and stared at Wandering Cloud, ¡°Why would Gongzi You know about our rtionship? Are you hiding something from me?¡±

    Wandering Cloud rolled his eyes. He knew that some things could not stay hidden for long. He proceeded to tell Into The Sunset about his run in with Gongzi You at the Winter Hotspring and the fight that erupted between them in their attempt to secure the kill for the Armored Giant Tortoise.

    ¡°I knew it! So this is why that lil¡¯ bitch Glistening Snow would always find fault with Gongzi You.¡± Into The Sunset snorted. She was not happy with the fact that Wandering Cloud was hiding something from her, but her mind was still focused on the important matter at hand, ¡°It¡¯s strange though... How did she know about this ce?¡±

    ¡°How the hell would I know?¡± it was a question that was still puzzling for Wandering Cloud.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me... She¡¯s your neighbour?¡± Into The Sunset was curious.

    ¡°Nope. I¡¯ve made some investigations, she¡¯s not my neighbour,¡± Wandering Cloud let out a long sigh, ¡°This is why I must talk to her. I don¡¯t know how she found out about us.¡±

    ¡°Hmpf! Go then! But don¡¯t you dare start something with her.¡± warned Into The Sunset in a serious tone as she narrowed her eyes and leaned into Wandering Cloud¡¯s embrace.

    ¡°You only worry about unnecessary stuff...¡± Wandering Cloud let out a sigh. He began to think of ways to get in touch with Gongzi You. Given their rtionship, he could not simply send her a private message.

    What a headache.

    However, Wandering Cloud was not the only one who was having a headache. Gongzi You herself was also troubled by headache inducing problemstely.

    Upwards Ho!¡¯s progress of clearing the Castle Ruins was bogged down by the 4th BOSS. For 2 weeks their guild has tried to defeat the BOSS, but to no avail. To make matters worse, news about Wolf Pack¡¯s victory over the 4th BOSS had begun circting. The members of Upwards Ho! were anxious after receiving such news.

    Some of them were excited, while others were feeling dejected. In any case, Ye Ci could feel that her guild members were restless.

    Such emotion would always have a negative impact on things including dungeon clearing and the administration of a guild. It was not a good thing. Ye Ci was extremely irritated. She was unsure if she should just instruct Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink about the ways to defeat the 4th BOSS. Her guild members would definitely feel that she was keeping her knowledge from them. If the officers in the guild have such a feeling, it was harmful for the growth of the guild and the enthusiasm of its members.

    If she remained silent however, Wolf Pack might just be able to continue with their momentum and defeat the 5th BOSS, obtaining First Blood in clearing the dungeon. This would deal a massive blow to the morale of Upwards Ho!, and badly affect her ns to deal with Steel Blooded Battle Spear.

    Caught in such dilemma, Ye Ci was so depressed that she could tear all her hair off.

    In the past 2 weeks, she did not even have the mood to level up. She stayed in the guild encampment all day long, brewing all sorts of potions. A watched flower never blooms, but an untended willow grows. Ye Ci¡¯s 2 weeks of effort in potion making paid off. Her Potion Making mastery was already at Medium Tier, enabling her to learn some of the higher grade recipes she bought from the Expeditionary Forces Camp.

    Of course, dungeon clearing was not Ye Ci¡¯s only problem. She was also being gued by another...

    ¡°Say, you¡¯ve been staying here and brewing potions for days, isn¡¯t it a little unusual?¡± Bai Mo leaned against the exterior of the brewery, tapping on the windows to get Ye Ci¡¯s attention.

    ¡°What do you mean I¡¯m acting unusual?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s attention was focused on the test tube in front of her. Who would care about what Bai Mo was saying?

    ¡°From what I know about you, the guild encampment should be the ce you spend the least of your time at. You¡¯re one who would roam all over the ce, and perform remarkable acts that the guild members would be thest to know. It is indeed unusual for someone like you to be staying in the guild encampment all day long. Do you know that at least 30 different individuals have been asking me about you? The want to know if you¡¯ve suffered some sort of emotional trauma. Fruit Jelly even asked if you are having a rtionship crisis with Fleeting Time yesterday.¡± Bai Mo smiled at Ye Ci, making fun of her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll say it again one more time: there¡¯s nothing going on between me and that guy.¡± Ye Ci red at Bai Mo, her temper red. Just then, a loud ¡°Bang!¡± announced the failure of Ye Ci¡¯s attempt in brewing a Medium Strength Potion. She lowered her head, stared at the test tube that had became a mess and began to clean up. She then let out a sigh, ¡°Don¡¯t you guys think that you¡¯re all very pesky? Why are you still asking about me and Fleeting Time? The total of sentences I¡¯ve spoken to him in our conversations would definitely not exceed 10, no, make it 5. What do you think can happen between us?¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, I understand. But you can¡¯t just sit here all day can you? You¡¯ve scared the shit out of Ink and Mi Lu. They thought that they¡¯ve annoyed you by failing to defeat the 4th BOSS, and you¡¯re so angry that you would only stay in the guild encampment.¡± despite his words, Bai Mo¡¯s face was devoid of any concern. With that, Ye Ci could never believe the truthfulness behind his words.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to leave an opponent for myself? I had a level advantage in my battle against him the other day. He must be trying very hard to level up right now. Aren¡¯t I giving him a chance to reach my level? With this he can always be stronger than me.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes, and inserted another piece of herb into a sk, preparing to brew another bottle of Strength Potion. As for Bai Mo¡¯s question, Ye Ci had made up a random answer as she could not possibly tell him about the truth.

    ¡°I knew it! It has something to do with that guy!¡± said Bai Mo in an aggrieved tone, ¡°Oh my little sister! I¡¯ve watched over you as you grew! Held you so dearly in my arms, fearing that you will fall! You are my precious baby, you¡¯re like a piece of candy that I¡¯m afraid to melt in my mouth! And now a wild man is seducing you away just like this? How can I bear this??¡±

    Ye Ci could feel that the amount of times she was made to roll her eyes has greatly increased. At this rate, she would go blind some day. Right at that moment, the brewing of her Medium Strength Potion waspleted. This was her best product as a Medium Tier Potion Master.

    Hiya minna-san! Sorry for not posting for so long... Jimmi is having his finals rite now and will only be free on the 17th of this month!

    In the blink of an eye we¡¯re already at Chapter 180 people! Cheers! 20 more chapters to go and we¡¯ll be hitting that 200 chapters milestone (You bet there¡¯s going to be a speshul event for this xDD)

    Anyways, enjoy the chapter aaand well... If you¡¯re interested in knowing what retarded stuff Jimmi does everyday, feel free to follow me on my twitter: https://twitter/XDJimminx

    ACHTUNG!:

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    Don¡¯t forget to im First Blood! Desu Vult!!

 Chapter 181 The Difference Between an Amateur and a Pro

    Chapter 181 The Difference Between an Amateur and a Pro

    After tidying up the bottles that had been scattered on the table, Ye Ci began to walk out of the room. She stared at Bai Mo with disdain on her way out, ¡°First of all, you¡¯re not the one who watched over me as I grew up. Before you came here, we only met during the summer and winter holidays. And secondly, the one who held me like a precious baby and was afraid to drop me was my dad, not you.¡± After saying that, she tossed a couple of Medium Strength Potions to Bai Mo.

    Bai Mo reflexively caught the object thrown at him by Ye Ci. After studying the item, he could not hold back his amazement. It was a miracle potion for ying BOSSes and clearing dungeons!

    ¡°You¡¯re just riding on my coattails, pretending to be a floral protector [1]. Stop being so shameless!¡±

    ¡°Floral protector?¡± Bai Mo tilted his head at Ye Ci and snickered. ¡°What kind of flower are you then? A Tyrant Flower[2]?¡±

    Ye Ci immediately red at Bai Mo. This guy sure had a sharp tongue. ¡°A Tyrant Flower is a flower as well!¡±

    ¡°Alright, a Tyrant Flower is a flower as well.¡± Bai Mo nodded. As a gentleman, he would never argue about something so trivial with thedies. When he saw Ye Ci heading to the guild conference room, he could not hold back the question on the tip of his tongue. ¡°Oi, Tyrant Flower, where are you going?¡±

    ¡°What does it have to do with you?¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes and continued heading for the conference room without even looking back.

    Bai Mo smiled at Ye Ci. She had always been a girl that was tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She was actually more worried about the dungeon¡¯s progress than Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink. She did not let any of her grievances show on her face when Wolf Pack defeated the 4th BOSS. Despite the grumbling and all the worrying from the guild members, Ye Ci would tell them that they would be able to clear the dungeon eventually. Bai Mo knew that she was very anxious despite her calm demeanor.

    The girl had always been like this. She was very bad at expressing herself and so arrogant that it made her cute.

    The officers were having a meeting in the conference room, thinking of a way to defeat the 4th BOSS. She must¡¯ve been worried about them.

    Ye Ci stood silently at the entrance, observing the ongoing debate among the officers, with no intention of entering the room. Just then, Ideal Height 1.7m stood up. *cough cough* Of course, she was standing on a chair, or no one would be able to spot her.

    ¡°I have an idea!¡± There were bags beneath her eyes. Apparently she had not slept since the day before. ¡°We keep trying to figure out how to remove the BOSS¡¯s debuff, but we¡¯vee up with nothing so far. What if we¡¯ve been thinking in the wrong direction?¡±

    Overflowing Ink was momentarily stunned after listening to Ideal Height 1.7m. He shared a look with Mi Lu and the duo spoke out together. ¡°Ideal, go on.¡±

    Ideal Height 1.7m was more of a follower than a leader. Although she was a good damage dealer, she was quite inept when it came to leading. She became nervous after being questioned by the twomanders.

    Let Go Of That Girl, who was by her side, offered her words of encouragement. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. Just say it out loud.¡±

    ¡°I remembered something that Little You used to say to me. We might not necessarily have to always be reactive to problems we face in the games. We must sometimes take the initiative. It might produce more results for us that way. I¡¯ve been thinking... We seem to be very passive when ites to problem solving.¡± She then continued after a pause. ¡°I¡¯vee to realize that Little You would always go on the offensive to solve problems when she led us in clearing dungeons, while we simply react to the problem. We must be more proactive this time to solve the problem we¡¯re currently facing!¡±

    Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu sank into deep thought after listening to her words. It was a fact that they had such a problem. A problem that they were not aware of. A problem that had been very real despite their ignorance. Mi Lu could even remember the sense of fulfilment he felt when he was praised by yers when he uploaded his and Overflowing Ink¡¯s dungeon-clearing videos onto the forum.

    There was onement however, which had upset Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink. Mi Lu could still remember the exact content of thement that was posted anonymously, ¡°The teamwork is good, and themanders are quite apt. But, you are still not quite there yet as a goodmander, and you have a long way to go before you can be an expert.¡±

    Despite keeping it a secret, the two were deeply mindful of thatment. They could not understand what they did wrong. Just what were they missing? Today, Ideal Height 1.7m had just given them the answer.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be angry, I¡¯m not saying that you¡¯re bad.¡± Ideal Height 1.7m grabbed at her hair when the two remained silent. She felt that she had offended them, ¡°Y-you see... We¡¯ve always tried to remove the debuff after the spell was cast by the BOSS. However, since we are unable to solve this problem, we always fail and get annihted in the end.¡±

    ¡°Ideal, we understand what you¡¯re trying to say, but I have a question. Have you ever thought about the fact that we¡¯re unable to disrupt the BOSS¡¯s spell casting?¡± asked Fruit Jelly.

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about this. The key is not to remove the debuff with healers or the other support sses. The key is to take out whoever was affected by the debuff.¡± said Ideal Height 1.7m.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that we should kill the person who was debuffed by the BOSS?¡± asked an astonished Overflowing Ink.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ideal Height 1.7m nodded. ¡°Since the debuffed member would die anyway and spread the debuff to the other members of the party. We should just kill the person when the BOSS calls out his or her name. The BOSS will call out a name every 3 to 5 minutes. As long as we keep dishing out damage to the BOSS, we can y the BOSS within 20 minutes and only have 7 casualties at most. Besides, the BOSS has a very low movement speed and low attack damage. As long as we can work together and make up for our losses in numbers, we should be able to prevail.¡±

    Ideal Height 1.7m¡¯s words sent everyone deep into thought. It was indeed a strategy that was unheard of. They began whispering among themselves and discussed the possibilities of such a strategy in groups.

    Ye Ci smiled as she observed the situation within the conference room, and she turned around and left. Ideal Height 1.7m had discovered the way to defeat the BOSS by pure coincidence. Looks like Ye Ci was in luck today. The 4th BOSS would soon be defeated by Upwards Ho!, which meant that Ye Ci no longer had anything to worry about. Besides, Ideal Height 1.7m¡¯s words would definitely be a source of enlightenment for Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu, as it showed them how far away they were from bing an expertmander. They might even be able to be the topmanders in the game.

    ¡°Why did you not go in?¡± asked Bai Mo who had just arrived.

    ¡°They¡¯ve solved the problem on their own, so my intervention is not necessary.¡± Ye Ci smiled and patted Bai Mo on the shoulder. ¡°Mr.Guild Leader, you can just wait for the First Five of the 4th BOSS to fall into our hands.¡±

    Bai Mo raised his eyebrows and looked at Ye Ci with his face full of surprise, ¡°Eh? You¡¯re that sure?¡±

    Ye Ci did not respond to his question, but instead walked towards the teleportation NPC, ¡°You¡¯re right, staying in the guild encampment all day long is not what Gongzi You would do.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going this time?¡±

    ¡°Who knows.¡±

    In truth, Ye Ci intended to go to the Dark y City in the Swamp of Sorrows to look for the city¡¯s lord, Lord Moore. After all, it would be wasteful for her to just ignore Sha¡¯gar¡¯s Epic-tier Quest.

    The weather was nice, and everything in the guild was going well. There was nothing else left for her to worry about. It would be a waste if she wasted away this fine and wonderful day.

    Red Lake City was quite close to Dark y City, but only if one traveled in a straight line. There was, however, an ashen mountain range separating the two cities. Before the flying system was enabled, yers had to traverse through at least a dozen maps in order to reach Dark y City.

    Dark y City was one of the neutral cities in the Eastern Continent. The city¡¯s lord, Moore, had chosen to remain neutral. It was not a rare urance to see yers from other continents in the city, and fights between yers were a verymon sight.

    Ye Ci was not afraid of being involved in PK, but she knew that the quest would not be an easy one. Before she left, she made all the necessary preparations and brought along everything she deemed necessary. She¡¯ll be damned if she left something behind and was forced to return to Red Lake City to retrieve it halfway through her quest.

    Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four and climbed onto his back. She then shoved pieces of roasted meat into his mouth. A satisfied Ol¡¯ Four happilyplied to Ye Ci¡¯smands.

    Perhaps because of Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s appearance, Ye Ci would constantly receive stares from yers as she rode Ol¡¯ Four down the streets of Red Lake City. Although Ye Ci did not mind the attention, Ol¡¯ Four was enjoying it. The more people stared at him, the more excited he became.

    Before Ye Ci could protest from being jolted up and down by Ol¡¯ Four, she received a private message from a stranger. ¡°Gongzi You, are you free right now?¡±

    Trantor¡¯s notes:

    [1]Floral protector (»¤»¨Ê¹Õß): A man who looks after/protects prettydies.

    [2]Tyrant flower (°ÔÍõ»¨): ¡°°ÔÍõ»¨¡± is the chinese name for a parisitic nt called the ¡°Rafflesia¡±. The author is making a y of word here, with Bai Mo making fun of Ye Ci, hinting that she is a violent person.

    Hiya minna-san! Your favourite trantor(hopefully) Jimmi is back! As I said, release rate will be increased since I¡¯m having my semester break rite now! Yay!!

    So uhh... Just a random question here but... ARE THERE ANY MALAYSIANS OVER HERE?? RAISE YOUR HANDS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!! And uhhh... Anybody from Mka? Jimmi will be going to the Animefest in Dataran Pawan Mka (24th and 25th March), hope to see you guys there(maybe? I¡¯ll be lurking around in the Vre staff shirt :D)! I¡¯m soooooo hyped for it!

 Chapter 182 Swamp of Sorrows

    Chapter 182 Swamp of Sorrows

    The message was so out of the blue that Ye Ci paid it no heed. It might be a greeting from a random yer, and Ye Ci would always ignore messages like this. Because she was in a good mood however, Ye Ci decided to reply, ¡°I¡¯m free now, but I¡¯ll be very busy real soon.¡±

    She did not expect to receive a reply almost immediately, ¡°If it¡¯s not that much of a bother, can we meet up?¡±

    Ye Ci could tell that something was off with this message, and immediately stopped Ol¡¯ Four dead in his tracks. Ol¡¯ Four was not happy with the order, but out of respect for roasted meat, itplied. The T-rex stood still, with heads held high, as if it was the king of the world.

    Who was it? Since the person has asked for a meetup, he or she would not be just a random yer. It must¡¯ve been someone who has met Ye Ci before but have not added her as a friend. But there is a lot of yers like this. Ye Ci could not even begin to count the numbers of such yers.

    After a moment of being deep in thought, Ye Ci decided to reply, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you see me.¡± the person was very concerned about exposing his identity.

    Ye Ci sneered at the answer. I¡¯ll know who you are once I see you? So what if you mean me harm? I¡¯ll be dead when I see you! Do you think I¡¯m an idiot?

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not a curious person. If you think that trying to act mysterious makes you look cool, I suggest that you try it on someone else.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to mean you harm. I need to meet up with you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, I really mean you no harm. I have something that I need to speak to you about in person.¡±

    ......

    The person sent messages after messages to Ye Ci when ignored. She was at the brink of muting her chat for strangers when a line of words dispelled such intention.

    ¡°Gongzi You, I¡¯m Wandering Cloud. I mean you no harm, but there¡¯s something that I need to talk to you.¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned after reading the message, and she immediatelymanded Ol¡¯ Four to stop. She was astonished. She had never expected the person to be Wandering Cloud. Why would he send her a message at this time?

    Did NightAndDay tell him about what she said previously? It can¡¯t be. As the leader of such arge guild, he wouldn¡¯t act so frivolously. He wouldn¡¯t handle the matter so irresponsibly like this..

    So why is Wandering Cloud looking for her? Is he trying to court her? Unlike herst life, there were a lot of conflicts between them. It is impossible for Wandering Cloud to have the guts to try something like that on her.

    But if that¡¯s not the reason... Why would Wandering Cloud be looking for her?

    Ye Ci replied after a long moment of silence, ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything to be said between us.¡± Despite her displeasure at the person, she did not want to dirty her hands. After all, it would be better to settle internal matters in house..

    Although Ye Ci enjoyed the sweet taste of vengeance, revenge is a troublesome matter. She did not want to waste her energy on someone who was insignificant. Before Wandering Cloud had truly pissed her off, it would be better to leave the joy of such a thing to NightAndDay. How could she rob NightAndDay of the sweet joy of exacting revenge?

    ¡°There¡¯s a misunderstanding between us, sparking some conflicts between our guilds. We¡¯re both leaders of our guild, shouldn¡¯t we clear the air for the benefit of our guilds?¡± after failing in persuading Ye Ci, Wandering Cloud resorted to entice her with the benefits of her guild.

    Ye Ciughed coldly, ¡°Unlike you, I¡¯m not the person in charge of Upwards Ho!, I¡¯m just a nobody. If you wish to call a truce, talk to Remote Depths. He¡¯s currently bored out of his mind in the guild encampment. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be very d to talk to you.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You, don¡¯t be like that, I know it¡¯s my mistake from trying to steal that kill from you. I tried my best to mediate the conflict that arose after that as well, but I failed. But you must know that I¡¯ve never thought of bing enemies with you. I¡¯m very sincere here, but why must you treat me like this?¡±

    Ye Ci could barely hold back aughter after receiving the message from Wandering Cloud. It might¡¯ve worked on someone else. Why is this world so weird? People who are shameless are usually better off in life.

    It was really rare for someone as shameless as Wandering Cloud to say such a thing. The man has never been so tant in herst life. He had always been discreet with everything he did. But why was he saying such things? The only answer would be: he was facing a problem that he was unable to solve.

    Should I meet up with him? Shouldn¡¯t I leave some room of maneuver for myself unless the situation is really dire?

    The questions kept repeating themselves in Ye Ci¡¯s mind. But, her mouth reacted faster than her brain.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really have the time right now. How about meeting up at ater date?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s mouth rejected Wandering Cloud¡¯s invitation. She was lucky that her ¡°mouth¡± was smart, and left some room of maneuverability for the both of them.

    ¡°But... I¡¯m in a desperate situation right now...¡± Wandering Cloud blurted out the words reflexively. After realizing his mistake, Wandering Cloud regained hisposure after a slight pause and said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s meet up 2 dayster.¡±

    He was indeed desperate. Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, cutting offmunications with Wandering Cloud, and immediately contacted Green Hill¡¯s Moon, ¡°Are you there?¡±

    ¡°Good morning boss! Have you eaten your breakfast?¡± she received a reply from Green Hill¡¯s Moon 3 secondster. Even when she wasmunicating with the person through private message, she could almost hear the jovial voice of Green Hill¡¯s Moon, as if he was a little puppy wagging his tail at her as an attempt of ttery.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve eaten.¡±

    ¡°For boss to summon me so early in the morning... Something must be up. I¡¯m all ears boss! I¡¯m ready to help!¡± Ye Ci was exasperated by Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s jovial tone. This guy... He must¡¯ve seen Ye Ci as someone with more money than she has sense. Whenever Ye Ci came looking for him, he would receive a huge sum of money. This must be the source of his excitement.

    ¡°I need you to find information about someone.¡±

    ¡°No problem boss. But about the money...¡± a businessman at heart, Green Hill¡¯s Moon wasted no time in asking for a price. This was what Ye Ci liked about him. There are some matters that need lines to be drawn clearly.

    ¡°100,000 gold coins.¡±

    ¡°Looks like this person is not as important as thest one.¡±

    ¡°They are just as important.¡± a ghost of a smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°If I remembered correctly, if I report you for illegally obtaining the private information of Thousand Sunsets... Hehe...¡± Ye Ci left her sentence hanging, allowing him toe to the frightening conclusion of the repercussions on his own.

    ¡°If this person is as dangerous as Thousand Sunsets, I¡¯m not taking the job even if you pay me 1 million gold coins.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon furrowed his eyebrows. He did not know who Ye Ci wanted him to investigate, but the pay was rather low.

    ¡°He¡¯s not that much of a big shot.¡± and Ye Ci spoke out the name slowly, ¡°Wandering Cloud, the vice leader of Tang Dynasty. I want to know what¡¯s up with him and NightAndDay as well as...¡± with that, Ye Ci let out a slightugh, ¡°Just go look into it. I know you¡¯ll know what I want.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes. He knew he would not be able to gain the upper hand when dealing with this woman. But, Wandering Cloud was really not as influential as Thousand Sunsets. He would only need to busy himself for a day or two to earn 20,000 real world cash. It was worth it.

    ¡°Alright, no problem! Just wait for my good news.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon epted the request and received payment from Ye Ci.

    With the matter settled, Ye Ci continued her journey happily. She did not want to dy her trip to Dark y City any longer.

    The Rand Port is a flourishing port in the Swamp of Sorrows. Ships from different continents frequented the port, and with them, yers from the other continents. This was the northernmost area of the Eastern Continent, dered to be independent by Lord Moore in the 374th year of the Fate calendar. It meant that the ce had already been a neutral territory before yers entered the game. PvP battles raged on in all corners of the Swamp of Sorrows with the exception of Dark y City.

    yers who are bad in PvP, or had inferior equipment or low level would never enter this area. If they die, they won¡¯t even have the chance to reacquire their equipment.

    Despite therge number of foreign continent yers exploring the Swamp of Sorrow, the yers from the Eastern Continent still made up the vast majority of the yer poption. They huddled in groups to ensure their safety, camping at the spawn points of Fishmen in the map. They would stay away from the other groups, while guaranteeing their own safety.

    When Ye Ci entered the Swamp of Sorrows on Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s back, she could see a field of green and red yers.

    yers who entered the Swamp of Sorrows alone were few and far between. If a solo yer was not strong enough, they would be ughtered by yers from opposing continents. The corpses and skeletons littering the road to Dark y City were testaments that the killings have never stopped.

    Hiya minna-san! How¡¯s everybody doing?? Here¡¯s another chapter of this awesometacr novel tranted by an awesomtacr trantor!!!

    By the way, can anybody tell me when the next Steam Sale is? I¡¯m looking at a number of games here: Valkyria Chronicles, SAO: Fatal Bullet, Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor Martyr and SENRAN KAGURA Peach Beach Ssh.

    Waiting for Steam Sale to snatch at least one of them. (*wink wink* Of course, if you want to gift them to me it¡¯d be nice *cough cough cough cough*)

    And... Urm... Are there any League of Legends yers here who are ying on Garena SG-MY server? I¡¯ve been running into monkeystely since it¡¯s school holidays and the kids are out.. Games after games after games of having kids ming the hell out of each other IN CHAMPION SELECT!!! Anybody wanna duo ranked game with me? xDD Currently sitting at Silver I 7LP *cries*

    I¡¯m also very curious if there¡¯s anybody from my uni reading this, it would be cool. So... If you¡¯re studying in Multemedia University Mka campus gimme a holler in thements!!!

    Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

    First in thement next page type: FIRST BLOOD!

 Chapter 183 Somebodyâ€™s Looking to Die

    Chapter 183 Somebody¡¯s Looking to Die

    The highest level on the Level Ranking Board was level 35. However, the fact that a lot of yers were reluctant in revealing their names on the ranking board had to be taken into ount as well, Ye Ci was one such yer. There might not be many like her, but they were bound to have higher levels than those on the Level Ranking Board.

    Despite that, Ye Ci believed that there would be not more than 3 yers who were above level 40 in the Swamp of Sorrows, she might even be the only one. This was why she had the courage to roam around alone in the Swamp of Sorrows.

    Even though levels were not an obvious thing, an eye-catching mount was visible to all. If one was in possession of such an eye-catching mount, the person was either rich, very skillful or very lucky. Creatures like Ol¡¯ Four that could be used as a mount and also could be sent intobat were few and far between. Ye Ci might not be the only yer of the Hunter ss to have such a pet, but she was certain that she was the only one to have it in the entire Eastern Continent.

    Due to the effects of the Brooch of Deceit, Ye Ci¡¯s appearance was that of a normal yer. Ol¡¯ Four was fearsome, but a lot of yers drooled at the sight of him.

    Not all the mounts in Fate were bound to yers, quite a number of them would drop upon the death of a yer. In theter stages of the game, yers with rare mounts had to be very careful as they traversed through different maps, or they risked losing their mounts.

    Ye Ci could see groups of Western Continent yers the moment she stepped into the Swamp of Sorrows. They huddled together in groups, minding their own business and not bothering the yers from other continents. It appeared to be quite peaceful. Although she was enthusiastic in farming Kill Glory, Ye Ci held back from going on a killing spree. The yers were simply too scattered, and she had a quest toplete.

    However, there¡¯s a saying that when someone¡¯s down on their luck, they¡¯ll choke even on a sip of water. As Ye Ci rode down towards Dark y City, she was suddenly hit by an attack.

    ¡°You have been attacked by Northern Continent yer *****.¡± the system notification rang out. As her opponents were from the Northern Continent and had hidden their names, the names of Ye Ci¡¯s assants were not visible to her. This, however, was not a matter of concern for Ye Ci. What mattered most to her was: Who the hell had the guts to provoke her wrath? Did they want to die?

    They were indeed courting death.

    Ye Ci did not immediately stop Ol¡¯ Four. She galloped onwards, only sparing a nce behind. A group of red tinted yers stood at the side of the road. One of them, a Hunter, remained in his firing stance, while Sorceress was already channeling a spell and a Warrior began charging at Ye Ci.

    If Ye Ci was not mistaken, the Sorceress was casting Polymorph. The fact that the attack from the Hunter resulted in a MISS meant that the yers were at least 7 levels below her. The Polymorph spell, however, was no child¡¯s y. If it connected, Ye Ci would be knocked down from her mount and she would not be able to fight back. It would be very embarrassing for her to get killed by the group of yers just like that.

    By then, the Warrior had managed to approach Ye Ci with his Charge ability. Ye Ci received yet another system notification, ¡°You have been attacked by Northern Continent yer *****.¡± Herbat log indicated that the Warrior¡¯s charge was unable to stun Ye Ci as it was a MISS.

    The yers were astonished when their attacks missed. The Warrior was especially confused. Paying no heed to the yers¡¯ reaction, Ye Ci turned Ol¡¯ Four around and charged at the Sorceress at full speed.

    The Sorceress began to move and hastened her spell casting when she saw the Huntress charging at her. Ye Ci raised her crossbow and cast Rapid Fire at the Sorceress. Right at the same moment, the Sorceress¡¯s cast her spell, and Ye Ci was covered in golden light. She could feel herself growing smaller, and she lost control of her body.

    As an expert Sorceress in herst life, Ye Ci was no stranger to such a condition. There was only one logical exnation: Ye Ci had been Polymorphed. A yer who was Polymorphed was unable tounch any attacks for the duration of the spell. Under the effect of such a spell, Ye Ci could easily be defeated by the group of yers. But there was something that the yers had not expected.

    The Huntress¡¯ mount did not disappear even after they knocked her down from her mount. Instead, it bellowed in rage and charged at them. The yers could only stare at each other in dismay.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, attack!¡± shouted the party leader who was a Hunter, and the rest of the party members began throwing their skills at Ol¡¯ Four, dealing little to no damage to the beast. The yers once again looked at each other in dismay. The Hunter then gave out the order, ¡°Run!¡±

    The party scattered.

    A panicked discussion ensued in their party channel, ¡°What the heck is going on? Haven¡¯t we knocked her down from her mount? Haven¡¯t we Polymorphed her as well? Why is her mount still charging at us?¡± The Sorceress who turned Ye Ci into a sheep was at the back of the group due to her movement speed. However, she was not the first person tond an attack on Ye Ci, which meant that she did not hold the highest aggro value. As she spoke, Ol¡¯ Four dashed past her and headed straight for the Hunter.

    Almost all the yers triedunching attacks on Ol¡¯ Four, but to the level 42 beast that was tanky and had a very bad temper, they did not present a threat. They were like toys that he could chase around. He ran at the group of yers the moment Ye Ci was knocked down from his back. Ol¡¯ Four, who was originally simply running along was thoroughly enraged when the yers began pummeling him with skills. He let out a roar and broke into a full stampede. Ol¡¯ Four then released an AOE ability, dealing a tremendous amount of damage to the hostile yers.

    ¡°What the hell was that? That damage is unreal! I almost died!¡± shouted the yers who were closest to Ol¡¯ Four.

    ¡°How the hell would I know?¡±

    ¡°Could it be... That her mount was also her pet?¡± said the party¡¯s Cleric as she ran. She did not take part in the attack, which meant that not much of Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s aggro was on her.

    ¡°Are you f*cking kidding me? I¡¯ve never seen a pet like this that existed in Fate? How the hell would we run into one?¡± eximed the party¡¯s Rogue.

    ¡°Just because you haven¡¯t seen one doesn¡¯t mean that it doesn¡¯t exist! Are you f*cking illiterate? There¡¯s one such pet in the Eastern Continent, It belongs to Gongzi You! Didn¡¯t you spend a lot of time on the forums- ¡± The Warrior, who was about to be caught up by Ol¡¯ Four, shouted at the Rogue.

    The Warrior paused mid-sentence and cast a nce at the Polymorphed Ye Ci, ¡°Could that person be Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Pah! Don¡¯t you dare jinx it! I heard that Gongzi You is currently busy clearing dungeons with her guild. Why the hell would she appear in the Swamp of Sorrows?¡± a Gnomish Sorceress interjected, ¡°This could be a BUG! We could report it...¡±

    In truth, when the Warrior voiced out his opinion, the party was very sure that they had messed with the wrong yer. The words of the Gnomish Sorceress gave them a sliver of hope.

    By then, the duration of Polymorph was over and Ye Ci returned to her original form. She sighed when she saw the group of yers being chased around by Ol¡¯ Four. They must have thought that since Ye Ci was alone, they could take her out and earn some Kill Glory, as well as get a shot at obtaining Ye Ci¡¯s mount. The yers, however, ran into a wall.

    Not wanting to waste time and energy for just a mere few points of Kill Glory, Ye Ci whistled in the direction of the fleeing Northern Continent yers. Ol¡¯ Four who was right at their heels turned around and headed back to Ye Ci. She had no time to waste on level 30 yers, her priority was to meet up with Lord Moore of Dark y City.

    The fleeing yers heard the whistle, and the gigantic presence behind them departed.

    As a Tank, the Warrior braved a look backward and stopped. ¡°That¡¯s enough guys, stop running! The Huntress recalled her pet.¡±

    The party finally stopped and turned around to look. Ol¡¯ Four had already returned to Ye Ci¡¯s side. The yers immediately crouched down and hid behind some low shrubs to observe the Huntress. In case she mounted her beast to resume chasing after them, they would at least have a good distance between them.

    After making sure that the Huntress had truly left, the members of the party heaved long sighs of relief.

    ¡°That¡¯s a close one. Can¡¯t believe we ran into somebody like that in our first ambush. We¡¯re lucky she decided to let us go, or our efforts in leveling today would have been wasted.¡± The Gnomish Sorceress let out a long sigh, petting himself on the chest, marveling at his good luck.

    Hiya minna-san! This awesome chapter is brought to you by Jimmi, the awesomtacr trantor tranting this awesomesauce novel!

    Aherm! Aherm!

    So, minna-san, there¡¯s an issue that I very much would like to address. You see, I¡¯ve noticed some people are rehosting my trantion on Wattpad. While I really, really appreciate your support for Reign of the Hunters, I hope that peopl will not host this novel somewhere else without my permission. I¡¯m sorry if I sound like an arrogant young master, but please do not host Reign of the Hunters somewhere else without my permission. Thank you.

    (Special note to Amybd123 on Wattpad, I have tried talking to you politely, but I have no choice but to submit a report after your rather rude respond.)

    Anyways, I hope you people can enjoy this chapter, we¡¯re steadily marching towards the 200 chapters milestone! Yippee!

    Thank you all for your support, I wouldn¡¯t have made it this far without all of you!

    And well... If you¡¯re a Mysian and you¡¯re going to the Animefest held in Dataran Pawan Mka on the 24th of March, see you there! I¡¯ll be lurking around the ce in the Vre staff shirt... N-not that I s-secretly w-wish that s-somebody will ce and say hi! B-b-b-baka!

    Don¡¯t forget that we have a teaser next page! First in thement type: FIRST BLOOD!

    Desu Vult! Embrace the inner weeb!

    If you wish to submit any fanart, feel free to email them to me! Fanarts are always wee!

 Chapter 184 Looking For Trouble

    Chapter 184 Looking For Trouble

    The rest of the party nodded in agreement. The Hunter who¡¯d started the fight¡¯s expression was especially grave. ¡®I didn¡¯t know we¡¯d be so unlucky. Everybody else was able to kill yers who were alone easily; why did we have to be the ones to run into such a monster?!¡±

    ¡°Forget about it, we¡¯ve learnt our lesson. Let¡¯s just not do something like this from now on. After all, we aren¡¯t in the Northern Continent. If we aren¡¯t careful, we¡¯ll be chased down and annihted. It¡¯d better for us to just live with our tails between our legs.¡± As the Cleric was a Lycan, her tail was indeed between her legs.

    The party collectively sighed, then headed back to their leveling area. Every party in the Swamp of Sorrows had their own leveling spot; they stayed away from each other in order to avoid any trouble or confusion. However, they¡¯d entered the leveling zone of another party while fleeing from Ye Ci. If they were to stay any longer, the other party might be wary of their intentions, and they might lose their leveling spot if they left it unattended. As such, the part immediately headed back towards their leveling spot.

    However, they ran into Rogue that was pulling aggro from monsters before they reached their leveling spot. Neither party knew one another, but as strangers in a foreignnd, as well as yers from the Northern Continent, it was natural for them to exchange greetings.

    ¡°Eh? Why¡¯re you guys here? Don¡¯t you have your own leveling spot?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. We started a fight with someone that we shouldn¡¯t have messed with, thus we fled here,¡± replied the Lycan Cleric with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t get us wrong, we aren¡¯t here to kill steal. We¡¯re on our way back to our spot right now.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you talking about, we¡¯re all yers from the Northern Continent! Why didn¡¯t you ask for help when you were bullied? Who cares about monster kills! Wait a few, I¡¯ll call the rest of my party over.¡± And with that, the Rogue shouted for the rest of his party members toe over.

    A group of yers soon appeared, all of whom were tough-looking males. They were led by a Warrior with a shield and all spoke at once,

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Who was it that got bullied?¡± The Warrior asked as he approached the yers.

    The Lycan Cleric was dumbfounded by how righteous the Warrior sounded. As it would be rude to leave just like that, the members of the two parties introduced themselves.

    The party who¡¯d been fleeing from Ye Ci was made up of: Cold Light, a Warrior, Swift Feathers, a Hunter, Little Haul, a Sorceress, Fish and Bean Curd Soup, a Gnomish Sorceress, You Can¡¯t C Me, a Rogue, and Bandaids, a Lycan Cleric.

    The other party¡¯s members all had very interesting names; their characters were all named after liquor: Five Grain Liquor, a Warrior, Maotai Liquor, a Cleric, Rice Wine, a Warlock, Guojiao1573, and Safflower Liquor, a Rogue.

    After a brief introduction, the members of the liquor team began questioning Cold Light on the unfortunate events that had befallen them. In an attempt to stop things from being misunderstood, and hoping that the matter would simply die down, Cold Light and Swift Feathers made it clear that they¡¯d been the one to start the fight.

    However, Five Gran Liquor pped his thigh in anger after listening to Cold Light¡¯s exnation. ¡°Motherf*cker! I don¡¯t care how good she is, but how could she simply walk away like that after bullying yers from the Northern Continent! Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll make her pay for what she did!¡±

    The members of Cold Light¡¯s party were dumbfounded when they heard this; their party had always been focused on PVE, thus they were bad when it came to PVP. Normally, they would avoid provoking other yers, and their first attempt to do so had been met with disaster. The only thing they wanted right now was for the incident to die down. After all, it wasn¡¯t like they¡¯d suffered any losses; who cared if they were bullied or not?

    However, if Five Grain Liquor were to go after the Huntress... they might all die by her hands.

    WIth this thought in mind, Cold Light immediately attempted to dissuade Five Grain Liquor from pursuing Ye Ce.

    The man was very stubborn however. He ignored Cold Light¡¯s attempt to dissuade him, and was angered by his party¡¯s apparent cowardice. ¡°Do you all think that this all about you? No! We¡¯re in the Eastern Continent now! There aren¡¯t that many of us! If we don¡¯t help each other out in times of need, won¡¯t we be inviting trouble from the Eastern Continent¡¯s yers? This incident might only be a trivial one, but if we choose to ignore this, our yers will most likely disappear from the Eastern Continent¡¯s neutral maps! If that happens, it¡¯ll be impossible to continue questing and leveling up in this ce. Hell, we might not ever be able to set foot here ever again!¡±

    Cold Light was speechless when he heard this. He turned his words towards Five Grain Liquor¡¯s party members, in the hopes that they¡¯d be able to change his mind. The rest of his party, however, shared his thoughts on the matter.

    Forced to choose between their personal interests and the the interest of the continent, Cold Light¡¯s party was forced to ept Give Grain Liquor¡¯s view.

    Bandaids was depressed; she couldn¡¯t figure out why the Liquor team had blown things out of proportion, rather than let the incident lie down.

    Cold Light became even more rmed following what happened next: When Five Grain Liquor said that they¡¯d be going after the Huntress, Cold Light had assumed that he¡¯d meant that their parties would be the only ones involved. Five Grain Liquor, however, had other ideas; he sent a message in the Map Channel for Northern Continent yers.

    ¡°Greetings to all yers from the Northern Continent! We¡¯vee to this continent for the boons offered by itsnds. However, what have we received so far in our efforts to explore the Eastern Continent? Nothing but endless conflict and threats that have been kicked around by the Eastern Continent yers! Aren¡¯t you all dissatisfied with this situation? Don¡¯t you all feel that this needs to change?¡±

    The Map Channel was made so that only yers from the Northern Continent were visible to other yers from the Northern Continent within the Swamp of Sorrows. This was, there wasn¡¯t a need to take any precautions against spies.

    Give Grain Liquor¡¯s words resonated deep within the Northern Continent¡¯s yer¡¯s hearts. In truth, any yer¡ªfrom any continent¡ªwould hold the same level of sentiment and resentment in neutral maps. As such, the Northern Continent¡¯s yers immediately voiced out their approval in the Map Channel.

    ¡°All of us are currently facing the same difficulties, which is why we can¡¯t allow ourselves to be bullied any longer! Am I right?!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The yers once again approved of Five Grain Liquor¡¯s words.

    With his effort to persuade the Liquor team having ended in failure, the only thing Cold Light could do was helplessly watch as Five Grain Liquor gave a speech to all of the Northern Continent yers in the Swamp of Sorrows. He continued to fan the mes and urge them to go on a killing spree against the Eastern Continent¡¯s yers.

    Just what the heck is going on here!

    Cold Light came to a sudden realization that PvE yers like him wouldn¡¯t ever be able to understand the thoughts of a warmonger. His party members stared at one another, then parted ways with the Liquor team and returned to their leveling spot.

    ¡°Are we really going to help them out?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not. This is exactly the sort of stuff that I¡¯m afraid of. You know that I don¡¯t like getting into trouble.¡± Bandaids resolutely shook her head. She was a PvE yer through and through, and had objected to the party¡¯s decision to ambush Ye Ci from the start. As such, she naturally wouldn¡¯t take part in such an event. ¡°You guys can if you want to, I¡¯m heading offline. I¡¯ll be back onter. I hope things have died down by then.¡±

    The two Sorceresses in the party immediately agreed with Bandaid¡¯s decision to go offline until things died down, and followed suit, leaving the three males of the party behind. With the party now disbanded, Swift Feathers let out a sigh. ¡°Forget about it, the three of us should go. The three of them are girls¡ªthey¡¯re justified not taking part. However, what do you think will await us if we don¡¯t?¡±

    Swift Feather¡¯s argument was valid. As things stood, it no longer mattered whether or not they were PvP yers, but rather if they were willing to represent the continent they belonged to. They¡¯d be ostracized by the other yers from their continent if they made the wrong choice, which would be very bad for them.

    At this point, the sounds of battle and the shouts of yers could already be heard in the distance. The three yers looked at each other; the bloodbath had already begun.

    ......

    Ye Ci was currently making her way to Dark y City. The Swamp of Sorrows was arge map; it would take a yer an hour to reach the city once they entered the map, and that was with a mount. Ye Ci was currently bored out of her mind.

    ¡°You have been attacked by Northern Continent yer, XXX.¡±

    ¡°You have been attacked by Northern Continent yer, XXX.¡±

    ¡°You have been attacked by Northern Continent yer, XXX.¡±

    A ¡®MISS¡¯ appeared above Ye Ci¡¯s head, indicating that she was currently under attack. When she looked back, Ye Ci saw that at least two parties wereunching attacks against her. Even though their attacks only resulted in a flurry of ¡®MISS¡¯s, Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows furrowed.

    What on earth is going on?

    Why is everybody attacking me? What the hell¡¯s going on!

    Hiya minna-san! Since I¡¯ll be busy tomorrow (going to the Animefest and all), I¡¯ll be posting today instead! So... Enjoy the chapter! Hehe!

    I¡¯M SO HYPED FOR THE ANIMEFEST TOMORROW PEOPLE!!! AHHHHHH!!!! I CAN¡¯T WAIT!! I CAN¡¯T WAIT!!! *jumps up and down* *rolls around on the floor* (I hope it won¡¯t be a disappoinment XD) See y¡¯all there if any of you are going! Remember! Vre staff shirt!!!

    I¡¯ll be uploading fucktons of pictures on my twitter ount! Follow me on twitter if you want!

    (link to my twitter: https://twitter/XDJimminx)

    Also..... Aherm aherm... You see.... ANYBODY PLAYING LEAGUE OF LEGENDS ON GARENA SG SERVER??? I REALLY NEED SOMEBODY TO CARRY MY RANKED GAMES GET ME OUT OF THIS ELOOOOO!!! I¡¯M TILTED AS FLUFF! THE HORRORS I¡¯VE SEEN IN MY GAMES!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!! SOS! MY HEART CAN TAKE THIS NO LONGER!!!

    The autofill system is tilting as FLUFF! Assholes literally throw the game cuz they got autofilled support and became salty when people refused to role swap! They¡¯ll say ¡°It¡¯s not my main role¡± So not ying your main role automatically downgrades your skill level? Dude it might be your first time as support, but it sure ain¡¯t your first time ying League! I once had this support who is a Jarvan IV OTP, threw the game, got med, and I ran into him my next game in topne on his Jarvan and guess what? I still shit on him! His MAIN ROLE! HAH! And I¡¯m a frickin¡¯ Jinx OTP, first time topne as Trundle!

    *cough cough* Sorry for the rant... So... *shameless mode on* If you hab monies and nowhere to spend, you can spend em on Jimmi! Hit that sweet, sweet Sponsor button and send Jimmi some love! *shameless mode off*

    First in thement next page type: FIRST BLOOD!

    Desu Vult!!

 Chapter 185 I am Gongzi You

    Chapter 185 I am Gongzi You

    Ye Ci was expressionless as she massacred the Northern Continent yers. She couldn¡¯t help but feel inadequate despite the 20-odd Kill Glory she had earned. Did they really believe that by not fighting on a neutral map, they would shame the name of ¡°Neutral Territory¡±?

    Ye Ci found nothing valuable after inspecting the equipment on the ground; she had no time or energy to spend on this sort of equipment. Following this, Ye Ci left with Ol¡¯ Four, leaving behind a dozen Northern Continent yer corpses.

    ¡°Our parties have been wiped out by a dinosaur-riding Huntress! We need support!¡± shouted a fallen Northern Continent yer in the Map Channel.

    ¡°Where¡¯s she headed?¡±

    ¡°She was travelling down the main road at the center of the map. I believe that she¡¯s at least level 38. There was a level penalty when we tried to attack her! We can¡¯t even deal a single point of damage!¡±

    The Northern Continent parties that were wiped out had an average level of 31. This level was a factor in their attempt at gauging Ye Ci¡¯s level.

    ¡°She¡¯s level 38...¡± Five Grain Liquor was deep in thought. With a level 34 character, Five Grain Liquor thought that he had a very decent level. However, he did not expect that he would run into a level 38 yer in the Swamp of Sorrows. It would be very hard to deal with the Huntress.

    ¡°Spread out, don¡¯t stick together/huddle up! Remember, even ants can bite an elephant to death! We¡¯ll take her on with superior numbers!¡±

    Ye Ci was curious. Why would wave after wave of Northern Continent yers charge at her? Despite the free Kill Glory, Ye Ci felt pestered beyond her limits by the onught of Northern Continent yers. Ye Ci said towards the lifeless bodies which littered the ground as she climbed onto Ol¡¯ Four, ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to farm Kill Glory with you people. Go level up or something, I need to leave. Tell the others as well¡ªstop messing around with me, I¡¯m not interested in fighting.¡±

    And with that, she left.

    Although her message had been conveyed to the other yers in the Map Channel, her intention had beenpletely distorted when retold by others. Ye Ci¡¯s original message had intended to avoid confrontation, however, through the words of others, it had been twisted into one full of provocation. When faced with such ¡®provocation¡¯, the blood of the Northern Continent yers boiled.

    As a result, the Northern Continent yers lost their minds. They gave up on hunting the Eastern Continent yers scattered throughout the map and began diverting their forces against the dinosaur-riding Huntress. Themotion that they brewed up was an awe-inspiring sight.

    At that moment, a message appeared in the Map Channel, slightly dampening the rage of the Northern Continent yers, ¡°Do you know just who the hell you people are pursuing?¡±

    The yers were struck dumb as they read the question. Just who the hell were they facing?

    A yer who was already level 38, was a dinosaur-riding Elven Huntress, and had the capability of wiping out all the parties that pursued her. She definitely wasn¡¯t any ordinary yer.

    ¡°I think I know of someone who fits that description.¡± A voice spoke up, ¡°I think many of us here also know the answer, am I right?¡±

    Silence filled the channel.

    This yer was renowned. Her achievements were numerous to the point that it was impossible to count. Her recent exploits were like the stories of the legend. When the Western Continent invaded the Eastern Continent¡¯s Champion City, this yer¡¯s name was at the apex of the Kill Glory leaderboard. She was also the first person in the entire Eastern Continent to have reached the rank of Major General.

    Not only that, the person has also in Fleeting Time, who was crowned as the top yer of the Western Continent. Despite her own reluctance toment about the battle, Fleeting Time himself did not mind his defeat. When asked about the battle, he would always say that he lost because he was not as good as the person.

    The person was also involved in a rumoured love-hate rtionship involving the two top Hunters of both continents.

    With such a grand event, and the Fate officials keeping track of the entire battle, the person¡¯s name was the most popr name in the forums.

    The person was none other than Gongzi You.

    The burning mes within the Northern Continent yers died down after the name has been spoken. Each and every one of them knew that going up against Gongzi You would spell trouble.

    Besides, reaching the rank of Major General would enable her to purchase specialized PvP equipment used for yer vs yerbat. yers armed with PvP equipment would deal more damage while receiving less damage from their enemies. Such a yer would have a tremendous amounts of advantage over yers with PvE equipment even without taking levels and mechanical skill into ount.

    The entire Map Channel immediately died down.

    ¡°But are you sure it¡¯s really Gongzi You?¡±

    The question was raised by one of the yers. It was true that nobody was certain that the yer was indeed Gongzi You. None of them have really seen the face of Gongzi You. The yers were reluctant to let their anger die down just because of some description about the Huntress¡¯s appearance. Hence, the killings continued.

    Despite the fact that the Northern Continent yers were not sure that the Huntress was indeed Gongzi You, there was still a slight change in their actions. They would avoid the Huntress, and at times even hid themselves when they spotted her from afar. The Northern Continent yers slowly shifted their targets back to the other Eastern Continent yers.

    Ye Ci, on the other hand, was very satisfied with the effect of her words. Not a single Northern Continent had tried to mess with her after the incident. Even if she came across some of the Northern Continent yers, they would go to great lengths to keep their distance. Just as Dark y City was within reach, Ye Ci noticed amotion in the Eastern Continent¡¯s Map Channel.

    ¡°Those Northern Continent trash are way over their heads! I was only trying toplete my quest! I did not do anything! But those assholes killed me!¡±

    ¡°Me too! My party was wiped out in our leveling spot by a bunch of them!¡±

    ¡°I know right! I don¡¯t mind them asionally picking off one of ours who was alone, but what they did today is way overboard!¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t just let them do whatever the hell they want in our territory! We must fight back!¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah! We must fight back! Let¡¯s gather at Dark y City! We¡¯ll muster all our forces and kick their asses!¡±

    ......

    shes between yers were amon sight in neutral maps. Having countless experience of such shes in herst life, Ye Ci paid no heed to the conversation. She had no intention of joining the fight. That was of course, until a message appeared in the Map Channel.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Northern Continent yers are actually not moving against normal Eastern Continent yers like us. They¡¯re on the hunt for a certain yer.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®a certain yer¡¯?¡±

    ¡°They say it¡¯s a Huntress riding a dinosaur. She bullied one of theirs and ran away. They¡¯re now trying to kill the Huntress.¡±

    ¡°Wait, why does it sound like Gongzi You...¡±

    ¡°Eh? Gongzi You is here? Do you think she¡¯ll join the battle?¡±

    ......

    At that moment, Ye Ci finally understood why droves of Northern Continent yers came after her. It seems that she had be a target. But... Have she bullied anyone from the Northern Continent?

    However, it was not Ye Ci¡¯s nature to put too much thoughts nor was she willing to waste her time on insignificant matters like this. However, since the Northern Continent yers were looking for trouble, she would not allowed herself to be trampled upon.

    It was never Gongzi You¡¯s way to allow herself to be trampled. Since the Northern Continent yers wish to look for trouble, this was her perfect moment to farm for more Kill Glory. With that thought in mind, she headed to the western gate of Dark y City.

    The yers gathered at the western gate stared at Ol¡¯ Four with mouth agaped the moment Ye Ci arrived at the scene. The crowd began murmuring to each other.

    ¡°Wow, are you telling me that this is Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen her in person...¡±

    ¡°She lookspletely different in person! I thought she¡¯s tall, but she looks rather short...¡±

    Hiya minna-san! Enjoy this awesome chapter tranted by an awesomtacr trantor!!! Huehuehue...

    I have to say... The Animefest is a... Let down... Really... The real thing is not as great as advertised. Ughhh... T__T I actually expected it to be as grand as the Comic Con they usually have in Sngor but mehh....

    And a trap cosyer I saw *shivers* Gives me PTSD! I¡¯m TRAUMATIZED. Like imagine looking at somebody wearing a ck dress, high heels, knee socks and frickin¡¯ elbow gloves from the back, and the person has like hair tied into a long ponytail that reaches the person¡¯s waist... The person has petite frame and all.. Long limbs, skin so white you can get the person to star in a Lorealmercial or something like that... And you thought to yourself, ¡°Damn, this person looks GORGEOUS!¡± And then.... BOOM! The person turns out to be a GUYYY!!!

    Still... I got some good stuff though xDD

    Don¡¯t forget that we have a teaser next page! First toment type: First Blood!

    Desu Vult!!!!

 Chapter 186 Purity Essence

    Chapter 186 Purity Essence

    Ye Ci¡¯s voice was soft, but it was still enough to quiet the crowd. It was if time had stopped at that moment; the gathered yers were all as stoics as statues as they stared dumbfoundedly at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci wasn¡¯t used to others having such a reaction towards her; she¡¯d never thought of herself as someone special. Nobody in ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ would when they saw her, thus she felt like like an alien that had just arrived from outer space.

    ¡°Oh shit, it¡¯s Gongzi You...¡±

    One of the yers gasped in admiration, breaking the long period of silence. Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief the moment he did so¡ªthe awkward situation had finally been resolved. Immediately afterwards arge number of yers began to send messages in the Map Channel, ¡°Guys, let¡¯s gather at the western gate of Dark y City! With Gongzi You on our side, we can bring the fight to those Northern Continent scum!¡±

    ¡°Is that really Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Are you for real? You¡¯re joking, right?¡±

    The Map Channel instantly erupted into chaos. While some yers doubted the credibility of such messages, many were excited. A huge number of them immediately header towards the western gate of Dark y City to join in on the fun. Some of them also spread the news to the yers in their guild, which attracted even more yers to the Swamp of Sorrows.

    Most of them imed that they wereing to fight the Northern Continent yers and defend their fellow yers, but most of them were simply boarding the hype train.

    With this, the once-quiet Swamp of Sorrows had be as busy as Champion City.

    However, this was nothingpared to the tens of hundreds of yers that flocked towards the western gate momentster. Ye ci was relieved when she saw the enormous amount of reinforcements; with so many yers from the Eastern Continent present, she definitely be able to slip away. But when they finally arrived at the western gate, Ye Ci realized just how wrong she¡¯d been.

    There would always be people like them in the world: People that weren¡¯t afraid of dying, or of losing their items and levels. The only that they yed for was to have fun, for the rush of excitement, and for the endless stream of gossip. So long as you could provide them with enough of these things, they would dly die for you.

    Ye Ci suddenly realized that she was the source of their excitement and gossip, and immediately felt arge amount of difort amidst the crowd of people. It was like she was a an exhibit on disy, being showcased to everyone possible. A lot of yers ran up to her and took different poses besides as they took photographs with her.

    At that moment, Ye Ci felt like she was a statue or some sort ofndmark at a tourist hotspot; she¡¯d suddenly be the perfect backdrop for others to take pictures with. The yers had even formed lines so that they could take photos with Ye Ci. This was the darkest moment in her life.

    With the crowd growingrger andrger, Ye Ci finally decided to act. She refused to allow this situation to continue. She cleared her throat, then spoke to the nearest yer trying to maintain order, ¡°Excuse me, may I know your name?¡±

    The yer she¡¯d spoken to was an Elf with blonde hair and blue eyes. He turned around after suddenly being called out to, only to be shocked when he realized that it was Ye Ci that had called out to him. ¡°M-my n-name is C-Cactus. G-Gongzi You, is there anything that you need help with?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask... Are you guys here tounch a counteroffensive on the Northern Continent¡¯s yers?¡± Ye Ci would always try her best to be as polite as she could to people who weren¡¯t of immediate interest and that she might not ever meet again; nobody knew what the future held. After all, when one gives another leeway, one is giving one¡¯s self leeway.

    When he heard her question, Cactus finally remembered that the main aim of the yers gathered here was indeed to bring the fight to the Northern Continent¡¯s yers¡ªwho were doing whatever they wanted in the Swamp of Sorrows¡ªinstead of taking photos and interacting with their idols. He paused slightly, then somewhat awkwardly responded, ¡°Y-yes, we¡¯re here to fight the Northern Continent¡¯s yers!¡±

    ¡°Then if you don¡¯t mind my question, who¡¯s in charge?¡± Ye Ci nodded. Very good, at least they haven¡¯t forgotten what they¡¯re here for. Ye Ci finally felt relieved after being stared at like an exhibit for such an extended period of time.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one in charge?¡± Cactus stared at Ye Ci, shocked. Based on his understanding, Ye Ci should naturally be the one inmand as a god-tier yer who was present.

    However, he soon realized his mistake when he saw that Gongzi You¡¯s smile had frozen, and that the corners of her mouth were twitching. She stared at him, not saying a word.

    Fortunately, Cactus was quick-witted. Heughed somewhat fordedly, then said, ¡°Ah... if you¡¯re looking for the person inmand... Let me go ask that guy over there.¡± He said, pointing towards a Human atop a maroon horse. He smiled apologetically at Gongzi You, then turned around and left.

    Ye Ci watched from afar as Cactus walked over and talked to the Human, who in turn turned to look at her, then rode towards her. He nodded slightly at her, then said, ¡°Well met, Gongzi You. My name is Purity Essence.¡±

    Purity Essence[1]? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She immediately shifted her gaze towards his face and studied his facial features; he was indeed the same Purity Essence she knew. She could recognize him even without the scar that had been left on his face after a certain quest.

    So that¡¯s why I wasn¡¯t able to immediately recognize him; he hasn¡¯tpleted that quest yet! A smile formed on Ye Ci¡¯s lips when she realized this.

    Ever since the advent of online gaming, the name ¡®Purity Essence¡¯ had been used by many people, causing the once-special name to be tacky. However, in Ye Ci¡¯sst life, only one person came to mind when she thought of the name ¡®Purity Essence.¡¯

    He was a lvl70 Human Priest who¡¯d managed to y the Aquablight Snek, a lvl85 World BOSS, alone. He was also the man currently standing in front of Ye Ci.

    Purity Essence had risen from a nobody to one of the most renowned Priests in the Eastern Continent after ying the Aquablight Snek. Because of his aplishment, his name was included on Fate¡¯s top 10 Priests leaderboard.

    Despite his sess however, he preferred to keep a low profile; it was rare for him to appear in public. Ye Ci had only known him because they¡¯d been in the same group in a PvP tournament. After fighting in the same group together for three days, the two had finally had their first conversation.

    Through their conversation, Ye Ci learned that Purity Essence hadn¡¯t originally intended to be A Priest; he¡¯d started with the intention of bing one of the game¡¯s most renownedmanders. His attempts, however, hadn¡¯t yielded any results. Ye Ci had had a small talk with Green Hill¡¯s Moon after the tournament, and had found out that Purity Essence was, truthfully speaking, not a badmander; he¡¯d simply had the misfortune of joining a guild with a bad reputation. With his guild members constantly bickering and infighting amon urence, his performance was badly affected.

    Despite her cold nature, Ye Ci felt a sense of familiarity towards Purity Essence, as he was someone she knew from herst life. She blinked, nodded, and extended her hand. ¡°Well met indeed.¡±

    Her simply gesture was enough to excite Cactus, but Purity Essence kept his calm. He shook Ye Ci¡¯s hand, then said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯re not going to takemand from Cactus?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never really takenmand before. Besides, I don¡¯t think I could so many yers in line.¡± Ye Ci said a half-truth.

    While Purity Essence remained silent, Cactus¡¯ face was full of astonishment. Gongzi You¡¯s dungeon-clearing videos were extremely popr in the forums. She was known for being extremely direct and efficient while leading her party members, and for being swift and decisive. A lot ofmanders couldn¡¯t achieve what she showcased. Her dungeon-clearing videos even served as tutorials for battlemanders in various guilds. As such, Cactus couldn¡¯t bring himself to believe that someone such as Gongzi You wouldn¡¯t be able to lead the Eastern Continent¡¯s yers into battle.

    ¡°You must be joking! There are so many videos of you leading parties through dungeons in the forums...¡±

    Ye Ci skillfully deflected his statement, ¡°Commanding yers in arge scale battle is very different from clearing a dungeon. I¡¯m afraid to admit that I don¡¯t have the talent to be a battlemander.¡±

    When he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words, Cactus tactfully shifted his gaze to Purity Essence and said, ¡°Purity...¡±

    ¡°If Gongzi You doesn¡¯t mind, then I¡¯ll takemand.¡± Purity Essence nodded, not noticing anything wrong with Ye Ci¡¯s words. He¡¯d been an experiencedmander in his guild in a previous game. However, it was still the first time he¡¯d taken part in such arge scale battle; he wasn¡¯t sure if he could keep things under control. Even though he had the option to decline the position, when he saw Gongzi You¡¯s dagger-like sharp gaze, he found himself unable to do so.

    Trantor¡¯s note:

    [1]Purity Essence (ÕæË®ÎÞÏã): When someone has achieved a high level of enlightment, they no longer about money and fame. They have transcended beyond the material world.

 Chapter 187 A Talkative Commander

    Chapter 187 A Talkative Commander

    Perhaps it was because he was reluctant to lose his dignity in front of this girl, but Purity Essence didn¡¯t even hesitate before epting the responsibilities of being themander.

    Ye Ci was satisfied. Although Ye Ci wasn¡¯t incapable of taking charge of this small scale battle, she was reluctant to due to the fact that there was nothing to gain. Additionally, she had also wanted to gauge Purity Essence¡¯s ability.

    In Ye Ci¡¯s previous life, Purity Essence was a very capablemander in both PVP and dungeon clearing. However, his performance was greatly impacted by his ipetent team. As Upwards Ho!cked a capable and versatilemander, Ye Ci would recruit Purity Essence if he was as good as Green Hill¡¯s Moon made him out to be.

    After reaching an agreement, Purity Essence made a final request. ¡°These people turned up for you. If I were to step up as themander, they might refuse to listen to me. Could you please make an announcement or something like that?¡±

    Ye Ci was troubled; she had only barely been able to escape the awkwardness of being the being the yers¡¯ rallying totem. Wouldn¡¯t her situation worsen if she spoke up?

    Upon sensing Ye Ci¡¯s hesitation, Purity Essence smiled, ¡°Just tell them I¡¯ll be takingmand, leave the rest to me.¡±

    In order to discover the true depths of Purity Essence¡¯s abilities, Ye Ci was forced to agree. A message appeared in the bustling Map Channel which seemed as lively as a marketce, ¡°Purity Essence will be themander for our battle against the Northern Continent yers today. Please join Command Channel if you wish to participate in this battle.¡±

    These words were from none other than Ye Ci.

    The yers at the scene who were only there for fun were immediately roused.

    ¡°Wow! It¡¯s Gongzi You! This is the first time I¡¯ve seen Gongzi You!¡±

    ¡°Hurry up! Take a screenshot! Gongzi You rarely appears in a public channel, you¡¯ll miss the chance if you don¡¯t do it!¡±

    ......

    Ye Ci stared silently at Purity Essence with a darkened expression, but upon noticing her gaze, he averted his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. It would be wise for him to settle this matter as soon as possible.

    ¡°The Swamp of Sorrows is a neutral territory. Warring is fine, but senseless killing is definitely not allowed! Us yers of the Eastern Continent have always loved peace! However, we shouldn¡¯t allow ourselves to be viewed as cowards due to our peace-loving nature! Am I right?¡±

    As his words appeared in the Map Channel, only a small number of people responded. However, Purity Essense was not panicked, nor was he rushed. Instead, he took his time and interacted with the yers, stirring them up. Before long, the Map Channel¡¯s activity died down, and yers began to pay attention to Purity Essence. Some of them even began to chant, ¡°Purity, create a Command Channel!¡±

    ¡°Are you guys not done organizing our forces yet?¡± A voiced piped up. It was the voice of a yer named Night Pupil.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we doing just that right now?¡± responded another.

    ¡°Can you people hurry the f*ck up? I¡¯m almost at the Western Gate, and there¡¯s arge group of people behind me! I¡¯ve died trying to reach this ce and you guys aren¡¯t even ready yet? How are we even going to fight these sons of b*tches?¡±

    The yers in the Map Channel sprang into action after hearing Night Pupil¡¯s words. They flooded into themand channel. Only a small number of people remained in the Map Channel, whilst the Command Channel was bustling with activity.

    Purity Essence muted the yers, and began making pre-battle arrangements.

    In Fate, the graphics weren¡¯t the only aspect of the game designed with thetest technology. Even the minor details of the game were also well designed. The Command Channel was one such example. In any other conventional games, the yers had to form themselves into multiple squads that weremanded by their squad leaders. In arge scale battle, there would be hundreds of squads, heavily burdening the chain ofmand.

    Fate, however, revolutionised this. A Command Channel was set up in every map of every continent. yers would usually never enter such a channel. A yer that was selected as themander could activate this channel during times of emergencies by paying a price that ranged from 10-100 gold coins, obtaining the highest authority within the channel. Of course, if less than one hundred yers joined the channel 10 minutes after its activation, the channel would be shut down automatically, and could only be reactivated after 24 hours.

    This saved yers from using third party softwares to prevent yers from hogging the channel. It was a well-designed feature.

    yers who had joined the Command Channel upon its activation would be recognised as abatant by the system. Their data would be automatically added to the Integrated Command Interface, allowing themander to have a grasp of the number of yers as well as the sses of the yers who were participating. They could even obtain information about a yer¡¯s level and even their GS, making it easier for themander to organizebatants.

    Themander could also appoint a maximum of 15 submanders to assist him, and divide yers into different battle groups led by the submanders.

    The chat in the Command Channel was also strictly controlled.

    yers were able to speak freely in themand channel, but when a battle began, themander would restrict all yermunication within themand channel. Only the voices of themander and the submanders would be able to be heard in the channel. The Command Channel was then divided into different sub-channels. Commanders had the authority to speak in any of the avable channels, while submanders could only speak freely in the sub-channel they were assigned to. A time restriction would be imposed on any submanders who wished to speak in the main Command Channel. Amander could switch between the main Command Channel¡ªwhich could be heard by all yers¡ªand the sub-channels of each battle group.

    This meant that themander would be the person with the highest authority in the battle. The yers would be under themander would be under their authority for as long as the battlested, disregarding their level or their mechanical skill.

    Ye Ci observed silently as Purity Essence made preparations for the battle. The poption in this neutral territory was small as expected. Although 95% of the Eastern continent yers in the Swamp of Sorrows had joined the battle ording to the Integrated Command Interface, they only numbered to a mere four thousand yers.

    As a matter of fact, the maximum poption of a map of this type was typically between 500,000 to 1,000,0000. The small number of yers was an indicator of the fact that the Swamp of Sorrows was severely underpopted. It was nothing short of a ghost town.

    As the number of Eastern Continent yers was quite low, the number of Northern Continent yers in the area would most probably be low as well. This battle would only be considered a skirmish inparison to the siege of Champion City.

    The Western Continent yers who participated in the siege number a mere 10,000, however, due to theplexity of the terrain and the ipetence of the Eastern Continent yers during the earlier stages of the siege, it was a hard fought battle.

    Based on Ye Ci¡¯s experience in herst life, she knew that the battle fought today would y out very differently from one fought in Champion City. After all, other yers could move freely in the countryside and use the terrain to their advantage while they were confined to the cramped streets in a city. Thebatants of both sides in this battle were only normal yers from the both continents, whereas the elites of the Western Continent had also participated in the siege of Champion City.

    Thus, other than the fact that this battle would be able to prove the Purity Essence¡¯spetency, Ye Ci wasn¡¯t interested in anything else.

    Purity Essence began to make the pre-battle arrangements in an orderly and slow fashion. Although his voice had faltered in the beginning due to his nervousness, he was able to regain hisposure after roughly 3 minutes. He seemed to be moreposed as he calmed down.

    Before long, the battle began.

    Due to Ye Ci¡¯s influence, Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink had adopted a strict and serious style when takingmand of a party. They were just like copies of Ye Ci. Although they may have been slightly more talkative than Ye Ci, they were always strict and meticulous. Because of this, Ye Ci had a hard time getting used to Purity Essence¡¯s style ofmand.

    Unlike Ye Ci, Purity Essence was jovial and talkative. He would often joke with and tease the yers under hismand.

    ¡°Group up! That¡¯s right, you guys in the hill at northwest, I¡¯m talking to you! I¡¯m telling you to group up, not to spread yourselves in a row! Can you understand me? Group the hell up! That¡¯s right! Stand around your submander! What? You can¡¯t see your submander? Do you want me to get him to dance naked in front of you? Come ondies and gentlemen! Group up and then advance! Why are the mages in your party not attacking? What are mages, you ask? Mages are like portable ss cannons! Just hit them with all you got! As long as you have a single drop of mana left, I want you to throw your spells when you¡¯re in range , you hear me? There¡¯s no need to be afraid of OT! I¡¯ll take full responsibilities! I¡¯ll f*cking dance naked in front of you after the battle if it¡¯d make you happy!¡±

    Hiya minna-san! Another chapter is here!! I hope you people enjoy this chapter!

    Roses are red,

    Violets are blue,

    This chapter is posted,

    By Jimmi for you!

    BOOM! Epic poem right there!

    Anybody yed Vermintide 2 before? Seems like a fun game... Would be great if someone could send it to me on Steam xDD I mean... *cough cough* I would rly like to try it out!

    Also, go watch Violet Evergarden if you haven¡¯t! It¡¯s a real good anime! Overlord Season 2 is nice too but for me I think Violet Evergarden is the best so far. And then there¡¯s that Fate/Exte thingy *cringe* look at what they did to Nero!

    Don¡¯t forget toment FIRST BLOOD! in the teaser next page! Desu Vult!

 Chapter 190 Dragonia

    Chapter 190 Dragonia

    In a battle, the ability of amander to grasp the situation was more important than the teamwork between yers. This was especially true in an unexpected battle, where yers barely knew each other and could barely work with each other. In situations like this, the capability of amander was very important.

    Themander¡¯s grasp of the overall situation, his or her ability to form yers into effectivebat units and themander¡¯s ability to always stay ahead of his of her opposite number would always decide the oue of a battle.

    Of course, the oue of a battle would also be swayed by any sudden events that could turn the tide of a battle in the blink of an eye. However, things like these were very rare and could hardly be ounted for.

    For the Northern Continent yers to be able to reorganize in such a short time, they must¡¯ve been led by a very skillfulmander that was more experienced than Purity Essence. The person was definitely a veteran.

    Apparently, despite Purity Essence¡¯s potential as a battlemander, he was stillcking in terms of experience.

    That was not the only discovery made by Ye Ci. During her tour around the enemy formation, she was astonished to discover that there were 2 Clerics among the Northern Continent yers that were in possession of the Resurrection skill. That was why the front line of the Northern Continent did not copse. The 2 Clerics have been busy at work, enabling the Northern Continent yers to marshall their strength once more in such a short notice.

    Resurrection is a very rare drop. Ye Ci did not know how many Resurrection skill books have dropped since the opening of the Fate server, but she knew that there would be not more than 3 Resurrection skill books dropped in the entire Eastern Continent, with one of them belonging to Fruit Jelly, another one belonging to Sir Ditty¡¯s personal assistant while thest one was obtained by Four Seas of nk Space. She did not expect 2 of the Northern Continent yers to be in possession of such an ability. Just how many Resurrections are there in the Northern Continent?

    This gave Ye Ci a headache.

    It was such a headache to go up against an opposing continent with multiple yers in possession of Resurrection. They would be able to sustain their lines better than their opponents. This was a fatal blow for continents with lesser Resurrection skill book drops.

    This matter, however, was not an immediate cause for Ye Ci¡¯s worry. After all, the Eastern Continent have only recently beaten back an invasion by the Western Continent. The Northern Continent would not be able to invade the Eastern in such a short time.

    Of course, how could Ye Ci allow the 2 Clerics with Resurrection to stay alive? She reaped their lives with well aimed arrows, sending them back to the spawn points. With the 2 Clerics gone, the Northern Continent will be hard-pressed to maintain their momentum. This gave the Eastern Continent room to breathe.

    Combatants from both sides were locked in bitterbat.

    Just then, Ye Ci noticed that the already gloomy surroundings in the Swamp of Sorrows had grew darker. The low rumbling of thunder could be heard from the distant apanying shes of lightning.

    The change of weather is a verymon urrence in Fate. The gusting winds, heavy rain, as well as lightning and thunder were a verymon sight. Even disasters like earthquakes, typhoons and floods would happen once in a while. That was why no yers in the Swamp of Sorrow paid attention to the sudden change of weather. Most of them assumed that it was just theing of a storm, and paid it no heed.

    Ye Ci was the only exception.

    If Ye Ci was also a yer new to Fate, she would¡¯ve reached the same conclusion as the rest of the yers in the Swamp of Sorrows. She was, however, not new to Fate. When the sky turned dark, Ye Ci thought that it was about to rain. But when the rumbling thunder followed, she knew that she was wrong. It was not the signs of rain.

    It was an omen. An omen of theing of the Dragonia.

    The Dragonia is an ancient race in Fate. They are a proud, cunning and vicious race. Even after offering their allegiance to Dark Lord Naga, the Dragonia still don¡¯t act subservient to him, while the Dark Lord was unable to conquer them due to their unprecedented strength. This made the Dragonia a very unique existence in the history of Fate.

    They were the most magnificent beings, ced above all creatures in the world. The Dragonia even had their own civilization that fractured as some of them refused to swear their allegiance to Naga. These magnificent life forms will only appear in theter stages of Fate as the ultimate BOSS in lvl 120 party dungeons.

    Based on the statistics collected by yers in Ye Ci¡¯sst life, even the lowest leveled Dragon was at least lvl 100, while the level of the highest leveled Dragon was an unknown to yers. The Dragonia was the symbol of strength, and a symbol of an indomitable existence.

    The Dragonia was an arrogant race that thought themselves as the highest tier life form in the world. They could not tolerate the existence of other inferior life forms in their presence. Whenever the Dragonia appears, they would spout Dragon Breath, raining death to all the living beings below, wiping them out of existence.

    In Ye Ci¡¯sst life, there were only a few course of actions that yers could take when they ran into a Dragon. They could either go into Stealth or Camouge, go offline, or hide themselves in ces that were out of sight of the Dragon. Appearing in the Dragon¡¯s field of view would automatically spell death.

    As there used to be a Dragon nest in the Mournful Mountains adjacent to the Swamp of Sorrows, the Dragonia would appear in the Swamp of Sorrows from time to time. However, such urrence would only begin after the release of a certain patch. There was no known sighting of the Dragonia during the earlier stages of the game when yers were still at lvl 30. It seems that Ye Ci would still run into things that were not known to her after her reincarnation.

    After all, the world of Fate is vast. Even if she was like a living encyclopedia when it came to Fate in herst life, there were still things that were not known to Ye Ci. She was a human, and was unable to remember all the tiny details about the game.

    Ye Ci had originally nned to sneak away, but with so many yers still fighting in a battle that was indirectly caused by her, she sent a message to Purity Essence. ¡°Get everyone to either find a ce to hide or retreat back to Dark y City!¡±

    ¡°Eh? You mean you want us to fall back?¡± Purity Essence was confused by Ye Ci¡¯s words as the battle was slowly turning in the Eastern Continent¡¯s favor, ¡°If things continue as they are, we¡¯ll be able to achieve total victory in less than half an hour.¡±

    Without bothering to exin fully, Ye Ci spoke up calmly, ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the weather. It does not look like it¡¯s going to rain. There¡¯s something scary going on.¡±

    Purity Essence immediately looked up at the sky, and noticed the faint rumbling of thunder. He then directed a question at Cactus, ¡°Say, does it look like it¡¯s going to rain?¡±

    Cactus looked up into the sky and nodded, ¡°Sure looks like it.¡±

    Suspicion clouded Purity Essence¡¯s mind. As he lowered his head, he began noticing that the yer¡¯s mounts and pets have began showing signs of anxiety and fear. What the hell is happening?

    Is there really something wrong?

    The thunder grew more audible, while bright red lightning split the skies. It was almost as if the sky was scorched red by the lightning. As he listened more carefully, Purity Essence realised that the rumbling sound was not resulted by thunder, and was instead the growling of an animal. He creased his eyebrows. The growling was very simr to a certain creature. It sounded just like Gongzi You¡¯s pet!

    It is very likely that the darkened skies was not due to an impending rain. But just what the hell is going on?

    Purity Essence gritted his teeth as the clouds descended. He immediately shouted out into the Command Channel, ¡°All hands, fall back now! Find a ce to hide or flee back to Dark y City. If you¡¯re dead, do not respawn, remain in spirit form!¡±

    His order caused an uproar among the Eastern Continent yers. As the yers were unable to speak in the Command Channel, they immediately began spamming the Map Channel with messages. Most of them were asking for exnations, while some of the more radical yers even began to question Purity Essence¡¯s loyalty towards the Eastern Continent, using him of being a spy for the Northern Continent, abandoning the victory that the Eastern Continent yers had worked hard to gain.

    ¡°I know many of you do not understand what is going on. Look at the weather. It does not look like it¡¯s going to rain at all. There are many sudden events in Fate that we are not able to forsee. So why not take precautions against such an event? If something bad happens, wouldn¡¯t it be bad for all of us if we die and lose our levels? We can still fight against the Northern Continent yers in theing days. We don¡¯t have to die to any sudden events in the game, am I right?¡±

    A number of yers began to notice the abnormality of the weather after listening to Purity Essence¡¯s words. To Purity Essence¡¯s dismay however, arge number of yers began cursing at him.

    Just then, he received a message from Gongzi You, ¡°We¡¯re all strangersing together by chance. You don¡¯t have to feel sad for the people who refuse to heed your advice. You¡¯ve done your part. Hurry! Go offline or find yourself a ce to hide!¡±

    A sliver of warmth crept into Purity Essence¡¯s heart. But, he shook his head and replied, ¡°Thank you for your concern, but I am inmand of this battle. As long as somebody remains on the battlefield, I will not abandon that yer. You should leave now. You have a very high level. It¡¯ll be bad if you die.¡±

    Despite remaining silent, Ye Ci was deeply impressed by the man¡¯s character.

    For this person to not be recognised as one of the bestmanders in herst life... It was such a waste.

 Chapter 191 Poaching

    Chapter 191 Poaching

    As Ye Ci fled to safety in time, she had arrived at Dark y City by the time the thunderous roar came crashing down. As she looked out from the city gate, the skies of the Swamp of Sorrows was covered with rolling cloud, with bright red lightning striking striking into the ground. It was entirely different from the slow change earlier on. The winds and the roar of thunder had picked up. In the blink of an eye, the clouds had even upied the sky above Ye Ci.

    A gigantic red Dragon descended from the clouds, pping its wings andshing its tail. It lowered its head and spewed red hot Dragon Breath, enveloping the ground in mes. Thick smoke rose into the already darkened sky. From the gate of Dark y City, it was an awe inspiring sight.

    Despite such a spectacr view, Ye Ci knew that the yers who had not hidden themselves would all be dead under such a raging me.

    Just as expected, yers began to grieve incessantly in the Map Channel. Some of them cursed at the system, while others cursed at theirmander. There were even others who began cursing at Ye Ci. It was very lively.

    Of course, trash talking was something that had never bothered Ye Ci. She was, however, slightly worried about Purity Essence. Despite discovering his potential as a top tiermander after her short interaction with the person, he was still too inexperienced. If he was deeply impacted by this incident and was unable to recover from it, the time that Ye Ci specially spent to uncover such a talent would be a total waste.

    She sent a private message to Purity Essence, ¡°How¡¯re you doing? Are you alive?¡±

    At that moment, Purity Essence was already a corpse lying on the ground, looking up at the gigantic red Dragon that had soared past the heads of the yers. It was a sight for sore eyes. One moment ago he was looking up at the Dragon¡¯s underbelly, and noticed the white scales of the Dragon glowing a sick shade of silver, and the next moment he was killed by the Dragon Breath.

    ¡°I¡¯m dead.¡± sighed Purity Essence. He then let out augh, ¡°Where are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m at the main gate of Dark y City.¡± Ye Ci patted Ol¡¯ Four who was dispirited and listless. He was a ferocious fellow that nobody would want to mess with. But in the presence of the Dragonia, even Ol¡¯ Four showed signs of fear. He even showed no interest to the meat fed to him by Ye Ci.

    ¡°Are you safe over there?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a special shield protecting every city. Don¡¯t worry, it can¡¯t be breached by the Dragonia. I¡¯m way safer than you are.¡±

    Just when the Ye Ci and Purity Essence were having an idle chat, the trash talking in the Map Channel worsened. Ye Ci was never an articte person. Before she could even think of a way to console Purity Essence, the man spoke up, ¡°Don¡¯t mind the banter in the Map Channel. It¡¯s not your fault. You know how people tend to trash talk in games.¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned, ¡°Most of them are cursing at you in the Map Channel. Why are you worrying about me instead?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a man after all. I don¡¯t mind things like this. You¡¯re a girl. You¡¯re not as thick-skinned as I am.¡± said Purity Essence matter of factly.

    Ye Ci was lost for words. A girl?

    How long has it been since anyone treated her like a girl? In herst life, she was treated as a mere expert, and experts don¡¯t get differentiated by their gender.

    I have grown ustomed to not being treated as a girl. What is a girl? The first person that popped into Ye Ci¡¯s mind was surprisingly Dong Yin. That¡¯s right. A girl should be like Dong Yin. A girl should be gentle, tender, delicate and beautiful. Inparison, Ye Ci was not a girl at all.

    That was why a smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°Thank you for seeing me as a girl. But, as amander, there should be no gender in your eyes. There should only be character sses.¡±

    Purity Essence was stunned silent by Ye Ci¡¯s words. He was, after all, a gentleman. No matter how strong Gongzi You was, she was still a little girl to him. Females are always the weaker ones in game and in real life. That was why he treated Gongzi You like a girl.

    However, he did not expect her to be such a resolute person. It was very easy to overlook her feminine voice when one was talking to her.

    Sensing the awkwardness of the situation, Purity Essence steered the conversation to a different topic, ¡°How did you notice that something bad was going to happen?¡±

    ¡°My pet suddenly became very timid. As you know, the T-rex is the king of thend. It¡¯s very rare for him to show signs of fear. That was why I made the conclusion that the cloud above our heads was not a result of the weather.¡± Ye Ci spoon fed him a believable answer., ¡°In the face of the unknown, I did not want to take my chances. That was why I opted to hide and observe what happened next.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re very observant.¡± Purity Essence believed Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°This is why you¡¯re a god-tier yer. I wouldn¡¯t have thought about things like this.¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, ¡°A god-tier yer?¡± she then let out augh, ¡°I seriously don¡¯t care what people think of me. I am a Huntress, and a Huntress is a DPS character. What is the job of a DPS ss in battle? To deal damage! And how can I dish out the highest amount of damage? There is only one way.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s words opened out an entire new view for Purity Essence. He was captivated by her exnation.

    ¡°Stay alive. You can only dish out damage when you¡¯re alive.¡±

    ¡°To stay alive?¡±

    ¡°Am I wrong? Even if you¡¯re the yer with the highest level, the best equipment and the best mechanical skill, can you still deal damage when you¡¯re dead?¡± said Ye Ci with a smile as she looked right at the red Dragon that was moving closer and closer to her.

    Purity Essence was lost for words after listening to Ye Ci. Her understanding of the DPS ss was fundamentally different from his own. A word appeared in his mind, ¡°Expert.¡±

    The red Dragon had approached closer to Ye Ci¡¯s postion. It lowered her head and stared at Ye Ci who was standing at the city gate. The Elf made no attempt to hide itself, and had even looked up with a smile on its face. The Dragon was enraged by the confidence brimming within the Elf¡¯s eyes. The Dragonia was a majestic race, how could a mere Elfy its eyes upon the majesty of such a creature?

    The Dragon opened its mouth and spewed Dragon Breath at Ye Ci. It was not the reddish Dragon Breath earlier on, but was purple in color, which was even more powerful. The only thing the red Dragon had in mind was to burn that damned Elf into ash.

    Ye Ci, however, looked at the Dragon calmly.

    Before the Dragon Breath could even harm Ye Ci, a blue simmer appeared, deflecting the mes.

    The Dragon was enraged, but knowing that it could not breach the city¡¯s protective shield alone, the Dragon could only re at Ye Ci before it soared into the sky and disappeared.

    Ye Ci recognised the red Dragon.

    It was Altera, the former queen of the Dragonia. Her story would be revealed in the second major patch in Fate. She was a pitiful but detestable NPC. The Altera introduced in the patch however, wasrger than she was at this moment. Ye Ci had only been able to recognise her due to the strand of silvery feather between her brows. It was very rare for the Dragonia to have feathers, let alone to have them between her brows.

    Judging from Altera¡¯s posture as she flew, Ye Ci deduced that the Dragon was involved in a fierce battle moments ago and was fleeing for her life. That was the only reason Ye Ci and Dark y City was left alone. The Altera she knew would never give up before she destroyed the protective shield and leveled the entire Dark y City to the ground under normal circumstances. The wound below her left rib was very deep, and was hampering her ability to fight.

    Based on Ye Ci¡¯s knowledge about the history of Fate, Altera had just been dethroned and exiled by her subjects. Judging from her flight path, the Dragon was heading to the Middle Continent, which was still inessible to yers. Despite her interest in the wounded Altera, Ye Ci could only give up due to the level restriction.

    She could only hope for another chance encounter with the former Queenter on as she progressed in Fate.

    With the departure of Altera, Ol¡¯ Four reverted back to his usual self. He no longer showed signs of fear, and was putting up a ferocious front.

    ¡°I see that you¡¯re a goodmander. Say, do you want to join Upwards Ho!?¡± with Altera gone, Ye Ci shifted her attention back to Purity Essence, and stated her goal. This was the only reason she even bothered to deal with low level yers.

    Gongzi You is a god-tier yer. Gongzi You is a cold-blooded person. Gongzi You is a selfish person. Gongzi You will never do something that was benevolent to others while causing harm to herself.

    Purity Essence immediately remembered thements about Gongzi You on the forums after listening to the Huntress¡¯s words. A strange feeling gnawed as his heart. Was he astonished? Hmm... Maybe a little... Was he excited? There¡¯s a little of excitement within him as well. There was however, a lingering feeling that he was unable to exin.

    In the end, Purity Essence decided to ask out loud, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Why what?¡± Ye Ci was at a loss for words. When she poached for talents, she would only usually receive two answers: ¡°Yes¡± or ¡°No¡±. As for ¡°why?¡±... It was something that she had never thought of. Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Hiya minna-san! Another chapter of this awesomtacr novel tranted by an equally awesomesauce trantor is here! Do you miss Jimmi? xDD (If you really love this novel and wish to give Jimmi some extra motivation, donations and your support on Patreon are always wee! It really helps me out a lot IRL. Thank you!)

    We¡¯re 9 chapters away from hitting our 200-chapters mark peoples! Hooray!! Yippee!!! Come on, gimme some hype in thements eh? Haha..

    Hmm... Any of you seen any good animetely? Overlord, Killing Bites and Violet Evergarden ended... Which means I have nothing else to watch anymore. I¡¯ve caught up to thetest episode of Grancrest Senki and Fate/Extra sucks balls... In desperate need of anime suggestions people! Help me out on this one okay? xD

    Aaaaaaand.... Don¡¯t forget that we have a teaser next page! First in thement type: FIRST BLOOD!

    Desu vult!

 Chapter 193 Jealousy and Suspicion are the Most Potent Poison

    Chapter 193 Jealousy and Suspicion are the Most Potent Poison

    After their detailed discussion about Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s figure, Bai Mo finally remembered the question he had for Ye Ci, ¡°Wait a second... This is not what I¡¯m here for! Who the hell wants to talk about that oversized pet of yours? So, tell me, do you have anything to do with the red Dragon?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll say this again. This is a game themed after Western Fantasy. There¡¯s no such thing as ley lines and yers messing up with the chi of that area!¡±

    ¡°Then, have you taken part in that battle?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Have you seen that red Dragon up close?¡± Bai Mo was very interested in Altera. His eyes lit up, as if he was asking about his crush.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes as she thought about her encounter with Altera. Truth to be told, Altera was one of the most gorgeous among the Dragonia. Of course, she looked just like any other Dragon-type monsters that existed in Fate. However, Ye Ci could not forget the beauty of Altera that has taken a humanoid form.

    That was one of the reasons why Ye Ci had suge a deep impression of Altera. Despite giving yers much hardships in their attempts to clear her main questline, it was all worth it when Altera transformed herself into her humanoid form.

    The domineering air around Altera that would make the skies dim inparison and her stunning beauty were something that Ye Ci would remember even after 20 more years.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Bai Mo nudged Ye Ci on her hand, drawing her attention.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Ye Ci snapped back into reality, but her close in encounter with Altera was still fresh in her mind. She looked forward in meeting the former Dragon Queen once again.

    ¡°Did you die?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± with her mind filled with thoughts about the red Dragon Altera, Ye Ci did not pay attention to Bai Mo¡¯s words.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that all the yers who have had the misfortune of encountering the red Dragon were burned to death? Since you¡¯ve seen it as well, did you die?¡±

    Ye Ci smiled, ¡°If I die just by seeing the Dragon, am I still Gongzi You?¡±

    Bai Mo was astonished. He looked at Ye Ci with amazement written all over his face, ¡°Did you use a hack or something? How can you not die?¡±

    Ye Ci snorted at Bai Mo, ¡°Do you know that every city in Fate is protected by a shield?¡±

    Bai Mo narrowed his eyes after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°You joined the battle, but you¡¯re in the city when the Dragon appeared... How could you! You abandoned the rest of the yers!¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at well. She stared at Bai Mo with a strange expression, not betraying a single thought. She spun a piece of lettuce between her white slender fingers, and spoke up slowly after a brief moment, ¡°What did you just say?¡±

    Only an idiot would repeat those words. As a self-proimed genius, Bai Mo would never follow Ye Ci¡¯s instruction. He shook his head, and pretended to be very intent on sorting the vegetables ced on the table, ¡°I said nothing. You must¡¯ve misheard me.¡±

    ¡°I said... Repeat what you told me again.¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, amused by Bai Mo¡¯s response.

    Bai Mo rolled his eyes at her. Thinking that he was safe, he repeated his words earlier on, and was met with silence from Ye Ci. Bai Mo was anxious, ¡°Oi oi... You¡¯re the one who made me repeat what I said. Don¡¯t you get angry at me okay?¡±

    Bai Mo¡¯s anxiety was further amplified when Ye Ci remained silent. It was as if she did not hear his words. Bai Mo was curious. He had been making little jokes here and there and teased Ye Ci a lot since they were wrong. Is she really angry? Why does she look like she¡¯s nning something? Have I touched a nerve there?

    As Bai Mo was still deep in thought, Ye Ci stood up, ¡°If you would excuse me please.¡±

    How would Bai Mo have the courage to remain in his seat? He immediately stood up and gave the spot to Ye Ci, who immediately created a new thread in the forums. Bai Mo was stunned. Ye Ci was creating the thread anonymously.

    The title of the thread was inconspicuous. It was something about the red Dragon. The content, however, left Bai Mo bbergasted. Ye Ci med everything on Gongzi You, naming her as the culprit that ignited the battle between the Eastern Continent and Northern Continent yers. Due to her action of ughtering Northern Continent, the yers had banded up together to fight back, causing a conflict between yers from both continents.

    It was actually quite trivial, as yers would often find themselves at odds with yers of other continents in neutral territory. What followed next however, was way overboard.

    The content of the thread Ye Ci had fabricated stated that the battlemander, which was Purity Essence were friends with Gongzi You. Despite joining the battle that they have started, themander did not take appropriate measures when the red Dragon appeared, causing huge casualties among the Eastern Continent yers who suffered massive losses. Gongzi You was even more despicable. She fled to Dark y City,pletely avoiding the disaster.

    The article was so full of instigation that even people like Bai Mo who was not involved in the incident would believe that Purity Essence and Gongzi You were at fault.

    ¡°What the heck are you doing? Why are you sullying your own good name?¡± Bai Mo observed as Ye Ci posted the thread. Knowing that Ye Ci would not do something without cause, he did not stop her action. It was impossible for her to do something that would badly affect her wellbeing. However, there was something that Bai Mo desperately needed to know: Why did she do that?

    ¡°Have you found the battlemander that I told you to look for?¡± Bai Mo¡¯s questions were met with a question from Ye Ci.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re quite busy in dungeon clearing nowadays. Besides, I¡¯ve tried joining random parties, and found nobody that fits the requirements. Those who are really good are not willing to join, and even if they joined they won¡¯t be truly loyal to Upwards Ho!. Those who are not very ipetent were very willing to join our guild. The problem is... We do not need them. It¡¯s really a rather tedious task.¡± Bai Mo let out a sigh, and shook his head slowly. In this game, there are more who could appreciate talent that those who possessed talent.

    ¡°Well, I found one.¡± said Ye Ci with an expression that said I knew you didn¡¯t get in done, and smiled. She paid no heed to the thread she had posted, and focused her attention on the conversation with Bai Mo.

    Bai Mo asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice after a short pause, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me... It¡¯s Purity Essence?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard about him before!¡± Bai Mo scratched his head, thinking long and hard about any possible information about Purity Essence. He had never heard of the person before!

    ¡°Indeed, I¡¯ve never heard of him before as well.¡± Ye Ci nodded her head as a sign of agreement, ¡°But he showed promise in that battle. Some guidance and apetent team could make up with his inexperienced. You will be able to witness his true capabilities before long.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to poach him?¡± Bai Mo finally understood Ye Ci¡¯s intention.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m trying to poach him.¡± Ye Ci did not deny Bai Mo¡¯s assumption. After all, it was her intention to recruit him. Had she not n on doing so, she wouldn¡¯t have wasted so much time and energy on that person.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just tell him that you, Gongzi You is recruiting him? Just tell him that Upwards Ho! is seeking to recruit him! This is a golden opportunity for a nobody like him! Why do you need to spoil your own name with this thread?¡± Bai Mo looked down on Ye Ci¡¯s action of creating the thread. In his mind, her action was just like somebody taking off their trousers just to fart. It was very unnecessary and it even worsened her image as well.

    ¡°Not everybody could be won over like that.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, ¡°Purity Essence was not someone who could be moved by benefits. If not, I wouldn¡¯t have put in so much effort into recruiting him.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re doing this because...¡±

    Ye Ci turned around and refreshed her post. The thread was already one of the most popr topic in the forums. A huge number of yers, especially the yers who were involved in the battle, have begunmenting in the thread. The Northern Continents were there to confirm the fact that Gongzi You was the one who started the fight, while Eastern Continent yers were on the scene to prove that Gongzi You and Purity Essence had indeed abandoned their fellow yers.

    Ye Ci was very satisfied with the responses.

    ¡°I¡¯ve did a little bit of research about Purity Essence. He was someone who cared a lot about his guild. In other words, he would not leave his guild on his own ord if they did not kick him out of the guild,¡± Ye Ci smiled faintly, ¡°Since I can¡¯t change his mind... I will change the minds of his guild members.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying?¡±

    ¡°Jealousy and suspicion are the most potent poison in the world. Even the firmest of rtionship would crumble in the face of jealousy and suspicion. If a small guild like that found out that their ownmander had a good rtionship with Gongzi You, what do you think they would do?¡±

    Bai Mo had finally fully understood Ye Ci¡¯s scheme. He smiled. He was now looking forward to the day themander that Ye Ci had taken an interest in, ¡°Is what you said in the thread real or was it all fabricated?¡±

    ¡°The most believable lie is 90% truth and 10% deception.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyes narrowed as she read thements, and let out a satisfied smile.

 Chapter 194 Itâ€™s You!

    Chapter 194 It¡¯s You!

    Ye Ci was almostte for her ss on the next day. She had barely entered the lecture hall before the bell rang, signalling the beginning of sses . This was a very unfortunate event for Fang Susu who had an excited grin hanging on her face. It was obvious that there was something she needed to say to Ye Ci, but was unable to do so as the ss had just started.

    Noticing her effort of trying to suppress her excitement, Ye Ci wrote down some words in her notebook, ¡°What? Have you been constipated for 3 days straight?¡±

    Fang Susu red at Ye Ci before furiously scribbling in the notebook, ¡°Do you want to die? I go to the toilet everyday! Constipation has nothing to do with me! Do I look like I¡¯m constipated?¡±

    Ye Ci chuckled, and ignored Fang Susu. She knew that Fang Susu had something to share, but they were currently attending the ss of one of the most renowned professors on their campus. The professor was strict, and prohibited students from talking in his ss, and would often direct questions at his students. He would even randomly call out names before, during and after ss. Nobody had the courage to skip one of the professor¡¯s sses.

    Despite her strong desire to share her story with Ye Ci, Fang Susu was forced to suppress herself It was as if she was sitting on pins and needles. The old man standing on the podium adjusted his spectacles, and chanced upon Fang Susu who was excitedly fidgeting around. After looking up her name on the seating n, the old man spoke up, ¡°Miss Fang Susu.¡±

    Fang Susu quivered when her name was called by the professor. All thoughts of speaking with Ye Ci immediately left her mind as she stood up, ¡°Here!¡±

    ¡°Were there a lot of people in the female¡¯svatory earlier on?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± with the expression on Fang Susu¡¯s face, it was as if she had seen a ghost. She was lost for words, and could not even fathom the meaning behind such a random question. But, with the old man waiting for an answer, Fang Susu replied, ¡°I-I d-don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Ah... There must be a lot of people queueing up in thevatory then.¡± the old man nodded. The students were confused. Ye Ci who was a witness of the professor¡¯s sharp tongue in herst life however, hid her head behind a book, trying her best to hold backughter.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case...¡± the old man adjusted his spectacles and directed an innocent smile at Fang Susu, ¡°So why do you look like you¡¯ve missed your chance to go to thevatory before the ss started?¡±

    Fang Susu was so embarrassed that her face immediately blushed into a bright shade of red.

    ¡°Do you want to go to thevatory?¡± as the students began to chuckle, the old man continued with a very concerned tone, ¡°Don¡¯t hold it in. You youngsters do not know the dangers of holding your excrements in...¡±

    ¡°Sir! I don¡¯t feel like going to the toilet! And I¡¯m not going to the toilet!¡± Fang Susu who was embarrassed by the professor cut the old man off.

    The old man continued on with a kind tone, ¡°Ah... I see.. Sit down then. I know it¡¯s my fault. You¡¯re a girl after all. I shouldn¡¯t have mentioned something like this.¡±

    ¡°Sir!¡± Fang Susu¡¯s anger red. What the hell does this old man want? I have not even started talking? Why did he call me out and humiliated me? Is he still a man?

    ¡°Ahh.. Alright then. Let us begin the ss.¡± noticing that Fang Susu was truly angry, the professor started the ss.

    Although Fang Susu was gravely offended by this brief episode before the ss, the students paid the incident no heed. The professor¡¯s ¡°immoral behavior¡± was a widely known fact. The old man had even remembered to say the following words to Fang Susu after ss: ¡°Miss Fang Susu, hurry and go! The ss is over.¡±

    After throwing his words at Fang Susu, the old man immediately left the ssroom, and Fang Susu¡¯s scream of rage was followed by theughter of her ssmates.

    Ye Ci quipped: ¡°Go, go! Our ss ended earlier, the female toilet is still not full yet...¡±

    ¡°Ye Ci do you want to die? Do you want to get killed?¡± Fang Susu was both infuriated and amused by Ye Ci¡¯s words. She leapt and Ye Ci and began duking it out with her, filling the ssroom with much glee.

    After being chased around, Ye Ci was barely able to survive the onught by Fang Susu. She moved the book that she had been using to cover her face aside, and smiled at Fang Susu who was flustered, ¡°Fine, fine, my bad. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know how the old man is. Is there anyone that has not been made fun of by the guy? He¡¯s too strong of a BOSS, no tank can survive his wrath for long, so don¡¯t try and challenge him.¡±

    Fang Susu guffawed at Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move on. I have something that I need to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci began packing her books, ready to head to the study room.

    ¡°I was notified by Qin Churuo yesterday that their guild was able to secure 20 spots for a field trip to the Fate headquarters. Are you going?¡± Fang Susu¡¯s face was full of excitement, and her round eyes lit up with joy.

    The Fate HQ? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She could still remember her time in the Fate HQ in herst lifetime. It happened several months before her reincarnation. At that time, she was already a famous top Sorceress in Fate. She was received with a polite reception during her time in the Fate HQ. All of it was just like a dream for her current self.

    ¡°So... Are you going?¡± Fang Susu nudge the dazed Ye Ci on the arm, drawing her attention.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a member of World Conqueror.¡± a feeling that Ye Ci herself was unable to describe crept into her heart. She could not even figure out her own feelings. Do I want to go? Or do I not feel like going? Or am I afraid to go?

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re buying our own ne tickets anyways! Let¡¯s go! It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re not from World Conqueror! Besides, you¡¯re the only god-tier yer in our campus. If you don¡¯t go, the group that we send over will look shabbypared to the other guids. Most of them sent their expert yers over during their visit to the Fate HQ.¡± Fang Susu immediately began her process of persuading Ye Ci into joining her in the trip.

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°If they find out that I¡¯m Gongzi You, do you think I will still have my peaceful days? Your man will be the first one toe after me.

    ¡°Aiya, he doesn¡¯t know! Don¡¯t think too much about it! Just go with me! Go with me! I¡¯ll be forced to sleep alone if you don¡¯t go...¡± Fang Susu immediately clung on to Ye Ci.

    ......

    Ye Ci already intended to visit the Fate HQ as a walk down her memoryne of herst life. Fang Susu¡¯s invitation gave her the final push. After all, she cared dearly for her friend. Hence,, Fang Susu was able to persuade Ye Ci into joining the trip without much effort. Qin Churuo was very weing, and gave no objection. Bai Mo, on the other hand, was jealous and shamelessly insisted that he should be brought along as well. His pleas fell on deaf ears. It was a 5-days event, and they would probably not be able to log into the game. With ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ making preparations to start their next expedition into a dungeon, the guild leader must be present.

    After assurances from Ye Ci that she would take many photos in the Fate HQ, and request the permission for a field trip by ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ members to the Fate HQ, Bai Mo finally dropped the subject.

    In the end, Bai Mo could only send Ye Ci on her way with tears in his eyes while waving a small handkerchief.

    It was just a 3 hours flight from Ye Ci¡¯s city to the Fate HQ. But after departing from the airport early in the morning, it was already 4pm in the afternoon by the time therge group of 20-odd members finally reached their destination.

    City C was in a different timezone from City A. For a citizen of City C like Ye Ci, who was used to having the sun hanging high on their head at 4pm, the sight of the darkening skies of City A was a very foreign one.

    In City A, the sun rises and sets early every day. When the Fate employees received their visitors on the next day, the group was still tired from the jeg.

    Xie Ke, the employee who was in charge of receiving Ye Ci¡¯s group was somebody from the Public Rtions Department. After discovering that their visitors were beset by jeg, Xie Ke let out a heartyugh,

    ¡°I am originally not from here as well. The sun sets earlier in my hometown. When I moved here I was not used to it as well and only adapted after living in city A for a long time.¡±

    Being close to the visiting group in age , Xie Ke was quick to acquaint himself with them.

    As soon as Xie Ke began his brief introduction of the headquarters on the bus, the group¡¯s anticipation rose.

    ¡°Will you be the one showing us around the ce, Xie Ke?¡± Fang Susu was very excited. She even wished to grow a pair of wings and fly into the Fate HQ right now.

    ¡°Oh, I will only be your guide for the outdoor area of the buildingplex. As for the intricate parts of how the game was created and how everything is operated, there will be an expert taking my ce.¡± Xie Ke shook his head. In such a hugepany, every employee had a specialised field of their own, and Xie Ke was definitely not specialised in game designing. It was only natural for someone who was well-versed in that field to take his ce.

    The entire Fate territory was situated in a suburban area not far away from the lodgings of Ye Ci¡¯s group. It would take them an entire day to reach the ce if they were living in the city. The group chatted excitedly on in the bus, and after an hour of travelling on the road, Xie Ke pointed at a verdant and lush ce that looked like a garden, ¡°Look! Our headquarters is right there!¡±

    The group immediately looked towards the direction Xie Ke pointed.

    A lush green forest stretched itself before Ye Ci¡¯s eyes, with a big, artificially madeke carved into the edge of the greenery. She could even hear the melodious chirping of birds and smell the sweet fragrance of flowers. Tears welled in Ye Ci¡¯s eyes. This is the ce. I¡¯m back!

    When she walked out of here back then, she took part in the PVP tournament. Following that.. Following that..was the worst part of her life.

    However, for her current self, it was just like a dream.

    The entireplex was very huge. If Xie Ke had not pointed out that the buildings hidden from view behind the trees were in fact offices, nobody would¡¯ve thought that this area that looked more like a park was the headquarters for the world¡¯srgest VRMMORPG, Fate.

    Every step uncovered a new scenery, and the group stopped frequently for photographs. Ye Ci herself was not very enthusiastic when it got to taking pictures, but due to her promise to Bai Mo and a very passionate Fang Susu, she took many pictures. She even took a group photo with the World Conqueror members in front of arge Fate logo that stood in the heart of theplex. Xie Ke, who was in charge of taking photos of the group, went through 20 different cameras, helping members of the groups with their pictures. Afterwards, they headed inside while happily chatting with each other.

    The main building was very unique, with a harmoniousbination of Chinese and Western elements incorporated into its architecture. Despite not being shy, the design of the building was pleasing to the eyes. It was a warm and weing ce.

    After leading the group through the door, Xie Ke approached the two gorgeousdies at the front desk, ¡°Notify the development team that our visitors are here. Get them to send someone to receive our guests.¡±

    The receptionists guided the group to the resting lounge, while Xie Ke took his leave, receiving words of gratitude for his hospitality.

    Before the group could finish the coffee served to them, Ye Ci spotted an extraordinarily young man walking towards the front desk, who was then redirected to the resting lounge after a brief conversation with the receptionists.

    Ye Ci was not the only one among the group who had noticed the man. The rest of the group started discussing the age of the young man in hushed tones.

    ¡°Is this person from the development team? Or is he one of the game designers?¡± they had received prior notice from Xie Ke that a member of the development team would be guiding their tour. In their minds, even if the game developers were not people of old age, none of them expected a member of the development team to be that young.

    The person appeared to be roughly 19 years of age, and had a handsome appearance with fair skin. He was a very gorgeous young man, with dimples showing on his face as he smiled at them.

    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me. I think this could be an intern. He doesn¡¯t even look 20! How could he be one of the developers?! Besides, they must be very busy operating such arge scale game. Do you think one of them would have the time to show us around? This has to be an intern!¡±

    Many members of the group reached a simr conclusion. However, they were not dispirited. After all, the fact that they were allowed to get a tour around Fate HQ was enough to excite the group. At this point, the identity of the tour guide was no longer their concern.

    Looking at the young man, Ye Ci mused to herself, this is a very small world. I never thought that I would run into him in this ce.

    She could still remember herst visit to the Fate HQ. The picture of this person was shown among one of the Founder Fathers of Fate, crowned as a hero. But at this point of time, he was still an insignificant young developer. The world is such an unpredictable ce.

    ¡°Hi everyone. My name is Wang Jiangnan, but I¡¯m sure a lot of you know me by my ingame name.I am Customer Service No.094!¡± Wang Jiangnan bowed to the group, and a broad smile appeared on his youthful face.

    Ye Ci casted a sideway nce at the rest of the World Conqueror members. As expected, they were all astonished.

    Most of them knew Customer Service No.094, as he was the moderator for the Dragon Dance Competition. At that time, he was working with a low level Human character. Despite sounding young, he was expected to be over 30 years old due to his graying hair and his long beard. They had never expected him to be someone that was barely 20 years old. How could they not be surprised?

    ¡°Wow! You¡¯re No.094? Are you one of the developers?¡±

    ¡°Customer Service No.094, how old are you?¡±

    ¡°Is it tough working for Fate?¡±

    ......

    When they had recovered from their initial shock, Wang Jiangnan was peppered with endless questions. Ye Ci, who was standing at the back of the crowd, noticed that the receptionists paid the visitors no heed. It appeared that situations like this were amon urrence. The young age of one of the members of the development team was definitely shock inducing.

    Wang Jiangnan was used to the torrent of questions. He led the group into the facility while methodically answering their questions.

    Ye Ci trailed slowly behind the group. She basked in the strange feeling of revisiting this ce, paying no attention to whatever Wang Jiangnan had to say. She silentlypared the current Fate HQ and the Fate HQ during her visit in herst life. At that moment, even somebody as cold as Ye Ci felt a pang of sadness.

    Perhaps it was due to the fact that Ye Ci had already been here in her past life, she was not intrigued at all by Wang Jiangnan¡¯s introduction. As someone who had reincarnated, Ye Ci already possessed the knowledge of any trailers and future patches of the game. The central point of this trip held no interest for her.

    She herself did not even know why she made the decision to visit the Fate HQ. There was really nothing significant in this ce.

    ¡°We¡¯re currently at the exhibition hall. This is where we disy the awards received by Fate and the gifts we received from our yers.¡± As Ye Ci was bored out of her mind, the group was suddenly led by Wang Jiangnan into a veryrge gallery.

    The hall was decoratedvishly, and the entire ce was bright and clean. Soft light fell on the disyed items. The atmosphere resembled a visit to a museum.

    ¡°This trophy was awarded to Epoch Online, the predecessor of Fate, for being the most favourite MMORPG game of yers. I¡¯m sure a lot of you had yed or perhaps heard of the game. It was the game that Fate was based on, known as the most advanced game of its time. Of course, every game loved by yers is a good game. This is why the trophy was very important to us.¡± Wang Jiangnan exined to the group as he pointed at arge trophy in the exhibition room.

    As Ye Ci looked at the trophy, she remembered her trip to the Fate HQ in her past life. The shelf was full of medals and trophies awarded to Fate. In the 10 years the game was released, Fate has won countless awards and trophies that decorated the shelf with their brilliance.

    ¡°Wow! This thing here is made by us!¡± Fang Susu spotted a familiar item among the gifts from yers that were disyed in the hall, and immediately called Ye Ci over, ¡°Little Ci! Look at this!¡±

    Ye Ci had originally not paid attention to Fang Susu, and was silently staring at the Epoch Online¡¯s trophy, reminiscing about the moments of herst life. She had never seen the trophy among the sea of trophies awarded to Fate. She was startled by Fang Susu¡¯s gentle and pleasant voice, which was able to catch the attention of everybody in the room.

    Noticing that she had somehow became the center of attention, Ye Ci lowered her head and walked towards Fang Susu at a quick pace.

    Wang Jiangnan stared at the girl who was walking quickly. Despite having her head lower, he managed to get a glimpse of her face. She felt familiar. It was as if he had met the girl somewhere. Wang Jiangnan was very confident with his memory, but he could not just initiate a conversation without knowing for sure.

    And most importantly... He did not think that it would matter if he got an answer from her.

    Paying not much attention to the girl, Wang Jiangnan continued guiding the group around the exhibition hall.

    Ye Ci saw the object on disy ¨C it was a small embroidered handkerchief. Despite the poor quality of the fabric, the embroidery was fine and detailed, clearly showing the effort of its creator.

    It was a masked Huntress with a bow in her hand and a panther by her side. The embroidery itself was beautiful.

    ¡°Little Ci, does it look nice?¡± Fang Susu stared at Ye Ci with glistening eyes. Her smile and the dimples on her cheeks made her exceptionally cute, ¡°I¡¯m the one who did this. Does it look nice?¡±

    Ye Ci nodded, and offered her sincerest praise, ¡°It is beautiful.¡± For someone as clumsy as Ye Ci who could not manage even simple paper cranes, it was an impressive feat. She could not even sew a button back onto her clothes, not to mention embroidering something.

    ¡°This is modeled after you.¡± with a smile, Fang Susu recounted her first encounter with Ye Ci in the game. She looked just like this, with the exception of the mask. Her elegance was engraved deep in Fang Susu¡¯s heart, ¡°It¡¯s cool right?¡±

    Ye Ci was slightly embarrassed after being praised. She let out a low chuckle, ¡°Your handiwork is great!¡±

    ¡°I did not finish it alone. A number of us worked together toplete this embroiderment, and we mailed it here as a new year gift.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan, who had overheard the conversation between the duo as he led the group towards the disy cab let out a broad smile, ¡°Ahh.. Thank you for the gift. We received a lot of presents from fans, and all our employees gathered to open the parcels.¡±

    He then slightly lowered his voice and continued, ¡°Even our CEO and the Chief Developer came over to help. Every one of us was intrigued by the gift. We seldom receive such a gift, especially one representing andbining both Eastern and Western elements so perfectly... because of that, our CEO and the Chief Developer began volunteering to open any iing parcels!¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± the yers were curious, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a job for the office clerks?¡±

    ¡°They like the surprise,¡± said Wang Jiangnan with a huge grin. He was momentarily stunned when heid eyes on Ye Ci.

    She did not seem to pay attention to what he was saying. She felt so aloof and indifferent.. Wang Jiangnan then remembered that the girl has been trailing behind the group during the tour, it was as if she was either very familiar with the Fate HQ, or did not care about the tour at all. Shecked the enthusiasm and excitement of yers when they first visited the facility.

    Wang Jiangnan could not help but scrutinize her for a while.

    Feeling a gaze on her, Ye Ci looked around and caught the eyes of Wang Jiangnan, who nodded apologetically before retracting his gaze.

    Wang Jiangnan did not expect to be caught as he studied Ye Ci secretly. Under that cold and sharp gaze, he shifted his view somewhere else.

    When the group was finally back in the resting lounge, Wang Jiangnan allowed the yers a moment of rest. He walked up to one of the yers that he had acquainted himself with and asked in a low voice, ¡°Is she from World Conqueror?¡±

    The yer took a nce at Ye Ci and answered in a simrly low voice, ¡°Nope, she¡¯s not from our guild, but studies in our campus. She¡¯s a friend of Fang Susu, the girl who sent you the embroidery.¡±

    ¡°Do you know her in-game name?¡±

    After a moment of thought, the yer shook his head, ¡°Nope. Nobody mentioned it before.. She¡¯s just a normal yer I guess.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan nodded. The yer might be right about Ye Ci, but his own instincts told him, that she was not just an ordinary yer. Perhaps due to his interaction with video games since young, he developed a sharp intuition to recognize the differences between experts and normal yers.

    For any other individual, an expert yer was no different from a normal yer in real life. But Wang Jiangnan had a sixth sense that allowed him to identify a gamer¡¯s ability.

    He was able to recognise wless Reflection earlier on, before he could introduce himself. He had never seen a picture of the yer in real life, but was able to tell that Qin Churuo was no normal yer at first nce.

    Wang Jiangnan was proven correct after the yers did a brief self introduction. The guy was indeed wless Reflection of World Conqueror, who was one of the top yers in the Eastern Continent.

    When he was facing this girl however, he became unsure of himself. She had the air of a predator, but he just couldn¡¯t be sure. That was why he could not resist inquiring after the girl from World Conqueror members. Maybe because he was a gamer himself, he refused to miss the chance of meeting an expert yer. He could not forget about that mysterious girl.

    ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not from our guild¡± replied one of the yers after a brief pause, ¡°She was never there when we had our meetings in school. She¡¯s here because she¡¯s friends with Fang Susu. I think she¡¯s a freshman.¡± the yer, realizing that he had not answered the question asked by Wang Jiangnan, grimaced before he continued, ¡°There are two words in her name... wless Reflection told me about it before, but I just can¡¯t remember. They¡¯re rather hard to pronounce.¡±

    ¡°Oh... I see...¡± Wang Jiangnan was disappointed.

    Noticing his defeated expression, the yer spoke up, ¡°Do you need my help? I can find out about her name.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Wang Jiangnan declined the offer and redirected their conversation to something else. Hell, if that yer went ahead and asked in his stead, wouldn¡¯t it be like telling the world that I was interested in that girl? If it somehow became a scandal, it would be bad.

    Gossip is a fearful thing.

    Wang Jiangnan did not wish to cause any problems for himself and for the girl as well.

    The next event of the tour was something that every member of the group had looked forward to. It was to test out the game in Fate¡¯s facilities. The yers would be able to y the game in sandbox mode, utilizing their creativity to create items and various sorts of things in the game, which will then be used by the developers as sources of inspiration in theing patches and expansions of the game.

    This was why Fate weed yers to their headquarters. When everybody adds fuel, the me rise high. Only the gamers themselves know what was best for the game.

    At the same time, the developers in Fate HQ tried their best to put themselves into the yers shoes.

    Wang Jiangnan led the group into a gaming lounge. 25 of the 100 gaming cabins within the lounge were already open. A youngdy immediately greeted the group upon their arrival.

    Wang Jiangnan introduced his colleague with a smile, ¡°This is our Developer No.387. Her name¡¯s Lin Dan, and she¡¯s here to help each of you to activate your character cards. All you need to do is to tell her your IGN, and she will activate a one-time-usage memory card containing the full details of your character. You can log into the game by plugging this character card into the gaming cabin. The usage of the cards however, is limited to only 1 hour. All data within the card will be erased when the time¡¯s up as a measure to protect your in-game belongings. So, every second counts. Feel free to voice out any opinions you have about the game!¡±

    The excited yers immediately swarmed over Lin Dan for the character cards. It was a thrilling experience to be able to contribute to the development of one¡¯s favourite game. Not only that, they were doing it in the headquarters of the game itself! It was a very wonderful feeling!

    Ye Ci was the only one who stood at the edge of the crowd. Noticing her behavior, Wang Jiangnan walked up to her and nodded, ¡°Miss, are you not getting your character card?¡±

    As the saying goes, ¡°never p the smiling man¡±. It was unreasonable for Ye Ci to react coldly to Wang Jiangnan who was smiling at her. She can¡¯t really tell him that she was not interested in ying. If she¡¯s not interested, whye in the first ce? To avoid gossip, humans must at times conform to the norms.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait for my turn. I¡¯m not in a hurry anyways.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    She could not even remember how many times she had met Wang Jiangnan. When she first met him in herst life, he was already known as the ¡°Father of Fate¡±. She met the person again during the PvP tournament. And when they met next, Ye Ci had already reincarnated into her current life. At that time, Wang Jiangnan was a little known developer full of ambition that he was unable to realize. He even had a conversation with her about his ideals. It was all still fresh in her mind.

    The Wang Jiangnan in front of her right at this moment... He seemed to be moving towards his ideals.

    But... What about her?

    Where does her ideals lie?

    That¡¯s right... She feels so familiar. That detached smile, and the intensity of her words... Wang Jiangnan could feel a sense of familiarity from the girl, but he was still unsure. He spoke up after a slight pause, ¡°It¡¯ll take some time for them toplete the activation process. I can get a card for you right now.¡±

    ¡°Uhh... I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea. It feels like I¡¯m using the backdoor (arghhh i don¡¯t know how to english this properly!!!)¡± Ye Ci was momentarily stunned.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll get them to queue up over hereter.¡± as the future main developer of Fate, Wang Jiangnan had certain outstanding qualities. His tone was gentle, but it wasced with an overbearing aura that would not allow somebody else to refuse him.

    Although faint, the pressure could still be felt.

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Ye Ci met Wang Jiangnan¡¯s gaze. It was a gaze filled with perseverance and determination. Somebody with such a pair of eyes tend to be more tenacious than others, mused Ye Ci.

    She followed Wang Jiangnan to a special lookingputer, which was quite a distance away from the group. Their conversation would not be overheard if they kept their voices low.

    Wang Jiangnan asked in a low voice after turning on theputer, ¡°What¡¯s your in-game name?¡±

    Ye Ci lowered her gaze, and spoke up slowly after a moment of thought, ¡°Gongzi You.¡±

 Chapter 196 A Bet

    Purity Essence gulped. He was always nervous around Gongzi You. He felt nothing when they first met, but at this moment, his heart was gripped by anxiety and fear. To him, Ye Ci was the devil. Her appearance would spell disaster for his existence. Whenever she appeared, the tranquility of his life would be destroyed.

    When Gongzi You was not online for a few days, Purity Essence tried his best to persuade himself that as long as she was not here, he could still return to his normal life.

    But... she appeared.

    It was just like that day when they first met. She appeared out of nowhere, catching him off guard.

    Deep down, he knew that it was impossible for Gongzi You to stay offline forever. However, he still hoped for the impossible: As long as Gongzi You did note online, he would be able to live in peace.

    The presence of Gongzi You shattered that hope. He stared at her, with different emotions shing through his mind. But in the end, the only thing he could do was to let out a sigh. The person standing in front of him was a reality that he had to face.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only gotten a few. My luck is not that great it seems. I can¡¯t seem to catch any of the Rainbow Seashells.¡± having nothing else in his mind, the only thing he could do was to give an answer to Ye Ci¡¯s question.

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, and the ghost of a smile formed on her lips. She was impressed by Purity Essence¡¯s response. At least he did not flee uponying eyes on me. She jumped onto the rock, and sat beside Purity Essence, who was rmed.

    ¡°What? It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m going to eat you alive.¡± Ye Ci began fishing with her own fishing rod. After all, she was also equipped with the Fishing skill. It was all thanks to her two gluttonous pets, Ol¡¯ Three and Ol¡¯ Four.

    As Ye Ci began fishing casually, Purity Essence was able to calm down. He did not sense any weird intention from Ye Ci, and resumed fishing as well, while subconsciously keeping a distance from her.

    The two fished in total silence, as if they were in a fishingpetition.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange... I¡¯m supposed to be the female among the both of us, right?¡± said Ye Ci with a slight sarcasm as she stared at her floater.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Purity Essence who had grown ustomed to the silence was baffled by Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    ¡°From the way we are right now, it seems as if I¡¯m the pervert that wants to molest you, while you are a pure and innocent little girl, shivering in fear, hoping for mercy. Look at you, you are so tensed and so anxious when you are only sitting next to me. I even have the impression that I morphed into a guy now!¡± without giving much consideration to Purity Essence¡¯s feelings, Ye Ci spat out the words.

    As expected, Ye Ci¡¯s words ced Purity Essence in an ufortable position. He stole a nce at Gongzi You, and found a face full courage and confidence, very different from his own expression. He was embarrassed by his behaviour.

    Purity Essence chuckled, attempting to clear the awkwardness in the air, ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. I¡¯m not scared or anything. I¡¯m just...¡±

    At this point, his frustration rose, and he continued angrily: ¡°I don¡¯t know who the hell is spreading rumors in the forums and blowing things out of proportion! I¡¯m not afraid of you or anything. It¡¯s just... It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t want my friends to have misunderstandings about the rtionship between us.¡±

    Ye Ci was dumbstruck. Her face darkened as she stared at Purity Essence, ¡°I think you¡¯re very bad at expressing yourself.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± perhaps because of his insomnia, or perhaps because he was slow, Purity Essence did not understand Gongzi You¡¯s words.

    ¡°You spoke as if I¡¯m the mistress who shamelessly clings on you and ruined your marriage.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s words were full of sarcasm, ¡°I, Gongzi You, am a nobody. But I will never do things like that. It is not in my nature.¡±

    Noticing his mistake, Purity Essence immediately apologized to Ye Ci, and frantically tried to exin, but it just got worse and worse with each attempt in rectifying his mistake. Ye Ci was thoroughly pissed. She thundered, interrupting his excuses, ¡°A true friend will never have a misunderstanding over something so trivial. Even if something happened, a true friend will still ce their trust in you.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s words were like cold water sshing on Purity Essence¡¯s face. He was stunned into silence.

    In reality, he knew the meaning behind Gongzi You¡¯s words. He was the one who refused to ept the truth. The truth, that his many years of friendship would be ruined by something so trivial. He could not bring himself to believe such a cold, cruel reality.

    Silence loomed over the two, and their fishingpetition resumed. Opposed to Ye Ci¡¯s calm demeanor, Purity Essence was restless. It was as if his heart was being cut into pieces by countless knives. He refused to bring himself to ept Gongzi You¡¯s words. In his mind, she was judging his friendship with a narrow minded point of view.

    In the end, he could not hold himself back.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been ying with my friends since we were 18! Our friendship is firm! We treat each other with sincerity. I trust them! I know they trust me!!¡± being distraught, Purity Essence was slightly incoherent. That, however, did not affect Ye Ci¡¯s ability to understand his words.

    Ye Ci cast an indifferent nce at Purity Essence. She then shifted her gaze to the surface of the water and said coldly, ¡°I know what happened between you and your friends. I don¡¯t care what happened, but I seem to be caught up in it as well. I did some research in the forums. I don¡¯t know how many years you have been friends, or how firm you think your friendship is, but with my many years of gaming experience, I can tell you that nobody will treat you well for no reason. If you think there is someone who would do that, it simply meant that you¡¯re still of use to that person.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You! I know you¡¯re someone who ces benefits above all. I know you¡¯re someone who is cold and distant and selfish! I know that! But please don¡¯t judge my friendship with your values! It¡¯s unfair!¡± Purity Essence anger soared. He clenched his fists. It was apparent that he was doing his best to hold back his anger.

    Ye Ci was unfazed. She stared at him calmly, and spoke with sarcasm in her tone, ¡°Yo, are you looking for a fight? If that¡¯s the case, you might want to look for the right person. If you try to take me on, you¡¯ll definitely lose.¡± She smirked in an impish way, ¡°Why don¡¯t you spar against your friends? You can prove the beauty of your friendship. Isn¡¯t it nice?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t force my hand.¡± Purity Essence was shaking with rage. He red at Ye Ci with bloodshot eyes. It was apparently that he would take it out on Ye Ci with the slightest sign of provocation, ¡°I never hit a woman, but it doesn¡¯t mean that I won¡¯t.¡±

    Ye Ci snorted at the warning. She paid no more attention to Purity Essence who had lost his rationality. She focused on fishing. After all, it was a chore to feed her gluttonous pets back home.

    ¡°A true friendship is one that does not involve benefits. Once benefits are involved, your rtionship will change. It will be the most despicable thing you¡¯ll ever see. Such is the way of this world. If you care about a person or a friend, do not involve him or her in your circle of benefits, nor should you enter his. That is, if you want your friendship tost.¡± Ye Ci stared at the reddish-golden reflection of the sun in the water, as she murmured.

    When the words left Ye Ci¡¯s mouth, something in her heart stirred. It was a pain that would not subside. Was Purity Essence the only one she was talking about? Wasn¡¯t she talking about herself as well? Her rtionship with Dong Yin and Yi Cang crumbled in the face of benefits as well.

    Purity Essence did not react to Ye Ci¡¯s words with anger. He remained silent, staring at the ocean. He then spoke after a long pause, ¡°I always treated my friends well. Benefits or not, I just like to treat my friends well.¡±

    ¡°But... You ran into me. I turned into the biggest source of benefit that you could give. Under the pressure of such a huge benefit, the bnce was broken.¡± A fish was snagged by Ye Ci¡¯s hook. In a smooth motion, she reeled in the fish, and cast her line out, ¡°You know, even if I, Gongzi You did not exist, there will still be Gongzi One, Gongzi Two and even Gongzi Three. Your fragile rtionship is bound to be broken.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it.¡± Purity Essence was a loyal and stubborn person. He was one who would cling stubbornly to his own ideals, ¡°You and I are different. You will not understand what I¡¯ve been through. I refuse to believe what you said.¡±

    Ye Ci shrugged. She was not interested in keeping up the argument. A glint appeared in her eyes, ¡°Since we¡¯re both unable to convince one another, how about a bet?¡±

    ¡°So what will we be betting?¡± Purity Essence who was angered had lost all sense of rationality. He epted Ye Ci¡¯s proposal without much of a thought.

    Ye Ci was very satisfied with the result.. As the saying goes, ¡°impulse is the devil.¡± Ye Ci was once again able to witness the truth of the proverb.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you upload a photo of us fishing to the forums and see how your friends would react?¡± Ye Ci smiled. At that moment, she was as cunning as a fox. The sincerity and the innocence in her eyes, however, was able to deceive everyone, including Purity Essence, who had long lost his rationality. ¡°If your friends trust you, as you said, I will apologize to them and to you in the World Channel, and help you with clearing the Castle Ruins.¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t need your help with the dungeon. All I need is your apology.¡± Purity Essence was, after all, a persistent person. He refused Ye Ci¡¯s offer of clearing the Castle Ruins for his guild. The only thing that mattered was his friendship.

    Ye Ci nodded, ¡°Alright, as you wish.¡± she was not surprised by the response.

    ¡°Then so be it. I¡¯ll post the picture right now.¡± Purity Essence was ready to take a screenshot and post it to the forums.

    Ye Ci spoke up camly, ¡°Why the rush? Are you so sure that I¡¯ll lose?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head and sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter what we think anyways. Since this is a bet, and I¡¯ve already ced my stakes, what about yours?¡±

    Purity Essence was momentarily stunned. He had never considered the fact that he might lose, and had never thought about anything that could be staked into the bet. Besides, he did not have anything in his possession that might be of interest to Gongzi You, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Me?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s smile widened, ¡°Do you mean you¡¯re okay with anything I say?¡±

    ¡°Yes. As long as it is within my power.¡± Purity Essence was very persistent, ¡°You won¡¯t win anyways.¡±

    ¡°Alright... If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll just think of something.¡± Ye Ci was beaming with happiness. She was waiting for him to get hooked. How could Ye Ci not be happy? At this point, her heartbeat was speeding up..

    After feigning a thoughtful expression, Ye Ci spoke up, ¡°You have nothing that I want. How about this then.. If you lose, you¡¯ll have to join ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯.¡±

    Purity Essence was momentarily stunned. He would be able to analyze the situation and notice Gongzi You¡¯s plot, if he would think calmly. However, the Purity Essence at this moment was incapable of such rational thoughts.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re backing out?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, ¡°It seems that you don¡¯t have much confidence in this matter.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s lips twitched, her disdain was very apparent.

    Purity Essence could not hold himself back after the provocation. He grit his teeth and immediately agreed, ¡°So be it! If you lose, you¡¯ll make an apology to me and my friends in the World Channel. If I lose, I¡¯ll join ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded. She did not show her disdain for having to apologize. However, Gongzi You would never do something that she had no confidence in. It would not matter after she won the bet.

    Paying no heed to Purity Essence, Ye Ci began fishing leisurely, waiting for events to take their course.

    Purity Essence immediately took a photo of him fishing with Gongzi You on the rock. Although Gongzi You appeared naturally rxed in the photo, he was somewhat stiff. Logging into the forums, Purity Essence was ready to post the picture online anonymously. He was hesitant with the title of the thread. What sort of title should I use as the best proof that my faith in my friends is rightly ced?

    After a long moment of hesitation, he finally decided on the most provocative title, ¡°Speaking with absolute facts: The truth behind the rtionship of Gongzi You and Purity Essence¡± and posted the picture on the forums. He then added a description under the picture, ¡°With so many rumors circting around in the forums, a picture is worth more than a thousand words! It is by pure coincidence that I¡¯ve managed to take this picture (don¡¯t ask where this is taken)¡±

    After writing down the description, Purity Essence realised that he was sweating profusely, as if he had just stepped out of the sauna. He logged off the forum, not even daring to keep it on. After taking in a deep breath, Purity Essence pretended to calm himself down and resumed fishing.

    From the corner of her eyes, Ye Ci could see the anxiety written all over Purity Essence¡¯s face. Ye Ci smiled quietly to herself, sighing. She saw her old self in Purity Essence. It was always the same for humans. When they became too obsessed with something, they would tend to lose more. Ye Ci¡¯s experiences in her previous life were the perfect example. Her obsession with fame led to her downfall, and even to the loss of her life.

    However, even when exposed to the truth, one would never understand the nature of such matters. Only someone who had experienced true anguish caused by his or her failure would be able to learn from this. She could only hope that Purity Essence could learn his lesson after the pain he suffered. She hoped that he could learn that not everything is perfect in this world, and one should not dwell on the past.. If he is not able to face the challenges of the present because he can not move on, her efforts in recruiting him would be wasted. It was as if time had stopped. Ye Ci and Purity Essence seemed to be the only ones in this world, fishing without worry on the huge rock. The asional breeze carrying the scent of the sea brought a sense of euphoria to Ye Ci. She took in a deep breath. This is such a nice day!

    Purity Essence, on the other hand, was not as rxed as Ye Ci. He was extremely nervous. He was anticipating the response from his guildmates, but was afraid at the same time. Not everyone could endure such a torment. He felt like a fish being thrown into an oven. Fear and anxiety gripped his heart.

    The momentsted for half an hour before Purity Essence finally received a message. It was a message from his guild leader, who was also his best friend, Hometown Hero, ¡°Purity, what are you doing right now?¡±

    Purity Essence could feel his heart in his mouth when he received the message. He even had difficulty breathing. Taking in a deep breath, he was able to calm himself down, ¡°I¡¯m fishing. What is it? Did something happen?¡±

    Hometown Hero replied after a short pause, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re fishing? You¡¯re quite free aren¡¯t you? Where are you? Are you alone?¡±

    A feeling of destion crept into Purity Essence¡¯s heart, ¡°I¡¯m near the Hidden Treasure Gulf. And no, I¡¯m not alone.¡± he began to regret his decision of taking on the bet. Will I be able to avoid the pain if I did not take on the bet?

    ¡°Who else is there with you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an acquaintance of mine. I happened to run into him here.¡± Purity Essence was telling the truth. But, unbeknownst to him, the truth could only be true when the other party chose to believe in it.

    ¡°Ohh...¡± Hometown Hero directed the conversation somewhere else. ¡°Purity, have you given that thing a thought?¡± asked Hometown Hero after a brief small talk with Purity Essence.

    Purity Essence¡¯s heart clenched. In the end, it¡¯s all about this huh? He grimaced, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Ask for Gongzi You¡¯s help in clearing the dungeon. Since you¡¯re so close, I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t refuse. I know that the other guilds have asked for her help in the past as well, but there¡¯s a chance that she would refuse our request. Since you¡¯re friends with her, help the guild out. Ask for her help.¡± as the guild leader, Hometown Hero was always thinking about the benefits of the guild.

    ¡°Hometown, I¡¯ll say this again. I really am not familiar with Gongzi You. We¡¯ve only met for the first time during the battle that day. Before that, I¡¯m just like you! I¡¯ve only known her through the forums and videos of her!¡± Purity Essence was overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness, ¡°Besides, can¡¯t we just clear the dungeon slowly with our own strength-¡±

    Before Purity Essence could finish his sentence, he was cut off by Hometown Hero, ¡°Purity, you and I have been friends for so many years. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being stingy here? I¡¯m not asking for much, I just want you to ask Gongzi You for help in clearing the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t we just pay her like the other guilds?¡± Purity Essence finally voiced out his true feelings.

    ¡°If we¡¯re going to pay her for that, I won¡¯t be needing your help now would I? Besides, I don¡¯t mind if you hid your friendship with her from everybody else. But to hide it from me... I¡¯m disappointed in you Purity.¡±

    ¡°I told you, I don¡¯t know her! We¡¯ve never been friends!¡±

    ¡°Without a wind, there cannot be waves.¡±

    A sense of futility washed over Purity Essence. In the face of misbelief, any exnation offered would be in vain. At that moment, his will faltered, and he became silent.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you believe me?¡±

    ¡°Purity, we¡¯ve been brothers for so long. I wanted to trust you. I wanted to believe your words unconditionally. Just take a look at the forums. If it¡¯s not because of that incident in the Swamp of Sorrows, the appearance of the Dragonia, the mistake you made while takingmand, and the fact that Gongzi You managed to walk out of this ordeal unscathed, I wouldn¡¯t have known that you¡¯re friends with her!¡± he let out a frustrated sigh.

    ¡°He he...¡± Purity Essence no longer felt the need to exin himself in the face of Hometown Hero¡¯s usations. He sneered, perhaps at himself, perhaps at the past; or perhaps at Hometown Hero.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that. Before the post in the forums today, I did not even believe the rumors. But what¡¯s the the photo that had just appeared?¡±

    ¡°What photo?¡± Purity Essence asked out loud with a voice full of weariness despite knowing the answer.

    ¡°I see you did not know what happened in the forums. Alright, I¡¯ll stop beating around the bush. Are you fishing with Gongzi You?¡± Hometown Hero raised his voice, adapting a more forceful tone.

    Purity Essence remained silent. He knew more than anyone else about about what was in the photo. He suddenly was unable to answer Hometown Hero¡¯s question. He was just like a coward, too afraid to face an impending misfortune. At that moment, he felt as if he was not a man. Hecked the courage a man should possess.

    s, he was afraid. After so many years of friendship, he knew his friends well. If he conceded, wouldn¡¯t they have a fall out? If it happened, their already crumbling friendship would end. This was something he wanted to avoid.

    Hometown Hero¡¯s tone became even more forceful when Purity Essence kept his silence, ¡°Purity, some things cannot be solved by remaining silent. Refusing to admit such a thing does not mean that it did not happen. I don¡¯t know just what sort of rtionship you had with Gongzi You, and why you have to deny it. Don¡¯t you know that the more you try to emphasize your innocence, the more people will doubt you? If you admitted your rtionship with Gongzi You sooner, would things have gotten this far?¡±

    Weariness washed over Purity Essence. He did not even have the strength to deal with Hometown Hero left. He was convinced that there was no going back. The reddish-golden sun was slowly setting below the horizon, dyeing everything in sight in a shade of its beautiful color. Purity Essence could still remember the joys he had with his friends when they grew up. Since when have we grown so far apart?

    Perhaps Gongzi You was right. Perhaps friendship would notst long in the face of benefits. Their friendship was firm as no benefits were involved. They would not be jealous of each other. Things have changed when they thought that he was close with Gongzi You. They thought that he received a lot of benefits from Gongzi You. This thought nurtured their jealousy, and slowly wither away their rationality.

    As expected, friendship must not be mixed with benefits. He was unwilling to let go of his many years of friendship. The truth however, was clear. He lost his bet with Gongzi You.

    He lost to his fake friendship, to his self-deceiving brothers, and ursed benefits.

    At this point, Purity Essence was truly helpless, he let out a long sigh, ¡°Hometown, just get straight to the point. Just tell me, what do you want?¡±

    Hometown Hero was stunned by Purity Essence¡¯s sudden straightforwardness. However, he was able to regain hisposure in a short moment, ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. Go get Gongzi You to help us clear the Castle Ruins. I¡¯ve heard that ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ has defeated the 4th BOSS. So she¡¯ll have no problem with helping us against the 4th BOSS. I think my request is not that hard, am I right?¡±

    ¡°What if I tell you that it¡¯s impossible for me to do it?¡± Purity Essence sneered.

    Hometown Hero pursed his lips, and disdain was written all over his face, ¡°If you can¡¯t do that... Purity... Is there anything left to say between us? Our small temple is not befitting of a big buddha like you.¡±

    Purity Essence felt as if he was stabbed in the heart. The pain was so tremendous that he creased his eyebrows, ¡°Hometown, are you telling me to leave?¡±

    ¡°Purity, it¡¯s not me who wants you to leave. Your heart no longer belongs to a small guild such as ours. So... See yourself out.¡± unwilling to give up just yet, Hometown Hero asked once again, ¡°I¡¯ll ask you onest time. Will you get Gongzi You to help our guild out or not?¡±

    ¡°I told you! I¡¯m not that close with her! I can¡¯t do that!¡± Purity Essence was pushed to his limits.

    ¡°Leave the guild. Don¡¯t make me kick you. If I do that, we won¡¯t even have ourst shred of friendship left.¡± Hometown Hero was filled with rage.

    ¡°Friendship?¡± the word was suddenly very ridiculous to Purity Essence, ¡°Do we still have friendship?¡± with that, he called up the Guild Interface, and selected the option to leave his guild.

    [ Are you sure you want to leave Drunken Mncholy? ] a system notification appeared.

    [Yes.] [No. ]

    Purity Essence hesitated. Fragments of memories, all those times spent with his friends shing by in his mind. They were like photos that had been ravaged by time, slowly fading in color, darkening, then crumbling to dust.

    ¡°Hurry up, don¡¯t make this hard for the both of us.¡± Hometown Hero¡¯s words were thest straw for him. He was devastated. As the saying goes ¡°men only weep when deeply grieved¡±. Purity Essence felt like weeping, but he had no tears left. It seems that I¡¯m the only one who truly cherished our years of friendship.

    With that, his hesitation disappeared. There was no longer a sense of loss. Gritting his teeth, Purity Essence left the guild that was once his haven..

    It¡¯s just a game! It¡¯s just a game! Why have these people who were once my friends in real life be so cruel? Purity Essenceughed. Isn¡¯t this just a game? The game, this was the thing that has destroyed his friendship in real life.

    Since when had they drifted apart? It was perhaps when he moved to another city. It seems that even friendship could dull with distance and time.

    [Purity Essence has left Drunken Mncholy.]

    The line of small yellow words appeared in the World Channel briefly before they were swallowed by the messages in the channel, disappearing forever. Ye Ci who has been paying close attention to the World Channel however, saw the words clearly.

    No matter how stubborn Purity Essence was, everything went ording to Ye Ci¡¯s n.

    Ye Ci let out a faint smile. It was a smile those who were close to her described as her most beautiful smile. She was not in a hurry to disturb Purity Essence. She was a reasonable person who would not spread salt over somebody¡¯s bleeding wounds.

    It was better for her to wait for Purity Essence to act on his own ord.

    As expected, Purity Essence was quick to recover from his sorrows. He was a career gamer who did not earn a lot, but enjoyed his time with his friends. Losing his guild meant that he needed a n for the future.

    After all, his friendship and fond memories paled inparison to the hardship he will be facing in the future.

    Of course, Purity Essence remembered his bet with Gongzi You. Joining ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ was his best option. Firstly, his ie was guaranteed as he was invited over by Gongzi You to be amander. Secondly, since it was futile to try and clear his name, he might as well join the guild and put an end to the rumors.

    With that thought in mind, Purity Essence soothed his raging emotions and looked at Gongzi You. The girl was basking in the rays of the setting sun leisurely. Bitterness surged into his heart. He was so pained that it was hard for him to even speak up.

 Chapter 197 Epic Tier Quest

    If all the maps in Fate were said to have different beautiful sceneries, then the sunset in Hidden Treasure Gulf would be the most beautiful sunset in the entire game.

    The azure sky, the sea, the lush green nts, and the bustling town by the seaside proimed the beauty of the map to any visitors. It was serene and beautiful, which was a perfect ce to settle down. Ye Ci loved the scenery in the Hidden Treasure Gulf.

    This beautiful ce, however, was destined to be the ce of sorrow for some. Purity Essence was one such unfortunate individual. Perhaps, even after a long while, he would refuse to set foot in Hidden Treasure Gulf despite its scenery.

    Although Ye Ci was not looking at Purity Essence, she could feel his sorrowful gaze on her. His stare made her ufortable. Slowly turning her head, Ye Ci looked right into the deep, dark eyes of Purity Essence. He was smiling slightly, but it was a smile full of sorrow.

    The entire ordeal was perhaps very painful for Purity Essence, but Ye Ci did not regret her actions. Human life was short, and nobody had the time to worry about somebody else¡¯s joy or sorrow. Ye Ci merely had to do what needed to be done, and what she did, she would not regret.

    Ye Ci, who raised her eyebrows, appearing to be calm. In reality, she was indeed calm. At least, she was way calmer than Purity Essence.

    She spoke in a soft voice, ¡°What? Is there something weird on my face? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s rude for you to keep staring at me like that?¡±

    Purity Essence snapped out of his swirling emotions upon hearing Ye Ci¡¯s words. Had he not been sitting on the rock, he might¡¯ve stumbled and fallen onto the ground. Panicking, he shifted his gaze somewhere else.

    With Purity Essence remaining silent after retracting his gaze, Ye Ci shifted her attention back to fishing. The tense atmosphere between them had to be broken and Ye Ci had taken the first step, but she did not want to be too meddlesome as well. This was why she opted to wait and observe Purity Essence quietly.

    After all, Purity Essence was no machine. He was a human being. Despite Ye Ci¡¯s desire to acquire such a talentedmander, she still needed to secure his loyalty. She did not wish for the person she spent so much effort in recruiting to be a walking corpse, it would be a huge loss for her.

    Purity Essence was very anxious as the silence continued, his thoughts were in a mess. He finally made a decision after a long while, and spoke up slowly, ¡°Gongzi You.¡±

    Ye Ci snorted as an indication that she has heard his words. She was not overly enthusiastic, but not overly cold. It was as if she was a stranger waiting for an answer from another stranger.

    It was fortunate that she had put up such a demeanor.

    Purity Essence was able to calm himself down when Ye Ci showed an indifferent behavior. If Gongzi You was overly cordial, he would probably feel that he was in trouble.

    ¡°I lost.¡± These two words were somon that even a third grader would be able to read and write them. Those same two words, however, were also very rare. For someone to sincerely voice out those two words... It had to be harder than walking to the moon.

    Such case was especially true for Purity Essence. With his arrogance, his pride, and his firm belief in his ideals crushed mere moments ago, saying those two words to Gongzi You was harder than killing himself.

    But... Purity Essence squeezed those words out in the end.

    Ye Ci was surprised. She did not expect Purity Essence to concede the result of this bet that seemed so insignificant to her. His willingness to admit his mistake also came as a surprise to her. Ye Ci was impressed. After all, not everyone could look squarely at their mistakes and admit their wrongdoings. Even Ye Ci herself... Even if she was a reincarnator... She might not be able to bring herself to achieve such a feat.

    Especially when it was done in front of somebody else. A huge amount of courage was required.

    However, despite her own thoughts, Ye Ci did not betray any hint of emotion. She maintained a calm and detached voice, ¡°Oh. I see.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s indifference, however, infuriated Purity Essence. His voice wasced with grief and some resentment, ¡°What? You have nothing else to say? Look at how correct you are! You¡¯ve won the bet! Aren¡¯t you going to say anything?¡±

    Another fish was fished up by Ye Ci. She hung a bait on the hook and absent-mindedly cast the line out. ¡°Then what do you want me to say?¡±

    Purity Essence was lost for words. In truth, even he did not know what sort of answer he was expecting from Gongzi You. After calming himself down, he realized that Gongzi You was actually innocent. She did nothing wrong but was dragged into this controversy. When he put himself in her shoes, he realized that even if Gongzi You did not mind the incident, having her name always mentioned in the forums was vexing.

    ¡°To be frank with you, I don¡¯t really care much about winning or losing,¡± Ye Ci remained indifferent, ¡°So... I think there¡¯s no need for you to be angry.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t really care? I¡¯ve left my guild because of this bet! And now you¡¯re telling me that you don¡¯t care?¡± Purity Essence was just like a bomb ready to explode at the slightest spark.

    ¡°What? Do you still think that you¡¯ll never leave the guild, or that your friendship with your brothers in the guild would not be ruined if you did not bet with me?¡± Ye Ciughed coldly, her narrowed eyes emanating cold rage as she stared at Purity Essence, and her sharp gaze stabbed into him like a sharpened knife.

    Purity Essence, who wanted to reluctantly admit to this cold harsh truth suddenly could not bring himself to speak up. It was as if all his words were stuck in his throat. Even after a long while, he did not utter a single word. He knew that Ye Ci was correct. Even without the bet, he would have a fall out with his friends sooner orter and be forced out of Drunken Mncholy anyways if the situation continued.

    ¡°I said nothing wrong when I told you that I don¡¯t care about the result of the bet. I admit that I¡¯m interested in recruiting you, as you¡¯re a very capablemander. ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ needs a battlemander like you. However, I don¡¯t care whether you want to join ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ or not. After all, if you joined us because of a mere bet, you are of no use to us.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Purity Essence. There were things that she needed to make clear to Purity Essence. She hated to be threatened by anyone, which was why she couldn¡¯t show her weakness, even if it was to Purity Essence, who she looked up to.

    ¡°Besides, there are a lot of yers in Fate. The Eastern Continent alone is home to a huge number of yers. Even if I have my eye on you today, it doesn¡¯t mean that somebody better than you will not appear tomorrow. So...¡± she continued after a short pause, her gaze growing colder, ¡°Don¡¯t me your decision of leaving the guild on me. It¡¯s not in my nature to carry somebody else¡¯s burden for them.¡±

    Is this the real Gongzi You?

    Purity Essence shivered. So this is Gongzi You? Callous, relentless, and calctive. That was why people like her were said to be people who would ce benefit above all else. It could be said to be her nature, or perhaps there was really not even a sliver of warmth in her heart?

    Purity Essence felt that he was the exact opposite of Gongzi You. The thing he held dear the most was like garbage to Ye Ci, while he could not bring himself to ept her views. When the two very different ideologies shed, it ended with the crumbling of his belief. Was he too naive? Or was Gongzi You too pragmatic?

    He did not have an answer, nor did he have the desire for an answer.

    It had always been like this. People who were sentimental would tend to be more ambiguous, to give themselves a semnce of warmth. People who were pragmatic on the other hand, tend to be calctive and tactful. They were also known by another name: businessmen.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Purity Essence was exhausted. He had simply wanted to y this game... But why did it cause so much trouble for him?

    ¡°I¡¯ll always wee you into ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯, but the decision to join my guild is yours.¡± Ye Ci casually cast another bait into the water, ¡°You¡¯re right. I am different from you. I ce benefits above all else. I am willing to go to any lengths to do something if it brings me benefit. You, however, are a sentimental person. I will never be able to understand your way of thinking. This is why I¡¯ll leave the decision to you.¡±

    Purity Essence appeared distracted as if he was thinking about something.

    ¡°But there¡¯s something I need to make clear.¡± Ye Ci turned her head around and looked at Purity Essence with a piercing gaze, ¡°As someone who ces benefit above all else, I do not like a bargain that will ce me in a disadvantage. If you join ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ while retaining loyalty towards your old guild, then it¡¯s better for you to not join my guild.

    Purity Essence still looked distracted, as if he had not heard her words.continued appearing distracted as if he had not heard Ye Ci. However, Ye Ci knew that he had, in fact, heard everything.

    Ye Ci could not predict the thoughts of someone like Purity Essence. If she forced a decision upon him, it might induce his anger and this might spell disaster for her in the future. If she left the decision-making in his hands, however, the oue would definitely be different.

    Of course, Ye Ci did this under several conditions.

    Firstly, Purity Essence already had a fallout with the members of Drunk Mncholy, which meant that he would never be able to rejoin the guild. Secondly, once he was associated with Gongzi You, no small guild would want Purity Essence to join them, while therge guilds would not have an interest in a nobody like him. Even if he was lucky enough to join one of the major guilds, it was almost impossible for him to distinguish himself. And most importantly, Purity Essence was a career gamer. As a career gamer, his priority was to earn money. He was able to earn just enough to sustain himself during his time in Drunk Mncholy. Without the support of a guild, his ie would be badly affected. It would be impossible for him to survive without a team.

    No matter how sentimental a person was, emotions and affection would not fill his belly.

    Career gamers were individuals who yed a game professionally, they relied on gaming to feed themselves. People like this could not afford to say no to money.

    Purity Essence¡¯s only option at this point was to join ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. Despite leaving the decision making to Purity Essence, Ye Ci had already left him no real option.

    There was no detour, there was only one route that led to his final destination.

    The only thing Ye Ci needed to do was to wait. When Purity Essence realized that the only real option he had was to join ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯, he would willingly join the guild on his own ord.

    With her goal obtained and a bountiful haul of fish, Ye Ci no longer had a need to stay in Hidden Treasure Gulf. She stood up, dusted her shoes and said sincerely to Purity Essence, ¡°I hope we¡¯ll meet again someday.¡± With that, she jumped into the water and swam away.

    Before she could get too far, Ye Ci heard a shout, ¡°Hey! Gongzi You!¡¯

    Ye Ci stopped. She turned around and faced Purity Essence, who had be tiny because of the distance. He stood on the rock, waving his hand excitedly at Ye Ci.

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through!¡±

    Purity Essence cupped his hands against his mouth and shouted out loud.

    Ye Ci would never do something as idiotic as Purity Essence and shout back at him. Even if Fate was a highly realistic VRMMORPG, there was still something that could be done in the game that was impossible to pull off in real life. The private messaging system was one such example.

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Ye Ci remained calm. She already knew the oue of the situation, and therefore was not as excited as Purity Essence. She sent a private message to the man, hinting that they could employ such a means ofmunication.

    ¡°......¡± Purity Essence did not take the hint. He continued shouting at Ye Ci on the rock. But with the bellowing wind and their distance, Ye Ci could not hear a single word.

    A confounded Ye Ci stared silently at Purity Essence. She realized how idiotic of a person he could be, his intelligence level would drop to an unprecedented low if he was excited. Is poaching him the right choice?

    Unable to hear a single word, Ye Ci sent another message to Purity Essence, ¡°Just talk to me via the private message channel. I can¡¯t hear a damn thing you said over here!¡±

    The shouting stopped, and Ye Ci received a private message from Purity Essence, ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through! I¡¯ll join ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Oh..¡± Ye Ci replied calmly and sent a guild invitation to Purity Essence.

    Purity Essence immediately joined Upwards Ho!. The officers of Upwards Ho! were surprised and confused by his appearance. ¡°Eh? I thought those rumors on the forums were fake... So Purity Essence does have something going on with our leader!¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± was Gongzi You¡¯s response to the questions she received. The entire guild that was bustling with conspiracy theories immediately quieted down.

    Bai Mo who had prior knowledge of Purity Essence¡¯s arrival immediately sent a message to Ye Ci, ¡°So, it¡¯s done?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci let out a sigh, ¡°I¡¯ll leave him to you. Don¡¯t let anything slip.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Who do you think I am?¡± Bai Mo chuckled, ¡°So he¡¯ll be the battlemander?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I¡¯m not that close with him, but I noticed that he has exceptional skills as amander. Train him well.¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me.¡± Bai Mo always liked to show any new recruits the ropes, he would pay extra attention to yers who were especially recruited by Gongzi You. After all, it was rare for Ye Ci to recruit a yer. Those who caught her eye would definitely be someone special no matter how miserable their appearance was.

    Purity Essence was slightly nervous when he saw the conversations going on in the guild chat. He realized that his action of joining Upwards Ho! so abruptly was inappropriate. Just as doubt began to surface in his thoughts, he received a private message from Gongzi You, ¡°The guild encampment is in Red Lake City. You can bind your City-recalling Stone to that ce. Of course, it¡¯s up to you. But you should head to the guild encampment. Remote Depths is waiting for you.¡±

    ¡°Remote Depths?¡± Purity Essence was momentarily stunned. That man was the first Warrior to obtain the Swordback Hold in the entire Eastern Continent, and one of the best tanks in the continent. A person like that is waiting for me? His worry immediately dissipated. Someone who was very close with Gongzi You would of course be an outstanding individual. He, who was a nobody, felt overwhelmed.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Purity Essence sent a message to Ye Ci and immediately made preparations to head to the guild encampment. Ye Ci on the other hand, no longer focused her attention on Purity Essence. After all, her energy was not unlimited. Investing her energy on the most worthy things would be the wisest choice.

    When Ye Ci swam ashore, Green Hill¡¯s Moon was waiting not far away with a coy smile at the docks. She rolled her eyes, and walked towards the man. Patting her wet hand on his hair, Ye Ci spoke up, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me... You¡¯ve been waiting for me here?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Not many in the Eastern Continent would have the chance of waiting for Gongzi You. How could I let go of such an opportunity?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Mind paid no heed to the seawater that was dripping down from his hair. He was still smiling at Ye Ci.

    ¡°If you¡¯re here... It means that you¡¯ve found a good resting spot.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! It¡¯s a tavern called the One-Eyed Pirate. I¡¯ve gotten a room.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon chuckled, ¡°You go first. Let me know when you¡¯re done cleaning up yourself. I¡¯ll be right away.¡± Despite his mischievous nature, Green Hill¡¯s Moon was still a gentleman. He was also a very attentive person, he knew that Ye Ci would definitely need to tidy herself up after travelling such a vast distance, and had already gotten her a room.

    The One-eyed Pirate Inn.

    The room was the best room in the entire tavern. The soft warm bed gave off a nice smell, and there was even a firece with crackling wood as the warm mes burned. A huge cask filled with warm water was ced in the middle of the bathroom. There were even petals floating on the water. Ye Ci let out a smile as she removed her clothing. Green Hill¡¯s Moon was such a good flirt. If she did not know that the wooles from the sheep¡¯s back, she might have even praised the man. With the knowledge that she would be indirectly paying for the expenses of renting this room, there was not a shred of appreciation in Ye Ci¡¯s hearts towards Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    After her bath, Ye Ci¡¯s equipment was already cleaned by the tavern¡¯s NPC. Ye Ci felt fresh and rxed. Cleanliness and Fatigue were both mechanics that would affect a yer in Fate, and any negative effect from these stats could be removed by having a bath. yers would flock to public bathhouses with their meagre ie because of that. The over-realistic game might not be a good thing.

    As Green Hill¡¯s Moon entered the room, Gongzi You having a meal. She was not modest at all, and had order the best food with the best wine. She was enjoying the meal. After mourning for his wallet for a short moment, Green Hill¡¯s Moon decided to put the tabs on Gongzi You, his wealthy benefactor.

    Indeed, the wooles from the sheep¡¯s back.

    ¡°So, how did your investigation go?¡±

    ¡°Heh! I didn¡¯t know you¡¯re interested in gossip as well.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon let out a cunning smile. It was apparent that he was satisfied with the news he received from the investigation he had been tasked with.

    ¡°Such is the way of the world. There¡¯s nothing to gossip about.¡± Ye Ci wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth with her napkin. She set her cutlery down, and leaned back onto the chair. Narrowing her eyes, she looked straight at Green Hill¡¯s Moon, ¡°Besides, I¡¯m sure you know that the things that I¡¯ve wanted you to investigate are never gossippy in nature.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯m simplymenting about it.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon let out a sigh....

    Ye Ci snorted, indicating that Green Hill¡¯s Moon should get to the point, and not waste her precious time.

    ¡°NightAndDay is already on guard against Wandering Cloud. Despite keeping up appearances, he has slowly begun to dismantle Wandering Cloud¡¯s influence within the Tang Dynasty. He was very secretive about it, and even I didn¡¯t take notice of it for long time t.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon shrugged. He was impressed by NightAndDay. After having a big green hat [1] ced on his head by his best friend, he was able to keep his calm.

    ¡°Of course, despite not being visible to outsiders, I¡¯m sure Wandering Cloud has already noticed something. He had ceased almost all contacts with Into The Sunsets, not to mention continuing their affair.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon narrowed his eyes, ¡°With my analysis of Wandering Cloud, he will definitely fight back. And will need outside help to do it.¡±

    Ye Ci stared silently at Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    ¡°Do you happen the be the help he¡¯s looking for?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon made his guess. He believed that there was less than 5 people in this world that knew about this. Who else knew about this other than the 3 individuals directly involved in the incident and he himself? It would be Gongzi You whomissioned him to carry on the investigation. But... Why would Gongzi You know about this? At this point, however, no matter how Gongzi You found out about the affair, Wandering Cloud¡¯s only chance was to seek help from her. Gongzi You was the only one with the capabilities to go up against NightAndDay and was not afraid to do so.

    Ye Ci stared silently at Green Hill¡¯s Moon. She ced 100,000 gold coins on the table and spoke up, ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard. Is there anything else that NightAndDay¡¯s been up to?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll assume that your silence is a confirmation to my question?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon smiled, ¡°For this piece of information you gave me, I¡¯m willing to (something like ¡°waive the payment for his job¡±)¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrow, stood up, and headed for the door. She then turned around and spoke up, ¡°What¡¯s Thousand Sunsets up to these days?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s been trying to buy any BOSS-clearing videotely. He seems quite desperate. Unbridled Willow seems quite rxed about it. They¡¯re almost ready to challenge the fourth BOSS.¡± knowing what Ye Ci wanted, Green Hill¡¯s Moon gave Ye Ci the answer she seek.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon was indeed dependable. Despite his calctive and stingy nature, he was very sincere, and would cherish kindness shown to him. In Ye Ci¡¯sst life, Green Hill¡¯s Moon did not even regard Ye Ci, who was his biggest customer as high as Thousand Sunsets who was his benefactor. In this life however, she has be his patron and benefactor.

    Ye Ci felt that fate was such a despicable thing. If Green Hill¡¯s Moon was somehow able to find out that Thousand Sunsets was actually the person who rescued him from poverty in hisst life, what would he feel? Ye Ci let out a smile that lit up her pretty face. She casted ast nce at Green Hill¡¯s Moon and began walking downstairs. ¡°Oh, by the way, I¡¯ve put the rent of this room under your tabs.¡± said Ye Ci.

    ¡°Gongzi You!¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon stood up abruptly. This girl.... How despicable... She would really go to great lengths to ensure that she was not at the end of the short straw. He could hear her footsteps as she ran down the stairs. It was as if she was delighted. Green Hill¡¯s Moon was depressed.

    With everything finally settled, Ye Ci could finally resume her journey toplete the Epic Tier quest. Without any pause, she headed to the Swamp of Sorrows from the Hidden Treasure Gulf.

    As a neutral territory, yers were unable to teleport to Dark y City without reaching a certain prestige points threshold. Ye Ci had to gallop all the way to Dark y City from the edge of Swamp of Sorrows. Thendscape has totally changed since herst visit. Every inch of thend has been scorched ck by Altera¡¯s Dragon Breath. Even with the auto recovery function of the system, it would take more than a month for the map to return to its former glory.

    After Altera¡¯s visit to the Swamp of Sorrows and the huge battle between the Eastern and the Northern continent had transpired in the map, it was then followed by the scandal between Gongzi You and Purity Essence, the once unfrequented Swamp of Sorrows became a bustling ce. This time however, nobody paid attention to Ye Ci as she traversed through the map on Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s back, or rather, they avoided her out of fear.

    Ye Ci arrived at Dark y City without any trouble, and was quick to arrive in the city hall to state her business to the officer on duty, who then went away to inform the major.

    Lord Sha¡¯gar of the Red Lake City was one of the top 10 most mysterious NPC in Fate. Very few of the yers have actually seen the lord of Red Lake City despite ying the game for nearly 10 years. A person like him who hid in his castle all day long however, was one of the mightiest warriors in Fate, and was friends with the lord of Oasis City and the lord of the Dark y City, Lord Moore.

    How could someone who stayed in solitude in his castle maintain his friendships with the other lords?

    Of course, such matters were none of Ye Ci¡¯s concern. As a yer, she was a lifeform that was beneath the high-tier NPC. The only thing she needed to concern herself with was toplete the quest handed to her by the NPCs.

    After waiting for a short moment in the city hall, Ye Ci heard a flurry of footsteps. She turned around, and saw an NPC in a schr¡¯s tunic with well-kept hair walking towards her with hastened pace. The badge on his chest was an indicator of his identity: The mayor of Dark y City.

    The mayor walked up to Ye Ci and greeted her politely, ¡°Ah, I see you¡¯re a friend from far, far away. My apologies for not weing you. Come, have a seat in my office.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need, sir.¡± Ye Ci greeted him politely as well, ¡°I¡¯m here to deliver a letter from Lord Sha¡¯gar to Lord Moore. When can I see Lord Moore?¡±

    ¡°Oh? A letter? Our lord is feeling unwell at the moment. You can hand me the letter, and I¡¯ll pass it on to my lord.¡± the mayor of Dark y City extended an arm towards Ye Ci.

    It was a trap designed by the system. If Ye Ci handed the letter over to the mayor, she couldplete the quest. The grade of the quest would however drop from an Epic Tier quest to an Elite Tier quest. If such a thing happened, Ye Ci would receive significantly lesser rewards forpleting the quest. As someone who possessed knowledge from her past life, Ye Ci would of course not fall for such trap.

    She offered the mayor a smile and shook her head, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that, sir mayor. Lord Sha¡¯gar has specifically instructed me to hand the letter to Lord Moore in person. I can¡¯t hand it to anybody else. I hope you understand that, sir mayor.¡±

    The mayor was momentarily stunned, and his expression was full of awkwardness. He was quick to regain hisposure, ¡°Of course, of course. Our lord however, is not feeling well. I¡¯m afraid he can¡¯t see you right now.¡± With that, he quickly changed the topic, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not impossible for you to meet the city lord.¡±

    Ye Ci knew that she the quest is slowly progressing into the difficulty of an Epic-tier quest. She would soon receive the second stage of the quest from the mayor. Hence, she answered with enthusiasm, ¡°Sir mayor, are you facing any difficulties at the moment? If there¡¯s something troubling you, you can leave it to me. I¡¯ll do my best to solve the problem.¡±

    The mayor of Dark y City was overjoyed to hear Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°Are you serious? Can I really leave this matter to you?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Lord Moore is ill. A famous healer has given us a prescription. We¡¯ve gathered most of the herbs needed to brew the medicine, but there¡¯s onest herb that we¡¯re unable to locate. Since you¡¯re here... If you can find that herb, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to meet with Lord Moore soon.¡±

    A system notification rang right after the mayor of Dark y City finished his sentence, ¡°Do you want to ept the quest ¡°Medicine for the City Lord¡±?¡± Ye Ci epted the quest. She noticed that the quest objective had changed, but the color of the quest remained. It meant that the quest was not downgraded.

    The mayor began stating out the details of the quest after receiving confirmation from Ye Ci. It sounded like a simple quest, requiring Ye Ci to search for a herb known as the Spirit Soothing Grass in the Abandoned Altar deep within the Swamp of Sorrows .

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    [1] ´÷ÂÌÃ± (literal TL: wearing a green hat): Chinese ng for ¡°getting cucked¡±. If someone is said to have put a green hat on you, it means that you¡¯ve been cucked by said person.

 Chapter 198 A Fight to the Death

    Even if Ye Ci knew a lot about Fate in her past life, a long amount of time passed after she reincarnated from herst life into her current self. There were things she had forgotten about the game. One of them was the Abandoned Altar mentioned by the mayor of Dark y City. Ye Ci knew that something was wrong with the altar, but she could no longer remember the details of the quest.

    However she wasted no time, immediately travelling to the altar. Since I¡¯ve epted the quest, I might as well get to the ce and improvise if I run into trouble. If she had to be meticulous when ying the game, wouldn¡¯t it ruin the fun? Wouldn¡¯t it be like writing aputer game? The game would cease to be fun and interactive. Weren¡¯t sudden events and being unpredictable the best part of video games?

    Something that even she as a reincarnated person was unable to foresee was very thrilling. You could never know what happens next. Will you return with huge amounts of rewards? Or will you die in an attempt to gain those rewards?

    Ye Ci could barely contain her excitement. She was increasingly bored with her repetitive life. The sudden turn of events was a good change for her.

    She headed to the north eastern corner of the Swamp of Sorrows. The poption of yers began to thin down, as she headed further north. Even before she reached her destination, she could no longer spot any yers in the vicinity. Ye Ci stopped and surveyed her surroundings on Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s back.

    The nts in the area were denser than the other parts of the Swamp of Sorrows. While the Swamp of Sorrows was normally covered by low growing shrubs and moss, the ce was filled with tall, lush trees. Not even a shred of sunlight was able to prate the dense leaves. The air was filled with the smell of decay, silently screaming out warnings of danger towards Ye Ci.

    ¡°Ol¡¯ Four, what¡¯s in there?¡± asked Ye Ci as she caressed the thick skin on Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s neck.

    The beast was very quiet. It stood silently under Ye Ci like a tame cat. Ye Ci¡¯s voice was soft, even she was not sure if the question was meant for herself or was it for Ol¡¯ Four.

    Ye Ci¡¯s surroundings were quiet. It was just too quiet. She narrowed her eyes and looked around, there was nothing but fog. It was the only way to get to the Abandoned Altar.

    Ye Ci was not afraid. However, she was also reluctant to risk her life. After all, it would be very inconvenient to retrieve anything that she might drop in this ce upon her death.

    After surveying the dense forest, Ye Ci decided to continue her advance. Instead of galloping ahead in full speed, Ye Ci advanced slowly and cautiously towards the Abandoned Altar deep within the forest.

    Even Ol¡¯ Four took light and careful steps without anymands from Ye Ci. As a T-rex that lived in the jungle since its infancy, vignce and ferocity were traits that were ingrained deep in its bones.

    A gust of wind suddenly passed by, and Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s pupils contracted as it stooped down. Ye Ci noticed something wrong with the wind as well. Noticing that the wind came from her left to the rear, she jumped into the air and grabbed hold of one of the thick vines. Turning around, Ye Ci fired her crossbow at the direction of the wind.

    Her actions were fluid and confident. It was as if she was part of the jungle, and could adapt to any situation in the wild. As the bolts left her crossbow, Ye Ci finally caught sight of her assant.

    It was a snek.

    It was a gigantic snake with a body as thick as her thigh. The snake¡¯s dark green scales gave off a dangerous aura, and its triangr head an indicator that it was poisonous. The snake was thrashing on the ground. Although her shots did not hit anything vital, one of Ye Ci¡¯s bolts has buried itself between the snake¡¯s upper and lower mandible, piercing the soft flesh in the snake¡¯s oral cavity and causing great pain.

    As an opportunist, Ol¡¯ Four immediately pounced on the snake, determined to tear it into pieces. Despite its fierce appearance, the snake was a lvl 40 monster, which meant that it had a lower level than Ol¡¯ Four, cing it at a grave disadvantage. Before long, Ol¡¯ Four tore the snake into shreds.

    The experience points Ye Ci received by killing the snake was even higher than that of the Ogres in the Mausoleum of des. Despite that, the snakes were well concealed in the forest. It was very hard to spot them unless they chose to attack. It would otherwise make the forest a good leveling spot.

    They carefully picked their way towards the innermost depths of the forest. Although nothing really dangerous happened en route, there was a never ending stream of minor incidents. They ran into countless monsters during their journey. Although the monsters were easy to deal with, a bad feeling gnawed at Ye Ci¡¯s heart.

    The monsters were tough opponents that would give any yer who was not of the Hunter ss trouble even if they were at the same level as Ye Ci. The monsters however, did not move in packs. What troubled Ye Ci the most, was the fact that all the enemies she fought were poison type enemies.

    Scorpions, centipedes and various soft bodied insects stood in their way. Their poison was not strong, but the effects of the poison could be stacked. With potion making as her Life Skill, Ye Ci would always have a lot of antidotes with her. Ol¡¯ Four almost died when it was beset with 7 stacks of poison, losing 2,000 hit points every 3 seconds. Had Ye Ci not given the Antidote to Ol¡¯ Four, his first death would happen in this forest.

    With such encounters, Ye Ci could almost be certain that the Abandoned Altar had a formidable guardian that was very good with poison attacks.

    Was there a poison-type BOSS in the Swamp of Sorrows? Ye Ci¡¯s memory was fuzzy. There seemed to be such a BOSS, but his name was lost to her. She had only set foot in this map once in herst life, and did not stay for long. She did not have a verysting memory of this map.

    I guess I¡¯ll just have to improvise.

    A BOSS with poison damage was not as easy to deal with as a physical damage BOSS, but it was not impossible to defeat.

    After traversing through the darkest part of the forest, the light ahead became clearer. Although the scenery was still as dim as the rest of the Swamp of Sorrows, it was leagues better than the forest behind her. The ce was more spacious, and the trees were thinner. Ye Ci could spot the wooden altar from afar.

    The air was filled with an unpleasant smell. It was the stench Ye Ci had noticed before entering the forest. As opposed to the faint smell from before, the odor in this ce was vomit inducing. A ck column of smoke rose from behind an undergrowth. It seemed to be the source of the unpleasant odor.

    Ye Ci jumped down from Ol¡¯ Four and dismissed her pet. She then slowly crept towards the source of the ck smoke in stealth. It was way too quiet. With the exception of the ck smoke, an indicator of the presence of an unknown life form, there was nothing else in the vicinity.

    Ye Ci was on alert. After all, your opponent would always deal a fatal blow when you are rxed. This would ce you in a grave advantage.

    However, danger would still find its way to you even if you were careful. Such misfortune happened to Ye Ci. Despite paying close attention to the terrain while in stealth, even after being careful and constantly changing her course, she still found herself immobilized.

    Lowering her head, Ye Ci noticed that her feet were bound by thorns, forcing her out of stealth. A debuff appeared in her status bar: Entangled, duration: 10 seconds.

    Thorny Entanglement was a skill unique to Druids. As there was no system message notifying Ye Ci that she has been attacked by a yer, the only other exnation was that she was under attack by an NPC Druid. After identifying the ss of her assant, Ye Ci lowered herself and drew her crossbow. She surveyed her surroundings, and a Werebeast in robes, holding a staff appeared from behind a tree. ¡°Foolish Elf! You¡¯ve fallen into my trap!¡± sneered the Werebeast.

    As he spoke, the Werebeast began channeling a spell, ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to wipe out your inferior race this time! You Elves do not deserve to be in this world!¡±

    In Fate, Elves and Werebeasts were races that were born in the forest. They share some simrities in general, but were very different as well. These 2 races were not on friendly terms. As forest-dwelling races, both the Elves and the Werebeasts were alwayspeting against each other. Even after peace had been established between both races, there still existed members of the two races that could not let go of their past resentment.

    The Werebeast Druid who was standing in front of Ye Ci was a fine example. He despised the Elves.

    His characteristic finally reminded Ye Ci of his identity.

    Werebeast Shaman Buru.

    Buru was once the high priest of the Werebeasts. His reputation and fame reached the apex amongst his kind. However, he was an extremist. Since young, Buru believed that the Werebeast race was the superior forest-dwelling race, and viewed Elves as the inferior race. He even thought that Elves should not be part of this world, and always massacred any Elves that had the misfortune of crossing paths with him.

    It was an act that was originally not frowned upon by the masses, as both races were locked in a fight for superiority. When the Dark Lord Naga conspired to conquer the entire Jiama Continent, every race on the continent cast aside their differences and united against the Dark Lord. The Werebeasts and the Elves signed a peace treaty, ending the war between Werebeasts and Elves thatsted for hundreds of years. Werebeasts and Elves alike were forced toy down their arms and joined forces in the fight against Dark Lord Naga.

    Despite that, many members of both races were opposed to the peace treaty. Buru was one of the Werebeasts who strongly opposed the notion. Even after the peace treaty was signed between the 10 races of the Jiama Continent, Buru resumed his conflict with the Elves, and had even butchered Elves as a form of protest to the peace treaty.

    In the face of the threat by Dark Lord Naga, Buru and others like him were sinners who threatened the unity of the races. Despite the protests by Elves and Werebeasts alike, Buru and his followers as well as Elves who acted just like them were banished by the council of the 10 races.

    Buru was enraged by the decision. However, he was powerless against the decision of the majority.

    This course of action was crucial for the survival of the 10 races. For Buru and his followers however, it was a cruel decision. He was robbed of his position as the High Priest, and lost his pride as Werebeast. This served only to fuel his already burning hatred towards the Elves.

    Because of his story, Buru was very well-known in Fate. He was known for ughtering any and all yers that have the misfortune of running into him, as well as his tendency to torture any Elven yers to death in unimaginable ways.

    Ye Ci remembered that she had a battle against this BOSS in her past life. At that time however, she was a lvl120 yer, and she was able to defeat the lvl50 BOSS easily before it could even cast any of its abilities. Because of that, Ye Ci was very unfamiliar with Buru¡¯s abilities. She could faintly remember a discussion between yers: Buru was not only good with poison attacks. He could summon pets that would aid him in battle. He was a very formidable BOSS.

    If she knew the strategies of taking down the BOSS, it would pose no challenge to her. But without prior knowledge about the BOSS, taking it down would be hard.

    The lvl120 Ye Ci was able to kill the BOSS with one strike, but the lvl42 Ye Ci was in a pinch. Ye Ci was not afraid of trouble. After all, it was a game. A game without difficulties would be meaningless.

    Ye Ci had no confidence of taking down a lvl50 BOSS with a lvl42 character. But, even with the slightest glimmer of hope, Ye Ci would fight to the end.

    Trantor¡¯s note:

    ÊÞÈË literally means ¡°Beastman¡± but then I remembered they call em ¡°Werebeast¡± in No Game No Life and well... ¡°Werebeast¡± sure as hell sounds 50,000 times better than ¡°Beastman¡± so I¡¯ve decided to use the term ¡°Werebeast¡± for Buru¡¯s race.

    Hiya minna-san! Here¡¯s another awesom chapter of this awesomesauce novel tranted by an awesomtacr trantor! Woooohhh!!!

    How¡¯s everybody doing? Jimmi is doing fine thanks for asking ahahahaha..... What am I talking about lmao... *looks at the chapter number* Oh golly gosh! We¡¯re at Chapter 198 already? Damn! 198... 199... 200... OH 200!!! We¡¯re nearing that 200 Chapters milestone soon people! WooohooOOOOO!!!

    And uhh.. Calling to all the artistic souls out there, you know what Jimmy wants the most from you... FAN ART! FAN ART! FAN ART! FAN ART! *chanting continues* Aherm aherm... So uhhh if you wish to submit any fan arts, feel free to send them to me via email to !

    If you have the monies to spare.... You can uhh... Donate to Reign of the Hunters! XD This will help Jimmi out a lot... Like... A LOT! GIB ME MONIES FOR FOOD!!! (shameless af)

    Don¡¯t forget that we have teasers next page! First in thements type: FIRST BLOOD!

    Desu Vult.

    There was no way Buru¡¯s skill would take 10 seconds to channel. Ye Ci readied herself, with a Large Health Potion in hand, ready to gulp it down the moment she was hit by Buru¡¯s skill. That was, of course, if the attack did not kill her right away.

    However, Buru enjoyed toying with Elves before taking their lives. There was no way he would allow an Elf to die easily without pain, and Gongzi You was a member of the Elven race. Buru¡¯s attack did not kill Ye Ci. Instead, it took away 10% of her hitpoints, and added a Poisoned debuff to her status.

    Buru¡¯s poison was way more potent than the poison of the monsters that Ye Ci encountered before. Even at 1 stack, it dealt more than 1000 damage every 3 seconds. As a DPS ss, Ye Ci had only a little over 10,000 HP at lvl 42. Buru¡¯s attack dealt a total of half of Ye C¡¯s hitpoints.

    ¡°Can you feel the pain, Elf? Does it feel like you¡¯ve been consumed by a raging me?¡± Buruughed out loud, showing his snow white fangs, ¡°This is the pain that your kind has inflicted upon me! I will make you pay! Ah, you¡¯re almost dead. Do you think I¡¯ll allow you to die so easily?¡±

    As if he was able to see Ye Ci¡¯s hitpoints, Buru cast Heal on Ye Ci when she had only 30% of her hitpoints left. As expected of a lvl 50 BOSS, he was able to heal Ye Ci back to full health. But, would Buru be so kind hearted? Of course not! Even his healing on Ye Ci came with poison. He inflicted yet another stack of poison damage on Ye Ci, dealing 1500 points of damage to her every 3 seconds.

    Ye Ci drank a bottle of potion that has a healing over time effect, and waited patiently for the thorns to disappear. There was only 2 seconds left.

    Buru let out a maniacalugh, and began channeling another spell. Before he could cast the spell, the thorns binding Ye Ci disappeared. She tumbled to a side and entered stealth, backing a few yards away from her original spot.

    ¡°What? She disappeared! That damned Elf disappeared!¡± Buru was momentarily stunned as Ye Ci vanished from sight. He then bellowed in rage, ¡°After so long, you Elves are still despicable as ever! You¡¯re even more wretched than before! I would throw up whenever I smell the stench of your lowly race! You don¡¯t deserve to be in this world! Die! Just die!¡± Buru raised his hands and began chanting, ¡°O¡¯ Earthly Mother, your humble servant calls to thee, grant me thy strength, and I shall use this Elf as a sacrifice to thee!¡±

    Ye Ci remained in stealth as she continued observing Buru¡¯s actions. He knelt on the ground with hands raised, appearing to be praying. The skill that Buru was casting had a long channeling time. Seizing this opportunity, Ye Ci circled around Buru and approached his back. She then stabbed her short sword into his heart.

    ¡°You have poisoned your enemy.¡± the poison effect on Ye Ci¡¯s short sword was nothingpared to Buru¡¯s poison. However, every ounce of damage counts. In a situation like this, Ye Ci could only grind the hitpoints of her opponent down bit by bit

    As a Werebeast NPC, Buru was a humanoid creature. This meant that his heart was his weakness. Ye Ci¡¯s attacked dealt a critical blow to the NPC, taking away 5% of his life. She was also able to disrupt Buru¡¯s channeling. He clutched at his chest and fell onto the ground.

    Ye Ci immediately backed away from the BOSS and summoned Ol¡¯ Four. She drew her crossbow as she gave the order to her pet to go after Buru, and began firing her weapon at the BOSS.

    Ye Ci¡¯s critical blow was able to stun Buru for a few seconds. Within the precious window, Ye Ci was able tond several critical hits on the BOSS while Ol¡¯ Four used all of its offensive abilities on Buru as well. Despite being a lvl 50 NPC, Buru lost 10% of his health under the onught. Ye Ci was troubled. With Buru having an 8-level advantage over her, quite a number of her attacks missed. This would badly affect the oue of the battle.

    At that moment, Ye Ci remembered a certain ring that was sitting in her inventory. It was the ring dropped by Fleeting Time. Despite her reluctance, Ye Ci was in a really dire situation. She had to use the ring.

    Even if... Even if that ring used to be owned by Fleeting Time, but... Ye Ci had no time to spare. She immediately equipped the ring, and her uracy soared. Her MISS was reduced by at least 70%, significantly increasing her damage output.

    ¡°Damn you Elf! You¡¯ll pay!¡± recovering from being stunned, Buru let out a roar and cast spells at Ye Ci. Without the ability to disrupt spell casting, Ye Ci could only try to predict the type of spell that would be released by Buru based on the channeling time.

    If the spell was an AOE one, Ye Ci would jump away in advance, dodging the high amount of damage of therge area spell. If it was a single target spell, it would all depend on Ye Ci¡¯s luck. She might be able to avoid the spell, or duck the cover of a rock or a tree.

    As a Huntress instead of a Sorceress, Ye Ci was agile and fast. Coupled with the positioning she had acquired in her past life as a spell caster, Ye Ci had an edge in her battle against Buru. She was able to avoid most of Buru¡¯s attacks. On the other hand, Buru was slow as a druid, and many of his skills require a long channeling time. This ced him in a disadvantage.

    How could Buru not be enraged? As a noble Werebeast, he was being toyed around by an Elf and an annoying dinosaur. He let out a roar, ¡°Come out, my pets!¡±

    A huge number of poisonous monsters appeared around Ye Ci, who immediately entered stealth. The monsters began swarming at Ol¡¯ Four, which was focusing its attention on Buru. The beast was enraged. It let out a mighty roar and cast Tremor on its assants, dealing tremendous amounts of damage.

    Ye Ci seized the opportunity to put a distance between herself and her foes. Buru, who was unwilling to let Ye Ci escape, gave chase. However, as he took a step forward, he unwittingly walked into Ye Ci¡¯s Frost Trap, and was frozen solid.

    The effect of the Frost Trap would onlyst for 10 seconds. However, arge number of tasks could be aplished in such a short window. Ye Ci was able to heal Ol¡¯ Four up and took out all of Buru¡¯s summoned monsters. As the monsters died, Ye Ci noticed that Buru¡¯s health was also affected by the health of his pets as his hitpoints dropped by 10%.

    Could it be...

    Could it be that lives of Buru¡¯s summoned monsters were linked to his hitpoints? Would he receive damage when his pets died? Ye Ci was unable to confirm her theory. However, she hastened up her attacks, forcing Buru to once again summon his pets. Ye Ci began dealing with Buru following the same set of strategy. She would pretend to escape and set Buru up to be frozen by her Frost Trap, and then eliminate all of Buru¡¯s pets.

    As expected, Buru would lose 10% of his hitpoints each time his pets were eliminated. Ye Ci had also discovered that if the monsters were not defeated within a minute, the damage that they dealt would act as a lifesteal for Buru. How peculiar! If Ye Ci did not have a high DPS, and was unable to control the tempo of the battle, she would be in a pinch.

    With a way to defeat Buru, Ye Ci was no longer at a loss. She slowly seized the tempo of the battle, cing Buru in a disadvantage.

    Even with his level advantage, once Ye Ci took control of the tempo, Buru was just a slightly tougher bone that would eventually be devoured by her. With enough patience and effort, taking down Buru would be an easy task.

    Buru would of course not allow himself to be killed by Ye Ci easily. Even after grasping the tempo of the battle, Ye Ci would receive a lot of trouble from Buru. The BOSS would often use Feign Death, heal himself, and increase its defence. These skills were not used often, but they were very troublesome for Ye Ci. After being inbat for such a long time, Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s mood and stamina was rapidly deteriorating. Even food was unable to improve Ol Four¡¯s mood.

    The mood of a pet like Ol¡¯ Four would not affect the tempo of the battle, but his attack speed and damage was significantly decreased. For Ye Ci, it was the worst case scenario. Judging by the rapidly dimming sky, she had already been locked inbat with Buru for almost 4 hours. Ol¡¯ Four was not the only one with dwindling stamina. Ye Ci herself was also at her limits.

    To make matters worse, Ye Ci¡¯s ammunition was almost depleted. A system notification constantly rang in her ears, ¡°You have only one set of arrows left in your quiver, please replenish your ammunition.¡±

    Ye Ci was equipped with a 24-slot quiver. It has 6 more slots than a normal quiver, and has a passive ability that allows it to recycle used normal arrows. Despite that, the fight with Buru had almost depleted Ye Cis arrows. If she was unable to defeat Buru, she would end up like Fleeting Time, and taste defeat when she was so close in achieving victory.

    5% of Buru¡¯s hitpoints remained while Ye Ci had 244 arrows left. She began formting ns in her mind, drawing up the best strategy to take buru out with her remaining arrows.

    Ye Ci did not panic even as the situation grew dire. She was calm. Ye Ci felt that she had grown. In her past life, such unfavorable situation would cause her to go into panic. However, she was able to remain calm. Perhaps it was because her attitude has changed, and she had begun enjoying the game for real, or perhaps she no longer ce benefits above all else, things have changed for her.

    No matter the reason, Ye Ci was able to remain focussed. The calmer she was, the more she was able to analyze the battle. She lurked just beyond Buru¡¯s casting range, healing Ol¡¯ Four and feeding it food while dealing damage with her skills. From an outsider¡¯s point of view however, the Gongzi You in this moment was no different from the Gongzi You at the start of the battle.

    Despite her agility and the ferocity of her attacks, only Ye Ci knew that she was at her limit. Her hands were numb and her body felt as if it was being torn apart. Even her organs were protesting. The system was flooding her with notifications, stating that her stamina was at its limit. If she did not take a rest, there would be a 24-hours fatigue penalty for her.

    She was aware of what it meant. However, she was also aware of another thing: she must not give up, because she had not done her best. As long as her body could move, as long as she could still control her body, as long as she was conscious, she must continue the fight.

    She was a Huntress, she was a DPS yer, she was born for battle.

    And she will fight to her death.

    ¡°Elf, I know you can¡¯t endure any longer! You can barely move, can you? Give up now! You cannot resist me! You cannot defeat me!¡± Buru had only 3% of his hitpoints left. With his eyes red with rage, the BOSS began casting a spell not far away from Ye Ci.

    Buru was a BOSS with high intelligence. A BOSS like Buru was able to analyze the situation and adapt to its oue. Buru knew that he was at the end of his life, and he also knew that the Elf was at its limits. Only one of the two would survive this battle, and Buru¡¯s pride as a Werebeast refused to allow the Elf to be the survivor. It was a fight to the death.

    I have 171 arrows left, I might be able to defeat him. Ye Ci¡¯s throat was on fire. She could not even speak, and every breath she took brought scorching pain. As she took a look at Ol¡¯ Four, she noted that her pet was truly at its limit. Without hesitation, Ye Ci dismissed Ol¡¯ Four and summoned Ol¡¯ Three.

    Despite being 2 levels below Ol¡¯ Four, Ol¡¯ Three and a mere Elite Monster, Ol¡¯ Three was freshly summoned and was full of energy. His damage output was way better than the exhausted Ol¡¯ Four.

    The fight dragged on.

    When Buru had only 1.8% of his hitpoints left, Ye Ci¡¯s high damage skills were on cooldown. She ran around the BOSS, using Rapid Fire and Viper Stinger to buy her some time.

    ¡°Die, Elf!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s body was really at its limit. She eventually showed an opening, which was exploited by Buru. He immobilized Ye Ci with Thorny Entanglement. Scooping Ye Ci up from the ground, he mped down hard on her throat.

    Buru red at Ye Ci, and tightened his grip on her throat.¡°Puny insect! How dare you stand against me! You¡¯ll suffer for even daring to challenge my might!¡±

    Ye Ci was out of breath, and she could almost hear the snapping of her bones. If the situation continues, she would have the life choked out of her. Her limbs were too short to reach Buru, and her strength was rapidly waning. She did not even have the strength to draw out her short sword.

    Am I going to die just like this?

    Ye Ci¡¯s bones and windpipe began making a crunching sound. She was unwilling to ept her defeat, but...

    It seems this is the end.

 Chapter 199 Mutual Benefits

    Chapter 199 Mutual Benefits

    As Ye Ci¡¯s consciousness began to fade, she heard an angered roar, and the hand choking her throat suddenly loosened its grip.

    Ye Ci fell onto the ground, dazed. Her remaining consciousness registered that she was still alive, and as long as she was not dead, she had to carry on the fight. She stood up on shaky legs, and saw Ol¡¯ Three biting down hard on Buru¡¯s arm. The pain had caused the Werebeast to loosen its grip, thus saving Ye Ci¡¯s life.

    The enraged Buru began flinging Ol¡¯ Three around as it hung on to his arm. This caused Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s hitpoints to plunge.

    ¡°Damned panther! How dare you get in my way!¡± Buru was finally able to dislodge Ol¡¯ Three from his arm, and threw it on the ground. The panther let out a whimper, appearing to have sustained serious injuries. Despite that, it struggled to stand on its feet, determined to carry on the fight.

    After being distracted by Ol¡¯ Three, Buru¡¯s attention was focused solely on the panther. Ignoring Ye Ci, Buru walked up to Ol¡¯ Three, ready to end its life.

    Ye Ci steadied herself. Stars filled her vision. She shook her head, and lifted her crossbow with trembling hands. ¡°Buru! I am your opponent!¡± Ye Ci shouted with a hoarse voice, and fired all her high damage abilities on Buru.

    Despite being at the verge of fainting, Ye Ci was able to miraculously hit Buru¡¯s vital spots, dealing critical damage to her opponent.

    Suffering from the tremendous amount of damage, Buru had only 1.1% of his hitpoints left. To make matters worse for the Werebeast, Ye Ci¡¯s passive drained him of his already dwindling mana. He was no longer able to cast any spells.

    Buru was thoroughly enraged. Giving up on any form of ranged attacks, he charged at Ye Ci. However, there BOSS did not shift into his animal form as he did not even have enough mana to transform himself. Ye Ci backed away, firing arrow after arrow at the BOSS.

    She finally ran out of arrows when Buru had only 0.1% of his hitpoints left.

    Ye Ci stood gasping for air 20 yards away from Buru, who was in no better condition himself. He was also at his limits. He was only able to stand upright through sheer force of will. Both parties red at each other with bloodshot eyes, waiting for the slightest sign of weakness, ready to pounce on each other.

    Ye Ci knew that it was not the time to wait. She slung her crossbow. Even though Hunters would be vulnerable when an opponent managed to get within 8 yards of them, Ye Ci did not forget that as a Huntress, she fought monsters in meleebat before she reached lvl5. Although a Hunter¡¯s damage output in melee range was not as high as a Warrior¡¯s, it did not mean that Ye Ci was unable to achieve victory.

    She drew out her dagger and short sword. A cold glint reflected off her weapons.

    ¡°HAAAHH!¡± Ye Ci let out a shout after taking in a deep breath. It was a primitive and simple way to hype herself up forbat. She then charged at Buru. The oue of the battle depended on this one hit. This was herst chance.

    Echoing Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts, Buru let out a roar and charged at Ye Ci, swinging his staff around as he went. He was ready to engage the Elf in meleebat.

    2 ranged characters that were not adept at melee ranged were locked inbat, with both parties determined to fight to theirst breath.

    Even if Buru was just an NPC, he had earned Ye Ci¡¯s respect. Such intelligent and tenacious monster was few and far between. Even if their ideologies were different, Buru was still a worthy opponent.

    ¡°ng!¡±

    ¡°Pchit!¡±

    The sounds rang out almost simultaneously. Ye Ci could feel a stabbing pain on her body, and she noticed that she had only 2% of her health left. Damn! Even for a ss that was bad in meleebat, Buru¡¯s damage was just too high!

    Under the darkening evening sky, a fire pit not far away cast its dim light on the twobatants. Ye Ci stared at Buru¡¯s face, while the NPC red at Ye Ci. The two had performed theirst hit, and they stood unmoving, as if they were statues.

    Ye Ci was gasping for breath. She took a nce at Buru, and found that his HP bar was empty. He has been defeated, but why wouldn¡¯t he fall? Ye Ci did not have the answer to that question.

    ¡°Hehe... Elf... You¡¯re a worthy opponent.¡± Buru let out a smile, and his body tumbled backwards, and the impact of his fall reverberated in the quiet forest.

    Buru has fallen.

    It was a pyrrhic victory for Ye Ci.

    ¡°You are the first yer to y the Swamp Of Sorrows World Boss, Werebeast Shaman Buru. Do you wish to hide your ID?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± replied Ye Ci as she let out a long sigh. The system notification began flooding the World Channel. It was a glorious moment for Ye Ci, but she was tired. She sat, or rather slumped onto the ground as her legs buckled beneath her. She realised that she no longer had control of her body. She could not even move even a single finger.

    She knew that it was the fatigue penalty that was imposed on her by the system due to prolongedbat. The effect of the penalty was very serious during its first 30 minutes duration. yers would be unable to move, and have their mana and hitpoints recovery severely lowered. Taking a nce at her HP bar, Ye Ci noticed that she had only 3% of her hitpoints left. If a monster appeared, it would be able to kill her easily.

    Fortunately for Ye Ci, monsters would tend to avoid Buru¡¯s territory. Ye Ci was able toy next to Buru¡¯s corpse unharmed for 30 minutes while staring up into the night sky. Even when she could finally move after 30 minutes, Ye Ci¡¯s body was still heavy with fatigue. She struggled to get up on her feet and walked up to Ol¡¯ Three.

    It took Ye Ci almost 10 minutes to cover the short distance between her and Ol¡¯ Three. The panther let out a soft whimper as its owner walked up to it, as if it was trying to console its master despite the pain. Looking at the gaping wound on Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s side, Ye Ci fed a bottle of potion to the panther. She had quite a lot of her mana left, but she was too fatigued to cast Pet Healing.

    Ye Ci caressed Ol¡¯ Three on the forehead as it gulped down the potion. It purred and narrowed its amber eyes. A sliver of warmth crept into Ye Ci¡¯s heart. ¡°Thank you, Ol¡¯ Three.¡± Ye Ci patted Ol¡¯ Three on the head and dismissed her pet.

    She stood up slowly and walked up to Buru¡¯s corpse.

    Due to her extremely bad luck, even a World BOSS like Buru did not yield much of a loot. She was only able to obtain a ring, 3 Perfect Gems and a treasure map from the BOSS. The gems could be used to enhance equipment, but only one of the 3 gems were of use to her despite their high level. Ye Ci decided to keep the gems forter use for when her guild members have managed to level up or when the prices of gems in the auction soared. It would be a waste to use them right away at this stage of the game.

    Ye Ci was very satisfied with the two other loot drops. The treasure map was her Main Quest item. It was a fragment of the map to the Elven King Da¡¯uer! She need four of the fragments to form aplete piece of the map. This was the second piece of map she obtained ¨C 10 months afterunch of the game.

    Any quest rted to the Elven King Dau¡¯er would never be simple. Such quests were usually very troublesome, and Ye Ci was very excited because the fragment of treasure map dropped. As for the two other pieces of the map, Ye Ci was in no hurry. She believed that she would be able toplete the quest eventually.

    The final item she obtained from the loot was a ring. It was a purple quality ring.

    Buru¡¯s Ring:

    The only souvenir Werebeast Shaman Buru brought along with him as he was exiled from Werebeast Territory. The ring is Buru¡¯s most treasured belonging.

    Purple Equipment, level requirement: 0

    Agility +42

    Strength +54

    Intelligence +47

    Ability:

    Dark Dispersal (Remove all negative debuffs when used. Cooldown: 3 minutes)

    The ring was was perfect for a Druid. Despite having a high Agility and Strength stats that were favourable for Hunters, the ring offers a high level of additional Intelligence as well. This meant that it was not the perfect item for a Hunter. However, Ye Ci paid no heed to this fact. Such stats could always be remedied in theter stages with of the game through gem casting and equipment refining.

    The most important thing about the ring was its ability, Dark Dispersal.

    In the state that she was, Ye Ci had no skill that could allow her to remove any negative debuffs. In a BOSS fight or a PvP battle, she would be crippled if she was hit by any crowd control skill. With this ring, she would be able to remove all the debuffs on her, greatly increasing her survivability. The only downside to Dark Dispersal was its cooldown time. The 3 minutes was just too long. Ye Ci would definitelyugh like a madman if Dark Dispersal had a cooldown of only 1 minute.

    It was still better than nothing.

    In a situation where Dark Dispersal was her only option, the 3 minutes cooldown was worth it.

    As she equipped the ring, Ye Ci noticed the presence of another ring. It was the Ring of Precision dropped by Fleeting Time. The ring was one of the reasons she was able to defeat Buru on this day. However, she somehow felt that the ring was sticking out like a sore thumb. Ye Ci creased her eyebrows and removed the ring from her finger, storing it into her inventory. She would never admit that it was Fleeting Time¡¯s ring that had contributed to her victory over Buru. Ye Ci stubbornly insisted that she would have been able to defeat Buru even without the ring.

    She was very certain.

    Ye Ci did not forget her purpose ofing to this ce. She was here for the Spirit Soothing Grass that was needed by Lord Moore.

    The Spirit Soothing Grass would usually grow on the Abandoned Altar that was behind Buru. The altar had been abandoned for a long time. Even the foundation of the building had begun to crumble away. des of grass squeezed themselves out from the cracks on the altar¡¯s ground, and vines growing along the altar¡¯s walls painted the chalky altar with specks of green. Even with the darkening of the sky, the altar looked as if it was full of life.

    Ye Ci found a few nts that were luminescent. It was the Spirit Soothing Grass that she was looking for. Not knowing how many of the Spirit Soothing Grass did Lord Moore need, Ye Ci picked every one of them in sight.

    Despite the good night vision possessed by Elves, Ye Ci scooped one of the logs out from the firepit to use as light source and began searching the altar. It was a habit that she picked up in her years of gaming. She would scour every inch of a newly discovered ce as it might be the only time she would visit the ce. She would seize every opportunity and make the most out of them..

    Ye Ci circled around the altar and found nothing. She summoned her little red horse and rode towards Dark y City.

    Perhaps due to the fact that the death of Buru has granted Ye Ci good luck, or perhaps the monsters in the forest were already asleep, Ye Ci did not run into any enemies on her way back to Dark y City.

    As there was no time limit toplete her quest, Ye Ci headed to one of the many taverns in Dark y City and rented the best room. She directed the tavern staff to prepare a hot bath and a nice warm meal for her to remove her fatigue.

    After a hot bath and a nice, warm meal, Ye Ciid on the bed for a rest.

    She then logged out of the game. It was alreadyte at night in the real world just like the time in game. Bai Mo had just finished his bath at the time. As he whistled happily on the way out of the bathroom, he ran into Ye Ci who went into the kitchen, ransacking it for food.

    He stared at Ye Ci¡¯s pale face and saw her tired expression. It was as if she had been to hell and back. He called out to her, ¡°Little Ci, what have you been up to? You look awful.¡±

    Ye Ci who was exhausted did not have the energy to spare to y word games with Bai Mo. She rolled her eyes at him and spoke up weakly, ¡°Did you leave anything for me?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Get seated, I¡¯m going to warm the food up for you.¡± noticing Ye Ci¡¯sck of energy, he knew that Ye Ci was exhausted. Without a single word, he walked into the kitchen and prepared a meal for Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci slumped onto the sofa in the living room. Although the battle with Buru was not fought with her own flesh, the long hours of intense battle had exhausted her mentally. She was tired even after logging out of the game. She was nauseated when she thought back about her battle with Buru.

    Ye Ci turned on the television. She closed her eyes, listening to the soap opera that was being aired. She could not evenprehend a single word. She was tired. The only thing that was upying her mind was the need for sleep.

    After an amount of time in mental oblivion, somebody tapped lightly on Ye Ci¡¯s shoulder. She opened her eyes, only to find Bai Mo staring at her, ¡°Little Ci, dinner¡¯s ready. Go eat before you sleep.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ye Ci forced herself up. Bai Mo handed her a bowl of rice, and set the dishes on the table in front of her. They were all her favourite dishes. The food was exceptionally appealing with steam rising from them.

    Despite her exhaustion, Ye Ci¡¯s tummy rumbled in the face of good food. She immediately began wolfing down the food.

    Bai Mo sat on a bench beside her and smiled, ¡°Eat slowly. I¡¯ve eaten my fill. I won¡¯t take your food away.¡±

    After sweeping through the first bowl of rice like a typhoon, Ye Ci finally slowed down after Bai Mo offered her a refill.

    ¡°What have you been doing? You look dead tired.¡± asked Bai Mo.

    ¡°Fighting against a World BOSS.¡±

    ¡°Werebeast Shaman Buru?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    Hiya minna-san! How¡¯s everything going? Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! What an epic battle between Ye Ci and Buru rite??

    Today is a very speshul day for Mysia. We¡¯re having our 14th General Election people! I¡¯m hoping for the best for my country, my the righteous rule Mysia for the years toe, and lead Mysia to prosperity!

    Calling out to all the artistic souls out there: WE NEED FAN ARTS! AND WE NEED IT BADLY!!! (I¡¯m addicted to fan arts at this point) SO DON¡¯T HESITATE IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SUBMIT! YOU CAN SEND THEM TO ME VIA EMAIL! I DON¡¯T CARE IF IT¡¯S A STICKMAN DRAWING GODDAMMIT! xDD (Fan art submission email: )

    Even if Ye Ci did not pay attention to the impact of her First Blood to the World Channel, it did not mean that everybody else was ignorant of the fact. Perhaps due to the fact that he had gotten used to Ye Ci¡¯s many First Bloods, Bai Mo was not surprised when Ye Ci achieved yet another First Blood on Buru. He let out a smile, ¡°Ah, great!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Ye Ci as she nibbled on a piece of pork rib.

    ¡°Somebody set up a betting ring on the forums when Werebeast Shaman Buru was in. They say it was set up by the Fate officials.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°The Swamp of Sorrows is a neutral territory. So it¡¯s possible that the BOSS was in by yers from any continent. The yer who did it hid his or her ID when the system announcement was made. So the Fate officials have set up a betting ring where yers can bet on the names of the top yers from all 4 continents. Each yer could bet for a minimum of 100 gold coins and the result will be released 3 dayster. So...¡± Bai Mo was grinning with joy.

    ¡°Why are they some?¡± Ye Ci creased her eyebrows. She hid her ID to keep her deed a secret, but it was used by the officials to set up a betting ring. If that was the case, she would rather not hide her name.

    ¡°Say, both you and Fleeting Time were included,¡± Bai Mo winked at Ye Ci, ¡°And both of you have the highest amount of votes.¡±

    Ye Ci was dumbfounded, ¡°What are youughing at?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just telling you that I¡¯ve bet 10,000 gold on you. I wonder how much I will earn...¡± annoyed by Bai Mo¡¯s sly smile, Ye Ci continued wolfing down her dinner.

    ¡°What?¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Bai Mo, ¡°You want me to thank you for having so much faith in me?¡± Why is Bai Mo such an asshole?

    ¡°Eat, eat.¡± Bai Mo did not continue the squabble. He patted Ye Ci on the head, and began briefing her about the guild¡¯s progress. ¡°Purity Essence is assigned to the second squadron. I¡¯ve ced him there to get to know the members. He¡¯s not amander yet. Since you¡¯ve recruited him as a battlemander and we haven¡¯t had a guild war in ages, I¡¯m going to assign him to dungeon-clearing for the time being.¡±

    ¡°Alright. His equipment is bad anyways. It¡¯s good for him to go explore dungeons.¡± Ye Ci was satisfied with Bai Mo¡¯s arrangement. She did not have any objections to Bai Mo¡¯s way of handling Purity Essence, ¡°Oh, by the way, keep an eye out on how Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu react to Purity Essence.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you worry about that. I¡¯ve put this into consideration.¡± Bai Mo stretched his body, he was tired, ¡°We¡¯ve tried taking on the 5th BOSS today, but we failed.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s Wolf Pack doing?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea, but rumors have it that they¡¯re doing better than us. Although they¡¯re also bogged down by the 5th BOSS, they¡¯re still having a better time than we are.¡± Bai Mo took in a deep breath, ¡°Truth to be told, with the non-stop dungeon exploration, our members are tired. We¡¯re not a major guild like the Wolf Pack. A lot of our members are not used to this.¡±

    ¡°Once we¡¯ve cleared this dungeon, we¡¯ll be done with the Beginner lvl 30 dungeon cluster. We can give the members some rest, and perhaps some reward for their hard work.¡± Although she was rarely involved in managing the guild, Ye Ci could understand Bai Mo¡¯s worries. A small fledging guild like ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ could not keep up with the pace ofrger and more established guilds like Wolf Pack and Tang Dynasty. Both of the guilds have 3 squadrons assigned to dungeon exploration while the other guilds like Steel Blooded Battle Spear, nk Space and World Conqueror have at least 2 squadrons which are exploring dungeons.

    However, ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ could barely gather enough members to form a single squadron. The rest of the yers in the guild were either not overly reliable, did not have a high enough level, or were guild hoppers.

    ¡°Bai Mo, I¡¯m really not good with managing the guild. I am depending on you people for that. I have no problem rampaging around in the frontlines and an obtaining First Bloods, but managing the guild is just not my forte. Perhaps we could change the topic. It gives me a headache.¡± Ye Ci was still wary of dealing with people. She was weary whenever anything regarding guild management was mentioned.

    ¡°Alright. We¡¯ve drew up a n for the development of our guild, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. Since you¡¯re so worried about the First Blood of Castle Ruins, why don¡¯t you help Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu out? I think they¡¯re at their wit¡¯s end.¡± Bai Mo knew that Ye Ci was very worried about the First Blood on Castle Ruins. He was concerned when Ye Ci did little to help out the 2manders. He dropped Ye Ci a hint, telling Ye Ci that if she did not act sooner, Wolf Pack might be able to secure the First Blood.

    Ye Ci, of course, understood the hidden meaning of Bai Mo¡¯s word. She let out a sigh. With all said and done, there are things that she needed to deal with herself.

    ¡°Alright, so when is the next scheduled exploration?¡±

    ¡°10am tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be joining the expedition. After all, I did not help out much with the first four BOSSes. If this keeps on, people might think that I¡¯m just a mascot.¡± Ye Ci began mocking herself. Bai Mo, who remained silent, offered Ye Ci a smile.

    Ye Ci slept very early that night. Perhaps due to her exhaustion, she slept like dead for the entire night, and was woken up by the sound of Bai Mo pounding on her bedroom door.

    ¡°Little Ci, it¡¯s 9 o¡¯clock! Get up, clean up, and have some breakfast! We¡¯re getting ready to head into the dungeon.¡± Bai Mo was acting like a good househusband. He prepared breakfast every morning and had to act as Ye Ci¡¯s rm clock. He managed to do his job perfectly fine as well.

    ¡°Got it.¡± Ye Ci was still groggy when she woke up. When she was reminded that the guild was going to take on the fifth BOSS, she immediately got out of bed.

    Ye Ci logged into the game immediately after cleaning up and finishing her breakfast. She took a nce at her quest tracker out of habit. She hadpleted the objective for the quest to look for the Spirit Soothing Grass for Lord Moore of Dark y city, but decided against handing in the herb first. After all, she did notplete such a quest in her past life, and could hardly remember anything about the quest from the forums. With theck of a walkthrough and other vital information, she had to figure things out bit by bit and on her own. There was no time limit for the current stage of the quest, but if a time limit was imposed on her in the next stage of the quest, it would be troublesome.

    After all, failing toplete any stage of an Epic-tier quest would result in the reduction of the rewards received from the NPC. The yer might even be denied from proceeding with the quest.

    With the fact in mind, Ye Ci was reluctant to proceed to the next stage of the quest. Clearing the dungeon was a better option.

    With her decision made, Ye Ci teleported back to Red Lake City.

    As the spell began the channel, Ye Ci received a message. She was surprised to see the name of the recipient.

    It was Unbridled Willow. With the rtionship between herself and Unbridled Willow, it was normal for her to receive a message from the man. But as Gongzi You of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ and Unbridled Willow of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, the chances of him sending a message was lower than the chances of the sun rising from the west, especially regarding such a sensitive topic. Ye Ci was still looking for a means to get chance to get in touch with Unbridled Willow, but before she could act, he made a move. Ye Ci was relieved. That was one problem solved.

    There were times where people might not even talk to each other after adding each other as friends.

    The rtionship between Ye Ci and Unbridled Willow was just like that. Despite adding each other as friends, they have not had a single conversation with each other. There was really no need for Unbridled Willow to talk to Ye Ci especially with her conflict with Thousand Sunsets.

    This was why Ye Ci was wary. After reading the message from Unbridled Willow, she canceled the channeling of her teleportation and connected to a voice chat with Unbridled Willow.

    ¡°Gongzi You, long time no see.¡± Unbridled Willow spoke up, as if they were friends who have not seen each other for a long time.

    Returning the favor, Ye Ci replied with augh, everybody was capable of pulling small word games like this, ¡°Yup. It seems that we¡¯ve both been busy.¡±

    Some things just came naturally. Thought Ye Ci. The cunningness of businessman, the hypocrisy of politicians and the ingenuity of themon people were all written into our being when we were created by God. Even after being cast aside from by his family for years, Unbridled Willow retained the quality of a businessman. ording to Green Hill¡¯s Moon, he was smarter than Thousand Sunsets.

    He had a clear grasp of the situation. He knew what was beneficial to him, and what would cause him great harm.

    Ye Ci felt lucky. She had been categorized by Unbridled Willow as a person that was of use to him, while Unbridled Willow was also one of the people that was useful to her. Ye Ci did not feel unpleasant about her rtionship with Unbridled Willow. To her, it was natural for things to turn out as they were.

    The scariest thing in this world was not when people took advantage of someone.. The scariest thing in this world is the fact that there was nobody that could be used. That was why Ye Ci did not mind the fact that Unbridled Willow was simply using her for his benefit. She would, of course, use him in return.

    After a small talk, Unbridled Willow began to lose his patience. After all, it did not matter to Ye Ci if Thousand Sunsets managed to clear the dungeon. However, to Unbridled Willow, it was the deciding factor to him to gain power within the family.

    ¡°Gongzi, I heard that ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ has been busy with Castle Ruins?¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. As expected, he was the one who gave in first. It seemed that Unbridled Willow had been backed into a corner by Thousand Sunsets. Based on what she knew, although Unbridled Willow¡¯s team had a faster progress than Thousand Sunsets¡¯s, he was still new to the guild. This meant that he was unfamiliar with the ways of managing his own team. Even with the help of Zero Arsenic, he could not depend fully on that man, as his loyalty was only towards the Old Master. There was no way Zero Arsenic would serve him sincerely.

    On the other hand, Thousand Sunsets was very familiar with his men. Even if he had less elite yers allocated to his team, he had the loyalty of his men. The yers in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear knew nothing about the conflict between Thousand Sunsets and Unbridled Willow. In their eyes, Thousand Sunsets was their leader. Besides, even after losing the favor of the Old Master, Thousand Sunsets was the heir apparent in the family for quite some time. He had many connections which granted him ess to quite a number of resources. In this situation, Thousand Sunsets appeared to be able to emerge victorious in hispetition with Unbridled Willow even when thetter had the advantage.

    How could Unbridled Willow not be desperate? Despite his apparent advantage, he knew that he was surrounded by enemies. In a situation like this, he knew he could not depend on Zero Arsenic, and could do nothing against Thousand Sunsets. There was only one way: to look for outside help.

    However, there were a lot of limitations when it came to seeking for outside help. The person must have a good rtionship with him, and was an enemy of Thousand Sunsets. This would eliminate the possibility of the outside help¡¯s betrayal. There was only one person that fits both of his criteria: Gongzi You.

    He did have his own suspicions that his run in with Gongzi You was actually set up by her. But... Does it matter? As long as he could bring down Thousand Sunsets, no cost was too high.

    After all, there is no evesting friendship in this world, nor there is an endless hostility. There is only eternal benefit.

    Unbridled Willow did not know what happened between Gongzi You and Thousand Sunsets, but based on the information he received, she might be happier than him if Thousand Sunsets would topple from his seat of power. With such mutual benefit at hand, Gongzi You was definitely the right person to work with.

    However, Gongzi You had never expressed her dissatisfaction towards Thousand Sunsets. The assumptions he made were of course the best case scenario. But... What if Gongzi You refused to work with him? Would she sell him out? Won¡¯t it make the situation worse if it happens?

    That was why Unbridled Willow chose to beat around the bush as he talked to Ye Ci. He intended to test the waters out. But... He had heavily underestimated the girl. She did not take the bait, and had even pretended that she did not understand what he was talking about, and that she had no intention at all to deal with Thousand Sunsets. Unbridled Willow was forced to get straight to the point.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys exploring the Castle Ruins as well?¡± Ye Ci chuckled. She was satisfied with how things went. The best way to reap the most benefits was to lead your victim on and deliver the killing blow when his interest was piqued.

 Chapter 200 A Thousand Times

    Chapter 200 A Thousand Times

    ¡°Steel-Blooded Battle Spear is not the only one. A lot of guilds are exploring the Castle Ruins.¡± noticing that his question was too abrupt, Unbridled Willow pushed the boat with the current and continued his small talk with Ye Ci.

    ¡°Yup. Isn¡¯t this the most important thing in our beloved Eastern Continent right now?¡± Ye Ci did her best to appear friendly. After all, this would create the illusion that she was easy to deal with. Besides, even if it was denied by many, Ye Ci had always thought of herself as an easygoing person.

    Unbridled Willow was unable to find an opening in Ye Ci¡¯s words. He was unwilling to be the first to expose his real intention, but at the same time, he did not want to end the conversation just like that. Everybody was a potential enemy. His actions of contacting Gongzi You frequently would definitely arouse the suspicions of Thousand Sunsets and even Gongzi You herself.

    ¡°Oi, what are you still doing in Dark y City? Why are you not here yet?¡± Bai Mo went online at the same time with Ye Ci. When Ye Ci did not show up in the guild encampment, Bai Mo discovered that she was still in Dark y City.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll be right there. If you really can¡¯t wait, you can head into the dungeon first. I¡¯ll be there shortly.¡± replied Ye Ci.

    Bai Mo knew Ye Ci very well. He knew that Ye Ci had something important to tend to after receiving her answer. But with the pre-agreed time creeping closer and closer, Bai Mo just had to give Ye Ci a reminder, ¡°Is there something really important that you have to deal with? Can¡¯t it wait until we¡¯ve cleared the dungeon? We all gathered in the guild encampment, and they are ready to cast buffs before heading into the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Yup, it¡¯s rather important.¡± Ye Ci did not n to keep any secrets from Bai Mo, ¡°Unbridled Willow is looking for me. He¡¯s still beating around the bush right now. I have to hear him out, don¡¯t I?¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll take note of the time, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be there before you enter the dungeon.¡±

    Bai Mo letughed heartily after learning the reason behind Ye Ci¡¯s dy, ¡°It seems that he can¡¯t afford to hold back anymore.¡±

    ¡°I know, right.¡±

    ¡°Hurry up. We¡¯ll be heading to the dungeon now.¡± said Bai Mo before ending the conversation. He knew that Ye Ci had a n. He was a busy man, and had no time to spare on meddling in her business.

    ¡°Is your guild heading towards the dungeon today?¡± asked Ye Ci after ending her conversation with Bai Mo.

    ¡°Of course. We need to pick up the pace.¡± Unbridled Willow was straightforward with Ye Ci, ¡°We¡¯re stuck at the 4th BOSS. We can¡¯t get through. The entire guild is troubled by this.¡±

    ¡°Ah... I see. I wish you good luck then. You can do it!¡± Ye Ci was amazed by her ability to keep up a pretense. She was able to appear oblivious even after Unbridled Willow dropped hints about his intentions. ¡°My guild is heading into the dungeon as well, I need to go now.¡±

    Unbridled Willow did not expect Gongzi You to be in a hurry. When Ye Ci intended to end the conversation, he immediately spoke up, ¡°Gongzi You, wait!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± if Unbridled Willow could see Ye Ci¡¯s expression, he would deeply regret his actions on this day. Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four, who had a full day¡¯s worth of rest and was very energetic. He was slightly restless due to his hunger. He nudged Ye Ci with his snout and wagged his tail as soon as he was summoned, asking for food.

    Ye Ci was in a good mood. She fed pieces of roasted meat and other delicacies to Ol¡¯ Four.

    ¡°Are you going to challenge the final BOSS today?¡± after a long moment of thought, Unbridled Willow finally spoke up.

    ¡°Yes.¡± there was no point of denying something that was known to the entire Eastern Continent.

    ¡°Do you have the confidence to defeat the BOSS?¡± Unbridled Willow visibly gulped as he asked the question.

    Some questions were just too inappropriate to ask. The dungeon clearing progress of a guild was always its biggest secret. Asking such a question was just like inquiring about the readiness of a guild. Under normal circumstances, such questions would always be met with inurate answers.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. It seems that Unbridled Willow was very desperate. At least he did way worse than what Green Hill¡¯s Moon had reported. He would not have been so rude if this was not the case.

    He asked the question despite knowing that he would never be able to get a straight answer from Ye Ci. There was only one possibility: Unbridled Willow was in a tight spot. He might have the trust of the Old Master, but he was not Thousand Sunsets, the child that has been raised by the Old Master for more than 20 years. He was just the backup n. Although the Old Master treated him well, his life was not as good as the life led by Thousand Sunsets. If he lost hispetition with the man, he would definitely have to revert to his old ways of life.

    When someone had been leading a moderate life for as long as he or she was alive, the person would never want to go back to such a way of life after experiencing the lifestyle of the wealthy. And because of that unwillingness, the person would fight tooth and nail to maintain his status.

    And to Unbridled Willow, Ye Ci might be the straw that he was trying to clutch at when he was drowning.

    If she could think of getting Green Hill¡¯s Moon to investigate the rtionship between Unbridled Willow and Thousand Sunsets, Unbridled Willow could do the same as well. This is definitely not a coincidence! Thought Ye Ci. He must¡¯ve found out about my conflicts with Thousand Sunsets, and knew that I rejected Dong Yin¡¯s request. That is why he¡¯s seeking me out right now!

    The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

    Unbridled Willow was unsure if if Ye Ci was willing to help him out, but he tried his luck anyways as he was sure that Ye Ci would not bring him trouble. Even if he failed to secure her help, she would never provide any form of aid to Thousand Sunsets. Even if Thousand Sunsets was buying any information about the Castle Ruins from the other guilds, he won¡¯t be able to win without the help of Gongzi You.

    After having an understanding about Unbridled Willow¡¯s mentality and his desperation, Ye Ci decided to not cause too much trouble for Unbridled Willow. After all, if he emerged triumphant in hispetition with Thousand Sunsets, they might be able to work together in the future. ¡°Nothing is certain. Things might go wrong even in a wellid n.¡± Ye Ci replied calmly.

    Unbridled Willow let out augh, ¡°Yes, you are right. But with you, Gongzi you, joining this expedition, you¡¯ll definitely be able to clear this dungeon.¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, ¡°You think too highly of me. I¡¯m just an average yer.¡±

    ¡°Average?¡± Unbridled Willow chuckled, ¡°Really? If even Gongzi You is just an average yer, then I¡¯m sure an ¡®average yer¡¯ does not exist in Fate. To tell you the truth, I know you barely participated in the dungeon exploration when your guild was trying to take down the first four BOSSes. They had a hard time with clearing the dungeon. Your decision to head to the dungeon today is just too abnormal. If I¡¯m not wrong, you are the key in defeating the fifth BOSS. Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu are justing for the ride.¡±

    Even after her n has been seen through by Unbridled Willow, Ye Ci remained calm, ¡°You¡¯re overthinking this. Even if you¡¯re right, I can assure you that I¡¯ve never fought against the fifth BOSS before. There¡¯s a chance that I might fail.¡±

    ¡°If this is said by anybody else, I would definitely believe it. But since it¡¯sing from you... I highly doubt that.¡± Unbridled Willow responded. He was here to seek a cooperation from Ye Ci. He would of coursee prepared.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, ¡°Why do I feel ttered after listening to your words? Have I been drugged? I¡¯d like to tell you that I know what I¡¯m capable of.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You, how many yers out there are able to take out the Armored Giant Tortoise alone? And how many of them can y Werebeast Shaman Buru alone?¡± Unbridled Willow was always focused on his objective. He would never stray from his objective despite Ye Ci¡¯s feigned ignorance.

    Ye Ci remained silent. At this point, she would make more mistake the more she said. Remaining silent was the best option. She knew from the start that it would be hard to deal with Unbridled Willow, but in the the end, she had underestimated the man. Despite being blood rted to Thousand Sunsets, he was way smarter than him.

    Unbridled Willow grew anxious when Ye Ci remained silent. Although he knew that he would lose the higher ground if he spoke up first, he could not afford to dy any longer. Zero Arsenic had already sent him a message, telling him that his party was ready go explore the dungeon. If he was unable to receive confirmation from Ye Ci before then, it would be troublesome.

    ¡°Let me be honest with you. I¡¯m not trying threaten you or anything like that. I have a deal for you.¡±

    ¡°What sort of deal?¡±

    ¡°I want your dungeon-clearing guide for Castle Ruins.¡±

    Ye Ci sneered coldly, ¡°Unbridled Willow, have you forgotten that you¡¯re a member of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, and that I have a history with your guild? Do you think I¡¯ll give you a guide just like that? Isn¡¯t Thousand Sunsets best friends with Sir Ditty? Why don¡¯t you just get him to ask Sir Ditty for one? It¡¯ll be faster that way! Why are you looking for my help?¡±

    ¡°I am indeed a member of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. But you have to believe me, I have nothing to do with Thousand Sunsets. I can¡¯t let you in on the details, because it¡¯s a guild secret. But giving me the guide will definitely not benefit Thousand Sunsets.

    ¡°Oh really? Do you think that I¡¯m dumb?¡± Ye Ci felt that it was a good time to put everything in the open. She did not want to be further entangled in the conflict between the two men. ¡°From what I know, one of you is leading the first squadron while another is themander of the second squadron of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear! Doesn¡¯t it mean that giving you the guide is like the equivalent of handing it to Thousand Sunsets? I will never do something like that!¡±

    ¡°I know you and Thousand Sunsets find each other disagreeable, and I know that you¡¯ve rejected to help him out. Please, believe me when I say that I¡¯m not asking for your help in his stead. I¡¯m doing this for my own sake.¡± Unbridled Willow was forced to reveal the partial truth in a bid to achieve his objective.

    ¡°Are you telling me that...¡± Ye Ci was able to read between the lines. She narrowed her eyes and smiled, ¡°You¡¯re at odds with Thousand Sunsets as well?¡±

    Noticing that he has spoken too much, Unbridled Willow cleared his throat and redirected the conversation, ¡°I just wanted a guide. Rest assured, I¡¯m not after the First Blood. I am very clear on what I¡¯m capable of, and I will definitely not cross the line.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. If I choose to believe you, what¡¯s in it for me? You¡¯ve mentioned earlier that you want to make a deal with me. From the way I see it, you¡¯re the only one benefitting from this deal. So what do I get for entering this bargain?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you 5 million in real world currency.¡± Unbridled Willow thought of himself as a generous person. The price he was willing to pay would of course not be in a small sum.

    The only respond he received was Ye Ci¡¯s coldughter, ¡°Unbridled Willow, don¡¯t you think your price is too low?¡±

    ¡°5 million is not a small figure. Gongzi You, we¡¯re talking about 25 million in-game currency! Don¡¯t be too greedy.¡± Haggling was a strong suite of Unbridled Willow. He knew that Gongzi You would never be satisfied with the price, but it would not hurt to lower the cost.

    ¡°A dungeon exploration party has 100 members. This means that each of us will receive 50,000 bucks. On paper, this sounds like a huge figure. But don¡¯t you think you¡¯re a little too stingy? Don¡¯t you know that we have our rear echelon members as well? Don¡¯t you know how much effort my members have put into preparing for the dungeon? What about the cost of the preparations that have to be done? The potions we¡¯ve made just for this are not cheap. Do you know how many consumables we¡¯ve prepared for this? How many efforts ourmanders have put into this? Alright, even if I don¡¯t charge you for this, do you think my sponsored clearing party will earn less than what you pay us?¡± Ye Ci sneered coldly, ¡°5 million real world currency is the lowest price people pay us to clear a dungeon for them. If I managed to secure a First Blood right here, do you think I won¡¯t have 5 million bucks? Seriously, I don¡¯t think this small amount of money is worth the dungeon clearing guide. You¡¯re just too insincere.¡±

    Unbridled Willow had done extensive research on the medium and small scale guilds like ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. He knew that Ye Ci¡¯s words were true. 5 million real world currency was really nothingpared to the pay they were going to receive after clearing the dungeon.

    ¡°Alright. 10 million, and nothing more than that.¡±

    ¡°20 million.¡± Ye Ci did not even blink as she spoke out the price. It was as if the figure she had spoken was just insignificant numbers.

    Unbridled Willow let out augh, ¡°Gongzi You, I see that the descriptions of you on the forums are very urate. If I may, I think you¡¯re a very greedy person.¡±

    Ye Ci was not angry. She insteadughed at his words. One of them had the intention to buy, while the other had the intention to sell. It was a contest of perseverance, ¡°I admit that I¡¯m very greedy. But I¡¯m doing this for my guild. I have a lot of things to worry about.¡±

    Unbridled Willow sneered coldly. He did not want to respond, but was unwilling to hang up on Ye Ci. He waited patiently for what else she had to say.

    Ye Ci was in no hurry, ¡°If I secured a First Blood today, there will be only 4 spots of the First Five left. Do you think you¡¯re the only one who will be buying a guide from me? There are a lot of wealthy guilds in our Eastern Continent.¡± she pursed her lips, ¡°Besides, you¡¯re in a different situationpared to the other guilds. If I make them pay at a lower price, they can do favors for me. But can you do that? I think not. You¡¯re not in charge of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. Besides, even if you¡¯re running things in the guild, what will your guild members think if I sell the guide to you at such a low price? How will my own members see my action? How will the guilds in the Eastern Continent look at Upwards Ho!?¡±

    She did not reveal her true intention through her words. She knew that as a higher up of a guild asrge as Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, Unbridled Willow would be able to read between the lines and understand her words.

    As expected, he was stunned silent by her words.

    After receiving no response from Unbridled Willow, Ye Ci stopped beating around the bush as she needed to get into the dungeon soon, ¡°Alright Unbridled Willow, with all said and done, it¡¯s all up to you. To buy the guide from me or not is up to you, but selling it is my decision to make. This is a business that we willingly partake in after all. I¡¯m heading into the dungeon, good luck.¡±

    With that, Ye Ci used the City-recalling Stone and travelled back to Red Lake City. She paid no heed to Unbridled Willow as he remained and instead instructed Green Hill¡¯s Moon to keep track on the progress of Unbridled Willow and Thousand Sunsets.

    Her conversation with Green Hill¡¯s Moon was short and simple this time. Green Hill¡¯s Moon spoke up right after Ye Ci made her request, ¡°They¡¯re now locked in a very closepetition. Although Unbridled Willow appears to be in the lead, Thousand Sunsets has the advantage of entering the game first and is the guild leader of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. If I¡¯m not mistaken, he¡¯s already attempting to buy the dungeon clearing videos for Castle Ruins. If he seeds in getting one, it¡¯ll be the end for Unbridled Willow.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Zero Arsenic working for Unbridled Willow now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve told you that Zero Arsenic is the Old Master¡¯s henchman. Even if he¡¯s with Unbridled Willow now, it only means that the Old Master is favoring Unbridled Willow. It does not mean that he is the heir apparent. Zero Arsenic is a smart man, he will not act at a moment like this. If he helped the wrong side, it¡¯ll waste his years of effort by the Old Master¡¯s side.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon sneered coldly. He despised the power struggle of the wealthy.

    Ye Ci nodded, ¡°Alright, I understand.¡±

    After cutting off the chat, Ye Ci knew that her assumptions were correct. If that was the case, she would not have to worry about Unbridled Willow calling off the due because of her price. He was already backed into a corner. If he did not seek help from Ye Ci, all is lost for him. The only thing Ye Ci needed now was Unbridled Willow¡¯s courage to ept Ye Ci¡¯s terms.

    Perhaps because of the fact that she had cleared all the worries weighing down her heart, Ye Ci¡¯s mood was great as the party cleared away all the monsters on their way to the 5th BOSS. She was actually helping out! Bai Mo¡¯s curiosity was aroused. ¡°Why are you so hardworking? Is it because you¡¯ve realised that you¡¯re as fat as the pig you¡¯re rearing?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Bai Mo and summoned Ol¡¯ Four. She then whispered something to her pet, and Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s Intimacy Level with Bai Mo dropped. It started chasing him around. Although Bai Mo received no damage from Ol¡¯ Four, its rows of jagged teeth caused him a world of pain. Bai Mo ran all over the ce, pleading for Ye Ci to call off her pet. He was shrieking out in his heart: do not mess with women and people who have a ck heart.

    The sight lifted the gloomy atmosphere. Members of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ were depressed after being bogged down by the BOSS for such a long time. The sight of Ol¡¯ Four chasing Bai Mo around gave them a goodugh, lifting their spirits.

    When the party has finally arrived in front of the final BOSS of Castle Ruins, Frost Queen Dani, their mood once again turned gloomy. Even Overflowing Ink who was normally calm and collected showed signs of anxiety. They have been bogged down by this BOSS for far too long.

    Overflowing Ink cleared his throat, ¡°The n today is for me to take charge in the first try. If I fail, Mi Lu will take over. And if the both of us failed, our guild leader will take be takingmand.¡±

    The guild leader in question was of course Gongzi You. Even if she was a rare sight in the guild encampment, the name ¡°Gongzi You¡± was the first thing that the members would think of at a time like this.

    The party members cast their nces on Ye Ci. Excitement, trust, and hope were brimming in their eyes.

    Ye Ci knew that it would be disappointing for her not to speak up at a moment like this. She gestured at Overflowing Ink, and thetter nodded, indicating that was okay for her to speak up.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been absent from dungeon clearing. In fact, I¡¯ve never joined any sponsored clearing parties at all. This is one of the few times I¡¯m joining you people in dungeon exploration. You can say that I¡¯m not a responsiblemander,¡± said Ye Ci with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m just a substitute on this day. I thank you for your trust. This is my duty to our guild.¡±

    The party held their breaths as they listened to Ye Ci. Each and every one of them paid close attention to their leader. Even if Ye Ci was not a qualified leader in the hearts of many, she was definitely the spiritual leader of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. It was a first time for some of the members, but many among them had explored dungeons with Ye Ci. They knew that as long as Gongzi You is in the party, nothing was impossible.¡±

    The betting pool in the forums recently has crowned one yer from each continent as the King of Solo ys. Even if they might disagree on the 3 other yers from the other continents, all of the yers agreed as one that Ye Ci was definitely the Solo Queen of the Eastern Continent. Her title was, of course, not only recognised my yers of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯, but the entire Eastern Continent.

    ¡°How many of them have been constantly exploring the Castle Ruins dungeon?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    ¡°Around 70 to 80 of them have constantly being with us during our exploration.¡± replied Bai Mo.

    ¡°What is the most amount of deaths suffered by these yers? In this particr dungeon of course.¡± the smile remained on Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    She received no answer. Nobody remembered how many times they¡¯ve died in the dungeon, and how much money they¡¯ve paid for the maintenance of their equipment. The members of the party stared at Ye Ci silently.

    ¡°Some of you might¡¯ve died for a hundred times, and some of you two hundred, or maybe more.¡± Ye Ci nodded, ¡°I remember a question that someone asked me a long time ago: How many times have I died in a dungeon?¡± she lifted up a finger, and her smile broadened, ¡°A thousand times.¡±

    The unexpected answer caused an uproar among the party members. In their mind, they imagined Ye Ci to be undefeatable, and has never died even once during her dungeon explorations.

    ¡°You might not believe my story. But when I first started my experience in a VRMMORPG, I did not know left from right when I explored my first dungeon. My positioning was bad, and I could not control the aggro of the monsters properly. I made all the mistakes that could have been made, multiple times.I lost track of the numbers of parties that I had joined. I¡¯ve been cursed and looked down on. I experienced the difficulties that all of you have faced in the past. In the end, nobody was willing to form a party with me. I was famous for my horrible skills. That was when I told myself that I must clear the dungeon, even if I had to do it on my own. I began my journey of soloing the dungeon. I counted my deaths as I tried clearing the Easy Difficulty 5-man dungeon. After dying for a thousand times, I finally took out the final BOSS.¡±

    She paused her soliloquy. She studied each of the party members, and found them staring at her with shining eyes.

    ¡°I am not trying to gain your sympathy when I share my story today, nor am I bragging about my tenacity. I just want to tell you one thing, and one thing only.

    In this game, there¡¯s only one way a dungeon exploration will end. Either we take down the BOSS, or we die trying to take down the BOSS. There is no other way.¡± she pointed at Frost Queen Dani, the final BOSS of Castle Ruins, ¡°So what if she¡¯s able to defeat us again and again? Someday, she will fall. Such is the fate of a BOSS!

    Remember, the designers will never ce an invincible BOSS in a dungeon. The are only 2 reasons why you¡¯re unable to defeat the BOSS. Firstly, there might be something wrong with your teamwork. Secondly, we have not found the correct strategy of dealing with this BOSS. Those are the only reasons.¡±

    The entire party remained silent.

    ¡°I can see that all of your expressions started turning gloomy when we entered the dungeon. Why is that? Have you been defeated by yourselves before even reaching the BOSS? The BOSS is not that scary. The most scary opponent you¡¯re facing right now are your own fears and worries. Do not be afraid of your opponent!¡± Ye Ci stared at each and every one of her party members. I, Gongzi You, am your thirdmander. I hope that I won¡¯t have to takemand today. You know what I like to do the most! I like to rx, because I am azy person initially. That¡¯s all I have to say.¡±

    With that, Ye Ci motioned for Overflowing Ink to speak. However, he was staring at Ye Ci with mouth agape. He snapped out of his daze when Ye Ci once again reminded him that it was time for him to take charge. It was apparent that he was very excited, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll beginying out our strategy to defeat this BOSS. Please pay attention and ask any question you want. I¡¯ll do my best to answer any and all of the questions.¡±

    ......

    As Overflowing Ink began his speech, Bai Mo walked up to Ye Ci and nudged her lightly, ¡°Did you really died a thousand times when you were a newbie?¡±

    Ye Ci let out a ghost of a smile, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Someone as talented as you will not be that stupid.¡±

    Ye Ci snorted, and paid no heed to Bai Mo. As she stared at Overflowing Ink, she thought about her first time in Fate. A thousand times. That¡¯s right, nobody will believe that Gongzi You had once died in a dungeon for a thousand times. Even Bai Mo refused to believe such a fact. However, it was the truth. She really had died in a dungeon when she first started ying VRMMORPGs at the age of 14.

    The thousand times of death had such a profound impact on Ye Ci. It was the reason why she¡¯d grown to be so cold and detached when it came to interaction with other yers. Her selfish nature in her past life might¡¯ve been caused by that one thousand times as well!

    Taking a deep breath, Ye Ci looked up into a sky. The weather was just so beautiful.

    Overflowing Ink had a good strategy, but it was not enough. The party was able to make it through the first stage of the BOSS fight. But when the fight progressed to it second stage and Dani began creating clones of herself, all the party members were unable to dodge her Ice des that were causing huge amount of damage. Even Tanks were taken out with one hit. The party was severely demoralized.

    Overflowing Ink racked his brains as he ate his food in a corner. He was unable to find a solution. Even after multiple tries, his best record was to take away 60% of Dani¡¯s health at the second stage of the battle. He had not once progressed to the third stage. He let out a sigh, and handedmand over to Mi Lu.

    ¡°Boss, do you think that I¡¯m an ipetentmander?¡± Overflowing Ink sat beside Ye Ci. He was depressed.

    Ye Ci let out augh and patted Overflowing Ink on his shoulder, ¡°As long as you can see the bigger picture of things, and are able to bark out your orders into the Command Channel, then you have the talent to be amander.¡±

    ¡°Boss...¡±

    ¡°Ink, do you know how manymanders have had jitters when they spoke in the Command Channel?¡± asked Ye Ci as she stared at Mi Lu who was exining his strategy to the party members not far away, ¡°There is no ipetentmanders, only those who have not worked hard enough. As long as you are able to make yourself heard, it means that you are gifted! The rest is up to your hard work! Hang in there, I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll make it into the Top 10 Commander Ranking of Fate some day!¡±

    Overflowing Ink was touched. He lowered his head, trying his best to hold back his tears.

    ¡°You¡¯ve tried your best. Getting too serious will backfire sometimes.¡± Ye Ci stood up, ¡°Don¡¯t be so tense. The members have faith in you.¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Overflowing Ink remained seated. He was deeply impressed by Gongzi You. She was tough, valiant, and careful. She had the aura of a leader. A person like her was born to be at the top.

    Mi Lu has greatly improved from thest time Ye Ci was in the same party with him. His strategy was better than Overflowing Ink¡¯s, but it was veryplex. After making through the second stage, the ws of his strategy began to show. The potion consumption of the party was too high in the first and second stages. This meant that most of the party members did not have enough mana for the third stage of the fight, and most of their skills were on cooldown as well.

    The yers fell into disarray when they had to simultaneously dodge Dani¡¯s attacks while replenish their health. This brought countless casualties to the party.

    After three tries, Mi Lu was devising an effective strategy against the BOSS. He let out a sigh, ¡°I must¡¯ve missed some details. I thought this would work...¡±

    If Mi Lu¡¯s strategy was adapted byrger, more experienced guilds like Wolf Pack and Tang Dynasty that have experienced members with great teamwork, it would have worked. However, he was in ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯, and the yers in ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ were unable to keep up with such aplex strategy.

    HOLY SHIT MINNA-SAN! WE¡¯VE MADE IT! WE¡¯VE MADE IT TO THE 200TH CHAPTER!!! WOOHOOOOO!!!! GIVE JIMMI SOME HYPE IN THE COMMENTS YO!!!

    I¡¯d like to thank you all for your support! We¡¯vee a looooong way to be here! Thank you all! I¡¯ve never expected to be able toe this far, but goddamn! This is a very meaningful moment for myself, a milestone that I¡¯m able to achieve not just through my efforts, but the efforts of countless others as well, and of course, thanks to all your support!

    And... As always... 200 Chapterversary... We have a troll chapter on the next page! Put your hands together for her hard work people! She worked really really hard to create the speshul chapter!!

    Also... There will be a speshul event as well in the announcement post!!! Stay tuned!!!

 Chapter 201 Party Coordination

    Although Ye Ci had repeatedly yarned about how little she cared about being the top brass, as things stood, even if she wanted to sit around and be arrikin, it would all turn bottom end up. With everyone taking a squiz at her, she opened up themand system¡¯s voice chat. She cleared her gob and put it out inyman¡¯s, ¡°This BOSS has 3 stages. But before I get onto that, let me first yabber on where everyone should be pozzied.¡±

    ¡°During the first part, everyone remain still. Actually, most BOSSes are fought like this, so it ain¡¯t much of a problem; the tough bit lies in where to stand.¡± Ye Ci stood by the bibong and gestured to three points, informing the melee, ranged, and healers of their respective pozzy. She then continued, ¡°Once the fight gets to the second part, the BOSS will summon clones. The boofhead will then pull the BOSS over to this point, where the healers are pozzied, while the healers group up with the ranged sses. You c*nts then continue to go hard out without moving around. When the third part approaches, the boofheads will need to kite the BOSS around the bibong in arge circle, with everyone else standing within the circle. If you get poisoned, quickly run over to the boofhead¡¯s side and transmit the poison to the BOSS. Healers, remember to keep fixing them up. As for whether or not there is a fourth part, save that for after the fight. As long as we beat these three stages, we¡®ll be winners.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯smands were kept short and sweet. She didn¡¯t have a habit of dealing with trifling things either. She believed that the drongos would be able to keep it in their heads if they did it themselves. If she needed to get into the nitty gritty, then they¡¯d never be able to tie theirces.

    Ye Ci gave everyone a 5 minute smoko to prepare. The members who camped up with Ye Ci promptly assigned all of their potions and single-target skills to a hotkey.

    One of the members who was partying with them for the first time clearly had no clue when she saw someone next her getting work done. As a result, she asked him, ¡°Happy, what are you doing?¡±

    Happy Family was an oldie; naturally, he knew the in and out of Ye Ci¡¯s habits. However, he didn¡¯t have a Buckley¡¯s chance on how to deal with a newbie following Ye Ci for the first time, and hence put it out to Naturally Cute while he prepared, ¡°Leader is letting us do sh*t on our own, were you deaf?¡±

    ¡°What? Aren¡¯t we already done?¡± Naturally Cute was clearly used to doing nothing herself. Usually, Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink would run a virtual kindie with the party and she was very dependent on this kind of leader.

    ¡°Already done?¡± Happy Family nced at Naturally Cute. ¡°Have you set your single-target skills to a hotkey? Have you recast your BUFFs? Did your munitions automatically get restocked? Where did you put your contingency potions?¡±

    ¡°This... Shouldn¡¯t the missus remind us about all of it? And wouldn¡¯t they tell us when we need to do it?¡± Although Naturally Cute couldn¡¯t tell the broad side of a barn if she was looking at it, she also started copying everything that Happy Family was doing.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t joined up under Leader¡¯smand before, right?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t, this is my first time.¡± Naturally Cute was also a huntress. Her eyes shone when he mentioned Ye Ci. ¡°Guild Leader Gongzi is my idol. I get in line for a party every day just so I can get a perve. Seeing her makes me wetter than the underside of a dinghy, I¡¯m just stoked...¡±

    Naturally Cute had yet to stop yabbering on before Happy Family bluntly ended her dribble. ¡°Clean out your ears, there¡¯s only one way to put Leader¡¯smand¡ªsimple. Were you listening to her strats just now? That¡¯s all Leader says. Once it starts, you won¡¯t hear her chirp in themand chat, nor anything else you spoke of...¡±

    ¡°Huh? Then... Then when should I do anything I¡¯m readying?¡± Having been given the short stick by Happy Family, Naturally Cute had already gotten cranky. ¡°Like this... Won¡¯t we cark it like this?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to cark it then you better learn quick.¡± Happy Family let out a sigh. ¡°I was once like you, not used to doing it myself. However, after dying a couple times, I learned to progress a bit on my own. I needed to learn and just do it; only then did I be better.¡±

    ¡°But... But...¡± Hearing Happy Family¡¯s statement, Naturally Cute became even more worried. ¡°If I die, will Leader... will Leader rip on me?¡± Naturally Cute gave a lot of sh*t about Gongzi You¡¯s mood. ¡°It was hard yakka to even join her group. If... if I cark it, will she kick me to the curb?¡± She was getting closer and closer to pissing herself thinking about it. She even started shaking like a dog.

    ¡°Pfffft, don¡¯t get your knickers in a knot, Leader won¡¯t drop you. Though she might give you special treatment if you cark it too much.¡± Happy Family consoled her immediately. ¡°You should know, Gongzi You is a freak character. If you¡¯re in the firing line for special treatment, it won¡¯t be pretty...¡±

    ¡°But... But I want her to give me special attention.¡± When Naturally Cute heard that she wouldn¡¯t be sent packing even if she died a lot, she felt relieved. Moreover, when she heard that she might be given special treatment, she started feeling frisky. She clutched her mug, growing red. ¡°Will she give me her special treatment as long as I keep carking it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not nning to f*ck this up on purpose to try and get a root with Gongzi, are you?¡± Happy Family saw through Naturally Cute¡¯s intentions straight away.

    ¡°No way, no way.¡±

    ¡°I give zero f*cks if you want to kick it, but have a ponder¡ªIf the whole team were to be dusted because of your feeding, even if Leader and themanders don¡¯t tell you off, would you be able to stand tall with everyone giving the stink eye?¡± Happy Family immediately advised Naturally Cute to give up on her dipsh*t, poon-chasing dream.

    ¡°Eh...¡± Naturally Cute stared wide-eyed at him, dumbfounded.

    ¡°There¡¯s just a packet of noodles left, everyone hurry the f*ck up with your sh*t. Those who need arrows or spellcasting materials quickly go to the mercho over there and stock up.¡± Faced with Ye Ci¡¯s silence, Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink couldn¡¯t let the kettle boil over. They were the most familiar with their group¡¯s circumstances, so they immediately spoke up and put a boot up everyone else.

    Ye Ci just flicked her gaze over to the two without a word. Only after arse met floor did she apathetically say, ¡°Was there a need to remind them?¡±

    ¡°There are a lot of them who don¡¯t know what to do. If we don¡¯t tell them now, wouldn¡¯t ite back to bite us in the arse?¡±

    ¡°An elite team should not need reminding.¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯re not quite elites yet...¡±

    ¡°You guys should believe in your team, believe in each team member, and believe that they are elite.¡± Ye Ci smirked. ¡°We are clearing a dungeon, not leading kindie kids around. If you have to y teacher, you¡¯ll bugger yourselves.¡±

    ¡°Leader, we¡¯re still not convinced on them.¡± Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink couldn¡¯t be asid back as Ye Ci.

    ¡°To clear a dungeon, you must be ready to cark it. If you¡¯re shaking thinking of failure then you won¡¯t be able to make it. This is like letting them loose in the wild. Those who are able to adapt will be brick sh*t houses, those who can¡¯t adapt will naturally kick it on their own. You need to barrack for them, then it¡¯ll be harder for them to fail.¡±

    Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink nced at one another, seriously pondering over Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    When Ye Ci had shoved thest snag in her gob, she stood up and pped her hands together. Just as she was about to call out to everyone so they could start fighting, she received a private message.

    The private message was from Unbridled Willow. His voice was mono, leaving his mood to question. ¡°22 mil, real dorydoos.¡±

    ¡°What? You think the 20 mil I quoted is too little?¡± Ye Ci was gobsmacked when she heard the price.

    ¡°20 mil is the amount you wanted. The other 2 mil is so you don¡¯t yabber on about it, as well as make sure that the video won¡¯t fall into thep of any other guilds.¡± Unbridled Willow naturally was a stingy tight arse so of course there was extra.

    ¡°No worries about that.¡± Ye Ci promptly restricted the video-recording function of all the group. This way, no one would be able to record their screen apart from her. However, she let more out. ¡°What made you agree with my price?¡±

    Unbridled Willow shut up like a bolted door for a while. He then said, ¡°Someone once said to me that if I want to win at something I have to give everything for it.¡±

    Ye Ci snapped back, ¡°Unbridled Willow, what you should be saying is: If a problem can be resolved with wads, it shouldn¡¯t be called a problem.¡±

    Unbridled Willow nearly had his jaw fall off its hinges.

    Unfortunately, Ye Ci didn¡¯t continue to slow roast him, instead straightforwardly saying, ¡°Since you¡¯ve quoted me 22 mil, I¡¯ll seem like a b*tch if I keep sting you so I¡¯ll stop. We¡¯ll settle on 22 mil, but... I want a down payment of 10 mil first.¡±

    ¡°Down payment? What? Gongzi You, you reckon you¡¯ll cream it so much that you want half the moh now?¡± Unbridled Willow took a deep breath. ¡°What happens if you f*ck it up? What if you can¡¯t get First Blood?¡±

    ¡°These aren¡¯t your problems.¡± Ye Ci groaned in discontentment. She was mad as a cut snake over these blokes who wouldn¡¯t stop b*tching when doing business. It was simpler than putting two together, why be so f*cking difficult? ¡°You should only care about handing over the moh and getting what you want, I¡¯ll care about getting the moh and giving the goods. This is some simple sh*t. If you can¡¯t build a bridge, we can cancel. Not like I¡¯m losing anything.¡±

    Needless to say, Unbridled Willow knew he was up sh*t creek. He really couldn¡¯t afford to p*ss off this woman. How did he have to rely on her to not go cactus? Although he didn¡¯t want to, he could only be taken by the ear in the end. ¡°Give me your bank details.¡±

    ¡°Just change it for tokens and send it directly to me.¡± Bank details? Ye Ci wasn¡¯t foolish enough to hand her privo to these people from the. ¡°Just take the fee directly from the pay, I¡¯ll ept all the moh in tokens.¡±

    Although this way would take argemission, the service charge really wasn¡¯t muchpared to her life. She only had ankle deep ties to Unbridled Willow. Even if he was a mate, with the separating them, who knew what he really was like? Having gone through the sh*t with Thousand Sunsets, Ye Ci could be considered an oldie at this. When facing a tall poppy with some backing like him, she might be able to avoid him as an ordinary sheh. However, if she revealed her privo to him, wouldn¡¯t that be the same as showing Unbridled Willow herself nuddy? If he was true blue then it was fine, but if he was dim in the headlights like Thousand Sunsets, would she have a shred of peace in the future?

    As for Thousand Sunsets... Ye Ci thought that he probably wouldn¡¯t let his privo leak out to Unbridled Willow, even if he were to be dragged by a bull bar. They were enemies, bloody full on enemies in it for the same thing. There would be no chance to stop Unbridled Willow from sniffing him out and stirring the pot were he to ever to get his privo from him. It¡¯s all a game, but it was bound to be a fist up if they ever met.

    Unless Thousand Sunset was a drongo, he would keep a tight leash on all of his privo.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll exchange 50 mil tokens for you in a bit.¡± Unbridled Willow didn¡¯t seem to think as much as Ye Ci had just now, agreeing to Ye Ci¡¯s request before giving the flick. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, I had something to quiz.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s with you and Gleaming Sunshine and Leftie?¡± Unbridled Willow had investigated the sh*t between Ye Ci and Thousand Sunsets, so he was well aware of both Dong Yin and Yi Cang. However, he still didn¡¯t have the clout to get it done in the real world with his current load, so he was still unsure about Ye Ci¡¯s rtionship with them.

    ¡°Why, are you a sticky beak?¡±

    ¡°Just curious.¡±

    Would Unbridled Willow be asking for no reason? Like f*ck. Ye Ci knew this, but she wasn¡¯t sure why Unbridled Willow would ask about them out of the blue. Ye Ci muttered to herself faintly, ¡®this ain¡¯t the truth, but it ain¡¯t a lie¡¯: ¡°Former acquaintances.¡±

    These words, Unbridled Willow naturally would not believe it to be fair dinkum. However, he also wouldn¡¯t think it was an outright yarn. He was a bright bloke, so when he heard Gongzi You say this, he could more or less guess that Ye Ci¡¯s rtionship with them wasn¡¯t ankle deep. At least, that¡¯s how it had been yonder ago.

    As a result, he couldn¡¯t sit still on it. He said, giving a g, ¡°Those two seem to have put a lot of money into Steel Blooded Battle Spear. I always think that throwing full dorydoos into the game ain¡¯t in the spirit...¡±

    Ye Ci stopped the bludger before he finished, casually throwing out a line, ¡°If they get stuck in a hole it¡¯s on them.¡±

    Unbridled Willow liked Ye Ci¡¯s answer like vegemite on toast. Gongzi You¡¯s words kicked the nagging in his head. With Gongzi You as a ma on a board, he could cease his cr*p with Thousand Sunsets. All in one move.

    Unbridled Willow killed the convo window. Ye Ci was gobsmacked. Dong Yin and Yi Cang was actually throwing a truck of moh at Thousand Sunsets. Just how much were they going to get bitten in the arse for this? But when she thought about it again, they were up sh*t creek and she had no reason to get bogged down with them. She reckoned that her info was somewhat on the tail end. She had beenpletely blindside to the fact that they had been making suchrge movements. As a result, she let all the group members prepare for another smoko, while she herself hurried over to Liu Chang to ask her quietly, ¡°I caught that Dong Yin and Yi Cang have been sending dorydoos to Thousand Sunsets?¡±

    Liu Chang spun her head to look at Ye Ci, having a ponder before saying, ¡°It seems like it. My mum encountered that c*nt Yi Cang the other day and he show pony¡¯d off to her. When my mum got back, she spent the evening raving on about how their family was living with silver, putting dosh into the game to earn even more, and we¡¯re bloody bogans, h h...¡± Liu Chang rolled her eyes. ¡°Listening to her got me so cranky I stopped giving her the time of day, but it sounds like what you¡¯ve got.¡±

    Ye Ci had a cackle. ¡°You¡¯re a bogan? You¡¯ve been making mint every day for the past few months now, you saying you blew it all?¡±

    Once her fat purse was mentioned, Liu Chang became full of face and she chuckled. ¡°What¡¯s up? Did that c*nt sniff you guys out too?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think so, at least my oldies haven¡¯t said anything about it. Oh right, do you know how much moh they threw down?¡±

    Liu Chang clutched her head, mentally confirming it for a bit before yabbering. ¡°It should be at least half of the two families¡¯bined estates. You also know that although Dong Yin and Yi Cang¡¯s rellies aren¡¯t super loaded, they still have f*cking millions worth, so... it should be a f*ckload.¡±

    ¡°They really are having a go at this...¡± Ye Ci also couldn¡¯t help but sigh.

    ¡°Throwing dosh into a game really isn¡¯t a dog pouring a drink. Fate¡¯s currently a massive share in the market. Dong Yin and Yi Cang¡¯s fathers are both blokes in suits, and would naturally be pretty crystal over this. Moreover, it seems like Dong Yin and Yi Cang are still getting some returns from the game, so...¡± Liu Chang ended her drone early, but believed that Ye Ci would understand what she was getting on about.

    ¡°Bloody oath.¡± Ye Ci grinned like a dead fox. Originally, she had only wanted to help teach Dong Yin and Yi Cang a lesson, but now she was going full ball. She definitely had to beat this dungeon before dark. After she got First Blood for the dungeon, future events might not need her to rearrange the mas.

    Unbridled Willow wanted to f*ck up Thousand Sunsetspletely, so he obviously wouldn¡¯t let Dong Yin and Yi Cang off scot free. They were likely jump off the wagon in the end. She had merely been thinking of just giving them a smack, however, now things were up sh*t creek without a paddle in sight...

    Let alone moving the mas, now she felt like she didn¡¯t have the board either.

    Ye Ci gulped down some air. She hadn¡¯t wanted to mangle them but they had ultimately jumped in the deep end. C*nts f*cking themselves like this was quite ironic.

    ¡°Siren¡¯s gonna blow, you should finish up.¡± Ye Ci lowered her eyes and gave it to Liu Chang, then went and f*cked off towards the rest of the group. As Liu Chang stood there watching her boot dust, it was crystal clear in her mind that although Ye Ci seemed to no longer want hair or hide with Dong Yin and Yi Cang, deep in the guts, she still didn¡¯t want them to end up cactus.

    Unfortunately, the world is a coin toss.

    Although Liu Chang didn¡¯t understand what problems Thousand Sunsets was facing at the moment, from the many times Dong Yin had tried to buy strat books from her in private, it was dog¡¯s balls to see that Thousand Sunsets had gotten bogged down in trouble. If this continued to turn things tail up... it would probably end up bringing in Dong Yin and Yi Cang¡¯s sheds.

    Liu Chang once again conjured up Yi Cang¡¯s sharp words that day, and her heart ached like a knife was business end through it. She took a deep gulp, ¡®Fine, let¡¯s just leave it like that.¡¯ After all was said and done, they weren¡¯t catching a lift down the same road. This was bloody enough.

    Ye Ci silently adjusted her thoughts, then gulped a freshie before yelling loudly, ¡°Get ready to start.¡±

    Once she gave her order, everyone acted busy at the three points mentioned in the strats she had yabbered earlier.

    ¡°The BOSS won¡¯t use anything special on this part. Everyone watch how much you¡¯re spitting. Keep in mind saving the use of your main skills. They better not f*cking be down when we get to the second part. Also, it ain¡¯t your dole payment, don¡¯t use all of your mana. Your first mana pot shouldn¡¯t be downed before we reach the second stage.¡± After starting, Ye Ci calmlyyed out the key points of this first part.

    That said, many drongos were greedy and went deaf to Ye Ci¡¯s words, instead spamming their attacks. The damage values that appeared were fair dinkum beaut. But to Ye Ci, who had been constantly running numbers the moment they entered the dungeon, these damage values made her deadset cranky. She could foresee them running out of steamter on because their damage had been too high starting off. Despite this, Ye Ci kept her gob shut. It wasn¡¯t like her to change her ways now, even if it was gonna be like tits on a bull. Its just started, how could she pack up now?

    Because there were so many dipsticks who didn¡¯t listen to her, she went full ball to increase her DPS, which caused Dani to quickly enter the second part. All they heard was Dani shriek, ¡°This is my house, I won¡¯t let you c*nts f*ck around here.¡±

    It had barely spoken before they saw four Dani charging towards them from each side of the bibong. Ye Ci immediately shouted, ¡°Make them rack off.¡±

    The MT, Bai Mo, was a top bloke. Whilst Ye Ci had been yelling just now, he had already sprinted past the healers, attracting the aggro of the four clones, then charged over to where the healers were pozzied.

    ¡°Healers, get over to the ranged attackers. Remember to pay attention to healing the melee fighters. The main and vice-healer are assigned to the MT. You absolutely cannot let it OT. OT is definitely not the boofhead¡¯s responsibility here

    ¡°Rangers, give me some mana.¡± The healers had only just joined the ranged attackers when Ye Ci suddenly heard someone whinge in the general chat. She gave a spin to look. The little b*tch was a Sorcerer called Sd Mustard. Ye Ci promptly opened up the stats to take a squiz his numbers. ording to the team data, this tosser was not a main damage dealer. Usually, his output in a dungeon would only be just above sh*thouse. On top, when Mi Lu told everyone to go t out in outputting damage, he was only in thirty-somethingth ce. However, when they had just started fighting, she told everyone to control their output yet this wanker¡¯s output was sticking out like dog¡¯s balls at the top, exceeding Timely Rain and Pickled Pepper Phoenix w, who were usually at the top, by a mile. This indicated that he was a f*ckwit with nothing going on upstairs, just increasing aggro and umting damage, downright wasting all of his mana.

    After Sd Mustard issued this request, a Ranger called Torrential Tide replied, ¡°The cooldown for a Mana Infusion is 3 mins, we can¡¯t give you mana as you like. You should drink a pot.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already drunk it. My mana pot is still down, just give me some, okay?¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you control your mana, how the f*ck are you running on empty?¡± Another sheh Ranger called Sugar Candy Sweets couldn¡¯t help but whinge, ¡°There are only 8 Rangers in the group. If we give you one now, then what when its bloody important, when the rest need Mana Infusions?¡±

    ¡°I spent it all on fighting the BOSS, I wasn¡¯t just jacking off.¡± Sugar Candy Sweets¡¯s words clearly made Sd Mustard spit the dummy.

    ¡°What the f*ck are you on, really think you should be arguing now?¡± Seeing that a few people were sitting around b*tching, Overflowing Ink immediately put a stop to it before turning to ask Ye Ci, ¡°Leader...¡±

    ¡°Each Sorcerer and Warlock has two chances to take a Mana Infusion. Up to them when they want it.¡± Ye Ci never gave two sh*ts about it, merelyid down her rules. She then said, ¡°Sugar Candy Sweets, give Mustard some of your mana.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Sugar Candy Sweets was obviously bloody reluctant, but since Ye Ci had already issued the order, she could only start tossing her mana to him. Following this, everyone got the ding of a notification in themand channel. ¡°Sd Mustard, upation: Sorcerer. Sugar Candy Sweets has given him a Mana Infusion. Remaining Mana Infusion chances: one time.¡±

    This notification system actually was ancient, but garbomanders wouldn¡¯t have the skill to think ahead about how much mana would be used during a fight. Thus, this system would normally be left dry.

    However, this was a piece of piss for Ye Ci. In fact, she had crunched the numbers while Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink were takingmand. When everyone was getting ready earlier, Ye Ci actually had made many preparations herself, putting in the hard yakka to set it up.

    And now, this system showed its effect quick.

    All of the damage dealers immediately took notice of their mana. After all, sorcerers and warlocks only had two chances to receive Mana Infusions, not to mention everyone else... Suddenly, everyone started rubbing their sticks together regardless of their ss. They no longer dared to spam their skills like a lizard drinking.

    Sd Mustard was even more touchy. Hearing the system ding, he then became aware that he was a massive f*cking c*nt, wasting so much mana. He only had one more chance, would he still be able to keep it together until the end of the third part if he continued?

    Due to the fact that everyone was putting too much attention to it, their damage dropped, so much so that some people started drying up in output. When Dani summoned its clones for the second time, a bunch of the damage dealers went cactus. Upon seeing this, Ye Ci didn¡¯t hesitate to issue the order to withdraw.

    Everyone immediately withdrew, then slowly carted their teammates back and replenished their supplies. Ye Ci saw everyone on their date beginning their recovery, then said, ¡°Everyone needs to get used to this sh*t. This system is here to get everyone running at top and make you more aware about your mana. There¡¯s nothing to it, as long as everyone cleans their ears about outputting damage. You don¡¯t need to put the system on a pedestal.¡±

    Soon after, Ye Ci went on, ¡°Actually, needing a Mana Infusion early ain¡¯t so bad. After all, each Mana Infusion has a cooldown of 3 mins. If everyone wants their Mana Infusion in one go, the Rangers won¡¯t keep up. So, if you need a Mana Infusion early on no worries. As long as you do your job, don¡¯t worry about the rest.¡±

    Many people were at ease after hearing these words. Mustard¡¯s example just now left everyone¡¯s minds like a dog¡¯s breakfast, shaking at the thought they would upset theirmander if they needed one too early. Never crossed them that Gongzi You would not get up everyone, instead very considerately lowering the pressure on everyone. This caused everyone to let out long sighs of relief.

    After getting everyone¡¯s minds on the right track, Ye Ci again issued the order to set off. Although Ye Ci was determined to grab First Blood this time, she deemed the building of the entire team¡¯s fighting tempo more important so they could create good habits. After all, the bizzo with Unbridled Willow was merely a single transaction, whereas leading her team was a long haul.

    This time, everyone cleaned out their ears. During the controlling output period, people no longer used mana-costly skills. Even though this extended the time spent on the first stage, it opened the highest possibility of rapidly concluding the second stage.

    The first part went peaz and they entered the second part quick as. Bai Mo acted as MT and secured the aggro, which let the sub-tank Little Icy Cold Hands equip offense-oriented equipment and go t out for a while. After Ye Ci saw Bai Mo pull the BOSS, she yabbered out an order, ¡°All DPS go f*cking hard as into this c*nt.¡±

    Thismand let everyone who had been fenced up for an entire stage give a sigh of relief. All the DPS frantically went full ball. The only thing that could be seen was the HP of Dani sharply dropping. Ye Ci continued going t out while keeping her eyes to the status of Dani¡¯s health bar. As soon as she saw that there were approximately 8 bars of health before it would enter the third part, she once again shouted, ¡°Control your attacks, control your mana. Let your sh*t recover.¡±

    Having carked it once before, everyone f*cking listened this time. They curbed their powerful moves, and used some skills that didn¡¯t cost much mana. On one hand, they were recovering mana, on the other hand, they were waiting for their powerful moves toe back. Meanwhile, Ye Ci was t out like a lizard drinking. After all, amongst everyone in the group, she was the only one who didn¡¯t fear wasting her mana. If she also fenced herself up during this time and the DPS turned out sh*t, Dani was liable to bring out another batch of clones. If she summoned another batch of clones, their party would very likely get wiped out.

    Ye Ci intently focused on that c*nt Dani. Based on her past experience, the BOSS would typically give itself a BUFF. If the yers had yet to reach the third part when the BUFF wore off, then the second batch of clones would unlimitedly detonate.

    As expected, Dani extended her arms and rose in the air with a piercing shout. ¡°I¡¯m gonna wreck you little sh*tstains.¡±

    Soon after, a ¡°Rage¡± BUFF appeared under Dani¡¯s icon. At this time, Ye Ci immediately gave a roll call of several damage dealers. ¡°If you hear your name, give it your f*cking all. If I don¡¯t call your name, continue to keep your head down.¡±

    The rage BUFFsted 5 mins. Ye Ci called out 8 DPS every 30 secs to focus fire. The names she called were also picked after tight calctions. Each time she called out names of both high damage dealers as well as people who f*cking suck. As much as possible, she made it so that each time she acted teacher, the yers responsible would stay at the same level.

    This method was clearly very effective. All the DPS were tensed up. For those 30 secs, they seemed to hold themselves back, waiting until their name was called, after which they would go hard as f*ck at Dani as though they were about to cark it. This kind of focused eruption was actually much higher than their usual damage output.

    Upwards Ho!¡¯s current gear was not considered poor, but their coordination and awareness wasckingpared to the major guilds. As a result, Ye Ci¡¯s roll calling for a full ball assault was both for defeating the BOSS, as well as for improving their reactions and coordination. With only 42 secs remaining, Dani finally entered the third part. This process was slow as piss, however, Ye Ci was still quite satisfied. After polishing them up like this a couple more times, she believed that they would sharpen up.

    After all, f*cking effort needed to be put in for talent to take shape.

    ¡°MT, 2nd Boof, give the BOSS ap. All of the DPS and healers, on my tail. If you get poisoned, don¡¯t lose your sh*t. All you need to do is leg it to the Boofheads. Icy Cold Little Hands, you¡¯re in charge of healing the poisoned.¡±

    Bai Mo was true to his role as one of the top ten Boofheads in her previous life. Although he had just heard Ye Ci exin the running pace and speed once while they had been recovering, he was already so good it seemed like he had done this forever. On the contrary, it was Little Icy Cold Hands who was tense as a brick, following Bai Mo while saying, ¡°Old Mo, you carry, I¡¯m still not ready yet. You better not cark it, I¡¯ll keep following you for ap to get with the pace.¡±

    ¡°Harden the f*ck up. If I cark it, you¡¯ll be bloody fine.¡± Bai Mo gave so little sh*ts that he even cracked Little Icy Cold Hands a smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what¡¯s getting to me, I¡¯m worried about getting enough heals.¡± Little Icy Cold Hands was not telling porkies. In the guild, the main healers were Icy Cold Little Hands and Fruit Jelly. However, Fruit Jelly had recently been only thinking about getting heaps of damage and rarely healed, so Rain Butterfly was given a transfer to be a secondary healer. Furthermore, Icy Cold Little Hands had now been told to just cure poison, so the main healers for Bai Mo had be Rain Butterfly and another Cleric called Ghost Cat, as well as a Priest called Tree Desires Tranquillity. Of the three of them, only Rain Butterfly had any experience with healing the MT. Ghost Cat and Tree Desires Tranquillity both usually healed melee fighters or DPS, and didn¡¯t know head from tail when it came to healing the MT. When they were named to heal Bai Mo, they shook like a dodgy washing machine.

    They were all pissing themselves, not to mention Little Icy Cold Hands who was dripping sweat. He was acting as though he was the MT.

    Bai Mo naturally knew what Little Icy Cold Hands was getting on about, but this was something that was better kept privo, and not something to be spat out. Once it was dug up, he was afraid it might affect Ghost Cat and Tree Desires Tranquillity¡¯s mental states, causing them to leak even more.

    Bai Moughed, gave a look at the three people who were pissing themselves more than Little Icy Cold Hands. He yabbered in themand channel. ¡°To be a Boofhead is to believe fair dinkum in the healers. If a Boof can¡¯t do that, how the f*ck could he face the BOSS?¡±

    Little Icy Cold Hands was caught in the headlights. He looked at the three¡¯s mood again and knew that Bai Mo was letting it out for them to hear. His mind cooled down like it was in an esky. He rushed over to Bai Mo andughed, ¡°Of course you, Old C*nt, would be so f*cking light-hearted.¡±

    The three healers in charge of healing the MT and 2nd Tank heard Bai Mo¡¯s words, and their originally bricked mood turned to sand.

    Ye Ci heard Bai Mo¡¯s words. She then nced at the three healers and the blue-faced Little Icy Cold Hands again, and saw through Bai Mo¡¯s sh*t. She spun her head towards the other ranged fighters and said, ¡°My movement speed is bloody fast. I¡¯ll jog down my pace to wait for you, but you guys better not ck off. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be wrecked by ice des.¡±

    Many yers had already carked it in the third part. All this time, they were so buggered that they couldn¡¯t even unhinge their gobs. Naturally, whatever Ye Ci said was spot on. At this same time, Ye Ci issued her first and only order of the third part, ¡°DPS throw f*cking everything at the C*nt. Don¡¯t be a wuss about mana, those without, start getting Mana Infusions now.¡±

 Chapter 202 Congratulations

    The yers in need of mana immediately shouted out loud, as if it was thest chance they would have in their entire lives. However, there were only 8 Rangers, and not all the yers were able to receive a Mana Infusion. Some of them could only gulp down Mana Potions, and some were forced to wait for their mana to regenerate. At a time like this, the yers began to realize the importance of conserving their mana. Their orders were to hit the BOSS with everything they¡¯ve got, but they were unable to keep up with their attacks.

    In a situation like this, the only solution was to make do with chugging down Mana Potions continuously.

    Due to the good teamwork, the party was able to deal enough damage to the BOSS. They matched Ye Ci¡¯s speed, while carefully calcting their mana, to deal the most damage while spending the least amount of mana.

    Ye Ci knew that they were in a tightspot, and she knew that if they did not push themselves to their limits, they could easily fail. She pushed away any thoughts of failure. She simply wanted to give her best. Be it ingame or in real life, she had to put her best effort into everything. Ye Ci was someone who was even greedier than a gambler.

    She ordered to continue the attack even at such a dire moment, asking herself: Why am I doing this? Would Ye Ci make the same choice if she was leading the members of another guild? The answer was no. In her heart, ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ was the only guild that would allow her to act on her whims. This was the only guild with members who would trust her unconditionally, and give her their unconditional support. That was why she had the courage to make the gamble. If she was working with any other guild, they would definitely demand a repair fee from her.

    It had been 10 years since Ye Cist entered this dungeon. After a few tries, she was able to remember the correct positioning and speed. The ranged sses suffered some degree of damage at the start, but waster able to avoid any damage.

    Despite that, the healers were anxious. They were worried about any sudden ultimate skills that might be released by the BOSS.

    None of the guilds managed to make it past the third stage of the BOSS battle, which meant that nobody knew what would happen in the fourth stage of the fight. Ye Ci, of course, was an exception. She was no longer travelling in a straight line or in an arc. She began running an ¡°S¡± shaped pattern. The pathing of such movement skills had to be precise, pushing the ability of her party members to the limit. In Ye Ci¡¯sst life, this secret was only discovered after the countless sacrifices made by yers.

    As long as any party member strayed from this ¡°S¡± -path, they would be damaged by the BOSS¡¯s Icy des and poisoned by her attacks. The path could be said to be a BUG that was discovered by yers in Ye Ci¡¯s past life. Nobody, including members of Tang Dynasty and Wolf Pack, knew about such a method. To prevent suspicions, Ye Ci would often stray from the path so that her members would suffer some damage. This would be able to mask her knowledge of such a strategy while keeping her members alert.

    After stumbling their way around, the party suffered some minor casualties. Most of the party members survived, and the healers began healing the yers up frantically.

    Ye Ci paid close attention to Dani¡¯s health, preparing for the BOSS¡¯s ultimates, Icy de of Haste and Lethal Poison.

    ¡°Do you think that you can defeat me? You¡¯re dreaming!¡± as Dani¡¯s health was slowly chipped away, she stopped her attack on Bai Mo and Little Icy Cold Hand. She stood ring at the rest of the party, and began taunting them.

    It¡¯sing.

    Ye Ci was waiting for this moment. This moment that spelled disaster for countless guilds trying their best to defeat Dani. The BOSS would release dozens of low flying Icy des in every direction that were almost impossible to dodge. No yer, no matter how tough their character was, would be able to survive 3 hits from the Icy des. Even if a yer had a perfect positioning, he or she would not be able to dodge the Lethal Poison that follows after the Icy des.

    The strategy employed by most of the guilds was to jump when the Icy des appeared. This would throw the party into disarray, but it made sure the survival of many of the yers before Lethal Poison was released. They would then drink a Medium Antidote to resist the poison effect.

    Mi Lu and Overflowing Ink were also using such a strategy.

    It was a strategy that just won¡¯t work. It was impossible to ensure that all the party members have the same mechanical skill. There were those who had practice, and there would always be those who panicked in crucial moments. It was very easy for them to make mistakes while dodging the Icy des, leading to heavy casualties. Under such circumstances, there was no way the party would have enoughbat strength left to fight the BOSS even if they survived the Lethal Poison.

    Besides, a Medium Antidote was one of the most expensive potions in the market at the current stage at the game.

    Ye Ci had a different solution. She stopped moving, prompting the rest of the party to do the same. They had all reached this stage of the fight in the past, and were in by the Icy des. The yer were anxious as they waited for Ye Ci¡¯s orders.

    It was something that they have not expected.

    Instead of ordering her members to jump, Ye Ci gave the followingmand, ¡°I want everyone to lie t on the ground!¡±

    The yers were stunned. Only a few of them responded to Ye Ci¡¯smand. While the rest of them shared confused looks with each other, Ye Ci shouted out again, ¡°Lay t on the ground now! Those who do not listen to mymand will pay for the repair fees of the entire party!¡±

    No way! It would cost a fortune to pay for the maintenance fees of a 100-man party!

    In the end, humans were beings that prioritize their own gains. When they heard that their benefits were being threatened, the party members immediately reacted to Ye Ci¡¯s words. Just then, Dani released her Icy des, and the entire partyid t on the ground.

    ¡°Don¡¯t peek! Justy still and don¡¯t move a muscle until I give anothermand-¡± Ye Ci reminded her party members.

    Despite their curiosity, the yers knew how devastating the Icy des could be. One tiny mistake could spell disaster. Not one of them dared to move. Theyid motionlessly on the ground, like puppets with their strings cut off, waiting for an order from Ye Ci.

    Dani let out a loud wail. It was the signal that she would stop firing her Icy des, which meant that she was about to cast Lethal Poison.

    They were not exploring the Elite difficulty version of Castle Ruins, so the Lethal Poison was not that hard to deal with. As long as they would remainying on the ground, the yers would be able to avoid any damage from the skill. However, if they were challenging the dungeon at Elite difficulty, the damage from Lethal Poison was impossible to avoid. The only option for yers was to resist the effects of the poison with a Medium Antidote. With the shortage of such potions in the market, there was no way they could challenge Castle Ruins at Elite difficulty.

    After what seemed to be an eternity, Dani¡¯s voice finally rang out, ¡°It seems that I have to get serious. You ants have disturbed my peaceful rest. I will make you pay!¡±

    Ye Ci raised her head, and saw Dani moving slowly towards the center of the pond. The process would take 20 seconds, and this meant that the fourth stage of the battle will begin.

    ¡°Everyone, get up! Back at least 24 yards away from the BOSS! Do not get close to her when the battle starts!¡±

    A system notification rang out, and a message appeared in the disy of all party members, ¡°The battle is about to enter its fourth stage. Prepare for battle. Countdown: 10 seconds.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re entering the fourth stage soon people! None of us here have entered this stage before. Stay away from the BOSS! Even if our party gets annihted, we have at least found the way to clear the third stage of the BOSS battle!¡± of course, Ye Ci could not reveal the fact that she knew the strategy to win the fourth stage. She could only patiently guide them towards the right direction.

    She was able to convince her party members, and they began backing away from the BOSS to the safe distance of 24 yards. None of them dared to attack. Each and every one of them was waiting for Ye Ci¡¯s instruction.

    ¡°Oh? What is happening? I seem to have grown tired.¡± said Dani when she reached the center of the pond. She rubbed her temple softly and let out a sigh, ¡°But, even if I¡¯m tired, I cannot forgive your insolence!¡±

    With that, she moved towards the yers slowly, surrounded by a golden aura. The yers knew that it was a good idea to stay away from the circle of aura.

    Ye Ci fired an arrow at Dani. When it was confirmed that she was able to deal damage to the BOSS, she gave the order, ¡°Concentrate all your attacks on the BOSS! She has only 20% of her health left! There will be no fifth stage! Stay away from that circle!¡±

    The ranged sses began peppering Dani with spells and abilities. When they were lying down, many were able to recover their mana, which meant that they could bombard the BOSS with everything they had without reserve.

    ¡°What about us?¡± asked the melee yers in the party. There were only 35 melee ss yers in the party, but all of them had superior equipment and a highbat strength. Without them, it was next to impossible for the party to get past the fourth stage.

    ¡°Calm your horses, give me some moments. You do know that I¡¯ve never been to this dungeon before right?¡± Ye Ci knew that melee sses were not needed in this stage of the battle, but she had toe up with a believable excuse. She spoke up after a brief pause, ¡°The melee yers canunch throwing knives at the BOSS.¡±

    The melee yers were not happy with the tiny amount of damage they dealt, but they had to carry out the orders of theirmander.

    Not long after their attacks began, a system notification shed before their eyes, ¡°Cold Winter, you have angered Frost Queen Dani, she is ring at you.¡±

    This was what Ye Ci has been waiting for.

    She was waiting for this DEBUFF. In truth, Dani herself doesn¡¯t pose much of a threat to yers in the fourth stage of the battle, but she could cast a very potent debuff on yers. It was the debuff that had just been cast on Cold Winter: Wrathful re. yers who were affected by the debuff would receive a 200% attack and defence bonus, and were rendered immune to Dani¡¯s Ring of Wrath, but would die within 30 seconds. The only viable strategy was for yers affected by the debuff to rush into the ring of golden aura and attack Dani with everything they had. If the affected yers did not rush into the circle and sooth Dani¡¯s warth, all members of the party will be in by an ultimate skill called ¡°Blood of Annihtion¡±.

    ¡°Cold Winter, were you affected by any debuff?¡± asked Ye Ci. She would not of course immediately order her member to rush into the circle right away as this would indirectly reveal that she was very familiar with the dungeon.

    Cold Winter was a skillful Rogue among the elites of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. Despite his good mechanical skill, the man had very bad luck.

    ¡°There¡¯s a debuff called Wrathful re that has a 30 seconds countdown timer. I received a 200% bonus in attack and defence, as well as immunity to the Ring of Wrath.¡± Cold Winter was able to react quickly to Ye Ci¡¯s question.

    ¡°Alright, get into that circle and attack the BOSS. Mana is not an issue, just throw everything you have at her.¡± Ye Ci immediately gave the order.

    Cold Winter immediately rushed into the circle and attacked the BOSS. Noticing that Cold Winter had only half his mana left, Sugar Candy Sweet asked, ¡°Leader, do I need to cast Mana Infusion on Cold Winter?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no nead.¡±

    ¡°Why? His mana won¡¯tst for long.¡± Sugar Candy Sweet was curious.

    Ye Ci could not offer a direct answer. She shook her head and let out a sigh, ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be needing it. We don¡¯t know what will happen when the countdown is over.¡±

    She then followed up with another order, ¡°I want all the healers to attack the BOSS as well. No matter how little damage you think you¡¯re dealing, just hit the BOSS with everything you¡¯ve got.¡±

    Cold Winter was worried as he entered the golden circle surrounding the BOSS. Gongzi You did not give the order for healers to heal him up, he was afraid that he would be killed by the BOSS. However, the BOSS did not react to his presence even after taking several attacks from him, and was still moving forward slowly.

    The attack bonus was very potent. Cold Winter was able to deal a tremendous amount of damage to the BOSS. This gave him a sense of aplishment. When the 30 seconds of the debuff was up, he heard a system notification, ¡°You¡¯ve died out of fear for Dani¡¯s wrath.¡±

    His character let out a blood-curdling scream, and dropped lifeless on the ground. ¡°I knew it! There¡¯s no way the BOSS will give such a good buff to you! That thing will kill you when the 30 seconds is over!¡± he shouted.

    The party members had finally gained an insight about the BOSS¡¯s ability in the fourth stage of the battle. When their name was called by the BOSS, they immediately dashed into the circle and did theirst performance before their deaths.

    ¡°I have a bad feeling about this.¡± said Bai Mo who was throwing knives at the BOSS.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± asked Little Icy Cold Hands who was also forced to throw daggers at the BOSS.

    ¡°It¡¯s like waiting for our own funeral. When our name is called, it¡¯s death for us. What a tormenting experience.¡± said Bai Mo with a sad voice.

    His words were met with agreement by Little Icy Cold Hands, ¡°I know, right! I thought I¡¯m the only one with such a thought! I¡¯m looking forward for my name to be called, but I was afraid to be called out at the same time!¡±

    Their conversation was overheard by the rest of the party members. They looked at the ground that was littered with corpses and felt depressed.

    ¡°Raging Tides, you have angered Frost Queen Dani, she is ring at you.¡± every member of the party was praying that their name would not be called, but they knew that it was an eventuality. Raging Tides was the first Ranger to be named by the BOSS. As he stepped into the circle, Ye Ci shouted out, ¡°Tides, cast Mana Infusion on a mage with the least amount of mana!¡±

    After doing thest thing he could to help the party, Raging Tides charged into the circle without hesitation.

    Ye Ci¡¯s sight never strayed away from Dani¡¯s health. She paid close attention to the BOSS¡¯s hitpoints while also silently counting the number of yers alive and also keeping up her attacks on the BOSS. She was very busy.

    The members of the party knew that they were at a very crucial moment. They began chugging down all sorts of potion and casting different buffs on themselves in an attempt to deal more damage to the BOSS before time ran out.

    Only 9 yers were alive when Dani had 2% of her hitpoints remaining. Ye Ci was pressured. 2% might not seem to be a lot, but it was a huge uncertainty if the 9 of them could defeat Dani.

    Ye Ci was not the only one who realised how dire the situation was. The members who were alive were going all out on the BOSS, while those who were dead cheered them on.

    Since the ¡°dead¡± was unable to speak, chat bubbles began to rise from the corpses, cheering the living on. Ye Ci felt a sliver of warmth creeping into her heart as she read the words of encouragement.

    So this is what it means to be have team. So this is what it means to have a team that is willing to ept her!

    Just then, Timely Rain, who was one of the best mage ss yers in the guild, was called out by the BOSS. He immediately rushed into the circle. He was determined not to go down without a fight.

    Timely Rain was indeed worthy of being one of the best mages in the guild. He was able to deal a lot of damage to the BOSS within the 30 seconds window, bring the health of the BOSS down to 1.4%. Before he fell, Timely Rain shouted out to Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi, hang in there!¡±

    However, before he could finish his sentence, Ye Ci¡¯s name was called out by the BOSS as well.

    The party members beganughing at Timely Rain. Because of this incident, he was forever known as the jinx in ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. Of course, it was something that happened in the future.

    When Ye Ci¡¯s name was called out, she immediately dashed into the circle and summoned Ol¡¯ Four. She began furiously attacking Dani.

    There was only 30 seconds for her left.

    Ye Ci used every ability she had as a Huntress on Dani, and a multiple of dazzling visual effects erupted around the BOSS. The entire party was stunned. Gongzi You was really showing off the true potential of a Huntress when she went all out.

    Her attacks were elegant, dazzling, and deadly. The Hunters in the party were excited to see Ye Ci¡¯s performance. So this is the true potential of the Hunter ss!

    Despite her ferocity, Ye Ci was unable to defeat Dani when the 30 seconds ended for her. She dropped dead on the ground with Ol¡¯ Four when Dani had 0.2% of her health remaining.

    Despite the dissatisfaction in her heart, Ye Ci knew for a fact that she has failed to defeat Dani. It was all up to the rest of the members who remained alive. This was her second death in Fate, but her death was not meaningless. It was an honor to have fought and died with her party members.

    Fruit Jelly was the next yer to be named by the BOSS.

    As a Cleric who was known for her high DPS, Fruit Jelly did not fail to deliver. With 9 seconds left on the timer and 6 surviving yers, Dani was finally defeated.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it! I can¡¯t believe it! I will never lose! I¡¯m just... Too tired...¡± Dani clutched at her face and let out a wail. Her health bar was empty, but she did not fall.

    Fruit Jelly¡¯s attack on Dani did not stop. She began grumbling out loud, ¡°Why is she not dead yet? Why is she not dead yet ?! Will she be enraged or something?¡±

    Her words were met with anger.

    ¡°Shut up, Fruit Jelly!¡±

    ¡°If it happens, you¡¯ll be the first to die!¡±

    ¡°Fruit Jelly, if the BOSS bes enraged, you¡¯ll pay for all our equipment maintenance today!¡±

    ¡°Oi oi oi... Cut me some ck! I¡¯m just worried!¡± Fruit Jelly was dejected. She was merely voicing out her worry.

    Ye Ci unlocked the voice channel, allowing the members to speak freely without having to type. The voice channel immediately bustled with activity. Each and every one of the yers were waiting for Dani to fall. If she did not fall, the system will not register her death, and it meant that Upwards Ho! have not cleared the dungeon. All eyes were on Dani, with their owners silently praying that she would simply drop dead.

    However, Dani¡¯s death cinematic was too long, and the party members began losing their patience.

    Ye Ci was not worried. This was a BOSS she had defeated countless times in her past life. She was not at all worried that Dani will go berserk. She knew that the BOSS will fall very soon.

    ¡°F*ck! Is she going to die or not?¡± White Snow, who was one of the surviving yers began stabbing Dani on the buttocks with his dagger, ¡°If you don¡¯t die now I¡¯ll take im the first blood on your chrysanthemum!¡±

    ¡°You perv!¡± Fruit Jelly voice out her disdain at White Snow.

    The remaining party members followed their lead and began attacking Dani with their weapons.

    Ye Ci was dumbfounded by their actions. She decided against stopping her members. Even if every BOSS had their own dignity, it was not her rights to stop the yers from venting their frustration. She averted her gaze, and pretended that the scene unfolding in front of her did not happen.

    ¡°I think... I need... Some rest... I really, really...¡± Dani finally walked towards her throne, and slumped onto the throne.

    ¡°Is she dead?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡±

    As the yers continued their assault on Dani¡¯s corpse, the system notification rang up.

    ¡°Congrattions Upwards Ho! for achieving First Clear of the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins at Normal difficulty. Rewards: Guild Prestige x2000, Global Prestige x2000, Gold coins x15000. Let us remember the names of the heroes!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Remote Depths for achieving First Blood in the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins at Normal difficulty. Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige x500, Talent Points x8. Achievement: ¡°Normal Difficulty Castle Ruins First Five¡±. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Gongzi You for achieving First Blood in the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins at Normal difficulty. Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige x500, Talent Points x8. Achievement: ¡°Normal Difficulty Castle Ruins First Five¡±. Her name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Little Icy Cold Hands for achieving First Blood in the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins at Normal difficulty. Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige x500, Talent Points x8. Achievement: ¡°Normal Difficulty Castle Ruins First Five¡±. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Let Go Of That Girl for achieving First Blood in the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins at Normal difficulty. Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige x500, Talent Points x8. Achievement: ¡°Normal Difficulty Castle Ruins First Five¡±. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate!¡±

    ......

    As Ye Ci was not the party leader, she did not receive a confirmation from the system. Bai Mo who was the leader would of course chose to announce their names. There was no way Bai Mo would let go of a chance to advertise their guild to the world.

    Ye Ci who was very anxious to achieve First Clear would of course not stop Bai Mo from doing so. After all, it was beneficial to the guild. She turned off the recording function of her game. There was no need for Unbridled Willow to see the loot dropped by the BOSS.

    ¡°Aiya, we¡¯ve got First Blood!¡± the members of the party screamed out their joy. The cheers was so loud that Ye Ci could feel her eardrums rupturing. She immediately turned off her voice chat.

    Since they¡¯ve managed to clear the dungeon, none of the yers waited for Fruit Jelly to cast Resurrection. They immediately respawned as the spawn point was not far away.

    As usual, Ye Ci was not involved in the looting. She backed away from Dani¡¯s corpse and healed herself up before resurrecting Ol¡¯ Four.

    At that moment, her private message channel was flooded with messages. She did not have to take a look to know who were the senders of the messages. They were probably the leaders of all the major guilds trying to buy the dungeon clearing guide from her.

    She ignored each and every one of them and shouted at Bai Mo, ¡°Remote Depths!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Bai Mo, who was ready to loot the BOSS¡¯s corpse turned around when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s call. ¡°What is it?¡± he sent a private message to Ye Ci.

    ¡°The major guilds are trying to buy dungeon-clearing videos and guides from me. You know what to do.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve sold the guide to someone?¡± Bai Mo knew Ye Ci very well. He was immediately able to guess Ye Ci¡¯s intention.

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Who did you sell it to?¡± curiosity washed over Bai Mo before he was hit by suddenly realization, ¡°Could it be... Unbridled Willow?¡±

    ¡°Why are you so smart?¡± Ye Ciughed.

    ¡°Of course! Do you know who I am? I am your genius cousin!¡± Bai Mo answered arrogantly, ¡°How much did you sell it for?¡±

    ¡°22 million.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s rather low!¡± Bai Mo pursed his lips, ¡°That¡¯s like 4 million in real world currency. We have to split it among so many members, and then there¡¯s the guild¡¯s expenditure...¡±

    ¡°In real world currency.¡±

    Ye Ci received no reply from Bai Mo. When she stole a nce at his direction, he has already fainted.

    Both Ye Ci and Bai Mo were not from wealthy families. For them, 22 million was a huge sum of money that they would never even dare to dream of. To have such arge sum of money falling onto hisp, it was no wonder that Bai Mo fainted.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. Ignoring Bai Mo, she began muting all her private message channels. When she saw a voice call from Unbridled Willow, she picked up the call without hesitation.

    ¡°Congrattions, Gongzi You! Really, congrattions!¡±,Unbridled Willow¡¯s excited voice immediately entered her ears. It was as if he was the one who have achieved the First Blood instead of Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips and replied softly, ¡°Congrattions to you as well. I wonder if you¡¯re congratting me, or are you congratting yourself?¡±

    Unbridled Willow paid no mind to Ye Ci¡¯s sarcasm. After his earlier dealings with the girl, he knew that it was best to ignore her taunts, or he will be angered to death some day.

    ¡°I¡¯ve sent you the money. 55 million gold coins. You¡¯ll receive them once you leave the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get in contact once I¡¯ve made sure that the amount is correct.¡± Ye Ci nodded, as if she was not excited to receive the payment.

    However, Unbridled Willow could barely contain his excitement, ¡°When can you give me the video?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get in touch once I¡¯ve confirmed the payment. Of course, I¡¯ll need to talk to my guild members about this first. After all, this is the result of their hard work.¡± Ye Ci was as excited as Unbridled Willow, who was biggest benefactor of this deal.

    Despite his anxiety, Unbridled Willow knew that haste will ruin everything. He was able to keep hisposure, ¡°Alright. I await your good news.¡± said Unbridled Willow. Despite that, Unbridled Willow was still slightly worried, ¡°Of course, I hope that you won¡¯t make me wait too long for that video.¡±

    Unbridled Willow¡¯s words fell on deaf ears. Ye Ci let out augh and disconnected from the call. She cast a nce at Bai Mo, who was slowly recovering from his shock. He gave Ye Ci a thumbs up the moment he opened his eyes.

 Chapter 203 Ye Ciâ€™s Troubles

    Chapter 203 Ye Ci¡¯s Troubles

    Ye Ci could feel the ck, cursed aura around her thickening.

    The ck aura surrounding her was so dark that it painted the entire dungeon ck.

    Despite achieving First Blood in a 100-yer dungeon, there was not a single piece of Hunter equipment among the loot dropped by the BOSS. Yes, there was not a single one.

    Not. A. Single. One.

    There were nine Hunters in the party including Ye Ci, and all of them were dumbfounded. Ideal Height 1.7m let out a sigh as the other Hunters began drawing circles while crouching in a corner and cursed Ye Ci for bringing them bad luck.

    Ye Ci stood behind them and cleared her throat. She then chuckled as she attempted to console her fellow Hunters, ¡°Uhh... You know... The future is bright and our path ahead is beautiful. We will have more skill books and equipment in theing days. I swear that I¡¯ll give the priority to you guys when we get any Hunter equipment. How does that sound?¡±

    Naturally Cute let out a sigh, ¡°The problem is... They might not even drop...¡±

    The seven other Hunters remained silent, but they nodded in agreement to Naturally Cute¡¯s words. Ye Ci could feel the pressure. I did not ask for this... I did not ask for this...

    Let Go Of That Girl walked up to Ye Ci and waved the pair of gauntlets he had just obtained in front of her, ¡°Gongzi, I think you can drink some of those Balm of Blessings of yours. I¡¯ve heard that you got quite a lot of them during the Dragon Dance Competition.¡±

    Fruit Jelly joined in on the fun as well, ¡°Yup! Gongzi, we really feel sorry for your bad luck! We¡¯ve all worked hard for the loots! You know how bad we will feel for you, if your bad luck continues?¡±

    Ye Ci turned around and snorted when she saw the brand new staff held by Fruit Jelly, ¡°Judging from your expression, I highly doubt that.¡±

    Fruit Jelly chuckled, ignoring Ye Ci¡¯s darkened expression, ¡°Seriously, you should go to the Royal Monastery often and talk to the Archbishop. Go have a dip in the holy water fountain as well! I¡¯m sure your luck will improve as well!¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened further.

    She stared at Fruit Jelly with a nk expression and spoke calmly, ¡°Do you want me to assign the looting permission to myself during our next expedition?¡±

    The entire party was stunned silent. They stared at Ye Ci with mouth agape. This improved Ye Ci¡¯s mood greatly.

    That¡¯ll teach them for making fun of me!

    Ye Ci did not stay long in the dungeon. She returned to Red Lake City after giving instructions to the guild officers to gather in the Guild Conference Room after distributing the loot.

    Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s mood was sour after his death in the dungeon. With her stock of roasted meat running out, Ye Ci bought a huge load of meat from one of the taverns as a treat for him before heading up to the nearest mailbox.

    Ye Ci¡¯s mailbox was always clean, as opening mails was one of her favourite pastimes. It made her feel wanted. There was only one mail in her mailbox. It was from Unbridled Willow.

    There was only a short message in the mail, ¡°Kindly ept this down payment.¡± with 55 million gold coins attached. She epted the money and headed straight to her guild encampment.

    She entered the Guild Conference Room after reaching her destination.. The officers had already arrived, with faces glowing from excitement.. They were still reminiscing the moment when they defeated the BOSS, anddid not even notice Ye Ci¡¯s presence, even after she entered and took a seat. Ye Ci had to clear her throat to gain their attention.

    ¡°Heh, Gongzi, what we want is celebration, not a darn meeting!¡± Let Go Of That Girl¡¯s face was flushing red. His excitement was apparent.

    The guild admins and several officers of the first squadron, as well as some officers from the second squadron attended the meeting. Purity Essence was amongst them.

    ¡°We will of course celebrate. But before that, I have something to announce.¡± said Ye Ci as she set a sack of gold coins onto the table.

    Everybody present held their breath as theyid eyes upon the sack of coins. From the size of the sack, there should be dozens of millions of coins inside... The officers were stunned into silence.

    Even Bai Mo who has mentally prepared himself almost fainted when he saw the sack of coins. There was indeed several million gold coins stored within ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯s warehouse, but it was achieved only through the efforts of the guild members. It was not as awe-inspiring as the huge sum of money that has suddenly appeared in front of them.

    ¡°W-what the hell is this?¡± asked Icy Cold Little Hands and Little Icy Cold hands in unison. As husband and wife, they became full time gamers after joining ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. They were able to earn a stable ie of 80,000 in terms of real world cash as administrators of the guild. They were not wealthy, but could lead a fulfilling life with what they had. The huge sum of money came as a shock to them.

    The members of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ were not poor, but most of them were a far cry away from being wealthy. They were all from medium ss families that earned an average sry. They were able to benefit much after joining ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. This vastly increased their loyalty to the guild.

    ¡°Money.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s answer was direct and simple.

    Fruit Jelly visibly gulped, ¡°We all know it¡¯s money. But what sort of money?¡±

    ¡°In-game currency.¡± Ye Ci intentionally took the question by its literal meaning and let out a smile, ¡°Lots and lots of in-game currency.¡±

    ¡°How much?¡± even Ideal Height 1.7m was unable to keep her calm.

    ¡°55 million.¡±

    The yers gathered in the conference room almost coughed up blood.

    In the end, Bai Mo had to step up to save the day. He grabbed Ye Ci¡¯s wrist and started begging, ¡°Say ¨C stop torturing us good folks. Hurry! Tell us the truth! We¡¯re all poor people! If you keep this up, I think most of us will die from a heart attack.!¡±

    Everyone else agreed with Bai Mo¡¯s words.

    ¡°Before we entered the dungeon, somebody expressed his wish to buy the dungeon-clearing guide from us at the price of 15 million in real world currency. This is the down payment.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s answer was brief. She had no intention of revealing the identity of their customer.

    ¡°15 million... That¡¯ll be 75 million if you convert it into gold coins... And the transfer fees....¡± Timely Rain began his calction, ¡°Holy shit! This guy¡¯s f*cking rich! I guess 15 million is just numbers to him.¡±

    ¡°To be frank, it¡¯s numbers for us as well.¡± Pickled Pepper Phoenix w pursed her lips. This sum of money meant nothing to the wealthy, which is why it was just a bunch of insignificant numbers. To the poor, it meant a whole world to them. To them, it was a significantlyrge sum of numbers.

    The officers began discussing with each other.

    ¡°This money will be used to pay the sry for the members who took part in achieving the First Clear today. Timely Rain, give it out when we have our celebrationter.¡± Ye Ci handed the money to Timely Rain.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Store the rest of the money into the warehouse. As for the equipment repair fees, I¡¯ll let you admin people decide.¡± said Ye Ci as she stood up, ¡°Go and prepare for the celebration. It¡¯s time for me to collect the bnce.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m curious, why is that person willing to pay you such arge sum of money even before you entered the dungeon? Won¡¯t he be worried that you might not clear the dungeon?¡± Purity Essence stared at Ye Ci. He was excited after seeing therge sum of money. Even if he was not part of the first squadron, he was deeply impressed when Ye Ci was able to achieve First Blood and First Five while securing such a huge sum of money.

    Ye Ci smiled at Purity Essence, ¡°First of all, it¡¯s not just my effort alone. Everybody in ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ did their part. You should use the word ¡®us¡¯. And secondly, ¡± she narrowed her eyes, letting out a overbearing aura, ¡°I am Gongzi You.¡±

    There¡¯s probably nobody else in this world that could have so much confidence and yet sound so charismatic. thought Purity Essence to himself.

    ¡°Oh, by the way...¡± Ye Ci suddenly remembered something important, ¡°It¡¯s time for me to collect the bnce. I¡¯ll only give the person 3 days. We¡¯ll only wait for 3 days before we continue our expedition into Castle Ruins. I hope that yers from the first squadron could have some interaction with the second squadron and show them the ropes. We¡¯ll begin the exploration of Castle Ruins in 3 days. I hope you people will be able to clear this dungeon and secure spots in the First Five.

    I sure expect the dungeon clearance guide to l fetch us a good price after this.¡±

    Fruit Jellyughed, ¡°Gongzi, has anybody told you before that you¡¯re a money grubber?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re that person.¡± Ye Ci smiled. She then left the conference room after a small talk with the officers.

    Ye Ci sent Unbridled Willow a message as she stood at the heart of Red Lake City, ¡°Meet me at thergest tavern in Oasis City with the rest of the money.

    Thergest tavern in Oasis City was the Crippled Warrior Tavern. Unbridled Willow headed straight for the tavern, even though he was in the dungeon. He left for Oasis City after a brief exnation to Zero Arsenic and headed straight to the Crippled Warrior Tavern.

    Ye Ci arrived at Oasis City shortly after. She headed straight towards Unbridled Willow¡¯s location after confirming his whereabouts.

    Unbridled Willow poured Ye Ci some wine right after she took her seat, but Ye Ci would have none of it. She waved her hand at Unbridled Willow, ¡°You can save the wine, let¡¯s get straight to business.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Unbridled Willow nodded. He was looking forward to end this deal quickly.

    ¡°Here¡¯s the video.¡± Ye Ci ced the video into the trading tab. She was not in a hurry at all to confirm the trade. Unbridled Willow, on the other hand, was very excited as he confirmed the trade. ¡°The money.¡± said Ye Ci calmly.

    ¡°Ahhh... Look at me, I¡¯ve forgotten all about it!¡± he then ced 50 million gold coins into the trading tab, ¡°This is the rest of the money. I paid the transaction tax.¡±

    After confirming the amount of gold coins that was being traded, Ye Ci proceeded with the trade.

    The business was done.

    Unbridled Willow immediately began watching the video. Ye Ci waited for him patiently. She had to give him some time to confirm the content of the video. She ordered a meal from the NPC in their privatepartment and began dining as Unbridled Willow studied the video.

    Unbridled Willow was totally immersed in the intense battles shown by the video. Even with theck of sound, the footages made his blood boil. He started with the intention of watching parts of the video, but he was unable to stop, and finally raised his head when the video was over.

    It took ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ an hour to defeat the BOSS, which meant that the videosted for a full hour. Guessing that Unbridled Willow was almost at the end of the video, Ye Ci spoke up, ¡°So, are you satisfied with this?¡±

    Unbridled Willow was reminded of Ye Ci¡¯s presence in the room. He closed the video and nodded apologetically at Ye Ci, ¡°Ah, sorry, I was too immersed in the video. I¡¯ve even forgotten that you¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve busied myself with something.¡± Ye Ci gestured at the empty te in front of her, indicating that she have had a fine meal.

    Unbridled Willow let out a relieved sigh.

    ¡°I¡¯m giving you three days.¡± Ye Ci spoke up after she was sure that Unbridled Willow was satisfied with the video.

    ¡°What do you mean by three days?¡± Unbridled Willow was stunned. He did not get the meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. It seems that Unbridled Willow thinks that his worries have ended after receiving the video. ¡°Three days from now, which will be 72 hours. This is the time I¡¯ll give you to defeat the fifth BOSS.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this has anything to do with you.¡± Unbridled Willow finally understood Ye Ci¡¯s words. He let out a coldugh. This Gongzi You likes sticking her nose into somebody else¡¯s business. Since she has given me the video, what makes her think that my progress is any of her concern?

    Noting that Unbridled Willow has not fully grasped the meaning behind her words, Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and smiled mockingly.

    ¡°Indeed, I have no say over when you start taking on the BOSS. However, as your coborator, I would like to remind you that some things should be done sooner even if I do not know about the nature of your conflict with Thousand Sunsets.¡± noticing that an impatient Unbridled Willow was about to cut her off, Ye Ci raised her hand and continued to speak, ¡°I¡¯m not done yet. I hope you can listen to what I have to say.¡±

    Unbridled Willow remained silent, and continued to listen to Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    ¡°I would also like to remind you that Wolf Pack is also stuck at the fifth BOSS. They¡¯re unable to get past the third stage of the fight. Tang Dynasty and World Conqueror are preparing for the fifth BOSS. There will be a lot of changes after three days. These guilds might be able to secure First Five. Also...¡± Ye Ci paused and narrowed her eyes. A ghost of a smile formed on her lips.

    Unbridled Willow¡¯s heart sank. He asked anxiously, ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°Also... Do you think that only the first squadron of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ is going to explore the Castle Ruins?¡± Ye Ci smiled.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°What I mean is that...¡± Ye Ci chuckled, ¡°My guild will use this three precious days to rest. When the three days are over, our second squadron will begin the exploration of the Castle Ruins.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Unbridled Willow¡¯s eyes bulged. He was lost for words.

    Ye Ci sneered coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you don¡¯t know how the gaming world works, or that you¡¯re simply childish.¡± and she stood up, ¡°I am giving you a special treatment. If I¡¯m doing business with any other guild, I would not give them a head start. Not even a single day.¡±

    Unbridled Willow realized that he was indeed still new to the gaming world. Gongzi You was correct. If he was dealing with anybody else, they might demand a higher price from him, and might not even give him three days.

    He took in a deep breath. Despite his unwillingness to ept such a fact, Unbridled Willow thanked Ye Ci sincerely, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I would like to thank you.¡±

    ¡°Well, allow me to congratte you in advance. I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ll be able to achieve your goals.¡± Ye Ci stood up and left without casting a backwards nce at Unbridled Willow, ¡°I did not run into you today. Of course, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to meet me as well.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Unbridled Willow understood Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    Before Ye Ci could open the door, Unbridled Willow called out to her, ¡°Gongzi You, wait up!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci turned around and looked at Unbridled Willow. She did not know why she was called out by him. There was no need for her to stay any longer.

    ¡°I have one final question for you.¡± Unbridled Willow stared at Ye Ci, his eyes full of sincerity.

    Ye Ci was not used to such sincerity, ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±

    ¡°If Thousand Sunsets does not exist, would you still be doing business with me?¡±

    As expected, this person is suspicious of my motives. However, at this point, Ye Ci¡¯s motives did not matter anymore. Ye Ci smiled with all her sincerity, ¡°Of course.¡± and was met with Unbridled Willow¡¯s surprised expression, which was something that she has expected, ¡°I like the price you offered. To be honest, I don¡¯t really care who am I dealing is, as long as the price is right.¡± Ye Ci answered slowly.

    ¡°Thousand Sunsets as well?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an exception.¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°I¡¯ll never help out someone who has wronged me in the past. Besides, Thousand Sunsets is not the only wealthy yer in the Eastern Continent.¡±

    It was a good answer. At least for Unbridled Willow, it was a good answer. He would never have to fear that this deal today would bring misfortune upon him in the future. That¡¯s right, the deal with Gongzi You today was nothing out of the ordinary. He offered a decent price, and she was satisfied with the price.

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be leaving.¡± Ye Ci turned around, opened the door, and left.

    As she walked down the stairs, Ye Ci could hear the dull thud of her own footsteps. She felt a sudden emptiness in her heart. Thousand Sunsets, our past grievances ising to an end. Our one year of grudge is about to end soon.

    Although I was unable to take you out with my own hands, I think it will be better for you to lose at the hands of Unbridled Willow. The situation will be far worse for you, and I, will be happier.

    As for Dong Yin and Yi Cang... Ye Ci suddenly remembered the two names. She had grew so unfamiliar to those two. It seems that her past memories of them were fading away.

    I have no intention to bring harm to your families, but too bad, you¡¯ll have to pay the price for the choice you¡¯ve made.

    ¡°Have you settled matters over there? Come back to the guild encampment. We have wine!¡± said Bai Mo through the voice chat.

    ¡°I don¡¯t drink.¡±

    ¡°I think you need it today.¡±

    Bai Mo is correct. thought Ye Ci. She needed to drink. Without wine, she will be unable to fill the emptiness in her heart.

    This day was not a day to be lonely. It was not a day to remain solitary.

    The guild encampment was packed full of people. Decorative lightings lit up the ce, a bright contrast to the darkening sky. The multicolored lights were do dazzling yet so pretty at the same time.

    Ye Ci stood at the gates of the guild encampment, staring at the crowd and the dazzling lights, taking in the bustling scene in front of her. For some reason, her cold and rational heart was beating excitedly.

    ¡°Vice leader, you¡¯re here!¡± a loud voice pierced through her daze and pulled her back to reality. It was someone she did not even know. Judging from the person¡¯s equipment, she did not have a high level, and had inferior equipment. However, joy was written all over the person¡¯s face.

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back.¡± Ye Ci could not help but mirror the yer¡¯s smile. It was just too rude to not return the smile.

    ¡°Hurry up! Guild leader and the rest have reserved the best wine and were waiting for your return! They say that they¡¯ll only begin drinking the wine when you¡¯re back!¡± the yer¡¯s smile was like the most precious treasure in this world. She grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s wrist, and dragged her towards the Grand Hall.

    Ye Ci allowed herself to be dragged along by the girl towards the building upied by the most yers. She did not know who the girl was, but she somehow felt a sense of familiarity with the girl. But why?

    ¡°You, are you happy today?¡± trailing behind the girl, and watching her hair bobbing up and down , the question escaped Ye Ci¡¯s lips.

    ¡°What? Are you talking to me vice leader?¡± the girl could faintly hear Ye Ci¡¯s question. She stopped right in her tracks and turned around, studying Ye Ci with a face full of curiosity.

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She regained herposure and repeated the question, ¡°Are you happy?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Of course I¡¯m happy! This is the happiest day I¡¯ve ever had since I joined Upwards Ho!¡± the girl¡¯s jovial expression was a testimony of her heart¡¯s feelings.

    ¡°Why¡±? Ye Ci was unable toprehend her words. What¡¯s there to be happy about?

    ¡°Why?¡± the girl looked at Ye Ci, ¡°Our guild has secured First Clear for Castle Ruins today! How could I not be happy? Are you not happy vice leader?¡±

    A fuzzy feeling washed over Ye Ci. What am I thinking? What should I think about this? ¡°But you did not take part in the dungeon exploration team, why are you so happy?¡± asked Ye Ci absentmindedly.

    The question was a rather offensive one. However, the girl did not mind. She tilted her head, appearing to be deep in thought. The girl the let out a smile, ¡°Even if I did not join the dungeon exploration, I¡¯m still part of guild! ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ was able to achieve a First Clear, and I¡¯m a member of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. How lucky I am to be able to join this guild! Even if I¡¯m not able to join the first and second squadron today due to my low level, I believe that I will be able to do so one day, and secure my very own First Clear!¡±

    The girl continued when she noticed Ye Ci¡¯s dumbfounded expression, ¡°I¡¯m happy to be part of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. This is my home!¡±

    Ye Ci snapped out of her daze. She surveyed her surroundings slowly. She might not be able to name every single one of them, but they still felt so familiar to her. This was all because of the fact that they were members of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯, and she, was a member of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ as well.

    She suddenly came to a realization. She did not even know when it began, but at some point, people has stopped referring to her as Gongzi You, and instead began referring to her as Gongzi You of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. She has never realised such a change, but once the realisation struck, she felt a sliver of warmth.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go vice leader, what are you doing?¡± the girl did not wait for Ye Ci to clear her thoughts. She continued dragging Ye Ci towards the Grand Hall while giggling loudly, ¡°Guild leader, look! Look who I found?¡±

    ¡°Heh, I thought you¡¯d never show up.¡± Bai Mo pulled Ye Ci along, ¡°Hurry, I¡¯ve taken out the best wine we have in the guild.

    It was a Chateau ignan vintage wine. Ye Ci was stunned. The wine could not be purchased in the game, and could only be acquired through a lengthy quest. She asked with a voice full of amazement, ¡°How did you get this?¡±

    ¡°We got it from a quest!¡± Bai Moughed, ¡°25 of us worked our asses off toplete the quest during your trip to Fate HQ.¡± Bai Mo patted the barrel containing the win, ¡°We got it just for this asion. Such foresight.¡±

    ¡°Why did you not wait for me?¡±

    ¡°You have things of your own to worry about, and so do we.¡± Timely Rainughed. He walked up to Bai Mo and said with a smile, ¡°Hurry, can we drink this think already? I¡¯ve been waiting to have a taste for days! Tell you what, I wouldn¡¯t even have fought so hard just now if not for this barrel of wine!¡±

    The yers in the Grand Hall broke out inughter.

    Ye Ci felt a sudden pang of sadness. She barely did anything for the guild, but her members were always so tolerant of her actions. She has always been a lone wolf. As she left her footprints in various maps, going on adventures as she pleased, she had never thought that there were a lot of things that she could have done for the guild.

    Bai Mo opened up the casket of wine, and the yers immediately swarmed over him, scrambling to have a taste of the wine. Ye Ci stood at the back of the crowd, staring silently at the yers. They were all unfamiliar faces. She felt so distant from them. It was as if she did not belong to that ce.

    This situationsted until somebody grabbed hold of her shoulders. She lifted her sight, and found Bai Mo¡¯s smiling face. He shoved a cup into Ye Ci¡¯s hand and smiled, ¡°If I did not grab this for you, there might be none left!¡±

    Ye Ci clutched at the cup tightly. She did not speak a single word, and instead stared at Bai Mo¡¯s pretty face. She was distracted.

    Bai Mo gripped on her shoulder, lifted his cup, and spoke up loudly, ¡°We¡¯ve managed to achieve First Clear on Castle Ruins! The world shall remember our names!¡±

    ¡°Yes! The world shall remember our names!¡± the yers in the Grand Hall lifted their cups as well. Their faces were flushed red. It was a beautiful scene.

    ¡°Who are we?¡±

    ¡°Upwards Ho!!!!¡±

    The yers drank and chattered merrily with each other. The air was full of joy. Ye Ci felt as if she was looking at a painting. She could admire it, she could be deeply entranced by it, by she could never be part of it.

    It was an awful feeling. A feeling that was troubling Ye Ci.

    The ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ yers were enjoying the celebration. They were not only gathering in the Grand Hall. The party has spread to all corners of the guild encampment. There were a lot of fun and games in the encampment, and the yers were thoroughly enjoying themselves.

    The bustling Grand Hall began quieting down.

    Bai Mo grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s hand and dragged her along.

    ¡°Where to?¡± Ye Ci stumbled as she followed behind Bai Mo.

    ¡°Stargazing.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve done that before. Don¡¯t tell me that I have to do it with you all the time!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows furrowed as she started grumbling.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the rights to watch the sunrise with you, so I can only stargaze with you.¡± Bai Mo turned around, saw Ye Ci¡¯s depressed face and turned back again.

    Ye Ci stared at his back as she followed him closely.

    They ended up sitting on the wall of the encampment.

    ¡°I realised that you do not like scenes like that.¡±

    ¡°What scene?¡± Ye Ci looked up into the night sky. There was no moon that was prettier than the moon in the map of their encampment.. It was so shiny and round. It was as if everything is pure under the moonlight.

    ¡°A scene where everybody is celebrating, where they are enjoying themselves.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Ye Ci stared at the moon, and offered a dishonest answer.

    Bai Mo knew that she was keeping her real feelings to herself, but he did not expose her. He patted Ye Ci on the head, ¡°Why are you unhappy?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Ye Ci blinked. She was trying very hard to convince herself that she was happy. I¡¯m happy, aren¡¯t I?

    ¡°Drink this.¡± Bai Mo handed her a bottle of wine, ¡°It¡¯s not as rare as the wine just now, but I¡¯ve did an entire month¡¯s worth of repeatable quest to get it. I was going to keep it for myself, but since you¡¯re so pitiful, I¡¯ll let you have a sip.¡±

    ¡°Me? Pitiful?¡± Ye Ci red at Bai Mo. She hated to be described with that word. Was she pitiful? No! She was not pitiful at all, and she needed no sympathy. Not even from Bai Mo.

    ¡°Is that so? Your expression suggested otherwise.¡±

    ¡°Oi...¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. It was apparent that she was starting to get angry.

    ¡°If I¡¯m wrong, why do you even need to be angry?¡± Bai Mo carressed Ye Ci¡¯s brows, ¡°Little Ci, I¡¯m Bai Mo. I¡¯m not Fleeting Time, nor am I Thousand Sunsets. I¡¯m not your enemy, nor am I your nemesis, and I¡¯m definitely somebody who is plotting against you. I¡¯m just Bai Mo.¡±

    Ye Ci opened her mouth to retort, but was found herself unable to speak, as if she was choking on sand. She rxed her brows, and snatched the bottle away from Bai Mo. Pulling away the cork, Ye Ci sipped in a mouthful of wine. The rich aftertaste was something to be remembered. She basked in the taste of the wine and spoke up after a long time, ¡°Cousin, have I always been alone?¡±

    Bai Mo was momentarily stunned before he slowly realised the meaning of Ye Ci¡¯s words. He smiled and pulled her into an embrace, ¡°Each and every one of us is alone when we were born. We will be alone when we die. From the beginning of our lives until our demise, we are indeed alone.¡±

    Sadness gripped Ye Ci¡¯s hard.

    She could remember the scene in her past life, when she was at the top floor of the Fate HQ. That night was just like tonight. The moon was bright, the night was quiet, and... She was alone.

    ¡°But, before we end our journey in life, we have spent many years on this earth. We will meet many people in life. They could be friends, they could be enemies, and they could be strangers. However, they are always keeping uspany, just like how we arepany to them.¡±

    Ye Ci blinked. Has her level of intelligence dropped? Why can¡¯t she understand any of Bai Mo¡¯s words?

    ¡°Bai Mo, somebody told me that she was happy. Even if she did not take part in the First Clear, she was happy. When I asked her the reason behind her happiness, she said that it was because Upwards Ho! has achieved First Clear, and she¡¯s part of Upwards Ho!. That was why she was happy and proud. But, Bai Mo, why do I not feel any of that?¡± it was apparent that Ye Ci was troubled, ¡°Why do I feel like I don¡¯t belong to the team? Tell me, Bai Mo! Do I really belong to this team? Or... Or that... I¡¯ve always been alone?¡±

    Hiya minna-san! This awesome chapter is brought to you by the one and only, the most awesomtacr trantor, JIMMI!!! Yay!!! Why thete night post you ask? (It¡¯s 10pm GMT+8 so yeah!) Cuz I¡¯m bored! BORED! So uhh... I¡¯ll just yannoe bother you guys with my random messages in the trantor¡¯s note mwahahahaha...

    Etvo: THIS FLUFF SAYS YO!!

    So uhh.. Hope y¡¯all enjoyed the novel! And uhh... *whispers* Don¡¯t forget that we¡¯ve fixed our Sponsor button... *cough cough* Yanno... In case anybody wants to give Jimmi some motivation. *winks*

    Teaser next page! First in thement type First Blood!

    Desu Vult!

 Chapter 204 Weâ€™re A Team

    Chapter 204 We¡¯re A Team

    Bai Mo gazed at Ye Ci, his thoughts hidden from her.

    At that moment, Ye Ci felt fear. She remembered the rejection she received from the Fate PvP tournament organizers in her past life.

    ¡°You¡¯re someone without a team.¡±

    You¡¯re someone without a team. Even after such a long time, Ye Ci could still hear the words spoken to her. She wanted to cover her ears, to block out the noise entering through her eardrums into her heart. Even if she was a reincarnator, she tried her best to correct her mistakes. But... Was she still the same person? Was she still that person who was rejected by everyone?

    Even in this life, was she still an insignificant persona that was rejected by everyone?

    For as long as Bai Mo could remember, he had never seen such a soft a vulnerable side of Ye Ci during his 10 years of interaction with her. He might never had the chance in the next 10 years. In the eyes of her parents, rtives and other outsiders, Ye Ci had always been an overly independent child. She has never talked much, and was never good atmunicating with people. In the eyes of outsiders, she was as stoic as a stone wall.

    At times, even Bai Mo himself would find Ye Ci to be cold blooded. She was always headstrong, and was never gentle. Her unyielding character was not one that was befitting of a girl. It gave off an illusion that Ye Ci was tough and would never cry. In truth, there were times when she was just so vulnerable.

    Realizing the truth, Bai Mo¡¯s gaze softened. He patted Ye Ci on the head and smile, ¡°Just what are you thinking about? Why are you thinking of something like this?¡±

    Yet, Ye Ci was so pig headed at times. She stared at Bai Mo with her watery eyes and grimaced, ¡°I¡¯ve always been like this aren¡¯t I? I¡¯ve always been alone. Even if I¡¯m in Upwards Ho!, I¡¯m just Gongzi You, and was never ¡®Gongzi You of Upwards Ho!¡¯, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Just what are you trying to prove?¡±

    ¡°What am I trying to prove?¡± Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She was not able toprehend Bai Mo¡¯s words, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean.¡±

    ¡°Little Ci, everybody ys a different role in a team. With their role, everybody will experience something different. If you¡¯re not part of Upwards Ho!, if you¡¯re not part of our team, why is Upwards Ho!¡¯s First Clear today so important to you?¡±

    ¡°You know that every First Blood and every First Clear is important to me...¡± Ye Ci appeared to be very desperate to prove that she was still the loner that she used to be. She red at Bai Mo, as if he was her sworn enemy. There was a glint of violence in her eyes that was very rming.

    Bai Mo covered Ye Ci eyes with his hand and grimaced, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. Little Ci, I am Bai Mo, I am not your enemy.¡± he cut Ye Ci off mid sentence, ¡°I¡¯m not talking about this particr First Clear. I¡¯m talking about every single one of them.¡±

    Ye Ci bit her lips. She was trapped in a loop created by herself that she was unable to escape.

    ¡°Little Ci, I know what you¡¯re trying to say,¡± Bai Mo retracted his hand, but his smile remained gentle, ¡°You feel that you don¡¯t deserve to be part of the team because you only showed up when we achieve First Clear, and did not even help out with most of the dungeon clearing. You think that people only recognize you as their vice leader because of me...¡±

    ¡°It has always been like this, isn¡¯t it? If I¡¯m not Gongzi You, if I¡¯m not a so-called ¡°Godlike yer¡±, will they still remember me? I¡¯m just a nobody!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice had a certain sharpness to it.

    ¡°You turned a blind eye when I defeated World Bosses alone. You allowed me to go all over the ce, and have never asked me to join dungeon raids. Isn¡¯t it a sign that you do not see me as one of the guild members? Doesn¡¯t it mean that I don¡¯t belong to the team?¡±

    Ye Ci raised her voice, which sliced through the jovial atmosphere. She was at the verge of driving herself mad. She refused to listen to Bai Mo¡¯s words. She was filled with the humiliation she suffered from her past life.

    ¡°So what?¡± Bai Mo¡¯s words was like water that was sshed on the raging mes in Ye Ci¡¯s heart. He endured and defused Ye Ci¡¯s tantrum, putting out the mes in her heart.

    ¡°So what?¡± Ye Ci was unable to respond to Bai Mo¡¯s words. She stared nkly at Bai Mo, as if she had been sapped of all her energy and voice. She continued staring absentmindedly at Bai Mo, immobilized.

    ¡°Yup. So what if you¡¯re correct?¡± Bai Mo continued smiling at Ye Ci.

    At that moment, she was just like a little girl. A little girl who would fuss over minor matters and waste her time on insignificant problems. Bai Mo even felt that this version of Ye Ci was way cuter than the Gongzi You that appeared to be so unreachable.

    Perhaps due to the rarity of such a scene, it became something very precious. Bai Mo was enjoying this moment a lot.

    ¡°Even if you¡¯re a lone wolf, even if you barely took part in guild activities, even if you do not take part in dungeon raids, so what? Does it mean that you¡¯re no longer a member of ¡®Upwards Ho¡¯!? Does it mean that you¡¯re not Gongzi You? Does it mean that you¡¯ll forever be alone?¡± Bai Mo cupped Ye Ci¡¯s fase with a hand, and turned her head towards the bonfire not far away, ¡°Look at those people! Do you think that you¡¯re not one of them?¡±

    ¡°Am I?¡± Ye Ci chuckled coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t even know their names! Do I still belong to the team?¡±

    ¡°Even then, are you not a member of Upwards Ho!?¡±

    ¡°Am I even worthy?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Being part of the team does not mean that you have to spend all your time together with the members of your team. Teamwork and trust are the most important thing in a party.¡± Bai Mo let out a sigh, ¡°I know that you¡¯ll never ept what I say. You¡¯re looking at yourself as an outsider. But, you can try and ask each and every one of our members. Ask them if they think that you¡¯re part of this team.¡±

    Ye Ci was lost for words.

    ¡°Look at these people! Timely Rain, the Icy Hand couple, Phoenix w, Fruit Jelly, Let Go Of That Girl, Ideal Height, Pea Cake, Carnivore, Purity....¡± Bai Mo listed out at least 20 names as examples, ¡°They were all essential personnel of the guild. Do you think that they don¡¯t see you as part of the team? Can you deny their existence? They here because of you!¡±

    Ye Ci remained silent. It was as if she was bedazzled by the raging bonfire.

    ¡°You might think that you are not an important person in the guild because you did not take part in most of our dungeon raids. But is that true?¡± Bai Mo took a sip of the wine, ¡°Little Ci, if this is what you think. Then there¡¯s only one thing I could say. The guild is not the one who is treating you like an outsider. It is you who do not see yourself as part of the guild.¡±

    Ye Ci bit her lips, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re so troubled by this. To me, this should not even be a problem. As a team, it does not mean that we should always be together. As long as you are willing to contribute to the wellbeing of the guild, you¡¯re one of us! It doesn¡¯t matter if you do not take part in guild activities, you¡¯re contributing in your own way. If you insist that you¡¯re not a part of the guild, allow me to list out your contribution to the guild.¡± said Bai Mo, ¡°You¡¯ve led us through countless First Clears, and you¡¯ve recruited a lot of talented yers into the guild. When our members were bullied, you were the one who jumped head first into battle and turned the tides. You¡¯ve always thought of the guild¡¯s benefits.¡±

    Bai Mo let go of Ye Ci with a smile, ¡°I will not list everything, but these are all things that you¡¯ve done for the guild. I think you know your contribution to the guild better than I do, am I right?¡±

    ¡°But do they count as contributions to the guild?¡±

    Bai Mo shook his head, ¡°Why not?¡± and continued with a grimace, ¡°Little Ci, did you hit your head or something? Do you really think that you¡¯re truly part of the team only after taking part in dungeon raids? If that¡¯s the case, do you mean that Carnivore, Cutie Lemon, and Pea Cake do not deserve to be in our guild as well? They have never joined any raids before.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re Life yers! They have different jobs to attend to.¡± Ye Ci was very clear about this. She was able to refute Bai Mo¡¯s word immediately after they left his mouth.

    ¡°See? Even you know about the division ofbor. You have a different job as well! You are a strong solo yer. You¡¯re the God-tier yer of the Eastern Continent. It would of course be good for you to lead us in exploring dungeons. However, wouldn¡¯t it be better if you can do something else for the guild? Little Ci, do you know that your First Bloods brought great honor to the guild? ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ was a new guild that had less than 2,000 members back then. Do you think we can make it as one of the top 10 guilds in the Eastern Continent?¡± Bai Mo snapped his fingers and continued, ¡°Do you know that there are hundreds of small guilds and literally thousands ofrger guilds in the Eastern Continent? There are 216 of those guilds who have more than 1000 members. Don¡¯t you know what is giving us an edge over all those guilds?¡±

    ¡°Bai Mo, this is the first time I¡¯ve discovered that you¡¯re very good at consoling others.¡± there was a bitter taste in Ye Ci¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯m merely stating the truth. If you think that I¡¯m saying it for the sake offorting you, then there¡¯s nothing I can do.¡± Bai Mo shook his head, ¡°Do you know what are the two hardest things in the world?¡±

    ¡°What are they?¡±

    ¡°The first one is to ce somebody else¡¯s money into your own pocket. I think this is something that you¡¯re very good at,¡± Bai Mo let out a handsome smile, ¡°The other one is to ce your idea into somebody else¡¯s brain. And I am apparently doing a very bad job at it, considering the fact that you¡¯re still wasting your time in this senseless argument with me.¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned by Bai Mo¡¯s words. Then, a soft chuckle escaped her mouth. .

    ¡°What are youughing at? If I could, I would peel your head open and rece your brain with mine. I will then clean your brain of all that nonsense!¡± Bai Mo took another sip of the wine, ¡°If you still feel bad about it, I will notify you whenever we head into the dungeon. But don¡¯t you darein.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Ye Ci has never put any real effort into dungeon raids. She was unfamiliar with the guild¡¯s procedures.

    ¡°It¡¯s just like having a job. You need to be online at a fixed time, but you might not necessarily be able to get off work in time. If all goes well, you might be able to get your pay and your share of the equipment quickly. But if we run into trouble, your work time will be dragged on for God knows how long.¡± Bai Mo told Ye Ci the truth, ¡°I know that you¡¯re doing quite a number of good quests. Think about it, if you follow us into the dungeons, you won¡¯t have the time toplete those quests. You¡¯ll be tired as hell every single day. You won¡¯t have your own time.¡±

    Ye Ci creased her eyebrows right after listening to Bai Mo¡¯s words. Truth to be told, she hated to keep to the working routine. She began showing signs of doubt, ¡°Must I do that?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Bai Mo nodded, ¡°Why do you think there¡¯s a break once a week?¡±

    ¡°But... If I don¡¯t do this...¡±

    Bai Mo was able to anticipate Ye Ci¡¯s next words, ¡°That was a very stupid way of thinking. If the only way somebody could truly belong to a team is to join in on dungeon explorations, this would mean that all the guilds were made solely for dungeon exploring.¡± said Bai Mo, ¡°Even if dungeon exploration has always been mainstream, the growth of a guild does not depend solely on that. A guild is like a family. There is always a breadwinner for the family. You have always been in that position. But, if you insist on not taking that task, I¡¯ll be forced to do it. Personally, I think that you do a better job than I ever could.¡±

    Bai Mo continued after he received no reply from Ye Ci, ¡°Little Ci, I know you¡¯re not someone who works well with a schedule. Things are pretty good as they are. As for your doubts about belonging, it¡¯s bullshit!¡± said Bai Mo, ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a bet?¡±

    ¡°What bet?¡±

    ¡°Go to a random map and start killing everybody you see. We¡¯ll see who people will retaliate against. Will it be you, or will it be ¡®Upwards Ho!?¡¯¡±

    Ye Ci was stunned, ¡°Why would I do that?¡±

    ¡°If they only go after you, it means that you are right. You¡¯re not the only one who do not see yourself as a part of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. Even others think so too.¡± Bai Mo drummed his fingers against the surface of his armor, ¡°If they retaliate against ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯, and kill any of our members in sight, it means that they see you as part of the guild. They will punish the guild for your crime.¡±

    With that, Bai Mo inched closer to Ye Ci with a smile on his face, ¡°So what do you think? Do you ept the bet?¡±

    Ye Ci looked at Bai Mo as if he was a fool, ¡°Are you an idiot? How can we bet on something like that?¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll only bring harm to the guild!¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Bai Mo narrowed his eyes. He looked like a ruffian who was seriously considering about doing such a thing, ¡°I created the guild for fun anyways, so I can have fun with it anyway I like. We¡¯ve just gotten First Clear, so why not add more to the fun?¡±

    ¡°There must be something wrong with you.¡± Ye Ci mumbled, ¡°Doing this is just...¡±

    ¡°But why not?¡± Bai Mo stood up, pulling Ye Ci who was sitting on the ground up with him, his eyes were filled with excitement, ¡°Let¡¯s go! I know you¡¯re very interested in something like this. Let¡¯s do it together, shall we?¡±

    ¡°Bai Mo, you¡¯re crazy! Don¡¯t joke around with the guild¡¯s reputation! Everybody has been working so hard for our guild! Your action will give ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ a bad name.¡± Ye Ci would never follow Bai Mo¡¯s lead in such a ridiculous course of action. She pped Bai Mo¡¯s hand away, ¡°You¡¯re the leader of the guild! You should be thinking of the guild¡¯s benefits! How could youe up with something like that?¡±

    Bai Mo¡¯s smile remained on his face. He let out a low chuckle when Ye Ci finished her rant, ¡°See? Do you still think that you¡¯re not part of the guild? Do you still feel that you don¡¯t belong to the team?¡±

    ¡°W-what?¡± Ye Ci could feel that her level of intelligence was lower than usual on this day. Could it be the alcohol? Why can¡¯t I understand what Bai Mo is trying to say?

    ¡°If you¡¯ve never thought of yourself as part of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯, if you¡¯ve never truly cared about the members, why would you even worry about the reputation of the guild?¡± Bai Mo patted Ye Ci on her head, ¡°Little Ci, you¡¯re just too smart for your own good sometimes.¡±

    Ye Ci stared silently at Bai Mo. She lowered her head and chuckled after a long while, ¡°Heh... I really am dumb sometimes.¡±

    Bai Mo pulled her into a tight embrace, ¡°To be honest with you, it¡¯s okay for you to act foolishly once in a while. You¡¯ll be more like the little girl you are this way.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s mouth twitched. Little girl...

    How long has she not been called a little girl? Why does it feel so awkward to be called a little girl?

    Ye Ci shoved Bai Mo aside andnded a kick on his chest. Bai Mo, who was caught off guard, fell onto the ground, ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, nted her foot on Bai Mo¡¯s chest and leaned forward, ¡°Bai Mo, are you asking for a beating? Did you just called me a ¡®little girl¡¯? Do you think I¡¯m 5 years old or something?¡±

    ¡°No! What I meant was that... It¡¯s quite good for you to act silly sometimes.¡± Bai Mo let out a sigh. A sense of helplessness washed over Bai Mo. As expected, the scene earlier on happened only once in a blue moon. It was very rare for Ye Ci to disy a behavior like that.

    ¡°Hmpf!¡± Ye Cinded two more kicks on Bai Mo and went offline.

    Perhaps due to the counseling session with Bai Mo, Ye Ci was able to ovee her troubles. However, she was unable to log into the game for a few days. Finals were approaching, and Ye Ci was fond of the idea of passing all her subjects. She was forced to study hard.

    It was such a cruel fate. She had attended university before her reincarnation, and was forced to relive her life as a university student. Not only that, Ye Ci was also troubled by the fact that she was unable to master her subjects even after her reincarnation. She still had to put a lot of effort into her studies. Why can¡¯t I be like the main characters in your average reincarnation novel? The answer was simple: She had ¡°returned¡± all her knowledge to her lecturers. If she did not work hard, she would definitely fail in her exams.

    ¡°Little Ci, how did you do in the exam?¡± Fang Susu was worried about Ye Ci who was wearing a wan expression when she left the exam hall, ¡°The questions were so tough!¡±

    ¡°Hard? Heh! That damned old man! He told us that everything he taught is important! Do you have any idea how thick our textbook is? I can¡¯t even finish it! Even if I could, I won¡¯t be able to remember everything! I think I¡¯m doomed for this semester.¡± Ye Ci let out a long sigh. She was probably the most unfortunate reincarnator. She might fail her exam as someone who has reincarnated!

    ¡°That might not be the case. You haven¡¯t missed a single ss. I¡¯m sure the old man will give you some marks for your attendance.¡± even when Fang Susu was trying her best to console Ye Ci, she herself was not confident in her own abilities. The exam questions were very tough.

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Fang Susu. As a reincarnator, she knew that the old man would remember each and every of the students who have decided to skip his ss and exact his revenge in the final examinations. She did not dare to skip even one of his sses despite how busy she was in-game.

    ¡°I hope so.¡± Ye Ci was very anxious. She hoped that she could pass. Please don¡¯t fail me! A supplementary exam was not overly costly, but it would leave an ugly mark in her certificate. Even if she was a godlike presence in game, she would definitely disappoint her parents if she failed the subject.

    Is there any reincarnator out there who is suffering as much as she is?

    Ye Ci was heading back home with Fang Susu at her side when her phone rang. It was a call from her parents. They urged her to go home early and told her that there would be a banquet at night. They gave instructions for her to head to the restaurant with Bai Mo while they would head to the ce first with Tan Png.

    Ye Ci grit her teeth after hanging up the call. How could they forget about their daughter when they got a new son? That little brat got to ride in their car while Ye Ci and Bai Mo had to travel by bus!

    Fang Susuughed out loud when she received aint from Ye Ci. Fortunately for Ye Ci, Bai Mo arrived just before Fang Susu could make fun of her.

    Fang Susu smiled sweetly at Ye Ci when she spotted Bai Mo from afar. She then whispered to Ye Ci, ¡°Yo, Ye Ci, is Bai Mo a close rtive of yours or is he a distant one?¡±

    ¡°Of course he¡¯s my cousin!¡± Ye Ci was baffled by Fang Susu¡¯s behavior, ¡°He¡¯s the son of my mother¡¯s sister. Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Ah, how unfortunate.¡± Fang Susu let out a sigh and continued, ¡°You know... It¡¯s okay even if he¡¯s a cousin of yours.¡±

    ¡°Just what the hell are you talking about?¡± Ye Ci was very confused as she listened to Fang Susu¡¯s words, ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing. What I¡¯m trying to say is that, even if the both of you got married, there¡¯s a chance that your child will not be retarded. Haha!¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned, ¡°Oi oi.. Fang Susu, are you itching to get beaten up?¡± shouted Ye Ci as she began chasing Fang Susu around.

    ¡°Stop! Stop! I just thought that you are well matched with him! If he¡¯s not a cousin, you can seriously consider having a rtionship with him¡± Fang Susuughed out loud. She ran towards Qin Churuo who was walking towards her, ¡°I¡¯ll get going. You take care!¡±

    Ye Ci let out a sigh. They will never understand what Bai Mo meant to her. Their family bond was something that she treasured the most in her current life and even in her past life.

    At this point, Bai Mo had already moved their things and gaming cabin back home. He was there to help Ye Ci with her textbooks.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the banquet tonight?¡± asked Bai Mo as the boarded a taxi.

    ¡°How the hell would I know? My mom told us to go there by bus. They¡¯ll head there with that little brat.¡± Ye Ci was disgruntled, ¡°They¡¯re going there by car! So why do we have to ride on the bus?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re adults, Little Ci. He¡¯s just a kid.¡± Bai Mo knew that Ye Ci was not really angry, just somewhat sulking and cracked a joke at her, ¡°Well, you can pretend to be a little girl, I don¡¯t mind carrying you there!¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Bai Mo and his nonsense.

    Zuo Xian, Ye Nantian and Tan Png were already gone by the time the two arrived, leaving behind a note with an address. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Ye Ci left home with Bai Mo.

    Bai Mo was very curious about the banquet. He winked at Ye Ci as they were on the bus, ¡°Say, Little Ci, do you think they¡¯re setting you up on a blind date or something?¡±

    ¡°You must be out of your mind.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Bai Mo, paying him no heed.

    ¡°I¡¯m being serious you know.¡±

    ¡°Then why would they bring you and Tan Png along?¡± Ye Ci snorted. She was currently 19 years old, but as a reincarnator, her age was definitely way older than Bai Mo.

    ¡°To be your bodyguards perhaps?¡± Bai Mo was very excited. It was apparent that he had never experienced the true suffering of having a blind date, which was why he was looking forward to such an ordeal.

    Ye Ci remained silent. She refused to lower her level of intelligence by discussing such a topic with Bai Mo.

    When they finally arrived at the privatepartment of the restaurant, Ye Ci realised that her conversation with Bai Mo was futile. She saw people who she thought she would never meet again.

    Four families.

    The parents of the four families had already taken a seat, with their children by their sides. Ye Ci and Bai Mo were stunned as they walked into thepartment. Bai Mo, however, was quick to react, and pinched Ye Ci who was in a daze. They immediately greeted the adults and took their seats.

    ¡°Aiya! How many years has it been since Ist saw Little Ci and Bai Mo? Bai Mo has grown into a handsome young man now!¡± Liu Chang¡¯s mom, who was a gentle person, immediately greeted the two, and the rest of the parents joined in.

    ¡°Say, it¡¯s been quite a few years since we¡¯ve gathered for a meal together¡± Dong Yin¡¯s father let out a heartyugh, ¡°We don¡¯t even notice just how big our child has grown until we¡¯ve seen the other children. I feel old.¡±

    Dong Yin¡¯s father was met with agreement from the other adults, and they resumed their previous conversation.

    The warm and lively interaction between the adults were not mirrored by their children. Despite sitting in close proximity, they appeared to be preupied with matters of their own. Dong Yin and Yi Cang were staring at their tabletputer, Ye Ci was talking softly with Liu Chang, while Bai Mo was also having a conversation with Tan Png.

    Despite that, the atmosphere in thepartment was still harmonious.

    ¡°Who was the one who organized this banquet?¡± Ye Ci could not understand why somebody would organize this banquet between the four families after losing contact for so many years. She did not mind the presence of the adults, but she wanted nothing to do with Dong Yin and Yi Cang.

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely not my parents. But I heard from my mom that Dong Yin¡¯s parents were the one who organized this events, and Yi Cang¡¯s parents responded in kind. My parents were quite reluctant to be here, but since your parents came, they followed along as well.¡± Liu Chang¡¯s voice was very soft. Nobody else other than Ye Ci was able to hear her words. There was hostility in Liu Chang¡¯s voice. Apparently, things were not as simple as they sound.

    Ye Ci could feel Liu Chang dissatisfaction, but decided againstmenting about it. After all, it was not their ce to meddle the affairs of the adults.

    ¡°So what is this banquet for again?¡±

    ¡°They said it¡¯s to catch up for old time¡¯s sake, but who knows?¡± Liu Chang was very doubtful.

    ¡°Thank God...¡± as the conversation continued, the waiters has begun serving the dishes. They were all rich and exquisite. At a nce, Ye Ci could tell that the dishes would definitely not be cheap.

    ¡°What for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought my card along.¡± Ye Ci smiled at Liu Chang, ¡°I have a bad feeling about this. Luck for us, I brought my card along. Now I feel so much better.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not thinking of paying for the bills are you? It¡¯s their treat...¡±

    ¡°This is exactly why I was having a bad feeling.¡± Ye Ci could not help be feel an anxiety in her heart, ¡°I hope that I¡¯m mistaken.¡±

    Liu Chang was someone who knew Ye Ci well, ¡°I brought my card along as well. If things go bad, we can split the bill¡± she let out a sigh.

    ¡°What? You¡¯ve earned a lot from the sponsored dungeon clearing?¡± Ye Ci chuckled. She knew that Liu Chang was able to earn a considerable amount of money.

    Liu Chungughed out loud at well, ¡°Well, at least it pays better than my part time job.¡±

    ......

    ¡°Ahh.. The food is served. Let us have our meal.¡± Dong Yin¡¯s father spoke out, and signaled for the waiters to serve the drinks as well.

    The adults began eating their meal happily.

    After several rounds of drinks and food, Dong Yin¡¯s father cleared his throat, indicating that he was about to speak.

    Since the beginning of Ye Ci¡¯s memories, Dong Yin¡¯s father would always be the one to y the host whenever the four families had their gatherings. Unlike his daughter who was delicate and quiet, Dong Yin¡¯s father was a strong and capable man. This was the reason behind his family¡¯s sess.

    However, Ye Ci was not interested in what he was about to say. When the attendees set down their chopsticks and listened attentively to Dong Yin¡¯s father, Ye Ci ced a piece of pork trotters into her bowl, and resumed her meal.

    Under normal circumstances, such gesture was not a big deal. The adults knew that their children were not interested in their conversation, and paid Ye Ci no heed. However, things seemed to have changed. As Ye Ci begin munching on the piece of pork trotter, Yi Cang who was sitting not far away snorted, ¡°You¡¯ve really never eaten a free meal in your life before have you? What a country bumpkin you are.¡±

    His voice was soft, but it was heard by quite a number of people around him. Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. Before she could react, Yi Cang¡¯s parents immediately shot him a re, indicating for him to be quiet.

 Chapter 205 This Banquet Will Not End Well

    Chapter 205 This Banquet Will Not End Well

    Liu Chang heard Yi Cang as well. She cast a nce at Yi Cang, and spoke in a leveled voice, ¡°Wow, then I would like to thank Young Master Yi for granting us the opportunity.¡±

    Such harsh words were rare from a soft hearted person such as Liu Chang. She was apparently quite angry on this day. Perhaps, it was her pent up anger resulted from theirst gathering. With Yi Cang¡¯s presence, she could no longer hold herself back.

    However, Liu Chang acted at a wrong timing. The expression of Dong Yin¡¯s and Yi Cang¡¯s family members darkened, and Liu Chang¡¯s parents began ring daggers at her.

    ¡°How could you say something like that? Quick, apologize to Yi Cang!¡± Liu Chang¡¯s mother immediately shouted at her.

    Liu Chang was not from a wealthy family, but she had a strict upbringing. Her parents were the strictest among the four families.

    With her feelings hurt by her previous encounter with Yi Cang and the anger that was currently raging within her, Liu Chang was reluctant to apologize. Besides, she did not feel that she was in the wrong ¨C

    Noticing that Ye Ci was still munching on the pork trotter throughout the entire ordeal, Zuo Xian pped the chopsticks away from her daughter¡¯s hand and red at her, ¡°Apologize to Uncle Dong right now! What have I taught you? Listen when the adults are speaking! Why are you still eating?¡±

    Despite her strict tone, Ye Ci knew that Zuo Xian was not at all angry at her, but was disgusted by Yi Cang¡¯s behavior. However, this did not change the fact that Ye Ci had lost face as a result.

    Ye Ci creased her eyebrows and lifted her head. She shifted her cold gaze towards Yi Cang. At that moment, Yi Cang was still waiting for an apology from Liu Chang with his chin held high. Ye Ci had never realised that Yi Cang could be so obnoxious. She had the urge to ssh a bowl of hot soup at his annoying face.

    However, Ye Ci refrained from doing so, as she noticed that Liu Chang was ready to explode in a fit of rage. She grabbed hold of Liu Chang¡¯s hand, and faced Dong Yin¡¯s father with a fake smile, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Uncle Dong. We¡¯ve never been to such a high ss restaurant before. We do not know the proper table manners. Please forgive us.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s words were like razors scraping on the faces of the parents of Yi Cang and Dong Yin. Yi Cang¡¯s parents could only stare at their son with darkened expressions, and tried their best to salvage the situation.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Uncle Dong have something to say?¡± Ye Ci smiled at Dong Yin¡¯s father. She noticed that the originally jovial atmosphere has died down. She did not want to kill the atmosphere, as she was the one who caused themotion in the first ce. The adults were caught in an awkward position. They did not know what transpired between their children. They still had the impression that their children were still very close to each other. Unfortunately for them, things had changed.

    Ye Nantian was the first to react. Following his daughter¡¯s lead, he attempted to lighten the atmosphere, ¡°Yup, Old Dong, were you going to say something just now? So what did you want to tell us?¡±

    Liu Chang¡¯s father immediately joined in on the effort, and the atmosphere once again became warm and lively.

    Ye Ci leaned back against her chair and stole a nce at Liu Chang, who had her gaze lowered, appearing deep in thought. She gave Liu Chang a nudge, drawing her attention. Ye Ci spoke with a soft voice, ¡°Don¡¯t make things too tense. We might not like them, but we have to think of the feelings of our parents.¡±

    Liu Chang sneered coldly and stood up. ¡°Uncle Dong, uncles, aunties, I¡¯m going to the toilet, please excuse me.¡± said Liu Chang to Dong Yin¡¯s father who has not begun his speech yet and left the room.

    Everybody was stunned by Liu Chang¡¯s sudden behavior, and Ye Ci was no exception. Liu Chang¡¯s mother creased her eyebrows. She was about to call out to Liu Chang but decided against it. ¡°This child...¡± mumbled Liu Chang¡¯s mother after a short while, and she turned towards the father of Dong Yin, ¡°Old Dong, I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    Ye Ci could no longer hold herself back. She pushed her chair aside and stood up, ¡°I¡¯m going to the toilet as well.¡± and she followed after Liu Chang.

    The adults were chatting away happily and paid Ye Ci no heed. However, Yi Cang and Dong Yin were wearing tensed expressions on their faces, as if they had just lost their parents. Ye Ci did not even pay any attention to the duo. She did not expect that she would lose her cool. She could not bear to stay in the same room with the people she despised. It was as if the room was filled with a deadly virus that will kill her if she stayed any longer.

    Ye Ci spotted Liu Chang was leaning against a pir upon leaving thepartment, and thetter waved at her.

    Ye Ci walked up to Liu Chang andughed, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to the toilet? Why are you still here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you.¡± Liu Chang shrugged, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

    This triggered augh from Ye Ci, ¡°How did you know I will leave the room as well?¡±

    Liu Chang slung her arm over Ye Ci¡¯s shoulder and smiled, ¡°Who am I? I¡¯m Liu Chang! Why wouldn¡¯t I know what you¡¯re thinking about? Heh, with me gone, will you stay in that ce?¡±

    Liu Chang was correct about Ye Ci. ¡°What¡¯s with you today? Yi Cang¡¯s words were directed at me, and I¡¯m not even angry, but you¡¯ve already talked back against him.¡±

    Liu Chang snorted coldly, ¡°That guy disgusts me. I feel that my lifespan will be shortened if I don¡¯t talk back.¡±

    ¡°Did something happen?¡± asked Ye Ci, who sensed that something was wrong.

    Liu Chang who appeared to be deeply troubled let out a long sigh, ¡°I feel disgusted just by talking about it.¡±

    ¡°Come on, stop beating around the bush.¡± by then, the two already entered the washroom. They had no real intention to use the toilet. After washing their hands in front of the mirror, they left.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to tell you, but I don¡¯t even know where to start! It¡¯s really pissing me off.¡± anger was written all over Liu Chang¡¯s face.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Do you still remember my grandma¡¯s little house?¡±

    ¡°Yup! We used to y there a lot. Didn¡¯t it get torn down in favor of building some shop plots? Why are we talking about that?¡± Although Liu Chang¡¯s grandma has passed away for years, Ye Ci could still remember the kind olddy clearly. She was someone loved by the children in her neighbourhood. She had always liked having children around, and would never scold them even if they made mistakes. She would even treat Ye Ci and Liu Chang to some snacks whenever they yed at her house. Unfortunately, the kinddy was ravaged by a serious illness, and passed away even after Liu Chang¡¯s family expended their wealth in an attempt to cure her illness.

    No matter how beautiful something was, it will never be able to stand against the test of time, and would crumble into dust.

    ¡°Yup! That¡¯s exactly the case!¡± Liu Chang snorted, appearing to be angered, ¡°Do you know that Yi Cang¡¯s grandma had a house in that area as well?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t know that!¡± Ye Ci stared at Liu Chang, ¡°So what does it have to do with you?¡±

    ¡°I know, right?¡± Liu Chang¡¯s gritted her teeth in anger, ¡°Some people in this world can put twopletely irrelevant things together. Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s some talent?¡±

    Even if Ye Ci was unaware of the meaning behind Liu Chang¡¯s words, she could guess that it had something to do with the two houses. But how were those houses rted? ¡°I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re trying to say.¡±

    ¡°The developers have notified us about it more than a year ago. I¡¯ve even told you about it.¡±

    ¡°Yup, you sure did.¡± Ye Ci let out an awkward smile. The event that happened 1 year ago to Liu Chang was like a distant past for Ye Ci. No matter how well her memory was, it was impossible for Ye Ci to remember such a thing.

    ¡°The day Fate firstunched their waiter was the day the developers had a talk with my family about my grandma¡¯s house. They told us that we could get a good storefront and amercial housing. My parents were overjoyed!¡±

    ¡°Yeah. If this happened to me, I¡¯ll happy as well. To get a storefront in that area...¡± Ye Ci clicked her tongue. The ce was now a development zone that many would soon invest in. To own a storefront in that area would guarantee a lot of ie.

    ¡°What storefront?¡± Liu Chang¡¯s face distorted into a mask of rage as she cut Ye Ci off mid-sentence. She looked as if she could eat a person alive.

    ¡°I thought you told me that your grandma¡¯s house is worth a storefront and amercial housing?¡± Ye Ci was baffled by Liu Chang¡¯s sudden outburst.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be angry if that was the case! Do you know what happened when we went to retrieve the keys one month ago?¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°The storefront was gone! We¡¯re left with 3mercial housings, and 2 of them are in very bad locations!¡±

    ¡°Huh? What the hell happened?¡± Ye Ci was unable to make sense out of Liu Chang¡¯s words, ¡°Haven¡¯t you reached an agreement with the developers? Didn¡¯t you sign an agreement or something?¡±

    ¡°This is where we took a wrong approach. We signed a provisional agreement instead of a formal contract! My family would of course never agree to such arrangement, so we caused a scene in their office. One of the employees took a pity on us and told us that the storefront has always been there for us, but they were swapped away by someone else a few days before we went there.¡± Ye Ci could almost see fire spewing out of Liu Chang¡¯s eyes.

    Ye Ci could understand Liu Chang¡¯s anger. She would react in a simr way if it happened to her family.

    ¡°Have you guys thought of getting it back?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thatter. What I want to say is.. Do you know who was the one who swapped away our storefront?¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. But after cing the pieces of information together, she was able to make a guess, ¡°You¡¯re not going to tell me that it¡¯s Yi Cang¡¯s family are you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m going to tell you!¡± Liu Chang anger was apparent, ¡°His mother had a brief conversation with my mother when the developers talked about the development project. She asked my mom about the property we¡¯re going to get, and my mom told her everything! So that was why they were able to swap away our storefront with the two of their worst housings!¡±

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s anger soared as well, ¡°Are they still humans? Are they still friends of your parents? How could they do that?¡±

    ¡°This is exactly why I¡¯m pissed off!¡±

    ¡°Have your family confronted them about this?¡±

    ¡°Of course we did! They denied everything, and even warned us against making false usations as it will sour the rtionship between our families! They even tried to use the fact that they found my grandma a good hospital when she was sick to guilt-trip us into backing off.¡± Liu Chang¡¯s face was flushed red with anger. She turned around and threw punches on the nearby wall, as if they were Yi Cang¡¯s parents.

    ¡°So how did it end? You¡¯re not going to just let them off the hook are you...¡±

    ¡°What else can we do?¡± Liu Chang leaned against the wall after venting her frustration, ¡°We¡¯re poor, and they¡¯re rich. How can we expect to win? When Dong Yin¡¯s parents invited us over for dinner, my parents were quite reluctant. They wouldn¡¯t havee if not for your parents.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. Friendship is indeed thin as paper.

    ¡°Hah... Some friends they are.¡± Ye Ci snorted coldly, ¡°They¡¯re animals! Yi Cang¡¯s mom has always been a bitch. She¡¯s stingy and very calctive, but I¡¯ve never expected her to pull something like this off.¡±

    ¡°Now you know why I¡¯m so pissed off,¡± Liu Chang grimaced, ¡°Now you know why I¡¯m so annoyed when he spoke up. I¡¯m thoroughly disgusted by him. They really think of us as country bumpkin that they can just push around! They didn¡¯t even blink when they bullied us.¡±

    Ye Ci was suddenly reminded of something, ¡°You told me before that the families of Yi Cang and Dong Yin have invested in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear am I right?¡±

    Liu Chang was able to calm down after her fit of anger. She spoke calmly to Ye Ci, ¡°Yup. That¡¯s like two days ago. They came just to brag to my mom about it. They¡¯ve even told her to not cling on too tightly to her money, and learn to make some investments.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and a smile formed on her lips. ¡°Why don¡¯t you invest in Upwards Ho! then? I know you made quite a lot of money recently. You can invest some of them to the guild! Surely Upwards Ho! is as good as or even better than Steel-Blooded Battle Spear?¡±

    ¡°Heh! As expected of someone like you. You¡¯re always thinking of the guild¡¯s benefit.¡± Liu Chang rolled her eyes at Ye Ci andughed, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯ve not thought about it, but I really am short of money right now. I¡¯ll just wait til I earn more.¡±

    Ye Ci did not continue the topic. She walked to the front desk and nodded at the waiter, ¡°May I have the receipt for the Blossoming Wealthpartment?¡±

    The waiter immediately handed Ye Ci the menu with a smile on his face. Liu Chang, who was curious, inched forward to have a look, ¡°What are you doing? Why are you looking at the receipt?¡±

    Ye Ci did not offer her a respond, an instead spoke to the waiter, ¡°Can I order a few more dishes into ourpartment?¡±

    The restaurant would of course hope that their customers would order more. A menu was immediately handed over to Ye Ci, who ordered some of the most expensive dishes avable without much of a nce. ¡°I would like to pay the bill now.¡± said Ye Ci to the waiter as she closed the menu. She then handed her bank card to the waiter.

    ¡°I¡¯ll chip in as well then.¡± Liu Chang understood the meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s action. She pulled her bank card out of her purse, but was stopped by Ye Ci, who shook her head, ¡°Forget about it. Save the money and invest in the guild. I can earn the money real quick anyways. You don¡¯t have to be so courteous.¡±

    Liu Chang nodded, ¡°Alright then.¡±

    After paying bill, Ye Ci returned to thepartment with Liu Chang.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really feel like going in.¡± Liu Chang grumbled when they were at the entrance.

    Ye Ci pulled Liu Chang into thepartment with her, ¡°Come on, are you nning to sit in the toilet until the banquet ends? You don¡¯t have to be all riled up because of them. They¡¯ll receive their retribution soon enough.¡±

    ¡°The good people always die early, while the wicked ones live on for an eternity.¡± Liu Chang could only let out a sigh and followed Ye Ci into the privatepartment.

    Dong Yin¡¯s father had already finished speaking by the time Ye Ci and Liu Chang entered the room. They were met with silence and a tense atmosphere. The duo immediately became the focus of everyone¡¯s attention as soon as they entered the room. Dong Yin¡¯s father stood up, ¡°Old Ye, your daughter is back. Why don¡¯t you ask for her opinion? Even if you don¡¯t trust my judgement, surely you¡¯ll trust the judgement of your daughter?¡±

    Ye Ci was baffled by his words. She turned around and faced her parents, ¡°Dad, mom, what is it? What sort of judgement?¡±

    Signs of wariness were written all over the faces of Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian. They exchanged looks with each other, and Ye Nantian was the one who spoke up, ¡°Aiya, we¡¯re confused ourselves. Bai Mo, you heard what Uncle Dong said as well. Why don¡¯t you exin it to Little Ci?¡±

    Bai Mo who was busy digging into his food almost gagged when his name was called. He lifted his head, ¡°Uncle, you want me to exin it to her?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian nodded their heads, and stared right at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was flustered. She had suddenly became the center of attention of every single person in the room. She cleared her throat and looked at Bai Mo, ¡°So... You have something to tell me?¡±

    Bai Mo let out a sigh. Before he could speak up, the door of the privatepartment opened, and a number of waiters walked into the room, serving up a number of dishes, filling up the already empty table. All the dishes were exotic and luxurious. One could tell that the food was very expensive just by judging from the looks of the tes alone.

    The attendees were stunned into silence, and Dong Yin was the first to react, ¡°Oi, did you guys enter the wrong room? All the dishes that we¡¯ve ordered has been served.¡±

    ¡°No, this food was ordered by your Blossoming Wealthpartment.¡± the head waitress said with a smile as she served the food.

    Dong Yin¡¯s mother stood up immediately, ¡°No, we did not order these dishes.¡± Her expression darkened when she took a look at the freshly served food.

    ¡°Yup, we did not order this. You must¡¯ve been mistaken! Remove them at once or I will file aint on you!¡± Yi Cang¡¯s mother stood up as well. She even attempted to shove one of the tes back into the head waitress¡¯s hand.

    Ye Ci, on the other hand, wedged a piece of venison between her chopsticks and ced it into her bowl, and another piece straight into her mouth. Yi Cang red at Ye Ci with towering rage, ¡°Did you not hear that, Ye Ci? We did not order these! Why have you started eating? Do you know just how much these dishes cost?¡±

    Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian turned pale when the heard Yi Cang¡¯s voice. ¡°What are you doing! Behave yourself!¡± they attempted to stop Ye Ci, and smiled apologetically at the parents of Yi Cang and Dong Yin, ¡°We¡¯re sorry, we will pay for these di-¡±

    ¡°Can you even afford it?¡± Yi Cang mmed his fist onto the table, ¡°These are abalone, shark fin, and even swallow¡¯s nest! Any of these dishes is worth your monthly sry! Will you be able to pay for them?¡±

    Yi Cang¡¯s words were full of disdain and disgust. When Ye Ci thought back to this incident, she came to a conclusion: Yi Cang¡¯s words represented what his and Dong Yin¡¯s parents truly felt about the parents of Ye Ci and Liu Chang. If that would not bet the case, they would not have remained silent when Yi Cang threw his tantrum. No matter what ns Dong Yin parents might have had for organizing the banquet, it was a fact that they thought themselves to be superior.

    ¡°You take that back!¡± Bai Mo stood up as well, ¡°We have adults here, and who are you to speak when none of them have spoken?¡± Bai Mo snorted and scanned the faces of the adults, ¡°Is this how things work in your house? The youngsters can just behave rudely without fearing repercussions? Is this how you educate your child?¡±

    ¡°I dare you to say that again!¡± Yi Cang was fairly afraid of Bai Mo, but the presence of his parents gave him the courage to roar out at Bai Mo.

    ¡°Just what you think you¡¯re doing Yi Cang? Respect your elders! Shut up and sit down!¡± Yi Cang¡¯s father could no longer remain quiet when he heard Bai Mo¡¯s words. He would lose face in front of so many waiters if he did not discipline his son.

    Yi Cang was flustered. He sat down and red at Bai Mo, ¡°Just you wait, Bai Mo.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yi Cang¡¯s father roared at his son again, and then turn around to face the lead waitress. He offered her an apologetical smile and started, ¡°You see, we did not order these dishes. We will pay for the ones that we have touched, and you return the rest, how about that?¡±

    Ye Ci was still munching away at the venison despite the ongoing argument. The meat was just so nice. It was worth the price. She spoke up softly, ¡°Put everything down, I was the one who ordered those.¡±

    ¡°Ye Ci! Do you really think you can order anything you want just because you¡¯re not paying for it? Do you know just how much they cost?¡± everybody present were stunned when they heard Ye Ci¡¯s words. Even Dong Yin who has remained silent throughout the ordeal spoke up against Ye Ci, ¡°Even if my family was the one who invited all of you to dinner, we¡¯ve already ordered all the dishes. If you¡¯re not satisfied with the food, you could¡¯ve just told us! We could order more! We do you have to act on your own ord?¡±

    Liu Chang who was holding in her anger all this while finally lost her temper. She snorted coldly at Dong Yin, ¡°Ye Ci has already paid for everything, so why can¡¯t she eat what she paid for? Have you seen what you ordered for us? Those are like food for beggars!¡±

    Dong Yin¡¯s anger dissipated immediately. She was frozen in ce, and her face was flushing with a bright shade of red. The waiters nced at the dishes subconsciously after listening to Liu Chang¡¯s words. The food that was served previously was indeed moremonpared to the dishes they had just served.

    Dong Yin¡¯s father could no longer stand the embarrassment. He pulled his daughter down back into her seat, ¡°You silly girl, don¡¯t you speak out of turn!¡± He then smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Little Ci, you should¡¯ve told uncle that you do not like the food. I was the one who was going to treat everybody to a meal, so why don¡¯t you let uncle pay for the food?¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and spoke softly, ¡°It¡¯s just a meal. It doesn¡¯t matter who¡¯s paying, does it? I¡¯m a person of the younger generation, so just think of it as me fulfilling my filial duties. It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    The face of Dong Yin¡¯s father darkened when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words. Just then, she head waitress nodded at Ye Ci with a smile, ¡°Miss, we¡¯ve served everything that you ordered, is there anything else you need?¡±

    Ye Ci nced at the dishes that had just been served. They were nowhere asvish as the food she used to have in her past life, but her parents would definitely be rmed by the price of the food. Despite her intention to deliver some face-pping to the families of Dong Yin and Yi Cang, she still had to take her parents into consideration. Ye Ci nodded and ordered two slightly more expensive dessert, ¡°Bring them in when we¡¯re almost done with our meal.¡± and she handed a few banknotes to the head waitress, ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, miss.¡± the head waitress epted the tip with a broad smile and left the room.

    Ye Ci¡¯s movements were fluid and natural. It was as if she was used to doing such a thing. Even Bai Mo was surprised. Since when has she learned to act like this?

    They would never know that Ye Ci acquired it from her extravagant way of life in her past life. Despite her present self, her elegance would surface asionally, just like this time.

    ¡°I believe you have something to tell me?¡± Ye Ci turned around and faced Bai Mo.

    Bai Mo snapped out of his daze, and ryed the words of Dong Yin¡¯s father to Ye Ci. ording to him, both the families of Dong Yin and Yi Cang have invested in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, giving their support to Thousand Sunsets.

    The parents of Dong Yin and Yi Cang were quick to find out that Ye Ci was actually Gongzi You, and that ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ has secured a First Blood for Castle Ruins. Just like any other human being, they were not going to just let their money go to waste. They had to do something to help Thousand Sunsets out. Without prior knowledge that Dong Yin and Yi Cang had a fall out with Ye Ci and Liu Chang, they decided to organize a banquet, and hoped to pressure Ye Ci¡¯s parents into persuading their daughter to offer her aid.

    Of course, those were not the words of the father of Dong Yin, nor were they spoken by Bai Mo. It was a conclusion made by Ye Ci after calmly listening to Bai Mo¡¯s exnation. She raised her eyebrows and studied Bai Mo¡¯s expression, which further confirmed her theory.

    Ye Ci was very sure that if they had a private messaging channel in real life, the following would be their conversation:

    ¡°You must be kidding! They really said that?¡±

    ¡°Yup, that¡¯s what they said!¡±

    ¡°Why won¡¯t they give up?¡±

    ¡°In this world, only the shameless will survive. Those who are honorable will slowly die off.¡±

    ......

    Yup. That would definitely be their conversation.

    When Bai Mo was finally done, Dong Yin¡¯s father spoke up before Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian could react, ¡°Little Ci, I¡¯m sure you understand the situation.

    ¡°Of course.¡± a ghost of a smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips. She was not an idiot, of course she would understand everything. Unfortunately for them, her mind was already set. There was nothing they could say or do that would change her mind.

    ¡°So what do you think?¡± the eyes of Dong Yin¡¯s father were filled with desperation. It was exactly the desperation a starving beggar looking at a sumptuous meal through the ss window of a shop would show.

    ¡°I think...¡±

    Before Ye Ci could evenplete her sentence, she was cut off by the boisterousughter of Dong Yin¡¯s father, ¡°Aiya, I know Little Ci is a good child. You see, you¡¯re such a good friend of Dong Yin, and our families have been friends for ages! Uncle know that you will definitely help uncle out right?¡± the man then turned to his daughter and smiled, ¡°See? I told you that you can talk to Little Ci. She¡¯s such a good girl. She agreed to help right away. Why didn¡¯t you ask for her help earlier on?¡±

    Theughter of Dong Yin¡¯s father reverberated in the entire room, apanied by the theughter of Yi Cang¡¯s father. The same could not be said for Ye Nantian, Zuo Xian, and Liu Chang¡¯s parents, with their mouths twitching in annoyance.

    Dong Yin and Yi Cang were silent as well. Dong Yin stared right at Ye Ci. She had already been humiliated by Ye Ci¡¯s words, and she was even more embarrassed by her father¡¯s actions. She studied Ye Ci¡¯s face anxiously. She knew that Ye Ci would not agree to help, but she was filled with hope at the same time. Maybe, just maybe... Ye Ci might help out at her father¡¯s request....

    That was why Dong Yin stared at Ye Ci¡¯s face. She wanted a confirmation from Ye Ci, but she was offered none. Ye Ci¡¯s face betrayed not even a single shred of emotion.

    ¡°Little Ci, since you¡¯ve agreed to help, why don¡¯t you help Steel-Blooded Battle Spear out today when you log into the game? I¡¯ve heard from Yin Yin and Yi Cang that you¡¯re very good at the game. Steel-Blooded Battle Spear will be able to secure a spot in the First Five with your help. What do you think?¡±

    Ye Ci remained silent. She spun the spinny spinny thing around, bringing the shark fin soup in front of her. Afterdling some of the soup into her bowl, Ye Ci sighed as she looked at Liu Chang, ¡°Oh dear, I should not have ordered this. Sharks are an endangered species. A shark has to die in the process of making this. How shameful!¡±

    Liu Chang rolled her eyes, ¡°You sly fox.¡±

    Dong Yin¡¯s father was humiliated by Ye Ci. He stared at Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian with a darkened expression and spoke with warning clear in his voice, ¡°Old Ye...¡±

    Ye Nantian paid no heed to him as well. He mirrored his daughter¡¯s action, and began partaking in the meal. The dishes on the table were paid for by his beloved daughter, and it would be such a waste if he did not savor the food. Zuo Xian, on the other hand, turned around and started a conversation with Liu Chang¡¯s mother, pretending that she did not notice the expression of Dong Yin¡¯s father.

 Chapter 206 A Few Things

    Chapter 206 A Few Things

    The atmosphere was tense.

    Dong Yin¡¯s anger red when her father was ignored by Ye Ci. She has been trying to get into contact with Ye Ci, hoping that she would help Thousand Sunsets out. Even if Ye Ci was not willing to lend her strength to Thousand Sunsets, she should help Dong Yin out because of their years of friendship. She has persuaded her father to invest more than half of their wealth into the game. Even if Unbridled Willow was not a threat, she still hoped that Thousand Sunsets could secure a spot in the First Five. This will bring a huge amount of profit to her family, and could preserve her rtionship with Thousand Sunsets.

    However, ever since theirst gathering, Ye Ci has been ignoring her. All her messages and mails were rejected. She has even tried to get Liu Chang¡¯s help to get into contact with Ye Ci, but her request was always denied by Liu Chang. At this point, it was it was as if Dong Yin was begging for their help.

    Then again, even if she was indeed begging for their help, shouldn¡¯t they give her face after she has begged for so long?

    Dong Yin was annoyed. She was from a wealthy family, and was raised like a princess. She has never faced such a rejection in her life. Her father would even pluck down the stars from heaven if she asked for them. Ye Ci, on the other had, had coldly rejected her request. She felt humiliated and was angry at the same time. Thousand Sunsets had also hinted that if she was unable to settle things with Ye Ci, it would badly affect their rtionship. It was a very desperate moment for Dong Yin.

    A human would do almost anything out of desperation, even if it was something that was very out of character.

    Dong Yin was the perfect example. With her request rejected by Ye Ci and her fatherpletely ignored by her as well, the tiny volcano within her heart erupted, ¡°Ye Ci, my dad is talking to you! How could you be so rude? Just what the hell do you think you¡¯re doing? Haven¡¯t your parents taught you some basic manners?¡±

    Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian were angered by Dong Yin¡¯s statement, ¡°Dong Yin, it¡¯s not your ce to question Ye Ci¡¯s manners. Auntie knows that you¡¯re young, so auntie will let it slide, but please don¡¯t do that again. What will outsiders think about you if you behaved like that?¡±

    Unlike Yi Cang, Dong Yin had a better control of her anger. She was interrupted by her mother before she could talk back, who red at her, ¡°Is it your turn to speak? Eat your food!¡± Dong Yin¡¯s mother then smiled at Zuo Xian, ¡°Little Lan, I hope you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ve been pampering Yin Yin too much. She¡¯s always been like that, ¡° she then smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Little Ci, please don¡¯t mind Yin Yin, she¡¯s just a little pampered, please just give in to her a little.¡±

    ¡°Give in?¡± Liu Chang¡¯s mother snorted, ¡°It¡¯s as if your daughter was the pearl in your palm but ours are weeds at the side of the road!¡±

    Liu Chang¡¯s mother shed all pretences of cordiality. She was no longer gentle with her words.

    The face of Dong Yin¡¯s mother immediately distorted into a mask of anger. She would have exploded in a fit of rage had it not been for the presence of her husband, who immediately attempted to defuse the tension, ¡°What are you people doing? I¡¯m talking to Little Ci, stop butting in.¡± and he smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Little Ci, do you think you can do it when you get back hometer? There¡¯s no time better than the present. Why don¡¯t you settle this as soon as possible when you get home?¡±

    Ye Ci raised her head and stared silently at Dong Yin¡¯s father. The man has grown plump due to his recent sess in his business exploits. There was not a single wrinkle on his face. Ye Ci could feel the calctive intention hidden behind his wide grin. She could not help but shudder. Wealth is such a terrible thing. Dong Yin¡¯s father was not like this when she was younger. Since when had he changed so much?

    Tan Png who had previously remained silent could no longer hold himself back, he lifted his head and spoke to Dong Yin¡¯s father with sarcasm clear in his tone, ¡°Hah! There¡¯s no better time than the present? Since when has my sister promised to help you out?¡±

    The already tension filled atmosphere became even more tense. It was as if the air itself was frozen.

    The expression on Dong Yin¡¯s father¡¯s face darkened, ¡°You little brat! Since when is it your turn to speak? Little Ci has already promised to help! She-¡± he sneered coldly at Tan Png.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even say anything just now. Uncle was the one who has been talking. I don¡¯t even have the chance to speak up.¡± Ye Ci finally spoke up, cutting Dong Yin¡¯s father off.

    Dong Yin¡¯s father¡¯s expression darkened even further. He gazed intently at Ye Ci. It was the gaze of a viper, ready strike at any moment. However, Ye Ci was unfazed. She was used to situations like this. If she showed fear, if she backed down, she would not be Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci met his gaze without fear. This slightly intimidated Dong Yin¡¯s father. That was not the gaze of a 19 year old girl. There was not a sign of the naivety that should be possessed by a youth. He could feel how cunning and how calctive Ye Ci was just by looking into her eyes. If he had no prior knowledge that Ye Ci was 19 years old year, Dong Yin¡¯s father would have thought of Ye Ci to be a grown woman. Somebody with that gaze should be at least 30 years old.

    The valiant shall emerge victorious when rivals meet, and speed is of the essence when two armies shed.

    Ye Ci was the one who emerged victorious in her staring match against Dong Yin¡¯s father. It was not because of Ye Ci¡¯s capabilities, and it did not mean that Dong Yin¡¯s father was inferior to a silly little girl. He lost because of his greed and desire.

    A person filled with his or her selfish desires would always be at a disadvantage when the person took on somebody without selfish desires. This was probably what the saying ¡°the righteous will stand firm¡±.

    Dong Yin¡¯s father pulled out a cheque book and wrote down a few numbers on the cheque. He then ced it on the the Lazy Susan and spun the cheque towards Ye Ci, ¡°Little Ci, as long as you¡¯re willing the to help, you can have this cheque.¡±

    ¡°Old Dong, what are you doing?¡± Ye Nantian¡¯s face soured as soon as he saw the cheque, ¡°Don¡¯t involve money into our friendship! What do you think we are?¡±

    ¡°Dad, mom, don¡¯t worry.¡± Ye Ci cut her father off. Ye Nantian was surprised by how calm his daughter was. His daughter had matured without him noticing! She could even stand her ground now.

    Ye Nantian shared a look with Zuo Xian and sighed. There was nothing else he could say.

    Ye Ci stared silently the numbers written on the cheque: 200,000

    It was a huge sum of money for a poor family. Although such amount was like pocket change to Dong Yin¡¯s family, but in their perspective, this money was something that meant a world to a poor family like Ye Ci¡¯s.

    Bai Mo who was sitting beside Ye Ci stole a nce at the cheque and broke out inughter. 200,000 was the basic monthly sry of their guild officers. The sponsored dungeon clearing team could earn this amount easily in the span of two days.

    Tan Png had to inch closer as he was further away. Heughed as well when he say the figure written on the cheque, ¡°Ah thought it was a huge sum, but it¡¯s only 200,000...¡±

    Those words were like a p to Dong Yin¡¯s father¡¯s face. The room became deathly silent as each and every one of the waited for a response from Ye Ci. Just then, Bai Mo¡¯s tabletputer beeped, and he immediately set his chopsticks down to check the message on his tablet. He then handed it over to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci¡¯s mood lightened when she saw the smile on Bai Mo¡¯s face. There would definitely be good news. When Ye Ci took the tablet from Bai Mo, she could see the message disyed on its screen: The position of Castle Ruins First Five in the Eastern Continent has been finalized.

    The names of the five guilds could be found in the article below. Other than Upwards Ho! which had achieved First Clear, Wolf Pack, Tang Dynasty, de of Destiny and Steel-Blooded Battle Spear were also listed. Steel-Blooded Battle Spear was the only guild that piqued her interest among the four other guilds. Who was the one who has managed to secure in the First Five?

    Was it Unbridled Willow? Or could it be Thousand Sunsets?

    Although Ye Ci was more biased against Thousand Sunsets, she knew that nothing was certain in this world. If Unbridled Willow was the one who lost, Ye Ci would definitely cough up blood.

    Fortunately for Ye Ci, the heavens was smiling down upon her. She was relieved to see the names of Unbridled Willow and Zero Arsenic in the team roster.

    She handed the tablet back to Bai Mo, and returned the cheque to Dong Yin¡¯s father with a smile, ¡°Uncle Dong, I think you have too little confidence in the team that you¡¯ve invested in. Upwards Ho! secured its First Clear through sheer dumb luck. Surely you know that our foundation is not as firm as a guild asrge as Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. Truth to be told, I would need the permission of the guild leader before I could help you out. After all, I am the Vice Leader of Upwards Ho!. What will my members think of me if I help Steel-Blooded Battle Spear out in their dungeon clearing? Surely you know that there are regtions in every guild. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help, but I have my own difficulties. I was thinking if I should ask my Guild Leader to grant me permission to help Steel-Blooded Battle Spear out. But...¡±

    With that, Ye Ci¡¯s smile broadened. Dong Yin¡¯s father immediately followed up with a question, ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°But... An official announcement had just been released. Steel-Blooded Battle Spear has managed to secure a spot in Castle Ruins First Five after all! There¡¯s not even a need for me to help them out,¡± Ye Ci shrugged, ¡°Uncle Dong is such a smart investor. You¡¯ve invested on the ck horse of the Eastern Continent. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to earn a lot out of that!¡±

    ¡°Steel-Blooded Battle Spear has secured a spot in the First Five?¡± the question came out of the mouths of Dong Yin¡¯s and Yi Cang¡¯s famiy members in perfect synchronization.

    ¡°Of course, I saw it just now.¡± Ye Ci extended her arm towards Bai Mo, motioning for his tabletputer.

    Before Bai Mo could turn on the screen of his tablet, Yi Cang had already pulled out his own device, ¡°There¡¯s no need. I can do it on my own.¡±

    Yi Cang, and the rest of his and Dong Yin¡¯s family membered shared the same grave expression on their faces. It was a view that Ye Ci enjoyed.

    The rest of the attendees, with the exception of Ye Ci and Bai Mo, had no knowledge of the power struggle between Thousand Sunsets and Unbridled Willow. They were baffled by the sour expressions of Dong Yin¡¯s and Yi Cang¡¯s family. ¡°What¡¯s with their looks? Haven¡¯t your daughter told them that the Steel-Blooded Battle Spear thing has secured First Five?¡±

    Ye Nantian was baffled as well, ¡°How would I know? I¡¯ve never yed that game at all, not to mention investing in that game. We know nothing about that game.¡±

    Just then, Yi Cang¡¯s mother let out a loud wail, ¡°Oh my God! What did I tell you?¡±

    Before she could continue, Yi Cang¡¯s father gave her a nudge, and she snapped out of it.. She bit her lip tightly, and her face was pale as snow.

    Ye Ci smiled when she noticed the darkened expressions of Dong Yin¡¯s and Yi Cang¡¯s family, ¡°Am I right? Steel-Blooded Battle Spear has secured First Five.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Dong Yin¡¯s father¡¯s had a dark look on his face, and perspirations formed on his forehead. He was extremely anxious, and his anxiety was mirrored by the members of his family.

    Ye Ci acted as if she was oblivious to the scene unfolding in front of her. She motioned for the waiter on duty to pour everybody some wine. She lifted her ss, and proposed a toast to Dong Yin¡¯s father, ¡°Allow me to congratte you, Uncle Dong. It seems that your investment in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear turns out to be a smashing sess!¡±

    Dong Yin¡¯s father fumbled with his ss absentmindedly, ¡°Yes, yes.¡± sweat was dripping down from his forehead.

    ¡°Then, Uncle Dong, since Steel-Blooded Battle Spear has secured a spot in the First Five, you no longer require my help, am I right?¡± Ye Ci blinked innocently.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± the face of Dong Yin¡¯s father grew even paler. He raised his ss, and gulped down its content. It was as if he has grown older all of a sudden, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±

    ¡°Hurry, eat up. The dishes will not be tasty when they grow cold.¡± Ye Ci nodded, and stole a nce at Dong Yin and Yi Cang. The former slumped lifelessly on her chair, as if she had be a soulless doll, while thetter¡¯s face was a sheet of white. The obnoxious, arrogant aura of a spoiled young master around Yi Cang had already disappeared.

    Ye Ci then smiled at her parents and the parents of Liu Chang, ¡°Dad, mom, uncle, auntie, help yourselves with the food. We can order more if it¡¯s not enough.¡±

    The four of them were confused. They did not have a single clue about what had just transpired. In a situation like this, they opted to just digging into their food silently.

    Dong Yin¡¯s father let out a long sigh. Forcing a smile, he bade farewell to the two couples that were still confused, ¡°Old Ye, Old Liu, I¡¯ve just remembered that there¡¯s something I have to tend to. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave after we¡¯ve finished the meal?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. There¡¯s really something that I need to attend to.¡± Dong Yin¡¯s father stood up and headed for the door. Ye Ci noticed that his previously confident strides were gone, reced by wobbly steps. He might even have fallen over if Dong Yin¡¯s mother did not support him.

    Yi Cang¡¯s family took their leave as well, shortly after Dong Yin¡¯s family left the room.

    Only Ye Ci¡¯s and Liu Chang¡¯s families were left in the once-bustling room.

    The adults of both families were confused, ¡°What¡¯s with them?¡±

    Ye Ci shrugged, showing a confused look, ¡°How would I know?¡±

    Liu Chang even requested the waiter on duty to open the windows to let in some fresh air.

    Bai Mo chuckled and offered an exnation to the adults, ¡°I guess they really have something to do. You know, people like us will never understand what¡¯s going on in the minds of those rich people.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a point.¡± the adults believed Bai Mo exnation. They cast their worries aside and began enjoying the food heartily.

    Ye Nantian, Zuo Xian and Liu Chang¡¯s parents were close friends, but they were not as close with the parents of Dong Yin and Yi Cang. They kept their distance after the families and Dong Yin and Yi Cang became wealthy to avoid rumors that they¡¯re trying to curry favors from people of higher status. Because of that fact, Ye Ci¡¯s family had always had a closer rtionship with Liu Chang¡¯s family.

    With the recent conflict between Liu Chang¡¯s and Yi Cang¡¯s family, there had always been a slight tension in the atmosphere. Everything was so beautiful after the two families left.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, enjoying the peace and tranquility.

    The remaining two families said their goodbyes after the meal. Ye Nantian and ZuoXian drove to the restaurant, fully intending to drive the three youngsters home after the banquet. However, they left when Ye Ci and Bai Mo imed that they were going to a bookstore nearby. Tan Png¡¯s request to tag along was denied as he had a lot of unfinished homework and an uing exam.

    Ye Ci and Bai Mo could see Tan Png¡¯s dejected expression even as Ye Nantian drove away, ¡°Don¡¯t you pity Png?¡±

    ¡°If he did badly in his exam, I can guarantee that he¡¯ll be in a worse position.¡± Ye Ci showed no pity towards Tan Png. After all, she knew her parents well. Tan Png would be in a world of suffering if he did not rank among the top 20 in his grade during the exam.

    Bai Mo nodded with a knowing look, his pity towards Tan Png dispersed immediately, ¡°You¡¯re right. A student must ce studying as his priority.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes as she reminisced about Tan Png¡¯s dejected expression. Bai Mo¡¯s words were like music to the ears. Wahahaha!

    ¡°Why did you ask me to bring my tablet along just now? Don¡¯t tell me... You¡¯ve predicted that this would happen?¡±

    ¡°Do you seriously think that I¡¯m a goddess or something?¡± Ye Ci snorted, ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that we¡¯ll be eating with them!¡±

    ¡°Then why did you make me bring my tablet along?¡±

    ¡°I went online before going to sleep yesterday, and received a private message from Unbridled Willow. He told me that they¡¯re going to challenge the fifth BOSS, and will not log out of the game until they seed. I did not know if they would seed back then, but when there was no official report about the Castle Ruins First Five when I woke up this morning, and guessed that they were still trying to defeat the BOSS. That was why I told you to bring your tablet along just in case. I wanted to know if something happens. Who knows I¡¯ll be so lucky.¡±

    ¡°If they had not defeated the BOSS just now, how would you have responded to Dong Yin¡¯s father?¡±

    ¡°Of course I would decline his offer. Then again, I was thinking of a good way to decline, but thank God I don¡¯t have to!¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She had a sudden feeling that the Goddess of Fate was by her side the moment she reincarnated.

    ¡°Such dogshit luck you have.¡±

    Ye Ci paid no mind to Bai Mo¡¯sment, and let out augh, ¡°So what if I have dogshit luck? How many of us have the chance of stepping on dog poo in the middle of the street?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s summer holiday started officially at that night. However, a few things happened to her before she could enjoy her holiday. The Fate officials had finally announced the name of the yer who defeated Werebeast Shaman Buru. Although Ye Ci was able to make quite some money out of the bet, but as a result, she had to live through the painful experienced of being teased in the World Channel.

    This was how it unfolded:

    Ye Ci logged into the game after the banquet, and appeared in Red Lake City. A message immediately appeared in the World Channel, ¡°I¡¯ve spotted Gongzi You in Red Lake City at the coordinates 729: 163: 454¡±

    Before she could even react, Ye Ci was surrounded by a huge crowd. Each and every one of them stared at Ye Ci, and she stared back at them as well. Oh how awkward the situation was for Ye Ci, and how embarrassed she was.

    The incident has not even reached its boiling point yet.

    Just as Ye Ci was surrounded at all sides with people taking photos of her and even people trying to hit on her, a message from a certain despicable someone appeared in the World Channel.

    [World] (Genesis) Fleeting Time: Aiya, Little Gongzi, why did you not tell me when you went on such a dangerous adventure? I could¡¯ve been your escort!

    The messaged caused an uproar in the World Channel, the Eastern and Western Continent, and ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ as well. Ye Ci was speechless. The crowd that surrounded her grew in numbers, while a lot of yers began their gossipping.

    If Gongzi You and Fleeting Time who were from opposing continents got married, how would the wedding ceremony be conducted?

    Of course, Ye Ci did not even have to pay attention to anything other than the ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ guild channel to know how trigger happy yers could be. There was already a heated discussion going on in the Guild Channel.

    ¡°Old Mo, do you think that I can be the best man if they got married?¡± Let Go Of That Girl was so happy that he almost broke into tears¡±

    ¡°You? A best man? With that height?¡± he was immediately ridiculed by Ideal Height 1.7m.

    ¡°What? Do you think you¡¯ll get to be the bridesmaid? People can¡¯t even see you when you stand beside an Elf!¡± Let Go Of That Girl immediately retorted in the defence of the dignity of the Dwarven race.

    ¡°Aiya, I¡¯ll definitely be the bridesmaid!¡± eximed Fruit Jelly, ¡°I got Lemon to make me a new dress and have never gotten the chance to wear it. Herees the opportunity!¡±

    ¡°Hmm.. I think I¡¯ll get somebody to forge me a new set of armor as well so that I¡¯ll be even more handsome. After all, I¡¯ll be the one who is going to lead her into the church.¡± Bai Mo¡¯s imagination was already running wild.

    Of course, that was not the only thing discussed. Purity Essence immediately took the chance to clear his name, ¡°See? See? I told you there¡¯s nothing going on between me and Gongzi! Do you believe me now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I think we¡¯ve been wrong about you.¡±

    ......

    Ye Ci could no longer hold in her anger, ¡°I see that all of you are very free! Alright then! I¡¯ll be taking 10% off of the earnings from the sponsored dungeon clearing for 2 months straight!¡±

    ¡°Aiya! The bride is gathering money for her dowry! Take my money please!¡± Icy Cold Little Hands gave her support to Ye Ci, ¡°It¡¯s alright! If you have a lot of dowry, you won¡¯t be bullied by your husband¡¯s family.¡±

    ¡°Yup, yup... Take our money!¡± Little Icy Cold Hands showed his support to his wife.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, the guild will give you a huge sum of dowry when you get married.¡± Timely Rain who was the guild¡¯s treasurer spoke up as well.

    ......

    Ye Ci was confounded by the content of the Guild Channel. She was utterly speechless. She then made the decision to ignore the conversation entirely.

    She then made a reply in the World Channel.

    [World] (Upwards Ho!) Gongzi You: Fleeting Time, you asshole! I¡¯ll kill you until you have 0 level left!

    She immediately received a reply from Fleeting Time.

    [World] (Genesis) Fleeting Time: My deepest apologies. It¡¯ll be an honor to die by your hands.

    The turmoil in the World Channel immediately reached a new height. Literally every female yer who was following the gossip squealed at the response.

    Ye Ci was hit by a sudden realization. She was no match for Fleeting Time when it came to trash talking. Staying silent was her best option.

    At the same time, Absalom was staring dumbfoundedly at Fleeting Time, who was sitting on the ground,ughing uncontrobly, ¡°Oi, are you done? We¡¯re still trying to clear a dungeon here...¡± his mouth twitched.

    ¡°Right, right.¡± Fleeting TIme nodded. However, he did not show any intention of getting up from the ground, and hisughter continued.

    The guild members stared silently at Fleeting Time. They were confused by his sudden outburst ofughter.

    ¡°Say, it it really THAT funny? She¡¯s calling you an asshole!¡± Absalom could not understand why Fleeting could allow Gongzi You to throw insults after insults at him without getting angry. The anger that he should have shown was reced by glee.

    ¡°Ai, you¡¯ll never understand how it feels like to get scolded by that person. I¡¯m sure the look on her face will be very interesting.¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes as he imagined how Ye Ci¡¯s expression would be. He then broke into yet anotherughter.

    There were two things in the guild member¡¯s mind at that moment:

    1. There was something going on between Fleeting Time and Gongzi You.

    2. A normal yer will never understand the twisted sense of humor of a God-tier yer.

    Yup, that was the first thing that happened to Ye Ci.

    As for the following events... Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian finally decided to start ying Fate. They were intrigued by the words of Dong Yin¡¯s and Yi Cang¡¯s parents about the wonders of Fate, and made the the decision to try it out themselves.

    When they were having tea break one afternoon, Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian finally found their courage to voice out their desire to y Fate. However, they were still slightly embarrassed by that matter.

    ¡°Little Ci, do you think it¡¯s inappropriate for your father and I to y the game?¡± Zuo Xian was slightly worried. After all, she was a 50 year old woman. For her to y a video game... She had never yed one, even in her youth.

    ¡°Auntie, uncle, you think too much. There is a lot of yers who are way older than you, but they still enjoy the game.¡± said Bai Mo as he took a sip of the green bean soup.

    Tan Png spoke up as well, ¡°The father of our principal was 80 years old, but nobody thought badly of him when he started ying the game. What are you afraid of?¡±

    Noting that it was a rare chance for her parents to even think of ying the game, Ye Ci began counseling them with a smile on her face, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Don¡¯t think too much about it. If the both of you don¡¯t like farming and fighting against monsters, you can be Life yers! Didn¡¯t you two want to be a tailor and a chef?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve never been able to reach an agreement until now. We¡¯ve decided that I¡¯ll be the tailor while you¡¯re father will be the chef.¡± Zuo Xian let out an embarrassedugh, ¡°We wanted to try the game out when we heard that we could earn money by ying the game from the parents of Yi Cang and Dong Yin.¡±

    ¡°As long as you enjoy it, it¡¯s fine.¡± Ye Ci nodded. She then talked to Bai Mo about buying gaming cabins for her parents. This caused much sorrow to Tan Png. As a student with an impending exam, he was not allowed to log into the game.

    Ye Ci dug out the contract for the storefront that she previously bought in Red Lake City. She would hand them to her parents once they logged into the game. It did not matter if they were unable to earn money out of it. She wanted her parents to be happy, and hoped that her parents could understand what she was doing. That alone was enough for her.

    As a reincarnator, she did not want to exclude her parents from her life. She wanted to be just like any other daughter out there. She wanted to make her parents happy, and this was the perfect chance.

    There was one more interesting thing that happened to Ye Ci.

    Truth to be told, it had nothing to do with Ye Ci, but she was still shocked when she received the news.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon sat on a chair, carefully slicing the a piece of roasted ostrich meat. He put a slice into his mouth, and savored the taste. He then took a sip of wine before letting out a sigh, ¡°Hai... You have such a high status in Red Lake City. How will I be able to achieve a status like this in my home city? I¡¯m willing to die for it!¡±

    Ye Ci purse her lips, and began slowly eating the dishesid out in front of her, ¡°Why did you want to meet me out of the blue? Was it just so that I can treat you to a meal? Green Hill¡¯s Moon, this is not how you should be spending your time.¡±

    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t be like that. Gongzi, you know me.I might be wasting my time if it¡¯s somebody else, but if it¡¯s you... I¡¯m sure it¡¯s worth it.¡± there was a glint in Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re looking at me as a source of your ie. Of course it¡¯s worth it!¡±

    ¡°Aiya, can you not be so straightforward? I¡¯m embarrassed.¡± of course, despite his words, Green Hill¡¯s Moon was not embarrassed at all.

    ¡°So, what is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m always one to finish what I started. I¡¯m here to tell you about how that thing you wanted me to investigated ended.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, ¡°What thing?¡±

    ¡°That thing about Unbridled Willow of course!¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon chuckled, ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about how the power struggle between Unbridled Willow and Thousand Sunsets ended?¡±

    ¡°How it ended? There can only be one victor. Since Unbridled Willow was the one who secured a spot in the Castle Ruins First Five, Thousand Sunsets would definitely be in deep shit.¡± Ye Ciughed. Such things were well within her prediction.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll ask you out if things are that simple?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. Have things taken a different turn?

    ¡°Although Thousand Sunsets was no longer favored by the Old Master, he was still someone who was groomed by him for many years. His foundation within the family is very firm, there¡¯s no way something as trivial as this is able toplete destroy his standing. The Old Master has decided to split Steel-Blooded Battle Spear into two, and handed each half to Unbridled Willow and Thousand Sunsets.¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips and said with a voice full of sarcasm, ¡°So you¡¯re telling me that Thousand Sunsets got something good out of his blunder?¡±

    ¡°That would be impossible. The First Five decided the flow of a huge amount of money. Members of the family were betting on the oue of this conflict. Thousand Sunsets¡¯ defeat cost him a fortune. He was badly hurt. On the other hand, despite his victory and the huge amount of funds he managed to secure, Unbridled Willow did not have much of a foothold within the family. He won the battle, but the war is far from over.¡±

 Chapter 207 What a Troublesome Dilemma

    Chapter 207 What a Troublesome Dilemma

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. It seemed that she underestimated Thousand Sunsets. She thought that her action of supporting Unbridled Willow would definitely topple Thousand Sunsets from his seat of power. She was still too greenpared to the Old Master. Ye Ci grimaced at the thought. I¡¯m still too naive.

    She looked at Green Hill¡¯s Moon and sighed. She wanted to speak her mind, but decided against it.

    ¡°I know there¡¯s something that you wish to say.¡± as a private investigator, Green Hill¡¯s Moon was an expert when it came to human psychology. He knew that Ye Ci had a question for him just by studying her expression.

    ¡°So what am I going to say?¡± Ye Ci smiled at Green Hill¡¯s Moon. Funny, this guy is smart, will he be able to guess it correctly?

    ¡°You¡¯re going to ask about Leftie and Gleaming Sunshine.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon was always correct when he made an assumptions.

    Ye Ci frowned.. Even if she admired Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s intellect, she was still slightly ufortable when somebody was able to guess her thoughts so easily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. I¡¯ve never mentioned this to anyone. You should trust my work ethics. Besides, I¡¯m a man with a conscience. You¡¯ve shown me kindness in my most desperate moment, I will never do something that will cause you harm.¡± said Green Hill¡¯s Moon who noticed Ye Ci¡¯s frown.

    Ye Ci slowly rxed her eyebrows, but the scowl remained on her face. She continued staring silently at Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon pursed his lips and continued, ¡°They¡¯re not as lucky as Thousand Sunsets. They¡¯ve lost all their investments. Hell, none of them even came online. I bet their families are in aplete mess right now. If I¡¯m not mistaken, Gleaming Sunshine¡¯s family will soon dere bankruptcy, and Leftie¡¯s family is not doing any better. Don¡¯t worry about it. Just think of it as a side story. Their condition is not within the scope of my job, so I will not dig up any more information about them.¡±

    Ye Ci was dumbfounded. She knew that the two families had invested quite a fortune into the game, but she did not expect them to go all out. Both Dong Yin¡¯s and Yi Cang¡¯s fathers were rational men. They would never take such a huge risk without reason. So what caused them to entrust all their money to Thousand Sunsets?

    Although Ye Ci could not fathom the reason behind their actions, it no longer mattered to her at this point.

    After all, it was not her intention to hurt them, but they had to pay for the choice they made.

    ¡°Will they be able to recover from this?¡± Ye Ci raised her head and looked at Green Hill¡¯s Moon after a long moment of silence.

    A faint smile appeared on Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s lips. His smile was beautiful under the sun, ¡°Who knows? Nobody can predict the future.¡±

    Ye Ci shared the same sentiment as well, ¡°You¡¯re right. Nothing is certain in this world. Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow.¡±

    When he was almost done with his meal, Green Hill¡¯s Moon stood up and stretched himself, ¡°I¡¯ll give you another piece of information for free.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Thousand Sunsets is selling some of his shares of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. If you have the money to spare, perhaps you can consider to try buying some.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon chuckled, ¡°To be frank with you, I¡¯ve bought a few shares just for the fun.¡± he then turned towards the doorway, ¡°If you¡¯re going to make a move against him, I hope you can let me know. I don¡¯t want to lose money.¡±

    Ye Ci stared silently at Green Hill¡¯s moon, and shifted her gaze the the scenery outside the window.

    Has everything finally ended?

    Everything that happened in this world was like an interlude in the life of a human. Something might be sorrowful when it happened, but when we look back in time, it seemed so insignificant.

    As foretold by Green Hill¡¯s Moon, Steel-Blooded Battle Spear made an announcement that the guild will be split into two. One half will form the Bloody Steel, while the other half will be known as Battle Spear. Thousand Sunsets will be in charge of the former while thetter will be under themand of Unbridled Willow. The glory of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear ended here.

    Thousand Sunsets was still Thousand Sunsets, but Dong Yin and Yi Cang were no longer relevant. Ye Ci no longer heard about them from Liu Chang since that night, as if they had disappeared along with Steel-Blooded Battle Spear.

    Ye Ci continued her life of dungeon exploration andpleting her Epic-tier quest. Her days were dull at times, yet full of fun. Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian received a storefront from Ye Ci in the heart of Red Lake City when they joined the game. From that ce, they started their gaming experience in Fate.

    There was no escape from running errands for NPCs even during an Epic-tier quest. Ye Ci had to run countless errands for the NPC. She had to deliver letters, buy groceries, and perform a lot of other trivial tasks. However, the quest chain was moreplicated because it was an Epic-tier quest.

    Ye Ci¡¯s current task was such an example. She was required to make contact with the bandits that were based northwest of Red Lake City. Great, that¡¯s great!

    Ye Ci called up her quest menu, and found a side quest that she had been neglecting for a very long time. She was required to scout out the same bandit hideout. This meant that she could kill two birds with one stone.

    Ye Ci teleported back to Red Lake City and headed northwest after summoning Ol¡¯ Four.

    The Silvery Tin Vein is a map northwest of Red Lake City. It was a very special ce. There were elite monsters ranging from lvl 1 to lvl 100 in the vicinity, and the ce was rich with herbs and ores. However, not many yers ventured to this map due to the presence of the banditir.

    The bandits were one of the factions in the Eastern Continent.

    There were many different prestige rankings in Fate, including Continent Prestige, City Prestige, Race Prestige, as well as Faction Prestige. The so-called Faction Prestige could be earned from all the different factions that existed in different continents. If yers were able to gain the prestige rank of Respected and above with any faction, they would benefit greatly from their rtionship with them. There were different NPCmunities within Fate, including bandits, criminal organizations, and even different ns of monsters and all races.

    One of the factions that existed within Silvery Tin Vein was the Doran Thieves Guild.

    Of course, the Doran Thieves Guild in the area was not the main force of the faction. They were merely a tiny branch that set up shop in this area, robbing and stealing from yers and NPCs alike.

    Despite Red Lake City¡¯srge poption, the areas in the outskirts were city were quite deserted. The presence of the Doran Thieves Guild was one of the contributing factors to such a phenomena. yers who decided to level up in Silvery Tin Vein would always travel in groups. Those who preferred to go alone were easy pickings for the bandits.

    This was exactly why Ye Ci became the center of attention of the other yers when she entered the Silvery Tin Vein alone. In fact, she had the experience of being robbed by the bandits in herst life. Back then, despite her high level, she was still overwhelmed by the bandits as she was travelling alone, and lost quite a number of good quality equipment.

    Ye Ci was deeply traumatized by that incident, which was why she had ignored the side quest from Red Lake City.

    The bandits were unable to run rampant in the area just beyond the Silvery Tin Vein due to the high number of yers. They would surround and annihte any bandit that appeared, and the bandits were forced to lurk in more secluded areas, picking off targets of opportunity.

    Ye Ci avoided the main roads, and travelled down the narrow and more secluded mountain roads. This would definitely draw the attention of the bandits in the area. As expected, it did not take long for Ye Ci to run into a squad of bandits.

    The leader of the squad was a ugly looking man. Heughed at Ye Ci with his hands on his hips, ¡°Brothers! I told you there will be idiots walking into our ambush! See? I was right!¡±

    ¡°Boss, she looks tough.¡± said one of the snivelling bandits as he studied Ol¡¯ Four.

    The squad leader noticed Ol¡¯ Four as well. Unlike yers, the NPCs was able to tell Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s stats. He knew that Ol¡¯ Four was a tough opponent. The bandit squad leader then red at Ye Ci, ¡°Oi, why don¡¯t you work with us here and leave some of your belongings behind. It¡¯s that, or you¡¯ll be in a world of pain.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled, ¡°I¡¯m actually looking for someone.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re looking for someone?¡± the bandit squad leader was momentarily stunned. ¡°She says she¡¯s here to look for someone¡± the bandit squad leader let out augh, and his subordinates followed suit, ¡°We¡¯re all bandits here! Who do you think you¡¯re looking for?¡±

    Ye Ci knew that she could not reason with the bandits. She took out a badge and said to the squad leader, ¡°I¡¯m looking for your boss.¡±

    ¡°Wow! That thing looks expensive!¡± one of the bandits immediately stepped forward with the intention to snatch the badge away from Ye Ci, but the squad leader immediately shouted out loud, ¡°Back off! All of you!¡±

    Despite their confusion, the bandits backed off, staring carefully at Ye Ci and their squad leader.

    ¡°Where did you get that?¡± the squad leader asked carefully.

    Despite his ugly appearance, the squad leader was slightly intimidating. ¡°I came here from Dark y City.¡± Ye Ci smiled.

    ¡°Dark y City?¡± the squad leader narrowed his eyes. He studied Ye Ci closely, and sneered coldly, ¡°But why do you reek of the smell of someone from the Red Lake City?¡±

    ¡°So what? I live in Red Lake City. Is there something wrong with that?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s smile remained on her face.

    ¡°That makes you our enemy.¡± the squad leader waved at his men, and Ye Ci was immediately surrounded by the bandits.

    Some of the many factions in Fate were hostile against one another. The Doran Thieves Guild, with their branches stationed in the vicinity ofrge cities, was naturally in conflict with the NPCs with the city. They were hunted down and killed on sight by the cities¡¯ NPCs, and the NPCs in the cities would often be robbed by the bandits. If was only natural for the Doran Thieves Guild to be enemies with the cities.

    As a citizen of Red Lake City, Ye Ci was in an opposing faction of the bandits. That was why they was immediately surrounded Ye Ci when her identity as a Red Lake City citizen was revealed. She was like a fat goat that walked willingly into the midst of a pack of hungry wolves. The bandits would shame their guild if they did not kill Ye Ci and wipe her out from the face of the world.

    However, Ye Ci remained calm and maintained her smile, ¡°Yes, I am indeed a citizen of Red Lake City, and it is true that you¡¯re enemies with Red Lake City. However, I believe that this has nothing to do with my business here. I¡¯m running an errand in the stead of Lord Moore of Dark y City. Why would you stop me just because I¡¯m a citizen of Red Lake City? Why don¡¯t you allow me to settle my assignment from Dark y City first?¡±

    The bandits were confused by ye Ci¡¯s words. After remaining silent for a long while, the squad leader replied, ¡°You make sense. If I stopped you frompleting your task just because you¡¯re a citizen of Red Lake City, it will be troublesome for the lord of Dark y City. I¡¯ll be in deep shit if my boss finds out!¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She had long suspected that the bandits had ties with Dark y City. She was proven to be correct. However, she was still not sure if it was the mayor of the city or Lord Moore himself that had dealings with the bandits. After all, she has never even seen the face of Lord Moore before.

    Just like that, Ye Ci was escorted by arge group of bandits into their hideout deep in the Silvery Tin Vein.

    The hideout was actually a small vige packed full of men, women and children. There were even merchants within the vige. However, their names were all red to Ye Ci, and she was sure that her name was red to the NPCs as well. They would definitely have torn her apart if not for her escort.

    She was like a mobile aggro generator in the vige.

    Ye Ci was led into a slightly beautiful house, and was stopped in front of an NPC named Mird . From his appearance and demeanor, he was the boss of the bandits, which meant that he was the person Ye Ci was looking for.¡±

    ¡°Boss! Boss! I¡¯ve caught somebody from Red Lake City!¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill her right away? Why did you bring her here? You¡¯re useless!¡± Mird stared at Ye Ci with disgust written all over his face. It was obvious that the bandits harbored a deep hatred for red Lake City.

    ¡°I was going to do it, but... But...¡± the squad leader in an awkward spot. He looked at Ye Ci, and then at Mird , as if he was a rat trapped between two monsters.

    ¡°But what?¡± Mird lost his patience. He stood up, flinging the book that he was previously reading aside, and red angrily at the squad leader.

    ¡°But she said that she was here to do Moore¡¯s bidding.¡±

    ¡°Moore?¡± Mird was slightly stunned, ¡°What Moore?¡±

    ¡°Lord Moore from Dark y City. Look, she even has Moore¡¯s badge.¡± the squad leader pulled Ye Ci forward, motioning for her to show Moore¡¯s badge to Mird as a proof that he was telling the truth.

    Ye Ci took the badge out from her inventory and handed it to the squad leader, who then handed it to Mird , ¡°Look at this, boss! This is the badge of Dark y City¡¯s lord am I right? Although I¡¯ve only seen it once, I will not forget something as beautiful as this! There¡¯s nothing more gorgeous than the badge of Lord Moore!¡± the squad leader boasted, as if it was his idea to capture Ye Ci.

    Mird rolled his eyes and studied the badge silently to confirm its authenticity. He then looked at Ye Ci, and gestured for the rest of subordinates to leave the room. He spoke up after they have left the room, ¡°Did the lord of Dark y City handed this to you?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± not wishing to lie to Mird , Ye Ci told him the truth.

    ¡°What? You lied to me!¡± the squad leader who remained standing by Mird ¡¯s side drew his sword ¨C

    ¡°Get out! I¡¯m the one in charge here!¡± Mird immediately dismissed the squad leader before shifting his gaze back to Ye Ci, ¡°If it¡¯s not the city lord, it must be...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s from the mayor. He told me that the city lord wanted me to hand this letter to you.¡± said Ye Ci as she handed a letter to Mird .

    Mird raised his eyebrows as he epted the letter from Ye Ci. Different expressions shed across Mird ¡¯s face as he read the letter. Ye Ci was very curious about the content of the letter, and had even attempted to read what was written within. However, she was restricted from opening the letter by the system.

    As she observed Mird ¡¯s expression, Ye Ci was still unable to make a guess about the letter¡¯s content. Despite that, Ye Ci paid close attention to Mird . She was ready for the worst case scenario. If Mird ordered his subordinates against Ye Ci, she was ready to kill every single one of the bandits should the need arose.

    However, the worst case scenario Ye Ci was expecting did not happen. Mird raised his eyebrows and spoke to Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯ve read the letter, but I still don¡¯t trust you. Even if you¡¯re favored by Moore, it does not mean that you have my trust. You do know that there¡¯s a feud between us and the people of Red Lake City, and you happened to be a citizen of that city. I can¡¯t do as Moore asked and entrust you with the next task.¡±

    Ye Ci creased her eyebrows. Don¡¯t tell me that I¡¯m going to fail this Epic Quest just like that! But when she took a look at Mird , Ye Ci noticed that he had more to say, and she waited patiently for him to continue his words.

    ¡°But... I respect Moore¡¯s choice. I¡¯ll hand the quest to you if you can fulfill my conditions.¡±

    As expected, NPCs were always trying to tempt yers to fall into the abyss of endless errands by offering them huge amount of benefits. Ye Ci smiled at Mird , ¡°What do you ask of me?¡±

    ¡°If you can reach the prestige of Respected in the Doran Thieves Guild, I will hand you the task.¡± said Mird . When Ye Ci tried to talk to Mird after he finished his sentence, she was only offered the same response, ¡°You have not fulfilled my condition yet.¡±. It was apparent that Mird ¡¯s condition must be met before she could proceed with the quest.

    She now had to raise her prestige with the Doran Thieves Guild to the level of Respected.

    But how? Ye Ci wasted no time in pondering such a question. Upon leaving Mird ¡¯s house, Ye Ci noted that the bandits within the hideout were still red-named, with the sole exception of an NPC named John, who had a yellow name. After a brief conversation with John, Ye Ci knew what must be done.

    She had to raise her prestige with the Doran Thieves Guild by robbing yers. Her prestige level would rise with each kill of an NPC from Red Lake City.

    Ye Ci stared at the description with mouth agape. You¡¯ve gotta be shitting me! She would definitely be chased down and annihted by yers if she led the bandits against yers who were nearby. If she opted to rob or kill NPCs from Red Lake City, her hard earned prestige level in that city would suffer a devastating blow. If she wanted toplete this Epic-tier quest, she must sacrifice her prestige in Red Lake City. Ye Ci refused to ept such a fate.

    It was a very troublesome dilemma.

    With her wit at its end, Ye Ci could only leave the ce and return to Red Lake City toplete her side quest. After reading the description of the follow up quest, Ye Ci felt that she was the unluckiest person in the world.

    The following was written in the description of her side quest: Deal a crushing blow to the Doran Thieves Guild (100 times). How can she deal a crushing blow to the Doran Thieves Guild? The are as follows:

    Kill a bandit. Capture a bandit. Torture a bandit.

    Ye Ci nearly cursed out loud as she stood at the entrance of the city hall. Just what the hell is wrong with all these quest?

    Really, the game developers were not the ones to be med. Who would have thought that a yer would receive the side quest and the Epic-tier quest at the same time? At the same time, nobody would expect that particr yer to choose Red Lake City as her home city.

    Just as Ye Ci was faced with this headache-inducing dilemma, she received a private message.

    ¡°Gongzi You, did you tell NightAndDay about the thing between me and Into The Sunset?¡± the sender of the message was none other than Wandering Cloud. Ye Ci could feel his anger even when it was only a text message.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. Had NightAndDay spilled everything to Wandering Cloud? It can¡¯t be! He was the leader of arge guild, there was no way he would do something stupid like that. Noticing that NightAndDay was online when she opened her friend list, Ye Ci immediately sent him a message, ¡°Wandering Cloud is bothering me.¡±

    She received an instantaneous reply from NightAndDay, ¡°He¡¯s bothering you? Why?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    NightAndDay immediately grasped the meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°I¡¯ve never told him anything. Do you think I¡¯ll do something so stupid after what he did?¡± said the man as he shook his head.

    Ye Ci felt the same way as well. If NightAndDay was unable to keep such a trivial thing a secret, there was no way he could achieve what he had. There was only one possibility: Wandering Cloud made his own assumptions. Judging from his tone, he was not entirely sure of his usation as well, ¡°Alright, sorry for bothering you.¡±

    Before she could turn off her chat window with NightAndDay, Ye Ci received another message, ¡°By the way, about the fifth BOSS of Castle Ruins... Did you run or did you jump?¡±

    Many of the major guilds were unable to clear the Castle Ruins even after the First Five was already announced. They were still bogged down by the final BOSS. Tang Dynasty was one such guild. NightAndDay himself tookmand in the dungeon exploration, and was unable to solve the problem at the third stage of the BOSS battle. That was why he decided to ask Ye Ci for a hint.

    ¡°200,000 gold coins.¡± Ye Ci immediately asked for a price.

    ¡°F*ck me! Can you be even more of a scrooge?! You want me to pay you 200,000 gold coins just for a word? Do you seriously think that the money I have fell from the sky?¡± NightAndDay was driven mad by Ye Ci.

    ¡°Then you can go ask someone else.¡± Ye Ci wasted no time with NightAndDay. She was annoyed by the blinking message notifications from Wandering Cloud.

    ¡°Wait, wait!¡± NightAndDay immediately sent a message to catch Ye Ci¡¯s attention. This was the only chance he could get an answer from someone, ¡°Just tell me, please!¡±

    ¡°Many of the guilds out there have cleared the dungeon. Why must you get the answer from me? You can simply ask around.¡± Ye Ci was baffled. Castle Ruins was a 500-man dungeon. There must be someone who was willing to tell him the answer.

    ¡°I did, but the answers I received were all false. I had no choice but to ask you.¡±

    ¡°200,000 gold coins.¡± Ye Ci did not even blink, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯ve caused a substantial amount of losses to my guild when your members attacked mine thest time. This is not a high price to pay.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright! 200,000 gold coins it is! So do I run away from it or do I jump?¡± NightAndDay could only admit defeat. He hade to realize that he must not always follow his emotions. If things could be solved that way, the affair between Wandering Cloud and Into The Sunset would not have happened. He was no longer disgusted by Gongzi You¡¯s attitude of cing benefits above all else. ¡°I¡¯ll pay you when I leave the dungeon. Just give me the answer. Please, please!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s neither of them. You have to lie down.¡± said Ye Ci to NightAndDay. Just then, she received yet another message from Wandering Cloud, ¡°Did you not bring him along to explore the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°I ced him in charge of the third and fourth squadron.¡± NightAndDay was visibly calmer when he received his answer, and was able to converse with Ye Ci in a calm andposed manner. One might even think that he was not even in the process of exploring a dungeon. Ye Ci admired his attitude. Everything is fine as long as the guild members could work together to clear the dungeon. The achievement of First Blood, or securing a spot in the First Five were not important. They should be enjoying the game, not being r*ped by the game.

    ¡°I should charge you another 200,000 gold coins for leaving him so idle,¡± Ye Ci gritted her teeth, ¡°Can¡¯t you keep your own members in line? Stop bothering me with your guild¡¯s problems!¡±

    NightAndDay could understand Ye Ci¡¯s annoyance, ¡°Just try getting rid of him on your own just this once. I am going to deal with him soon enough. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    There was nothing else Ye Ci could say to NightAndDay. After closing the chat window with him, Ye Ci opened the messages from Wandering Cloud.

    ¡°Gongzi You, say something!¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You! How could you tell NightAndDay about something like that? Have I ever wronged you? Why did you do this to me?¡±

    ¡°Say something! Do you think I¡¯ll let it slide if you remain silent?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m warning you! If you don¡¯t respond, I will find you, and I will make you pay! You¡¯ve caused me trouble, and I¡¯ll make sure that you suffer for a lifetime!¡±

    ......

    Wandering Cloud¡¯s messages were all anonymous as he was not a friend of Ye Ci. However, Ye Ci knew who the messages were from judging by the names mentioned in the messages.

    As she read the messages, more were flowing into her mailbox. There was no way Ye Ci was willing to be dragged into this mess. It was for her best interest to act dumb, ¡°Excuse me, may I know who is this?¡±

    The blow this message has dealt to Wandering Cloud was devastating. He felt as if somebody has poured a huge bucket of ice onto him. He was utterly lost for words

    Wandering Cloud could not connect to a voice chat with Ye Ci as she was not a friend of his, and he knew that his messages would appear anonymous as well. Despite that, he expected ye Ci to be able to guess his identity after all the messages he sent.

    Wandering Cloud¡¯s temper soared.

    He was so angry that his brain was about to burst from all the rage. It was not clear if Gongzi You did not know who he was, or was simply feigning ignorance. No matter what the answer was, he knew he had to get to the bottom of things.

    He suppressed his anger and sent another message to Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi You, it¡¯s me, Wandering Cloud!¡±

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you! Why are you spamming me with messages?¡± Ye Ci knew that it would be hard to deal with Wandering Cloud after reading his reply.

    ¡°Did you... Tell NightAndDay about that?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°Uhh... You know...¡± Wandering Cloud¡¯s answer was very vague, ¡°Floral Apartment...¡±

    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about! What is Floral Apartment anyways?¡± Ye Ci continued to feign ignorance. If Wandering Cloud was smart enough, he would be able to take the hint.

    As expected, Wandering Cloud was still quite rational. He remained silent for a long while after receiving Ye Ci¡¯s message before sending her another message, ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°What do you want me to know?¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips.

    With that, Wandering Cloud was forced to take believe Ye Ci¡¯s words. He could no longer bring himself to continue his questions. Doing so would only mean that he was admitting his affair with Into The Sunset to Ye Ci. Judging from Ye Ci¡¯s words, he was sure that she would not reveal his secret. In a circumstances like this, there was no choice for Wandering Cloud but to trust Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Wandering Cloud immediately ended the topic. NightAndDay might really have discovered something. Or, could it be...

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you add me as a friend, Gongzi You? I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have the chance to work together in the future.¡± despite his suspicions, Wandering Cloud attempted to build up a rtionship with Ye Ci. It would benefit him greatly if they could be friends. This girl had connections with the leaders of many major guilds. If he was able to secure a friendship with her, he might be able to put her to use if he had a fall out with NightAndDay.

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows.

    These words... He said the same thing to her in her past life... But how did she respond to them back then?

 Chapter 208 Happiness is like a Flower

    Chapter 208 Happiness is like a Flower

    After giving the matter a thought, Ye Ci realised that she has forgotten how she responded to Wandering Cloud¡¯s request in her past life. How ironic it is. It seems that the rtionship that I once cherished was an insignificant joke. How I wish to forget everything.

    Of course, she wouldn¡¯t waste her time on something of the past. She was a reincarnator, she would never give Wandering Cloud another chance to take advantage of her, ¡°If you need anything from me, you can always send me a message. There¡¯s no need for you to add me as a friend.¡± that was how Ye Ci rejected his request.

    Wandering Cloud did not expect Gongzi You to turn him down right away. After all, adding somebody as a friend in the game was something verymon. A yer would normally not refuse a friend request. This was why Wandering Cloud was momentarily stunned before he coulde up with a response, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get in contact if I need your help.¡±

    Wandering Cloud ended his conversation with Ye Ci right there and then. He felt awkward after receiving her response. Continuing the conversation would only make things worse.

    Ye Ci was surprised by Wandering Cloud¡¯s action. ording to her knowledge of Wandering Cloud in her past life, this person was the embodiment of persistence. It was very rare for him to give up after facing a rejection from Ye Ci.

    However, with bigger problems to worry about, Ye Ci was quick to shove this incident to the back of her mind. After all, her priority was to increase her prestige with the Doran Thieves Guild so that she couldplete her Epic-tier quest, while not affecting her Red Lake City prestige for the sake of continuing her side quests in the city. This dilemma was pushing Ye Ci to her limits.

    She tried her best toe up with a solution as she sat fishing at theke ¨C but no avail. She gave up for the moment, and focussed on leveling up her Fishing and Cooking skill instead. Red Lake City was a good fishing spot. Knowing that it would be a waste to fish using a normal fishing rod, Ye Ci activated her Brooch of Deceit and equipped the Purple quality fishing rod she obtained earlier on.

    A sudden thought shed across her mind. Why have I not thought of this? She had always disguised her equipment using the Brooch of Deceit, how could she have forgotten that! The Brooch of Deceit could be used to change her appearance. She would be able to appear as an NPC with the brooch!

    She would be able to solve her problem by using the Brooch of Deceit!

    Forming a n in her mind, Ye Ci was eager to try it out.

    She headed to the city hall, and found the quest giving NPC. She then epted the quest to defend Red Lake City from bandits. She was given three choices by the NPC: Killing bandits, capturing bandits, or torturing bandits.

    The three quests offer the same amount of Prestige points as a reward. However, to test out the effects of the Brooch of Deceit, Ye Ci chose the bandit ying quest.

    Bandit ying: Kill 100 Bandits from the Doran Thieves Guild within 3 hours. The quest was not tough for Ye Ci. With her military rank in Red Lake City, she could lead a squad of 10 NPCs into battle with her. It made her job very simple.

    Ye Ci then led ten lvl 50 NPC soldiers out of the city, heading northwest towards the Silvery Tin Vein. Her action aroused the curiosity of yers along the way. Many of them sent messages to Ye Ci, but with her private message channel currently closed to strangers and the speed that she was travelling at, the yers could not obtain an answer from her.

    After entering the Silvery Tin Vein, Ye Ci activated the Brooch of Deceit, disguising herself as a Red Lake City Guard Captain, and headed straight to the spawn point of the lvl 40 bandits. She had already scouted out the area. The spawn point was quite a distant away from the bandit¡¯s hideout, which meant that the bandit patrols in the area were thin. This area was very secluded, and the likelihood of yers appearing nearby was very low.

    Ye Ci ordered the NPCs under hermand to charge at the bandits, once she arrived at the t terrain of the spawn point. The bandits in the area were all lvl 40, not equipped with any special skills, dealing only physical damage. waYe Ci was able to easily dispatch the bandits with the help of the Red Lake City soldiers. The only thing she had to do was to pay attention to any bandit runners who would return to their hideout and bring reinforcements to the battle.

    The bandits were quick to respawn, and Ye Ci was able toplete her bandit-ying quest within a short while, and returned to red Lake City. To not attract unnecessary attention, Ye Ci removed her disguise and dismissed her NPC soldiers.

    After having a needless talk with the officer in the city hall, Ye Ci was finally able toplete her quest and receive the reward. She then headed to the Silvery Tin Vein. She was anxious as she walked into the bandit hideout.

    The bandits remained hostile towards Ye Ci, but due to her Epic-tier quest, they did not attack her on side. Mird was still resting in his house, while John¡¯s name was still yellow in color. Their attitude towards Ye Ci did not change even after the one hundred bandits she had in. Ye Ci was still cautious despite the situation. She opened John¡¯s status interface, and noticed that his intimacy level with her remained the same. The notice was a huge relief to Ye Ci.

    Of course, a sliver of anxiety remained in Ye Ci¡¯s heart. Her experiment had only proved that the disguising as an NPC to kill bandits will not affect her prestige with the bandits. But what if leading bandits while disguised to attack Red Lake City could still affect her Red Lake City Prestige?

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s good to see you again, my friend! So, have you made your decision to help us out?¡± John greeted Ye Ci politely as he noticed her approach. He then offered Ye Ci three options to increase her her Doran Thieves Guild Prestige:

    1. Rob 12 yers.

    2. Rob 12 Red Lake City Citizens.

    3. Kill a specific NPC within Red Lake City.

    Ye Ci read the description of the three missions carefully. In the first option, Ye Ci was required to kill 12 yers in the Silvery Tine Vein. She would then receive a quest item from the system uponpleting her quest. She was required to rob 12 Red Lake City citizens in the second option. There was no specific location for this option. As long as the NPCs that Ye Ci killed were citizens of Red Lake City, she would be able toplete the quest. The third option was the hardest. She was required to kill the Chief Warden of Red Lake City.

    The Chief Warden was a lvl 70 NPC. There was no way Ye Ci could kill him. He was surrounded by countless NPC soldiers patrolling the area. It was almost impossible for Ye Ci to even reach the Chief Warden.

    The third option was definitely out of the question for Ye Ci. She was left with the options of either attacking the yers or any Red Lake City citizens.

    After giving the matter a thought, Ye Ci went with the first option. Robbing an NPC from Red Lake City was just too risky. With Ye Ci¡¯s reputation with the Doran Thieves Guild, they will never send their men to help Ye Ci out. The only thing that Ye Ci could do was to kill other yers.

    Although the Silvery Tin Vein was located on top of an ore vein, it was a small map. The yer poption in the map were not as concentratedpared to the other map. Despite that, there was still a significant number, and they always travelled in groups. It was hard to catch a straggler out.

    Ye Ci disguised herself as a Bandit Captain, which utilizes magic attacks inbat. It was enough to deal with yers who had a lower level than her. Afterpleting her disguise, Ye Ci left the bandit hideout and surveyed the surrounding areas.

    A Bandit Captain is a lvl 50 Elite Monster, which meant that it had a better loot droppared to an ordinary bandit. Ye Ci, who was moving alone with the guise of a Bandit Captain immediately became the focus of yer attention.

    Ye Ci knew that this would happen. This was why she chose areas where yers were less concentrated.Two reasons contributed to Ye Ci¡¯s decision. Firstly, a lower concentration of yers meant that there was a lower risk that she would be swarmed by yers. As Gongzi You, she could take on 20 yers without much of a problem with her level advantage. As a Bandit Captain, she might not be able to take on more than 5 yers at a single time.

    Secondly, yers in such secluded areas would be grouped up in smaller parties made up of Life yers that were in the ce to gather herbs or mine for ores. Such yers were usually not used tobat, making them easy prey for Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci immediately attracted the attention of yers around her as soon as she entered an abandoned mine.

    ¡°Look! A lone Bandit Captain!¡±

    ¡°Hurry! Go take it out!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a lvl 50 monster, can we take it on?¡±

    Some of the yers started discussing their course of action, but many of them let their actions speak. Spells, skills, and arrows rained down on Ye Ci as Warriors began charging at Ye Ci.

    The vast majority of the yers were at lvl 30. Ye Ci would be able toplete her quest if she was able to kill them all. She locked on to a Warrior that was closest to her andunched one of her abilities at him.

    She was shocked by what happened next. The single target spell was able to instantly annihte the Warrior. It seemed that a Bandit Captain was actually not an easy target. After having a rough idea of how powerful the skills of a Bandit Captain could be, Ye Ci unleashed the rest of her abilities on the yers around her. The melee yers who were closer to her were wiped out, while yers who were farther away immediately fled.

    After picking off as many yers as she could, Ye Ci immediately began collecting the quest items before more yers could arrive at the scene to take her on. However, she did not loot from the dead yers as they were all yers of the Eastern Continent. Besides, their equipment was inferior to Ye Ci¡¯s.

    She immediately returned to the bandit hideout after collecting the quest items. Many of the yers chose not to revive themselves as Ye Ci was still nearby. They observed the lone Bandit Captain from afar and began their own discussion.

    ¡°F*ck me! That Bandit Captain was too strong! I thought we could kill it.. I¡¯ve never expected that we will get wiped out.¡±

    ¡°We were badly organized. If we worked with the other parties instead of trying to score thest hit, we could¡¯ve kited it and eventually defeat it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s easier said than done! We were not the only party back there. Do you think everybody will agree to that?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why...¡±

    ¡°Hey, look at that! The Bandit Captain is searching the corpses! You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me! Even monsters know how to loot?¡±

    ¡°I know right! I¡¯ve never knew that monsters will loot from yers as well! What a rare sight!¡±

    ¡°Ahh, cut the crap! What if it loots our equipment?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to revive now?¡±

    ¡°Are you crazy? We will have only half our hitpoints if we revive! That thing can kill a full health Warrior! You¡¯ll only lose your equipment and experience!¡±

    ......

    Of course, Ye Ci who was wearing the appearance of an NPC did not know that her action became a topic of discussion among yers. The only thing in her mind was to collect all the items andplete the quest. If she attracted too much attention, things would grow bad for her. The secret of her Epic-tier quest would be revealed along with her Brooch of Deceit. If something like that happened, Thousand Sunsets would be able to guess the identity of the thief who stole from Steel-Blooded Battle Spear. Even if he has lost much of his influence, he still posed a threat to Ye Ci in real life.

    Even if Thousand Sunsets chose to ignore such a fact, the real owner of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, who was the Old Master behind Thousand Sunsets would definitely act. The items within the warehouse of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear were his investments. If her secret was revealed, Zero Arsenic, Unbridled Willow, Thousand Sunsets, and even Dong Yin and Yi Cang would definitely go after her. It was not something that Ye Ci could handle.

    Ye Ci was right to be careful.

    Even with the majority of the yers giving up on killing the Bandit Captain, there were still a significant number of them who wanted revenge, calling for reinforcements from their guilds and their friends. Before long, the news of a lone Bandit Captain wandering around in Silvery Tin Mine was spread across thend. Despite their traumatic experience going up against the Bandit Captain, many yers were enticed by the loot drops of the Bandit Captain, and their greed overrode their fear. The yers began hunting for Ye Ci who was disguised as the Bandit Captain.

    This was something that Ye Ci wanted to avoid. She could never afford to drop her disguise, but this meant that her mobility was severely limited. It was very hard for her to escape the yers with the Bandit Captain¡¯s movement speed. The yers could barely deal any damage to Ye Ci with their attacks, but they were still very annoying.

    Ye Ci fled towards the direction of the bandit hideout, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. She had to solve this problem, and the only solution she could think of was to lead the yers into the bandit hideout. The bandits will definitely swam upon the yers and Ye Ci could then seize the opportunity to hide out of sight and remove her disguise.

    With a n in mind, Ye Ci was no longer panicked. She calmly led the yers around the Silvery Tin Vein while asionally casting AOE spells at the yers behind her, forcing them to keep their distance.

    Many of the yers were enraged. They were determined to kill the Bandit Captain no matter what it cost them.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips when she heard the war cries of the yers. Be it in real life or in a game, once a person was controlled by his or her anger, the person will begin acting irrationally. This is why we must stay calm at all times and keep our anger in check so that we can always make the right choice.

    After leading the yers around the map for over 20 minutes, Ye Ci had only half of her HP left. At this point, Ye Ci decided to stop ying cat and mouse with the yers. She led them straight into the bandit hideout.

    Ye Ci headed down the road leading to the bandit hideout, with the yers who have long lost their rationality in tow. They followed her straight into the hideout.

    Bandit Captains are amon sight in the bandit hideout. When Ye Ci hid herself among the bandits, the yers lost their target. Of course, this was not the only misfortune to befall the yers. When the bandits saw such a huge number of yers entering their hideout, they immediately descended upon the yers, annihting each and every one of them who set foot in the bandit hideout.

    The tragedy that struck the yers on that day made its way into the forums. None of the yers suspected that the incident was triggered by another yer. They were amazed by how intelligent the NPCs in Fate could be. Of course, this is something that happened muchter, and is not the focus of our story.

    We are currently following the story of Ye Ci.

    After leading the yers into the bandit hideout, Ye Ci hid herself in the midst of the huge wave of NPCs and snuck into Mird¡¯s house after removing her disguise.

    Mird was apparently better informed than the yers. He walked up to Ye Ci and weed her with a appreciative smile the moment she entered his house, ¡°You¡¯re quite smart! You brought so many outsiders to us. It¡¯s been awhile since we¡¯re able to enjoy killing so many of these outsiders.¡±

    ¡°This is my show of good faith to you.¡± Ye Ci chose the option to skip Mird¡¯s dialogue, and ended the conversation. Her ¡°Cunning¡± trait allowed her to skip Mird¡¯s dialogue without offending the NPC, and she received a huge Prestige Pack as a reward, raising her Prestige with the Doran Thieves Guild from Hostile to Cold.

    Although the bandits¡¯ names remained red to Ye Ci, they would not attack her as her Prestige was already at Cold. This came as a huge gain for Ye Ci.

    The sound of battle between the yers and the bandits reverberated in the bandit hideout, but the culprit Ye Ci had only one thing in her mind: She needed to return to Red Lake City as soon as possible.

    Ye Ci had already discovered a small room in Mird¡¯s house during her first visit. After requesting for Mird¡¯s permission to use the room, she was escorted by one of his subordinates into the room as Mird was still unable to trust Ye Ci fully but was reluctant to offend her due to her rtionship with Lord Moore. There was nothing but a locked chest within the room. Despite her curiosity about the content of the chest, she knew that it was not the right time for such a thing. She activated her City-recalling Stone upon entering the room and returned to Red Lake City.

    Ye Ci headed straight to the city hall upon her arrival. She was relieved after walking around the ce. It was apparent that her actions did not affect her Prestige within Red Lake City. Her n was a brilliant sess. If she kept it up, she would be able to reach the required Prestige rank with Doran Thieves Guild within two days.

    People tend to work hard when they have a goal, and Ye Ci was a person who would work hard to achieve hers. Armed with hertest knowledge, Ye Ci began taking on quests from Red Lake City and the bandit, and achieved her goal in a short period of time.

    During that time, Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian had officially started ying Fate. After much hardships in gaining their first 10 levels, they began having a basic understanding of the game. Since they were aiming to be Life yers, the couple began learning different sorts of Life Skills once they¡¯ve reached lvl10. Ye Ci then gave them 20,000 gold coins each and handed the two shop fronts she prepared for them over so that they could start their business.

    After their short time in Fate, Ye nantian and Zuo Xian knew that things could be quite expensive in the game. With their modest nature, they were anxious with Ye Ci¡¯s arrangements.

    ¡°Little Ci, the rent of a shop like this must be high! This is one of the best location in Red Lake City? Why don¡¯t you rent it out?¡± said Zuo Xian as she studied the brand new storefront given to them by Ye Ci with Ye Nantian.

    ¡°I own a lot of shops, you don¡¯t have to worry about my ie.¡± Ye Ci replied with a smile, ¡°I earn more than you think i do. You really don¡¯t have to worry. I reserved these two just for you.¡±

    ¡°Little Ci, keep it. Save up some money. You can use it when you get married.¡± parents are always thinking about the future of their children, ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t think you can be a professional gamer forever. You should have some savings to prepare for the future. We don¡¯t want this property from you.¡±

    Ye Ci knew that her parents were thinking of her well being, and she tried her best to persuade them. As expected of the daughter of Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian, Ye Ci was as persistent as her parents. When her parents insisted that she kept the storefront for herself, she stood her ground firmly.

    Ye Ci was eventually forced to resort to the method she used on Carnivore, ¡°Alright, since you insist, we¡¯ll do thing sin a strictly businesslike manner.¡± she then led her parents to the city hall, and signed an agreement with them. She would be the main shareholders to her parents¡¯ business, while the money and the store she gave her parents would be her investment. She would also receive 40% of her parents earnings.

    Despite their reluctance, Ye Ci¡¯s parents were forced to yield to their daughter¡¯s persistence and they signed the contract. Ye Ci watched as her parents kept the contract away and headed to their storefronts happily.

    Ye Ci¡¯s family was not wealthy, but her parents would always try their best to satisfy her requests. Even when she was finally able to repay them, they were still thinking about her well being. Even if she could not be a filial daughter, Ye Ci still hoped that her parents could enjoy the game, and have something to entertain themselves in their older years.

    Fate was about to release a new patch, ¡°A New Continent¡± which would be followed by an patch called ¡°Another World¡±. In that expansion, Wang Jiangnan will slowly realize his ambition. It was that expansion that would triple the number of users of Fate, raising the total number of users to a whopping 4.7 billion. It became something essential in the modern day world. The expansion would introduce new races and sses into the game. The importance of Life yers in the game also significantly increased after the introduction of the patches. Wang Jiangnan alsomercialized the game, and many real life corporates began investing into the game, transforming the game into a second life for everyone. .

    Of course, this was still not known by the yers. Even Wang Jiangnan himself had no knowledge of something like this. As a reincarnator, Ye Ci was the only one who knew about such a thing. Despite her resolution to start afresh after her reincarnation, something had not changed: Ye Ci was still determined to be at the top.

    Ye Ci looked up into the azure sky. She was looking forward to the patch. It was actually one of the reasons she invited her parents to y the game.

    During Ye Ci¡¯s past life, after realizing that they could never connect with their daughter in real life, Ye Ci¡¯s parents started ying Fate when ¡°Another World¡± was introduced into the game, investing every single penny they had. At that time, Ye Ci was annoyed by her parents, and was chasing after the title of the ¡°Top yer¡± in Fate. In the process of doing so, she neglected her parents. Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian who were totally inexperienced in Fate suffered many hardships. They lost all their investments in the gold fever started by the upper-ss yers, and were forced to quit the game.

    They were forced to sell away their house, and could not even afford a doctor when they were sick.

    Ye Ci remained ignorant of this fact until her past life was almost at its end. However, she had already forgotten what it was ike to be human.

    That past seemed so distant to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci squinted her eyes at the warm sun, basking in its warmth. She stared at the sky, observing the moving clouds. Everything felt like a dream.

    ¡°Little Ci! Little Ci! Come, have a look! Tell me where I should hang this robe!¡± Zuo Xian called out excitedly at Ye Ci. Snapping out of her daze, Ye Ci walked towards her mother with a smile on her face.

    ¡°Mom, stop calling me Little Ci! Call me Gongzi You! We¡¯re in the game right now! If you call me by my name, my identity will be leaked!¡±

    ¡°Aiya! I know that! But I¡¯ve been calling you Little Ci for almost 20 years! You have to give me some time to get used to it!¡± Zuo Xian nodded. However, her main concern was the robe she was holding in her hand, and where she should hang it.

    The robe was an equipment with Blue quality, which was one of Zuo Xian¡¯s best products. She wanted to ce it on a spot that was visible to everyone.

    ¡°Let me hang that up for you.¡± Ye Ci walked up to her mother who was standing on a chair. The stats of a yer¡¯s character was distributed ording to the yer¡¯s real life condition. As a middle-aged woman, Zuo Xian was not as agile as her daughter, and Ye Ci was worry that she might fall from the chair.

    ¡°Do you want me to hang it over here?¡± Ye Ci lifted the piece of clothing she was having in her hand up.

    ¡°Move it that way a little.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°There! That¡¯s right, there! There!¡± Zuo Xian waved her hand.

    ¡°Mom, please give me a clear direction. I can¡¯t tell where do you want this thing!¡± despite her grumbling, there was a smile on Ye Ci¡¯s face. She could feel flowers blooming in her heart. Those were the flowers of happiness.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you figure it out? Are you telling me that the 20 years I spent to raise you up are a waste? Yes! That¡¯s it! Over there!¡±

    ¡°Is this okay?¡±

    ¡°Higher, hang it higher!¡±

    ¡°But you won¡¯t be able to reach it if I ce it over there. You can¡¯t hire workers yet.¡±

    ¡°Fine, hang it lower so that I can reach it.¡±

    ......

    Ye Ci had forgotten how long had it been since she was able to enjoy a peaceful daily life with her family. Her past life was like a long and horrifying nightmare that she just started to wake up from.

    For her, the present was the most important. She would cherish every single day and every single moment of her current life.

    ¡°Old Ye! Look! What do you think of my shop?¡± said Zuo Xian who had finally finished decorating her shop to Ye Nantian as they stood outside the shop, with happy smiles on their faces.

    ¡°So what do you think of my dish? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a lot better than yours.¡±

    ¡°Heh, how could it be better than mine?¡±

    ¡°I think I can cook better.¡±

    ......

    Ye Ci observed with a smile from afar as Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian were bickering like little children. She felt happy. She was d to be their daughter.

    ¡°Little Ci, let¡¯s go, we have a dungeon to clear.¡± she received a message from Bai Mo.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath and took onest nce at her parents, and a brilliant smile lit up her face. She then turned around and replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m on my way.¡±

 Chapter 209 Axia Mist

    Chapter 209 Axia Mist

    Western Continent, Genesis guild

    The Genesis guild had been farming equipment for their members.. When the dungeon had been cleared, Absalommented on the performance of his members. ¡° You guys did a good job today. Axia Mist, great job with interrupting the BOSS¡¯s skill. Your Backstab was timed nicely as well.¡± he then began looting the BOSS that had just been defeated. A Purple quality Rogue¡¯s dagger was among the loot. ¡°Hmm... Axia Mist seems to have a bit worse than the average equipment in the party. I think this dagger...¡±

    Axia Mist spoke up before Absalom could finish his sentence, ¡°Guild leader, I don¡¯t need that equipment. Can you give me some gold instead?¡±

    This was not the first time Axia Mist refused to receive an equipment after a dungeon raid, and Absalom had turned a blind eye to Axia Mist¡¯s behavior beforehand. ¡°Mist, you do know that your equipment contributes to the overall strength of the guild. You are part of the guild, and the quality of your equipment will affect the guild¡¯sbat power. Shouldn¡¯t you show some team spirit?¡±

    ¡°Guild leader, I know that. But I¡¯m still going to ask for gold instead. I don¡¯t want that dagger.¡± Axie Mist shook his head.

    Absalom wordlessly handed the dagger to another Rogue, while taking 100,000 gold coins from the Rogue to Axia Mist. As Absalom traded the gold coins to Axia Mist, he stared at his young face and said in a serious tone, ¡°Mist, I have to ask, did something happen in real lif-¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, guild leader. You don¡¯t have to keep guessing. I¡¯ll give you an answer when the timees.¡± Absalom was cut off mid sentence by Axia Mist, who epted the gold coins.

    Absalom nodded at Axia Mist, and dismissed the party. He cast a nce at Axia Mist, and walked towards Fleeting Time, who was harvesting meat from the fallen monsters. ¡°Say, do you really need to do this every time you see the carcass of a dead animal? Do you really need that many meat?¡± said Absalom as he knelt down beside Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time cast a nce sideways, ¡°Someone who does not have a gluttonous pet has no rights to talk to me about this.¡±

    Absalom could only offer him a smile. He knew the hardships of being a Hunter. Almost every Hunter he knew was doing the same thing. They would scrounge for every ounce of meat they could get their hands on, so that their pets could enjoy better food. Even a God-tier yer like Fleeting Time could not escape from such a fate.

    ¡°Fine! Can I ask a favor from you?¡± Absalom knew that this was not a topic that he could have a debate with Fleeting Time, and immediately shifted the conversation.

    Fleeting Time did not even stop his movement when he spoke up softly, ¡°If you want me to go have a talk with Axia Mist, then the answer is no.¡±

    ¡°Oi oi oi...¡± even after his intention was seen through and rejected by Fleeting Time, Absalom did not give up, ¡°Fleeting Time, have you ever been kind?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a nice guy! I¡¯ve always been kind.¡± Fleeting Time did not even look at Absalom as he spoke out the words.

    ¡°If you¡¯re kind, you wouldn¡¯t have rejected my request!¡±

    When his words created a silence, Absalom unleashed his inner monk, and began nagging at Fleeting Time, slowly chipping away his mental resistance. Fleeting Time was quite impressed by Absalom. The man could spout streams after streams of nonsense when he was trying to persuade a person or give someone a moral lesson. What impressed Fleeting Time was that he never repeated himself, even while talking about pointless things. He was doing the same thing to Fleeting Time, starting from how God created the world and how it was a sin for Fleeting Time to not help him out.

    Even Fleeting Time began to doubt himself after listening to Absalom¡¯s words. Am I really a bad person?

    After 20 minutes of nonstop jabbering, Fleeting Time¡¯s will was finally broken. He felt his life slowly seeping away under Absalom¡¯s psychological attack. His life was going to end there and then, and he was slowly heading towards his grave, skipping the part of his life where he could get married and have children.

    For the sake of his life, Fleeting Time was forced to agree to Absalom¡¯s request despite his reluctance. He was very fond of the idea of staying alive.

    ¡°Fine, fine! Stop the nonsense! What do you want?¡±

    A victorious smile appeared appeared on Absalom¡¯s face when he noticed Fleeting Time¡¯s impatient expression. He was saying the following to Fleeting Time with his smile: Hehe... It wouldn¡¯t havee to this if you just listened to me from the beginning~~ Fleeting Time could feel his anger and the urge to include Absalom into his cklist slowly rising when he saw that wicked smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually very simple. I want you to talk to Axia Mist and...¡±

    ¡°You want me to find out why he kept refusing to receive equipment and share the gossip with you am I right?¡± Fleeting Time cut Absalom off mid sentence and finished the sentence for him.

    ¡°Why are you like this? I¡¯m just worried! What do you mean gossip? Do I look like someone who loves gossipping?¡± Absalom shook his head as a sign of protest.

    Fleeting Time snorted with clear disdain, ¡°Is there any difference at all?¡±

    ¡°Whatever! Just go already. I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the conference room.¡± Absalom immediately urged Fleeting Time to go do his bidding.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you do it yourself? I¡¯m not the most suitable person to have a heart-to-heart talk with someone. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re forcing me to do something very difficult?¡± Fleeting Time stared at Absalom¡¯s expression, feeling that this face was asking for a beating.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a bonus this month. A month¡¯s worth of bonus! How bout that?¡±

    Fleeting Time shot him a disdainful nce, ¡°I¡¯m not interested in moneytely.¡±

    ¡°So where do your interests lie?¡± Absalom inched closer to Fleeting Time when he heard his words. Despite his close friendship with Fleeting Time, Absalom knew that his friend hated anything to do with guild administration. He would need to offer some benefits in return for making Fleeting Time to run errands for him.

    ¡°Picking up girls.¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes and stared at Absalom with a glint of mischief in his gaze.

    ¡°Ahhhhh!!!¡± Absalom exploded with excitement. He has known Fleeting Time for more than 12 years, and this man has never shown any interest in the opposite gender at all. He had even began to suspect his friend of being homosexual. The words that left Fleeting Time¡¯s mouth were like red rain pouring down from the sky. ¡°Really? Is that for real? Why do I feel like I¡¯m dreaming?¡±

    Fleeting Time¡¯s mood improved when he saw Absalom¡¯s expression. He secretly enjoyed looking at a person¡¯s crazy expression.

    ¡°Dear Lord! Just what the hell is going on with today? Why did I suddenly receive such shocking news? What should I do?¡± Absalom tore at his hair as he paced back and forth in front of Fleeting Time, basking in his own excitement. He did not even notice the mischievous grin on Fleeting Time¡¯s face. Without warning, Absalom stopped in front of Fleeting Time and rested his hands on Fleeting Time¡¯s shoulders, ¡°Brother, tell me, since when have you be so enlightened?¡±

    Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows.

    Absalom then shook his head, ¡°No no no... This is not important. The more important thing is: What sort of girls do you like? Those with big boobs? Those who are flirty? Or those who are young and cute? Or maybe even those girl-next-door types? Just tell me which girl you like and I¡¯ll make sure that I¡¯ll find you a girlfriend like that! We have a lot of beautifuldies in our guild, and I¡¯m sure that they¡¯re very willing to be your girlfriend. So, which type of girl do you like?¡±

    Fleeting Time held back hisughter and stared deadpan at Absalom. He had always felt that Absalom was the real life embodiment of busybody. It was a shame that he was born with the wrong gender. Absalom would have made a good female guidance counselor. Despite his reluctance to run errands for Absalom, it was very worth to see such a rare expression on his friend.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to know?¡± Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows and let out a sigh, showing a rare sign of hesitance.

    ¡°Of course, of course!¡± Absalom¡¯s head was bobbing up and down enthusiastically.

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes at Absalom, and for some unknown reasons, a name left his mouth, ¡°I want Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Absalom was dumbfounded.

    Even Fleeting Time himself was surprised by the answer. He had never thought that he would speak of that name. He was simply joking around with Absalom. However, for some reason, the name slipped out of his mouth when he was questioned by Absalom.

    Fleeting Time lost interest in making fun of the dumbfounded Absalom. There was a ripple in his heart. A question began to surface in his mind. It was a question that he had no answer for.

    Why her? Why did I say her name?

    However, when Fleeting Time thought of Gongzi You¡¯s intense and ambitious expression, a smile appeared on his face. When he imagined the face of Gongzi You who was provoked into anger by him, his mouth curved into a cheeky grin. All of a sudden, Fleeting Time¡¯s question was solved. There¡¯s no ¡°why¡±.

    Yup... Gongzi You is definitely the one.

    Fleeting Time was never someone to ponder too much on a question. As long as he had an answer that he believed in, he would no longer care about anything else. He would see it as the only answer, and would never have a change of heart.

    Absalom could not believe the answer he heard from Fleeting Time. He poke his pinky finger into his ears, digging around. The earwax must have affected my hearing. ¡°Did you just say ¡®Gongzi You¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°You must be kidding?¡±

    ¡°Then... Do you think it¡¯ll be better if the name that I said is yours?¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes, with warning clear in his voice.

    ¡°Gongzi You it is then.¡± Absalom rubbed the bridge of his nose. Although he had always suspected that his friend was not interested in women, he never felt that he could arouse Fleeting Time¡¯s interest.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to y mediator? You can go try contacting her for me.¡± Fleeting Time enjoyed watching Absalom¡¯s shocked expression, and decided to make fun of his friend as he packed the meat up.

    ¡°Oi, oi... Are you really talking about that Gongzi You from the Eastern Continent?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there only one Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I be serious about it?¡±

    ¡°I thought that you were just teasing her for fun! Don¡¯t scare me like that!¡± Absalom could not bring himself to believe Fleeting Time¡¯s words.

    ¡°Have you seen me teasing any other girl before.¡± said Fleeting Time with a voice full of confidence. He had even almost managed to convince himself.

    ¡°But... But...¡± Absalom knew the truth behind Fleeting Time¡¯s words, but he could not fathom the thoughts of his friend, ¡°Why would you take an interest in someone like Gongzi You? She¡¯s a female yer who is crowned as a God-tier yer. People like this are either veryscivious or very capable...¡± Absalom immediately corrected his words when he noticed a re from Fleeting Time, ¡°Of course, Gongzi You is one of thetter. Why would you like a strong woman like her? Shouldn¡¯t guys like cute and helpless-looking girls?¡±

    ¡°What if I like queens?¡±

    Absalom was lost for words. He could feel liquid flowing in his nose. He felt as if blood was about to burst from his nostrils, ¡°Fleeting Time, you have quite a heavy taste...¡±

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes once again. He had a sudden urge to beat Absalom up. Why have he not noticed that his friend of so many years is such a busybody and a pervert?

    Paying Fleeting Time no heed, Absalom continued, ¡°Then again... I don¡¯t think Gongzi You has the body figure of a queen. She¡¯s too t...¡± before Absalom could finish sentence, he felt a stabbing pain on his face, and he stumbled backwards before falling onto the ground.

    ¡°Fleeting Time, you¡¯re crazy!¡± Absalom sat up a few secondster, clutching at his nose. This time, it was bleeding for you.

    ¡°If you have any inappropriate thoughts about the woman I like, I¡¯ll beat the shit out of you.¡± Fleeting Time knelt in front of Absalom with a cold smile on his face, ¡°In real life.¡± he said with a warning tone.

    Being beaten up... In real life... Absalom waspletely stunned.

    By the time he recovered from the shock, Fleeting Time had already stood up and left the dungeon, ignoring the cries from Absalom.

    Although he disliked Absalom for being a busybody, Fleeting Time decided to help him out as he had already promised to do so. After leaving the dungeon, he sent a message to Axia Mist, ¡°Where are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m at the bank in the city.¡±

    ¡°Wait for me there.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Axia Mist let out a sigh. He looked up into the sky at the bright and beautiful sun. His heart was heavy. It seems that certain things can¡¯t be dyed forever.

    Before long, Fleeting Time appeared on the back of a white unicorn. Truth to be told, unicorns are the most suitable mounts of Elves. They were elegant and beautiful, had a high movement speed, and were deadly inbat. A unicorn was a mount that not only looked good, but was actually very handy as well.

    A mount like this was also very eye-catching. When Fleeting Time entered the city with his unicorn, countless female yers squealed in delight at the sight. However, Fleeting Time who was already used to the scene did not even flinch as he made his way to Axia Mist.

    Axia Mist immediately realised that his decision of waiting for Fleeting Time in the middle of the street was a very bad idea. Everybody knows that a woman¡¯s envy is most frightening. If the female yers knew that Fleeting Time was going to meet up with him, he would be in deep trouble even if he was a male. As expected, Axia Mist could feel countless death res on himself the moment Fleeting Time stopped in front of him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find somewhere quiet. I have something to ask you.¡± said Fleeting Time.

    The corner of Axia Mist¡¯s mouth twitched, and the dumbest question he had ever asked in his entire life left his mouth, ¡°Do I ride with you?¡±

    Fleeting Time¡¯s expression immediately darkened as he pursed his lips, ¡°I don¡¯t ride with men.¡±

    Axia Mist rubbed the bridge of his nose. Alright, I¡¯m an idiot, ¡°I only have amon mount. I¡¯m not as fast as you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can wait.¡± said Fleeting Time as he galloped away, leaving Axia Mist behind. The female yers were all pointing at him. There¡¯s nothing going on between me and Fleeting Time! We¡¯re guildmates alright? Can you stop looking at me like that? Axia Mist had the urge to scream when he noticed the stares from the female yers.

    When Axia Mist arrived at his destination, Fleeting Time was already cooking something by the side of a firepit, with a gigantic bat by his side, staring at the pan on Fleeting Time¡¯s hand. Axia Mist could already smell the aroma of the food from far away.

    ¡°Have a seat.¡± Fleeting Time gestured at a rock in front of him without even lifting his head.

    Axia Mist sat down, and could only remain silent..

    Just then, Fleeting Time handed a piece of roasted rhinoceros meat to Axia Mist, ¡°Eat while it¡¯s hot. I¡¯ve just learned this recipe. It¡¯s quite good.¡±

    Axia Mist could feel something ring at him as he took the meat. It was the giant bat that was at Fleeting Time¡¯s side. It was ring at the piece of meat in his hand. Axia Mist could feel a raging sorrow in his heart. Why does it feel like I¡¯m stealing a pet¡¯s meal?

    ¡°Little Five, don¡¯t do that, yours is here.¡± Fleeting Time patted the bat on its head, and threw a few pieces of meat at him. However, it was apparent that Little Five harbored a grudge against someone who has stolen his meat. It snorted loudly at Axia Mist before lowering its head and began feasting on the meat.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you know why I¡¯m looking for you.¡± Fleeting Time was indeed not the best person to have a heart to heart with. He immediately went straight to the point, ¡°Say it. Don¡¯t make me ask you.¡±

    Axia Mist sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know where to start?¡±

    ¡°Are you short of money?¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes and stared at Axia Mist. He must be very young. There was still some childish features on his face.

    ¡°Not really.¡± Axia Mist smiled, and began eating the roasted meat.

    ¡°If you¡¯re facing any difficulties in real life, you can tell me about it. Money is a son of a bitch. Don¡¯t be troubled by it.¡± said Fleeting Time as he continued munching on the roasted meat, ¡°I have a million coins with me, I hope it¡¯s enough... ¡±

    ¡°Brother Fleeting Time, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m really not facing any difficulties.¡± Axia Mist cut Fleeting Time off.

    ¡°Then why did you exchange all your gold coins into real world currency?¡± there are things that Fleeting Time did not ask about, but it did not mean that he was ignorant of it.

    Axia Mist spoke up after a long moment of silence, ¡°Brother Fleeting Time, I know that my actions are affecting thebat strength of our guild, but... But... I have my own reasons.¡±

    ¡°Can you tell me about it?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Axia Mist took in a deep breath, ¡°Brother Fleeting Time, I¡¯m going to transfer to the Eastern Continent.¡±

    Fleeting Time was shocked to hear Axia Mist¡¯s words. He stared at the boy in front of him,pletely lost for words. They have actually known each other for years, but had only grown close to each other when they started ying Fate. Axia Mist was a very cheerful person. He was even able to walk out of his sudden depression half a year ago. Although Fleeting Time did not interact a lot with Axia Mist, he knew that the boy was talented. In ten years time, the kid might even be better than him at the game.

    ¡°Can you tell me why?¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s because of my family.¡± replied Axia Mist after a short moment of hesitation, ¡°I¡¯ve always been ying with you guys after starting the game. You¡¯re like a family to me. This is why I¡¯ve always hesitated to transfer to the Eastern Continent.¡±

    ¡°You must have a very strong reason to go there then.¡± Fleeting Time smiled, ¡°Although you¡¯re not willing to tell me, but I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s very important to you.¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s something very important.¡± Axia Mist nodded. He then grimaced and lowered his head, ¡°I really hate to part with you guys. Especially when I know that you¡¯ll all disappear from my friend list, I really don¡¯t want to go.¡±

    ¡°This is why you don¡¯t want any equipment from the guild?¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s smile was warm, ¡°You¡¯re afraid that you¡¯ll feel bad if you took the equipment. Or, should I say... You don¡¯t want to feel guilty about it.¡±

    Axia Mist¡¯s vision clouded. Rubbing his eyes, he lowered his head and smiled, ¡°Brother Fleeting Time, can you not be so straightforward?¡±

    ¡°You want me to be indirect? That is for girls. We¡¯re men. We don¡¯t do that.¡± Fleeting Timeughed.

    Axia Mist chuckled, ¡°Says who? Women can be quite straightforward as well.¡± he then raised his head and gave Fleeting Time a strange smile, ¡°I know of one suchdy. She was a very straightforward person, and would always make fun of me and bully me. She was as tough as a man. How annoying.¡±

    ¡°But, you look up to her a lot.¡± Fleeting Time spoke out Axia Mist¡¯s unspoken words.

    Axia Mist remained silent. He sniffed, and his eyes turned red. Fleeting Time let sighed and patted him on his head, ¡°Okay, I did not see that. What¡¯s with that expression? It¡¯s hideous!¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Axia Mist rubbed the tears away from his face, his voice was shaky, ¡°I know. You don¡¯t have to tell me that.¡±

    ¡°Do you need me to tell Absalom about this?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay.¡± Axia Mist sniffed. He then raised up his head and stared at Fleeting Time with unyielding eyes, ¡°I¡¯m a man. I don¡¯t need your help for this.¡±

    Fleeting Time stared at the tough little boy in front of him, and felt a pang of sorrow in his heart. He might not be able to see him again. Fleeting Time¡¯s lips began to move, but in the end, he could only say out the following words, ¡°Take care.¡±

    ¡°You too, brother Fleeting Time.¡±

    ¡°When we meet again...¡± Fleeting time paused before continuing in a light tone, ¡°When we meet again, I¡¯ll not hold back.¡±

    ¡°Me too.¡± Axia Mist grinned at Fleeting Time, ¡°I¡¯ll defeat you for sure.¡±

    ¡°Heh? You? Hehe...¡± Fleeting Time smiled, ¡°Alright. You¡¯ll have to work hard for that. Don¡¯t disappoint me.¡±

    A strange expression formed on Axia Mist¡¯s face, ¡°Brother Fleeting Time, Gongzi You is in the Eastern Continent.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes. He almost choked on the piece of meat that he was chewing on, trying his best to remain calm. He was definitely caught of guard by Axia Mist¡¯s sudden statement.

    ¡°I have a feeling that you¡¯ve been treating her in a special way. Do you need me to gather information about her for you? Every single piece of information...¡± a smile appeared on Axia Mist¡¯s face. It was a smile full of malicious intent.

    Fleeting Time was momentarily stunned. He then chuckled and shook his head, ¡°There¡¯s really nothing going on between me and Gongzi You. You don¡¯t have to do that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Axia Mist appeared to be slightly disappointed, but his stared was still fixated on Fleeting Time, ¡°There¡¯s really nothing going on between you and Gongzi You?¡±

    Fleeting Time was slightly embarrassed. With a smile, he attempted to steer the conversation away, ¡°We¡¯ve only fought for a few times. There¡¯s nothing going on between us. You think too much.¡±

    Axia Mist sighed, ¡°I thought we could at least keep in touch this way. It seems that I won¡¯t even have the chance to provide you with secret information.¡±

    Fleeting Time could only chuckle as a response. He then let out a sigh. Just what are kids thinking these days? I... I did not show anything right? Right...

    After taking his leave, Fleeting Time headed to the leveling area. Before he started his progress, he sent a message to Absalom, to give him a heads up. That guy would definitely lose his mind if he heard the news from Axia Mist without prior warning. However, Fleeting Time had a whole new level of respect to Absalom after listening to his response, ¡°Ah, I see. I thought that he had something against the guild, but was too shy to voice it out. So that¡¯s how it is.¡±

    ¡°What? You sounded like you¡¯ve already expected this.¡±

    ¡°No, I just had a feeling that Axia Mist is going to leave soon. I can¡¯t believe that my feeling is actually correct.¡± Absalom sighed, ¡°What a shame. He¡¯s a good kid, and a good yer. The Eastern Continent is lucky to have a yer like him.¡±

    Fleeting Time could only smile wordlessly. In truth, unlike Absalom, there was an unease in Fleeting Time¡¯s heart. He would be losing arade soon.

    He looked up at sun that was just slowly descending over the horizon, and spurred his Unicorn forward, galloping at full speed towards the setting sun, as if he could leave his sadness behind.

    Tan Png stared at his bank card, at the sum of money within his bank ount. He let out a long sigh. Finally, I have earned enough. He had never thought that it would be so expensive to transfer his character to another continent. The whole process cost a whopping 100,000 real life currency! It took him quite a while to collect such a huge amount of money. The people in the Glory Corporation are so despicable!

    After retrieving his card from the ATM, Tan Png carefully ced the card into his wallet. After making sure that he brought his ID, game memory card, and all the necessary documents along, he headed towards his city¡¯s Fate customer service center.

    The employees in the service centerpleted the transferring process quickly. They took only ? of the time it took to wait in the queue. After leaving the service center that was still crammed full of customers, Tan Png stretched his body. He had finally settled everything. The only thing left to do was to return home and log into the game to give Ye Ci and Bai Mo a surprise.

    With that thought in mind, Tan Png started walking home.

    He walked up a flight of stairs and opened the door to his home.

    ¡°Dad! Mom! I¡¯m home!¡± Tan Png took of his shoes by the door, and called out to his parents. He was shocked when he lowered his head. There were 3 extra pairs of shoes. They seem to be of good quality. Those shoes must be very expensive.

    Tan Png¡¯s curiosity arose. Just what sort of visitors are here?

    There was still a short distance from the entrance to the living room, and the short distance that he had to walk today filled Tan Png with suspense. He was trying to guess the identity of the visitors when he heard a familiar voice.

    ¡°Old Ye, Xian, please, just help us out! We¡¯ve been friends for so many years, and I¡¯ve never begged you for anything before. Look, I¡¯m even putting down my pride here. Please help us out.¡±

    I¡¯ve definitely heard that voice somewhere before. Tan Png inched slowly towards the living room and had a peek. Dong Yin and her parents were seated on therge sofa in the living room, while Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian was sitting on a smaller sofa at the side. Dong Yin¡¯s father grabbed hold of Ye Nantian¡¯s hands, begging for his help.

    Tan Png then spotted Ye Ci. With her back leaning against the window by the television, she stared out absentmindedly. On the other hand, Bai Mo was sitting on a stool, constantly switching channels on the television.

    Why are they here? This was Tan Png¡¯s first thought when he saw the family. Why are they looking for mom and dad? How could a normal family like us help this wealthy family out? Red rain must¡¯ve poured down from the sky! was his second thought.

    However, it was apparent that nobody heard his greeting. ¡°Dad, Mom, sister Ye Ci, brother Bai Mo, I¡¯m home!¡± Tan Png spoke up again.

    ¡°Ah, Png, you¡¯re back!¡± Tan Png was shocked by what happened next, as he was suddenly surrounded by the four members of his family.

    ¡°Png, it¡¯s hot outside, mommy cooked some green bean soup just now. Sit down, let me go get the soup.¡±

    ¡°Honey, why don¡¯t you sit down? You¡¯ve been busy all day long. Let me go get the soup.¡±

    ¡°Png, I¡¯ve bought a new video game just now. Let me go get it for you.¡±

    ¡°Dear cousin, I¡¯ll go instead. After all, we must respect our elders.¡±

    Tan png was stunned. His entire family was smiling at him. It was a really strange situation.

    In the end, Ye Nantian and Bai Mo lost against Zuo Xian and Ye Ci, and the two women sprinted out of the living room, as if there the air was filled with some sort of deadly virus. The males in the family were left in the living room with their ¡°guests¡±.

    Tan Png visibly gulped. There was only one thought in his mind.

    This is a really, really strange day.

 Chapter 210 Full Stop

    Chapter 210 Full Stop

    Tan Png pulled out a chair and sat beside Bai Mo, ¡°Brother mo, why do I have a bad feeling about this?¡± he asked in a low voice.

    Bai Mo nced at him and sighed. He the spoke with a voice that only both of them could hear, ¡°It¡¯s impossible for this to not be strange.¡±

    ¡°They...¡± Tan Png eyed the family who was sitting on the sofa, and met the gaze of Dong Yin. The gentleness and beauty that used to be on her face was reced with a cold re, and she was staring straight at Tan Png. He shivered involuntarily, and inched closer to Bai Mo, ¡°What are they doing here?¡±

    Bai Mo was already very annoyed. In a hot summer day, a person¡¯s mood could easily be ruined by the hot weather. When somebody¡¯s mood was ruined, the person would have a bad temper. A frown appeared on Bai Mo¡¯s face when he noticed that Tan Png had moved closer to him, ¡°Do you think that it¡¯s the winter, you lil¡¯ brat? Why are you sitting so close to me? Don¡¯t you feel hot?¡±

    Tan Png grimaced at Bai Mo, ¡°Bro, it¡¯s not like I want to,¡± he could still feel Dong Yin¡¯s icy and cold re stabbing into his back, ¡°But... But...¡± Tan Png stared at Bai mo with a helpless expression, hoping that he could understand his difficulties.

    Bai Mo saw Tan Png¡¯s expression, and finally noticed Dong Yin¡¯s terrifying re as he followed the boy¡¯s sight. His frown deepened. He turned around and continued staring at the television, ¡°Miss high and mighty really thinks that she¡¯s a Princess eh? What¡¯s with that look? Did we owe her family something in our past life?¡±

    ¡°What exactly is going on?¡± Tan Png¡¯s was very curious.

    Bai Mo did not know where to start. He sighed after a long silence, ¡°I¡¯ll tell youter. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to tell soon anyways.¡±

    Despite their reluctance to have anything to do with Dong Yin¡¯s family, Ye Ci and Zuo Xian could agree that they could not just leave them in their living room just like that. Besides, they were almost certain that this family would not budge unless their request were fulfilled. It was just like that night all over again. Ye Ci had rejected their request so many times that she actually felt bad for them again and again. They were still trying their best to persuade Ye Ci to help. Ye Ci was impressed by the family¡¯s perseverance.

    Of course, Ye Ci would definitely look up to them even more if they did not use it on her.

    Ye Ci believed that she was not shameless enough, or rather, she was not the most shameless person around. That was why she could not possibly hide in her room forever. Even if she wanted to do so, Zuo Xian would never allow such an action.

    As she wasying on her bed, flipping through the pages of a manga, Zuo Xian was already leaning at her doorway, ¡°Say, how long do you n to stay here, dear?¡±

    ¡°Until they leave.¡± Ye Ci cast a nce at her mother and once again focused her attention on the manga, ¡°Aren¡¯t you serving some green bean soup? What are you doing in my room?¡±

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t hide away in the kitchen forever now, can I?¡± Zuo Xian sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve already served the soup, but you¡¯re still not back yet, so I went to have a look.¡±

    ¡°Why? They¡¯re here for you and dad. It has nothing to do with me.¡± Ye Ci turned her back towards her mom and started mumbling, ¡°My green bean soup! The green bean soup that I¡¯ve woke up early to prepare! They¡¯ve defiled it...¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? You know that they¡¯re only using that as an excuse. You¡¯re the one they¡¯re truly looking for. Your father and I are just Life yers who have just entered the game. Besides, they might not even know that we have started ying the game.¡±

    ¡°So what? Since they did not say that they¡¯re looking for me, I¡¯ll just feign ignorance then. I hate it when people beat around the bush! Can¡¯t you just say what you actually want to say?¡± Ye Ci snorted coldly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t know them. We¡¯ve known them for several years now. You know how they are! Let¡¯s go and get things over with.¡± noticing that Ye Ci refused to budge, Zuo Xian sat down beside her daughter and patted her on the back.

    ¡°Mom, what exactly are you doing here?¡± Ye Ci set the manga down, and turned around to face Zuo Xian.

    ¡°Looking for a scapegoat of course.¡± Zuo Xian smiled sweetly as she gave Ye Ci her answer, as if it was something that was natural.

    Ye Ci was baffled. She knew that her mother would not walk into her room because she was worried about her. As expected, Zuo Xian was just looking for a sacrificial victim.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll be able to send them off so easily?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, ¡°We live here! What if they refuse to leave? We can¡¯t just move somewhere else, can we?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re all counting on your now.¡± Zuo Xian knew that Ye Ci spoke the truth. The problem that they¡¯re facing could not be solved just by worrying. After a moment of thought, Zuo Xian decided to test out the waters, ¡°Little Ci, why don¡¯t you just help them out? Even if we don¡¯t like them, we don¡¯t have to keep up this battle of attrition. Besides, the investment n that Dong Yin¡¯s dad mentioned sounds like a good n. We shouldn¡¯t say no to money right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I agree with you, mom. We really shouldn¡¯t say no to money. But, are you sure that it¡¯s really a good investment? You know how they were. Since when have they thought about us when they found ventures that could earn them money? Even if this is a good investment, I will never, ever help them out.¡± Ye Ci shook her head.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Zuo Xian was curious. She had no knowledge about her daughter¡¯s feud with Dong Yin, as well as her dispute with Thousand Sunsets. She wanted to know why her daughter was acting so cruel towards Dong Yin¡¯s family. To her, even if Dong Yin¡¯s parents were absolute scum of society she was still willing to help them out due to their many years of friendship.

    ¡°Mom, not all favors can be done.¡±

    ¡°Little Ci, since we¡¯re talking about helping them out, we shouldn¡¯t ask for something in return. If you keep asking for payment for doing a favor, you¡¯ll not be very happy.¡± Zuo Xian thought that Ye Ci refused to help because she was afraid that Dong Yin¡¯s family would take her help for granted.

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°Mom, helping someone just because you expect their reciprocation, is not helping at all. You know that I am not someone to fuss over minor matters. But...¡± Ye Ci continued after a slight pause, ¡°You might end up in deep trouble after fulfilling certain favors even if you could gain something out of it.¡±

    ¡°Deep trouble?¡± Zuo Xian was rmed. Despite being confused by Ye Ci¡¯s words, there was still a bad feeling in her heart, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense! What do you mean by getting into deep trouble? Don¡¯t scare me like that!¡±

    Ye Ci sat up and faced her mother, ¡°Mom, you¡¯ve just started ying Fate. You¡¯d of course think that it is just a game. However, there are many out there who do not see Fate as just another online game. To them, it is a means to create profits. As long as benefit is involved, things will getplicated. You must not think of as just a game. You¡¯re very different from Dong Yin¡¯s parents. You yed the game for fun and to pass time. For Dong Yin and her family, Fate is a business.¡±

    ¡°Little Ci, I-I don¡¯t get what you¡¯re trying to say! Are you telling me that this is all a business for Dong Yin¡¯s parents?¡± Zuo Xian had always led a simple life. Despite being confused, she knew that Ye Ci¡¯s words meant nothing good.

    ¡°Yes, you could say that.¡± Ye Ci mumbled before suddenly raising her head and stared at Zuo Xian, ¡°Mom, do you know how they came to our house today?¡±

    ¡°Huh? How would I know? I guess the drove here. They¡¯re the first among our four families to own a car. If I¡¯m not mistaken, it¡¯s a very expensive car...¡± Zuo Xian had the tendency to stray off topic, which was something that Ye Ci wanted to avoid.

    That was why she cut Zuo Xian off, ¡°They walked into our residential area. They must¡¯ve came here by bus.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Zuo Xian¡¯s eyes buldged, ¡°Dong Yin¡¯s mother was very pampered, there¡¯s no way she would walk if an area is essible by car.¡±

    ¡°Do you know what happened to their car?¡±

    ¡°H-how would I know?¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, they¡¯ve sold it, along with most of their family¡¯s asset.¡± Ye Ci lower her head. She has contacted Green Hill¡¯s Moon to learn about the conditions of Dong Yin¡¯s and Yi Cang¡¯s family. They suffered a heavy blow when Thousand Sunsets lost in his power struggle against Unbridled Willow. Of course, Ye Ci would never mention the details of their downfall to her parents.

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°You see, their investment failed. They lost everything they invested in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear.¡± Ye Ci stated out the truth.

    ¡°Ahhh...¡±

    ¡°Why do you think they¡¯re here?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, ¡°You know how Dong Yin is. We already had a fall out that night, but they still came to us today. This means that they¡¯re grasping at straws now. They¡¯re in a very desperate situation.¡±

    ¡°So...¡± Zuo Xian finally caught on to Ye CI¡¯s meaning, ¡°We can¡¯t help them at all?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind if you want to help.¡± Ye Ci smiled at Zuo Xian.

    ¡°You silly girl! Do you think my money fell from the sky? I¡¯m not going to burn away our money like that.¡± Zuo Xian pped Ye Ci on the back, and stood up, ¡°I¡¯ll go down and give your dad some supervision. Gotta make sure that he does not carelessly agree to their request. You get down there as well okay?¡±

    Despite her reluctance, Ye Cizily nodded.

    As Ye Ci was stillying on his bed, she heard heavy footsteps leading to her room, followed by somebody abruptly pushing her bedroom door open. It was Dong Yin. She was ring at Ye Ci with her face flushed red, huffing and puffing loudly, as if she had just been humiliated.

    ¡°Yinyin, Yinyin, don¡¯t be like this, this is not our home, you can¡¯t just run around like that!¡± Dong Yin¡¯s mother was close behind, followed by Zuo Xian.

    Zuo Xian stood at the tip of her toes and craned her neck into Ye Ci¡¯s room, giving her daughter an apologetic room, ¡°Little Ci...¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head, an indication for Zuo Xian to remain silent, and shifted her gaze towards Dong Yin, who turned around and shouted at her mother, ¡°Mom! I must clear things with her today! Can you just leave me alone?¡±

    Dong Yin¡¯s mother was stunned into silence by her daughter¡¯s sudden outburst.

    Ye Ci remained on her bed. She made no attempt to rise, and stared at Dong Yin calmly.¡°Close the door.¡± said Ye Ci in a soft voice.

    Dong Yin¡¯s anger was like a fist, while Ye Ci¡¯s indifference was like a cotton nket. When the fist connected with the soft nket, its force was dispersed. Dong Yin stood ring at Ye Ci at the doorway before mming her bedroom door shut.

    The loud bang reverberated around the room. Ye Ci could even feel the wall shaking as a result. Fortunately, the old house held out. Aside from dust falling from the ceiling, nothing happened. The house did not copse.

    Dong Yin leaned on the door silently, with her re still fixated on Ye Ci. After casting a nce at Dong Yin, Ye Ci spoke up softly, ¡°Say it, what do you want?¡±

    Dong Yin bit her lips, but remained silent. Ye Ci could feel resentmenting from her gaze. Ye Ci sighed inwardly. She hated such passive-aggressive behavior. Why can¡¯t Dong Yin be straightforward? Do you want me to guess your intention just by how you are staring at me? Unfortunately, people like Dong Yin expected others around them to be able to guess their thoughts, and failing to do so would be a crime in their eyes.

    Of course, Ye Ci couldn¡¯t care less about it.. She would not lose anything even if Dong Yin was ring at her. Since Dong Yin enjoyed looking at her so much, she might as well strike a pose for that girl.

    With that thought in mind, Ye Ci leaned against the headboard and began flipping the pages of her manga again.

    Dong Yin had never been treated so coldly in her life before. Even Thousand Sunsets would take her feelings into consideration. However, her sense of pride was nothing in the face of Ye Ci, who was indifferent to such things, and would neverpromise for her sake. To be fair, Ye Ci treated everybody with the same way, and Dong Yin had at some point of her life, even thought of Ye Ci¡¯s personality to be quite unique. But on this day, it seemed so annoying to her.

    ¡°Oi, are you not paying attention to what I say?¡± Dong Yin¡¯s anger rose with every thought that shed through her mind. She mmed her hand against the door in an attempt to convey her dissatisfaction to the other person in the room. She was unable to provoke any action out of Ye Ci, who was still absorbed in reading her manga. Dong Yin¡¯s action achieved nothing but to inflict pain to her own palm, and shocking the people standing at the other side of the door.

    ¡°Did you say anything?¡± Ye Ci was unfazed. She had always disdained people with the princess syndrome. It was a disease that must be cured.

    ¡°You...¡± Dong Yin bit her lips and stared at Ye Ci. Her vision was clouded by tears forming in her eyes, ¡°How could you bully me?¡±

    Ye Ci looked at Dong Yin and sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t have those expensive lip balms you use. If you bit through your lips, they might think that I¡¯ve hit you.¡± and she exhaled once again, ¡°As for bullying... Dong Yin, you must¡¯ve been mistaken. Since when have I bullied you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, you did! You¡¯ve always been bullying me! You refused to help me, and did not even care about me! You did not even help me when I was in trouble! That¡¯s bullying!¡± Dong Yin started sobbing.

    Ye Ci was vexed when somebody cried in front of her. The case was especially true when the person who was crying was a pampered youngdy. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Thousand Sunsets¡¯ responsibility? He¡¯s your boyfriend. It has nothing to do with me!¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you care about just like he did? Aren¡¯t we best friends? How could you be so cruel? How could you not care about me?¡±

    The situation gave Ye Ci a headache. Just what the hell is this? ¡°Best friends?¡± Ye Ci stared at Dong Yin coldly, ¡°Then can I ask you to show me some concern as well?¡±

    ¡°Have I not cared about you enough? I spoke out for you when you were cursed at on the forums! I¡¯ve even stopped Thousand Sunsets from going after you! Wasn¡¯t that enough?¡± Dong Yin¡¯s beautiful face was stained by her tears, ¡°But what have you ever done for me? You refused to give me the guide to defeat the Armored Giant Tortoise! You refused to remain in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear when I begged you to stay! You did not even tell me that you were leaving! You ignored me when I tried looking for you to help me out with clearing the Castle Ruins, and even humiliated my family that night! I even came to your house personally to ask for your help in getting Bloody Steel on its foot, but what did you do? You hid away from me!¡±

    Ye Ci listened to Dong Yin¡¯s usations silently. It was as if there was blood and tears behind each and every one of her sentences. Ye Ci was very irritated. When Dong Yin finally stopped, Ye Ci seized the chance to immediately speak up, ¡°Be it the Armored Giant Tortoise, or getting First Blood for Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, and the dungeon clearing guide for Castle Ruins as well as the investments in Bloody Steel, they have nothing to do with you! You¡¯re just a normal member in the guild!¡±

    Dong Yin did not expect to be scolded by Ye Ci after her usation. She was expecting apology. ¡°Yes! I¡¯m just a member of the guild! B-but I¡¯m Thousand Sunsets¡¯ girlfriend! I¡¯m thedy boss of Steel-Blooded Battle Spear! As long as it benefits the guild, as long as it benefits Thousand Sunsets, then it has something to do with me!¡± roared Dong Yin, who felt that she was wronged by Ye Ci.

    ¡°Girlfriend? Lady boss?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. The smile on her face was full of sarcasm. There was something that she has kept to herself: The so-called girlfriend, or being thedy boss was just a fantasy of Dong Yin. Thousand Sunsets had never promised her anything. Besides, even if he did, does Dong Yin have any say in the marriage of someone of such a high background?

    Of course, there was no need for Ye Ci to voice out those words. It would be too cruel to pop Dong Yin¡¯s bubble just like that.

    ¡°Am I wrong?¡± Dong Yin noticed Ye Ci¡¯s expression, and knew that she was mocking her. It was like a thorn in her side. Dong Yin¡¯s blood boiled, ¡°Ye Ci! You¡¯ve never been in love before! You don¡¯t know how beautiful and important love is! You¡¯ve always been selfish! If you keep this on, you¡¯ll never be able to taste true love! You¡¯re pathetic!¡±

    Ye Ci did not know just what Dong Yin¡¯s brain was made of. She had been rambling nonsense she entered Ye Ci¡¯s room. ¡°So what does it have to do with you?¡± Ye Ci sighed, ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop beating around the bush. Just tell me what you want! I have no mood for your bullshit!¡±

    ¡°You were not like this before!¡± Dong Yin¡¯s tone changed all of a sudden. She appeared so delicate, and so pitiful, ¡°You have never talked to me like this before! You used to be nice to me! You would never say something that will hurt me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a fortune teller, I¡¯m not going to say what you like to hear.¡± Ye Ci snorted coldly. Used to? What is she talking about? Was it the me in my past life? I would¡¯ve done something worse to her.

    ¡°You used to be so kind to me! You¡¯re always the first one to help me when I was in trouble! You used to help me with all my problems! That¡¯s how you used to treat me! But why are you treating me like this now?¡± Dong Yin¡¯s sobbing intensified, fully utilising her white lotus appearance.

    Ye Ci was extremely irritated. A man and a woman would definitely show different reactions in a situation like this. If she was a man, she would definitely take pity on Dong Yin, However, as a woman, Ye Ci could feel the urge to throw Dong Yin out of the window.

    ¡°You¡¯ve remembered wrongly. I¡¯ve never done anything that your boyfriend should¡¯ve done. Besides, I¡¯m not omnipotent, I can¡¯t do what you just said.¡± Ye Ci climbed down from her bed. She realised that Dong Yin had a domineering position over her if she continued lying on the bed. She wanted to end the fiasco quickly, and force Dong Yin to give up.

    Ye Ci has always been taller than Dong Yin. Without her high heels, Dong Yin was instantly dwarfed by Ye Ci, who towered over her. Ye Ci walked up to Dong Yin and ced her hands on her shoulders, exerting pressure on the girl, ¡°Dong Yin, I¡¯ll say it just one more time. Tell me what you want, and stop beating around the bush. Don¡¯t challenge my patience.¡± said Ye Ci in a domineering voice.

    Dong Yin raised her head, and stopped sobbing. The Ye Ci in front of her was so overbearing that she could not breath. She knew that the person standing in front of her was Ye Ci, but at the same time, she felt that the person was not Ye Ci at all. The person standing in front of her was so familiar, yet so distant. She was probably familiar because of her looks. But why does she feel so distant? Dong Yin had no answer to that question.

    Dong Yin started shivering. Her body shivered uncontrobly despite the hot weather, as if she was facing a harsh winter.

    ¡°Ye Ci, please, help my family! We¡¯ve invested in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, and lost all our investments.¡±

    ¡°But how? Didn¡¯t Steel-Blooded Battle Spear secure a spot in the First Five?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyes were as dark as a deep pond, and her voice was like a terrifying spell that could reach deep into Dong Yin¡¯s heart and dig up all of her unspoken words.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, Ye Ci.¡± Dong Yin did not even think twice about Ye Ci¡¯s question. After all, the conflict between Unbridled Willow and Thousand Sunsets is a secret known only to insiders. It was impossible for Ye Ci to know about such a thing, ¡°You don¡¯t know to know the details. You just have to know that Thousand was not the one who secured the First Five.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± it was not a good answer for Ye Ci.

    ¡°And this is all because of you.¡±

    ¡°Because of me?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°If you agreed to help Yi Cang and me out the first time, Thousand would¡¯ve secured the First Five! He might even get First Clear because of that! We wouldn¡¯t have suffered the losses we did, and Thousand would definitely reward you for your help! Are you still denying that it¡¯s all your fault?¡±

    Just what sort of logic is this?

    Ye Ci almostughed out of anger, ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°So you must help me this time.¡± Dong Yin¡¯s gaze grew intense, ¡°Listen carefully, I¡¯m not asking for your opinion. I¡¯m telling you what you should do...¡±

    Before Dong Yin could finish her sentence, she could feel someone pinching on her face, and the back of her head was mmed against the door. Dong Yin almost cried out in pain, but when she saw the person in front of her, her voice died out.

    ¡°Dong Yin, I¡¯ll only say this once, so I want you to listen carefully,¡± Ye Ci¡¯s gaze was icy cold, ¡°I¡¯ve never owed you anything. Stop imposing your crooked logic on me. I don¡¯t approve of it. And if I don¡¯t approve of it, there¡¯s no such things as a ¡®must¡¯. Thousand Sunsets¡¯ ipetence has nothing to do with me. Your family¡¯s failed investment has nothing to do with me as well,¡± she narrowed her eyes, ¡°Didn¡¯t you know that our friendship was long over? Do you still have the rights to ask for my help as if nothing has happened between us? No, you don¡¯t.¡±

    Ye Ci release her grip on Dong Yin after finishing her sentence and continued staring at her coldly, ¡°Now, I want you to get the f*ck out of my sight with your parents! Don¡¯t you dare appear in front me again, or else...¡±

    Dong Yin waspletely stunned by Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°What? Did you not hear me?¡± Ye Ci spoke up again in a cold tone.

    Dong Yin finally snapped out of her daze. However, she was not as timid as Ye Ci expected her to be. ¡°Are you saying that you¡¯re breaking all ties with me?¡± asked Dong Yin in a menacing tone.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t our friendship ended a long time ago?¡± Ye Ci lifted Dong Yin¡¯s chin. She was so close to Dong Yin that the girl could feel her breath on her face, ¡°Let me tell you something. I¡¯m a rebellious person, and I¡¯m not afraid of threats.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Dong Yin red at Ye Ci, huffing heavily.. She pped Ye Ci¡¯s hand away and pushed her aside. As she opened the door, Bai Mo, Tan Png, Ye Nantian, Zuo Xian, and Dong Yin¡¯s Parents were staring at the two.

    Dong Yin grabbed hold of her parents¡¯ hands and headed for the door, ¡°Dad, mom, let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Yin Yin, Yin Yin, what happened?¡± Dong Yin¡¯s parents were confused by their daughters action, they smiled apologetically at Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian, but was met with a roar by Dong Yin, ¡°Stop humiliating yourselves! Let¡¯s go! We¡¯re not going to beg for their help ever again!¡±

    Ye Ci stared unsympathetically at Dong Yin, who was dragging her parents down the hallway. Dong Yin came to a sudden halt and faced Ye Ci with an unprecedented malicious re, ¡°Ye Ci, remember what you did today! I¡¯ll repay this humiliation a thousand times fold!¡±

    Ye Ci paid no heed to her threat. She even waved at Dong Yin, ¡°See you! And I hope we¡¯ll never meet again.¡±

    The reply she received was a thunderous noise of someone mming the door shut.

    Tan Png covered his ears and stared at the painting on the door that was swinging like a pendulum, ¡°Can we get them to pay the damage to our door?¡±

    Ye Ci smiled and him and walked towards the balcony. She could see Dong Yin leading her parents away from the residential area. She went back inside when they were out of view and sighed, ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t. We may never see them ever again.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Zuo Xian was momentarily stunned, ¡°What did you say to her?¡±

    ¡°Not much. I¡¯ve shattered her hopes. She hates my guts now. If she could, she might even kill me.¡± Ye Ci walked into the living room and took a seat. The bowls of red bean soup on the small table were all untouched. Ye Ci picked up one of the bowls and began slurping at the dessert.

    After a long moment of eerie silence, Ye Ci turned around and apologized to her parents, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, dad and mom. Because of me, you might lose your friends forever.¡±

    Ye Nantian sighed and sat down beside Ye Ci. He patted his daughter on her shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. We¡¯re just too different from them. Our 20 years of rtionship is something of the past. They look down on people like us, and we should not cling on to people like them. We¡¯ve walked down different paths. It doesn¡¯t matter if we¡¯re no longer friends. But you...¡± he continued after a slight pause, ¡°You and Dong Yin...¡±

    ¡°Persons who walk different paths must go separate ways.¡± Ye Ci put a full stop to her friendship with Dong Yin.

    ¡°Sister Ye Ci, I want to join your guild!¡± said Tan Png joyfully in an attempt to break the tense atmosphere.

    ¡°You?¡± Ye Ci was shocked, ¡°You don¡¯t even know our names!¡±

    ¡°Hehehe... I want to join your guild~ I want to join your guild~¡± ignoring Ye Ci¡¯s reply, Tan Png headed straight to his bedroom, ¡°Hurry, get online and add me as a friend.¡±

    Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian smiled at Ye Ci and Bai Mo, ¡°You guys go ahead.¡±

    Ye Ci headed to her room with Bai Mo following close behind. He grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s shoulders, and she turned around to face him, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Bai Mo¡¯s face was calm as he spoke out the following words, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Will you believe me if I tell you that I¡¯m going to destroy thempletely?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s words were a direct contrast to her gentle expression.

    ¡°I believe you.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci was slightly surprised.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re Ye Ci.¡±

 Chapter 211 This is a Choice

    Chapter 211 This is a Choice

    Ye Ci was not sure if Dong Yin was intentionally avoiding her, or she herself no longer cared about that girl, but from that day onwards, she no longer received any news about Dong Yin. She heard nothing from Liu Chang, nor did she receive any news from Green Hill¡¯s Moon. It was as if Dong Yin had disappeared without a trace from Ye Ci¡¯s life.

    Ye Ci was not affected by this. After all, she was a very busy person.

    Other than her daily quests at the Doran Thieves Guild, Ye Ci had toplete side quests in Red Lake City as well. She was also tasked with helping out with farming equipment so that the guild could make preparations to begin exploring the next dungeon.

    Perhaps due to their First Clear, the members were not bored by the daily dungeon clearing. They were excited. After all, who would not want new pieces of equipment?

    Tan Png had also joined Upwards Ho! after transferring to the Eastern Continent. Names began filling up his empty friend list, but there were times when he still missed hisrades in the Western Continent. However, he was able to hide his emotions well and never mentioned it to anyone.

    Ye Ci had never asked Tan Png about his character, Axia Mist, and why he did not join ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯ when he started the game. She did not even do a background check on his yer ID. Ye Ci was not a gossipy person, and knew that every person had a secret of their own.

    Ye Ci respected everybody else¡¯s secrets, just like how she liked to keep her own secrets.

    One of her secrets was the Brooch of Deception. The BUG-like presence of the item was able to aid her inpleting her quest. This was not something that she was willing to share with anybody else.

    The quests from the Doran Thieves Guild was way harderpared to the Red Lake City side quests. After all, she might not seed in baiting the yers to their death. After some sesses, the yers began avoiding Ye Ci who was disguised as a Bandit Captain. Even when she appeared in the midst of a huge crowd of yers, not many were willing tounch their attacks on Ye Ci. They knew that the appearance of the Bandit Captain would always result in the death of yers. Even the Life yers who were mining the ores or gathering herbs would run for their lives when they spotted Ye Ci from afar.

    There were only a few who would asionally take the bait, but humans are smart animals who would learn from their mistake...

    Not many yers would feel great after being bullied by monsters. The vast majority of them were low in terms of level. The amount of experience points the lost along with the equipment the dropped were heart-wrenching. After a few attempts, Ye Ci¡¯s strategy no longer worked on the yers. She was forced to look for an alternative.

    Since killing yers was no longer an option, Ye Ci was left with two other options. She had to either rob NPCs from Red Lake City or kill a specific NPC within Red Lake City.

    Robbing the NPCs was an easier option. She was not required to fight or kill any NPCs, and would only need to pun in less effort. Ye Ci was smart. She would never rob any NPCs within the Red Lake City itself. The vigers at the surrounding areas under Red Lake City¡¯s domain would be her target.

    Those vigers were weak and unarmed. They reside in ces far away from the city, which made them easy pickings for Ye Ci. She would be able to easily obtain the 10 quest items that were required toplete the quest.

    However, after a short while, the NPCs in the farms and viges around Red Lake City began putting up their guards against Ye Ci. The young men began setting up armed patrols around the viges, and there were some who even hired soldiers from the city to protect their homes. This made Ye Ci¡¯s job very tough.

    It seems that even the NPCs could not be bullied easily by Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci could only revert back to her old ways of tricking the other yers. When she was busy bullying the vigers, a new wave of yers has arrived in the Silvery Tin Ore Vein. Despite the attention it received in the forums, most of the yers eventually forgot about the lone Bandit Captain as time passed.

    yers are creatures who would forget about their pain after their wounds have been healed.

    There would always be yers who took the bait, and those yers became the catalyst for Ye Ci toplete her quest.

    Another gruesome ughter had just beenpleted. However, Ye Ci did not remove her disguise this time. She sat in a secluded area in the bandit hideout, casually eating an apple. She was starting to get bored with the repetitive quest. Repeating the same quest day after day was too dull for her. She would have long given up on the quest if not for the bountiful rewards offered by the Epic-tier quest.

    An overpowered quest reward could only be obtained through the blood and sweat of a yer. Ye Ci bit down on her apple. Although everything in the game was not real, the apple in Ye Ci¡¯s hand tasted just like a real one. Fate was indeed the pinnacle of mankind¡¯s greatest technology. Ye Ci¡¯s apple was the perfect example. In the previous virtual reality games, everything tasted the same to yers. Even apples were the same. Every single apple in those games shared only one vor.

    However, Fate was different. It was impossible to find the same piece of leaf in the game. Of course, the chances of finding apples that tasted the same would be next to zero. Everything in Fate was just like the real world. yers would often forget that they were merely ying a highly advanced game, and would often lose themselves in the world of Fate.

    Another wave of yers rushed into the bandit hideout. Ye Ci was already used to the blood-curdling screams of the dying yers and the sound effects of different skills as the yers struggled desperately against the bandits. When she did it for the first time, Ye Ci would still feel slightly guilty, and might even have a look at the action. However, at this point, it was merely something Ye Ci did on a daily basis.

    As Ye Ci took another bite from the apple, she heard a familiar voice, ¡°You¡¯re always discovering or exploiting a BUG whenever we meet.¡±

    There was nobody around, but someone was definitely speaking to Ye Ci, and he could hear him clearly. Was the game haunted? Even Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. As a reincarnator, she had a lot of experience in Fate, and was able to recover from the shock.

    She was able to tell from the sound of the voice and thenguage used that the person who spoke was a GM who had set his character to be invisible, and was standing right in front of her.

    Since Ye Ci was able to confirm the person¡¯s identity, there was no need for her to be anxious. She took a bite from the apple and spoke up calmly, ¡°Come out, you did not scare me at all.¡±

    The person remained silent for a moment before breaking intoughter. A lvl 1 Human character appeared in front of Ye Ci. The character looked just like it was randomized by the system. If he did not appear in a high level spawn area, people might even have thought that he was a newly spawned NPC.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at the Human smurf ount, ¡°Wang Jiangnan?¡±

    ¡°Ei? How do you know it¡¯s me?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m not able to think of another developer who is some and...¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyes narrowed further, and annoyance was clear in her tone, ¡°Irritating.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, don¡¯t say that! We¡¯re old friends now. I¡¯m hurt by your words.¡± Wang Jiangnan sat on a wooden crate, took an apple from Ye Ci¡¯s fruit basket, and began chewing on the apple.

    ¡°Why do I not think that we¡¯re close?¡± Ye Ci snorted. Even if she knew about this person¡¯s glorious future, she was still irritated by the presence of a GM as a yer. They were always getting in her way.

    ¡°You¡¯re making me sad.¡± Wang Jiangnan chuckled, ¡°If I¡¯m sad, I might not be able to control my mouth. I might identally tell my superiors that you are gaining Prestige points by exploiting a BUG.¡±

    That was why Ye Ci looked down on GMs.

    Ye Ci was unfazed, she snorted coldly, ¡°Oh, really? If that¡¯s the case, I will also file a report on Customer Service No.094 for tracking my gaming record without permission and harrassing me in-game.¡± Ye Ci said with a smile, ¡°I have to ask though, can your contribution of discovering a BUG outweigh your misconduct of secretly tracking a yer¡¯s gaming progress?¡±

    ¡°Hey hey hey, has anybody told you that you¡¯re a very despicable person?¡± Wang Jiangnan raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°You just did.¡±

    ¡°I was just joking! You don¡¯t have to be like that, you know?¡± Wang Jiangnan rubbed the bridge of his nose, and twisted his head to a side to listen to the ongoing carnage, ¡°Ai, just listen to that. Those poor guys. Don¡¯t you feel guilty about this?¡±

    ¡°This is the loophole of the game you designed. I just happened to discover it and put it to good use. Why should I feel bad about it?¡± stated Ye Ci matter of factly, ¡°Besides, yers are meant to kill monsters or be killed by them. This is how your game is meant to be anyways.¡±

    ¡°Ai, you¡¯re such a cold blooded person.¡± Wang Jiangnan jumped down from the crate and walked up to Ye Ci, staring at her silently. Without warning, his hand shot forward at her.

    His movement was fast. Even Ye Ci was unable to react before he grabbed hold of the Brooch of Deceit. Although Ye Ci was still disguised as a Bandit Captain, she was still shocked by Wang Jiangnan¡¯s action.

    She immediately jumped backwards and said in a shrill voice, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Wang Jiangnan then realised that his action was inappropriate. He scratched at his head, sat on the wooden crate again, and smiled at Ye Ci apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was acting rude. It¡¯s just that I suddenly remembered that the Brooch of Deceit was a BUG itself.¡±

    Ye Ci calmed down when Wang Jiangnan backed off away from her. She exhaled, and sat back down, ¡°What? Are you going to remove it from the game?¡±

    ¡°I have half a mind to do it.¡±

    ¡°Whatever you say.¡± Ye Ci appeared calm, but Wang Jiangnan knew that this girl will never allow someone to threaten her advantages. That was why he chose to remain silent and continued staring at Ye Ci. After a short pause, Ye Ci tugged at the Brooch of Deceit and said, ¡°To be honest with you, I have the same thought as well. This thing is indeed an overpowered equipment. It¡¯s literally a BUG.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan was shocked. It was very rare for Ye Ci to agree to his opinion. It seemed that he had underestimate this girl. She was not only going against the system and the developers. Her thoughts could be quite pertinent as well.

    ¡°As a developer, it was right for you to think of removing this item. If I¡¯m one of the developers, I¡¯m definitely going to want to remove this game-breaking thing.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s appeared to be a gentle person with her smile. If her body was slightly plumper she might have looked like Buddha.

    ¡°Do you really mean that?¡± Wang Jiangnan was slightly hesitant. Although the item would definitely be removed as soon as he filed a report, it would be a bother to the yers who owned such an item.

    ¡°Of course, don¡¯t I look sincere to you?¡± Ye Ci blinked. Her expression was indeed full of sincerity.

    Wang Jiangnan was sceptical. No matter which point of view he was viewing this from, be it from a normal yer¡¯s point of view, Ye Ci¡¯s point of view, or even a developer¡¯s point of view, he came to the same conclusion: As long as someone is not sick in the head, there¡¯s no way the person would agree to it.

    ¡°I think you are very sincere, but not that kind of sincere that I¡¯m thinking about.¡± Wang Jiangnan was very upfront with Ye Ci.

    ¡°How so?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows and smiled at Wang Jiangnan, ¡°The Brooch of Deceit was the special drop of the Sandstorm Scorpion, but it has a very low drop rate. Removing the item will not affect the yer¡¯s gaming experience at all, am I right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about yours...¡± as an intelligent person, Wang Jiangnan knew what Ye Ci meant. She was indeed supporting the idea of removing the Brooch of Deceit as an item drop in the future, but not the one she currently own. However, ording to Wang Jiangnan, it would only be fair to remove all the Brooch of Deceit. Of course, Ye Ci was apparently against the idea.

    ¡°What about mine?¡± Ye Ci slightly narrowed her eyes, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, I¡¯ve obtained it through normal means. Of course, even if a BUG was involved, I¡¯ve reported it to you people for I am an ethical yer. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the employee who reviewed my report was none other than you, Customer Service No.094, Wang Jiangnan. Have you forgotten about that?¡±

    ¡°Of course not, but...¡±

    Ye Ci was quick to cut Wang Jiangnan off, ¡°But what? Are you telling me that none of your people have noticed the design w of the Brooch of Deceit when you developed the game?¡±

    Of course, it was something very impossible. There are tens of thousands of designers and nners involved in the process of developing Fate. Every single item was reviewed and processed by different developers before being released into the game. It was highly improbable that something like this would be missed.

    Wang Jiangnan was speechless. Although he was not involved in designing the game during the earlier stages of the development process, If he chose to speak up, he would be discrediting the efforts of his predecessors.

    Ye Ci took Wang Jiangnan¡¯s silence as a confirmation. She nodded and smiled at Wang Jiangnan, ¡°Nobody thought of the impact of such an overpowered item when they introduced it to the game. This means they deemed the Brooch¡¯s design to be reasonable. Since I¡¯ve legally obtained this reasonably designed item, you can not delete my belonging just because you deem it as a BUG.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan was once again speechless. Ye Ci was going ording to the rules of the game. What did he say in the beginning? The rules are used to restrain the yers, but people like Ye Ci would always be able to exploit the rules and use any loopholes to their benefit.

    She had proven it before, and she was proving it again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you developers do to the items that have not been dropped by the Sandstorm Scorpion yet. I am but a normal yer, it has nothing to do with me. You don¡¯t even have to tell me about it and ask for my opinion. However, if my belonging is removed just like that without any valid reasons...¡± Ye Ci said with a smile.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°If you did not track my gaming record, you wouldn¡¯t have discovered that the Brooch of Deceit is a BUG. If you don¡¯t know that it¡¯s a BUG, why would you think of removing it from the game?¡± Ye Ci smiled, ¡°It seems that you¡¯re monitoring your yers and breaching their privacies so that you can get promoted. Isn¡¯t that a vition of the rules and a breach of work ethics, my dear Customer Service No.094?¡±

    Wang Jiangnan¡¯s face immediately paled. He looked at Ye Ci and grimaced, ¡°Hey, hey, aren¡¯t you being a little too harsh? I haven¡¯t even said that I am going to delete it...¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. I agree that you should be removing the Brooch of Deceit.¡± Ye Ci walked up to Wang Jiangnan and patted him on the shoulders. The beautiful smile on Ye Ci¡¯s face did not even make him rx. Instead, Wang Jiangnan could feel an intense pressure.

    ¡°You can report this BUG to your superiors, and I can pretend that I know nothing about your illegal actions...¡± Ye Ci was like a cunning fox, ¡°But, as a return...¡±

    ¡°You want to keep the stats of this particr Brooch of Deceit?¡±

    ¡°Ah, this is why they call you a genius! I find your EQ to be as high as your IQ.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    ¡°Oi, this will cause a huge trouble for me.¡± Wang Jiagnan protested. To make changes to or remove certain items while preserving only one of them was a tedious process. It would be easier to just remove everything. Wang Jiangnan was unwilling to involve himself in such a troublesome matter.

    ¡°Wang Jiangnan, I seemed to have hidden my ID when I killed Werebeast Shaman Buru, but why was there a betting thread in the forums?¡± Ye Ci was casually picking her nails. Even her threats appeared to be casually spoken.

    ¡°Oi, oi, oi, don¡¯t make such an irresponsible remark alright? I was not the one who did it!¡± Wang Jiangnan was fervently waving his hands in denial.

    Ye Ci refused to believe his words. She stared at Wang Jiangnan silently with a smile on her face, and that predator¡¯s smile was one to make him shudder.

    Wang Jiangnan sighed after a long moment of silence, ¡°Alright, alright. I know what to do. I¡¯ll get it done.¡±

    Ye Ci was satisfied with his answer. She nodded, and turned around to leave, ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way then.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, there¡¯s something else I need to ask.¡± Wang Jiangnan called out to Ye Ci suddenly.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Say, do you think that it¡¯s possible for Fate to be like a second life to people in the future?¡± the look in Wang Jiangnan¡¯s eyes was a mix of sincerity and desperation.

    Only dreams can push a human to experience such an emotion, and not everyone had their own hopes and dreams. Ye Ci was touched when she saw the emotion in Wang Jiangnan¡¯s eyes. Although Wang Jiangnan was being vague with his question, Ye Ci knew the meaning behind his words. She knew that he was slowly moving towards fulfilling his dreams.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Ye Ci replied with a smile.

    ¡°I-I mean...¡± Wang Jiangnan was mesmerized by Ye Ci¡¯s glowing smile. He was able to rx , ¡°I mean, even though we have a huge number of yers, the vast majority of our yer base is made up of youths. The number of middle-aged and older yers are not quite impressive. We cannot ignore the fact that middle-aged adults made up arger percentage of the poptionpared to the youths. But... I don¡¯t think they will be able to ept this game...¡±

    ¡°Why won¡¯t they ept it?¡± Ye Ci turned around and stared at Wang Jiangnan, ¡°Where have you heard about it?¡±

    ¡°Well, at least my parents wont.¡± Wang Jiangnan grimaced. It was very ironic. Even when he was a developer of Fate, his parents was very prejudiced against video games.

    ¡°Not everyone in this world is of the same mind. The thoughts of your parents are not reflecting the thoughts of all people of the same age. Why is this a reason to hesitate and hold back? To have a dream is a wonderful thing.¡± Ye Ci did not want to talk too much about the future. After all, if Wang Jiangnan only moved forward because of Ye Ci¡¯s words, he would not be able to be the future main designer of Fate. This is Wang Jiangnan¡¯s dream, and his life story. There was no need for Ye Ci to y a part in the story of his life. The only thing she could do was to give him advice to encourage him on the road ahead..

    Wang Jiangnan sat on the crate and stared at Ye Ci, at her smile, and marveled at how confident and carefree she was. He stared at her when she left the ce without even a backwards nce. Wang Jiangnan smiled. He made the right choice by seeking out Gongzi You.

    Of course, there was something he would never tell Gongzi You. The Brooch of Deceit BUG was merely an excuse. His true motive of looking for Ye Ci was to listen to her advice. She had once given him the strength to reach for his dreams. When his will began to falter, he immediately thought of Gongzi You. He needed her assurance.

    It was as if Gongzi You was a strong me burning bright, and a tiny spark from her could give him the courage to press forward.

    ¡°Thank you, Ye Ci.¡± Wang Jiangnan whispered to himself, and disappeared from the Silvery Tin Vein.

    As expected, the Brooch of Deceit was removed from the game. Of course, nothing happened to Ye Ci¡¯s Brooch of Deceit. When she logged into the game, Ye Ci immediately saw the patch notes, containing a lot of minor changes to the game. One of the notes caught her eyes: Something that should not have existed has been returned to a world where it belonged.

    Not a single yer knew the meaning behind the sentence, and each of them had their own theory.

    With the exception of Ye Ci who was the owner of the first andst Brooch of Deceit in the game, nobody else knew what the Fate officials were talking about. Eventually, people began to forget about the message entirely.

    When Ye Ci¡¯s summer holiday was almost over, the Gn Arena was finally introduced into the game.

    As thergest arena in the current stage of the game, Gn Arena received a lot of attention even before its release. Unlike the smaller scale arenas, Gn Arena offered a whole lot variety of battle modes to yers with arge variety of maps. yers could have friendly matches against yers from allying continents, or fight against yers from opposing continents.

    Therepetitive modes in the Gn Arena includes 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 5v5 and 10v10 battles. Each type ofpetitive mode put a different aspect of a yer¡¯s gaming knowledge to the test, and offered differing amount of Glory Points, which could be exchanged for high quality PvP gear.

    Many yers flocked towards the Gn Arena because of the hype, but most of them were there to obtain PvP equipment. Although intercontinental wars had not been officially released into the game, yers from opposing continents had the opportunity to engage each other inbat. They came to realise that engaging a yer who was armed with PvP equipment in their PvE equipment gave them a huge disadvantage. Many yers began to recognize the importance of PvP equipment.

    After all, the war between continents would be the focus of the game in itster stages. If yers were unable to gain good PvP equipment before the system was introduced, they would be at a grave disadvantage. Nobody was willing to ce themselves in an unfavorable situation, which is why the Gn Arena became one of the most frequented ces by yers aside from the other main dungeons.

    Ye Ci did not join in on the hype. Due to the sheer number of yers flocking to the arena, many of thebatants had to queue up for a long time before they could even enter the arena. It was time that Ye Ci could not afford to waste. Besides, her Epic-tier quest and side quest were at the most crucial moment. She did not want to distract herself with something else.

    ¡°After such a long time, I can finally feel your sincerity,¡± Mda voiced his mind to Ye Ci who was staring at him silently.

    Ye Ci sighed a breath of relief. She could finally proceed to the next stage of the quest. However, things were not as simple as they seem. Mda did not allow Ye Ci to proceed to the quest¡¯s next stage, ¡°As ast test of your sincerity, I have a small request for you. I hope you can help me out.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°My brother, Andrei, who was the true ruler of this Silvery Tin Vein, was captured by Red Lake City¡¯s Chief Warden Fa¡¯tar. I hope that you can help rescue him.¡± stated Mda matter of factly, as if it was an easy task.

    Ye Ci was shocked. You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me! This guy is asking me to rescue someone from the Red Lake City prison from the hands of Warden Fa¡¯tar? Doesn¡¯t it mean certain death for me?

    Fa¡¯tar was a lvl 100 Elite NPC with strong offensive capabilities. He also had an ability that allowed him to summon waves of NPC soldiers. Although he could not summon as many soldiers as the city lord and mayor, they were still more than enough to handle Ye Ci.

    This is insane! Even if this is an Epic-tier quest, can you please not give out such an impossible quest? Aren¡¯t you just ying a prank on yers?

    When Ye Ci was still deep in thought, Mda spoke up again, ¡°Hmm... My brother Andrei has never seen you before. He might not leave with you even if you try to rescue him. Let me give you something that can help you gain his trust.¡±

    Ye Ci was given two options when Mda finished his dialogue. The first option was to receive a pack of very lethal poison from Mda. The description of the poison was very detailed. Lethal Poison: Even a tiny bit is able to cause death. This is the best weapon against Fa¡¯tar and his thugs.

    The other option was a ring, which also came with a description. Mda¡¯s ring: This is a ring given to Mda by his mother. A simr ring is also owned by Andrei. He will be happy to see this ring.

    Ye Ci was given a choice.

    A different choice would result in a different ending. Making a decision in this game was just like making a decision in real life. It was filled with uncertainties that might lead to different oues. A wrong choice could spell disaster. That was why we must all be careful when we make our choices.

    Ye Ci stared at the two items. Should I choose the poison or the ring?

    If she chose the poison, it would be very easy to kill Fa¡¯tar and the rest of the guards, and this might even earn her a lot of Doran Thieves Guild Prestige. However, Fa¡¯tar was the Chief Warden of the entire Red Lake City. There will not be another lvl 100 Elite NPC that could rece Fa¡¯tar¡¯s position. The citizens of Red Lake City would be living in fear when they hear the news of Fa¡¯tar¡¯s death. This would affect the growth of the city badly.

    In Fate, certain key NPCs in a city would never respawn after they were killed. Chief Fa¡¯tar Warden was on of such NPCs. His death meant the absence of an authority that would watch over the prisons and enforce thews of Red Lake City. This would bring civil unrest to Red Lake City.

    The only solution was for the lord of Red Lake City to find a recement from another city as a recement for Fa¡¯tar. However, Lord Sha¡¯gar was not someone who liked to take care of the administration of his city. He might not even take action to solve the crisis.

    When Ye Ci thought of the economy of Red Lake City the would definitely downhill due to the ever increasing crime rate caused by the absence of Fa¡¯tar. The yers who were bound to Red Lake City as well as its NPC citizens would suffer a huge loss.

    Because of that, the Lethal Poison was immediately rejected by Ye Ci. Although it was the quickest way, it would also bring an evesting damage to Red Lake City.

    The only option left was the ring.

    Since the poison was no longer a viable choice, Ye Ci immediately chose the ring without any hesitation. Mda then handed an already worn out ring to Ye Ci.

    There was no time limit to the quest. It was the only glint of light in Ye Ci¡¯s very dark situation, and it also meant that Ye Ci had enough time to devise a strategy.

    The guide to this qest from her past life was not very helpful. The yer whopleted the quest did not write about the entire process of the quest in detail. After all, not every yer coulde across this Epic-quest, which meant that his guide would serve little purpose. The yer¡¯s focus was on the rewards offered by the Epic-tier quest.

    It was very enticing.

    Ye Ci was a greedy person. She might not even have attempted toplete this Epic-tier quest if not for its bountiful reward.

 Chapter 212 Andrei

    Chapter 212 Andrei

    How can the ring be of use to Ye Ci?

    The ring had no real use other than helping her to gain the trust of Andrei. I could not put Fa¡¯tar to sleep, allowing Ye Ci to safely rescue Andrei. It could not stop the patrolling soldiers from spotting her, nor could it allow her to walk into the dungeon to Andrei¡¯s rescue.

    In short, the ring was far less useful than the Lethal Poison.

    However, there was still an upside to it. Ye Ci did not have to end the life of Fa¡¯tar. This meant that Red Lake City could continue to flourish and prosper. Ye Ci felt that she was a noble person. She even thought of the future of Red Lake City in the process ofpleting her quest. I deserve the Best Citizen Award!

    Of course, it was just Ye Ci¡¯s fantasy. Her Brooch of Deceit could only be used to disguise herself, and would not work on anybody else. She could not disguise Andrei as a soldier and bring him out of the dungeon. This meant that she could no longerplete the quest. A distressed Ye Ci sat fishing at the bank of the moat not far away from the prison. Although appearing to be fishing, Ye Ci was actually deep in thought. A few of the fishes that she caught even managed to escape.

    Just as Ye Ci was at her wit¡¯s end, two soldiers walked past h, while having a conversation. One could easily miss their words if one was not paying attention to them.

    In Fate, every NPC had their own thoughts, which would affect their decision making, actions and emotions. If a yer paid attention, he or she could always notice that every NPCs exhibited a different behavior, and their dialogues are not repetitive.

    The attention to details of the game was very impressive.

    Ye Ci was originally not interested in having conversations with NPCs. After all, as a reincarnator, she has experienced a lot of such instances in her past life. She was not at all amazed by such a feature. Fate in itster stages was even more realistic than its current state.

    However, today was different for Ye Ci. She was extremely agitated, and could not focus on the problem the she was facing. When the two NPC soldiers walked past Ye Ci, she chanced upon their conversation.

    ¡°Aiya, I¡¯m so tired! We¡¯ve been patrolling the streets a lot, but our sry is so low.¡± Soldier A stretched himself, he was very tired.

    ¡°I know right! I barely have enough to drink after handing part of my sry to my wife.¡± said Solder B. It was apparent that Lord Sha¡¯gar have not been giving his troops a raise for a long time.

    ¡°See? It¡¯s good to be single. Even if my sry is little, I can still spend them on drinking and ying cards. I get to spend all the money for myself, unlike you who has a wife and children to take care of.¡± Soldier A chuckled.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know how good it is to get married.¡± Soldier B shook his head and sighed, ¡°No matter how you look at it though, it¡¯s true that we¡¯ve been earning too little. When can I earn as much as our Chief Warden?¡±

    ¡°Dream on, buddy!¡± Soldier A chuckled, but he seemed to harbor the same sentiment for Chief Warden Fa¡¯tar as well, ¡°Say, we¡¯re all basically doing the same job, but we don¡¯t get to rest, eat lousy food, and our pay is shit! The guy Fa¡¯tar on the other hand gets to enjoyvish meals. Hell, he even gets to have his afternoon naps. He¡¯s not even doing anything, but he¡¯s earning way more than us! We¡¯re all the same, but why are we treated so differently?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just too unfair.¡± said Soldier B as he pointed at the hot sun, ¡°Look at that goddamn sun. We don¡¯t even get to rest, or find somewhere shady to hide away from the sun, but Fa¡¯tar gets to have his afternoon nap! This is really, really unfair!¡±

    ¡°Yup! What a jerk! He¡¯s always so strict as well! We¡¯ll have our wages deducted for the slightest mistake we made! I hope he screws up big time someday! I¡¯ll be happy to see him get sacked by Lord Sha¡¯gar.¡±

    That was the conversation between the two NPC as they walked past Ye Ci.

    The simple grumbling between two NPCs that appeared so trivial was like a light in Ye Ci¡¯s darkest moment. She was able to finallye up with a n that would allow her to rescue Andrei from the prison.

    However, the n required an extensive nning and careful observation. Ye Ci could not afford to act rashly. There was only one chance for her to seed. If she failed, she might never be able toplete the quest ever again.

    Bai Mo was curious why Ye Ci would always disappear during noon time every single day. Because of that, he was forced to allow a short 30 minutes break for the guild¡¯s dungeon-clearing activity or find a recement for Ye Ci¡¯s position. No longer able to tolerate such behavior, Bai Mo finally asked before heading into the dungeon.

    ¡°Oh great Gongzi You, where are you headed this afternoon?¡±

    Ye Ci chuckled at Bai Mo, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Stop joking around, just where are you going? Don¡¯t you feel guilty that the rest of us have to wait for you in the dungeon everyday?¡± Bai Mo grabbed hold at Ye Ci¡¯s cape as she was about to leave, ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere today if you don¡¯t give me an answer.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, it¡¯s just for a little while. You can just find a recement or clear some monsters away, you don¡¯t have to wait for me.¡±

    ¡°The reason...¡± Bai Mo refused to allow Ye Ci¡¯s escape without a satisfying answer. He clung on to her cape. We can do this all day long.

    ¡°It¡¯s for an Epic-tier quest.¡± Ye Ci was initially reluctant to reveal the nature of the quest to anyone before shepleted the quest. She was not someone who would boast about things. She preferred to quietly inform the people who were close to her after the quest was done. If Bai Mo did not stop her from leaving on this day, she would never have told him the truth.

    ¡°An Epic-tier quest?¡± Bai Mo was momentarily stunned. He then let go of Ye Ci, ¡°Where did you get it?¡±

    Ye Ci checked the game time. It was the time when Fa¡¯tar was about to have his afternoon nap after having his lunch. She had no time to spare. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about itter. This is a very crucial moment for it. If I screw this up, I¡¯m not going toplete this quest.¡± said Ye Ci as she activated the City Recalling Stone.

    Bai Mo knew about the rarity of such quests, and the uncertainty when it came topleting quests like this. He immediately let Ye Ci go and waved at her, ¡°Go, I¡¯ll get someone to rece you.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Alright then..¡± Ye Ci disappeared from Bai Mo¡¯s view with a sh of white light before she could finish her sentence.

    Ye Ci immediately headed to the area near the prison when she arrived in Red Lake City. After a few days of careful observation, Ye Ci could imitate Fa¡¯tar¡¯s behavior almost perfectly. Of course, she would always disguise herself using the Brooch of Deceit as she observed Fa¡¯tar.

    As usual, after a short while after a soldier delivered lunch into Fa¡¯tar¡¯s office, he came out of the ce and headed back to his home in the city center. Ye Ci was disguised as a Dwarven Warrior nearby, pretending to be shopping in one of the shops.

    ¡°Good afternoon, Lord Fa¡¯tar.¡±

    The merchants in the city would always greet Fa¡¯tar when they heard the clinking of his heavy armor. Despite being a mere Chief Warden, Fa¡¯tar yed a more important role than the general of the city¡¯s garrison. He was in charge of keeping any criminals locked away and protecting the safety of the merchants and NPC in the city.

    This was also the reason why Ye Ci avoided robbing the NPCs within the city, and could only pick on the NPCs in the surrounding viges. No matter how strong she was, Ye Ci would be wiped out if she took on Fa¡¯tar, who was a lvl 100 Elite NPC.

    ¡°Good day, how are you?¡± Fa¡¯tar was strict only to his subordinates and vicious only to his enemies. He was a very friendly person to the other normal NPCs. Of course, yers were not ssified as NPCs, and Fa¡¯tar would usually view yers with disdain. As an NPC that came from a noble bloodline, Fa¡¯tar hated the yers, who weremonly known by the NPCs as ¡°outsiders¡±. Fa¡¯tar even thought that thew and order in Red Lake City was deteriorating because of the presence of the ¡°outsiders¡±.

    Fa¡¯tar¡¯s thoughts did not matter to Ye Ci. When she saw Fa¡¯tar walking past the shop, Ye Ci immediately left the merchant district.

    Ye Ci hid into an alley nearby the prison, and snuck into an abandoned house. She then activated her Brooch of Deceit. Momentster, Fa¡¯tar emerged from the abandoned house in his shining armor..

    He looked just like the real one.

    This was one of the huge advantage provided by the Brooch of Deceit. A yer could disguise himself or herself into any NPC that he or she has interacted with. The disguise was perfect. As long as yers were able to imitate the behavior of their disguised NPC, even another NPC could not tell the difference.

    That was why the soldiers posted in the prison had their wits shocked out of them when Ye Ci appeared at the entrance. They were surprised and baffled to see Fa¡¯tar suddenly returning to the prison. The soldiers immediately stood at attention and saluted Ye Ci, ¡°Lord Fa¡¯tar, good afternoon.¡±

    Ye Ci snorted coldly, perfectly mimicking Fa¡¯tar¡¯s behavior, ¡°Good afternoon? From what I can see, the afternoon is indeed good for you!¡±

    Ye Ci imitated Fa¡¯tar¡¯s speech perfectly, and the Brooch of Deceit was able to emte every single features of Fa¡¯tar¡¯s expression. None of the soldiers realised that the Fa¡¯tar standing in front of them was a fake one.

    ¡°Mi- Milord...¡±

    Fa¡¯tar was known to be overly strict to his subordinates. The soldiers knew they were in trouble, when they were caughtzing of on duty. However, Ye Ci¡¯s aim was only to intimidate the soldiers. She opted to punish them lightly and hoped that she did not arouse their suspicion.

    ¡°It seems that you think that being a soldier in Red Lake City is dry and dull. How can you doze off in such a good weather? I must punish you, so that you know what it means to be a soldier.¡± Ye Ci eximed loudly with a solemn expression.

    The soldiers were all shivering in fear.

    ¡°You must¡¯ve grown impatient in this cool andfortable prison. I want you to go patrol the streets, and teach those outsiders who dare to cause trouble a lesson.¡± it was widely known that Fa¡¯tar hated the ¡°outsiders¡± and would always make such arrangements. The soldiers did not suspect a thing when they were given such an order. On the contrary, they were secretly happy that they only received a light punishment from Fa¡¯tar.

    With the soldiers out of the way, Ye Ci headed deeper into the prison. That was where the most vicious criminals in Red Lake City was held, and Andrei was one of them.

    ¡°L-lord Fa¡¯tar, w-why are y-you here?¡± the soldier on duty was shocked to see Fa¡¯tar. It wasmon knowledge that Fa¡¯tar would be taking a nap at this time. Something serious must have happened if he suddenly showed up.¡±

    ¡°What? I can¡¯t show up in the ce that is under my supervision?¡± Ye Ci snorted, ¡°If I did note here today, I wouldn¡¯t have known that my loyal and hardworking subordinates are all dozing off during my nap time. You¡¯ve all disgraced the image of the Red Lake City military!¡±

    The soldier did not even dare to speak up. He was lucky that he went to bed earlier the day before, and was not tired. He would usually be dozing off at this time, and if he was caught red handed by Fa¡¯tar... The soldier gulped. He did not even dare to imagine what would happen to him.

    When the soldier saw Fa¡¯tar heading towards the cells holding the criminals, he immediately handed him the keys, ¡°Milord, are you interrogating one of the prisoners?¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Ye Ci snorted without answering the soldier, which was a perfect imitation of Fa¡¯tar.

    The soldier remained silent as he followed anxiously behind Fa¡¯tar as they headed for the cells. Ye Ci was looking left and right for Andrei. Although she has attempted to scout out the area, the holding cells were not essible to yers. Ye Ci did not have Andrei¡¯s precise location. She could only strolled along like Fa¡¯tar while looking for Andrei.

    The area holding the major criminals is notplex, and Ye Ci was able to spot Andrei quickly.

    Ye Ci stood outside the cell and motioned at the soldier, ¡°Open the door.¡±

    ¡°Yes milord.¡± the soldier did not even dare to question the order. He opened the door for Ye Ci, and followed her into the cell.

    The smell of rot filled the air in the holding cell. There was no light source other than a burning charcoal pit in a corner of the cell. It was obvious that the charcoal pit was not put in ce to warm the prisoner up, and a few iron brands could be seen lying in its withering mes. With the help of the dim light emanating from the charcoal pit, Ye Ci began surveying the holding cell.

    It was a big cell with dozens of different torture instruments lining the wall. One would shiver when oney his or her sight at the dozens of gruesome instruments.

    The person who Ye Ci was looking for, Andrei, was strung up on a rack. The man was badly beaten, with wounds covering all parts of his body. Some of his wounds have even begun to fester.

    Ye Ci stood in front of Andrei, and covered her nose with a disgruntled expression just like Fa¡¯tar would. The soldier on duty immediately ced a chair behind her and spoke with a tone full of ttery, ¡°Milord, have a seat.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded and took the opportunity to send the soldier away, ¡°You can go now. I¡¯lle out in a short moment.¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord.¡± the soldier was reluctant to stay long in Fa¡¯tar¡¯s presence as well. After all, he could feel tremendous pressure whenever he was near Fa¡¯tar. It would be better for him to bezing around somewhere else. After saluting Ye Ci, the soldier left the cell.

    Ye Ci listened to the soldier¡¯s footsteps, and slowly looked at Andrei when she was sure that the soldier was quite a safe distance away.

    Andrei returned her gaze with a re full of fury, ¡°I will not tell you a thing even if you kill me. Is this all you got? Come on! We¡¯ll see which one is tougher! Will it be your torture instruments, or I, Andrei?¡±

    Ye Ci continued staring at Andrei. He did look like a tough guy. Ye Ci rested her elbows on the armrest and crossed her fingers before speaking up calmly, ¡°I haven¡¯t even spoken yet, why do you have to be so loud? It seems that you still have a lot of strength in you.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anyways! You know why? Because I don¡¯t give a f*ck about suns of beaches like you! Come! Kill me if you have the balls!¡±

    ¡°Oh really? Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Come on! Show me what you got!¡±

    Ye Ci smiled. He was indeed a tough person. But, was this tough person smart enough to cooperate with her? If he refused to cooperate, it would be really hard for Ye Ci toplete her quest.

    Andrei studied the ring silently, and his expression changed, ¡°Fa¡¯tar! You sun of a beach! You killed my brother! I can¡¯t believe that you killed my brother! I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    Ye Ci snorted and looked at Andrei with disdain. It seemed that he was not very smart. His abilit to analyze the situation wascking. Ye Ci had overestimated the IQ and EQ of this NPC, ¡°If Fa¡¯tar killed Mda, do you think that you, Andrei, will still be alive?¡±

    Of course, the words were spoken with Ye Ci¡¯s own voice. It was a soft feminine voice with a hint of coldness. It was a coldness that could chill one down to one¡¯s bones.

    ¡°Who... Are you?¡± Ye Ci was lucky that Fate was a Western Fantasy world. If this happened in an Eastern Fantasy, the NPC might even have thought that Ye Ci was deceiving him through the use of ventriloquism.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to know. I¡¯ve been entrusted by someone to get you out of here.¡± Ye Ci replied calmly.

    ¡°By someone?¡± Andrei was momentarily stunned beforeing into a sudden realization, ¡°You must be talking about Mda! Did Mda sent you to rescue me?¡±

    Ye Ci wasted no effort in answering his question. She continued staring at Andrei while tossing the ring up and down.

    ¡°No, it can¡¯t be! You must be Fa¡¯tar! Even if you sound different, you¡¯re still Fa¡¯tar! You¡¯re trying to trick me!¡± bellowed Andrei angrily, ¡°I will not be tricked by you! Let me tell you, I will never tell you a thing!¡±

    Ye Ci could not bring herself to waste time on talking sense into this NPC with apparently low IQ. Fa¡¯tar was about to return in any moment. If this dragged on, her n would fail, and she would never be able to get her rewards, and might even lose her Prestige with Red Lake City. She might even be jailed because of this.

    She stood up and walked to the interrogation table nearby and took up a set of keys. She walked up to Andrei and released him from the metal rack. Despite Andrei¡¯s tough appearance, his body was heavily injured due to prolonged torture. He fell right onto the ground, opening up more wounds on his already ravaged body. He could do nothing but groan in pain.

    Ye Ci paid him no heed. As an NPC, as long as he¡¯s not dead, Andrei would be able to heal up in time.

    ¡°The real Fa¡¯tar will be back in about an hour. Do you want to leave this ce with me, or do you want to continue wasting time by bickering with me?¡± Ye Ci looked down at Andrei and gave him a choice. She prayed silently that Andrei would make the right choice, and not drag her down.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going with you!¡± Andrei could still not bring himself to trust Ye Ci who looked just like Fa¡¯tar, ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s temper rose. She stooped down and pinched Andrei¡¯s face that was riddled with scar. The convict immediately winced in pain, ¡°So what if I¡¯m Fa¡¯tar? You¡¯ll die if you stay here, and you might die if you go with me. You¡¯re going to die anyways! So what are you afraid of?¡±

    ¡°Who said that I¡¯m afraid?¡± somebody like Andrei would easily fall prey to tricks like this. Andrei was apparently angered by Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°I, Andrei, has been through a lot. There¡¯s nothing that I¡¯ve never experienced before! Do you think that I¡¯ll cower before you petty tricks, Fa¡¯tar? Let¡¯s go then! We¡¯ll see where you end my life today!¡±

    Ye Ci was satisfied with Andrei¡¯s reaction. She let go of his face, and patted him on the cheek, ¡°If that is your wish, let¡¯s go then.¡±

    There was no way Andrei could still move after the injuries that his body has suffered. However, he was reluctant to lose face in front of Ye Ci, or rather, his old Rival Fa¡¯tar. He forced himself to stand on his feet by sheer force of will, and followed close behind Ye Ci, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    Ye Ci wasted no time in talking with Andrei. She left the cell and leave the prisoner holding area, mimicking Fa¡¯tar¡¯s gait, with her armor nking on the damp floor, as if she was a harbinger of death.

    ¡°M-milord...¡± the soldier on duty immediately greeted Ye Ci when he heard her footsteps, and his face turned pale when he saw Andrei who was following close behind, ¡°Milord, this prisoner is very dangerous...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to end him this time.¡± a sinister smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, inducing fear nto the soldier¡¯s heart.

    ¡°What can I do for you, milord?¡±

    ¡°Get a wagon ready.¡± said Ye Ci calmly. The soldier immediately snapped to attention and went to carry out Ye Ci¡¯s orders. Ye Ci then picked up her pace and led Andrei out of the prison.

    It has been too long since Andreist seen the sun. He vision blurred the moment he stepped out into the sun, and fainted. Ye Ci gave the soldier who was on duty a look, and the soldier immediately threw Andrei onto the wagon. Ye Ci then climbed onto the horse that was pulling the wagon and nodded at the soldier, ¡°You did a great job. You¡¯re a smart man, well done.¡±

    The soldier was nervous. He was confused by the happenings. But when he received praise from Ye Ci, the soldier was happy. Everybody knew that it was very rare for Fa¡¯tar to praise his subordinates. How could the soldier not be happy when he was praised by ¡°Fa¡¯tar¡±?

    ¡°Thank you milord! Thank you milord.¡± the soldier was beaming happily.

    Ye Ci waved at the soldier, ¡°Get back in there. Somebody must watch over the criminals.¡±

    ¡°Yes, milord.¡± the soldier, who felt a sudden surge of diligence after receiving praise from Ye Ci, immediately vanished from sight. Ye Ci stole a nce at Andrei who has passed out in the wagon and smiled. She would be able toplete her mission if she was able to leave Red Lake City before Fa¡¯tar returns.

    Ye Ci spurred the horse forward with the whip, and the horse immediately dragged the wagon along with it towards the outskirts of Red Lake City.

    The wagon was actually not well built, and was rattling furiously as Ye Ci galloped at full speed. She was slightly worried that the wagon would fall apart before she could leave the city. However, she had no time to worry. It was a long journey from the prison to the city gate. If she was not fast enough, she might not be able to leave the city.

    Ye Ci did not remove her disguise. Her journey across Red Lake City was not obstructed as the soldiers and NPCs would clear a path for her as she galloped onward.

    ¡°Lord Fa¡¯tar is leaving the city! Lord Fa¡¯tar is leaving the city!¡± shouted the sentries as Ye Ci galloped towards the city gate. The soldiers formed up and saluted at Ye Ci as she rode past them out of the city. She did not even look at the soldiers as she stormed past the men. She then headed to the forest in Silvery Tin Vein after she was a safe distance away from Red Lake City.

    Fa¡¯tar who returned to the prison was stunned when there were no sentries around the prison, ¡°Where are my men? Where are my men?¡± he then roared out in anger.

    The soldiers who were posted at the prison were all patrolling the streets, and had no knowledge of the arrival of the real Fa¡¯tar.

    After his shouts went unanswered, Fa¡¯tar immediately activated his skill to summoned his sentries. Before long, the soldiers who were patrolling the streets gathered at the prison. They soon came to the realisation that somebody pretending to be Fa¡¯tar has rescued Andrei from the prison.

    Fa¡¯tar was furious. Fa¡¯tar was very, very furious.

    ¡°All of you are good for nothing! Lock the city down and find this person or you¡¯ll all be fired for your dereliction of duty today!¡± Fa¡¯tar drew out his sword and roared at his men.

    It was all toote.

    By that time, Ye Ci had already brought Andrei to a secluded spot in the Silvery Tin Vein. When Andrei returned to his sense, Fa¡¯tar was nowhere in sight, and a female Elf with Silvery hair was staring at hm not fair away. Andrei was confused. He even begun to suspect that he has died.

    If he¡¯s alive, why is he not in the prison when he opened his eyes? Why is he in the forest?

    Andrei blinked and looked at the female Elf with silvery hair. She was roasting meat over a campfire. The meat sizzled, and Andrei¡¯s nostrils were assaulted by the meat¡¯s fragrant smell. There was a knife covered in blood beside the rock that the Elf was sitting on, and as Andrei looked at the object beside the knife...

    He found two lifeless eyes staring at him. Even a seasoned veteran like Andrei was startled. Of course, those eyes belonged to a horse.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake?¡± Ye Ci stared at Andrei who was looking at... the horse¡¯s head beside her, and smiled, ¡°Eat up. I¡¯m a rather good cook. Do you want a bite?¡±

    Andrei was able to retain his wits despite the relentless assault by the fragrant smell. He visibly gulped, and asked, ¡°Who... Are you?¡±

    Ye Ci tossed the ring to Andrei. It was the most direct answer to Andrei¡¯s question. As expected, he was stunned. That was why the Elf¡¯s voice sounded so familiar to him, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you!¡±

    Noting that Andrei have not moved closer, Ye Ci threw a piece of roasted meat to him, ¡°Eat while it¡¯s hot. When you¡¯ve regained your strength, I¡¯ll be able toplete my mission.¡±

    Andrei picked up the meat and stared at Ye Ci for a short moment before speaking up, ¡°You¡¯re a citizen of Red Lake City, why are you helping me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a merchant, and a merchant will only do something that benefits him or herself.¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips, and began eating the roasted horse meat. The horse given to her by the soldier was such a fine horse. Since it was impossible for her to bring it back to the city, she might as well kill it for its meat. It was such a waste.

    Andrei stared silently at Ye Ci for a long moment before he started gobbling down the meat. He let out a heartyugh as he enjoyed his meal, ¡°I like dealing with merchants! They only have benefits in their eyes.¡±

    Ye Ci remained silent. She stared up into the sky, at the dazzling sunlight shining down on her.

 Chapter 213 The Search For Bella

    Chapter 213 The Search For Be

    ¡°I really want to know how you turn into Fa¡¯tar. Even someone like me who have known him for so many years did not see the difference.¡± asked Andrei after wolfing down the horse meat. He was way more energetic than before, and when a person was energetic, he or she would do a lot of things. With Andrei as an example, the thing that he wanted to do most was to talk to someone. It was probably due to the fact that he had been held in captivity for a very long time, and once he was in safety and was able to rx, Andrei started opening up to the next best person. He did not even care if the person was a good choice to have a chat with. He wanted to talk to someone, and had never kept his mouth shut since then.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. It was a question she did not want to answer. Ye Ci was reluctant to let anyone in on the secret, and Andrei, of course, was not an exception. However, she could not afford to treat the NPC who was the key topleting her quest rudely.

    After a short moment of silence, Ye Ci smiled at Andrei, ¡°I¡¯ve told you that I¡¯m a merchant, and every merchant has his or her own secrets. If I tell you my secret, how will I be able to make a living?¡±

    ¡°Is that so...¡± although he was unable to learn Ye Ci¡¯s secret, Andrei was not disappointed. He nodded at Ye Ci, appearing to be deep in thought.

    ¡°Andrei, I believe that you¡¯re someone who can do big things, and someone who can do big things will not be so obsessive about the minor insignificant details. Since that is the case, why not let it remain a secret?¡± Ye Ci spoke up slowly, with a tone full of pride and dignity, ¡°This is a secret, and I hope that we can keep it that way.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not such a big deal! Why can¡¯t you just tell me?¡± Andrei was apparently not an NPC with a high level of intelligence. He was unable to grasp the meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    Ye Ci sighed inwardly. This was why she hated to deal with idiots. People like Green Hill¡¯s Moon or Zero Arsenic would definitely understand her meaning right away. She was forced to be even more direct with Andrei.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t mind the world to know about how you¡¯re so weak that you can¡¯t even walk in the Red Lake City prison, and what a weakling you are, am I right?¡± Ye Ci did not even spare a nce at Andrei. She continued munching on the roasted horse meat with gentleness and elegance, as if she was a well-mannered noble.

    Andrei¡¯s face immediately paled. A NPC as arrogant as Andrei had a weakness. They were afraid that their moment of weakness was exposed. It was a news that Andrei could never allow Ye Ci to spread.

    He shook his head and waved his hands, ¡°No no no! You can¡¯t tell anybody about such an embarrassing thing!¡±

    ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m a merchant.¡± Ye Ci looked at Andrei with narrowed eyes, ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a deal?¡±

    ¡°What deal?¡± Andrei could feel that the female Elf was not a kind person, and was very cunning as well. However, Andrei¡¯s feeling did not trante into his thoughts as his attention was already focused on Ye Ci¡¯s proposal.

    Ye Ci stared at Andrei silently. She has given him a lot of hints. If he was still unable to grasp her meaning, the Andrei was truly an idiot.

    Fortunately for Ye Ci, Andrei was not a total idiot despite his lower IQ. He was initially confused when the Elf stared at him. Is there something on my face? He was then hit by a sudden realisation when he rte the things spoken by the Elf together, ¡°Ahh... I get it! You¡¯re saying that if I keep the process of how you rescued me from the prison a secret, you won¡¯t tell anyone about my condition in the prison, am I right? That¡¯s what you were talking about, am I right?¡±

    At least this NPC is not beyond help. Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief, ¡°You¡¯re right. So, what will it be? Are you going to make the deal?¡±

    ¡°Of course! You don¡¯t have to worry about it! I, Andrei, can keep a secret! I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen it with your own eyes! I did not even tell Fa¡¯tar a thing despite his tortures. I will definitely be able to keep this thing a secret!¡± Andrei patted his shoulder, trying his best to reassure Ye Ci. However, he was still worried about things on Ye Ci¡¯s end, ¡°I¡¯m worried about you though. Can you keep my secret?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a merchant, and the most important quality of a merchant is to have good faith. Since I¡¯ve given you my word, I will definitely keep your secret.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good! That¡¯s good!¡± Andrei was relieved to hear Ye Ci¡¯s words. He then finished off the few remaining bites of the horse meat. However, it was not enough for Andrei. He stared at therge chunk of meat that Ye Ci was slowly roasting over the fire, but was too embarrassed to ask for a portion. He could only stare at the meat, while the fragrance of the sizzling meat assaulted his senses.

    Ye Ci stole a nce at Andrei, and invited him to sit next to her to partake in the meal, ¡°Come, it¡¯s almost done.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass. You¡¯ve done so much for me. I-I¡¯m full.¡± despite his boorish nature, Andrei acted in a gentlemanly manner in front of women, especially Ye Ci who was also his savior. He ignored the protest of his rumbling stomach, and rejected Ye Ci¡¯s offer.

    Ye Ci insisted on inviting Andrei to have more of the meat. In an open quest like this, the interaction between a yer and an NPC would affect the emotion of the NPC. Andrei was the perfect example. Although the bandits in Silvery Tin Ore was just a branch of the Doran Thieves Guild, being able to be the leader of a branch meant that Andrei was someone with considerable influence within the guild.

    It was very important to tter and curry favor with such NPCs. However, these NPCs have human emotion, if yers overdid their attempt to win over the NPC, they might ended up making more losses than gain. To increase their Intimacy Level with NPCs like such as Andrei, the best option was to fulfill their heart¡¯s desire, and adapt to his taste. The attempt must not be overly deliberate, or it might backfire on the yer.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that you haven¡¯t had a good meal during your stay in the prison. Just look at yourself! Mird will be heartbroken if he sees you like this. Sometimes, we stay alive not for ourselves, but for the others closest to us. That is why you must eat up, for the sake of your brother. Besides, this horse is too big for me to finish alone. Why don¡¯t you help me out and finish the meat for me?¡± Ye Ci smiled at Andrei.

    After listening to Ye Ci¡¯s words, Andrei had no more grounds to reject her offer. He grabbed at his hair and smiled awkwardly at Ye Ci, ¡°You have a point. I¡¯ll help you finish the meat then.¡± he then sat in front of Ye Ci and grabbed a piece of roasted meat.

    As he gobbled down the meat, Andrei began showering Ye Ci with praise, ¡°Elf, although you¡¯re a citizen of Red Lake City, you¡¯re a good person, and you cook good food as well! I think I don¡¯t hate you anymore.¡±

    Ye Ci quietly opened Andrei¡¯s status window, and looked at her Intimacy Level with him. He was no longer hostile towards Ye Ci, and their rtionship was disyed as ¡°Intimate¡±. As Andrei continued gobbling down the meat, their intimacy rose. If Ye Ci could do something to raise his level of happiness, she would be able to reach the intimacy level of Sworn Friends with Andrei.

    As long as Ye Ci could be Sworn Friends with Andrei, she would be able to gain many benefits from the Doran Thieves Guild. In the many Prestige systems in Fate, the Faction Prestige was one of the most beneficial systems to yers. However, Faction Prestige was very hard to earn. Even in her past life, Ye Ci was barely able to name a handful of yers who were able to reach the Prestige level of ¡°Intimate¡± with certain factions. Those who were able to reach the Prestige level of ¡°Revered¡± was few and far between.

    Ye Ci¡¯s past incarnation was very greedy and was very obsessed in gaining fame. She had never achieved the Prestige level of ¡°Intimate¡± with any factions. She could only stare with envy at yers who shared their joy in the forums for achieving such Prestige level with a faction.

    However, the current Ye Ci preferred to enjoy the game. She would never let such a precious chance slip by.. She was determined to raise her Prestige level with the Doran Thieves Guild, and Andrei was her best chance to achieve such a goal.

    When Andrei was almost done with his meal, Ye Ci took a rare wine out of her inventory, and toss the bottle at Andrei, ¡°Although you hate the people of Red Lake City, I¡¯m sure that you won¡¯t hate a good wine. This gin is made by the One-eyed Jack Tavern in Red Lake City. I heard that it¡¯s very famous in the Eastern Continent.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m someone who has a clear discrimination between love and hate. Although I hate everything about Red Lake City and its people, I love the wine from Red Lake City.¡± Andrei¡¯s expression was one of pleasant surprise. He did not expect Ye Ci to be in possession of the wine. He caught the bottle of gin from midair, twisted the lid open, and sniffed at the wonderful aroma of the gin. He then smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°This is a good wine! I don¡¯t hate it at all! Just like how I don¡¯t hate you!¡±

    As expected, Ye Ci¡¯s gesture gifting the wine to Andrei was able to increase her Intimacy with Andrei, but she was still a far cry away from being Sworn Friends with the NPC. Unfortunately, such method would no longer be effective a second time. If a yer used the same method in an attempt to increase his or her Intimacy with an NPC repeatedly, the increase in Intimacy would gradually decrease, and the NPC might even be irritated, resulting in a loss of Intimacy points.

    This meant that Ye Ci could not repeat the same gesture twice. She waited for Andrei to have his fill of the meat and fine wine before speaking up, ¡°Andrei, it¡¯ll be getting dark soon, let¡¯s get back when it¡¯s still bright.¡±

    ¡°I want to take a nap.¡± Andrei was telling the truth. As the saying goes, ¡°a full tummy leads to lethargy¡±, when a person was at ease and has eaten and drank to his or her heart¡¯s content, the urge to fall asleep came easily. Andrei was in such a situation, ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me have a nap, and we¡¯ll head back to the hideoutter?¡±

    Ye Ci frowned at Andrei. She had no time to waste on waiting for this NPC to have a nap! The only thing she wanted to do was to escort Andrei safely back to the bandit hideout and proceed to the next stage of her Epic-tier quest. She was not in the mood and did not have patience for anything else.

    However, Ye Ci could not afford to reject Andrei¡¯s request directly. She immediately thought of a good idea. She sad on the rock that Andrei was leaning against and said to the man who was already drifting into sleep, ¡°We¡¯re in the Silvery Tin Vein, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yup! This is the Silvery Tin Vein! The sunlight here is the best!¡± there was a smile of content on Andrei¡¯s face. His face was full of tranquility as he leaned against the rock, as he was a normal middle-aged man instead of the leader of a group of bandits.

    ¡°But... We¡¯re still in Red Lake City¡¯s territory.¡±

    ¡°Heh! So what? I don¡¯t care!¡± Andrei¡¯s eyes remained shut as he snorted. It was apparent that he did not care about Red Lake City.

    ¡°So... You¡¯re telling me that you¡¯re sleeping here?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Andrei, at his content expression. She felt the urge to beat him up, but she was able to hold herself back.

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    ¡°No matter what?¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Andrei was very irritated that his sleep was disturbed by Ye Ci, ¡°What are you trying to say, Elf? Stop beating around the bush! You¡¯re disturbing Andrei¡¯s sleep! I¡¯m very tired now! Do you know that I¡¯ve never had a decent sleep ever since I was captured, and was tortured by that damn Fa¡¯tar every single day? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s quite unkind for you to disrupt my sleep?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not trying to disturb your sleep, but I want to remind you that I rescued you from the prison when Fa¡¯tar was having his afternoon nap.¡± Ye Ci smiled at Andrei.

    Andrei open an eye and looked at Ye Ci, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is... It¡¯s been quite some times since we escaped from the Red Lake City prison. Fa¡¯tar has probably woken up from his nap by now.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s smile remained on her face. She was certain that Andrei hated Fa¡¯tar and was very wary of him.

    As expected, Andrei stared at Ye Ci with both eyes opened, ¡°Fa¡¯tar is awake?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s more than that. If he knows that Andrei has escaped from prison, he will be very angry.¡± Ye Ci continued smiling at Andrei, as if it had nothing to do with her.

    Andrei immediately sat up, ¡°What? Fa¡¯tar is angry?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the worst of your worries. Think about it, if you¡¯re Fa¡¯tar, and a very important prison has escaped from you, do you think you¡¯ll let the prisoner escape just like that?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡±

    ¡°Then what do you think Fa¡¯tar will do?¡± Ye Ci stared at Andrei with the smile still on her face, ¡°ording to my knowledge of Fa¡¯tar, he will stop at nothing to capture you. He might even be sending soldiers out to search for you right at this moment...¡±

    Before Ye Ci could finish her sentence, Andrei stood up abruptly and let out a cry, ¡°Oh my God! You¡¯re so smart, Elf! You¡¯re such a good friend of mine! I would¡¯ve fallen asleep if not for you! Do you know that I was captured by Fa¡¯tarst time because I fell asleep after a lot of drinking and was reported by those damned farmers? If I got captured again, it¡¯ll be the end of me!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Elf! We¡¯re going back to the hideout¡± shouted Andrei as he started running.

    ¡°The sunlight is so warm here. Are you sure you¡¯re not going to take a nap?¡± asked Ye Ci, and Andrei immediately blushed, ¡°No no no, let¡¯s leave this ce, my friend! I think it¡¯s a good idea to get back to the hideout!¡±

    With her goal achieved, Ye Ci wasted no time springing into action. She scattered the fire in the firepit, disposed of the horse meat and bones, and followed after Andrei.

    The bandits were looking forward to Andrei¡¯s return. They erupted into cheers as Andrei showed up at the hideout with Ye Ci. The entire bandit hideout was bustling with celebration that was grander than even the grandest party in Red Lake City.

    Of course, Ye Ci was not the focus of attention in this party. The only thing she wanted was to receive her reward forpleting the quest and proceed to the next stage of the Epic-tier quest. However, Mird had no time for Ye Ci. The bandits were all immersed in their celebration of Andrei¡¯s return.

    Despite his excitement, Andrei was still a loyal friend. He introduced Ye Ci to hisrades after the weing ceremony, ¡°This Elf saved my life. Although she did it at Mird¡¯s request, you have to know that the Red Lake City prison was a dangerous and scary ce. This Elf was able to rescue me from that living hell with her kindness and wisdom. She is a friend of mine, and is also the friend of the Doran Thieves Guild.¡±

    It was apparent that Andrei held more authority than Mird. His simples words were able to boost Ye Ci¡¯s Prestige with the Doran Thieves Guild from ¡°Friendly¡± to ¡°Intimate¡±. Even someone who had been through a lot like Ye Ci was shocked. Doing the right thing at the right time was indeed way better than blindly pouring in effort inpleting a task. She was able to gain a huge amount of Prestige points after currying favors with one of the key figures in the Doran Thieves Guild.

    Because of that, Ye Ci no longer mind the time she wasted. After all, it was a delightful experience to be treated like a VIP by the bandits and be served the best of food and wine.

    The celebrationsted for a long time. Ye Ci logged off from the game halfway through and had her meal and a good night¡¯s sleep. The celebration finally ended when she logged into the game on the next day. Ye Ci stood in the house where she first met Mird, but the person in the house was none other than Andrei who she was sent to rescue.

    ¡°My dearest friend, I¡¯ve heard about your circumstances, and I thank you for your act of kindness and everything that you did for me. I, Andrei, guarantees that you and I will always be friend, and the Doran Thieves Guild will always be your friend!¡± spoke Andrei in a respectful tone. The man had a change of clothes and his hair was well-kempt. He was theplete opposite of the (ragged look?) he had when he was first rescued by Ye Ci.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I only did what must be done.¡± Ye Ci did not skip her conversation with Andrei, and instead paid close attention to every single word spoken by Andrei.

    Ye Ci had her own reasons for doing so. The length and difficulty of an Epic-tier quest was not the only important aspect of a high tiered quest.. The stage reward offered by the quest was also very important.

    Ye Ci first epted the quest in Red Lake City, and was led to Dark y City by the quest. Shepleted arge amount of missions in Dark y City, and was able toplete the first stage of the quest. Ye Ci was awarded a Purple quality tanning knife uponpleting the stage. The knife was not useful inbat, but was very good when it came to slicing and dicing the meat and skin off the carcasses of dead monsters. It could raise the speed of Ye Ci as she was harvesting a carcass, and would increased the drop rate of higher quality meat and other items. In short, although the knife wascking inbat capabilities, it was very useful for Hunters.

    Some of the cracasses of rarer monsters might produce a lot of rare materials which were essential for the enchantment or refinement of items and equipment. However, such rare materials had a very low drop rate. The demand of such materials was way higher than its supply.

    Ye Ci was finally able toplete the second stage of the mission after much hardships. What will be her reward? The rewards offered by the quest could be affected by the conversation between a yer and the NPC rted to the quest. Ye Ci was cautious as she spoke to Andrei, as the words she spoke might affect the quality of the reward.

    ¡°My friend, you¡¯re always so loyal and courteous. How should I thank you?¡± tears welled in Andrei¡¯s eyes when he spoke out the words. After a moment of sadness, Andrei handed a letter to Ye Ci, ¡°This is a letter for Lord Moore of Dark y City. Hand it to him, and he¡¯ll let you know what to do next.¡±

    The third stage of Ye Ci¡¯s quest was activated. She epted the letter from Andrei with respect. It was so light yet so heavy as Ye Ci held it in her hands. She did not know what difficulties await her in her path ahead.

    ¡°My dearest friend, we¡¯re about to part ways. Although you¡¯re always wee here to see me, but I think you¡¯ll be very busy in the near future. You might not be able to pay me visits.¡± Andrei began to tear up once again. Ye Ci could hardly bear with such a disy of emotion by Andrei. He was a man, a fearsome leader of the bandits, but he was almost crying like a little girl. Which developer designed this character?

    It was okay if he looked good when he cried. However, Andrei¡¯s face was hideous as he began sobbing. How could someone stand such a thing? Although Ye Ci was showing a sad face, she was having goosebumps all over her body.

    It was just too disgusting.

    After a short moment of sobbing, Andrei handed a strange piece of metal with strange carvings to Ye Ci, ¡°My dear friend, can you do something for me before you leave?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci was momentarily stunned by the sudden request. ording to her prediction, it was almost time for Andrei to hand her the reward forpleting the second stage of the quest. She had no idea what sort of reward she would receive, as Andrei had his own thoughts and behavior.

    ¡°Take this badge with you to the northern side of the Mausoleum of des and meet with someone called Be. She¡¯ll tell you what to do.¡± When Ye Ci initiated a conversation with Andrei after that, he would only respond with a nod and a smile as he said, ¡°Ah, my old friend! It¡¯s good to see you again!¡±

    This meant that Ye Ci could only unlock more dialogue from Andrei bypleting the quest handed to her.

    Ye Ci was irritated when she was still unable to receive rewards for all her hard work, and was instead made to run an errand. However, she did not show her dissatisfaction to Andrei. After bowing to him respectfully, Ye Ci left the bandit hideout.

    The Mausoleum of des.

    It was a ce that Ye Ci was very familiar with. The map was a good spot for leveling up, and was also the ce she met up with NightAndDay a month ago. This was also the spot Ye Ci flew from to Champion City when the Western Continent attacked. After looking and the time and confirming that there was still time left before Upwards Ho!¡¯s afternoon dungeon clearing session, Ye Ci teleported to the Mausoleum of des.

    The yer poption in the map was still very low even after a month. Not many were willing to traverse through the treacherous terrain of Mausoleum of des. There was only one thing Ye Ci could think of when she arrived at the Mausoleum of des.

    Cold.

    The ce was just too cold. The strong winds could chill someone to the bones.

    The ce was also very quiet.

    The waypoint in the Mausoleum of des was located in a camp in the western side of the maps. There were many merchant NPCs in the camp that different types of consumables to yers visiting the map, and several quest giving NPCs whose quests were already longpleted by Ye Ci. To Ye Ci, the NPCs were the only reason the camp was not entirely a ghost town.

    There was not a single yer in the camp other than Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci rubbed her arms for warmth and walked into one of the shops, where she bought some Wind Resistant Pills. It was a consumable unique only to the Mausoleum of des designed to resist the chilly winds that ravaged the map. yers would be able to travel in the windy map without any harm or risk of receiving damage from the chilly winds.

    Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four, and fed it a Wind Resistant Pill after consuming one herself. She then mounted Ol¡¯ Four and headed north.

    The NPCs in Fate would never provide yers with clear details when it came to giving directions. When Ye Ci¡¯s was told that Be was in the northern area of Mausoleum of des, she could be in the north eastern side of the map, or could even be in the northwest part of the map. The NPC would also never provide yers with anyndmarks that might help them locate their quest target. That was why yers in Fate had the habit of familiarizing themselves with the map and memorize its keyndmarks to help them finish their quests in the near possible future.

    Ye Ci had an advantage when it came to such a matter. She hadpleted her exploration of the maps in Fate in herst life. It was basically impossible for her to make mistakes when it came to navigating in a map, as she was like a living GPS of Fate in her past life. However, it did not meant that Ye Ci was immune to making mistakes. Her current situation was the perfect example, and was a cause for her distress. No matter how hard she tried, she could not remember an NPC named Be in the northern parts of the Mausoleum of des.

    The sense of distress followed Ye Ci everywhere as she scoured the northern part of Mausoleum of des. After a long and tedious exploration, she finally found Be at the foot of a mountain in a very secluded corner.

    However, Ye Ci was puzzled when she made her discovery. She finally understood why she could not remember an NPC named Be. Be was not even alive. The only trace of Be that Ye Ci could find was a tombstone with the name ¡°Be¡±.

    A myriad of f*ck yous soared across Ye Ci¡¯s mind. This quest is so rigged! Why was she required to look for a grave? Is the system ying a game on her?

    This Andrei... Ye Ci gritted her teeth. She suddenly had a feeling that Andrei was either an idiot or was actually very cunning. If that was not the case, how could hee up with such a quest?

    However, Ye Ci¡¯s quest was notpleted by simply locating Be. She needed to hand the weird looking badge to Be as well. But the Be in front of here was nothing but a corpse buried 6 feet under tombstone with her name written on it. Ye Ci was very much alive! How could she hand something to someone who was already dead?

    Can someone help me out here?

 Chapter 214 What Is Bella?

    Chapter 214 What Is Be?

    There were only two solutions for when a person ran into such a problem in the middle of nowhere: ignore the problem, as it was impossible to solve, or to rack one¡¯s brain and think hard for the solution.

    Of course, Ye Ci was not one to give up. Even if the quest felt rigged, it didn¡¯t mean that Ye Ci would give up just like that.

    Ye Ci would never give up without even trying to solve a problem. So, she dismounted from Ol¡¯ Four and circled the tombstone. Once she started searching, she was able to find a clue on a b of stone that was covered by a thinyer of soil.

    The tomb was old and badly eroded by the strong winds in the Mausoleum of des; it was impossible to tell how long the b of stone had existed. However, that wasn¡¯t important. The most important thing now was for Ye Ci to find a small indentation that shared a simr shape with the badge.

    If Ye Ci still couldn¡¯t figure out what must be done, she would end up doubting her own level of intelligence. The solution was so obvious that even an idiot could figure it out. When the main characters in a TV show had to think hard for a solution to a trivial problem such as this, one could say that the producers of the show were lowering the IQ level of the audience and challenging their patience at the same time. Oh, we seem to have strayed off topic, but I¡¯ve wanted to say this for a long time: Please don¡¯t think of the readers and audience as idiots, alright? Can the producers and script writers out there please increase the quality of your work?

    Oops, I seem to have strayed very far off topic.

    Alright, let us continue with the story of Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci immediately took the badge out of her inventory and ced it in the indentation. She then waited beside the tomb, staring at it without a hint of emotion. ording to all her knowledge of drama and movies, something would be happening soon. A rock hiding a hidden cave somewhere might be moved away, revealing thebyrinth hidden within. There might even be shes of lightning and thunder apanied by strong winds and awesome sound effects, announcing the appearance of something extraordinary.

    This won¡¯t happen in the game, will it? Ye Ci stared at the tombstone and waited... And waited...

    One minute passed, and nothing happened.

    Two minute passed, and nothing happened.

    ...

    Five minutes passed, and nothing happened.

    ...

    Ten minutes passed, and still nothing happened.

    Ye Ci was enraged. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! Even if she hated the usual tropes employed in TV series and movies, weren¡¯t they better than nothing happening at all? Wouldn¡¯t it be less infuriating?

    mes of anger were burning in Ye Ci¡¯s heart. She stood up and stared emotionlessly at the tombstone. If she was a man she would¡¯ve pulled down her pants, pointed her ¡®essory¡¯ at the tombstone, and peed on it to vent her frustration. However, she was female, which meant that she didn¡¯t have that particr piece of ¡®equipment¡¯. She stomped on the tombstone and growled in anger, ¡°Oi, Be, I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re dead or alive, or even if you¡¯re the f*cking tombstone itself! Get out now or I¡¯ll dig you out of the grave!¡±

    However, the only response to Ye Ci¡¯s violent outburst were the strong winds in the Mausoleum of des.

    The winds bellowing past Ye Ci¡¯s ears were like taunts to her, causing her anger to continue to boil. She knew that the developers had a tendency to y pranks on the yers, but as someone who¡¯d never experienced it first hand in the past, Ye Ci had thought nothing of it. Now, when it had finally happened to her, Ye Ci felt that all the developers should be drowned in a whisker basket, especially that guy named Wang Jiangnan.

    Wang Jiangnan, who was immersed in his work, felt a sudden gust of chilly wind on his back. He shivered at the sudden coldness and knocked his cup down in the process. With a loud ng, the cup shattered. The sound went unnoticed in the Fate office as it was bustling with activity. The only person alerted to the sound was Wang Jiangnan¡¯s colleauge who was sitting right beside him. ¡°What happened? Why are you shivering in this hot weather? Are you having a seizure or something?¡± Said the man as he stared at Wang Jiangnan.

    Wang Jiangnan himself was puzzled as well; he wasn¡¯t feeling ill at all. He then shook his head and brushed the incident off. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ¡°Did somebody ce a jinx on you?¡± Wang Jiangnan¡¯s colleague chuckled.

    ¡°No way! If I was jinxed, the lot of you would¡¯ve already died God knows how many times!¡± Wang Jiangnan, of course, didn¡¯t believe such a theory. After a small talk, the two developers resumed their work.

    It was a small episode in the office in the middle of a hot summer. The sun was at its highest peak, and cicadas chirped merrily. The sunlight was so brilliant that even the flowers in a person¡¯s heart would be in full bloom as they basked in the sunlight.

    Ye Ci was a person who kept her word. Since she was being ignored by Be, and unable toplete her quest, she immediately began digging up the grave. Filled with curiosity, Ol¡¯ Four watched Ye Ci before catching on to her intention. It immediately rushed up to Ye Ci in glee and began pawing at the earth with itsrge ws.

    The grave wasn¡¯t deep. After a short while, a crude and simple looking coffin appeared. Before Ye Ci could think of her next move, Ol¡¯ Four stepped on the flimsy-looking coffin with one of its legs....

    With a loud crack, the coffin shattered.

    Ol¡¯ Four was excited. The sound was just like the snapping of twigs in the forest that it used to live in. For Ol¡¯ Four, it was a memory of home. It began to repeatedly pounce with delight, as if it was performing a dance.

    Ye Ci was baffled by Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s excitement. However, she had no time to ponder on the matter as something bewildering was happening: Ol¡¯ Four was once again about to stomp down on the already shattered coffin.

    ¡°Ol¡¯ Four!¡± Although Ye Ci had already uncovered Be¡¯s grave, she didn¡¯t mean to defile her corpse. Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s actions would lead right to that oue!

    ¡°Guhh?¡± Ol¡¯ Four stopped in its tracks and stared at Ye Ci. There was a hint of dissatisfaction in its eyes, using Ye Ci of spoiling its fun.

    ¡°You can¡¯t do that; get back here!¡± Said Ye Ci sternly.

    For Ol¡¯ Four, Ye Ci¡¯s admonishment wasn¡¯t much of a deterrent. It stared at Ye Ci while it continued to slowly extend its leg towards the coffin, and with another loud crack, he stepped onto the coffin.

    ¡°Ol¡¯ Four!¡± Ye Ci screamed at the top of her lungs. What if there was good loot in the coffin, and they were smashed by Ol¡¯ Four?

    ¡°Ahh! My face!¡± Another voice screamed out at the same time. It was the sharp, high-pitched voice of a female.

    Where did that voice came from? Ol¡¯ Four was stunned at well. It stood motionless and sniffed at the shattered coffin with great curiosity.

    Ye Ci stared silently at the coffin. She could¡¯ve sworn that she saw one of the many pieces of the coffin move.

    A woman in a white dress climbed out of the coffin under the watchful gaze of Ye Ci and Ol¡¯ Four. Judging by her semi transparent body, it was apparent that she wasn¡¯t human. The woman began crying as she climbed, ¡°My face! My youthful, gorgeous face! How could you step on it! I don¡¯t want to live anymore! I don¡¯t want to live anymore!¡±

    Ye Ci was dumbfounded by the sudden change of events. Just what the hell is going on?

    She was alone in the deserted northern fringes in the Mausoleum of des, standing in front of a small tombstone, a shattered coffin, and a wailing woman...or rather, ghost. Just what the hell was going on here?

    Am I in a horror movie? A detective movie? Or a movie about literature and art? Or is this aedy?

    Ye Ci was finally able to figure things out after a long moment. Ye Ci cleared her throat, and asked in the most serious voice she could muster, ¡°Are you Be?¡±

    Perhaps due to the sheer size of Ol¡¯ Four, the ghost hadn¡¯t even noticed the presence of another being before Ye Ci spoke up. She turned around and stared at Ye Ci after hearing the voice, and spoke up after a moment of pause, ¡°Where did youe from?¡±

    Ye Ci was almost driven mad by the question. What do you mean by ¡®where did Ie from?¡¯?!

    Ye Ci spent a huge amount of time and effort coaxing the ghost before she finally got the answer she wanted. She was indeed Be, and was Andrei¡¯s trusted aid. She has been watching over his hidden treasure and had long passed away. As a sign of loyalty, herpanions had buried her in this ce and set up a camp not far away.

    A sudden realization hit Ye Ci. The camp selling provisions and consumables to yers was actually affiliated to the Doran Thieves Guild... Just what the heck is going on?

    When Ye Ci handed the badge to Be, she stared at the badge for a long time before speaking up in an embarrassed tone, ¡°What is this?¡±

    What is this?

    Ye Ci had the urge to let out a shout of frustration. What the f*ck? Who designed this quest? Who the f*ck was the one who made this NPC? Why don¡¯t you just give me a knife so that I can kill myself with it?

    Ye Ci inhaled deeply and spoke up after stabilizing her emotions, ¡°Andrei wanted me to hand this to you.¡±

    ¡°This is from Andrei?¡± Be looked at the badge with distress written all over her face, and finally spoke up after a long pause, ¡°Can you let me think about it for a few moments?¡±

    Shit! Ye Ci¡¯s anger was so great that she was almost on fire. Why is this happening to me? I just wanted to receive my reward! Why do I have to do such a perverted quest? And this bitch right here wants me to give her time to think things over? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re trying to decide the fate of a nation or something!

    Before she could shout out her frustrations, Ye Ci received a private message from Bai Mo. ¡°Say, are you done with your Epic-tier quest?¡±

    ¡°If it could bepleted so easily, it won¡¯t be an Epic-tier quest!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice was full of fury. She was like a barrel full of gunpowder, ready to explode with just the slightest of sparks.

    ¡°What is it? You don¡¯t sound too happy,¡± A simple question from Bai Mo was met with a torrent of ranting by Ye Ci. He covered his ears. Ye Ci must¡¯ve been driven crazy by her quest, or she wouldn¡¯t be behaving like this.

    ¡°Give her some time then. Come, let us head into the dungeon. Nobody else has the means to obtain your quest item anyways,¡± Suggested Bai Mo when Ye Ci was finally done with her grumbling. ¡°With an NPC as half-baked as that, I¡¯m pretty sure she wouldn¡¯t be able toe up with an answer even if you visited her tomorrow. Besides, that¡¯s a ghost we¡¯re talking about. You know how bad their memories can be.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I guess there¡¯s no other way,¡± Despite her overwhelming urge to beat Be up, Ye Ci decided against it and epted Bai Mo¡¯s suggestion to go dungeon clearing.

    The dungeon clearing process was surprisingly smooth that day. The guild was able toplete their task before 10pm, and the members were happy to receive decent loot. Once done, Ye Ci immediately returned to the Mausoleum of des; she wanted to check on Be. However, much to her dismay, Be was still sitting in a corner while staring at the badge with distress written all over her face. Ye Ci knew that she wouldn¡¯t get an answer out of Be right there and then, but she tried her luck despite the knowledge. ¡°Be, have you remembered anything?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯ve just started to remember things. How can you expect me to be so quick? For the record, I¡¯ve been dead for so many years! Those things are like a distant past to me now...¡± Ye Ci made a gesture as a sign for Be to hold in her words with a grimace.

    ¡°Alright, Be, take your time. I¡¯ll pay you a visit when I¡¯m free.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Sure, go on ahead. I¡¯ll continue my meditation now.¡±

    After casting a final nce at the nut job of an NPC, Ye Ci turned around and left.

    She returned to Red Lake City and went offline. Bai Mo and Tan Png were done bathing while Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian were still logged into the game. This meant that Ye Ci was free to use the bathroom. When she was done with her shower, Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian were already having a lively discussion in the living room.

    ¡°Dad, Mom, you came offline?¡± Ye Ci walked into the living room to see dessert already served.

    Zuo Xian waved at Ye Ci. ¡°Little Ci,e, drink this and go to sleep.¡±

    Ye Ci sat by the table and began slurping down the white fungus soup while Zuo Xian was still having a discussion about the game with Bai Mo, Tan Png, and Ye Nantian. After all, the couple was still new to the game, and despite their younger age, Bai Mo and Tan Png were more experienced than the couple in this matter. This was why the couple had begun bombarding the two youths with questions about the game.

    Ye Ci listened in on the conversation as she savored the white fungus soup. Life was so beautiful. It was as if all the beauty and happiness of life was gathered in her living room. Ye Ci realized that she¡¯d never felt such happiness in her previous life.

    ¡°By the way, Little Ci, you need to wake up early tomorrow with Bai Mo.¡±

    ...

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Ye Ci was curious. She was in the middle of her summer holiday, and it was never her habit to dawdle in bed. Besides, Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian were more lenient towards Ye Ci and Bai Mo who were already university students. Their attention was focused solely on Tan Png, much to the youth¡¯s dismay. Then again, the senior year of his highschool life was about to begin.

    ¡°School¡¯s opening for Png soon. I want the two of you to send him to school tomorrow and attend the parent-teacher meeting while you¡¯re at it,¡± Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian had always yed such a role in past years, but with them enamored with Fate, they happily relinquished the task to Ye Ci and Bai Mo.

    ¡°Mom! You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me! We¡¯re not his parents!¡± Ye Ci was struck dumbfounded again and again on this day; be it in game or in real life.

    ¡°You pass as adults anyways, and I¡¯ve already called his homeroom teacher. He¡¯s doing quite well in his studies, so there¡¯s nothing for you to be worried about. Just there for formality¡¯s sake,¡± Despite Zuo Xian¡¯s reluctance to attend the parent-teacher meeting, it didn¡¯t mean that she would neglect Tan Pngpletely. Zuo Xian raised her children the same way you would fly a kite. She would cling to the string, but also give them enough length to make decisions of their own.

    Even Tan Png was struck dumb when he heard Zuo Xian¡¯s words. He¡¯d thought that he would receive less attention from Zuo Xian who was busy with Fate, but it was apparent that things were still firmly under her control...

    ¡°What? Do you have any objections?¡± After noticing the silence from the three youths, Zuo Xian raised her eyebrows, pressuring them into submission.

    As one, the three youths of the family shook their heads and spoke their answers out loud and clear, ¡°No.¡± An overjoyed Zuo Xian then rewarded each of them with a bowl of green pea soup.

    Ye Ci and Bai Mo were dragged out of their beds in the wee hours of the morning the following day. After making sure that they¡¯d cleaned themselves up, Zuo Xian sent them off with a warm meal in their bellies. Ye Ci was still groggy when they left for their destination.

    ¡°Say, why do you have to return to school so early? There¡¯s still a long way to go before the summer holidays end,¡± Asked Ye Ci with a yawn.

    ¡°At least we get to have a short break,¡± Tan Png yawned as well. ¡°When can the college entrance exam be abolished in China? It¡¯s like I¡¯ve been living in hell on earth these days!¡±

    Bai Mo stretched and replied, ¡°Keep dreaming. We¡¯ve had this thing going on since the 70¡¯s, a time from when our grandparents were still young. It¡¯s not that simple.¡±

    ¡°You should be doing what is expected of people of your age,¡± Ye Ci patted Tan Png on the shoulders. ¡°Stop asking for the impossible and study hard. One more year and you¡¯ll be free.¡±

    ¡°Just like you?¡±

    ¡°Yup, you could say that.¡±

    The three of them were able to keep up a lively conversation on their way. As Tan Png¡¯s school was quite a distance away from home, they had to travel to their destination by bus. Despite the day being a new term for students in their senior year, it still wasn¡¯t the peak period of the school season. However, the three could onlyment as they observed the tides of office workers rushing to work. Life sure is hard!

    There was already a long queue at the registration counter when they arrived at the school. Tan Png¡¯s school was one of the most prestigious high schools in the entire province, and swarms of students flocked to the school each year. If school didn¡¯t start at different times for students of different grades, the registration process would be hectic.

    Ye Ci was also a graduate of this high school. Of course, it was a very distant memory for her. ¡°Oh my God! You would¡¯ve thought that studying at this school was free!¡±

    ¡°Did you study here for free?¡± Tan Png rolled his eyes at Ye Ci. ¡°Our school sure collects a lot of fees from us.¡±

    ¡°All the people lining up are just like money printing machines for the school,¡± Bai Mo shared the same sentiment. He¡¯d also experienced such a scene back in his school days, but as a spectator, it was still an awe inspiring sight.

    The three of them joined one of the queues that was considerably shorter and began chatting. The topic of their conversation eventually led to Fate.

    ¡°Png, will you still be going online when school starts?¡± As Tan Png¡¯s Guild Leader as well as his brother, Bai Mo cared deeply about his education in addition to his activities in the game. Upwards Ho! had benefited a lot from Tan Png¡¯s presence. Dungeon clearing was made easier with his help.

    The presence of a skillful Rogue in a party would give a significant impact to itsbat capabilities and survivability. By joining Upwards Ho!, Tan Png was able to boost the capabilities of the guild in terms of dungeon clearing, and was also able to contribute in training the other Rogues.

    Bai Mo was faced with a difficult challenge when school started as he would need to find a recement for the spot that Tan Png had left open.

    Ye Ci knew what Bai Mo was thinking, and Tan Png wasn¡¯t ignorant to his thoughts either. ¡°Brother Mo, I¡¯m in my senior year now, so I really can¡¯t log into the game so often. I do have a gaming helmet in my dorm, but due to the sheer volume of homework that I receive, I can only log in for 3 hours at night on Saturdays and Sundays.¡±

    ¡°I understand, it¡¯s just going to give me a headache dealing with it,¡± Bai Mo nodded as he said to Tan Png. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it; your studies are more important. We¡¯ll get this sorted out.¡±

    ¡°Yup. We¡¯ll sort it out. Png, you should be focusing more on your studies. If you do badly on your midterm, being unable to go online will be the least of your problems. Just imagine what the female yaksha back home will do to you... Just think about it...¡±

    The image of Zuo Xian going red with anger appeared in their minds. It was... Too scary!

    ¡°Oh, by the way, what do you think of Fleeting Time, Sister Ci?¡± The name Fleeting Time was abruptly brought up by Tan Png.

    ¡°Fleeting Time?¡± Ye Ci was baffled as she looked at Tan Png. ¡°Why are you asking about him?¡±

    ¡°Ahh... About that...¡± Tan Png continued after a slight pause, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the interactions between the two of you in the World Chat. It¡¯s quite a sight. That was why I¡¯m asking if you¡¯re...¡± Tan Png could only chuckle at Ye Ci. Of course, he couldn¡¯t tell Ye Ci that he was from the same guild as Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Young man... You¡¯re quite talented in the way of gossipping,¡± Bai Mo nodded and looked at Tan Png with an expression full of praise. ¡°I never would¡¯ve thought that you¡¯d pay attention to the things going on in the World Chat, especially when you have to deal with such a heavy load of homework. I¡¯d say that you¡¯re the reincarnation of the God of Gossip!¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Bai Mo¡¯s mischievous grin, and her expression darkened when she was reminded of the conversation between her and Fleeting Time. ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± Asked Ye Ci as she stared down at Tan Png.

    The look on Ye Ci¡¯s face was enough to keep Tan Png from nodding in agreement, and he immediately waved his hands. ¡°No, not at all. I¡¯m just asking. You¡¯re both godlike yers t-that¡¯s why I thought...¡± His voice grew softer with each word and he eventually became silent.

    ¡°He¡¯s an asshole! I¡¯m going to kill him until he hits a negative level the next time I see him!¡± Ye Ci grit her teeth, and the mes of anger enveloped her. At that moment, she looked even scarier than the demons in hell.

    Tan Png faced Bai Mo with a pale face and a miserable scowl. He knew that he¡¯d said the wrong thing, and wouldn¡¯t repeat the same mistake again. Tan Png decided to stay clear of the raging female jinx and opted to talk to Bai Mo instead. ¡°Brother Mo, do you feel hot? I¡¯ll buy you a drink.¡±

    ¡°You should¡¯ve asked her about the development of her rtionship with Fleeting Time. Their love-hate rtionship is so cute~¡± Stated Bai Mo with a cunning smile.

    Tan Png¡¯s already pale face became even paler. He stole a nce at Ye Ci who was still immersed in her own tiny world and inquired carefully, ¡°What will happen to me if I do that?¡±

    Bai Mo looked up at the sky, appearing to be deep in thought.

    ¡°Do you really need to think about it for that long?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just thinking about all the ways she¡¯ll kill you. Just imagine the possibilities...¡± Bai Mo shrugged as he replied with a rxed tone, as if the incident had nothing to do with him.

    Tan Png¡¯s expression darkened, and he silently turned around and stared straight ahead. Deep in his heart, Tan Png wished that he didn¡¯t know his two other siblings. Why were they so reliable?

    His heart was filled with sorrow. What did I do wrong? I was just asking...

    Tears streamed down Tan Png¡¯s cheeks.

    It was already 5.30pm by the time the registration process and the parent-teacher meeting was finally finished. Ye Ci called her parents to inform them of what they¡¯d learnt, and confirmed that they¡¯d be eating outside. Zuo Xian was happy to hear the news; this meant that she didn¡¯t need to cook!

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart was filled with endless grief as she hung up the phone. Her Mother had given up on them in favor of ying Fate.

    The area outside a school would always be full of restaurants. As a constion for Tan Png¡¯s little heart that had suffered numerous horrors throughout the day, Bai Mo decided to treat him to a nice dinner. After ordering a lot of food in one of the restaurants selling cantonese cuisine, the trio began digging into their meal.

    By the time they were done with their meal, it was 7pm and time for Tan Png¡¯s self study session. After saying his goodbyes, he immediately left for his dormitory. Ye Ci and Bai Mo took a short walk around town on their way home. They¡¯d spent much of their time away from home and there was no way they could do anything productive with their remaining time. That was why they¡¯d opted to have a walk after dinner.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought that having a walk at night would be so good,¡± Ye Ci couldn¡¯t even remember thest time she¡¯d taken a walk at night in real life. It was extremely exhrating.

    ¡°I know, right! We¡¯ve been gaming all day long, and the weather conditions that we¡¯ve felt were all generated by the game. We¡¯ve forgotten what real life feels like,¡± Bai Mo deeply inhaled, closed his eyes, then slowly exhaled.

    Ye Ci and Bai Mo leisurely walked around, enjoying the night¡¯s cool breeze. Everything seemed to be so beautiful.

    However, Ye Ci had a nudging feeling that something was off and kept casting nces behind them, but she couldn¡¯t spot anything suspicious. Bai Mo had also started picking up his pace. When they walked past a section of the road that wasn¡¯t lit, he grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s arm and began to run.

    ¡°Bai Mo, what is it?¡± Ye Ci had a feeling of unease as well. She cast a nce backwards, but to no avail. She couldn¡¯t spot anything, but the panic in her heart increased.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk; keep running! We need to get to a ce with a crowd. We¡¯re going to call for a taxi,¡± Bai Mo dragged Ye Ci forward.

    ¡°I have a feeling that we¡¯re being followed,¡± Ye Ci whispered her thoughts as she ran alongside Bai Mo.

    ¡°You¡¯ve just noticed it? I realised that we were being followed about half an hour ago. Look at those young men wearing T-shirts. They might look normal, but don¡¯t you feel that they¡¯ve been following us around for quite some time now? I had a bad feeling about it, but we¡¯re in a car-free zone, so it¡¯s impossible to get a taxi,¡± Bai Mo¡¯s face was pale as he dragged Ye Ci along. ¡°Don¡¯t say anything and just keep running! You¡¯ll run out of breath if you talk! Hurry! Keep running!¡±

    ¡°Ok.¡± Ye Ci had also noticed the 8 young men who were tailing them. She wasn¡¯t afraid of trouble, but if it did happen, they would be outnumbered and that was a huge disadvantage. After all, real life wasn¡¯t like the in-game world; if she was in Fate she would¡¯ve been able to take out the young men easily. But in real life, the only thing Ye Ci could do was avoid confrontation and try her best to run away.

    The duo picked up their pace, and the small group of people who were following them disappeared. It seemed that they were able to safely escape their pursuers.

    Ye Ci nced backwards as they ran. ¡°Nobody¡¯s following us anymore. Are we safe now?¡±

    Bai Mo stopped abruptly, his jaw tightly clenched. ¡°Things are not as easy as they seem.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Due to Bai Mo¡¯s abrupt stop, Ye Ci almost fell onto the ground. She raised her head when she heard his words, and what she saw made her scalp tingle.

    A scattered group of young men appeared in front of them, and although they were maintaining a casual pace, Ye Ci could tell that they were together.

    There was nobody else nearby, and the ce was exceptionally quiet. It appeared that the men had been waiting in this spot; waiting for Ye Ci and Bai Mo toe to them.

 Chapter 215 Everything Happened Too Fast

    Chapter 215 Everything Happened Too Fast

    Bai Mo stopped dead in his tracks, and Ye Ci stopped as well.

    They stood their ground, silently observing the mob of people that has surrounded them.

    ¡°It seems that we¡¯re in trouble.¡± a smile formed on Bai Mo¡¯s lips despite his cold expression. He looked at Ye Ci, trying his best to appear calm, hoping that he could calm her nerves. Many would mistake Ye Ci as a tough girl due to her exploits in the game. However, there was something Bai Mo would never forget.

    Ye Ci was a little girl. In game and in real life.

    If Ye Ci could be said to be tough as nails in the game, she was just a normal girl in real life.

    In a situation that was full of danger with unknown circumstances, Bai Mo¡¯s first thought was to create a chance for Ye Ci to escape, ¡°I¡¯ll distract them, I want you to seize the opportunity and escape.¡±

    Ye Ci was standing beside Bai Mo and staring at the youngsters advancing upon them, as if she did not even hear his words. Her mind wandered back to the distant past that was her previous life. At that time, she had incurred the wrath of a powerful individual, who investigated her real life identity. She ran into the same situation on her way home one night. How did I survive through that back then?

    She took in a deep breath, trying her hardest to remember. However, no matter how hard she tried, Ye Ci could not remember what transpired that night. The only thing she knew was that she was trashed within an inch of her life, and was sent to the hospital by a passerby. To think about it, the incident must be the cause of her ruthlessness in game.

    Since then, Ye Ci deeply believed that if she did not crush her enemies thoroughly, they would rise up again and cause trouble for her. Because of that, she was crowned as the most cold-blooded top-tier yer in Fate.

    But... What about now?

    Ye Ci had no time for such thoughts, as the youngsters were closing in on her and Bai Mo.

    ¡°Little Ci.¡± Bai Mo nudged Ye Ci when he received no response from her, trying to gain her attention. The events that happened next came as a shock to Bai Mo.

    No sooner said than done.

    The moment Bai Mo gave Ye Ci a nudge, the youngster who was walking at the front swung a baseball bat at Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    ¡°Hehe... Thisss is scared shitless...¡± said the youngster as he took his swing. However, the baseball bat did not hit its mark, while the youngster felt a sudden impact on his neck before he could finish his sentence. The youngster¡¯s mind was nk as he flew backwards as a result of the force.

    Bai Mo had already extended his arm in front of Ye Ci as an attempt to protect her and extended his arm to grab hold of Ye Ci. He wanted to pull her away and run to safety. However, Bai Mo caught nothing but air. He could not believe his eyes. He could not believe the events that just happened in front of him. Ye Ci, who was originally beside him dashed forward when he attempted to shield her from the blow.

    Her movements were agile, but it was still not the source of Bai Mo¡¯s astonishment. What happened next was something that Bai Mo would never expect. Ye Ci lifted her leg, andnded a solid kick on the youngster¡¯s throat.

    Ye Ci executed her kick in a very smoothly. Judging from her stance and the force of her kick, it was apparent that she had some experience with mixed martial arts. The youngster who was still talking aloud moments agonded on the ground, with his eyes rolling into their sockets. The baseball bat on his hands fell onto ground with a loud ¡°clunk!¡±.

    Everything happened so fast that no one was able to react to it yet. Bai Mo was stunned when the youngster fell onto the ground. The rest of the youngsters were dumbfounded as well. The only person who kept her cool was Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci retracted her legs and immediately picked up the baseball bet. She then tugged at Bai Mo¡¯s sleeves and said in a low voice, ¡°What are you doing? Run!¡±

    Bai Mo waspletely in shock. He did not know how to react to the situation unfolding before him. He would not be so surprised if it happened in the game. Ye Ci was a strong Huntress who was very good in PVE and PVP. However, this happened in real life. Why does it feel like Ye Ci was using a cheat engine in real life? She was able to knock out a young man who was nearly twice her size! How did she do that?

    Bai Mo¡¯s mind waspletely nk. ¡°How did you know how to fight? Since when have you trained in mixed martial arts?¡±

    It was a question that Ye Ci had no answer to. The Ye Ci as this time was not trained in any form of martial arts. Even if she was strong in the game, she was just a normal little girl in real life. However, after being hospitalized in herst life, Ye Ci has learned mixed martial arts for several years so that she could be tough in real life as well.

    Of course, it all happened in herst life, and had nothing to do with her current life. Everything happened so fast that Ye Ci simply reacted out of sheer instincts.

    The throat, which is at a person¡¯s neck, was one of the spots where athletes were prohibited to attack in tournaments. That was one of the weak spots of the human body. A miscalction of force could easily result in death.

    It was something that Ye Ci¡¯s coach has tried to instill in her mind in herst life. However, Ye Ci preferred to take her opponent out with one blow in actualbat. She preferred to strike her opponents at their weak spot, and a strike to the neck was often unexpected and hard to guard against. That was why it was one of Ye Ci¡¯s favourite spots.

    Because of that, even if Ye Ci was never involved in a fight in her current life, her training in herst life provided her with the reflexes she needed to react. That was why she aimed at the youngster¡¯s throat with her kick.

    ¡°What do you mean I¡¯ve trained in mixed martial arts? I learnt it from watching movies,¡± said Ye Ci, ¡°and I practiced some moves in front of the TV...¡±

    ¡°By the way, that guy was hit in the neck right? Will he die?¡± Bai Mo was reminded of an even more important issue.

    ¡°Nah, he won¡¯t. I did not put much force into the kick.¡± Ye Ci was quite unsure as well. Although her current selfcked the strength to fight, her kick did pack some force. She herself unsure of what would happen to the youngster¡¯s throat when it was hit by her kick.

    ¡°We won¡¯t be able to get away! There¡¯s just too many of them!¡± noting that they were about to be surrounded, Bai Mo took the baseball bat away from Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯ve learned some martial arts, I¡¯ll be able to take care of them. You go on ahead!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s oka-¡± Ye Ci was confident of her abilities to take the thugs on, and rejected Bai Mo¡¯s proposal.

    Before she could finish her sentence, she was pushed away by Bai Mo, ¡°Run! Run or you¡¯ll die!¡±

    Ye Ci staggered backwards with the force of Bai Mo¡¯s push. As she turned around, Bai Mo was already surrounded by the youngsters. He iled the baseball bat around wildly in an attempt to keep the thugs away. Ye Ci was ready to rejoin the fray, but Bai Mo anticipated her intentions, ¡°Ye Ci! Go! Get help or I¡¯m dead!¡± shouted Bai Mo.

    Despite her reluctance, Ye Ci decided against such a rash action. She immediately turned around and fled. After noticing that Ye Ci was running away, her pursuers turned focused their attention on Bai Mo instead. This gave Ye Ci the precious time to call the police with her phone as she ran. After sessfully reporting the location of the incident to the police, Ye Ci headed back to the scene. The police would usually take 5 minutes to respond to such a call, and in that short time, Bai Mo might not be able to live to see the next day.

    Even with Ye Ci¡¯s presence, the odds were stacked greatly against them. However, it was still better than facing the entire group of opponents alone. Ye Ci immediately ran back to the scene, picking up a wooden stick on her way there.

    As she approached the scene of the fight, Ye Ci could see the crowd, but Bai Mo was nowhere in sight, fueling her anxiety. She rushed at the crowd, swinging wildly at anybody within reach. Her blows were painful, but not lethal.

    The youngster who was hit by Ye Ci turned around and red at her with gritted teeth.

    ¡°You f*cking bitch! We gave you the chance to run away, but you came back instead! I¡¯ll beat the living shit out of you!¡±

    Ye Ci wasted no time in responding to his words. She began swinging wildly at some of the youths who had focused their attention on her. As she was upied with dodging blows while swinging the stick around at her opponents, Ye Ci did not have the chance to look for Bai Mo. ¡°Bai Mo! Bai Mo! Are you still there?¡± she could only shout at his general direction in desperation.

    At that time, Bai Mo was already heavily injured. He stood his ground, hoping to buy time for Ye Ci, hoping that she would be able to get away. He did not expect to hear Ye Ci¡¯s voice calling out to him. He turned around reflexively, and was shocked to find Ye Ci fighting off some of the youngsters with a wooden stick. ¡°What are you doing? Didn¡¯t I tell you to run aw-¡± shouted Bai Mo.

    As he was distracted, Bai Mo felt a sharp pain on his head. His vision immediately blurred as the every ounce of energy left his body, and his consciousness began to fade... Before his consciousness was swallowed whole by darkness, Bai Mo could hear the mournful shriek of Ye Ci, ¡°BAI MO!¡±

    Ye Ci immediately turned around at Bai Mo¡¯s direction when she heard his voice, just in time to catch a youngster taking a swing at his head with a baseball bad. She immediately cried out a warning, ¡°Bai Mo!¡± However, it was toote. As the words left her mouth, Bai Mo slumped onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut off. There was blood all over his face.

    At that moment, Ye Ci¡¯s world became an absolute vacuum.

    There was only one thought in her mind.

    Is Bai Mo dead? Is Bai Mo dead because of me again? Is Bai Mo going to leave me behind just like that again?

    She could not believe such a fact, and was unwilling to believe such a fact. Ye Ci¡¯s body reacted automatically. She brought down the few youngsters around her, striking at their vitals. There was only one thought that was reverberating in her mind.

    I want to see Bai Mo! I want to see Bai Mo!

    ¡°No! Bai Mo!¡± Ye Ci shrieked out loud, the despair in her voice cutting through the silent night of the city. She rushed at the crowd surrounding Bai Mo, waving the stick in her hand frantically.

    ¡°F*ck, this bitch is a fiesty one! Hurry, let¡¯s beat her up and go home!¡± shouted one of the thugs, and the rest immediately surrounded Ye Ci.

    It was impossible for Ye Ci to fight off so many of them at the same time. After receiving a kick from the back, Ye Ci lost her bnce and fell onto the ground. Blows after blows began raining on her the moment she was on the ground. However, she did not feel pain. Sheid on the ground, trying to spot Bai Mo through the opening of their legs, and she found him lying on the ground without a shred of consciousness. It was as if he was dead.

    Or... Perhaps... He was really dead...

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart was gripped by anguish and despair. She had never tasted the feeling of losing something so precious to her twice.

    At that moment, Ye Ci could not even feel the pain on her body. All the sound in the world faded away from her sense. There was only one thing left in her vision and her mind: Bai Mo.

    Before she could realize it, Ye Ci was pulled up from the ground by a person, and a gentle voice assaulted her sense, pulling her out of her daze. Ye Ci turned around to find a young man in police uniform staring at her with a concerned expression.

    ¡°Bai Mo! Bai Mo!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s mind was nk. She pointed at the direction of Bai Mo and shouted at the officer, ¡°Save him! Please! Save him!¡±

    ¡°Bai Mo?¡± the police officer was confused, but he was quick to understand Ye Ci¡¯s when he noticed he direction Ye Ci was pointing at, ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯ve carried him into the ambnce. Let¡¯s go, miss.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Bai Mo?¡± Ye Ci was oblivious to the officer¡¯s words. She stumbled around in a confused daze, looking for Bai Mo who was no longer in sight. The pool of blood on the ground was a reminder of the incident earlier on. Fear gripped Ye Ci¡¯s heart, and she grabbed hold of the young policeman, ¡°Officer, where¡¯s Bai Mo?¡± screamed Ye Ci at the top of her lungs as she shook the officer in a hysterical fit. She was no longer in control of her emotions.

    One should never underestimate the strength of a person who was in hysteria, even if the person was a young girl. Ye Ci was the perfect example. The tall and sturdy police officer almost lost his bnce when a hysterical Ye Ci grabbed onto him, rattling him out of his senses.

    ¡°Somebody please help me out here. Get her into the ambnce.¡± the officer who almost lost his footing called out to his colleagues for help.

    It took three grown men to pin Ye Ci down and carry her into the ambnce.

    A young man was already in the ambnce. When Ye Ciid her eyes on the young man, she was able to calm down a little.

    This young man had an oxygen mask covering his face, which was soaked in blood. Every inch of his body was bruised and battered. Despite that, Ye Ci was still able to recognize him as Bai Mo.

    It was the Bai Mo whom she cared dearly for, the Bai Mo who promised to stay by her side. She threw herself at Bai Mo, ignoring her own pains, ¡°Bai Mo...¡±

    ¡°Aiya, what are you doing?¡± the nurse in the ambnce pulled Ye Ci aside and said in a stern voice, ¡°Do you want him to die? Are you trying to get him killed?¡±

    Ye Ci was taken aback by the nurse¡¯s outburst. She nodded, and took a seat in the ambnce, ¡°Alright, alright. I will just sit by his side.¡±

    The nurse let go of Ye Ci, while her colleague climbed into the ambnce, shutting the door behind him. He observed Ye Ci closely, and found that she was in really bad shape. The doctor immediately instructed the nurse toy Ye Ci onto a stretcher.

    As the medical personnel were busying with their task of inspecting Ye Ci¡¯s injuries, she turned around and looked at Bai Mo who was so near to her. The electrocardiogram machine was ced just above his head, and the pulsing of the lines in the machine¡¯s disy an indicator that Bai Mo was alive. Ye Ci pulled Bai Mo¡¯s hand into a tight grip.

    His palm was cold, but a sliver of warmth remained. Ye Ci could feel warm liquid gushing out of his palm, dampening her own palm.

    At that moment, Ye Ci¡¯s vision blurred, and tears rolled down the corners of her eyes. She could not remember a single moment that was able to bring her to tears. This was the only time in Ye Ci¡¯s life where her eyes were filled with tears. Even she herself was unsure if they were tears of joy or that of sorrow. Ye Ci¡¯s sob grew louder and louder and she eventually was no longer able to hold back. Even her body began to tremble as she sobbed her heart out.

    ¡°Are you alright? Does it hurt?¡± the nurse that was looking after Ye Ci immediately leaned in closer to her.

    Ye Ci wanted to shake her head, but she had lost control of her body. Her sobs went on unrestrained as her body was rocked with waves of sobs.

    ¡°Get her sedated, quick!¡± said the doctor after doing a quick inspection on Ye Ci and making sure that everything was fine. .

    The nurse nodded, and immediately injected Ye Ci with sedative. Her movements were quick and practiced, giving Ye Ci no time to react. As the sedative flowed into Ye Ci¡¯s system, her body started to rx, and her tensed muscles loosened up. Even the force of her sobs died down. Ye Ci started feeling tired.. She was so groggy, that she felt as if she did not have energy left to breathe.

    Before her world plunged into darkness, the only thing in Ye Ci¡¯s vision was Bai Mo¡¯s face.

    My body hurts.The pain was so unbearable that Ye Ci felt as if she was about to die. A deep frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. She had the urge to curse at the top of her lungs.

    ¡°Ah... She¡¯s awake!¡± Zuo Xian¡¯s voice entered Ye Ci¡¯s ears. Her eyes were immediately stung by the sunlight as she forced her eyelids open. She could see the silhouette of Zuo Xian in front of her, ¡°Little Ci, how are you feeling?¡±

    Zuo Xian who went through a night full of anxiety rubbed away her tears and leaned closer to Ye Ci when she noticed that her daughter was awake.

    It took Ye Ci a long time to focus her eyes to be able to see the faces in front of her clearly, and it took her even longer to recognize the faces. She opened her mouth to speak, and the voice that left her mouth was as coarse as sandpaper, ¡°Mom...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s alright now. You don¡¯t have to say anything. It¡¯s good that you¡¯re awake. Are you thirsty? Do you want something to eat?¡± asked Zuo Xian with a smile on her face, but the traces of tears were still present in the corner of her eyes.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Bai Mo?¡± asked Ye Ci after staring at the concerned faces of Zuo Xian, Ye Nantian, and Tan Png for a long moment.

    ¡°He¡¯s in the room next door. This is a ward for female patients. He¡¯s in the ward for male patients.¡± Zuo Xian answered her daughter¡¯s question while wiping away the remainder of her tears.

    ¡°Why are you not taking care of him?¡± Ye Ci could see the Bai Mo¡¯s bloodied and battered face the moment she closed her eyes, and her heart was immediately filled with grievances.

    ¡°Your uncle and aunty came. They¡¯re taking care of him.¡±

    Just then, a hurried set of footsteps rang out in the hallway, followed by the voice of Ye Ci¡¯s aunt, Zuo Xiaoqing, ¡°Is Little Ci awake?¡±

    ¡°Aunty...¡± it has been quite a few years since Ye Ci hadst met Zuo Xiaoqing. She was yful in nature, and despite being the older sister of Zuo Xian, she acted more like a little sister to her. She would always travel to the different countries in the world on a whim just to have fun. Ye Ci remembered Zuo Xiaoqing as an elegant woman who was always dressed in the most fashionable clothing that has a beautiful smile.

    Ye Ci could not believe her eyes when she saw Zuo Xiaoqing. Her hair was messy and her face unwashed. There was not an ounce of make up on her face. Her aunt appeared to be aged in the span of a night. Her looks were a sharp contrast to the elegant clothing she was dressed into.

    She must¡¯ve been very sad over this entire incident. thought Ye Ci to herself. Mothers are the same. No matter how they behave usually, their maternal instincts would always surface when something happened to their children.

    Zuo Xiaoqing and Zuo Xian were such example.

    ¡°My child, my sweet child,¡± Zuo Xiaoqing sat by Ye Ci¡¯s bed, grabbing hold of her hand while caressing her hair, ¡°aunty would have been worried to death if you had not woken up by now.¡±

    ¡°Aunty, where¡¯s Bai Mo.¡± Ye Ci was relieved to see Zuo Xiaoqing.

    ¡°He woke up way earlier than you did, but he¡¯s now asleep after a light meal. He did ask about you when he woke up. When he learned that you¡¯re still unconscious, he was worried.¡± tears flowed from Zuo Xiaoqing¡¯s eyes as she spoke to Ye Ci.

    ¡°Little Qing, what are you doing? She¡¯s awake now. Didn¡¯t the doctor say that she¡¯ll no longer be in danger if she¡¯s able to wake up? Why are you still crying?¡± said the man standing beside Zuo Xiaoqing. He was the father of Bai Mo, Bai Zixuan.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Zuo Xian immediately wiped away her tears and her expression grew serious, ¡°Little Ci, I have a question for you. Do you know who is responsible for beating you up?¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. It was a question that had never urred to her. ¡°I did not think about it yet.

    ¡°Your uncle and I have been thinking about it for an entire night, but we can¡¯t figure out the culprit behind this. I¡¯ve asked Bai Mo about this as well when he woke up, but he was clueless as well. This is why aunty wants to ask you. Do you know who is responsible for this?¡± despite her easy going nature, Zuo Xiaoqing was no pushover. With her rather influential husband, she was actually quite fierce.

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°I have to think about it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, take your time. There¡¯s no need to hurry. Aunty and uncle will be here. This thing can¡¯t end just like that.¡± Zuo Xiaoqing wanted to ask more questions, but Bai Zixuan shook his head, indicating that she should give Ye Ci some time to rest. She let out a sigh, and kept the questions to herself. She knew that something like this could not be rushed.

    ¡°Nantian, let¡¯s go to the police station with me. Haven¡¯t they caught quite a number of those thugs? Let¡¯s go there to inquire about the interrogation process.¡± said Bai Zixuan to Ye Nantian after making sure that his wife calmed down. There was nothing they could do in the hospital, which was why they opted to head to the police station in search for clues.

    Bai Zixuan¡¯s thoughts were in line with Ye Nantian, ¡°Alright. I have thought about this as well.¡± said Ye Nantian with a nod.

    With that, Bai Zixuan and Ye Nantian left for the police station.

    However, things did not proceed as simple as they were portrayed in the movies. The thugs caught were all nobodies that only did it for money. They were paid by their bosses and were clueless about the person who gave out the order.

    With that, the only lead they had turned out to be a dead end. Bai Zixuan and Ye Nantian traveled to various ces, trying their best toe up with a solution. However, the culprit behind the incident was able to cover his tracks well. They were unable to get any leads at all. In the end, Bai Zixuan made the decision to look for other options when he returned home with Zuo Xiaoqing.

    Although Bai Mo and Ye Ci were roughed up very badly, they were lucky to suffer no permanent injuries. The only serious wounds the suffered was Ye Ci¡¯s fractured ankle, and Bai Mo¡¯s blunt head trauma, that required six stitches to fix.

    Both of them were discharged from the hospital after two weeks. Bai Mo refused to return home with his parents, and insisted on staying with Ye Ci. Bai Zixuan and Zuo Xiaoqing respected the choice of their son, and returned to their city after a long night¡¯s talk with Ye Nantian and his wife.

    When she was home, Ye Ci did nothing but watch the television with Bai Mo by her side, while Tan Png, who returned home during the weekends willingly yed the role of their servant. Bringing them refreshments when required, while fetching various items for them when asked.

    ¡°I noticed quite a number of people loitering near our area these few days.¡± said Zuo Xian to Ye Nantian as they returned home from a trip to the market.

    ¡°Yup. Public security seems to be quite bad these days.¡± Ye Nantian nodded as he turned around to face the only underage member in the family, ¡°Png, I don¡¯t want you to leave home after 8pm.¡±

    ¡°Okay, dad¡± Tan Png nodded.

    ¡°Mom, what were you talking about?¡± Ye Ci and Bai Mo exchanged looks when they overheard the conversation between Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian. Anxiety began to grow in their hearts.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°You were talking about outsiders lurking in our housing area recently?¡±

    ¡°Yup. There are a lot of youngsters loitering in this area these few days. From how they¡¯re dressed, they look like bad people. Our neighbours said that they might be scouting out for targets that they will break into at night. Even the security firm in charge of our housing area is rmed. They¡¯ve added quite a number of personnel in this area.¡± said Zuo Xian as she began sorting out the vegetables.

    Ye Ci and Bai Mo remained silent, and their expressions darkened.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Nantian was rmed when he noticed their expressions. These people might not be mere thieves after all. They must be up to something. thought Ye Nantian.

    ¡°Dad, mom, let¡¯s head out.¡±

    ¡°Where to?¡± Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian asked in unison.

    ¡°We¡¯re paying the real estate agencies in the city a visit.¡± Bai Mo answered in Ye Ci¡¯s stead.

    Despite their confusion, the expressions of Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian darkened. They finally understood Ye Ci¡¯s and Bai Mo¡¯s words.

    ¡°Are you saying that these people are with the youngsters who roughed you up?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not sure, but I think it¡¯s best for us to move.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes that held a subtle hint of anger, ¡° It seems too many people know our whereabouts.¡±¡±

    The family began looking for houses. As Ye Ci¡¯s movement was impeded by her leg injury, she had to be pushed around in a wheelchair by her family.

    They appeared to be having a casual walk when they left home. But the moment they left the area, the family began observing their surroundings, taking great measures to make sure that they were not followed. After a few days of choosing, Ye Ci finally bought two houses. One of them was brand new, while the second one was an older house.

    Despite protests from Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian, Ye Ci stood her ground. She made the decision to purchase these two houses after careful consideration. The houses were quite a distance apart from one another, located at the northern and southern corner of the city. They were in ideal locations that were close to shopping malls, hospitals, banks and even a food market. Of course, these houses were not cheap..

    Ye Ci was willing to spend her savings on both houses willingly. After all, the safety of her family members was at stake.

    The newer of both houses was still under construction. It would take months before the construction of the house would bepleted. However, the second house was freshly renovated, but the owner of the house had to move to another city because of his work, and decided to sell his house. This was the house Ye Ci¡¯s was most interested in. However, as the saying goes, ¡°a crafty rabbit has three burrows¡±. That was why Ye Ci also purchased the newer house.

    The renovation done on the second house was impressive. Despite the style of the house not really to her liking, Ye Ci paid little heed to such a trivial factor. What she wanted was the furnitures and other facilities that were already avable when they bought the house.

    Money was able to speed up the process of purchasing the renovated house. After paying the owner for the house, Ye Ci paid him an additional sum, asking for his help to purchase electrical appliances for the house. Although it was a tedious task, the owner agreed as Ye Ci was easy to deal with, and was not stingy with her money. After reaching an agreement with the owner, Ye Ci moved into the house on the next day.

    Zuo Xian was sad as she sat in the living room at night. Her heart was filled with sorrow, when she thought of abandoning the house that she had been living in for decades.

 Chapter 216 Weâ€™re Moving

    Chapter 216 We¡¯re Moving

    They moved into the new house without taking anything from their old.

    When Ye Ci discovered Zuo Xian had packed their belongings, she immediately stopped her mother, ¡°Mom, put everything back. We¡¯re not bringing any of them with us.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Zuo Xian was confused.

    Bai Mo had woken up. He shook his head in disapproval when he noticed that Zuo Xian had already packed their belongings, ¡°Aunty, we can¡¯t bring these things along with us. We don¡¯t know about the people out there, and I think they know by now that we take a walk everyday, which means that they probably won¡¯t follow us during this small time window. This is the best chance for us to slip away. If you take so many things with you, it¡¯s like telling them that we¡¯re nning to run away. Wouldn¡¯t that invite trouble for us?¡±

    ¡°B-but... These things cost quite a lot...¡± despite Ye Ci¡¯s and Bai Mo¡¯s words, Zuo Xian was still reluctant to part with her belongings.

    ¡°Mom, just bring whatever jewelry you have and your bank ount book along. We¡¯re leaving the rest here.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not even going to take a change of clothes with us?¡± Zuo Xian caressed the luggage that she took time to pack up, and eyed her daughter carefully. She was still slightly unwilling to part with her belongings.

    ¡°I mean ¡®everything¡¯, mom. Do you not know what ¡®everything¡¯ means?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. By the time, Ye Nantian has returned home with breakfast, ¡°Come, breakfast is here!¡± said Ye Nantian as he spotted everybody else. .

    ¡°Dad, help mom out and put whatever she packed back to their initial ces. Remember, we have to act normal when we leave home. Bring nothing with you, and wear your usual clothes. We¡¯re going to move out of here.¡± said Ye Ci as she took the packed food from her father, wheeled herself into her room, and proceeded to unplug her game card from the gaming cabin. For her, the card was the only thing that she could not afford to let go.

    As expected, Ye Nantian had his own way of dealing with Zuo Xian. When Ye Ci finished her breakfast, Bai Mo was already helping the couple to put everything back to where it had been originally.

    It took them half an hour to finish up. When Ye Nantian, Zuo Xian, and Bai Mo gathered to eat their breakfast, sweat was pouring down from their foreheads. Tears flowed out of Zuo Xian¡¯s eyes as she ate her breakfast in silence.

    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Ye Nantian sighed, ¡°Moving to a new home is a good thing.¡±

    ¡°I know, but we¡¯ve been living here for so many years now. To think that I can¡¯t bring anything along with me... It¡¯s like losing part of myself. I¡¯m devastated.¡± sobbed Zuo Xian. She knew that her daughter¡¯s words were true, but she had feelings for this house. She could see hints and traces of Ye Ci growing up in every corner of this house, and the happy days she spent with her family. However, she was forced to leave all the fond memories behind.

    Ye Ci could understand the feelings of her mother She sighed, and wheeled herself next to her, speaking in a soothing tone, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t be sad. It¡¯s just a temporary measure. We¡¯ll be back when everything¡¯s over, and you can bring anything you want along. If you want to live here, we can move back here as well¡±

    Zuo Xian sniffed and patted Ye Ci¡¯s shoulder with a smile, ¡°I know, honey. I just hate to part with this house. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be able to handle myself when we leave.¡±

    After finishing breakfast and making sure that Zuo Xian had calmed down her emotions, the family of four left home. Zuo Xian was thest to step out of the house. Her hand was trembling when she shut the door, and even inserting the key into the keyhole proved to be a challenge for her. After taking a deep breath, Zuo Xian was finally able to sessfully lock the door.

    As usual, the family greeted their neighbours warmly.

    As usual, the family headed for the park near their housing area with Ye Ci in a wheelchair.

    Once they were in the park, the family left through one of the side exits and immediately called a taxi, heading straight for their new home.

    The house owner handed his keys to Ye Ci at the previously agreed time, and the deal was sealed. Ye Ci immediately instructed her father to hire a locksmith to change the locks after the previous owner left. She then switched her phone off, and inserted a new SIM card.

    Ye Ci was finally able to feel somewhat relieved when everything had been settled. Zuo Xian sat on the couch, suspiciously eyeing her new surroundings. She felt like a stranger in her new home. Of course, Ye Ci understood that it would take quite some time for her mother to get used to her new environment. She did not attempt to console her mother, as she knew that it would have an adverse effect on Zuo Xian. The best way was to allow her mother to slowly adapt to the situation.

    As Ye Ci was busy with settling down in the family¡¯s new home, Bai Mo headed to Fate¡¯s Customer Service Center in their city and ordered five gaming cabins. As the residents of the housing area were all new tenants, they did not know each other well. With gaming cabins being a necessity in every household, Bai Mo¡¯s action of purchasing five gaming cabins did not arouse any suspicions from his neighbours.

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian were very busy as well. Even when the furniture and electrical appliances were already provided, the house was still rather empty. The old couple headed straight for the supermarket nearby, purchasing various items ranging from their daily necessities, to clothes, shoes, food, and some home decoration.

    When Ye Ci and Bai Mo climbed into their gaming cabins, the couple was still busy with decorating their new home.

    It had been and entire month since the two of them logged into the game. Although Bai Mo entrusted the guild to Timely Rain, Let Go Of That Girl, Little Icy Cold Hands, and Pickled Pepper, during that one month, the prestige of the guild suffered a blow when its guild leader and vice leader went missing. Some of the newer members had even chose to leave the guild. Fortunately for ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯, the loyalty of its core members remained unperturbed.

    The entire guild was overjoyed when Bai Mo and Ye Ci finally logged into the game.

    ¡°Uwahh! I must be dreaming! Did I just see two missing people logging into the game? Is this a sign from the Gods?¡± shouted Fruit Jelly, was the first one to notice the presence of the duo, into the Guild Channel.

    Her shouts attracted the attention of the rest of the guild members. They set aside their tasks, and started a lively conversation with Ye Ci and Bai Mo. Some of them made fun of their leaders, while others made attempts at teasing the duo. Despite that, their concern for the wellbeing of Ye Ci and Bai Mo was obvious.

    ¡°Hmm... How curious for the Leader and Vice Leader to disappear at the same time. Where have you been? Did you guys... Did that?¡±

    ¡°Yup! Did you guys elope or something?¡±

    ¡°They were gone for an entire month without prior notice! They must¡¯ve gone for their honeymoon!¡±

    ¡°I agree with you! I strongly agree with you!¡±

    ¡°Gongzi, do you know that the Eastern Continent was quiet when you were gone? Do you know that you¡¯re the greatest source of our gossip?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± a smile lit up Ye Ci¡¯s face, she could feel the genuine concern her friends held for her, ¡°I¡¯m sure the lot of you assumed that I had died when I was gone.¡±

    ¡°Bah! How could you say something like that? I¡¯m amazed by your ability to shoot your mouth off...¡±

    Just then, Ye Ci received a private message from Liu Chang.

    ¡°I tried calling you yesterday, you got a new number.¡±

    ¡°Yup. I changed my number yesterday.¡± Ye Ci told Liu Chang the truth. She was the only person outside her family who knew about the incident. She would never lie to Liu Chang.

    ¡°How¡¯s your leg?¡± Liu Chang sighed, ¡°Why won¡¯t you allow me to pay you a visit after you¡¯re discharged?¡±

    After a moment of thought, Ye Ci decided not to tell Liu Chang about the people lurking around her house. Instead, she responded with a question of her own, ¡°Liu Chang, have you tried contacting Dong Yin recently?¡±

    ¡°Not at all. Well, I haven¡¯t cut ties with her like what I did with Yi Cang, so she would give me a call once in a while. She has been pestering me with calls recently,¡± Liu Chang was confused by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden question, ¡°Why are you asking such a question? Do you have some business with her?¡±

    ¡°Nope, not at all,¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes after listening to Liu Chang¡¯s words, ¡°She¡¯s been contacting you very frequently these few days?¡± asked Ye Ci after a slight pause.

    ¡°Yup. I have no idea what she¡¯s up to. She¡¯s been trying to have smalltalk with me, and was indirectly asking about you.¡±

    ¡°Have you told her anything?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! Why would I tell her anything about you? I have nothing to say to her.¡± Liu Chang had been disgusted with Dong Yin since their dinner that night. Although she did not sever all ties with Dong in, she no longer saw the girl as a friend.

    A sudden thought shed across Liu Chang¡¯s mind, ¡°Ah! There¡¯s something I have to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°She mentioned something about you that day. She told me that you¡¯re hospitalized. I was curious! How would she know about something like this. When I tried asking about it, she panicked, and hung up on me.¡± Liu Chang was confused about Dong Yin¡¯s strange behavior on that day.

    However, Ye Ci did not share the same sentiment. A thought immediately formed in Ye Ci¡¯s mind the moment she heard Liu Chang¡¯s words. She was not entirely sure, but she had a hunch that Dong Yin was the culprit behind the entire incident.

    ¡°Liu Chang, it¡¯s best if you don¡¯te looking for me these days.¡± said Ye Ci.

    ¡°But why?¡± Liu Chang was genuinely confused. She believed that Ye Ci would be bored out of her mind due to her injury. That was why she wanted to pay her friend a visit and keep herpany. But why did Ye Ci keep turning me away?

    ¡°Liu Chang, I¡¯ll talk to you about this in the future, but it would be the best if you don¡¯t ask about it now. If I¡¯m truly a friend of yours, don¡¯te to my house, or we¡¯ll both get into trouble.¡± Ye Ci continued after a short moment of thought, ¡°also, avoid all contacts with Dong Yin and Yi Cang in game and in real life. Tell your parents about this as well.¡±

    ¡°Little Ci, just what the hell happened?¡± Liu Chang felt uneasy the moment she heard Ye Ci¡¯s words. She started pestering Ye Ci with questions in an attempt to seek for answers.

    ¡°I assure you that I will not cause you any harm, and I guarantee that the truth will definitely scare you. So please... Don¡¯t ask any questions, and don¡¯te looking for me.¡± said Ye Ci in a serious tone. She knew that Liu Chang would be able to understand the gravity of the situation.

    As expected, Ye Ci knew Liu Chang well. Despite her unease, Liu Chang gave up on her questioning. ¡°Little Ci, you¡¯ve always been like this since young. You¡¯re always shouldering everything yourself. I know it¡¯s for my own good, but I¡¯m still worried for you.¡±

    Ye Ci could detect the hints of dejection in Liu Chang¡¯s words. She could not help but think to herself, am I really too independent at times? Before she could utter a single response, Liu Chang spoke up, ¡°Little Ci, you don¡¯t have to say anything, because I know what you¡¯re going to tell me. Just listen to me.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°You must¡¯ve had your own thoughts about this, and I know that you¡¯re suspecting Dong Yin as the culprit. I don¡¯t want to speak to you in Dong Yin¡¯s stead, but there¡¯s something I really have to tell you. You don¡¯t have to do waste your breath on people who are no longer relevant. It¡¯s not worth it. What happened between us and Dong Yin and Yi Cang can never be fixed. Just let it go. If this continues, I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll be the one that¡¯s hurt...¡±

    Ye Ci could feel a hint of sadness in her heart. Liu Chang was just too kind of a person. She was unable to bring herself to tell Liu Chang that this was not how she preferred to deal with things. After a moment of hesitation, Ye Ci spoke with a smile, ¡°I won¡¯t involve myself in any affairs regarding Dong Yin and Yi Cang, and you should stay away from them as well. I want nothing to do with them ever again.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡±

    Despite her words, Ye Ci could not resist to urge to give Liu Chang another reminder, ¡°Remember what I told you just now, and be careful.¡±

    ¡°I know. The parents of Dong Yin and Yi Cang are of the same lot. They...¡± Liu Chang sighed, ¡°My family means nothing to them. We¡¯re useless in their eyes. My parents had cut ties with them anyways. So you don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart was surging in vast anger after her conversation with Liu Chang. She was sure that Dong Yin and Yi Cang were involved in this incident. But what about Thousand Sunsets? How much is he involved in this?

    She could easily take on Dong Yin, but what about Thousand Sunsets? He was not a person she could deal with. Besides, Upwards Ho! was in no state to go up against Bloody Steel. It was a very distressing feeling. After taking in a deep breath, Ye Ci contacted Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon was surprised to receive a message from Ye Ci, ¡°Uwahh! Gongzi, you¡¯re just like a ghost! When did youe online?¡±

    ¡°I just did.¡±

    ¡°Where have you been the past month? Do you know that the entire Eastern Continent.. No, the entire Fatemunity were talking about you? People were saying that you¡¯ve quit the game. Hell, even I stated to believe that you had left the game for good! You seriously shocked me, when you basically appeared out of thin air just now!¡± even if he was startled by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden appearance, Green Hill¡¯s Moon was d to see her return. Gongzi You was one of his biggest customers, and also a friend that he trusted. He did not want to see her leaving the game just like that. Besides, if a professional yer like Gongzi You quit Fate, it would be hard for her to find another game that had such a huge potential.

    ¡°Something happened in real life.¡± Ye Ci offered him a vague reply.

    ¡°I hope it¡¯s nothing serious.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon was an intelligent man. Despite the vague answer he received from Ye Ci, he knew that Ye Ci ran into big trouble.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, and got straight to the point, ¡°I¡¯m contacting you today because I need you to investigate something for me.¡±

    ¡°No problem. Tell me who you want me to investigate and what you want to know about them, and I¡¯ll get it done in no time!¡± Green Hill¡¯s moon had be a famous know-it-all in the game. This earned him a lot of customers among the yers. However, he would always give priority to Ye Ci¡¯s requests.

    ¡°But... I have a favor to ask...¡± Ye Ci was slightly embarrassed. She had always been paying Green Hill¡¯s Moon up front when she asked for his services. However, her savings were all spent on purchasing the two houses. With her one month absence from the game, Ye Ci had no ie at all other than the monthly sry she received from the guild. Green Hill¡¯s Moon might not even be willing to work for her without the payment.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sort of broke now....¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon cut Ye Ci off with a smile before she could finish her sentence, ¡°Gongzi, money is not an issue between us. Just tell me what you need. As for the money... Well, you can pay meter when the situation bes better for you. Since you¡¯re in a pinch, we won¡¯t talk about money.¡±

    A sliver of warmth crept into Ye Ci¡¯s heart. Green Hill¡¯s Moon would never say something like this in her past life. Then again, the Ye Ci of back then would never be forced to make such a desperate request. She let out a sigh of relief, ¡°Thank you.¡± said Ye Ci. For the first time, there was some hint of warmth in her voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You don¡¯t have to be so courteous with me.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon shook his head with a smile, ¡°We¡¯re friends. And we don¡¯t talk about money as friends¡±.

    We¡¯re friends.

    These simple words were able to send ripples through Ye Ci¡¯s heart. Those words were so warm, and so beautiful at the same time. It was something that Ye Ci could not even hope for in her past life. In her current life, however, it became a reality. It all felt surreal to Ye Ci. She stood under the ring sun in Red Lake City. The sun, shining down on her hand, illuminating every single details of her palm, as well as all the worries in her heart.

    ¡°Gongzi?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon was worried after Ye Ci¡¯s long silence.

    ¡°Uhh?¡± replied Ye Ci after snapping out of her daze.

    ¡°Ahh... You¡¯ve been quiet for quite a while. I thought that I said something wrong.¡±

    ¡°I-it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ¡°So who and what do you want me to investigate?¡±

    ¡°I want to know what Leftie and Gleaming Sunshine have been up to. In fact, I want to know about Gleaming Sunshine in particr. Help me find out everything about her. Especially...¡± Ye Ci continued after a slight pause, ¡°The thing between her and Thousand Sunsets.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon did not even have to ask for a reason, as it was none of his concern. Despite that, he had some guesses of his own. There was only one reason why Gongzi You would want to ask about those two the moment she came online: Gleaming Sunshine and Leftie had something to do with Gongzi You¡¯s disappearance. Thousand Sunsets must have yed a part in this as well.

    A person like Thousand Sunsets was involved...

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon felt the need to give Ye Ci a warning as her friend.

    ¡°Gongzi, as a private detective, it¡¯s not in my ce to say anything about this. But as a friend, allow me to offer a word of advice.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Thousand Sunsets is not someone normal yers like us can mess with. Even if you¡¯re a god-tier yer, you still can¡¯t go up against them in real life.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon knew that his words were harsh, but it was something that he must tell Gongzi You or she might get into trouble.

    Ye Ci could feel warmth seeping into her heart, ¡°I¡¯ll be careful. I won¡¯t go overboard and get myself into trouble.¡± she replied with a nod.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon was still worried even with Ye Ci¡¯s promise, ¡°I¡¯ll help you with anything as long as it¡¯s within my power.¡± he sighed, and continued after a slight pause, ¡°By the way, Wandering Cloud had a falling out with NightAndDay. Quite a number of people know about the affair between NightAndDay¡¯s fiance and Wandering Cloud. It¡¯s still not in the open yet, but Wandering Cloud was kicked out of Tang Dynasty by NightAndDay. He¡¯sshing out at everyone like a mad dog, be careful.¡±

    NightAndDay has kicked Wandering Cloud out of Tang Dynasty? Ye Ci was surprised when she received the news. Although such an incident was within her expectations, it happened way too soon. She did not expect something like this to happen during her one month of absence. The affairs of life are indeed unpredictable.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep an eye out.¡±

    After a moment of thought, Green Hill¡¯s Moon directed a question at Ye Ci, ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something that I don¡¯t understand. Did you know about the rtionship between Wandering Cloud and Into The Sunset before this?¡±

    ¡°Hehe...¡± Ye Ci¡¯s chuckle was the only response that Green Hill¡¯s Moon received, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve just gotten online. There are things that I have to sort out. I¡¯ll get in contact when I have them settled.¡± said Ye Ci and she immediately ended the conversation. After all, one must be careful when talking with somebody as intelligent as Green Hill¡¯s Moon, or one might unintentionally divulge secrets that should remain hidden. Not that she did not put her trust in Green Hill¡¯s Moon, , but she was a person keeping many secrets. The more of them were uncovered and therefore known by others, the more insecure Ye Ci would feel.

    Ye Ci was finally relieved when shemissioned the job to Green Hill¡¯s Moon. The only thing she could do now was wait.

    There was quite a number of changes in the game during the one month of absence by Ye Ci and Bai Mo. The average level of yers were already at lvl 40, which meant that Fleeting Time would naturally have a higher level than Ye Ci. The most important thing for her these days was to level up. Other than that, most of the major guilds had finally cleared the Castle Ruins at Normal difficulty, the main force of Upwards Ho! was already exploring the Expert difficulty Castle Ruins. They had defeated the fourth BOSS, and were making preparations to challenge the fifth BOSS.

    Wolf Pack¡¯s progress was significantly faster than Upwards Ho!. They had more members at their disposal, which meant that they could send in more parties while retaining arge number of reserves. This helped a lot in speeding up their dungeon clearing progress. The Expert difficulty dungeon was way harder than its Normal difficulty counterpart, and put a party¡¯s teamwork as well as the skills of each individual members to the test. As long as a party was able to show good teamwork, the dungeon could be cleared in no time.

    Because of that, Wolf Pack was able to secure the First Clear of the Expert difficulty Castle Ruins. Despite suffering a blow to their morale, the members of Upwards Ho! did not let their dismay show. They grit their teeth, and swore that they would once again achieve glory in theter dungeons.

    The most important mission for Ye Ci and Bai Mo during their first day of returning to the game was to lead Upwards Ho! in clearing the Expert difficulty Castle Ruins, securing thest spot of the First Five in the process.

    The members of Upwards Ho! were making preparations for the dungeon. They enchanted their equipment, prepared all sorts of potions and consumables, refined their equipment and cast high level gems into their weapons. They have been waiting for this, and they were determined to seed.

    Ye Ci headed to the Mausoleum of des before entering the dungeon. Other than her busy schedule of leveling up and clearing dungeons, something else required Ye Ci¡¯s attention. It was none other than her Epic-tier quest. Had Be finally remembered something about that badge when Ye Ci was gone for a month?

    Yes, she did.

    After the duration of an entire month, Be had finally managed to recall details about the badge. Ye Ci was greeted warmly by Be when she visited the NPC, ¡°My dear friend, I¡¯ve been waiting for you! Did something happened to you? Why did you note looking for me all this while? I thought that you¡¯ve forgotten about me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Be. I got caught up in something. Sorry to make you worry.¡± Ye Ci smiled apologetically at Be. Fortunately for Ye Ci, her prestige with the Doran Thieves Guild was already past the Intimate level. Be was not displeased when she spoke to Ye Ci.

    Be waved her hand dismissively when Ye Ci apologized, and started exining the use of the badge. It was a very precious treasure owned by Andrei. The badge was given from thete king of the continent to Andrei for his services as one of the most aplished generals in the Imperial Army. When thete king passed away, Andrei was framed by corrupt officials who were jealous of his position. He was prosecuted under the administration of the current king, and ended up as the leader of one of the Doran Thieves Guild¡¯s branches. The badge signified Andrei¡¯s former glory, and was also the key to his personal treasure vault.

    Unfortunately, the vault was infested with the spirits of the dead after Be¡¯s death.

    Andrei¡¯s handed the badge to Ye Ci so that she could obtain the weapon that he once used as a general from the vault that was guarded by Be.

    ¡°So, where do I go to retrieve that weapon?¡± Ye Ci was not a newbie. She remained calm despite hearing the words ¡°treasure vault¡±. She knew that the treasures in the so-called ¡°treasure vault¡± in Fate were just for show. yers would not be able to obtain the glittering piles of gold and gems in the vault. There were only some limited items that yers could obtain from a treasure vault. Stumbling upon a treasure vault would not guarantee immeasurable wealth as many would imagine.

    ¡°What? You want to head to that ce?¡± Be was surprised to hear Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    ¡°But that ce is crawling with the Undead. It¡¯s very dangerous.¡± Be sighed, ¡°I was able to exorcise the spirits of the dead when I was alive, but I lost this power after dying.. I can only tell you the location of the treasure vault, but there¡¯s really nothing I can do to help you. Are you sure you still want to head into the vault?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ye Ci nodded. She was initially reluctant to venture into such a dangerous area. However, thepletion of this quest would grant her the reward for the second stage of her Epic-tier quest. If she did not take her chances, how would she be able to reap the rewards? Besides, the concern that NPCs showed to yers was not even genuine. It was something that was already programmed into their being by Fate¡¯s developers.

    ¡°Well, since you insist, there¡¯s nothing I can say. I¡¯ll bring you there.¡± said Be as her semi-transparent body floated through t Ye Ci to uncover a hidden cavity at the face of the cliff. Yes, she floated through Ye Ci. That was one of the perks of being a ghost.

    Ye Ci followed closely behind Be, braving her nonstop bbering for half an hour before they finally arrived at the entrance of Andrei¡¯s treasure vault. ¡°F*ck this shit!¡±, thought Ye Ci to herself as she opened the map. They had merely passed through a small mountain and then through a cave. It was a major waste of time. If Ye Ci was able to scale the mountain, and jump down from the other side while casting Featherfall, it would only take her 5 minutes tond. Be¡¯s route took half an hour...

    As it turned out, NPCs were only good at dragging down the intelligence level of yers while wasting their time. Ye Ci was about to head into the Expert difficulty dungeon soon. There was no time to waste.

    ¡°Alright, here we are!¡± Be finally stopped in front of a huge, ck rock, ¡°The entrance to the vault is just behind this rock. I¡¯m sure that the ce is infested with the Undead by now.¡±

    The position of the rock was well-hidden. When Ye Ci observed the rock with her naked eye, it was impossible to tell that there was a treasure trove hidden behind the rock.

    Be continued her speech after receiving no response from Ye Ci, ¡°You can begin preparations for entering the vault. Let me know when you¡¯re ready.¡±

    With that, Be remained silent. When Ye Ci attempted to initiate a conversation with the NPC, Be would only respond with the same dialogue, ¡°This journey will be a dangerous one, are you sure that you¡¯re ready?¡± with only two options, which was ¡°I¡¯m ready!¡± and ¡°I don¡¯t think that I¡¯m quite ready yet.¡±

    Ye Ci was about to select the option that would send her right into the treasure vault. However, after a moment of hesitation, she decided against such an action. After all, Upwards Ho! would soon begin the process of clearing the Expert difficulty dungeon. Just when Ye Ci was pondering about such an issue, she received a message from Bai Mo, ¡°Where are you? We¡¯re heading into the dungeon soon. Hurry up!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be there shortly.¡±

    For Ye Ci, the benefits of her guild outweighed her personal interests. That was why she decided to set the quest aside and headed back to Red Lake City, as only God knows how long she would take toplete the quest.

    Perhaps due to her one month of absence, Ye Ci was not able to work well with the team. She was the only one who made several mistakes in a party that disyed near-perfect teamwork. Although her mistakes did not affect the overall performance of the party, it still caused some uproar among the yers.

    When Overflowing Ink called for a break before the final BOSS, Bai Mo sat beside Ye Ci and stared at her, ¡°What is it? Your performance today is rather... Lacking.¡±

 Chapter 217 First Five

    Chapter 217 First Five

    Ye Ci stared at Bai Mo, and cast her nce over the rest of the party members. Even when the party members remained silent about Ye Ci¡¯s mistakes, she must have been a burden as Bai Mo himself was the one who approached her. ¡°Is it that obvious?¡± Ye Ci grimaced.

    ¡°It¡¯s like you¡¯re an entirely different person. You¡¯ve been making mistakes left and right. Even I am worried that you will affect the performance of the party once we begin challenging the final BOSS.¡± said Bai Mo with a smile. He had always been straightforward when he was talking to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci rubbed her aching temples after listening to Bai Mo¡¯s words. ¡°I know it¡¯s bad for me to keep this up, but I¡¯m very upset right now.¡± said Ye Ci as she let out a long sigh.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Bai Mo could tell that something was up.

    Ye Ci closed her eyes and muttered to herself before finally speaking up, ¡°I had a conversation with Liu Chang just now.¡±

    ¡°Liu Chang?¡± Bai Mo was momentarily stunned. Liu Chang was a person in a precarious position. Despite her fall out with Yi Cang, she maintained some form of friendship with Dong Yin. Getting into contact with her would often mean that one had also gotten into contact with Dong Yin, ¡°Was it about Dong Yin?¡±

    ¡°Not really. She knew that we were beaten up, but was unaware of the circumstances behind the incident. Besides, I¡¯ve never let her in on the fact that we¡¯ve moved, and that I had a new number,¡± sighed Ye Ci, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust her, and I¡¯m sure that Liu Chang knew who was in the wrong as well. She would never tell Dong Yin anything about us. However, if we maintained close contact with Liu Chang, it might bring trouble for her and her family as well. I don¡¯t want to drag even more people into this mess.¡± Ye Ci knew that Bai Mo did not fully trust Liu Chang, even if he treated her with courtesy. Because of what happened before at the stall earlier on, his distrust of Liu Chang grew.

    Ye Ci hoped that Bai Mo would not see her as an unwitting aplice, as Liu Chang was also a victim.

    Bai Mo smiled at Ye Ci. He understood the meaning behind her words, ¡°Look at you! You¡¯re still trying to cover for you friends even if you¡¯re in a mess right now. Don¡¯t you feel burdened by all of this?¡± the smile then disappeared from Bai Mo¡¯s face, ¡°I¡¯m sure that Liu Chang did not only speak of petty matters with you. There must be something else. Don¡¯t keep any secrets from me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Ye Ci frowned in response, ¡°It¡¯s just that... I¡¯m still not sure about it yet.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a high possibility that our guesses are correct.¡± Ye Ci could feel her headache intensifying.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that Dong Yin was behind all that?¡± Bai Mo was not surprised to receive such an answer. He and Ye Ci had made their spections, and they came to the conclusion that Dong Yin was the most usible culprit behind the incident, but they could not be entirely sure. The same thing could be said about Ye Ci¡¯s heist on Steel-Blooded Battle Spear¡¯s warehouse. Even though she was the biggest suspect, Thousand Sunsets could not be sure. No evidence was left behind.

    Acting rashly without proof would only bring them trouble, especially when the problem would follow them into their real lives.

    Bai Mo¡¯s eyebrows furrowed when Ye Ci told him about the conversation she had with Liu Chang, ¡°So you suspect that Dong Yin was not the only person involved in this, and that Thousand Sunsets was backing her up?¡±

    ¡°This is the thing that¡¯s bothering me the most.¡± Ye Ci sighed, ¡°We¡¯re just a newly formed guild in Fate. Even with our First Bloods, we¡¯re still a rtively small guild. Steel-Blooded Battle Spear was on an entirely different level. Even if the guild was split into Bloody Steel and Battle Spear, a starving camel is stillrger than a horse. Thousand Sunsets had the backing of an entire financial group as well as a number of his wealthy associates. Going up against them with our current strength is like striking a stone with an egg. It¡¯ll be even worse for us in real life. We¡¯re even living in the same city as Thousand Sunsets. I¡¯ve severed all ties with Dong Yin, but if she instigated him into taking action, you know that normal people like us can do nothing against them.¡±

    ¡°What are you nning to do?¡± Bai Mo could tell that Ye Ci had a n judging by how thoroughly she was able to analyze the situation.

    ¡°If we don¡¯t solve this problem at its roots, it will cause us endless trouble.¡± Ye Ci stared into the foggy sky, with worry in her heart, ¡°What an unexpected turn of events...¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Bai Mo was startled by Ye Ci¡¯s words. However, he knew that Ye Ci was hiding a secret deep in her heart. It was a secret that nobody was able to reach. Even Bai Mo himself would never be able coax out such a secret.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Ye Ci grimaced. She was staring at Bai Mo, but her thoughts had already wandered far away.

    Indeed, Ye Ci did not expect such a turn of events. Dong Yin¡¯s family suffered the same fate in her past life, and things did not end well for her. However, Ye Ci was not responsible for such a thing. She had merely declined Dong Yin¡¯s pleas for help. How about my current life? Will I be the one who caused Dong Yin¡¯s downfall? Ye Ci had the urge tough. Fate was such a funny thing. Even after her reincarnation, there were things that she was entirely powerless to change.

    ¡°All hands, listen up! I¡¯m initiating the boss fight now. Press the ¡°confirm¡± button if you¡¯re ready.¡± Overflowing Ink spoke up in the Command Channel.

    Bai Mo stood up, and patted Ye Ci on her shoulders, ¡°So how is it? How are you feeling right now?¡±

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath, and pped her own cheeks in an attempt to clear her head. She looked at Bai Mo and said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t allow my emotions to affect the performance of the party.¡±

    Bai Mo nodded, and spoke in a soft tone, ¡°Don¡¯t carry everything on your shoulders. Remember, I¡¯ll always be with you. No matter what happens, I¡¯ll always be there for you.¡±

    Ye Ci understood the meaning behind Bai Mo¡¯s words. Her heart was filled with dismay. Will someone as pure as Bai Mo fall from grace because of her? Ye Ci was bitter. She had thought that she could protect everyone dear to her after her reincarnation. With all said and done, am I still going to fail?

    Bai Mo stared at Ye Ci¡¯s pained expression, and pain spread through his heart as if a nail has been driven into his chest. He pulled Ye Ci into an embrace and patted her on the back, speaking to her in a soft voice, ¡°Little Ci, don¡¯t make that face. You shouldn¡¯t be having that kind of expression. I know what you¡¯re thinking. You don¡¯t have to worry for me. I¡¯m not as pure and innocent as you think I am.¡±

    ¡°Bai Mo...¡± Ye Ci was surprised to hear Bai Mo¡¯s words.

    ¡°Little Ci, you have to put yourself in somebody else¡¯s shoes sometimes.¡± Bai Mo released Ye Ci from his embrace and caressed Ye Ci¡¯s hair with a smile on his face. He then turned around, heading towards the party that was gathering front of Overflowing Ink.

    ¡°What are you doing? We¡¯re going to initiate the boss fight soon, why are you just standing here?¡± Fruit Jelly walked up to Ye Ci and patted her shoulder as a reminder.

    Ye Ci finally snapped out of her daze. She looked at Fruit Jelly and nodded, shoving all her thoughts to the back of her mind. She was finally able to calm her emotions.

    As Overflowing Ink immediately initiated the process of challenging the BOSS, Ye Ci stood amongst the members of her party, readying herself for the fight ahead.

    ¡°Attack!¡± with the order given by Overflowing Ink, the party members immediately charged into the pond at the center of the map. Aside from its increased health and damage, there was nothing special about the fifth BOSS. This was, however, the first time the party had attempted to challenge the BOSS at Expert difficulty. They were simply testing the waters before engaging in a serious fight.

    ¡°Rx, this is just a test run. It¡¯s the first time we take on this BOSS on Expert difficulty. We¡¯re trying to gauge its damage. Don¡¯t worry about it. We¡¯ll just leave the dungeon if we suffer a high amount of casualties. I want all of you to rx.¡± said Overflowing Ink to the rest of the party in a carefree tone, which did not go unnoticed by the party members.

    It was rumored that the four guilds that had already secured First Five had a hard time in defeating the BOSS. The party members did not have high hopes in their sess during the first attempt. For them, it was a process to familiarize themselves with the BOSS before the real fight began.

    The mood in the party was light under such circumstances. They were rxed as there was no need to feel pressured. The atmosphere in the dungeon could be said to be harmonious. One of the party members even began humming a tune. It was as if they were not even trying to clearing a dungeon, and was instead having a get-together meeting with the fifth BOSS.

    The party was able to perform unexpectedly well under such an atmosphere. Before long, they were already at the third stage of the boss fight. Even Ye Ci was surprised. The members of the party must have trained hard during her one month of absence. Their team work was perfect, and their positioning was precise.

    Ye Ci even felt that they had the chance of defeating the fifth BOSS in this fight. Just then, she heard the voice of Overflowing Ink, ¡°Use your mana potion if you¡¯re low on mana, and cast all the buffs you have. Don¡¯t worry about it. If we die, we can simply restart the fight.¡±

    Ye Ci was surprised by the calmness in Overflowing Ink¡¯s voice. He was able to remain calm even when they were at the third stage of the fight. It was apparent that Overflowing Ink had improved greatly as amander.

    The party was able to reach the fourth stage of the fight without much of an incident. ¡°F*ck me sideways! Is this for real? None of us actually died! Am I dreaming?¡± shouted Overflowing Ink in surprise, as if he was an entirely different person.

    It was something that the rest of the members had in their minds as well. ¡°Charge into the circle when your name is called. Just use any consumables you have on you and give it all you got! We¡¯re going to defeat this BOSS in one go!¡± shouted Overflowing Ink with excitement clear in his voice.

    ¡°Roger that!¡± even if theirmander remained silent, the party members had a clear picture of what the should do during the fourth stage of the fight.

    Ye Ci stole a nce at the time. It had been 40 minutes since they began challenging the BOSS. If they were unable to defeat the BOSS within 10 minutes, the dungeon would be reset. This meant that the efforts of the party would be in vain, and it was something that Ye Ci wanted to avoid. After chugging down some potions that would raise her attack damage, Ye Ci began pouring in all her firepower onto the BOSS.

    It was amazing how fate would work in wonderful ways at times. Upwards Ho!¡¯s boss fight was the perfect example. Many of the parties of other major guilds have tried their best and gave their all to defeat the BOSS, but many of them had a hard time in defeating the BOSS. On the other hand, Upwards Ho! was able to defeat the BOSS without even breaking a sweat. God must be asleep during these se times, which would exin their dogshit luck.

    Not one of them knew that things would end up this way when they started the fight. However, reality seemed to disagree with them.

    The entire dungeon was quiet when the BOSS returned to her throne and gave the mandatory speech that was part of her death cinematic. The Upwards Ho! yers stared silently at the BOSS. It felt like a dream to them. They were surprised that they have defeated the BOSS just like that. It all finally felt real when the system announcement began flooding the World Channel.

    ¡°Congrattions Upwards Ho! for clearing the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins on Expert difficulty. Rewards: Guild Prestige x4000, Global Prestige x20,000, Gold Coins x15,000. Let us remember the names of the heroes!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Remote Depths for achieving First Blood in the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins on Expert difficulty. Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige x500, Talent Points x5. Achievement: ¡°Expert Difficulty Castle Ruins First Five¡±. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Overflowing Ink for achieving First Blood in the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins on Expert difficulty. Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige x500, Talent Points x5. Achievement: ¡°Expert Difficulty Castle Ruins First Five¡±. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Mi Lu for achieving First Blood in the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins on Expert difficulty. Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige x500, Talent Points x5. Achievement: ¡°Expert Difficulty Castle Ruins First Five¡±. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Fruit Jelly for achieving First Blood in the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins on Expert difficulty. Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige x500, Talent Points x5. Achievement: ¡°Expert Difficulty Castle Ruins First Five¡±. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate!¡±

    ¡°Congrattions Let Go Of That Girl for achieving First Blood in the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins on Expert difficulty. Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige x500, Talent Points x5. Achievement: ¡°Expert Difficulty Castle Ruins First Five¡±. His name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate!¡±

    ......

    ¡°Congrattions Gongzi You for achieving First Blood in the 100-yer dungeon, Castle Ruins on Expert difficulty. Rewards: ck Stone City Prestige x500, Talent Points x5. Achievement: ¡°Expert Difficulty Castle Ruins First Five¡±. Her name shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate!¡±

    ......

    As always, the names of the party members who secured First Five appeared in the World Channel. As one of thest yers to join the party, Ye Ci¡¯s name appearedst. It was easy to miss the name ¡°Gongzi You¡± if one was not pay attention.

    However, even if Ye Ci herself missed the name, yers in the World Channel did not. Before long, some of the yers with sharp eyes found Gongzi You among Upwards Ho!¡¯s party roster, and a heated discussion began in the World Channel.

    ¡°Question: Am I hallucinating? I seemed to have seen Gongzi You¡¯s name just now.¡±

    ¡°Eh, I saw it as well, but it was flooded by other messages. I was not sure if it was really her.¡±

    ¡°Are you for real? How is that possible? Didn¡¯t Gongzi You leave the game? You must¡¯ve gotten it wrong! Just think about it... How many fake Gongzi Yous appeared since the disappearance of the real one?¡±

    ¡°But... It doesn¡¯t look like an impostor to me...¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding me? Will a fake Gongzi You appear in Upwards Ho!? Even if the world is filled with fake copies of Gongzi You, do you think that it¡¯s possible for one to be in Upwards Ho!?¡±

    ¡°Ehhhh? Did yet another Gongzi You appear again?¡±

    ¡°You fools! Didn¡¯t Gongzi You die a long time ago? How can the dead log into the game?¡±

    ¡°Who said that Gongzi You is dead? She¡¯s the god-tier yer of our continent! She won¡¯t die that easily!¡±

    ¡°They made an analysis about this in the forums. As a professional yer, it¡¯s impossible for Gongzi You to have quit the game just like that. There¡¯s only one possible reasoning behind this. Even if she¡¯s not dead, she definitely won¡¯t still be alive!¡±

    ¡°Bullshit! What if she ran into some sort of trouble in real life? I know you maggots in the Western Continent wish for her death, which is why you embraced such a conclusion happily!¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Long live Gongzi You! Long live Gongzi You!¡±

    ......

    As Upwards Ho! members were still bbergasted by their dogshit luck, the World Channel had already exploded into chaos. The yers, who were surprised by the appearance of Gongzi You, initially expressed their shock about Gongzi You¡¯s return, but the conversation eventually degraded into a mudslinging contest between yers from all four continents.

    Ye Ci, who was the focus of their discussion, was oblivious to the uproar she had caused in the World Channel. At that moment, she was standing beside the in BOSS, praying earnestly to God, hoping that good Hunter equipment would be included in the loot drop. At that point, the loot did not matter to her. If the BOSS did not yield any drops for the Hunter ss, Ye Ci would definitely be frowned upon by the Hunters in Upwards Ho!.

    Fruit Jelly who was known as a Red Hand walked up to Ye Ci who was praying to God. ¡°Gongzi, I told you a long time ago, there¡¯s use sping the Buddha¡¯s feet when danger arises. You should¡¯ve gone to the Archbishop a long time ago and taken a dip in the Holy Fountain to wash away your bad luck.¡± said Fruit Jelly with a smirk.

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Fruit Jelly, ¡°Nobody will mistake you for a mute if you keep quiet.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright! I¡¯ll shut up.¡± sighed Fruit Jelly. She stared at Ye Ci with an expression full of disdain and waved her hand dismissively, ¡°Off with you. I don¡¯t want you anywhere near me when I loot the corpse. I might get some of your bad luck, you know.¡±

    ¡°Oi.. Oi.. Oi..¡± Ye Ci¡¯s face twitched.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare threaten me. Take a look, all the Hunters are ring at you now. For your own safety, I suggest that you back off.¡±

    Ye Ci stole a nce at the Hunters who were staring at her with bitter expressions. Guilt flooded her heart. I did not ask for this bad luck! I want to be lucky for once as well!

    ¡°Guild leader, can you stand away from the corpse?¡± one of the Rogues in the party spoke up as Ye Ci began sobbing internally. It was thest straw for her. She walked away from the BOSS¡¯s corpse, and silently knelt at a corner, tracing circles with her finger.

    Those words were just too hurtful.

    I want to have good luck as well! I want to be someone who is lucky as well! thought Ye Ci as she sobbed.

    The guild members gathered around Fruit Jelly, praying for a good loot drop. Some of them even began lighting up incense. They were looking forward to the bountiful loot yielded by obtaining the First Five for ying a final boss in Expert difficulty.

    Ye Ci stared at her party members with eyes full of hatred, ¡°Curse you all! You will never get any equipment from this BOSS! You will never roll more than 10 points with the RNG! And I hope that all the loot drops are skill books for the Hunter ss....¡±

    Before Ye Ci could finish her sentence, the temperature of her surroundings plunged. Her guild members were shooting daggers at her with their icy res, ¡°What? I¡¯m already very far away from the corpse!¡± asked Ye Ci in an innocent tone.

    ¡°I think we should gag her up before we loot any BOSSes in the future.¡± said Let Go Of That Girl to Bai Mo.

    ¡°Oi.. Oi..¡± Ye Ci immediately voiced her protest.

    Which, of course, fell on deaf ears as the party members nodded their heads in agreement. ¡°What the heck? I¡¯ve already lost my right to be near the corpse! What else do you...¡±

    Before Ye Ci couldplete her sentence, she was surrounded by the Hunters in the party, who were staring at her with adoration clear in their expressions. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± Ye Ci was ufortable with the situation.

    ¡°Guild leader... The next time they loot the BOSS for any drops, please ce a jinx on them so that the BOSS will yield only items for the Hunter ss.¡± said Naturally Cute as she stared at Ye Ci, which earned her the approval of the rest of the Hunters. ¡°Yes! We¡¯re counting on you, guild leader!¡±

    The corner of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth twitched, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible...¡±

    ¡°It is! It¡¯ll be great if all of those skill books are Hunter¡¯s Mark. We need it! If the BOSS can drop 9 of them, it¡¯ll b awesome!¡±

    Ye Ci silently turned away from the Hunters. Her heart was filled with sorrow. What the heck? It¡¯s rare enough for the BOSS to have multiple skillbooks of the same ss! The chances of it yielding several copies of the same skillbook is next to zero...

    Relief came to the members of the party after Fruit Jelly looted the BOSS, and the drops were distributed to each member by Bai Mo. However, not everybody in the party had the luck of enjoying part of the loot. Bai Mo patted Ye Ci on her shoulder, expressing his endless sympathy for Ye Ci¡¯s bad luck.

    Upwards Ho! began clearing the dungeon as frequent as they could after securing a spot in the First Five. As sponsored dungeon clearing of the Castle Ruins Expert difficulty would begin in a month, they had to pick up the pace so that Upwards Ho! members could obtain better equipment in preparation for the sponsored dungeon clearing.

    As themander of the second squadron, Purity Essence was able to familiarize himself with the members of his party. The second squadron was able to clear the Castle Ruins on Normal difficulty, and was making preparations to challenge the dungeon on its Expert difficulty.

    Purity Essence would naturallye to Ye Ci¡¯s mind whenever the second squadron was mentioned. She have not interacted with Purity Essence since he joined Upwards Ho!, and was away from the game for an entire month. The only information she had about the progress of Purity Essence was from Let Go Of That Girl.

    In truth, due to the incident at the Swamp of Sorrows, many of the guild¡¯s officers and most of its members were dissatisfied when Purity Essence was appointed as themander of the second squadron.

    Ye Ci herself was worried that Purity Essence would suffer as a result of the gossip about him that was circting amongst the guild members. She even paid extra attention to Purity Essence of out worry. However, after the injury she suffered, Ye Ci was unable to log into the game for an entire month, and she lost track of Purity Essence¡¯s progress of settling into the guild. To her surprise, Let Go Of That Girl who was initially hostile to Purity Essence was now showering him with praise. It was a shock to Ye Ci.

    ¡°That guy is pretty good. He¡¯s humble and very hardworking.¡± such was the assessment of Let Go Of That Girl on Purity Essence. At that time, Purity Essence was appointed as themander of the second squadron as there was already twomanders in the first squadron. It was unnecessary to assign yet anothermander to the first squadron. Other than that, the members of the first squadron were made up of the guild¡¯s officers and elites, and Ye Ci was worried that conflict might arise between the two parties. The most important reason Purity Essence was assigned to the second squadron, however, was because of the fact that it was impossible for Upwards Ho! to grow with only the first squadron. At that time, the second squadron did not have a fixed roster, and a charismaticmander was needed to lead the scattered members of the second squadron.

    Because of those reasons, Purity Essence was assigned to the second squadron upon joining Upwards Ho!. He faced an unprecedented problem when he took charge of the second squadron. Its members were undisciplined, and were equipped with grossly inferior equipment. Members of the second squadron saw the first squadron as the main force of Upwards Ho!, and came to a conclusion that they were mere substitutes. Many of the second squadron members even gave up on improving themselves. Purity Essence did not even blink in the face of such a difficult problem. He began training and guiding his party members, while slowly reorganizing the second squadron. It took him two weeks to finally organize a fixed roster for the second squadron, and another two weeks to improve thebat potential of the party. Under his leadership, the second squadron was able to clear Castle Ruins at Normal difficulty.

    The members of the second squadron shed tears of joy when they cleared the Castle Ruins, and Purity Essence himself cried out loud in the dungeon. It was a very touching moment that Ye Ci could only witness through recordings from the party members. Despite that, Ye Ci could feel that Purity Essence gave his all to the second squadron.

    She was d that she made the decision to recruit Purity Essence into Upwards Ho!.

    Despite that, a brief episode happened when the second squadron cleared the Castle Ruins. After noticing the good performance of a number of yers in the second squadron, Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu had a talk with Purity Essence in hopes that they could induct the yers into the first squadron. Despite his reluctance, Purity Essence did not reject their request. But when Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu approached the yers, they invitation was rejected.

    ¡°We¡¯re members of the second squadron! We ain¡¯t going to the first squadron.¡± This was the answer received by the twomanders.

    Ye Ci smiled when she heard about the incident. Purity Essence was indeed a man of high caliber. However, Bai Mo was worried when he received the news.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? Why are you worried?¡± Ye Ci was unable toe up with a reason for Bai Mo to be worried about it.

    ¡°From amander¡¯s point of view, it is indeed something good. This means that Purity Essence is a very capablemander, and that you¡¯re a good judge of character. It is, however, quite bad for the development of the guild.¡± said Bai Mo as he chewed on a piece of roasted chicken. This was one of the wonderful features of Fate. As long as one has the money, one could purchase all sorts of delicacy from the NPCs.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Ye Ci. She eyed Bai Mo who was enjoying the roasted meat, and snatched a piece of roasted chicken away from him.

    ¡°Although Overflowing Ink and Mi Lu¡¯s actions were rather uncourteous, the fact that those yers chose to remain in the second squadron meant that they¡¯ve begun developing a cadre mentality. If such thing is left unchecked, it will be bad for our guild.¡±

    After giving Bai Mo¡¯s words a moment of thought, Ye Ci stated her own views, ¡°From your point of view, it is indeed a problem. But.. Think about it.. What if the members of the first squadron have such a mentality as well?¡±

    Bai Mo stared at Ye Ci incredulously, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The first squadron isprised of the elites of our guild. They¡¯re always the first to explore a dungeon. This means that they¡¯re seen as the strongest group in our guild. Don¡¯t you think that it will give them a sense of superiority?¡± Ye Ci snorted. Not everyone disinclined towards bullying those that they perceive to be inferior. It was something that Ye Ci herself did in her past life. She was not naive. She knew that such a situation would arise even in a new guild created when she reincarnated into a new life. The strong would always bully and prey on the weak.

    In truth, such ws had always existed in every human. There was nothing we could do to change that fact. The only thing we could do was to turn a blind eye to the urrences that were happening all around us.

    Bai Mo appeared to be deep in thought after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    ¡°You can go talk to those yers, and ask them why they rejected the offer to join the first squadron. Do you think that they are unaware of the fact that the first squadron is the main force of the guild? And that the first squadron is the elite of our guild? They¡¯re not idiots! They know that they would receive more benefits by joining the first squadron. But why did they then reject the offer? You told me that they¡¯re forming themselves into a cadre, but can¡¯t you see the cause behind all that? Can¡¯t you see that the members of the first squadron have once caused them to be scarred??¡±

    Bai Mo stared at Ye Ci for a long, silent moment before finally speaking up, ¡°Little Ci, you¡¯re always so straightforward... You know... It will cause more harm than good at times.¡±

    ¡°Bai Mo, kindness is something that Ick in my character. This is why I tend to look at things from my own selfish perspective. I¡¯m able to see how ugly things are, and it helps with spotting the root of many problems.¡±

 Chapter 218 Depravation

    Chapter 218 Depravation

    ¡°So.. You¡¯re telling me that we need to reorganize the structure of our guild?¡± asked Bai Mo after taking another bite of the roasted chicken.

    Ye Ci shook her head, and a sly smile appeared on her face, ¡°My dearest cousin, guild administration is not my forte. I¡¯m merely stating my opinion. I do not run the guild, so it¡¯s probably not a good idea to ask me such a question.¡±

    Bai Mo expected Ye Ci¡¯s answer to be like that. He was not disheartened when he received her response. ¡°Yeah, you and I both have our own responsibilities,¡± sighed Bai Mo with a smile, ¡°But, Ye Ci, shouldn¡¯t I make decisions when ites to things outside the guild as a man, while you worry about things that are going on within the guild as a woman?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not your wife. You can save this analogy for when you¡¯re married.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Bai Mo. She would help the guild out when she was needed, but managing the guild was not her strong suit, and she would never force herself to do something that she wasn¡¯t suited for.

    Using the most suitable person in the most suitable position was Ye Ci¡¯s lifelong principle. She knew that she was not suited to manage guild affairs. The process of handling every single detail and incident in the guild, no matter how serious or how trivial they were, would definitely drive Ye Ci mad.

    Bai Moughed at Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°Why do you sound so bitter?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Bai Mo. She then stood up, and threw the chicken bones to the ground, ¡°Is that so? Then there must be a jar of bitter gourd juice in your heart.¡±

    Bai Mo smiled at Ye Ci¡¯s antics, ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°That Epic-tier quest of course. I guess I¡¯ll be busy with that quest in the near future.¡± Ye Ci waved her hand dismissively, and with that, she left without even casting a nce at Bai Mo.

    To Ye Ci, her recent days were overly peaceful and quiet. In truth, these days were as normal as any other day, but due to the previous incident, the peace felt very surreal.

    Tan Png would alwayse home during the weekends. It was however his first time returning to the new home. He was a smart and alert boy and thus, instead of heading straight home, Tan Png traveled to random locations all around the city before finally slipping into a mall. From there, he called a cab and headed home.

    He arrived home in the evening to a dining table filled with Zuo Xian¡¯s dishes. The aroma of the home-cooked meal filled his heart with warmth. Tan Png stood at the entrance of the house, taking in a few whiffs of the food¡¯s fragrance before entering his new home, ¡°Wow! Is this our new home?¡± asked Tan Png with a smile.

    ¡°Go wash your hands ande have dinner. We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± said Zuo Xian with a smile as she came out of the kitchen with yet another dish in hand.

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    Ye Ci sat in her wheelchair, observing the joyful interactions between her family members, and a thought began forming slowly in her mind. This happiness and warmth is something that is not easy toe by. I must protect them, no matter the cost. I will crush those who seek to destroy them.

    ¡°Sister Ye Ci, help yourself to this pig¡¯s foot to supplement your legs. I hope you get well soon.¡± Tan Png ced a piece of simmered pig¡¯s feet into Ye Ci¡¯s bowl, with a smile lighting up his face.

    His smile was mirrored by Ye Ci.

    After finishing their meal, Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian cleaned up the table and logged into the game. Tan Png, who had not logged into the game for some time, could barely contain his excitement.

    Bai Mo and Ye Ci sat on the balcony, enjoying their dessert of fruits. The scenery at night was beautiful. A clear bright moon illuminated the sky, apanied by the glittering stars. It was a good night. Bai Mo popped a cherry into his mouth, savouring the sweet juice of the fruit that immediately filled his mouth.

    ¡°Did you receive any news from Green Hill¡¯s Moon yet?¡± asked Bai Mo.

    ¡°Nope.¡± replied Ye Ci while casually shoving another cherry into her mouth, ¡°You seem quite anxious about it¡±

    ¡°Indeed, I am.¡± Bai Mo narrowed his eyes. The expression on Bai Mo¡¯s face was something that Ye Ci was unfamiliar with. It was an expression that was cold and calctive.

    ¡°What?¡± Ye Ci was startled by Bai Mo¡¯s demeanor.

    ¡°Little Ci, even a little girl like you understands the concept of seeking revenge when you¡¯re wronged. Do you think that I, as a grown man, do not have the courage to fight back?¡± said Bai Mo with a smile. It was a smile that did not reach his eyes.

    Ye Ci remained silent. At that moment, she was struck by a sudden realization. She had only seen the good side of Bai Mo in her entire life. In her mind, Bai Mo was a gentle and kind person. She did not expect him to have had such a side to him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me. I won¡¯t allow myself to get hurt.¡± Bai Mo could see the worry in Ye Ci¡¯s eyes. He caressed her hair, and smiled warmly at her. It was a pure and sincere smile that was perhaps reserved for Ye Ci alone, ¡°I do not wish for you to get hurt, just like how you do not want me to be in harm¡¯s way. I¡¯ve told you before: No matter what your choice is, I will always be by your side until the end.¡±

    Ye Ci let out a long sigh, ¡°Alright then.¡±

    Bai Mo nodded, appearing satisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s answer, ¡°Let me know if you get anything from Green Hill¡¯s Moon.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡±

    Bai Mo stood up. In the past, Ye Ci was always the first to leave when she had a conversation with Bai Mo. He would always be the one to stare at her silhouette as she left. However, he had been the one to take initiative to stand up and head to his room. He patted Ye Ci on her shoulder as he walked past her wheelchair, ¡°Little Ci, there¡¯s no right or wrong in this world. It¡¯s all a matter of perspective. We¡¯re simply protecting ourselves. You don¡¯t have to feel guilty about anything.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart clenched. So Bai Mo knew. Bai Mo had always known what Ye Ci was thinking. He was simply waiting for the right time to make it known to her. Ye Ci lowered her head, and popped another cherry into her mouth. The sweet cherry juice spread into all corners of her mouth, just like anxiety that was spreading in her heart.

    ..........

    Potions, check.

    Consumables, check.

    Attack buff items, check.

    Arrows, check.

    Ye Ci carefully made an inventory of the items she was carrying with her to make sure she hadn¡¯t overlooked anything. She was prepared for anything that might happen when she entered Andrei¡¯s treasure vault.

    Even after a few days, Be was still floating around the spot where she and Ye Ci parted ways. When Ye Ci initiated the conversation with Be, she received the same response. She immediately chose the first option, indicating that she was ready to explore the Andrei¡¯s treasure vault. ¡°I wish you the best of luck, my dearest friend.¡± said Be, and a boulder in front of Ye Ci disappeared into a mass of light blue light.

    It was a familiar sight for Ye Ci, as the light was an indicator of a dungeon¡¯s entrance.

    This is actually a dungeon? Thought Ye Ci to herself as she walked into the mass of light.

    It was indeed a dungeon. As she entered the mass of light, Ye Ci was transported into a dark cave. The indicator in the map identified the ce as a dungeon. With that, Ye Ci was sure that Andrei¡¯s Treasure Vault was a dungeon, and that it was a single-yer dungeon.

    With the exception of Ye Ci¡¯s current location, the rest of the map was grey. This meant that the other areas of the map was unexplored. After noticing that she could not pick out any any clues from the map, Ye Ci decided to begin exploring the dungeon.

    Of course, Ye Ci remembered the hint about the dungeon given to her by Be. Andrei¡¯s Treasure Vault had been infested by the spirits of the dead since Be¡¯s death. Of course, they were not the Undead that were a yable race by yers. The creatures in Andrei¡¯s vault were semi transparent beings like Be. They were ghosts.

    The monsters in Fate were divided into several sses, from the lower ss life forms such as Slimes and Man-eating flowers to the various animals in Fate and the humanoid monsters and magical beings like Angels and Demons.

    Thebat capabilities of different monsters varied greatly with their ss. An Angel would possess a vastly superior offensive and defensive capabilitypared to that of a Slime. Most of the monsters that Ye Ci had faced in dungeons were beasts and humanoids. It was her first time going up against Undead. Although these beings were ssified as humanoids, they were stronger than the other humanoid life forms.

    Even with their average level damage and defensive capabilities, Undead were still tough opponents to deal with. yers would often find the odds stacked against them in a battle against Undead opponents because of their skills that would allow them to call upon the spirits of the dead to fight by their side. yers could only rely on Priests in the process of clearing dungeons full of the Undead. A partycking adequate firepower would easily be wiped out by Undead opponents.

    Hunters were able to fare better against Undead opponentspared to characters of other sses. As long as a Hunter was able to keep his or her distance and kite the Undeads well, the Hunter¡¯s would be able to survive an encounter against the Undead.

    Ye Ci knew that the dungeon was full of Undead enemies because of Be¡¯s hint, and had prepared a lot of Fire Arrows for her journey. Holy Arrows were the most effective countermeasure against Undead opponents, but because of her current level, Ye Ci was forced to employ Fire Arrows as a substitute. Despite their significantly lower damage output, Fire Arrows dealt additional burn damage to Undead opponents, which made them the best option in a situation where Holy Arrows were unavable to Ye Ci.

    This was why a fire type mage was the most popr choice in clearing a dungeon full of Undead monsters, assuming the party was unable to recruit a character with the Priest ss to their party.

    Ye Ci was assaulted by a gust of chilly wind when she entered the cave. The stench of death and rot immediately entered her nostrils. Ye Ci felt as if she herself would soon join the ranks of the Undead.

    Hiya minna-san! Here¡¯s another awesome chapter of the awesomesauce novel tranted by an awesomtacr trantor (which is me, by the way!), soooo.... Enjoy!!!

    I hope life¡¯s treating you people good. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s the weather, but I have not been feeling good this entire week. Anybody in Mka notice that the weather is considerably hotter than usual? Yeah, climate change is a thing bois DX

    Anyways... Thanks for supporting Reign of the Hunters! Until next time!

    Going intobat against the Undead was not scary because of the carefully designed environment that was meant to scare yers out of their wits. It because of the fact that yers would never know where their Undead foes lurk. They could remain hidden behind walls and underneath the soil, springing into action to attack unsuspecting yers, and eventually overwhelming them with sheer numbers.

    Ye Ci immediately summoned Ol¡¯ Four. Although the Hunter ss excels in rangedbat, a Hunter was always vulnerable at melee range. After all, there was no information about this dungeon in Ye Ci¡¯sst life. It was possible that the yer whopleted the Epic-tier quest kept the information about the dungeon to himself. There was also a possibility that the yer had never managed to explore this dungeon as well. No matter what the case is, Ye Ci could not recall any information about the dungeon. She was exploring this unknown territory for the first time.

    As a contrast to Ye Ci¡¯s caution, Ol¡¯ Four was bold and cheerful.

    As an Epic-tier monster, the Dragonia was probably the only life form that was superior to Ol¡¯ Four. That was why the beast showed no fear despite the dark and eerie environment as it ran jovially all over the ce.

    Of course, it was something that Ye Ci was able to use to her advantage. Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s movement would definitely attract the attention of the Undead in the area. The Undead poption within the dungeon, whichprised mainly of semi-transparents ghosts and zombies with semi-dposed bodiesunched ferocious attacks on Ol¡¯ Four as a sign of their hatred towards the invader.

    Ye Ci and Ol¡¯ Four who were at lvl45 were hard pressed in a battle against lvl50 opponents. However, as an Epic-tier life form, Ol¡¯ Four did have some advantage over the moremon monsters. With such an advantage, and with the additional burn damage from Ye Ci¡¯s Fire Arrow, they were able to defeat their foes, which turn into experience points that flowed into the experience gauge of Ye Ci and Ol¡¯ Four.

    A Solo Dungeon meant that only a single yer was required to clear the dungeon. It was the favourite for solo yers. In a dungeon like this, yers could level up without fearing of going into conflict with other yers, and all the loot drops would belong to a single person. That was why solo yers would flock to any Solo Dungeon that was discovered and spend days in the dungeon until they were finally fed up with the ce.

    Ye Ci, of course, was no exception.

    It had been a month since she logged into the game. During that window, many of the yers have caught up with her in terms of level. Those who were very fanatic about leveling up have even surpassed her level. Ye Ci sighed in defeat. There is always someone stronger than you, however strong you are. If Ye Ci could not even have an advantage in terms of level as a reincarnator, it would be embarrassing for her. This was why she made the decision to kill every single monster she found in this dungeon. The dungeon would serve as her training grounds. In this ce, she would earn back all the experience points that she missed.

    With her decision made, Ye Ci immediately went to work.

    Time flies when one is focused on a task at hand. To Ye Ci¡¯s delight, the dungeon was rather easy to clear. Other than their high HP, the Undead in the dungeon was no challenge as all. The only opponent that posed a threat to Ye Ci was the Necromancer, which could summon hordes of lesser Undead to its aid. A Necromancer would be able to summon a sea of lesser monsters in rtive safety if it was not defeated.

    As she was unfamiliar with the dungeon, and with the monsters having a level advantage over herself, Ye Ci was very cautious as she explored the dungeon.

    Ye Ci depleted half of her Fire Arrows in the span of 4 hours, and was able to raise her level from lvl45 to lvl49. As she took a rest, Ye Ci began roasting some meat that she brought along for the trip, feeding herself and the starving Ol¡¯ Four up. She was satisfied as she nced at her character window to find that she was halfway to lvl50. Her trip to the dungeon was worth it. Her leveling progress alone is satisfying enough.

    After making sure that her Fatigue level was recovered, and that Ol¡¯ Four already had its share of meat, Ye Ci immediately went back to work. Before long, her character was enveloped in a golden light, signifying her advance into the realm of lvl50. Before she had the chance to rejoice, a chilly voice reverberated in the cav.

    ¡°I smell fresh meat. The meat of an Elf. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve tasted something like this...¡± said the unpleasant voice, that was so distorted that it was impossible to tell the gender of its owner. The voice did note from a specific direction, and was insteading from all around Ye Ci.

    Just then, a system notification appeared: You have reached the level to explore the dungeon. Good luck.

    Ye Ci was baffled by the system notification. So that¡¯s why I feel like I¡¯ve been going in circles, and there was nothing on my map! The only thing she could do during her four hours stay was to y the monsters in the cave. So this is what it is...

    The system determined that Ye Ci would not be able to clear the dungeon with her level, and transported her to a leveling level. The dungeon was then made avable to her when she was at lvl50. So this is why the monsters in this ce yielded such a high amount of experience points, but had little to no loot drops.

    With that thought in mind, Ye Ci immediately called up her map. To her delight, the map that was originally empty was once again back to normal. She, on the other hand, was still standing at the entrance to the dungeon.

    Although Ye Ci was sure that she would be able to clear the dungeon even at lvl45. However, the system was forced to follow the programmed instruction of the Fate developers. This meant that Ye Ci¡¯s skill level was not taken into ount.

    Whatever, I am but a mere yer, aren¡¯t I?

    After making a quick inventory of her remaining arrows and consumables, Ye Ci was certain that she had sufficient supplies to clear the dungeon, and she immediately headed into the dungeon.

    Of course, the difficulty in the dungeon was way higher than that of the leveling area. The level of the monsters were all at lvl55, and the opponents that Ye Ci faced possessed certain level of intelligence. They even began employing smart strategies in their fight against Ye Ci. The monsters saw through her method of sending Ol¡¯ Four forward to attract aggro while sheunched range attacks at the monsters from rtive safety. If Ye Ci was not able to clear her opponents away in time, they would began throwing more and more of their numbers at Ol¡¯ Four, while some of the monsters with higher amount of HP will rush at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was caught off guard as it was her first time in such a situation. She was forced to kite the iing monsters and put great effort into putting them down. Ol¡¯ Four nearly lost its life during that encounter.

    After that close call, Ye Ci began to exercise caution in her fight against the intelligent monsters. She did not want to die before even reaching the BOSS.

    The Undead in the dungeon yielded a huge variety of loot drops from potions to gold coins to various consumables, arrows, and some misceneous items. There was also a special item drop, ¡°Spirit Emblem¡±. These items had no clear description, and could not be sold. Since they did not take up much of her inventory space as 1,000 Spirit Emblems could be ced in a single inventory slot, Ye Ci allowed the Spirit Emblems to stack up in her inventory.

    In a solo dungeon, every item that was dropped belonged to a single person. It was a boon as well as a curse. A yer would have to carry everything alone, and if there was no merchant NPC in sight, the yer¡¯s inventory would quickly be filled up. This was a problem that Ye Ci was quick to realize. Even after tidying up her inventory slots before entering the dungeon, and considering the fact that there was no much of a loot avable to her in the leveling area, Ye Ci¡¯s inventory was almost full.

    It was rare for any merchant NPCs to appear in a solo dungeon like this. In such a situation, yers would be forced to throw some of the less valuable items away to make space for items that could fetch a price.

    Ye Ci was no stranger to such a method. She was a notorious solo yer in herst life. It was something that posed no trouble to Ye Ci. After making a quick inventory of her items, Ye Ci ventured deeper into the dungeon.

    The dungeon was made up of 3 deep caves arranged in a triangr pattern. However, there was no BOSS in any of the caves. After defeating all the monsters in the dungeon, Ye Ci discovered that she has cleared the dungeon.

    There¡¯s no BOSS?

    How can there be no BOSS in a dungeon?

    It was a very strange situation. Even an experienced yer like Ye Ci was baffled by her discovery. She walked around in circles within the dungeon with Ol¡¯ Four, and found it empty. There was nothing left in the dungeon.

    The BOSS did not appear... I must¡¯ve missed something, or done something wrong. Thought Ye Ci as she stood at the middle of the map. She then wandered to all corners of the dungeon, carefully inspecting every speck of dust. She found clusters of oddly-shaped rock formation along the way, which were easy to miss with their dull gray color. They were all pointing towards the spot where Ye Ci was nearly defeated by the dungeon monsters.

    She found a simple puzzle which revealed the location of the next puzzle after it was solved, which led to yet another puzzle. The third puzzle led Ye Ci back to the middle of the map, where an odd-looking mechanism appeared.

    ¡°Oh? You can¡¯t wait to be my dinner eh? If that¡¯s the case, then so be it...¡± said a voice immediately after the mechanism was activated.

    Even before the voice faded away, the ground trembled. If Ye Ci did noty t on the ground, she would definitely have lost her footing.

    Before Ye Ci could stand back up on her feet, a strong wind bellowed at her, and a chill crept down her spine. Ye Ci rolled to a side out of reflex, and looked up. A gigantic skeleton in a suit of armor was rushing at her with its long weapon.

    Two words, ¡°de Soul¡±, were engraved on the skeleton¡¯s sword. It was the BOSS¡¯s name. One must not blindly attack an unknown BOSS. The correct strategy to deal with such a foe was tounch small probing attacks to gauge its strength while finding a way to defeat said foe at the same time. Ye Ci gave the order for Ol¡¯ Four to charge at de Soul as she sprinted around the cave, firing her skills at the BOSS, and observing the damage they dealt to de Soul.

    It did not take Ye Ci long to figure out the amount of damage she could deal to de Soul with her skills. A strategy began to formte in her mind as the battle progressed. A Hunter was undefeated as long as a foe was 8 yards away from the Hunter. Once a Hunter¡¯s foe was able to close in, however, the Hunter was doomed. This was why Ye Ci made the decision to stay as far away from de Soul as possible.

    It was, however, not an easy task for Ye Ci. de Soul was a very tall NPC. Despite its low movement speed, each of the BOSS¡¯s stride could cover more ground than Ye Ci could manage in a few steps. Keeping a distance away from de Soul became Ye Ci¡¯s top priority.

    Fortunately for Ye Ci, it was rtively easy to defeat the BOSS as it was a bonus reward for the yer for clearing the dungeon. Ye Ci kept her distance and kited the BOSS from afar, and was able to dispatch her opponent in a short time.

    Other than a quest item that was dropped by the BOSS, Ye Ci received no loot drops for defeating de Soul. Are you kidding me? I get nothing for defeating the BOSS? thought Ye Ci.

    After a day of hard work, Ye Ci¡¯s level was already at lvl55. She was 8 levels higher than the yer who ranked number 1 in the yers Level Ranking. This filled her heart with joy.

    Be greeted Ye Ci warmly when she left the dungeon, ¡°Hey! My dearest friend! I¡¯m d that you¡¯re able to return safely!¡±

    After having a small talk with Be, Ye Ci headed to the Doran Thieves Guild to hand the quest item to Andrei. She could only curse at the developers for the seemingly meaningless quest as she was on her way to the SIlver Tin Vein.

    Andrei was happy to see the de. After receiving praises from the NPC, Ye Ci¡¯s prestige with the Doran Thieves Guild increased.

    With her prestige at the Doran Thieves Guild at Intimate, Ye Ci could finally interact with all the NPCs in the bandit encampment. She immediately sold all the misceneous items to the merchant that was closest to her. Ye Ci¡¯s mood improved when she saw the amount of gold in her inventory.

    Before she left the bandit encampment, Ye Ci spotted a weird-looking NPC that she had never seen before during. It was a Gnomish NPC with the name ¡°Special Items Merchant¡±.

    When a yer had a certain level of prestige with a faction, the yer could purchase special items with his or her prestige points. This was a fact known to Ye Ci, who was unable to locate the merchant NPC until now. Could this NPC be the one she was looking for?

    Ye Ci was stunned by the items disyed by the merchant NPC. She finally knew the true worth of the solo dungeon.

    As expected of an Epic-tier quest. The rewards offered bypleting the second stage of the quest was indeed bountiful.

    The items sold by the merchant were all lvl55 and above. The various equipment sets, weapons, jewelleries, enchanted items, and rare Life Skills skill books that were all overpowered.

    The currency used by the merchant was not gold. It was the items that Ye Ci has collected earlier in the dungeon: Spirit Emblem.

    The prices of the items varied by their rarity, with the most expensive ones at sold at 5,000 Spirit Emblems, while the cheapest items were sold at 1,000 Spirit Emblems.

    Holy shit! Is there something more overpowered than these items?

    Ye Ci had more than 3,000 Spirit Emblems in her inventory, which was enough to purchase a cape. She immediately bought one without remorse. When Ye Ci stole a nce at the description of the cape, the muscles on her face twitched. It was not out of anger, nor was it because of sadness. At that time, Ye Ci was filled with delight.

    The reason was simple: The items were not bound to her after the purchase. It would only be bound to its owner once it was equipped.

    Doesn¡¯t it means that I¡¯ll be able to sell all these equipment if I can earn enough of those Spirit Emblem? mused Ye Ci. When her customer was the entire yer poption of Fate, money was definitely not a problem.

    Ye Ci could feel herself falling into depravation. She was someone who was noble and virtuous, who thought little about money. However, her views changed after the recent incident. She came to realise the power of money. A person with money is like an overpowered character in a game. With her current financial position, she was deeply in need of money.

    The items sold by the merchant were like gold falling down from the sky. She had the urge to look up to the sky and shout her thought out, HURRY AND CRUSH ME TO DEATH WITH ALL THOSE MONEY!

    However, Ye Ci was quick to discover a serious problem in her ns. A quick run in the dungeon yielded only 3,000 Spirit Emblems. She would have to explore the dungeon multiple times to earn more of them. Her road to wealth depended entirely on the settings of the dungeon.

    What if... I can only clear this dungeon once?

 Chapter 219 The Calm Before the Storm

    Chapter 219 The Calm Before the Storm

    Of course, there was no point worrying about it. The best solution Ye Ci had was try and head back into the dungeon. After making an inventory of all the consumables she had, Ye Ci decided to resupply in Red Lake City before trying to re-enter the dungeon.

    However, once she arrived in Red Lake City, it was a long while before Ye Ci could leave. First of all, Ye Nantian¡¯s shop was doing badly. Due to theirck of special recipes and their low level, Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian were not able to produce any high quality consumables. Even with the strategic location of their shop, business did not go well.

    This situation was a far cry¡¯s away from what Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian had expected when they first started their business. After some careful consideration, the couple made the decision to quit the game. They decided to hand the shop back to Ye Ci so that she could rent it out to avoid further losses.

    Ye Ci was having a taste of one of the broth sold by Ye Nantian as the words came tumbling out of the couple¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°Little Ci, we¡¯ve decided to not continue our business. Why don¡¯t you rent this shop out to someone else?¡±

    ¡°Pffffftttt.....¡± perhaps it was the shock of listening to her parents words, or perhaps it was because of the unptable taste of the broth, Ye Ci spurted the broth onto the faces of her parents.

    ¡°Ah... Sorry! I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Ye Ci immediately apologized to her parents.

    Although such actions will not cause damage to her parents in game, it did made some changes to their appearance. Ye Nantian immediately cleaned the face of his wife with a cloth, and said jokingly ¡°Little Ci, we¡¯ve already washed our faces this morning.¡±

    Ye Ci was embarrassed. After letting out a chuckle, she immediately seized the opportunity to change the topic, ¡°What were you talking about just now?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re saying that we don¡¯t want to continue our business in this shop anymore. Why don¡¯t you rent it out?¡± Zuo Xian repeated her statement.

    The corners of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth twitched. Instead of answering their question, Ye Ci responded with a question of their own, ¡°Why?¡±

    If the question was asked by someone else, Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian would have responded with a load of nonsense to save face. However, the question came from their daughter, who they had no intention of lying to her. ¡°LIttle Ci, we¡¯re a family, so we¡¯ll be honest with you.¡± Zuo Xian sighed, and shared a look with Ye Nantian, ¡°This shop is indeed in a good location, and we have had a lot of visitors everyday. Even then, our shop is not doing as well as the other shops nearby, and we don¡¯t even know why. We thought that it would be a good idea to close down the business so that you can rent this shop out to someone else. At least you can earn something out of it.¡±

    ¡°Rent it to someone else?¡± Ye Ci smiled, ¡°Mom, although the game is said to 100% realistic, we don¡¯t have all the facilities that exist in real life avable to us. I can¡¯t sublease the shop to somebody else. A function like this does not exist in the game.¡± and she thought to herself, of course, it will be added into the game in the near future.

    ¡°T-then what do we do? Do you want us to continue suffering losses from this?¡± said Zuo Xian, who was a very frugal person, ¡°No way! There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to continue a business that will only cause losses for me!¡±

    ¡°Mom, don¡¯t forget that we¡¯ve signed a contract. You will have to pay a penalty for breaking the terms of the contract.¡± a mother knows her daughter well, and the daughter would also naturally would know the thoughts of her mother. As the daughter of Zuo Xian for two lifetimes, Ye Ci knew what was going on in her mother¡¯s mind. She ignored Zuo Xian¡¯s objection, and began exerting pressure on her through the contract.

    ¡°Penalty? What penalty?¡± Zuo Xian and her husband have always dismissed Fate as a mere online game. This was why they did not even to read the contract up.

    ¡°What? Mom, didn¡¯t you read the contract that we¡¯ve signed?¡± Ye Ci pretended to be surprised. She, of course, knew that her mother would never read the contract.

    ¡°The contract?¡± the corners of Zuo Xian¡¯s mouth twitched. She slowly shifted her nce to Ye Nantian. Her husband, who did not read the contract as well immediately shook his head, indicating that he had no knowledge about the contract.

    ¡°It¡¯s that thing that you insisted to sign despite my objection.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, and a calctive smile formed on her lips. She even reminded her parents that they were the ones who insisted upon signing the contract. She stared at her confused parents, ¡°It¡¯s those documents that we signed in the town hall, you¡¯ve evenmented about the mayor¡¯s body figure...¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright! I remember now!¡± Zuo Xian was embarrassed when she was reminded of their mistake. How could she forget about that incident? The couple was full of curiosity when they entered the game. They did not take their surroundings seriously as it was all just a game. When they were greeted by the mayor of Red Lake City, the couple began to have an open discussion about the mayor¡¯s body figure.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened when she overheard the conversation between her parents. She let out several coughs in an attempt to get her parents to stop. Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian who was oblivious about the impact of their actions, however, stopped only when the mayor spoke up with a darkened expression, ¡°Are you here to sign the contract, or are you here to insult me?¡± At that moment, Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian finally realized that even the NPCs would react to their conversation. They were both surprised and embarrassed by the revtion.

    Because of that, they did not even paid much attention to the contract, and hid it in the darkest corner of their warehouse. They were eager to forget the incident.

    They were caught off guard when Ye Ci reminded them of that incident. Zuo Xian silently hoped that Ye Ci would have forgotten about the contents of the contract. Although the chances were slim, she wanted to try her luck, ¡°So what if we signed a contract? I don¡¯t remember anything about it!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t remember, mom. I have a copy with me, and I can read it out for you if you want.¡± replied Ye Ci with a smile.

    Zuo Xian stared at Ye Ci with a face devoid of expression, ¡°How can you remember something that I¡¯ve long forgotten? Are you still my daughter?¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, and began reading out the contents of the contract. The contract was filled with special terms and conditions, unable to be processed by normal means. Before long, she received aint from Zuo Xian, ¡°Stop! Stop it! I can¡¯t understand any of it.¡±

    Of course, Ye Ci had her own way to deal with Zuo Xian. She nodded at her mother, and kept away the contract, ¡°Alright, mom. Let me exin it to you. It¡¯s actually very simple. Since the contract was signed with mutual consent, if either party wishes to forcefully breach the contract, the party would have to pay the other party an amount of ten times the monthly rent.¡±

    ¡°Ten times...¡± the corners of Zuo Xian¡¯s mouth twitched, ¡°How much is the rent again?¡±

    ¡°By the way, the rent for this shop is collected in a one-off payment. Even if I did not collect any rent from you, it was already registered in the system. Mom, if you insist upon breaching the contract, I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯d have to pay me 10 years worth of rent, at 10 times the price.¡±

    ¡°The question that I asked is ¡®How much is the rent?¡¯.¡± asked Zuo Xian in a loud voice. She had the urge to beat her daughter up when she noticed the smirk on Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    ¡°Ahh, it¡¯s nothing much. You¡¯ll only have to pay me a small sum of 20 million gold coins.¡± said Ye Ci as she shook two of her fingers in front of her parents.

    Zuo Xian¡¯s eyes widened. She stared at Ye Ci with disbelief and then pointed at herself and loudly ranted. ¡°You brat! Are you telling me that you want me to pay you 20 million gold coins for this virtual shop? Do you think that I¡¯m stupid? I will not spend real money for a bunch of data in game...¡±

    Ye Ci was not angry at all. Her mother¡¯s reaction was something that she anticipated. It was the exact reaction she was waiting for. Zuo Xian and her husband had never taken the game seriously. They were casual gamers. She would have to tie them down if she wanted them to take Fate seriously. If she was able to tie Zuo Xian down, Ye Nantian would automatically be involved as well. There was an easy way to bind Zuo Xian: through a huge sum of debt.

    ¡°Mom, if someone overhear this, they might beat you up.¡± Ye Ci reminded her.

    The words were able to shut Zuo Xian up. She walked up to Ye Ci, with anger still boiling within her, ¡°You damned brat! Stop trying to fool me! I will definitely get tricked if I don¡¯t y this darn game! But I now know that everything here is just a bunch of data! Everything is fake! Even that contract that you signed with us is fake! I¡¯m telling you this: I quit! I don¡¯t want to y this game anymore! I quit!¡±

    Ye Ci nodded and pped. ¡°I¡¯m impressed, mom. You¡¯ve managed to learn so much in such a short amount of time.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Don¡¯t you dare mistake me for an idiot! I¡¯m not that gullible!¡± Zuo Xian, who could almost taste victory, shot Ye Ci a re.

    ¡°If memory serves, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve received a legal document from the Bank of China some times ago. Of course, I received a copy as well.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and stared at Zuo Xian with clear mischief.

    ¡°Yeah, what about it?¡± Zuo Xian snorted. In her eyes, she was just like Buddha, while Ye Ci was Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong will never be able to escape the Buddha¡¯s palm [1].

    ¡°That was an official document recognizing the legality of our contract signed within the game, which means that... Even if your shop is just a clump of data... The contract is legal.¡± Ye Ci smiled at Zuo Xian, ¡°If you break the contract, the legal department will be notified, and the money you own in the game will be automatically deducted.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll just stay offline.¡± Zuo Xian lost her fighting spirit as soon as legal documents in real life were involved. As an ordinary citizen, Zuo Xian would of course be afraid of being involved in legal proceedings.

    ¡°Sure. When the money in your game ount dries up, they will begin deducting funds from your real world bank ount instead. And when that is not enough to pay the penalty...¡± said Ye Ci after a short pause, ¡°Mom... Even I don¡¯t know what will happen.¡±

    ¡°You unfilial daughter! How could you do this to your own mother!¡± Zuo Xian exploded into a fit of rage, and begannding blows on Ye Ci. The system identified Zuo Xian¡¯s actions as an assault on another yer. Due to their level differences, however, the only punishment she received was the restriction of her actions.

    Zuo Xian could do nothing but sitting back onto her chair, and began employing less forceful methods, ¡°Little Ci, I¡¯m just afraid of the losses we might suffer.¡±

    ¡°Mom, even I am not afraid. So what are you afraid of?¡± Ye Ci was unmoved.

    ¡°But can¡¯t you see that nobody is buying our stuff? I¡¯m worried!¡± Zuo Xian voiced out her concern.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about. You can take it slowly.¡± Ye Ci took another sip of the broth and smiled at her mother, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m asking for rental payments from you two.¡±

    ¡°Take it slowly...¡± Zuo Xian mumbled, ¡°I do want to take it slowly, but I don¡¯t think that I have what it takes to run a business. It¡¯ll be a waste of money. Little Ci, we¡¯re not rich at all. We don¡¯t have the money to waste. Can¡¯t you think of something?¡±

    ¡°Mom, I know what you¡¯re thinking, but running a business in Fate is not as hard as you think. Your business is bad because your Life Skills are at a lower level, while the average yer level is at lvl35-lvl40. The items that you sell are all for yers who are at lvl10. Even if they have a need of lower level items, they would usually acquire them from the Auction House at a cheaper price. This is why your business is bad.¡± Ye Ci immediately began analyzing the situation to her parents.

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian came to a sudden realization, ¡°So, you¡¯re telling me that if I want to have a good business, I must work hard to level up my Life Skills?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The higher the level of your Life Skills, the more popr your items will be. If you can get your hands on some unique recipe, you can even monopolize on the market. This is why high level Life yers are able to earn huge amounts of cash.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Ye Nantian immediately pointed out a problem, ¡°Leveling Life Skills takes up a lot of our time. We can¡¯t even get the materials to level our skills, and could only head out to collect scraps that were discarded by the other yers. This is going to take a lot of time.¡±

    ¡°Why do you even need to risk it? You¡¯re not like the rest of the yers. It¡¯s impossible for your current level. Why do you have to resort to such a method?¡± Ye Ci was confused by her parents¡¯ words, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you can acquire the materials that you need from the Auction House?¡±

    Of course, not everybody shared Ye Ci¡¯smon sense. Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian immediately directed a question to Ye Ci, ¡°Won¡¯t that be expensive?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes, ¡°It¡¯s not as if you¡¯re going to pay for if out of your own coffers! Didn¡¯t I give you guys arge sum of money? Why don¡¯t you spend them?¡± she was sure that her parents did not spend even a single gold coin from the funds she entrusted to them.

    ¡°We¡¯re keeping it in case of emergencies,¡± replied Zuo Xian, ¡°If we spend them now, what do we do if there¡¯s a disaster or something?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a game! Nothing of that sort will happen!¡± Ye Ci had the urge to m her head onto the table.

    ¡°If we spend the money, it¡¯ll be gone forever,¡± Zuo Xian continued her argument, ¡°I¡¯d rather store them away safely in the bank...¡±

    ¡°Mom! You will not receive interests from the in-game bank!¡± Ye Ci was almost driven mad by her mother.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care! I do what I like!¡±

    ¡°Are you telling me that you would rather suffer more losses?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s temper finally red, ¡°You told me that you wish to avoid losses, but you¡¯re not willing to level up your Life Skills! So, tell me! How long do you want this situation to continue?¡±

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    [1] In the story Journey To The West, Sun Wukong (The Monkey King) was trapped by Buddha on his palms after he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Court. The incident was known as Havoc in Heaven.

    ¡°I-I-I did not say that I don¡¯t want to level up my skills...¡± Zuo Xian was briefly startled by her daughter¡¯s anger before her courage returned. In her mind, she was not in the wrong, ¡°I just don¡¯t want to waste that money.¡±

    ¡°Is there a difference to that?¡± Ye Ci barely held back the urge to m her hand down onto the table, ¡°You¡¯re only lvl10! Do you think that you¡¯ll be able to survive a trip to the lvl20 or lvl30 areas scouring for leftovers? Even if you could, do you think you¡¯ll be the only ones who thought of that?¡±

    ¡°It will work out somehow...¡± despite knowing the truth in Ye Ci¡¯s words, Zuo Xian could not resist the urge to talk back to her.

    ¡°Yeah, by the time things work out for you, the world would¡¯ve ended.¡± Ye Ci mmed her fist onto the table, ¡°Are you trying to make a fool out of me? You¡¯re telling me that you¡¯re trying your best to level up and avoid losses with that attitude of yours?¡±

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian remained silent. They sat quietly on their seats, listening to Ye Ci¡¯s words like obedient school children.

    ¡°It¡¯s normal for you to not be able to earn money at this time, but surely you¡¯re capable of spending the money! Any Life yer in our guild would¡¯ve been overjoyed to have such a benefit, but you¡¯re telling me that you¡¯re not willing to spend the money!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s demeanor was like that of a veteran, passing down her experience to the newbies who were also her parents.

    yers who walked past the shop were stunned. Were their eyes ying tricks on them? Wasn¡¯t Gongzi You a person of few words? Wasn¡¯t Gongzi You an arrogant person? So who was the Elven Huntress who was having an animated conversation with the newbies in the shop?

    ¡°But.. It¡¯s your money... We wanted to save it up for you... For your dowry...¡± even after she was chided by Ye Ci, Zuo Xian would still defend her standing when the need arose.

    A pang of guilt gripped Ye Ci¡¯s heart. She stared at her parents as tears blurred away her vision. Have I gone overboard? Thought Ye Ci to herself as she blinked away the tears. Ahh... Such is the love of parents. They would always ce their children as their top priority in any situation. Ye Ci came to a realization that she was wrong to snap at her parents. She took a deep breath and sat beside her parents, ¡°Dad, mom, I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have snapped at you.¡± Ye Ci apologized to her parents while taking hold of their hands.

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian were baffled by Ye Ci¡¯s action. They have always seen her as a person with strong personality. They did not know how to react to such a rare urrence. ¡°Aiya, Little Ci, it¡¯s nothing. You know that I¡¯m a stingy person. I don¡¯t really like the idea of spending away the money, but if this is what you ask of me... I-I am still able toplete this mission.¡±

    With the determined expression on Zuo Xian¡¯s face, one would have thought that she was asked to eat her own meat and drink her own blood.

    Ye Nantian expressed his support to the words of his wife, who was the center of his world.

    Ye Ci grimaced, and patted her parents¡¯ hands, ¡°If you¡¯re worrying about my dowry, why don¡¯t you start earning money now? I¡¯m looking forward to the dowry.¡±

    ¡°But... The money...¡±

    ¡°Mom, everything has a price. There¡¯s no free lunch in this world. You must learn to spend your money before you start earning them. If you¡¯re trying to be sessful just by saving up, it¡¯s impossible.¡± Ye Ci smiled at her mother. She then bade her farewell, and left the shop. The final decisionid with her parents, and they needed time to think things through. If Ye Ci decided to stay in the shop, the argument will definitely continue.

    Ye Ci immediately spotted Bai Mo upon leaving her parents¡¯ shop. He was leaning on the wall of one of the shops, staring at the yers who were passing by. ¡°What¡¯re you doing here?¡± asked Ye Ci as she walked up to Bai Mo.

    ¡°I came with the intention of showing some support, and overheard the lecture you were giving your parents before entering the shop.¡± said Bai Mo with a smile, ¡°Say, are you finally extending your filthy ws to your family members now?¡±

    ¡°Pfftttt... What are you talking about?¡± Ye Ci paid no heed to Bai Mo¡¯s words, ¡°I¡¯m done with my lecture. You can go show them your support now.¡±

    ¡°On second thoughts, maybe not. Your dad can cook very well in real life. But in game... I don¡¯t even dare to think about it.¡± Bai Mo shook his head. He was not there to torture himself. Since the opportunity presented itself, Bai Mo would definitely grasp the chance to save himself the trouble.

    ¡°I¡¯m growing to enjoy the second stage rewards of my Epic-tier quest.¡± said Ye Ci, who was very honest about her in-game progress with Bai Mo.

    ¡°And what¡¯s the reward?¡± Bai Mo made a wild guess based on Ye Ci¡¯s expression, ¡°It must be very overpowered.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure yet.¡± said Ye Ci as she began filling Bai mo in on the details of her exploits. ¡°My God! That¡¯s insane! You can get loads of those items as long as you¡¯re able to keep earning Spirit Emblems!¡± Bai Mo was shocked.

    Ye Ci nodded. She was uncertain if she could exploit the special item shop. After all, it was very unlikely for the devs to overlook such a game breaking loophole.

    After a brief conversation with Ye Ci, Bai Mo pped himself on the forehead, ¡°Oh yes, there¡¯s something that I¡¯ve almost forgot to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of a guild with the name ¡®Golden Age¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Golden Age?¡± Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows. It was a name that she knew well. The Golden Age guild was one of thergest and strongest guild in the online gaming world that was backed by severalrge corporations. The guild would enter a game, and disrupt the in-game economy in a short period of time. The guild would then try its best to ruin the gaming experience of the game¡¯s yers and quit when they have made enough money off the game.

    The guild was seen as locusts by yers and developers alike, and was often employed bypanies to sabotage the games of theirpetitors.

    ¡°What? They¡¯re moving into Fate?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She knew that theing of Golden Age is inevitable. After all, Fate suffered from the arrival of the guild as well in her past life. Even a game as popr as Fate was almost brought down by Golden Age. This led to the resignation of some Fate¡¯s main developers, paving the way for Wang Jiangnan to rise as the main developer of Fate. He was able to revive the dying game and brought Fate to a new height. This was why Wang Jiangnan was crowned as the Father of Fate.

    This incident was not written into the history of Fate, and remained unknown to the yers who joined the gameter. However, as a yer who has been ying the game since its beginning, Ye Ci not ignorant of such an incident.

    Ye Ci was so used to her peaceful days that she had even forgotten about theing of Golden Age guild. If she was unable to prepare for such a situation, disaster would surely follow.

    Bai Mo, of course, did not know of that particr incident was he was not a reincarnator. Despite that, he knew that Golden Age would bring trouble to Fate.

    ¡°Yup. Rumors had it that they¡¯re moving into Fate.¡± Bai Mo furrowed his eyebrows, ¡°I wonder what will happen to Fate when those locusts arrive.¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips and remained silent. If she did not change how things progress in Fate, things would still turn out as they did in her past life.

    ¡°By the way, do you know how many members does Golden Age have?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know their exact numbers, but I can tell you that there¡¯s a lot of them. They¡¯ve brought down quite a number of VRMMORPGs with their sheer numbers.¡± Ye Ci was telling the truth. She could not even remember the exact number of Golden Age¡¯s members, but their numbers were vast.

    ¡°There¡¯s about 10 million of them.¡± Bai Mo visibly gulped, ¡°That¡¯s like 1% of the current yer poption of Fate.¡±

    ¡°Wow... That¡¯s quite a lot of them.¡±

    ¡°I wonder which continent will they join,¡± Bai Mo creased his eyebrows, ¡°I sure hope they don¡¯te to the Eastern Continent. If they do, we¡¯re screwed.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and smiled, ¡°If I have 10 million members, I¡¯ll divide into four separate groups, which will join all four continents at once. With that, I can take all the continents out in one go.¡±

    Bai Mo paled at the thought, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t jinx it!¡±

    Ye Ci grimaced at Bai Mo. She was telling the truth. It was what Golden Age did to Fate in her past life. The guild sent its members to all four continents, and began destroying the economy and order in all the continents. Before long, the game began to copse. She could still how the storm swept away the weaker groups, and many small investors went bankrupt, leading to many cases of suicide.

    ¡°Bai Mo, from now on, we have to divide arger share of the earnings from our sponsored dungeon clearing to the guild.¡± said Ye Ci in a low voice.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Bai Mo was momentarily stunned, ¡°A lot of our members will be dissatisfied with this arrangement.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll have to bear with it. We need to be prepared for Golden Age.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s heart sank. She was one of the victims of the incident stirred up by Golden Age. It was a painful memory that left asting mark in her heart even after her reincarnation.

    Of course, it was impossible for her to take Golden Age on alone. However, she was confident in her strength to take care of the people the dearest to her. But... What can I do to to protect them?

    Bai Mo¡¯s heart sank when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°Are you telling me that they will definitelye to the Eastern Continent?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I said. If I¡¯m the leader of Golden Age, I will never do something as stupid as pouring in all my manpower into a single continent. That will make me the enemy of the entire yer poption of Fate.¡± Ye Ci stared at Bai Mo. She was certain that Bai Mo could understand the meaning behind her words.

    Bai Mo took in a sharp breath, ¡°You¡¯re telling me that...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that all the major guilds have realised such a problem as well, and I¡¯m sure that they¡¯ve begun to prepare for the worst as well.¡± Ye Ci grimaced.

    .

    ¡°But saving up on in-game currency will not help in this situation,¡± Bai Mo shook his head, ¡°Golden Age will definitely bring in huge amounts of money when they enter the game. Our in-game currency will be rendered worthless.¡±

    ¡°Of course! We can¡¯t rely on the in-game currency in this situation! Everybody knows that. However...¡± Ye Ci took in a deep breath, ¡°We can stock up on items.¡±

    ¡°What sort of items?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll just have to take our chances. There¡¯s a lot of items and materials in the game. One of us would get lucky.¡± Ye Ci smiled at Bai Mo. It was not the time to reveal the key to weather the storm that was Golden Age, as doing so would reveal her identity as a reincarnator. Besides, Bai Mo was someone who was very close to her, and she did not wish to ce him in danger.

    Bai Mo¡¯s worries were washed away by Ye Ci¡¯s smile. Ever since they were young, as long as such a smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, it meant that everything was under control.

    Despite his asional doubts, Bai Mo would still choose to trust in Ye Ci. This was his way of showing his support and understanding to Ye Ci.

 Chapter 220 First Battle in the Golan Arena

    Chapter 220 First Battle in the Gn Arena

    As expected, the dungeon could be explored multiple times.

    Although the exploration limit was unknown to Ye Ci, she spent the next few days clearing the dungeon. She was not a person who would waste a chance to gain profit when an opportunity presented itself. Her life returned to a simple and monotonous cycle once more. She would clear the dungeon every single day, and return to Red Lake City when her consumables were exhausted.

    She was just like a normal yer. There was nothing but the drive to get more Spirit Emblems in her gaming life. Revenge, conflict, and Golden Age all seemed so distant to her.

    When Ye Ci once again return to the special item merchant in the bandit encampment with 50,000 Spirit Emblem, she realised that the developers were no fools. They have already thought of any loopholes that might be exploited by yers.

    When Ye Ci was ready to redeem the equipment with her Spirit Emblems, she discovered that her idea of getting rich by selling away the equipment was impossible. She could only redeem one of each of the items sold by the rare item merchant. This meant that there was no way she could sell the overpowered equipment for profit.

    Although Ye Ci was saddened by such a fact, the developer¡¯s way of implementing such a system was not uncalled for. Epic-tier quests were very rare in the game, and rewards offered by such quests were of the best quality. If a greedy yer like Ye Ci received the quest, he or she would flood the game¡¯s market with huge amounts of overpowered equipment. This will break the bnce of the game. No developers would allow such a thing to happen in their game.

    After redeeming a Hunter equipment set, a weapon, some jewellery, and a special recipe, Ye Ci had almost no Spirit Emblems left. It seems that redeeming every single item from the special item merchant was no easy task. It would be a long and tedious process.

    However, every cloud has a silver lining. With the average yer level at lvl40, it would take quite some times for them to reach the realm of lvl55. This meant that Ye Ci had plenty of time to acquire these items, and toplete the process before Golden Age members began pouring into the game.

    Despite theck of news from Green Hill¡¯s Moon, Ye Ci decided against pestering the man for answers. She trusted in Green Hill¡¯s Moon abilities to get the job done, which was why she would avoid cing unnecessary pressure on him. The only thing Ye Ci had to do was to prepare for her next move while she waited for an answer from Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    After a long session of exploring the dungeon full of lvl55 monsters, Ye Ci had finally reached the realm of lvl60. It was the highest level she could achieve at the current stage. She could feel the need for better equipment. Her Venomous Scorpion equipment set was good, but her damage output was limited as it was a lvl30 equipment set.

    Leveling up and grinding for better equipment had always been the main focus of many MMORPGs, and Fate was one of them.

    The gamey of Fate revolved around the equipment of a yer. As long as a yer was equipped with good quality equipment with a sufficient level of enchantments, gems, and refinement, the yer would be able to do well in a dungeon even if he or she might not be able to clear the dungeon solo.

    Ye Ci unequipped her Venomous Scorpion set, and equipped the new equipment set that she has redeemed from the special items merchant.

    As the equipment set was redeemed from the Doran Thieves Guild, the name of each item was quite generic. The helm that was equipped by Ye Ci was named as ¡°Doran Hunter¡¯s Helm¡±, while her armor was called the Doran Body Armor...

    Other than their own excellent stats, the equipment in an item set came with a very importantplete set buff.

    The Doran Hunter¡¯s Set was such an example. Each of its individualponents, which includes a helm, a shoulder guard, a cape, an armor, a gauntlet, a belt, a pair of greaves, and a pair boots, came with great stats.

    Equipping 2 pieces of the Doran Hunter¡¯s Set will provide a yer with an additional 20% hit rate in PVE battles. When a yer was equipped with 4 pieces of the Doran Hunter¡¯s Set, he or she would receive a 20% attack damage bonus. Equipping 6 pieces of the Doran Hunter¡¯s Set will increase a yer¡¯s Evasion by 30% in PVPbat, while equipping all 8 of them would activate a very overpowered active skill: Stealth Combat.

    As the stats and special skill of each equipment set varies by a character¡¯s ss, Ye Ci had no knowledge about the Hunter set¡¯s Stealth Combat even in her past life. The yer who received the quest was not a Hunter, which meant that even he himself was not aware of the stats of the Doran Hunter¡¯s Set.

    Ye Ci did not activate her Brooch of Deceit after equipping her new equipment. Other than the faint golden designs on the somewhat dull color scheme of the equipment, Ye Ci was certain that her appearance would not attract too much attention.

    The entire equipment set was covered in a shade of darkish grey. This would allow Ye Ci to blend into the shadows in dark ces. However, if they were owned by any other female yer, the color scheme would definitely be a bother to them. After all, it was too dull, which would not suit female yers who generally prefered to have a good appearance on their in-game character.

    For Ye Ci, the color scheme of this equipment set serves a purpose.

    As a solo yer, she had always traveled in dark dungeons and thick jungles. She will be able to hide herself well with the aid of her equipment without the the need to activate her Brooch of Deceit. The looks of her character was always thest thing in Ye Ci¡¯s mind.

    The Doran Spectral Hunting Bow was a direct contrast to the dull and simple design of the Doran Hunter¡¯s Equipment Set. The bow itself was gorgeously designed with a delicate appearance, and was covered in a nice shade of emerald green. Ye Ci nocked an arrow with practiced ease after equipping the bow, and fired a shot at a lvl40 Elite Deer that was grazing not far away.

    The deer let out a long shriek, and fell lifelessly onto the ground.

    Heh! I was able to kill a lvl40 elite monster with one hit! A normal lvl60 yer is not capable of doing something like this, but I did it with this equipment set! It really is overpowered!

    With the equipment set¡¯s in appearance, Ye Ci did not see the need to disguise herself. She hid the stats of her equipment, and returned to Red Lake City.

    With her attention focused on dungeon clearing, Ye Ci paid little attention to the things going around her. She was in a good mood after acquiring the new set of equipment, and decided to take a walk in Red Lake City. She heard amotion right after leaving her storage warehouse.

    ¡°5v5 in Gn Arena! We need a strong DPS yer! yers with Tier 7 and above PVP equipment only!¡±

    ¡°Need members for 3v3 games! Anybody will do! We¡¯ll carry you, no worries!¡±

    ¡°We need an experienced and skillful healer in a 5v5 match! yers with Tier 8 and above PVP equipment only!¡±

    ......

    Gn Arena?

    The arena had been released in the game for quite some time. Ye Ci did not have a chance to pay the Gn Arena a visit as she had always been busy with her Epic-tier quest. Since I have free time today, I should have some fun. thought Ye Ci to herself.

    With that thought in mind, Ye Ci began looking for party members in Upwards Ho!¡¯s guild chat. However, in a time where most of the members were preparing to explore a lvl40 dungeon, Fiery Infernal, none of the guild members, not a single one of them responded to her invitation. Ye Ci was slightly embarrassed by the resolve of her guild members. She had always been absent from guild activities and dungeon clearing. Of course, of course, it¡¯s because of my bad luck. If I join them in the dungeon, they will definitely hate me for that.

    It was an excuse that Ye Ci had always used tofort herself, convincing her that her presence is not needed in guild activities and dungeon clearing. She was, however, feeling slightly guilty for herck of contribution. She cleared her throat, and asked out meekly in the Guild Channel.

    ¡°Any parties out there needing an extra member? I¡¯ll clear the dungeon with you.¡±

    Such a statement would usually receive vigorous responses from the guild members. However, when Ye Ci spoke into the Guild Channel, she was met only with silence.

    Ye Ci spoke in the Guild Channel again after three full minutes.

    ¡°I¡¯m free now! Any parties in need of an extra member? It¡¯s okay, I can wait!¡±

    Ye Ci did not give up after another moment of silence, ¡°Is anyone online at all?¡±

    She received response from Dream Height 1.7m within seconds, ¡°Haven¡¯t you been busytely? Why are you suddenly so free?¡±

    Ye Ci had the urge to hug Ideal Height 1.7m tightly and cry into her shoulders, she was the first person to acknowledge her presence, ¡°Yes! I¡¯m free! Do you need my help?¡±

    ¡°Hmm... Why don¡¯t you uhh... Note anywhere near us? You don¡¯t have to trouble yourself. We just need you to be around for the First Blood. At the meantime... You can do whatever you want!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s enthusiasm was immediately killed by Fruit Jellys response.

    Before she could even react, Beautiful Years, a guild member who had the experience of clearing a dungeon with Ye Ci, spoke up, ¡°Vice leader, I think we¡¯re doing pretty well, you don¡¯t have to trouble yourself with helping us out...¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°Hey, Old Mo! Were you the one who unleashed this Embodiment of Misfortune upon our guild? Send her somewhere else, or we¡¯ll all be affected by her ck Hand Aura.¡± Little Icy Cold Hands immediately answered her question.

    Ye Ci began sobbing internally. What the heck? Just what the heck is going on?

    Since she (the jinx) was not needed by the guild, Ye Ci could finally enter the Gn Arena with a guiltless heart.

    She immediately headed to the main hall of the Gn Arena after equipping her Glory Equipment Set.

    The Glory Equipment Set was a PVP equipment set that can be redeemed by yers from all four continents with their Kill Glory. The equipments share rather simr stats, but their designs varied greatly. Ye Ci was equipped with the Marshal Set, which was the Glory Equipment Set of the highest tier. With her huge amount of Kill Glory, it was something that she could afford easily. Since she has made up her mind to have some matches in the Gn Arena, Ye Ci decided to redeem aplete Marshal Set. After all, there¡¯s not much chance for her to equip such an equipment in actualbat.

    After all, nobody will give their opponents the chance to swap out their equipment before starting a fight. This was Ye Ci¡¯s first chance to try out her Marshal Set.

    Armed with the knowledge of her past life, Ye Ci knew that the Marshal Set was very eye-catching. However, when she tried it on herself, she came to a sudden realisation... This equipment set was definitely designed for people who love cosying! She was literally glittering from head to toes in a set of equipment with a very extravagant design. To the developers¡¯ credit, Ye Ci¡¯s movements were not encumbered by the shing design of her equipment. If such was the case, she would definitely cough up a lot of blood. However, Ye Ci¡¯s appearance still attracted countless pairs of eyeballs.

    No kidding! If a person who looked as if she was encased in gold appeared in front of you, can you resist the urge to stare at the person?

    I guess it¡¯s toote to activate the Brooch of Deceit. Ye Ci sighed as she tried her best to ignore the stares from a crowd that was slowly gathering around her.

    ¡°Wow! What sort of equipment is that? It looks pretty!¡±

    ¡°Oh my God! That¡¯s a Marshal Equipment Set! I don¡¯t even have enough points for a Soldier set yet! I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s already someone with a Marshal set!¡±

    ¡°No shit, look at her name...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Gongzi You...¡±

    ¡°Well, f*ck me...¡±

    ¡°Eh? Even Gongzi You is interested in fighting in the arena? Is this her first time here? Or have I missed her before?¡±

    ¡°Hubby, hubby! I¡¯ll go stand beside Gongzi You, please take a picture of us!¡±

    ¡°I wanted to do it first, wait for your turn!¡±

    ......

    Ye Ci walked up to the NPC in charge of the arena with a darkened expression. Her mood was ruined by all the yers crowding around her, and intention of joining a decent party was long gone; She immediately selected the option to randomize her party, and was transported into the arena.

    Disappointed groans and jeers rang out all around the entrance of the arena when Ye Ci disappeared from view.

    Of course, Ye Ci was not able to hear themotion, which would definitely further ruin her mood. She had always preferred to keep a low profile, and being the focus of attention was a horrifying experience.

    ¡°Aiya, somebody joined our party! We can stop recruiting new members now.¡± Ye Ci heard a loli voice the moment she joined the party.

    ¡°It took such a long time for someone to join our party! Are there really so few fighting in the arena these days?¡± said the voice of another loli.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. It definitely has something to do with our low tier equipment. Nobody wants to team up with us.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, didn¡¯t someone just join our party? Let¡¯s go and have a look!¡±

    ¡°Save it, it¡¯s probably a newbie...¡±

    Ye Ci was transported into a small room decorated with some small barrels and a few broken chairs. She could hear voicesing from a nearby room. The house that Ye Ci was in served as the spawn point for her party.

    Ye Ci¡¯s first action when arriving in an unfamiliar ce was to have a look at the map. She closed the map window after studying the map for a brief moment and began walking to join up with her party members in the next room. Even for a random battle in the arena, Ye Ci felt the need to show courtesy her teammates in a 5v5 battle, and talk to them about their battle strategy.

    But just as Ye Ci had closed her map, four Gnomes appeared in front of her, staring at her with mouths wide open.

    Elves were considered tall among the many races in Fate. Despite her average height, Ye Ci was considerably taller than the Gnomes.

    This made the situation slightly awkward for Ye Ci.

    An Elf standing in front of four Gnomes was such a sharp contrast that the situation itself became a source ofughter. Ye Ci felt as if she was inspecting her troops before a battle. This... This is just...

    So what should I do? Thought Ye Ci to herself after a half a minute of silence. While she was still pondering over this quandary, one of the Gnomes to her left cried out in a loud voice, ¡°Wow! Your clothes are pretty!¡±

    The three other Gnomes began voicing out their thoughts out loud as well.

    ¡°Wow! What a tall Elf!¡±

    ¡°Wow! She looks like a high-leveled yer!¡±

    ¡°Wow! She looks so cool!¡±

    The corners of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth twitched. Just what the hell is this? She had just escaped the misfortune of bing a living exhibit at the entrance of Gn Arena just to suffer the same fate in the arena. Fortunately for Ye Ci, the Gnomes did notment on her identity as Gongzi You.

    ¡°So what¡¯s the n?¡± Ye Ci cleared her throat.

    However, her words fell on deaf ears. The four Gnomes shared confused looks with each other, and stared at Ye Ci. ¡°She seems to be... Gongzi You.¡± said one of the Gnomes after a long moment of silence.

    ¡°Yeah, she does look like Gongzi you...¡±

    ¡°No! She really is Gongzi You!¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You joined our party?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna take a picture of her.¡±

    ¡°I know, right! I¡¯m going to upload it to the forums! This is just insane! We made the right choice bying to the arena today!¡±

    ......

    The Gnomes immediately began to holler in excitement. Ye Ci could even feel her temple twitching. ¡°So... What¡¯s the n?¡± asked Ye Ci as the Gnomes began to quiet down.

    ¡°n?¡± the leader of the party, Little Seven, blinked rapidly, as if Ye Ci¡¯s question was an impossible riddle ¡°What n?¡±

    ¡°How are we going to fight when the battle starts?¡± Ye Ci was assaulted by a headache. Was she the one at fault here? Or was the Gnome¡¯sprehension skill to be med?

    ¡°We¡¯re just here for the points. There¡¯s no need for n.¡± a Gnome with the name Little Rabbit blinked at Ye Ci.

    ¡°So... You¡¯re one of those ¡®free-win teams¡¯...¡± Ye Ci immediately regretted her decision to join a random team that was hastily made when she was surrounded by yers at the entrance of Gn Arena. She would suffer losses in terms of Battle Point if she left the party, which was not an issue under normal circumstances. However, Ye Ci had no Battle Points as this was her first visit to the Gn Arena. In such a situation, she was not allowed to leave.

    In other words, Ye Ci was forced to take part in her first battle in the Gn Arena with the four Gnomes serving as a great burden. Tears welled up in her eyes. Why is this happening to me?

    ¡°Yup! Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s good to be part of a free-win team. You can earn Battle Points, and your matches end quickly. If we had higher levels, we¡¯d run into a lot of win trading teams.¡± said another Gnome.She blinked at Ye Ci as well, and despite the Gnome¡¯s cute and innocent appearance, her words almost brought Ye Ci into tears.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it mean that you¡¯re losing without putting up a fight?¡± Ye Ci creased her eyebrows. This was never her way of doing things. She was a person who would struggle even at the face of certain defeat. There was no such thing as ¡°giving up¡± in Ye Ci¡¯s dictionary.

    ¡°What do you mean? You¡¯re thinking too much. We¡¯re just here for the Battle Points. Is there even a need to try so hard?¡± another Gnome, Lil¡¯ Handsome, spoke up. Perhaps due to their racial trait, each of the Gnomes would blink before they spoke to Ye Ci. It was as if she was surrounded by a group of adorable creatures trying to act cute.

    ¡°....¡± Ye Ci gave up on all attempts tomunicate with the Gnomes. If they keep this up, I¡¯m going to die of anger. She stared at expressionlessly at the Gnomes, ¡°So who is the party leader? Go initiate the battle.¡±

    Lil¡¯ Handsome was astonished by Ye Ci¡¯s response ¡°Eh? So you agree to give out a free win?¡± asked the Gnome as he began unequipping her equipment. The other Gnomes had also unequipped their equipment at astonishing speed.

    They stared at Ye Ci as they stood in nothing but their undergarments, ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not going to unequip your gear? They seem to be some pretty high level equipment. If you die, repairing those equipment is going to cost you a fortune.¡±

    ¡°I have no habit of doing such a thing¡± said Ye Ci in a low voice, with her expression darkened.

    ¡°Ahh...¡± Well, she¡¯s Gongzi You after all. Nobody can force her to do anything. Sigh, as expected of an expert. The cost of repairing her equipment means nothing to her. Thought Lil¡¯ Handsome as he initiated the battle.

    Ye Ci immediately entered Stealth when the battle started and hid herself in a spot near the entrance of the house.

    As the house was built on a hill with its back to a steep cliff, Ye Ci¡¯s position near the entrance provided her with an excellent field of vision and a good defensive position.

    The enemy would definitely be quick to realise that Ye Ci¡¯s party was a free-win team due to their inaction. With that, they would be forced to make a move. In a situation where the enemy¡¯s strength was unknown, Ye Ci would never act rashly. Even if it was might not be hard to take on five opponents at once, she still had a chance of losing against her opponents if they were able to work together properly.

    Such was the beauty of teamwork.

    This was also why Ye Ci immediately considered leaving the party when she first learned that it was a free-win team.

    Waiting was not in Ye Ci¡¯s nature. She had always preferred to be on the move. However, with the four Gnomes that were a heavy burden to her, she could only wait.

    As expected, the enemy team was quick to realise that their opponent was a free-win team, and immediately approached the house. A battle in the Gn Arenasted only for five minutes. The team that was able to secure the most kills during the give minutes will be dered as the victor. Battle Points will then be awarded to the yers. The winners will then receive bonus for their victory, and awarded points based on the amount of kills, healing or other stats.

    Of course, a free-win team would still receive a miniscule amount of Battle Points for their participation. Given enough time, the yers could still umte enough points for better equipment. Although many of the yers preferred to gain Battle Points by ying their opponents in the Gn Arena, a tiny amount of them could only resort to forming free-win teams due to theirck of skill, teamwork, and equipment.

    Ye Ci¡¯s Gnomish teammates were examples of such yers.

    A torrent of voices entered Ye Ci¡¯s ears. Her opponents were speaking in thenguage of their own continent, which due to the game system, were utterly iprehensible to Ye Ci.

    The first yer to approach the house was a Rogue. He crept up to the house in stealth mode, and jumped in through a window. After doing a quick survey of his surroundings, the Rogue began talking to his teammates. Four more yers appeared near the house, while the Rogue walked up to the four Gnomes.

    The Gnomes were very calm. It was apparent that they were very used to such a situation. They did not even blink at the face of death. However, the act of waiting for death¡¯s approach was like an unforgivable sin to Ye Ci. She circled to the Rogue¡¯s back, took aim at him, and fired off her skills. The Rogue could not even react in time. With a loud shriek, he fell lifelessly onto the ground.

    It was clear that the yers outside of the house received a warning from their fallenrade. They began spreading out in an attempt to encircle the house. However, they were still toote. After dispatching the Rogue, Ye Ci immediately cast Rain of Arrows on the rest of his team. Arrows rained down on the four yers, followed by a sea of red damage indicator and the panicked cries of the yers.

    Ye Ci¡¯s mechanical skills, game sense, and PVP experience were not the only contributing factors to her quick victories. Her level and equipment yed an important role in the battle as well. She was 20 levels ahead of the other yers, and their equipment was at least five tiers lower than Ye Ci¡¯s Marshal Set. They were wiped out within seconds without putting much of a fight.

    Of course, this came as a surprise to Ye Ci¡¯s opponents as well. They had never expected such a strong opponent that could easily wipe their team out. After a brief discussion, the team opted to stay still after their respawn.

    On Ye Ci¡¯s side of the map, the Gnomes did not expect Ye Ci to emerge victorious after taking on their opponents alone. They stood around Ye CI and chatted away with delight clear on their faces.

    ¡°Just leave them to me. I want you to remain hidden and stay safe.¡± said Ye Ci, who could no longer stand the chatter. She jumped out of the room and headed straight for the enemy¡¯s side of the map.

    The spawn point of Ye Ci¡¯s opponents shared the same setting as the spawn point of her team. It was a location that could easily guard against an attack. However, there was adder attached the the side of the house that can be used by yers to enter the house. Ye Ci entered stealth and crept slowly up thedder before finally entering the house. Instead of the ambush that Ye Ci expected, she was greeted by the following scene:

    Five yers wereying on the floor of the small house with their equipment removed.

    Their expressions were calm and collected, and it was apparent that they have given up on making any moves.

    Ye Ci was dumbfounded by the sight, ¡°You¡¯re giving away a free win?¡± asked Ye Ci in amonnguage shared by all the continents.

    The Undead Rogue who was the closest to Ye Ci stood up and nodded at her, ¡°Well, with an opponent like you around, there¡¯s nothing much that we can do...¡±

    What the heck?

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes.

    ¡°Just kill us already, Gongzi You. You can at least earn more Battle Points from the kills. Time is nearly up.¡± said a Lycan Warrior to his opponent that was much more stronger than him. However, his reminder that was spoken out of kindness was like an insult to Ye Ci, who muttered a string of curses under her breath before leaving the house.

    ¡°Are you not going to kill us?¡± asked an Elven Cleric who was baffled by Ye Ci¡¯s inaction.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already killed you anyways. I¡¯ve already won.¡± Ye Ci gritted her teeth.

    ¡°We¡¯re giving you free points...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in prey that readily offers itself up.¡± said Ye Ci as she left the house. The battle ended before she could return to her spawn point. The winner of the battle would of course be Ye Ci¡¯s party. Each member was awarded with 200 Battle Points for their victory, while Ye Ci received an additional 150 bonus points for her kills.

    However, Ye Ci did not rejoice in this victory, and was instead seething in anger.

    She silently swore to herself that her next battle would be a massacre.

 Chapter 221 Top Player

    Ye Ci bade farewell with the Gnomes and immediately left the party when the battle was over. She refused to remain in a free-win team.

    She was immediately transported to the grand hall in the Gn Arena. There was a huge billboard in the hall, disying parties that were looking for more members, and members in need of parties. Learning from her previous lesson, Ye Ci decided against searching for a random party with the help of NPCs. She stood in front of billboard, studying the details of each party. Despite attracting many attention from the yers around her, Ye Ci opted to ignore the stares she received for the sake of finding a good party.

    There were multiple battle modes avable in the Gn Arena. Of course, yers would have no need of searching for teammates in a 1v1 battle, while most of the yers engaging in 2v2 battles have a fixed duo. Most of the parties that were in need of members were taking part in 3v3 and 5v5 battles. The rosters of these parties would constantly change as yerse and go. It was almost impossible to form a party with a fixed roster under such condition. The 10v10 battle mode, on the other hand, were always made up of parties with members from the same guild. Recruitment messages for 10v10 battles would never appear on the billboard. Most of the recruiting parties were seeking to take part in 3v3 and 5v5 battles.

    The best way to earn Battle Points in the Gn Arena was to take part in 1v1 battles. However, such battles would typicallyst for a short duration of 30 seconds, and the victor would then be decided with 2 criteria: The first yer who was able to obtain three kills would win the battle even before the time was up. If none of thebatants were able to secure any kills, the yer with the highest amount of damage dealt would be the victor.

    1v1 battles rely heavily on individual strength. As long as a yer was skillful enough, he or she would be able to secure a kill within the time limit, and be awarded with 300 Battle Points. If bothbatants possess the same skill level, could only try their best to deal damage to their opponents before time runs out.

    That was why most yers would still opt for 2v2, 3v3, and 5v5 battles even when they could earn more Battle Points from 1v1 battles. Only yers who were truly skillful would take part in this battle mode.

    However, 2v2 battles require a high degree of teamwork. Many yers who do not have a fixed partner would shun away from this battle mode, favoring the 3v3 or 5v5 battles. If a yer was lucky enough, he or she would be paired with a decent team, and if things went well, they could earn a lot of points.

    The opening of the Gn Arena served as an indicator. It foretold the beginning of the battle between the four continents. The battles would not be fought in stadiums or arena, but between yers in cities and in the wild. This was also the core feature of Fate¡¯s major patch called ¡°A New Continent¡±. When the patch was released, the Middle Continent would be made avable to yers from all continents. With the exception of the major cities, every map in the Middle Continent was a potential battleground where yers could engage each other inbat.

    This was why the Gn Arena was introduced into the game. It would allow yers to acquire PVP equipment while training their skills in actualbat. After all, nobody would willingly allow themselves to be ughtered. yers would take part in battles in the Gn Arena to improve theirbat capabilities.

    Of course, it was a fact that still remained unknown to most of the yers in the current stage of the game. They knew that the Battle Points they¡¯ve acquired from the Gn Arena could be exchanged for PVP equipment. But... What are these equipment for? This was a question that was overlooked by many of the yers, giving rise to the countless free-win teams in the arena.

    Although it was apparent that the yers would naturally have their own ystyle, Ye Ci still frowned upon the free-win teams. They were refused to work for what they want, and refused to work to improve their PVP skills. When the new patch was released, these yers were swept aside by the new changes introduced into the game.

    Ye Ci was able to gain exceptional PVP skills in her past life by immersing herself in 1v1 battles. Her best record in 1v1 battles was an astonishing 287 consecutive victories that was the envy of countless yers, and this record was held by Ye Ci for a very long time. This was why Ye Ci was very confident in her PVP abilities, and was also why she did not choose to take part in 1v1 battles in her current life.

    What she needed was to brush up on her teamwork, and not a disy of her ownbat prowess. That was why joining a random 5v5 team was her best choice. She would be able to face enemies of different sses in battle as well as a variety to different teampositions and strategies. She knew that even her strength was limited in arge scale battle, and the only way for her to get good was through practice.

    There was a huge amount of parties looking for members on the billboard. However, it was quite easy to tell the fixed teams apart from the random teams. A fixed team that was in need of an additional yers would have its name disyed, while a random team would appear as ¡°Random¡± on the billboard. This made the process of looking for a party easier for yers.

    Ye Ci filtered away the random teams, and began sifting through the fixed teams.

    : A skillful 5v5 party armed with Tier 8 equipment with a win streak of 34 battles in need of a DPS yer! Don¡¯t bother joining us if you¡¯re not good.

    : 3v3 battles only! We need a Healer with great positioning and game sense!

    : We¡¯ve won 40 battles in a row yesterday! We need a good DPS with excellent positioning and gaming sense as well as Tier 8 and above gears. We only want yers who are lvl 38 and above.

    : 5v5 team looking for a DPS! We need a who is lvl 40 and has a good game sense, and can work with the team. Don¡¯te to us if you¡¯re not confident in your PVP capabilities.

    ......

    Even with the random teams filtered, the numbers of the fixed team was quite high as well. The game had a poption of nearly 1 billion yers. Even when those who were exploring dungeons, or were life yers, and those who did not have sufficient level to take part in battles in the arena were not taken into ount, there was still millions of yers left in the arena.

    Ye Ci was bedazzled by the sheer number of team names disyed on the billboard. As a yer who had only took part in 1v1 battles, she was inexperienced when it came to searching for the right team. After long moments of hesitation, Ye Ci noticed a team that was looking for a lvl40+ yer with Tier 8 equipment and good mechanical skills. The high requirements set by the group naturally meant that their members were rather capable yers as well. It would be easier for Ye Ci to work with the party.

    She immediately joined the party.

    The team, which was named consisted of a Healer, a Mage, a Warrior, and a Rogue. With Ye Ci added into the mix, it was a very standardposition of 2 ranged characters, 2 melee characters, and a healer. A team like this could easily achieve victory if it did not have the misfortune to face off against a team with characters that were equipped with crowd control abilities.

    However, Ye Ci was slightly dissatisfied with her choice. She had intended to join a team with a more unconventional teamposition so that her teamwork would be pushed to the limit.

    Despite that, Ye Ci did not have the habit of immediately abandoning a party that she joined. She was even able to bare with free-win team, not to mention her current decent-looking team.

    But... A yer like Gongzi You would always cause a smallmotion with their appearance. Ye Ci was met with surprised gasps when she joined the party, ¡°There must be something wrong with my eyes! The yer who has just joined our team is called ¡®Gongzi You¡¯!¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be that Gongzi You, right?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s only one Gongzi You in the Eastern Continent and the entire game...¡±

    ¡°Oh shit! We¡¯re so lucky! Gongzi You joined our team! I¡¯m gonna buy a lottery when this is over!¡±

    Ye Ci could not muster up a response for the obvious enthusiasm of her teammates. She stood in a corner, silently studying the rest of her team. A Human male walked up to her and introduced himself, ¡°I¡¯m AppreciatingTheScenery, a Cleric, and the leader of this party.¡±

    The three other members also begun introducing themselves to Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m Beauty¡¯s Grave, a Warrior.¡±

    ¡°My name¡¯s Glistening Moonlight, a Sorceress.¡±

    ¡°The name¡¯s Returning Winds, I¡¯m a Rogue.¡±

    Ye Ci spoke up after they were done with their introductions, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Gongzi You, a Huntress.¡±

    ¡°Are you that Gongzi You who frequently got First Blood? The one who killed Werebeast Shaman Buru?¡± as the only female yer in the party other than Ye Ci, Glistening Moonlight appeared to be interested in gossip, ¡°Are you that Gongzi You who left Steel-Blooded Battle Spear to join Upwards Ho!? Are you the Gongzi You who was used of bad things by Steel-Blooded Battle Spear in the forums? The same Gongzi You who was called out by Customer Service No.094 at the Dragon Dance Competition? The Gongzi You who had a battle with Fleeting Time, the god-tier yer of the Western Continent? The Gongzi You who had a scandal with Purity Essence? The Gongzi You who disappeared for an entire month?¡±

    Glistening Moonlight was a very gorgeous Elf, and her ability to gossip was even greater than her looks. She bombarded Ye Ci with questions after questions without even skipping a breath.

    The corner of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth twitched. She was dumbfounded by the sudden torrent of questions, and was unable toe up with a response.

    She was not as good a speaker as Glistening Moonlight, but it was not an ability that she was jealous of.

    Glistening Moonlight was apparently a very impatient person as well, ¡°So are you that Gongzi You? Are you?¡± asked the Elf when she received no answer from Ye Ci.

    Despite their own curiosity, Beauty¡¯s Grave, AppreciatingTheScenery, and Returning Winds were embarrassed by the actions of Glistening Moonlight. AppreciatingTheScenery nudged Glistening Moonlight with his elbow, hoping that she would stop her line of questioning. After all, the person standing before them was not just any ordinary yer. She was the god-tier yer who was also the best Hunter in Fate.

    ¡°Aiya, Mountains, why did you do that?¡± Glistening Moonlight, who was oblivious to AppreciatingTheScenery¡¯s intention, directed a re at the man. She then turned around and spoke to Ye Ci with a tone full of enthusiasm and excitement, ¡°So are you really that Gongzi You?¡±

    The corners of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth twitched again. ¡°Duplicated names are not allowed in the game.¡± replied Ye Ci stiffly under the expectant gaze of Glistening Moonlight.

    The answer was a confirmation to Glistening Moonlight¡¯s questions. Under normal circumstances, a simple ¡°yes¡± would have suffice. But wouldn¡¯t it mean that I¡¯m admitting to all those things? thought Ye Ci to herself.

    ¡°In other words.. You¡¯re Gongzi You! The real Gongzi You!¡± Glistening Moonlight squealed in delight. She ran up to Ye Ci and grabbed hold of her hands, staring at her with eyes burning with passion.

    Such enthusiasm and passion was something that Ye Ci was not used to. She cowered back out of reflex, and subconsciously attempted to pull her hands back. However, Glistening Moonlight¡¯s tight grip prevented her from doing just that.

    ¡°There¡¯s a question that I¡¯ve wanted to ask when I met the real Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci finally relented under the enthusiasm of her teammate. If she did not satisfy the curiosity of the gossipy mage, this battle would not proceed well.

    Glistening Moonlight blinked her beautiful green eyes, and asked, ¡°¡°So... When you and Fleeting Time got married... Will you go over to the Western Continent? Or will he move to the Eastern Continent?¡±

    Ye Ci almost coughed up blood when she heard the question.

    At that moment, Ye Ci could feel her blood gushing to her head, and her eyes turned red with anger. When she stared at the innocent face of Glistening Moonlight, Ye Ci could not bring herself to vent her anger on her teammate. She took in some deep breaths, trying her best to suppress her sudden surge of anger. She then withdrew her hand, and spoke to Glistening Moonlight with a cold voice, ¡°I¡¯m not that close with Fleeting Time.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, the celebrities will always use this line when asked about their love interest.¡± Glistening Moonlight nodded, and her unspoken words were written all over her face: I understand.

    Ye Ci was nearly driven mad by Glistening Moonlight. ¡°Are you guys going to start the battle, or are we continuing the gossip?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s words wereced with anger. Even an idiot could tell that the god-tier huntress was annoyed. AppreciatingTheScenery immediately nodded and forced out augh, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s cut the nonsense. I¡¯m initiating the battle.¡±

    With that, AppreciatingTheScenery immediately started the countdown, and the rest of the party immediately prepared for battle. Despite her talkative and gossipy nature, Glistening Moonlight was actually a decent yer. Even Ye Ci who was a top-tier Sorceress was impressed by her positioning.

    The party immediately headed to the basin at the center of the map when the battle started.

    The Gn Arena offered more than 500 maps, and each map was distinct and unique in its own way. The yers would be transported into a randomized map in each battle to a random spawn point that might or might not work to their advantage. It all depended on the luck of the yers.

    Ye Ci and her party were transported to a t in with a basin at its center. Both teams ofbatants began moving to the center of the map to engage each other inbat. With the size of the terrain limited and t, put the game sense and positioning of yers would be pushed to the limit. The basin at the middle of the map was surrounded by tforms with glowing orbs. Each orb came with a distinct BUFF or DEBUFF that would only be made known to yers when activated.

    It was amon practice for Ye Ci to ignore the glowing orbs. While a BUFF would definitely be advantageous for her in battle, there was still a 50% chance that she might identally activate a DEBUFF. It was a risk that Ye Ci wanted to avoid.

    She jumped into the basin when the rest of her party began activating the glowing orbs.

    When Ye Ci entered stealth, her teammates were still busying themselves with the glowing orbs on the tform.

    ¡°Gongzi You, are you not activating the BUFFs?¡± said Glistening Moonlight when she noticed that Ye Ci has jumped into the basin without activating any BUFFs, ¡°You cane up here with that pathway... over... there.....¡±

    Before she could finish her sentence, a row of golden words appeared in her vision.

    ¡°Gongzi You has in an enemy.¡±

    The other members shared a confused look. They could not believe the scene that was unfolding before them. Ye Ci had already taken out an enemy not 10 seconds after leaping into the basin.

    ¡°Gongzi You has in an enemy.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You has in an enemy.¡±

    Before the other party members could react, two lines of golden words appeared once agian in their vision. You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me! That¡¯s just too fast! They immediately jumped into the basin after Ye Ci.

    Just at that moment, two lines of words appeared again in their vision. One of them was golden, and the other one was red.

    ¡°Gongzi You has in an enemy.¡±

    ¡°AppretiatingTheScenery has been in by Fleeting Time.

    Hiya minna-san! Here¡¯s yet another awesome chapter of the awesomesauce novel tranted by an awesomtacr trantor (that is me, by the way!). Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

    How¡¯s everybody doing today? How¡¯s life been treating you guys so far? I¡¯m doing quite well if you ask me. Aside from the assignments and midterms of course ahaha... Life is still fun. Got to hang out with friends and stuff... We even got to enjoy some nice steamboat xDD Holy shit I think I binged on so much mutton that I finished half the restauran¡¯t supply of mutton hehe... Hey! Don¡¯t judge okay? It tasted REAL nice! And we got to sorta like fry it on our own? So it¡¯s fun!

    And hey! I¡¯ve discovered a pretty fun way to prank your friends if you ever go to a buffet... Macha ice cream, wasabi. Nuff said *wink wink*

    I would also like to thank my Patrons for your support on Patreon. Thank you very much. It means a lot to me. *deep bow* Thank you for supporting and staying with Jimmy and Reign of the Hunters!

    Ye Ci was momentarily sunnted. Fleeting Time?

    I actually ran into him in this ce? What a rotten luck! thought Ye Ci to herself. She shifted her gaze to the direction of AppreciatingTheScenery corpse, and spotted a silhouette that was sprinting at her.

    Ye Ci immediately headed for the opposite direction. Hell, if she allowed Fleeting Time the chance to close in, it would be a great bother. Judging from his trajectory, Ye Ci was not his only target. Fleeting Time was going after the rest of her party as well.

    The death of AppretiatingTheScenery was a fatal blow to the party, which relied heavily on their Healer. Panic gripped the hearts of Ye Ci¡¯s teammates when AppreciatingTheScenery was in.

    Ye Ci knew that her teammates were not veterans in PVP battles with their inexperience in dealing with sudden changes in a situation. Of course, Ye Ci¡¯s opinion of the part was rather unjust. Who could keep their calm when their Healer was taken out by Fleeting Time in one go?

    ¡°Beauty¡¯s Grave, Returning Winds, I want you two to rush at Fleeting Time. You can¡¯t run around like that when you¡¯re up against a Hunter! Don¡¯t you have even the tiniest amount ofmon sense?¡± shouted Ye Ci at her panicking teammates as she had an archery duel with Fleeting Time.

    ¡°But he¡¯s Fleeting Time...¡± it was apparent that Glistening Moonlight did not expect to run into the god-tier yer of the Western Continent who was as strong as Gongzi You. Panic gripped her heart, and she was even beginning to give up, ¡°How can we even hope to take him on...¡±

    ¡°So what if he¡¯s Fleeting Time? He¡¯s a Hunter, not a God! Why are you scaring yourself witless?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s opinion of Glistening Moonlight dropped immediately upon hearing her words. If people are so afraid of challenge, why do they even bothering to the arena? ¡°Hurry! Get close to him!¡± shouted Ye Ci at Beauty¡¯s Grave and Returning Winds.

    ¡°Understood.¡± Beauty¡¯s Grave and Returning Winds were spurred into action by Ye Ci¡¯s cold voice. They were able to quickly regain theirposure and began rushing at Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time was ignorant of Ye Ci¡¯s presence until she made her first kill. He was excited to learn that Gongzi You was in the opposing team. His lethargy was immediately was away by a surge of vigor. In the short period of time Fleeting Time to rush to the basin, Ye Ci was able to take yet another two of his teammates. With Gongzi You nowhere in sight when he reached the basin, Fleeting Timeunched his attack on one of her teammates.

    Since I¡¯ve received a greeting from Gongzi You, wouldn¡¯t it be rude to not respond in kind? thought Fleeting Time. After all, he was a polite gentleman.

    One of the main reason Ye Ci was able to take out her four opponents easily was because of Fleeting Time¡¯s negligence. He was not paying attention to the battle as Ye Ci struck. When he attempted to eliminate the remainder of Ye Ci¡¯s teammates, it was no longer a simple task.

    He was finally able to y the pesky Sorceress who was constantly harassing him with spells after dueling for nearly a minute with Gongzi You. The two melee yers, however, were quite a headache to Fleeting Time. It was not hard to take on three opponents at once, but it was not an easy task to defeat Gongzi You within the time limit.

    Fortunately for Fleeting Time, the Hunter ss came with a higher Agility and Speed than the Warrior ss, and had superior Bnce against the Rogue. Shaking them off would not be too hard of a task for him.

    Ye Ci locked on to Fleeting Time, hounding his every move. However, she was quick to realise that Fleeting Time was not suffering from level penalties in his duel against her. This meant that their levels were very close. Fleeting Time might even be at the same level as Ye Ci.

    This did note as a surprise to Ye Ci. After all, she was absent from the game for an entire month. If Fleeting Time was not able to catch up with her in terms of character level, he would never be able to live up to the title of ¡°God among Hunters¡± given to him in her past life.

    Ye Ci¡¯s attacks were ferocious, but Fleeting Time held his own against her. He remained calm as Beauty¡¯s Grave and Returning Winds began their approach. All of a sudden, Fleeting Time¡¯s movement stopped apruptly, which was an opening for Ye Ci. However, before the opening could be exploited by Ye Ci, Fleeting Time propelled himself backwards with a sudden movement. None of Ye Ci¡¯s attack connected with Fleeting Time as he soared backwards.

    Backwards Leap!

    Ye Ci was shocked, Fleeting Time was able to get that skill book!

    Backwards Leap with a 25 seconds CD that was very useful in PVPbat. Casting the skill would stop a yer¡¯s character mid-movement, and cause the character to leap 20 yards to the back, ignoring all attacks during the process. This skill was a very potent gamechanger for a Hunter.

    The ongoing battle between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time was a very suitable example. With the additional 20 yards, Fleeting Time was able to ce himself well beyond Ye Ci¡¯s attack range. Ye Ci would have to close the gap between them in order to reacquire her target. This meant that her tempo was disrupted by Fleeting Time, who would be able to seize the opportunity to take on the Warrior and Rogue that were closing in on him.

    And that was exactly what he did.

    After leaping backwards for 20 yards, Fleeting Time fired off his skills at the approaching Warrior. The Warrior fell lifelessly onto the ground before he could even get within range of Fleeting Time. By that time, Ye Ci had nearly caught up with Fleeting Time. Before she could get within firing distance, however, Fleeting Time summoned Little Five and directed its attacks against Ye Ci.

    In the short moment it took for Ye Ci to summon Ol¡¯ Four to battle it out against Little Five, Fleeting Time was able to avoid the Rogue¡¯s attack, and was able to cripple the Rogue with strikes from his dagger and short sword. He then rushed at Ye Ci.

    His movements were so fast that Beauty¡¯s Grave and Returning Winds could not even react to his attacks. They did not even know how Fleeting Time was able to dodge their attacks, and eliminating them in the process.

    Such was the difference between a top-tier yer an elite yer.

    In Fate, a yer could be considered as an elite if the yer was able master the abilities of his or her character. A top-tier yer, however, was one who had totally mastered the movements of his or her entire body in the game, dodging a blow andpleting an attack with minimal movements.

    When Beauty¡¯s Grave and Returning Winds were in by Fleeting Time, they were hit by a realization: The disparity between them an a top-tier yer was like a bottomless pit.

    Despite the failure of Beauty¡¯s Grave and Returning Winds to keep up with Fleeting Time, Ye Ci faced no such problem. With the keen vision of an Elf and her mastery of the Hunter ss, Ye Ci was able to keep track of Fleeting Time¡¯s movement. She tell that Fleeting Time had mastered the art of feigning his movements as well as stutter stepping that could only be mastered by top-tier yers.

    Even though Ye Ci had always viewed Fleeting Time as her archenemy, she was have no choice but to admit that he was indeed deserving of the title ¡°God among Hunters¡±. His growth as a yer was way beyond her expectation. In her previous battles against Fleeting Time, he was still not able topletely master such moves. However, he was able to pull them off wlessly in this battle.

    It seems that one month of head start could mean a world of difference.

    With all the distractions eliminated from the battle, they could finally face each other in a serious battle.

    Ol¡¯ Four and Little Five has been acquainted to each other in multiple asions. When they finally met again, it was as if they have ran into their nemesis. The two beats immediately engaged each other inbat without orders from Fleeting Time and Ye Ci.

    Fleeting Time was not the only one who has grown stronger. After its numerous battles against Ol¡¯ Four, Little Five learnt some new tricks as well. Utilizing its ability to fly, Little Five circled Ol¡¯ Four and employed hit and run tactics, hitting the beast from all directions.

    Ol¡¯ Four was no pushover as well. It feigned frustration at Little Five¡¯s harassment, but was able to dodge all of its attack. When Little Five once again dove at Ol¡¯ Four, the beast bit down hard on the annoying little creature.

    Unlike the heated battle between Ol¡¯ Four and Little Five...

    Fleeting Time and Ye Ci were stood silently at each other¡¯s maximum range, with both of them staring intently at one another. Despite their calm appearance, every single fibre of their body was itching for a fight.

    A duel between top-tier yers was not as shy as one might imagine. The victor will usually be decided within one or two moves.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s equipment shimmered in a spectacle of faint gold pattern. It was obvious that he was equipped with a high tear PVP gear. His equipment, along with the golden color scheme of Ye Ci¡¯s equipment was a sight to behold in the basin.

    A strong gust of wind carried a leaf between the twobatants.

    As if on cue, they sprang into action just as the leaf floated past, firing arrows as they drew closer to one another.

    They¡¯re too fast.

    With his character crippled by Fleeting Time, Returning Winds could only observe the battle between the two top-tier Hunters with eyes wide open. He did not even dare to blink, out of fear that he might miss part of the action. However, the action was still too fast for him. Their movements, theirbination of abilities and their attacks were swift and deadly.

    Returning Winds had always thought of himself as an expert in PVP and PVE battles. Even if was far from being a top-tier yer, he could still be considered as an expert. This was why he was not among the yers who idolized godlike yers such as Gongzi You and Fleeting Time. He was even sure that his capabilities were almost on par with the so-called ¡°top-tier yers¡±,cking only in experience. As long as he was willing to push himself harder, he would be able to reach the status of a top-tier yer.

    However, the battle between Fleeting Time and Gongzi You opened his eyes. He finally realized that he had always been wrong.

    A thought emerged in Returning Winds¡¯ mind: hard work might not be the key to be a top-tier yer.

    Observing a fight between top-tier yers in person was an entirely experience from watching a video recording of the fight. The fight happening right before his eyes was able to fill Returning Winds with excitement. Even when he was a Rogue, even when he was ying as a melee character, Returning Winds could tell that there was much to learn from the duel between Fleeting Time and Gongzi You.

    An attack that he was sure would connect missed its mark. A maneuver that he expected one of thebatants would make would always turn out to be a feint.

    The twobatants were able to read and predict each other move with almost mechanical precision. A mere five minutes might not be enough to decide the victor.

    At that moment, winning the match was no longer important to Returning Winds. His lesson from the two top-tier yers was his biggest gain.

    The wind raged on, along with the battle.

 Chapter 222 What a Shitty Decision

    Chapter 222 What a Shitty Decision

    Engaging an opponent like Fleeting Time inbat was very taxing to one¡¯s physical and mental strength. After two short minutes of fighting, both of thebatants were exhausted. Fleeting Time was panting slightly, while Ye Ci, with a slight disadvantage due to her female character, could even feel fatigue on her limbs.

    Despite that, Ye Ci refused to give up.

    They were within 8 yards of each other. In such a range, a Hunter¡¯s bow or crossbow would be rendered useless, and melee weapon would be the Hunter¡¯s only option to engage the enemy. Ye Ci tried her best to keep Fleeting Time 8 yards away. Without the skill ¡®Backwards Leap¡¯ employed by Fleeting Time earlier on, Ye Ci could only maneuver under her own power.

    However, Fleeting Time began closing in on her.

    In Fate, a character that was moving forward would always have a faster speed than a character that was going in reverse. No matter how hard Ye Ci tried to shake Fleeting Time off, he was able to follow her movements. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ye Ci creased her eyebrows.

    A smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s lips. Truth to be told, Gongzi You was not a very pretty girl. One might even say that her expression was stiff most of the time. However, she could be very intimidating when she was angry. For reasons unknown, Fleeting Time enjoyed looking at that expression.

    ¡°Aiya, shooting arrows at each other could be quite boring sometimes. Why don¡¯t we fight at melee range?¡± Fleeting Time offered Ye Ci a suggestion.

    He knew that his proposal would anger Gongzi You. After all, she was not a person who would do something as senseless as that.

    As expected, Gongzi You erupted into a fit of anger, ¡°Fleeting Time, are you crazy? Why would you engage me in a meleebat when you know that our ss excels at rangebat?¡±

    ¡°Well, isn¡¯t this more fun?¡± Fleeting Time ignored the anger he was already expecting from Ye Ci, and drew his short sword, stabbing it at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci dodged the attack reflexively, and drew her own sword to parry yet another blow from Fleeting Time.

    The weapons met in midair with a loud ¡°ng!¡±. Fleeting Time did not hold back against Ye Ci, who was also putting her entire strength into the swing of her weapon. Ye Ci¡¯s hand went numb with the force of the impact.

    In Fate, the stats of the character in Fate would automatically be distributed ording to the character¡¯s ss when yers leveled up. In other words, when yers from the same ss with the same level would have simr base stats. The differences in theirbat strength would be determined by their equipment and mechanical skills.

    There was not much of a gap between thebat capabilities of Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. They share the same ss and level. The difference in their equipment was not significant as well due to their character¡¯s level. The only differencesid in their gender, and the stats of their weapons and jewelleries.

    A female character suffered from an inferior strength, but a male character would have more trouble in sustaining a prolonged battle. Both of the characters did not have an absolute advantage over one another.

    Both of thebatants shoved with all their might, but neither of them was able to push each other back. Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She would never allow the pace of the battle to slow down. She cast ¡°Leg Trip¡± at Fleeting Time in an attempt to throw his bnce off.

    However, Fleeting Time was able to avoid Ye Ci¡¯s move. In his attempt to avoid Ye Ci¡¯s Leg Trip, Fleeting Time¡¯s grip on his sword faltered slightly, and Ye Ci seized the opportunity to force his sword away. She them stabbed at Fleeting Time, aiming at his vitals.

    Fleeting Time made a slight miscalction in his attempt to dodge the blow, and Ye Ci¡¯s sword stabbed into a spot near his heart.

    It was a near miss.

    This near miss was enough to shake Fleeting Time. He had poured a lot of effort into mastering the art of feigning his moves. He was confident that no one would be able to see through his feint, which gave him the confidence of using it on Gongzi You. However, she was able to see through his maneuver, and dealt an effective blow.

    If he was not careful, Gongzi You would have hit his heart. Even if the blow might not be enough to kill him, it would definitely take away a huge chunk of his hitpoints.

    Did Gongzi You see through my move? Or was it sheer luck?

    With the question nudging at Fleeting Time¡¯s mind, he decided to test Ye Ci out one more time.

    He swung his short sword at Ye Ci. Despite its simplicity, Fleeting Time¡¯s attack was deadly. Even a single swing contains countless dangers.

    A short sword different from a de, nor was it simr to a double-handed sword or a longsword. Despite its setting as a Western Fantasy game, there was a huge number of developers from the east, filling the game with characteristics from the eastern culture. Although swordy might not be considered as an important factor in Western Fantasy games, it was something that was very important in Chinese culture.

    Due to their size, des and two-handed swords could deal devastating damage when they were swung at targets. As double edged weapons, swords tend to be more agile than des. Their sharp point meant that they could be stabbed at an opponent as well.

    Such cases are especially true when it came to short swords.

    There was no distinct difference between short swords and daggers in traditional Chinese martial arts. One could even say that in the age of traditional weaponry, daggers and short swords referred to the same thing.

    However, for the benefit of the yers, the developers of Fate made a clear distinction between daggers and short swords.

    But there one simrity between the two weapons was certain. Both daggers and short swords were used mainly for stabbing. Of course, they swinging and shing were still viable options for such weapons, the users of the weapons could deal the most damage by stabbing their opponents.

    Of course, the wielder of a weapon is free to use it however he or she pleases.

    In a battle between experts, however, reckless attacks would spell death for abatant. In the eyes of an expert, every move could be the turning point of a duel.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s attack was a feint. Despite the swinging motion of his weapon, he could quickly follow up with a stab should his opponent fell for the trick. As long as an opponent attempted to dodge the same way he or she would evade a sh, Fleeting Time¡¯s attack would hit its mark.

    His attack, although swift and deadly, was meant as a test for Ye Ci. He wanted to know if Ye Ci was indeed capable of dodging his blow, and how good she really was.

    He attacked with the full intention of testing Ye Ci out.

    Ye Ci, however, was entirely serious. She saw Fleeting Time¡¯s action as a potentially fatal attack. Will she yield? No! No no no no! Ye Ci would never do such a thing!

    She was a person who would always repay the misdeeds of her enemies, giving them a taste of their own medicine. With the slightest of movements, she was able to dodge the attack from Fleeting Time, and the sword slid harmlessly across her armor.

    The lvl60 Hunter equipment set was made up of sturdy metal instead of leather. Despite itsck of defensive capabilitiespared to a Warrior¡¯s armor, it was still way more durable than armor made up of leather. As a yer who emphasize on dishing out the highest amount of damage, Fleeting Time was armed with the best weapon. He would not allow himself to carry an inferior weapon at any time. Of course, the same could be said for Ye Ci.

    Sparks flew in all directions when Fleeting Time¡¯s short sword brushed against Ye Ci¡¯s chest with a loud screech.

    Micro dodge.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s eyes widened at the realization.

    He had never expected Gongzi You to know such a move, he did not expect her to be able to dodge his attack, and he certainly did not expect that Gongzi You would be dodging his attack with a micro dodge. He paid close attention to every detail of Gongzi You¡¯s movement. He did not even blink out of fear that he might miss even the slightest detail that might help him in analyzing Ye Ci¡¯s moves.

    She was swift and agile in her movements. It was apparent that it was not a skill that she had just recently acquired. Fleeting Time was filled with glee. It was the happiness of being caught up by a rival. He studied the intense expression of Gongzi You¡¯s face and thought to himself, just what else does she have hidden up her sleeves?

    Fleeting Time¡¯s thoughts wandered off for the fraction of a second.

    And in a duel between experts, victory and defeat can be decided in the moment it took a person to blink.

    After shing his weapon at Ye Ci and missing his mark, Fleeting Time immediately followed up with a stab to Ye Ci¡¯s face. Even though there was no risk of disfigurement in the game, a blow to the head would still be fatal to Ye Ci. She leaned backwards, dodging the iing attack while kicking out with her legs.

    Fleeting Time felt a sharp pain on his chest as he fell backwards onto the ground. He instinctively grabbed at the culprit that caused his fall: Ye Ci¡¯s ankle.

    ¡°Kyah!¡± Ye Ci did not expect such a move from Fleeting Time. With her body already leaning backwards, she immediately lost her bnce.

    However, Ye Ci did not have the chance to even yell at Fleeting Time as she fell onto the ground along with Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Timeid on the ground, staring at the blue sky as he gasped for air. Despite his condition, his mood was extremely well. The smile on his lips could be said to be a manifestation of his extremely good mood.

    Unlike Fleeting Time and Ye Ci who were engaged in intensebat, Returning Winds had been a bystander for the duration of the fight. With his character crippled, he could only seek medical attention from NPCs in the city after the battle in the arena.

    Of course, he was not the only audience of the duel. His party members had already respawned by that time, and have made their way to Returning Winds.

    ¡°Where is he? Where¡¯s Fleeting Time?¡± sand Glistening Moonlight as she studied her surroundings. She was to first to arrive, driven by her desire to spectate a battle between her idols. As a Sorceress, which was the character with the lowest speed in the game, she was able to arrive on the scene faster than a Warrior and a Cleric.

    ¡°Moonlight, aren¡¯t you a lil¡¯ too fast?¡± gasped AppreciatingTheScenery, who arrived with Beauty¡¯s Graveter. He then cast a healing spell on Returning Winds, who was rapidly losing his HP, ¡°What is it? Were you crippled?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Returning Winds nodded at the direction of the basin where Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were locked inbat, ¡°I could¡¯ve sworn that my attack wouldnd on Fleeting Time, but he was able to dodge it. And...¡± he shrugged, ¡°Before I knew it, I¡¯ve been crippled.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You took out four of them right?¡± Beauty¡¯s Grave was very mindful of the oue of the battle. He was relieved that Returning Winds was not killed by Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Returning Winds was still staring at the ongoing battle, ¡°If Fleeting Time is not able to kill Gongzi You, we¡¯ll win this match.¡±

    With the assurance from Returning Winds, Beauty¡¯s Graves and AppreciatingTheScenery could finally calm down and pay close attention to thebatants.

    ¡°Wow, they¡¯re fast!¡± observed AppretiatingTheScenery. As a Cleric who was used to highly paced battles, he was still shocked by the swiftness of Fleeting Time and Gongzi You.

    ¡°Spectating their battle live is way better than watching a video recording of the thing.¡± sighed Beauty¡¯s Grave. Even when he was not a Hunter, the battle between the two top yers was still a very captivating. ¡°Is itmon for Hunters to maneuver and jump around like that? How are they even running on the wall of the basin? Isn¡¯t Fate a game that is 100% realistic? Won¡¯t that be a BUG?¡±

    As the saying goes, ¡°different trades, world apart.¡±

    Returning Clouds rolled his eyes at the question of Beauty¡¯s Grave. He was a Rogue, who share certain simrities with sses like the Hunter and Ranger. This provided him with some insight of the Hunter ss. ¡°Every Hunter could pull that off. Of course, what Gongzi You and Fleeting Time are doing requires practice. As for their ability to literally run up walls...¡± said Returning Clouds with a sigh, ¡°It¡¯s because of their Bnce. Hunters have higher Bnce stats than all of the sses in the game. With a high Bnce and sufficient amount of training, one could eventually pull that off, but...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡± asked Beauty¡¯s Grave, who was immersed in Returning Winds¡¯ exnation, annoyed by the sudden pause.

    ¡°But you need a high movement speed for that to build up a momentum. You¡¯ll need a high Bnce and some basic knowledge on how inertia works as well.¡± said Returning Winds as he shifted his gaze towards Beauty¡¯s Grave. The words that followed were like a bucket of cold water that was sshed onto the burning spirits of Beauty¡¯s Grave, ¡°As a Warrior, your Agility is too low for that. Hell, even a Rogue like me with high Agility is not able to pull that off. So just give up, don¡¯t even think about it.¡±

    ¡°What a bummer. I thought I might be able to do that.¡± Beauty¡¯s Grave was filled with disappointment.

    ¡°Eh? Why are they engaging each other in melee? I thought Hunters are supposed to be weak at melee range?¡± Glistening Moon¡¯s curiosity was piqued. Of course, she was quick to lose interest in that question. For a person like her, a good gossip is always the most important. A sudden realization shed across her mind, and her eyes immediately lit up. ¡°Why do I smell a scandal going on?¡± asked Glistening Moon with excitement written all over her face.

    The three male yers of the party were dumbfounded by Glistening Moonlight¡¯s remark. As one, they decided to ignore her words and continued watching the battle.

    Even without the attention from her party members, Glistening Moonlight was still able to gossipping. She began taking screenshots of the battle, and even started to record the entire scene.

    Glistening Moonlight let out a loud scream when Fleeting Time fell onto the ground with Ye Ci. Her face was blushing with a deep shade of red as she gasp for air. Some might even have the impression that she have done some indecent things.

    ¡°It¡¯s so exciting! It¡¯s just so exciting! Fleeting Time! Why don¡¯t you just push Gongzi You down? Ahhhh!!! Gongzi You, you can be a little more forceful as well!¡± Glistening Moonlight was ecstatic. The twobatants were oblivious to her words due to the distance.

    Unlike their audience who were enjoying the show, Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were exhausted as theyy gasping for air on the ground.

    Despitesting for mere minutes, the two felt as if the battle has been going on for years.

    ¡°There¡¯s 40 seconds left, do you want to continue our fight?¡± Fleeting Time smiled at Ye Ci after stealing a nce at the timer.

    ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m going to kill you.¡± said Ye Ci in a hoarse voice, her throat was burning with thirst.

    ¡°Yup, yup.¡± Fleeting Time nodded as he smiled coyly at Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯ve even remember something you said a long time ago, ¡®You bastard, I¡¯m going to kill you until your level hits 0!¡¯. Is today the day?¡±

    The corners of Ye Ci¡¯s mouth twitched as she noticed the smile on Fleeting Time¡¯s face. The urge to stomp down hard on his face boiled within her. For reasons unknown, running into Fleeting Time would always have an effect on her. It was as if she had lost all her abilities to speak. The man seemed to have a talent of driving someone to die of anger. He was even making fun of her with her own words, and it was driving Ye Ci mad.

    Fleeting Time shrugged after he was met with silence from Ye Ci, ¡°Alright, even if it¡¯s a pleasure to have you kill me, we don¡¯t seem to have enough time.¡± said Fleeting Time as he eyed the match timer. There were only a few seconds left. He then said with a smile, ¡°Why don¡¯t we head into a 1v1 room? We fight all we want.¡±

    We can fight all we want. The proposal was undoubtedly very tempting to Ye Ci. However, after a moment of thought, Ye Ci concluded that the odds were against her in a fight against Fleeting Time. She was not in her top condition, and was even feeling very tired.

    ¡°Are you giving me your silent consent? Or are you ignoring me?¡± Fleeting Time continued to stare at Ye Ci with a smile on his face. His mood was very good. It did not matter if Ye Ci declined his proposal. He enjoyed staring at her angry face.

    Ye Ci red at Fleeting Time, ¡°Hey, do you know that you¡¯re very annoying?¡±

    ¡°I know. Aren¡¯t you telling me that right now?¡± Fleeting Time nodded, giving Ye Ci his full cooperation.

    ¡°You...¡± Ye Ci was annoyed by Fleeting Time¡¯s response. She red at him, and then at Fleeting Time¡¯s hand that was still holding on to her ankle, and her temper soared. She kicked away Fleeting Time¡¯s hand and stood up.

    Just then, the system announced the end of the better, and Ye Ci¡¯s party was dered the victors. Before she could leave the party, Fleeting Time called out to her, ¡°Little Gongzi!¡±

    What the hell?

    Little Gongzi?

    Even the corners of Ye Ci¡¯s eyes began to twitch as she heard the nickname given to her. She red at Fleeting Time and shouted out loud, ¡°I¡¯m Gongzi You! Not Little Gongzi!¡±

    ¡°I know, I know. But Little Gongzi, we¡¯ve known each other for quite some times now. Don¡¯t you think that we should not fight each other every time we meet?¡± Fleeting Time stood up and dusted his clothes. He was not affected at all by Ye Ci¡¯s apparent anger.

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything else to do to a yer from an opposing continent. Do you expect me to drink some wine with you?¡± Ye Ci sneered codly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was bemused by the seemingly stupid suggestion by Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time, however, appeared to be considering the option seriously. He then nodded and walked up to Ye Ci with a smile on his face, ¡°Aiya, this is a splendid suggestion!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, since when have I made such a suggestion?

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s decided then.¡± said Fleeting Time with a snap of his fingers. The smile was still on his face as he leaned closer to Ye Ci. He was so close that she could feel her warm breath on her face, ¡°Let¡¯s have another duel the next time we meet. If I win, I¡¯ll buy you a drink.¡±

    What a shitty decision! thought Ye Ci to herself. However, there was another issue that was more important at that moment, ¡°What do you mean by ¡®if you win¡¯? Let me tell you something, Fleeting Time! You¡¯re going to die by my hands!¡±

    Fleeting Time nodded and let out a sigh. He patted Ye Ci on her head, earning him a smack from ye Ci¡¯s sword. He immediately retracted his hand, ¡°Well, if you insist, you can try your best to defeat me the next time we meet. And after that... Well, perhaps we can have a drink.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely going to beat you.¡± Ye Ci was infuriated by Fleeting Time¡¯s indifferent attitude. Can he not be such an asshole?

    ¡°Fine, fine. You¡¯re going to beat me.¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes and said with a charming smile on his face, ¡°Alright then. Little Gongzi, let¡¯s have a drink together sometime.¡± said Fleeting Time as he turned around and left with a wave of his hand.

    Ye Ci stared at the waving had of Fleeting Time for a brief moment before she was hit by a sudden realization. She seemed to have overlooked something important.

    What did that bastard say again? Have a drink with him? My ass!

    Ye Ci could feel blood flooding his face. She could still feel the lingering warmth of Fleeting Time¡¯s breath on her face, and her ears was still filled with his cheerful voice. Ye Ci stared at the silhouette of Fleeting Time as she trembled with anger, ¡°Fleeting Time! You bastard!¡± shouted Ye Ci after a long moment.

    ¡°Until next time, Little Gongzi!¡± Fleeting Time was in a very good mood. He paid no heed to Gongzi You¡¯s insult as he waved goodbye to her.

    It was time for them to be transported out of the arena.

    A bright sh of white light erupted in Ye Ci¡¯s vision as soon as Fleeting Time finished his sentence, and she was transported back to the main hall. She stood motionlessly for a long moment. There was a heavy weight crushing down on her chest. She was irritated. She was very irritated.

    Since when do I, Ye Ci, have to bear with something like this?

    If anybody else attempted to pull such a stunt on Ye Ci, she would definitely tear him into shreds. However, Fleeting Time was the person who was causing no end of trouble for her, and she was not capable to doing such a thing to him. Is there something more despicable than that?

    Of course, Gongzi You¡¯s did not appear in the arena¡¯s main hall for a beauty contest. She was there for a fight. After admiring Gongzi You¡¯s presence for some moments, many of the yers began to realize a very important fact: Won¡¯t we be invincible if we team up with Gongzi You?

    Thus, Ye Ci was beset on all side by yers who sought to invite her into their parties, ¡°Gongzi You, do you want to join my party? We need a DPS yer.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You, join us, our members are quite skillful. If you¡¯re with us, we¡¯ll definitely break the highest record of consecutive wins!¡±

    ¡°Join our party, Gongzi You! We¡¯ve won 23 matches in a row!¡±

    ......

    Themotion caused by the yers was like oil that was being poured onto the raging mes of anger in Ye Ci¡¯s heart. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m done for today.¡±

    With that, Ye Ci left the main hall of the arena.

    The yers immediately broke out into a heated conversation.

    ¡°Wow! Did you guys noticed Gongzi You¡¯s expression? Did she lost herst match badly?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. There¡¯s no way a party that she¡¯s in will lose.¡±

    ¡°Who knows. It might not because of the result of the match. What if she had a fall out with someone in the party?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just ask in the World Channel? There¡¯s no point making wild guesses anyways.¡±

    ......

    The yers¡¯ actions were swift and decisive. Turmoil immediately erupted in the World Channel just a few moments after Ye Ci left the main hall.

    ¡°I saw Gongzi You leaving the arena with a very sour expression. Did she lose her match or something?¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Gongzi You now?¡±

    ¡°In Red Lake City. A lot of us saw her...¡±

    ¡°What do you mean Gongzi You lost? She was in our party just now! We won alright!¡±

    ¡°Wahh! The implicated party is talking! Come on, tell us the truth, did Gongzi You get into an argument with someone?¡±

    ¡°Nope, stop spreading lies. Gongzi You is a very good person.¡±

    ......

    The discussion immediately flooded the already bustling World Channel with messages.

    ¡°Why would she be mad? She took us out before we even know what¡¯s happening! What are you sorry lots from the Eastern Continent crying for?¡± a message full of anger from a Western Continent appeared in the midst of the heated discussion.

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s more news!¡±

    With people asking questions and their questions getting answered, yers from all four continents began to pay attention to the discussion. Many of the yers who loved gossipping immediately dove into the discussion. After all, nobody would want to miss out on such a good opportunity on gossipping.

    The Western Continent yer immediately pointed out that Fleeting Time was in his party. This immediately became the center of attention of the gossipping yers. Even with the rtionship between Fleeting Time and Gongzi You unknown to 99.99% of the yers, they have all seen the conversation between Fleeting Time and Gongzi You in the World Channel during the Western Continent¡¯s invasion of the Eastern Continent.

    People immediately began making the connection between the fight in the arena and Gongzi You¡¯s darkened expression as she left the main hall. Different theories and scandals began surfacing among the yers.

    As the saying goes, ¡°the world is an interesting ce with you around¡±.

    On this particr day in Fate, the world was made interesting because of the yers¡¯ visualization of the interaction between Gongzi You and Fleeting TIme.

    Fleeting Time, however, chose to remain silent in the World Channel, and Ye Ci was absent from the channel as well. The reason was simple: They were not even paying attention to the World Channel.

    Of course, it did not mean that people around them were not paying attention to the World Channel.

    Absalom immediately walked up to Fleeting Time who had just walked into their guild encampment with a cheerful expression, ¡°I see that you¡¯re in a fine mood today.¡±

    ¡°Yes, indeed.¡± replied Fleeting Time with a chuckle.

    ¡°I saw the thing going on in the World Channel.¡±

    ¡°The World Channel?¡± Fleeting Time was puzzled, ¡°What¡¯s with the World Channel?¡±

    ¡°You went to the arena just now?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°You lost?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°And you ran into Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Eh? How do you even know about that?¡± Fleeting Time stared at Absalom incredulously. The man was beginning to show his talent as a top-tier gosipper.

    ¡°How did I know? It¡¯s all over the World Channel!¡± Absalom chuckled, ¡°Based on your unhealthy hobby of treating Gongzi You in a particr way... You¡¯ve been teasing her again?¡±

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes at Absalom. He was annoyed. And his annoyance was growing with each second he stared at the man¡¯s face.

    ¡°I was right, aren¡¯t I?¡± asked Absalom with a mischievous smile. However, in the next moment, Fleeting Time took a swing at his nose, and he immediately saw stars in his vision.

    ¡°I am warning you, don¡¯t you dare have any indecent thoughts about the woman that I have my fancy, or I¡¯ll make a quick work of your face,¡± Fleeting Time pursed his lips, ¡°Oh, by the way, I¡¯m going to do it in real life the next time.¡±

 Chapter 223 Cause and Effects

    Chapter 223 Cause and Effects

    ¡°What did I say? Did I say anything? I said nothing, alright? I¡¯m merely pointing out your unhealthy practice! It¡¯s a known fact that you like teasing Gongzi You! Did I say anything wrong? Why would I have any indecent thoughts about her? I was talking about you all this while, alright?¡±

    Fleeting Time threw another punch at Absalom before he could finish his sentence. However, Absalom learned from his lesson, and was able to dodge the blow, ¡°Fool me once, shame on you. Full me twice, shame on me!¡± said Absalom with a pleased tone.

    Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows at Absalom, and his shoulders sagged. It appeared as if he has given up on trying to score another hit on Absalom.

    Just as Absalom began to let his guard down, Fleeting Time¡¯s fist connected with Absalom¡¯s face once again. With a loud shriek, Absalom clutched at his face.

    ¡°What the heck are you doing? Fleeting Time, I¡¯m going to beat the shit out of you!¡± roared Absalom as he red at Fleeting Time. It was apparent that he was angered by Fleeting Time¡¯s action.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing. I just want to remind you that I don¡¯t like the words ¡®Gongzi You¡¯ing out of your mouth.¡± Fleeting Time chuckled. He was indeed in a very good mood. Ignoring Absalom¡¯s protest and the inquisitive gazes of his guild members, Fleeting Time casually walked away, whistling as he went.

    ¡°I did not say anything...¡± Absalom was filled with grief. I really did not say anything! Why did I get hit twice by Fleeting Time? Even with a 70% pain reduction in Fate, being on the receiving end of two punches from Fleeting Time was still a very painful experience, ¡°You¡¯re the one who have been teasing Gongzi You, so why am I taking a beating for that?¡±

    Without warning, Fleeting Time stopped right on his tracks, and turned around to face Absalom with a smirk on his face. Absalom immediately turned his head to another direction, and began whistling a song that was out of tune.

    Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow, satisfied by the fact that his intimidation of Absalom was a sess, and continued his way to the guild hall.

    Silent Hymn, the vice leader of Genesis, who has been observing the interaction between Absalom and Fleeting Time said with a sigh, ¡°Absalom, why are you so terrified of Fleeting Time? If I¡¯m not mistaken... You seem to be the Top 1 Sorcerer in the Western Continent. Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re not living up to your name?¡±

    Absalom red at Silent Hymn, ¡°Oh yeah? Why don¡¯t you try picking a fight with that jinx, and we¡¯ll see how it goes.¡±

    Silent Hymn visibly gulped when he was reminded of his crushing defeat against Fleeting Time and shook his head, ¡°I said nothing.¡±

    Humans are always interested in even the tiniest bit of gossip. Some loved to gossip a lot, while others preferred only slightly less gossip. Absalom was exactly the type of man to immerse himself in the art of gossipping, while Silent Hymn was a the person who gossip slightly less than Absalom.

    Of course, he would never miss an opportunity to obtain information from Absalom who was a literal gossipping hub, ¡°Oh, by the way, I saw what was going in in the World Channel. Did Fleeting Time really lost to Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Well, ording to the guys in the World Channel, Fleeting Time¡¯s party did lost the battle, but the fight between Fleeting Time and Gongzi You as inconclusive.¡± Absalom immediately seized the rare opportunity to have a gossip about Fleeting Time.

    Thus, the leader and vice leader of thergest guild of the Western Continent, Absalom and Silent Hymn began a long conversation in the guild encampment main square.

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Ye Ci let out a loud sneeze. For some reason, her ears burning with a bright shade of red after leaving the Gn Arena. With her exhaustion after her encounter with Fleeting Time, Ye Ci made the decision to head to the town hall and log out of the game.

    She received a message from Green Hill¡¯s Moon before she could enter the town hall.

    ¡°You have news for me?¡± Ye Ci immediately got straight to the point.

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you in my private room in the Red Lake City town hall. I¡¯m sure you know the way.¡± Ye Ci sighed. It seemed that she was not able to go offline after all. In truth, Ye Ci had conflicted feelings about the news. She needed the information to prepare for her next move, but it would also mean that herfortable life in Fate would be ending soon.

    This was why Ye Ci was conflicted.

    As a prominent figure in Red Lake City, Ye Ci¡¯s room wasvishly decorated.The jewel-embedded goblet on her table, the are and expensive wine in her cab, and all the extravagant furniture were all telltale signs of her position in Red Lake City.

    The first thing that came into Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s eyes was Ye Ci sitting on a elegantly made chair and staring out the window. It was a rare sight to see her in such a serene state. Based on his knowledge and memory of Ye Ci, she was a violent and calctive person. It was the first time he saw her to be so serene.

    Everybody has two sides. Just like how all things under the sun will cast their own shadows, the cold and calctive Gongzi You had her own soft side.

    Ye Ci turned around slowly when she heard Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s movements, ¡°Sit. You can eat and drink anything you want.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon raised his eyebrows and smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°What? You don¡¯t seem to wee me.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. You¡¯re reminding me of how poor I amtely. You¡¯re reminding me of how money can make even the Devil himself work for you. But I... Am a poverty-stricken peasant at the moment.¡± said Ye Ci with a smirk as she lifted one of the bottle of wine from a table and poured its content into a goblet on the seat opposite to hers.

    The amber colored win glistened under the light. It was brilliant and dazzling.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon was not at all courteous with Ye Ci. He immediately took his seat, and lifted the goblet. He swayed the goblet from side to side, savoring the aroma of the expensive win, ¡°How much do you think this wine cost?¡±

    ¡°I can tell you that it¡¯s not something that I can afford.¡± said ye Ci with a smile.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon pursed his lips and silently gulped down the wine.

    Ye Ci smiled at Green Hill¡¯s Moon, ¡°You acted as if you¡¯re well-versed in the art of wine tasting with your action, just to gulp it all down anyways. It¡¯s just...¡± she did not continue her sentence, but Green Hill¡¯s Moon understood the meaning behind her words.

    ¡°So what?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moonughed, ¡°As long as you¡¯re happy, all is well. Why do I have to put up airs just for show? How troublesome would that be.¡±

    His words were like music to Ye Ci¡¯s ears. Maybe... I¡¯m just one of those callous people.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get to business, shall we?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon narrowed his eyes, ¡°Gleaming Sunshine and Thousand Sunsets have acting strangely these days.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve been acting strangely?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Their behaviors were very strange.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon nodded, ¡°Although I¡¯m not interested in a small fry like Gleaming Sunshine, I still did a thorough investigation on her upon your request.¡± he continued after a slight after staring intently at Ye CI, ¡°And that includes her real life.¡±

    Despite Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s gaze, Ye Ci remained as serene as she was when he first walked into the room. It was as if she was a lifeless wax figurine that betrayed no emotion. She did not even flinch when Gleaming Sunshine¡¯s real life identity was mentioned.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon was impressed.

    She knew that an investigation into the private life of Gleaming Sunshine would definitely lead to her identity in real life. She knew the consequences of having her real identity exposed. However, even with that knowledge in mind, she was able to remain calm.

    ¡°Gongzi You, certainly you know that if I¡¯ve investigated the private life of Gleaming Sunshine...¡± said Green Hill¡¯s Moon with a gentle tone after a slight pause, ¡°It means that I know who you are in real life.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Green Hill¡¯s Moon. She could not tell what was going on in the man¡¯s mind, but if she remembered correctly, Green Hill¡¯s Moon was a very trustworthy person even if he was a businessman. She was not afraid of being exposed by Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    ¡°So what?¡± said Ye Ci with a slight smile.

    That¡¯s right. So what if he knew?

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon was stunned into silence. ¡°What? You¡¯re not surprised?¡± he asked after a long moment of silence.

    ¡°Why should I?¡± Ye Ci paid no heed to Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s words, ¡°I knew that a day like this woulde the first time I met you. Since I chose to trust you, I might as continue with that trust.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon found a whole new level of respect for Ye Ci. She exactly the opposite of what he expected her to be after acquiring her data in real life.

    ¡°What? Is the real me that much of a disappointment?¡±

    After studying Ye Ci¡¯s intently and making sure that her calmness was indeed genuine, Green Hill¡¯s Moon sighed and spoke with a grimace, ¡°It¡¯s not that. But...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°But your appearance in real life doesn¡¯t really fit your personality in game.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, ¡°Did you investigate the wrong person or something?¡±

    ¡°Are you doubting my professionalism?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon shook his head with a smile, ¡°Are you really 19 years old?¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Ye Ci smiled at Green Hill¡¯s Moon, ¡°Do I not look like a 19 years old to you?¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon shook his head, ¡°Nope, not at all. You were so shrewd and ruthless that you gave me the impression that you¡¯re at least 29 years old. I did not expect you to be a 19 years old.¡±

    Ye Ciughed out loud as she stared at Green Hill¡¯s Moon. Well, aren¡¯t I 29 already? If I add my current age to my age in myst life, I¡¯ll be way older than 30 years old.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not here to talk to me about my age.¡± she attempted to change the topic.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. Let¡¯s just talk about Gleaming Sunshine, shall we?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon could tell that Ye Ci was not interested in a discussion about her age as well, ¡°Dong Yin was not the only person behind that incident that caused your injury.¡±

    ¡°So He Xiao was involved as well?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡±

    Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows, and sighed after a moment of thought, ¡°Green Hill¡¯s Moon, there¡¯s something that I don¡¯t quite understand here.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°My rtionship with Thousand Sunsets is bad, but we¡¯re not exactly going at each other¡¯s throat as well. Why would he intervene in Dong Yin¡¯s stead? Was it because she¡¯s his girlfriend?¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°Based on what I know about Thousand Sunsets, he¡¯ll never sacrifice his benefit for a woman. Even if I¡¯ve been ignoring him in-game, as long as open conflict does not break out between us, there¡¯s still a chance that we can work together. So why did he do such a thing?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of the saying ¡®to choose the lesser of both evils¡¯?¡±, Green Hill¡¯s Moon responded with a question of his own.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯ve heard of it, but what does it have to do with this?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re the lesser evil.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. Her interest was piqued by Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s statement.

    ¡°Do you remember the weird thing going on between Thousand Sunsets and Gleaming Sunshine that I was talking about?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°What do you think caused that?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon was like a gentle guide, leading Ye Ci closer and closer to the answer she sought.

    What could it be? Ye Ci lowered her head in thought. The answer was a simple one, ¡°There can only be two problems between Thousand Sunsets and Dong Yin, which are Dong Yin¡¯s feelings for Thousand Sunsets, and money.¡±

    ¡°Now I see why Dong Yin wanted to get rid of you. You¡¯re such a perceptive person.¡±

    ¡°I just know her well enough.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s next words came as a shock to Ye Ci, ¡°They broke up.¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned before finally pursing her lips, ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s something that should be expected.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. But I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll never expect what led to their break up.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon poured himself a generous amount of wine. He has been speaking a lot, and decided to reward himself with such a fine wine, ¡°The ending of this story is quitemon, but the process is rather melodramatic.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re very good at keeping people in suspense. Even I am now interested in this method. You do know that I¡¯m usually not interested in gossips like this.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re only interested because this has something to do with you.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon was a well-verse in word games.

    Ye Ci was apparently not impressed by his y of words, ¡°Is this even meaningful?¡± and she furrowed her eyebrows.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get back to the point,¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m sure you know that Thousand Sunsets lost hispetition with Unbridled Willow. Steel-Blooded Battle Spear was divided into Bloody Steel and Battle Spear, and its former vice leader is now the vice leader of Unbridled Willow¡¯s Battle Spear.¡±

    Ye Ci drummed her fingers against the armrest of her chair impatiently as she stared at Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    ¡°And I¡¯ve told you that the Old Master will not give up on Thousand Sunsets just yet. Even if he¡¯s not as talented as Unbridled Willow, that man was still a person who has been groomed by the Old Master for years. He has more connections than the fledgeling Unbridled Willow. This has be a long term contest, and the victor will be the heir to the Old Master¡¯s throne.¡± said Green Hill¡¯s Moon with a smile, ¡°The Old Master gave them a sum of money each. An equal sum of money.¡±

    ¡°Why do I feel like I¡¯m watching a shitty soap opera?¡± Ye Ci let out a yawn. A normal citizen like her will never experience something like that in her life.

    ¡°You said something simr when we first met. Remember what I told you before? Art was something that transcended from our experience in life, but life can be a thousand times more melodramatic that art.¡±

    Ye Ci sighed. She seemed to have this conversation with Green Hill¡¯s Moon before. Although she was not interested in the affairs of the wealthy, she was still forced to listen to the rest of the story as it could bring a huge impact to her life, ¡°And what happened next?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon chuckled as he poured himself more wine, ¡°I did say that Thousand Sunsets¡¯ advantage lies in his many connections, and that it¡¯s not something Unbridled Willow could hope to match, am I right?¡± he continued before Ye Ci could respond to his question, ¡°Being new to the scene might not be a bad thing at all to Unbridled Willows. In fact, it could even be one of his advantages.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°Because he has less connections than Thousand Sunsets.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that it¡¯s a disadvantage for him?¡± Ye Ci was confused by the words of Green Hill¡¯s Moon. Just what the hell is he on about?

    ¡°There¡¯s always two sides to a coin. Everything has its pros and cons. Don¡¯t you think that you should look at things from multiple perspectives?¡± said Green Hill¡¯s Moon with augh.

    Ye Ci chuckled along with Green Hill¡¯s Moon. Was that even funny at all?

    ¡°Just think about it. Thousand Sunsets would have to spend a lot of money in maintaining his connections or his past efforts will be wasted. However, Unbridled Willow has no such worry.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately understood the meaning behind his words, ¡°So you¡¯re telling me that the money given to those two by the Old Master was not enough for Thousand Sunsets to maintain his rtionship with his allies, but can be considered as a huge sum of money to Unbridled Willow?¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon was impressed by Ye Ci¡¯s deduction, ¡°You¡¯ve said it yourself. Thousand Sunsets will not sacrifice his future for a mere woman. You can say that he¡¯s someone who is willing to betray anyone and everyone for the sake of his future. He has a trump card hidden up his sleeves that could help him to secure more funds to defeat Unbridled Willow.¡±

    ¡°That trump card you¡¯re talking about can¡¯t be Dong Yin, right?¡±

    ¡°How can it be her? Dong Yin¡¯s family lost everything in that contest between Unbridled Willow and Thousand Sunsets.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon continued with a malicious grin, ¡°If a woman marry a rich man, she would be known as a gold digger. So what do we call a man who marries a rich woman? That¡¯s right, a kept man.¡±

    Ye Ci knew that she was very close to the truth, but her expression remain unchanged, ¡°Thousand Sunsets is not a poor man. Even if he marries a rich woman, they¡¯re equally matched.¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re not wrong about that. In short, Thousand Sunsets¡¯ trump card is his status as an unmarried man. It¡¯s an undeniable fact that Thousand Sunsets possess the quality of a Prince Charming to a lot ofdies out there,¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon chuckled, ¡°Would you like to guess who will he be marrying?¡±

    ¡°How would I know?¡±

    ¡°Let me give you a hint: You know that person.¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. Thousand Sunsets is going to marry somebody that I know? If it¡¯s not Dong Yin, who could it be? It can¡¯t be one of those people in Upwards Ho!, can it? Ye Ci shook her head, what am I thinking? Why would I even think about members of Upwards Ho!? A name immediately surfaced in her mind, ¡°Could it be Peacock Blue?¡±

    ¡°Heh, Gongzi You, has anybody told you before that you make a good detective?¡±

    ¡°So it is her.¡± Ye Ci was still harboring some lingering doubts, ¡°Didn¡¯t expect her family to be that rich.¡± Peacock Blue did not strike her as a person who was from such a background. Then again, only a pampered girl from a wealthy family would disy such a princess-like attitude.

    ¡°Of course she¡¯s wealthy. Her family is friends with the Old Master. Even if Thousand Sunsets might not like Peacock Blue, she¡¯s the only daughter in her entire family. Marrying her will be like marrying a mountain of gold.¡± said Green Hill¡¯s Moon matter-of-factly.

    Ye Ci could feel the sorrow of the wealthy. Even their marriage was filled scheming and plots. Although Ye Ci did not see herself as a benevolent individual, she still saw marriage as something that was sacred. To her, a marriage must not be built upon benefit and schemes.

    ¡°Will Dong Yin even agree to that?¡± Ye Ci rubbed her temples softly. Based on Ye Ci¡¯s understanding of Dong Yin, she could tell that despite her despicable character, Dong Yin¡¯s feelings for Thousand Sunsets was genuine. She could see the affection in Dong Yin¡¯s eyes for Thousand Sunsets.

    ¡°Thousand Sunsets was not quite sincere in his rtionship with Dong Yin as well. If I¡¯m not mistaken, he became a couple with her because she was a good friend of yours, and he wanted to secure your allegiance through your rtionship with Dong Yin.¡± said Green Hill¡¯s Moon with augh, ¡°If he was given the opportunity to date you, he might not even end up as Dong Yin¡¯s boyfriend.¡±

    Ye Ci was not offended at all by Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s sarcasm. She knew that it was the truth. Thousand Sunsets was a person like that. It was entirely possible for him to do something like that.

    ¡°So, with a better option at hand, he would of course abandon his rtionship with Dong Yin,¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon sighed, ¡°That poor girl. She ended up like this because of her feelings for Thousand Sunsets. She tried in vain to salvage the rtionship with Thousand Sunsets. At that point of time, you had a fall out with Dong Yin due to unknown reasons.¡±

    Ye Ci let out a sigh. What a coincidence. Something that appeared so trivial at that time turned out to be quite a huge mess.

    ¡°Dong Yin knew that her rtionship with Thousand Sunsets was doomed. She made two requests as conditions for their break up. She wanted the money her family invested in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear to be returned to her. This request was immediately granted by Peacock Blue. She loved Thousand Sunsets, but the presence of Dong Yin was a huge deterrent to her. This was why Peacock Blue immediately agreed to her request. As for the second request...¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon stopped mid sentence, and stared at Ye Ci.

    And Ye Ci, who has figured everything out at this point, let out a sigh and continued his sentence for him, ¡°And the second request was for them to teach me a lesson, and I right?¡±

    ¡°You are smart.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m retarded if I¡¯m not able to figure it out at this point.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes.

    ¡°And this is why Thousand Sunsets is willing to go after you for Dong Yin. Even if you¡¯re somewhat useful in his development in the game, money is an even more urgent matter for him. Compared to Peacock Blue, you¡¯re way less useful. Besides, he was able to cover up his tracks well. I had to go to great lengths to dig information regarding his involvement in this up. You¡¯ll never be able to get this piece of information if you hired somebody else.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon shrugged. He has told Ye Ci everything he knew.

    ¡°You must be very angry right now.¡± said Green Hill¡¯s Moon as he studied Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Ye Ci understood the meaning behind his words, ¡°Truth to be told, I already had a rough idea the day I was beaten up, but I was not entirely sure. At this point, it doesn¡¯t really matter anymore.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to take revenge on them.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon responded with a statement instead of a question. As a professional in his field, he was confident in his skill in reading people.

    His statement with met with silence from Ye Ci.

    ¡°I have to say this as a friend. You¡¯re powerless against Thousand Sunsets in real life. Even Dong Yin is more than a match for you. If you want revenge, you might want to be too wreckless.¡± said Green Hill¡¯s Moon with sincerity in his tone.

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m not an idiot. I am well aware of my limits.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon nodded, and breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°Thanks for the wine. I have something else that I need to settle. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±

    ¡°Help yourself out.¡± said Ye Ci calmly as she resumed staring out of the window. It was strange. She was still calm even after the revtion. It was like the calm before the storm.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon turned around with a sudden movement just as he reached the entrance, ¡°By the way, have you heard of Golden Age?¡±

    ¡°That guild known as the locust of the gaming world?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows.

    ¡°Yup. That¡¯s them. They are being hired by a rival of the Glory Corporation to bring Fate down.¡± said Green Hill¡¯s Moon with a hint of sadness, ¡°This game might notst that long.¡±

    Ye Ciughed at his words, ¡°Why are you so sad? We can¡¯t tell what will happen in the future until we get to that point in time anyways. There¡¯s no need to worry about it.¡±

    However, Ye Ci¡¯s words did little to console Green Hill¡¯s Moon, ¡°I hope so.¡± he said with a grimace.

    With that, he left pushed the doors open, and left the room. Ye Ci continued to gaze out of the window at the beautiful scenery. Noone in the game knew of the storm that was about to sweep across Fate in the near future.

    After a long period of time, Ye Ci sent Bai Mo a message.

    ¡°I¡¯m tired. I¡¯ll be going offline now.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Bai Mo was in the process of clearing a dungeon when he received the message from Ye Ci. Despite his role as the main tank, he would always respond to messages from Ye Ci.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m just tired.¡± Ye Ci closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She needed time to think. To think of a way to survive in theing storm.

    ¡°Heh,are you tired after being teased by Fleeting Time?¡± said Bai Mo with a smirk.

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? That thing¡¯s been going on in the World Channel for almost an hour now!¡± even when he was the main tank in the dungeon, Bai Mo was still attentive to the gossip going on in the World Chat.

    Ye Ci immediately stole a nce at the World Channel. The yers were still telling stories about the romance between and Fleeting Time, and tales of their enduring and evesting love.

    Just what the hell is this? Do they have to much time in their hands? Ye Ci ground her teeth in annoyance. She was reminded of the words said to her by Fleeting Time when he left the arena. Rage exploded within Ye Ci like a bomb with its fuse lit. She stood up and iled her fist in the air wildly at the imaginary Fleeting Time who was smirking at her.

    As Ye Ci sat back down on her chair, she received a message from Bai Mo, ¡°How was it? You¡¯ve been punching and cursing at the air aren¡¯t you?¡±

    An astonished Ye Ci looked all around her. Did Bai Mo install cameras in my room? How did he know what I was doing?

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to look around. I know because I¡¯m your brother. I know you every well.¡± Bai Mo was pleased with himself.

    Ye Ci was not amused. She raised her eyebrows and snorted, ¡°Oh, I have a news for you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I had a conversation with Green Hill¡¯s Moon not a few moments ago.¡± said Ye Ci in a calm voice as she stared out of the window.

 Chapter 224 Mithril

    Chapter 224 Mithril

    When Ye Ci logged off it was still too early for dinner, so she took the opportunity to take a shower as Bai Mo was still logged into the game. Bai Mo was already waiting for her in the living room by the time she was done with her shower. Ye Nan Tian and Zuo Xian were still online, probably still thinking about how they could recoup some costs.

    Ye Ci sat down next to Bai Mo and started drying her hair. She snuck a peek at Bai Mo; his face was very serene. It was so serene that one was unable to tell what he was thinking. Not a word was spoken, as they sat there in silence, apanied by the background noise from the TV. This created a somewhat strange atmosphere between the two.

    Bai Mo spoke up after a long silence, ¡°Was the result exactly as we expected?¡±

    ¡°Yes, and..¡± Ye Ci hesitated, her voice ultimately fading into nothingness.

    ¡°Thousand Sunsets is also involved in this.¡± Bai Moughed. He had already predicted this would happen. It was not possible that a girl who was so powerless and broke had the ability to cover up a fight to the point where even Bai Zixuan could not find out anything.

    ¡°You seem to have expected this.¡± Ye Ci did not find Bai Mo¡¯s ability to predict what was going to happen strange at all. Bai Mo¡¯s father was an official in a neighbouring city. His position wasn¡¯t insignificant and had been rising steadily Ever since Bai Mo¡¯s youth, it could be said that Bai Mo had grown up surrounded by the children of other officials.

    Ye Ci knew that Bai Mo had a past she knew very little of. She simrly had a past that Bai Mo did not know of either. When they¡¯re together, they are just siblings, but when apart, only they themselves know, what sort of demons they are.

    She could tell that someone with Bai Mo¡¯s background would definitely not be a coddled boy that had not experienced the world. Ye Ci did not know the other side of Bai Mo, nor did she want to know.

    The only thing she needed to know was that Bai Mo treated her well, and that was all.

    ¡°Green Hill¡¯s Moon told me a very dull story, do you want to hear it?¡± Ye Ci gentlybed through her hair using her fingers, with a light smile on her face, ¡°the end is stereotypical but the process is very dramatic.¡±

    ¡°Well, spit it out. I¡¯m bored,¡± said Bai Mo as he took out a packet of cigarettes, and began lighting one up with practiced movements.. Although he and Ye Ci had lived together for such a long time, Ye Ci had hardly ever seen Bai Mo smoke, but seeing his practiced motions however, suggested otherwise.

    The corners of her lips were raised slightly, and she proceeded to tell Green Moon Hill¡¯s long boring story to Bai Mo. He did not say a word from beginning to end, merely listened intently. After she finished recounting the story, heughed, ¡°no wonder you said it was boring. This story is indeed very nd.¡± Saying so, he pursed his lips, ¡°I see why my dad couldn¡¯t do anything about it. It looks like being here in person is better than district magistrate for this case.¡±

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Ye Ci suddenly asked.

    Bai Mo shook his head, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± Some things were better off not letting her know.

    Ye Ci saw how reluctant Bai Mo was to tell her, so she did not pry any further, only passing on the words of warning from Green Moon Hill, ¡°Thousand Sunset¡¯s family background is not minor, and it¡¯s no longer just a matter of money. With our current abilities, it might be hard to deal with him, and Dong Yin¡¯s family is currently rebuilding their empire. You must consider carefully...¡±

    Bai Mo waved his hand, signalling that he did not want to continue this conversation. Thus, Ye Ci did not let a single word slip past her lips regarding the topic.

    ¡°Clear Moon managed to get his hands on a recipe for a very good enchantment, but the materials are quite rare.¡± Bai Mo changed the topic of the conversation.

    ¡°What recipe?¡± Right now, Clear Moon was the only high leveled cksmith in the guild. The number of his creations numbered in the tens of thousands. Every month, just the things that he made sold for arge amount of money at the auction, and was now one of the financial supports of Upwards Ho!.

    ¡°It¡¯s a ting that adds 38 Strength and 50 uracy to a weapon with an additional random attribute, but they¡¯re keeping the recipe a secret.¡± Once Bai Mo started speaking of matters rted to the game, his expression was no longer stiff, but after he reported the stats of the armor he sighed, ¡°there is a material we are short on. Even if it is Upwards Ho!, there are only two in the entire guild.¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows after she realised what item Bai Mo was talking about. Although she rarely took note of what was in the guild warehouse, once Bai Mo mentioned how rare the item was, she immediately knew. At the moment, Bai Mo only knew that the item was extremely hard to get, but not how important it would beter in the game.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about mithril, right?¡± Ye Ciughed.

    ¡°Yeah. It really wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to call you a god; no matter what I talk about, you always know.¡± Bai Mo originally wanted it to be a surprise but who would have thought that Ye Ci immediately said the name of the item.

    Ye Ci only bitterly smiled. She was not a walking encyclopedia. If Bai Mo was the one who had reincarnated instead, he would know about it too. After all, it was due to this item that Golden Age almost caused the end of Fate.

    Mithril was an extremely rare ore in Western Fantasy. It was not only light and sturdy, but more importantly, had a very mysterious attribute that could greatly increase one¡¯s attributes. The mithril itself did note with any specific attributes,, but it was like a magnifying ss which could amplify the effects of equipment. Equipment with the fire attribute crafted from this material would have its fire damage amplified multiple folds. If equipment with Holy attribute was forged with mithril, the equipment¡¯s Holy attribute would be increased as well..

    Most importantly, after the release of the new expansion ¡°New Continent¡±, yers will begin to realise the importance of mithril.

    By that time, all the yers would find out that all gear dropped from lvl70 and above dungeons required the yer to wear a mithril shirt in order to be equipped. As the number of yers that reached lvl70 increased, and more people cleared the dungeons, there would be an explosive growth in demand.

    Even if one reached lvl80, without being able to equip lvl70 gear, it was impossible to enter lvl80 dungeons. It was in this way that the use of mithril increased exponentially.

    It was precisely because of this exponential need that almost caused Fate to copse. Of course, thought Ye Ci to herself, the introduction of the mithril mines was the developer¡¯s attempt to cultivate a group of top-tier yers. Who would¡¯ve thought that it abused by Golden Age instead. Their action almost led to the copse of the game.

    Although the use of mithril was indeed great, but...after all, it was a rare item that was hard to get, not some rubbish on the side of the road. Until this day, mithril was only dropped by BOSSes in dungeons. No one knew where else it could be obtained.

    Of course, of course, in the current game, there are only a few yers, or yers with high life skills inrge guilds that understand the rarity and usefulness of mithril. To ordinary yers, they have not even heard of it, let aloneprehend its uses.

    But, can mithril only be obtained from dungeons?

    Of course not, otherwise if it was only obtainable as drops from BOSSes, then how could Golden Age use it to do such heaven defying things? Mithril, a rare and precious ore, was right under everyone¡¯s nose the entire time.

    As long as it is an ore, no matter how precious it is, there must be a ore vein. If there is an ore vein, then there must be a mine where it can be found.

    Mithril is not an exception.

    This is how the game was designed. In the entirety of Fate, there are only four mithril veins spread across the North, South, East and West continents. This has not changed. Even after ten years, when new areas and continents had been opened, this would not change. It was originally designed this way so that the starting four continents would always have yers even afterter expansions.

    Only who would have thought that after the appearance of Golden Age, they managed to find the locations of all four veins, and sent out yers to protect each one. Thus, they held a monopoly over mithril.

    Once they established a monopoly, the price of mithril waspletely controlled by Golden Age. They raised the price sky high. While yers fromrge guilds could grind in dungeons all day just to obtain a few pieces of mithril, while solo yers who were without a guild were left at the mercy of Golden age. In order to continue ying, they had to earn money to buy the rare ore.

    The number of solo yers were naturally higher than those who were part of a guild. With the fluctuation in the prices of mithril, many solo yers were forced into the profession of Life yers. With the drastic increase of Life yers, the market in the game was flooded with huge numbers of items, which drove prices down. With their earning bing more and more meagre due to the low prices, yers were forced to real world cash into the game, eventually leading to an intion.

    Golden Age was the sole cause of such a scary chain of events. Instead of using their usual strategy of using overwhelming numbers to ughter the yer poption, Golden Age employed a totally different approach against Fate. They seized control of the economy in Fate, and had almost seeded in bringing the game down.

    When things had almost reached the point of no return, Wang Jiangnan stepped forward with determination to stem the tide. He single-handedly managed to turn the tables despite the pressure from angry yers. It was a story that wouldter be circted in the Glory Corporation in Ye Ci¡¯s past life. She herself heard the story from one of the employees.

    This kind of story sounded interesting, but those that had not experienced it would not know how the dark storm started and ended. To people listening to the story, it is only a story, but to those who have experienced it, it was a memory that made people tremble in fear.

    Ye Ci took a deep breath. She did not want to remember that storm.

    That state of economic copse and confusion was the greatest test of one¡¯s humanity.

    Sometimes Ye Ci thought that maybe, it was in that storm that people no longer became able to differentiate between real life and the game. Was she not one of those people in her past life?

    ¡°What¡¯s the drop rate like?¡± Ye Ci retracted her faraway thoughts and asked Bai Mo.

    ¡°Forget about it, the drop rate is awful! When the first of them dropped, I noticed that is was a Purple material. But without any description about the item¡¯s usage, I could do nothing but ce it into the guild storage. I¡¯ve forgotten all about it until Clear Moon rushed up to me asking for mithril while holding the recipe for it. It was only at that time that I realised what mithril could be used for, so ever since then I have been carefully collecting it, but the drop rate is just too low. We¡¯ve been clearing dungeons for half a year already but only found five pieces. Of those five, I¡¯ve given Clear Moon three pieces and the other two are in storage as a decoration.¡± Once this topic was mentioned, Bai Mo shook his head and sighed.

    Ye Ciughed. She did not tell Bai Mo that it was impossible to rely on the low drop rates to gather mithril. She also did not tell him that she knew the location of not only the mithril vein in the East Continent, but also the location of the veins on the other three continents as well.

    It was better to pretend to find these things by chance. Only, she had to hurry, as Golden Age would soon enter Fate. If she waited until they entered Fate to do it, then it might be toote.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everything will happen when the timing is right. If the developers designed something like this, then there must always be a reason for it. Anyway, the ting is very precious now; its a waste to use it on lvl30-40 weapons. Isn¡¯t it better for everyone to reach lvl60 and then use it on lvl60 weapons?¡± Ye Ci exined. After all, these kind of things cannot be rushed.

    Bai Mo took a deep breath and nodded.

    After finding out about how Dong Yin and Thousand Sunsets had worked together to beat Ye Ci, up, he was exceptionally calm. He was so calm that one would not be able to tell anything had happened at all. As Ye Ci had already gave her promise to not interfere with Bai Mo when he move against Dong Yin and Thousand Sunsets, she naturally would not ask about it. She only considered how could she use someone else to get rid of the disgusting people. For example, just like that time when she stole from their storage. Although it was very satisfying at the time, it created a lot of problems for her, and was unable to harm them. More importantly, if she pulled too many of these stunts then they would definitely be on guard against her.

    This time, what Ye Ci wanted wasplete elimination.

    Until that time, she would hone her abilities and conceal her strength, waiting until the opportunity arose.

    Golden Age would soon arrive. But before they came, every yer and every guild would still live their everyday life. No one would have trouble eating or sleeping because of this news. They were all living their own life. Upwards Ho! would continue, as would Ye Ci.

    It was also worth mentioning that at this time, the official site had organised a yer photographypetition. There were two types: video and photo. All yers could contribute. There were three prizes for drama, skill, and promotional ability under the video category and the photo category likewise had three prizes for scenery, people, and other photos that did not fall into these categories, the misceneous. Thispetition was organised to test the waters, and thus did not give the yers much time to enter. However, the organisers did not expect that so many yers would participate, nor did they expect the level of excitement generated from thispetition. This caused the organisers to consider continuing thispetition the next year. Of course, this all happenedter.

    More importantly, in this year¡¯spetition, the entries were truly a feast for the eyes.

    ording to statistics, there were hundreds of thousands of entries for the video category alone, and there were several million entries for the photo category. The organisers had to hire a huge panel of judges to look at these entries, and took a whole two weeks to finally choose a winner.

    The most popr type in the video category was of course drama. Everyone took particr notice of theedies and tragedies. The skill subcategory came next, with more than half of the entries being recordings of duels between experts. Although the number of views was not as high as that of the drama entries, they were still well liked. After all, experts were few and far between, and there are even fewer videos of spars. As for promotional ability, it was a bitckingpared to the other two subcategories.

    In the photo category, the most popr type was people. For this subcategory, most entries were of various guilds that sought to advertise themselves with beautiful pictures. Next was the scenery type. In Fate, not everyone aimed to raise their level as high as possible, or aimed to be an expert, but rather to explore the mountains and rivers. The art design in Fate is indeed very impressive. Even the scenery of a deste graveyard could be stunning.

    As the saying goes: the world nevercks beauty; only people to appreciate it.

    And these yers did appreciate it. They roamed all over Fate, no matter how dangerous or how barren a map can be, they have been there and seen it all. The yers, and even the game developers themselves, were stunned by the impressive scenery offered by the different maps in Fate.

    It was precisely because of this that most of thements on these photos consisted of yers asking for the coordinates of these ces. It seems that many yers wanted to go experience such a wonderful ce themselves.

    One would assume that the photo category not as popr as the video category. The misceneous type of photos were even less popr than the people and scenery subcategories. However, the results were a bit strange this year. The misceneous category was actually very popr, so popr in fact that it even diverted attention away from the video category.

    The reason for this had to do with Ye Ci. That day, in the party she and Fleeting Time were in, there was another person that loved to find gossip material. That¡¯s right, it was Glistening Moonlight.

    At that time, she had recorded everything that had happened between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time, and had also taken many photos.

    The set of photos that drew so much attention was precisely the fight between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. It clearly indicated how Fleeting Time attacked Gongzi You but missed, and was kicked down instead. It also showed how he pulled Gongzi You down onto the ground as well. If the photos only showed the part with the battle, then there would not be as much discussion.

    The next photos however, were the same apart from the timestamp and the words written down the bottom by Glistening Moonlight.

    The scene was like this: Fleeting Time grabbed Gongzi You¡¯s ankle while lying on the floor. Gongzi You was also lying on the floor. The two people were surrounded by flying sand, a very deste sight.

    But the words written by Glistening Moonlightlight went like this. The first photo read: ¡°Gongzi You and Fleeting Time have been lying there for over five seconds, but neither of them have made a move to get up. From what I can see in the party log, Gongzi You hasn¡¯t died...¡±

    The exnations for the following photos were simr to the first, with the only change being the time. Especially in thest couple of photos, it was clear that Glistening Moonlight could no longer hold back her urge to gossip. She wrote: ¡°until when are they going to lie there? What are they doing? What are they saying? Ah I really want to know, don¡¯t you want to know?¡±

    ¡°Oh my god, this obviously doesn¡¯t count as pushing her down, why are they lying there and not getting up? Can it be they are stargazing? Are they discussing trivial things or philosophy? Argh, I really want to know.¡±

    ¡°How long are you two going to lie there for? If you have to lie there, can you put on some scandalising act please, don¡¯t just lie there like corpses. Can you not hear the cries of the audience? We want more, we want more!¡±

    ......

    After these photos were the ones of the two people standing up. By that time, the fight had already ended, and they were seemingly going to go their own ways. This photo had the following caption: ¡°do you really think things have finished here? Are you going to exit out of the screen? Then you must not be a true gossip, remember, the climax is always at the end.¡±

    This caption captured the attention of many yers that were indeed going to exit, and they impatiently waited to see the end.

    Thest photo actually depicted Fleeting Time talking whilst leaning towards Ye Ci, but from Glistening Moonlightlight¡¯s perspective, the angle was enough to create a misunderstanding. The caption of this photo was only a few words: ¡°actions speak louder than words.¡±

    The photos ended here, but Glistening Moonlightlight made a smart decision. These photos were only taken by chance, if someone wanted to see the video of it, then they could click on her video submitted to the skills category.

    This was originally merely a piece of boring gossip from a little chatterbox, but when the whole screen was full of made up stories, this seemed to be something more realistic. It was as if arge bomb had exploded among the yers, spreading waves among themunity.

    In one night, there were tens of pages of replies, with one hundred replies on each page. There was no sign of this trend slowing down.

    In the replies, there was nock of interestingments.

    ¡°*raises hand I just want to ask are they...in thest photo?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to see the view from above¡±

    ¡°This is the highlight¡±

    ......

    ¡°Godly captions by the photographer¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s full of feelings¡±

    ¡°If people from the East Continent and West Continent can be together despite the obstacles like Fleeting TIme and Gongzi You, then I can believe in true love.¡±

    ......

    ¡°Fleeting Time is definitely not the top expert of our West Continent. How could he like Gongzi You? Gongzi You is t in front and behind. It¡¯s not as if Fleeting Time is gay, why¡¯d he have to like Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we definitely can¡¯t believe these photos. In thest photo we can only see Gongzi You¡¯s back so from this angle something might be happening but there¡¯s definitely nothing going on. Please don¡¯t talk about Fleeting Time like this.¡±

    ......

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with Gongzi You! She¡¯s only skinny. How is she not worthy of Fleeting Time, that silver haired ruffian! Do you really think the West Continent is that great? Let me tell you, even if Fleeting Time was given as a gift, Gongzi You wouldn¡¯t want him!¡±

    ¡°Support our Gongzi You! She definitely doesn¡¯t like Fleeting Time. Think about it, if they do team up, their gear would sh. Support Gongzi You, look down on the West Continent¡¯s silver haired ruffian!¡±

    ......

    Any post, as long as it bes popr, would end up being host to arge fight. This post was no exception. From the start, it was mere gossip, but it had grown to the point that yers from the East and West Continents would fight over. The North and South Continents were mediating the conflict but also at the same time making things worse.

    By the time Ye Ci knew about this, it was already old news. yers from the East and West Continents fought over it three days ago. She looked at the post and felt the world go ck. Thinking that speaking more would result in more misunderstandings, she did not answer the calls from the gossip loving yers to exin the situation. Fleeting Time did not either.

    Faced with the huge gossip in the game, the two people at the heart of the matter seemed exceptionally calm, almost as if they were dead. The more they remained silent, the more the yer¡¯s hearts felt like they had just been scratched by a cat.

    Ye Ci thought that as long as she kept silent, this would all be forgotten sooner orter, so she ignored them. In her heart, she knew what had happened. There was no need to live ording to the wagging tongues of other yers. She had more important things to do.

    But, Ye Ci could not have known that right at the end of this drama, Fleeting Time stepped forward.

    He left threements in that skyscraper like pile ofments.

    The first one read: ¡°what a shitty gaming cabin you have, OP. The photos are all blurry, not professional at all~¡±

    The second one was: ¡°do you really want to know what Gongzi You and I talked about? It was just a small promise.¡±

    The third was: ¡°also, original poster, when you uploaded these photos and videos did you ask the people involved? If Gongzi agrees, I do too. If Gongzi disagrees, don¡¯t let me see you, or else...¡±

    It was thesements that caused the originally calming fervor to rise again. This time, it rose even higher than before, so high that Ye Ci had to ask the organisers to delete them.

    The reason was that these photos and videos were uploaded without her consent. Under normal circumstances, this request would have been granted, but it seemed that the organisers were also interested in this gossip.

    When Ye Ci requested the deletion of the photos, the staff that answered the phone even quietly asked: ¡°Gongzi You, did you really...with Fleeting Time? In the game.¡±

    Ye Ci almost shouted at this point: ¡°No I didn¡¯t! What¡¯s your staff number?! I want to register aint!¡±

    The staff was so scared they hurriedly called over the customer service manager. It was obvious that the manager was well versed in dealing with these kind of incidents. He told Ye Ci that because there were two people involved, the other person¡¯s opinion must also be sought. If Fleeting Time agreed, the post would be immediately deleted. If he did not agree, then the two muste to an agreement and then deal with the matter.

    This kind of answer made Ye Ci so angry she almost cursed. Where was she supposed to find Fleeting Time?

    Thus, until the end, Ye Ci was unable to get the post deleted, and it became recorded in history as Fate¡¯s most popr forum that year. After everything was concluded, the originator of the post, Glistening Moonlightlight, was the biggest winner.

    She won the misceneous photo category and received arge sum as the prize. The video was also the most popr one in thepetition of skills category, but due to the content ovepping with the photos, it was not considered for the prize. Glistening Moonlight also won another prize, ¡°Biggest Gossip of the Year¡±.

    Glistening Moonlight was not the only one that won a prize. What made people surprised was that Fleeting Time received the title of ¡°Best at Stirring up Trouble¡±.

    Ye Ci also received a prize, ¡°Best Silent Protagonist¡±.

    Although the organisers also awarded Ye Ci arge sum of money, she was still conflicted. That was probably the first time she felt that she burned her hands to earn money. When she looked at the money sitting in her inbox, it was always with a heavy heart.

    She clearly did not do anything, yet why did she feel like she hadmitted an unspeakable evil?

    Fruit Jelly had a different way of thinking, ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter what you did, as long you got the money, nothing else matters. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Okay, nothing else matters.

    Although this entire matter made Ye Ci feel like she was going crazy, at the end, nothing mattered. It was just a small bump in her in-game life. Ye Ci was not a person who was overly conscious of her surroundings, so even after such arge uproar, she continued grinding the Spirit Medallion and steadily work towards the mithril vein.

    As all the gossip was flying everywhere, Ye Ci and Bai Mo had already gathered a few sets. When Bai Mo saw these sets, he was iparably happy, but as he was only lvl44 at the moment, he would have to wait a while until he could wear it.

    Ye Ci also did not slow down her progress in finding the mithril vein. The only problem was that she knew the location of the vein, but did not know how to enter. In her previous life, Golden Age kept the knowledge of how they unearthed the mithril vein a tightly kept secret, which resulted in her standing in front of it, but unable to find the entrance.

    Ye Ci drank the wine she always carried as she sat on a tree stump outside the mithril vein while looking closely at it...

    Of course, it was now an extremelyrge mountain, but soon, it would turn into a huge mine, from which the rarest ore could be continuously mined ¨C mithril. There would always be all sorts of killing, all sorts of yers surrounding it. Their goal was the mithril.

    Ye Ci could almost see what it was like in her previous life when she closed her eyes. This was an area dyed by blood. Would it happen again in this life? Previously, Golden Age had sent out many troops to guard this ce, which caused the yers to loot and kill. What about this life? Upwards Ho! could notpete with Golden Age in numbers. Even if she did discover this mithril mine, how would Upwards Ho! protect it?

    She was running out of time, and felt as if she were facing an unprecedented pressure.

 Chapter 225 Black Iron Dwarf

    Chapter 225 ck Iron Dwarf

    The mithril ore vein of the Eastern continent was located in the south west. The size of the map was neither small orrge, but was surrounded by lvl50 monsters. With the current level of the yers, they could only look on from afar. The area was also full of smoke spewing volcanoes, which caused the air to be scorching hot. If yers were not well prepared then they would receive a ¡°heat damage¡± status which would cause a continuous drop in health.

    It was very easy to die before finding a supply camp.

    The environment here was harsh and unforgiving with many high level Lesser Demons. This was enough to act as a deterrent for most yers.

    Ye Ci spent a long time in an attempt to activate the ore vein before finally heading to the nearby supply camp in search of clues. There would usually be a supply camps in a map that are far away from cities such as this. These camps could be set up by NPCs at any location of a map. Finding one depended on a yer¡¯s luck when exploring a map. If one was lucky, they would be able to find one quickly. If one was unlucky, then they might have to explore almost the entire map before finding a supply camp.

    Naturally, as a reincarnator, it was easier for Ye Ci to explore maps than other yers. Once she entered the ¡°Lesser Demons Sanctuary¡±, she headed straight for the supply camp and opened up a transfer point before exploring the area around the mithril vein.

    Unfortunately, even after a few days Ye Ci was unable to make any progress with the mithril vein. Finally, she gave up and returned to the supply camp to see if the NPCs there could provide any clues.

    After returning to the supply camp, Ye Ci first had a long conversation with all the NPCs, but depressingly, none of them even mentioned the mithril vein. She did, however, received a number of quests. Although she was anxious to locate the mithril vein, Ye Ci knew that it definitely was not easy for Golden Age to locate the vein in herst life. There must be a way ¨C she just had to find it. What she needed to do now was to take another look around in case she missed any clues.

    Since she made up her mind to not give up until the mithril vein was found, Ye Ci decided to firstplete the quests. With her current level at lvl60 and her top quality equipment, it was not hard for her toplete the lvl55 quests here, even the ones that require a 3-man party.

    It usually did not take long for high leveled yers toplete lower levelled quests, and Ye Ci was no exception. The quests that she epted would have taken a lvl55 yer approximately a day or two toplete, but it only took Ye Ci three hours.

    Receive quest, do quest, receive quest, do quest. That was the mostmonly used method to gain levels. Although Ye Ci was currently at the level cap and was unable to receive any experience, she did receive a number of gold, prestige and other rewards. In the end, Ye Ci did not gain any clues from the NPCs, but if she sold the equipment she received as quest rewards, it woulde to a nice sum.

    ¡°Oh elf, my friend, I am very thankful for everything you have done for me. My leg has been feeling much better after using the herbs you picked for me.¡± Ye Ci hadpleted all but one of the quests received from the NPCs at this hidden vige. The only one left was from a female dwarf named Jasmine.

    The quests given by Jasmine were all very easy, from picking up rocks to digging up herbs to killing Lesser Demons, but the rewards were noticeably higher than the other NPCs. At first Ye Ci did not notice, but after a few rounds of quests, she discovered the unique existence of this NPC.

    Such easy quests but such high rewards was definitely not an overlooked BUG. There must be something more to this. As a reincarnator, Ye Ci was sensitive to these kinds of things. If she still could not pick up these clues even after reincarnating, then it would have been aplete waste of her reincarnation.

    Considering Fate¡¯s utterly enormous hidden quest system, Ye Ci was very careful while carrying out Jasmine¡¯s quests. She never skipped the conversation and carefully read each word before deciding on a reply. Ye Ci did not want to miss a hidden quest like this.

    ¡°Really? It is my greatest honor to be able to help you.¡± Ye Ci was full of smiles, and her words were gentle, even bowing slightly towards Jasmine.

    Jasmine was a dwarf, but not a stereotypical dwarf. Unlike dwarven yers, she was a ck Iron dwarf. The history of the continent contained records that indicated there were three subspecies of dwarves, differentiated by the colour of their skin. One was White Dwarves, the species of dwarven yers. Another one was the ck Iron Dwarves with ck skin, and the other was called Fire Dwarves, with skin as red as fire.

    These three tribes were originally under the leadership of the Dwarf King Mokemoduo, but after his death, the three tribes all wanted to choose one of their own warriors to seed as the Dwarf King which causedrge scale fighting. Atst, the dwarves, a race only second to humans, divided into three.

    The White Dwarves had always been on good terms with humans, and received the most help from humans in the battle for session. Thus, the White Dwarves received the bestnd in the Dwarven territory, and established a close and longsting rtionship with humans, spreading across the four continents. ck Iron Dwarves however, were originally a reclusive kind, and had the smallest poption amongst the three tribes. They were the first to be defeated, but their elders signed a ceasefire with the White Dwarves and the ck Iron Dwarves left to explore the furthest corners of the continents. As thest tribe to fall, the Fire Dwarves were not as lucky as the ck Iron Dwarves. The White Dwarves not only upied all of the Fire Dwarf territory, but also chased them out of the four continents.

    This was the main reason that yers still had yet to meet a Fire Dwarf on their own continent. However, following the resource pack expansion, the appearance of the Fire Dwarves would cause a surge in the number of exploring yers. Of course, this all would happenter. Right now finding the mithril vein was first priority.

    Fighting was not in a dwarf¡¯s nature. Although they did not fear it, and could be brave warriors, their interest did noty in war. They were simr to dragons in that they liked sparkly things such as gems and precious ores. It was because of this that dwarves had naturally solid builds; they were all natural born miners. In the days they did not fight, they lived underground mining various ores and gems. This habit was ingrained in the bones of all three tribes.

    Thus, on every continent, if you looked carefully, there would always be a dwarf near a mine among the NPCs.

    Perhaps it was because of this that the nature loving elves disdained the dwarves. They believed that the dwarves were covered in a disgusting copper scent. Likewise, the dwarves also harbored dislike towards the proud elves that could only sing and dance. However, they tolerated each other as both races were close allies of the humans.

    It was due to the tension between the dwarves and elves that Ye Ci was extremely careful while interacting with Jasmine, neither servile or overbearing, in order to gain the female ck Iron Dwarf¡¯s trust.

    ¡°You are the most good natured elf I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Jasmine nodded approvingly at Ye Ci. Curling her lip, Jasmine looked in disgust at a nearby sleeping elf NPC, ¡°other elves are so annoying but it seems that there are good elves too.¡±

    Ye Ci would naturally not interfere in matters between NPCs. Smiling peacefully, she only stood to the side listening to Jasmine while not expressing any opinion.

    After Jasmine spoke for a while, her stomach suddenly started growling, and embarrassment could be seen on her face.

    Ye Ci did notugh but kindly advised, ¡°You really need to eat a lot to heal when you¡¯re injured.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, that is indeed true,¡±ughed Jasmine bashfully, ¡°I am actually quite hungry, but I really don¡¯t want to eat dwarven bread anymore. Do you know how sick I am of eating dwarven bread everyday? I heard that food made by elves is very delicious, i¡¯ve always wanted to try some but never had the opportunity. Can you fulfill this wish of mine?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I am willing.¡±

    This was an open quest. The NPC did not mention what she wanted to eat, but only requested elven food. This range was too broad. In Fate, there were themon recipes for Life skills, but each race had their own secret recipes. Many yers only learned themon recipes as their prestige among other races was too low, which made it impossible to learn the recipes of other races. Ye Ci was not an exception. Although she was a reincarnator and knew the importance of having a high Prestige among other races, she did not have the time or energy to do so.

    It looked like raising her Prestige would have to wait.

    Luckily, the food Jasmine requested was an elven dish. As an elven huntress, cooking was a necessary skill, and Ye Ci had learnt how to cook all of the elven dishes. As the basic requirement was met, it was now just a matter of choice.

    It was as they say, life is just suffering a series of consequences as a result of one¡¯s choices.

    Ye Ci currently faced this problem. An open quest was actually the hardest, because there was only one chance to make a choice, which would decide the results of the quest. If one chose wrongly, then that would be the end, but if you chose correctly, then there might be a chance to unlock a hidden quest. As a reincarnator, how could Ye Ci not know of the importance of an open quest like this?

    After the struggles of her previous life, Ye Ci had experienced over ten thousand open quests, so she was full of confidence and eighty to ny percent sure her decision was correct.

    There was much discussion in the forum regarding the best way toplete an open quest in her previous life. Of course, most people depended on luck, but there were a few yers that suggested there was a way to increase the probability ofpleting an open quest, which was to head to the public library to read books. Naturally, when this method was brought forward, it was mocked.

    The library had tens of thousands of books, and it would take someone at least one to two years to finish reading all of them.

    Ye Ci also felt this way at first. At that time, shepletely relied on luck toplete open quests until she ended up being chased by enemies. As ast resort, she hid in the public library. For the first couple of days, every day dragged on like a year. If she went outside, her enemies would attack, but inside there was nothing but books. After a couple days of this suffering, seeing as there was no chance of leaving, she settled down to read. Once she started reading, she actually stayed for several months. The enemies surrounding the library had all given up on waiting for her toe out, yet she was still immersed in the world of books.

    Soon after she left the library. Although she had left, Ye Ci would still continue to go to the public library, as she found reading to be quite an enjoyable activity.

    At that time, Fate had been running for four years, and the fourth expansion pack included a famous quest. From the start to the end, there were sixty chain quests, and every one of them was an open quest. If one chose wrongly in any of those quests, they had to start from the beginning. If they had to restart over ten times, then they would have to stop attempting this quest. Once the entire sixty quests werepleted, then the yer would receive a special reward. Hundreds of millions of yers attempted this quest for the reward, but no more than one hundredpleted it.

    Ye Ci was one of those hundred. Not only that, but she was the only one who did not make an incorrect decision for any of the quests. The reward was naturally abundant, however, Ye Ci relied not on luck, but her knowledge gained from the long hours spent reading in the public library.

    It was in this quest that Ye Ci discovered the importance of the books in the public library. It was so overwhelming that it could be called a BUG of the game. The public library held records of all the questions on the continent, from geography to culture and history. It even included records of all the races, development and finalisation of skills, just to speak of a few. Any problems that a yer may face was all in the library. It was a shame that no yer had discovered such a huge BUG before.

    Was it perhaps because yers were too absorbed in ying the game that theycked a passion for books? Or was it because no one could continue after being faced with such arge sea of books? Every spare moment Ye Ci had, she always went to the library to read.

    This might be how she became a walking encyclopedia of Fate.

    For someone who had so loved reading in her previous life, it was shameful that after reincarnating she had not even stepped foot in the public library. All the things that she knew now was from devouring books, so she decided that, after everything has been settled, she would go to the public library more often.

    Faced with her current dilemma, Ye Ci was not at all worried. As soon as Jasmine requested an elven dish, she already knew what she would choose. Of course, the public library did not provide the answers to open quests, but yers could deduce the answers from details found in the public library.

    For example, dwarves were a race that loved good food and good wine. Dwarves also were not great hunters, but loved to eat meat, the rarer the meat, the more they loved it. The food most hated by the dwarves was dwarven bread, because this was the only food that they could make. After eating the same thing for thousands of years, anyone would be tired of it. The favourite city of the dwarves was the Bn town in the South continent, not for the beautiful scenery, but for the Bn beer made from Bn wheat.

    These were only a few of the things mentioned in the public library.

    After connecting all the dots together, yers could easily deduce the most appropriate choice for open quests.

    Based on Ye Ci¡¯s knowledge of the dwarves and Jasmine¡¯s request, she quickly found the most appropriate dish among elven food ¨C Dragon Meat braised in Western Wine.

    Of course, the dragon meat in this dish was dinosaur meat, not the dragons that flew in the sky.

    There were many ingredients required for this recipe, which included fifty year old red wine from West Irnd, quality dinosaur meat, cumin from Champion City and the secret spice of the Elves. It was not easy to get a hold of these ingredients.

    To prepare such a dish, Ye Ci had to fly all the way back to Champion City and traversed across many maps. She even had to contact Fluttering Red Feather from the Southern Continent to quickly send over a couple bottles of Bn Wine.

    After a whole three hours, Ye Ci finally presented her Braised Dragon Meat in Western Wine and five bottles of Bn beer to Jasmine.

    Even with the dish covered, Jasmine could still smell the enticing aroma of the food, ¡°it smells so good, so good!¡±

    ¡°Please eat. This is one of the specialities of the elves.¡± Ye Ci ced the dish in front of Jasmine and took off the cover. Immediately, a rich fragrance was released. Jasmine breathed in strongly with closed eyes, not wanting to let go of even the smell of the dish. Her face became red, almost as if she was drunk off the scent that was released. Ye Ci was fifty percent certain of her choice now ¨C the other fifty percent would have to wait until Jasmine finished eating.

    Dwarves were quite a speedy race. When faced with delicacies, they would not take their time eating it like humans or elves; they would shove it into their mouth as fast as they could. To dwarves, slowly savoring the taste of food or wine was just a waste of time, time that they could be spending on searching for gems. Thus, it did not take long for therge te of Dragon Meat Braised in Western Wine in front of Jasmine to disappear into her stomach, as well as the five bottles of Bn beer.

    That speed of eating as almost as fast as a tornado.

    The speed at which Jasmine ate took Ye Ci by surprise. It took her a whole three hours to make the dish, yet this NPC took less than five minutes to eat it. What a waste of good food!

    ¡°That was so so so great!¡± Jasmine could not stand up due to her leg injury, but waved her hands excitedly. It was obvious that she was very happy. What followed was the line that Ye Ci had long waited for, ¡°I must share such delicious food with my friends! I have a good friend called Dudu. He¡¯s currently at the west side exploring the mine. Could you take a portion to him as well?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ye Ci stood up and epted the quest. It was lucky that she had the foresight to make five portions of the Dragon Meat Braised in Western Wine, otherwise she would have had to waste another three hours.

    Ye Ci was very happy. From Jasmine¡¯s satisfied expression, it was clear that she had chosen the best answer this time. Jasmine would have given a reward no matter what elven dish Ye Ci made, but choosing the best answer would result in a bigger reward. Such was the charm of Open Quests.

    This time Jasmine did not give Ye Ci any rewards but directly told her to find another NPC. This was abnormal for a NPC that normally gave out bountiful rewards. This abnormality showed that the yer had found a critical point for the next quest. If a yer did not find this critical point, then they would most likely receive gold or good equipment.

    Compared to gold or equipment, Ye Ci was more interested in the continuing quest. She said goodbye to Jasmine and headed towards the mine on the western side of town. In the map Lesser Demon Sanctuary, there was more than one mine, and after the past couple days of exploration, Ye Ci knew the area like the back of her hand. She also knew that there was no NPC in the western mine.

    The moment that Jasmine told Ye Ci to find Dudu must have signified the appearance of a new NPC.

    Ye Ci quickly arrived at the western mine, and saw a ck skinned ck Iron Dwarf inside the abandoned mine who was dripping with sweat. Ye Ci walked towards him and said a friendly greeting, ¡°hello, dear dwarf.¡±

    The ck Iron Dwarf named Dudu turned around to see a tall elf standing next to him, and a look of disgust appeared on his face, ¡°go away you annoying elf. I¡¯m not of those hypocritical White Dwarves. Quickly get out of my sight, otherwise you¡¯ll face my hoe.¡±

    It looked like although Ye Ci had gained Intimacy with Hasmine, it did not extend to Dudu. Thus, Ye Ci took out the Dragon Meat Braised in Western Wine and said, ¡°my friend, don¡¯t be angry. I¡¯m Jasmine¡¯s friend and I¡¯m bringing you lunch today on her behalf.¡±

    ¡°What? You¡¯re Jasmine¡¯s friend? How could Jasmine have an elf friend?¡± Although Dudu¡¯s words were harsh, itcked the anger and stubbornness of just a moment ago after smelling the fragrance of the Dragon Meat Braised in Western Wine. He sat down to eat, while also drinking some of the Bn beer.

    The alcohol quickly numbed Dudu¡¯s consciousness, and after Dudu finished eating, his attitude towards Ye Ci hadpletely changed. Not only did he be brothers with Ye Ci, he also started drunkenly talking, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, elf, I actually don¡¯t want toe to this kind of ce to explore at all. Look, I¡¯ve been to all these mines but there aren¡¯t any treasures at all.¡±

    ¡°Treasures?¡±

    ¡°Did Jasmine not tell you? We came to this ce in the middle of nowhere to find precious ores. I don¡¯t know where Jasmine heard that there was a precious ore here, but she dragged me with her to this ce. We¡¯ve stayed here for a month, yet there¡¯s no precious ores at all. Actually, I¡¯ve barely found anything. Do you think I was lied to?¡± grumbled Dudu drunkenly.

    Ye Ci was silent. ck Iron Dwarves loved digging the most out of the three tribes. They were not like the White Dwarves that liked to mingle with humans, nor were they battle hungry like the Fire Dwarves. They had ced all of their energy on mining. Traces of their mining could be seen all over the continents. Now Dudu said that he and Jasmine hade here to find precious ores. Ye Ci was sure that they were searching for mithril.

    Which is to say, this Dudu was most likely to be an important NPC in her search to open the mithril mine.

    Once she got to this point, Ye Ci almost could not hold back her happiness. She breathed in deeply to control her emotions, and calmly said ¡°maybe the legend is real.¡±

    ¡°A pack of lies,¡± cursed Dudu. Ye Ci found this point strange; yers that cursed would have their words censored, but she had not heard of a NPC who cursed. This Dudu really was unique. ¡°Do you think we¡¯re the first people toe here searching for precious ores? Before us there were many tribesmen that hade here, but none of them returned. This ce is so dangerous with Lesser Demons everywhere, I really don¡¯t want to stay any longer.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything I can help you with?¡± Right now, Dudu was full of conflicting emotions regarding searching for the mithril vein. Although Ye Ci was a bit anxious, she did not dare to mollify him, but could only agree with him until they found an answer.

    ¡°Oh elf, my good elf, you are the best elf I¡¯ve ever met. You are good friends with Jasmine, so can you tell her to not make things hard for me. I don¡¯t want to stay in the middle of nowhere anymore,¡± said Dudu pitifully.

    This was a messenger quest. Although it was just passing a message, it was the only way to continue. Ye Ci headed back to the town to and became the runner between the two NPCs.

    After who knows how many messages, Jasmine finally sighed, ¡°my friend, it looks like Dudu really doesn¡¯t want to find the treasure. Do you think you could find a clue to persuade Dudu? The n leader is my grandfather, I believe that he definitely would not lie to me. There must be treasure here.¡±

    ¡°No problem. Leave it to me.¡± Ye Ci almost shouted in joy. She had spent over eight hours on these two dwarves but finally found a clue to finding the mithril mine. This was basically telling here that as long as she found the clue, then she could finally open the mithril mine.

    Ye Ci rode Ol¡¯ Four across the Lesser Demon Sanctuary as quickly and silently as a ghost. As the name described, the mostmon monster here were Lesser Demons.

    Lesser Demons were the lowest ranked among the demons, but that did not mean they were easy enemies. They did not have much HP but instead had ranged attacks such as magic mes and magic explosions. This meant that two Lesser Demons could easily kill a lvl55 warrior with high health.

    Ye Ci was already lvl60 but she was still extremely careful around these monsters. As both sides were long range attackers, as long as she wasn¡¯t surrounded, getting rid of the Lesser Demons was no problem. Ye Ci wandered around the mithril mine, anticipating being able to find a clue. However, what awaited her were those same ck mountain rocks.

    Was she wrong?

    Seeing as there were no clues next to the mine, the next step was to take a step back and look further away. Ye Ci started searching a distance away from the mithril vein and not long after, she found an important clue.

    There was actually a dying ck Iron Dwarf amongst between the rocks. It was obvious from the white in his beard that this dwarf was quite elderly. Heid there, mumbling, ¡°I¡¯m so thirsty, I¡¯m so thirsty...¡±

    Ye Ci immediately took out a cooling Spring Water from her bag and ced it next to the ck Iron Dwarf¡¯s lips. As if he had sensed the moist air, he grabbed it and started guzzling it down. It did not take long for the dwarf topletely finish it.

    ¡°Are you feeling better?¡± asked Ye Ci somewhat impatiently. When she previously explored this area, this NPC did not exist at all. Evidently, he was linked to the quest, but from his current state it looked like he could die at any minute.

    ¡°It was actually an elf that saved me, what a joke,¡± said the dwarf tiredly.

    ¡°I am the friend of the ck Iron Dwarf Jasmine. They came here to find a precious ore, but couldn¡¯t find any clues. I was sent on her behalf to help them. You can trust me.¡±

    ¡°Jasmine? The tribe leader¡¯s granddaughter?¡±

    Ye Ci remembered that Jasmine did mention she was the granddaughter of the ck Iron Dwarves¡¯ tribe leader, and nodded, ¡°Yes that¡¯s her.¡±

    ¡°How long has it been that Jasmine is all grown up already? She¡¯s even old enough to find treasure now.¡± This ck Iron Dwarf slowly let out a deep breath, ¡°you must be a good elf if you have earned Jasmine¡¯s trust. Elf, I do know the secret behind the mine, and even drew a map, but...¡±

 Chapter 226 Flashbang

    Chapter 226 shbang (Part 1)

    The ck Iron Dwarf paused to take deep breaths but started coughing so hard that it seemed his lungs were about to be coughed out. Ye Ci could feel her lungs hurting as well just by looking at the Dwarf.

    ¡°Oh I can¡¯t do this, I need medicine for my illness.¡± The elderly ck Iron Dwarf suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes. He clutched at his chest with one hand while grabbing hold onto Ye Ci with another, ¡°good Elf, quickly to go the nearby ck Wind Mountain and get some Cloudy Grass, otherwise it¡¯ll be toote for me.¡±

    After saying so, the elderly Dwarf fainted in Ye Ci¡¯s arms.

    He couldn¡¯t have died right...It was only after Ye Ci held a hand under the Dwarf¡¯s nose and felt a faint breath that she confirmed he had only fainted. Thus, she ced him in the rock crevice and covered him with some grass before heading out to this ck Wind Mountain to collect some Cloudy Grass.

    The Dwarf had so much energy while talking to her earlier, but not only did he not tell her the clue, he even sent her on a collecting quest.

    Ye Ci silentlyined a bit, then summoned Ol¡¯ Four and headed towards ck Wind Mountain.

    At this point in the game, the average levels of yers were not high, and Home of Lesser Demons was a small, unremarkable regional map of the Eastern Continent, so there were no other yers around. Ye Ci rode Ol¡¯ Four across the scorching ins of Lesser Demon Sanctuary while asionally dodging the magic attacks of the nearby Lesser Demons.

    Although Ye Ci was a solo yer from the moment she entered the game, at times like this she could not help but feel slightly bleak, as if she was forever alone. Continuously repeating the same potentially meaningless activities would make anyone exhausted.

    Just as she was about to step onto the ck Wind Mountain map, Ye Ci stopped and bent down to pat Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s neck and quietly said, ¡°Ol¡¯ Four, do you ever feel lonely?¡±

    Ol¡¯ Four craned his neck to see the person on his back and let out a strange sound. There was a trace of warmth in those golden eyes as he growled. It did not actually understand what Ye Ci said, but the strong negative emotions it felt from her also affected its mood.

    Ol¡¯ Four quietly growled, as ifforting Ye Ci.

    It was lucky that Ye Ci was not a particrly emotional person. Her mncholy today was partly due to the desteness of this map. It must be said that Fate did a very good job. With maps like this, if one turned on the background sound, one would not only hear realistic sound effects, but also tear jerking music. In her previous life, Ye Ci did not realise that the background sound could be turned off, so did not take much notice of it.

    As Ye Ci raised her level and became more familiar with her skills, she found that the background sound actually had an affect on a yer¡¯s mood, to the point where it would even affect one¡¯s performance. From that point on, Ye Ci never turned on the background sound again.

    Ye Ci patted Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s neck and tossed him a few pieces of high level Roasted Meat. As Ye Ci¡¯s level rose, so did Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s. However, he became increasingly picky about his food; Ol¡¯ Four had absolutely no interest in normal food anymore. Even if he ate it, there would be no increase in happiness.

    ck Wind Mountain was a small mountain to the north west of Lesser Demon Sanctuary and could not be more different. Not only was the lighting dim and dark, but even the rocks and trees were gloomy. Although the lighting in Home of Lesser Demons was not great either, at least one could still see a fair distance away,pletely unlike this ce. If a yer with low night vision came here, they could lose quite a bit of health just by falling into the holes all over the roads.

    Elves had decent night vision, but Ye Ci still hopped off Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s back to carefully walk forward. There was not anyplicated terrain; only a narrow road littered with various sized rocks and pitfalls. If one was not careful, it would be easy to fall into these holes. Although the fall would not cause arge drop in health, the lingering pain wouldst for a long time. In the game, a DPS¡¯s body was their weapon and thus would never allow themselves to be injured before a battle. Pain was umtive, and a lot of umted pain could affect one¡¯s speed and the oue of battles.

    This rule was the same no matter if one was a DPS or some other job, but was more obvious for DPSs.

    In her previous life, Ye Ci rarely went to Lesser Demon Sanctuary, let alone ck Wind Mountain. Therefore, she had to carefully look at the map when moving forward even though she had a basic understanding of ck Wind Mountain.

    ck Wind Mountain was once an abandoned mine, its environment even worse than Home of Lesser Demons. When Lesser Demon Sanctuary was taken over by the Lesser Demon army, the young and strong Lesser Demons exiled the old, weak and disabled to ck Wind Mountain. Life was fragile but also strong; this held true for all races.

    The exiled Lesser Demons did not die, but went through generation after generation of evolution and growth to be even stronger than the Lesser Demons ¨C Dark Lesser Demons. This kind of demon not only had strong attack and defense, but was also capable of stealth.

    They would often enter Stealth and hide in various ces to wait for the arrival of prey.

    It was because of this that Ye Ci did not ride Ol¡¯ Four any further. She was afraid that Ol¡¯ Four would rush too far into an ambush and cause her death too.

    Lesser Demons were only lvl55 to lvl58, but liked to live in groups. Ye Ci had to be careful of the Dark Lesser Demons as they were even more powerful than normal Lesser Demons..

    Although Ye Ci was already lvl60, there were still many skills she had not yet learnt. This was because she had not run many dungeons or defeated BOSSestely, and thus did not see any skill books.

    With something like skills, it was not necessarily the more the better. One needed to be proficient in those skills to fully realise their potential. When an expert had many skills, it was easier for them to find a suitable skillset. On the other hand, newbies would just be wasting skills if they did not know how to use them.

    At times, all it took was one move to distinguish experts and newbies.

    ck Wind Mountain only had one narrow entrance, with ins in front and behind, which resulted in strong winds rushing through all year round. Even if the wind was not that strong originally, once it entered the narrow passage, it would be a sharp, prating wind that stung one¡¯s skin.

    Ye Ci stood next to the mountain, observing that narrow passage. The ins at the entrance and exit of the passage caused the wind that swept through to pick up dust, which caused a noticeable drop in visibility. However, only someone with night vision or good detection abilities would be able to tell that the wind actually had colour.

    Ye Ci only figured this out when she attempted to go through the passage and the wind actually cut her cheek, and kept dropping health, otherwise she would not be so cautious.

    This ce was middle of a gourd, with the middle especially narrow. It was impossible for Ol¡¯ Four to pass through, so Ye Ci unsummoned him and summoned Ol¡¯ Three. Compared to Ol¡¯ Four¡¯srge body, Ol¡¯ Three was more suited to this type of terrain. Ol¡¯ Four was an Epic-tier monster, but when unable to use any skills, even a normal animal would be of more use. Ol¡¯ Three was summoned for the first time in a while, and was very happy as he followed Ye Ci.

    It has been five minutes since Ye Ci entered ck Wind Mountain, but there was still no sign of monsters. This was an abnormal situation. Ye Ci did not think that there were suddenly no monsters in this area, rather, she had not truly entered the monster zone.

    Dark Lesser Demons were quieter than normal Lesser Demons. Normal Lesser Demons would asionally growl, and if a yer heard it, then one could estimate the distance between them and the Lesser Demon. However, the Dark Lesser Demons were as quiet as the dead.

    Ye Ci calcted how long it would take to pass through the narrowest part of the passage. If she crouched down and used Sneak it should only take one or two seconds. When Ol¡¯ Three crouched on all four feet it only reached mid thigh, and would not be hit by the cutting winds, so they should be able to pass through easily. Ye Ci considered the passage here. Its appearance was very strange, as if predicting that the road after would be dangerous. If there were many Dark Lesser Demons hiding behind it, how could she safely pass?

    Ye Ci stood there for several seconds before making the decision to move ahead. Sometimes the answer would appear after the problem presented itself. If she hesitated here, then she would never be able to move forward in life.

    Ye Ci crouched and ordered Ol¡¯ Three to stay put before using Sneak to have a look at the entrance.

    Hunters were not Thieves, and did not have the Detect skill. During dangerous situations, Ye Ci must rely on experience and skills to increase her awareness.

    Ye Ci concentrated on her task. As soon as she entered the passage, her entire body was tensed in preparation for whatever was behind the passage.

    ¡°Grrr...¡± A sudden shrill and rough sound came from right next to Ye Ci. It surprised her so much that she hesitated for a moment. In a battle, victory was often decided in a moment. It was because of this moment of hesitation that Ye Ci saw a Dark Lesser Demon appear right in front of her, and cast a Pause debuff.

    This was bad.

    Pause: the victim is no longer able to move or use any skills.

    In Fate, there were many control skills such as Dizzy, Fear, Pause, Paralysis, Freeze, etc. However, a purely DPS ss like Hunter did not have many control skills, and did not even have one skill to release them from control skills. This was why the Hunter ss had a so called eight yard zone.

    Eight yards was the closest shooting range for Hunters and was also just out of range of control skills. That is to say, if Hunters kept an eight yard distance between them and their enemy, then they would almost never be hit by a control skill. If the enemy closed in, then Hunters could only rely on their own evasion skills to avoid the opposing control skills. This meant that if the enemy was strong enough, then as soon as Hunters failed to evade a control skill, they would die.

    For Ye Ci right now, this was the worst case situation. As a Sorceress in her previous life, she had many control skills, so it was easier for her to deal with these Dark Lesser Demons. Now, she directly ran into a Dark Lesser Demons due to her low detection ability, and was even hit with a control skill!

    Even though Ye Ci was already lvl60, her luck was really bad. The first Dark Lesser Demon was actually a lvl50 Squad Leader. This rendered her level advantage practically useless.

    Pausested six seconds.

    Dark Lesser Demons Leaders had high attack. One attack would cause Ye Ci to drop 1000-2000 health. This was very scary for someone like Ye Ci who did not have much health to begin with. However, what was even scarier was that Dark Lesser Demons liked to move in groups...

    Ye Ci believed that even though she could only see one Dark Lesser Demons, after it growled, there would be other Dark Lesser Demons that rushed over. That would be extremely bad.

    Hiya minna-san! Long time no see! Exam¡¯s finally over! And I¡¯m currently having a vacation in my grandma¡¯s house here in Penang (somewhere in Bukit Mertajam if we have peeps from Penang here).

    Here are a few small, happy things I would like to share!

    Chapter 226 shbang (Part 2)

    Stay calm, must stay calm.

    One must remain calm in these kinds of situations.

    As the Dark Lesser Demon started attacking Ye Ci who was still under the effects of Pause, she took stock of all her skills and equipment and felt a moment of inspiration.

    Darkness Dispersion

    Able to disperse all negative statuses, including Pause

    This was a skill from Buru¡¯s Ring that had a three minute cooldown and was indispensable in moments like this.

    As soon as Ye Ci could move again, she immediately crouched and rolled to where Ol¡¯ Three was hiding behind the mountain. This all happened within one to two seconds. Dark Lesser Demon Squad Leader did not have time to react before its prey disappeared. It paused, then howled. As it had lived in darkness for a long time, Dark Lesser Demons had vastly superior Night Visionpared to elves. Even Ye Ci¡¯s quick movements were unable to shake its gaze, and it rushed towards her.

    The hole that Ye Ci hid in was very narrow and hard to find, but close to the passage, and formed a thirty degree dead spot from the wind. It was very safe in this spot. The Dark Lesser Demon Squad Leader discovered Ye Ci and rushed towards her. It did not care about being exposed to the wind at all. It¡¯s only thought was to catch its prey.

    Ye Ci chugged a Health Potion and pulled out a short sword to wait for the Dark Lesser Demon.

    Being stuck in this hole had the advantage of forcing the enemy to be exposed to the piercing winds. Based on the height of the Dark Lesser Demon, the cutting winds would cause some damage, and the enemy only had a fifty percent chance of hitting Ye Ci. However, being stuck here also meant she lost the advantage of the eight yard rule and had to use a short sword and Ol¡¯ Three to attack.

    This kind of attack naturally did not feel as good as using arrows, but could slowly grind away the enemy¡¯s health.

    Attacking from a safe ce was actually quitemon in the game. As long as it was used well, then it was possible to kill monsters very quickly. For hunters, using arrows in such a narrow ce greatly reduced the attack power, so many chose to attack from safe ces like this.

    Trip

    Failed.

    Trip

    And it failed again

    Trip was one of the few control skills of Hunters, able cause the enemy to fall and be unable to get up for six seconds. As Ye Ci very rarely engaged in closebat, her Trip sess rate was only at 30. Every Trip that she used failed, which made Ye Ci grit her teeth in anger.

    Why is my luck so bad?

    Skill came off cooldown.

    Trip.

    Sess.

    Finally! Ye Ci immediately used an Aerial Strike. This skill was the most effective closebat skill that Hunters had with a three second cooldown. It not only caused 200 closebat damage, but also had 150 additional damage bonus. As the Dark Lesser Demon Squad Leader was lying on the floor from Trip, Ye Ci¡¯s Aerial Strike triggered the damage bonus and two deep wounds appeared on its back. That one strike shaved away arge amount of health, and with Ol¡¯ Three¡¯s attacks, the health of the Dark Lesser Demon Squad Leader gradually dropped to zero.

    The Squad Leader cried mournfully before it turned into a corpse. The whole battle took less than twenty five seconds. This was a fairly long time for Ye Ci, but was not bad considering it was closebat. However, as she was attacking the Dark Lesser Demon Squad Leader, other Dark Lesser Demons started arriving. They growled as they ran forward, but were stuck behind the Dark Lesser Demon Squad Leader.

    Lesser Demons and Dark Lesser Demons were the lowest ranking Demons with low intelligence that only knew how to blindly attack their prey. The entrance to the hole Ye Ci was hiding in was very narrow, and only one Dark Lesser Demon could enter at a time. It was as if they were lining up to be killed. When one was killed, another one stepped up.

    The eight Dark Lesser Demons that came were all grinded to death by Ye Ci.

    When all the Dark Lesser Demons were killed, Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief. This was way too tiring! If she did not have many health potions, she probably would have died. She rested for a while to recover her health before trying her luck at looting the corpses.

    Who knows if it was because her luck recently was very bad, or if theputer took pity on her but the Dark Lesser Demons all yielded Blue Grade equipment. Although there was not any for Hunters, these lvl50 equipment would sell for a nice sum at an auction. Something was better than nothing. For someone currentlycking money like Ye Ci, she would definitely not turn down a chance to earn money.

    As the entrance of the hole was very narrow, the Dark Lesser Demon corpses formed a big pile right outside of it. Ye Ci could only start looting from the top and push the corpse off to the side to reach the next one. This continued until she reached the Dark Lesser Demon Squad Leader at the bottom of the pile.

    The Dark Lesser Demon Squad Leader did not drop any equipment, but dropped a thick Skill Book.

    Please let it be a Hunter skill book.

    As she prayed, she pulled out the skill book to see ¡°shbang¡± written on it.

    Yes!

    It was a Hunter skill book.

    shbang: able to throw a shbang in any direction to light up a 20m radius around it. In that 20m radius, all Stealth and Concealment will be ineffective and will not pull aggro. Duration is 20 seconds and cooldown is 30 seconds.

    This was one of the few detection skills Hunters had and was very useful in battle. Before the expansion pack, the monsters of all the continents were low levelled and did not pose too much trouble for yers. However, after the expansion pack , the monsters were higher levelled with a wider variety of skills such as Stealth and Sneak. These skills which were once regarded as fairly rare became amon sight.

    Therefore, whether it was grinding levels or running dungeons, having a Thief with high detection was a must. However, if a yer was grinding by themselves or yed a solo ss like Hunter, then they must have a certain level of detection.

    A detection skill like shbang was specially for Hunters.

    The shbang was shot out using a bow and in this way could reach the furthest shooting distance of a Hunter. Like this, shbang was extremely useful for Hunters to decide how to use the terrain and number of enemies to the greatest benefit.

    Perfect timing! Ye Ci was just wracking her brains thinking about how to lure the Dark Lesser Demons in for closebat when this skill book dropped into her hands.

    Ye Cu quickly learnt the skill and shot a shbang close to the recently killed Dark Lesser Demon Squad Leader.

    Whoosh.

    The shbang headed towards the directed area, forming a beautiful arc in the air before itnded and exploded in a sh of yellow fire. Although the fire was not very bright, the light produced by it lit up a full twenty meters around it, showing all the Dark Lesser Demons that had used Stealth to hide.

    How could monsters ever beat yers like this? If a yer was exposed by the fire, then they would immediately attack Ye Ci, but these Dark Lesser Demons only stupidly stayed in their original position without any reaction at all.

    The twenty second duration was long enough for Ye Ci to clearly see all of the surrounding Dark Lesser Demons. There were seven in total, but were not bunched together and instead formed groups of two, two and three. There were more than five yards between the groups, so if Ye Ci hit one of the groups, then at most only the demons in the same group would also be lured in and the other two groups would not be affected.

    Like this, the difficulty was greatly decreased.

    Ye Ci first used Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark on the closest Dark Lesser Demon, then shot a Confuse Arrow at the other Dark Lesser Demon in the same group.

    The Confuse Arrow could Stun the target for 12 seconds and lower the movement speed by 80 but the target would snap out of it if attacked. The Dark Lesser Demon hit by the Confuse Arrow immediately stood up and started to slowly stagger towards Ye Ci. The other demon hit by the Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark growled and rushed towards Ye Ci.

    Ol¡¯ Three immediately rushed charged forward while Ye Ci remained in her original position. She used all her single target skills and was rewarded by the cry of the Dark Lesser Demon as it died before even reaching her. Ye Ci used Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark on the remaining Dark Lesser Demon still affected by Stun while Ol¡¯ Three moved forward to finish it off.

    The following two groups was just rinse and repeat, but when she was fighting the group with three Dark Lesser Demons, Ye Ci had to use two Confuse Arrows continuously andgged behind by a second. That second was exactly when Stun wore off, but it was not a big deal for Ye Ci. She just had to shoot another Confuse Arrow.

    With shbang on hand, Ye Ci¡¯s exploration of ck Wind Mountain was a lot easier. The Dark Lesser Demons were higher levelled than the normal Lesser Demons outside, so did not respawn as quickly. As Ye Ci killed her way in, she picked up a fair few pieces of equipment. Very quickly, she reached the end of ck Wind Mountain. There was a human sized hole that blew out gusts of bone chilling wind. Inside, broken rails and rusted mine carts could be seen.

    It looked like this was once a mine.

    There were a few purple herbs growing on the side of the hole. After taking a closer look, Ye Ci saw that they were the Cloudy Grass that the elderly dwarf had requested, and quickly harvested a few. Just as she was about to leave, Ye Ci heard terrifying mournful wails from inside the mine. In this kind of miserable windy environment, if someone was not brave enough then they would be sweating from fear, but Ye Ci was long used to these kinds of environments. Her only reaction to the sound was to peer towards the entrance.

    There was something strange about this ce.

    Giving up while being so close was not in Ye Ci¡¯s nature. Just as she was about to head into the mine, there was a notification from the system.

    ¡°Once removed from the soil, Cloudy Grass will wilt.¡±

    Ye Ci quickly looked at the upper left corner of her status and saw a countdown.

    There was even a time limit!

    If it was like this, Ye Ci could only temporarily give up on the mine and quickly return to the elderly dwarf to hand in her quest. This quest was rted to the mithril mine after all. Compared to a mystery mine, the mithril mine was more important.

    The Dark Lesser Demons still had not respawned so Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four and rode him out. Although the rough rocks did scrape against Ol¡¯ Four, it¡¯s thick scales prevented any damage.

    As soon as she exited ck Wind Mountain, Ye Ci hurried towards the elderly dwarf¡¯s hiding spot and shoved a Cloudy Grass into this mouth. Soon, the deathly grey skin recovered to the normal ck of ck Iron Dwarves.

    ¡°Oh elf, my good elf, you really brought me Cloudy Grass.¡± The elderly ck Iron Dwarf let out a sigh, ¡°you are worthy of Ha¡¯er¡¯s trust, and worthy of the ck Iron Dwarves¡¯ trust.¡±

    So this ck Iron Dwarf was called Ha¡¯er. As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Ci received a system notification.

    ¡°Your Prestige amongst ck Iron Dwarves has reached Friendly.¡±

    Directly to friendly? Originally her Prestige amongst ck Iron Dwarves was only halfway there, but who knew that rescuing one Ha¡¯er would increase her Prestige all the way to Friendly. It looked like this Ha¡¯er had a high position amongst the ck Iron Dwarves, otherwise how could her Prestige be raised so quickly when even all those quests from Jasmine barely did anything?

    ck Iron Dwarves were very familiar with mines. If Ye Ci could raise her Prestige for ck Iron Dwarves then that basically meant that she had unlimited ess to information about mines. Although information regarding the mithril mine was top secret right now, even higher grade mines would appear in theter years of Fate. As long as she could build a good rtionship with ck Iron Dwarves, then Ye Ci would not have to worry about those things.

    Thus, Ye Ci became more respectful towards Ha¡¯er.

    ¡°You are a hero, Ha¡¯er. It is my honour to be able to do something for a hero.¡± Ye Ci sincerely ttered Ha¡¯er. Ye Ci thought, such cheesy things she would only say to an NPC. Even if a yer promised great benefits, she still probably would not be able to say it to them.

    ¡°You said I was a hero?¡± ttery was evidently very effective on Ha¡¯er, and his eyes immediately lit up. ¡°Elf, why do you call me a hero? I am merely a normal miner.¡±

    ¡°You would not have been the only person to leave home in search of precious ores.¡± Ye Ci smiled and continued, ¡°but you might be the only one to persist until now. To be able to be so dedicated in one¡¯s dream makes you a hero.¡±

    ¡°Oh, good elf, you really are Ha¡¯er¡¯s good friend,¡± said Ha¡¯er, who looked so moved it looked like he was about to burst into tears. ¡°Everyone says Ha¡¯er is stupid. Only you understand Ha¡¯er. Ha¡¯er is very touched.¡±

    ¡°You have reached Intimate with Ha¡¯er¡±

    ¡°Your Prestige amongst ck Iron Dwarves has increased by 1000.¡±

    The two continuous system notifications surprised Ye Ci. It looked like Ha¡¯er was not only an important NPC for finding the mithril mine, but was also a key to raising Prestige amongst ck Iron Dwarves.

    Ye Ciforted Ha¡¯er for a while before he smacked his head saying, ¡°ah, how could Ha¡¯er forget the most important thing ¨C my hand drawn map.¡±

    Map.

    The map.

    Ye Ci trembled with excitement. It was exactly this map that she wanted.

    Hiya minna-san! My vacation to Penang ended and I¡¯m now back in Mka.... Which means... More chapters! I¡¯ll be tranting my ass off until the end of my sem break! So.... Expect a high frequency of release eh? xDD

    How¡¯s everybody doing? I hope all is well! Sem break is so much better when I know that I¡¯ve passed all my subjects lmao...

    This chapter is brought to you by Aang! Our lovely trantor in training! Enjoy!!

    As always, teaser next page! First in thements type: FIRST BLOOD!

 Chapter 227 Bon Voyage

    Chapter 227 Bon Voyage (Part 1)

    The effect of the Cloudy Grass was miraculous. Ha¡¯er who was at the brink of death was immediately revitalized.

    He began cursing at the Lesser Demons as he pranced back and forth in front of Ye Ci. It was apparent that the Dwarf has been here for years, and he was not fond of the cave¡¯s natives.

    ¡°These damned Lesser Demons! These lowlives! I hate them!¡± shouted Ha¡¯er as he waved his hands around. Faint shimmer trailed behind the Dwarf¡¯s pickaxe as it sailed across the air. It was obvious that the pickaxe was a high level item. As Ye Ci was not a miner, she held no interest towards the pickaxe.

    ¡°My dear Elven friend, my map was snatched away from me by those damned Lesser Demons. Can you get it back for me?¡±

    As expected, herees the quest.

    ¡°Of course I can.¡± Ye Ci stood up. This quest was exactly what she has been waiting for.

    ¡°Then hurry up! Those bastards might mistake my map as food and eat it!¡± Ha¡¯er waved his pickaxe in anger.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°They went into the abandoned mine in the north. Be careful. They might be dumb, but those Lesser Demons are pretty strong.¡± said Ha¡¯er as he handed a package to Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯ve been here for years. I know what their favourite food is. I hope this helps.¡±

    Ye Ci inspected the package, and found 20 pieces of dried wolf meat. The meat wasced with poison that was intended for the Lesser Demons.

    ¡°Thank you. I shall return with good news.¡± said Ye Ci as she stored the package into her inventory. She then summoned Ol¡¯ Four and headed straight to the abandoned mines.

    Ha¡¯er, who was left behind, could only offer a silent prayer, ¡°Oh, Great Ancestors, please watch over my friend.¡±

    The Lesser Demons in the ins were considerable weaker than the ones on the ck Wind Mountain. Despite that, their magical damage was a nuisance for Ye Ci, who was a Huntress with very low Magical Resistance. If she attracted the aggro of too many of those Lesser Demons, she would be torn to shreds.

    The Lesser Demon poption were scattered along the way, but when Ye Ci finally arrived at the abandoned mine, she was shocked to find a huge concentration of Lesser Demons at the shaft of the mine.

    It would be a waste of time for Ye Ci to kite them one by one. In a situation like this, employing high damage AOE skills like Rain of Arrows and Multi Arrows are her best option.

    A sea of damage values floated up from the shaft as the Lesser Demons let out painful screeches. They began charging at Ye Ci, who summoned Ol¡¯ Four and directed it at the Lesser Demons that were closest to her. She then began to lead the Lesser Demons out of the shaft, and began running at the t ins with an ¡°S¡± shaped maneuver. Despite their level, the Lesser Demons did not possess a high level of intelligence. They were led on by Ye Ci as she began picking them off.

    There was a certain risk for Ye Ci as she performed such a maneuver. As she turned in a round curve, she could easily be caught up by the melee-type Lesser Demons. However, such maneuver would allow Ye Ci to dodge the ranged attacks that were going her way. The lower leveled monsters in Fate could onlyunch fire-and-forget spells, which travel at a straight trajectory, at their opponent. Such attacksck the capability of homing onto a target. As long as Ye Ci was careful, she could easily avoid all the spells.

    This was why Ye Ci was confident in her ability to slowly kite the horde of Lesser Demons.

    If the Lesser Demons had higher levels, Ye Ci would be forced to employ a different approach. With things as they were, as long as Ye Ci was able to control her tempo as she kited the huge mob of Lesser Demons, she would be able to avoid damage.

    Before long, she was able to y a huge number of Lesser Demons with her AOE skills. It was a shame that she was already at the max level at the current stage of the game, or this would be the perfect opportunity to level up.

    Ye Ci was able to obtain a lot of loots from the Lesser Demons. Of course, while a Purple item drop was impossible, there was a huge number of Blue and Green quality items among the loot. In the current stage of the game, guilds that were able to form dungeon exploration parties were in the minority, and yers who could afford to hire a sponsored dungeon clearing were few and far between. The Blue and Green items could fetch a high price in the Auction House.

    She then headed back to the abandoned mine after putting away all the items.

    Despite Ye Ci¡¯s efforts, there was still a significant number of Lesser Demons in the Abandoned Mind. She was unable to locate the quest item among the loots dropped by the dead Lesser Demons. This meant that the map that she was looking for was on a specific Lesser Demon. There must be an Elite hidden among the mob of Lesser Demons that were still in the abandoned mine.

    Ol¡¯ Four was still left in the shaft. Even if it was an Epic-tier monster, the Lesser Demons could still overwhelm Ol¡¯ Four with their sheer numbers. It would notst long without any aid from Ye Ci.

    Empowered Cheetah Protection!

    After activating the ability that increased her movement speed by 50%, Ye Ci headed straight to the mine shaft.

    She then activated Hunter Protection before jumping into the mine shaft. Ol¡¯ Four, who was near death, was engaged in a bitter melee against 5 Lesser Demons. Ye Ci immediately cast Pet Healing on Ol¡¯ Four.

    It seems that thebat strength of the Lesser Demons is not something that should be underestimated. Even without the presence of the Elite monster, Ol¡¯ Four was having a hard time fending off the Lesser Demons. As a pet that was resilient against physical damage, Ol¡¯ Four was still somewhat vulnerable against magical damage.

    Ol¡¯ Four turned around and saw Ye Ci whonded at the base of the shaft after noticing the sudden increase of its HP. It let out an excited roar and immediately attacking the Lesser Demons with renewed vigor.

    With the monsters focused on Ol¡¯ Four, it was easy for Ye Ci to deal with the Lesser Demons that were near their death.

    She finally had the chance to sit on the ground and began replenishing her hitpoints and stamina. Even as she gobbled down her food, Ye Ci was kept a vigil on her surroundings. Other than a few stragglers and a dozen or so Lesser Demons at the heart of the mine shaft, she has managed to take out most of the Lesser Demon poption.

    Something¡¯s up with those Lesser Demons. I¡¯ve definitely hit them with my Rain of Arrows, and some of them even came after me. Why would there still be Lesser Demons around that area? After a moment of thought, Ye Ci finally reached a conclusion: the Lesser Demon turned back halfway through their pursuit.

    After her moment¡¯s of rest, Ye Ci began picking off the stragglers with the help of Ol¡¯ Four, and approached the small group of Lesser Demons. They were packed so tightly together that drawing aggro from one of the Lesser Demons would trigger the rest of its kind. However, Ye Ci knew that something must be done. She fired an arrow at one of the Lesser Demons, and the dozen of them began charging at her.

    Ye Ci reaped away half of their hitpoints with a Rain of Arrows, and kited the Lesser Demons around the mine shaft. There was a nudging feeling that she was being watched as she battled the Lesser Demons.

    The process of kiting the Lesser Demons was easier with Ol¡¯ Four around, and Ye Ci was able to dispatch her opponents within 2 minutes.

    The mine shaft was eerily quiet after the battle. After looting the corpses, the map was still nowhere in sight.

    ording to the quest description, the map was in one of the Lesser Demons in the Northern Mine Shaft! It must be here somewhere! Ye Ci studied her surroundings. The mine shaft that was full of Lesser Demons was already empty. There was not a single monster or any other object around. Is there something wrong with the hint provided by the quest? Am I in the wrong ce?

    Ye Ci called out the quest window, and began reading the details of her quest while studying her map. She was indeed in the right ce. So... Where¡¯s the map?

    A sudden realization struck Ye Ci. She raised her bow, and fired a re at the previous location of the Lesser Demon horde. The ball of me traced a beautiful arc in the air beforending on the ground. Bright light immediately illuminated the dark mine shaft, and Ye Ci could see a Lesser Demon in the deepest part of the mine shaft. With its long horns and its size that was wayrger than any other Lesser Demons, it was obvious that the Lesser Demon was no ordinary monster.

    As expected, there¡¯s one of them left.

    Without pause, Ye Ci cast Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark on the Lesser Demon, and sent Ol¡¯ Four against the Lesser Demon. She then began nting traps, setting up the battlefield.

    From the perspective of an outsider, the positioning of Ye Ci¡¯s trap was horrible. However, a veteran would never share the same opinion. The traps appeared to be ced in a disorderly mess, but a Hunter withbat experience could tell that they were actually very well ced. The traps were 15 yards away from one another, which meant that their area of effect was not ovepping. A trap that was triggered would not trigger the traps around it.

    Ye Ci cast Pet Healing on Ol¡¯ Four after setting up her traps. She then gulped down a bottle of Greater Damage Potion and rushed at the Lesser Demon.

    Lesser Demon Centurion (Elite)

    Level: 55

    HP: 150,000

    The Lesser Demon Centurion¡¯s HP was nothingpared to a Field BOSS, but it came with two troublesome abilities: Ring of Fire and Devil¡¯s Whip.

    Just like a Sorcerer¡¯s Ring of Fire, the Lesser Demon Centurion¡¯s Ring of Fire could push yers around it away. The Centurion¡¯s Ring of Fire, however, was way stronger. A Sorcerer was unable to push targets that are of higher level away with the skill, while the Lesser Demon Centurion¡¯s skill was not affected by level penalty. Even Ol¡¯ Four that was 2 levels higher than the Lesser Demon Centurion was pushed away by the Ring of Fire. The Lesser Demon Centurion would then follow up with its Devil¡¯s Whip once Ol¡¯ Four was pushed away.

    With each crack of its whip, the Lesser Demon Centurion set its surroundings ame. With the sea of mes surrounding the Lesser Demon Centurion, Ye Ci and Ol¡¯ Four were not able to close in on their opponent.

    However, as a Huntress, Ye Ci was a ranged damage dealer. Even if she was pushed away, she could still dish out significant amount of damage as long as the Lesser Demon Centurion was within her attack range. It was not a fun experience for Ye Ci to have a demon in hot pursuit behind her, cracking its whip as it gave chase. She did not bring any me Resistant Potion along in this trip. If she was hit with an attack, the burning effect would still drain away a huge portion of her health even if it was not able to take away her life right away. After all, the Lesser Demon Centurion was an Elite Monster. Even if it was not as strong the a BOSS, the creature was still a tough opponent.

    Despite that, the Lesser Demon Centurioncked intelligence. Ye Ci was able to lead the monster right to her traps. The Lesser Demon Centurion stepped on an Icy Trap, and its body was instantly covered in a glowing shade of blue, which was an indicator that its movement speed and attack speed were reduced by 80%. Ye Ci seized the opening, andnded attacks after attacks on the Lesser Demon Centurion, while leading it to a nearby Frost Trap.

    A Frost trap would freeze a target into a big icy block. Once the target was attack, the ice will shatter, and the target would be able to regain its movements.

    The Frost Trap was used by Hunters to keep a distance with their opponents to regain the upper hand in a battle. However, Ye Ci had a totally different intention. If a target that was afflicted by Frost Trap was not attacked within 8 seconds, the ice would melt, and the target would suffer from a Chill debuff for a duration of 5 seconds.

    Chill: Reduce enemy Frost Resistance by 50%, ice-type magic will have a 5% chance of dealing lethal damage to target.

    The debuff was next to useless to Hunters as they deal physical damage. However, if a Hunter was armed with weapons or arrows that deal ice elemental damage, it was a boon. The Lesser Demons do not have good resistance towards ice. With the Lesser Demon Centurion¡¯s Frost Resistance reduced by 50%, it was vulnerable to Ye Ci¡¯s Frost Arrows.

    One would say that 5 seconds was a short amount of time. But one could also aplish many things within a 5-second window.

    For Ye Ci, she could perform abo that was able to take away a huge chunk of the Lessern Demon Centurion¡¯s HP.

    It was apparent that Ye Ci¡¯s strategy worked. Despite suffering from Ye Ci¡¯s simple trick, the Lesser Demon Centurion did not learn from its lesson. It suffered again and again from Ye Ci¡¯s Icy Trap and Frost trap. Before long, the Lesser Demon Centurionid dead on the groun with all its HP depleted.

    The battle between Ye Ci and the monster was a dull one. There was no need for her to put too much of an effort in getting a map. To her, the 15 minutes she spent to bring down the Lesser Demon Centurion was a waste of time. With the Lesser Demons respawning, Ye Ci had to fight through a number of enemies before she could reach the corpse of the Lesser Demon Centurion, which yielded 2 items as loots: A map and a skillbook.

    The map would naturally be her quest item. But what about the skillbook?

    Ye Ci was shocked when she saw the name of the skillbook. It was Mass Healing! And one that was used by the Priest ss at that!

    Hiya minna-san! Here¡¯s an awesome chapter of the awesomesauce novel tranted by an awesomtacr trantor(whic is me, by the way)! Enjoy!!!

    I¡¯ve been thinking though... Since I¡¯m free af these days because of my semester break... Maybe I can stream myself tranting of chapters on perhaps youtube or twitch? What do you people think? I¡¯ll be streaming at around 1pm or 2pm GMT+8 for maybe 2 hours or probably until Iplete either part of a chapter!

    What do you guys think? Leave ament below if you want to see me stream my trantion process! I¡¯ll then decide if I should stream it based on your responses!

    Aaaaand don¡¯t forget that we have a teaser next page! First in thements type: FIRST BLOOD!

    Chapter 227 Bon Voyage (Part 2)

    In Fate, only Clerics, Priests, and Druids were capable of healing, with the Cleric being the best among the 3 sses with its mass healing and sustained healing abilities. However, when it came to single target healing spells, the Priest was more capable than its counterparts. Despite its shorings when it came to mass healing, the Priest ss was equipped with many abilities to dispel debuffs, and could deal massive damage to Undead enemies. This ced the Priest in an important role in party when it came to removing debuffs. A Priest¡¯s healing spell would only be utilized in very specific situations. The Druid, on the other hand, was the most bnced among the 3 sses. It could be said as the jack of all trades. The Druid was a ss that could easily be learned but was hard to master. It was even harder to be an expert.

    The Priest ss is not totally devoid of mass healing spells, but such skillbooks was very rare at the lvl60 stage of the game, and would only be dropped by BOSSes that were above lvl70 with a very low drop rate. To make matters worse, the trainer NPCs for the Priest ss were few and far between.

    We¡¯ve talked about the drop rate.

    We all know that when an item has a 1% drop rate, it does not necessary mean that the item will drop after the 100th time.

    Ye Ci was bewildered. Did I mistook it for a Cleric skillbook instead? She rubbed her eyes and stared at the skillbook. She was not mistaken. It was a skillbook of the Priest ss.

    God must be sleeping! thought Ye Ci to herself. She could not believe her good luck.

    How much can I sell this skillbook for? Ye Ci could not even begin the price the skillbook would fetch her. It was definitely not affordable by the a normal yer, but when it came to the major guilds... A Priest with Mass Healing and strong single target heal spells is an overpowered existence.

    The reward was indeed worthy of the time and energy spent by Ye Ci.

    With the map safely in her inventory, Ye Ci made her way to Ha¡¯er. She did not want to spend a single second longer in the mine shaft. The only thing in her mind was toplete her quest with the ck Iron Dwarves and unlock the Mithril ore vein. The process was taking too long. If things continued to drag on, even Ye Ci would lose interest.

    ¡°Hahaha! My dear Elven friend, you¡¯re a good friend! I knew you¡¯d make it!¡± Ha¡¯er was overjoyed to receive the map. He beganparing the map with his surroundings, trying his best to locate the Mithirl ore vein.

    Ye Ci, with her patience exhausted, finally spoke up, ¡°Mister Ha¡¯ar, I think Miss Jasmine is still waiting for news from us. What should I tell her?¡±

    It was obvious that Ha¡¯er was someone with best memories. Ye Ci¡¯s words brought sudden realisation to Ha¡¯er. He handed his pickaxe to Ye Ci after a brief exnation, and sent her on her way to Jasmine.

    Jasmine was excited when she saw the pickaxe, and her excitement rubbed off on Dudu as well. After a short discussion, Ye Ci led the dwarves in a 3 hours journey to Da¡¯er¡¯s camp site. The dwarves then spent a full hour in celebration before finally setting out to look for the ore vein.

    Due to their rtionship with Ye Ci, the dwarves allowed Ye Ci to tag along on their search for the ore vein. It was already midnight in-game as they set out in search for the ore vein. The moon was barely visible in the Lesser Demon Sanctuary, but Ye Ci was in glee. Did the Golden Age yer felt the same thing when he discovered the Mithril ore vein back then?

    However, there was one thing that Ye Ci was sure of: the yer who discovered the ore vein did not know that his discovery would bring turmoil to Fate in the future.

    But how about now? How about this life? Will the effects brought by theing of Golden Age change because of my reincarnation? it was a question that Ye Ci was worried of. Then again, it was meaningless to ponder upon such a question.

    One must not waste energy thinking about something that one could not foresee.

    Ha¡¯er, Jasmine, and Dudu began their long process of probing for the Mithril ore vein. It would take 10 days in real life before the Dwarves would be able toplete the process. It seems that mining for Mithril, a material that could allow yers to control the future of Fate, was not a simple task at all. Ye Ci found the following words in her quest description: ¡°The ck Iron Dwarves are searching for the Mithril ore vein, please be patient. You can pay them a visit once the process isplete. It is a long and slow process, perhaps the Dwarves do not wish to be disturbed.¡±

    There was nothing else written in the description. This meant that the Dwarves did not require Ye Ci¡¯s protection during the process, which also meant that there was no need for Ye Ci to remain in the ce for 10 days. She then made the decision to log out of the game. After all, she had received multiple notifications from her gaming cabin. She did not have the chance to go offline as she was busy with the quest.

    Ye Ci walked into Zuo Xian who as she walked out of her room after going offline. ¡°You¡¯re finally willing to logout? I¡¯ve been trying to get you to eat dinner!¡± said Zuo Xian who creased her eyebrows.

    ¡°I had a quest.¡± replied Ye Ci as she stretched her body. Even if it was not physically taxing to y Fate, the game could be mentally exhausting, ¡°You made so much of a hassle just to get me to eat dinner?¡±

    ¡°Yup. And Bai Mo wants to talk to you about something.¡± said Zuo Xian as she headed for her bedroom, ¡°Go, eat up. Bai Mo¡¯s waiting for you at the balcony. Your dad and I are going to sleep now. You should go to bed too after your meal.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ye Ci gave her mother a nod and limped into the kitchen to heat up the dishes.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it. You take a seat.¡± Bai Mo followed Ye Ci into the kitchen. He led Ye Ci to one of the chairs after setting up the table.

    The scenery on the balcony was perfect. The moon was shining down with its full bloom, flooding the balcony with its silvery glow.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got something that you want to say to me?¡± Ye Ci could feel her stomach rumbling with hunger. Hunger was something that she was unable to stand. She barely ate due to the long hours spent onpleting the quest, and was extremely hungry at that very moment.

    Bai Mo gazed at Ye Ci without answering, and offered his own question with a smile instead, ¡°What have you been up to today? I did not see you around.¡±

    ¡°I came across an ore vein.¡± Ye Ci did not keep the secret from Bai Mo, ¡°A Mithril ore vein.¡±

    ¡°Nani?¡± Bai Mo was shocked by Ye Ci¡¯s revtion. Disbelief was written all over his face as he stared at Ye Ci. It was something that he did not expect. He then looked up into the sky, then at Ye Ci, before looking up into the night sky again and finally settling his gaze on Ye Ci, ¡°Did I hear what you said correctly? Get out of here! A Mithril ore vein?¡±

    ¡°Yup. That is correct.¡± said Ye Ci as she took another bite of her food. She smiled as she noticed the shocked expression on Bai Mo¡¯s face.

    ¡°Mithril? As in the Mithril we were talking to me about earlier? As in M-i-t-h-r-i-l?¡± Bai Mo could still not bring himself to believe Ye Ci¡¯s words. Of course, he was not the one to be med. Anybody else would have doubted the information that Ye Ci had just revealed.

    ¡°Yes. Exactly!¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes, ¡°It¡¯s exactly the rare material that we were talking about earlier!¡±

    ¡°How did you find it?¡±

    Ye Ci recited her adventures to Bai Mo with a smile on her face. Of course, told Bai Mo that it was a totally unintentional discovery as she wandered around the map.

    ¡°Look at you! Everybody was saying that you have bad luck, and judging from the loot drops during out dungeon explorations, you are indeed and unlucky person. Then again, if you¡¯re truly unlucky, why do you keep running into good things? An Epic-tier quest, an Epic-tier pet, and even the Mithril ore vein.¡± Bai Mo rubbed his chin and studied Ye Ci with a surprised expression, ¡°Are you... Some sort of transmigrator?¡± the words left Bai Mo¡¯s mouth without warning.

    ¡°Cough cough cough.¡± Ye Ci almost choked on the rice. She coughed violently as her face turned into a shade of red. Bai Mo was not far off the mark by calling her a transmigrator. There¡¯s really not much of a difference between a transmigrator and a reincarnator anyways. Of course, it was something that Ye Ci could not admit. ¡°Bai Mo, you¡¯re a man with high academical qualifications, how could you say something that even a 5 year old would not believe?¡± said Ye Ci with a rigid smile.

    Bai Mo shrugged at Ye Ci. A figure entered the living room before he could respond. It was Tan Png. ¡°Aiya! You¡¯re eating supper? Wait up, I want some too!¡± said Tan Png with glee clear in his voice as he spotted Ye Ci and Bai Mo, and the tes of dishes on the dining table.

    He then ran into the kitchen and came rushing back into the living room with a bowl full of rice.

    ¡°Eh? You haven¡¯t had your dinner as well?¡± Ye Ci stared at Tan Png incredulously.

    ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m like you? I was hungry after my study session. I¡¯m going to sleep after this.¡± said Tan Png as he sat down by the table. ¡°How¡¯s your leg doing?¡± asked the youth as he cast a nce at Ye Ci¡¯s leg.

    ¡°It still hurts a little. It¡¯s no big deal.¡± said Ye Ci as she stared at the huge bowl of rice in front of Tan Png, ¡°Why are you eating so much before going to sleep? Aren¡¯t you afraid that you¡¯ll grow to be as fat as a pig?¡±

    ¡°Why should I? I¡¯m still young! You old folks are the ones who should be careful!¡± replied Tan Png as he wolfed down his meal, ¡°Especially you, sister Ye Ci! As a woman, you should be careful with what you eat, or you¡¯ll grow fat without noticing!¡±

    Bai Mo stared silently at the exchange and the ghost of a smile appeared on his face, ¡°Enjoy the meal, you two. I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± said Bai Mo as he stood up, ¡°Png, don¡¯t forget to clean up the dishes when you¡¯re done, and carry Little Ci back into her room.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Brother Mo! You don¡¯t have to remind me.¡± responded Tan Png with a salute and a smug grin on his face, ¡°Have a safe journey tomorrow!¡±

    A safe journey? Ye Ci creased her eyebrows What¡¯s going on? ¡°Bai Mo, don¡¯t you have something to tell me?¡± she immediately called up to Bai Mo.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing. I have to head home tomorrow.¡± answered Bai Mo with a smile.

    He¡¯s going home? worry filled Ye Ci¡¯s heart. Maybe I¡¯m just thinking too much into it, thought Ye Ci to herself. But a thought surfaced in her mind: Is Bai Mo really just going home? Or... Is he finally making a move against Dong Yin?

    However, the question did not leave Ye Ci¡¯s mouth. She furrowed her eyebrows and stared at Bai Mo for a long moment before finally speaking up, ¡°So it¡¯s just a simple trip back home?¡±

    Bai Mo, of course, knew the meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words. The smile on Bai Mo¡¯s face was like a mountain covered by fog and cloud in the morning. She was unable to discern the true intention behind his smile.¡±

    ¡°Of course. I might also go on some blind dates, and hook up with some prettydies. Why? Are you worried?¡± said Bai Mo.

    Ye Ci was not convinced. She lowered her head and extended her chopstick to the te of dish in front of her, ¡°A desperate rabbit will bite, and a cornered dog will jump over the wall. Don¡¯t go overboard.¡±

    The smile disappeared from Bai Mo¡¯s face. He took in a deep breath, and patted Ye Ci on the head, ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°Be careful.¡±

    ¡°You too.¡± Ye Ci did not lift her head. She could feel the warmth from Bai Mo¡¯s touch fading away from her head, and she heard Bai Mo¡¯s steady footsteps heading to his room, followed by the opening and closing of his bedroom door.

    The atmosphere was deathly silent.

    Bai Mo will be alright Ye Ci took in a deep breath. The incident in her past life was like a vivid nightmare that was constantly haunting her. It was a huge boulder than was pressing down on her heart.

    She felt a sudden sliver of warmth, and found her shivering hands enveloped by Tan Png¡¯s tanned hands, ¡°Brother Mo will be alright.¡±

    Ye Ci lifted her head, and stared at Tan Png. He was smiling at her, ¡°Sister Ye Ci, Brother Mo is more capable than you think. He¡¯s way calmer and more mature than you think he is. He will be alright. Just believe in him, like how he has always believed in you.¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She did not expect the words from Tan Png. She had always thought of Tan Png as the family member who knew the least about that incident. She was wrong. Tan Png knew, but he chose to remain silent. Perhaps he was not as naive as she thought he was. His intelligence and maturity was something that she had overlooked.

    Hiya minna-san! This awesome chapter of an awesomesauce novel is tranted by an awesomtacr trantor(that¡¯s me, by the way)! I hope you people enjoyed yourselves!!

    So... Since I received no response about the stream, I guess we¡¯ll cancel it for now. I¡¯ll try to keep up with a higher release rate since it¡¯s my sem break. Had lots of fun in Penang, ate a lot of good food, did a lot of fun stuff over there, aaaaand... saw a lot of pretty gals~ XD

    If you want to reward me for my hard work, hit that sponsor button at the bottom of the page if you¡¯re on mobile, and it¡¯s at the right side of the page if you¡¯re on PC. You can also pledge your support to my Patreon too, and if you have a Twitter ount, feel free to follow me on twitter!

    Patreon: https://.patreon/Jimminx

    Twitter: https://twitter/XDJimminx

    Vre¡¯s Discord server: https://discordapp/invite/p76aXMR

    Aaaaand... Don¡¯t forget that we have a teaser next page! First in thements type: FIRST BLOOD!

    Desu Vult!

 Chapter 228 Do Your Best!

    Chapter 228 Do Your Best! (Part 1)

    Just believe in him, exactly how he always believed in you.

    Tan Png¡¯s words resounded like a bell, reverberating through an empty valley. They sent shockwaves into Ye Ci¡¯s head, through her eardrums into her blood, shocking her entire being.

    Am I doubting Bai Mo? Am I doubting myself? Or am I doubting fate even after my reincarnation?

    Even Ye Ci was not certain. However, there was one thing that she was aware of: Tan Png¡¯s words were like a sharp dagger that had buried itself deep in her heart.

    ¡°Am I doubting him?¡± asked Ye Ci with a grimace.

    ¡°Are you not?¡± Tan Png blinked innocently and smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°I find that the smarter a person, the more often they start worrying and wasting their time on an insignificant problem.. As for you... You thought that you can only be helpful to people surrounding you by bing stronger. But... Sister Ye Ci, have you ever thought that the people around you are growing stronger as well?¡±

    Ye Ci remained silent. It was a question that she had never considered before.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same in the game. You¡¯re the undisputed godlike yer of the Eastern Continent, and the role model of all Hunters. However, sister Ye Ci, because of your strength, many people, you yourself included, created the image, that everybody around you is in dire need of your protection. In truth, this is a deception.¡± Tan Png shook his head, ¡°Let¡¯s use brother Mo as an example. To you, he might be your cousin, and a man who treats you very well. You¡¯ve never seen him as a strong and capable yer, and I¡¯d like to tell you that you¡¯re wrong.¡±

    Tan Png¡¯s words were like daggers carving into Ye Ci¡¯s festering wounds, slicing them open. She had no power to refute his words. He was right. She was indeed strong, and her strength was something recognised by many, including herself. However, she felt that she was not strong enough, as there was only one true opponent in her eyes: Fleeting Time. He was always ahead of her, like a tall mountain that she was never able to scale. In Ye Ci¡¯s eyes, there was no other expert yer in Fate. Even Bai Mo... Even Bai Mo could not be considered an expert...

    ¡°Am I?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Brother Mo is actually a very strong yer! He¡¯s among the Top 10 tanks in the Eastern Continent. You might have not fought against him in the arena, but do you know that he¡¯s on a 197-match winning streak? He¡¯s not a damage dealer, but he was able to win 197 matches straight. Don¡¯t you think that he¡¯s strong? I¡¯m sure you can tell. You are one of the best yers out there, and judging just from that number alone, I¡¯m sure you will realise that brother Mo is not weak at all.¡± Tan Png¡¯s eyes were filled with admiration as he praised Bai Mo, ¡°Truth to be told, he¡¯s quite a reserved person. Your presence pushed his strength out of the picture, but it was never a bother to him. However, this does not mean that you can ignore his achievements!¡±

    ¡°Is that so...¡± Ye Ci mumbled. Is Bai Mo really that strong? Her impression of Bai Mo did not change from herst life. To her, he was one of the top tanks from her past, and the current leader of ¡®Upwards Ho!¡¯. She realised that other than that, she knew nothing about Bai Mo.

    ¡°This is why you should believe in him, just like he has always believed in you.¡± said Tan Png with a smile.

    A slight taste of bitterness seeped into Ye Ci¡¯s heart as she listened to Tan Png. She pursed her lips, and said in a low voice, ¡°Trust is a talent as well, and it is something that I don¡¯t seem to have.¡±

    Tan Png was momentarily stunned by Ye Ci¡¯s words. He was rendered speechless. He stared at Ye Ci for a short moment before lowering his head and scooped one of the dishes that was closest to him into his mouth and began chewing slowly. He came to a sudden realisation. In truth, the God-tier yer of the Eastern Continent, Gongzi You, was not as tough as she seemed. There was a scared and hurt soul underneath her tough appearance.

    Because of fear, she refused to reciprocate.

    And because of fear, she refused to trust.

    The fear in her heart did not only affect her past. It might have affected her in the present, and even have asting effect in her future.

    He spoke up after a long moment of thought, ¡°Trust is not a talent, but a skill. And it is a skill that each of us must learn.¡±

    ¡°A skill?¡± it was something new to Ye Ci, ¡°You must be kidding! Trust is something that you¡¯re born with. There are some who are naturally trustful of others like Liu Chang, and then you have people like me, who find it hard to trust people. It¡¯s all set from the day we¡¯re born. It¡¯s not a skill.¡± Ye Ci chuckled, ¡°Young man, talent and skill are two very different things.¡±

    ¡°I beg to differ. How could a child know the meaning of trust if it does not learn? Being overly trustly might not be a good thing, and finding it hard to trust the people around you might not be entirely bad. However, the people who have managed to learn this skill are certainly people who are happy.¡±

    Ye Ci stared silently at Tan Png.

    ¡°Let¡¯s use dungeon clearing as an example. As a DPS, no matter how good and skillful you are, you¡¯re not able to face the BOSS alone, am I right? At a time like this, you can only put your trust in your teammates. You trust your MT in his ability to hold the BOSS¡¯s aggro, and have entrusted your rear to the healers. This is a form of trust, this trust is the thing that allows you to clear the dungeon. It there is no trust... How do you think it¡¯s going to end?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the same, alright?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows furrowed.

    ¡°It¡¯s the same. The trust that I¡¯m talking about has a very wide scope, but your view of trust is narrow. Sister Ye Ci, you¡¯re a smart person, why do you have to keep forcing yourself into a dead end? I admit that you¡¯re strong, but you can¡¯t doubt the capabilities of others around you just because of your strength, and lose your trust in them. You can¡¯t shoulder all the responsibilities alone because of yourck of ability to trust. Remember, you are Ye Ci. You are not omnipotent. You can¡¯t possibly take everything on by yourself! Are you not tired?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s hands trembled. She set her bowl down onto the table and sat in silence. She took in deep breaths in an attempt to calm her nerves.

    ¡°You have to try and believe.¡±

    ¡°I am not doubting Bai Mo.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re not believing in him fully.¡±

    Ye Ci was rendered speechless.

    She grimaced at Tan Png after a short moment of silence, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you¡¯re quite a good talker.¡±

    ¡°No. My arguments happen to be spot on, which was why you were unable to refute them. If this had been not the case, I¡¯m sure you would have simply ignored me.¡± Tan Png knew Ye Ci well enough, ¡°Sister Ye Ci, truth to be told, you¡¯re not the center of this world. The Earth will not stop spinning because of your absence. You¡¯re just an ordinary person. An ordinary person that also needs help from others,¡± said Tan Png with a smile that revealed his dimples, ¡°Is it that much of a big deal?¡±

    It was indeed not a big deal.

    Everything suddenly turned clear in Ye Ci¡¯s mind, as if she had received a sudden enlightenment. She was still too narrow minded, after all. It was foolish of her to doubt the abilities of people around her, trying to solve every single problem herself.

    Bai Mo trusts me so much. Can¡¯t I have some trust in him as well? I should. And I should trust in him unconditionally. Ye Ci¡¯s heart was filled with relief, and a smile lit up her face.

    A sudden question shed across Tan Png¡¯s mind as he stared at Ye Ci, ¡°I heard from brother Mo that you have a rival that you have never been able to surpass. Who is that?¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time.¡±

    Tan Png continued staring at Ye Ci, his thoughtful expression unfathomable. He did not expect such an honest answer from Ye Ci. Based on Gongzi You¡¯s behavior in-game and some heavy implications from Bai Mo, Tan Png had the impression that speaking the name ¡°Fleeting Time¡± in Ye Ci¡¯s presence would bring unimaginable consequences.

    Because of that, he hesitated before finally asking the question. He did not expect Ye Ci to remain so calm.

    It seems that the rumors were false! Ye Ci did not lose her temper the moment she heard the name of Fleeting Time. Tan Png stared at Ye Ci expectantly. He was suddenly interested with a question: How does the top yer of the Eastern Continent see the top yer of the Western Continent? ¡°Fleeting Time... Is he strong?¡±

    Is Fleeting Time strong? It was a question that Ye Ci had never considered until now. Is he strong? Such a thing was never in the focus of Ye Ci¡¯s attention. The only concern she had was ¡°Can I surpass Fleeting Time? Or will I always fall behind him?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about it.¡± Ye Ci appeared to be vexed by the question, ¡°When you say ¡®strong¡¯, based on what standards are you asking?¡±

    Tan Png almost coughed up blood. Is this how God-tier yers think? Basing Fleeting Time¡¯s strength on a certain standard? Nobody can ever do that!

    ¡°By strong... I mean if he happens to be someone you can¡¯t defeat no matter how hard you try.¡± said Tan Png after a long moment.

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows and snorted at his words, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, he¡¯s not strong then. I¡¯m capable of defeating him.¡±

    For unknown reasons, Tan Png doubted Ye Ci¡¯s words. He narrowed his eyes at her, and asked with a doubtful tone, ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ve even killed him some time ago! Have you seen him killing me before?¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Tan Png. Of course, there was something that she left out. She was able to kill Fleeting Time out of sheer luck...

    ¡°I see, I see. ording to the gossip in the World Channel, it¡¯s true that you have not died by his hands before.¡± It was an an undeniable truth. Nobody could tell the truth apart from fabrication in a gossip. Despite appearing to agree with Ye Ci¡¯s words, Tan Png continued to probe hard, ¡°This can¡¯t be! Sister Ye Ci, if he¡¯s not able to defeat you, why do you still see him as an opponent that you can¡¯t surpass?¡±

    ¡°Urm...¡± Ye Ci red silently at Tan Png for a long moment. Shades of red could be seen on Ye Ci¡¯s white face. ¡°You little brat! Nobody will mistake you for a mute if you don¡¯t speak!¡± said Ye Ci with a harsh tone.

    ¡°Ohhhh...¡± Tan Png chuckled and continued digging into his meal with a smug expression.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey! What¡¯s with that expression? Do you think that I¡¯m lying to you? Do you think that I¡¯m no match for that loafer? Do you think that I¡¯ll lose to that bastard?¡± Ye Ci, who was slightly diffident exploded into rage when she heard Tan Png¡¯s chuckles.

    Is Ye Ci lying to him? Of course not! It was something that Fleeting Time admitted himself, and was confirmed by Absalom. However, there was still a question in his mind: How did Ye Ci defeat Fleeting Time? The answer remained unknown to Absalom while Fleeting Time remained tight lipped when he asked such a question.

    Only Ye Ci could satisfy his curiosity.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything, okay?¡± Tan Png found the situation funny. Ye Ci was quite cute when she was trying to cover up he secret.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s with the ¡®ohhh¡¯?¡± Ye Ci red at Tan Png.

    Tan Png could finally understand why Fleeting Time enjoyed teasing Ye Ci after observing her expression. She was always so cold and calm, but when she was angry, her expression was amusing. The brilliance in her eyes and her expression was just so ring.

    But did Fleeting Time tease Gongzi You just because of that? I¡¯m afraid not. Tan Png narrowed his eyes. He could still remember Fleeting Time¡¯s expression when they talked about Gongzi You. If his guess was not wrong... If that was the case, what does Ye Ci think of Fleeting Time? Tan Png was desperate to find out the answer to that question.

    ¡°Then again, Fleeting Time is the top yer of the Western Continent, and the ideal husband of countless female yers, why are you calling him a bastard?¡± asked Tan Png as he chewed on his food, ¡°This is not good. A girl like you must be modest. How can you be so vulgar?¡±

    ¡°Some people... They were born assholes.¡± Ye Ci snorted. Her anger red as she thought of Fleeting Time¡¯s words, the thread in the forums started by Glistening Moonlight, and the customer service employee¡¯s question. Memory of the so-called ¡°award¡± she received served only to fuel the already raging mes of anger in her heart.

    Hiya minna-san! This awesome chapter of an awesomesauce novel tranted by an awesomtacr trantor(that¡¯ll be me, by the way!). Hope you guys enjoyed!

    How¡¯s everyone doing? I am quite bored I guess... But ayy! Christmas event in FGOing soon! I guess I¡¯ll have something to do by then. Oh and... To those peep who made it out of Bronze/Silver in League... Congratz! I barely got to Gold today after months of inactivity just to get that Victorious skin xD

    So I guess that¡¯s about it.. Don¡¯t forget that we have a teaser next page! First in thements type: FIRST BLOOD! and the rest of you... Type: Desu Vult!

    Chapter 228 Do Your Best! (Part 2)

    With a sudden movement, Ye Ci mmed her chopsticks onto the table, and Tan Png dropped the piece of pork rib that he was about to put into his mouth. He looked at Ye Ci, and then at the piece of pork rib, ¡°If you want it, you can just ask. You don¡¯t have to scare me like th-¡±

    Ye Ci started ranting like a rapid fire cannon before he could finish his sentence, ¡°What top yer? What ideal husband? He¡¯s a bastard! So what if he has good mechanical skills? What does it have to do with character? Is he a good person just because he¡¯s a God-tier yer? You¡¯re telling me that he¡¯s the ideal husband of many girls? Have they never yed online games before? Don¡¯t they know that men like this are usually perverts in real life? Don¡¯t they have a life?¡±

    ¡°You are a God-tier yer yourself...¡± said Tan Png. ording to Ye Ci, she was a perverted man, and someone who had no life. But... His voice came out way softer than Ye Ci¡¯s, and was drowned out by her words.

    ¡°So what if he¡¯s very good at the game? Do you see a lot of people seeding in life by being good in a game? He thinks that he can pick on me just because he¡¯s good at the game? Just look at what he said and what he did! Do you think that¡¯s something a good person will do? He should have been drowned in a wicker basket and cut into millions of tiny pieces!¡±

    Tan Png visibly gulped as he stared at Ye Ci. He wanted to refute to Ye Ci¡¯s words, but was intimidated into silence.

    If Tan Png had not already known Fleeting Time beforehand, he would have thought of Fleeting Time as a man that was wicked beyond redemption after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s words. Besides... Many of the gamers were also leading fulfilling lives in real life... Ye Ci was being very unfair. Tan Png had even started to feel pity for Fleeting Time. If he was indeed interested in Ye Ci... It would be a long and painful road.

    He could barely hold back hisughter as Ye Ci ranted on about Fleeting Time. A bastard... drowning him in a wicker basket... Oh, Fleeting Time, just what have you done to leave such an impression in Gongzi You¡¯s heart?

    Then again, Tan Png attempted to salvage Fleeting Time¡¯s reputation. This noble person with unquestionable integrity was being described as a lowlife scum by Ye Ci. As a fan of Fleeting Time, Tan Png could not bring himself to remain silent when the good name of his idol was about to be tarnished by Ye Ci.

    ¡°You¡¯re being unfair. I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s anything wrong with Fleeting Time¡¯s character. You¡¯ve only fought against him a few times, and your conversation with him in the World Channel was literally less than 5 sentences. I don¡¯t recall reading any indecent messages from him. It¡¯s the gossip that have blown things out of proportion. Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re being overly biased against Fleeting Time?¡± Tan Png finally mustered his courage to speak up against Ye Ci.

    Oh, brother Fleeting Time, if you ever seed in wooing my sister, please remember this cannon fodder who paved the way for you. Tan Png was touched by his own noble cause.

    Ye Ci remained silent as she listened to Tan Png. She knew that he was correct. There was indeed a lot of stories and fabrications made by the gossipping audience. However, it did not necessarily meant that Fleeting Time was not responsible in this matter. Will I be in such a situation if not for his suggestive words? My intention of crossing swords with him and defeating him was twisted into the biggest scandal in Fate...

    How can this be...

    ¡°Besides, Fleeting Time is a pure, innocent, and hardworking person. Not matter how you look at it, he¡¯s a great guy! Sister Ye Ci, don¡¯t youbel him falsely because some gossip.¡± Tan Png began to attempt to clear Fleeting Time¡¯s name after noticing the silence from Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Tan Png, and a sneer slowly formed on her lips, ¡°Tan Png, why do I have a feeling that you seem to know that guy?¡±

    ¡°Urm...¡± Ye Ci¡¯s words were able to force Tan Png into silence. A single thought appeared in his mind as he stared at Ye Ci¡¯s darkened expression: If I admitted that I was a Western Continent yer, that I used to be in the same guild with Fleeting Time, and that I was friends with Fleeting Time... Will I live to see sunrise tomorrow? He then looked up at the bright moon illuminating the night sky. Ahh... What a wonderful world... What a wonderful life... After a moment of careful consideration, Tan Png decided that it was more important for him to stay alive. As for Fleeting Time... That man will have to deal with Ye Ci himself.

    ¡°W-what are you talking about...¡± Tan Png chuckled nervously, ¡°I can¡¯t y much when I go to school. I¡¯ve just been paying attention to the forums.. T-this is h-how I know about things like that...¡±

    ¡°So, do you believe what you saw in the forums? Don¡¯t you know that they¡¯re fake?¡± Ye Ci was reminded of Glistening Moon¡¯s thread when the forums was mentioned, and her anger red.

    ¡°Yup, yup. You¡¯re right, sister Ye Ci.¡± Tan Png could only cave under the immense pressure from Ye Ci.

    ¡°Just stop trying to speak in his behalf.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. I won¡¯t do it again.¡± Tan Png could only smile wryly in the face of Ye Ci¡¯s wrath.

    Ye Ci, who had lost her appetite after this conversation, ordered Tan Png to take some cherries out of the fridge. She began stuffing them into her mouth, chewing on them as if they were enemies that she must destroy.

    Tan Png continued his meal cautiously, thinking of the thread made by Glistening Moonlight. It was the shame that he was no longer in the Western Continent. He would have gotten a lot of gossipping materials out of Absalom if he was still part of Genesis.

    However, when a person had his or her mind set on a matter, they would not give up easily. The more Ye Ci was acting up, the more Tan Png was curious about Glistening Moonlight¡¯s thread. In the end, he could not hold himself back. The matter of life and death is nothingpared to a chance to gossip, ¡°Sister Ye Ci, I want to ask you something, but can you not get mad if I do?¡± asked Tan Png who had finally mustered his courage.

    Ye Ci raised one of her eyebrows and said in a menacing tone, ¡°Do I look like someone with a bad temper right now?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± You must be kidding. Can I even answer with ¡°yes¡±? Even when he knew that Ye Ci was already enraged, he was forced to say the opposite of the truth.

    ¡°Ask away then. What is there to be angry about?¡± Ye Ci nodded calmly.

    ¡°Ahh, then I¡¯ll be asking my question. Please don¡¯t be mad.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Tan Png had a sudden feeling that he was worthy of great admiration. To have the courage of pulling the whiskers of a tigress... He was impressed by his own bravery. He cleared his throat, and asked with a nervous voice, ¡°Sister Ye Ci... W-were you... Were you k-kissed by Fleeting Time on that d-day...¡±

    He did not even have the courage toplete the sentence. Ye Ci who was staring calmly at the moon immediately shot her a re that sent chills down his spine the moment the name ¡°Fleeting Time¡± was mentioned. Tan Png could feel death creeping closer and closer right at that moment.

    ¡°Tan Png, do you wish to meet your maker?¡± Ye Ci said in a low voice. Her tone was like as a feather, but to Tan Png, it was as heavy as a mountain than could squash him into paste at any given moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m full. I¡¯ll go wash the dishes now.¡± Tan Png stood up immediately and began carrying the tes and cutleries into the kitchen. Only an idiot would remain at the dining table at this point.

    Ye Ci snorted as Tan Png fled into the kitchen. She was reminded of that day when Fleeting Time was so close to her. His breath on her face was so warm and gentle as he spoke the following words, ¡°Little Gongzi, let¡¯s have a drink someday.¡±

    F*ck this game! F*ck Fate! Why must the developers make it so realistic? Why must my senses in the game be so real?

    F*ck you! Drink my ass! Little Gongzi my ass!

    Ye Ci popped another cherry into her mouth, as if the taste of the fruit could wash away the impact that was brought upon her by Fleeting Time.

    Bastard!

    ¡°Sister Ye Ci, are you alright? Why is your face so red?¡± Tan Png saw the shade of red on Ye Ci¡¯s face as he walked into the dining room to clean the table after washing the dishes. He was genuinely concerned for Ye Ci¡¯s wellbeing. Any illness will affect the healing process of her wounds.

    ¡°I¡¯m alright, carry me into my room.¡± Ye Ci immediately sat the bowl of cherry down onto the table.

    Tan Png lowered himself and carried Ye Ci on his back. She was not heavy at all. Or rather, she was quite light. Tan Png was baffled. How can such a light body be packed with so much energy?

    ¡°You need to toughen yourself up more and eat some good food. You¡¯re so weak. Bai Mo could carry me around bridal style.¡± snorted Ye Ci as she leaned against Tan Png¡¯s shoulders. Indeed, the youth was quite thin. Ye Ci could only express her concern in a roundabout fashion as she found it embarrassing to do it directly.

    Tan Png paid no heed to Ye Ci¡¯s behavior, ¡°I¡¯m still young. If it¡¯s Fleeting Time, I¡¯m sure that he can carry you bridal style as well.¡± he muttered under his breath.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± even when Ye Ci could not hear Tan Png clearly, she could vaguely hear the name ¡°Fleeting Time¡±.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, you should go to bed now.¡± Tan Png did not have the courage to repeat himself. He left the room and closed the door behind him after setting Ye Ci onto the bed. As he walked passed the room of Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian on his way to bed, the door of the couple¡¯s room creaked open, and Zuo Xian called out to him in a low voice, ¡°Png! Here, over here!¡±

    Tan Png was shocked to hear a sudden voice in the silent night. He stumbled backwards, clutching at his chest, ¡°Mom, you almost scared me to death!¡±

    Zuo Xian chuckled, and continued speaking in a low voice, ¡°Be quiet, Png. Come, get in here.¡±

    Tan Png was baffled by Zuo Xian¡¯s strange behavior, and walked into the couple¡¯s room. Zuo Xian immediately closed the door, and implored Tan Png to sit on the bed, ¡°Png, what were you talking about with Little Ci just now?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Tan Png stared at Zuo Xian who had curiosity written all over her face, and then at Ye Nantian who carried the same expression. He was confused.

    ¡°What do you mean? I could¡¯ve sworn that I heard the both of you talking about something?

    ¡°Yup, yup! I¡¯ve even heard something about a durian[1].¡± said Ye Nantian, ¡°Have you developed a sudden craving for durian?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that...¡± when Tan Png noticed the determined expression on the couple¡¯s faces, he knew that he was doomed.

    ¡°That what was it that you two were talking about? What was it?¡± Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian asked in unison.

    Tan Png took in a deep breath. Since things havee to this, I have no choice, ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡±

    The three of them sat at the edge of the bed, and Tan Png began his narration.

    When he was finally done, Tan Png did not forget to give the couple a reminder, ¡°Please keep this a secret, or...¡± and he made a slicing motion on his neck with his hand, ¡°Sister Ye Ci will eat me alive.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, don¡¯t worry about it, I know my daughter...¡± said Zuo Xian with a smile on her face. She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the Tan Png¡¯s solemn expression, ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll keep this a secret.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to bed now. Don¡¯t forget.¡± the room was just like the nest of dangerous beasts, and Tan Png was determined to leave. If his action was found out by Ye Ci, he would not live to see the next day.

    After confirming that Ye Ci was already asleep, Tan Png immediately slipped into his room.

    ¡°Aiyo, Little Ci found a boyfriend! That¡¯s just too quick.¡± said Zuo Xian thoughtfully as she sat on the bed.

    Her words fell on deaf ears as Ye Nantian continued reading his book.

    ¡°Hey, what do you think Fleeting Time looks like? Why don¡¯t we try to get Png to invite him over for dinner someday?¡± said Zuo Xian.

    Ye Nantian rolled his eyes at his wife, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little too far-fetched? It¡¯s all just gossips at this point. Why don¡¯t we give Little Ci some time?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Zuo Xian understood the logic behind his words, ¡°We can at least try to find Fleeting Time in-game...¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a yer in the Western Continent, it¡¯s impossible¡± Ye Nantian snapped his book shut andid on the bed, ¡°Stop worrying about meaningless things. Let¡¯s get to bed, I need to buy some cooking ingredients tomorrow.¡±

    Zuo Xian was about to open her mouth to say something, but held it in, as, sheid on the bed as well.

    Silence fell upon the earth, and they drifted into a deep sleep.

    Bai Mo left early in the morning on the following day, but due to her injuries, Ye Ci was unable to see him off at the station. She could only bid him farewell before he left home.

    After her long counselling session with Tan Png, Ye Ci pondered deeply over the matter.. As a reincarnator, the only thing she had to do was to avoid the tragedies of the past. Her days would turn towards a better future, and there was no need to worry about anything else.

    Even when she was still Ye Ci, past burdens should be left in the past, and the present is the only thing that matters.

    I will no longer spend my present days being burdened by my past. For in this life, every day is a new day. Thought Ye Ci to herself.

    She stood at the door with the aid of her crutches and hugged Bai mo, ¡°Bai Mo, do your best!¡±

    Bai Mo embraced Ye Ci as well and took in a deep breath, ¡°You too, Little Ci.¡± the smile on his face was as bright as the blooming sun.

    Yup, that¡¯s right, everybody had to do their best!

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    [1]The mandarin name of Fleeting Time, ¡°Á÷Äê¡±, could sound like ¡°ÁñÁ«¡±, which is durian under certain circumstances like muffled voice or mispronunciation.

    Hiya minna-san! Here¡¯s an awesome chapter of the awesomecause novel tranted by an awesomtacr trantor, Jimminx(that¡¯s me, by the way!). Hope you people enjoyed the novel!

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 Chapter 229 Orthus

    Chapter 229 Orthus (Part 1)

    With the ck Iron Dwarves busy exploring the Mithril ore vein, Ye Ci seized the opportunity to continue her Epic-tier quest.

    She brought a return message from the Doran Thieves Guild to Dark y City. Just like her previous visit, Ye Ci was received by the Mayor instead of the lord of the city.

    ¡°Well done, Elf. You¡¯vepleted your mission,¡± said the Mayor after reading the letter. He then lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. A smile that sent chills down Ye Ci¡¯s spine formed on the Mayor¡¯s lips. ¡°I¡¯ll inform Lord Moore about your exploits. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be happy to receive the news. As you know, Lord Moore¡¯s health is in decline, but he is still busying himself with a lot of different tasks. As his subordinate, I¡¯m extremely worried. Can you do me another favor?¡±

    Ye Ci knew that the third stage of the quest had officially begun. She did not know how long it would take her toplete the quest, but with so much time and energy already invested, there was no way she could back down.

    ¡°Of course, it will be my honor.¡± Ye Ci bowed at the Mayor while internallyughing at her own hypocrisy. She was forced to take on the task! What sort of honor was she talking about?

    ¡°This will be a long journey. Are you sure that you¡¯re up for the task?¡± The mayor of Dark y City was satisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s answer. However, for reasons unknown, he asked for confirmation from Ye Ci once again.

    ¡°As long as my efforts are able to help Lord Moore out, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    ¡°Alright then. This will be a long journey. You might be away from home for a very long time. I hope you won¡¯t get homesick.¡± The mayor nodded. From his expression, however, Ye Ci could tell that the mayor was not at all concerned. ¡°Head to Tempest Ravine and blow this whistle by the broken iron bridge at 12 am. Someone will meet up with you. He¡¯ll tell you what to do next.¡±

    The mayor then handed an old whistle made out of bone to Ye Ci. One could tell from the dull surface of the whistle that it worn out from a long time of usage. ¡°May the Gods be with you. Lord Moore will be awaiting your return,¡± said the mayor.

    Ye Ci furrowed her brows as she received the whistle from the mayor. If she was not mistaken, Tempest Ravine was a map that connected the Southern Continent and the Western Continent. The map itself was divided in half by a huge ravine into separate territories belonging to the Southern Continent and the Western Continent.

    Don¡¯t tell me that... He¡¯s sending me into the Western Continent...

    It was exactly as Ye Ci had expected. After logging off from the game, Ye Ci did a quick search on Fate¡¯s official website about the Tempest Ravine and found an object connecting the South and West territories at the narrowest point of the ravine.

    It seems that I¡¯ll be gone for quite a long time then.

    Ye Ci then proceeded to inform the officers of Upwards Ho! that she would be away from the Eastern Continent. Although Bai Mo was in his own hometown, he would still log into the game at night. After leaving him a message, some gold coins for her parents, and restocking her arrows, Ye Ci headed to the Southern Continent.

    Due to the nature of her business, Ye Ci did not inform Fluttering Red Feather of the Southern Continent of her trip to his home continent. She headed straight for her destination: Tempest Ravine.

    The Tempest Ravine was a long and narrow map divided into two parts by a deep ravine into Tempest Ravine (a) which belonged to the Southern Continent, and Tempest Ravine (b) that was under control of the Western Continent.

    Before the Jiama Continent was split into four smaller continents, there was a metal bridge that connected both sides of the ravine. However, NPCs from both sides took the bridge apart after their continent was split apart, and built fortifications to keep each other out.

    The Tempest Ravine in its current state was dotted with massive fortifications and towers, but one could still spot the rusting metal bridge from afar...

    As Ye Ci stood at the mouth of the valley, she could see a horde of red NPCs moving on the other side. They were the Elites posted to guard the bridge. The NPCs were all high leveled and had huge amounts of defense and hitpoints. Even a single one of them was a tough opponent for Ye Ci. Taking on a huge group was next to impossible.

    She fiddled with the whistle in her palm and patiently waited for time to pass.

    The NPCs guarding the bridge would not forbid yers from allied factions from entering enemy territory. However, when a yer from an opposing faction set foot on their territory, all hell would break loose.

    Ye Ci sat by the bridge, patiently waiting for the sun to set.

    Her heart was as calm as the water in ake as she observed the scenery. What will I run into on the other side? Will everything go smoothly in the Western Continent? How long will I take toplete the quest? The answer to questions like these could only be determined in the future. The only thing Ye Ci had to do at the moment was to cross the valley at 12 am.

    Sentries patrolled the Southern Continent side in groups of 6 at 30-second intervals. It was very unlikely that a yer from the Western Continent could cross sessfully into the Southern territory undetected. The same applied to Ye Ci as well. Crossing over to the other side was next to impossible for her.

    Ye Ci studied the whistle and found nothing special about it. What sort of NPC will get me across at 12 am? She wondered.

    Time can be a very strange thing.

    It can slip past in the blink of an eye when one was not paying attention. However, when it mattered the most, it felt as if a person could aplish impressive feats in the span of a second.

    Ye Ci was in the exact situation as she sat on a wooden pile at the edge of the valley, with a straw in her mouth, while staring at the setting sun. She hoped that time could pass faster, but time had an idea of its own. It remained still and unmoving. Ye Ci cast frequent nces at the in-game timer, and to her dismay, the time disyed remained the same. Must I really wait in boredom until the time is right?

    Waiting was something that Ye Ci was not good at. With nothing to do and a lot of time left on the clock, she decided to log out of the game. The house was extremely quiet as Ye Ci climbed out of her gaming cabin. Bai Mo was away in his hometown, while Tan Png was at school and Ye Ci¡¯s parents were busy leveling up their skills in-game. There was nothing for her to do even in real life.

    Ye Ci walked into the living room with the help of her crutches. The brilliant light of the setting sun poured into the living room as Ye Ci sat on the couch and stared at the television screen. She switched through channel after channel with the remote, with boredom gripping down on her mind.

    Even Ye Ci herself was not sure if she was too matured, or if the shows on the TV were just too meaningless. Nothing caught Ye Ci¡¯s eyes as she switched through the channels. How am I going to survive until midnight?

    ¡°We¡¯ve just received thetest news from Glory Corporation. At the National Stadium today, the corporation has officiallyunched the countdown to the first expansion of , ¡°A New Continent¡±. As a VRMMORPG introduced in 2050, was a game different from its predecessors. With thetest technology that improves the sense of touch, and the 100% realism in the game¡¯s environment, as well as its perfect integration of different cultures from all around the world, the game can be said to be something that is ahead of its time. Since theunch of , the game has been holding the record of the gaming tform with the most users online, and the number has only been increasing since the game¡¯s introduction...¡±

    Ye Ci stopped at a news channel with the host introducing Fate¡¯s uing expansion with a smile on his face. It was not the first time Fate had made its way into the news. Fate has already developed from a casual gaming tform into something so popr that corporations, political organizations, and even the military had established some presence in the game. Fate was slowly bing something that was more and more relevant in the daily life of the people.

    This was why news about the game was verymon.

    In normal circumstances, Ye Ci would not pay any attention to the news as shows like this were verymon, and Ye Ci did not have the time and energy to waste on them.

    This particr news, however, managed to attract Ye Ci¡¯s attention.

    The first expansion, ¡°A New Continent¡±, was already on a 30-day countdown. This meant that the developers would introduce a huge array of new quests into the game. These quests would help in improving the levels and equipment of yers, which would ease the process of clearing lower level dungeons. Of course, the introduction of the expansion would also mean that the arrival of Golden Era was near.

    Ye Ci was confused by the developer¡¯s decision.

    Even a normal yer like Ye Ci had caught wind of the impending arrival of Golden Era that was hired by a rival of Glory Corporation as an act of sabotage on Fate. She could not believe the fact that the developers of Fate and the higher ups of the Glory Corporation had no knowledge of such an event. They must know the impact that Golden Era will bring to Fate. Why are they still releasing an expansion despite the risk? Why are they doing this? Are they daft? Or am I not looking at this from a broad enough standpoint?

    However, what the higher-ups of Glory Corporation thought of Golden Era was irrelevant to Ye Ci. Her only concern was to look for a way to survive before the introduction of the new expansion, and the arrival of Golden Era.

    This was a very troublesome problem.

    She suddenly thought of a certain someone.

    Ye Ci logged into the game and requested for Customer Service No.094. Even if it was a slightly difficult request for the customer service receptionist, she could not reject a request made by a yer as long as it was reasonable. The receptionist immediately notified Wang Jiangnan of Ye Ci¡¯s request.

    This piqued the curiosity of Wang Jiangnan. ¡°Why are you looking for me through a channel like this?¡±

    ¡°I am a yer. Isn¡¯t this how I should be contacting a developer?¡± Ye Ciughed at Wang Jiangnan¡¯s question.

    ¡°I¡¯m in Tempest Ravine at the coordinates 1893:47:3652. Are you free at the moment? Can youe?¡± Ye Ci knew that every call made to a customer service employee would be recorded, which was why she would not discuss certain things with Wang Jiangnan through the channel.

    She had even thought up of an excuse for Wang Jiangnan, ¡°I seem to have stumbled upon a BUG. Pleasee over and have a look.¡±

    Even Wang Jiangnan himself was convinced by Ye Ci. Even if he was not the manager on duty, he would still dly log into the game because of his friendship with Ye Ci. ¡°Alright. Give me a minute.¡±

    Ye Ci waited patiently after ending the call. Before long, a lvl1 ount appeared right beside her. Who else could it be if not Wang Jiangnan? He was indeed a person who was dedicated to his job. ¡°So what BUG did you run into?¡± said Wang Jiangnan the moment he saw Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci smiled and motioned to a spot beside her, ¡°Why don¡¯t you have a seat first, and we¡¯ll talk.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan took a seat and surveyed his surroundings. He was quick to realize the reason Ye Ci was sitting at this ce. ¡°You received an Epic-tier quest?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. ¡°Can you give me some spoilers? What¡¯s waiting for me on the other side?¡±

    Wang Jiangnan shook his head. ¡°Will it still be fun if I tell you now? Besides, I¡¯m not the one who designed this Epic-tier quest, and I did not take part in testing the quest. I know nothing about the quest,¡± said Wang Jiangnan, and he immediately redirected the conversation back to the BUG. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you discovered a BUG? What is it? If a yer like you can discover it, that BUG must be a game-breaking one.¡±

    ¡°There is no BUG. It¡¯s just an excuse that I thought out for you.¡± Ye Ci took the straw out of her mouth and twirled it around with her fingers. ¡°There¡¯s something else that I want to talk to you about.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s new. There¡¯s something that you want to say to me? Don¡¯t you hate us developers?¡± Wang Jiangnan raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°It really depends on the situation. When my personal benefit is in jeopardy, I don¡¯t minding into contact with your lot.¡± Ye Ci did not even attempt to mask her intention of using Wang Jiangnan for her benefit.

    Wang Jiangnan was curious. Gongzi You was the top yer of the Eastern Continent, and one of the best yers in the entire game. There was nothing much that could threaten her. ¡°Heh, now I¡¯m interested. So what is the thing that is so threatening to you?¡±

    ¡°Why are you releasing that expansion so early?¡± Ye Ci did not beat around the bush, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that Golden Era ising?¡±

    Here you go, minna-san! Another awesome chapter of this awesomesauce novel tranted by an awesomtacr trantor(that¡¯s me, by the way!)! Enjoy!!!!

    How¡¯s everybody doing? How¡¯s the week treating you people? These few days been pretty dull for me tbh... FGO, League, GFL... Pretty much everything felt boring... Then again.. I¡¯ve always enjoyed tranting a chapter of Reign of the Hunters and learning that my readers are enjoying the tranted novel! Hehe...

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    Don¡¯t forget that we have a teaser next page! First in thement type: FIRST BLOOD! The rest of you... Desu Vult!!!

    Chapter 229 Orthus (Part 2)

    Golden Era was a name so notorious that it was widely known.

    They were like locusts that would leave destruction in their wake.

    Wang Jiangnan was momentarily stunned when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s question, and his expression darkened slightly, ¡°It¡¯s a decision made by the higher ups. A developer like me can do nothing about it.¡±

    ¡°So tell me.. How are we supposed to brave this storm? The average level of my guild members are at lvl 40! The level cap will be raised when the new expansion is released! How do you expect small guilds like us and individual yers to survive?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows.

    ¡°You got me there. I¡¯ve been thinking about this as well.¡± Wang Jiangnan grimaced, ¡°I know the decision to release the expansion is rushed, but...¡± he let out a sigh, ¡°Why don¡¯t you give me a suggestion, and tell me what to do instead?¡±

    Ye Ci was dismayed when she saw Wang Jiangnan¡¯s expression. It seemed that theing storm was inevitable. With the release of the expansion creeping closer and closer, she would lose her initiative, ¡°You want my suggestion? For what? For after Golden Era is done messing up your game?¡±

    ¡°Heh! Can you not be that pessimistic?¡± despite the smile of Wang Jiangnan¡¯s face, it was obvious that he was actually saying the words with a heavy heart.

    ¡°Can I not be pessimistic? Let me tell you something.. Pessimists are the ones that bring change to this world!¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Wang Jiangnan.

    ¡°Fine.. What would you do if you¡¯re standing in my shoes?¡± Wang Jiangnan was very sincere with his question. It was not the first time he pondered such a question. He knew that his life would be turned upside down as a developer, just like what would happen to Fate. Will his hopes and dreams be destroyed because of this incident?

    Ye Ci held up 2 of her fingers ¡°You have two options. You can either leave, or you can lead a miserable life.¡± In truth, this was also the fate that awaited the rest of the yers.

    ¡°Is there a third option?¡± Wang Jiangnan had long considered the two options, but he refused to give up just like that.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. The third option... The third option was something that she wanted to do, but it was something that she was not sure if she could aplish.

    ¡°There is...¡± Ye Ci let out a sigh, ¡°Of course there is.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of the saying ¡®drive somebody into desperation and he will find aspiration¡¯?¡± Ye Ci let out another sigh.

    She wished that Golden Era would not be arriving so soon, but on the other hand, she wished that they would be here as soon as possible so that the problem could be dealt with.

    Even when the oue was known, it could still be changed when all the variables in the process that led to the oue remained unknown.

    She could still remember how Wang Jiangnan was able to save Fate from theing storm. Wasn¡¯t her action of securing the Mithril ore vein something that will affect the oue as well? She must acquire the rights to mine the Mithril from the ck Iron Dwarves within a month. Then again, where would she acquire the manpower to mine the ores? Even if she had the manpower, how would she defend the mine from her enemies? Upwards Ho! was a guild with less than 100,000 members. Even when all its members were mobilize, they might still lose control of the mine.

    Besides, even if Golden Era did not attempt to seize the mine from Upwards Ho!, will the other major guilds not intervene?

    Ye Ci doubted that her friendship with the leaders of other major guilds would help in this situation. After all, the only thing that would remain unchanged in this world was a human¡¯s desire to secure more benefits.

    She knew that she was cing herself in a desperate situation the moment she made the situation to mine the Mithril ore vein. But will she find aspiration in this situation? It was something that even Ye Ci herself did not know.

    The curtain of night fell upon thend. Ye Ci sat in the dark, and nced at the timer. There was 10 seconds left before it was 12am.

    Ten, nine, eight, seven..... three, two, one.

    ¡°Pwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!¡± the sound produced by the whistle was very unique. It was something that Ye Ci had never heard before. The shrill sound of the whistle was like a sharp dagger in the dark, slicing through the silence of the night..

    Ye Ci covered her eardrums as her ears were assaulted by the whistle sound. She then stood up, and began studying her surroundings. However, there was not a single person in sight.

    Have I forgotten something important? Ye Ci immediately began reading up her quest description, but was unable to find any clues. Just as she continued to survey her surroundings, Ye Ci heard a hoarse voiceing from above her, ¡°Heh, so it¡¯s an Elf!¡±

    Ye Ci looked up at the source of the voice, and saw a ck silhouette on one of the support beams of the bridge. Ye Ci could not even detect the stats of the figure shrouded in shadows.

    Race: Unknown. ss: Unknown. Alignment: Unknown.

    Ye Ci remained wary even when it was clearly stated in the quest description that the figure would be key to the next stage of her quest. After all, there was too many uncertainties in an Epic-tier quest. Every single course of action she took had the potential of leading the quest to a different oue. Due to the nature of the situation, Ye Ci remained cautious as ever.

    ¡°Greetings. The mayor of Dark y City handed this whistle to me.¡± Ye Ci bowed at the figure, ¡°He told me that this whistle will lead me to the next part of my mission.¡± Ye Ci had the habit of giving the initiative to any quest-giving NPCs. The gesture that seemed meaningless would often give Ye Ci an edge when it came to dealing with the NPCs.

    The ck figure on the bridge chuckled upon hearing Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°He¡¯s still alive?¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned when she heard his words. She had a gut feeling that something was wrong about this sentence, but she couldn¡¯t put her finger on the reason why.. Despite her confusion, Ye Ci remained silent. NPCs involved in Epic-tier quests possessed high levels of intelligence, and were more cunning. She might get tricked by the NPC for saying the wrong thing. The only way to prevent this from happening was to listen attentively to what an NPC had to say and remain quiet. After all, silence is golden. The more you talk, the likely you are going to mess up.

    The silhouette was satisfied with how untalkative Ye Ci was. His weird voice was terrifying in the quiet night, ¡°You¡¯re rather quiet for an Elf.¡±

    Is that apliment?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Come with me, I¡¯ll get you across.¡± the silhouette leaped down from the beams, and the silvery moonlight illuminated his entire form. He was a Goblin.

    The Goblin, with his green skin, pointed ears, and a pair of bulging eyes had a weird appearance. The one thing that stood out the most of the Goblin¡¯s appearance was his long hands that reached beyond his knees. He was only as tall as Ye Ci¡¯s waist, but was agile with his movements.

    Goblins were a special race in Fate. Despite their ugly appearance, Goblins were highly intelligent. They were the creators of some of the most advanced machineries and potions in the entire Jiama Continent. The Goblins were also geniuses when it came to making profit.

    This was why the Goblins were one of the wealthiest races in the entire Jiama Continent. However, Goblins in general loathed the interaction with other races. They chose to remain neutral in the affairs of thend. When the Jiama Continent remained as a whole, the Goblins maintained limited contact with members of other races, but it all changed when the continent was split into four parts. The Goblins went into hiding after the incident, and only few merchants for the other races knew of their whereabouts, and Goblin-made products would usually fetch a high price in the market.

    Ye Ci was excited to see the Goblin. Goblins were a high-tier race that was exceptionally useful in siege battles. Thebat potential of her guild will be increased exponentially if she was able to secure the allegiance of a Goblin. But.. The question is... How should she befriend the Goblin?

    It was a question that Ye Ci pondered continuously as she followed close behind the Goblin. Unlike Gnomes, Goblins was a prideful race. A mistake in her choice of words could potentially spell trouble.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Elf? Are you thinking of what sort of benefits you can get from this Goblin?¡± chuckled the Goblin as he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s silence.

    Despite her surprise, Ye Ci was able to keep her expression neutral, ¡°We Elves are not a greedy race.¡± she said in a calm voice.

    ¡°You¡¯re right! You Elves are not like those damned Orcs and Dwarves!¡± the Goblin nodded his agreement. He then stopped abruptly and blew hard at a whistle. The pping of wings could be heard in the quiet night. She lifted her head, and found arge bird flying at their direction.

    It appeared to be an eagle. Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, and confirmed with the Elf¡¯s superior night vision that it was indeed an eagle. But when the eagle flew closer, Ye Ci was shocked. It was indeed an eagle, but it was an eagle made out of mechanical parts!

    The Goblin noticed Ye Ci¡¯s astonished expression, ¡°What do you think? It¡¯s a beauty, isn¡¯t it?¡± he said in a voice filled with pride.

    ¡°It¡¯s amazing!¡± Ye Ci was not stingy with her praise, ¡°As expected of Goblin Engineering! It¡¯s so beautiful!¡±

    The Goblin¡¯s expression immediately changed when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°Goblin Engineering? What is Goblin Engineering without me, Orthus?¡±

    ¡°Orthus?¡± Ye Ci was stunned to hear the name. ording the the in the National Library, Orthus was the apprentice of the great Goblin Engineer, DeFrei. But when DeFrei disappeared without a trace, Orthus distanced himself from the world and disappeared as well.

    Ye Ci was saddened when she read about the incident in her past life, as it meant that the best of the Goblin Engineering had disappeared from the continent. However, fate seemed to be ying a joke on Ye Ci. She ran into Orthus in this life, when she had least expected it.

    ¡°What? You¡¯ve heard of my name before?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve read about you and your mentor, DeFrei in one of the books in the National Library.¡± answered Ye Ci truthfully.

    ¡°Oh? Now that¡¯s amusing. I can¡¯t believe an Elf knew about me when almost all of the Goblins have forgotten all about me.¡± Otrhus¡¯ voice wasced with sarcasm. He waved at the mechanical eagle, and itnded on the edge of the cliff. Orthus mounted the eagle and said to Ye Ci, ¡°Hop on, Elf! I¡¯ll get you to the other side!¡±

    Ye Ci nodded, and mounted the mechanical eagle as well. ¡°Hold on tight!¡± shouted orthus as the mechanical eagleunched itself into the night sky.

    This was not the first time Ye Ci boarded a flying machine in Fate, but this was definitely one of the fastest and the most stable machines she had ever ridden in the game. Despite the strong winds, the mechanical eagle was able to keep a steady flight as it soared through the clouds.

    ¡°What¡¯s that mad Goblin doing with his damned bird this time?¡± said the Western Continent sentries as the saw the mechanical eagle. It was apparent that they were used to such a scene.

    ¡°Who knows? He refused to let us anywhere near that damned bird. I nearly got my ass beaten by that damned Goblin once for trying to mount his bird.¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha! You¡¯re afraid of that Goblin? How strong can he be? If the captain finds out about this, he¡¯s definitely going to punish you dearly.¡±

    ¡°What do you know? Goblins are a neutral race! I might get into trouble for picking a fight with him!¡± the sentry snorted, ¡°If he can make that damned bird, who knows what else he¡¯s got with him? Things could go real bad for me for all I know!¡±

    ......

    The two sentries continued their conversation, totally oblivious to the fact that Orthus had smuggled an Eastern Continent yer across.

    Ye Ci looked down at the ground below.

    She could tell that they were at a high altitude, ¡°Can¡¯t the sentries see me?¡± Ye Ci was curious.

    ¡°Why not? They¡¯re not blind.¡± Orthus rolled his eyes.

    ¡°Then how are you getting me across?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a trade secret.¡± snorted Orthus. It was apparent that he was reluctant to share the secrets of his mechanical eagle with Ye Ci.

    Since Orthus made his stance clear, Ye Ci did not pursue the topic. She stood silently behind Orthus, patiently waiting for the eagle to finallynd. After a long moment of wait, Ye Ci could feel the mechanical eagle descending. She immediately steadied herself and lowered her body so that she would not be thrown off the mechanical eagle as itnded.

    As expected of a creation of Orthus, the eagle¡¯snding was smooth and silent. It immediately deactivated itself uponnding, and became as still as a statue.

    Orthus jumped down from the mechanical eagle, followed closely by Ye Ci.

    ¡°Since you know about my mentor and I, I¡¯ll not waste time on introducing myself. So you have a very simple task. Find my mentor, and rescue him.¡± said Orthus as he stood in front of Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was puzzled when she heard about her mission. ording to the History of Goblins, DeFrei had already disappeared, and the reason behind his disappearance was not recorded at all.

    Due to the importance of the quest, Ye Ci had to be sure, ¡°Dear Mr. Orthus, even if I know about you and your mentor, DeFrei, I do not know where to find him! The was only a short mention about his disappearance in the book!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not recorded at all?¡± Orthus was baffled, but was quick to recover from his shock, ¡°Indeed, it would be weird if it was recorded. Of course they would not want something as vile as this to be remembered.¡±

    It was clear that Orthus was very upset. He paced back and forth while swinging his fists in the air, ¡°Damn those Goblins! And damn you too, Ciel! May all of you rot in hell!¡±

    Ye Ci watched Orthus silently, waiting patiently for the next stage of her quest to be triggered.

    Hiya minna-san! Here¡¯s another awesome chapter of the awesomesauce novel tranted by an awesomtacr trantor(which is me, by theway)! Enjoy!!

    I hope everybody¡¯s doing well, as I have been! Hung out with some of my friendsst night, and it was fun! We went to a all-you-can-eat steamboat restaurant and the food was really, really nice! (Yes, I¡¯m Chinese, we like steamboat a lot!) Dumping fishballs and meatballs into tomyam soup while grilling marinated mutton and chicken strips.... My tummy was so full by the time we¡¯re done...

    Hmm... Goblins you say?? Goblins mentioned in this chapter???

    Hehe... If you wish to reward me for my hard work, hit that sponsor button at the right side of the page if you¡¯re on PC, and the bottom of the page if you¡¯re on mobile! You can also support me on my Patreon!!

    Don¡¯t forget that we have a teaser next page! First in thement type: FIRST BLOOD! The rest of you... Type Desu Vult!

 Chapter 230 Brief Encounter

    Chapter 230 Brief Encounter

    Orthus calmed down after a long time of venting his anger. He then turned around, stared at Ye Ci, and sighed, ¡°Heh, Elf, are you interested in listening to a not-so interesting story?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Mr. Orthus. If you¡¯re willing to tell the story, I¡¯ll be one of the best listeners there is.¡± Ye Ci bowed to the Goblin. She made the decision not to skip the dialogue. The stories told by an NPC in an Epic-tier quest might contain many clues to a yer¡¯s mission. These were not only hidden in the words of the NPC. The intonation and behavior of the NPC during the storytelling process could also be a potential clue. Any important clues that yers missed could affect thepletion rate of the Epic-tier quest, and ultimately the final reward of the quest.

    Orthus was apparently satisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s response. He paced back and forth in front of Ye Ci once again, but with a much calmer demeanor.

    Ye Ci stood silently, waiting with all the patience she could muster. After all, she turned into a rather patient person when it concerned her Epic-tier quest.

    Orthus jumped onto a fallen wooden pir and took a seat. He gazed at the distant sky. The bright moon was not enough to illuminate the darknd, leaving only a streak of silver in the night sky.

    Ye Ci had already studied her map upon arrival. They were in the Fragrance Wilderness in the Western Continent. The map was filled with monsters around level 50-60. These monsters were passive, and would only attack out of self-defence, which made the map a preferred spot for yers seeking to level up. This meant that Ye Ci was in grave danger. If she was discovered by Western Continent yers, they would definitely hunt her down without mercy.

    Despite the danger, Ye Ci could not change the fact that the location was the spot where Orthus would trigger the next stage of the quest. After all, Goblins were a neutral race in all four continents. As a Goblin, Orthus was in rtively safe from attacks by yers, but Ye Ci would be the one in danger.

    However, Ye Ci was a veteran in evading enemies with superior numbers thanks to her experience in her past life. This was why Ye Ci was able to wait calmly for Orthus to finally trigger the quest. She maintained her vignce as she waited, ready to react to any sudden events. She would never allow herself to die right after setting foot in the Western Continent.

    Orthus was satisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s patience and silence. As a race that was highly intelligent and full of pride, Goblins despised the members of the other races despite their interactions. In the eyes of the Goblins, they were the most noble of races, while the other races in the Jiama Continent were seen as inferior.

    As one of the more conservative Goblins, Orthus looked down on the other races more than the rest of his people. Despite his ideology, Orthus rarely showed his hatred. In fact, he also disliked the Elf who was standing silently in front of him. But unlike most, the Elf was very polite, and was not overly ambitious. She did not attempt to gain benefits from a renowned Goblin like himself. This was why Orthus was satisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s behavior, and even started to speak with her in a gentler tone.

    ¡°A long, long time ago, a time even I have forgotten... You know, we Goblins are a race with a long lifespan. Time means nothing to us. But back then, we Goblins did not live underground, and we did not live in seclusion. We had a homnd we called Vo¡¯sok. It was a ce full of ores, precious gems, and oil. Vo¡¯sok was just a ce full of wonders and resources. You must be thinking that a ce like that would be heavily polluted... But you¡¯re wrong. Vo¡¯sok is a beautiful ce with lush green trees. Thend was healthy and full of life, and the rivers were clean and beautiful. And I... I was born in that ce...¡±

    As Orthus indulged in his memories of home, his voice turned gentle, and his eyes lost their focus. It was apparent from his expression that his homnd was one of Orthus¡¯s best memories.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know my parents. I was raised by my mentor, DeFrei, who found me on the ins. He told me that he heard the cries of an infant when he woke up one day, and found me wrapped in swaddling clothes. He told me that I stopped crying and smiled at him the moment he picked me up. In the Goblin society, orphants that are not adopted are fated to be ves. My mentor could not bear to see me with such a tragic future, and decide to adopt me. He gave me the name ¡®Orthus¡¯, which meant ¡®a treasuredpanion¡¯ in the Goblinnguage. I am not only his son and his apprentice. I am also his most treasuredpanion.¡±

    The expression on Orthus¡¯s face grew even softer as he spoke about DeFrei. Even his face that was not at all good looking appeared to be less hideous.

    ¡°I grew up with my mentor from my infancy into my adulthood. He is the smartest of our race. I know you outsiders like to talk about how Goblin Engineering is a talent unique to our race, but little do you know that not every member of our race is granted ess to the real Goblin Engineering. Those so-called ¡®Goblin creations¡¯ that are so sought after by you outsiders are mere tricksters in the eyes of a true engineer like me. Only foolish outsiders like you would pay huge amounts of gold to those bumbling idiots.¡± Orthus snorted out loud. He exuded the air of a pedantic schr that looked down on the average Goblins, but he did have such a qualification.

    As recorded by history, due to the Goblin¡¯s love of money, not many of them were willing to waste time on learning the real essence of Goblin Engineering. DeFrei and his student, Orthus, were the only Goblins remaining that inherited the knowledge of real Goblin Engineering. Orthus¡¯s mechanical eagle was one fine example. If the eagle was a product of an ordinary Goblin, it would not be able to fly as steadily and as fast as Orthus¡¯s eagle. It might even fall apart after travelling such a vast distance.

    ¡°My mentor is thest Grandmaster in Goblin Engineering. Even I myself have only reached the rank of mentor.¡± sadness slowly reced Orthus¡¯s expression as he continued his narration.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Ye Ci raised her question at the correct timing, prompting Orthus to continue with the exnation of the quest.

    ¡°Because I left Vo¡¯sok.¡± Orthus¡¯s voice was soft.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Vo¡¯sok a suitable ce for the development of Goblin Engineering? Why did you leave that ce as a mentor in Goblin Engineering? Have you found a better ce?¡±

    ¡°Vo¡¯sok is my home. Is there any ce in the world that is better than home?¡± Orthus¡¯s expression darkened, ¡°I left because I was being hunted.¡±

    It was something that was not recorded in history, ¡°You were being hunted?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been studying by my mentor¡¯s side since my youth. The long lifespan of our race meant that we have unlimited amounts of time to conduct countless experiments. This is how I¡¯ve been living my life.¡± the gentle expression returned to Orthus¡¯s face, but it was one that was mixed with sadness, ¡°I never thought that the continent would be split into four parts, and that Naga¡¯s forces would invade this continent, spreading the mes of war to Vo¡¯sok itself. We Goblins are a race that is well-versed in engineering. Even a product made by amon Goblin is seen as a technological marvel by you outsiders. Of course, the Dark Lord Naga thought the same about our machineries as well. Many heroes from all the races answered the call to fight by the King of the Gods, Kleid, when Naga dered war on the Gods. Of course, they paid a heavy price as they tried to stop Naga¡¯s advance.¡± Orthus cast a nce at Ye Ci, ¡°The Elven King Dau¡¯er was one of them. He was killed in the war, and his soul was imprisoned by Naga.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart leapt when she heard his words. The Elven King, Dau¡¯er, was closely rted to the Race Quest of the Elves. She had not been able to activate the quest as she did not have all the map fragments to Dau¡¯er¡¯s location. No clear record could be found about the Great War in the National Library. Ye Ci herself had only came across bits and pieces of information during her time spent in the library.

    Ye Ci could not hold back her excitement, ¡°Where is Dau¡¯er¡¯s soul imprisoned?¡±

    Orthus furrowed his eyebrows in dissatisfaction when his narration was interrupted, ¡°Why are you asking such a question? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be listening to my story?¡±

    Ye Ci could see the anger in Orthus¡¯s expression, ¡°Sir Orthus, we Elves lost our leader during the war, and our race became divided as a result. This is why...¡± she said in a tactful manner.

    Orthus was moved by the sorrow in Ye Ci¡¯s voice. After all, he was also involved in the Great War. ¡°Indeed. I pity you Elves. Your race was divided because of that. I know that Dau¡¯er¡¯s soul was imprisoned by Naga, but I do not know where. It¡¯s a secret of his. How would I know Naga¡¯s secret?¡± said Orthus with a sigh.

    Ye Ci nodded in agreement. The location of Dau¡¯er¡¯s soul was one of the main storyline that must be explored by yers. There was no way its location would be revealed so easily, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for interrupting your story, Sir Orthus. Please continue.¡±

    Orthus nodded, and continued his narration, ¡°Naga¡¯s forces suffered greatly at the hands of our advanced technology. After the war, he sent the Bloodthirsty Undead and Corrupted Orcs under hismand to seize control of Vo¡¯sok.¡± Orthus anger rose as he continued, ¡°No, they were unable to control Vo¡¯sok. What they¡¯ve managed to control is that bastard Ciel! He did not deserve to be the Goblin King! He sold the deepest secret of our entire race to Naga for his own pitiful life! He captured my mentor, DeFrei, and held him captive. I would¡¯ve been caught as well if it was not because of the message my mentor left behind when he was captured. This is why I escaped from Vo¡¯sok, while my mentor was held in the deepest depth of Ciel¡¯s castle!¡±

    ¡°DeFrei was like my father! He was also my closest friend andpanion in this entire world! But what did I do? I wandered all corners of the four continents while he was imprisoned by Ciel. In the end, after exhausting all my options, I made a deal with Moore. He promised to look for a candidate who would rescue my mentor, while I...¡± Orthus ended his sentence abruptly. It was apparent that he wish to keep his deal with Lord Moore a secret.

    He narrowed his eyes and continued, ¡°After a long wait, I¡¯ve finally met that person. I¡¯ve finally met you, young Elf.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to be of service, Sir Orthus.¡± Ye Ci finally received the quest from Orthus after a long moment of wait, ¡°But where is Mr.DeFrei? Where can I find him?¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, he is still in the Royal Pce in Vo¡¯sok.¡± Orthus handed Ye Ci apass, ¡°This is a specialpass that I¡¯ve made. It will lead you to my mentor once you¡¯ve entered the territories of Vo¡¯sok.¡±

    Ye Ci studied the Goblin Compass carefully. It was obvious its quality surpassed that of the Goblin Compass. As expected of an item created by a Master tier Goblin Engineer.

    ¡°Go, Elf. If you can rescue my mentor, I shall reward you greatly.¡± said Orthus as he stood up, and pointed at Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯ll appear before you when you blow that whistle. Good luck, Elf.¡±

    With that, Orthus disappeared into the night along with his mechanical eagle, leaving Ye Ci alone in the Fragrance Wilderness.

    Ye Ci was sure Vo¡¯sok was not a map in any of the four continents in the current stage of the game. Based on her deduction, Vo¡¯sok disappeared during the Great War. So where is Vo¡¯sok now? thought Ye Ci to herself as she read through her quest details. She spotted a sentence in one of the long paragraphs: Vo¡¯sok was a wonderful ce, but it¡¯s gone now. Anybody looking for Vo¡¯sok might find hints about the ce in the Bloody Wilderness.

    Bloody Wilderness.

    It was a map adjacent to capital of the Western Continent, Light Saint City. The topography of the map wasplicated, and many high leveled monsters roamed the ce. It was not a suitable spot for yers to level up. There was also not a single resupply camp within the Bloody Wilderness itself. This made the map an unpopr choice for yers looking to level up.

    The again, not all yers would avoid the Bloody Wilderness even when it was not as popr. The current poption of the game was 1 billion, which meant that there was approximately 250 million yers in a single continent. There was no way that none among the 250 millions would choose the Bloody Wilderness as their leveling spot. It was a map with a huge monster poption that would constantly spawn. A yer could level up easily if he or she found the ideal spot. Ye Ci could traverse the map with rtive safety due to its low yer poption.

    Of course, as a Eastern Continent yer in the Western Continent, Ye Ci could not employ the services of any of the teleportation NPCs in the continent. The only way she could travel through different maps was by foot, as summoning Ol¡¯ Four was not an option as well.

    She was fortunate that the Fragrance Wilderness was a territory right beside Light Saint City. She would be able to reach Kodo Forest, the map containing Light Saint City, like this.

    The stealth ability of the Hunters was inferior to that of Rogues. In a ce packed with hostile yers, Ye Ci was determined to resort to violence only when the situation was dire. Besides, spending time in a fight against Western Continent yers would mean that she would be away from the Eastern Continent for a longer period of time. She knew that it would take 10 days for the Mithril ore vein to bepletely discovered, and the new patch would be released in 30 days. With the impending arrival of Golden Era, Ye Ci had no time to waste.

    This was why Ye Ci avoided the main road even when it meant that she would run into a lot of monsters. She traversed through the edge of the map in stealth, heading slowly to the Kodo Forest, avoiding yers along the way.

    She was finally able to reach the border between the Fragrance Wilderness and Kodo Forest after a few hours. The two maps were connected by a sturdy stone bridge built over a calm river. Flowers and grass grew at the riverbank, giving off an air of peace and tranquility. After all, with a main city in the vicinity, the area would be heavily patrolled by high leveled NPCs. It was indeed a safe zone.

    However, the peaceful setting was still dangerous for Ye Ci. The wide stone bridge that could amodate four carriages was heavily guarded. A patrol would be stationed every few meters.If Ye Ci was not careful, she risked attracting the attention of hundreds of lvl 65 Elite Soldiers. This would certainly spell disaster.

    The guards were 5 levels above Ye Ci, which meant that they could easily spot Ye Ci through her stealth due to level penalty.

    It seemed that it was impossible to cross over to Kodo Forest through the bridge.

    Her only option was to travel under the bridge.

    There was a river under the bridge, and jumping into it meant that Ye Ci had to swim across while disabling her stealth. However, there was a problem: there were soldiers patrolling the banks as well as yers who were leveling up in the vicinity. Ye Ci would attract a lot of attention the moment her character was revealed.

    Ye Ci hid in a bush at the side of the bridge as she assessed the situation. There was nothing she could do but to use her Brooch of Deceit. The brooch could disguise her as a yer from an opposing continent, but only for 30 minutes a day. Even then, soldiers in any main city could still see through her disguise.

    She had nned to use the precious 30 minutes to buy supplies in small towns, but this was no longer possible. She had to cross the bridge with the help of her Brooch of Deceit.

    With the decision made, Ye Ci disguised herself as a Human Rogue and walked out of the bush. Her action did not arouse any suspicion ¨C it wasmon for a stealthy ss like Rogues to be sneaking around. She then summoned her little red horse and galloped across the bridge. Despite the horse¡¯s considerably slower movement speedpared to Ol¡¯ Four, traveling with a steed was still faster than going by foot.

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart clenched as she crossed the bridge.

    It was true that the Brooch of Deceit had managed to trick the eyes of NPCs in the past, but this was the first time the brooch was used against NPCs from an opposing faction. Ye Ci forced herself to appear calm as she rode past the soldiers posted on the bridge.

    To Ye Ci¡¯s relief, the Boorch of Deceit worked. She was able to ride unscathed across the bridge, with the sentries remaining oblivious to the fact that there was an Eastern Continent yer in their midst.

    ¡°You have discovered the Arc Bridge.¡±

    ¡°You have discovered the Kodo Forest.¡±

    As she galloped away to her destination, Ye Ci received more and more notifications from the system about her discovery of locations in the Western Continent. yers would receive a high amount of experience points for exploring maps in an opposing continent, and might even earn a lot of gold coins and honor points if they discovered a map near a main city. As long as one was confident in his or her ability to survive in a hostile continent, the person could easily level up just by discovering the different locations in the continent.

    Ye Ci decided against heading to the direction of Light Saint City, as the guards could easily see through her disguise. She opened the map, and headed straight to the Bloody Wilderness. After all, there was only a timeframe of 30 minutes, and she was determined to put the time to good use.

    The yer poption in the Kodo Forest was higher and denser than the yer poption of the Fragrance Wilderness. The sea of red yers was an awe-inspiring sight even for Ye Ci.

    The road to the Bloody Wilderness was adjacent to the Bloody Wilderness, and was full of high-leveled monsters. yers would usually form up in parties and take up positions at spawn points, waiting for monsters to respawn. Ye Ci could still remember the terrain during one of her multiple visits to the ce in her past life, and her knowledge enabled her to navigate the road with ease.

    The atmosphere in the map was entirely different from sunny setting of the map containing Light Saint City. Everything became dimmer and gloomier the moment Ye Ci arrived at the road.

    ¡°You have discovered Putrid Trail.¡± the system notification rang out in Ye Ci¡¯s ears.

    Wilted and dead trees lined up on both sides of the tiny trail, and corpses could be seen dangling from the trees. Ghouls would then appear beneath the trees, climbing up the trunk to feast on the corpses. The map was a sharp contrast to the Light Saint City in the adjacent map.

    yers who were new to Fate would definitely be intimidated by the horrors in some of the more scary maps in the game. But as they gained experience while ying the game, they became bolder and bolder. Ye Ci could even see female yers standing up against the ghouls calmly and picking up loots from their in enemies.

    After an entire year of experiencing what Fate had to offer, the yers were already used to such gruesome scenes.

    The monsters in Putrid Trial had a fast respawn time, and offered a high experience reward. Even when yers receive less experience points as they partied up, the quick respawn timer of monsters made up with sheer quantity. This was why the Putrid Trail was full of 5-man parties.

    Members from these parties would then chase away any yers who approached their spot.

    When Ye Ci entered the Putrid Trail, she received messages from the Western Continent yers, ¡°This spot¡¯s taken, please go somewhere else.¡±

    ¡°Make way please, make way please. We¡¯re not responsible for any idents.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve taken this spot. If you wish to level up, please go somewhere else.¡±

    ......

    Ye Ci received multiple messages, as she went down the trail. In the face of benefits, the friendship between yers from the same continent was tossed aside. Ye Ci ignored the yers and galloped onwards, hoping to put some distance between herself and the Western Continent yers. She only had 3 minutes left on her Brooch of Deceit.

    The yers in the Putrid Trail were packed too densely together. If her disguise ran out at that moment, she would face certain death.

    ¡°Eh? Is that Rogue heading to the Bloody Wilderness?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me! He¡¯s heading to the Bloody Wilderness alone? Does he have a death wish?¡±

    ¡°What if he¡¯s rich, and is loaded with stacks of Health Potions?¡±

    ¡°Pfffttt... Does he really think that he¡¯s that good? That ce is not for normal yers like you and me.¡±

    ......

    The Western Continent yers began their separate conversations as they stared at Ye Ci. After all, the dangers in the Bloody Wilderness is on an entirely different levelpared to the Putrid Trail. Not many were willing to venture into the map alone like Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci ignored thements from the yers around her, and galloped on to the Bloody Wilderness.

    There was 50 seconds left on the effect of the Brooch of Deceit, but the Bloody Wilderness was right in front of Ye Ci. Even the blood red sky of the map was already within sight.

    Time was short, but Ye Ci¡¯s little red horse could not move any faster. She even began to regret her decision of not getting a better steed. Then again, she had never thought of the day when she would not be able to depend on Ol¡¯ Four...

    She was still a short distance away from the Bloody Wilderness, but had only 37 seconds on her timer.

    It should be enough. There¡¯s no yer in this part of the map. Even if I run out of time, nobody will see me.

    12 seconds left on the timer, and Ye Ci had only thest few yards to cross before she was safely in the Bloody Wilderness. It was a nerve-wracking experience forher. I hope nobody is passing by... I hope nobody is passing by... I hope nobody is passing by... A battle between her and a Western Continent yer would definitely attract the attention of the yers nearby.

    Just then, a yer on a unicorn appeared before Ye Ci, galloping in her direction at high speed. Ye Ci could feel her heart in her mouth when she spotted the yer¡¯s face.

    What¡¯s with this luck? Why am I running into him in a ce like this?

    Ye Ci knew that she might run into the person when she was in the Western Continent. Then again, who would have thought that she would actually run into him in this particr ce? After all... The Western Continent was arge continent.

    Fate, however, had other ideas. Ye Ci¡¯s luck was indeed bad on this day. Everything that could go wrong went wrong today. If the yer had been any other person, she might have had a chance of victory. Ye Ci could feel the sky darkening all around her.

    F*ck it! What¡¯s with this dogshit luck?

    That¡¯s right. That person was Fleeting Time.

    Despite being at max level, Fleeting Time would still visit the Bloody Wilderness from time to time for the Critical Gem dropped by monsters in that map. With his inventory full of gems, his arrows almost depleted, and food for Little Five running out, Fleeting Time decided to head back to Light Saint City for supplies.

    As a yer who had been frequenting the Bloody Wilderness, Fleeting Time would of course know all the safe routes in the map. He summoned his unicorn, and began galloping towards the direction of Light Saint City.

    It was a bountiful day for Fleeting Time. He was able to loot four Critical Gems and a wless Strength Gem. He even had a chance to merge the Critical Gems into a wless Critical Gem in the city. The thought of having a wless Critical Gem socketed in his bow sent joy into Fleeting Time¡¯s heart.

    Before long, Putrid Trail was already within sight of Fleeting Time. As he gazed at the trail from the Bloody Wilderness, Fleeting Time could see the grim forests at both sides of the trail. He hated the Putrid Trail. To him, the ce was dark and smelly. He was, however, impressed by the tenacity of the yers who would spend days leveling up in the map, braving the stench of rot as they waited patiently for monsters to spawn. They were indeed.... Impressive.

    As he entered the Putrid Trail, Fleeting Time spotted a male Rogue with mediocre equipment and a low quality heading in the opposite direction.

    He was alone.

    Is he heading into the Bloody Wilderness alone?

    Well, he¡¯s a Rogue. He just might be able to pull it off if he has good mechanical skills. Despite the rtively low number of solo yers in the Bloody Wilderness, there was still approximately 60 of them in the area. They had their own spots in the map, and Fleeting Time could recognize many of them on sight. However, the Rogue was apletely new face.

    Fleeting Time dismissed him as just another Western Continent yer. After all, every yer had their own ystyle. Even if the Rogue was just looking for excitement, he had no right to stop him.

    Besides, what he did had nothing to do with Fleeting Time.

    As a person who hated to meddle in somebody else¡¯s business, Fleeting Time did not pay much heed to the Rogue. He brushed past the Rogue on his unicorn.

    But... Just at that brief moment, something caught the eyes of Fleeting Time...

 Chapter 231 Is That Possible?

    Chapter 231 Is That Possible?

    The Hunter ss was a unique ss in Fate. they were the scouts of a party in the absence of a Rogue. They were also a ss that could go on the offensive, but could perform well when they were on the defence. This was why Hunters could always be seen leveling up solo. A good Hunter would always have an acute sense to his or her surrounding.

    Being observant was the basic quality of any Hunter. A Hunter must also find clues from the most trivial of details. A good Hunter like Fleeting Time would always take note of his surroundings. Such practice was like a second nature to him.

    The things present in a certain location, the behavior of certain yers or NPCs... He noted them down without making a conscious effort. It was very tiring, but you would never know when it would bring you an unexpected surprise.

    As Fleeting Time brushed past the Rogue, he caught a glimpse of the seemingly unremarkable ornament on his chest.

    What a familiar sight...

    It was a brooch. A crude, in-looking brooch. It was a brooch with a verymon outlook, just like the ones that were verymon among yers. But Fleeting Time had a nudging feeling that he had seen that particr brooch before. But where?

    He could not remember at all.

    Fleeting Time cast a backwards nce, but the Rogue was no longer in sight. Strong winds blew as Fleeting Time continued on his journey back to Light Saint City, the split second when he saw the brooch lingered in his mind.

    How long is a split of a second?

    There was once such verse in the Mahabharata: A ksana[1] is but a moment of thought, and 20 ksana makes a shun, while 20 shun is as quick as a tanzhi, and a luodingsts 20 times longer, 20 luoding makes a xuyu, and there are 30 xuyu in a day.

    One can easily deduce how fast a split of a second was.

    1 day = 24 hours = 86400 seconds

    30 xuyu = 1 day, which means that 1 xuyu = 86400/30 = 2880 seconds.

    A luoding = 2880/20 = 144 seconds

    A tanzhi = 144/20 = 7.2 seconds

    Then a ksana = 7.2/20 = 0.36 second

    We can conclude that a ksana, which is a split of a second, is about the length of 0.018 second.

    How long is 0.018 second? It might not even be enough for a person to blink his or her eye. What can one do with that amount of time? Nobody would ever know the answer to the question. One thing, however, was certain: Fleeting Time and Ye Ci brushed past each other in the split of a second.

    Ye Ci could feel the beating of her heart stop as she held her breath. That brief encounter was like a silent eternity for Ye Ci. She stared ahead at the direction of the Bloody Wilderness, not daring to look back.

    Lush green bushes grew on the sides of the narrow past connecting the Putrid Trail to the Bloody Wilderness. A person can easily hide in one of the bushes without risking detection. Ye Ci jumped down from her horse and rolled behind one of the shrubs. Her little red horse, which is a normal steed, disappeared once she dismounted.

    In the blink of an eye, Ye Ci and her little red horse disappeared from the Bloody Wilderness.

    Ye Ci immediately activated stealth when she was hidden safely behind the bush. It was harder for hostile to detect Ye Ci when she was in stealth due to the talent points she invested into the skill. Despite her rtive safety, Ye Ci remained cautious. The person that brushed past her in that brief encounter was Fleeting Time, a yer that she must not underestimate. If she was not careful, he would be able to detect her easily.

    Ye Ci hid behind the low bushes, listening to the wind that brushed past her head, and her ears. Time was also passing by, apanying the billowing wind.

    When Ye Ci was in stealth, she would not be spotted by any Western Continent yers, this meant that she could remain in stealth indefinitely as long as her character was not revealed. However, Ye Ci was a Huntress, which was inferior to the Rogue ss when it came to stealthiness. Even with her Empowered Stealth, she might still be detected by a high level Rogue.

    Fleeting Time was indeed her deadliest rival in the Western Continent, but he was not the only top-tier yer in the Western Continent. The situation was the same in the Eastern Continent. Even when Ye Ci was crowned as the top yer in the Eastern Continent, she was not the only top-tier yer in her home continent.

    She waited patiently in the bush.

    Ye Ci had thought that her experience of waiting for sunset in the Southern Continent was the longest moment in her life. She was wrong. As she stared at the timer in the bush, every minute felt like a year. She let out a sigh of relief after 5 full minutes.

    She had been studying her surroundings as she hid. However, there was nothing other than the billowing winds in the Bloody Wilderness. There was not a single yer around.

    Of course, Fleeting Time did not appear as well.

    Perhaps he did not notice my presence. After all, the Brooch of Deceit was an overpowered piece of equipment. Only Wang Jiangnan and myself knew about its existence. Even a top-tier yer like Fleeting Time is unaware of the effects of the Brooch of Deceit.

    Ye Ci concluded that it was impossible for Fleeting Time to detect her presence after making a brief analysis. She slowly crept out of the bush, and pulled out the Goblin Compass to determine the location of Vo¡¯sok.

    Vo¡¯sok was once the home to the Goblins. It was then invaded by the Bloodthirsty Undead and Corrupted Orcs after the war between Naga and the Gods. Vo¡¯sok was since removed from existence from any known maps across all realms.

    Thepass, that would lead her to DeFrei, was given to her by Orthus. ording to Orthus, thepass would only work when Ye Ci entered Vo¡¯sok¡¯s boundaries, and ording to her quest details, she would be able to locate Vo¡¯sok in the Bloody Wilderness.

    ording to Ye Ci¡¯s unexplored map, the Bloody Wilderness is a vast and dangerous ce. Even Ye Ci herself was unsure if she could traverse through the map and locate Vo¡¯sok safely. Her safest bet was to quickly determine the direction and general location of Vo¡¯sok so that she would not waste unwanted time and resources in exploring the unknown map.

    The Goblin Compass, however, had other ideas. As Ye Ci held thepass in her hands, its needle spun wildly.

    It seemed that it was impossible to locate the location of Vo¡¯sok by using the Goblin Compass.

    Ye Ci let out a sigh. The Epic-tier quest was indeed a tough nut to crack. She then put away thepass, and began advancing in a random direction.

    The scenery of the Bloody Wilderness was not as terrifying as its name suggested. Lush green nts and mold covered the ground, while some asional small bush and shrubs can be seen scattered throughout thend. The only thing that could be rted to blood was the skies at the Bloody Wilderness.

    The sky was always painted in a shade of red any time of the day, and any day of the year. It would even remain red throughout the four seasons and different weathers. That was probably how the map got its name.

    No normal monsters existed in the Bloody Wilderness. The map was inhabited by lvl60 Elite monsters that possessed high levels of intelligence, and huge amount of HP and defence. Ye Ci could only take two of such monsters at the same time. She would be forced to retreat if more of them appeared during the battle.

    Of course, the Elite monsters were not the only beings that roamed the map. There was also a big poption of leveling fanatics of the Western Continent that were scattered across the map individually or in small groups.

    Ye Ci¡¯s progress of exploring the map was hindered by such limitations. She would pick of the asional isted monster that she encountered. If the monsters came in pairs, she would then survey her surrounding for any hostile yers before engaging them inbat. If the two conditions were not met, she would then avoid the monsters.

    Theck of the means to resupply in hostile territory was a huge factor that affected Ye Ci¡¯s strategy. She could not afford to engage Western Continent yers in a battle. Besides, her main aim was to discover the location of Vo¡¯sok. She would have difficulties in exploring Vo¡¯sok if she expended too much of her arrows and consumables on hostile yers and monsters. Wasn¡¯t it an act of wasting her time?

    And time was something that Ye Ci could not afford to waste.

    With her movement speed halved as she moved in stealth, and some of the time she spent on killing the monsters in the Bloody Wilderness, six hours had passed when hunger began assaulting Ye Ci¡¯s senses. She hid herself in a bush and logged off from the game after ying a Bloodthirsty Undead.

    Ye Ci informed her parents about her important quest after her lunch, and that she would not be logging off from the game for dinner. Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian who were already veterans of the game knew that yers could not log out of the game in certain special quests. They connected two bottles of nutrient fluid to Ye Ci¡¯s gaming cabin and continuously to go offline during intervals of her quest.

    Ye Ci then log back into the game after a quick shower. Even she did not know how long she couldst after going online, just like how she did not know when she wouldplete her business in the Western Continent. For the sake of saving time, Ye Ci chose to remain online as long as possible.

    A sea of leaves appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s view. She could remember clearly that she hid her character in a bush before going offline. Despite her stealthed status before logging off, the stealth was remove the moment she went online.

    Ye Ci immediately entered stealth and studied her surroundings. She then crept slowly out of the bush after making sure that there were no hostile yers around.

    Dark clouds hung on the sky, and thunder rumbled in the distant apanied by shing lightning.

    It¡¯s about to rain.

    This is certainly not good.

    As a game with 100% realism, the change in weather in Fate in amon sight. yers activity and status would also affected by the weather. Sunny and Cloudy days were the mostmon weather in Fate, and would not affect the yers in any way. However, the same could not be said for other weather that urred on random intervals.

    Rain would reduce the visibility of yers, and would soak their clothes wet. Characters that were equipped with armor were mostly unaffected by the rain, but the movements of yers in cloth armor would be greatly affected. This would affect their ability to perform maneuvers and cast spells.

    A windy day would spell bad luck for ranged sses and the wind would affect the range and uracy of their attacks. yers would need to constantly adjust their aim ording to the speed and direction of the wind.

    Heavily armored characters would face misfortune areas during the winter. As their characters that were encased in metal armor would freeze to death and their movements would be limited due to the frost. Even the consumption of anti-frost potions could notpletely remove such a debuff. yers affected by the cold weather would have reduced carry limit, movement speed, and attack speed.

    This was the difference between Fate and its VRMMORPG counterparts, and this was why the experts that migrated into Fate spent a long time to adapt to the game¡¯s weather system.

    It¡¯s definitely going to rain.

    Rain would turn soil into mud, which was bad news for Ye Ci who was already in stealth. Treading on mud meant that she would be leaving her footprints behind. With the rain limiting her visual ranged, she had to be very careful.

    Sometimes, things just don¡¯t work out the way they should be.

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    [1] This entire passage here appears to be taken from some Buddhist/Hindu scriptures which I have literally 0 knowledge of, and I tried really hard to find the English trantion of it but I can¡¯t. So I¡¯ll just have to make do with pinyin until Ie across correct and urate information in the future. I¡¯m really sorry about this

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath, before the rain falls, she then called out her minimap, and continued advancing towards the unexplored parts of the Bloody Wilderness. I hope that I can locate Vo¡¯sok before the rain falls.

    The sky grew darker and darker, and the bright red sky turned into a darker shade of red. The dark red sky made Ye Ci restless. As she listened to the distant thunder and stared into the dark red sky, she felt as if there were furious cats trying to w their way out of her heart.

    She would asionally pull the Goblin Compass out from her pocket, but thepass refused to reveal the location of Vo¡¯sok.

    ¡°Huff...¡± Ye Ci was exhausted. She studied her surroundings carefully, and found a fallen tree. She walked up to the tree and sat leaning on its trunk.. She had to replenish her strength by consuming food, and it was something that she had been doing since her arrival. After all, stealth was an ability that drained her Stamina even faster than running. That was why she was forced to take stops and consume some food to maintain her ability to remain in stealth.

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart sank as she saw the rain cloud in the sky.

    Fleeting Time was standing in the workshop in Light Saint City, which was one of the busiest ce in the entire Western Continent.

    With the increase in average yer level and the appearance of better equipment and gems, business was good for the workshop. Different gems in Fate would offer additional buffs such as Strength, Agility, Critical Rate, Health, and Speed to yers.

    The quality of gems were divided into several different grades: Shattered, Cracked, Complete, wed, wless, and Perfect.

    A yer could then hire an NPC to merge nine inferior quality gems into a gem of higher quality, with a 100% sess rate but a very high price to ce. Despite the cost, the workshop was still full of customers. After all, there were limited gem slots in an equipment, and it would be logical to enhance an equipment with the highest quality gems.

    The drop rate of inferior gems were rtively high. They could be dropped by themon mobs in any dungeons, and any monsters that were above the level of 30. The gems with superior quality, however, would only be dropped by Elites and higher tier monsters with a very low drop rate.

    Fleeting Time was able to gain three higher quality gems by consuming a bottle of Balm of Blessings. He would be lucky to walk off with a single piece of wed Gem without the balm.

    The three NPCs in the workshop were swarmed by hundreds of yers. Even a yer with high Strength would have trouble shoving his or her way to the NPC.

    Even if Fleeting Time was famous in the Western Continent, the gem merging NPCs operated under a firste-first serve basis, which meant that he was also required to force his way to the NPC. He would usually be able to squeeze his way through the crowd with his high Agility, but he was distracted by a certain brooch that he saw on a certain Rogue earlier on.

    ¡°Where are you now?¡± Fleeting Time received a message from Absalom as he was deep in thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m at the gem merging workshop.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been there for an hour! Do you really have that many gems?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still queueing up. There¡¯s a lot of people, you know?¡± Fleeting Time was distressed when his train of thoughts was distracted by Absalom. The answer was just at the tips of his finger.

    ¡°Queueing up? As a Hunter? Is your high level of Agility for show?¡± Absalom expressed his disdain at Fleeting Time, ¡°By the way, my wife has a question for you. Are youing back on New Year this time?¡±

    Fleeting Time was momentarily stunned. Why would Absalom¡¯s wife even bother with something like that? There must be something going on.

    ¡°Don¡¯t beat around the bush.¡±

    ¡°Hehe... You know what I¡¯m trying to say... That... Person...¡± it was apparent that Absalom was forced to ask such a question by his wife, and that he was troubled by the topic.

    ¡°She¡¯s not married yet?¡± the impatience was clear in Fleeting Time¡¯s voice. He hated it when people just refused to get straight to the point.

    ¡°She has liked you for so many years! Why can¡¯t you just reciprocate her feelings? It¡¯s not easy for a girl to like you and only you for so many years. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re hurting her?¡± Absalom sighed. He had expected such a response from Fleeting Time.

    ¡°So if a pig had feelings for you, and has liked you for 10 years, are you going to respond to that pig¡¯s feelings?¡± Fleeting Time snorted.

    ¡°Hey! She¡¯s not a pig, alright? She¡¯s a beautiful youngdy! Fleeting Time, even if you¡¯re a jackass most of the time, can¡¯t you just have some propriety in your speech?¡± after all, the girl was a good friend of Absalom¡¯s wife, ¡°Even if you refuse to even acknowledge her presence in the game, can you at least be more courteous in real life? She¡¯s a good friend of my wife, please don¡¯t make this awkward for us.¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m not interested in her, then she¡¯s no different from a pig to me.¡± engaging in a conversation that he held no interest in was a waste of time for Fleeting Time, ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something I want to ask?¡± and he began to steer the conversation away.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Absalom was thinking of ways to safely ry Fleeting Time¡¯s decision to his wife. How troublesome. Women are so troublesome.

    ¡°There¡¯s probably not a lot of yers who would wear a brooch, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°What do you think of this brooch?¡± Fleeting Time began describing the brooch he saw on the Rogue.

    ¡°How the hell would I know? You should go talk to my wife if it¡¯s about jewelleries.¡± to a person like Absalom, a brooch was just a brooch no matter how well Fleeting Time described it. He was not interested in jewelleries, and would naturally not be able to help Fleeting Time out in this situation.

    Fleeting Time immediately disconnected from his chat with Absalom. He was a person who would not waste a single word on someone who was useless to him.

    Absalom¡¯s expression darkened when Fleeting Time disconnected the call. What the heck? You hung up on me just because I can¡¯t be of use to you? He then turned to face a Sorceress in fiery red robes after a moment of silence and scratched his head.

    ¡°So how did it go? Is heing back in the New Year?¡± the Sorceress, Sour Apple, who was also Absalom¡¯s wife was staring at him expectantly. The glitter in her eyes exerted immeasurable amounts of pressure on ABsalom.

    ¡°Honey, it¡¯s September, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s too early for that?¡± said Absalom after a long moment of silence.

    Sour Apple red at her husband and pursed her lips, ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s early? New Year is very close now. We can already start the preparations for...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay Apple, you don¡¯t have to do this for me.¡± said a Cleric in white robes who were standing behind Sour Apple. She was White Fairytale. Her heart was devoid of any feelings as she heard Absalom¡¯s words. Am I hurting? Perhaps. But I¡¯ve already grown numb at this point.

    White Fairytale was friends with Fleeting Time, Absalom, and Sour Apple since junior high school. She began developing feelings for Fleeting Time the first time she met the boy who seemed to not care about anything around him. She dismissed her feelings at first as some fancy thoughts. But as she grew older, her feelings for Fleeting Time grew as well. She would always imagine herself bing a couple with Fleeting Time just like how Absalom and Sour Apple fell in love with each other.

    However, Fleeting Time began treating her coldly when he learned of her feelings for him. At that time, Sour Apple told her that Fleeting Time was just too shy , and would begin to ept her feelings when as time passes, but they have only grown more and more distant over the years. He would never reciprocate her feelings, and would only treat her as his former high school ssmate.

    From the cold looks Fleeting Time would cast her way, White Fairytale knew that, deep down, Fleeting Time might not even be willing to acknowledge the fact that they even knew each other.

    She would always think to herself: Maybe... I¡¯ll continue loving him forever. Even to the day he was married, and to the day I ended up with a husband, I will still love him. Pain gripped her heart whenever the thought surfaced in her mind. She could not even breath as she thought of such a future.

    Of course, Sour Apple and Absalom knew about the thoughts of White Fairytale, and they tried their best to y matchmaker for her, but to no avail. Their efforts were ignored by Fleeting Time every single time, and Sour Apple could only vent her frustrations on Absalom.

    When Sour Apple heard that Fleeting Time was interested in ying Fate, she tried once again to y matchmaker in the game. She was able to discreetly find out that Fleeting Time would be ying as a Warrior, and immediately made the suggestion for White Fairytale to be ying as a Cleric as the two sses would always work closely together in the game. Just as Sour Apple thought that she would have her way, she found out that Fleeting Time chose the Hunter ss instead. She almost coughed up blood when she received the news.

    She would never forget that day when she confronted Fleeting Time, ¡°I like it.¡± was the answer Fleeting Time offered as he chuckled at her.

    Sour Apple almost passed out due to anger after hearing the three words. That man was hiding the truth from her from the beginning. She learned an important lesson on that day: She would never be able to outsmart Fleeting Time, who was as sly as a fox. This was how Absalom ended up as a middle man between both sides.

    ¡°What do you mean? Isn¡¯t it great if hees back? We can all go out and have some fun!¡± Sour Apple winked at White Fairytale.

    A sorrowful smile appeared on White Fairytale¡¯s face. She had conflicting feelings in her heart. She was giving up on salvaging her rtionship with Fleeting Time, but Sour Apple¡¯s attempts at ying matchmaker were igniting little sparks of hope in her.

    She did not utter a single word after listening to Sour Apple¡¯s words. It was apparent that she was looking forward to such an chance.

    Absalom was powerless in this situation. He knew of the temperament Fleeting Time. He also knew that White Fairytale had no chance with Fleeting Time, and that her obsession with him would only hurt herself.

    ¡°By the way, we¡¯re heading into a dungeon today. I¡¯ll assign you into his party. You can be his personal healer.¡± said Sour Apple with a smile.

    White Fairytale¡¯s expression darkened. There was a secret that even Sour Apple was unaware else. Due to the high standards imposed on the healers in Genesis, the Clerics of the guild were forced to learn to prioritize their healing targets to avoid an overheal. White Fairytale had always been assigned to the same party with Fleeting Time, but she did not even have the chance to heal him up. The reason was simple: Fleeting Time refused to give her the chance. He was always trying his best to avoid even a single point of damage.

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll get in touch with youter tonight, there¡¯s something I need to sell at the auction house...¡± White Fairytale turned around and left.

    Absalom could no longer hold himself back as he stared at the lonely girl, ¡°Fairytale!¡±

    White Fairtytale stopped dead in her tracks, and turned around to face Absalom.

    ¡°Truth to be told... Fleeting Time is an asshole. What¡¯s so good about him? There¡¯s so many good people in our guild! Just tell me who you like...Aiya!¡± Sour Apple hit Absalom on his head before he could finish his sentence.

    White Fairytale grimaced at Absalom¡¯s unspoken words and left.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sour Apple red at Absalom, ¡°Can¡¯t you see how sad she is? How could you say something like that?¡±

    ¡°Honey, don¡¯t you think that your act of giving her hope just to see it crushed by Fleeting Time is the most cruel act?¡± Absalom sighed.

    Sour Apple knew that her husband was correct, ¡°I know! But.. If you can see how much she loves Fleeting Time, you will definitely be moved to help her out.¡±

    A person¡¯s name appeared in Absalom¡¯s mind. He could still remember the intense and intimidating aura of that person. She was just like Fleeting Time. Is he serious about her? Or is it all just game to him?

    ¡°Just stop trying to y the matchmaker for those two. It¡¯s meaningless.¡± said Absalom. He could still remember the high spirits of Fleeting Time when he talked about the girl.

    Just where have I seen that damn thing?

    Fleeting Time crossed his arms against his chest and drummed his fingers on his arms after handing his gems to the NPC. He lifted his head, and saw an Elven Huntress walking on the streets. A sudden thought shed across his mind.

    He could finally remember where he had seen the brooch!

    It was pinned in front of Gongzi You¡¯s chest!

    He paid no heed to the brooch when he first seen it during his first battle against Gongzi You in the Dragon Dance Competition. That was why he could not immediately make the connection when he saw the same brooch on the Rogue¡¯s chest.

    Come to think of it... Gongzi You has been equipping that brooch for a long time. She had never taken the brooch down for nearly 10 months. The brooch was so in that a person would not notice its presence when he or she was not paying attention. Even the people who were close to Gongzi You would not notice the brooch.

    A brooch that was used and was not reced for 10 months by Gongzi You must be very special. Why would something so special appear on a random Rogue? Did he acquire it by sheer dumb luck?

    Or... Could it be that...

    Fleeting Time could not bring himself to believe that conclusion that he had reached in his mind.

    Is that possible? Is that even possible?

    Is it possible for a person to venture into a hostile continent alone? That person had even managed to reach the Bloody Wilderness, which is adjacent to the Light Saint City!

    It actually is possible...

    As long as the person is Gongzi You, nothing is impossible!

 Chapter 232 Ambition

    Chapter 232 Ambition

    F*ck! Just what the heck is this weather?

    Ye Ci inched closer to the fallen tree in an attempt to find cover from the rain.

    The rain was bad news for Ye Ci. She had been expecting rain ever since the dark clouds, shes of lightning and the rumbling of thunder appeared. She waited and waited for the rain to fall, and it did at the worst possible moment. The rain fell just as she was exhausted and was about to consume some food to restore her Stamina.

    Even when the rain would not affect a high level Hunter, it would still cause difort to Ye Ci. Her vision would also be affected by the rain sshing on her face.

    The Western Continent yers had long since vacated the Bloody Wilderness due to the rain. Unlike the yers, monsters were not affected by the weather, and this was a disadvantage that the yers would want to avoid.

    Silence enveloped the Bloody Wilderness. The only source of noise was the gurgling of rain and the asional rumbling thunder.

    Ye Ci wiped the water away from her face. She was depressed. F*ck this! Why does it have to rain at a time like this? Her bread was soaked due to the rain, and she was forced to consumed thest of her roasted chicken as an alternative.

    She was able to recover her Stamina, but she was also drenched from head to toe by the rain. Her rain-slickened silvery hair was clinging to her throat, and her entire body was dripping with water. She looked no different from a drowned rat.

    yers would not catch a cold in Fate, but the weather could still affect their Stamina. Ye Ci was almost out of food, and her Stamina would be drained away with her continuous exposure to the rain. After a brief moment of hesitation, Ye Ci decided to search for a new hiding spot.

    After all, the Bloody Wilderness is a big ce. There was no way she would be detected by hostile yers as most of the yers had either left the map or were already seeking shelter.

    Ye Ci wasted no time in entering stealth as she made her way to the opening of a cave. It was an area that she had scouted out before stopping for a meal. The ce was well-hidden, and was devoid of yers and monsters alike. It was the best hiding spot she had in mind.

    Before she could make her few final steps to safety, her long pointed ears twitched, and she dodged out of reflex. And object then whistled past her ears.

    It was an arrow.

    As a Huntress, she was very sensitive to the sounds of arrows. Despite the heavy rain, Ye Ci was able to hear the iing arrow. With a quick motion, she was able to avoid the arrow as it flew past her throat harmlessly.

    The arrow buried itself onto the ground not far from her. The feathers at the base of the arrow was still quivering with the force of the impact. Ye Ci shifted her gaze to the direction where the arrow was fired, and saw a silhouette with a bow in his hands.

    She narrowed her eyes. That person was someone that she would recognise even when he was turned into ash.

    Fleeting Time immediately headed to the Bloody Wilderness from Light Saint City for the sake of confirming his suspicions. If that person was really Gongzi You... For her to travel to the hintends of the Western Continent all the way from the Eastern Continent... Whatever she¡¯s up to, it must be very important.

    He was very certain with his assumption. It must be something that could benefit Gongzi You greatly. It might even be an Epic-tier quest! mused Fleeting Time, there¡¯s no way she¡¯de here if it¡¯s not for an Epic-tier quest.

    After all, he would definitely do the same thing for an Epic-tier quest, even if he had to venture into Eastern Continent¡¯s Champion Continent.

    An Epic-tier quest was not something that could be easily encountered.

    An Eastern Continent yer would not be able to see the details of a map in the Western Continent. The yer must explore the area before details would begin to appear on his or her map. Fleeting Time was certain that Gongzi You had never been to the Western Continent, and her first course of action in the Bloody Wilderness was to explore the map.

    The Bloody Wilderness was a huge map. Despite itsck of dungeons, the map was popted by arge number of lvl60 Elite Monsters with absurd amounts of attack, defence and HP. They were not something that an average yer could handle. This was why the poption of yers in the Bloody Wilderness was rtively small. The total number of solo and partied yers were less than 200. Even when these yers were spread out all over the map, they were still a threat to yers from a hostile continent.

    Fleeting Time had confidence in Gongzi You¡¯s ability in handling herself in a PVPbat. With that annoying dinosaurs of hers, she could easily defeat any Western Continent yer she encountered in the Bloody Wilderness. The humanoid monsters in the map would not even pose a challenge to Gongzi You.

    However... thought Fleeting Time to himself, Gongz You would definitely explore the map cautiously, and avoid any conflict as she won¡¯t be able to resupply herself in the Western Continent. He did not know of Gongzi You¡¯s entry point to the Western Continent, but he was certain that she would be low on supplies due to her long journey to the Bloody Wilderness. With the quest she must aplish, she would definitely not engage anyone in battle. She would definitely traverse the map in stealth and avoid yers along the way.

    But... Things will definitely take a turn if Gongzi You was able toplete her quest. There was no way she would deny herself the chance to earn some Kill Glory in the Bloody Wilderness. This was why Fleeting Time came to the conclusion that Gongzi You was still exploring the Bloody Wilderness. The only thing in Fleeting Time¡¯s mind at that moment was to head to the Bloody Wilderness and seek her out.

    He was sure that he would have done what Gongzi You was doing under the same circumstances.

    In times, top-tier yers would actually share simr ways of thinking..

    However, the level of uncertainty was still too high for Fleeting Time. When he saw Gongzi You in the Putrid Trail, she had the appearance of a Western Continent male Rogue. This meant that she had an item that could allow her to disguise herself. Does it have a time limit? If it does not, then I¡¯ll be wrong.

    Despite his doubts, Fleeting Time was determined to cling on to the tiniest clue that would allow her to locate Gongzi You.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s unicorn was restless when he entered the Bloody Wilderness. Unicorns were sacred beasts living in a pure forest, and were very sensitive to the scent of evil beings. A unicorn would naturally be restless in a ce full of evil aura.

    Fleeting Time stroked the mane of his unicorn in an attempt to calm its nerves. The beast, reassured by the presence of its master, lifted its head and let out a long neigh.

    ¡°So where is she headed...¡± Fleeting Time gazed into the distance as he stood at the opening of the crevice. He seemed lost in the vast, borderless map. After a moment of thought, Fleeting Time decided to activate his skill, Humanoid Tracking, and headed into a random direction.

    Using Humanoid Tracking in such a situation was not the most ideal solution. After all, the Bloody Wilderness was full of humanoid monsters, and yers from hostile continents were ssified as humanoid opponents as well. To locate Gongzi You who would definitely be in stealth in the midst of a sea of humanoid monsters was like finding a needle in a haystack.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s search turned out to be fruitless after searching far and wide for Gongzi You. he would asionally stumble upon the corpses of some humanoid monsters which were far away from any spawn points, in an area that was devoid of yers. As he approached the corpse of a humanoid monster, Fleeting Time could see that the wounds on the corpses were caused by arrows. Even if theck of wounds left by a pet could be an indicator that it was the handiwork of a Ranger, Fleeting Time was certain that the monsters were in by Gongzi You.

    The wounds suffered by the monsters were all centered around their weak spot, and Fleeting Time had never seen a single Ranger in the Western Continent who could hit their targets with such precision. This was definitely the handiwork of a Hunter. A Hunter who did not summon her pet inbat. It could only be Gongzi You! After all, her pet dinosaur would definitely attract the attention of yers nearby.

    There was no signs of footstep anywhere near the corpses. It was apparent that Gongzi You was extremely careful in avoiding detection.

    It also meant that effect of the the item that allowed her to disguise herself as a Western Continent had a time limit, and that the time limit for her disguise was already up. This was why Gongzi You was so careful in hiding her tracks.

    A smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s lips. This is interesting. This is very interesting indeed.

    Fleeting Time noticed the gathering clouds on the distant sky when he heard the rumbling of thunder. What a bother, it¡¯s going to rain in the Bloody Wilderness again. Fleeting Time furrowed his eyebrows. The map could be said to have the one of the highest intensity in the entire Western Continent. It would not be that much of a bother if it only drizzles in the Bloody Wilderness, but rain in the map came in the form of fierce thunderstorms that wouldst for hours.

    This is the most undesirable environment for a ranged ss like the Hunter.

    Fleeting Time spurred his unicorn onwards, galloping his way deeper into the deeper parts of the Bloody Wilderness. He must locate Gongzi You before the rain, or it would be almost impossible to locate her in the midst of a thunderstorm. He knew nothing about the quest that Gongzi You was trying toplete in the Bloody Wilderness, but he knew that he could not allow time to drag on, as it would mean that Gongzi You was closer inpleting her quest. If she was able toplete her quest... He might not be able to get an opportunity like this again.

    An hour had passed, and Fleeting Time was still not able to track the location of Gongzi You.

    The rain, however, began to pour down from the sky, and was getting heavier with each passing moment. Fleeting Time¡¯s visibility was severely hindered by the rain. He stood in the rain and studied his surroundings. He had traversed through 80% of the map, but Gongzi You was still nowhere in sight. This girl sure knows how to cover her tracks well...

    Fleeting Time closed his eyes, and rainwater dripped down from his eyshes. There was a glint of excitement in his gaze when he finally reopened his eyes. It¡¯s not a bad thing at all. What fun would there be if I find her too easily?

    Just then, he received a message from Absalom ¡°Fleeting Time, the party¡¯s heading into the dungeon in 30 minutes, why are you still not here yet?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡± Fleeting Time rejected Absalom¡¯s summons without even a moment of consideration.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re telling me that you¡¯re not going into the Elite difficulty dungeon with us? There¡¯ll be a lot of good stuff! Are you sure you¡¯re noting along?¡± Absalom could hardly contain his rage.

    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that Genesis will never be able to clear the dungeon without me, Fleeting Time?¡± Fleeting Time would never believe such a thing. After all, there were a lot of good Hunters in the guild that could work well with the party. There was no way they would fail without his presence.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that...¡± Absalom grabbed at his hair. Sour Apple had already arranged for White Fairytale to be in the same team with Fleeting Time. He would definitely be scolded by his wife if Fleeting Time decided to not show up at thest moment.

    ¡°There¡¯s something that I really have to deal with. I¡¯ll join you guys in the next run.¡± Fleeting Time was in a good mood in his process of looking for Gongzi You, which made him more willing to engage in lengthier conversations with Absalom.

    ¡°Just what are you up to?¡± any other person who disyed such an attitude would have long since been removed from the elite squadron, ¡°How can it be more important than clearing this dungeon?¡±

    ¡°I can join you people in clearing an Elite difficulty dungeon anytime I want, but some opportunities would be lost forever if I don¡¯t grab it in time.¡± Fleeting Time spotted a figure leaning against a fallen tree not far away from him. Is it a yer, or just a humanoid monster?

    Fleeting Time was wary due to the low visibility. He dismounted from his unicorn, and began creeping on the figure in stealth.

    The figure stood up, and studied her surroundings carefully. After making sure that there were no hostile yers around, she immediately sprinted at the direction of a cave not far away from her.

    Her skin was pale, and her silvery hair that was drenched by the rain was messy as they clung on to her armor. Her movements, however, remained swift and sharp as an unsheathed de. Even when her form appeared to be frailer than usual in the heavy rain, there was an unmistaken aura surrounding her shrewd form.

    Fleeting Time smiled as he studied the figure. He was right, the person was Gongzi You.

    He had never dreamt of the day where he would meet her in the Western Continent.

    She had been staying in the Bloody Wilderness since their brief encounter, and eight hours have passed since that short moment. The long time she spent on hiding and the heavy rain would definitely dull her sense. This was why she was not aware of his presence.

    Fleeting Time stood up slowly, and drew a ck Feather Arrow from his quiver. He took his aim at Gongzi You who was sprinting through the rain, and fired the arrow.

    I have to give her some form of greeting after such a long time, right?

    Fleeting Time did not fire of a second shot. Ye Ci could not see the expression of his face as he stood silently in the rain, but judging from his posture, she was certain that he was not nning on firing off a second shot. Ye Ci stood up slowly and raised her eyebrows. It seems that I¡¯ve underestimated this guy.

    She thought that she would be free from danger when he did not immediately show up after their brief encounter. She wanted nothing to do with that man. His appearance was something that was beyond her expectation.

    They were in a secluded spot of the Bloody Wilderness that was far away from any spawn points. Ye Ci was certain that Fleeting Time was definitely not there to level up. He was there for her.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath, and the ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. Now this is interesting.

    Ye Ci knew that she was almost out of arrows and consumables. If she engage Fleeting Time inbat at this moment, she would no longer be able to continue her exploration of the map. Then again, she was not a person who would be willing back down despite the situation.

    Should I fight? Or should I back down?

    After a moment of thought, Ye Ci decided to fight. In a worst case scenario, she would be forced to waste an entire day to wait for the cooldown of the Brooch of Deceit, and sneak her way to the closest resupplying camp. Since she had already scouted out the route for her journey back, she would not be in any danger if she was careful enough.

    Her only concern at that moment was to defeat Fleeting Time before her arrows ran out, and log out of the game.

    Fleeting Time stood motionlessly as he stared at Gongzi You, who was also standing in silence. He knew that she was weighing her options. A smile appeared on his face as he waited patiently for Gongzi You to reach her decision.

    As a gentleman, he would of course allow thedy to determine if they should fight.

    After a long moment of silence, Gongzi You finally drew her bow, and nocked an arrow.

    At the blink of an eye, the two figures dashed out into the rain like arrows fired from a bow.

    The rain itself grew heavier, as if the sky itself was falling.

    In truth, the movements of Fleeting Time and Ye Ci were hindered by the storm. It was a very ufortable to have rain sttering on their armor. Their uracy was also greatly decreased because of the rain, and Ye Ci could feel her heart aching whenever her arrows missed their mark.

    In a battle in the pouring rain, Stamina was a deciding factor for victory. Ye Ci was running out of arrows, and her Stamina was in the red. It was obvious that Fleeting Time would be able to oust her in this fight. She was in an absolute disadvantage.

    Will he ept a ceasefire? Even if he¡¯s willing to.. What sort of reason do I use to call for one?

    A sudden idea appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s mind. This solution could turn the situation around for her, and even benefit her in her quest.

    Despite her eagerness to finish the fight with Fleeting Time, Ye Ci knew that such a course of action was a foolish one. She could not afford to die in the Western Continent. Time was not on her side. She might also fail the quest if she died and was respawned in the Eastern Continent.

    Because of that, Ye Ci made the hardest decision she had ever made in her gaming life.

    She slung her bow, and walked towards Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time stopped his attacked as well when he saw that Gongzi You had ceased all her attacks, and was walking slowly towards him. He studied Gongzi You silently, maintaining his readiness for a fight.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Gongzi You stopped 10 yards away from Fleeting Time. Despite her pale face, Fleeting Time could still see the strong spirit in her captivating amber eyes. Gongz You did not reach for her sword, nor was she disying any intention to continue the fight. It was as if the intense killing intent around her had dispersed altogether.

    ¡°I concede defeat.¡± said Ye Ci in a soft voice that was audible despite the heavy rain.

    Fleeting Time was surprised to hear her words. Is Gongzi You someone who knows defeat? No. She¡¯s a person who will fight to the bitter end. Why is she conceding defeat now?

    He was right. Ye Ci was someone who would never give up. Her decision to concede defeat did note easily. Under such a situation, conceding defeat was her best choice.

    A person who refused to back down for the sake of pride was not a hero, but a fool. A person destined for sess was a person who knew when to make a stand and when to back down. After taking into ount the price she would have to pay for continuing the fight, Ye Ci concluded that there was nothing wrong in admitting defeat. After all, this course of action would actually benefit her in the long term.

    Fleeting Time slung his brow and raised his eyebrows, ¡°Why is that?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s action had sessfully aroused his curiosity.

    ¡°I¡¯m out of supplies.¡± said Ye Ci calmly, as if she was merely discussing the weather.

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes. This was well within his expectation, but he refused to believe that it was the sole contributor to Gongzi You¡¯s decision of conceding defeat. She have not even summoned her pet, and even if she was out of arrows, she could still engage him in meleebat. Besides, he remembered that Gongzi You was armed with bombs that were highly destructive. There could be only one reason why Gongzi You admitted defeat before even trying her best: She was up to something.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s lips formed into a smile, and a glint of excitement appeared in his eyes, ¡°Ahh... Didn¡¯t we agreed thest time we met? That you¡¯ll have a drink with me if you lost? Come, why don¡¯t you have a drink with me?¡±

    As expected, Fleeting Time could see Gongzi You¡¯s eyebrows furrowing slightly despite her calm expression. It was an indicator that she was slightly angered. However, she did not explode into anger like she normally would, and instead spoke in a calm voice, ¡°I don¡¯t have useless things like that with me.¡±

    Ahhhh... She must be up to something. The Gongzi You he knew would have been enraged by now. Fleeting Time was amused. He walked up to Ye Ci and stared at her calm expression, into the depths of her eyes.

    ¡°I have a bottle of wine with me.¡± Fleeting Time studied his surroundings, and spotted Ye Ci¡¯s original destination, ¡°That¡¯s a good spot to hide from the rain. Let¡¯s go, drink with me.¡±

    Ye Ci had the urge to stab at Fleeting Time who was exposing his back to her. If she was able to stab him in the heart, it would definitely be a fatal blow. It was impossible that Fleeting Time was unaware of such a fact. A person who would do such a thing even when he knows about the danger is either an idiot, or is confident that I won¡¯t be able to kill him.

    Fleeting Time was apparently thetter.

    He was sure that Gongzi You would not be able to kill him. In fact, he was certain that Gongzi You would not even attempt to kill him.

    Ye Ci was not happy to have a drink under such circumstances, especially after listening to Fleeting Time¡¯s words. What is there to celebrate for? Despite her anger, Ye Ci did not show her displeasure.

    Fleeting Time was a worthy opponent. Even if he had a bad mouth, he would not fight dirty, and would not take advantage of his opponent¡¯s difficulties. It was rare for a yer from a hostile continent to exhibit such a behavior. Drinking with an opponent like this... It¡¯s not bad at all.

    Ye Ci received the finest of wines from Fleeting Time. It was the best wine in the entire Western Continent, brewed with the raspberry grown on the Everspring teau at the Ma¡¯ou Mountain near Light Saint City.

    It was something that could not be found in the Eastern Continent.

    Ye Ci took a whiff of the bottle, and was able to tell the origins of the wine. She stared at Fleeting Time, this guy sure knows how to enjoy life, ¡°This is the Midnight Wine of the Light Saint City. It¡¯s quite expensive.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite knowledgeable about the stuff in this game.¡± Fleeting Time was surprised that Ye Ci was able to name the wine, this girl is keeping a lot of secrets, and he said with augh, ¡°Since I¡¯m treating Little Gongzi to a drink, I must of course use the best wine.¡± he did not mind how expensive and how rare the wine was. To him, the wine was just a tool to liven things up.

    The rich and mellow vor of the wine spread in Ye Ci¡¯s mouth, and flowed down her throat. As a high quality wine, the Midnight Wine was able to recover Ye Ci¡¯s stamina after a few mouthfuls.

    Fleeting Time leanedzily against a boulder and stared at Ye Ci. A weird smile appeared on his lips as he drummed his fingers against his knee.

    Ye Ci ignored Fleeting Time¡¯s gaze, and stared at the bonfire beside her. She appeared to be deep in thought, but at the same time, it was as if her mind was nk.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so courteous with me. Just speak out your mind.¡± said Fleeting Time with a smile after a moment of silence.

    Ye Ci turned around to face the piercing gaze of Fleeting Time. She felt as if she could hide no secret from the man. She narrowed her eyes, it seems that Fleeting Time is not someone that I can deal with easily after all. Ye Ci pursed her lips, and went straight to the point, ¡°I want to see Absalom.¡±

    The movements of Fleeting Time¡¯s fingers paused for a brief moment before he resumed drumming them on his knees. ¡°You broke my heart, Little Gongzi. I thought you came to the Western Continent for me, but you¡¯re here to see that guy? This is just sad.¡±

    Ye Ci did not explode into rage despite Fleeting Time¡¯s teasing. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, totally ignoring his words.

    Now that¡¯s rare. I¡¯ve never seen her remaining calm even after being teased. She¡¯s not as simple as I thought. But why is she looking for Absalom? Do they even know each other?

    Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, can you tell me what business do you have with Absalom?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for the guild leader of the strongest guild in the Western Continent, and Absalom happened to be that person.¡± said Ye Ci with a calctive smile.

    It was the first time Fleeting Time saw such an expression on Gongzi You¡¯s face. He was always teasing her in their previous encounters, and they were always fighting to the death. This came as an amusement to Fleeting Time.

    The intensity of her gaze and the mischievous grin gave Fleeting Time a feeling that she was an ambitious person despite her calm expression. Truth to be told, he was captivated by her ambitious look, ¡°Little Gongzi, you¡¯re so coy. I¡¯m merely asking about your business with Absalom, and not why you¡¯re looking for him.¡±

    ¡°Mithril.¡± Ye Ci sighed,it was tiring tomunicate with a smart person, especially when he was right in front of you. She lost her patience in ying word games with Fleeting Time.

    Mithril was just a metal to a normal yer at the current stage of the game. But for a top-tier yer like Fleeting Time and the leader of a major guid like Absalom, it had an entirely different meaning.

    Fleeting Time froze when the words left Ye Ci¡¯s mouth. He was still leaning against the boulder, but the mischievous smile on his face was long gone. He spoke up in a low voice after a long moment of silence, ¡°Did you say ¡®Mithril¡¯?¡±

    ¡°What? Is Fleeting Time so senile that he can¡¯t hear me?¡± Ye Ci smiled innocently.

    Fleeting Time was unfazed by Ye Ci¡¯s insult, and instead returned her smile, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get him toe over.¡±

    Ye Ci knew that Fleeting Time was a member of Genesis, but his close rtionship with Absalom was beyond her knowledge. How can a person summon the leader of the strongest guild in the Western Continent as he pleases? Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. She had a feeling that the Goddess of Luck had actually never abandoned her.

    ¡°Tell him that he muste alone.¡± said Ye Ci.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s smile widened, ¡°Alright. Consider it done.¡±

    At that moment, Absalom was leader a 100-yer party in a Elite difficulty dungeon. Before they could even reach the first BOSS, Absalom received a message from Fleeting Time. He spoke in an angry tone to the person who caused the misery he suffered at the hands of his wife, ¡°Heh? You want to join us in the dungeon? Do you think that I don¡¯t have a recement for your spot? There¡¯s no spot left! If you want to join the dungeon-clearing, report to me three dayster!¡±

    Absalom¡¯s grumbling was ignored by Fleeting Time, ¡°I want you to get to the Bloody Wilderness now to the coordinates: 7831:4691:28.¡± he said with a smile.

    ¡°What?¡± Absalom was puzzled, ¡°Oi oi oi... You must sending be your message to the wrong person...¡±

    He received yet another message from Fleeting Time, ¡°Please make sure that you¡¯reing alone.¡±

    ¡°Oi! Just what the heck are you up to?¡±

 Chapter 233 A Deal

    Chapter 233 A Deal

    Fleeting Time was never someone who would y by the rules, and Absalom was already used to such a fact after their many years of friendship. Even that, it did not necessarily mean that Absalom knew what Fleeting Time was up to. Unlike Fleeting Time who was overly carefree, Absalom preferred to follow a prescribed routine. If they were not best friends who know each other well, Absalom would definitely have been driven mad by Fleeting Time.

    ¡°I¡¯m in a 100-yer Elite difficulty dungeon right now! Just what the heck are you up two? How can you expect me to go to a random set of coordinates just like that? I¡¯m the one inmand!¡± Absalom refused to follow the instruction of Fleeting Time. The party had just entered the dungeon, and he knew that it was raining in the Bloody Wilderness. A Sorcerer like him would definitely suffer from the difort of being soaked by the rain if he went to the map.

    ¡°Are you the only capablemander in Genesis?¡± Absalom¡¯s justification of his decision was not even an excuse to Fleeting Time.

    ¡°No! No way! It¡¯s raining over there! I¡¯m not going!¡± Absalom shook his head.

    ¡°Are you not curious at all about this sudden request?¡± Absalom had a fatal weakness: His curiosity. He was able to hide it well from outsiders, but it was a fact that was known by the people who were close to him. A person with a strong sense of curiosity could easily be lured, which was why Absalom easily fell for Fleeting Time¡¯s trick.

    Absalom¡¯s curiosity that was originally well hidden was amplified by Fleeting Time, ¡°Will you tell me even if I don¡¯t go there?¡± asked Absalom despite knowing that it was very unlikely that he would receive and answer from Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s reaction was something that Absalom did not expect. He answered Absalom¡¯s question without beating around the bush.

    ¡°Somebody wants to see you.¡±

    ¡°Who is that?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You.¡±

    There were times when Absalom was afraid of Fleeting Time. He was a person who could shock someone to death with words alone, and had never taken a person¡¯s capacity to cope with his words into consideration when he spoke. That was how he rejected the advances from White Fairytale. He had never thought that his words might be hurtful to the girl. The same thing could be said when he delivered the shocking news about Gongzi You to Absalom.

    Absalom almost choked when he heard the name, ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You.¡± repeated Fleeting Time. He was in a good mood at that moment.

    ¡°You mean the Gongzi You of the Eastern Continent? The Gongzi You who you¡¯re always teasing? The Gongzi You who killed a lot our guys during our invasion of the Eastern Continent?¡± Absalom was rmed.

    ¡°Is there any other Gongzi You in the game?¡± Fleeting Time could imagine Absalom¡¯s shocked face. His mental fortitude is so weak! It¡¯s just Gongzi You, not the end of the world...

    ¡°H-how did she even get here? Is she in the Bloody Wilderness?¡± despite his surprise, Absalom was the leader of a million-yer guild. He was able to quickly readjust his state of mine, ¡°Is she here as a scout? I¡¯ll contact the leaders of the other guilds...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not asplicated as you think. She¡¯s just here to see you.¡± Fleeting Time cast a sideway nce at Ye Ci and smiled. His calm voice was a reassurance to Absalom.

    ¡°It¡¯s not an invasion by the Eastern Continent?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Why is she looking for me? You should be the one that she wants to talk to. I¡¯m a married man!¡± Absalom began cracking a joke after making sure that the Western Continent was safe, ¡°I¡¯m not as hardcore as you. I can¡¯t handle queens.¡±

    With Fleeting Time at a ce far, far way, Absalom finally found the courage to make fun of the man without fear of repercussions.

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes and spoke with warning clear in his tone, ¡°You seem to have a bad memory. I think you need some help with that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Absalom immediately offered his apology, ¡°I¡¯m just curious alright! You¡¯re the one who had a lot of interaction with her! I¡¯ve only met her once during the Dragon Dance Competitionst year! What does she, a solo yer from a hostile continent, want from me? Is she here for sightseeing? Is she in need for a tour guide? Aren¡¯t you the better choice for that? Why is she looking for me?¡±

    ¡°Mithril.¡± said Fleeting Time in a soft voice.

    Absalom was stunned into silence by the word. The only thing in his mind was the word ¡°mithril¡±.

    ¡°Did she tell you something about Mithril?¡± Absalom was able to calm his emotions after a long moment.

    Fleeting Time remained silent. It was apparent that anybody who knew about the true value of Mithril would be interested in it. Absalom understood the meaning behind Fleeting Time¡¯s words, ¡°How many does she have with her?¡± he asked with a sigh.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± said Fleeting Time after casting a nce at Ye Ci.

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°Yup, I really don¡¯t.¡± Fleeting Time shrugged. He knew nothing about the mithril. He was merely a messenger, and had nothing to do with the business between Ye Ci and Absalom.

    ¡°You¡¯re not even sure if she¡¯s bullshitting you!¡± Absalom was almost driven mad by Fleeting Time, ¡°How could you trust her just like that? What if she¡¯s just trying to keep us distracted?¡±

    ¡°Fine, don¡¯te then.¡± Fleeting Time knew that Absalom had a point, but he was still being too petty. Before Absalom could even react, Fleeting Time cut off their voice connection and blocked him from his friend list. He knew that Absalom would be anxious when he was not able to contact Fleeting Time.

    As Fleeting Time had expected, Absalom became restless after their contact was severed. He was as agitated as a cat on a hot tin roof. Mithril... Mithril... Even when the situation in the Bloody Wilderness remained unknown, Absalom was almost driven mad by the word ¡°Mithril¡±.

    There were yers who might not know about the wonders Mithril, but Absalom was definitely not one of them. The reason was simple: Absalom had a Mithril Shirt which increased his magical damage significantly when equipped. He had always thought that the Mithril Shirt was an extremely rare item despite its Green quality. However, his perspective was entirely changed when his guild acquired its first piece of Mithril ore.

    Absalom¡¯s instinct as a veteran professional yer told him that his Mithril Shirt would not be the only one in the game. The appearance of a Mithril ore meant that recipes for Mithril items would soon appear. If we can equip every yer in Genesis with a Mithril Shirt...

    Reality, however, did not go ording to Absalom¡¯s expectations. Mithril ores had a very low drop rate, which means that even when the guild could acquire recipes for Mithril equipment, the supply of Mithril would not be enough to equip every member of the guild. Even a million-yer guild like Genesis was able to acquire not more than 40 pieces of Mithril since theunching of the game. Many of the Mithril acquired by the guild were of low quality, which was not suitable for the production of high grade equipment.

    In a situation like this, Absalom would of course be excited when Mithril was mentioned despite the uncertainties. The excitement distracted Absalom from effectivelymanding the dungeon clearing party. Even if Gongzi You was a yer from a hostile continent, even if her intentions were unknown, and even he did not know what Fleeting Time was up to... Absalom decided to head to the Bloody Wilderness.

    Absalom was not worried about Gongzi You. He was the one who was in advantage in the Western Continent. However, he was worried about Fleeting Time¡¯s reaction. Which side will he pick? From appearances alone, it¡¯s impossible for him to be standing on Gongzi You¡¯s side, but what if she¡¯s able to trick him into helping her out?

    He knew nothing about Gongzi You, and had only met the girl once. It was normal for him to harbor doubts against her character. Besides, as the leader of therge guild, Absalom had a responsibility towards the members of his guild. He would not jeopardize the benefit of his guild.

    Not even a tiny bit.

    ¡°Daybreak Advent.¡± Absalom called out to the vicemander of the Elite Squadron.

    ¡°What is it, boss?¡± as a Priest, Daybreak Advent was not involved in clearing away the mobs. He was able to respond immediately when his name was called out by Absalom.

    ¡°Take over as themander for today¡¯s dungeon clearing.¡± said Absalom.

    ¡°Eh? I¡¯ve not made any preparations for this.¡±even when the dungeon was already cleared multiple times by the guild, Daybreak Advent was still ufortable with takingmand without prior preparations.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just improvise?¡± Absalom rolled his eyes, this guy¡¯s OCD can be real annoying sometimes, ¡°Get a Sorcerer to take my spot.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± As a person who knew Absalom for a long time, Daybreak Advent knew that he was not someone who would leave a dungeon without reason. Absalom would not abandon his party unless he had to deal with something very important. Daybreak Advent was nervous, did something happened? ¡°What is it boss? Did something bad happened?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just take over from here, I¡¯m going on a trip.¡± Absalom was someone who could keep a secret when it mattered the most. With Mithril involved, he was more careful than ever. He left the party before Daybreak Advent could respond.

    The members of the Elite Squadron resumed their task at hand without making much of a fuss. Sour Apple, on the other hand, immediately sent a message to Absalom, ¡°Honey, what is it? Why did you leave the dungeon? Did something big happened?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. This is why I¡¯m going to find out. Carry on with clearing the dungeon, and keep this a secret.¡±

    Even when Sour Apple could be said to be a troublemaker when it came to the matter between Fleeting Time and White Fairytale, she took affairs of the guild very seriously, ¡°Alright, I understand.¡±

    Absalom received another message from Fleeting Time just as he was about to leave for the Bloody Wilderness, ¡°Say, I need you to get some arrows from the guild warehouse for me.¡±

    ¡°How many do you need?¡±

    ¡°About forty stacks of ck Feather Arrows.¡±

    ¡°Can you even hold that many in your inventory?¡± Absalom was puzzled. Hunters can only carry 20 stacks of arrow in their quiver at the current stage of the game, why is he asking for 40 stacks of them? Is he lighting a fire with them?

    ¡°Well, some of them are for Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°W-what? Gongzi You is a yer from a hostile continent...¡± Absalom almost coughed up blood.

    ¡°Aiya, we must have indiscriminate love in this peaceful society. Why must we be fighting each other all the time? Haven¡¯t you heard of the saying ¡®be courteous to the one who visits¡¯? Don¡¯t be so stingy!¡± the fires of anger raged in Absalom¡¯s heart when he heard Fleeting Time¡¯s words. That bastard! Has he been away from the presence of women for that long? Why is he having such a huge change in behavior because of a washboard? What does he mean by indiscriminate love? What peaceful society? What courtesy? Why have I never heard something like this from him before?

    Doesn¡¯t he always see Eastern Continent yers as Kill Glory dispensers? What¡¯s with him today?

    ¡°Fleeting Time, are you not feeling well?¡±

    ¡°Oh, by the way, bring along some Health Potions and Stamina Potions as well.¡± Fleeting Time continued on with his list of items, using Absalom as a delivery service.

    ¡°Are they for Gongzi You as well?¡±

    ¡°Hurry up, we¡¯re waiting.¡± Fleeting Time ignored his question, and disconnected from the voice chat. Absalom coughed up more blood, just what the heck is this?

    ¡°You seem to be in a good mood.¡± observed Ye Ci.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Fleeting Time could imagine Absalom¡¯s expression. It was a shame that I can¡¯t record it. He then cast a nce at Ye Ci, ¡°What is it? Is Little Gongzi in a bad mood?¡±

    ¡°Nobody will be in a good mood if they¡¯re caught.¡± Ye Ci was telling the truth. She was extremely upset for getting caught, especially by Fleeting Time.

    ¡°It¡¯s debatable.¡± Fleeting Time shifted into a morefortable position.

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Fleeting Time. She felt that she did not have amon topic with this man. Their behaviors were simply too different. There was no way they could hold a conversation. Ye Ci¡¯s clothing was starting to dry up, and the bonfire was a source of warmth in the chilly weather. She was even beginning to feel drowsy from the alcohol she had drank earlier on.

    She leaned back against a boulder and slowly closed her eyes.

    Fleeting Time was in an extremely good mood when he saw the calm expression on Ye Ci¡¯s face. He sat up slowly and inched closer to Gongzi You. However, an icy cold short sword was pressed against his throat in the next second.

    Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows as he stared at the short sword, and then at Gongzi You who still had her eyes closed, ¡°Heh, what are you doing?¡± he asked with a chuckle.

    ¡°You¡¯re 4 yards away from my dominant hand. I¡¯m currently a lvl60 yer, and a fatal blow from me can cause 200% damage on you. In other words... If you move, you die.¡± Ye Ci then opened her eyes slowly and smiled at Fleeting Time, ¡°Do you want to try your luck?¡±

    Fleeting Time shrugged, and returned to his original position, ¡°I thought that you picked that spot at random... I¡¯ve never actually expected that you¡¯d be thinking so many steps ahead...¡±

    ¡°Well, it depends on who I am with at the moment.¡± Ye Ci sheathed her sword.

    The smile remained on Fleeting Time¡¯s face as he stared at Gongzi You.

    The atmosphere slowly quieted down, and the two eventually drifted into sleep. There was not a single ounce of noise other than the asional crackling of the bonfire. The storm raged on, but the cave was filled with warmth.

    Ye Ci awakened to the sounds of iing footsteps after an untold moment of time. She opened her eyes and nced at Fleeting Time, who was still leaningzily with his eyes closed, as if he was fast asleep. She then shifted her gaze to the mouth of the cave.

    The visibility in the Bloody Wilderness was low due to the storm. Ye Ci could see an approaching silhouette through the raging rain.

    Is it Absalom? Or is it somebody else?

    ¡°The person you want to see is here?¡± sighed Fleeting Time. It was as if he could see what was going on in Ye Ci¡¯s mind.

    Ye Ci remained silent as she stared at Fleeting Time.

    Absalom¡¯s footsteps drew closer, and he finally rushed into the cave.

    As a character with cloth armor, Absalom suffered from all sorts of misery before he finally made his way into the cave. The man was drenched from head to toe, and his hair waspletely disheveled. Water was dripping from Absalom as he stood in the cave.

    No matter who he was, Absalom looked like a sorry figure.

    ¡°What the f*ck is wrong with this weather? Fleeting Time, don¡¯t you know that a bad weather like this is not favourable for travel?¡± was the first thing he said when he entered the cave.

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes at Absalom. He nodded with satisfaction after studying the appearance of Absalom, ¡°Not bad. It¡¯s slightly worse that what I expected.¡±

    ¡°Heh, you asshole...¡± before Absalom could finish his sentence, his eyes caught the form of a girl sitting in front of him.

    Judging from the appearance of her character, the girl was no older than 20 years old. Her silvery long hair, pointed ears, amber eyes, and pale white skin gave her the appearance of a standard Elf. Despite her race, the girl retained an average look. However, the girl was surrounded by a brilliant aura that made her average-looking form intimidating. Her amber eyes were like two pools of water frozen by eyes, not showing fear nor interest.

    Absalom could see the red glow surrounding the girl, an indicator that she was from a hostile continent. Even that, the could not detect even a hint of killing intent from the girl. She was giving off an air of calmness and serenity. With Fleeting Time showing no intention of introducing him to the girl, and the girl looking at him up and down, Absalom was slightly embarrassed. But as a born socializer, Absalom was unfazed. He took a seat and smiled at the girl, exposing his snow white teeht.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Absalom.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Absalom¡¯s extended hand for a brief moment before shaking his hand lightly and spoke in a calm voice, ¡°Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you.¡± Absalom inched closer to the bonfire and began drying his clothes. Fortunately for the man, yers were not required to remove to their clothing to dry their clothes, ¡°Are you here for sightseeing? If you are, I can arrange for a tour guide to show you around. I have to fulfill my responsibility as the host, you know?¡±

    Ye Ci paid no heed to Absalom¡¯s words, and responded with a smile. She was not a person with patience for superfluous words. ¡°How many Mithril ores does Genesis have?¡± asked Ye Ci in a soft voice.

    Absalom did not expect the straightforwardness from Ye Ci. He pursed his lips, and answered her question indirectly, ¡°Oh, I have a bad memory. I¡¯ll have to have a look at the guild warehouse when I get back.¡±

    Ye Ci knew that Absalom would never expose such a vital information. Even if he might not have knowledge about the impact of Mithril to the game, there was no way the leader of the guild would offer up information about his guild to an outsider from a hostile continent. ¡°Upwards Ho! has less than 10 pieces of Mithril. I think a million-yer guild like Genesis will have at least dozens of them. But... I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t have more than 100 pieces of those ores.¡±

    She¡¯s not far off the mark. Despite his surprise, Absalom was able to maintain a neutral expression, Ahh.. I¡¯ve forgot... Gongzi You is the Vice Leader of Upwards Ho!.¡± he said with a smile, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll expose your secret?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, Little Gongzi. Absalom is an absolute loudmouth. He¡¯s like a walking news channel. Whatever you say to him will be known to everybody.¡±

    Ye Ci leaned forward and said with a smile, ¡°I did it... Because I¡¯m sure that you wouldn¡¯t dare to another living soul about this.¡± confidence was written all over her face.

    ¡°Hah!¡± Absalom sneered coldly, is this girl crazy? What gave her the courage to act so arrogantly in front of me?, ¡°Heh, Upwards Ho! is just a small, insignificant guild. What makes you think that I¡¯m afraid of you?¡±

    The response by Absalom was something that Ye Ci had expected. She paid no no heed to the provocation, and spoke up slowly, ¡°What if I tell you that I have control over a Mithril ore vein?¡±

    The smile immediately vanished from Absalom¡¯s face. Try as he might to remain calm, Ye Ci could see the surprise in his eyes. Even Fleeting Time was beginning to take Gongzi You seriously. He stared at the girl, and narrowed his eyes, just how many secrets is she keeping?

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll believe that?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, ¡°Just imagine the possibilities... With the Mithril ore vein in our hands... We might be able to take Light Saint City in the near future.¡±

    ¡°Bah! Nonsense! So what if you have a Mithril ore vein? Do you think that we the Western Continent yers are pushovers...¡±

    Ye Ci spoke up before Absalom could finish his sentence, ¡°Even without that shirt of yours?¡±

    Absalom was stunned into silence. He had always thought that Gongzi You was just a naive little girl who was good in PVP and slightly arrogant due to her youth. He realised that he was wrong. She was, in truth, cunning and intelligent. So that was why she was staring at me when I first entered this cave.

    This girl... Is someone who is hard to deal with...

    Ye Ci then spoke in a soft voice, ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t have the capabilities to arm the entire Eastern Continent with the resources mined from my ore vein. So you¡¯re actually right. The Eastern Continent still has a long way to go before we can invade the Light Saint City. We won¡¯t have the strength tounch an invasion in the near future.¡± a bone-chilling smile then appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°But... I know a secret.¡±

    Absalom was in a dilemma. He would fall for Gongzi You¡¯s trap if he inquired about the secret, but he was curious about Ye Ci¡¯s true intention at the same time.

    ¡°What sort of secret are you talking about?¡±

    Ye Ci spoke in an even softer voice, ¡°The Mithril ore vein in the Western Continent... I know where it is.¡±

    Absalom¡¯s heart clenched when. He found it hard to breath, and his face was a dark shade of red. It was apparent that he was deep in shock. Absalom took in a deep breath and cast a nce at Fleeting Time, but the man remained unfazed by Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    Absalom took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down, ¡°D-do you t-think that I¡¯ll believe what you said? I can say the same thing as well!¡±

    ¡°You have the choice to doubt my words. But how do you think Golden Era will handle this news?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re threatening me.¡± Absalom red at the girl in front of him.

    ¡°Indeed, I am.¡± Ye Ci was not even courteous with her reply. She knew that Upwards Ho! was not the only guild that would be affected by the arrival of Golden Era. It would have a more profound effect on a major guild like Genesis. A tall tree attracts the wind. Genesis was arge guild, and it was impossible for Golden Era to take them on right after they entered the game. However... Absalom knew that if Golden Era set its sights on Genesis, his guild would be in deep trouble nheless.

    If Gongzi You is telling the truth.. If there¡¯s also a Mithril ore vein in the Western Continent... If I¡¯m able to control that ore vein... Doesn¡¯t it mean that I¡¯ll have an edge against Golden Era?

    But... Why is Gongzi You telling me all that?

    ¡°So you¡¯re here in the Western Continent to look for the ore vein?¡± Absalom found that he was not able to read Gongzi You¡¯s intention. He was wary of how cunning she could actually be.

    ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m dumb? Why would Ie here alone to look for an ore vein? Even if I can find the ore vein, how do you expect me to mine the Mithril? Even if I somehow managed to do it, how am I going to transport them back?¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Absalom¡¯s question.

    Fleeting Time, who was silent throughout the conversion, spoke up ¡°Come on, Little Gongzi. Stop beating around the bush... Tell us what you¡¯re really up to.¡± Absalom could see the gleeful smile on Fleeting Time¡¯s face, and the burning passion in his eyes that he had never seen before.

    ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal.¡± Ye Ci turned around to face Fleeting Time, but her words were meant for Absalom. A bright and beautiful smile lit up her face.

    ¡°What sort of deal?¡±

    ¡°What do you think of forming an alliance after Golden Era enters the game?¡± said Ye Ci with a smile, and a captivating confidence in her expression, ¡°We¡¯ll sign the agreement at the Middle Continent. I¡¯ll wait for you people there. And as a show of good faith, I will tell you the location of the Mithril ore vein in the Western Continent.¡±

    Even when Absalom knew that Gongzi You would never answer his question, he could not hold back his urge to ask out loud, ¡°How do you know about the ore vein¡¯s location?¡±

    ¡°It has nothing to do with you. You¡¯re only here to make a choice. You can agree to an alliance, or you can reject my proposal. I¡¯m fine with whatever choice you make.¡±

    Absalom remained silent for a long moment before finally letting out a long breath, ¡°Gongzi You, why are you forming an alliance with us? We¡¯re not even from the same continent. If I¡¯m not mistaken, you have a rather good rtionship with Wolf Pack. Why don¡¯t you talk to Sir Ditty instead?¡±

    ¡°That is exactly why I did not approach them. Besides, even if we¡¯re allies with Wolf Pack, we¡¯ll still be expanding our own resources and existing manpower. But you.. You can grant us ess to the resources avable in the Western Continent. This means that we¡¯ll have more manpower...¡± and the smile disappeared from Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°Which grants us more strength in our fight against Golden Era.¡±

    Ye Ci was sincere when she offered her logical answer, and Absalom knew that he would make the same choice if he was in her position, ¡°Do you have something against Golden Era?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you...¡±

    ¡°We all know why Golden Era ising to Fate.¡± Ye Ci sighed, ¡°To be frank with you, I¡¯m a professional yer, and I¡¯ve invested everything I have into this game.Golden Era is here to bring Fate down. Even if Upwards Ho! is a small guild, do you think that we won¡¯t be affected by their actions? If Excellent Era have their way, my efforts will be in vain. This is something I want to avoid. And since I happen to know the secret about the Mithril ore vein, I¡¯m going to put it to good use. I n to control those ore veins before the arrival of Golden Era. If we¡¯re able to contain their influence and buy enough time, I¡¯m sure the Glory Corporation will think of something to put a stop to the fiasco. This is why I¡¯m looking for you.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re dragging us onto the same boat for your own survival?¡± Absalomughed. This girl is not as simple as I think she is, ¡°I¡¯m impressed.¡±

    ¡°Are you not interested? Let me tell you something, Absalom. A deal can only be made when both parties involved can gain something out of it. If it benefits only me, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll agree to it. You¡¯re not an idiot.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She knew that she was very close in sessfully persuading the man.

    A bright grin appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face as he stared at Ye Ci.

    This girl... She¡¯s exactly the type of girl I like..

 Chapter 234 Discovery of Voâ€™sok

    Chapter 234 Discovery of Vo¡¯sok

    Gongzi You¡¯s words were reasonable and fair. Absalom was unable to refute her words, but he could not bring himself to fully trust in her. After all, there¡¯s no way of knowing what was in her heart. She was a yer from the Eastern Continent. Even if she would be an enemy of Golden Era, they would only arrive after a month. Can the words of Gongzi You be trusted? She was caught by Fleeting Time in a position of absolute disadvantage. She might lie to avoid death and the loss of her level and equipment. So... Can I trust in her words?

    Absalom voiced out his doubt without hesitation.

    ¡°But why should I believe in you?¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, ¡°Alright then.. Let¡¯s make another deal.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You have something else that is of value?¡± Absalom was momentarily stunned. What else does she have up her sleeve?

    ¡°I¡¯ll act as a hostage in the Western Continent for seven days. You can send some of your men to keep a close watch on me if you want. I¡¯ll then tell you about the location of the Mithril ore vein so that you canplete the initial stages of the quest. If you¡¯re able to find the ore vein, then you¡¯ll agree to our alliance. If I lied to you, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s easy for you to kill me anyways. After all, I¡¯m alone, aren¡¯t I?¡± said Ye Ci as she spread her hands in front of her. She knew that it was an offer that Absalom could not resist.

    Absalom would be an idiot to refuse the offer. The wiser course of action was for him to agree to Ye Ci¡¯s terms. He had nothing to lose by epting to offer. Besides, when it came to Mithril, nobody could resist such a temptation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that a million-yer guild like Genesis could not allocate enough manpower to form a party toplete the quest.¡±

    Absalom drew a sharp breath. Gongzi You was on point. There was no need for him to decline her offer. However, he was still slightly annoyed. He had been dancing to the tempo set by Gongzi You since the beginning. Even with the benefit that was offered, Absalom was still depressed. He stole a nce at Fleeting Time, and found that the man was staring at Gongzi You.

    He sent a private message to Fleeting Time, ¡°What are you staring at? Why do you even fancy such a cunning girl? Why don¡¯t you look for someone who is sweet tempered, loving, and tender as your wife? A person like Gongzi You is not someone you can deal with.¡±

    ¡°Heh!¡± Fleeting Timeughed, ¡°Sweet tempered? I don¡¯t think your wife Sour Apple suit that description.¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey! This is not about me! I¡¯m giving you an advice as a friend. This girl is really not a suitable wife candidate.¡±

    ¡°How would you know?¡± Fleeting Time paid no heed to Absalom¡¯s words. If this guy is a good judge of character, why would he marry Sour Apple? And he wouldn¡¯t have gotten bullied by me for 10 years as well.

    ¡°You¡¯re such a stubborn person. Look at White Fairytale! She¡¯s such a kind and gentle girl! She has the qualities of a good wife, and she likes you! She¡¯s such a nice girl! Just look at Gongzi You! She¡¯s like a tigress that¡¯s would eat me whole!¡± Absalom¡¯s heart was filled with grief. Why does such a scary person exist?

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me hit you.¡±

    Absalom rolled his eyes, Fine! He needs to learn some hardship in life! He sighed when he saw the look on Fleeting Time¡¯s face as he stared at Gongzi You, and then at the girl¡¯s expression. Fleeting Time¡¯s going to waste a lot of time on this girl.

    ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that you¡¯ll elope to the Eastern Continent...¡± Absalom mumbled to himself before speaking to Ye Ci, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll agree to your terms. I¡¯ll send someone to escort you during your stay in the Western Continent. As for the escort...¡± Absalom cast a nce at Fleeting Time. Ugh.. There¡¯s not much of a choice. It can only be this guy. He had no idea how Fleeting Time would handle Gongzi You, but he was the only person who had the capability of doing so.

    Ye Ci then provided Absalom with the coordinates of Western Continent¡¯s Mithril ore vein as a show of good faith.

    ¡°As for your escort... I guess Fleeting Time will do. You two are very close with each other anyways.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression immediately darkened as she pursed her lips, ¡°Says who?¡±

    ¡°Urmm...¡± Absalom grabbed at his hair and said in a serious tone, ¡°You¡¯re my hostage, so you have no say in this. Besides, nobody in our guild is as idle as him...¡±

    This is how he rates Fleeting Time...

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened even further. She could see the pure and innocent grin on Fleeting Time¡¯s face as she stole a nce at the man. She could barely hold off the urge to punch Fleeting Time on the face.

    He¡¯s the most idle person in Genesis... Come to think of it.. Arge guild like Genesis would be busy with constantly expanding their territory and influence, and this guy is the least busy person in the entire guild?

    Then again.. If he¡¯s not the most idle yer in Genesis, he wouldn¡¯t have the time to track me down a few hours after we brushed past each other in the Putrid Trail.

    Fleeting Time, who was unaware of Ye Ci¡¯s opinion about him, continued to smile as he took a seat beside Ye Ci, ¡°We¡¯ll be depending on each other in the next seven days, Little Gongzi,¡± and he extended his hands towards Ye Ci, ¡°Let¡¯s shake our hands to ensure our mutual happiness.¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Fleeting Time. This guy is up to no good. You want me to shake your hand? No f*cking way! She the snorted coldly at him.

    However, Ye Ci was no match for the shamelessness of Fleeting Time, who grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s hand and shook it hard. He then stood up with the grin still on his face before she could even react, ¡°I¡¯ll go see Absalom off.¡±

    ¡°Huh? The rain is so heavy right now! Where do you expect me to go?¡± Absalom who was staring at the sources of his gossip was shocked. That bastard! He¡¯s chasing me away?

    Fleeting Time pulled Absalom up from the ground and pulled him to the mouth of the cave, ¡°Don¡¯t you have something to do? Like getting people to check the ore vein out?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t it wait until the rain stops?¡± Absalom immediately voice out his objection.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the stuff I told you to bring along?¡± Fleeting Time was not at all courteous with Absalom.

    ¡°It¡¯s all here.¡± Absalom handed all the items to Fleeting Time without making a fast, ¡°Is Gongzi You having troubles resupplying in the Western Continent?¡± he asked in a low voice.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Fleeting Time replied absentmindedly. He narrowed his eyes as he recalled Gongzi You¡¯s appearance as a male Rogue during their brief encounter. What sort of skill is that? Does ite with a time limit? If I did not run into her just now... Will she resupply in a city with that skill?

    Absalom who was oblivious to the thoughts going on in Fleeting Time¡¯s head was slightly puzzled by his behavior. He stole a nce at Gongzi You and spoke in an even lower voice, ¡°So... She¡¯ll be depending on your to resupply then?¡±

    ¡°Nope. We will be depending on you.¡± Fleeting Time smiled insincerely.

    ¡°ME?¡± Absalom¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m as free as you? How can you expect me to do something like this?¡±

    ¡°Do you want people to see her here? Or perhaps do you perhaps want the yers from our guild to think that you¡¯re colluding with the Eastern Continent?¡± Fleeting TIme was someone would speak as he pleases. However, things that he meant as jokes would often sound real. As a friend of Fleeting Time for so many years, Absalom was supposed to be immune to his antics. For reasons unknown, whenever Fleeting Time blurt random things out from his mouth, Absalom would always be the one who was tricked.

    He once again fell for Fleeting Time¡¯s words. After a long moment of thought, he came to the conclusion that he must keep this matter a secret before they could solidify their hold on the Mithril ore vein. Nobody else must know of Gongzi You¡¯s presence in the Western Continent.

    Despite the trouble, he knew that Gongzi You must not be left alone to her own devices in the Western Continent. A person who could make her way unnoticed into the hearnds of the Western Continent and had the knowledge of the location of the continent¡¯s Mithril ore vein was too dangerous to be left alone.

    But... Absalom stared at Fleeting Time, is it really a good idea to have him keeping an eye on Gongzi You?

    ¡°You shook hands with her with this hand, right...¡± Fleeting Time grabbed hold of Absalom¡¯s right hand and squeezed down hard without warning. Absalom let out a yelp, and Ye Ci stared incredulously at the duo.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Watch where you ce your hands on.¡± Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows and patted Absalom on his shoulders. He then pushed him out of the cave, ¡°And please be more tactful. You should disappear from this ce now.¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time , you bastard! How could you value your lover more than friendship? I hope that your son is born without a p*nis!¡± Absalom cried out in dismay. With the rain pouring down hard on him, he could only summon his steed and made way to Light Saint City at the best possible speed.

    A Mithril ore vein... Is that possible?

    ¡°These are for you.¡± said Fleeting Time as he ced the arrows and consumables beside Ye Ci.

    ck Feather Arrows! Those are good stuff! thought Ye Ci as she saw the arrows. At the current stage of the game, ck Feather Arrows could said to be the best arrows in Fate. Despite itsck of special effects, ck Feather Arrows had a high damage value. These arrows were not sold by any NPCs, and could only be acquired by crafting. How generous of him to give me 20 stacks of these.

    ¡°You have a lot of good stuff.¡± Ye Ci did not even thank Fleeting Time as she stored the arrows into her inventory.

    Fleeting Time was apparently not expecting Ye Ci to express her gratitude. Her straightforward attitude was something that he liked, ¡°You have some good items with you as well.¡± said Fleeting Time with a smile.

    He must be talking about the Brooch of Deceit, thought Ye Ci to herself. She had no intention of telling Fleeting TIme about the secrets of the brooch as it was none of his concern. This was why Ye Ci chose to remain silent.

    Fleeting Time shrugged when he received no response from Ye Ci. Despite his curiosity about the male Rogue, he would not force the answer out of Gongzi You. After all, he was not someone like Absalom.

    ¡°Alright, Absalom is gone now. So why don¡¯t you tell me what you¡¯re really here for?¡± Fleeting Time went straight to the point.

    Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time for a long moment before finally speaking up, ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me the things that you¡¯ve figured out so far?¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows, ¡°You¡¯re here in the Western Continent for a quest. If I¡¯m not wrong... It could be an epic-tier quest.¡± and a confident smile spread across his face, ¡°And if I¡¯m not mistaken, your quest has something to do with the Bloody Wilderness. There¡¯s no way you¡¯ll stay in this map for hours without a reason.¡±

    Ye Ci was not surprised by Fleeting Time¡¯s words. This man was intelligent, and he hid his intelligence very well. It was no wonder that he could see through something so simple.

    ¡°You requested to see Absalom as a measure to keep yourself safe, and to ensure that you canplete your Epic-tier quest in the shortest possible time. Your n is to get Absalom to send an escort who will serve as your guide and your means of resupply. You¡¯re right, you can¡¯t possibly benefit directly from the Mithril ore vein, but you can still use it to achieve the greatest benefit. Isn¡¯t that a good thing for you?¡± there was a glint in Fleeting Time¡¯s eyes as he smiled at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci let out a sigh. This guy... He¡¯s able to correctly guess my intention. Is it a good thing, or a bad thing?

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know why I¡¯m able to guess such a thing?¡± even as Ye Ci remained silent, Fleeting Time could read her true feelings from her expression, ¡°Because if I were you, I would¡¯ve done the same thing too.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for a ce called Vo¡¯sok. Do you know where it is?¡± Ye Ci had nothing more to hide as Fleeting Time was able to figure out most of the truth.

    ¡°Vo¡¯sok?¡± Fleeting TIme was momentarily stunned when he heard the name.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s in this ce ording to my quest description. It seems that you¡¯ve been here a lot. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know where that ce it.¡±

    Fleeting Time smiled at Ye Ci¡¯s words. He stood up and stared at the rain that was already bing lighter, ¡°The former home of the Goblins?¡±

    ¡°How do you know about the home of the Goblins?¡±

    ¡°I spend a lot of time in the National Library. Everybody knows about minor details like this.¡± responded Fleeting Time, ¡°The rain¡¯s stopping soon. Get ready, we¡¯ll be heading out when it gets lighter.¡±

    Ye Ci was baffled. Why don¡¯t we wait for the rain to fully stop? Fleeting Time turned around and noticed Ye Ci¡¯s expression, ¡°Most of the yers leveling up in the Bloody Wilderness are using character sses with cloth armor. They¡¯ll all resume their activity when the rain stops, and it¡¯s not easy to traverse through the map with them around.¡±

    ¡°You lead the way then.¡± Ye Ci agreed to Fleeting Time¡¯s words. Under such circumstances, it was best to avoid any contacts with Western Continent yers.

    Vo¡¯sok was situated at the southern part of the Bloody Wilderness. It was a gigantic crater withrge gaping cracks that looked like wounds suffered by the ground that could never be healed. The crater and the cracks were filled with wilting trees. Countless parasitic nts thrived on the fallen trees, giving off an air of eeriness especially with the weather in the Bloody Wilderness.

    At the point, the stormy rain was already a drizzle.

    The ce was quiet except for the sound of the rain sttering on the nts. Despite the silence, Ye Ci knew that things were not as quiet as they seem after years of ying Fate. Danger is always lurking in a quiet ce.

    ¡°What sort of monsters would usually appear in that ce? There¡¯s nobody around. I guess the monsters in this area are quite high leveled then?¡± Ye Ci voiced out her observation. She had only been to the ce once in her past life, and was unfamiliar with the map.

    ¡°I have no idea. Nobody has ventured into that ce before.¡± Fleeting Time shook his head. He had attempted to enter the area multiple times in the past, but he had always been thrown out of the ce by an unseen force during each of his attempts.

    ¡°Then how do you know that this is Vo¡¯sok?¡±

    Fleeting Time pointed a a section of crumbling wall not far away. Strange writings that held no meaning to Ye Ci were etched a stone tablet near the wall. ¡°That¡¯s Ancient Goblinnguage. We can learn it in Western Continent¡¯s National Library by paying 1,000 gold coins. Don¡¯t you have something like this in the Eastern Continent?¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°Only Ancient Orcish is avable in Eastern Continent¡¯s National Library.¡± she then stared at stone tablet, ¡°What do the words say?¡±

    ¡°Vo¡¯sok, the Paradise for Goblins...¡± Fleeting Time pursed his lips, ¡°There¡¯s also a smile line at the back that says ¡®Vo¡¯sok, thend of sins¡¯.¡±

    This must be it. Ye Ci cast a sideway nce at Fleeting Time, and started walking towards the crevice. She was immediately pushed back by an unseen force in the next moment. Ye Ci staggered backwards by the force, and would have fell if Fleeting Time did not reach out and catch her arm in time.

    ¡°You were pushed out as well?¡± Fleeting Time was already used to such an urrence, ¡°Many of us attempted to enter, but were all thrown out as well. I thought you¡¯d be able to enter that ce because of the quest. Apparently you can¡¯t enter that ce as well.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s an old ruins covered with weeds in front of you. Your heart was moved as you stared at the ruins. There¡¯s something that you have to find in the ruins, but a shield was keeping you out from your destination. Think, what do you have to do to get in?¡± a system notification rang out and an old voice began its narration.

    The narration reminded Ye Ci of the Goblin Compass. The needle of the Goblin Compass was glowing with a bright shade of red as she pulled thepass. A mechanical voice rang out following a flurry of beeping sounds, ¡°Vo¡¯sok detected. Attempting to locate DeFrei... Target is out of range... Please enter Vo¡¯sok for another scan.¡±

    Fleeting Time heard the voice from the Goblin Compass as well, ¡°So this is the quest item?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci nodded, ¡°But I¡¯m not sure if I can get into Vo¡¯sok with this.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s worth a try.¡± said Fleeting Time as he walked towards the shield. Despite the shield¡¯s transparent form, Fleeting Time stopped half a yard away from the shield, as if he could tell its correct position. He then waved at Ye Ci, ¡°Over here. You won¡¯t be pushed away by the shield from here.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded and walked up to Fleeting Time. She could once again hear the old voice when she stood by Fleeting Time¡¯s side, ¡°You searched through your inventory, and found a dusty object. You pulled the object out from your inventory and blew away the dust. Cough cough. By the Gods, just how long have you been neglecting this thing? You¡¯re quick to realise that the object is actually a beautiful Goblin Compass. You seem to be able to enter the boundaries of the shield with the help of this object. Your heart is full of excitement. Yes! This is the object that you were looking for!¡±

    Ye Ci was not happy at all when she heard the narration... Since when have I forgotten about thepass? I¡¯ve been tinkering with it a few hours ago! Quest narratives such as this are so annoying!

    A system notification rang out the moment the narration stopped, ¡°Two yers from opposing factions are attempting to enter the map. ording the thews of the Goblins, no warring factions are allowed to enter their territory. You are allowed to enter Vo¡¯sok as a party. Do you want to form a party?¡±

    With that, a party request appeared on both Ye Ci¡¯s and Fleeting Time¡¯s screen. The system allowed freedom of action to the yers. This was why both Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were offered a choice to form a party instead of being immediately forced into a party.

    Fleeting Time confirmed the request without a slight moment of hesitation. After casting a sideway nce at Fleeting Time¡¯s handsome face, Ye Ci confirmed the request as well. The duo was immediately ced in a party created by the system, which would only be disbanded when they left the boundaries of Vo¡¯sok.

    Well, it seems that I¡¯m stuck with this guy now. Ye Ci let out a sigh. However, she was not worried that Fleeting Time would be a burden to her.

    As the saying goes, ¡°one should not be worried about Godlike opponents, but should beware of teammates who are like pigs¡±. Even when such a scenario would never happen to the party, it was still unsettling for Ye Ci to be in the same party with Fleeting Time. Aren¡¯t we supposed to be rivals who would kill each other on sight? Why are we trying toplete a quest in the same party? It feels so wrong no matter how you look at it!

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± said Fleeting Time. The Goblin Compass was designed to send notifications of any clues to the party members, and it had been beeping for quite some moments.

    When the duo once again approached the shield, they were able to enter its boundaries. A system notification then rang out in their ears, ¡°You have discovered the Forgotten Land.¡±

    It was obvious that the ce was a dungeon... A hidden dungeon. Such dungeons could only be activated by very specific quest items or conditions before they were made avable to yer exploration. A time limit would be imposed on yers who were exploring a hidden dungeon ranging from a day to a month. The system would then determine what would happen to the dungeon based on the yer¡¯spletion. Under normal circumstances, a hidden dungeon with a 90%pletion rate would be converted into a normal dungeon, while hidden dungeons with a lowerpletion rate would experience a reset.

    The hidden dungeon that waspleted by Ye Ci and her friends was converted into a normal dungeon due to their performance. The dungeon was filled with monsters that had a high respawn rate, which made it an ideal dungeon for new yers.

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were excited when they realised that Vo¡¯sok was a hidden dungeon. After all, hidden dungeons were very rare in Fate, and were generally more challenging than normal dungeons.

    Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time as he fiddled with a dagger. It was as if the dagger was alive, and was dancing between the fingers of Fleeting Time like a fairy. She could see the excitement in Fleeting Time¡¯s eyes. It was the same excitement exhibited by a child who had just found a new toy. Excitement... It¡¯s such a good feeling.

    ¡°Ahh.. So this ce is currently known as the Forgotten Land instead of Vo¡¯sok.¡± said Fleeting Time with a smile, ¡°Do you have Hawkeye?¡±

    ¡°Not yet.¡± Ye Ci was aggravated when the skill was mentioned by Fleeting Time. She obtained arge number of skillbooks at the early stages of the game, but was unable to acquire the Hunter skill, Hawkeye, which was one of the few detection skills that could be learned by the Hunter ss. It was also a lifesaver for Hunters in difficult situations.

    Fleeting Timeughed when he noticed the sadness in Ye Ci¡¯s voice, ¡°Hawkeye has a rather high droprate in the Western Continent. If you¡¯re not able to acquire one by the time youplete the quest, I¡¯ll get one for you from our guild warehouse.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re giving me something that is a property of your guild?¡± Ye Ci stared at Fleeting incredulously, ¡°I¡¯m a yer from the Eastern Continent! Aren¡¯t you asking for trouble by doing that? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a good thing if I can¡¯t acquire the skill? Are you daft?¡±

    ¡°As long as Little Gongzi does not have it, I¡¯m willing to give it to you, even if it spells trouble for me. I don¡¯t mind if you call me an idiot.¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes and a smile formed on his lips, ¡°My willingness to do something is priceless.¡±

    Ye Ci was baffled by Fleeting Time¡¯s words. Even without taking his intention into ount, it was just outright impossible for a person to retrieve an item from Genesis¡¯s guild warehouse without a good reason. Even she herself could not ess the guild warehouse of Upwards Ho! at will. Why does Fleeting Time sound like it¡¯s not a big deal?, ¡°Won¡¯t your treasurer say anything if an item went missing?¡±

    ¡°The treasurer?¡± it was a word that was not heard often by Fleeting Time. After giving the matter a long thought, Fleeting Time realised that there seemed to be such a person in his guild.

    Ye Ci could tell from Fleeting Time¡¯s expression that he had never cared about the regtions of his guild. One could even say that he had no conscience about such a thing.

    There could only be two logical exnations:

    1.Fleeting Time had never taken anything from the guild warehouse, which was why he was unaware of such the regtions.

    2.Somebody was always covering up for Fleeting Time whenever he took items from the guild warehouse without permission, which was why he had never even interacted with the guild¡¯s treasurer.

    Based on her knowledge of Fleeting Time, the ruffian was most probably thetter...

    As expected, Fleeting Time¡¯s answer after his long moment of thought proved Ye Ci¡¯s point, ¡°Well, it¡¯s just a skillbook. Absalom will take care of it.¡±

    Ye Ci sighed loudly, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely not grant you ess to the guild warehouse if you¡¯re a member of my guild...¡± Ye Ci felt pity for Absalom when she stared at Fleeting Time¡¯s repulsive expression. Nobody knew just how many times Absalom was forced to clean up the mess made by Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time was unfazed by her words, ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll go scout the ce out. Make sure to stay hidden.¡±

    With that, Fleeting Time began heading to higher grounds while Ye Ci immediately entered stealth.

    Hawkeye was a Hunter ss skill that grants its user an additional visual range of up to 200 yards, and had a chance of spotting enemies who were camouged or stealthed. This ability was especially useful for Hunters who were sent to scout out an area for a party. If a Hunter without Hawkeye was described as a ss cannon, then a Hunter with Hawkeye was a mobile observation tform that was armed to the teeth, and would y an entirely different role in a party. The ability wouldst 30 seconds upon casting, with a cooldown timer of one minute. It was a very useful skill inbat.

    Fleeting Time returned to Ye Ci¡¯s side after a short moment and began briefing her on their surroundings, ¡°I can see an abandoned city. Most of the buildings are made by would, just like the birthce of the Elves. I can see a lot of Goblins in that city, but I can¡¯t tell if they¡¯re friend or foe. Their names appeared to be yellow, so something might trigger a reaction out of them and make them hostile. There¡¯s a small road ahead of us leading to a city, but from all the growths and vegetations I can see around the road, it has probably not been used for many years. There might even be traps waiting for us. I have yet to spot any Bloodthirsty Undead and Corrupted Orcs. This might not be their .¡±

    In the short 30 seconds, Fleeting Time was able to collected and analysed vital information for the two-yer party. If he was acting as a scout for a muchrger party, he would be able to increase the survivability of the party exponentially.

    ¡°Goblins are very good engineers. Even if the average Goblin has no knowledge about Gobin Engineering, they can still create machines with high destructive power. Have you learned the skill Detect Machine?¡± said Ye Ci after a brief moment of thought.

    ¡°I do, but this will be the first time I¡¯m using it.¡± Fleeting Time scratched his head. With the low number of mechanical type monsters in the current stage of the game, he barely had the chance of putting the ability to good use.

    ¡°I¡¯ll scout ahead, you stay behind me, and don¡¯t summon your pet.¡± said Fleeting Time as he activated Detect Machine and entered stealth. Ye Ci, who was also stealthed, followed close behind. The duo began advancing into the dark city ahead.

    What a wonderful journey, toplete an inexplicable quest in an inexplicable dungeon with an inexplicable teammate.

    But... Isn¡¯t this exactly the thing that makes life fun?

 Chapter 235 Exploring Voâ€™sok

    ¡°There¡¯s a Machine Trap 27 degrees to your left with the radius of 7 yards, go around it.¡± Fleeting Time advanced carefully while rying vital information to Ye Ci, who was following after him.

    With Fleeting Time¡¯s instructions, Ye Ci was able to avoid the trap.

    ¡°There¡¯s another one 15 degrees to your left with a 10 yards radius. There¡¯s also a trap with a 10 yards radius 17 degrees to your right. You can avoid those traps by going between them, but you have to be careful, the soil is loose and you risk triggering the trap.¡± Fleeting Time was able to analyse the situation clearly and ryed it to Ye Ci as he scouted ahead.

    Even if Fleeting Time was a Western Continent yer, Ye Ci had no choice but to trust the man unconditionally due to their circumstances. It was not an easy task, but after spending four hours with Fleeting Time, Ye Ci realised that it was not hard to work with the man. He was a nuisance to her most of the time, but he was a trustworthy teammate in exploring a dungeon.

    ¡°There¡¯s a mechanical dog in front of us. Let¡¯s wait until it passes.¡± the duo encountered a mechanical dog right when they entered Vo¡¯sok after traversing through roads that were filled with traps.

    After untold years of wear and tear, the dog¡¯s metal body was covered with rust, and every movement made by the mechanical dog was apanied by the shrill sound of grinding metal parts. However, the red glow in the dog¡¯s eyes was a sign that it still retained its function.

    Goblin Engineering was superior to the Engineering techniques that could be learned by yers. It was rare for yers to be able to produce machines that could simte living animals. Of course, creating machines such as mechanical dogs and machines in humanoid form was impossible for yers. Despite its appearance, the mechanical dog was as nimble as a regr hound. It roamed the streets in an irregr pattern, asionally sniffing the scent in the air. Ye Ci might have mistaken the mechanical dog for a real dog if not for the metallic noises being released as a result ofck of maintenance.

    The name of the dog was not red in color, but yellow instead. This meant that the mechanical dog was neutral, and would not attack Ye Ci and Fleeting Time unless it was attacked first.

    However, humans would always overlook tiny details due to what they perceive asmon sense, and therefore met with unexpected failures. When Ye Ci and Fleeting Time walked past the mechanical dog, thinking that it was a mere neutral monster, the dog pounced on the duo.

    The dog¡¯s attack posed not much of the threat to Ye Ci and Fleeting Time, but it¡¯s sharp and loud bark attracted the attention of the Goblins and other mechanical dogs that were in the vicinity.

    ¡°Goddamnit! So these dogs are the trigger for those neutral monsters!¡± Ye Ci gritted her teeth. The mechanical dog was able to get within 8 yards of the duo with its high speed, which meant that Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were unable to engage their foes with ranged attacks. They were forced to summon their pets in an attempt to defeat the mechanical dog.

    When the mechanical dog had only 10% of its HP left, Ye Ci backed away and dashed at the direction of the iing enemies, nting Frost and Icy traps in their path. Fleeting Time was able to take out the mechanical dog with the help of Ol¡¯ Four and Little Five by the time Ye Ci was done setting up the traps. The advancing Goblins and mechanical dogs were frozen solid when they stepped on Ye Ci¡¯s traps.

    Fleeting Time was already on the move before his foes were even frozen. He cast Hunter¡¯s Mark on one of the enemies, marking it as the target of the duo. As Ye Ci attracted the aggro of the marked Goblin, Fleeting Time charged ahead and ced his traps as well.

    The duo shared a simrbat style even if they had never been part of the same party before.. They were able to cooperate well with each other before long, which improved their effectiveness in clearing the monsters. Only 8 of the 20 enemies remained. ¡°Let¡¯s just take them all out with Multi Arrows. There¡¯s only 8 of them left, and they¡¯re only Elite monsters. There shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    Ye Ci had the same thought as well. She directed Ol¡¯ Four forward to attract the aggro of the monsters and cast Rain of Arrows on the enemies before firing Multi Arrows with Fleeting Time.

    The Rain of Arrows, which was followed up by two Multi Arrows released by two high leveled Hunters were enough to defeat a huge number of Elite monsters. With theirbined firepower and strong pets, Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were able to dispatch their opponents before they could even get within attack range.

    The battlested for 3 minutes and 47 seconds, which resulted inplete annihtion of 22 lvl60 Elite monsters.

    Fleeting Time sat on the ground to replenish his mana after the battle. Due to her Strength Conservation, Ye Ci had no need of replenishing her mana, but being in the Western Continent meant that her stamina drain was significantly higher. This was why she had to take frequent rests during her stay in the Western Continent. Ol¡¯ Four walked up to Ye Ci, wacking its tail as it began pestering Ye Ci for food. When Ye Ci threw a piece of roasted meat at Ol¡¯ Four, the beast snatched the meat from midair and stared at Little Five provocatively.

    Little Five creaked as it flew in circles around Fleeting Time. It was apparent that the bat was enraged, and that it would definitely attack Ol¡¯ Four if they were not part of the same party. Little Five could onlyin his grievances to its master, hoping that its master would do it justice. Fleeting Time patted Little Five on its head and threw it a piece of roasted meat as well.

    This was the first time Ye Ci had the opportunity to observe Fleeting Time¡¯s pet at such a close distance. Little Five was a huge bat with dark red fur. With an eight yards long wingspan, a pair of gleaming eyes, and strang ws, the bat was something that should not be trifled with. However, at that moment, the bat was like a child that was throwing a tantrum.

    ¡°Your bat doesn¡¯t seem like an ordinary bat.¡± observed Ye Ci. Even an Elite bat would not be as fearsome as Fleeting Time¡¯s bat. It was very obvious that Little Five was an Epic-tier life form, ¡°Is it an Epic-tier pet?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I ran into it in the Togo Canyon, and was almost killed by it.¡± said Fleeting Time as he cast a sideways nce at Ol¡¯ Four, ¡°Your T-rex is no ordinary T-rex as well. Is it an Epic-tier monster too?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I almost died as well in the process of capturing him.¡± Ye Ci nodded with a smile. There was a lot of things that two Hunters could talk about, including theirbat strategy, skillbos, equipment, weapons, and pets.

    ¡°I can imagine that.¡± Fleeting Time could understand the hardship suffered by Ye Ci. It was not easy to acquire an Epic-tier pet, and every Hunter who had managed to acquire one would usually suffer a lot of hardships, ¡°What¡¯s the name of your pet.¡±

    ¡°Ol¡¯ Four.¡± Ye Ci was no longer as guarded against Fleeting Time. She was even in a good mood, ¡°How about yours?¡±

    ¡°Little Five.¡±

    ¡°Why such a name?¡± Ye Ci was curious.

    ¡°I¡¯m the boss, so I should be number one, and ¡®Little Two¡¯[1] was just awful, and ¡®Little Three¡¯[2] is just too immoral, so the name of my pets started with ¡®Little Four¡¯, and ¡®Little Five¡¯ is my second pet, which is why he got the name.¡± Fleeting Time was very proud of his pet¡¯s naming system, ¡°How about you? Why did you name your pet ¡®Ol¡¯ Four¡¯?¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. She was reluctant to answer the question. So someone who is as bad at naming as I am exists in this word.

    ¡°How many pets do you have?¡± Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci with a smile on his face.

    ¡°Two.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that.. Your first pet is called ¡®Ol¡¯ Three¡¯?¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Ye Ci was surprised. Is the name that easy to guess?

    ¡°Because you¡¯re the boss, which ces you as ¡®one¡¯, and Ol¡¯ Two is a certain male organ, which meant that your only viable choice is to start with Ol¡¯ Three, and this dinosaur right here is Ol¡¯ Four.¡± Fleeting Time chuckled, ¡°Little Gongzi, I¡¯ve never expected you to use a simr naming system. You can say that it¡¯s just like different tunes yed with equal skill!¡±

    ¡°You mean we¡¯re both bad at naming our pets...¡± Ye Ci mumbled. This guy is so shameless... How can he describe something as embarrassing like that into something dignified? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s somebody as shameless as he is.

    After a moment¡¯s of rest and making sure that Ol¡¯ Four and Little Five were fed, the duo continued their exploration.

    They no longer needed to go into stealth as they had already discovered the trigger to the neutral monsters. Vo¡¯sok was once a beautiful city full of nts and life, but the only things remaining in the city were dead trees and wilted flowers. Even the river had dried up, and the bone remains of fishes that had once inhabited the river could be seen on the cracked riverbed. One could easily imagine the former glory of Vo¡¯sok. Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were free to walk around the Goblins when there were no mechanical dogs around. The Goblins in the city were dull and sluggish. There was not even a sign of vigor in their eyes.

    The duo advanced ahead carefully, constantly taking note of their surroundings. They would take out any mechanical dogs that appeared, before their barks could attract any monsters nearby. When the two finally stopped for a short rest, it was time for dinner.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re not logging off to have dinner?¡± asked Fleeting Time when he noticed that Ye Ci showed no intention of logging out of the game.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°This quest is too time sensitive. I¡¯ve even connected nutrient packs to my gaming cabin. I won¡¯t be logging off before Iplete this quest unless something serious happens.¡± she stared at Fleeting Time, even if I¡¯m not going to go offline for the sake ofpleting this quest, I can¡¯t expect him to stay online with me, can I? My supplies were replenished anyways, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go have you meal? I promise I¡¯ll remain in the dungeon.¡±

    Fleeting Time was about to voice his mind, but decided against it. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go offline. Be careful and take note of your surroundings when you¡¯re in the dungeon alone.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± even if they were enemies, Ye Ci epted Fleeting Time¡¯s parting advice. After all, she would definitely suffer from a heavy penalty if she died in the dungeon. Even respawning would be a problem for her.

    Fleeting Time logged out of the game after Ye Ci nodded her affirmation.

    Ye Ci decided to head deeper into the city of Vo¡¯sok after replenishing her Stamina. Despite the significant number of Goblin roaming aimlessly at the outskirts of the Vo¡¯sok, Ye Ci did not encounter any Goblins within the city itself while walking around the streets with the Goblin Compass in hand. The city was filled with the stench of rotting nts and corrupted soil, but Ye Ci could still see the asional wild flowers in secluded corners of the city.

    This made the atmosphere of Vo¡¯sok even more sorrowful to Ye Ci. Despite herck of knowledge in the Ancient Goblinnguage, Ye Ci was able to discern the different shops in the city through the symbols drawn on their signs, which were used in every continents.

    Since Vo¡¯sok used to be a bustling city, these shops must be filled with goods.

    With that thought in mind, Ye Ci walked into one of the shops. The shop was in a state of mess. Ye Ci could find no valuables after making her round through the shop. Most of the objects in the shop had already fallen into disrepair since the fall of Vo¡¯sok. Despite the situation, Ye Ci refused to give up hope.

    She was able to find some wless gems in one of the shops, which were very valuable in the market. This shall be the payment for my hard work in thest few days. She continued her exploration after cing the gems into her inventory.

    Right at that moment, the Goblin Compass announced in a sharp voice, ¡°Danger ahead! Danger ahead, 45 degrees to the left!¡±

    Ye Ci immediately dismissed Ol¡¯ Four and entered stealth. She snuck into an abandoned house through an open window. She peeked at the direction indicated by the Goblin Compass. Her sightsid on a small alley, but there was no enemies in sight.

    After a short minute of waiting in silence, Ye Ci could hear of footsteps approaching her position. The footsteps were muffled, but Ye Ci could tell that there was her enemies were travelling in arge group.

    ¡°Little Gongzi, where are you right now?¡± Ye Ci received a message from Fleeting Time just as she hid back into the house.

    Trantor¡¯s note:

    [1] Little two (Ð¡¶þ) is literally ¡°waiter¡± in mandarin, so... It doesn¡¯t really sound nice. Imagine people calling your pet ¡°Waiter!!!¡± while ¡°Little three¡± (Ð¡Èý) means homewrecker in mandarin. Like the third person in a rtionship.

    ¡°Look at the map.¡± Since when did hee online? I didn¡¯t even notice his presence.

    ¡°I¡¯m on the rooftop across the street. The map says that you¡¯re supposed to be nearby, but why can¡¯t I see you?¡± Fleeting Time was baffled. His map indicated that Ye Ci was in a house just across the street, but she was nowhere in sight.

    Ye Ci adjusted a gaze to the houses in front of her, and was quick to spot Fleeting Time hiding in one of the houses that were in ruins, ¡°I¡¯m hiding underneath a window. The Goblin Compass warned me of an iing danger 45 degrees to my left, and I heard the footsteps as well, but I can¡¯t see anything. Can you have a look around?¡±

    Fleeting Time spotted Ye Ci, and cast his nce at the direction she provided. He spotted arge groups of Orcs marching down the streets.

    ¡°What do you see?¡±

    ¡°A group of Orcish soldiers.¡± Fleeting Time was already in stealthas well, ¡°There¡¯s around 50 of them. They¡¯re all Elite monsters that are above lvl60, and it seems that their aggro is linked. If we alerted even one of them, the entire group will surelye after us.¡±

    ¡°Are there any mechanical dogs around?¡± Ye Ci was very mindful about the mechanical dogs after their first encounter. A mechanical dog had the senses of a real hound, and could spot their presence easily. If we¡¯re spotted by one of the mechanical dogs, only certain death awaits.

    ¡°There¡¯s none of them in sight yet,¡± observed Fleeting Time, ¡°Don¡¯t move, and don¡¯t make a sound. We should be safe as long as there are no Bloodthirsty Undeads around.¡±

    Every race in Fate had their own specialty. Elves were masters of stealth, while Humans had high levels of Intelligence. Undeads, on the other hand, had very high levels of Perception.

    Even if they were ssified as monsters, the Bloodthirsty Undead were still part of the Undead race. They shared the same high Perception possessed by the Undead race, and could easily detect the scent of intruders... Especially that of the living...

    Ye Ci hid herself below the window as the Corrupted Orcs approached her position and held her breath in an attempt to conceal her presence.

    Fleeting Time, on the other hand, hid himself behind the vines and growths surrounding the house and observed the Orcish troops. Unlike the monsters that roamed the Bloody WIlderness in tattered hide clothing, the Orcs wore shining armor and were armed with gleaming weapons. They marched forward, presenting an awe-inspiring sight to any onlookers. It was apparent that the Orcs were way superior than the Orcs in the Bloody Wilderness.

    An Orcish soldier with even higher level followed behind his kinsmen, riding on the back of a blue Kodo Beast. The Orc¡¯s helm was decorated by two long feathers, and it was armed to the teeth. Fleeting Time cast Detection on the Orc to have a clear read on its stats.

    Orcish Captain (Elite): lvl63, HP: 500,000/500,000

    Fleeting Time analysed the situation for Ye Ci as he knew that she could not spot the orcs from her position, ¡°There¡¯s a captain at the back of the group. He¡¯s a lvl63 Elite monster with 500,000 HP.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s insane.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes. Even when the Orc¡¯s hitpoints was a small matter to them, it was still a lvl63 Elite monster. It was not easy to deal with the Orcish Captain especially so many of its subordinates around.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way we can take them on. Let¡¯s wait for them to pass.¡± said Fleeting Time.

    The Orcish troops stopped abruptly when they passed between the Duo. The Orcs at the front of the formation began sniffing the air, and spoke in the Orcishnguage that was not known by Fleeting Time, ¡°What are they talking about? Have they discovered our presence?¡±

    Ye Ci, who understood Orcish, listened in on the conversation. What was being discussed by the Orcs was not favourable to the duo.

    ¡°It¡¯s bad. They¡¯ve discovered the scent of wild beasts on the streets. It must¡¯ve been left by Ol¡¯ Four.¡±

    Orcs were natural born hunters. Unlike Elves, the Orcs were very good in tracking down their preys, which was why they were very sensitive to the scent of beasts.

    ¡°You¡¯ve not enteredbat yet. Log out of the game now.¡± said Fleeting Time. A yer could go offline in-game as long as he or she was not engaged inbat. And if the party was not disbanded, the yer would still remain in his or her original position when he or she log back into the game, ¡°Log back in 30 minutester.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ye Ci was out of ideas. The scent of Ol¡¯ Four was lingering on her body. If the situation dragged on, the Orcish Soldiers would definitely discover her location. The only way for her to ovee the situation was to log out of the game.

    Fleeting Time continued to hide as Ye Ci¡¯s icon turned grey. He did not summon Little Five after logging out of the game moments ago, which meant that he was safe from detection. He would be safe as long as he remained hidden.

    With Ye Ci offline, the Orcs immediately lost the source of the scent. This caused the confusion among their ranks. After spending some moments sniffing the air, the orcs reported back to their captain, who did not appear to be interested in the matter. After waving his hand dismissively and speaking in anguage that Fleeting Time could not understand, the Orcish captain ordered his men to continue their march.

    *ck ck ck*

    The Orcish soldiers immediately returned into formation after receiving the order from their captain, and the entire group of Orcs resumed their march down the streets.

    Fleeting Time let out a sigh of relief after the Orcs were a safe distance away. That was too close! If Gongzi You did not go offline in time, they would¡¯ve discovered the both of us.

    With the Orcs troops gone, the street was once again quiet and devoid of life. After making sure that there was no signs of enemies, Fleeting Time emerged from his hiding spot and headed over to Ye Ci¡¯sst location.

    He heard a raspy voice just as he entered the house, ¡°Hey, outsider, what are you doing here?¡±

    Ye Ci took the opportunity to find some food in the kitchen after logging off the game. Even when the nutrient pack connected to the cabins could provide Ye Ci with what her body needed, it did little to satiate her desire for good food.

    When Ye Ci logged back into the game exactly 30 minutester, the first thing she saw was a huge green face that was staring right at her. A startled Ye Ci then jumped backwards and drew her sword.

    ¡°Wah! Why did someone appear out of nowhere? You almost scared me to death!¡± shouted a voice.

    It was a Goblin. A normal looking Goblin (judging by Goblin standards, of course). The Goblin¡¯s face appeared to huge as he was standing right in front of Ye Ci¡¯s spawn point.

    ¡°She¡¯s a friend of mine.¡± said Fleeting Time, who was standing behind the Goblin, with a smile. He then sent a message to Ye Ci through the party chat, ¡°I ran into him just now. Unlike the other NPCs, this little guy is actually friendly, and his mental state is quite normalpared to the other Goblins.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, you¡¯re an Elf as well.¡± the Goblin began studying Ye Ci with a wide grin on his face, ¡°Hello there, I¡¯m Nikky!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. I¡¯m Gongzi You.¡± Ye Ci sheathed her sword after listening to Fleeting Time¡¯s exnation and bowed to Nikky as a sign of respect.

    ¡°Hah! So this is thepanion that you¡¯ve been talking about, right? So does it mean that you can help me out now?¡± Nikky nodded at Ye Ci, and began talking with Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s not a problem at all.¡± replied Fleeting Time and he began his exnation to Ye Ci through the party channel, ¡°I ran into him just now, and he gave me a quest. He wanted me to go to the Goblin Pce Courtyard and retrieve a parcel for him. I epted the quest as we¡¯re headed to that ce. Do you have any problems with it?¡±

    ¡°None at all. We¡¯re heading to the pce anyways.¡± Ye Ci nodded. She was determined toplete any side quests offered by the dungeon.

    Nikky happily handed the duo two red stones when he received the reply from Fleeting Time, ¡°These are power cores used by Goblin Tanks. I¡¯m sure you know that we Goblins are good in Engineering, and this is also why Vo¡¯sok ended up like this. My parcel is in the pce courtyard, but it is upied by arge number of Orcs and Undeads. Take these power cores to the building at the northwest of the pce courtyard. There¡¯s a lot of Goblin Tanks parked in that ce. Those dumb Orcs and Undeads don¡¯t know how to operate the tanks, so they were left unused for a long time. They don¡¯t know that power cores are needed to activate the tanks.¡±

    Nikky was a talkative Goblin. After pestering Ye Ci and Fleeting Time with a bunch of nonsense, he finally went to the main point, ¡°There are several types of Goblin Tanks. Some can be used for defence, some have high firepower, while some are used for repairs. Make your choice wisely and you¡¯ll be able to defeat the Orcs and the Undead in the Goblin Pce Courtyard.¡±

    When Ye Ci and Fleeting Time saw the row of tanks, they started a discussion about which ones to pick.

    ¡°The defensive models will definitely have higher defence values and HP. We will be sacrificing on firepower. Then again, if we don¡¯t have one that is capable of defence, we won¡¯tst long.¡± said Ye Ci as she stood between an offensive tank and a defensive tank.

    ¡°Grab an offensive one. I¡¯ll go repair yours with a repair tank.¡± said Fleeting Time as he inserted his power core into one of the repair tanks.

    Ye Ci sighed, having one less member in a party is really putting us in a disadvantage. But if I go with the defensive model, we won¡¯t have much of a damage output. I guess I¡¯ll go with the offensive tank. She boarded her tank after inserting the power core.

    Machines of war were fairly rare in Fate during the early stages of the game. However, in theter stages of the game, machines such as tanks, catapults, cannons and even nes would be introduced into the game. yers were able to enjoy themselves by operating such machines, but the learning curve of operating the machines was considered high. Machines found during Fate¡¯s earlier stages were easier to operate inparison. With the experiences she had in her past life, Ye Ci had no problem operating her tank. Fleeting Time, on the other hand, was a first timer. Despite that, he was able to familiarize himself with his repair tank quickly after a few tries.

    The duo then charged into the heart of the Goblin Pce Courtyard

    An awe-inspiring sight awaited Ye Ci and Fleeting Time as they entered the courtyard. The courtyard was filled with a vast number of Undeads and Orcs. The duo was able to their opponent by casting Detection. Even when the Undeads and Orcs were not Elite monsters and were at a lower level, they could still overwhelm Ye Ci and Fleeting Time with sheer numbers.

    ¡°Heh, this is exciting.¡± said Fleeting Time as he narrowed his eyes. There was a slight smile on his lips. It was the expression usually worn by Fleeting Time when his interest was piqued.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath, ¡°I¡¯ll start with a corner to avoid attracting the attention of the entire horde. Let¡¯s pick some of them off first.¡±

    Fleeting Time nodded his agreement. Being careful was the right choice when the capabilities of their enemies remained unknown.

    Ye Ci began clearing away the monsters from one corner of the courtyard. The offensive tank had three skills which included a single target attack, a medium AOE attack, and arge AOE attack. Therge AOE attack dealed the highest amount of damage in a veryrge area, but it also had the longest cooldown. While having a lower damage value, the single target attack cooldown was almost instantaneous. Ye Ci began sniping at the odd stragglers with the single target ability, which was able to terminate her Undead and Orcish opponent with one hit despite its lower damage.

    When Ye Ci¡¯s single target attacks attracted the attention of arger group, she began firing the AOE abilities of the tank at the approaching targets. Despite its awesome firepower, the offensive tank had a low defence value. Ye Ci¡¯s tank would have been destroyed if not for Fleeting Time¡¯s repair tank.

    Ye Ci came to a sudden realisation 5 minutes into the battle. She was able to stack the tank¡¯s attacks into hitbos, and a highbo rating would be able to reduce the cooldown of her tank¡¯s AOE attacks. Other than that, her tank was also able to charge up a certain amount of energy when the hitbo was stacked up. When the energy gauge was fully charged, Ye Ci¡¯s tank would release an energy wave that stuns enemies within a 50 yards radius of her tank for 10 seconds.

    Ye Ci was overjoyed by her discovery. She was able to operate her tank better with each passing moment, dishing out damage to her enemies with ruthless efficiency. Before long, the entire courtyard was filled with the corpses of Undead and Orcs.

 Chapter 236 The Truth

    ¡°My power core¡¯s almost drained.¡± said Fleeting Time. An indicator on his tank was shing red, a sign that it was close to running out of power.

    Ye Ci stole a nce at the energy indicator of her tank, ¡°I don¡¯t have much energy left as well. I have enough for one more shot.¡±

    ¡°Launch your attacks on thergest concentration of enemies. We¡¯ll take care of the rest of them with our weapons.¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    As time passed, the duo was able to cultivate their teamwork. They were able tomunicate their meaning with simple sentences. As Hunters, they were able to work seamlessly in taking out the monsters as they knew each other¡¯s skills and abilities very well.

    The tanks finally sputtered to a final halt after the duo cleared away arge groups of monsters. Ye Ci and Fleeting Time then dismounted from their disabled tanks.

    Fleeting Time eyed the remaining Undeads and Orcs left in the courtyard. A rough estimation ced their numbers to be nearly 300. ¡°Why don¡¯t we have a contest right now? Let¡¯s see who gets the most kill in 10 seconds.¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, it¡¯s a nice idea in this boring ce, ¡°Sure. Start the timer.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Our current position will be the starting point.¡± said Fleeting Time as he surveyed his surroundings. The duo¡¯s position was the perfect spot as a starting point.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Ye Ci immediately summoned Ol¡¯ Four. She was ready to spring into action at Fleeting Time¡¯s signal. The man, however, was silent, ¡°What? Is the timer not ready yet?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Fleeting Time was standing still with a smile on his face, ¡°Little Gongzi, since we¡¯re having a contest... There¡¯s bound to be a winner and a loser right? So what do you think about the rewards and penalties?¡±

    ¡°Rewards and penalties?¡± Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time. Is this asshole up to something again?

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t you know what ¡®rewards and penalties¡¯ mean?¡± Fleeting Time inched closer to Ye Ci with a charming smile, ¡°Do you need me to exin it to you?¡±

    ¡°If you win, I¡¯ll allow you free entry to the Eastern Continent once. If I win...¡± Ye Ci appeared to be deep in thought. There¡¯s really nothing that I want from him.

    ¡°And what if you win?¡± there was a glint in Fleeting Time¡¯s eyes as he leaned closer to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci could feel an unknown feeling deep in her heart as she felt Fleeting Time¡¯s warm breath on her face. She raised her hand, and pushed him away, ¡°If I win, I want you to stay away from me.¡± she snorted.

    Fleeting Time was not angry when he was pushed away by Ye Ci, ¡°Little Gongzi, I don¡¯t like your proposal. Do you want to hear mine?¡± he said with a smile.

    ¡°Get lost!¡± Ye Ci turned around to face another direction.

    ¡°Aiya, Little Gongzi, you¡¯re such a killjoy.¡± the corners of Fleeting Time¡¯s mouth rose as he stared at Ye Ci, ¡°Why must you spoil the fun? You set up such a boring stake, but refused to my opinion.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s patience was at its limit, ¡°I¡¯ll sew your mouth shut if you don¡¯t shut up right now!¡± said Ye Ci as she red at Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Fine, fine. Since you insist, I¡¯ll just go along with your suggestion.¡± Despite his defeated look, there was glee in Fleeting Time¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°You...¡± Ye Ci red at him. This asshole.. What the hell is he talking about?

    ¡°Begin!¡± before Ye Ci could explode into rage, Fleeting Time started the timer, and dashed out to his right. Little Five appeared with a loud whoosh! and dove at the enemies.

    Ye Ci could not even react when the timer started. She was already slower than Fleeting Time when she finally sprung into action. She directed Ol¡¯ Four against the closest concentration of Undeads and Orcs, and began firing arrows at the closest enemy.

    Someday... Someday... I¡¯ll severe all of his tendons and skin him alive!

    As Ye Ci and Fleeting Time busied themselves with monster ying in the dungeon, Absalom was not idling as well.

    He received the coordinates of the Mithril ore vein from Gongzi You, and was told that the mountain containing the ore vein would remain as an ordinary mountain before he was able to trigger a certain quest. The nature of the quest, however, was kept a secret from him. His attempts to contact Fleeting Time to ask for a clue was thwarted by system messages notifying that he was busy, and was unreachable at the moment.

    Absalom was depressed, and his imagination began running wild.

    Busy? What is he up to? The system would not block any iing private messages during a fight unless they¡¯re in a dungeon... Or... Doing that thing...

    So just what are they up to?

    A single man and woman spending time together... And he has feelings towards her as well... What if he gave in to his desires and did that thing...

    Of course, it was all an imagination of Absalom. As yers from opposing continents, there was no Intimacy level between Gongzi You and Fleeting Time. The system would not allow intimate interactions between yers who did not possess certain amount of Intimacy points. Besides, with the rapid development of VRMMORPGs, developers would of course take note of the safety of their female yers. A male yer who forced himself upon a female yers would receive severe penalties from the system, and his name would be announced in the World Chat in the form of a system announcement.

    Despite knowing such a fact, Absalom was still engrossed in his own imagination.

    He sat by the table of the guild conference room with a hand supporting his chin as he drummed his other hand against the surface of the table. His mind, however, was running wild with fantasies. Gongzi You is a tough nut to crack, it¡¯s definitely going to be hard for Fleeting Time. Then again, didn¡¯t he just overpowered her in the Bloody Wilderness? It might not be as hard as I think... thought Absalom as he stared at the World Channel in anticipation. Fleeting Time¡¯s name might just appear as a system announcement.

    Aiya... Just what are those two up to right now? It¡¯s a shame I did not insist to stay with them.

    ¡°ABSALOM!¡± the roar of a lioness pulled Absalom back into reality.

    ¡°Ah, honey!¡± Absalom immediately sat up straight when he noticed Sour Apple standing at the entrance of the guild conference room with her hands on her hips.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you have something important to deal with? Is this the so-called ¡®important stuff¡¯ that you¡¯re dealing with? Why are you daydreaming in the guild conference room?¡± Sour Apple rolled the lowest point for a ring dropped in a dungeon, and was in a very bad mood. As a result, Absalom became the victim of her wrath.

    ¡°I just got back!¡± Absalom could tell that his wife was frustrated by her inability to have a good roll with a single nce.

    ¡°So what was so important?¡± Sour Apple was curious.

    Absalom sighed and shook his head, ¡°This is not something that you should know at the moment.¡± he said with a serious expression.

    Despite her asional childish behavior, Sour Apple was very serious when it came to affairs of the guild. She could tell from Absalom¡¯s expression that he was handling something that would benefit from the guild, and it was not settled yet. There was no way Absalom would let her and the other officers of the guild in on the secret under such circumstances. She blinked, and asked inquisitively, ¡°Is it really that important?¡±

    ¡°If the information I received is real... It¡¯s very important.¡± Absalom¡¯s heart was beating fast when he thought of the Mithril ore vein.

    Sour Apple nodded and hugged her husband with a smile, ¡°Honey, you don¡¯t have to worry. I know that nothing is too hard for you.¡±

    Absalom could feel tears welling in his eyes. My wife is the best! She¡¯s nothing like Gongzi You! She was only taking advantage of him and was even bullying him, ¡°Oh honey...¡±

    ¡°By the way, where¡¯s that bastard Fleeting Time?¡± Sour Apple¡¯s expression immediately darkened when a sudden thought shed across her mind, ¡°Isn¡¯t he supposed to help out with clearing the dungeon today? Why did he not show up?¡±

    As Sour Apple was having her conversation with Absalom, White Fairytale was trying to seek her friend out. She noticed that Sour Apple was in the conference room just as she was about to send her a message, and decided to head to the conference room instead. She overheard the conversation between Sour Apple and Absalom just before entering the room, and decided to eavesdrop on the couple. She knew that her action was immoral, but when Fleeting Time was involved, moral was thest thing in her mind.¡±

    ¡°How the hell do I know? He¡¯s a free man, and he¡¯s free to do whatever he wants.¡± Absalom sighed. It was not the first time Sour Apple had asked such a question.

    ¡°White Fairytale was waiting for him all night long! I don¡¯t even have the heart to tell him what¡¯s in that bastard¡¯s mind! Why would he ignore a nice girl like White Fairytale?¡± Sour Apple was infuriated, ¡°Wait... Is he not interested in women....¡±

    Absalom almost coughed up blood. He¡¯s not interested in women? So are you telling me that Gongzi You is a man? I don¡¯t think so! Even if Gongzi You is very thin, and a washboard as well... The looks that Fleeting Time was giving her... Is that the look of a guy who is not interested in women?

    Absalom did not have the courage to voice out his thoughts to Fleeting Time. He could only speak his mind in a more indirect way, ¡°Say, can you stop bugging into the matter between White Fairytale and Fleeting Time? She would¡¯ve even have to wait for him for so many years if they¡¯re really fated together. You don¡¯t know Fleeting Time that well. If he¡¯s really interested in a person, he would shamelessly get close to her no matter what it cost. If it¡¯s someone that he has no interest in...¡± and he continued after a slight pause, ¡°Just stop trying to y matchmaker between the two. You¡¯re just cing yourself in a peculiar position.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sour Apple furrowed her eyebrows, ¡°Isn¡¯t Fleeting Time single at the moment? So there¡¯s nothing wrong with me trying to y matchmaker! We¡¯re all fellow ssmate who¡¯ve known each other for so many years! Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s a wonderful thing for those two desk-mates to get together?¡±

    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you and I desk-mates? I think one desk-mate couple is enough! Do you really want the whole world to be filled with desk-mate couples?¡± Absalom creased his eyebrows as well. He was reminded to the interaction between Fleeting Time and Gongzi You. Fleeting Time would definitely make a mincemeat out of him if his wife continued to y matchmaker. For the sake of his life, Absalom tried his best to change the mind of his wife.

    ¡°Why are you like this? Why do I feel like you don¡¯t wish to see White Fairytale bing a couple with Fleeting Time?¡± Sour Apple was not an idiot. She could tell the meaning behind Absalom¡¯s word.

    ¡°It¡¯s not about me, alright?¡± Absalom grabbed at his hair, ¡°I¡¯m just an audience! It¡¯s not up to me! It¡¯s up to Fleeting Time himself!¡±

    ¡°And have he expressed his unwillingness?¡± Sour Apple snorted.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Absalom was sure of that, ¡°I can still remember what he did when White Fairytale proposed to him during our highschool year! Have you forgotten about it? You even chewed Fleeting Time out for refusing her advances, and when that guy ignore you, you vented your frustration on me!¡± when it came to telling stories of the past, Absalom was as good as, if not better than his wife.

    ¡°That¡¯s like ten years ago! He¡¯s still a wimpy kid back then! What does he know about love? He¡¯s still running around in the basketball court! What does he know about having a girlfriend? So what if he rejected her back then! It¡¯s been ten years since then! Things have changed! He¡¯s matured now, and is full of testosterone! I¡¯m sure he knows a thing or two about romance by now! I have confidence in getting them together!¡± Sour Apple refused to listen to Absalom¡¯s words, ¡°Besides, he didn¡¯t exactly say no back then!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because he¡¯s giving us face! But it¡¯s very, very obvious!¡¯ Absalom was almost driven mad by Sour Apple, ¡°We¡¯ve been ying Fate for almost a year now, and you¡¯ve always been ying matchmaker. Have you ever seeded? You always forget about past pains once you wounds have healed. Have you forgotten about what he said to you? Why must you make it hard for everyone?¡± Absalom finally raised his voice.

    ¡°Why are you raising your voice? I¡¯m just worried about them! Do you think I¡¯ll be doing something so strenuous and unrewarding if they¡¯re not my friends?¡± shouted Sour Apple. She knew that Absalom was right, but she was not willing to ept the truth.

    Fortunately for the couple, the members of the guild would stay away from the conference room whenever the couple was in the room. If that was not the case, videos of the couple¡¯s fight would definitely have flooded the inte.

    ¡°If you really want to help out, then stop trying to y matchmaker! Stop being such a busybody!¡± Absalom was fed up with the topic.

    ¡°Then what do you want Fairytale to do? She has feelings for Fleeting Time since she was 12! She¡¯s liked him for thirteen years! thirteen f*cking years!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s her problem.¡± Absalom creased his eyebrows, ¡°It has nothing to do with you!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that Fleeting Time is too heartless?¡± perhaps due to the differences in the thought process of a man and a woman, Sour Apple could not understand the logic behind Absalom¡¯s words.

    ¡°Heartless?¡± Absalom¡¯s temples began to ache. He grabbed hold of Sour Apple¡¯s shoulders and took in a deep breath, ¡°Honey, this is thest time I¡¯ll ever talk to you about this, so I want you to listen carefully. If you¡¯re still going to get involved in this, don¡¯t drag me along with you. I know that White Fairytale is a good friend of yours, but Fleeting Time is like a brother to me. I don¡¯t want to see my friendship with Fleeting Time ruined because of this.¡± said Absalom with a serious face.

    Absalom¡¯s expression was something that Sour Apple had never seen before. He would never speak to her with such an expression unless guild affairs were involved. He was always someone who was cheerful and boisterous, and would always tolerate her mischief. He was the type of person who would face everything with a smile on his face.

    Sour Apple could feel the pressure weighing down on her, ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯m listening..¡±

    ¡°Alright, even I have to admit that it¡¯s not easy for White Fairytale to like Fleeting Time for thirteen years. It¡¯s an impressive feat considering that fact that he had never once reciprocated her feelings. It¡¯s really rare.¡± Absalom took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down.

    ¡°Yup, yup.¡± Sour Apple nodded happily when she heard the words of Absalom.

    ¡°But... Does it mean that Fleeting Time must repay her affection just because she has fallen in love with him for thirteen years? Must he ept her feelings just because of that? Even if he does not have any feelings for her?¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t he do that? Shouldn¡¯t he at least acknowledge her thirteen years worth of effort?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! If a pig loved you for thirteen years, will you marry the pig as a sign of gratitude for loving you for thirteen years?¡± Absalom furrowed his eyebrows as he quoted the statement from Fleeting Time.

    What are you talking about? H-how can this be the same?¡±

    ¡°How is it any different?¡± Absalom took in a deep breath, ¡°No, shut up and listen to me! Stop trying to cut me off!¡±

    Sour Apple who was about to speak up immediately quieted down when she noticed Absalom¡¯s darkened expression.

    ¡°White Fairytale¡¯s feelings for Fleeting Time is her own business. The decision to reciprocate her feelings is entirely up to Fleeting Time. It has nothing to do with you, Absalom sighed, ¡°I will not judge White Fairytale for her actions, but to me, it¡¯s nothing good. I know that her affection for Fleeting Time might not be something that she can control, but when she must bear the responsibility of being overly obsessed with Fleeting Time even after she was rejected. It might end well for her, but it might also bring her endless suffering. But she still has to pay for the choices she made in the end. Let me get this straight... If I¡¯m rejected by a woman I like, and she has made it clear that she has no interest in me at all, I¡¯ll definitely back off. I¡¯ll at least try to hide my feelings for her, because I don¡¯t want to be a d*ck!¡±

    ¡°How can you say that...¡± Sour Apple was saddened. She was not even sure if the sadness she felt was for White Fairytale, or herself.

    ¡°Then what do you want me to say? It¡¯s the truth! Fleeting Time grew up with us, and I know him very well! If he really has even the tiniest bit of interest in her, she won¡¯t have to wait for him for so many years! He might not look like he cares, and he might have given you the impression that he does not give a damn, but I know him. Deep down, he knows what he wants, and he knows it better than anybody else. White Fairytale is a kind, gentle, beautiful, and loving person. She can even cook very well! She¡¯s a person with the qualities of a perfect wife! But why do you think that Fleeting Time does not even care about all that? It¡¯s because she¡¯s not the type of girl he likes!¡±

    Absalom¡¯s words pounded on Sour Apple¡¯s heart like a hammer. She knew that his words were true, but she could not bring herself to face the truth. She had always been with White Fairytale for the thirteen long years. It was part of her life. But when reality came knocking on her heart, she found herself unwilling to ept the truth.

    ¡°Love can be cultivated.¡± her voice was soft and weak.

    ¡°It depends on what type of person we¡¯re talking about.¡± Absalom shook his head, ¡°Fleeting Time is not that sort of person. He¡¯s locked his feelings up like a safe. The correctbination of password will open the safe, and all his feelings wille pouring out. If you try to crack the safe open with the wrong password, he will never budge. You will never reach his heart even if you shower him with love and affection. His heart is tightly shut, and nobody can force their way in.¡±

    ¡°If that the case, isn¡¯t the thirteen years White Fairytale spent on wooing him a wasted effort?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it better if she walks away right now? Must she continue this farce until he¡¯s married with a family? How old will she be by then? Youth is like a blossoming flower. Once it¡¯s missed, there¡¯s no going back. Nobody will be able to share her suffering with her by then. Not even you.¡± Absalom was straightforward with his wife, ¡°Honey, if you really want Fairytale to be happy, you must make her understand that Fleeting Time is not the right person for her.¡± Absalom patted Sour Apple on the shoulders.

    ¡°Fleeting Time and I are both professional yers. You know how much responsibilities I have. I was able to found Genesis with the help of Fleeting Time, and I don¡¯t want this to cause a ridge between me and him. I don¡¯t want Genesis to suffer because of this. Especially when...¡± Absalom continued after a pause, ¡°Especially when Golden Era is arriving soon.¡±

    Even when Sour Apple was not a professional yer, she knew about Golden Era after her years of gaming with Absalom. She shrugged when she heard Absalom¡¯s words, ¡°Aren¡¯t things like this insignificant?¡±

    ¡°It is, but it¡¯s also very annoying.¡± Absalom stared at Sour Apple, and spoke out his true feelings, ¡°What do you think Fleeting Time is feeling when eve I am annoyed by this?¡±

    ¡°But... Fleeting Time is single.. I just want to give them a chance to be together...¡± Sour Apple sighed.

    ¡°Even if he is single, I don¡¯t think White Fairytale stands a chance. How do you know that he doesn¡¯t have someone he likes?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s someone that he likes?¡± Sour Apple immediately reyed Fleeting Time¡¯s behavior in the past few years in her mind, but could remember nothing special. But... There was this thing in the game... ¡°Are you talking about Gongzi You?¡±

    Sour Apple had never paid attention to the scandal between Fleeting Time as Gongzi You. After all, they were rivals from opposing continents, and did not know each other in real life. There was no way a rtionship would develop between the two. That was why Sour Apple refused to believe the rumors since the day it started. But when she heard the words of Absalom, her heart was filled with doubts.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s his business.¡± Absalom shook his head, and refused to answer her question. Despite his love of gossipping, he can still keep a secret.

    White Fairytale, who was standing silently at the doorway could feel the pain of a thousand des stabbing into her heart as she listened in on the conversation between Absalom and Sour Apple. Their words were like salt that was poured on the already gaping wound in her heart.

    She knew that her love for Fleeting Time will never be repaid. She had been trying her best to be better, and silently hope that he would one day gaze upon her and acknowledge her presence. She had never thought that her attempts would leave not even a single mark in Fleeting Time¡¯s heart, and was causing nothing but annoyance to the man she loved. Is this... Is this what I get for my thirteen years of love?

    Is there anyone who is more pathetic that I am?

    She wanted to leave, but when she heard the words, her body would not move, as if there were roots that were holding her still. She felt as if her world was copsing when she heard the name of another girl.

    Even when such a worst case scenario was within White Fairytale¡¯s expectation, she still loved Fleeting Time deeply. She never thought that such a day woulde. The mere thought of Fleeting Time having a love interest who is not her caused her much sorrow. He never epted her love, but he never epted anybody else as well. That was why White Fairytale was able to cling on to the hope that he might eventually change his mind and fall in love with her. But now... What about now?

    White Fairytale refused to resign to such a fate!

    White Fairytale leaned against the outer wall of the conference. She was biting down hard on her lips, but she did not feel the pain.

    Silent Hymn was worried when Absalom was absent from the Elite difficulty dungeon clearing. This was not how Absalom would usually handle things. He immediately headed to the guild conference room after the dungeon was cleared.

    However, for reasons unknown, his eyes were twitching. Is it a sign of good fortune, or something bad¡¯s happening?

    Silent Hymn ran into White Fairytale who was standing near the entrance. He was curious when he noticed the tear stains on her pale face, ¡°Fairytale, what happened? Why are you standing here all by yourself?¡±

    White Fairytale who was immersed in her own sorrows immediately panicked. She recoiled from Silent Hymn like a scared rabbit and ran away.

    Sour Apple and Absalom were shocked as well when they heard the voice of Silent Hymn. The color drained from Sour Apple¡¯s face when she noticed the presence of White Fairytale, ¡°Oh no...¡±

    ¡°Why are you still standing here? Hurry! Go after her!¡± Absalom pinched his temples. His intention of advising his wife to not meddle in somebody else¡¯s business seemed to have backfired.

    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± responded Sour Apple as she dashed out of the conference room.

    Silent Hymn, who was already baffled by White Fairytale¡¯s behavior ran into Sour Apple who panickedly rushed out of the conference room, ¡°Where¡¯s Fairytale?¡±

    ¡°There...¡± SIlent Hymn pointed at the the direction of White Fairytale, and Sour Apple immediately sprinted after her friend, leaving a puzzled Silent Hymn behind, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Absalom took in a deep breath. He knew that is was cruel to break the secret to White Fairytale, but it was better to get the pain over with, rather than to prolong the agony. If she lets go because of this, it¡¯s not a bad thing after all. He walked to the entranced of the guild conference room, and spotted Silent Hymn, ¡°Ahh... Hymn, you¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°Yup. What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Who knows.¡±

    Silent Hymn did not pursue the topic. Even he could guess that if Sour Apple and Fairytale was involved, it must be something about Fleeting Time, ¡°What happened? Why did you leave the dungeon before we even cleared it?¡±

    ¡°You came at a good time. There¡¯s something I want to talk to you.¡± Absalom scanned his surroundings carefully, and entered the hidden chamber within the conference room with Silent Hymn.

    Ye Ci stood ring at Fleeting Time in the pce courtyard. How did he do it? He does not have something as powerful as Rain of Arrows, how did he managed to get more kills than me? She was infuriated by the fact that Fleeting Time was able to secure three kills more than hers despite her hard work.

    Fleeting Time sighed at Ye Ci, ¡°Little Gongzi, I expect your hospitality when I visit the Eastern Continent~¡±

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth. She secretly wished that she was armed with a sniper rifle so that she could blow Fleeting Time¡¯s head of. She wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so angry. I don¡¯t feel like winning as well. But when I was reminded of the fact that I¡¯ll have to stay away from you if I lose... I got so sad that I identally killed a few more monsters...¡± said Fleeting Time with a mischievous grin, ¡°Well... You know...¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time...¡± Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened. She then gulped down a bottle of Stamina Potion to replenish her ever dwindling Stamina during her stay in the Western Continent.

    ¡°What is it?¡± the smile did not leave Fleeting Time¡¯s face.

    ¡°Has anybody told you that you¡¯re an annoyance?¡± Ye Ci sighed. What sort of sin have Imitted in the past? Why do I have to get stuck with someone like this?

    Fleeting Time was not provoked into anger by Ye Ci¡¯s words. He patted Ye Ci on the head and retracted his hand before she could react, ¡°Well, you just did.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Ye Ci was speechless. Just what is this guy¡¯s brain made of? Why is he not making sense at all most of the time?

    The smile on Fleeting Time¡¯s face widened when he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s expression.

 Chapter 237 Liar

    ¡°Are you certain that Gongzi You was telling the truth?¡± that was the first sentence that was uttered by Silent Hymn when he recovered from the shock. Mithril is a valuable strategic resource that had no price in the current stage of the game. But what about the future? Nobody knows. Having control over the Mithril ore vein would mean that Genesis had an absolute advantage in theter stages of the game. Silent Hymn knew that Gongzi You have knowledge about such a fact as well. Since she knew the importance of Mithril... Why did she reveal this secret to Absalom?

    ¡°There¡¯s no reason for her to lie, but I¡¯m not entirely sure about it either.¡± Absalom voiced out his concern, ¡°Good things don¡¯t just randomly fall on somebody¡¯sp. I¡¯m just amazed that it actually happened to me.¡±

    ¡°Why did you not question her about it?¡± Silent Hymn¡¯s thoughts were in a disarray. It all felt so unreal to him.

    ¡°Is there even a need for that?¡± Absalom sighed, ¡°She was caught by Fleeting Time. She had to show some good faith to avoid death. Her life depends on the ore vein. And there¡¯s something else she said that I believe.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Golden Era ising, and we must be prepared for the storm. Can the eggs remain unbroken when the nest was overturned?¡± Absalom pursed his lips. It was apparent that he was troubled by the matter.

    Silent Hymn gave Absalom¡¯s words a long moment of thought. Indeed, under the circumstances, Absalom¡¯s decision was the best course of action. Gongzi You would definitely die if she lied to them. Although her death was only a few additional Kill Glory to Genesis, it was a huge lost for Gongzi You herself. She was not an idiot, which was why she would never do such a thing. If she was telling the truth, this meant that Genesis would gain control of a Mithril ore vein, and gained a powerful ally in the Eastern Continent that was also in control of a Mithril ore vein. This would give them an edge against Golden Era in the future.

    The only price Genesis would have to pay was 7 days¡¯ worth of supplies. They would not be at a loss even if Gongzi You was lying.

    ¡°So what do we do now?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You is definitely here toplete a quest. If that¡¯s not the case, there¡¯s no way she would willingly subject herself to Fleeting Time¡¯s surveince. We can be sure that there will be no attacks from the Eastern Continent at this time, so there¡¯s no need to notify the other guilds about this. Gongzi You¡¯s quest is a time sensitive one, and she gave herself 7 days toplete the quest. She gave me the coordinates of the Mithril ore vein, and she told me that the ce would remain as a normal mountain range unless we triggered a certain quest. We do not have information about the quest. How do I find the quest within seven days? What should we do if we can¡¯t find locate the quest giver before Gongzi You leaves the Western Continent? Unless we know her in real life, there¡¯s no way we can get into contact with her after she returns to the Eastern Continent. She¡¯ll never allow us to contact her in real life.¡±

    Absalom exined his worries to Silent Hymn, who began his own train of thoughts as well. Gongzi You might look like the one who was at the less favorable end of the deal, but things might not be what they appeared to be. The escort they had to send to keep watch on Gongzi You was like a protection for her, and their actions of supplying her with arrows and consumable would solve her problems with resupplying in the Western Continent. There was also the fact that the quest to unlock the Mithril ore vein might be very hard toplete even if she was telling the truth. Silent Hymn was sure that the initial quest to trigger a resource so valuable would never be easy. Gongzi You would only be staying in the Western Continent in a limited timeframe, and there was nothing Genesis could stop her from returning to the Eastern Continent after her quest waspleted. If they could not locate the quest giver in time, who would they be able to ask for the location of the quest giver?

    Silent Hymn let out a long sigh and grimaced, ¡°Gongzi You is not a simple person. She ced a big bait in front of us, but we could do nothing but to take the bait.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Absalom¡¯s head was aching, ¡°We¡¯re lucky that Fleeting Time is the one who is keeping watch on her. She won¡¯t be able to deal with him that easily, so we don¡¯t have to worry about her for now. If it¡¯s somebody else, even I will not know how things will turn out.¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time is with her?¡± Silent Hymn was shocked, ¡°You arranged for that?¡±

    Absalom snorted, ¡°I¡¯m not exactly willing.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Silent Hymn was puzzled, ¡°Did Fleeting Time volunteered for it or something?¡±

    ¡°He did not exactly say it out loud, but he was hinting at it. If I don¡¯t go ording to his wishes... He¡¯ll definitely beat the shit out of me.¡± Absalom expressed his resentment.

    ¡°Why does it feel like a scandal will happen whenever Fleeting Time is involved...¡± Silent Hymn rubbed his chins.

    ¡°You said as if Fleeting Time¡¯s a pervert...¡± if Fleeting Time heard his words, Silent Hymn would not live to see the next morning.

    ¡°Ahh... I¡¯m just saying that he seems to be in a good mood these days.¡± Silent Hymn shook his head immediately, ¡°Since he¡¯s with Gongzi You, let¡¯s just give him the chance to take one for the team. I¡¯m sure he can help us in the effort to gain more information from Gongzi You.¡±

    Absalom snorted and then chuckled at Silent Hymn. It was apparent that he agreed with the vice leader¡¯s words.

    Fleeting Time was resting in the pce courtyard with Ye Ci when he received a voice call from Absalom, much to his annoyance, ¡°What is it? Stop wasting my time.¡±

    ¡°Aiya! The chat actually connected! Are you busy just now? What were you doing? Is it that thing? Damn, you¡¯re fast...¡±

    ¡°You can just tell me if you want to die, Absalom. I don¡¯t mind lending you a hand.¡± Absalom¡¯s creased his eyebrows when he heard the malice in Fleeting Time¡¯s voice.

    ¡°No, no, no, no, no! I¡¯m sorry! But there¡¯s really something that I want to talk to you about.¡± Absalom would of course not pull a senseless joke on Fleeting Time at a time like this. He was the key to the badger game that Genesis set up for Gongzi You (of course, Fleeting Time himself was not aware of such a fact...) It would not be wise for him to infuriate Fleeting Time, ¡°Can you ask Gongzi You about the initiation quest to unlock the Mithril ore vein?¡±

    Despite his annoyance at Absalom¡¯s (something like ¡°act of disturbing him¡±), Fleeting Time immediately ryed his question to Ye Ci the moment Mithril was involved. Ye Ci took a bite from the apple in her hand, and narrowed her eyes. She then replied earnestly after a brief moment of thought, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Fleeting Time was surprised by Ye Ci¡¯s response, but he could tell that she was not lying from her expression, ¡°Then how did you...¡±

    ¡°I found it by chance in the Eastern Continent.¡± Ye Ci sighed, ¡°It¡¯s hidden very well, and could be easily missed by someone who is not observant.¡±

    ¡°Can you borate? Give us a hint or something.¡± asked Fleeting Time after a moment of thought.

    ¡°A hint...¡± said Ye Ci after a long pause, ¡°Ahh... Talk to all the NPCs you can find in the map, and clear any and all of their quests. Pay close attention to any Dwarves in that area. The quest giver in the Eastern Continent is a ck Iron Dwarf, but I¡¯m not sure which NPC is the quest giver in the Western Continent. However, ording to the books in the National Library, the Dwarves are the only race across all the continents that have the capability to locate Mithril. So... Keep and eye out for any Dwarves.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s an open quest?¡± as a veteran, Fleetng Time could guess the nature of the quest after listening to Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    ¡°Yes, it is.¡± with her mind made to form an alliance with Genesis, there was no need for Ye Ci to beat around the bush. The information that she provided was beneficial to her allies.

    ¡°Alright, understood.¡± said Fleeting Time with a smile, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Thank you...

    It doesn¡¯t sound like something this shameless Fleeting Time would say. Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. The ghost of a smile then formed on her lips,e to think of it, this guy is not that much of a nuisance after all.

    ¡°Clear all the quests in the map, and pay attention to any Dwarves you see. The person who is searching for the quest must be observant and have been to the National Library and have read all the books there.¡± Fleeting Time summarized Ye Ci¡¯s words for Absalom.

    ¡°Ahh... Gongzi You told you all that?¡± Absalom did not expect the sudden flow of information.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Fleeting Time was slightly puzzled by Absalom¡¯s apparent surprise. Then again, as yers of opposing continents, it was normal for him to doubt Gongzi You¡¯s words.

    Even when he knew that Gongzi You¡¯s honesty was due to the alliance between their guilds, he could not hold himself back from blurting out the words, ¡°Have you managed to take down Gongzi You? Why would she tell you such a secret...¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Fleeting Time did not hear Absalom¡¯s mumbling.

    Absalom did not have the courage to repeat his sentence, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s nothing. I¡¯ll be on my way to locate the ore vein. You take good care of Gongzi You. See ya.¡± and he immediately disconnected from the voice chat after his hushed reply.

    ¡°Is Absalom on his way to look for the quest?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Fleeting Time stared at the sly grin on Ye Ci¡¯s face and smiled, ¡°Do you have anything to say to them?¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°Good luck.¡±

    Fleeting Time let out a heartyugh. It was as if the welfare of Absalom was none of his concern.

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, I¡¯m just imagining Absalom¡¯s expression when I ryed your message to him.¡± Fleeting Time answered truthfully.

    Ye Ci did not expect the response, ¡°I thought you¡¯d be angry.¡±

    ¡°Why would I be angry? Let¡¯s be real here, I like getting that idiot Absalom into trouble.¡± said Fleeting Time with a smile as he leaned against his tank.

    ¡°You¡¯re calling him an idiot?¡±

    ¡°Is he not? He¡¯s an idiot who would always clean up the mess that I caused.¡± replied Fleeting Time with a warm smile. Despite his words, Ye Ci could feel that he cherished his friendship with Absalom.

    I¡¯m so envious of their friendship.

    The monsters in a dungeon would not respawn. The pce courtyard became quiet after Ye Ci and Fleeting Time have cleared the way the mobs of monsters in the ce. There was nothing left other than the corpses of in monsters.

    ¡°The drop rate of gems in this ce is high.¡± Fleeting Time was able to obtain almost a hundred gems from the corpses.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that I won¡¯t be able to take these gems back with me.¡± with the absence of High tier tailors in the current stage of the game, there was no high level backpacks in the market. This means that Ye Ci¡¯s inventory slot was very limited.

    ¡°You can hand them to me. I¡¯ll merge them for you in the Light Saint City and give them back to you.¡± suggested Fleeting Time. 20 gems of the same kind would take up a slot in Ye Ci¡¯s inventory. It would be a waste of space for Ye Ci to have so many low level gems in her inventory. She was not able to gain ess to Light Saint City, which meant that she could only merge the gems when she was back in the Champion City of the Eastern Continent.

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°It would be too expensive to merge these gems. I¡¯m broke now. I don¡¯t have the money for that.¡±

    She was telling the truth. Ye Ci¡¯s bank ount was left empty after her purchase of the two houses. The rent of her properties in Red Lake City and her sry from Upwards Ho! would not be banked into her ount in the near future, and she could not ess her mail to collect the money she made by selling items in the Auction House as she was in the Western Continent.

    ¡°Why are we talking about money? It¡¯s harmful to our rtionship.¡± Fleeting Time pursed his lips.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about rtions with me. It¡¯ll hurt your coffers.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes, ¡°How bout this.. You can have any gems you want from the batch that you¡¯ve merged for me!¡± said Ye Ci after a slight pause.

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows when she noticed Fleeting Time¡¯s stare, ¡°What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Fleeting Time shook his head, ¡°But is it that hard to ept my hospitality as a host?¡±

    ¡°Your money doesn¡¯t just appear out of thin air. Besides, I don¡¯t like to owe people favors.¡± said Ye Ci as she passed the gems to Fleeting Time. She continued after noticing the raised eyebrows of Fleeting Time, ¡°I told you that rtions will hurt one¡¯s coffers. Owing someone will hurt my coffers the most, and I¡¯m broke now. So...¡±

    Fleeting Time chuckled, and took a few gems from the small sack handed to him by Ye Ci, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll take these as payment for merging the gems for you.¡±

    The duo headed to the southern corner of the courtyard after looting the corpses. A lvl62 Undead Captain was guarding Nicky¡¯s bag. If either one of them was alone, the Elite monster would be something that was hard to deal with. But it was not a challenge at all to Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. The Undead Captain was a melee monster, which meant that the duo could simply kite it to death.

    Fleeting Time took the first move, and attracted the aggro of the Undead Captain with some of his abilities. Ye Ci then took over the aggro from the Undead Captain from another direction, and the monster turned around and charged at Ye Ci before it could reach Fleeting Time. Just before the monster could get within attack range, Fleeting Time took over the aggro, and the monster turned around once again. The process was repeated again and again by Ye Ci and Fleeting Time.

    Under normal circumstances, a pair of Hunters that were kiting a monster would have to constantly reposition themselves to avoid damage. But the two top-tier Hunters did not even have to move from their original spot. They were able to time their skills and control the aggro perfectly, which made the fight extremely boring to the duo.

    The Undead Captain was aggrieved. As a lvl62 Elite monster, it could be counted as a mini BOSS. To be kited to death by to puny Hunters... You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me!

    After 10 minutes of painful struggle, the Undead Captain dropped dead onto the ground with a shriek. Its life was ended at the hands of two very shameless Hunters. Unfair! This is so unfair! I didn¡¯t even manage to get into attack range! This must have been the Undead Captain¡¯s final thoughts before its demise.

    Despite its bountiful loot drops, the Undead Captain yielded nothing for the Hunter ss. With her limited inventory space, Ye Ci could only choose some of the more valuable items, and leave the rest for Fleeting Time. The duo was able to recover Nicky¡¯s belongings after defeating the Undead Captain. It was an old, worn bag that seemed to be filled with items. However, neither Ye Ci nor Fleeting Time was able to open the bag despite their curiosity as it was a quest item.

    The duo immediately headed back to Nicky through the streets, safely avoiding Orcish patrols with the aid of the Goblin Compass.

    ¡°Ohh.. Look at that!¡± said Nicky as he received the bag. He cradled the bag in his arms and rubbed his face all over the bag, as if it was his lover, ¡°My precious, my darling! You¡¯ve recovered it!¡±

    Nicky began bbering at Fleeting Time happily. Ye Ci, however, stared at Nicky with a bored expression. The quest was epted by Fleeting Time, which meant that Ye Ci had no idea about its progress. Nicky was apparently acting friendlier to Fleeting Time, but was ignoring Ye Ci. He would only nod at Ye Ci when spoken to.

    ¡°Alright, Elf, let me help you out as my thanks to you and yourpanion.¡± said Nicky to Fleeting Time. His great mechanical skill is not the only thing that made him the top yer of the Western Continent.

    It was the same for every other top-tier yer. Aside from their good mechanical skills, top-tier yers were also more observant that the average yer. In a time when VRMMORPG has officially taken over the market from traditional MMORPGs, yers needed to be more observant to detect the tiniest of hint about hidden quests that were usually bountiful. Luck was not the only factor in discovering a hidden quest. An observant yer would always be rewarded by the game. This was why a yer¡¯s capabilities was also measured by his or her level of observance as well.

    Even then, a yer who discovered a hidden quest might not be observant enough to discover the bits and pieces of information that could lead to an even greater reward. It depended entirely on how perceptive a yer was, and how good the yer¡¯s luck was.

    As a top-tier yer, Ye Ci possessed a good observation skill, and Fleeting Time could be said to be the same. Despite herck of interest in the conversation between Nicky and Fleeting Time, Ye Ci still paid close attention to the interaction between Fleeting Time and the NPC. She noticed that Fleeting Time adopted an entirely different way in dealing with hidden quests and any NPCs rted to the quest.

    While Ye Ci¡¯s method of appealing to an NPCs emotions was hard, it was a safer way as it would never offend any NPCs in the game. Fleeting Time, however, was able to extract the most information out of a conversation with NPCs. It was quick and effective, but it also depended on how a person would handle the situation. After all, high level NPCs were intelligent beings, and a failed attempt to trick them into revealing certain information might leave a bad impression of the yer.

    However, Fleeting Time was a naturally charismatic person. He was able to secure a quick friendship with Nicky. Ye Ci did not even have to look at Nicky¡¯s stats to know that he had a high intimacy level with Fleeting Time.

    This world is not friendly to honest people. mused Ye Ci as she stared at Fleeting Time and Nicky. Honest people like me suffered a life full of hardship because of people like Fleeting Time. thought Ye Ci to herself as she wiped away imaginary tears.

    Fleeting Time was able to reach an agreement with Nicky when Ye Ci was still immesed in her own thoughts. From the smile on their faces, it was apparent that both parties were satisfied with the agreement.

    ¡°Nicky is a Goblin mailman. He promised to help deliver things to the outer world before weplete the exploration of this dungeon,¡± said Fleeting Time with a smile, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about your limited inventory space anymore. You can dump all the items to Absalom and get him to sell them in the Auction House for you or send them all back to your friends in the Eastern Continent.¡± said Fleeting Time when he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s shocked expression, ¡°I think your best option is to hand your items to Absalom. You¡¯ll be able to return to the Eastern Continent with a pocket full of money, and it won¡¯t take up much of your inventory slot.¡±

    ¡°A mailman? How do you know?¡± Ye Ci had a feeling that Fleeting Time have discovered something.

    ¡°Ah, there was a sign at the entrance of the ce that you were hiding in earlier on written in Ancient Goblin Language, and it says that the ce is a post office. I was able to confirm indirectly from that Goblin that he was a mailman from our conversation. Since he¡¯s a mailman, I figured that the reward ofpleting his quest must be some sort of channel tomunicate with the outside world. It seems that my guess is correct.¡± Fleeting Time shrugged.

    Ye Ci knew that despite Fleeting Time¡¯s nonchnt attitude, his was able to make such a judgement only because of his gaming experience and observant nature.

    ¡°Why did you choose such a reward?¡± Ye Ci was puzzled. She knew that Nicky¡¯s mail delivery service was not the only reward offered to Fleeting Time. But why would he choose something so trivial as his reward?

    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s just me beingzy. It¡¯s too much of a bother to keep entering and leaving the dungeon.¡± said Fleeting Time with a grin as he turned around and walked towards Nicky, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll send some stuff to Absalom, and get him to send up some supplies as well.¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned, and a sliver of warmth crept into her heart.

    What a liar.

    Is it troublesome for him to resupply in the Western Continent even when he has to constantly leave the dungeon? Nope. Not at all. As long as Ye Ci was in the dungeon, Fleeting Time could easily travel between the city and the dungeon through teleportation NPCs. It was fast, safe, and not troublesome at all.

    He did it because of me, because I¡¯m an Eastern Continent yer! He even made an excuse and told me that he¡¯s going to get Absalom to sell the items through the mail, but will he ever be short on money? There¡¯s no way. From the way he conduct himself, money is definitely thest thing he¡¯ll be worrying about. He said something like that because I told him that I¡¯m broke, and he did not want to make me feel bad about it.

    Ye Ci bit her lips as she stared at the man who was talking to Nicky, and a smile formed slowly on her lips.

    What a terrible liar.

    Does he really think that I would not notice it? Ye Ci might have believed Fleeting Time¡¯s words if she was just a normal person. But as a reincarnator, there was no way she would be fooled by Fleeting Time. Despite that, she was still touched by his small gesture.

    Since he¡¯s doing his best to show his hospitality, it¡¯ll be rude of me to reject his kindness. Ye Ci was a person who ced her benefits above everything else. Even when the benefit wasing from her greatest rival, Ye Ci would still dly ept it.

    ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s just sell everything we got just now and split the money.¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows.

    Fleeting Time cast a sideway nce at Ye Ci, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

    The Goblin Pce in the heart of Vo¡¯sok was the only building that was built with stone. Despite the dismal state of Vo¡¯sok, the pce retained its grand appearance. It was hard to imagine how a race that was no taller than a Gnome can build such a structure.

    The pce, that was built in a round shape, reminded Ye Ci of the Colosseum. The developers must have been inspired by the Colosseum when they designed the pce. Ye Ci could feel the difference between the Goblin Pce and all the other pces she had visited in Fate.

    The pce appeared to be round from its exterior, but its interior was shaped like a funnel, with every floor smaller than the floor above.

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were at the first floor, which was also at the top of the building. A transparent roof of ss looming over their heads, and Ye Ci could see the blood red skies of the Bloody Wilderness through the ss.

    The red light shone down through the roof into the pce, giving the ce a creepy appearance.

    Unlike the duo¡¯s expectation, the first floor was devoid of monsters. The ce was eerily quiet except for the asional winds that howled at the duo.

    Ye Ci had a sense of vertigo as she stood at the edge of the first floor and looked down form the railings. The floors that shrunk smaller and smaller with each level was like an endless tunnel.

    ¡°Just how many floors does this building have? It¡¯s making me dizzy.¡± Fleeting Time creased his eyebrows as he leaned against the railings.

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°I have no idea.¡± This is a very weird design for a building.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just start looking for the entrance to the next floor.¡± said Fleeting Time.

    The Hunter ss had an inferior scouting capabilitypared to the Rogue ss, but when it came to rangedbat and adaptability to sudden events, the Hunter ss was superior. Two top-tier Hunters in the same party would be able to deal with any challenge. Despite the unknown dangers lurking beyond, Ye Ci and Fleeting Time pressed on. They were able to locate the stairways leading to the second floor in a secluded corner of the first floor.

    The second floor of the Goblin Pce was cleaner and more orderly inparison to the first floor that was full of vines and growths.

    This was why Ye Ci and Fleeting Time did not immediately advance down the stairs.

    Ye Ci lifted her head and saw some ck marks on the walls of the stairways. She could not reach the marks due to her height, and just as she stood on the tips of her toes in an attempt to reach the marks, a hand snaked itself past Ye Ci¡¯s head and reached the ckened surface.

    Fleeting Time was standing right behind Ye Ci. They were so close that their bodies were almost pressing closely to one another. Ye Ci immediately moved away from her spot, putting some distance between the duo.

    With his attention focused on the ck marks, Fleeting Time paid no heed to Ye Ci¡¯s action. After studying the marks closely, Fleeting Time turned around to face Ye Ci, ¡°These are definitely burn marks.¡±

 Chapter 238 A Trustworthy Ally

    ¡°Why are there burn marks in this ce?¡± Ye Ci lifted her head once again and stared at the scorched surface of the wall.

    ¡°There must be some sort of trap somewhere, but with how things are looking, it¡¯s been here for for a long time.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s not functioning.¡± said Ye Ci as she studied the stairways intently. Her gazended on some of the paintings at the stairways that appeared to be out of ce, and appeared to be newerpared to the rest of the pce.

    ¡°The trap is hidden behind the paintings.¡± said the duo simultaneously, and they shared a smile.

    ¡°Well, since we¡¯ve figured out where the trap is, how are we going to get past it?¡± asked Fleeting Time. Although Hunters had the ability toy traps, the did not have the skill to detect the triggering mechanism of a trap and dismantle the trap. Rogues were usually the ones who were tasked in disarming traps.

    The Rogue ss had the highest Perception in the game, which allowed them to receive hints from the system, and locate any triggering mechanism in the vicinity. However, if a Rogue was not careful in his or her attempt to disarm a trap, the Rogue might risk triggering the trap and taking damage as a result. This was not a task that could be performed by the Hunter ss.

    Making their way past the traps without disarming them was not an easy task.

    The stairway was at least 16 yards in length, and there were 6 paintings along the length of the walls. This meant that the duo had to move past 6 traps on their way to safety. Judging from the scorch marks on the wall, the hidden traps must have the ability to shoot mes.

    Vo¡¯sok was a lvl60 dungeon. There was no way Ye Ci and Fleeting Time could evade the traps that were carefully ced in a stairway that was only five yards wive. As a Western Continent yer, Fleeting Time could easily respawn and return to the dungeon after his death. The same thing, however, could not be said for Ye Ci. An Eastern Continent yer like her would have trouble if she was killed.

    After a brief moment of thought, Ye Ci produced some Cat ws from her inventory and handed one of them to Fleeting Time, ¡°We can try using this.¡±

    Fleeting Time took the Cat w from Ye Ci and began studying it with apparent interest, ¡°Is this a product of an Engineer in the Eastern Continent?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci estimated the distance between her and the railing at the end of the stairway and then looked at her Cat w. She then took aim and threw the Cat w at the railing.

    The hook of the Cat w flew straight and true, clinging onto the railing as itnded. Just then, six massive jets of mes erupted from behind the paintings, burning them to crisp. If Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were hit by the mes, neither of them would be able to survive.

    Ye Ci tugged at the end of the Cat w. She could feel the heat from the mes even when she was beyond the range of the traps. Before she could shield her face from the wave of heat, a figure stepped out in front of her.

    ¡°Stand back, I¡¯ll go first.¡± said Fleeting Time as he stood with his back to Ye Ci and began swinging the Cat w.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go first. You¡¯ve not used the Cat w before...¡± said Ye Ci as she stared at Fleeting Time¡¯s back. He does not have the experience of using the Cat w! This is suicide!

    Fleeting Time nced at Ye Ci, and nudged her aside. Before she could protest, he flung his Cat w at the railing. He then took two steps back, and stared at the mes.

    The traps would discharge mes following a certain pattern. mes would be spout from the traps for as long as 8 seconds, and after 2 seconds, the traps would continue spewing mes. With the absence of a Rogue in the party, Ye Ci and Fleeting Time could only think of a way to make their was past the traps.

    It was an impossible to cover 16 yards in 2 seconds by foot. However, with the help of the Cat ws, things were different.

    Fleeting Time bent his body forward and extended on of his legs to the back, making ready to spring forward. A Hunter could only perform high agility maneuvers after gathering enough momentum. The terrain of a certain area would always be a limiting factor for the movements of a Hunter. This was why Hunters had to rely on quick movements that require short bursts of energy as they perform certain maneuvers.

    With his eyesid on the me-spewing traps, Fleeting Time¡¯s muscles began to tense. He was like a cheetah that was burst into action. Ye Ci, who was standing at the side, stared silently at Fleeting Time. The glowing mes bathed the two Elves with its bright light, painting their fair skin with a shade of red.

    Fleeting Time was waiting for the right moment to spring into action.

    Although the traps shut down at almost the same time, there was still a miniscule time difference between the operation of each trap. In the short span of 2 seconds, even the time difference of 0.5 second could mean life and death, and decide the oue of a quest. This was why an experienced yer would never based on the assumption that the timing of the traps were in perfect synchronization.

    Based on Fleeting Time¡¯s observation, the me traps would activate for as long as 7 seconds before shutting down for 1.7 second. This slight difference would normally not mean anything, but it was the deciding factor for his sess in this situation.

    There was no time to waste. Fleeting Time had to gather enough momentum to ensure that he couldunch himself across the stairway within the short timeframe. His movements had to be precise, and he must not harbor any hesitations in his actions.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s silence would soon be rece with a surge of energy as he sprung forward. He was still waiting for the correct timing.

    With a sudden movement, Fleeting Time sprung forward like an arrow let loose by kicking against the railing behind him. He increased his momentum by kicking against the wall at the entrance of the staircase, and then at the spot right above the first trap. Just then, the mes of the traps sputtered out, and Fleeting Time flew onward andnded safely at the other side of the stairway in the blink of an eye.

    The traps once again began to spew mes the moment Fleeting Timended.

    The duo looked at each other through the mes. They were so close from each other, yet so far apart.

    Ye Ci could barely hold back the urge to cheer for Fleeting Time after witnessing his amazing movements. This guy sure is something. He¡¯s able to time his jump perfectly, as if he¡¯s been practicing for this moment his entire life. It feels like it¡¯s not his first time doing something like this.

    Fleeting Time looked up from the bottom of the stairway and said to Ye Ci, ¡°I took around 2.3 seconds to take off, and needed 3 spots to I have longer limbs than you. I think you might need four tforms to help in your eleration, which will make the process of taking off longer for you. The mes willst for 7 seconds before the traps reset for 1.7 second. Take your time and make your move when you¡¯re ready.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded in agreement. She was shorter than Fleeting Time, which meant that she would have to recalcte her timing for the jump. With the calctions provided to her by Fleeting Time, the entire process was easier for Ye Ci.

    She assumed the same pose at the same position as Fleeting Time. With her body shorter and softer than Fleeting Time, Ye Ci was able to press herself closer to the ground, and prepared for the jump. She carefully selected the points that could be used as herunching spot. Other than the three spots used by Fleeting Time, Ye Ci found the marble pir beside her to be a good spot.

    After carefully studying her surroundings, Ye Ci resumed her pose, and stared intently at the me-spewing traps.

    One by one, the mes began to die down

    It was as if time was frozen at that very moment. As Ye Ci stared at the traps, she could hear her own breath and the beating of her heart.

    Thump, thump, thump.

    Her heartbeat was even and strong, and her breathing was calm.

    Ye Ci¡¯s sess depended on one tiny moment. She leaned forward, and sprung out 15 degrees to her left like an uncoiled spring as she kicked against the railing. She then kicked hard against the pir and propelled herself towards the wall near the entrance of the stairway, andunched herself forward.

    Her movements were natural and smooth, just like a gently flowing stream.

    When the mes stopped, Ye Ci soared past the traps like a swallow, heading straight to the end of the stairway. She then flipped her body midair, andnded on the ground smoothly.

    Fleeting Time was stunned. It was just too beautiful. He could not think of a person who could pull it off better than Gongzi You, ¡°That was amazing!¡± said Fleeting Time as he pped loudly for Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was slightly embarrassed by the praise. It was rare for a Chinese person to be so straightforward with his or her praise. ¡°You did very well too.¡± she nodded at Fleeting Time.

    It was the truth, but was also a reciprocation by Ye Ci. She had to do something after receiving the praise. Fleeing Time, on the other hand, showed more confidence than Ye Ci, ¡°Indeed. I¡¯ll make sure to do better the next time.¡±

    He then handed the Cat w back to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°Keep it. You might need itter.¡± She then put her own Cat w away into her inventory. Just then, Ye Ci spotted at item in a secluded corner of her bag. She took the item out from the bag, and handed it to Fleeting Time, ¡°You dropped thisst time.¡±

    Fleeting TIme stared at the ring held out by Ye Ci. It was the Ring of uracy made by sped Sunlight, and item that allows its user to take on monsters that were at a higher level. The normal-looking ring rested silent in Ye Ci¡¯s palm, emitting a soft glow.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to return it to you, but I can¡¯t send a mail to the Western Continent from the Eastern Continent. I did not get the chance to return it to you because... You know... We were busy killing each other the moment we met, and I forgot about it as time passes. I happened to spot it in one of my inventory slots just now, so let me return it to you before I forget about it again.¡± exined Ye Ci as he noticed the stare from Fleeting Time.

    It was the first time she spoke so many words to Fleeting Time. He narrowed his eyes at Ye Ci, and a smile appeared on his lips as he spoke in a soft voice, ¡°I sort of hope that you¡¯d forget about it.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Ye Ci could not hear Fleeting Time¡¯s words clearly due to his soft voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡± sighed Fleeting Time as he took the ring from Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m just saying that this ring can help a yer out a lot in fights. Was it able to help when you had it around¡±

    Ye Ci immediately thought of her fight with Werebeast Shaman Buru. However, she was too embarrassed to admit that she was able to defeat the BOSS with the help of Fleeting Time¡¯s ring. She shifted her gaze and replied with a rigid voice, ¡°I leveled up pretty fast, so I did not run into a situation that requires me to fight an opponent that has a higher level than me.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s eyes narrowed even further. He then nodded an said with a smile, ¡°Yeah, Little Gongzi is the Queen of Solo in the Eastern Continent. I¡¯m sure you have your own way of dealing with a high level opponent. I¡¯ve even thought that my ring was able to help out in your fight against Werebeast Shaman Buru. Looks like I¡¯ve thought too much.¡±

    Ye Ci turned her back to Fleeting Time, and immediately diverted the topic, ¡°Urmm.. It¡¯s quitete now, don¡¯t you think we should begin exploring the second level?¡± she was uneasy to hear Fleeting Time¡¯s words. Why must he see through my lie?

    Damn it, Fleeting Time! Can¡¯t you just be slightly dumber? Or at least act the part? Is something like this really meaningful? Is it?

    Fleeting Time smiled as he stared at Ye Ci¡¯s back. He was unaware of the details of Ye Ci¡¯s fight with Buru, and was merely making fun of her. However, Ye Ci¡¯s reaction was proof that his guess was correct. Fleeting Time rubbed the bridge of his nose, Aiya... Why did I say something like that? Gongzi You is a shy person after all. It might not matter if it¡¯s something else, but a right though...

    He then stared at the ring he was holding in his hand. The name of the yer who crafted the ring that was engraved on the ring was so unpleasant to look at. If only I¡¯m the one who crafted this ring. thought Fleeting Time as he nted a gentle kiss on the ring and stored it into his inventory quickly before Ye Ci could turn around.

    Unlike the first level, the second level of the Goblin Pce was full of monsters, with Undeads, Orcs, and groups of enved Goblin roaming the area. Despite the numbers of their enemies, the duo was able to easily clear away the monsters with the help of their pet. They encountered a Goblin ve operating the me traps that were set up at the stairway, and slew it before it could react. When Ye Ci and Fleeting Time returned to the stairway that connected the first and second levels, the me had already died down.

    Ye Ci found an item with the name ¡°Energy Core¡± on one of the enved Goblins when she looted the corpses of fallen monsters. The energy core shared a simr appearance to the ones handed to the duo by Nicky, but had a dimmer color. This meant that there was barely any energy left in the core. The only description on the energy core indicated that it was a limitea use item unique to Vo¡¯sok, and could not be used in any other dungeons.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Fleeting Time, who did not take part in looting the corpses, was curious when he saw the energy core, ¡°An energy core?¡±

    ¡°Yup. The only thing written in its description is that it¡¯s a limited usage item, and that we can¡¯t take bring it out of the dungeon. Just how are we going to use this thing?¡± said Ye Ci as she studied the energy core, ¡°Is this thing used by tanks as well?¡±

    Fleeting Time took the energy core from Ye Ci, and examined the item, ¡°I don¡¯t think this thing is used by Goblink tanks. The energy cores that Nicky handed to us wererger in size and brighter in color. This thing right here has a dimmer color. I don¡¯t think it can be used to power a tank.¡±

    ¡°Then what could it be?¡± Ye Ci began a search in the areas near the corpse of the enved Goblin, ¡°I don¡¯t see any sort of machines around here. Do you think this core can be exchanged for items?¡±

    ¡°Heh! That¡¯ll be nice.¡± said Fleeting Time as he tossed the energy core at Ye Ci, ¡°Why don¡¯t we continue with our exploration and see what we find?¡±

    The duo began exploring the rest of the second level. The Orcs and Undeads that they encountered during their exploration yielded no loot drops.

    ¡°There don¡¯t seem to be any machines around.¡± Ye Ci searched through the second level inch by inch but to no avail.

    ¡°Rx, take your time. Since there¡¯s a power core drop, there must be something that requires the core to work.¡± Fleeting Time calmness was a contrast to Ye Ci¡¯s impatience. In truth, it was rare for Ye Ci to be so restless, but her heart was filled with unease since her conversation with Fleeting Time about the ring. She was even beginning to regret her action. Why did I do that? He looks like someone who has a lot of good equipment, so there¡¯s really no need to return the ring to him. It¡¯s a spoil of war that I¡¯ve obtained by defeating him!

    Ye Ci grew more and more restless when the thoughts repeated themselves in her mind. She could feel the mes of anger rising in her heart, igniting her emotion. The monsters encountered by the duo became the unfortunate victims of Ye Ci¡¯s wrath when she vented her anger throughbat.

    Fleeting Time could only smile as he witnessed the fury unleashed upon the monsters by Ye Ci. There was no way he would be teasing Gongzi You at a time like this. Even though it was fun for him, he immediately decided against it when he saw her darkening expression.

    Some things cannot be rushed. Before he could make any progress, he was content with being a good teammate for Gongzi You.

    Just then, Fleeting Time spotted a light, and he immediately pulled Ye Ci back.

    Ye Ci shot Fleeting Time an inquisitive look as he shove Ye Ci behind a pir. ¡°There might be an ambush ahead.¡± said Fleeting Time with a low voice.

    A Goblin was sitting on a wooden crate 20 yards away from the duo. There was a bonfire in front of the goblin where a rabbit was being slowly roasted. Ye Ci could smell the fragrance of the roasted meat even from her position.

    Ol¡¯ Four and Little Five could smell the meat as well. They waited impatiently behind their owners, wishing that they could kill the Goblin and im the rabbit meat. However, with Fleeting Time and Ye Ci holding the two beats back, they could only protest with their low grumbling.

    Before Ye Ci could take a better look at the situation ahead, a pair of monsters were attracted by the grumbling of Ol¡¯ Four and Little. The monsters, which were an Orcish archer and an Undead mage was significantly tougher than the monsters roaming in the second level. The ranged monsters that could deal both physical and magical damage were tough opponents to deal with.

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time did not have the attention to spare on the lone Goblin. They had to take care of the imminent threat posed by the pair of monsters. The duo rolled and ducked in an attempt to avoid iing attacks while firing off arrows of their own, and was able to defeat their opponents after a protracted battle. However, before its death, the Undead mage was able to make its way to the Goblin that was sitting not far away. Despite Fleeting Time¡¯s attempt to y the monster, it was still able to attract the attention of the Goblin with a shrill cry.

    ¡°Oh no, we¡¯ve been spotted.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s heart sunk. She immediately directed Ol¡¯ Four at the Goblin. She was able to remain calm. It¡¯s just a Goblin. Fleeting Time and I can deal with it easily, especially with the help of our pets. Fleeting Time, who was following close behind Ye Ci, cast Detection on the lone Goblin. His heart sunk when he saw the name of the Goblin.

    ¡°Damn it! We have to kill this Goblin fast, or he¡¯ll warn his allies!¡± shouted Fleeting Time as he fired his high damage abilities on the Goblin while directing Little Five tounch its attack.

    Ye Ci immediately cast Detection on the Goblin as well when she heard the words of Fleeting Time.

    Goblin Lookout

    Level: 60

    HP: 30,000

    A Goblin Lookout was an ordinary monster, but it had a very unique ability, which was to send out an rm that would attract the attention of arge horde of monsters. The Goblin Lookout was one of the most annoying enemies. yers would find themselves surrounded at all sides by monsters summoned by the Goblin Lookout. A party with ack of teamwork would easily be wiped out by their superior numbers.

    When it was alerted by the dying whail of the Undead, the Goblin Lookout immediately sprung into action. It jumped down from the wooden crate and ran up to a gigantic machine not far away. The Goblin then pressed on a red button on the machine. Just then, Ye Ci noticed a well-hidden bell beside the Goblin Lookout.

    ¡°F*ck!¡± Ye Ci gritted her teeth when the Goblin Lookout extended its hand towards the red button. She immediatelyunched a flurry of attacks on the Goblin. The Hunter ss was able to deal high amounts of critical damage on their opponents, and the amount of damage that could be dished out by two top-tier Hunters was something that should not be underestimated. However, the Goblin Lookout was able to activate the rm before its death despite the duo¡¯s best efforts.

    If the monsters are sentient beings, thought Ye Ci to herself, I could¡¯ve sworn that I saw a smile on the Goblin Lookout¡¯s face before it died. It¡¯s as if the Goblin Lookout is telling me that ¡°Even if I die, there¡¯s still a million of us out there!¡±

    A swarm of robots appeared when the shrill tone of the rm reverberated in the second level of the Goblin Pce. Despite the thick smoke rising from their mechanical bodies, the robots movements remained agile as they attacked Ye Ci and Fleeting Time from two sides.

    ¡°Deploy some traps, don¡¯t let them box us in.¡± said Fleeting Time as he dashed out to meet his opponents inbat. Ye Ci had also sprung into action before Fleeting Time could finish his sentence. As Hunters that excel in solo y, and were expert in handling sudden events, the duo was able to make their judgement in the shortest amount of time, and immediately took the course of action that would ensure their survival.

    NPerhaps due to the simrities in their thought process, Ye Ci and Fleeting Time mirrored the movement of each other perfectly. If there was a bystander who was recording a video of the duo in action, he or she would discover that the duo¡¯s trap cement and attack pattern was exactly the same. Even Ye Ci and Fleeting Time themselves would be shocked by the spectacle. They were like mirror images of one another, disying simr movements and sharing the same thought process. They wasted no time in taking control of the tempo of the battle, and was able to pick the robots off one by one.

    The entire process was so perfect and smooth that any bystanders would be stunned into silence.

    Such was the difference between top yers and the average yers. A gamey by normal yers would not be able to bring awe to their audience. It might even appear boring to any onlookers as it was how everybody would y. The gamey of a top yer, however, was on an entirely different level. Their movements were so clean and their mechanical skills so perfect that one might even have the feeling that the yers were ying the game with the aid of hacks. This would never fail to amaze the audience.

    Despite the vast number of their enemies, the duo was already used to such dangerous situations. They did not even require any form ofmunication as they stood with their backs against one another, smiting down one enemy after another.

    These two were enemies. One of them was from the Eastern Continent, while the other was from the Western Continents. As a top yer, neither of them would expose their back to their enemy. This was amon knowledge of yers in the game. On this day, however, the two yers from opposing continents were depending on each other in the dungeon.They had only once choice: to trust in each other.

    Trusting one¡¯s back to one¡¯s teammates was one of the first thing a yer would learn in the game.

    Fate is such a wonderful thing. thought Ye Ci as she engaged the robots in front of her inbat. She had never imagined that she would ever entrust her back to a yer from an opposing faction, especially someone like Fleeting Time.

    She could still remember what Tan Png said to her in a night a long time ago.

    Trust is not a talent. It¡¯s a skill that you must acquire. So am I learning that skill right now, or am I being forced into it by fate? Ye Ci did not have the answer to the question. However, for reasons unknown, her heart was filled with calmness. This was a feeling that she had never had for a long time.

    When was thest time I felt calm? Even Ye Ci herself could not remember.

    Ahh... Fate always like ying tricks on people..

    Ye Ci could not help butugh at herself. The first person she had learned to trust was actually her rival. Is there something more ridiculous than this?

    With slightly lesser monsters on his side, Fleeting Time was able to defeat his opponents faster than Ye Ci. He immediately turned around to aid Ye Ci in taking down her opponents. Fleeting Time took up a position beside Ye Ci, nocked an arrow, took aim at a target, and let the arrow loose. His movements were so smooth and practiced, and even Ye Ci who was standing beside him could hear the low humming of his bowstring as he fired his arrow at the enemies.

    Silence finally fell upon the second level of the Goblin Pce when the final enemy was dispatched with a ck Feather Arrow. Fleeting Time slung his bow, and smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Little Gongzi, go collect the loots.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s mood improved when she saw the the beaming smile on Fleeting Time¡¯s face. Despite their past conflicts, the man standing in front of her at that moment was a trustworthy ally.

    At that very moment, Ye Ci was grateful that Absalom decided to assign Fleeting Time as her escort.

    It¡¯s actually a good thing.

 Chapter 239 Belief

    Despite the trouble they caused, the robots yielded very little rewards for the duo. With the exception of some blueprints with high drop rate, there was nothing of value among the loot drops. Ye Ci and Fleeting Time collected the blueprints, which would then be mailed to the Engineers of their respective guild through Nicky. The Goblin Lookout, however, yielded 2 energy cores.

    Ye Ci stared at the energy cores. She was upset that she knew nothing about the uses of the energy cores.

    Fleeting Time knelf on the ground, and rummaged through the pile of scrap metals on the ground. He then turned around and spoke to Ye Ci, ¡°This thing seems to be rather intact. Why don¡¯t you get over here and see if we can activate it?¡±

    Ye Ci cast a nce at Fleeting Time¡¯s direction and saw a robot that was almost intact beside the man. She then stared at the energy cores in her hands, walked up to him, and knelt beside him. The duo began a short discussion about the disabled machine.

    ¡°Are you saying that I can ce an energy core on it?¡±

    ¡°Yup. It¡¯s worth a shot.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s too damaged by now? Smoke wasing out from that thing earlier! Will it fall apart...¡± said Ye Ci as she stared at the fallen robot.

    ¡°Who knows. Life is all about taking risks. We have 3 energy cores with us anyways. Why don¡¯t we try one out on this thing since we can¡¯t find a new machine?¡± there were times when a male would be more adventurous than a female. What appeared as a necessary risk to Fleeting Time was a waste to ye Ci.

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Even if it might be a waste, this is the only solution we have for now. But... thought Ye Ci as she studied the robot intently, ¡°Where do I plug the energy core in?¡±

    ¡°About that...¡± Fleeting Time scratched his head. He was not an Engineer, which meant that he did not have the answer to Ye Ci¡¯s question.¡±

    ¡°Forget about it. I¡¯ll just as the Engineers in my guild.¡± Ye Ci could tell from Fleeting Time¡¯s expression that he knew nothing about a topic like this. She then sent a private message to Pea Cake. She was infuriated by the response that came immediately, ¡°The yer is currently in a area with no reception and is not able to receive your message. Please try againter.¡±

    F*ck! What do you think is this? China Mobile? What do you mean by ¡®the yer is in an area with no reception¡¯?

    Ye Ci sighed and said to Fleeting Time, ¡°My call is restricted by the system. I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s a few Engineers in your guild. Can you get in touch with them?¡±

    Fleeting Time nodded, and began contacting the Engineers in his guild.

    After the long time spent by the duo in the dungeon, it was already 4am in the morning in real life. Most of the yers in Genesis had already logged out of the game, especially those who practice a healthy living habits. The few Engineers that Fleeting Time have managed to contact knew nothing about Goblin Engineering.

    ¡°What is it? You can¡¯t get hold of anyone?¡± observed Ye Ci. Even when she could not hear the conversation between Fleeting Time and his guildmates, she could tell that things were not going well by his expression.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Fleeting Time was still sifting through the member list of his guild, ¡°It¡¯s already 4am in real life. Most of the life yers are asleep. The ones that I managed to contact have not learnt Goblin Engineering yet.¡±

    Goblin Engineering was one of the branches of Engineering avable in Fate. Due to the quest that yers were required toplete before they were able to learn Goblin Engineering, it was not something that could be learned by every Engineer. The Goblin Engineering that was avable to yers at the current stage of the game was nothingpared to the marvels of true Goblin Engineering, but its product was still able to fetch a good price in the market.

    An example of one such product was the Goblin Mobile Workbench that could be used to repair weapons and equipment in a dungeon. The workbench could only be used for a total of five times, but the price of one of the items could reach as high as millions in the market. It was apparent that the products of Goblin Engineering was very popr among yers, and this led the the bloom in numbers of Engineers among the yer poption.

    However, Life Skills in Fate was very hard to level up, and it was almost impossible for a yer to reach the rank of Master in Goblin Engineering without the financial backing ofrge guilds.

    Ye Ci finally realised that she had lost track of the time in real life. Her heart immediately sunk. Even if she was no longer in a restricted area, Pea Cake would have went to bed. He was a person with a very precise schedule who would log into the game 8am in the morning, go offline for lunch at 12pm, and would log back into the game an hour after lunch. Pea Cake would then log out from the game at 6pm from dinner, log back in by 8pm, and would go to bed when 11pm at night. It was a daily routine that he would carry out without fail.

    Bai Mo had once discussed the behavior of Pea Cake with Ye Ci, and they arrived at the conclusion that he was someone with OCD. Why else would he do that? It¡¯s scary!

    It was not an easy task to get the right person at a time like this. With the exception of people like Ye Ci and Fleeting Time who were forced to stay online, most of the yers were very conscious about the need to strike bnce between work and rest. It had been years since VR games were introduced to the world, and the yers knew that even when the nutrient pack was able to provide the human body with the necessary nutrients, and the fact that the human body was allowed to rest in the gaming cabin, they were still not as good as real food and a natural sleep cycle. Many of the yers would make the choice to log out of the game for meals and for sleep when they were free of any quests that required them to stay online for long periods of time.

    ¡°Forget about it. Let¡¯s just head down to the lower levels and continue our exploration. The answer can wait.¡± said Ye Ci despite the unwillingness in her heart. Then again, she had no other choice but to give up. A sudden thought shed across Ye Ci mind, ¡°Don¡¯t you have to go offline and sleep?¡±

    ¡°Nope. I¡¯ll keep youpany.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay...¡±

    ¡°You have very limited time, and we don¡¯t know just how big this dungeon is. Having two person exploring the dungeon is better than doing it solo. I¡¯ve already connected a nutrient pack to my gaming cabin when I went offline for dinner earlier on.¡± and he continued with a smile, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not doing it because of you. I myself am curious about this dungeon. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to leave before weplete our exploration.¡±

    A dumbfounded Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time.

    Knowing that his words would cause difort to Ye Ci, Fleeting Time immediately shifted the conversation, ¡°Actually... I think there¡¯s somebody who knows about Goblin Engineering.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s words attracted the attention of Ye Ci, who immediately focused all of her attention on him, ¡°And you know that person?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really know him, but a yer in my guild knows him, and she seems to be online. I¡¯ll go ask her then.¡± Fleeting Time replied calmly.

    ¡°It¡¯s sote now. You shouldn¡¯t trouble her.¡± Ye Ci was filled with hope when she heard Fleeting Time¡¯s words, but the rational side of her mind kicked suggested otherwise, ¡°Let¡¯s just wait until next morning.¡±

    Fleeting Time smiled when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°I have a feeling that you¡¯ll be restless if you can¡¯t obtain an answer today.¡±

    ¡°Well, maybe a little. But it¡¯s alright. Patience is a virtue.¡± Ye Ci was shocked when Fleeting Time was able to guess her thoughts correctly. She was not angry. It did not matter in a ce and at a time like this.

    She would only have to get along with Fleeting Time for a few days. They would then go on their separate ways when the quest waspleted. They would never be able to cross paths like this in the future. They would once again be rivals.

    There might not be much of a change.

    How lucky it is for a person to have the chance to turn his or her rival into a friend. It was a luck that Ye Ci would always cherish, and with that thought in mind, Ye Ci¡¯s anger towards Fleeting Time died down.

    The reason behind the ability of Ye Ci and Fleeting Time to see through each other¡¯s thoughts was simple: Your rival is the one that knows you the best.

    It was not easy for a person to have a rival that knows him or her so well in life.

    Fleeting Time was slightly shocked when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words. He could tell from Gongzi You¡¯s appearance that she was very young. A yer was allowed to change his or her appearance in Fate, but age was something that was fixed by the system. Gongzi You had the appearance of a 20 years old girl, but the words that she spoke were from a person who was way matured than her age, and maturity was something that could not be faked.

    Fleeting Time was always confused by the Gongzi You¡¯s young appearance and the maturity disyed by the girl.

    A smile formed on his lips as he notice the grin on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave you with any regrets.¡±

    It was a smile that Ye Ci would remember for a very long time. Fleeting Time¡¯s smile was so charming and so enticing at the moment. A person would collect bits of pieces of good memories during the course of their life, and Fleeting Time¡¯s smile on that day was one of her most profound memories.

    Fleeting Time began contacting the yer when Ye Ci was still in a daze. It was a person that he had always wanted to avoid, as he knew that getting into contact with that person was no different from inviting trouble upon himself. He hated dealing with such a troublesome person, and would normally avoid such a stupid act. However, it was all so different at that moment. Despite the short time they spent with each other, Fleeting Time felt a sense of familiarity with Gongzi You, and he could not bear to see even the slightest hint of sadness in her.

    That was why he did not even hesitate to contact the person despite the troubles his action would bring. There was no other reason behind his action. He was doing it for the person in front of him. He was doing it for Gongzi You.

    ¡°Are you there?¡±

    White Fairytale was sitting by the beach in the map Silvery Coast. It was her favourite map in the entire Western Continent. The beauty of the silvery beach, the soft sand, the calm sea and the glistening starlight... It felt like they belong to her and her alone.

    In White Fairytale¡¯s heart, the beauty of this scenery belonged to two person. She was one of the two, and the other one was definitely not Sour Apple who was sitting beside her at the moment.

    She immediately fell in love with the beach when she visited the ce for the first time for a quest. She had always dreamt of the day a certain someone would sit shoulder to shoulder beside her, enjoying the beauty of the scenery. But... But.. It¡¯s all impossible at this point, isn¡¯t it?

    Sour Apple was not in the mood to appreciate the scenery. Why is the breeze so damned cold? Despite Absalom¡¯s warnings, Sour Apple spoke up when she noticed the depressed look on White Fairytale¡¯s face, ¡°Fairytale, don¡¯t mind Absalom. You know that he¡¯s an idiot who never thought things through whenever he speaks.¡±

    Screw it! We can handle whatever problems that may arise in the future, but she needs somefort now.

    It was a habit of Absalom and his wife to go offline and head to bed at 12am. But with Absalom busy with locating the Mithril ore vein, and Sour Apple upied with consoling White Fairytale, the couple remained online way past their bedtime.

    Despite Sour Apple¡¯s efforts, White Fairytale remained silent.

    Sour Apple was tired. She no longer wanted to waste her time on White Fairytale, who ignored her as she bbered on for hours. Nobody could bear with such an attitude. If her heart was not filled with guilt, White Fairytale would have bursted in anger. She regretted her conversation with Absalom earlier on as she stared out at the sea. I should¡¯ve listened to Absalom. It¡¯s stupid of me to try and y matchmaker. I¡¯ve ended up cing myself in an awkward position.

    White Fairytale finally spoke up after a long moment of silence, as if she was a phantom that suddenly appeared before Sour Apple.

    ¡°Apple, do you know why I love this map?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s beautiful?¡± replied Sour Apple with a bored tone. In her tired and sleepy state, she no longer had the patience for White Fairytale.

    ¡°Nope.¡± replied White Fairytale with a smile.

    ¡°Why do you like this map then?¡±

    ¡°Do you remember that time we all filled in our alumni during our highschool days?¡±

    ¡°Yup, yup.¡± answered Sour Apple. It was a distant memory for her. The only thing she remembered during her high school days was when Absalom gave her a kissed in public.

    ¡°Do you know what he wrote in his alumni about his favourite ce?¡±

    ¡°Who is he?¡± Sour Apple let out a yawn. She was sleepy and her thoughts were sluggish, ¡°You mean Fleeting Time?¡±

    ¡°Yes! His alumni said that he loved beaches with white sand.¡±

    ¡°This is why you love this map so much?¡± Sour Apple was shocked.

    ¡°Yup.¡± White Fairytale smiled sweetly at Sour Apple.

    Sour Apple immediately rested her hand against White Fairytale¡¯s forehead to make sure that her friend was not having a fever.

    ¡°Fairytale, he wrote that a long time ago! He was still a wimpy kid back then! Do you think that the things he wrote back then still counts?¡± Sour Apple¡¯s shrieked at White Fairytale. She could feel her sanity falling apart.

    ¡°Of course.¡± White Fairytale remained calm despite Sour Apple¡¯s question, ¡°As long as he was the one who said it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point! People change! You can¡¯t just take the words of a 16 year old kid as some sort of holy edict! You¡¯re saying that Fleeting Time loves beaches? Funny, I can remember Absalom telling me that Fleeting Time likes lofty mountains and flowing waters! Your way is thinking is just not right!¡± Sour Apple could notprehend the words of her friend. She had even begun to suspect that there was something wrong with White Fairytale. A normal person would never be so obsessed with something a little kid said more than ten years ago!

    White Fairytale shook her head, and a serious expression formed on her face. She looked at Sour Apple and spoke with a firm voice, ¡°People do change, but the innocence they have will not. Even if he likes the mountains and the rivers now, and the desert in the future, I believe that deep down, Fleeting Time loved the beach. As long as I wait... As long as I don¡¯t give up on him... He¡¯ll definitely see the good within me.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Sour Apple pointed at White Fairytale. She was lost for words. She then tugged at White Fairytale¡¯s hand and headed to the teleportation crystal that would bring them back to the guild encampment, ¡°That¡¯s enough for today. You need some rest. Everything will be better after a good night¡¯s sleep.¡±

    ¡°Apple, I know what you¡¯re thinking, but this is how I feel. Even if you put me to sleep for 10 years, I¡¯ll still think the same way when I wake up.¡± White Fairytale allowed her friend to drag her along without much of a stuggle.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy! You must be.¡± Sour Apple shook her head. If White Fairytale is not the one who¡¯s being crazy right now, then I must be the one losing my mind! This is scary!

    ¡°Apple, you must believe in me! Believe in my when I say that Fleeting Time will return to me in the end.¡± said White Fairytale with a smile.

    Sour Apple stopped dead in her tracks. There was a volcano in her heart that was ready to erupt. Herst shred of rationality was rapidly burned away by the anger that was surging forward like a torrent ofva.

    ¡°Apple, please help me, just like you¡¯ve always been. Give me the chance to get along with him. I know that I¡¯m making things difficult for you, and that Absalom will never agree to it, but don¡¯t you know what I¡¯m thinking after so many years? Isn¡¯t it great if I can end up as a couple with Fleeting Time just like you and Absalom? Our love will be able tost as long as our friendship...¡± said White Fairytale as she walked up to Sour Apple and caressed her face. She was so soft and gentle with her demure voice and the smile on her face.

    Sour Apple did not agree with her friend like how she always would, ¡°Stop it, Fairytale.¡± she sighed as she looked away.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I¡¯ve always been well. We all have our own goals, and being together Fleeting Time is mine.¡±

    ¡°Fairytale, stop it!¡± shouted Sour Apple. She pped White Fairytale¡¯s hand away and took two steps back. Her anger had finally erupted, devouring all her rationality. ¡°I did not help you for all these years because I think that you two are suitable for each other! I helped because I don¡¯t want you to be sad! As a bystander, and I can tell that Fleeting Time does not look at you the same way you¡¯re looking at him! Why have I always been helping you? Because I can¡¯t stand to refuse you pleas for help after all the sad stories you¡¯ve told me! Wake up! Do you really think that you can win him over like this? You wouldn¡¯t even have to waste so many years if that¡¯s the case!¡±

    ¡°Apple, you just don¡¯t understand men. Fleeting Time is like a child. He¡¯s having fun out there right now, but he¡¯ll eventually grow tired of it one day. When that dayes, he¡¯ll return to me.¡± White Fairytale shook her head.

    ¡°You¡¯re telling me that you¡¯re willing to be his fallback girl? And that you¡¯ll wait for him your entire life?¡± Sour Apple was shocked deeply by her words.

    ¡°As long as he¡¯s willing, why not?¡±

    ¡°White Fairytale can you not sink so low? Please do not throw away your dignity as a woman! How could you say something like that? What happened to all the education you had?¡± Sour Apple¡¯s eyes were two fiery orbs that were red with anger. She gripped down on White Fairtytale¡¯s shoulders and shook her hard, ¡°Wake up! Even if you¡¯re willing, you have to know that he¡¯s a bastard who doesn¡¯t need something like that!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not! We¡¯ve all known each other for years, and I can tell that Fleeting Time is selfish! He¡¯s a selfish bastard who does not care about somebody else! He doesn¡¯t care about your feelings! They mean nothing to him!¡±

    ¡°Stop it!¡± White Fairytale screamed at the top of her lungs, ¡°He knows what I did for him! He just haven¡¯t made up his mind yet!¡±

    ¡°His mind was made the moment you confessed to him! He made his mind when he first rejected you! You¡¯re not the one he wants! You don¡¯t have to keep on waiting for you!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± White Fairytale screamed once again as her vision blurred.

    Sour Apple¡¯s heart ache as she stared at her friend. The most cruel thing to do in this world was to build up hope for a person, and destroy that hope in front him or her. Sour Apple did just that. She was overwhelmed by guilt. I¡¯m such an asshole! I kept her hopes up, but now I¡¯m destroying it myself. Why am I doing this? Have I lost my mind?

    Just when White Fairytale began to weep, a private message notification rang out in her ears. She might not pay it any heed if the it was just a normal notification. This call, however, was different.

    yers in Fate had the option of customizing specialized ringtones for each of their friends, just like how people would assign a ringtone to a specific number in real life. Of course, such ringtone could only be assigned to a friend. Fleeting Time was the first person who was added into White Fairytale¡¯s friend list when she strated ying the game. Fleeting Time, however, did not return the gesture. While Fleeting Time was disyed as a friend in the friend list of White Fairytale, her name did not even exist his friend list.

    Despite knowing such a fact, White Fairytale assigned a special ringtone to Fleeting Time so that she would be able to immediately be notified when Fleeting Time attempted to contact her.

    Unfortunately for White Fairytale, Fleeting Time had never made any attempts at contacting her from the first day of Fate, just like how his name would never light up the screen of her cellphone.

    On this day, the special ringtone that White Fairytale did not expect to hear was ringing out in her ears. The flow of her tears immediately stopped as she listened intently to the ringtone. Is it him? Is it really him? She opened her private message channel and saw the name that had always haunted her dreams. She could not believe her eyes, but the pain she felt when she pinched herself told her that it was real.

    She fumbled with the console to connect to the voice call.

    ¡°Are you there?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am. I¡¯m always here.¡± White Fairytale answered with clear desperation in her voice, as if Fleeting Time would disappear if she was slow with her reply.

    Fleeting Time furrowed his eyebrows when he heard the desperation in White Fairytale¡¯s voice. He had even begun to regret his decision. I shouldn¡¯t have contacted her! The urgency in her reply and the desperation he could hear in her voice gave him a feeling that he would be eaten alive by that woman. However, when Fleeting Timeid his eyes on Gongzi You who was standing not far away, he forced himself to carry on with the conversation.

    ¡°Is your friend who learnt Goblin Engineering online?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he is!¡± White Fairytale was overjoyed. This is the first time Fleeting Time took the initiative to talk to her.

    ¡°Can you please ask him where is the power core usually installed in a Goblin Robot?¡± Fleeting Time went straight to the point with the intention of ending the conversation as soon as possible.

    ¡°Alright, wait up, I¡¯ll get to it.¡± White Fairytale immediately contacted her friend with such haste that one might think that she was doing the most important thing to her in this world. She was, however, reluctant to immediately pass the answer on to Fleeting Time. She knew that he would immediately end the call once he received the answer, ¡°Fleeting Time, he told me that there are different types of robots, with varying design. Why don¡¯t you take that robot over and I¡¯ll take you to my friend.¡±

    ¡°Forget about it, I¡¯ll ask someone else.¡± Fleeting Time pursed his lips. He saw through White Fairytale like an open book. Even if I can¡¯t find the answer, I¡¯ll just ask around in the World Channel. I¡¯m sure that many of the yers would be very willing to provide me with an answer.

    ¡°No, wait. Let me ask my friend again...¡± said White Fairytale, fearing that Fleeting Time would immediately end the call.

    ¡°So where do I ce the core?¡± asked Fleeting Time after a slight pause.

    ¡°Why are you asking about this? I-is it for a quest? Are you in a dungeon?¡± asked White Fairytale with a voice full of concern, ¡°Do you need me to heal...¡±

    Fleeting Time ended the call before she could finish her sentence. White Fairytale was taken aback by his gesture, and tears started to flow down her cheeks. Just then, a message by Fleeting Time appeared in the World Channel.

    [Fleeting Time]: Are there any Engineers who have learnt Goblin Engineering online? Can you tell me where the power core is ced in a Goblin Robot? I¡¯ll give you 10,000 gold coins if you can answer my question.¡±

    ¡°Wow! Am I dreaming? I just saw Fleeting Time in the World Channel!¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time is so rich! 10,000 gold coins for an answer? My God...¡±

    ¡°Noooo!!! Why have I not learnt Goblin Engineering? That¡¯s 10,000 gold coins!¡±

    ......

    Fleeting Time¡¯s message would always cause an uproar among the Western Continent yers. Many of the Engineer yers among them squealed in delight when the saw the reward offered by Fleeting Time.

    ¡°I have the answer, let me slide you a DM.¡±

    ¡°I have the answer as well!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a hidden notch at the middle of the robots throat. You can then open the casing with that notch and ce the energy core into the slot within.¡±

    ......

    Fleeting Time walked up to the robot when he received the answer, and found the well-hidden notch at the back of its neck. ¡°Hand me the energy core.¡± Fleeting Time extended a hand towards Gongzi You.

    Ye Ci immediately handed Fleeting Time the energy core, which was then ced into the slot. Life immediately returned to the inanimate machine and it began to stand up with shaky legs. Despite its rusting body, the machine was able to walk with firm steps.

    The machine, which was significantly taller than Fleeting Time, was surprisingly agile. Even with the screeching of rusted metal with each of its movement, the machine was still an awe-inspiring presence. Ye Ci discovered that the robot was renamed to ¡°Captured Goblin Robot¡±, and that its HP and damage values was 20% lower than the robots that they encountered earlier on. There was also a small timer that was disyed alongside the name of the machine, indicating that the energy core wouldst for 3 hours.

    ¡°Ah, it seems that we have to kill more Goblins for more energy cores.¡± observed Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Yup, but it seems that the Goblin poption in the Goblin Pce is somewhat scarce.¡±

    Fleeting Time then sent a friend request to the yer who gave him the answer and told him that someone would deliver the promised 10,000 gold coins by the next day. The yer was excited by the fact that he was able to earn 10,000 gold coins just by answering a very simple question.

    Absalom then received a message from Fleeting Time, who instructed him to hand a certain amount of money to a certain yer. Despite his grumblings, Absalom was forced toply with the request. After all, the presence of Gongzi You in the Western Continent was not known to many. With Fleeting Time upied with keeping and eye out on Gongzi You, he was forced to run errands for the man.

 Chapter 240 Hidden Mechanism

    Sour Apple could see White Fairytale¡¯s face morphing from a mask of sadness into an expression of joy and excitement, and then into disappointment, and finally despair in the span of a minute. Her expression was just like a flower that bloomed and then slowly wilted away.

    ¡°Was that Fleeting Time?¡± asked Sour Apple.

    She received no reply from White Fairytale who stood silently with tears streaming down her the fair skin of her cheeks.

    Sour Apple then saw Fleeting Time¡¯s message in the World Channel. She was curious about the reason behind Fleeting Time¡¯s sudden decision to initiate a conversation with White Fairytale. Ah, so that¡¯s why. One of White Fairytale¡¯s suitors knows about Goblin Engineering, and had sold quite a number of Goblin Workbenches to Genesis at a very low price. It¡¯s a shame that White Fairytale was not even interested in him.

    Fleeting Time must¡¯ve known about the Goblin Engineering yer! That¡¯s why he contacted White Fairytale for answers because he can¡¯t find anybody else who is a Goblin Engineer. But for some reasons, Fleeting Time did not obtain the answer he wanted from White Fairytale, and ended up hurting her feelings. thought Sour Apple to herself.

    ¡°Fairytale, it¡¯s quitete now. Let¡¯s just go to sleep.¡± Sour Apple sighed. Love must be the most illogical and mostplicated thing in this world.

    ¡°Why is he doing this to me?¡± White Fairytale¡¯s felt as if Fleeting Time was pouring salt over the already gaping would in her heart. She was forced to acknowledge a truth that she had been ignoring for a very long time. Sadness welled in her heart and the dam that was holding her tears back broke, ¡°I¡¯ve always treated him well! He don¡¯t have to treat me like this even if he don¡¯t like me! Why must he hurt me like this?¡±

    Sour Apple was lost for words.

    What is love? It is something that some live for, and some would even die for.

    Time passes quickly. Countless amount of time could pass in the blink of an eye.

    Ye Ci sat by a bonfire in the depths of the Goblin Pce, slowly roasting chunks of meat over the warm fire. Ol¡¯ Four drooled at the sight of the meat, and was wagging its tail at Ye Ci. As she looked up, Ye Ci could no longer see the roof of the Goblin Pce.

    She did not know how long she had spent in the pce with Fleeting Time. Her surroundings were dark with the only source of lighting from the torches that lined the walls around her.

    Even when Ye Ci had neverpleted an Epic-tier quest in herst life, she had read ounts of yers who were fortunate enough to encounter such quests on the forums. Every Epic-tier quest was unique on its own way, putting different qualities and aspects of yers to the test. Some Epic-tier quest could only bepleted through teamwork, while some required yers to have good mechanical skills, or high level of intelligence. There were also quests that would stretch the patience of yers to their limits.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath and patted Ol¡¯ Four on the head before tossing a chunk of roasted meat at her pet. Ol¡¯ Four immediately let out a happy yelp as it began wolfing down its food. Ye Ci was envious as she studied her Ol¡¯ Four. The life of a Hunter¡¯s pet is actually pretty good. It¡¯s so carefree and free of worries.

    A set of steady footsteps rang in the darkness, heading slowly towards Ye Ci. ¡°We still have a long way to go. You should eat something.¡± said Ye Ci without even turning to face the source of the sound.

    Fleeting Time took a seat beside Ye Ci, with Little Five settling down not far away from its master. The man threw a chunk of roasted meat at his pet before stuffing a piece of meat into his mouth, ¡°Yup. I¡¯ve lost count of how many floors we¡¯ve been to. Even travelling down the stairs is pretty time consuming.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled at Fleeting Time, ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve not seen the sunlight for a long time, in game and in real life.¡± She was able to develop a mutual understanding with Fleeting Time after the days they spent in the dungeon. Despite their status as yers from opposing continents, the duo was able to work together seamlessly in the dungeon.

    ¡°Hunters thrive in gloomy forests. I didn¡¯t know that you like the sun.¡± said Fleeting Time with eyebrows raised.

    ¡°Even when I¡¯m ying as a Huntress, I¡¯m still me. I enjoy basking in sunlight.¡± replied Ye Ci as she munched on a piece of roasted meat. In truth, she hated the sun in herst life, but had grown to love it after her reincarnation. The sunlight that could sometimes be scorchingly hot and be warm at times was so beautiful in her eyes. ¡°Do you like the sun?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    ¡°I do.¡± replied Fleeting Time almost instantaneously with a nod.

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°I hate cold weather. This is why I love the sun.¡± chuckled Fleeting Time.

    That doesn¡¯t sound like something a man would say, thought Ye Ci. She was surprised by Fleeting Time¡¯s answer as Bai Mo and Tan Png were not at all afraid of the cold, ¡°You can¡¯t stand the cold?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I am.¡± Fleeting Time answered truthfully. Ye Ci could detect the hint of sadness in Fleeting Time¡¯s calm voice. She stomached the question that almost left her mouth and responded with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s rare to see a man who can¡¯t stand the cold.¡±

    ¡°Well, there are all sorts of people in this world.¡± Fleeting Time did not offer Ye Ci an exnation. He raised his head and was met with darkness. His surrounding felt gloomy, just like his past.

    Ye Ci could tell that Fleeting Time had a past that was not known to many. It was something that belonged to him and him alone. It was just like how people would keep secrets in the depth of their hearts, just like how she was.

    This was why Ye Ci shifted the conversation with a smile, ¡°How long have we been in this dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Four days and seventeen hour.¡± Fleeting Time paid more attention to the time than Ye Ci, ¡°We can¡¯t even see the bottom from here yet. Will it mess with your timing?¡±

    ns could not keep up with the speed of change. thought Ye Ci to herself. Her n to return to the Eastern Continent after seven days to check on the progress of Mithril mining in the Lesser Demon Sanctuary was foiled.

    ¡°Heh...¡± Ye Ci grimaced, ¡°How I wish that I can control the flow of time. Then again, if I can do that, it means that I¡¯m God.¡±

    Fleeting Time chuckled at Ye Ci¡¯s words. The flow of time was something that could be controlled by humans, just like how sudden changes could foil even the most careful nning, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. Let¡¯s just keep pressing on forward. We might be reaching the bottom soon.¡±

    Ye Ci was not convinced by Fleeting Time¡¯s words as she stared down at the bottomless darkness, but she knew that Fleeting Time was right. It was a wise choice to continue their journey towards the bottom.

    The duo pressed on after their Stamina was replenished. They have in countless Undeads and Orcs during their exploration of the many floors of the Goblin Pce, and was able to gain control of arge number of Goblin Robots. The dungeon, however, seemed so endless. Ye Ci could not help but feel a sense of helplessness as she continued onwards.

    Thirty robots followed the advance of the duo. Despite the option to capture more machines, the duo chose to refrain from such an act due to the confined spaces of each floor. Having too many mechanicalpanions would only limit their own movements.

    Their surroundings grew dimmer when they descended into yet another level.

    This new level, however, was different from the previous floors. It was very wide, and its walls were decorated with more torches that brought light to the extreme darkness.

    ¡°Wait up.¡± the effective range of Hawkeye was greatly limited by the darkness. Ye Ci was able to put her re to good use in such a situation. She nodded at Fleeting Time, and fired off a re, which illuminated the road ahead with its dim light.

    A crossroads loomed ahead of the duo. Both of its passages were dark and gloomy, as if they were pathway to despair.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head into the one on the left first.¡± said Fleeting Time after a brief moment of observation.

    Ye Ci followed Fleeting Time into the passage without much of an objection. The entire floor was eerily silent and devoid of monsters, but Ye Ci could still hear the faint grinding of metallic gears in the darkness. The movements of so many machines in an environment so dark and quiet was like a thunderp to her ears.

    The duo was unexpectedly bounced back by an unseen force when they headed into the passage to their left. It was just like what they experienced as they attempted to gain entry to Vo¡¯sok.

    Ye Ci immediately produced the Goblin Compass in an attempt to look for clues, it offered no additional hints other than the distance between the duo and De¡¯frei.

    ¡°So we can¡¯t go this way?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows furrowed, ¡°How about the path on the right?¡±

    The same thing happened to Ye Ci and Fleeting Time as they attempted to walk down the passage.

    ¡°There must be some sort of mechanism hidden someone.¡± said Fleeting Time and Ye Ci in near-perfect synchronization. They then shared a look with each other with a smile on their faces, ¡°Where do you think it might be?¡±

    Fleeting Time spoke up after a moment of thought, ¡°I think there might be something hidden between the two paths,¡± and Ye Ci shared the same opinion as well, ¡°So what are we waiting for?¡± she shrugged.

    A statue of a Goblin d invish clothing loomed over the duo. Shards of shattered jewels could be seen on the weathered statue. From afar, the statue looked very beautiful.

    Fleeting Time lit a torch, and began reading the words written at the base of the statue.

    Ye Ci was baffled by the strangenguage that was spoken by Fleeting Time. She inched closer to have a better look, only to find words that she could not understand, ¡°What is this that you¡¯re reading?¡±

    Due to the limited lighting provided by the torch, Fleeting Time could barely read the words etched onto the surface of the statue. Ye Ci was in close proximity with Fleeting Time as he leaned closer to have a better look at the words.

    Neither Ye Ci nor Fleeting Time realised that they were in close proximity with each other in the dark. Their attention was focused wholly on the writings on the statue.

    When he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words, Fleeting Time turned around reflexively and was surprised when he bumped into something. Ye Ci could feel something soft brushing against her cheeks. She immediately understood what exactly the soft sensation was, and backed away from Fleeting Time, as if she was jolted by electricity. Despite her shock, Ye Ci forced herself to remain calm as she stared silently at Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time was stunned as well. He stared at Gongzi You who was centimeters away from him. Her cold gaze appeared so gentle under the dim light. Her silvery hair was tied into a ponytail behind her head, but there were still strands of hair on her forehead and her cheeks. He could even see the light of the torch reflecting in Gongzi You¡¯s ember eyes.

    Panic. It was something that Fleeting Time had never seen in Gongzi You. In that moment however, he could detect hints of panic in Gongzi You¡¯s eyes.

    Under the right circumstances, people would find themselves doing things that was out of the ordinary and was out of character.

    As Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time, she could feel her heart beating violently in her chest. She felt the need to act, or to at least speak up, but it was as if she was sapped of energy. She maintained her pose, and stared silently at Fleeting Time.

    She stared silently at his slightly arching brows, and the slight smirk on his lips, and felt warmth in the depths of her heart.

    Fleeting Time knew that he would scare Gongzi You away and create a ridge between them if he acted rashly. Then again, he was not able to hold himself back. At that very moment, the urge to inch closer to Gongzi You upied Fleeting Time¡¯s mind.

    Ye Ci panicked when she felt the warmth of Fleeting Time¡¯s breath. This was something that had never happened to her. She was always confident in her abilities to adapt to any changes that she might encounter, but why was she so lost right at this moment?

    She could feel Fleeting Time inching closer and closer. She could feel her heart boil along with the warmth in his breath.

    Ye Ci moved slightly to the back before the two coulde into contact, putting in some distance between them. The gesture, however simple it may seem to be, required all of Ye Ci¡¯s willpower.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s rationality returned to him at that moment. He stared silently at Ye Ci before backing away. He extended a hand at Ye Ci, brushed away the stray strand of hair that was in her mouth, and spoke in a soft voice that could only be heard by himself, ¡°This, is good enough.¡±

    Ye Ci could feel the scorching heat of Fleeting Time¡¯s fingers as they brushed across her face. Her nails dug into her palms as she clenched her fists tightly.

    Fleeting Time then turned around, and continued studying the words on the statue, ¡°This is a statue of the current Goblin King, Ciel, and the writings here is actually a poem praising his great deeds. Well, it¡¯s not like they¡¯re important anyways.¡±

    His voice was calm and collected, as if nothing happened between the duo. Ye Ci could also feel her thumping heart slowly calming down, and her strength returned to her.

    She stole a nce at Fleeting Time who was busy tranting the words that were engraved on the statue. Ye Ci¡¯s focus, however, was not on Fleeting Time¡¯s words. Her mind was upied with something else. What will happen if I did not move just now?

    Ye Ci did not have the courage to think about the possibilities.

    Her mind was a jumbled mess.

    The statue of Ciel held two scepters on each side. Ye Ci reached out to the scepter on the left, and was immediately hit with a gust of chilly wind.

    Ye Ci¡¯s wits returned to her in that moment, and she spoke up to Fleeting Time, ¡°Try pulling the other scepter.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll have to split up.¡± Fleeting Time responded. He could see the determination in Ye Ci¡¯s eyes, which was a direct opposite to her gentle side mere moments ago.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    ¡°Will you be fine alone?¡±

    Ye Ci turned around and stared at Fleeting Time. She knew that he was concerned about her. ¡°Gender doesn¡¯t matter in a dungeon, the ss of a character does. I¡¯m Gongzi You, a lvl60 Huntress. I won¡¯t be having any problems.¡± said Ye Ci with a smile on her face.

    Fleeting Time returned her smile after a brief moment of pause. This was the real Gongzi You. The Gongzi You who captivated his heart. The Gongzi You who always showed confident in herself. The Gongzi You who was always rational and decisive.

    ¡°I¡¯m Fleeting Time, a lvl60 Hunter, and I¡¯ll be waiting for you on the other side.¡± said Fleeting Time as he pulled at the scepter on the right. A strong gust of wind immediately blew out at him from the path on the right.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on that.¡± Ye Ci onest nce at Fleeting Time and dashed into the darkness.

    The only thing left in the darkness was Ye Ci¡¯s captivatingugh.

    It took Fleeting Time some short while before he could recover from his daze. He then dashed into the darkened path on the right as well, with theughter of Gongzi You still ringing in his ears.

    Ye Ci sprinted in the darkness with a dozen robots following close behind. Even when the number of her mechanical helpers was halved when she split up with Fleeting Time, Ye Ci could still put them to good use. The path seemed to be endless. The only thing that apanied Ye Ci in the pathway that was shrouded in darkness was her own footsteps, and the footsteps of the Goblin Robots. Even the strong night vision capabilities of the Elves was no help to Ye Ci. She could only press on forward to the direction of the chilly wind.

    After an untold amount of time, Ye Ci stopped in her tracks, and stood in the darkness.

    Her surroundings were so quiet that she could hear the sound of a needle falling onto the ground. The silent that she was experiencing, however, felt slightly different.

    Ye Ci closed her eyes, and listened intently to her surroundings. The howling of the wind was gone without a trace. Did the wind be calmer? Why did I not notice it earlier? Ye Ci¡¯s long, pointed ears twitched as she strained to listen to the wind, but there was nothing at all.

    What happened? Why did the wind suddenly stop?

    Ye Ci popped her left index finger into her mouth and raised it high above her head in an attempt to detect the presence of even the slightest gust of wind. The wind, however, had stopped entirely.

    With her options exhausted, Ye Ci pulled thest torch from her inventory and began studying her surroundings.

    With the size of the ce, it was impossible for the single torch to illuminate Ye Ci¡¯s surroundings entirely. She cast a backwards nce, and found Roman style pirs and paintings depicting the former glory of the Goblin kingdom on both sides of the corridor that she passed through earlier on.

    Ye Ci studied the paintings that told tales of the rise of the Goblin civilization. Not a single negative portrayal of the Goblin civilization was made in the paintings. One might even be awed by such a disy, they were merely relics of the past buried in the dust of history.

    She arrived at a gigantic metal door after walking for a full circle.

    The rust covering the metal door could not hide the wonderful craftsmanship of its maker. Ye Ci studied the door intently, but could find no knob or keyholes. The seamless door loomed in the darkness silently. Ye Ci could find no way to pry the door open.

    Am I going to be trapped here?

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. I¡¯ve been guided to this ce by the hints offered by the quest. There must be a way through this door, but it¡¯s very well hidden.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s voice rang out in the Party Channel as Ye Ci studied the door intently, ¡°Little Gongzi, where are you right now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m at the end of a corridor.¡± said Ye Ci after a brief moment of thought, ¡°Well, it might not be the end of this corridor, but there¡¯s a huge metal door in my way, and I don¡¯t know what¡¯s behind this thing. What about you?¡±

    ¡°Well, ording to what you¡¯ve just told me, we¡¯re in the same situation.¡± said Fleeting Time with a carefree voice. It was clear that he was looking for a way to get through the door just like Ye Ci.

    ¡°I¡¯m looking for some sort of mechanism that will get the door open. Have you found anything on your end?¡± Ye Ci began inspecting every inch of the wall around her for clues, but to no avail. If Fleeting Time is stuck in the same situation, maybe he might be able to find something useful on his end.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡± came Fleeting Time¡¯s voice, ¡°By the way, what¡¯s in the painting on the wall at the right side of the door?¡± he asked after a brief moment of thought.

    Ye Ci stared at the painting on her right, and found it different from its counterparts. While the other paintings were about the rise and development of the Goblin civilization, this painting was a portrait of a young female Drow. The Drow was standing in a beautiful garden as she stared ahead with bitterness hidden in her eyes while Ciel was standing behind her with a face full of happiness. From the blooming flowers, towering trees, and an elegant pavilion in the painting, one could tell that they were in the pce garden.

    ¡°It seems to be a wedding picture... A cross-species wedding.¡± Ye Ci described the portrait to Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Why does it sound so weird?¡± Fleeting Time stifled augh.

    ¡°What do you mean? They are from different races. One of them is a Drow while the other is a Goblin. I wonder what would their offspring look like...¡± Ye Ci¡¯s curiosity was piqued, ¡°Then again, from what I read in a book at the National Library, it is unusual for members of the royal family to marry member of other races. If I¡¯m not mistaken, it¡¯s to protect the purity of their blood. This is what makes this strange.¡±

    ¡°Heh, I don¡¯t know much about that.¡± Fleeting Time chuckled and stared at the young Drow. Her dark skin was the feature of a Dark Elf, but her red eyes signified her status as a rare type of Elf. She was a Drow.

    It was said that thebat prowess of the Drows was way superior than the Dark Elves, and their obsession with nature was unparalleled even by the High Elves. Despite the Drows¡¯ status as a high-tier race, theyck in the capacity to breed, and most of them lived in seclusion. This was why any traces of the Drows began to disappear from the world. Even the Elves themselves were unsure if there were any Drows left in this world.

    ¡°It was said that Drows have higher innate Perception, Bnce, Endurance, and Intelligence that us High Elves. They receive more stats when they level up as well. As expected of a high-tier race.¡± Fleeting Time was curious about the Drows, ¡°Then again, this race does not seem to be made avable to yers.¡±

    ¡°Seems like it. I¡¯ve never seen a live Drow before.¡± Ye Ci could still remember her ythrough as a Human Sorceress in herst life. She was lvl150 when she first encountered a Drow. It was a time when Fate was already released for nearly seven years. The Drow in question was but a fragment of memory of a Drow Sorceress, but she was impressed by the skillful mastery of spells by the Drow. The high innate stats of the Drows made them into powerful mages.

    Ye Ci had only seen not more than ten Drows in herst life, but they appeared in the form of illusions, paintings, and even a corpse. She had never seen a live Drow. What if I can gather all the pieces of the map that will lead me to the Elven King Dau¡¯er? Maybe I can ask him about the Drows!

    ¡°Do you mean that you¡¯ve seen a dead one before?¡± asked Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there one in the painting?¡± replied Ye Ci, who was slightly flustered. She sighed at her poor choice of word that almost revealed her identity as a reincarnator.

    Despite his intelligence, Fleeting Time was unaware of such a thing as he could not directly see Ye Ci¡¯s expression.

    As Ye Ci stared at the young Drow, she noticed a beautiful red gem pendant on her neck. Therge gem looked so real even when it was part of a painting. Ye Ci extended her arm to the pendant, and found the part of the painting to be softer than the rest of the painting. She then pressed down on the gem, but the metallic door did not budge.

    Well, I guess it¡¯s just my imagination.

    Fleeting Time spoke up in the Party Chat just as Ye Ci was still deep in her thoughts, ¡°Did you touch anything?¡±

    ¡°Not really.¡± Ye Ci was baffled, ¡°I touched the ne on the painting of the Drow girl because the gem encrusted in the ne looks different. Nothing happened though.. Did something happen on your end...¡±

    The grumbling of long rusted metal entered Ye Ci¡¯s ears before she could finish her sentence, and the huge metal door in front of her slowly swung open.

    ¡°The door on my side opened as well...¡± Ye Ci was astonished, ¡°Did the door on your side open as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Did you pressed the gem on the girl¡¯s neck?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I can¡¯t believe that this is where the mechanism to the door was hidden. The gem on your side is used to open the door on my side, while this gem right here opens yours.¡±

    ¡°Heh, it seems that a minimum of two yers is required to explore this dungeon. If someone came here alone, then he or she would be trapped here.¡± said Ye Ci as the metallic door swung itself open slowly.

    ¡°Things will get harder from now on.¡±

    ¡°Yup. We haven¡¯t encountered a single monster yet. I guess this is what they call the calm before the storm. Things will definitely not be as quiet from now on.¡± said Ye Ci as she brushed her hair away from her ears. She could see lights in the corridor behind the door. Unlike the torches used by the other races, the Goblins have already invented wallmps that were powered by a tiny energy core. Thesemps shone brighter than torches, and could illuminate a wider area.

    The corridor was bright as day with the number ofmps that lined the wall.

    It was ring for Ye Ci who had grown ustomed to the dark.

    There seemed to be no end to the corridor before Ye Ci. The ground was covered with blood red carpet, and the walls were lined with paintings. Of course, they were not as awe-inspiring as what Ye Ci saw when her eyes finally adjusted to the brightness.

    She saw rows of mechanical warriors standing silently at both sides of the corridor. They were like an army standing at attention, guarding their master who was deep in slumber from any harm.

 Chapter 241 Bai Mo

    Bai Mo sat in the office of the branch manager of Huaxia Bank¡¯s City A branch with a smile on his face. The first two button of his shirt were unfastened, and the necktie that hung loosely on his neck gave him an air of elegance mixed with the temperament of a ruffian.

    The branch manager, Shi Changshu, who was in the middle of a meeting, was stunned when he heard of Bai Mo¡¯s arrival. He then instructed his secretary to lead Bai Mo to his office, and hastily ended his meeting.

    Before he walked into the office, Shi Changshu called out to his secretary, Hu Xiao. The beautifuldy with an amazing body figure had worked under Shi Changshu for many years, and her efficiency at work was as good as her looks.

    Hu Xiao walked out of Shi Changshu¡¯s office slowly after serving a cup of top grade Tieguanyin tea to Bai Mo and closed the elegant wooden door lightly behind her. She nodded at Shi Changshu who was waving at her and walked up to her boss calmly.

    This was one of the reasons Shi Changshu appointed Hu Xiao as his secretary. She was able to remain calm in any situation, which prevented her from making mistakes.

    A subordinate who does no mistake might sound like an impossibility for some, but Hu Xiao was indeed such a person.

    ¡°Manager, do you need something from me?¡± Hu Xiao greeted her superior.

    Shi Changshu nodded, ¡°Why is he here?¡± and he furrowed his eyebrows. It was obvious that the man was nervous.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that, sir. Mr.Bai said nothing about it.¡± replied Hu Xiao apologetically. With her position as Shi Changshu¡¯s secretary, many of the visitors that came looking for Hu Xiao¡¯s boss would usually make their intentions known to her. They would seek Hu Xiao¡¯s advice about their business, who would then analyze the matter at hand for them and report to Shi Changshu to give him a clear picture of the situation.

    With the important role Hu Xiao yed in influencing any decision that might be made by Shi Changshu, many of his visitors would try their best to creep up her sleeves. This meant that Shi Changshu would be able to prepare for his meeting with his visitors with the information he gained through Hu Xiao.

    However, things were different this time. Bai Mo said nothing when he came looking for Shi Changshu. This was why it came as a cause for concern to the man.

    The Bai family... Is not to be trifled with...

    Even when Bai Zixuan had no other siblings, and Bai Mo was his only child... Shi Changshu could not afford to cross the Bai family.

    The Huaxia Bank was a privately owned bank that started its business not more than eighty years ago, but its wealth could rival even that of the National Bank. The Huaxia Bank was the number one private bank in China, but it once faced an unprecedented financial crisis during its fifth year of operating as a bank.

    Just when all hopes were lost, and the bank was ready to sell off its assets, a man signed a contract with the director of Huaxia Bank. It was a permanent contract that would be legally valid as long as Huaxia Bank remained operational. Even if the bank was sold out to another bank in the future, the contract would still be valid.

    One could tell from the validity period of this contract alone that it was not signed on equal grounds. The terms that were agreed upon was indeed considered unfair, but no matter how absurd they may be, it still ended up as a legally binding contract. Of course, this was due to the fact that the director had signed another contract with the man to renounce all rights by the bank to ever pursue the legality of such a contract.

    Nobody was willing to be treated like an idiot, and the director of the Huaxia Bank back then was no exception. However, the immeasurable wealth possessed by that man came as a strong persuasion. The man promised to deposit all his wealth into the Huaxia Bank, and would not withdraw even a single cent from the bank in the next ten years. It was a huge risk for the man, and his wealth was able to save the Huaxia Bank from the brink of bankruptcy. Then again, if the bank went out of business despite his aid, wouldn¡¯t it mean that the man lost everything?

    One could say that the man was very insightful with his investment.

    The man asked for 49% of Huaxia Bank¡¯s shares, and promised to not interfere with the management of the bank. From the point of view of an outsider, the shares owned by the man meant nothing, but the higher ups of the Huaxia Bank knew better. They knew that Huaxia Bank would be finished if the man decided to pull all of his shares out of the bank.

    However, the man did not appear again after signing the contract. The wealth that he left with the Huaxia Bank became the ever-growing gold reserve that was stored in the underground vault at the bank¡¯s HQ. There was something else stored in the very same vault: the contract with the man that saved the life of the Huaxia Bank.

    The man, with the surname Bai, was none other than the grandfather of Bai Zixuan, and the great-grandfather of Bai Mo.

    Nobody knew where did the money came from, as the current Bai family led very ordinary people leading ordinary lives. Of course, it might have something to do with the nature of the members of the Bai family. Instead of the thrilling lives experienced by the upper echelon of the society, they preferred a normal lifestyle.

    Bai Mo himself learnt about the contract from his father. He was given a copy of the contract and a seal when he was 20 years old, and was told that he could ess the funds in the Huaxia Bank as long as they have the seal and was proven to be a member of the Bai family. The members of the Bai family appeared to have forgotten about the contract, and one could also say that they have grown used to their ordinary lifestyle. Because of that, none of them had gotten into contact with the Huaxia Bank for that wealth. This, however, did not mean that the wealth belonged to the Huaxia Bank. As the years past and that wealth continued to grow, the anxiety of the management of the Huaxia Bank grew with it as well. They were waiting for a member of the Bai family to appear and im that wealth, but were living in fear because of that as well.

    They wanted a member of the Bai family to im the shares as they did not wish to prolong their agony. The moment that wealth was imed was the moment the Huaxia Bank would finally be rid of the Bai family.

    Then again, they were afraid because the chairman of the Huaxia Bank held 63% of the bank¡¯s shares, but the 49% of the shares owned by the Bai family was actually included in the shares help by the chairman. If the Bai family staked their im, it would bring a huge impact to the Huaxia Bank¡¯s ownership.

    This was why the fear and anxiety among the higher ups of the Huaxia Bank grew as their wealth grew. But when they received no news from the Bai family after over a decade, the higher ups of the Huaxia Bank was relieved. Perhaps the Bai family had died off.

    Their relief was proven to be short-lived when Bai Mo appeared.

    The Huaxia Bank was a private bank that started off as a family business. The first director of the bank was from the Shi family. He was the grandfather of Shi Changshu. Unlike the Bai family, the Shi family blossomed with many offsprings. They maintained a strict policy even when Huaxia Bank was a family business. Only members of the family who were capable were appointed to positions of power within the bank. Out of the six of Shi Changshu¡¯s uncles, only three of them had the capabilities to hold important positions in the business. Those who were less capable were cut off from the family and could only lead very ordinary lives.

    Shi Changshu could not believe his own eyes when Bai Mo appeared in his office five years ago with a seal and the results of a DNA test proving that he was indeed a member of the Bai family. He knew about the deal between the Bai family and Huaxia Bank since he was young, but had never seen a member of the Bai family before. Some members of the Shi family assumed that the Bai family have died off, while many others dismissed the incident as a mere myth.

    That was why Shi Changshu was stunned into silence for three full minutes when Bai Mo first appeared before him.

    At that very moment, Shi Changshu¡¯s mind went nk. There was even a split second when he thought that the Huaxia Bank was finished. The 20 years old young man then smiled at him, ¡°I¡¯m not here because of the money, nor am I here to find out about the assets the Bai family currently owns. I¡¯m here to let you know that the Bai family is still around.¡±

    His simple words were not good news to the Shi family.

    Bai Mo left after Shi Changshu and the management of the Huaxia Bank confirmed his identity. The members of the Shi family experienced one of their most agonizing evening on that day. Try as they might, none of them was able to enjoy a good night¡¯s sleep on that day.

    And the Bai family disappeared just like that once again.

    Bai Mo stayed true to his word. He did not withdraw a single cent out of the Bai family¡¯s ount. He did not even attempt to ess the only Diamond-tier ount in the entire Huaxia Bank. He disappeared without a trace.

    And five years have passed since then.

    During the five years, Huaxia Bank made multiple attempts to transfer their assets but their efforts were thwarted by the Economic Court that begun monitoring the Huaxia Bank a day after Bai Mo¡¯s appearance. The Shi family was forced toply and continue to run the Huaxia Bank.

    Shi Changshu had always imagine the moment Bai Mo would once again appear in his office. Would he be acting all high and mighty? Or would he be courteous and humble? He did not expect Bai Mo to appear out of the blue, and his appearance caught Shi Changshu off guard.

    What is he here for this time?

    Shi Changshu took in a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself down.

    Nobody could remainpletely calm with a knife held against their throat, and even an experienced businessman like Shi Changshu was no exception. It took him a long moment to muster the energy to enter his office.

    Five years have passed, and the handsome young man has matured even further. He was standing in front of the ss window, staring down at the bustling city as he sipped on his tea.

    ¡°Mr.Bai.¡± said Shi Changshu with a smile as he stared at Bai Mo.

    Bai Mo turned around and faced Shi Changshu with a smile of his own, ¡°Ah, Mr.Shi. It¡¯s been awhile.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been five years. Like they say, time flies.¡± Shi Changshu was a businessman, but he was also a person who was born out of a literary family.

    ¡°I finally know why banks like to have their office at high ces.¡± Bai Mo turned around to face the window once again. He took a whiff of the fragrant aroma of his tea, and raised his cup to his lips.

    ¡°And why is that?¡± Shi Changshu walked up to Bai Mo and looked down at the city as well.

    Bai Mo responded with a smile, ¡°Mr.Shi, don¡¯t you want to know why I¡¯m here?¡±

    ¡°Well, since you¡¯re here Mr.Bai, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll let me know eventually. There¡¯s no need to press you for an answer.¡± Bai Mo had a calming effect on the people around him. A sudden calmness washed over Shi Changshu who was anxious moments ago as he stood beside Bai Mo.

    ¡°Allow me to start off by giving you an assurance.¡± Bai Mo chuckled, ¡°I will not take my money away from your bank. I never will. As long as we¡¯re able to maintain a healthy working rtionship, my money shall remain in the Huaxia Bank forever.¡±

    Shi Changshu was momentarily stunned when he heard Bai Mo¡¯s words. The gentle young man was not as simple as he appeared to be. He could tell that Bai Mo was plotting something behind his unfathomable smile.

    Of course, Shi Changshu remained silent. He was not a rookie who had just entered the business world. He would not allow himself to be affected by the words of Bai Mo, even if he held secrets that might be unfavorable for Huaxia Bank. He was confident in his abilities to handle a greenhorn like Bai Mo.

    Despite his dissatisfaction at Bai Mo¡¯s words, Shi Changshu did not allow his annoyance to show. ¡°Then allow me to thank you in advance, Mr.Bai.¡± he said with a smile. He then took a seat at his desk, and motioned at a chair in front of him, ¡°Please, have a seat.¡±

    Bai Mo remained standing on his spot as he stared silently at Shi CHangshu. He cast a nce at the chair in front of the man¡¯s desk, and took a seat on the sofa in the reception area instead. The smile remained on Bai Mo¡¯s face as he folded his legs and rest his arms on his knees.

    Shi Changshu was momentarily stunned by the gesture. He did not expect Bai Mo to return to his seat at the couch instead of taking a seat in front of his desk. This gesture that seemed so simple was not at all simple to Shi Changshu.

    The vast majority of Shi Changsu¡¯s visitors would adapt a master-follower mentality during their meetings. Shi Changshu was the master, while his visitors were the follower. Even if they started the meeting on equal footing, there were still some that might be nudged into that direction as they sat in front of Shi Changshu.

    It was a very natural phenomenon. When two individuals sat face to face, the one who was at the lower ground would subconsciously feel inferior to his opposite number, and this would affect his or her judgement.

    When Shi Changshu invited Bai Mo to take a seat on the chair in front of him, he was surprised when Bai Mo sat on the couch that was 10m away from him instead. The youth¡¯s smile had never left his face during the exchange of words.

    It was impossible for Shi Changshu to hold a conversation with Bai Mo from his desk as it meant that he would not be able to see Bai Mo¡¯s nonverbal reaction clearly. Dragging his chair all the way to Bai Mo¡¯s side was not an option as well as there was another couch near Bai Mo.

    Shi Changshu walked up to the couch that was adjacent to Bai Mo¡¯s seat after a moment of hesitation. He was able to close the distance, but it also meant that Bai Mo would be on an equal position with him. This was a very unfamiliar feeling for Shi Changshu.

    ¡°The tea here is very nice, Mr.Shi.¡± said Bai Mo with a smile on his face as he took a sip of tea and set his cup down onto the table. He had no intention of beating around the bush with Shi Changshu. He knew that he was not as cunning as the man who was almost as old as Bai Zixuan. Someone with that age and was holding such an important position was definitely not an ordinary person. The best course of action for Bai Mo was to go straight to the point.

    ¡°You can take some home with you if you want, Mr.Bai.¡± Shi Changshu kept his calm and continued his idle chatter with Bai Mo.

    ¡°I heard that the Huaxia Bank has made some investments in Fate. Or should I say... Mr.Shi has invested the funds from the A City branch into Fate...¡± the smile never left Bai Mo face as he spoke to Shi Changshu.

    Shi Changshu¡¯s hand trembled. How did he know about this? But as an experienced businessman, there was no way Shi Changshu would allow himself to be intimidated that easily by Bai Mo. He was quick to regain hisposure and faced Bai Mo with a smile, ¡°Fate is a popr game, and has the potential to lead the market of virtual economy. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not the only one who did that. Any businessman with the slightest bit of foresight would¡¯ve invested in Fate.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Bai Mo nodded, ¡°That¡¯s why I want to withdraw some money for some investments in Fate as well.¡±

    Relief washed over Shi Changshu when he heard Bai Mo¡¯s words. Ahh... So he needs some money to invest in Fate. A sincere smile appeared on Shi Changshu¡¯s face, ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll tell my people to get it done. How much do you need?¡±

    The smile remained on Bai Mo¡¯s face as he answered the question of Shi Changshu, ¡°Everything owned by the Bai family. 49% of Huaxia¡¯s shares.¡± and the man¡¯s face immediately paled upon hearing Bai Mo¡¯s words.

    ¡°Mr.Bai, how much was it again?¡± he creased his eyebrows.

    ¡°Everything.¡± said Bai Mo with a jolly expression, as if the amount of money discussed was nothing but a small change.

    ¡°Mr.Bai, you gave me your assurance that you will not be touching any of the money.¡± Shi Changshu realised that he had lost his calm, but in such a situation, not many could remain unperturbed. I, an elder, is being made a fool by a brat! Shi Changshu could feel anger boiling within him.

    ¡°I did, but it all depends on your sincerity Mr.Shi.¡± Shi Changshu¡¯s apparent anger waspletely ignored by Bai Mo.

    ¡°You¡¯re using me of not being sincere? I haven¡¯t even said anything much since I¡¯ve entered this room, Mr.Bai. How can you tell that I¡¯m being insincere?¡±

    ¡°But are you?¡±

    Shi Changshu sneered coldly at Bai Mo¡¯s question, ¡°Mr.Bai, you don¡¯t have to threaten me like that. Do you have any idea just how much money are we talking about?¡±

    Bai Mo shook his head and replied honestly, ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t? And you¡¯re telling me that you intend to invest everything the Bai family owns into Fate? Do you think that I¡¯m a three years old? Only an idiot would act without taking the consequences into consideration.¡±

    ¡°Well, didn¡¯t the Bai family did the same thing when we invested in your bank?¡± replied Bai Mo calmly.

    The words were enough to stun Shi Changshu into silence, who stared at Bai Mo dumbfoundedly. He sat in silence, trying his best to make sense of Bai Mo¡¯s words. He was unsure if Bai Mo was telling the truth, or was he merely trying to intimidate him with his words.

    ¡°A straightforward person does not resort to insinuations, Mr.Bai. What do you want me to do?¡± sighed Shi Changshu.

    Bai Mo¡¯s smile widened when he heard Shi Changshu¡¯s words. He pulled two pieces of paper from his pocket, and ced them on the table, ¡°What I want is simple. I want you to stop your loans to them, and pursue them for their debts.¡±

    Shi Changshu saw the names on the pieces of paper: Lei Man and Yi Zhong. As the branch manager, he was not in charge of loans. After excusing himself from Bai Mo, Shi Changshu called the credit department. He received detailed information about the two individuals from the employees momentster that was ryed through Hu Xiao.

    Bai Mo could not gain any information from the conversation between Shi Changshu and Hu Xiao as he could only hear grunts of affirmation from Shi Changshu¡¯s end. He could, however, tell from the man¡¯s solemn expression that Hu Xiao did not bring good news.

    Bai Mo traced his finger along the brim of the cup as he studied Shi Changshu¡¯s expression. Nobody can tell what was going on in his mind.

    Shi Changshu ended his conversation with Hu Xiao after quite some moments, looked at the pieces of paper, and walked over to Bai Mo with a smile on his face, ¡°Aiya, my subordinates work slow. Sorry about that, Mr.Bai.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Despite the smile on his face, Shi Changshu was silently studying Bai Mo¡¯s expression for every tiny details. He was desperate to figure out Bai Mo¡¯s thoughts. He was disappointed when Bai Mo remained calm, as if his conversation with Hu Xiao did not matter.

    This came as a big hindrance for Shi Changshu to make a good judgement of the situation. He sat on the couch and ced the two pieces of paper onto the table, ¡°Mr.Bai, my subordinates in the credit department had run a check on these names. They were indeed loaned a ratherrge sum of money. I¡¯m curious. Have the wronged you in any way?¡± said Shi Changshu with a smile on his face.

    ¡°Why? Does it have anything to do with the thing that I want you to do for me?¡± Bai Mo blinked.

    ¡°That....¡±

    ¡°Or are you telling me that you are not a banker, but a superhero? If they have indeed wronged me, you¡¯ll immediately take revenge on them in my stead? Or perhaps you¡¯re going to beg for forgiveness for them?¡± said Bai Mo with a smile, ¡°Am I right, Mr.Shi?¡±

    ¡°You jest, Mr.Bai.¡± Shi Changshu let out an awkwardugh.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mind me Mr.Shi. I like to tell jokes all the time.¡± Bai Mo narrowed his eyes.

    Shi Changshu let out a sigh of relief. This Bai Mo is hard to deal with. His attempt to probe information from Bai Mo was aplete failure. The youth¡¯s mouth was locked tighter than the vault in Huaxia Bank¡¯s HQ.

    After a moment of thought, Shi Changshu decided against beating around the bush with the young man. He hated the feeling of having a knife held against his throat, and it was something that he would never openly admit, ¡°To be honest with you, it¡¯ll be quite problematic to cancel their loans.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°The He Corporation is acting as their guarantor, and their loan was obtained through a legal process. We¡¯ll offend the He Corporation if we pull their lown backs...¡± Shi Changshu cast a nce at Bai Mo, who did not appear to be paying attention to him. Despite his anger, Shi Changshu could not risk a fall out with Bai Mo. His only real option was to coax the young man into changing his mind, ¡°You might not know about it Mr.Bai, but the He Corporation is one of our closest partners. In fact, we¡¯re currently working together in several projects. If we have a fall out with them now...¡±

    Bai Mo was not even looking at Shi Changshu. His gaze was rested on the buildings beyond the ss window.

    The people in the city led flourishing and prosperous lives, and tall buildings were not a rare sight in the city. Despite that, skyscrapers like the Huaxia Building was still umon. As Bai Mo gazed out of the window, he felt as if he was stepping the entire city under his feet. He finally knew why people were always crazy for money. Money was not alluring by itself, but the feeling of gazing down at the masses from a high position could be very addicting.

    A nobody like him would never understanding the addiction to power of those who were in the higher echelon, but he knew the agonizing pain of losing everything all at once.

    Bai Mo could still remember the saddest moment he had when he was 12 years old. He was excited to see a television show about building models of buildings with matches, and immediately took on one of the toughest project: building the Eiffel Tower. He could not remember how many matches was spent on the tower, but he remembered spending every moment in his waking hours that was not used on studying and eating to build the tower. It took Bai Mo an entire semester to almostplete the Eiffel Tower, but the tiniest mistake that he made caused the copse of the tower within mere seconds.

    He could still remember his feeling when the Eiffel Tower crumbled. His mind was nk as he stared at the ruins of his tower. It felt like time has stopped at that moment, and even his breath has stopped. The pain that Bai Mo felt could not be described by words. He fell down from his chair, and his body was trembling, but he was not able to cry out his sorrows.

    Some would say that Bai Mo was in living hell at that moment.

    Bai Mo thought to himself as he sipped on his tea, will Shi Changshu and the higher ups of the Huaxia Bank feel what I felt when my Eiffel Tower crumbled back them? Or will it be worse for them?

    Then again, it had nothing to do with Bai Mo.

    ¡°Mr.Shi, what building is that?¡± Bai Mo pointed at a skyscraper that was slightly taller than the Huaxia Building, cutting Shi Changshu off mid sentence.

    Shi Changshu was baffled by Bai Mo¡¯s sudden action. He cast a nce at the direction that Bai Mo was pointing, ¡°It was the Empire State building. The Hua¡¯er Bank has an office there.¡±

    Despite the simrities in their names, both banks were rivals. They were founded at the same time, and grew at the same rate into one of thergest banks in China. The two banks were equals in terms of wealth and size, and both sides were always trying to eliminate theirpetition. Shi Changshu himself was well acquainted with the manager of Hua¡¯er Bank¡¯s City A branch manager. Their friendship, however, was long gone after many years ofpetition in the business world.

    This was why Shi Changshu was baffled by Bai Mo¡¯s question.

    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s how the Empire State Building looks like from up here.¡± Bai Mo chuckled, and took another sip of tea, ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen the Empire State Building from an altitude like this. It¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    ¡°You might¡¯ve been able to see the rooftop of the Empire State Building if we built ours higher.¡± replied Shi Changshu with a slight hint of hostility in his voice.

    Bai Mo chuckled as a response.

    He had a smile on his face the moment he entered Shi Changshu¡¯s office, which was why Shi Changshu was surprised by his suddenughter, ¡°Did I say something wrong? What is so funny, Mr.Bai?¡±

    Bai Mo shook his head and stared square at Shi Changshu, ¡°I¡¯m curious. Will the Hua¡¯er¡¯s Bank¡¯s branch manager say the same thing to me if I deposited all the money I have into his bank? That is all.¡±

    He spoke in a very carefree manner, as if he meant it as a joke.

    Shi Changshu¡¯s expression darkened when he heard Bai Mo¡¯s words, ¡°Mr.Bai...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s funny, Mr.Shi?¡± Bai Mo paid no heed to Shi Changshu, and continued staring at the man with a smile on his face. Shi Changshu could barely even breath. He did not know if Bai Mo¡¯s words were merely threats, or if Bai Mo would actually act upon his words, but he knew that the Huaxia Bank was finished if Bai Mo decided to withdraw all of the Bai family¡¯s asset.

    Shi Changshu¡¯s father would never allow something like this to happen, and this is something that he himself was willing to go the great lengths to prevent.

    This was why he must fulfill Bai Mo¡¯s demand no matter what it took, even if it meant that his action would cause a rift between the Huaxia Bank and the He Corporation.

    Shi Changshu smiled at Bai Mo after a long moment of silence, ¡°There is indeed something wrong with their loans. Allow me to take the opportunity to thank you for pointing this out to us. Of course, I know that you¡¯re just taking care of your interest. I look forward to work with you again in the future.¡±

    Bai Mo sat silently on the sofa, and his smile seemed to have never left his face ever since he entered the office.

    He then turned around and looked out of the window. The light of the ring sun was reflected into Shi Changshu¡¯s office from the ss windows of the Empire State Building. Ahh... Could this be the radiance of money and authority? thought Bai Mo to himself.

 Chapter 242 Taking A Res

    t

    It was obvious that the Goblin Robots in the depths of the Goblin Pce were superior to the robots stationed at the entrance of the pce. They were more resilience to attacks and could deal more damage while having more abilities. Fortunately for the duo, the machines acted as independent units instead of utilizing horde attacks. With the aid of Ol¡¯ Four and her captured machines, Ye Ci was able to defeat her foes with rtive ease. Despite their individual strength, the Elite Robots could not stand up against the onslought of so many attackers.

    Whenever an Elite Robot was defeated, Ye Ci would then insert a power core into the fallen machine. Ye Ci was able to rece every single robot in her party with an Elite Robot within the span of half an hour.

    With her party bolstered with Elite Robots, Ye Ci¡¯s journey forward was made easier. She was able to clear away all opposition that was encountered along the way. As a lvl60 yer, Ye Ci was not able to benefit from the experience points of ying the enemies within the pce. Her screen, however, was filled with prestige points whenever a foe was in.

    Vo¡¯sok Prestige.

    Ye Ci noticed that her Prestige with Vo¡¯sok grew whenever she slew a foe in the map. A Goblin would offer 1 to 2 points upon its death, and a robot would yield 3 points, while her points would increase by 4 whenever an Orc or an Undead was in. She did not know how Prestige with Vo¡¯sok would benefit her, but she knew that gaining Prestige with any faction was definitely something good.

    She sat on the ground and began replenishing her status after all her enemies had been converted into loot drops and Prestige points.

    ¡°How are things on your side?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve defeated all the robots over here. How about you?¡±

    The duo maintained constantmunication after their separation. Coordination was very essential in the dungeon that was full of hidden mechanisms, and the slightest mistake made by either party might lead to disaster.

    ¡°I¡¯m done with my side as well, but I need to take a left turn up front.¡± replied Fleeting Time. The duo would constantly describe their surroundings to each other, ¡°I¡¯m facing the north with the corner to my left. Do you see anything on your end?¡±

    Ye Ci immediately faced north as well after listening to Fleeting Time¡¯s words, ¡°The path ahead of me leads to a corner turn as well, but to the right.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving. Be careful and remain in constant contact with me. Don¡¯t push yourself too hard if you run into trouble.¡± replied Fleeting Time after a brief moment of thought.

    ¡°You too.¡± replied Ye Ci who was nearly done with replenishing her Stamina. She remain in constantmunication as she continued to press on deeper down the corridor.

    The machines that Ye Ci encountered after that were no longer humanoid in shape. Her foes were mechanical spiders that spewed special web that could root their enemies in ce for 8 seconds. Whenever a target was rooted by a mechanical spiders, smaller spiders would then be deployed to deal damage on the rooted target. Ye Ci had to go to great lengths to avoid getting hit by the spiders¡¯ web inbat.

    It was a rtively simple task for Ye CI. As long as she was careful, any misfortune could easily be avoided. The same could not be said for Ol¡¯ Four and the Elite Robots that were under Ye Ci¡¯s control. Due to their sheer numbers, Ye Ci¡¯s entourage of Elite Robots were easy prey for the spiders¡¯ web. Once the Elite Robots were rooted, they were immediately swarmed by the smaller spiders.

    The smaller spiders were not notorious because of their attack damage, but because of their ability to self destruct. A single small spider could deal damage equivalent to 10% of the health of a single Elite Robot, and 10 of them would be able to instantly destroy the robot.

    Ye Ci was forced to release her AOE skills like Rain of Arrows and Multi Arrows in such a situation. It was the only effective countermeasure she had against the small spiders. In her bid to reduce the damage dealt to her Elite Robots, Ye Ci expended arge amount of her Stamina. This meant that she would run out of Stamina within 15 minutes, and would be forced to take a rest.

    Penalties against yers from hostile continents were indeed high before the patch was introduced into the game.

    With the current stage of the game meant as a period for yers to muster their strength, the developers have ced measures to ensure deter yers from invading an opposing continent. This included a high penalty that was imposed on yers who was on a foreign hostile continent. Even with a way to deal with the spiders, Ye Ci¡¯s progress was very slow as she had to take frequent breaks. When she received a message from Fleeting Time, Ye Ci was replenishing her stamina on the ground.

    ¡°How are you doing? Have you taken out the spiders yet?¡±

    ¡°Nope. The little ones are very obnoxious with their self destruct. I¡¯ve expended a lot of Stamina by casting AOE skills to keep them in check.¡± said Ye Ci as she took a sip of water. Even if she was to replenish her Stamina, Ye Ci¡¯s character was affected by Fatigue after the long hours of battle.

    ¡°Are you starting to have a high Fatigue value?¡± guessed Fleeting Time when he heard a groan from Ye Ci.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci was straightforward with her answer. The Fatigue value was a measure imposed by the developers on the character of a yer in-game, and had nothing to do with the yer themselves in real life. As a game with servers that were operational 24 hours a day, there would always be overly enthusiastic yers who stayed logged into the game to endlessly grind for gears and experience. This could be said to be unfair to the vast majority of Fate¡¯s yer base. This was why the Fatigue system was introduced and was imposed on yers who spent long moments in dungeons or activities like leveling up and crafting items or consumables. Continued and prolonged activities would generate Fatigue for a character, and unlike Stamina that could be replenished by consuming food in-game, yers could only recover from being affected by Fatigue by logging off.

    Of course, if nutrient packs were attached to a yer¡¯s gaming cabin, the rising of Fatigue levels could be slowed down.

    Even if it was deemed unfair to certain yers, one must understand the world was never fair, and only rtive fairness could be imposed in the game.

    ¡°How many Fatigue points do you have now?¡±

    ¡°28.¡± replied Ye Ci after stealing a nce at her Fatigue level.

    ¡°That¡¯s a rather high number.¡± Fleeting Time furrowed his eyebrows.

    The maximum points of Fatigue that could be umted by yers in Fate was set at 100 points. When a yer had an umted 30 points of Fatigue, the yer would have all their stats reduced by 5. A yer afflicted by 50 points of Fatigue would face a penalty of -15 on all stats. When the umted Fatigue of a yer was as high as 70 points, a penalty of -50 on all stats would be imposed on a yer. By then, the yer would have reduced movement speed and hit rate. The sess rate of item crafting would also be drastically reduced. yers would usually log out of the game when their umted Fatigue points were at 30.

    If a yer managed to umte more than 70 Fatigue points, the yer¡¯s character would slowly die of exhaustion. This was the same problem that was encountered by Ye Ci during her fight with Werebeast Shaman Buru. Things would y out more differently if her Fatigue level was lower at the beginning of the fight.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m fighting against spiders anyways. I¡¯ve been the one who is dishing out all the AOE attacks, of course I¡¯ll have a higher Fatigue level. When I¡¯m done with the spiders, I¡¯ll let Ol¡¯ Four and the robots take over the fighting, and my Fatigue level will not be increasing too much by then.¡± Ye Ci knew that her high Fatigue level would affect the dungeon exploration process. With the duo now separated, things could go very bad if she was forced to take a break due to high levels of Fatigue.

    ¡°I guess this is the only way. There¡¯s another turn ahead. It¡¯s still a left turn this time, so you¡¯ll be taking another right turn I presume? Let me scout on ahead first. I¡¯ll tell you what I see.¡± knowing that he was of no help to Ye Ci, Fleeting Time decided to advance ahead and ry more information to her.

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Ye Ci took in a deep breath, knowing that gathering information about what was ahead was vital in helping her to conserve her dwindling strength.

    Due to her Fatigue level, the recovering speed of Ye Ci¡¯s stamina had be significantly slower. As she sat on the ground with her eyes closed, a system notification rang out, ¡°This is not a safe ce. Are you sure that you want to rest here?¡±

    A quick nce on her Fatigue level told Ye Ci that she had no other choice. She actually reluctant to rest at this spot, but she knew that the fight ahead would be tough if she chose to press on without some rest. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a 5 minutes nap. Wake me up in the party channel in 5 minutes.¡± she sent a message to Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Alright. Go have some rest.¡±

    Ye Ci then stationed Ol¡¯ Four and the robots around her before selecting the option to rest. A character in Fate would not lose sleep or have its sleep disturbed. Any character could be put to sleep when a yer selected the option to rest, and would wake up at a preselected time or when the character was woken up by another yer.

    The five minutes of rest passed quickly. Ye Ci felt as if she was immediately woken up after the lids of her eyes were closed. A quick nce at her Fatigue level indicated that her Fatigue was reduced by 2 points. I wonder how long can I rest after taking care of the monsters in this ce?

    Knowing that she did not have much time, Ye Ci made sure that none would gone to waste. She immediately began clearing away the mechanical spiders with the aid of Ol¡¯ Four and the Elite Robots and continued her advance.

    With her high Fatigue level, Ye Ci was forced to relinquishing the main damage dealing role to Ol¡¯ Four and her machines while remaining at the back and fire off some asional attacks. Most of her time was spent on looting her fallen enemies while her entourage of helper pressed onwards, earning her Prestige points in the process.

    Despite her slower progress, it was a safer approach for Ye Ci. She was able to recruit new machines into her entourage of helpers, withrger more powerful machines and the mechanical spiders added to the ranks of party. With Ol¡¯ Four taking the lead followed by the machines and Ye Ci taking up the rear, the small band advanced forward slowly, sweeping aside any resistance they met.

    Ye Ci was able to advance down the dungeon slowly with Fleeting Time guiding her with information that he gained. Despite some little setbacks, Ye Ci was slowly catching up to Fleeting Time in terms of progress.

    ¡°There¡¯s something weird up front. There seems to be a huge ss.¡± Fleeting Time was still scouting ahead. The enemies have already thinned out for unknown reasons, and the stone walls of the corridor was reced with transparent ss.

    Fleeting Time could tell that something was unusual with the sses. Instead of advancing forward, he directed one of his captured robots to move forward. It was indeed strange to have the difficulty significantly toned down after all the challenges he was forced to face.

    The robot rumbled on forward with unsteady steps, but encountered no traps that Fleeting Time was expecting. Heughed out loud momentster. So this is how it is. I knew it! There¡¯s no way things will be less difficult for me!

    As his roboticpanion move forward, Fleeting Time could see countless reflections of the robot on the sses. They were actually mirrors that formed a house of mirrors. This was also why there were lesser monsters in the area.

    A yer could not tell the precise location of a monster due to the mirrors that lined the entire corridor, and their judgement would be easily confused by a monster¡¯s reflection.

    This was a very clever design that could easily hamper the progress of yers, but could be easily traversed by Hunters. With their pet¡¯s strong sense of smell, a Hunter could easily locate and eliminate any monsters within the house of ss.

    As Fleeting Time ryed the information to Ye Ci, he could see that her status was already in the red. This was a telltale sign that a yer was at the brink of death, or was affected by a high Fatigue value. With Ye Ci¡¯s health still in the green, it was obvious that her high Fatigue was the cause to such a phenomenon. Fleeting Time knew what would happen if the duo could not meet up in the near future.

    ¡°You should go offline if your Fatigue is higher than 70 and log back in 6 hourster.¡± said Fleeting Time as he stared at the shining red light on Ye Ci¡¯s portrait.

    ¡°I can hold out longer.¡± Ye Ci was already making good progress into the house of mirrors, and was even progressing faster than Fleeting Time. From her perspective, it would be a waste to just go offline when she was already near the end of the corridor.

    ¡°Stop pushing yourself. If you die of exhaustion, the penalty will be very great. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s ahead of us, so you should log out of the game and take some rest.¡± Fleeting Time was worried.

    Ye Ci knew the truth behind Fleeting Time¡¯s words, but she was still reluctant to follow his instructions, ¡°If I stay offline for too long, the dungeon might reset itself.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be going offline. I¡¯ll take a rest in the dungeon.¡± said Fleeting Time. He knew what Ye Ci was worrying about, ¡°I have a feeling that we have a BOSS fight ahead of us. If you don¡¯t take a rest, the BOSS fight will be very tough for the both of us.¡±

    Ye Ci finally relented after listening to Fleeting Time¡¯s words. She knew what the smart choice was, and went offline after bidding farewell to Fleeting Time. A smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face when Gongzi You¡¯s portrait went grey. He continued to push forward with the help of his captured machines and Ol¡¯ Five, as if Ye Ci was still online in the game. He did not allow himself to rx even after Ye Ci had went offline.

    Because of the nutrient pack that was connected to her gaming cabin, Ye Ci was not overly tired after logging off from the game. Despite that, she was determined to grab some precious rest during the six hours window. The sweet scent of the dishes left for Ye Ci by her parents hit her nostrils the moment she set foot into the kitchen. She turned to face the sudden rustling of keys just in time to see Tan Png entering the house.

    ¡°Why are you back? What day is today?¡± Ye Ci had lost track of the time in real life after the days she spent in the game. When she cast a nce at the clock, she was shocked to see that it was Friday.

    ¡°It¡¯s the weekends, Sister Ye Ci! The weekends! Do you mean to say that I have to stay in school at all times?¡± said Tan Png with a smile.

    ¡°I said nothing of such! Don¡¯t you dare put words into my mouth!¡± with Tan Png home, Ye Ci decided to heat the food up, knowing that he would definitely have not eaten if he returned home at this hour.

    ¡°Is Brother Mo not back yet?¡± Tan Png threw his bag onto the couch and headed into the kitchen to help Ye Ci with preparing the food.

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°Nope.¡± She had received no news from Bai Mo in real life for almost an entire week. Her location in the Western Continent meant that she could not keep tabs on Bai Mo in-game as well. Despite that, Ye Ci chose to believe in Bai Mo. She knew that there were things that Bai Mo wished to keep hidden even from her, and she respected his decision.

    ¡°Is he going on a date with girls?¡± chuckled Tan Png set the dishes onto the table.

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°That¡¯s what he should be doing. He¡¯s a 24 years old man now. He should be going on dates, and eventually get married.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I guess it¡¯s going to be sister Ye Ci¡¯s turn soon.¡±

    ¡°Me? I¡¯m barely 20 years old! Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s too early?¡± Ye Ci was a 30 years old woman in her past life, but her reincarnation meant that she was of a younger age at the moment.

    The two sat by the table and began enjoying their meal after more small talks.

    ¡°Are you still in the Western Continent?¡± asked Tan Png as he was showing food into his mouth. As a yer who started his gaming life in the Western Continent, he had deep emotional attachments to the continent.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci could feel a rising headache when the issue was raised. She was not able to locate De¡¯frei after spending a few days in the Western Continent. How long do I have to spend in that dark underground ce?

    ¡°So what are you doing in the Western Continent?¡±

    ¡°An Epic-tier quest.¡± Ye Ci was straightforward with Tan Png.

    Tan Png was immediately filled with excitement, ¡°An Epic-tier quest! Sister Ye Ci! You¡¯re so awesome! How did you even get your hands on one? I haven¡¯t even managed to get close in finding an Epic-tier quest!¡±

    ¡°Well, it depends on a lot of luck.¡± Ye Ci scratched at the back of a head and offered a halfhearted answer. There was no way she could tell Tan Png that she was able to trigger the quest because of the fact that she was a reincarnator.

    ¡°Heh... Despite your bad track record with loots in dungeons, you¡¯re quite lucky when ites to quests.¡± Tan Png was slightly jealous, ¡°I¡¯m willing to sacrifice some of my luck in dungeons as well if it means that I¡¯ll be lucky with quests!¡± he was then reminded of the time he spent in the Western Continent. Fleeting Time shared the same lucky when it came to good missions, but even he had never managed toe across an Epic-tier quest. The Elite-tier and Master-tier quests that werepleted by Fleeting Time, however, yielded bountiful rewards.

    That guy and his stupidly good luck. mumbled Tan Png under his breath.

    Tan Png¡¯s mind was racing as he ate, and Ye Ci was not prepared at all for what transpired next, ¡°Sister Ye Ci, is the Epic-tier quest hard?¡±

    ¡°An Epic-tier quest is full of uncertainties and dangers, but as long as you¡¯re able to utilize your skillset and your knowledge of the game to the fullest, it won¡¯t be too difficult.¡± Ye Ci answered the question truthfully. Then again, what appeared to be the truth to Ye Ci might not be able to applied on the rest of the yer base as many of themcked her skills and capabilities in handling sudden situations.

    ¡°Why do I have a feeling that I can¡¯t trust your word on it...¡± Tan Png pursed his lips. He might have chosen to believe Ye Ci¡¯s words if he was told that the Epic-tier quest was hard, but when he received the answer from Ye Ci, he had a nudging feeling that Ye Ci was speaking the iplete truth. He was reminded of the answer from a certain someone who had justpleted an Elite-tier quest, ¡°It¡¯s easy! You can go try it out yourself!¡± and after 205 tries, Tan Png gave up on the quest.

    Tan Png came to a harsh realization on that very moment. People like Ye Ci and Fleeting Time assessed the difficulty of a quest based on their own capabilities. Their assessment had to be taken with huge pinches of salt.

    ¡°What?¡± Ye Ci was not able to hear Tan Png¡¯s words clearly.

    ¡°Ah, I was saying that you might run into a lot of trouble even if the quest itself is not hard. You¡¯re literally surrounded by hostile yers who will definitely gang up on you.¡± said Tan Png. If Gongzi You was spotted by a Western Continent yer, she would definitely be hunted down by the yers. After all, killing Gongzi You was seen as the greatest of honor, ¡°Are you safe over there?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m exploring a dungeon right now, so I should be rtively safe.¡± Ye Ci was in constant danger the moment she arrived in the Western Continent. She had to travel either in disguise or in Stealth, and was forced to avoid enemies with high Perception like Clerics. It was not a fond memory for her.

    ¡°So you¡¯re exploring an Epic-tier dungeon alone? You¡¯re my idol!¡± Tan Png was shocked when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words. She was already exploring a dungeon even he had a chance a chance to contact Fleeting Time about Gongzi You¡¯s arrival in the Western Continent.

    ¡°Not really, a friend of mine is helping me out.¡± replied Ye Ci. The seemingly normal response sounded unusual to Tan Png¡¯s ears.

    In the current stage of the game, yers from the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent could not send out private message to each other, and were not able to add each other as friends, nor could they be ced in the same party. The only means ofmunication between yers from these continents was through the Map Channel or the World Channel.

    A friend in-game was usually someone that a yer knew from real life, or someone who had always been in the same party with the yer. There was no way two yers from opposing continents would have such a chance. The only chance they might have was through battle. Tan Png knew that Ye Ci was not good at making friends. She barely had any friends in the Eastern Continent, so how did she have a friend in the Western Continent?

    There was only one person that came in mind: Fleeting Time.

    Despite their frequent conflicts, Fleeting Time was the only Western Continent yer that had interacted with Ye Ci. Of course, there might also be a possibility that Ye Ci was harboring some secrets. Tan Png narrowed his eyes, ¡°Oh? You have a friend in the Western Continent?¡±

    Tan Png ced emphasis on the word ¡°friend¡± as he spoke as an expression of his shock and disbelief.

    Ye Ci was aware of the meaning behind his words. She rolled her eyes at him and replied, ¡°Why not? Is that wrong?¡±

    ¡°Who might that be?¡±

    I just want to know some gossip materials. was written all over Tan Png¡¯s face. Ye Ci was baffled by Tan Png¡¯s action. It felt as if he was more interested in trying to pry information from her mouth than knowing about her Epic-tier quest.

    ¡°What¡¯s with all the questions?¡± Ye Ci decided to end the conversation right there and then before she was tricked into disclosing more information, ¡°Hurry and eat. Have you finished your homework?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t change the topic like that, sister Ye Ci. It¡¯s arouses suspicions, you know?¡± Tan Png¡¯s eyes narrowed and a smile formed on his face, ¡°A friend in the Western Continent... Could it be Mr.Fleeting Time who shares a love-hate rtionship with you?¡±

    Ye Ci spurted the content of her mouth onto Tan Png¡¯s face when she heard his words. Ye Ci stared at Tan Png¡¯s darkened expression and calmly sipped on some water, as if she did not cause the tragedy that fell on her brother. She cast a killer nce on Tan Png, ¡°Yes, it is Fleeting Time. But what do you mean about a ¡®love-hate rtionship¡¯? Where did you hear about something like that?¡±

    Tan Png¡¯s heart was filled with grief as he cleaned his face. He was regretting his decision of not waiting for Bai Mo¡¯s return before asking such a question. Why did he not control himself? The female jinx was staring at him with a very scary look. This is nothing. I can endure it. Oh, Fleeting Time, why don¡¯t you tell me that you¡¯re already with her? My sacrifice was in vain!

    ¡°I remember that I have some homework that I have to take care off. I¡¯ll eat up and get them done immediately.¡± Tan Png could not hold back the torrent of grief in his heart. He began shoving food into his mouth after cleaning his face. It¡¯s not easy to be a paparazzi... How Tan Png wished that he could return to the Western Continent. Dealing with a sly fox like Fleeting Time was way easier than dealing with a female jinx that could take away his life in any moment.

    Ye Ci was satisfied with Tan Png¡¯s behavior. She stood up and headed to the bathroom. Her body stank after days of not having a shower.

    A sudden thought shed across Ye Ci¡¯s mind right before she stepped into the bathroom. She turned around and spoke to Tan Png who was still silently eating by the dining table, ¡°Png, will you be going online after you¡¯re done with your homework?¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Tan Png turned to face Ye Ci, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Before you go questing, I want you head to the Lesser Demon Sanctuary.¡± as a Rogue, Tan Png could make his way to a lvl60 map in rtive safety in contrast to yers of other sses.

    ¡°Why are you asking me to go there?¡± Tan Png was baffled, ¡°It¡¯s a lvl60 map! What if I die there?¡±

    ¡°I want you to head to this location,¡± said Ye Ci as she gave Tan Png a set of coordinates, ¡°I want you to check on the ck Iron Dwarves¡¯ progress in exploring the ore vein. Let me know when you¡¯re done. If I¡¯m in the game, just knock on my gaming cabin.¡± and she headed into the bathroom.

    ¡°Aiya! What are the ck Iron Dwarves looking for over there?¡± Tan Png could tell from the serious expression on Ye Ci¡¯s face that it was no tiny matter.

    Ye Ci turned around and stared at Tan Png. She then said in a very calm voice, ¡°Mithril.¡±

    Tan Png was shocked. Mithril! He was not an ignorant normal yer. He was part of the elites of Genesis during his time in the Western Continent. He had heard about the Mithril and knew that the ores had a very low drop rate. A Mithril ore vein, however, was something that managed to catch him off guard.

    ¡°Are you for real?¡± Tan Png¡¯s surprised to the max.

    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you check it out yourself?¡± said Ye Ci with augh as she mmed the bathroom door shut.

    Oh my God! Mithril! It¡¯s Mithril!

    Absalom stared at the ck Iron Dwarf name Rose who was having a conversation with Silent Hymn. He was extremely tired. His five-man party had spent three days to gain any sort of information about a Mithril ore mine from the ck Iron Dwarves. Their efforts, however, yielded no results.

    Did Gongzi You lie to me? Am I an idiot for believing her words just like that?

 Chapter 243 Deâ€™frei Spotted

    ¡°Say, isn¡¯t this supposed to be a job for Fleeting Time? Why did you not call him over?¡±ined Silent Hymn as he sat beside Absalom a took a sip of water. He had just receive yet more troublesome quests from the ck Iron Dwarves.

    ¡°Who will be keeping an eye on Gongzi You then?¡± yawned Absalom. He was already very tired, and was missing his soft bed dearly.

    ¡°She¡¯s just one person! What can she do?¡± Silent Hymn was sceptical to the exnation offered by Absalom, ¡°It must be Fleeting Time isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Shh... Don¡¯t say it out loud. I¡¯ll feel sad. I¡¯ve been like brothers with him for so many years, but I have not noticed that he¡¯s a person who would ce his lover over friendship. I¡¯m starting to doubt my ability to judge characters.¡± chuckled Absalom.

    Silent Hymn let out augh as well. He was not cing the me on Fleeting Time, but the man was in dead more well-read than he was when it came to the books in the National Library. This meant that Silent Hymn¡¯s progress was significantly slower. If Fleeting Time was the one who was in charge ofpleting the quest, he might even be able toplete it in a single day. A yawn escaped Silent Hymn¡¯s mouth as he leaned against a wooden crate. Before he could drift into sleep, a thought shed across his mind, ¡°By the way, White Fairytale seems to be trying to woo Fleeting Time, am I right?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®seems to be¡¯? It¡¯s already a widely known fact! The spirit of gossipping is weak within you.¡± Absalom rolled his eyes at Silent Hymn as a sign of disdain.

    Silent Hymn paid no heed to Absalom, ¡°I¡¯ve never cared about baseless rumors like that,¡± and he continued after a slight pause, ¡°So Fleeting Time had really taken a fancy to Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°I guess so.¡± Absalom sniffed, ¡°If he can seduce Gongzi You into joining the Western Continent, I¡¯ll be rich!¡±

    It was Silent Hymn¡¯s turn to roll his eyes at Absalom, ¡°Say, there¡¯s something that just came into my mind.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°How do you think White Fairytale will react when she finds out about this?¡±

    ¡°Who knows?¡± Absalom was apparently not interested in the love life woman like White Fairytale, ¡°I think you should talk to Sour Apple about this. I know nothing about this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in White Fairytale¡¯s love life, but I think that she can be quite extreme at time. She¡¯s a person who is quite disconnected from reality. I understand that not everybody in this world is perfect, but I¡¯m quite nervous about this.¡± Silent Hymn knew that Absalom had never thought about such an eventuality.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Absalom finally caught on to the meaning behind Silent Hymn¡¯s words, and the fatigue immediately left his body, ¡°You mean to say that...¡±

    ¡°If memory serves, Sour Apple once said that White Fairytale has loved Fleeting Time for 13 years, but her love was never reciprocated by Fleeting Time. Her strong desires that went unquenched will definitely make her irrational. Once she finds out that Fleeting Time likes Gongzi You...¡±

    Absalom furrowed his eyebrows, ¡°You¡¯re saying that...¡±

    He received a nod from Silent Hymn, ¡°And don¡¯t forget that she¡¯s a member of our main force. Even if she¡¯s not an officer of her guild, I¡¯m pretty sure that she knows a lot of our guild¡¯s secret because of her close rtionship with Sour Apple. It would be best if she¡¯s able to ept it as it was. It¡¯ll be the best oue both for Fleeting Time and herself. But... What if she loses all sense of rationality? What if she decides to exact revenge on Fleeting Time?¡±

    ¡°Even when Genesis is thergest guild in the Western Continent, it does not mean that our position is firm. Besides, Golden Era ising soon. It¡¯ll be hard times for us if they decide toe to the Western Continent.¡± Silent Hymn had always been zealously cautious. ording to the words of Fleeting Time, he was a pessimist who would always expect the worst oue in things.

    ¡°You¡¯re afraid that White Fairytale might betray us?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she will under normal circumstances, but I¡¯m not so sure now.¡± said Silent Hymn as he stared at the members of his party that was approaching from afar, ¡°We can¡¯t expect her to forget the things that had already happened, but we can still take precautions against her. All of us, especially Sour Apple, must maintain a tight lip around her.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll find a way to transfer her away from our main force.¡± Absalom realised the gravity of the situation. He stood up and cross his arms in front of his chest, appearing to be deep in thought. It was not something that could be easily done especially when he must avoid arousing White Fairytale¡¯s suspicions.

    ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve been contacted by some corporations that are willing to invest in us, but I don¡¯t think that they¡¯re ideal choices for us. Do you want to wait for more offers? Or should we proceed with the ones we have?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just wait then. I have the feeling that things are going to change soon.¡± Absalom took in a deep breath, ¡°If the Mithril ore vein is real, Genesis will be able make history!¡±

    Absalom¡¯s statement was something that even Silent Hymn could not doubt.

    ¡°Just keep moving forward. There are no more monsters ahead.¡± Ye Ci received a message from Fleeting Time the moment the logged into the game.

    ¡°How long do I have to walk?¡± Ye Ci could feel aching when she saw the countless reflections of herself.

    ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡± Fleeting Time responded with augh.

    While she was baffled by the response of Fleeting Time, Ye Ci was not worried. Gongzi You was prepared for any situation and could remain calm at all times. Anxiety will only ce a person in the worst possible condition. After the experiences in her past life, there was nothing much that could unsettle Ye Ci.

    After picking off the few remaining monsters in the house of mirrors, Ye Ci moved on forward. She arrived at the end of the corridor filled with mirrors, and saw a bright blinding light ahead.

    She immediately sprinted forward, leaving the house of mirrors behind her. After taking yet another right turn, Ye Ci realised that she was heading towards the same direction that she was facing when she first walked through therge metal door.

    Ye Ci was shocked by the scene in front of her.

    She was standing in a long corridor decorated with lights. The floor was covered with Jacquard rug that retained itsvishness despite years of neglect. She saw a man sitting at the end of the corridor, apanied by a dark red bat.

    The sight sent warmth creeping into Ye Ci¡¯s heart. It was the feeling of a person who saw light after a long journey taken in darkness. She was actually happy to see him.

    It was a weird feeling that was unfamiliar to her.

    It was a feeling that Ye Ci had never experienced before, but it was also a topic that she would not ponder. She would never waste her time on things that she had no answer to. She trusted her instincts, for it was said that the instinct of a person was even more urate than the rational mind. This was an innate ability of the human race. This was why she could tell the presence of traps without much of a thought. It was her instincts.

    At that very moment, Ye Ci¡¯s instincts were urging her to walk up to the man.

    She followed her instincts, and walked slowly towards Fleeting Time, closing the distance between them with each step.

    She then stopped when she was almost within reach of Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time looked up at Ye Ci with a brilliant smile. His smile was like a blossoming flower in the spring, charming and enticing.

    Ye Ci let out a breath which turned into white fog. She extended her arm, and tapped on the transparent ss in front of her. It was a very thick ss.

    ¡°We can¡¯t break through this thing.¡± Fleeting Time shrugged as he tapped on the icy cold ss as well, ¡°I¡¯ve even triedunching attacks on it.¡±

    Ye Ci surveyed a surroundings and found a pair of majestic looking doors not far away, ¡°I guess there¡¯s a BOSS behind those doors.¡±

    ¡°Most likely.¡± Fleeting Time stretched his body, ¡°I have not tried opening the door because I¡¯m afraid that I might trigger the BOSS fight.¡± and he smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Let¡¯s go Little Gongzi. Let¡¯s go through those doors and see what¡¯s waiting for us on the other side, shall we?¡±

    Ye Ci returned Fleeting Time¡¯s smile with a smile of her own, and headed to the doors.

    A system notification rang out before the duo could push open the doors, ¡°You arrived upon a set of gorgeous looking doors. The glorious past of the Goblin race was engraved deeply on the doors. You could feel danger lurking behind these doors. You stood still, and your mind is filled with hesitation. The machines under your control appear to have sensed the danger as well. Just what sort of monstrosity is able to instill fear even in soulless machines? Despite the danger, you¡¯re driven forward by curiosity. Your strong sense of curiosity drove you to push the doors open. By the Gods! All the machines that were under your control broke down the moment the doors swung open! Pity filled your heart as you stared at yourrades that were turned into scrap metals...¡±

    An unskippable system dialogue would always ring out whenever a major event was triggered in Vo¡¯sok, and an attentive yer could gain a lot of information from the narration.

    ¡°Could it be a very powerful Goblin? Or could it be a machine?¡± asked Fleeting Time.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably an extremely powerful machine.¡± replied Ye Ci. The system dialogue provided no information about the BOSS ahead, but she trusted her instincts.

    ¡°Well, I think there¡¯s a Goblin ahead.¡± Fleeting Time shared a different opinion, ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a bet?¡±

    ¡°You seem to enjoy taking bets. Are you a gambler?¡± Ye Ci cast a sideway nce at Fleeting Time with a smile on her face.

    ¡°Are you not one yourself?¡± Fleeting Time was not affected by Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    Ye Ci did not respond to Fleeting Time¡¯s words, and instead raised her eyebrows, as if to refute his im.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t havee to the Western Continent if you¡¯re not a gambler. You would¡¯ve have continued to explore the Bloody Wilderness after running into me if you¡¯re not a gambler. Hell, you wouldn¡¯t even use the location of the Mithril ore vein as a bargaining chip with Absalom if you¡¯re not a gambler...¡± Fleeting Time crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared square at Ye Ci, ¡°And if you¡¯re not a gambler, you certainly wouldn¡¯t agree to exploring Vo¡¯sok with me.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows were raised even higher. Fleeting Time was not exactly wrong.

    ¡°Admit it, Little Gongzi, you¡¯re a gambler like me.¡±

    ¡°You might be right.¡± Ye Ci was in a good mood, ¡°Then what¡¯s your stake?¡±

    Fleeting Time spoke up after a brief moment of thought, ¡°I¡¯ve not thought about it yet.¡±

    Ye Ci turned around without a word and pushed past the doors.

    Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci and followed after her as well after taking a deep breath.

    The doors mmed shut immediately mmed shut behind the door, sealing them in an enclosed room. Ye Ci cast a nce at the doors, knowing that they would never open unless she could defeat the BOSS.

    But just which of the things in front of her was the BOSS?

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time found themselves standing in front of a row of machines. They could feel the power emanating from the inanimate machines, and the danger posed by their apparent strength. The machines were wayrger than all the machines that the duo had previously encountered, and the faint glowing light of their metal armor was a telltale sign that they were crafted from superior materials as well.

    A Goblin in royal gown could be seen on a tform behind the machines with a scepter in his hand. A Drow with slightly dark skin and pointed earsid in a crystal coffin in front of the Goblin, who was ced his right hand on the coffin. As the Goblin chanted, his hand glowed with a bright light that surrounded the coffin. It was apparent that the Goblin was attempting toplete a ritual.

    Ye Ci could see a gigantic robot that stood at least 80 m tall behind the tform. There¡¯s so many monsters here, so which one of the is the BOSS? This dungeon is ridiculous! There was no BOSS fight at all as we explored this ce, but when we ran into a BOSS fight, we have to fight through so many BOSS-tier enemies? Are you kidding me?

    ¡°De¡¯frei spotted! De¡¯frei spotted!¡± a sound rang out from the Goblin Compass as the duo stared at the spectacle before them. Ye Ci immediately took out the Goblin Compass and stared at the direction indicated by thepass. Her gazeid upon a Goblin who was busy at work on the head of the giant robot.

    The duo did not trigger any battle upon their entry, which gave them an opportunity to have a good look at their surroundings.

    Common sense dictated that the duo were in the Goblin Royal Pce which is the resident of the Goblin King Ciel. What the duo saw before them, however, told otherwise. The ce looked like a huge factory instead of a pce.The mechanical parts and unfinished machines scattered all over the ce gave the impression to Ye Ci that this ce was no different from a garage.

    The reeking stench of machine oil was a source of great difort to Ye Ci. She immediately lowered her head and pinched her nose. She was nauseated by the smell. Fleeting Time then threw a green bottle of liquid at Ye Ci, ¡°Drink this.¡±

    It was a bottle of perfume.

    Potion Brewers in Fate could create arge variety of potions other than the more conventional Health and Mana potions that were widely used by yers, and the bottle of perfume was one such example. It served no other purpose than to give yers a nice scent upon consumption. Perfumes coulde in varying scents in Fate which had their own unique effect. A rose scented perfume could raise the Intimacy level between couples, while a tuberose scented perfume could allow yers to attract specific monsters at night, while the peppermint scented perfume could help with refreshing and clearing the mind... In short, perfumes in Fate were ssified as a consumable, and each bottle of perfume couldst for two hours.

    Despite their rather underwhelming effects, perfumes are very expensive in the world of Fate. They were luxurious products that an average person could not afford.

    The bottle of perfume that was handed to Ye Ci by Fleeting Time was a peppermint scented perfume, ¡°Do you always bring something like this along with you?¡± asked Ye Ci, with her curiosity piqued.

    ¡°I saw quite some of them in the guild warehouse, so I took one along. Never expected that I¡¯ll be able to put it to good use.¡± shrugged Fleeting Time, and Ye Ci was baffled by his response. I¡¯m sure he doesn¡¯t know how expensive this thing can be...

    ¡°Do you have any idea how much this cost?¡± Ye Ci immediately felt better as she popped open the bottle.

    Fleeting Time smiled as Ye Ci poured the perfume into her mouth, ¡°About 30,000 gold coins a bottle I guess.¡±

    Ye Ci almost choked when she received his reply, ¡°Then why the hell would you give me something like this?¡± she asked as she red at Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Well potions are meant to be consumed the moment they were created. If I leave them in the warehouse instead of using them for their intended purposes, they¡¯ll cry.¡± said Fleeting Time, ¡°Besides, I¡¯m giving it to you because I feel like it. Is there a problem with that?¡±

    Ye Ci was once again baffled by Fleeting Time¡¯s words. We must be from differents! Why is it so hard to make sense of what he said? She finally spoke up after a short moment of silence, ¡°Alright then, you don¡¯t have to give me my cut for the loot we soldst time. They¡¯re worth about a several thousands anyways. Take that as the payment for this perfume.¡±

    Despite the smile on his face, Fleeting Time¡¯s disapproval was clearly visible in his eyes. An rm red off before he could voice his protest, ¡°Intruder alert! Intruder alert!¡± and a swarm of lvl40 machines appeared to engage the duo in battle. The machines with their rtively low level were still a threat to Ye Ci and Fleeting Time due to their sheer numbers, which forced the duo tounch waves of AOE attacks at their enemies.

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were hard pressed by the vast numbers of their opponents, and were even forced to consume two Greater Health Potions just to survive the onught of enemies. Fortunately for the duo, the attacks stopped after thest of the machines fell. A second wave of enemies would definitely spell disaster for the duo.

    Before the duo could even have a moment of rest, a shrill voice rang out ahead of them, ¡°Who dares enter my pce and disrupt my ritual?¡±

    The duo adjusted their sight to the direction of the voice. It was the Goblin who had been standing on the crystal coffin. Ye Ci and Fleeting Time did not have a good look of the Goblin¡¯s appearance as he was facing in the other direction. When he finally turned around to face the duo, they could see the two horns that were as long as the Goblin¡¯s fingers and a gorgeous crown on his head.

    The Goblin was none other than the king of Vo¡¯sok who had betrayed the city to the Bloodthirsty Undead and the Corrupted Orcs: Ciel.

    ¡°Ahh... Two High Elves! Two pretentious High Elves!¡± Cielughed at Ye Ci and Fleeting Time, ¡°I despise your race! Your selfish race is why my esnyffan has been put to eternal slumber!¡± Ciel, who was standing on the tform, raise his scepter, ¡°Guards! Kill them! Do not allow them to disturb esnyffan¡¯s spirit!¡±

    Such is the way of a BOSS. It initiated the battle even before Ye Ci and Fleeting Time could reaction.

    With a wave of Ciel¡¯s scepter, the row of machines that remained dormant sprung into life. A machine that stood at the far right charged at Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. The duo nodded at each other, and immediately split up while simultaneously summoning their pets and directing them at the machine. The duo then began tounch attack after attack at the machine from each side. The machine was a formidable foe far superior to its counterparts that were destroyed by Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. It immediately morphed its right arm into a chainsaw and swung its weapon at Ol¡¯ Four.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s heart sunk. She knew that even if the blow would not immediately kill Ol¡¯ Four, her pet would still suffer a huge amount of damage. Ye Ci blew her whistle, intending to ry amand for Ol¡¯ Four to retreat, but the attack connected right as the beast began to withdraw followed by a roar of pain. A gaping wound appeared on Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s side and blood was gushing out of the would. Ye Ci immediately cast Pet Heal at Ol¡¯ Four, which was able to heal some of its health, but did nothing to stop the bleeding. Only a bandage or a potion could heal the wound.

    Despite its injuries, Ol¡¯ Four was still an Epic-tier life form. It would not allow itself to be bullied. It pounced on the machine andnded a mighty blow on its leg with a swoop of its tail.

    The machine was an iplete work that had not reached the peak of itsbat strength. It had a formidable attack power, but was stillcking in defence. Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s attack was able to send the machine sprawling on the ground.

    ¡°You take care of this one, I¡¯ll go deploy some traps.¡± ording to Fleeting Time¡¯s calction, the duo spent 40 seconds to disable the machine. Even if they were unable to destroy their opponent, it was already rendered defenseless, and the next machine in line would take 10 seconds to activate. He immediately ced traps in front of the row of machines and backed away to resume his attack on the fallen machine, which was turned into a pile of scrap metal under the relentless onught of the duo.

    Before they could have the chance to take a rest, a second machine charged at Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. It was then slowed by Fleeting Time¡¯s trap, and the duo began showering the machines with their attacks.

    The Frost Trap ced by Fleeting Time served its purpose well, and the duo was able to defeat their second foe without much of a problem. The rest of Ciel¡¯s sentries were dispatched with a simr fashion with thebined effort of Ye Ci and Fleeting Time.

    ¡°You damned High Elves! You destroyed my sentries! Now I¡¯m angry! Are you going to continue destroying my love with esnyffan? Don¡¯t even think about it! esnyffan will always be my bride! She is and always will be the queen of the Goblin Kingdom! I will never allow her to return to that dirty forest of yours! This is where she belongs!¡± Ciel was enraged when his sentries were defeated by Ye Ci and Fleeting Time.

    ¡°You¡¯ve gone through great pains to defeat the sentries, turning them into a pile of scrap metal. Ciel is very angry. They were his proudest warriors. Ciel swore to send out his strongest warrior to vanquish you and yourpanions. You lifted your head... By the Gods! How can there be such a huge robot? You¡¯re but an antpared to the gigantic machine. Fear gripped your heart, but you¡¯re not even given the chance to wallow in your fear. You stared at Ciel with eyes wide open. Are you going to die here today? But.. Your eyes rested on a familiar form Isn¡¯t that De¡¯frei, the most renowned of engineers in the entire Goblin Kingdom? You lowered your head, your mind is spinning. Perhaps he can help you in defeating that terrible monster....¡±

    ¡°You damned Elves! You¡¯ll pay for interrupting my reunion with esnyffan! I¡¯ll grind you all into dust! Come, my greatest warrior! Show them the meaning of terror!¡± Ciel shouted at the top of his lungs while the duo began strategizing for the fight ahead.

    ¡°That thing is lvl65... Will we even have a 50% hit rate especially with the level penalty?¡± Fleeting Time furrowed his eyebrows at the giant robot.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± a lowered hit rate would definitely affect the damage output of the duo. Ye Ci was faced with an unprecedented pressure. Can we really bring this thing down?

    ¡°De¡¯frei is here.¡± said Fleeting Time who spotted the Goblin on top of the robot¡¯s head. The Goblinnded softly after jumping down from the robot and ran up to Ciel. He must have an equipment with Featherfall.

    ¡°Your Majesty, the Iron Warrior is not ready yet...¡± De¡¯frei was distressed.

    With his mind set on the annihtion of Ye Ci and Fleeting Time, Ciel ignored the protest of De¡¯frei ¡°This is my kingdom, De¡¯frei! I don¡¯t care what you have to say, activate the Iron Warrior!¡±

    ¡°But Your Majesty, if we activate the Iron Warrior now, the whole pce will copse! It might even bring catastrophe to the entire kingdom!¡±

    ¡°So what? My beloved esnyffan is gone! I care for nothing else, I want those Elves dead! They¡¯ve ruined my reunion with esnyffan!¡± Ciel¡¯s eyes were glowing red with anger.

    ¡°Your Majesty...¡± De¡¯frei¡¯s pleas fell on deaf ears. Ciel raised his scepter, and fired a wave of golden energy at De¡¯frei, tossing him aside.

    ¡°Great Engineer my ass! You¡¯re just a ve! And a ve must listen to his master!¡± shireked the crazed Ciel.

    Ye Ci ran up to De¡¯frei who was shivering on the ground and helped him up, ¡°Mr.De¡¯frei, are you alright?¡±

    De¡¯frei opened his eyes when he heard the voice of Ye Ci. His eyes slowly focused on the two figures standing in front of him. They were Hunters. Two Elven Hunters.

    ¡°Ahh... So you¡¯re an Elf.¡± De¡¯frei let out a sigh. He was very old. Despite the long lives led by the Goblins, they were still a mortal race. Many of the Goblins had never even lived to see their adulthood before the end of their lives. A old Goblin like De¡¯frei was a very rare sight, ¡°I¡¯ve not seen a Elf for a very long time now. Especially... A High Elf.¡±

    ¡°Mr.De¡¯frei, do you know of a Goblin called Orthus?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    De¡¯frei grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s hands when he heard the name, ¡°My dear Elf, how do you know of the name Orthus? You must tell me!¡±

    Ye Ci knew that it was not a good time for exnations. But how should I answer his question? She then thought of the Goblin Compass, maybe this will help! And she handed the Goblin Compass to De¡¯frei, ¡°Mr.De¡¯frei, do you recognise this device?¡±

    ¡°De¡¯frei spotted! De¡¯frei spotted!¡± the Goblin Compass was still beeping in De¡¯frei¡¯s grip...

 Chapter 244 Scepter of Life

    De¡¯frei¡¯s emotions stirred when he stared at the Goblin Compass, and his gripped on the device tightened, ¡°Orthus is alive... Orthus is still alive...¡±

    Ciel was enraged when he saw the interaction between De¡¯frei and the duo, ¡°What are you doing, De¡¯frei? Are you befriending these lowly Elves? Do you know that it¡¯s a serious crime? I¡¯m ordering you to activate the Iron Warrior! Do it now!¡± he waved his scepter, and a bright glow emanated from the blue gem on top of the scepter, apanied by the low crackling sound of electricity.

    Ye Ci knew that time was of the essence, and that she had no time to waste. She went straight to the point, ¡°Orthus sent us. Do you want to leave, or are you staying?¡± After all, it was hinted by the system that De¡¯frei would be able to help with the BOSS.

    ¡°What? Orthus sent you? By the Gods... That poor child.. Doesn¡¯t he know that how dangerous it is?¡± De¡¯frei was surprised when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°Why must he take such a huge risk? I¡¯m happy as long as he¡¯s alive!¡±

    Ye Ci could barely hold back the urge to roll her eyes. We¡¯re the ones who are risking ourselves here, not Orthus! Why would NPCs always credit themselves with everything good while pinning their misdeeds on the yers? How shameless!

    ¡°So, Mr.De¡¯frei, are youing with us, or will you stay?¡± urged Ye Ci. She could no longer remain calm. Ciel was bound to act, but De¡¯frei was still wasting their time with meaningless words. She would die in the Western Continent if the situation continued to drag on, and the death penalty in a hostile continent was very high.

    De¡¯frei was at a loss, ¡°Do I leave... Or do I stay... Do I leave... Or do I stay....¡± he muttered under his breath.

    ¡°Mr.De¡¯frei, if you stay, you¡¯ll be forced to do things that you hate.¡± Fleeting Time spoke up as well.

    ¡°But... But...¡± De¡¯frei was apparently conflicted, ¡°But Vo¡¯sok is the home of the Goblins.¡±

    ¡°Vo¡¯sok has already been wiped out from any known maps! It¡¯s nothing but a pile of rubble infested with Undeads and Orcs.¡± said Fleeting Time, ¡°It may be harsh, but this is the reality, Mr.De¡¯frei! Ciel has be Naga¡¯s henchman, and if you stay here, you¡¯re no better than him.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget that Orthus had always been waiting for you.¡± Ye Ci seized the opportunity to speak out the words that she knew would definitely entice De¡¯frei.

    De¡¯frei¡¯s expression immediately lit up when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°That¡¯s right, Orthus is waiting for me! We still have a lot of things to do! A lot of projects toplete! I must leave this damn ce! I must go to Orthus!¡±

    ¡°Do not try my patience, De¡¯frei! You know what will happen if you incur my wrath! Activate the Iron Warrior now, and send these Elves into the oblivion!¡± one could tell from the bloodlust in Ciel¡¯s eyes that the king had lost even thest shred of his rationality.

    ¡°Alright Elves, I¡¯ve decided to lend you my aid. Ciel ispletely mad. He cares about nothing but reviving his wive, the Drow esnyffan. He no longer cares about what happens to the Goblins. I must leave this ce. Do you see that Iron Warrior? It is the greatest work of my life, but it is notplete. Ciel forced me to build the Iron Warrior not for Vo¡¯sok, but for esnyffan¡¯s soul. The Dark Lord stole that Drow¡¯s soul so that Ciel would build him the Iron Warrior, but...¡± De¡¯frei sat up, and a solemn expression crept into his face.

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°If the Iron Warrior is activate, it¡¯ll wreak destruction upon the pce and Vo¡¯sok as well.¡± De¡¯frei stood up and faced the duo, ¡°Are you still willing to rescue me despite the danger?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Mr.De¡¯frei. We Elves always stay true to our words. You can trust in us.¡± Ye Ci bowed at De¡¯frei.

    ¡°So be it. My dear Elves, I will activate the Iron Warrior. One of you must target the weak spot on its chest. The Iron Warrior is notpleted yet, it is still weak, but you have to remember that you only have an hour to destroy the Iron Warrior or we will never be able to leave this ce.¡± said De¡¯frei.

    ¡°So what will another of us do?¡± Ye Ci knew that it was important to pay attention to even the tiniest of details of an NPCs dialogue. She knew that the little details contain could lead to either sess or failure.

    ¡°Vo¡¯sok is and left behind by the Gods, and Ciel¡¯s scepter was the pir that kept this kingdom standing. It was the most precious treasure of the Goblin Treasure. The Gem of Life on that scepter was the reason behind Vo¡¯sok¡¯s prosperity. To allow the iplete Iron Warrior to function normally, Ciel will have to channel energy into the machine from his scepter. One of you must take the scepter away from him to weaken the Iron Warrior.¡± said De¡¯frei as he looked up at Ciel.

    He then took a few steps forward and spoke to Ciel in a loud voice, ¡°Your Majesty, are you sure that you want to activate the Iron Warrior?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Do I look like I¡¯m joking? Enough of your nonsense, De¡¯frei! Activate my strongest warrior now!¡± Ciel¡¯s mood showed a slight improvement inparison to his demeanor when De¡¯frei was conversing with Ye Ci and Fleeting Time.

    ¡°As you wish, Your Majesty. I shall fulfill your order as your loyal subject.¡± De¡¯frei bowed at Ciel, made a signal with his eyes at the duo, and spoke in a harsh tone, ¡°Prepare to meet your doom, you damned Elves!¡±

    Ye Ci was shocked to see De¡¯frei reappearing at the top of the Iron Warrior¡¯s head almost instantaneously.

    ¡°Wow, he can Blink as well... If only I have a skill like that.¡± Fleeting Time let out a low whistle. He made no attempts to conceal his envy at De¡¯frei for having such an ability. Despite the tough battle ahead, Fleeting Time was rxed. He even shed a smile at Ye Ci, ¡°Little Gongzi, I¡¯ll keep the Iron Warrior busy, you go for the scepter.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Ye Ci cast a sideway nce at Fleeting Time, and at the Iron Warrior that was slowly beginning to activate.

    ¡°I¡¯m a guy, and Ciel¡¯s a guy as well, but you¡¯re a girl. As they say, opposite sexes attract. Maybe he¡¯ll go easy on you.¡± replied Fleeting Time. By then, the Iron Warrior had alreadypleted its activation and was slowly standing out. The machine was way taller when it stood up, and weapons that appeared to be a rocketuncher was attached to its shoulders. If the Iron Warrior fired its gigantic weapons, the entire pce would copse.

    ¡°There¡¯s not much time. I¡¯ll deal with the Iron Warrior while you go for the scepter.¡± said Fleeting Time before Ye Ci could even respond. He was already measuring the distance between himself and the gigantic machine¡¯s chest.

    Ye Ci, of course, saw through Fleeting Time¡¯s intention. He knew that going after Ciel was a rtively safer task as the king of Goblins was a lvl60 monster while the Iron Warrior was a lvl65 enemy. He was afraid that Ye Ci would be in by the Iron Warrior, and made the decision to deal with the deadly foe himself while relegating the simpler and safer task to Ye Ci. ¡°Alright then.¡± responded Ye Ci despite knowing full well of Fleeting Time¡¯s intention. At that moment, time is of the essence.

    The duo then began making preparations for the battle ahead.

    ¡°Behold, my strongest warrior! The mightiest of all my warriors!¡± Ciel was filled with excitement when the Iron Warrior began to move, ¡°Go, my beauty, show me your strength before I present you to the Dark Lord! Kill these wretched Elves!¡±

    The Iron Warrior was unsteady with its movements, and sparks can be seen from the joints of its knees. The gigantic machine fell after standing on its unsteady feet for three mere seconds with a loud rumble. Smoke immediately bellowed from the Iron Warrior, filling up the entire pce with a thick soot.

    With the perfume still in effect, Ye Ci was remained unaffected by the thick soot.

    ¡°What is happening, De¡¯frei? What happened to my precious warrior?¡± Ciel cried out in anger.

    ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯ve told you that the Iron Warrior is notplete, it still has a lot of ws...¡± came the reply from De¡¯frei.

    ¡°You imbecile! You¡¯re the smartest of all Goblins! I think you¡¯re lying!¡± roared Ciel as he waved his scepter, ¡°I shall personally cheer my strongest warrior on!¡±

    Ciel began a long stream of chant as the blue gem of his scepter glowed brighter and brighter. A blinding white light then enveloped the Iron Warrior, and the huge machine rose slowly. It then approached Ye Ci and Fleeting Time with steady steps.

    Despite its sheer size and destructive potential, the Iron Warrior was slow and its movement was impeded in the confined space of the pce. It was not easy for the gigantic machine to keep up with the tinier and significantly more agile Elves. The robot, however, was able to make up for itsck of maneuverability with the sheer volume of firepower that it could bring to bear. While its attacks were slow and required a long time to charge, they could deal tremendous damage to a veryrge area.

    The duo started the fight by trying to evade the Iron Warrior¡¯s attack in an attempt to throw off the machine¡¯s aim. Their goal was to create a window for Ye Ci to cast Feigned Death. Ciel knew nothing about the duo¡¯s n, and his attention was focused solely on the battle between the Iron Warrior and the two Elves. The duo knew that any direct attempt to scale the tform to get to Ciel would rm the Goblin king. They needed Ciel to lower his guard, and they could achieve such a thing through the skill Feigned Death.

    ¡°It¡¯s channeling its next attack.¡± observed Ye Ci.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll grab its attention. You be careful.¡± said Fleeting Time as he leapt to a side with the agility of a mountain cat. He took aim at the special patterns on the Iron Warrior¡¯s chest and fired off his arrows, dealing multiple critical hits to the gigantic machine. Despite its immune to pain, the Iron Warrior was still annoyed by Fleeting Time¡¯s attacks. It immediately took aim at Fleeting Time with the rocketuncher attached to one of its shoulders.

    Despite its range, the Iron Warrior had trouble with acquiring its target due to Fleeting Time¡¯s small size. The only option the gigantic machine had was to hit the ground near Fleeting Time in an attempt to catch the Elf in the st. Of course, the Iron Warrior¡¯s method of attack was something that was predetermined by the game¡¯s system, and it was something that Fleeting Time knew all too well. This was why Fleeting Time paid close attention to the Iron Warrior as he sprinted, and leaped into the air as the machine fired its rocket.

    Ye Ci could barely hold back the urge to apud Fleeting Time¡¯s jump. His timing waspletely perfect, as if his jump was assisted by a third-party software.

    Ye Ci did not forget the task that she had to perform even when she was captivated by Fleeting Time¡¯s maneuvering. She jumped out the moment the Iron Warrior fired off its rocket along with the direction of the st.

    Ye Ci appeared to be hurled across the room by the force of the explosion. Her movements were quick and precise that it was impossible for one to tell that it was faked.

    Before her body collided with the tform, Ye Ci bent her knees in an attempt to reduce the damage she would receive, and activated Feigned Death at the same time.

    Ye Ci¡¯s apparently lifeless bodyid at the base of the tform momentster. It gave the illusion that she was dead, much to Ciel¡¯s glee. Heughed and called out to Fleeting Time, ¡°Ha ha ha! Damned Elf! Have you seen how yourpanion died? Cease your resistance and I will give you a painless death.¡±

    Fleeting Time was worried. He cast a sideway nce at Ye Ci. Her act was so real that even Fleeting Time himself was deceived. Ye Ci¡¯s icon in the party member list that had not turned grey was a sign that she was still alive.

    ¡°How are you doing? How much health do you have left?¡± asked Fleeting Time as he waltzed around the pce with the agility of a lynx.

    ¡°I¡¯m at 80% health.¡± replied Ye Ci whoid on the ground. She could still observe the fight between Fleeting Time and the Iron Warrior, and she was impressed by Fleeting Time¡¯s agility. As expected of the guy who was known as the God among Hunters in myst life. Even I might not be able to pull that sort of maneuver off.

    This man... He is indeed a worthy opponent.

    ¡°Use a Healing Salve instead of a Healing Potion when you get up. That thing has a higher aggro value, and Ciel might notice you.¡± Fleeting Time was still able to give Ye Ci a reminder despite his fight with the Iron Warrior.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    The critical nature of the situation did not allow much window for the duo tomunicate. With Ciel¡¯s attention focused fully on the battle between Fleeting Time and the Iron Warrior, Ye Ci drank a Large Healing Salve and immediately entered stealth as her health bar was slowly raised.

    She then advanced carefully towards the stairs of the tform.

    With the stairs located at the rear of the tform and Ciel¡¯s position at the front of the tform, Ye Ci could easily climb up the tform while avoiding detection. She had observed Ciel¡¯s behavior, and found that the Goblin would stare at esnyffan who was lying in the coffin every 3 minutes and return his gaze towards the battle after confirming that she was safe.

    The Hunter ss had a minor chance of exposing their position as they climbed up stairs despite being in stealth. A Rogue, however, did not share the same worry.

    Ye Ci¡¯s progress up the stairs was severely slowed because of such a risk. Her efforts would be wasted if she was exposed before she could get within range of Ciel.

    It took Ye Ci 10 full minutes to climb a mere dozen steps of stairs. She immediately took a crouching position as she finally arrived at the top of the tform. After all, stealth works best when a character is crouched, and this would reduce the chances of Ye Ci being spotted by Ciel.

    Of course, this did not mean that she could avoid detectionpletely.

    Ye Ci stood at the edge of the tform, and pressed herself against one of the pirs to ce herself in Ciel¡¯s blind spot.

    Her gaze then fell upon the crystalline coffin behind Ciel, and a sudden thought crossed her mind, ¡°Fleeting Time, what did Ciel say to us when we first entered the throne room?¡±

    Fleeting Time was caught off guard by the absurdity of Ye Ci¡¯s question, ¡°It¡¯s something to do with a ritual that we¡¯ve disrupted. I can¡¯t remember the exact words that he said.¡±

    That¡¯s it! We¡¯ve interrupted his ritual! Ye Ci was certain that she saw that esnyffan was enveloped by a strange light from the Gem of Life. The Gem of Life can activate an Iron Warrior that was barely working... Can it resurrect a dead Drow? thought Ye Ci to herself.

    Ye Ci then remembered De¡¯frei¡¯s words. The Dark Lord Naga has stolen the soul of esnyffan. If that was true, this meant that Ciel¡¯s ritual was futile. He could never resurrect esnyffan with the Gem of Life. The only way that esnyffan could be resurrected was to exchange her soul with the Iron Warrior. The Drow in the coffin was esnyffan¡¯s body, and judging from the great care Ciel took to preserve the body, it was certain that the king of Goblins intended to revive her.

    A n began formting in Ye Ci¡¯s mind. She knew that her chances of sess in grabbing Ciel¡¯s scepter are very low. Even if Ciel was a lvl60 monster, he was still the king of an entire race. esnyffan could be used as a leverage against Ciel.

    Ciel turned around and stared at Ye Ci¡¯s hiding spot before she could make her move. Ye Ci¡¯s could feel her heart in her mouth and her muscles immediately tensed. All would be lost if Ciel detected her presence.

    Fortunately for Ye Ci however, Ciel quickly shifted his attention back to the Fleeting Time. That Elf was too damned agile. The Iron Warrior¡¯s weapons had destroyed half of the throne room, but the Elf was still able to remain on steady feet even when his surroundings was reduced to rubble. He was able to skip and hop into the Iron Warrior¡¯s blind spot andunch attacks after stinging attacks at the gigantic machine. Ciel¡¯s raged burned on, and rage was something that could cloud an individual¡¯s judgement. The enraged Ciel began channeling a spell. He was attempting to further empower the Iron Warrior with the Gem of Life.

    Ye Ci ryed the information to Fleeting Time as she crept slowly towards esnyffan¡¯s coffin.

    It took Ye Ci two full minutes to cross the 10 yards between her and the coffin. Her heart was in her mouth and her gaze was fixated on Ciel as she advanced slowly. She immediately tumbled behind the coffin and concealed herself when she was a safe distance away. Just then, Ciel turned around, detecting the lurking danger behind him. When he found nothing after studying his surroundings for a long moment, Ciel¡¯s attention shifted once again to Fleeting Time.

    Ye Ci stood up and extended a hand towards the coffin, and a smile formed on her face. The unlidded coffin was not protected by any forms of barrier, and esnyffan was easily within her reach.

    She lowered her head and stared at esnyffan. She was a very beautiful girl, but her skin was sickly pale due to her death. She studied the coffin for any magical runes and then poked at esnyffan¡¯s arm with a finger. When nothing happened despite her actions, Ye Ci was sure that esnyffan was stored in the coffin without any forms of protection.

    With such a knowledge in mind, Ye Ci took in a deep breath and lifted esnyffan¡¯s corpse after muttering an apology to the beautiful Drow. She then chuckled at Ciel.

    Ye Ci¡¯s chuckle was soft, but it was a very terrifying sound for Ciel. He immediately faced Ye Ci and the Gem of Life glowed with the crackling of energy as he pointed his scepter at her.

    Fear was actually present in Ye Ci¡¯s heart. All would be lost if esnyffan was not as important as what was mentioned in the quest description. Was her action a foolish one?

    ¡°Hello, Your Majesty. We meet again.¡± said Ye Ci with a smile despite the fear she harbored in her heart.

    Ciel was momentarily stunned before realisation dawned upon him, ¡°You¡¯ve deceived me! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± screamed the Goblin king as the glow of the Gem of Life intensified.

    Ye Ci ignored Ciel¡¯s threat and ced her short sword on esnyffan¡¯s throat, ¡°Your Majesty, do you think that your spell is faster than my sword?¡±

    ¡°You damned Elf! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± screamed Ciel as he began channeling a spell.

    The smile remained on Ye Ci¡¯s face as the de of her sword sliced open the skin on esnyffan¡¯s neck. Of course, no blood flowed from the dead Drow¡¯s neck, but the cut that Ye Ci made had exposed the flesh under the skin, ¡°Your Majesty, I¡¯m sure you know that you¡¯ll never be able to revive a being with its head cut off, even when you¡¯re in possession of its soul...¡±

    ¡°No! Stop it! Stop it at once!¡± Ciel was terrified when he saw the wound on esnyffan¡¯s neck. He immediately stopped the spell and screamed at Ye Ci, ¡°Oh, good Elf, I beg of you! Please, stop it!¡±

    Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief. Her gamble had paid off. Despite De¡¯frei¡¯s statement that Ciel was in love with esnyffan, there was still doubt in Ye Ci¡¯s mind. Ciel was a king while esnyffan was nothing but a beautiful girl. Was the love between the two true love between a man and a woman, or merely the affection shown by an aloof ruler towards his pet.

    She finally realised from Ciel¡¯s reaction that the king truly loved esnyffan even when they were not members of the same race.

    Despite his madness, Ciel¡¯s decision to abandon the entire kingdom to ruin for the sake of esnyffan was a sign of true love.

    ¡°What do you want? I¡¯ll fulfill your demands as long as you don¡¯t harm esnyffan.¡± Ciel was reduced to begging for Ye Ci¡¯s in a very pitiful manner.

    Ye Ci stole at nce at the ongoing battle not far away. The Iron Warrior was no longer functioning at full capacity. The mighty machine was slowing down, and smoke began to rose from its massive body. It was apparent that the Iron Warrior shall be defeated soon.

    ¡°Give me your scepter.¡± said Ye Ci after looking at the quest description. The duo had to defeat the Iron Warrior and acquire the scepter.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. This is a very important treasure to the Goblin kingdom. I can¡¯t hand it to a member of another race.¡± it was apparent that Ciel retained some of his pride as a king.

    ¡°Your Majesty, Vo¡¯sok is gone. The races that walk this earth no longer recognize the Goblins as a proper race. Why are you still holding on to the scepter? Just listen to me. If you hand me the scepter, I¡¯ll return esnyffan to you.¡±

    ¡°No...¡± despite his protest, Ye Ci could tell that Ciel¡¯s resolve was shaken.

    ¡°Your Majesty, the pce is about to copse. Don¡¯t you know that Vo¡¯sok will crumble along with the pce? Why are you not willing to let go of the scepter? At this point, you¡¯re not handing over your authority, but proving your true love. Are you going to abandon your loved one at a time like this?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice was soft.

    ¡°B-but...¡±

    ¡°Come, hand me the scepter.¡± Ye Ci extended an arm towards Ciel while tightening her grip on esnyffan¡¯s throat with her free hand.

    ¡°esnyffan... Oh, my beloved esnyffan...¡± muttered Ciel as he stared at the beautiful Drow and then at Ye Ci. He even had the illusion that his loved one is alive. The Goblin king began to walk up to Ye Ci with the scepter.

    ¡°Hold still, and toss the scepter over.¡± Ciel was a danger as long as the scepter was still in his hands.

    The king of Goblins immediately halted and tossed the scepter at Ye Ci. The scepter soared across the air in a graceful arc, andnded...

    Right into Ye Ci¡¯s hand.

 Chapter 245 Quest Completed

    ¡°I got it!¡± Ye Ci immediately pushed esnyffan at Ciel when she snatched the Scepter of Life from the air. She the rolled to her left and bounded off the tform like an arrow.

    ¡°The ground ispletely ruined. Be careful where yound, or you might actually die.¡± the tform was 30 yards above the ground. A character without a high level of Agility and Bnce would never survive such a fall. However, character sses like the Hunter, Rogue, and Ranger with high Agility and Bnce could easily survive if they chose theirnding spot well.

    Ye Cinded just as Fleeting Time finished his sentence. She skidded off the side of a jagged mound, avoiding the sharp protruding rubble, and began making her way to Fleeting Time.

    Her quick movements brought her within range of the Iron Warrior in the blink of an eye, and she immediately unslung her bow and took aim at the giant machine,unching attacks after attacks on the weird patterns engraved on the machine¡¯s chest.

    Without the power from the Gem of Life, the Iron Warrior proved to be a paper tiger. Its defensive and offensive capabilities were drastically reduced, and the machine itself would even lose health as time passed. This, however, was not much of a good news to the duo.

    The pce was at the brink of copsing. Chunks of the roof rained down into the throne room. A hit from one of these debris would be enough to kill either one of them with a single blow.

    The duo was forced to constantly dodge falling debris as they continued their battle with the Iron Warrior. ¡°Where¡¯s De¡¯frei? He was well and alive before the fight started. Where did he go?¡±

    With her attention previously focused on Ciel, Ye Ci lost track of De¡¯frei during the battle. Fleeting Time who had been fighting against the Iron Warrior, however, had an answer to her question. ¡°You¡¯ll see a Goblin that had already passed out if you pay close attention to the Iron Warrior¡¯s head.¡±

    Ye Ci stared intently at the Iron Warrior¡¯s head, and spotted a crown. It was not a mere decorative ornament, but the cockpit of the machine. De¡¯frei was controlling the Iron Warrior from that spot before he was knocked unconscious by the Iron Warrior¡¯s erratic movements when it was powered by the Gem of Life.

    ¡°I think the pce will copse once we defeat the Iron Warrior. How do we get out of here?¡± this question was a cause of great concern for Ye Ci. She was not willing to lose her life in the Western Continent, especially if she was about toplete the exploration of this dungeon.

    ¡°De¡¯frei will regain his consciousness soon enough.¡± replied Fleeting Time calmly.

    ¡°How do you know about that?¡±

    ¡°A system timer appeared on my screen when you were on the tform. He¡¯s going to wake up in around 10 seconds. I¡¯m pretty sure the devs will not make this ce aplete death trap. There must be a way out.¡± replied Fleeting Time calmly as he fought on against the Iron Warrior.

    You can say that because you left the game 3 years after it wasunched. If you held on for two more years, you would¡¯ve experience how ridiculously difficult a dungeon could be. thought Ye Ci to herself. She could still remember a dungeon where members of the same party were required to die at least thrice in the dungeon before they could unlock an achievement that would allow them to finally clear the dungeon. Even those who managed to make it to the end of the dungeon during their first few tries were forced tomit suicide. The yer begrudgingly dubbed the dungeon as ¡°The Suicide Hotspot¡± as a result.

    Vo¡¯sok was child¡¯s ypared to that dungeon.

    De¡¯frei stood up on wobbly feet just as Ye Ci was busy reminiscing her past, ¡°By the Gods, where am I? What happened?¡±

    Dialogues from NPCs were disyed in a specialized NPC channel in a dungeon, and any conversation between a yer and an NPC would take ce in the channel. A yer could hear the voice of the NPC and even use the channel as a log to ess their previous conversations. There was even an option that could make a text bubble appear on an NPCs head as they speak. Such a function was very useful to look for the tiniest hints and clues about a quest.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake, Mr.De¡¯frei. We¡¯ve secured the scepter, and the Iron Warrior is nearing its death. We¡¯ll soon be able toplete the task you entrusted to us, but the pce is at the brink of total copse! Do you know of a way out?¡± Ye Ci exined the situation to De¡¯frei.

    ¡°What? Just what have you done?¡± shouted De¡¯frei as he appeared before Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. A hint of sadness appeared on his face as heid his sight upon the Iron Warrior.

    ¡°Ah... The greatest of my creation... It seems that nobody will be able to witness your might after all.¡± said De¡¯frei as he produced a tiny remote. The Iron Warrior was enveloped with a strange light at the press of the button and immediately ceased moving.

    The pce began to shook. It was apparent that the ce was about to copse. De¡¯frei muttered under his breath and a circle of light appeared, ¡°Come, let us depart from this ce.¡±

    A sudden thought shed across Ye Ci¡¯s mind and she immediately cast a nce at Ciel who was still holding on to the form of esnyffan. Is it possible to bring Ciel out of this ce as well? We¡¯ve fulfilled out quest of obtaining the Gem of Life and defeated the Iron Warrior. The quest is supposedlypleted. But what will happen if we rescue the Goblin king?

    ¡°Hold up, I¡¯ll be back real soon.¡± said Ye Ci to Ciel.

    Fleeting Time followed after Ye Ci. He knew what was going on in Ye Ci¡¯s mind, ¡°You want to take Ciel with us?¡±

    ¡°Yup. We¡¯vepleted the quest, but something tells me that we¡¯ll be rewarded handsomely if we managed to get Ciel and esnyffan out of this ce.¡± replied Ye Ci.

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy, but we can try.¡± Fleeting Time immediately agreed with Ye Ci¡¯s n. Only an idiot would allow the chance of obtaining more rewards to escape from his grasp.

    The duo then began sprinting towards the tform. With the speed of the Hunter ss, they were able to reach Ciel, who was still holding esnyffan in an embrace, in the blink of an eye. The Goblin king paid no heed to the crumbling pce. He sat by esnyffan, muttering in anguage that Ye Ci could not understand.

    ¡°Your Majesty, the pce is about to copse! You should leave with us at once.¡± Ye Ci wasted no time with formalities.

    ¡°Leave? Where to?¡± Ciel stared at Ye Ci with doubt in his eyes. The aura he had as a king was gone. He was reduced to nothing more but a walking corpse.

    ¡°Anywhere is better than here.¡± a huge chunk of falling debris almost hit Ye Ci if not for Fleeting Time¡¯s quick reaction of pulling her aside.

    Ciel, however, remained at his spot. He stared at Ye Ci and spoke with a sorrowful voice, ¡°No, I am going nowhere. I¡¯m staying here. I am the king of Goblins. I have to remain in Vo¡¯sok.¡±

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth and waved the Scepter of Life at Ciel, ¡°I¡¯ll return this to you if youe with us.¡±

    It was a bold move on Ye Ci¡¯s part to take such a risk. Her quest would fail she could not reacquire the scepter from Cielter on. Fleeting Time, however, did not show any sign of protest. He observed the interaction between Ye Ci and Ciel with a smile on his face.

    ¡°No! I¡¯ll not hand esnyffan over to you!¡± it was apparent that Ciel could still remember the deal Ye Ci made with him with esnyffan¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°Hurry up, Elves. The pce willpletely copse soon, and we won¡¯t be able to leave this ce.¡± De¡¯frei began to urge the duo to leave as trembling of the pce intensified.

    Even Ye Ci was on the verge of giving up. She shook her head at Fleeting Time, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    Fleeting Time grabbed at Ye Ci¡¯s arm and said with a smile, ¡°Just give me a moment.¡±

    ¡°What are you on about?¡± Ye Ci was baffled as Fleeting Time turned around to face Ciel, ¡°Your majesty, don¡¯t you wish to resurrect esnyffan?¡±

    ¡°To resurrect her?¡± Ciel was apparently interested in such a topic. Hope filled his eyes for a brief moment before it was reced by despair, ¡°No... There¡¯s no way. The Iron Warrior is destroyed. What else can I use to trade for esnyffan¡¯s soul? It¡¯s impossible!¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard that the Dragonia is capable of resurrecting the dead?¡± Fleeting Time was sly as a fox as he smiled at Ciel, ¡°It seems that your majesty does not wish for esnyffan¡¯s resurrection. If that is what you want, you would¡¯ve visited Dragonian Queen in the Middle Continent.¡± he let out a sigh.

    Ciel was stunned. Fleeting Time turned around and tugged at Ye Ci¡¯s arm, ¡°Let us depart.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving?¡± Ye Ci was confused by Fleeting Time¡¯s decision to leave just as she began to see hope.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Fleeting Time smiled at Ye Ci, and leapt off the tform.

    Ye Ci immediately understood the intention behind his actions, ¡°Heh, you¡¯re trying to trick an NPC? How well do you think it¡¯ll work out?¡± asked Ye Ci in the Party Channel.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see how it goes. I¡¯ve figured out from your conversation that using that Drow as bait might just work.¡± it was a gambit by Fleeting Time in a situation where time was scarce.

    ¡°Well, it seems that your gambit paid off¡± said Ye Ci as Ciel appeared beside De¡¯frei with esnyffan¡¯s corpse.

    The duo reached De¡¯frei¡¯s side momentster.

    Despite his confusion, De¡¯frei wasted no time in questioning the duo. He immediately began chanting the teleportation spell.

    With a loud rumble, arge piece of debris began to fall... Right towards the small party.

    Will we make it out in time? Or will we be squashed to death?

    Despite having such a thought, Ye Ci find herself remaining calm.

    De¡¯frei finished the spell right before the party was hit by the debris, and the pce vanished from their sight in a blinding white light.

    The two yers, two NPCs, and a corpse appeared at the border of Vo¡¯sok momentster. It was the entrance that Ye Ci and Fleeting Time had used to gain entry to Vo¡¯sok. The ce was deathly quiet, but vibrations could still be felt from their location.

    Clouds of yellow dust rose from the direction of Vo¡¯sok. Nobody knew what the former city would be once the dust settled.

    While a sense of relief washed over Ye Ci and Fleeting Time, De¡¯frei and Ciel were experiencing an entirely different emotion. Despite their allignments, they were still Goblins, and Vo¡¯sok was the home of all Goblins. One would always be aggrived by the demise of one¡¯s homnd especially when its destruction was caused by one¡¯s own hands.

    Ciel stood silently as he stared at the rising dust, ¡°It¡¯s finished... Everything... Everything is gone.¡± muttered the king.

    De¡¯frei, who remained standing, was filled with sorrow. He covered his face with his hands as his sobs raked his body. Ye Ci patted De¡¯frei on the shoulders and spoke with a soft voice, ¡°Mr.De¡¯frei, I understand your feeling, but please don¡¯t be sad.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll never understand my feeling! How can you understand the feeling of a person who ruined his own homnd with his best creation? I¡¯m a sinner! I should not even be alive!¡± De¡¯frei was sobbing like a child.

    ¡°How would you even know that we do not understand what you feel?¡± said Fleeting Time, ¡°Even if your homnd is destroyed, you can still build a new home as long as all the Goblins unite. But what about us Elves? Our king has fallen into eternal slumber after the war with Naga. He might never even rise again. Hell, we don¡¯t even know where his grave is! We Elves are a bunch of wanderer who can¡¯t even defend our homnd after Dau¡¯er¡¯s demise. How can you say that we do not know how you feel?¡±

    De¡¯frei stared at Fleeting Time and Ye Ci. Despite his silence, the duo could tell that Fleeting Time¡¯s words had an impact on the elderly Goblin.

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. She was delighted to know that she was not the only soul who spent a lot of time in the library. Fleeting Time was just like her. While Ye Ci¡¯s knowledge was brought over from herst life, Fleeting Time acquired his knowledge from the library in-game. This meant that the man was far more dedicated than Ye Ci gave him credit for. This gave Ye Ci a newfound respect for Fleeting Time. As expected of a top-tier yer... He has good mechanical skills, and is willing to do countless researches about the game.

    The birth of a top-tier yer was not out of coincidence.

    Ye Ci continued after Fleeting Time, ¡°Despite our misfortune, the Elven race as a whole had never once given up on our search for the Elven King Dau¡¯er. We have never once given up hopes to reim our homnd. So why do you have to wallow yourselves in sorrow?¡± she then stared at Ciel, who was paying attention to the conversation between De¡¯frei and the duo. ¡°Behold, the King of Goblin lives. He made a grave mistake, but it is something we mortals are bound to make.¡± said Ye Ci as she pointed at Ciel, ¡°Your king lives, and that¡¯s all that matters. So what Vo¡¯sok is destroyed? Can¡¯t you build a new Vo¡¯sok with the intelligence and capabilities of the Goblins?¡±

    De¡¯frei shifted his sight to Ciel and stared at the monarch for a long moment. He then bowed deeply at Ye Ci and Fleeting Time and performed an ancient Goblin salute that was only used by Goblins on their king or individuals that have earned their utmost respect, ¡°Thank you, o¡¯ dear Elves. You are the eternal friends of us Goblins.¡±

    Ciel stood up as well, and repeated De¡¯frei gesture before speaking in a calm voice, ¡°Thank you for what you¡¯ve done for us, Elves. You shall be the most honorable friends of the Goblins.¡±

    Even after handing over the Scepter of Life to Ye Ci, Ciel¡¯s name was still disyed as ¡°Goblin King Ciel¡±. A system notification appeared in the screen of the duo after Ciel¡¯s dialogue, ¡°You have reached the Prestige of Respected with the Goblins.¡±

    This was something that even Ye Ci did not expect. She had never in her wildest dream thought thatpleting a dungeon could boost her Prestige with a single race to the level of ¡°Respected¡±. She stole a nce at Fleeting Time, and found him whistling happily. It was apparent that he was very satisfied with the reward.

    A quest marker appeared on De¡¯frei¡¯s head, and a system notification signifying thepletion of the quest appeared when Ye Ci handed him the Scepter of Life. ¡°I have nothing special with me, nor do I have huge amounts of wealth. Please receive this gift from me as a token of my gratitude for rescuing me from the Goblin Pce.¡± said De¡¯frei as he handed two parcels to the duo.

    Both parcels contained a single book wrapped in leather. The words ¡°De¡¯frei¡¯s Worknotes¡± were etched on the covers of the books, written in Ancient Goblin Language. Ye Ci held the first part to the notes while Fleeting Time was in possession of the second part. A system notification chimed out as Ye Ci flipped open the first page of the book, ¡°An ancient voice entered your ears, and something shed across your mind. You¡¯ve learnt the Ancient Goblin Language.¡±

    It was something that Ye Ci did not expect.

    Ye Ci was able to understand the writings on the book, and her eyebrows immediately furrowed upon reading the words. She was not happy. She came to the realization that both she and Fleeting Time held a different part of the same book. Does it mean that I won¡¯t have theplete version of De¡¯frei¡¯s book?

    ¡°By the way, Little Gongzi, do you remember the bet between us earlier on? I think I know what I want as a reward for winning now.¡± said Fleeting Time who saw through Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± responded Ye Ci absentmindedly. Her thoughts were focus fully onbining the two books.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s simple. Why don¡¯t we meet up at the Middle Continent when it¡¯s made avable to yers and get a schr to copy each of our part and make a trade?¡±

    Ye Ci knew that it was the best solution, but she was not willing to give her trust to Fleeting Time that easily. After all, they would end up as enemies soon enough. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem... As long as you¡¯re willing to sign a contract with me.¡±

    Fleeting Time paid no heed to Ye Ci¡¯s pettiness. He patted his book with a smile, ¡°Alright. I knew you won¡¯t hand it to me willingly anyways.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Fleeting Time. That bastard.. He always has a way with words. Despite that, she knew that having a contract was the best possible solution, as any breach of the agreement would result in a heavy penalty that would be imposed by the system.

    The system was able to generate the contract within seconds, which was immediately signed by the duo after making sure that there were no mistakes in the terms of the contract.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Fleeting Time. Why does this feel so weird?

    Fleeting Time¡¯s eyes narrowed as well, ¡°So you¡¯re saying that your coboration with Absalom is a valid one, but it¡¯s invalid if you¡¯re doing it with me?¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips at Fleeting Time and crossed her arms in front of her chest, ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need to shake hands to validate the coboration between us. A contract is enough.¡± she snorted and cast a nce at De¡¯frei, who was having a conversation with Ciel which was nothing important and was almost at its end.

    Fleeting Time rubbed the bridge of his nose and smiled, ¡°If I know that this is how you¡¯ll act once we get out, I would¡¯ve stayed in the dungeon a little longer. You¡¯re not cute at all like this.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s long pointed ears twitched. She could not hear Fleeting Time clearly, but she had a feeling that it was nothing good.

    ¡°There¡¯s a quest.¡± Fleeting Time pointed at De¡¯frei with a smile.

    Ye Ci epted the quest from De¡¯frei, which required her to return the Scepter of Life to Ciel. She found the conversation between Ciel and De¡¯frei after sifting through the NPC chat. The NPCs were talking about the fall of Vo¡¯sok, which Ciel regretted. De¡¯frei then expressed his willingness to return the Scepter of Life to Ciel after the king admitted his mistake.

    Ciel let out a long sigh after receiving the Scepter of Life from Ye Ci, ¡°Vo¡¯sok was a gift from God. Instead of treasuring such gift, we brought it to ruin. Oh God, please guide your children in our journey to find a new home.¡± the king then began a long chant, and bright red light emanated from the Scepter of Life.

    Ye Ci instinctively took a step back and stood behind Ciel, along with Fleeting Time and De¡¯frei.

    The sickly red light at the tip of the Scepter of Life expanded as Ciel continued his chant. It was not a reddish orb that was half a yard in diameter which was still growingrger and brighter.

    Just then, Fleeting Time received a private voice call. Despite his annoyance, Fleeting Time immediately responded when he noticed that the call was from Absalom. ¡°Fleeting Time! That ore vein is real! We¡¯vepleted the quest and the ck Iron Dwarves have already begun exploring the ore veins!¡± shouted Absalom with excitement before Fleeting Time had the chance to speak up.

    ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t that a good thing?¡± unlike Absalom, Fleeting Time did not doubt the truth behind Ye Ci¡¯s words. He believed her the moment she proposed such a deal. It was not because of his feelings towards Ye Ci. He knew that Gongzi You was not a foolish person, and an intelligent woman like her would not pull a stunt that would jeopardize her benefit on the long run.

    ¡°Are you still in the dungeon?¡± Absalom was literally on cloud nine at that point. The man was so filled with joy that he would take a p from Fleeting Time with a smile on his face.

    Fleeting Time stole a nce at his mini map. He was indeed in the dungeon, but his location was fairly close to the exit, ¡°Yup. I¡¯m still in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°When will you be heading out?¡±

    The red orb at the tip of the Scepter of Life continued to expand, and Fleeting Time himself was unsure if the quest waspleted. Judging from Ciel¡¯s actions, it was highly possible that a new stage of the quest would be triggered.

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± said Fleeting Time, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve just arrived in the Saint Light City, and I want to treat Gongzi You to a meal as a sign of thanks.¡± Absalom had even forgotten about the simple fact that Ye Ci was not a yer from the Western Continent due to his barely-contained excitement, ¡°We might be forced to the brink by Golden Era if it¡¯s not for her. With the Mithril ore vein in our grasp, we¡¯ll be able to control the economy of the entire Western Continent.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a yer from the Eastern Continent. There¡¯s no way she can enter the Saint Light City.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, I¡¯ve forgotten about that... How do I thank her then? Even if this is a coboration between us, I¡¯m sure you know that we got the better end of the bargain right?¡± replied Absalom with mirth clear in his voice.

    ¡°Get me a Hawkeye skill book from our guild warehouse then.¡± during their exploration of the dungeon, the duo had not even encountered a single skill book as loot drop, Fleeting Time could still remember his promise to Ye Ci before they entered the dungeon, ¡°Get someone to pass the skill book to me once I¡¯m out of the dungeon. Of course, it¡¯ll be best if you¡¯re the one who delivers it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let me know when you¡¯ve left the dungeon.¡±

    The red orb was already 8 yards in diameter when the conversation ended. ¡°Away!¡± shouted Ciel in the ancient Goblinnguage and the red orb flew at the direction of Vo¡¯sok¡¯s pce. A loud bang followed and the ground began to shake.

    The explosion threw a vast column of smoke and debris into the air.

    Ye Ci knew that the red light would spell bad news, but such an oue was beyond her expectation. She subconsciously took a step back, right into Fleeting Time, who pulled her into an embrace and pressed her against the ground, shielding her from the explosion.

    Ye Ci could feel as debris scratched against her arm, taking away a tiny chunk of her HP with every hit. Her HP was dropping rapidly, and before long, Ye Ci had lost 25% of her HP.

    From Fleeting Time¡¯s portrait, Ye Ci could see that he had only 20% of his HP left.

    Despite that, Fleeting Time remained silent as he shielded Ye Ci from the st, as if he was a suit of armor that was protecting her in its embrace.

    Thud... Thud... Thud...

    Even with the tremendous amount of noise generated by the explosion, Ye Ci could still hear the strong heartbeat of the person behind her.

 Chapter 246 Friend of the Goblins

    ¡°Aiyo!¡± the ground began to tremble following a loud rumble just as Absalom was happily sharing his news with Fleeting Time. Absalom could barely stand when the ground shook with the force of a magnitude 10 earthquake, and he found himself nting face first onto the ground.

    Of course, his movements were mirrored by countless others who were on the streets of the Saint Light City.

    The ground continued to tremble. Saint Light City was not the only map to be affected by the tremor. The dozen of map adjacent to the Bloody Wilderness was also suffering from the same fate.

    Many of the yers in Saint Light City lost their footing due to the sudden earthquake. Some even lost their lives just like that. The NPC¡¯s shops fared no better. Broken sks littered the floor of the potion shop, spilling their precious content onto the ground; the rows and rows of racks holding top quality weapons forged by the cksmiths were in a state of disarray; the precious wares in the auction houses were all smashed to pieces. Many buildings within the city have copsed, and Saint Light City was in a state of ruin.

    The once-glorious Saint Light City was reduced to rubble in mere moments. The air was filled with wail of despairs of the NPCs and the cries of baffled yers.

    Absalom stood on unsteady feet as the tremors finally subsided, ¡°F*ck me! Just what the hell happened?¡± he eximed as heid eyes upon the current state of Saint Light City.

    Absalom flipped his hair, shaking the thick dust off his head. His superior and morous equipment was now stained and covered with dirt. I look like a homeless man! thought Absalom to himself as he sneezed. He then wiped the dirt off his face and surveyed his surroundings.

    What befell Absalom¡¯s eyes came as a shock to the man, ¡°Oh my goodness! Oh God! Jesus Christ! What the hell happened!?¡±

    ¡°Congrattions forpleting the hidden dungeon: The Lost City with 100%pletion rate. Your exploits shall forever be remembered in the history of Fate. Do you wish to disy your ID?¡± a system notification appeared in the screens of Ye Ci and Fleeting Time when the explosion subsided.

    Fleeting Time lifted his head, and with great effort, spotted the forms of Ciel and De¡¯frei who were standing not far away. Even when the Goblins were coated in thick grey dust that gave them the appearance of two little statues, their expressions remained calm.

    In contrast, the duo was left in a daze. Ye Ci herself had partially lost her hearing. Her ears were ringing when Fleeting Time pulled her up and spoke to her.

    ¡°Are you going to reveal your ID?¡± said Fleeting Time with a loud voice, after several attempts at talking to Ye Ci. ¡°No! My presence in the Western Continent is supposed to be a secret. Wouldn¡¯t that be asking for trouble?¡± came the reply.

    ¡°Heh, I thought you¡¯d have no fear after your decision to journey into the Western Continent alone.¡± anticipating Ye Ci¡¯s choice, Fleeting Time selected the option to keep his ID hidden as well.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°I don¡¯t need the trouble right now. The ck Iron Dwarves are exploring the Mithril ore vein when I left. What if someone else chanced upon them before I can get back?¡±

    Fleeting Time nodded. He would do the same thing if he was in Ye Ci¡¯s shoes.

    After confirming their selection, a system announcement apeared in the World Channel, ¡°After a thrilling journey full of surprises, yers XXX and XXX have discovered Vo¡¯sok, the kingdom of Goblins. They havepleted the exploration of the dungeon ¡°The Lost Kingdom¡± and earned the respect of the Goblins.¡±

    ¡°Exploration of the hidden dungeon, The Lost City has beenpleted (Completion: 100%). A new dungeon, ¡®The Fallen Vo¡¯sok¡¯ is now avable to yers. Level: 60, Capacity: 100 yers. Difficulty: Easy, Hard, Expert. Entries to the dungeon will be refreshed every week. yers are wee to explore the dungeon.¡±

    Ye Ci was shocked by the system announcement. A new dungeon will appear once wepleted the exploration of a hidden dungeon? Why have I not heard of something like this in myst life? She could still remember the information released by the yer whopleted the same quest during herst life, but there was never a mention of the appearance of a new dungeon.

    Was I mistaken?

    After a brief moment of thought, Ye Ci was certain that it was not a mistake on her part. The dungeon ¡°The Fallen Vo¡¯sok¡± did not even exist in her past life. There was no way she would forget about a 100-yers lvl60 dungeon. If that¡¯s the case, just what the hell triggered the release of this dungeon?

    She was quick to realise a tiny detail that was repeated in the system announcement: Thepletion status.

    Herpletion of the dungeon with Fleeting Time was at 100% while thepletion rate of the yer during herst life was not known. One thing, however, was certain. A yer mustplete the dungeon to a certain level ofpletion rate to unlock the new dungeon, and the yer whopleted the quest during Ye Ci¡¯sst life must have left Ciel in the pce.

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. It seems that my reincarnation is slowly bringing change to the world.

    Just when Ye Ci began to breathe a sigh of relief, she was baffled by yet another system announcement.

    ¡°I am Ciel, king of the Goblins. Vo¡¯sok was the home of the Goblins that have remained hidden for a very long time, forgotten by many and unknown to most.¡± the system continued the narrative with a soft and soothing voice, as if it was reciting a poem, ¡°I¡¯ve always thought that our home would remain hidden, but I was proven when two outsiders ventured into this forbidden ce. That¡¯s right, Vo¡¯sok is a ce that spells death for any who dared venture within. I¡¯ve never expected these outsiders to leave this ce alive, but their tenacity is beyond my wildest imagination. They were able to locate Vo¡¯sok and made their way into my pce Ahh... It was a big magnificent pce that was buried deep underground. I¡¯ve been staying in this ce for centuries with my loved one and my loyal subjects, but their presence finally broke the tranquil of my pce. Perhaps some would im that I¡¯ve growncent... Perhaps I¡¯m a tyrant who brought ruin to my subjects in the eyes of many...¡±

    Absalom scratched his head in confusion, ¡°F*ck me! Who the f*ck is Ciel? What the heck is the ¡®King of Goblins¡¯?¡±. The name ¡°Vo¡¯sok¡± immediately reminded him of Fleeting Time, and he wasted no time in contacting the man. However, his attempts were met only with failure.

    ¡°What is this? China Mobile?¡± Absalom was depressed for a brief moment before his curiosity was overwhelmed by his worry for his guild encampment, and he immediately hastened his pace back to the encampment. If this is what Saint Light City has be, I wonder what happened to the guild encampment?

    ¡°I fought against these outsiders, and I was woken from my selfish dreams by their sense of justice, their empathy, and their kindness. However, it was all toote... My homnd... My pce... It was all in ruins. ¡®What should I do from now on?¡¯ I asked myself, and these two outsiders showed me hope. I ended up destroying my home, Vo¡¯sok with the scepter entrusted to the Goblins by the Gods. The ground trembled as thend blessed by the Gods was destroyed, and thisnd is now forever cursed. It is all my fault. I shall now lead my people in search of a new home.¡± and the narrative ended.

    The system announcement then continued with the following message, ¡°The exploration of the dungeon ¡®The Hidden City¡¯ resulted in a strong earthquake in the Western Continent, causing tremendous amounts of damage to Saint Light City. This plunged the citizens of the Western Continent into the abyss of suffering. The continent is now at Alert Level 1.¡±

    Ye Ci chuckled at Fleeting Time, ¡°Is the system¡¯s excuse to cover up its ws?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never expected the system to be so shameless.¡± nodded Fleeting Time who was equally baffled. Isn¡¯t the system ming us for what happened just now?

    ¡°So what should we do?¡±

    ¡°We can just plead ignorance. Our IDs were hidden anyways.¡± said Fleeting Time with a sly smile, ¡°But with the continent going on Alert Level 1... I¡¯m a victim as well!¡± his smile was then reced with a sad expression.

    Why do you not look like a victim? thought Ye Ci to herself after stealing a nce at Fleeting Time¡¯s face.

    An Alert Level 1 is dered in Fate when a main city of a continent or an entire continent as a whole suffered fromrge scale destruction. Once Alert Level 1 is active in a continent, the strength of defensive shields of cities in the continent would be boosted significantly, but the number of soldiers posted in cities would be reduced. yers in the continent would receive 25% more experience points and 15% more loot during battles, but their defense value against hostile yers would be reduced by 35%.

    Of course, this was merely an insignificant side effect.

    The activation of an Alert Level 1 meant that a continent was suffering from a catastrophe. The earthquake that ravaged Saint Light City was one such example. Under such circumstances, the profits earned by Saint Light City would be reduced by 50%. This meant that yers would receive 50% less reward from quests, and many of the NPCs would go missing, spelling disaster for yers as they could notplete their quests. The only alternative would to spend arge quantity of gold to seek help from other NPCs toplete the quest.

    Such a situation meant that yers would suffer on the long run under an Alert Level 1. Fortunately for the yers, however, the system would automatically any damage caused to the infrastructure of the city within a month, and the situation in the continent would return to normal. Despite receiving a higher amount of experience points and loot drops during the month, Western Continent yers would still suffer.

    With the exception of potions, weapons, gem merging and enchantments, many of the NPC shops are charging yer at a significantly higher rate.

    This was why an Alert Level 1 is something that yers would not like to experience during their lifetime.

    Ye Ci could still remember a expansion ¡°Armageddon¡± that was released during herst life and the horrors she witnessed. That was when the Alert system was first made known to yers. It was all thanks to the talent of Wang Jiangnan, who was able to portray a seemingly simple event as something that inspired fear in the hearts of yers.

    Come to think of it, that was when I truly grew as a yer. The growth of a yer from expert-tier into the top-tier is not through effort alone. The change in environment was also a major factor.

    Ye Ci crossed her arms in front of her and drummed her fingers. She spoke up after a long moment of silence, ¡°Well, since you¡¯re on Alert Level 1, things will be hard from now on. I guess if life gets too difficult for you, I wouldn¡¯t mind if youe over to the Eastern Continent. I¡¯ll take care of you until things return to normal in the Western Continent.¡± even when she wanted to shirk such a responsibility, Ye Ci knew deep down that she was the one who caused the Alert Level 1 in the Western Continent. Something like this would not have happened if they did not reach a 100%pletion rate.

    In a way, Ye Ci had to take some form of responsibility.

    Ye Ci would not have cared if it was any other person. After all, she was someone who would only sweep the snow away from her own doorstep. She was, however, slightly remorseful when it came to Fleeting Time. He was the person who took good care of her during her stay in the Western Continent, and owing favors was something that Ye Ci dislike. She wanted to clear her debt with Fleeting Time and have nothing to do with the man ever again.

    Of course, Ye Ci¡¯s invitation was not at all sincere. It was in Chinese culture to be polite while being indirect. She expected Fleeting Time to politely decline her invitation, which would then give her the chance to seal the deal. This would mean that she had done her best to repay the debt, and she would never have to see his face again.

    Then again... Reality tends to deviate from one¡¯s expectations.

    Fleeting Time chuckled inwardly as he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s conflicted expression. It was not an easy task to get Gongzi You to show some kindness while making such a face. He nodded, pretending to be deep in thought, ¡°You¡¯re right. Life will definitely be hard in the Western Continent in theing days. I will definitely take you up on your offer if I ever find a way to get to the Eastern Continent.¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Oi, you¡¯re quite a shameless one aren¡¯t you? I was just trying to be courteous! Why are you taking my words literally? Can¡¯t you just politely decline my invitation? Are you even a Chinese?

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re not willing to aodate my stay? Was your invitation earlier half-hearted?¡± Fleeting Time batted his eyes at Ye Ci.

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯ll definitely look after you if youe over to the Eastern Continent.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes as she recalled the personal details of Fleeting Time from the PVP tournament in her past life. Ahh... He¡¯s from America. So that¡¯s why he¡¯s so shameless.

    Fleeting Time nodded and offered her a smile, ¡°I¡¯m so touched.¡±

    You¡¯re touched? My ass! Why can¡¯t I see a hint of gratitude from your despicable face? Ye Ci, was fuming at this point, turned away from Fleeting Time.

    The duo continued to wait patiently as De¡¯frei and Ciel stood motionlessly not far away from them. One must always face an Epic-tier quest with patience. A yer must never assume that there would be no follow up quests from an NPC when a quest appeared to have beenpleted. Of course, the yer was free to end the quest right there and then, but he or she would definitely pay for being impatient.

    Even after Ciel¡¯s grandiose show of power and even when Ye Ci and Fleeting Time became the scapegoats, she have not forgotten the main objective of her quest. Ye Ci¡¯s quest target was never Ciel, nor was it Vo¡¯sok. She was here for De¡¯frei. Her quest was notpleted before she brought him to Orthus. As long as De¡¯frei remained silent, Ye Ci would continue waiting

    Ye Ci had even attempted to initiate a conversation with De¡¯frei, but the only response she received was in the form of a system notification, ¡°De¡¯frei seems to be deep in thought. It¡¯s a good idea to wait patiently.¡±

    Ye Ci decided to take a seat and patiently waited for an oue because of such a hint.

    Fleeting Time shared Ye Ci¡¯s patience. He sat down on the ground and began browsing through a cookbook. He then began cooking a meal over a hastily erected bonfire. Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time. This man seemed to be a natural gamer. He could find the tiniest little things to keep himself entertained even when he was bored, and he could perform what many consider to be a trivial task to the point of perfection. A genius like Fleeting Time must have felt lonely to have no equal.

    As the duo was waiting patiently for the NPCs, Absalom had already made his way to the teleportation NPC that would bring him back to the guild encampment. He had spent a lot of time looking for this particr NPC as most of the NPCs were merely disced instead of disappearing outright in the wake of the earthquake.

    The state of Absalom¡¯s guild encampment was a direct contrast of the situation in Saint Light City. As guild encampments of levels 1-5 were ced in special maps that were not directly linked to the map, they were under system protection. An outsider would have to insert the serial number of the guild encampment to enter the specially protected maps. However, a lvl 6 guild encampment will be moved out of the special maps and bound to a plot ofnd in the city that had to be purchased by the guild. In the event of such an earthquake, the guild encampment would not enjoy the protection of the system.

    Absalom was overjoyed. He had originally nned to upgrade his guild encampment to level 6 on the day before, but was upied with the search for the Mithril ore vein. As a result, an otherwise devastating disaster had been averted. The guild, however, was still in a state of disarray. With the lost of many teleportation points in the city, many of the guild¡¯s yers found their guild teleportation scrolls rendered useless, and a lot of the yers were left stranded in different maps.

    Despite the chaos, Absalom could still remember Fleeting Time¡¯s words. He took a Hawkeye skillbook from the guild warehouse, but was unable to leave the guild encampment in such a situation. Even Silent Hymn was preupied with trying to keep things in order. Absalom had no choice but to think of an alternative.

    Just then, he was reminded of his wife. Despite her close friendship White Fairytale, Sour Apple was a reliable person when important matters were involved. As long as he was able to convey the gravity of the situation, Sour Apple would definitely get the job done despite any dissatisfaction that she might harbour against the arrangement. ¡°Dear, where are you?¡± Absalom immediately sent a message to his wife.

    ¡°I¡¯m helping out with things in the workshop. The buildings of our guild encampment was not damaged by the earthquake, but many of our supplies stored in the workshops were destroyed. Head to the potion brewery quick. I think the losses are quite heavy over there.¡± Sour Apple knew that her husband had arrived at the guild encampment the moment she heard his voice. Their guild had suffered quite some losses from the earthquake, and she was worried that the loss of precious resources would affect the growth of Genesis.

    ¡°Head to the guild warehouse. I need you to help deliver something.¡± said Absalom to his wife once he had confirmed her location.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know when you get here.¡±

    Sour Apple immediately realised that something was up when husband refused further exnations. After giving some quick instructions to her subordinates, Sour Apple immediately headed to the guild warehouse. ¡°Say, which hole did you crawl out from?¡± Sour Apple broke into violent fits ofughter when she saw the state of her husband¡¯s clothing.

    Absalom cast a look full of sorrow at his wife, ¡°I¡¯ve just crawled back from the streets of Saint Light City.¡±

    ¡°So what is it?¡± Sour Apple walked up to Absalom and gently wiped away the dust from his face with a loving expression.

    Absalom initiated a trade with her, and spoke in the private channel, ¡°Get this book to Fleeting Time in the Bloody Wilderness.¡±

    Sour Apple immediately understood the need for secrecy the moment her husband switched to the private channel and when Fleeting Time¡¯s name was mentioned, ¡°Hawkeye? I thought he learnt the skill a long time ago? Why would he want something like this?¡± she was baffled when she noticed the title of the skillbook.

    ¡°It¡¯s not for Fleeting Time. It¡¯s for the person who is with him right now.¡± replied Absalom after a moment of thought.

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°EH!?¡± Sour Apple, who could not believe her ear, let out a yelp. Her voice would have attracted the attention of the guild members around her if she was not speaking in a private channel.

    Sour Apple¡¯s apparent surprise was something that was expected by Absalom, who continued calmly, ¡°Send Fleeting Time a message when you get to the Bloody Wilderness. Make sure that you¡¯re not followed. You cane back once you hand him a book.¡±

    ¡°Wait wait wait wait... I¡¯m a little confused here.¡± Sour Apple who recovered from her shock shook her hand.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about the Gongzi You from the Eastern Continent, who is also a rival of Fleeting Time? The Huntress Gongzi You who was frequently made fun of by Fleeting Time in the World Channel?¡± Sour Apple was in total confusion. She even had the feeling that she was in a dream. Why would her husband hand a very expensive skillbook to an enemy? Has her husband gone mad?

    ¡°Duplicate names are not allowed in Fate.¡± Absalom indirectly confirmed her question.

    ¡°How did she even get here? And why are you guys not trying to kill her but are giving her freebies instead? Is she some sort of beauty who has stolen your hearts?¡±

    Absalom furrowed his eyebrows and let out a long sigh after a moment of thought, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let you in on this, but you must never tell another living soul about this or Genesis is finished. Remember, not a single person, especially White Fairytale. If even a single word is leaked, Genesis is doomed.

    Sour Apple¡¯s nodded. Her heart rate had elerated when she listened to the words of Absalom.

    Absalom then proceeded to give Sour Apple a simple briefing of the situation. Of course, many of the finer details were left out in his exnation as such information was dangerous to Sour Apple. As a man, Absalom refused to ce his wife in danger.

    Sour Apple rolled her eyes and eximed, ¡°My God, I don¡¯t think that Gongzi You is a girl!¡±

    ¡°But she is!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way a girl can be so mentally resilience. I¡¯ve always thought that I have a strong heart, but I am nowhere near her level.¡± said Sour Apple as she patted the Hawkeye skillbook and ced it in her inventory, ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll go deliver this skillbook. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make sure that I¡¯m not followed.¡±

    ¡°Be careful.¡± nodded Absalom.

    A sudden thought shed across Sour Apple¡¯s mind, ¡°Hubby, has Fleeting Time really taken in interest in Gongzi You?¡±

    Absalom shrugged. Women tend to view things differently from men when it came to gossiping. This was why Absalom was wise to never gossip with his wife to avoid any unwanted... Effects. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Fleeting Time himself when you see himter? I¡¯m not a mind reader, how do I know what he¡¯s thinking?¡±

    Sour Apple snorted as she turned around and left, ¡°You¡¯re not going to fool me. You men are always covering for each other. You better not be hiding any secrets, or I¡¯ll have your guts for garters.¡±

    What did I even say? I did nothing wrong! Why am I suffering from this injustice? Absalom¡¯s heart was filled with sorrow as he ced all the me on Fleeting Time. I¡¯m gonna make him pay when hees back to China.

    De¡¯frei finally moved to face Ciel after a long moment of silence, ¡°Your Majesty, where will you go after this?¡±

    Ciel blinked, and cast a sideway nce at esnyffan, ¡°I will go to all corners of the world in search of more of our people and lead them to a new home. I will then pay a visit to the Dragonia and search of a way to resurrect esnyffan. What about you, De¡¯frei?¡±

    ¡°Orthus is waiting for me. I¡¯m going to meet him.¡±

    ¡°Orthus?¡± confusion appeared in Ciel¡¯s eyes before it was reced with realization, ¡°That youth who was the greatest Goblin Engineer of our kingdom? I believe that he¡¯s a student of yours.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. You have a good memory.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve done a lot of bad things to him.¡± Ciel was very apologetic. The king of Goblins was calm and collectedpared to his maddened self in the pce, ¡°Please deliver my apology to him when you meet. If he¡¯s willing, I¡¯d like to invite the both of you in my quest to search for a new home for our people.¡± Ciel then stood up, and with esnyffan in his arms, bowed at Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. He then handed them a medal each with the words ¡°Friend of the Goblins¡±.

    ¡°My dearest friends, no matter where you might be, you¡¯ll receive help from Goblins as long as you¡¯re wearing these badges.¡± and the king of Goblins left the dungeon with esnyffan in his embrace.

    De¡¯frei walked up to Ye Ci, ¡°Bring me to Orthus. I miss that child.¡±

    ¡°My pleasure.¡±

    A system notification appeared right after Ye Ci gave her reply, ¡°De¡¯frei is following you. Please keep him safe.¡±

    It was an escort mission.

    However, with the whistle given to Ye Ci by Orthus earlier on, there was no need to traverse through the Western Continent with De¡¯frei in tow as they could meet with Orthus right away upon leaving the dungeon.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take our leave then.¡± said Fleeting Time after making sure that Ye Ci had epted the quest.

    Ye Ci nodded, and the duo left the dungeon.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s private message channel was flooded with messages the moment he left the dungeon. They were all from Sour Apple. Why would shee looking for me at a time like this? Despite his slight annoyance, Fleeting Time sent her a reply, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Where the hell are you? I¡¯ve been going in circles in the Bloody Wilderness for two freaking hours! I tried sending messages to you but the system told me that you¡¯re out of reach! Do you think I have nothing better to do?¡± Sour Apple roared with anger. Then again, anybody else would have a bad temper after traversing through thendscape of the Bloody Wilderness that was ravaged by the earthquake for two full hours.

    ¡°Why are you looking for me?¡±

    ¡°To give you a damned skillbook. What do you think I¡¯m here for? Saint Light City is in ruins after an earthquake, and my husband was so busy with managing stuff at the guild that he sent me in his stead.¡± snorted Sour Apple.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s eyebrows immediately furrowed. Sour Apple is delivering the skillbook? Just what is she trying to pull of? He then cast a nce at Gongzi You. She¡¯s not able to enter Stealth with De¡¯frei following her around. What if Sour Apple sees her?

    Sour Apple spoke up after noticing the silence.

    ¡°Oh,e on! Stop your overthinking! I know about your secret. Even if I tend to mess around, I still am serious when ites to the important things. What are your coordinates?¡±

 Chapter 247 We Shall Meet Again

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Ye Ci as she noticed Fleeting Time furrowing his eyebrows as he stared at her.

    ¡°I told Absalom to get you a Hawkeye skillbook, but he can¡¯t make his way here just yet because Saint Light City was hit by a massive earthquake. His wife will be delivering the skillbook in his stead. Do you mind if she sees you?¡± Fleeting Time decided to be straightforward with Ye Ci.

    Since Absalom¡¯s is sending his wife here, she will definitely be briefed about my presence. But from what Fleeting Time said, he seems to be worried about something. muttered Ye Ci to herself. She had no means of confirming her suspicions, but she knew that Fleeting Time¡¯s worry had something to do with her. ¡°I¡¯m able toplete my quest because of Absalom. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate for me to receive more gifts from him.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve found the ore vein.¡± said Fleeting Time.

    The surprise was clear in Ye Ci¡¯s eyes as she responded, ¡°Congrattions.¡±

    ¡°But the ck Iron Dwarves are still exploring the area around the veins.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll take quite some time. I suggest you guys to be on your guard. A lot of unexpected things might happen, especially after the earthquake.¡± even if the Western Continent was an enemy of the Eastern Continent, Ye Ci held true to her belief that there was no perpetual enemies, but interests are eternal.

    Fleeting Time nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll get her to deliver the book then.¡±

    A confused Ye Ci raised her eyebrows.

    ¡°The value of a Mithril ore vein is far greater than your expenses in the Western Continent and the Hawkeye skillbook. Besides, there¡¯s no guarantee that this thing will drop in the Eastern Continent.¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes.

    ¡°Why? You¡¯re not afraid of me getting stronger?¡± Ye Ci was amused by Fleeting Time who was acting like a salesman trying to market his product.

    A smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face. It was the pride of the strong. He crossed his arms and said arrogantly, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t I be bored if you don¡¯t be stronger?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows were raised even higher, ¡°If you think so highly about yourself, then declining this gift will only give the impression that I¡¯m afraid of you.¡± an arrogant smirk appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, ¡°Alright then, bring it on. This is really nothingpared to that Mithril ore vein.¡±

    Fleeting Time immediately provided Sour Apple with his coordinates once he received the confirmation from Ye Ci. A quickparison of the coordinates revealed to Sour Apple that the duo was actually very near her position. The thought of meeting Gongzi You in person filled her heart with expectation. Just what sort of person the yer who known as the best Hunter in the Eastern Continent is?

    ¡°Well, what if I¡¯m included as a gift as well?¡± Fleeting Time could not hold back the urge to make fun of Ye Ci when heid eyes upon her smile.

    Instead of erupting into anger, Ye Ci kept her calm. Despite the overwhelming sense of bewilderment in her heart, Ye Ci¡¯s experiences with handling Fleeting Time told her that anger would only encourage the man. She must remain calm no matter the cost.

    ¡°What else can you do other than being a burden to me?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Fleeting Time, ¡°Gongzi You doesn¡¯t wee trash.¡±

    Fleeting Time was surprised by Ye Ci¡¯s words. He did not expect Gongzi You to be so interesting when she had such a sharp tongue. ¡°Little Gongzi, you¡¯re a very interesting person.¡± Fleeting Time let out a heartyugh.

    Sour Apple spotted the duo from quite a distance away.

    Fleeting Time¡¯sughter came as a surprise to Sour Apple. She had never heard himugh in such a way as long as she could remember. He was always so calctive, and the smile that appeared on his face was always the cunning smile of a fox. He had never behaved in such a way even when he was with Absalom. Sour Apple had even had the illusion that Fleeting Time was someone who knew no joy. This was shattered when she saw Fleeting Time¡¯s unrestrained smile.

    The person who stood beside Fleeting Time, who was significantly shorter, was ring at him with her hands on her hips. The red glow surrounding the person¡¯s character gave her a menacing aura.

    Is that... Gongzi You?

    Fleeting Time noticed the cking of hoofs, and turned around just in time to see Sour Apple galloping at them on her tall dark horse. He waved her over, and smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Little Gongzi, I think you should get a new steed. Your tiny horse looks like it¡¯s gasping for air.¡±

    Ye Ci snorted at Fleeting Time, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m poor. I am no match for someone like you. I¡¯m content with my tiny horse.¡± her pride was slightly hurt by Fleeting Time¡¯s words.

    Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow and summoned a white unicorn. He then handed its reigns to Ye Ci, ¡°Here, take it.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ye Ci was shocked by Fleeting Time¡¯s gesture. The unicorn was very beautiful, but since it belonged to Fleeting Time, Ye Ci immediately shook her head, ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Why? You don¡¯t like it?¡± a ghost of a smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s lips.

    Sour Apple was already very close by at this point in time, and she heard Fleeting Time¡¯s words just as she dismounted. Her jaw almost touched the ground. Fleeting Time is giving that white unicorn away? You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! Have pigs learned to fly or water all turned into wine? That thing is like the love of his life, and he¡¯s giving it away? He had never even allowed anyone to ride on that thing! She could still remember that time she shamelessly asked for a ride on the unicorn, but the request was rejected by Fleeting Time with the reason as absurd as ¡°women are not allowed to ride on my unicorn¡±. Of course, White Fairytale wanted a ride as well, but she was too shy to even voice her desire out.

    He¡¯s actually going to give something so precious away?

    Sour Apple looked up into the sky. Just what on Earth is going on?

    Ye Ci could tell from Sour Apple¡¯s expression that the steed was something very precious. Unicorns are very rare mounts that could be leveled up and even join their owners inbat. It was a steed that was highly sought after by yers. It was obvious that obtaining this unicorn was not easy for Fleeting Time.

    ¡°A noble person will not seize the treasure of another. Besides, I have Ol¡¯ Four.¡± Ye Ci rejected Fleeting Time¡¯s offer with a smile.

    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll not force you to ept this gift.¡± Fleeting Time responded after a moment of thought. He then extended his arm to Sour Apple, ¡°Hand me the book.¡±

    Sour Apple snapped out of her daze and handed the Hawkeye skillbook to Fleeting Time. She then shifted her attention to Gongzi You, the yer who was crowned as the top yer of the Eastern Continent.

    The girl, who was a little more than 20 years old, was younger than she expected such a person to be. The intelligence swirling within her eyes, however, was something that she could not ignore. Gongzi You was not pretty, and her skin was very pale, but her facial features gave her an air of dominance that made her a beauty in her own way, and er calm expression did nothing to hide her intimidating aura.

    Ye Ci noticed the stare from Sour Apple, and extended an arm, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, I¡¯m Gongzi You.¡±

    This came as a surprise to Sour Apple. Her interactions with Fleeting Time had gave her the impression that all top-tier yers are arrogant and cunning, but Gongzi You was different.

    She extended her arm and shook hands with Gongzi You with a sweet smile, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Sour Apple.¡±

    Fleeting Time stared coldly at Sour Apple as she shook hands with Ye Ci. His face was devoid of expression as he smacked the skillboook against the back of her hand with a loud ¡°Pop!¡± that proimed to the world that he was not a person who harbors any protective feelings for the fairer sex.

    ¡°Aiya!¡± Sour Apple immediately retracted her hand.

    Even Ye Ci was startled by Fleeting Time¡¯s sudden action, ¡°Little Gongzi, this is Absalom¡¯s wife. Don¡¯t get too close to her.¡± the man said with a smile.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Ci was baffled by his words.

    ¡°I heard that idiocy is contagious.¡± Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow, ignoring the angry roars of Sour Apple.

    Laugh erupted from Ye Ci who was observing their interaction. She was slightly jealous of the rtionship between Fleeting Time with Absalom and Sour Apple. They must be very good friends in real life...

    Ahh... Good friends in real life? How enviable... Ye Ci began thinking about herrades in Upwards Ho!. I haven¡¯t seen them in days... I wonder how they¡¯re doing?

    ¡°Here, Hawkeye, just as promised.¡± Fleeting Time extended an arm to Ye Ci as he held Sour Apple at bay with his other hand, pretending that the raging woman did not exist.

    Ye Ci epted the skillbook with a smile and immediately learned the skill. She then pulled the whistle out from her inventory and blew hard. ¡°Hehe, we meet again, Elf.¡± came the voice of a Goblin.

    Orthus was still alone when he appeared. The Goblin crouched on a huge boulder and faced Ye Ci with a smile.

    ¡°Indeed, we meet again, Mr.Orthus. I¡¯ve brought you the person that you¡¯ve always wanted to meet, as per our agreement.¡± said Ye Ci as she took a step back, revealing the form of De¡¯frei behind her. After a short moment of stunned silence, the two Goblins held each other in an embrace and cried to their heart¡¯s content.

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time waited patiently for their reward as the two Goblins talked about old times. Fleeting Time turned to face Ye Ci with a smile, ¡°Have a pleasant journey.¡±

    A pleasant journey? Ye Ci was initially baffled by his words. Ahh... I¡¯ll be leaving soon.

    For reasons unknown, Ye Ci could feel sadness welling in her heart. It felt as if she had just arrived in the Western Continent. The ghost of a smile formed on Ye Ci¡¯s lips as he stared at Fleeting Time and the brilliant grin on his face, ¡°You take care as well.¡±

    The conversation between Orthurs and De¡¯frei ended just as the duo was done with their farewell. De¡¯frei walked up to Ye Ci and Fleeting Time and bowed deeply at the duo before vanishing into thin air, ¡°We shall begin our journey soon, Elf. Let me know when you¡¯re done with your own preparations.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded and was about to leave when a person grabbed hold of her arm. It was Fleeting Time, who immediately let go the moment she turned around, ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything to say, Little Gongzi?¡±

    A hint of bitterness crept onto Ye Ci¡¯s tongue as she stared at the smiling face of Fleeting Time. ¡°I wish you people the best of luck with the Mithril ore vein, and the restoration of Saint Light City. Oh, and good luck with the Alert Level 1 as well.¡±

    Sour Apple¡¯s head bobbed up and down as she listened to Ye Ci¡¯s words. Even when they were enemies, Gongzi You was quite a sincere person.

    However, Fleeting Time was not satisfied with her answer. He leaned in closer to Ye Ci and whispered into her ear, ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything to say to me?¡±

    Ye Ci could feel goosebumps rising as Fleeting Time¡¯s soft voice crept into her ear. His words gave her another sensation as well. Was it embarrassment? A sense of awkwardness? Or was it something entirely different? Perhaps it was a little of all three.

    Ye Ci stood dumbfounded for a few seconds before taking a step back. Her face was a shade of red as she walked towards Orthus, ¡°Ahh, you¡¯re right. I hope you can stay alive until the next time we meet so that I can kill you myself.¡±

    The blush on Ye Ci¡¯s face did not go unnoticed by Fleeting Time. Despite the sweetness he can feel in his heart, Fleeting Time could not hold back the urge to speak out to Ye Ci, ¡°Aiya, Little Gongzi, you promised to not fight the next time we meet...¡±

    Ye Ci was already starting to grow used to Fleeting Time¡¯s tendency to y word games after her days spent with the man. She immediately delivered a riposte at the man¡¯s y of words, ¡°I only gave my word that I will not kill you, it doesn¡¯t mean that I will not beat you up.¡±

    ¡°Fine, you promised to not kill me!¡± Fleeting Time admitted his mistake without even flinching.

    ¡°Alright then, you better stay alive until the next time we meet.¡± Ye Ci shot him a cold sneer as she boarded Orthus¡¯ flying machine.

    ¡°Alright, Little Gongzi, I hope to see you again soon.¡± Fleeting Time sighed, his shit-eating grin was still on his face. He even blowed a kiss at Ye Ci.

    His gesture sent a shiver down Ye Ci¡¯s spine and she almost fell from Orthus¡¯ flying machine. ¡°You idiot! I don¡¯t want to see you ever again! If we do meet, I¡¯m not Gongzi You if I don¡¯t kill you!¡± Ye Ci finally exploded into rage.

    ¡°Come! Don¡¯t take pity on me just because I¡¯m lovable...¡± Fleeting Time spread his hands wide open andughed as Ye Ci¡¯s expressioned darkened.

    Even Sour Apple¡¯s expression darkened when she heard Fleeting Time¡¯s words.

    Ye Ci, who was holding on to Orthus, blushed, ¡°Fleeting Time, you bastard! You bastard! You bastard! You¡¯re the most shameless person I¡¯ve ever known!¡±

    Despite being on the receiving end of Ye Ci¡¯s verbal abuse, Fleeting Time was still able to somehow produce a piece of satin and waved it at her, ¡°Until next time! I¡¯ll definitely miss you!¡±

    Ye Ci continued shouting at Fleeting Time, but her voice was not able to reach his ears over the loud noise of Orthus¡¯s machine. Her expression, however, was a telltale sign that her words were not exactly pleasing to the ears.

    Sour Apple could feel goosebumps popping up all over her body. Dear lord! she could not believe her eyes and ears, will Fleeting Time even do something like that if he¡¯s not interested in that girl?

    This is too scary...

    She pinched her face, and the pain told her that it was not a dream. Since when is Fleeting Time like this? Why do I not know anybody about it? Sour Apple was about to throw some mockery at Fleeting Time when she noticed that the man¡¯s expression had grown cold the moment he retracted his gaze.

    Sour Apple immediately swallowed her words. She knew the reason behind Fleeting Time¡¯s behavior.

    A smile formed on Sour Apple¡¯s lips, ¡°What? You¡¯re missing her already?¡± she sighed.

    Even when he was a man and she a woman, and despite their somewhat rocky rtionship because of White Fairytale, Sour Apple had known Fleeting Time for more than a decade. She knew what was going on in his mind. He was merely sparing himself from the feeling of loneliness.

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes at Sour Apple, ¡°Why? nning to tell a certain someone about what you saw?¡± his expression became that of a sly fox in the blink of an eye. He was fiddling with the reigns of the unicorn that he did not managed to give away, but there was an unmistaken killing intent in his eyes.

    This was a behavior that was rarely disyed by Fleeting Time. He would usually remain indifferent and ignore Sour Apple at the mention of White Fairytale¡¯s name. This time, however, was different. The killing intent and the cold expression on Fleeting Time¡¯s face was something that was not familiar to Sour Apple. She came to the realization that Gongzi You meant more to Fleeting Time that she had ever imagined. ¡°I¡¯ll never involve myself in the thing between you and White Fairytale ever again.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing going on between us.¡± Fleeting Time had always maintained a clear standing in this matter, ¡°She¡¯s just a former schoolmate of mine.¡± his expression grew colder, ¡°I wish that I¡¯ve never knew her.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my bad.¡± Sour Apple grimaced, ¡°I¡¯ll never meddle with White Fairytale¡¯s affairs again. Are you satisfied with this answer?¡±

    ¡°It has nothing to do with me.¡± Fleeting Time mounted his unicorn, ¡°thank you foring all the way here to deliver the skillbook.¡± and he began to leave.

    But how could Sour Apple allow him to leave so easily? She immediately called out to Fleeting Time, ¡°Do you care a lot about that Gongzi You?¡±

    Fleeting Time stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face Sour Apple after a slight pause, ¡°She¡¯s the woman I like.¡± he said with an arrogant smile.

    With that, Fleeting Time left towards the direction of Saint Light City.

    Sour Apple was left dumbfounded. She let out a long sigh when she thought of Gongzi You, and then of Fleeting Time¡¯s behavior. Some things are just full of mystery, and they could not be changed.

    With a smile, she mounted her ck warhorse and headed back to Saint Light City as well.

    Silence once against settled in the Bloody Wilderness.

    With its incredible speed, Orthus¡¯s flying machine was able to reach the Southern Continent side of the Tempest Ravine in a very short amount of time.

    The sky was already darkening, shrouding thend with shadows. Orthus stood on a pir of the bridge and stared at Ye Ci, ¡°You did better than expected, Elf.¡±

    ¡°Can I take that as apliment?¡± Ye Ci shrugged with a smile.

    This a smile from Orthus. His facial features were even uglier than the rest of his kin, which made discerning the Goblin¡¯s thoughts hard for Ye Ci whenever he made an expression. Of course, Orthus wasted no time in continuing the subject. He pulled a gold gilded book out of his pack and threw it at Ye Ci, ¡°I really have nothing that I can thank you with, but it will make us Goblins look bad if I don¡¯t thank you properly. This book is for you.¡±

    The book was immediately snatched out of the air by Ye Ci. It was way thicker than the book given to her by De¡¯frei. The words ¡°Goblin Engineering: Siege Engines¡± were embroiled on the brown cover of the book, and its pages were not made with paper, and was instead thin goatskin. Despite the obvious traces that the book was often used by its previous owner, its pages were not torn nor were they worn.

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she noticed the title of the book.

    Oh my God! Goblin Siege Engines!

    In Ye Ci¡¯sst life, a fragment of the book first appeared in the game six years after theunch of Fate in a chest behind a very powerful BOSS. It took 30 fragments to make aplete book, but the drop rate of the fragment was very low, and the dungeon was very difficult to clear. Even at the time of her reincarnation, there was only of few of such books in Fate.

    But in her current life, Ye Ci was able to obtain a full copy of the book after only a single year, and this was a great source of joy for her.

    By the time the third expansion pack was introduced to Fate in Ye Ci¡¯sst life, yers from all over the world had swarmed into the game. The siege battle system of Fate was already refined at that point in time which brought more rewards to yers. In its undeveloped stage, a siege battle in Fate was fought with human waves tactics, and this meant that the odds were heavily stacked against the yers on the attacking side. With the introduction of , siege battles were made significantly easier. The human waves tactic that was previously employed was immediately reced with the deployment of powerful siege engines.

    Engineering yers were able to prosper as the demand for siege engines rose. At theter state of the game, Engineers were a finite resources that was highly sought after.

    Of course, this was something that happened in theter stage of the game.

    Based on Ye Ci¡¯s memory of herst life, the yer whopleted the same Epic-tier quest had not received this book.The yer did not reveal the content of the questpletion reward, but one thing was certain: if he did received the book as a reward, siege engines would be introduced fairly early into the game.

    In Ye Ci¡¯sst life, this Epic-tier quest was the first quest of the same tier to bepleted two years after Fate wasunched. The yerpleted this quest slightlyter than Ye Ci, but the fragments surfaced six years after Fate wasunched. If the anonymous yer received the book, he would never allow it to go to waste even if it was not of use to him. He would definitely sell the book to a major guild for a handsome price.

    Such an urrence, however, did not happen. This meant that the yer in Ye Ci¡¯sst life had failed in obtaining this book. This was probably rted to thepletion rate of the quest. thought Ye Ci to herself. She knew nothing about the details of the party that explored Vo¡¯sok in herst life, but she was d that she was able to obtain such an overpowered item as a reward by not abandoning Ciel.

    She began reading the description of the book.

    : The most treasured knowledge of the Goblins. It is the pinnacle of Goblin technology. Rarity: Epic. This items can be passed to up to 20 users with unlimited. Numbers of usage: Unlimited. ss required: Master Goblin Engineer.

    An Epic-tier item! Even when the book is not an equippable item, the impact that it could bring to the game is colossal! It¡¯s a shame that the requirement to use this item is too high... Only a Master Goblin Engineer can read this book. There¡¯s not even many Expert Engineers in this game yet!

    Whatever, I¡¯ll just hold on to it. I¡¯m guaranteed to get rich with this thing around!

    This was the best reward to Ye Ci ever since she started the quest. She happily ced the book into her inventory and cast a nce at Orthus, ¡°Thank you for the gift.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. I wouldn¡¯t have given it to you if Vo¡¯sok was not destroyed¡± said Orthus with a dismissive wave.

    I knew it! This has something to do with thepletion rate!

    ¡°With Vo¡¯sok destroyed and the Goblin race scattered throughout thend, we won¡¯t be using this for a very long time. I might as well give it to you while we¡¯re at it. I hope that this book will be of use to you. We Goblins love it when our machines are able to bring change into the lives of others.¡± Orthus¡¯ expression softened. The bad tempered Goblin appeared gentle as he talked about his hobby.

    Orthus stood up and said to Ye Ci, ¡°Go tell Moore that I will try my best to get the job done.¡±

    I knew it! There¡¯s something unusual about Moore! He was in contact with the Doran Thieves Guild and a neutral race like the Goblins.... Just what is he up to? Moore is good friends with the lord of Red Lake City as well. I wonder what¡¯s going on between them...

    Thepletion of the quest in Ye Cist life brought little to no change to Fate. This time however, was different. Ye Ci could already start to see the change.

    Despite her suspicions, Ye Ci replied with a polite tone, ¡°I will deliver your words to Lord Moore, Mr.Orthus.¡± and she turned around to leave.

    Just then, Orthus called out to her.

    ¡°Hey, Elf...¡±

    ¡°What is it, Mr.Orthus?¡± Ye Ci turned around to face Orthus once again. Ye Ci¡¯smon sense told her that there should be no more quests from Orthus, but she was always happy to respond to a special NPC like him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard from my teacher that you were talking to Ciel about the Dragonia?¡± asked Orthus after much hesitation.

    Ye Ci was rmed. The Dragonia was only mentioned by many NPCs in the game after the introduction of the new patch. She had never encountered any NPCs in her past life that would talk about the race before the patch. Could Orthus¡¯ words be some sort of hint?

    Despite her thoughts, Ye Ci was still able to maintain a smile on her face, ¡°You¡¯re correct.¡±

    ¡°Where exactly have you seen a Dragon?¡±

    Orthus had apparently not been a major city. The Dragonia had been mentioned in many of the books in the libraries, and the bones of a Dragon could often be seen in museums. This was why yers knew about the existence of the Dragonia despite their limited knowledge of the race.

    ¡°There have been mentions about the Dragonia in the libraries of the main city of each continent. Even if little was recorded about the race, it¡¯s still an interesting read.¡± said Ye Ci with a smile. She spoke up again when Orthus nodded and was about to end the conversation, ¡°But I¡¯ve seen Altera with my own eyes before.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± eximed Orthus. The Goblin was apparently shocked by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden revtion as he stared at her with mouth agape, ¡°Were you talking about Altera, the Queen of the Dragonia?¡±

    ¡°I did not know who she was, but... She¡¯s beautiful.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s subtly reminded Orthus that he had said too much with a smile on her face.

    ¡°H-how do you know that it¡¯s Altera?¡± from the weariness in Orthus¡¯ eyes, it was easy to tell that he did not wish to let Ye Ci in on more secrets.

    ¡°She was covered with red scales, and there was silvery feathers between her eyes. It¡¯s all written in the National Library. I¡¯m certain that it was her. There¡¯s not many of them with feathers, and a Dragon with feathers between its eyes was quite unique.¡± the smile remained on Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    Orthus spoke up softly after a long moment, ¡°Tell me, Elf... Where did you see Altera?¡±

    ¡°In Dark y City.¡± nodded Ye Ci, ¡°Altera was flying past the Swamp of Sorrows to the direction of the Middle Continent.

    ¡°What the hell has Moore done?¡± Orthus was enraged, but the Goblin waved his hand dismissively after realizing his slip, ¡°Alright! Off you go, Elf. Farewell.¡± and the Goblin vanished into thin air.

    The Doran Thieves Guild, the Goblins, and even the Dragonia... Orthus was not the only one who was concerned about Moore¡¯s intentions. Even Ye Ci herself could feel a strong sense of curiosity welling within her. Just what the hell is the lord of the Dark y City up to?

 Chapter 248 Cooperation

    Although it was not difficult to return to the Eastern Continent from the Southern Continent, it did take quite some time. Just as Ye Ci was going around the cities on the Southern Continent, she received a message from an acquaintance.

    It¡¯s Fluttering Red Feather! He would never talk to someone unless he has an ulterior motive. Besides, that guy has been avoiding me like the gue ever since that incident in the dungeon. I¡¯ve always been the one to initiate a things between us, so why is he looking for me on his own ording?

    ¡°Oh look! It¡¯s Fluttering Red Feather! Why are you contacting me all of a sudden? Has the sun risen from the west?!¡± Ye Ci could not resist the urge to tease the man when she answered his call.

    Fluttering Red Feather was flustered, ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to contact you for several days but you¡¯re out of reach. This is why I contacted immediately when I received the notification that you¡¯re in the Southern Continent.¡±

    ¡°You need something from me?¡± Ye Ci refused to believe that Fluttering Red Feather would contact her at a time like this for the sake of small talks. Although they were rtively close, their rtionship was one between two business person. There was no way Fluttering Red Feather would contact her if the matter was not urgent.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Fluttering Red Feather did not beat around the bush, ¡°I heard that one of the Engineering yers in your guild are capable of producing Mobile Cat ws.¡±

    Mobile Cat ws? Pea Cake still could not make something like that when I left the Eastern Continent! He was able to learn the skill in just a couple of days? thought Ye Ci herself before she responded with a sigh and a truthful answer: ¡°I have no idea about that at all as I¡¯ve been busy with some quests. I¡¯ve never been to the guild encampment for a long time. What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Oh, then are you nning to return to the Eastern Continent now?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I am.¡± Ye Ci stifled a yawn. She was not actually physically tired, but she missed her bed dearly after staying online for days.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you drop by our guild encampment if you have the time to spare?¡± Fluttering Red Feather did not make his intentions known, but he was still enthusiastically inviting Ye Ci over to his guild encampment. ¡°We¡¯re already a level six guild in Gale City. Come to the city, and I¡¯ll lead you to my encampment.¡±

    There¡¯s definitely something going on. He won¡¯t be so desperate in meeting me otherwise.. I wonder what could it be? Ye Ci did not have the answer to the question. Welp, I¡¯m going to find out soon enough.. She then teleported into Gale City through the teleporter in a minor city.

    Gale City was the capital of the Southern Continent, much like the Eastern Continent¡¯s Champion City, the Western Continent¡¯s Light Saint City, and the Northern Continent¡¯s Warrior City. This was a huge map that could hold tens of thousands of yers, but the yer capacity of the map would be drastically reduced if war broke out.

    It had been a full year since theunch of Fate and many of the guilds were still focusing on expanding themselves. Some, however, were already strong enough to stand out among the others. Of course, this did not necessarily mean that they would stay ahead forever. When Ye Ci arrived in Gale City, the first thing she saw was not ck Plum Family¡¯s lvl 6 encampment, but the lvl7 guild encampment of Isle of Heroes¡¯. This somewhat surprised Ye Ci.

    If Ye Ci remembered correctly, she was able to acquaint herself with Fluttering Red Feather because of the guild Isle of Heroes. She knew that the ck Plum Family and Isle of Heroes were rivals, but she did not expect the rtionship between the two guilds to deteriorate to the point where they became sworn enemies.. Why would they set up their guild encampment directly in front of each other? Just how bad can things go between these two?

    Ye Ci heard a voice calling out to her as she stood in front of the guild encampment of the Isle of Heroes.. She turned around to see a Priestess in a white robe with gold embroidery. She was extremely eye catching and beautiful as she stood under the sunlight. That robe itself was probably worth a small fortune, not to mention any other equipment she might have.

    The Priestess noticed the stare from Ye Ci, and immediately walked up to her,¡°Excuse me, are you Gongzi You?¡± asked the Priestess with a smile on her face.

    ¡°I am.¡± Ye Ci studied the Priestess calmly. She was a human with blonde hair, blue eyes and very distinct facial features. ording to Fate¡¯s appearance adjustment settings, a yer would not be able to alter his or her appearance exceeding a certain margin., and defining features of a yer such as age and race were fixed. Despite the Asian traits on the Priestess face, it was obvious that she was a foreign yer.

    There was quite a few foreign yers in Fate. They were spread out evenly across all four continents just like the Chinese yers, so it was not rare to run into one in-game. Fate also had a built-in trantion system, which eliminatednguagenguage barriers between yers. Then again, thenguage in Fate affected by the race of a yer¡¯s Character, and not nationality of yers in real life. This means that as a yer from the Eastern Continent, YeCi could speak threenguages from ¡°birth¡±: Elvish, the Easternnguage, and themon tongue.

    Elvish was only used amongst Elves, and was only understood by Elves or yers who had learned the Elvennguage. The Easternnguage was thenguage used by yers from the Eastern continent, and themon tongue was used by yers from all four continents. Normally, if yers from different continents wanted tomunicate, they had to use themon tongue. Apart from thesemonly usednguages, there were also a lot more othernguages in Fate.

    There were also othernguages like Ancient Goblin, Ancient Orcish, Ancient Human and thenguage of the Dragons. Thesenguages could either be learnt at the library by paying a fee or by chance.

    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m ck Plum Family¡¯s Priestess, Laura. Fluttering Red Feather told me toe pick you up.¡± Laura held her hand out to Ye Ci. She was originally very beautiful, and was even more stunning when she smiled. Even Ye Ci felt she was a top beauty.

    Ye Ci politely shook Laura¡¯s hand. Laura was probably a high ranking member of ck Plum Family as very few people knew of the rtionship between Ye Ci and Fluttering Red Feather. The fact that Fluttering Red Feather had specially invited her over to the guild meant that there was something that he needed to talk about, and the presence of this beautiful girl who came to receive her meant that Laura was definitely not an ordinary person.

    Laura¡¯s identity, however, was not as important as the very important question: What is Fluttering Red Feather up to? Ye Ci smiled faintly at Laura and asked the question that truly mattered, ¡°Where¡¯s Fluttering Red Feather?¡±.

    ¡°Please follow me.¡± Laura nodded and led Ye Ci towards the ck Plum Family guild encampment. When guilds moved out of their specialized map, they would no longer enjoy therger space provided by the map. The guild would have to establish their guild encampment in shopfronts in a city, which were purchased and owned by the guild. The number of shop fronts that could be owned by a guild, however, was limited by the level of the guild. A lvl6 guild could own three shop fronts while a lvl7 guild was able to purchase as many as five shop fronts.

    However, leveling a guild was no easy task. Despite the great benefits of acquiring shop fronts, the initial investment was costly. A guild without the backing of financial groups in real life might find itself hard-pressed to ascend to lvl6 through their own efforts.

    Even Upwards Ho!, with the aid of a reincarnator like Ye Ci, was cautious about the decision to level up their guild. There was only one logical exnation behind the growth spurt of ck Plum Family and Isle of Heroes: They had the back of financial groups.

    Many of the yers greeted Laura as she led Ye Ci into the guild encampment. This was a confirmation that Laura, whose name was faintly familiar to Ye Ci, was not a mere guild member.

    The two of them quickly arrived at the entrance of the guild conference room and Laura knocked gently on the door: ¡°Feather, your guest is here.¡±

    Fluttering Red Feather, who was in the middle of a meeting with the officers of his guild, immediately signaled for a break when he heard Laura¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Gongzi, it¡¯s been a while.¡± Fluttering Red Feather beaed when he saw Ye Ci, ¡°Did the wine I sent youst time work out?¡±

    ¡°Yeap! I wouldn¡¯t havepleted the quest if not for the wine.¡± Ye Ci did not specify the nature of her quest, but Fluttering Red Feather knew exactly what kind of person Ye Ci was. It did not take a genius to guess that the quest was something special. Then again, noone would ever have thought that it was actually rted to a Mithril ore vein.

    ¡°Welp, I¡¯m d that I was able to help. Let¡¯s head to my guild¡¯s tavern, they serve some pretty good wine.¡± intending to avoid any potential eavesdroppers, Fluttering Red Feather began leading Ye Ci to the tavern of his guild.

    Laura followed closely as the two made their way to the building.

    Fluttering Red Feather ordered some good food and good quality wine after taking a seat in a secluded corner of the tavern with Ye Ci and Laura. During her long days in the dungeon, Ye Ci had only eaten nothing but roasted meat. There was no way she would pass up a chance to be treated to some good food.

    The trio raised their ss and toasted each other.

    ¡°Gongzi, your equipment is probably at least lvl50 right?¡± the vast majority of the yers were in a rush to level up, and the average level of yers was already at lvl 45. Of course, there were some exceptions that were already at lvl 50. From what Fluttering Red Feather could see from Gongzi You¡¯s equipment, he could easily deduce that she had a rather high level.

    Ye Ci smiled at Fluttering Red Feather, neither confirming nor denying his words, ¡°Red Feather, we¡¯ve known each other for a while now, so stop beating around the bush and just tell me what you have to say. I have more important things to do than engaging in small talks with you in the Eastern Continent.¡±

    After his many interactions with Ye Ci, Fluttering Red Feather was fairly familiar with her behavior. The same, however, could not be said about Laura, who despite her anger remained silent when she noticed that Fluttering Red Feather was paying no heed to Ye Ci¡¯s outburst, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen the guild encampment of the Isle of Heroes.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a level seven guild encampment, it¡¯s very beautiful.¡± nodded Ye Ci, ¡°they must have a financial group backing them. You need arge amount of real world currency to build such arge guild encampment.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re correct.¡± Fluttering Red Feather nodded, ¡°But this is not why I want to talk to you.¡±

    ¡°Then what is it?¡± Ye Ci was slightly confused. If it was not about Isle of Heroes, then what?

    ¡°ording to reliable sources, one of the Engineers in your guild is able to produce Mobile Cat ws.¡± Fluttering Red Feather directly spoke about the heart of the matter: ¡°Although Engineers not rare, your member is the only one who has the capabilities to produce Mobile Cat ws.¡±

    ¡°And? Do you want to buy some?¡± Ye Ci had already confirmed the news with Timely rain. Icy Cold Little Hands had actually gotten a blueprint for Mobile Cat w while Ye Ci was in the Western Continent. As the chief Engineer of Upwards Ho!, Pea Cake was naturally the person to receive the recipe..

    The Mobile Cat w was simr to a normal Cat w, but was more advanced. It was highly flexible, was automated. yers no longer had to scale a vertical surface with their own strength, and could achieve such a feat with the press of a button. This contraption was highly favored by yers in siege battles before the introduction of siege engines.

    Fluttering Red Feather must be nning to attack an abandoned city or fortress. thought Ye Ci to herself, he wouldn¡¯t be so desperate in contacting me otherwise.

    ¡°Yes, I want to buy them, and I want them inrge quantities...¡± Fluttering Red Feather continued after a pause, ¡°and I need your cooperation. I want to be the only guild in the Southern Continent to be able to monopolize this gadget.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and began pondering the man¡¯s proposal. Fluttering Red Feather and ck Plum Family must be prepared to pay a high prize to monopolize the Mobile Cat w in the Southern Continent. It was definitely very profitable in the short term, but was nothing good in the longer term. Upwards Ho! would definitely be able to prosper from the sales of equipment with the two Engineering skillbooks in Ye Ci¡¯s possession. The guild would lose a lot of potential customers in the Southern Continent if Ye Ci epted the proposal from Fluttering Red Feather.

    It was not a problem if ck Plum Family was the sole major guild in the Southern Continent as Ye Ci would not have coborated with Golden Era. The situation, however, was different. There were many powerful guilds in the Southern Continent, and even the ck Plum Family would not have the confidence to im to be the strongest in that continent. Ye Ci would definitely lose a lot of opportunities if she epted Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s proposal.

    Ye Ci was able to enjoy the luxury of making multiple choices, while Fluttering Red Feather had only one choice. It was clear that Ye Ci had the absolute advantage in this situation. Despite Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s best attempts to project a calm appearance, his eyes were two swirling pools of anxiety, which was a direct contrast to Ye Ci who was calmly sipping her wine.

    This was a gambit between two individuals, and their future benefit was the stake. As the person holding the high ground, Ye Ci was aiming to maximize the profit she would get out of a deal with Fluttering Red Feather.

    The tavern was bustling with activity. Patrons were drinking and gambling by the gambling tables that were opened up in a corner. Gambling in the game was strictly regted by the system. A yer could only ce a bet that was deemed affordable to him or her by the system. Unbeknownst to most, the gambling system in the game would be one of the top money makers in the game.

    Ye Ci was staring absent mindedly at the gambling table, as if she was not at all interested in the deal.

    As the they sat in silence, it was obvious that Ye Ci¡¯s behavior was a direct contrast to Fluttering Red Feather. Unlike the lively atmosphere of the bar, the table was deathly quiet. Laura, who was sitting between the two, was not familiar with Ye Ci. She knew that Ye Ci was a top-tier yer, but as long as a she had the courage to cross the ck Plum Family, then she was an enemy.

    Laura¡¯s anger red as Ye Ci¡¯s silence continued, ¡°Gongzi You, are you going to give us an answer? Do you think we invited you over just to enjoy the wine?¡±

    Despite her beauty, Laura was a very blunt person with a fiery temper. As a high ranking member in her guild as well as a decent yer, Laura was never tactful in her conduct, and her brash nature was always a source of trouble. Due to his good rtionship with Ye Ci, Fluttering Red Feather brought Laura along, but not without warnings to be mindful of her words. He had never expected that Laura would explode into rage due to Ye Ci¡¯s silence.

    Ye Ci was slightly taken aback by Laura¡¯s work. She then stared at Laura, who was apparently displeased that she was stopped by Fluttering Red Feather. The girl¡¯s facial features became even more beautiful due to her anger. At that moment, Ye Ci finally realised who Laura was. Isn¡¯t she the top Priest yer in myst life, Laura? Laura was known for her skills as a yer, her beauty, and her bad temper. She was known as the Raging Priest by yers in Fate, and her actual name was rarely used. This was why Ye Ci herself had forgotten the name of such a famous yer.

    Ye Ci had even had the opportunity of facing off against Laura. Neither of them was able to gain the upper hand in a long and protracted fight. Laura was a skillful yer, and her character ss meant that she could constantly heal herself up, which made her a difficult opponent for Ye Ci. As a top yer, however, Ye Ci did not lose the fight. Despite her fiery temper, Laura had a good character. She did not hold a grudge against Ye Ci, but this did not stop her suitors from pouring their hatred on Ye Ci.

    Based on this fact alone, it could be say that Laura was an opponent worthy of respect.

    However, the two of them did not have many interactions and were not close. At the time of Ye Ci¡¯s reincarnation, Laura was already a famous yer in the Southern Continent.

    Who would¡¯ve thought that we would meet in this life under such circumstances? Ye Ci was not angry at all despite Laura¡¯s outburst. She wouldn¡¯t be known as the Raging Priest if she¡¯s polite.

    Ye Ciughed and nced at Laura before shifting her gaze to Fluttering Red Feather, ¡°Let me guess, you found an abandoned city or a stronghold, which was also discovered by the Isle of Heroes at the same time, am I right?¡±

    Fluttering Red Feather raised his eyebrows, but he was not at all astonished. Gongzi You was a top-tier yer in Fate, and she was very intelligent. It was certainly not difficult for her to make such an urate guess.

    The silence from Fluttering Red Feather confirmed Ye Ci¡¯s words, and she continued, ¡°Both of you faced a difficulty in your fight to capture this city or fortress. If I¡¯m not mistaken, there is huge number of monsters in the ce, and its walls are very sturdy. The only way you can make your way in is to scale the walls with the use of grappling hooks. Amon Cat w is too slow, which is why you need the Mobile Cat w that my guild makes. This is why... You¡¯re looking for me.¡±

    This elicited a slow p from Fluttering Red Feather, ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s exactly as you say. So what do you think of our cooperation, Gongzi?¡±

    Ye Ci set her wine on the table and stared at Fluttering Red Feather calmly, ¡°Red Feather, despite our close rtionship, we¡¯re still leaders of two different guilds, and we must act in the best interest our guilds.¡±

    Her words rang through. Their friendship should not be taken into ount when the benefits of their respective guilds were involved.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that...¡± Ye Ci¡¯s answer did not surprise Fluttering Red Feather. After all, it was not a good deal in the long run. Of course, Fluttering Red Feather knew nothing of the Goblin Engineering books that were in Ye Ci¡¯s possession, and was only taking the Mobile Cat w into ount. He knew that Ye Ci would lose a lot of customers in the Southern Continent if she agreed to the deal, but his opinions were based on the fact that Upwards Ho! had nothing better to offer other than the Mobile Cat w. This was why he arrived at the conclusion that their deal would not affect Upwards Ho! even on the long run.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Feather. I can¡¯t agree to your proposal.¡± Ye Ci refused Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s proposal without even the slightest hesitation.

    Of course, such a response was also expected by Fluttering Red Feather, ¡°Gongzi, don¡¯t you think you being a little too rash?¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows.

    Fluttering Red Feather immediately pointed out Ye Ci¡¯s predicament, ¡°You refuse to cooperate because you¡¯re afraid of losing the wider market in the Southern Continent, am I right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Ye Ci did not deny his statement.

    ¡°But Gongzi, have you ever thought about the future? What if you¡¯re unable to get good recipes from dungeons?¡± Fluttering Red Feather smiled faintly. He was no pushover when it came to scheming for the sake of benefits. ¡°You might say that there was no way that you will be that unlucky, and even if there are no drops, you can always buy them from somebody else.¡± he continued with a chuckle ¡°That might be the case, but if I¡¯m not mistaken... Upwards Ho! do not have the backing of any financial groups.... And how do you think such a guild canplete with the other guilds? Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s a wise choice to earn as much as you can now? The future is important, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of the saying ¡®changes always go beyond ns¡¯?¡±

    A smile formed on Ye Ci¡¯s face. Fluttering Red Feathers is indeed no pushover. He¡¯s right about Upwards Ho! She had, however, no intentions of dragging out the conversation, ¡°Feather, you are not necessarily wrong, but are you certain that I do not have anything else that I can bring onto the table?¡±

    Fluttering Red Feather was stunned when he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s smile. Is there something that I¡¯ve missed?

    Ye Ci spoke while Fluttering Red Feather was still confused, ¡°If I¡¯m correct, you wanted to see me so badly because the Isle of Heroes have made preparations to begin talks with Timely Rain and the others.¡±

    This matter was of a very secretive nature that was known only to a selected few in the Southern Continent. Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s n was to form a deal with Upwards Ho! before the talk between Isle of Heroes and Timely Rain could even begin. If Timely Rain knew nothing about this, then Gongzi You should logically not have known about it as well, but due to reasons unknown, she was able to make her guess correctly.

    ¡°You n to form an agreement between our guilds before Isle of Heroes could conclude their talks with Timely Rain, and you hope to aplish this through our rtionship. You can then take over the empty city or fort and raise the level of your guild, am I right?¡± Ye Ci stared down at Fluttering Red Feather

    The darkened expression of Fluttering Red Feather was a sign to Ye Ci that her guess was correct. ¡°I¡¯m impressed. I would¡¯ve done the same if I were you. But I¡¯ll have to remind you that the benefits of our guilds had nothing to do with our friendship. Upwards Ho! has nothing to do with whatever that¡¯s going on between ck Plum Family and the Isle of Heroes. We¡¯re friends, but we¡¯re not allies. Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s not fair for me to sacrifice the benefits of Upwards Ho! for the sake of ck Plum Family?¡±

    Fluttering Red Feather spoke after taking in a deep breath, ¡°Think about it, Gongzi... I will definitely offer you a good price. This is a one in a million chance for Upwards Ho!.¡± he was quick to realize that benefits was the best method of persuasion in a business talk with Gongzi You, ¡°With the money, Upwards Ho! can definitely expand itself...¡±

    Ye Ci cut Fluttering Red Feather off with a wave of her hand before he could even finish his sentence, ¡°Feather, I¡¯m sure you know that Golden Era ising in the near future. Thest thing you want is a coboration with Golden Era. My guild is small, but a small guild like us has a better chance of surviving their onught. The ck Plum Family was not thergest guild in the Southern Continent, and if you refuse topromise, things will be bad for you when Golden Era arrives.¡±

    Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s expression darkened even further. He needed Ye Ci¡¯s help to acquire the abandoned city so that his guild would be the top guild in the Southern Continent. With that, he would have the strength to fight against Golden Era when they eventually arrived.

    ¡°You do not have a say in this at all. I am the one with the high ground. Of course, our rtionship is not bad so I will not be ripping you off this time, but it does not mean that I would sacrifice my profit and benefit for your sake, do you get me?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice was quiet, calm, and emotionless. Even Laura herself could feel a chill creeping down her spine as she observed the conversation between the two This girl is a rather intimidating person.

    Fluttering Red Feather spoke up after a long moment of thought, ¡°Then what do you want?¡±

    ¡°I will definitely not agree to your n to monopolize on the Mobile Cat ws. The best I can do is to sell 500 of them to you, and make them avable to the rest of the Southern Continent guilds at ater date. Of course, the 500 units I will be selling you won¡¯t be cheap. They¡¯ll cost you just as much as the price you intend to pay to enjoy a monopoly.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too expensive.¡± Laura, who was the treasurer of the ck Plum Family, was the first to respond. If they could not gain a market monopolisation, the price that they were prepared to pay would be no different from daylight robbery.

    ¡°Think about future profit. This shouldn¡¯t be much.¡± Ye Ci continued with a faint smile, ¡°You¡¯re not wrong when you said that Upwards Ho! need the money. But... I don¡¯t have to get it from you, am I right?¡±

    Fluttering Red Feather¡¯s heart clenched, but he knew that Ye Ci was right. His bid to be the number one guild in the Southern Continent would fail if he did not seize the opportunity. ¡°Gongzi, you¡¯re ruthless as ever.¡± he said with a grimace.

    Ye Ci responded with a smile, ¡°Well, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste if I don¡¯t bite down on the meat that you send my way when I¡¯m starving?¡±

    ¡°Feather, are you going to agree to this? This price... Is just too high...¡± Laura frowned. She was not able to stop a decision made by Fluttering Red Feather, but she was still a fairly influential person in the guild.

    Fluttering Red Feather shook his head as an indicator for Laura to remain silent, ¡°I hope that you wait for 15 days before you start selling the Mobile Cat ws to the rest of the Southern Continent guilds.¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°I can only give you 10 days at most.¡±

    ¡°Why are you being so difficult, Gongzi?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t hold back my own growth as well, Feather. Don¡¯t you think I should build up a strong customer base before Golden Era arrives?¡± said Ye Ci with a smile, ¡°Ten days. I believe that the ck Plum Family can take that abandoned city in ten days.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as that. We have to attack the city and fend off attacks from other guilds at the same time as well.¡± Fluttering Red Feather furrowed his eyebrows.

    ¡°How do you n to be the number one guild in the Southern Continent if you can¡¯t do even that?¡± Ye Ci smiled at the man, ¡°The price you have to pay should be as big as your imbition.¡± and she raise her ss after filling it up with wine, ¡°To a pleasant partnership.¡±

    Despite the discontent in his heart, Fluttering Red Feather knew that the ck Plum Family was already backed into a corner. He was forced to ept Ye Ci¡¯s proposal, and toasted her unwillingly, ¡°I hope that we¡¯ll have a pleasant partnership.¡±

    With her mood greatly improved, Ye Ci finished her wine, set the ss on the table, and headed out of the bar, ¡°I¡¯ll leave the drafting of the contract to you. Send it over to Timely Rain once you¡¯re done with it. I¡¯ll make sure that my people get you what you need.¡±

    She then walked out of the bar and disappeared into the night.

    ¡°That girl...¡± Laura gritted her teeth. Gongzi You had taken a huge bite out of their coffers, and thinking of it only served to fuel the mes of Laura¡¯s anger, ¡°Feather, why did you agree to her proposal? You could¡¯ve tried to stall and we might get a better deal out of it.¡±

    ¡°Time is something that she has in abundant, but not for us.¡± Fluttering Red Feather took in a deep breath, his eyebrows furrowing as he gazed at the lightings hanging from the ceiling of the tavern, ¡°Golden Era ising. If a guild like ours don¡¯t grow strong fast, we¡¯ll definitely fall prey to Golden Era. Laura, we do not have much time...¡±

    Laura sighed as well. She patted Fluttering Red Feather and offered him a consoling smile, ¡°All shall be well, Feather. All shall be well.¡±

    ¡°I hope so.¡± a sudden sense of fatigue washed over Fluttering Red Feather. He was very, very tired.

 Chapter 249 Guild Affairs

    It was much simpler to return to Eastern Continent from Hurricane City. Ye Ci bought a few flying shards and headed towards the teleport crystal. Once there, it would only take but mere moments for her to return to Eastern Continent.

    As Southern Continent¡¯s capital, Hurricane City was far more prosperouspared to smaller cities. The city design was very different from theyout of Champion City. While Champion City was set up like an eight trigram, with the administrative area in the center, surrounded by different districts with roads providing easy to all parts of the city, Hurricane City was built like an inwards sinking basin. The administration hub of the city was located at its center while its districts were scattered around the slopes of the basin. From afar, one could see that the administration area was at a slightly lower elevation than its surrounding districts.

    The city¡¯s terrain was deemed disadvantageous for any defenders, but Hurricane City had the best fortifications among the four major cities. Any attackers would find themselves at odds against the formidable defences of the city. The developers did their best to eliminate the presence of BUGs from the game, which was why BUGs were very few and far between in Fate.

    Ye Ci followed the crowd towards the administrative district¡¯srgest teleportation crystal. This was the city¡¯s main crystal. It was the best choice for another continent¡¯s yer like her as the main teleportation crystals was connected to all of the major cities in the other continents.

    The Hunter enjoyed high Agility and Bnce, while having a slightly lower Perception. Even when Ye Ci¡¯s Perception could notpare to a Rogue¡¯s, it was still considerably high whenpared to the average yer. She could feel gazes locking on to her as she waded through the crowd, but could find nothing suspicious whenever she turned around. Was it just my imagination?

    Ye Ci sighed and continued with unhurried steps. She spotted a group of soldiers patrolling the streets, and immediately ducked into their midst, disappearing into a nearby alleyway. She activated Camouge and immediately and melted into her surroundings.

    Two Rogues appeared just when Ye Ci activated her abilities, and she was not familiar with the faces she saw.

    ¡°Where did she go?¡± one of the Rogues was a Human while hispanion an Undead. The one who spoke up was the Undead Rogue. His skin was pasty white, and his grey eyes that were unique only to his race shone with a hint of ferocity. With a nce, Ye Ci could tell that the yer was d in Purple quality equipment. This meant that he was no ordinary yer.

    ¡°I have no idea. She disappeared right as she passed by the sentries.¡± thought slightly inferior to the Undead, the Human¡¯s equipment was quite decent as well. It was apparent from the conversation of the duo that the Human was a subordinate of the Undead Rogue.

    ¡°What the heck were you doing? How could you lose her like that?¡± The Undead Rogue frowned. His voice was fairly calm, but one could tell that he was reprimanding the Human Rogue.

    The Human Rogue shrugged, ¡°Boss Ghost Cat, she is Eastern Continent¡¯s top-tiered yer......¡±

    Ghost Cat waved his hand dismissively, cutting the Human Rogue off before taking in a deep breath. He knew that the Human Rogue was not the one to be med. The Human Rogue was right; their target was the top yer of the Eastern Continent and a renowned solo yer. A yer like her would have an in-depth knowledge of shaking off potential pursuers. Even though Ghost Cat and his Human subordinate were some of the best trackers in their guild, there was still a chance that they might be discovered by Gongzi You.

    He lowered his head, appearing to be deep in thought, ¡°Cabin In The Woods, head back to the guild first. Get the Rogue squadron to send 20 more men over. We must locate Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°Boss Ghost Cat, will Gongzi You still be in Hurricane City? Wouldn¡¯t she have already escaped after noticing our presence?¡± Cabin In The Woods was anxious.

    Ghost Cat shook his head and studied his surroundings carefully, and the ghost of a smile appeared on his lips, ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Ah? Why are you so sure?¡± Cabin In The Woods was confused. How can he be so sure? It¡¯s not like he knows Gongzi You. Why is he speaking as if he knows her well?

    ¡°She¡¯s a top-tier yer, and top yers are strange creatures. They have a strong sense of curiousity, especially under circumstances like this. There¡¯s no way she¡¯ll leave before finding out why she was followed.¡± said Ghost Cat as he twirled his dagger. The smile on his face gave him a scary expression as he surveyed his surroundings with an intense gaze, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, it¡¯s very likely that Gongzi You is just nearby.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Cabin In The Woods immediately studied his surroundings as well, but to no avail.

    The duo was at a level disadvantage against Ye Ci, which meant that they would not be able to see through her Camouge easily. This was why she was not worried as she eavesdropped on them. Despite their lowered voices, Ye Ci could still hear their conversation due to her heightened hearing as an Elf. She smiled as she stared at Ghost Cat¡¯s in face.

    His deduction of the situation is correct, and he was able to track me despite therge crowd. Even if he¡¯s not a top-tier yer of the Southern Continent, this man sure has the potential.

    But why is someone like him going after me? Ye Ci was puzzled. The Southern Continent is allies with the Eastern Continent. Conflict between us is next to impossible. Besides, I¡¯ve never done anything bad in the Southern Continent! Why are people out for me? Ye Ci, who had just returned from the Western Continent was baffled by the absurdity of the situation. What the heck is going on? Why am I treated like a VIP in a hostile continent, but is tailed like a criminal in a friendly continent?

    Ye Ci knelt in a corner as she studied Ghost Cat and Cabin In The Woods. Cabin In The Woods left after receiving an instruction from Ghost Cat, who immediately entered Stealth.

    Since they were yers of allied continents, it was more difficult for them to locate an ally yer than to find and enemy. Besides, Ye Ci could not activate Detection while she was in Camouge. She chose to close her eyes and sensed her surroundings with her high Perception. It¡¯s so quiet. Has Ghost Cat left?

    Impossible.

    Ye Ci was certain that Ghost Cat had already discovered her existence during his conversation with Cabin In The Woods. But where is Ghost Cat?

    Suddenly, Ye Ci felt a sliver of cold air directed right at her head, its speed made dodging almost impossible. Ye Ci knew that the iing attack was Staggering Blow, a skill frequently used by Rogues. A hit will take away arge chunk of her HP, and stun her for a significant period of time. Despite the differences in their levels, a Rogue would receive bonus that could ignore level penalties when attacking from the back.

    Ghost Cat narrowed his eyes, his vision turned green, allowing him to see the form of a person in Stealth or Camouge. This was a high-tier Rogue skill, Expose, that had a very low drop rate. Ghost Cat had never missed a person with his Expose.

    Then again, Ghost Cat was faced with a major blunder: His opponent was Gongzi You. He had been trying to detect the presence of Gongzi You with Expose during his conversation with Cabin In The Woods, but had only detected her presence when he was within 20 yards of the Gongzi You.

    She¡¯s not a Rogue, but she¡¯s better at hiding than most of us. Ghost Cat was not stingy with his praise, As expected of a top-tier yer. She¡¯s a tough one. Despite his orders to simply observe the actions of Gongzi You, Ghost Cat¡¯s thirst of battle drove him to send Cabin In The Woods away. He thenunched an attack at Ye Ci. Even when he was ranked high in the ranking board of the Southern Continent, Ghost Cat was still not qualified as a top-tier yer.

    Ghost Cat had no previous gaming experience, and Fate was his first virtual reality game. However, some people were born with an innate talent for gaming, and Ghost Cat was one of them. He was able to quickly to hone his techniques through countless battles, and even when he was unable to reach the very top, he had few equals in the Southern Continent.

    In a fight between a Rogue and a Hunter, both sides would have an even chance of winning. Hunters were better at dodging, while Rogues excelled at closing the gap with their opponents. The two sses also shared a simr amount of points in terms of Agility, which meant that it was rather difficult for bothbatants to keep a distance from each other. But if a Rogue could was able to remain within 8 yards of the Hunter, then victory is certainly assured for the Rogue.

    This was the experience gained by Ghost Cat after his fight against some of the Southern Continent¡¯s best Hunters. He applied his experience in his fight with Ye Ci, but he had forgotten a very important thing: the gap between a top-tier and an expert yer is vast.

    Ghost Cat¡¯s eyes were filled with bloodlust as he took at swing at the back of Ye Ci¡¯s head. It¡¯s a hit!

    However, Ye Ci seemed to have subconsciously shifted her body slightly to the left a second before his dagger connected with her head. They were half a yard away from one another when he decided to strike, but his had missed its markpletely. Ghost Cat¡¯s heart stopped. What was going on? How did Gongzi Yo avoid my attack? Was her action intentional or did she do it unintentionally?

    A person caught hold of the wrist of Ghost Cat¡¯s hand that was holding his dagger while he was still deep in shock. He lowered his head and saw a pale arm with long fingers and an ornamental ring on the thumb. This was the hand of Gongzi You.

    Ghost Cat froze.

    He knew that he was fast, and he knew that his attack was swift. Gongzi You was able to dodge his blow and grab on to his wrist despite his speed. Just what sort of ungodly reaction time does she have?

    While Ghost Cat was still in shock, he felt his body suddenly lighten as he was lifted up and thrown aside. Even as hended roughly on the ground, Ghost Cat still could not understand how Gongzi You was able to pull off such a maneuver. His thoughts went back to the previous moments, searching for any hints that might help in solving the mystery. No matter how hard he tried, it was to no avail.

    ¡°Why are you following me?¡± Ye Ci frowned as she stood before Ghost Cat. She had refrained from riding on Ol¡¯ Four to avoid notice, and yet she was still discovered.

    Ghost Cat stared at Gongzi You as he sat up. The Huntress did not show any intention of taking his life. After all, they were from allying continents and they were currently in Hurricane City. If they fought, sentries would immediately arrive and throw them into jail. As he stared at Gongzi You, his brief encounter with the Huntress mere moments ago was still reying in his mind.

    Ye Ci immediately made ready to leave when she received no answer from Ghost Cat.The Southern Continent was in turmoil. Despite her initial n to have a look at Southern Continent¡¯s Mithril mine, she knew that it was not the time, especially when she was being followed by arge number of unknown yers.

    A quick nce at the guild emblem on Ghost Cat¡¯s chest told Ye Ci that he was a yer from the Isle of Heroes. She sneered coldly at the man, the situation in the Southern Continent is worse than I thought. No wonder I was able to back Fluttering Red Feather into a corner so easily. They¡¯re already at each other¡¯s throat. I bet they have been tailing me the moment I entered this city. They must be after the same thing as the ck Plum Family.

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart almost skipped a beat. She had thought that the Eastern Continent was the most chaotic of the four continents, but reality showed that it was the same in every continent. Golden Era¡¯s impending had plunged the yers into restlessness. With the objective of the other party already clear in her mind, Ye Ci no longer see the need to remain in the city. She was quick the blend in with the crowd and vanished from sight.

    Ghost Cat was still badly shaken as he stood up slowly. So this is the difference between a top and expert yer? He took in a deep breath. Though he was still unsure how he was defeated by Gongzi You, but he aspired to achieve the same feat in the future.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath as she stood beside the teleporter of Red Lake City. Ah... I¡¯m finally back in the Eastern Continent. The few days she spent away from the Eastern Continent felt like an eternity. There are things that need to be done, I have to make haste. thought Ye Ci to herself as she made her way to the guild encampment.

    With Bai Mo away frequently, the important task of handling the guild fell to Timely Rain, who was able to manage the guild very well. Ye Ci¡¯s return was a great source of joy to Timely Rain. She knew that the man had shouldered the great burden of managing the guild alone, and that he was exhausted.

    Timely Rain immediately began updating Ye Ci with reports the moment she stepped into the guild encampment.

    ¡°The First Squadron has already cleared all the lvl45 dungeons at the Expert difficulty. Now they are helping the Second and Third Squadrons with clearing the Hard difficulty lvl45 dungeons. The Second Squadron is making good progress, but the Third ran into some minor problems. With the help of the guys from the First Squadron, I¡¯m sure they can make it somehow.¡±

    ¡°We have 23,000 yers in our guild, but only 2,000 are qualified to be part of our elite squadron. yers in the Elite Squad had all signed their contracts with us. There¡¯s 123 yers who are deemed as our core members. Remote Depths have signed contracts with these yers as well before he left. They will have to pay a very highpensation if they leave the guild, and I have already acquired the services of Green Hill¡¯s Moon to have a thorough background check on them.They¡¯re quite dependable, and are very loyal to the guild. Some of them were headhunted by the other guilds, but they have rejected their offers¡±

    ¡°The guild has 3,730,000 gold coins in its ount, and while they are enough for our daily expenses, it¡¯s not enough for us to expand our guild.¡±

    ¡°We are running dry on equipment and materials, but there¡¯s nothing much we can do as most of the resources are being hogged by the major guilds. The leftovers that we get are hardly enough, and the prices at the auction house are not helping at all. We will not be able to sustain the expenses of purchasing materials through the auction house for long with the rapid increase in prices. Something must be done about this...¡±

    ¡°We only have 96 yers who possess skills above lvl45. Drop rate for skill books is too low, and this is greatly limiting our growth.¡±

    ¡°The guild now has 1 Advanced tier and 43 Medium tier Potion Potion Masters; 2 Advanced tier and 37 Medium tier Tailors; 1 Advanced tier and 39 Medium tier Alchemists; 3 Advance tier and 56 Medium tier cksmiths; 2 Advanced tier and 44 medium tier Chefs; 1 Advanced tier and 32 Medium tier Engineers; 1 Advanced tier and 18 Medium tier Jeweler; 2 Advanced tier and and 41 Medium tier Enchanters...¡±

    Ye Ci was a silent partner in the Guild and had rarely tended to guild matters. The reports from Timely Rain gave her a pounding headache. She came to the realization that she had been idling for far too long while Bai Mo and Timely Rain were busy managing the guild. As a reincarnator, she contributed less to the growth of the guild than Bai Mo and Timely Rain.

    ¡°Do we have any guild members who learned Goblin Engineering?¡± Ye Ci finally found the opportunity to speak up since Timely Rain began his report. This was something that she had to resolve as soon as possible.

    ¡°We do, but there¡¯s only 6 of them, and none of them is at the Medium tier yet. Goblin Engineering recipes are very hard toe by.¡± replied Timely Rain. The true worth of Goblin Engineering was not known to yers at the current stage of the game.

    Goblin engineers were definitely difficult to find. thought Ye Ci to herself. Even in her past life, the poption of Goblin Engineers grew only after siege engines were introduced into the game. Goblin Engineering was something that was deemed inferior to yers at the current stage of the game. Wait a second... a sudden thought shed across Ye Ci¡¯s mind, that person should already be a Goblin Engineering at this point in time. If we can invite him into the guild, Upwards Ho! will be a major arms dealer.

    She decided to quickly find this person. However, she still had some other tasks toplete first. She leaned over the desk and wrote down numerous names and handed the list to Timely Rain. ¡°Get your people to try and them to the guild. I don¡¯t care if you have to give the most generous terms you can afford.¡±

    Timely Rain looked at the list of names. They were names that he did not recognize at all. ¡°And they are....¡± asked Timely Rain a confused expression.

    ¡°They are all Life yers.¡± The names listed down by Ye Ci were all exceptional yers.. They did not enter the game as soon as it was released, and had only started their life as a gamer half a yearter. They started off as yers simply looking for fun, but ended up as professional yers after some good streaks of luck that saw them obtaining rare skills through thepletion of Epic and Legendary tier quests.

    Of course, Ye Ci made her decision after serious considerations.

    The initial batch of Life yers who had potential had all been snatched up by therge guilds. By now, therge guilds had already collected numerous Life yers. They won¡¯t pay much attention to the Life yers who enteredter. Even if they did, new Life yers were too expensive to train. With the medium and small guildscking the capabilities to afford them, and the requirements to join arge guild harsh, these yers lived in misery.

    Some of the names listed were not exceptionally famous in Ye Ci¡¯s previous life, but they were individuals with great personalities. Therge guilds selected exquisite yers, but Ye Ci picked the top of the cream because of her prior experience, and this would definitely help in the growth of her guild.

    For example, Upwards Ho!¡¯s main dungeon clearing squad¡¯s growth was simr to those of therge guilds like Tang Dynasty, Wolf Pack and Genesis. This was an impossible feat for a new and rtively small guild like Upwards Ho!.

    ¡°OK, I¡¯ll send someone to get in touch with them.¡± Timely Rain did not ask too many questions. He knew that no matter how nonsensical Ye Ci¡¯s decisions appeared to be, they were made after countless thoughts and considerations. Thus, Timely Rain never questioned the tasks handed to him by Ye Ci.

    His faith in Ye Ci started when he first ended up in the same party as Ye Ci, and it had only deepened.

    ¡°Also, I heard from Remote Depths that our guild has a team dedicated to intelligence gathering. How is that group developing?¡± this was something that Ye Ci had never paid attention to before. As the guild leader, Bai Mo had considered numerous aspects that Ye Ci herself have overlooked. The ability to obtain covert information early was an advantage in this digital era.

    Everyrge guild had their own intelligence division, and Upwards Ho! of course was not the one toe up with the idea. The guild, however, enjoyed a higher poption of quality yers than their counterparts, which gave them an edge in intelligence gathering. Without the efforts of their intelligence divisions, Fluttering Red Feather and Isle of Heroes would not be able to know of Ye Ci¡¯s arrival in Hurricane City. What happened to Ye Ci in the Southern Continent told her that Upwards Ho! must not becking in terms of intelligence gathering, especially with the impending arrival of Golden Era. Depending solely on Green Hill¡¯s Moon would definitely spell disaster.

    ¡°It¡¯s been going on for some time now, and they¡¯re getting better and better at it.¡± Timely Rain could not suppress the smile that appeared on his lips. It was apparent that he was satisfied with the group¡¯s performance.

    Ye Ci then sent a set of coordinates to Timely Rain, ¡°Send someone to explore this area, see if there¡¯s any other guilds that are after this deserted city.¡±

    The coordinates belonged to a deserted city located near a lvl90 map. The city, in its former glory, flourished more than Champion City. However, the cityter fell into ruins in the Great War and became the home of Demons. The city was once known as ¡°Morley¡±, which means ¡°flourish¡± in the Old Common Language. It was known in the current day as ¡°Sodom¡±. It became a city of sins.

    In the Eastern Continent, Sodom was one of the cities closest to the Middle Continent upon its capture. The whole map was part of the Forbidden Zone surrounded by more than 60 lvl90 maps, 30 lvl100 maps, and more than 30 lvl100+ maps. This meant that Sodom was virtually inessible by yers.

    This was also why Ye Ci did not choose Champion City as her home city. She knew that Upwards Ho! could not afford to appear to be overly ambitious until the guild was strong enough to take on any potential opponents. Besides, the expensive properties in Champion City meant that Upwards Ho! simply did not have enough funds to sustain its growth in the city. Setting up in another city was a way better alternative than trying to survive in Champion City.

    yers would definitely flock to the area near Sodom upon its capture, and the faction in control of Sodom would be able to earn huge amounts of tax when yers travel to the Middle Continent with the teleportation crystal in the city.

    Ye Ci clearly remembered that Wolf Pack was the guild that captured Sodom with great effort in her previous life. The Wolf Packpeted against Tang Dynasty for the ownership of Sodom after Golden Era had finally pulled out of Fate. The battle between the two guilds was of such epic proportions that it was recorded in the history of Fate. The Wolf Pack emerged victorious in the battle and began their journey to be the dominant power in the Eastern Continent.

    With the capture of Sodom, Wolf Pack experienced a growth in an unprecedented scale, and they were able to surpass the Tang Dynasty who was considered their rival with equal power in merely half a year.

    Sodom was originally not part of Ye Ci¡¯s n to expand her guild. Even with her exceptional skills, she was but a single yer. With the formation of Upwards Ho!, the discovery of the Mithirl ore vein, and Goblin Engineering, Sodom is easily within her grasp.

    In her previous life, Sodom was taken by Wolf Pack three years after the game started. However, in this life, she may be able to capture Sodom way before that if she could pull it off before the arrival of Golden Era. Ye Ci¡¯s heart was thumping in her chest. Not only would she correct her past mistakes, she would also work hard to push herself to new heights.

    Timely Rain¡¯s heart skipped a beat when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words, and his face immediately paled, ¡°Gongzi, this is a lvl90 map...¡±

    ¡°Send in Rogues with a lvl3 Shadow Step.¡± Shadow Step was Rogue¡¯s best Stealth technique. It was a skill that was very rare among Rogues, and was extremely hard to level up. Few among the Rogues were able to get their Shadow Step to lvl2. The skill was able to boost the effects of Stealth for a Rogue 60 folds, and was a required skill for members of the intelligence division. Rogues equipped with such a skill would be able to traverse through maps that were inessible to normal yers.

    Shadow Step... Timely Rain knew that a few among the intelligence division was in possession of such a skill, but only one of them has managed to achieve lvl3 in Shadow Step. He was unsure if that person alone can aplish the task.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get someone to try.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Timely Rain, but chose to remain silent at his hesitation. She knew that the risk was too much for Timely Rain.

    ¡°By the way, the ck Plum Family has an order for us. They wish to buy 300 Mobile Cat ws from us at the price of 6,000,000 gold coins. Can it be done?¡±

    ¡°That much?¡± Timely Rain shocked. Ye Ci could not tell if he was shocked by the amount of gold or the number of Mobile Cat ws required by the client, ¡°They can get 3,000 of them with this amount of money! Why would they do something like this?¡±

    ¡°They wish to buy 10 days worth of time for us.¡± Ye Ci smiled. This sure is a huge sum of money. No wonder Fluttering Red Feather was so upset.

    Timely Rain, had been with Ye Ci and Bai Mo for a long time, understood the meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°You mean to tell me that they want to dy our shipment to the Isle of Heroes by 10 days?¡±

    ¡°Yeap.¡± Ye Ci smiled as she twirled a pen between her fingers. She quickly wrote down another set of instructions, ¡°I want you to use the money to raise the levels of our core members to lvl60 before the patch.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this too difficult? We¡¯re still busy with dungeon clearing.¡± the amount of money was sufficient to raise the levels of 2,000 members. However, these members were all at lvl50, and it would be impossible to raise their levels to lvl60 within 20 days.

    ¡°I¡¯ve found a few excellent leveling spots. I¡¯ll send you the coordinatester. I want you to get our people organized. We¡¯ll put the dungeon clearing on hold for now. It¡¯s fine to dy our progress by 20 days. I want us to be prepared when Golden Era arrives after the update.¡± Ye Ci took a deep breath. She knew that such a measure was too hasty, but she wanted the elites of her guild to be ready. Golden Era would need 10 months to catch up with their progress, and this meant that Upwards Ho! would have a significant head start.

    ¡°Oh, and the materials...¡± as someone who knew nothing about Life Skills in herst life, this was difficult for Ye Ci as the locations of the skill books were unknown to her, ¡°Get someone from the intelligence division to look for them. It doesn¡¯t matter if they spawn in a high level location. As long as the respawn timer is short, we can figure something out.¡±

    Timely Rain recorded down everything as Ye Ci instructed. She was usually not involved in guild matters. She was a symbol to its members, and was never associated with the management of the guild. He would never have sought Ye Ci out if not for Bai Mo¡¯s long absence.

    He had originally nned to keep Ye Ci updated on current affairs. Ye Ci¡¯s thorough nning for the expansion of the guild came as a shocker. Timely Rain came to a realization that Ye Ci was better than him in terms of management. She chose to not involve herself in the affairs of the guild, but she would definitely outperform the officers if she tried her best.

    ¡°Gongzi... You¡¯ve changed.¡±

    Ye Ci grimaced. What do you mean I¡¯ve changed? I¡¯m just the same! I was forced to do something like this! Ye Ci¡¯s opinion was shaped after her deal with Fluttering Red Feather. She had always thought that it would be enough for Upwards Ho! to be able to defend itself, but she came to realise that being on the defensive was not enough. It was an age where the strong prey on the weak. Upwards Ho! must be strong. Upwards Ho! must be able to instill fear in the hearts of the other guilds.

 Chapter 250 Blossom

    Ye Ci logged out from the game after giving some brief instructions on some trivial matters. She needed rest before she followed up on the progress of the Mithril ore vein.

    It was four in the afternoon when Ye Ci went offline. Her house was empty. Her parents were not home while Tan Png was still at school. A note left behind by Ye Ci¡¯s parents indicated that Bai Mo wasing home, and one of her parents went to fetch him home from the station while the other was out shopping for cooking ingredients.

    Ye Ci decided that there was no need to contact her parents after learning of their whereabouts. She had not been offline for days, and the only thing in her mind was to get a nice, warm shower.

    The tub full of warm water rxed Ye Ci¡¯s muscles as immersed herself into the bath, enjoying the rare moment of tranquility.

    Her parents were back with Bai Mo by the time she was done with her bath.

    Bai Mo took in a deep breath and nodded with an exaggerated expression when Ye Ci walked out of the bathroom, ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve already prepared myself for an overwhelming stench, but it seems that you¡¯ve decided to take a bath. How thoughtful of you.¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Bai Mo and went into her room to get changed.

    As Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian busied themselves in the kitchen, Ye Ci began recounting her exploits and the situation in the Southern Continent to Bai Mo.

    Bai Mo¡¯s eyebrows furrowed when he heard Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°The impending arrival of Golden Era sure is kicking up a ruckus! The ck Plum Family would never have resorted to such measures otherwise even if they are in conflict with the Isle of Heroes, and they will definitely not get us involved in this!¡±

    ¡°In the end, we¡¯re just a small guild. This is why I¡¯ve made the decision to expand our guild. We can still expand even when we value quantity over quality.¡± said Ye Ci as she stuffed her mouth full of watermelons.¡±

    Bai Mo spoke up after a long pause, ¡°We need money if we are to expand our guild. Are you going to look for a sponsor?¡±

    ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t have the connections. Besides, we¡¯ll lose our autonomy if we¡¯re funded byrge corporations. We¡¯ll be nothing but money-making tools for them. There¡¯s no way our guild will be able to grow to the scale of Golden Era which is offering its services as a hired gun, so we might as well earn money through the game.¡±

    ¡°And how are we going to do that?¡±

    ¡°Mithril. Of course, we don¡¯t have a lot of blueprints and recipes for Mithril products, and the option of selling them as materials is not exactly profitable. This is why I n to acquire some blueprints in the near future. And then there¡¯s the notion of war profiteering. Why do you think the American economy bloomed after World War 2?¡±

    ¡°War Profiteering?¡± Bai Mo was stunned for a brief moment. But he immediately understood Ye Ci¡¯s words when he thought of the conflict between the ck Plum Family and the Isle of Heroes, ¡°It¡¯s not a bad idea, but a Goblin Engineering yer is hard toe by. There¡¯s not many of them who are at Medium tier right now, not to mention the Master tier. I don¡¯t think we can gain much from this in the near future.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled at Bai Mo, ¡°Leave it to me, I¡¯ve got this.¡± and she proceeded to give Bai Mo a quick briefing of what she was told by Timely Rain.

    It was apparent that Bai Mo was very interested in Sodom as well, ¡°How did you discover that city?¡±

    ¡°Remember that time we were invaded by the Western Continent? Didn¡¯t I arrive in Champion City by kite? I saw that city on my way there. It was wayrger than the capital, but the sky above it was filled with dark clouds that hide some sort of high-leveled buildings that I could not identify well. From what I¡¯ve read in the National Library, the city is the biggest city in the Eastern Continent before Champion City was even a thing, but it fell into ruins.¡± said Ye Ci. Of course, what she said was half the truth, but she was not worried that Bai Mo would doubt her words.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that the map¡¯s basically inessible right now.¡± sighed Bai Mo. There are things in this world that could not be solved by money.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Golden Era will have to be at an average of lvl40 to pose a threat to us. It¡¯ll definitely take them some time to reach that level. We¡¯ll just have to put the head start we have to good use.¡± Ye Ci attempted to console Bai Mo who she knew was faced with an immense pressure.

    Her words were returned with a smile from Bai Mo.

    By then, Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian were already done with their cooking, and waved the duo over to the dining table.

    ¡°Uncle, aunty, your cooking is so good! My parents should really learn from you! Look at how thin I am after going home for a few days!¡± Bai Mo was not stingy with his praises as he savored the taste of a piece of sweet and sour fish.

    Zuo Xian was overjoyed ¡°Then you have to eat more. My sister is never good at cooking. I feel sorry for you and your dad.¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes, ¡°What a pretentious guy you are.¡± she muttered.

    Ignoring Ye Ci¡¯s words, Bai Mo happily continued with his meal. The family was able to enjoy their dinner, and Ye Ci and Bai Mo learned from Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian that the couple was already making preparations to level up their skills and advance to the rank of Advanced tier Life yers. Ye Ci knew that yers with an older age would be able to level up easily as Life yers as they disy more patience than the younger generation who tended to be fickle and impatient.

    A sudden thought shed across Zuo Xian¡¯s mind as the conversation carried on, ¡°I ran into Liu Chang¡¯s mother at the market today, and we talked for a while.¡±

    ¡°How are they doing nowadays?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re doing pretty good, and way better than they were before. She told me that she will join the game with her husband after witnessing Liu Chang¡¯s achievements in the game.¡± Zuo Xian¡¯s words were meant for Ye Nantian, as youths like Ye Ci and Bai Mo were considered to be uninterested in the affairs of the adults.

    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± perhaps due to his disappointment in his childhood friends during the feastst time, Ye Nantian¡¯s tone was indifferent.

    ¡°I heard a very shocking news from her today.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°The families of Dong Yin and Yi Cang are facing a credit crisis. Their ounts have been frozen by the Huaxia Bank and are under investigation.¡± said Zuo Xian with a hint of mirth in her voice. She knew nothing about the reason behind the incident, but she was happy to see the two families in trouble especially after what they did.

    ¡°How is that possible? Isn¡¯t the He Corporation acting as their guarantor?¡± Ye Nantian was more attentive to the minor details than Zuo Xian, ¡°Why is the bank investigating them instead of the He Corporation?¡±

    ¡°How would I know?¡±

    ¡°Forget about it. This has nothing to do with us. Let¡¯s just pretend that it never happened.¡±

    The conversation that was idle chatter for the older couple had an entirely different meaning to Ye Ci.

    The families of Dong Yin and Yi Cang are under investigation? That¡¯s strange... They were able to resolve their financial issues by securing loans through Thousand Sunsets. This is why they were able to spare some of their energy on dealing with me. Why are they under investigation now? Something¡¯s not right.

    Her thoughts then wandered to Bai Mo. The time of the investigation coincides with Bai Mo¡¯s trip home. Could it be Bai Mo? Does he have a secret that even I know nothing about? Ye Ci decided against confronting Bai Mo after a brief moment of consideration. Since he did not offer up the information on his own ord, Ye Ci decided that the best course of action was to have trust in Bai Mo.

    With her exhaustion of spending days online, Ye Ci immediately went to bed after some stretching, while Bai Mo logged into the game. He had been away for a long time, and there were matters that he had to tend to.

    Ye Ci returned to her daily routine after returning from the Western Continent. She would wake up in the morning, and then log into the game after her breakfast.

    At the same time in the Western Continent, Absalom was arranging for guild members to stand guard by the ck Iron Dwarves as the explore the ore veins. He himself had devoted almost the entirety on his time on the Mithril ore veins, and had barely explored any dungeons with his guild members. He and Silent Hymn would take turns keeping an eye out on the ck Iron Dwarves in an attempt to keep such an important information away from prying eyes. Even many of the officers of Genesis was unaware of the Mithril ore vein.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here?¡± Silent Hymn yawned. He was apparently tired after a sleepless night.

    Absalom nodded, and patted him on his shoulder, ¡°You should go get some rest.¡±

    ¡°I wonder how are things progressing on Gongzi You¡¯s side. We can¡¯t get there, so we won¡¯t know how things are going over there.¡±

    Absalom was reminded of a certain someone after listening to Silent Hymn¡¯s words, ¡°We can¡¯t, but someone is already there. I wonder if he¡¯s willing to help...¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about Axia Mist?¡±

    Absalom nodded, ¡°Then again, even if he¡¯s in the Eastern Continent, he wouldn¡¯t have known anything if he¡¯s not close with Gongzi You...¡± there was a slight hint of doubt in his voice.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just get Fleeting Time to talk to him? Isn¡¯t he a friend of his?¡± Silent Hymn chuckled, ¡°You could¡¯ve just asked Gongzi You. There¡¯s no reason for her to keep it a secret from us. Besides, your action might offend her in some way.¡±

    Absalom stared up at the clear azure sky. He knew that he was in the wrong, but he was curious. If Gongzi You could locate the Mithril ore vein, then she would definitely have information that she would need to proceed to the next stage. On the other hand, Absalom was in apletely different situation. Without much knowledge about the situation, there was a risk that he might even lose the Mithril ore vein with a slight overlook of some minor details. ¡°Whatever.. I¡¯ll ask for Fleeting Time¡¯s opinion. It¡¯ll be nice if he¡¯s willing to help out. If he¡¯s not going to cooperate, we¡¯ll have to resort to more desperate measures.¡±

    Silent Hymn shrugged. Absalom was a person who had the tendency to overthink, but a person of his station bore the responsibility of taking are of almost one million guild members. It was only natural for the man to be cautious. Genesis would have already fallen into ruins if it was not for Absalom¡¯s careful nature. ¡°I think there¡¯s a huge chance that Fleeting Time will refuse your request.¡± Silent Hymn sighed, ¡°But.... If you are to get him to ask Axia Mist about something else.... I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll happily oblige.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about...¡± Absalom narrowed his eyes.

    And the duo smiled slyly at one another, ¡°Gongzi You.¡±

    Ye Ci sneezed just before logged into the game. Have I caught a cold? Was it because I have not been bathing for days? She rested her hand against her forehead in the confined space of her gaming cabin. Hmmm... I don¡¯t seem to be having a fever... Just then, a system notification chimed in, notifying Ye Ci that she should assume a correct posture before logging into the game. Ignoring her sneeze, Ye Ci set her hand to her side and logged into the game.

    It was apparent that Bai Mo had not went offline for an entire night. Ye Ci had logged out of the game in the guild conference room, and she found herself surrounded by familiar faces who were all staring at her as she appeared once again in the room.

    Ye Ci stared at the officers of Upwards Ho! for a long time before waving her hand and greeted them in a friendly manner, Hi minna-saneveryone! It¡¯s been awhile....¡±

    ¡°Aiyo! For a person like you to appear in this ce... Did the Sun rise from the West or something?¡± said Ideal Height 1.7m with a smile, ¡°How¡¯re things going with that guy from the Western Continent?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s smile froze, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi, isn¡¯t it inappropriate to pick Vo¡¯sok as a spot for your honeymoon? I heard that the ce is a wastnd! You guys have weird tastes...¡± Fruit Jelly chimed in.

    Ye Ci looked up at the ceiling and walked towards the entrance, ¡°These people do not exist... These people do not exist....¡± she mumbled under her breath.

    Bai Mo let out augh. Only Ye Ci could do something like that to distract her from reality. He motioned for the officers to remain silent, and called out to Ye Ci, ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    Ye Ci shot Bai Mo a re, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡± and left the room.

    The room was immediately filled with roars ofughter.

    ¡°Is Gongzi someone who is so easily angered?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! Your words just happened to hit a little close to home...¡±

    Ye Ci headed straight to the town of ir after leaving the guild encampment. If she was not mistaken, the person was at that ce at this very moment.

    The township of ir was a small town, and unlike therge cities with millions of citizens, the township was home to a mere 40,000. The town was surrounded by lvl40-lvl60 maps inhabited by low intelligence monsters. Humanoids opponents, especially those of the mage ss, were a rare sight in these maps. This made them the perfect leveling spot for Warriors, Rogues, and Hunters which utilize Physical Damage. The maps were also frequented by mages who were confident of their abilities, and of course the Life yers who were there in search for materials.

    This was why the township of ir was bustling with activities despite its size.

    The presence of a high level yer with expensive looking equipment like Ye Ci immediately attracted the attention of yers in the town. Her notification was flooded by party invitations the moment she arrived.

    ¡°Yo Huntress, do you want to go to the Forest of Sins and hunt for some Golden Lions?¡±

    ¡°Hey beautiful, wanna head to the Murky Swamp? The mosquitoes there offer a lot of experience points.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s head to the desert to kill some snakes! Our party is 1 member short.¡±

    ......

    Ye Ci¡¯s identity was not known to the yers as she had her name and attributes hidden, but they could tell from her appearance that she was a high level yer with decent equipment. They knew that having Ye Ci in their party would make their leveling easier. Little did they know that while Ye Ci was looking to party up, the person who she was looking for was not among their numbers.

    The person was very popr in Ye Ci¡¯sst life. He revealed in an interview that he once stayed in the township of ir for a very long time, searching in vain for yers who were willing to escort him in his quest to mine a certain type of ore. Of course, not many were willing to help him out, and he was forced to leveling himself up so that he was strong enough to defend himself. Life was very harsh for him until he was noticed by Wolf Pack and was recruited into the guild.

    Ye Ci knew that the person was at the lowest point of his life at this moment.

    She declined all the party invitations, and the yers immediately dispersed once they realised that they were not able to secure the aid of the high level yer. Ye Ci continued her search, ying close attention to any and every single detail.

    She was quick to spot a lonely figure sitting by the steps of a house, shouting at yers who were passing by, ¡°Can anyone bring me to the Underground Cave? I¡¯ll pay 100 gold coins per trip!¡±

    A year had passed since theunching of Fate, and with the introduction of the currency conversion system, yers were able to get their hands onrger andrger amount of money. Almost no one would concern themselves with such a small amount of money. The person¡¯s words would naturally fall on deaf ears.

    The person was a male of 25 years old. He was very thin, and his face was pale. It was apparent that he was not exactly healthy in real life. The appearance of the man was fitting of the description he gave himself during the interview. With his ID remaining unhidden, Ye Ci could see the man¡¯s name.

    Blossom.

    That was the name...

    Of one of the most famous Grandmaster Goblin Engineer in Fate.

    From his elegant demeanor, one would never expect such a person to be the creator of many weapons of mass destruction. In theter stages of Fate, yers will be put on a very long waiting list if they wished to purchase an item from Blossom. Some would not even get what they want for as long as three full months. Ye Ci could still remember the amount of money spent just to acquire a piece of musket for self defence through unconventional means in herst life.

    What about this life?

    The man is sitting in front of me in a very sorry state.

    Ahhh... The world is really an unpredictable ce. thought Ye Ci to herself. She was now approaching Blossom from a very different position. Is this fate? Or is this that damned butterfly effect?

    Blossom sat by himself as he continued to send out request after request. He was depressed, but he did not give up. This was probably why he became so sessful. He refused to give up even during the darkest moment. He clung on to the thought that as long as there was hope, that as long as he was alive, and as long as he still held on to his dreams, he would be able to see them fulfilled.

    Ye Ci approached the person after taking onest look.

    Blossom was still at the same spot as Ye CI walked up to him. He was a Life yer. He had not time to level up like a normal yer as he spent most of his time producing various Engineering products. This process, however, required a vast number of ores that were used as catalyst. With each level he gained in his Life Skill, the higher the level of ores required. It came to the point where the lvl17 Blossom was no longer able to handle the enemies in the map. This was why he decided to try his luck by hiring any yers willing to act as an escort using the meagre amount of money he was able to earn by selling his products.

    Even after an entire day spent without a single soul willing to lend a hand to him, Blossom did not give up. He had been waiting for two months straight, and only three yers were offered him their aid. Even then, he was still full of hope.

    A pair of dark green boots appeared in Blossom¡¯s view. It was a pair of well made boots engraved with patterns of exotic looking nts. One could tell from just a nce that they were no ordinary equipment. After spending days at end observing the yers passing by the area, Blossom gained the ability to tell a yer¡¯s level just by the boots they were wearing.

    Blossom could tell from the pair of boots in front of him that they belonged to a high leveled yer who possessed exceptional skill. He lifted his head, and saw a face.

    It was an Elf with pale white skin and long silvery hair. Her amber eyes and cold gaze were telling the world that she was a person that one could not easily approach. Blossom could tell that she was very young, but the glint behind her eyes disyed a level of maturity of an individual far beyond her age. The Elf was staring at him with her de-like gaze, as if she was evaluating an item instead of a real person.

    Blossom had gotten used to different emotions disyed by yers during his time spent in the town. He was able to face the sneers and taunts of passersby with a smile, but something about the Elf¡¯s gaze made his blood boil.

    He was, of course, able to mask his anger well. The only sign of anger betrayed by Blossom was the tiniest hint of ire flickering in his eyes before he was able to quickly regain hisposure. He averted his gaze from the Elf, and continued shouting out with a calm voice, ¡°Is there anyone who is willing to escort me to the Underground Cave? I¡¯ll pay you 100 gold cons per trip!¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Blossom, capturing each and every expression he made in her eyes. The ghost of a smile appeared on her lips, ¡°A hundred gold coins each trip?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Blossom had never in his wildest dreams thought that the Elven Huntress would respond to his request. She did appear to be in need of money. He knew that he would never be able to afford any single piece of equipment she was wearing with a mere hundred gold, which was why he did not expect the Huntress to even respond to his request.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡± Ye Ci had always been a goal-oriented person. Now that she was sure of the person¡¯s identity, she would try her best to win him over. Everything else was not a concern to Ye Ci. She ignored Blossom¡¯s slight hesitation, as it was not something that should be her concern.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying that you¡¯re willing to bring me to that ce?¡± Blossom could not believe his ears. She¡¯s not making fun of me, is she?

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t want to go there?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. She was annoyed by Blossom¡¯s words. Why does he sound like I¡¯m trying to pull something on him? I mean... He really is having doubts about me! But can¡¯t he be more subtle about it?

    ¡°No. It¡¯s just that... Do you even need to go to the Underground Cave with those equipment and that level? Are you being sincere?¡± Blossom was scarred by his experience of being abandoned by yers who pretended to offer their services, which was why he was suspicious of Ye Ci. Is she pulling a scam on me as well?

    But with what she has... Does she even need to do that??

    ¡°It¡¯s only natural that you do not have trust in me. Why don¡¯t we sign a contract?¡± said Ye Ci as she called up the game console, and generated a contract for Blossom. The man was relieved when he received the contract, but as heid his eyes upon the name that was signed on the contract.

    ¡°Gongzi You...¡± Blossom could not believe his eyes. He rubbed his eyes, and continued staring at the name. It was none other than Gongzi You.

    A lot of new ounts with the name ¡°Gongzi¡± had appeared since Gongzi You¡¯s rise to fame, and yers could easily mistook them as the real Gongzi You if they were not careful. Even Blossom himself had encountered several yers going by the name ¡°Gongzi¡± in the town of ir. He was naturally surprised when he met face to face with the real Gongzi You, ¡°So you¡¯re Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci motioned for Blossom to sign the contract.

    He immediately received a party invitation from Gongzi You when the contract was signed. Blossom was still in amazement even as he was on his way to the Underground Cave with Ye Ci.

    He stared at Ye Ci¡¯s rtively tiny figure as he followed behind the Huntress. Why did Gongzi You appear in the town of ir? And why did she agree to escort me to the Underground Cave? These are questions that were left unanswered as the duo headed to their destination.

    Blossom was quick to realise that being in a party with Gongzi You was way safer than being escorted by his hired mercenaries. His low level would always attract a high aggro value from the surrounding monsters, but Gongzi You was able to dispatch any enemies that were within 12 yards of the duo. Compared to the yers who only reacted when the monsters had already gotten into range, Gongzi You¡¯s preemptive attacks was able to keep him safe.

    Gongzi You would even stop whenever ores were spotted, and waited patiently as he gathered the ores.

    ¡°Gongzi You, how did you know that I¡¯m looking for ores?¡± Blossom was curious.

    Ye Ci responded without turning around as she continued moving forward, ¡°Well, it¡¯s impossible for a lvl17 yer like you toe here for a quest. The quests in the town can only be unlocked by a character than is above lvl30. Besides, paying 100 gold coins to get someone to help leveling you up is a very low price. The only reasonable exnation is that you¡¯re a Life yer, and you have to gather materials that are unique to the Underground Cave. This ce is known for its ores, so...¡±

    Realization dawned upon Blossom before Ye Ci finished her sentence.

    He nodded at Ye Ci¡¯s words, she¡¯s quite intelligent despite her age.

    The Underground Cave was located deep underground north of the Dark Forest. The cave was popted by Dark type monsters with levels ranging from lvl40 to lvl60. The monsters had a short respawn timer, and had very high movement speed. Not many were willing to venture deep into the map without a Priest, choosing instead to remain near the entrance. With the game at its current state, most yers would definitely stay away from the deeper parts of the cave.

    Ye Ci immediately spotted the dozen of parties leveling near the entrance of the Underground Cave as she entered the cave. Even the mining areas were upied by yers. Without even much of a thought, she headed deeper into the cave with Blossom in tow.

    The yers continued to thin out the deeper they went. By the time the duo was 200 yards away from the entrance, there were no other yers around.

    Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four, and tossed a few pieces of meat at her pet before directing it against the monsters in the area. As long as there were no Elite monsters around, Ol¡¯ Four could take on 6 monsters at the same time. Paying no heed to the beast, Ye Ci spoke to Blssom, ¡°Do you have a fixed mining spot?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never came so deep before. This is... My first time here.¡± Blossom shook his head.

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows in surprise, ¡°Then the 100 gold coins you spent is totally not worth it! They should at least make sure that you¡¯ve explored the entire cave!¡±

    Blossom almost coughed up blood when he listened to Ye Ci¡¯s words. He did not know of the extent of Ye Ci¡¯s capabilities, but the fact that she was crowned as the King of Soloing of the Eastern Continent by the officials meant that she was an exceptional yer. Someone like her would never understand the difficulties faced by a yer like him. ¡°That¡¯s the price for them to get me 100 yards into the cave. There¡¯s no way I can fully explore this cave without a party of 20...¡±

    Ye Ci scratched her head. She was slightly embarrassed. Her first visit to this town in herst life was when she was almost lvl80. Even when she was currently lvl60, she was an exceptional yer and she had Ol¡¯ Four with her. She would never understand the plight of someone like Blossom.

 Chapter 251 Quest Lock Part 1

    Chapter 251 Quest Lock (Part 1)

    Ye Ci cleared her throat in an attempt to cover up her slip of tongue, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Just focus on gathering the ores, you don¡¯t have to care about anything else.¡±

    Blossom did not miss Ye Ci¡¯s small moment of embarrassment. He realised that the Solo King of the Eastern Continent was not the demon people portrayed her to be.

    ¡°Hurry up, the monsters will respawn soon!¡± shouted Ye Ci as she realised that Blossom wasgging behind.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ming!¡± her words snapped Blossom out of his daze.

    This was perhaps Blossom¡¯s best mining experience. He did not have to worry about any dangers nor was there any yers who wouldpete against him for ores. The only thing that he had to do was to gather whatever ores that he needed. As he busied himself with the task at hand, Blossom¡¯s thoughts wandered to Gongzi You, why would she do something like this?

    As he sat by a mining spot to replenish his Stamina with bread, Blossom stole a nce at Gongzi You who was sitting nearby. She was scanning the surroundings for any signs of monsters, which she would then swiftly annihte with her bow. A huge dinosaur with scary red eyes stood by Gongzi You¡¯s side, staring at him with an intimidating gaze. Blossom could tell that the beast was not a friendly one.

    Two Dark Boars appeared behind Blossom as he was eating his bread, and Ye Ci immediately directed Ol¡¯ Four against the monsters. She acquired somemon items and a 20-slot backpack from the corpses, which she traded to Blossom.

    Blossom was taken aback by her gesture, ¡°I-I don¡¯t have the money to pay for this.¡± it was clear that he was feeling embarrassed.

    ¡°Just take it, I don¡¯t need your money.¡± said Ye Ci, ¡°Backpacks like this are very important for a Life yer like you.¡±

    ¡°But... Our contract says that all the loot drops belong to you...¡± Blossom was an honest person who abided by the rules of the system.

    Ye Ci stifled augh. Blossom is such an inflexible person, ¡°Well, since this belongs to me, I can give it to whoever I want. Just keep it.¡±

    Blossom was backed to a corner by Ye Ci¡¯s words. He could no longer refuse the backpack.

    Six hours passed in the blink of an eye. Blossom¡¯s face was a mask of anxiety, which was a direct contrast to Ye Ci who maintained a calm expression.

    ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± Ye Ci would of course notice the nervous stares from Blossom.

    ¡°I-I have only 100 gold coins.¡± Blossom let out a long sigh as he turned around to face Gongzi You.

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°But won¡¯t it b-be a loss for y-you? You¡¯ve spent such a long time escorting me in this map.¡± Blossom took in a deep breath, finally mustering enough courage to speak out the following words, ¡°The 100 gold coins is all that I have. I can¡¯t afford to pay you more.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and stared at Blossom, ¡°You¡¯re right, I am at a loss here. I would¡¯ve forgotten about it if you didn¡¯t remind me about it.¡±

    ¡°I t-told you t-that I d-don¡¯t have anything else t-to pay you with...¡± Blossom¡¯s resolve crumbled in the face of Ye Ci¡¯s carefree attitude. He was an honest person, and he felt guilty for taking advantage of Gongzi You.

    Blossom know that Gongzi You deserved more than what he could afford. He did not know how much she was worth, but he knew that guilds would spend hundreds of thousands of gold coins to hire Gongzi You to clear a dungeon for them. There were even times when she refused their offer. But... On this day... He hired Gongzi You for an entire day with a mere 100 coins. This was just....

    ording to the forums, Gongzi You¡¯s time was worth at least 300,000 gold coins. Even if we¡¯re not exploring a dungeon, and the price is halved, I would still have to pay her at least 150,000 gold coins.

    150,000 gold coins...

    Blossom¡¯s entire possession was not even worth 1,000 gold coins. For him, 150,000 gold coins was something that he would not be able to earn in his lifetime. If only I kept my cool after hearing the name ¡®Gongzi You¡¯. I would still be at the Town of ir looking for a party. I would rather be looked down upon by the yers there than to have a debt of 150,000 gold coins...

    He was crying internally.

    While Ye Ci could not read his thoughts, she could still see the Blossom¡¯s shift in mood as the man sat dejectedly on the ground,pletely giving up on gathering more ores.

    ¡°Is your inventory full already?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows. It can¡¯t be full so soon.

    ¡°No.¡± responded Blossom with a depressed voice.

    ¡°Well, carry on then! Or are you expecting me to help you out with gathering the ores?¡± Ye Ci was baffled by Blossom¡¯s sudden change in attitude.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it anymore.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Blossom stared at Ye Ci with a saddened expression, ¡°Gongzi You, I can really only spare 100 gold coins. I have 120 coins with me, but I need 20 gold coins to rent ab... I guess I¡¯ll have to pay you back slowly in the future when I earn some money by selling my products.¡±

    ¡°Pay me? What for?¡± Ye Ci was baffled by Blossom¡¯s words. She was a person who would not overlook even the tiniest of details, but even she could not understand the meaning behind Blossom¡¯s words.

    ¡°I owe you 150,000 gold coins...¡± Blossom almost cried.

    Ye Ci was baffled by his words, ¡°150,000 gold coins?¡± she had even began to suspect that she lent a huge sum of money to the man in a distant past. If that¡¯s not the case, why else would he owe me such arge sum? Wait... I don¡¯t remember lending money to him.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have joined your party if I knew that you¡¯re Gongzi You...¡± Blossom was depressed as he thought of the fact that he had already incurred a huge sum of debt at the beginning of his gaming life.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and stared at Blossom. She wanted to know what was going on in the person¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Well they said in the forums that people would hire you with 300,000 gold coins to clear a dungeon. You¡¯ve been escorting me for almost an entire day, so even if we¡¯re not in a dungeon I¡¯ll still have to pay you at least 150,000 gold coins. But that¡¯s a lot... How am I going to pay you...¡± Blossom was depressed.

    Ye Ci stared silently at Blossom. She had a sudden feeling that he was an idiot. He was honest, but was also an idiot. This was a rare phenomenon in itself in modern society. A naive person like him would never stop moving forward to achieve a goal, which was why people like him tend to seed easily. Ye Ci did not know how Sir Ditty was able to recruit this honest, naive, and slightly foolish yer into his guild, but if he was sincere in his words, Ye Ci had a way to bring him into her guild.

    It was a golden opportunity.

    I¡¯ll be the idiot if I can¡¯t get Blossom to sign some form of contract with me.

    ¡°How are you going to repay me?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyes were two narrow slits at this point, and the ghost of a smile appeared on her lips as she stared at Blossom, ¡°You can pay with your person of course.¡±

    Blossom was stunned. Cough raked his body as he nearly choked on his saliva, and his face was a dark shape of red.

    Ye Ci was dumbfounded by his response. Did I say something wrong?

    Blossom stood up and took a few steps back. He clung on to the cor of his shirt and red at Ye Ci. His face was red with anger as he spoke the following words to Gongzi You, ¡°Even I have a bottom line alright? No matter how poor I am, I will never sell my body!¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened when she noticed the grave expression on Blossom¡¯s face. Just what the hell is this guy thinking...

    ¡°Even if this is a game, I¡¯ll never do something so immoral! I¡¯ll never agree to this!¡± said Blossom as he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s darkend expression.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened even further. If only I¡¯m a warrior... I¡¯ll cleave this guy¡¯s head open with my sword and see what¡¯s inside. He¡¯s so idiotic that he doesn¡¯t seem like a normal human being.

    ¡°Hey hey hey...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never give in!¡± Blossom cut Ye Ci off with a determined expression, ¡°You can¡¯t force yourself on me even if you¡¯re the Solo King!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you thinking a little too much?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s face was shrouded with darkness. She was suddenly reminded of Fleeting Time. What will Fleeting Time do in a situation like this? I bet he¡¯ll kill that guy just to shut him up even if he¡¯s a future Grandmaster-tier Goblin Engineer.

    ¡°No! You¡¯re the one who said it!¡± Blossom shook his head.

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes, ¡°Blossom, don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re being delusional?¡± Blossom had obviously interpreted her words very differently.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°I only wanted to recruit you into my guild! Didn¡¯t you say that you owe me 150,000 gold coins? I was trying to tell you that you cane work for me to pay off your debt! Just what do you have in your brain? Why are you thinking of such weird things?¡± said Ye Ci as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Blossom was embarrassed when he heard Ye Ci words. He was so embarrassed that he wanted to hide away from Ye Ci. Despite that, he refused to go down without a fight, ¡°You¡¯re the one who said some weird things.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you have a dirty mind.¡± Ye Ci had never lost when it came to trash talking, and there was no way she would lose to an idiot like Blossom.

    Blossom immediately changed the topic, ¡°You were talking about inviting me to your guild, am I right?¡±

    He had only found out that Life yers were sought after by major guilds not long ago, and had always wanted to join a guild. From what he heard, a guild would help gather crafting materials for him, which meant that he no longer had to hire yers as his escort. His application to several guilds, however, were rejected because of his Beginner-tier guild. This was why Blossom was excited when Ye Ci told him about her desire to invite him into her guild.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you owe me 150,000 gold coins? I won¡¯t collect the payment from you. It¡¯s not like you can pay me anyways.¡± Ye Ci voice was full of confidence as she spoke to Blossom. Since he was the one who brought the topic up, and she herself had nothing to lose, Ye Ci did not even feel a hint of guilt as she mentioned the man¡¯s debt.

    Blossom lowered his head. He knew that he was not able to pay his debt.

    ¡°Come to Upwards Ho! then. We¡¯ll provide you with the materials you need so that you can level up, and the guild will pay you ording to your product output. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m even getting paid?¡± Blossom blinked. Surprise was evident in his expression. Fate was his first game, and he had heard that Life yers could earn a living through the game in theter stages of the game. He never knew anything about having a sry, ¡°You¡¯re not asking for payment, and will even give out sry to me? Is there really such a good thing in this world?¡±

    A scowl appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. I really am talking to an idiot, aren¡¯t I? Doesn¡¯t he know how the economy in this game works?

    ¡°So are you going to work for me or not?¡± Ye Ci finally lost her patience. Unlike Carnivore and Pea Cake, Blossom was a total newbie who had just started learning Engineering. There was no way she could educate him about the dynamics of the game in a short amount of time, which was why she made the decision to pass the burden on to someone like Timely Rain.

    ¡°Am I really getting paid?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Blossom was excited. He had expected to only able to earn money from the game after a few years of investment, but he was already receiving an offer of employment, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you then.¡±

    Guilt crept into Ye Ci¡¯s heart as she stared at Blossom. It was like she was swindling a newbie. A newbie who was also an idiot... Will karma catch up with me in the future? The feeling of guilt, however, disappeared after mere moments. She had a feeling that Blossom would cause no end of trouble to innocent yers, and she was doing the world a favor by taking him under Upwards Ho!¡¯s wings. Perhaps Sir Ditty was thinking the same thing back then...

    Look at me! I¡¯m such a great person!

 Chapter 251 Quest Lock Part 2

    Chapter 251 Quest Lock (Part 2)

    Ye Ci brought Blossom to the and handed the problematic individual to Timely Rain. She then instructed him to offer a contract with a long term and high pay to Blossom. As he was a person who was afraid of debt, Blossom¡¯s contract would have the highest penalty in case of a breach of said contract.

    It would take Blossom years before he realised the shameless of Gongzi You¡¯s actions. By that time however, he was already at the point of no return, and could only remain in Upwards Ho!.

    Of course, this was something that would happen in a very far future.

    With the necessary arrangements done, Ye Ci immediately headed to the Lesser Demon Sanctuary. The ck Iron Dwarves should be done with their exploration, and it was time to reap what Ye Ci had sown. She summoned Ol¡¯ Four as soon as she arrived at her destination, and headed straight to the Mithril ore vein.

    The Lesser Demon Sanctuary was devoid of the presence of yers as usual. Ye Ci could feel the heat as she walked on the hot sand. The entire ce was shrouded in a thick smoke, and there was the smell of sulphur in the air.

    Ye Ci dismounted from Ol¡¯ Four when she was 200 yards away from the ore vein and cast Hawkeye at the ore vein¡¯s direction. What she found was something that she did not wish to see: A group of yers surrounded the ck Iron Dwarves as they busied themselves around the Mithril ore vein.

    Despite the vision granted by Hawkeye, it was impossible for Ye Ci to listen in on any of the yers¡¯ conversations. This was why Ye Ci immediately entered stealth and began closing in on the yers. She found a hiding spot behind arge piece of rock 20 yards away from the yers and began observing their movements.

    The party of yers had a bncedposition of Warriors, Knights, Rogues, Hunters, mages and healers. There was, however, no dungeons in the map. The only possible ce of interest was a mine in the ck Canyon. This was why their presence in the map was a mystery to Ye Ci.

    Even Ye Ci will have a moment of panic as she saw the yers around the ck Iron Dwarves. Have they discovered the Mithril ore vein?

    Ye Ci spotted the guild emblem on the chest of one of the yers as he turned around. They were members of Bloody Steel.

    So the saying of ¡°destiny will make enemies meet¡± is true then.

    Ye Ci was able to calm herself down despite her worries. She must have a better picture of the situation before she could act. Things might end up badly if she acted rashly.

    She then crept closer to the party, and her movement was immediately noticed by a Rogue in the party, who turned around to find nothing but thin air.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked the party¡¯s Sorcerer.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I must¡¯ve been the wind. The mist here is thick, and it messes with my Perception.¡± replied the Rogue when he was sure that nobody was around.

    The Sorcerer nodded and turned to face the Cleric, ¡°Hidden Dragon, have you found it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s strange... All of them replied with ¡®I have nothing to say to you¡¯ when I tried to initiate a conversation.¡± the Cleric with the name Hidden Dragon scratched his head in confusion.

    ¡°Say, have you perhaps remembered it wrong?¡± said the Warrior of the party who was armed with a broadsword, ¡°You said that it was something that you came across months ago, and you¡¯ve only had a short nce. What if you¡¯re mistaken?¡±

    ¡°No way...¡± Hidden Dragon was puzzled, ¡°I can still remember that there was a Dwarf with the name ¡®Jasmine¡¯ in the camp. Why is she here now? This can¡¯t be normal... Besides, she¡¯s not even responding to me now. Something¡¯s not right.¡± Hidden Dragon was someone who was very sensitive to each and every NPCs and the hidden aspect of any quests. Even if he did not have a full grasp of the situation, his instincts were telling him that something was amiss.

    ¡°I was expecting some sort of hidden quest, but it turns out to be nothing...¡± the Hunter grumbled with dissatisfaction clear in his voice.

    Hidden Dragon¡¯s face reddened. It was apparent that his confidence was starting to crumble. Alright, alright,¡± said another Cleric in the party, ¡°There¡¯s a lvl50 map nearby, why don¡¯t we go farm some monsters?¡± he then turned around and spoke to Hidden Dragon, ¡°Don¡¯t drag us all in a wild goose chase like this. Do you think that we¡¯re all idling our time away like you? You do that again, and we¡¯ll kick you out of the party.¡±

    The Cleric¡¯s words caused Hidden Dragon to lower his head in shame as he stood silently. Even after the departure of his party members, he was still attempting to initiate a conversation with Jasmine. Without thepletion of the prologue quest, there was no way Jasmine would respond to Hidden Dragon. The man finally gave up after a few more tries and left in the direction of his party members.

    Ye Ci remained hidden behind the rock. She cast Hawkeye after the yers left to make sure that not a single one of them remained before walking up to the ck Iron Dwarves.

    She was immediately greeted warmly by Ha¡¯er, ¡°Oh, look who¡¯s here?¡± the Dwarf had even set aside his instruments as he walked up to Ye Ci, ¡°My dear friend, I have some news for you!¡±

    ¡°Dear Mr.Ha¡¯er, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s something good judging from your expression. I¡¯m all ears.¡± Ye Ci was already an expert when it came to dealing with NPCs. Even when her interpersonal skills in real life were almost non-existent, she had her own way of interacting with the NPCs in game. She was able to worm her way into being an NPC¡¯s friend after a short conversation with the NPC.

    The NPC Jasmine was like a child who had just left her home and was filled with curiosity. Du Du, on the other hand, was a coward who would get easily excited during a happy asion, but could easily get depressed if things went wrong. Despite his tendency to be negative, Du Du was afraid of Jasmine and Ha¡¯er, who was a mining fanatic that loved everything about mining.

    Ye Ci had to deal with the three different NPCs in different ways to maximize her benefits.

    ¡°It¡¯s about the ore vein! I¡¯m so excited! I have to tell you about it!¡± Ha¡¯er¡¯sughter was thunderous. A question appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s HUD: Do you want Ha¡¯er to tell you about his discovery?

    A. I¡¯ll listen to it right now.

    B. I¡¯ll listen to itter.

    Ye Ci selected the option to listen to the news without much of a thought. Her hand stopped just before it reached the button as she came to a sudden realization. Hidden Dragon must¡¯ve noticed the changes here. It seems that he was very certain of his judgement even when hispanions doubted his words.

    Such is human nature.

    It was hard to change the mind of a person who had his or her thoughts set on stone.

    It was obvious that Hidden Dragon was very sure of his observation when he brought so many of his guild members to this ce. Even if they doubted his words, it was clear from his expression and his words that his confidence in himself had not wavered.

    Even if he left, there¡¯s no guarantee that he will not return. Even if he is now unsure of himself, there¡¯s no guarantee that he has given up. It¡¯s a good thing if he does not return, but what if he does?

    Ye Ci did not know of Golden Era¡¯s progress with the Mithril quest in her past life, but she could tell from the interaction between Hidden Dragon and Jasmine that the quest was already locked.

    Fate was a game with a huge variety of quests. The quest to unlock the Mithril ore vein was a Unique Quest that came with a quest lock. This meant that the quest would automatically locked once a yer had managed to progress to a certain stage of quest, and only the yer could continue with the quest. When the quest lock was activated, nobody else would be able to ept the quest.

    A Unique Quest, as its name implied, could only bepleted by a single yer. This why yers who came across a Unique Quest in Ye Ci¡¯s past life would not rest until the quest lock was in ce.

    It was obvious that Ye Ci had already activated the quest lock of her Unique Quest. She could proceed with the quest, but there was hesitation in her heart. The quest was safe, and she was the only person who could continue with the quest. As long as she did not proceed with the quest, the Mithril ore vein of the Eastern Continent will forever be locked away even after the arrival of Golden Era.

    Hidden Dragon was not Ye Ci¡¯s only concern. A small guild like Upwards Ho! would never be able to defend the ore vein alone. Despite her rtionship with major guilds like Wolf Pack, Tang Dynasty, and World Conqueror, this did not necessarily mean that they would never go into conflict in the future. If the secret of the Mithril ore vein was leaked, and Upwards Ho!cked the strength to hold its own against the other guilds, her efforts would only benefit her enemies.

    There¡¯s no way the major guilds like Tang Dynasty, Wolf Pack, and World Conqueror will not be tempted to seize the Mithril ore vein for their own, not to mention Golden Era that will be arriving soon.

    After a long moment of thought, Ye Ci decided to keep the quest locked as Upwards Ho! continued to gather its strength. She had also made the decision to head to the Southern Continent and even the Northern Continent to lock up the Mithril ore veins in the continents.

    With the secret of the Western Continent¡¯s Mithril ore vein revealed to Genesis, there was no point for Ye Ci to worry about quest lock of that continent. Despite her personal strength, she knew that she could not stand up against an entire guild, and especially when that guild was a million-man guild like Genesis.

    As long as she had control of the quest lock on the three other continents, she would be in control of the economy of Fate.

    Ye Ci¡¯s blood boiled. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists, as if she was holding the very lifeline of Fate in her hands.

    ¡°Ha¡¯er, I just came back from the Southern Continent, and I brought a lot ck Beer back with me. Perhaps you might be interested in taking a drink?¡± Ha¡¯er, Jasmine,and Du Du were overjoyed at the mention of ck Beer, and the fact that Ye Ci had ignored the words of Ha¡¯er waspletely overlooked by the NPCs.

    The three NPCs were not gifted with a high level of intelligence, but they were not at all stupid. Even if they knew nothing of Ye Ci¡¯s intention, they could tell that she was a worthy friend. After all, she was a friendly person who had helped them out in their time of need.

    Because of that, Ye Ci¡¯s Intimacy with the three NPCs immediately increased along with her Reputation with the ck iron Dwarves.

    Ye Ci herself was amazed by her own intelligence. She randomly thought of the three NPCs before leaving Hurricane City, and bought bottles of ck Beer at the cost of hundreds of gold. The effects, however, was something that she could not buy with gold.

    When the three Dwarves were done with their feast, Ye Ci left with the promise that she would once again visit them in the future. The blissfully drunken NPCs had even forgotten about the news that they were supposed to share with Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci vanished into the thick mist of the Lesser Demon Sanctuary. She kept herself hidden in a spot near the three ck Iron Dwarves. She wanted to be sure. Will Hidden Dragon return?

    Waiting is painful, especially when there were still a lot of things that required Ye Ci¡¯s attention. There were moments when Ye Ci had almost given up, but she was able to steel her resolve and remained at her hiding spot. After all, this was something that would decide the future of Upwards Ho!.

    She took in a deep breath, suppressing the restlessness in her heart, and continued to wait. After an untold amount of time, Ye Ci could hear the sound of an approaching horse.

    The sound was faint, but the Lesser Demon Sanctuary was too quiet. Ye Ci could pick up the sound of cking hooves easily with her high Perception from 200 yards away.

    Ye Ci pressed herself closer to the ground. The three ck Iron Dwarves were well within her vision even as her position was well concealed against yers.

    A Cleric entered Ye Ci¡¯s view as the sound of crashing hooves crept closer to her position. He was none other than Hidden Dragon.

    The three ck Iron Dwarves were snoring loudly on the ground. It was easy to tell the reason behind their current state from the empty beer mugs strewn all over the ground.

 Chapter 252 A Secret Part 1

    Chapter 252 A Secret (Part 1)

    Ye Ci had already done a thorough work in clearing out the scene before going into hiding. She cleared away all the bottles she brought from the Southern Continent, and left a few barrels of beer that were verymonly seen in the Western Continent, and was sold in almost every NPC owned taverns near the Dwarves. As it ismon knowledge that the Dwarves loved drinking, and the presence of barrels of beer in a ce with Dwarves around was not at all suspicious as long as the beer did not belong to the Southern Continent.

    Hidden Dragon did not expect the three ck Iron Dwarves to be drunken mere moments after his departure. Their behaviour, of course, did not arouse his suspicion as many of the races in Fate loved drinking.

    The scene that unfolded him still came as a shock to him. He returned with the intention to confirm his hunch about the hidden quest, only to find the three NPCs intoxicated. This was something that Hidden Dragon had never considered.

    Ye Ci observed silently from her hiding spot as Hidden Dragon circled the Dwarves. He then knelt on the ground and attempted to rouse the Dwarves from their sleep. After several tries that were met with failures, the man summoned his mount and prepared to leave.

    He will definitely be back.

    It was something that Ye Ci was very sure of the moment Hidden Dragon appeared in her view. She could not move against him, and could not risk proceeding with the quest as she was certain that he would once again return to the spot. As long as I don¡¯t do anything, he¡¯ll start doubting himself, and by that time I might¡¯ve found a way to keep the Mithril ore vein safe.

    Then again, it was not possible for Ye Ci to remain in this spot every single day. The only solution avable to her was to put someone in charge of the surveince on the ore vein. But is Timely Rain reliable? Will he betray us once he learns about the Mithril ore vein?

    Ye Ci was hesitant. Bai Mo had always been the one who handled guild affairs as she was always away from the guild. He was a better judge of Timely Rain¡¯s character than she could ever be. She immediately initiated a voice call with Bai Mo.

    At that point in time, Bai Mo had only just finished a meeting with the officers of Upwards Ho!, and was making preparations to lead the elites of the guild out to level up. After all, if more members of Upwards Ho! were able to reach lvl60 before the introduction of the patch, it could give the guild an edge over itspetitors when the patch is finally implemented into the game. He immediately sent the coordinates provided by Ye Ci to the officers, assigning party members to each of the officers who were then assigned to a leveling area.

    This was when he received the call from Ye Ci.

    Bai Mo listened patiently to Ye Ci¡¯s words and spoke in a calm voice, ¡°We can trust in Timely Rain.¡±

    ¡°Do you know him in real life? If he¡¯s just an online friend of yours, there is no way we can trust him.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± this was something that Bai Mo had forgotten to tell Ye Ci, ¡°We were close friends back in high school. I didn¡¯t know who he was until I found out about it in a conversation some time ago. This guy is a trustworthy person. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll leave this to you.¡± trust was something that did note easy. Despite the repeated reassurance of Bai Mo, Ye Ci was still worried. She took in a deep breath, and decided to trust Timely Rain fully just like how she trusted Bai Mo and Tan Png.

    There were times when we had to earn a person¡¯s trust by first trusting in the person.

    ¡°Who don¡¯t you talk to Timely Rain about this? I think it¡¯s better if you can speak to him in person.¡± Bai Mo knew Ye Ci very well. He knew that it was part of her nature to be overly suspicious, and he would not let a chance to fix this shoring of hers slip by without trying.

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows furrowed when she heard Bai Mo¡¯s words. She was hesitant. She knew that Bai Mo was simply trying to help build up her reputation in the guild. She was but a figurehead in the guild, and was far from being the soul of the guild. This was why Ye Ci relented despite her hesidation.

    Trust was not something that could sprout overnight. She must learn to trust little by little, starting from this very moment.

    Ye Ci returned to Red Lake City and immediately made her way to the guild encampment, where a curious Timely Rain was already waiting for her.

    Based on the man¡¯s knowing of Ye Ci, he had expected her to shun away from the affairs of the guild upon the return of Bai Mo. He was baffled when he received a message from Ye Ci, telling him to await her arrival in the guild encampment.

    Ye Ci quickly arrived at the conference room and Timely Rain immediately stood up as she entered the room, ¡°Gongzi, you¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± the smile on Ye Ci¡¯s face was stiff as she greeted Timely Rain.

    ¡°What is it? Is it something very important?¡± Timely Rain was unsettled by the unnatural expression on Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a seat first?¡± Ye Ci was not oblivious to Timely Rain¡¯s feeling of unease, and she was apologetic as she was the source of his anxiety. She took in deep breaths in an attempt to calm her emotions.

    Anxiety gripped Timely Rain¡¯s heart as he took a seat at the table.

    Ye Ci seated herself as well. Her crossed arms and tightly knitted eyebrows were telltale signs that something very important was at hand. Something that would trouble even the usually high spirited Gongzi You would of course unsettle Timely Rain, ¡°Gongzi, have you run into some sort of trouble?¡±

    After a long moment of silence,Ye Ci stared square at Timely Rain and spoke in a soft voice, ¡°Timely Rain, I found a Mithril ore vein.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Timely Rain stood up abruptly and stared at Ye Ci, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I found a Mithril ore vein.¡±

    ¡°Mithril.... Ore vein...¡± Timely Rain could hear ringing in his ears, and he was hit by a wave of nausea that rendered him breathless.

    Timely Rain would probably be unfazed if he was just a normal yer. yers knew that Mithril was precious, but no one would get overly excited about something that was considered to be way out of their league. As an officer of Upwards Ho!, Timely Rain was different. Even if Upwards Ho! was a medium-sized guild, and even when his knowledge of the game was nowhere as impressive as Ye Ci, he knew about the true worth of a Mithril ore vein.

    Mithril was something that was next to useless in the current stage of the game, but it was a very valuable resource that were highly sought by major guilds. Even a million-member guild like the Wolf Pack had not more than 10 pieces of Mithril ore of low quality.

    Ye Ci, on the other hand, found an entire Mithril ore vein.

    What does it mean to have control over an ore vein? It means the guild would be able to establish itself as the lead producer of Mithril ores.

    Timely Rain was at verge of fainting. His mouth was dry and he could see stars in his vision. The only reason he remained standing upright was his hands that were propped against the table.

    Ye Ci was worried as Timely Rain¡¯s face was a shade of red. The man was even panting heavily. Will he faint from a brain hemorrhage or something? ¡°Timely... Are you alright?¡±

    Timely Rain took in a deep breath, he could see multiple Ye Cis in his vision, ¡°Gongzi, that was a joke right?¡±

    ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m a person with a sense of humor?¡± Ye Ci grimaced. Ohe on, he doesn¡¯t even believe what I said.

    Timely Rain stared at Ye Ci as his brain struggled to process her words. It was apparent that Ye Ci¡¯s words were very hard to process indeed.

    As a disheartened Hidden Dragon returned to his guild encampment, his party members were turning in a portion of the loot they have obtained. A Warrior named Christmas Night spotted Hidden Dragon and walked up to him, ¡°Hey, Hidden Dragon, how did your little expedition go? Have you found any clues yet?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Hidden Dragon heart was stung by the mockery from Christmas Night. Despite his anger, there was nothing he could do to Christmas Night. After all, he was nothing but a third rate yer whose words held no sway among his fellow guild members. The only reason he was allowed in a party was the ¡®Resurrection¡¯ spell that he had obtained through sheer dumb luck.

    Christmas Nightughed at Hidden Dragon¡¯s response, ¡°I knew it! I told you that it¡¯s not worth it! Even if you suck as a healer, but you left the party just because of a hunch that turned out to be nothing! Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re dumb?¡±

    The penalty of leaving a party that was leveling up or exploring a dungeon without a valid reason was severe in the Bloody Steel guild. The offender might even lose his or her sry for the month.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. It¡¯s not that much of a big deal anyways. Why are you treating him like this?¡± Christmas Night was cut off by Bubblegum, the female Cleric.

    It was apparent that Christmas Night did not share the same thought, ¡°Stay out of this Bubble! The only contribution to this party that he has is Resurrection! There¡¯s nothing else that he can do. I¡¯ve had enough of him dragging our party down for a long time, and now he left the party without permission? Is the rules of Bloody Steel a joke to him?¡±

    ¡°His only job is to resurrect any dead party members. Why do you have to keep picking on him? Nobody died today anyways. Besides, we all have that moment where we need to attend to some emergencies! Why must you be so harsh to him?¡± it was apparent that Bubblegum was an upright person. Even when Hidden Dragon was bad at healing and had no offensive capabilities, his Resurrection meant that he was a very important member of the party especially when Resurrection was still a rare ability.

    ¡°What if someone died today?¡± Christmas Night rage grew as he listened to Bubblegum¡¯s words, and it further encouraged him to vent his anger on Hidden Dragon.

    Hidden Dragon lowered his head. He clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. Despite the raging anger in his heart and the strong urge to throw a punch at Christmas Night¡¯s face, Hidden Dragon forced himself to remain calm. He had always been at the bottom of the food chain. Even if Bloody Steel was a shadow of its former self, the guild was still a verypetitive medium-sized guild. As someone who wascking in terms of talent and influence, he could only swallow his anger and submit to humiliation. After all, the sry he was earning from Bloody Steel was his only source of ie that he could not afford to lose.

    ¡°You...¡± Bubblegum was rendered speechless by Christmas Night. Despite his harsh words, Bubblegum knew that Christmas Night presented a sound argument. She cast a nce at Hidden Dragon who was cowering from Christmas Night and sighed. She felt pity for Hidden Dragon, but in a society where the weak are prey to the strong, she knew that the man must stand up for himself. How many times can I help him out if he himself is not willing to grow?

    Besides, Hidden Dragon was clearly in the wrong for abandoning his party. Christmas Night¡¯s action was not entirely unjustified.

    Bubblegum understood the feelings of Hidden Dragon. He knew that he could lose his ce in the party at any given time, which led to his desperation in searching for the hidden quest that might be offered by the NPCs. The discovery of a high grade quest would increase his contribution to the guild and win him a handsome reward, especially in terms of money, equipment, and skillbooks.

    Sess could bring great change to the fate of Hidden Dragon. It could at least propel his role as a third-rate member in the party into a first-rate healer. This was a temptation that not many could refuse, not to mention someone who was at the bottom.

    Hidden Dragon¡¯s luck, however, seemed to becking.

    Bubblegum sighed and stole a nce at Christmas Night, it seems that I have to be the peacemaker, ¡°Enough of this. Let¡¯s go cash in on our contribution points and continue leveling up.¡±

    ¡°Contribution points?¡± Christmas Night sneered at Hidden Dragon, ¡°Are you implying that he contributed to today¡¯s farming?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Bubblegum furrowed her eyebrows. Christmas Night was not a bad person, but he was very narrow minded.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to look at me like that Bubble. I¡¯m not a bad person. Have I said anything when we have to bring this burden along with us every single time? No! And that¡¯s because he was a responsible person who did his job even when hecked the skills. But today? He left the party because of some stupid NPC! Do you think he deserves a share of our contribution points? We¡¯re not the best the guild has to offer, but we don¡¯t have the obligation to keep this parasite around!¡± Christmas Night raised his voice, and many of the guild members began staring at Hidden Dragon coldly.

    ¡°Besides, do you think I don¡¯t know what was going on in your mind, Hidden Dragon? You wanted to report a high grade quest to the higher ups am I right? What do you think we are? Are we stepping stones for you?¡± Christmas Night continued.

    Hidden Dragon began shaking in anger. As the saying goes, even a saint could still feel anger. No matter how cowardly a person Hidden Dragon was, there was still a limit to his tolerance, ¡°Christmas Night! What the heck do you want? I admit it¡¯s my fault! We can settle this ording to the guild rules, so what¡¯s the big deal? Are your words even necessary?¡±

    Christmas Night was shocked. Hidden Dragon had always been very quiet and meek. His sudden anger was a surprise to the rest of his party members as well. However, it did not take long for Christmas Night to regain hisposure, ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? Are you saying that the guild rules are something that you abide to only if you feel like it?¡±

    ¡°That was not what I said.¡±

 Chapter 252 A Secret Part 2

    Chapter 252 A Secret (Part 2)

    ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to teach you a lesson.¡± Christmas Night stood up and charged at Hidden Dragon before Bubblegum could even react. Some of the party members began to cheer as the brawl started.

    Hidden Dragon was a Cleric with mediocre skills, but he was still a long time member of the party. His equipment was on par with the rest of the party, and with his abilities to heal himself, Christmas Night¡¯s attacks were not fatal. Even when Hidden Dragon could not fight back and was forced to frantically avoiding the attacks from Christmas Nights, his defeat did note very soon.

    Crimson Millions heard amotion at the guild square as he left the conference room with Seductive Dance. It was theughter of yers and the sound of abilities that were being cast. Crimson Millions was about to dismiss the incident as a friendly match against yers, but his eyebrows creased when he noticed theck of the war banner that would appear during a friendly PK match. Is this an infighting between guild members?

    Despite his questionable character, Thousand Sunsets was still the leader of a guild. He was aware of the taboos that must be avoided at all cost, which was why infighting was something that he prohibited in the Bloody Steel guild.

    This is obviously not a friendly match. I don¡¯t know what is happening, but infighting must be stopped.

    Crimson Millions immediately made his way to the guild square, followed closely by Seductive Dance.

    With his standing in Steel-Blooded Battle Spear, Crimson Millions became an important figure in Bloody Spear. He was loyal to Thousand Sunsets, and his loyalty earned him a spot as an important officer of the guild. He was able to make his way to the front of the crowd with rtive ease.

    Some of the yers were still cheering at the top of their lungs, but most immediately quieted down upon his arrival.

    Crimson Millions could see a Warrior chasing a Cleric around with his two-handed sword. The Cleric was unable to fight back, but was very good at avoiding attacks. He was able to avoid certain death a few times by dodging and healing himself. This was putting a strain on his mana, which meant that he would soon die at the hands of the Warrior.

    The frown on Crimson Millions¡¯ face deepened. He immediately began the incantation of a spell, and the duo were enveloped by a faint blue light. It was the result of a lvl50 Priest spell, ¡®Bind¡¯, that could root its target for the duration of a few seconds.

    But these few seconds were what he needed.

    Crimson Millions walked out to the duo and shouted, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Christmas Night was stunned when he noticed the presence of Crimson Millions, but he was able to quickly recover from his shock, ¡°Boss Crimson, it¡¯s all his fault! We were leveling up in at the ck Wind Mountain as a party, but he left the party without permission just to talk to a useless NPC. It would be okay if he had stumbled upon a Unique Quest, but it turned out to be a waste of time! He¡¯s the only Cleric in our party capable of resurrecting our members, if someone died today, it would cause a great loss to the guild. I was giving him a lecture about his misconduct when heshed out at me out of anger.¡±

    Despite his fear of Crimson Millions, Hidden Dragon could not hold himself back when he heard the obviously lie from Christmas Night, ¡°I did not! He was the one who started the fight!¡±

    The situation eventually devolved into a shouting match between Hidden Dragon and Christmas night, with the former being outmatched in every way by thetter. Hidden Dragon could only shake in anger as he was berated by Christmas Night. By then, the crowd had already dispersed. The members of the guild knew that infighting was strictly prohibited, and instead of reporting the fight, they have instead cheered thebatants on. Each and every one of them fled from the scene at the first given opportunity.

    Even Bubblegum herself was pulled away by one of her female friends.

    After getting a hold of the situation by listening to their arguments, Crimson Millions waited no time in cutting them off, ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡±

    Hidden Dragon and Christmas Night immediately quieted down as they stared silently at Crimson Millions.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care why you did it, but both of you were fighting in the guild encampment. Do you know that infighting is strictly prohibited by our guild?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± the duo replied. This was something that was known to all members of the guild, and had happened frequently. These incidents, however, went unnoticed by the higher ups of the guild. This was why Christmas Night had the courage to start a fight with Hidden Dragon. He did not expect things to turn out as they were.

    The penalty for infighting was heavy. Guild members involved in the offense might lose part of their sry, or even find themselves demoted. Some might even be removed from the guild.

    ¡°Well, since you know the rules, I don¡¯t have to waste my time. As this is your first offense, I¡¯ll settle with docking your sries for this month.¡±

    ¡°But, boss...¡± the punishment was too heavy for Hidden Dragon¡¯s heart to bear. His sry was docked right at the beginning of the month. How am I going to live for the rest of the month? Christmas Night was not satisfied with the punishment as well. To him, Hidden Dragon¡¯s punishment was well deserved for abandoning the party while he himself was caught in the fallout of the man¡¯s action.

    ¡°What? Is the punishment too light for you? Or do you perhaps want the guild leader to hear about this?¡± Crimson Millions red at the duo.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Leave then.¡± said Crimson Millions as he motioned with his hand. He then tipped a wink at Seductive Dance, who immediately went after the duo, ¡°Hey, you! The Cleric!¡±

    Hidden Dragon turned around to find Seductive Dance behind him. He could not believe his eyes. There was no way one of the guild¡¯s elites would have business with a low rank member like him. He looked at his surroundings for signs of any other Cleric, and then at Seductive Dance, ¡°Are you talking to me?¡±

    Seductive Dance shrugged, ¡°What do you think?¡± he said with a smile.

    He originally a member of the second squadron, but was then promoted as an elite in recognition of his skills. Being an elite meant that he received some of the best equipment avable to the guild, and enjoyed huge benefits from the guild. A yer like this was highly respected by guild members, and Seductive Dance himself was an idol of Hidden Dragon, who was nervous but excited at the same time.

    He immediately made his way to Seductive Dance and asked in a hushed voice, ¡°How can I be of help, boss?¡± perspiration was beginning to form on his nose.

    ¡°No no, don¡¯t call me that. I¡¯m not the one who is paying for your sry.¡± despite his status as an elite, Seductive Dance had no interest in involving himself in the management with the guild. He held no post in the guild, but was still respected by the members of the guild.

    ¡°Crimson Millions is looking for you.¡± Seductive Dance pointed at Crimson Millions who was heading to the conference room with a smile.

    ¡°Eh? Boss Crimson is looking for me...¡± dread immediately filled Crimson Dragon¡¯s heart. Was it because of the thing just now? He won¡¯t be kicking me out of the guild right? Being kicked out of the guild after having a month¡¯s worth of sry docked would make an already bad situation worse for Hidden Dragon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s not because of the fight.¡± Seductive Dance read Hidden Dragon¡¯s thought through his worried expression. He patted the man¡¯s shoulder with a bright smile and continued, ¡°Go on. I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡±

    Hidden Dragon stared at Seductive Dance as he headed to the teleportation crystal. He then took in a deep breath, and jogged towards the guild conference room, knocking on the door only after he had managed to calm himself down.

    ¡°Come on in.¡± it was the voice of Crimson Millions.

    Hidden Dragon pushed past the door to find Crimson Millions staring at a screen. He was watching a video about a high level dungeon. Crimson Millions immediately turned around when he noticed Hidden Dragon¡¯s presence, and he said with a smile after turning off the video, ¡°Have a seat.¡±

    The attitude disyed by Crimson Millions came as a surprise to Hidden Dragon, who did not expect such a treatment from one of the guild¡¯s officers.

    Crimson Millions wasted no time with pleasantries and went straight to the point, ¡°You were involved in a fight with Christmas Night because of a seemingly useless NPC am I right?¡±

    ¡°Yes...¡± even when Hidden Dragon held a different opinion, the three ck Iron Dwarves did appear to be nothing special.

    ¡°Just what sort of NPC are they? You vited guild regtions just to check them out.¡± even when Bloody Steel was a shadow of its former self, it was still a guild with more than a hundred thousand members. Crimson Millions who was the officer of such a guild possess strong observation skills, and the incident had certainly attracted his attention.

    Why would a coward like Hidden Dragon risk his neck and broke guild regtions because of an NPC?

    Even when Ye Ci was delivering her story slowly, Timely Rain, who was still in shock, found it hard to process her words, ¡°Wait wait wait...¡± he held out his hand and motioned for Ye Ci to stop.

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow and shrugged, ¡°What is it? Are my words that hard toprehend?¡±

    ¡°Oh please, I¡¯m shocked by this, alright?¡± Timely Rain grabbed at his hair.

    Ye Ci lowered her head, cleared some dirt from her nails, and smiled, ¡°You can take your time to process what I¡¯ve just said, but there¡¯s something that I need you to do.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Timely Rain was anxious. Not many things in this world could cause Ye Ci to be so cautious.

    Timely Rain immediately understood the gravity of the situation when Ye Ci recounted her run-in with Hidden Dragon, ¡°You mean to tell me that Bloody Steel is suspecting something about the Mithril ore vein?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The quest is locked, so I¡¯m not worried about them finding out. But if this attracts attention, I¡¯ll have trouble with proceeding to the next stage of the quest. Besides...¡± Ye Ci continued with a grimace, ¡°Even if I could, I don¡¯t think Upwards Ho! can defend the Mithril mines.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Leave it to me. I¡¯ll be ready for any further instructions too.¡±

    ¡°Are your men dependable?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll only send those who I trust. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded, ¡°The only thing we have to do at this point is to have some Rogues stationed around the area. I want to know if somebody else other than Bloody Steel knows about this.¡±

 Chapter 253 Moore Part 1

    Chapter 253 Moore (Part 1)

    Crimson Millions drummed his fingers on the table in a slow rhythm. The sound was soft, but it was like the howling of demons out for blood to Hidden Dragon¡¯s ears.

    Hidden Dragon sat silently by the table with his breath held as he stared at the fingers of Crimson Millions. The yer, with his superior mechanical skills and equipment was an elite of the guild. He was also a man that seemed to be shrouded in mystery. Even if Hidden Dragon knew that Crimson Millions was not Zero Arsenic, they were definitely the same type of people.

    The movements of Crimson Millions¡¯ fingers topped, ¡°Are you sure that you¡¯ve met Jasmine at the Lesser Demon Sanctuary when you were lvl40?¡±

    ¡°I... I...¡± even Hidden Dragon himself had forgotten about the details of his encounter with Jasmine. The harsh words of his party members had also nted the seeds of doubt within him, and he began to question his own judgement.

    Crimson Millions stared at Hidden Dragon, ¡°I want an objective answer from you, but please be honest with me.¡± and he reminded him of the virtue of staying honest.

    Hidden Dragon could feel chills creeping down his spine. He could feel an unprecedented pressure pressing down on his shoulders. He nodded, and continued after taking in a deep breath, ¡°I was lvl40 when it happened. I stumbled upon the Lesser Demon Sanctuary but was not able to ept any quest in the map due to my low level. I remember seeing Jasmine at the campsite, but she would only respond to me with a few standard lines like a normal NPC. But when I returned to the ck Wind Mountain a few days ago, Jasmine was no longer there.¡±

    He risked stealing a nce at Crimson Millions out of fear that he would anger the man with his unnecessary repetition of something that was already mentioned earlier on.

    Crimson Millions remained indifferent. He was still drumming his fingers against the table.

    With theck of reaction from Crimson Millions, Hidden Dragon continued his narration, ¡°I know that NPCs are not limited to only a certain area, so I did not think too much about her disappearance. But I ran into her in another corner of the Lesser Demon Sanctuaryter on with two ck Iron Dwarves that I¡¯ve never seen before! The would never respond to me no matter how hard I try to initiate a conversation with them. I could, however, tell from their actions that they were searching for something. This was why I asked my party along to the ce today, but we found nothing out of the ordinary.¡±

    The cogs in Crimson Millions¡¯ mind were turning as he listened to Hidden Dragon¡¯s words. What are the ck Iron Dwarves trying to find? He would never have minded something like this if any other race was involved, but there was an unspoken rule in Fate that the presence of ck Iron Dwarves would signify the existence of valuable ores. Such ores were nothing but materials for equipment at the current stage of the game, but their value would soar in theter stages of the game.

    There were also rumors that the Isle of Heroes and the ck Plum Family were nning to seize an abandoned fort. Simr incidents would definitely happen in the near future when guilds from all the continents began contending for the possession of abandoned forts and cities scattered throughout different maps. There would definitely be a need for war machines and siege engines that were required for such a form of warfare. This would see an increase of demands for valuable ores. A far-sighted guild would definitely hold on to their high level ores until the time was right.

    Hidden Dragon¡¯s discovery meant that the ck Iron Dwarves came across a valuable ore in the area. If Jasmine was a regr NPC, she would not ignoremunication from yers even when she found the ores. This meant that it was either a BUG, which will be fixed by the developers once the problem is reported. Or... There is also the possibility of a second scenario....

    It can also mean that a yer had already activated the quest, and had triggered the quest lock. This would mean an entirely different thing. Who did it? What sort of quest is it? Will there even be a quest lock if the ores that were discovered are just normal ores?

    Crimson Millions was bubbling with excitement. He cast a nce at Hidden Dragon and spoke up, ¡°Contact the Fate customer service and report a BUG.¡±

    ¡°What BUG?¡±

    ¡°The BUG where Jasmine will not talk to you. Try asking if the developers have missed part of Jasmine¡¯s dialogue.¡± Crimson Millions¡¯ knew that there was no way an urate answer could be gained from the customer service, but their response would be a valuable hint. If this is not a BUG, then it¡¯s a quest lock. I¡¯ll have to send people over to the ce and have them kill anyone who attempts to unlock the quest. Bloody Steel will then take over the quest.

    ¡°Alright.¡± despite his confusion, Hidden Dragon submitted a BUG report. He was informed by a customer service employee that it was a minor BUG and the developers have already been notified about the problem. He was then awarded 100 gold coins as a token of gratitude by the developers.

    The developers¡¯ response did note as a surprise for Crimson Millions, but it was a confirmation of his suspicions. Such a vague response could only mean that the second scenario was something that was very possible.

    Hidden Dragon was anxious. He did not know what was going on in Crimson Millions¡¯ mind. He could only stared silently at the man as he waited for further instructions.

    It took Crimson Millions a long while to register the presence of another person in the guild conference room. He smiled apologetically at Hidden Dragon, ¡°Ahh, I¡¯m so sorry. I was deep in thought just know and lost touch of my surroundings.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal boss.¡± Hidden Dragon stood up immediately and waved his hands. It was obvious that he was surprised by Crimson Millions¡¯ tone.

    ¡°This is a very valuable information. I¡¯ll see to it that you¡¯re rewarded with two months worth of sry. I hope that you can continue to keep an eye out on things like this.¡± said Crimson Millions with a smile. The sry of a third-rate member was nothing to an officer like him, but was a bountiful reward for Hidden Dragon.

    Excitement immediately reced the panic in Hidden Dragon¡¯s eyes, which was noticed by Crimson Millions despite his best attempt to keep his feelings hidden. ¡°Alright, you can be on your way now. Don¡¯t get into more fights with the guild members.¡±

    ¡°Alright boss, I understand.¡± Hidden Dragon stood up with excitement clear in his face. The matters of this world are indeed unpredictable. Just when Hidden Dragon thought that he had lost his sry for the month, he received a bonus that was twice the amount.

    ¡°Do not tell anybody else about this.¡± came the reminder from Crimson Millions.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll keep this a secret. I¡¯ll be on my way now boss.¡± Hidden Dragon could barely contain his joy as he left the conference room.

    Crimson Millions immediately contacted Thousand Sunsets upon the departure of Hidden Dragon and briefed his leader about the situation. With his attention focused wholly on trying to bring Unbridled Willow down, Thousand Sunsets have left the guild¡¯s daily operations to his trusted advisors, who would only go into contact with him over important matters. The man himself was busy leading the elite squadron in dungeon explorations and equipment farming.

    The message from Crimson Millions sent Thousand Sunsets deep into thought. Crimson Millions was an intelligent person, but his meticulous way of handling things was not in line with Thousand Sunsets¡¯ standards. Despite hisck of subtlety, Thousand Sunsets was very decisive with his actions. Zero Arsenic would originally take care of the finer details when it came to guild management,plementing what Thousand Sunsetscked. When Zero Arsenic was sent to aid Unbridled Willow by the old master, Thousand Sunsets was worried that his would be at a disadvantage. He did not expect Crimson Millions to be as intelligent and attentive as Zero Arsenic.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have a lot of information about this yet. Act as you see fit, but let me know if something big happens. I¡¯ll leave it in your hands.¡± Thousand Sunsets finally replied after some moments of thought.

    With the permission from Thousand Sunsets, Crimson Millions immediately dispatched Rogues to the coordinates provided by Hidden Dragon to scour for yers that might hold the key to the quest lock. Many high level miners were also sent to the map to mine for any possible traces of rare ores.

    Unlike Bloody Steel, Upwards Ho! decided to maintain a low profile. Despite their reputation, the guild was still no match against Bloody Steel. This meant that Upwards Ho! was forced to tread very carefully in this matter.

    With the task of monitoring the Mithril ore vein handed over to Timely Rain, Ye Ci¡¯s worry was lifted. She was not one to easily give her trust, but once her mind was made to trust in Timely Rain, she would no longer harbor any doubts towards him. As the saying goes, ¡°A man being used cannot be suspected while a suspected man cannot be used.¡±

    And this was how the matter came to an end for the moment.

    Ye Ci¡¯s mind, however, was still not at peace. There were still two things that required her attention. One of them was thepletion of her Epic-tier quest, and the other was the preliminary quests for the Mithril ore veins in the Southern and Northern continents. She was certain that yers from the Southern Continent was still unaware of the existence of the Mithril ore vein in their continent, but it would not remain a secret for long when yers advance past the threshold of lvl50. The Northern Continent was too dangerous for Ye Ci at this point of the game, and there was no time limit for thepletion of her Epic-tier quest.

    With her mind made, Ye Ci immediately headed to the Southern Continent.

    Even when there was no way that the ck Plum Family and the Isle of Heroes would expect Ye Ci to return to the Southern Continent one day after her departure, she was still wary of her surroundings. After all, one of the guilds have already attempted to tail Ye Ci, and there was no guarantee that the same thing would not happen again. This was why the Brooch of Deceit became something that was very important to Ye Ci during her stay in the Southern Continent. She was in the territory of an allying continent, which meant that the Brooch of Deceit¡¯s ability couldst as long as three hours despite retaining its one day cooldown.

    Ye Ci was able to travel through the teleportation point of Hurricane City with the guise of a male Hunter into the hearnds of the Southern Continent. She had acquired a strong brown horse since her return from the Western Continent due to the low speed of her little red horse. Her new steed was something that was very normal among the general yer poption. The horse had a movement speed of 110, which was significantly lower than Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s 200 movement speed, but it was still one of the steeds favoured by yers.

    The steed was also something that would not attract the attention of bystanders, which made it a good choice for Ye Ci.

    As expected, Ye Ci was not tailed by any Southern Continent yers with her disguise. She was nothing but a Hunter with inferior equipment who was not worthy of attention to the eyes of those around her.

    The Karo ins was a vast grasnd bordered by a long mountain range, which branched off from the main mountain range of the Southern Continent, the Fraroz Mountains. It was also the location of the Southern Continent¡¯s Mithril ore vein. The Karo ins was inhabited by muscr cannibals that were three times taller than a normal yer. Despite their capacity for violence and bloodlust, the cannibals had the intelligence levels of low grade animals. Most of the cannibals were above lvl60, but Ye Ci could take on up to five of them at a time with the aid of Ol¡¯ Four.

    With her previous experience in the Eastern Continent, Ye Ci was able to quickly locate the ck Iron Dwarves in the Karo camp and triggered the Mithril quest. Due to the low monster poption, low spawn rate, and low drop rate of the map, the Karo ins were devoid of yers.

    This was why Ye Ci¡¯s quest in the Karo ins was able to progress smoothly. It took her only half a day toplete the preliminary quest. When the ck Iron Dwarves began their exploration of the ore vein, Ye Ci left the Karo ins with a heart full of relief.

    It was easy for Ye Ci to travel to the Northern Continent from. She was able to gain passage to a neutral map located in the Northern Continent, the Dor¡¯Ami Wends, by paying a certain amount of gold coins at the harbour of Dark y city.

    The harbour was situation on neutral grounds between the Eastern Continent and the Northern Continent, which meant that many yers from both continents were always present around the area. With the harbor of Dark y City as her destination, Ye Ci decided to turn in her quest as well.

    Despite therge scale battle between the Northern Continent and Eastern Continent yers in the past, there was still arge number of Nothern Continent yers in Dark y City. The soldiers posted in the city, however, would stop any fights between yers in the neutral map. Any yers who attempted to start a fight would be hunted down and severely punished by the soldiers.

    Ye Ci did not summon Ol¡¯ Four for the sake ofying low. She disguised herself as a normal yer and entered the city on horseback. Not a single yer knew that Gongzi You had entered the city. Ye Ci arrived at the administration building without trouble and was able to quickly locate the Mayor Ladar.

    Ladar had always felt distant for Ye Ci no matter her Prestige level with Dark y City. Ye Ci would always have a strange feeling when she interacted with the mayor. It was as if she was being cheated by the mayor.

    The feeling remained strong no matter how courteous Ladar was with his speech.

 Chapter 253 Moore Part 2

    Chapter 253 Moore (Part 2)

    After several failed attempts to gauge the true nature of Ladar, Ye Ci hadpletely given up on such a notion.

    Ladar was surprised by Ye Ci¡¯s arrival. He stared at Ye Ci for the brief moment before finally standing up and greeted Ye Ci, ¡°You¡¯re back, my most honorable friend! You are indeed worthy of my greatest respect.¡±

    A chime of the system notification indicated to Ye Ci that she has reached the Prestige level of Respected in Dark y City, and the NPCs in the city immediately became significantly more polite. A yer with a high Prestige level in a city would enjoy many more benefits other than the respect of the NPCs. High Prestige levels would mean discounts from NPC-owned shops, and would receive more quests from NPCs. The Prestige of a yer in a city would also affect her standing with the rest of the continent. When Ye Ci¡¯s Prestige with Dark y City increased, her Prestige with the major cities of the Eastern Continent have increased as well.

    A yer who achieved the Prestige level of ¡°Respected¡± would be able to obtain a position from the administration building of the city, which would then be promoted when the yer¡¯s Prestige rose. This was a very enticing rewards as high ranking positions would bring endless benefits for a yer and his or her guild.

    ¡°Mr.Ladar, this is a letter from Orthus to Lord Moore.¡± said Ye Ci as she pulled the quest item from Orthus out of her inventory.

    ¡°It is an honor to receive a letter of reply from the Great Goblin Engineer Orthus. My dearest Gongzi You, I¡¯ve never thought that you¡¯dplete this quest. I hereby congratte you on a job well done.¡± Ladar was staring at Ye Ci with a smile on his face, but he made no move to retrieve the quest item from Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci immediately realised that things were not as simple as they seem.

    ¡°My dearest Gongzi You, I¡¯m sure that Lord Moore would want you to deliver this letter in person. Please follow me.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately raised her eyebrows. I¡¯m going to meet Lord Moore? The highest authority in this neutral map who has always been a mystery? Ye Ci had long given up on trying to meet the lord of Dark y City, but the chance to meet the person fell right on herp. I get to meet him just like that? This is just like the saying ¡°a watched flower never blooms, but the untended willow grows¡±!

    Ladar led Ye Ci into a long hallway at the back of the city hall, through a beautiful garden, and into the castle at the heart of Dark y City. The castle was a high tower that was visible even from the Swamp of Sorrows, and was naturally andmark in Dark y city.

    Ye Ci had always thought that the tower was the tower of a mage, but she was wrong. The impossibly tall tower was the castle of Lord Moore.

    Lord Moore¡¯s castle was not as big as the castle of Lord Shagar of the Red Lake City, but the number of troops garrisoned within his castle was many times more than the troops in the castle of Red Lake City. Ye Ci cast a Detection skill on soldiers stationed along the way, and was shocked by what she saw. Most of the troops were at lvl120, while some among their numbers with exquisite looking armor were lvl150 Elites. There was no way a yer could take on the garrison alone.

    It did not take Ye Ci long to arrive behall the grand hall of Lord Moore¡¯s castle. The hall itself was not grandiose, but the lvl160 elites stationed within the grand hall, with their glimmering armor and gleaming swords, were an awe-inspiring sight.

    A man in dark robes sat on his throne right in the middle of the grand hall. From the gleaming runes on the man¡¯s rob, one could tell that it was an item of the best quality. Even when Ye Ci was not able to appraise the quality of the robe with her Detection, she could tell that it was a God-tier item. It was not hard to tell that the man was of an old age from his white hair and the wrinkles on his face. The man held a magical staff with arge glowing gem at its tip in his frail hand.

    Moore sat on his throne, unmoving and with eyes closed, as if he was asleep. Ye Ci could feel a strange aura around Moore. She tried to study the aura with her heightened Perception but to no avail. The aura dispersed just as Ye Ci gave up on her attempt.

    The NPC called Moore had never appeared before yers in Ye Ci¡¯sst life. The only information that could be gained about the NPC that was shrouded in mystery was through the libraries in-game and Fate¡¯s official website.

    Ladar bowed at Moore who was sitting on the throne and said with a smile, ¡°My most honorable lord, our friend Gongzi You is back, and along with her some good news from the Goblins.¡±

    Moore opened his eyes and cast his piercing gaze upon Ye Ci who was standing behinddar. This came as aplete surprise to Ye Ci. She had assumed that Ladar was nothing but a useless old man due to therge number of soldiers stationed in the castle. She was mistaken.

    Despite his age, the intensity of the man¡¯s gaze gave up the aura of youth. Ye Ci could feel an immense pressure under the weight of Moore¡¯s gaze. It was the gaze of the strong.

    This pressure was something that Ye Ci had never felt from an NPC. This was why she immediately had a new opinion of Moore.

    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lord Moore.¡± high grade NPCs like Lord Moore possessed high levels of intelligence. They could easily tell what a yer thought of them simply by observing the bodynguage and the manner of speaking of the yer and would then respond in kind. NPCs like this were far more advanced than the other NPCs popting the game, and this meant that Ye Ci had to be very careful as she conversed with Moore.

    Ye Ci bowed deeply at Moore. This was the highest form of honor a yer can show to an NPC as a sign of respect. It was also something that was used by Ye Ci when she had to deal with high grade NPCs like Moore for a strong first impression.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you from Ladar, but this is the first time I see you in the flesh.¡± Moore studied Ye Ci closely, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a spirited Elf ever since the passing of Dau¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°This is what all Elves strive to be. A hero just like His Majesty Dau¡¯er.¡± replied Ye Ci.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± nodded Moore, ¡°But the Elves have gone into decline since the death of Dau¡¯er. It saddens me.¡± a hint of sorrow appeared on Moore¡¯s face, ¡°But with a young Elf like you, there is still hope for the Elven race.¡±

    Moore did not immediately inquire about the Goblins, but instead started a small talk with Ye Ci, who answered each and every of the lord¡¯s question carefully. The conversationsted for a short moment before Ye Ci finally found the chance to hand the letter from Orthus to Moore.

    He dismissed Ladar and the soldiers with a wave of his hand after studying the emblem on the letter, ¡°Leave us. There¡¯s something that I must discuss with this Elf alone.¡±

    Ladar and the soldiers immediately lowered their heads and left. Despite their light footsteps, the soldiers¡¯ armored boots nked loudly as they filed out of the grand hall. The doors were then swung shut, and the footsteps immediately faded away.

    At this moment, Moore was the one who was leading the conversation. Ye Ci would never speak up as long as the lord remained silent. After all, the NPC was the only one who would send Ye Ci on her way to the next stage of her Epic-tier quest, and he was currently reading the letter from Orthus in silence.

    Ye Ci stared at Moore for a long while before the NPC finally set aside the letter and stared square at her, ¡°Orthus said that you said something great in Vo¡¯sok. So what exactly did you do?¡±

    This came as a surprise to Ye Ci. The incident was already announced in the World Channel and is widely known by yers and NPCs alike. Why would Moore ask about something like this? Despite her confusion, Ye Ci recounted her experience in Vo¡¯sok to Moore.

    Surprise was clear on Moore¡¯s face, ¡°What? Vo¡¯sok was destroyed?¡±

    This was something that Ye Ci had not expected. It seems that Moore knew nothing about this. ¡°A lot of people out there have heard about this. Do you not know about this, Lord Moore?¡±

    Moore was momentarily stunned by Ye Ci¡¯s question, and his face morphed into a mask of sorrow. ¡°You¡¯ve earned the approval of the Doran Thieves Guild as well as the respect of the Goblins, Elf. You¡¯ve also found the cure to my disease. Would you like to hear a story from me?¡±

    ¡°It will be an honor.¡± responded Ye Ci. I guess this will lead to the next stage of the quest.

    Moore¡¯s expression was that of pain and sorrow. It was apparent that he was reminiscing a very painful memory. ¡°When I was young, the Jiama Continent was not what it is right now. It was still not split into five parts.¡±

    Five? Isn¡¯t the Jiama Continent split into four parts in the lore? What¡¯s with the fifth part?

    Ye Ci¡¯s ears twitched. Have I heard him wrongly? Or was it a slip of his tongue? And she was hit by a sudden realisation.

    Moore let out a smile when he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s expression, ¡°You must¡¯ve been thinking that the Jiama Continents were split into four instead of five parts.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about a continent at the middle of our four continents, Lord Moore?¡± responded Ye Ci even when the answer was already known to her.

    ¡°Oh? You seem to know a lot.¡± Moore was pleasantly surprised. The Elf before him was smarter that expected.

    ¡°I¡¯ve read about it in the National Library.¡± Ye Ci would of course not tell Moore that the Middle Continent was something well known by the yer poption.

 Chapter 254 The Beach Part 1

    Chapter 254 The Beach (Part 1)

    Moore was very satisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s response. ¡°The people nowadays worship martial prowess. Not many are willing to spend their time reading books. Little do they know that knowledge is the greatest power in this world.¡± he said with a smile.

    Ye Ci expressed her agreement of Moore¡¯s statement and the NPC continued, ¡°It was such a long time ago. The Jiama continent was full of so many races. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Undeads, Orcs, Ogres, Goblins, Werewolves, Dragons...¡± it was as if Moore was reading the names off a book as he recited the names each of the races.

    ¡°We all lived on the Jiama Continent. Despite our constant disputes, the continent was peaceful and we were all living in prosperity. I was still a sorcerer¡¯s apprentice back then. I was only 18 years old. Ahh... What a fond memory that is...¡± a smile spread across Moore¡¯s face. It was obvious that the memory was something that the lord cherished deeply.

    ¡°We sorcerers are an ambitious lot. We are always looking for more power. But as we grow stronger, we require more mental strength to control our power, and this was very taxing on our bodies. Sorcerers are not very healthy in general, and I am one such example.¡± Moore said with self mockery. Ye Ci, of course, disagreed with Moore. Even if the Sorcerer ss tend to have lower health and defence values than the other sses, a BOSS like Moore would definitely have an absurd amount of both health and defence.

    ¡°As I journeyed on my quest to gain more knowledge and power... A grave misfortune fell upon the realm. A young and curious soul stumbled upon the seal of the Dark Lord Naga and set him free by ident, plunging the entire continent into Chaos. The Gods called upon all the races in to fight against the Dark Lord. The members of all the races in the Jiama Continent cast aside their feud against thismon enemy and marched to war as one. I, too, was among their ranks.¡± Moore¡¯s voice was calm as he continued his narration, but Ye Ci could hear the voice of a veteran who had seen hundreds of battles.

    ¡°The warsted for many years. It started when I was still a teenage apprentice blooming with youth, and it continued to rage on even when I was a middle-aged full-fledged sorcerer. Countless battles were fought, resulting in huge casualties on both sides, but victory was still something that neither side could achieve. My longing for power grew as I grew stronger. You might have not heard about it, but there were rumors of the Forbidden Magic circting among sorcerers. It can bring great power, but it alsoes with a terrible price.¡± the smile remained on Moore¡¯s face, but with a hint of bitterness.

    Forbidden Magic was indeed present in the game¡¯s lore, but it was something that Ye Ci herself had never heard of before even in her past life. However, one could easily tell that Forbidden Magic was not something that was benevolent. ¡°You¡¯re right. I have never heard of it before. What exactly is Forbidden Magic¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    ¡°It is something that can only be gained by bargaining with the realm of darkness. A sorcerer must give away something that is precious to him or her in exchange for such a power. The world is absolutely fair. Everythinges with a price. Just like how a Huntress like you must be faster and more agile than others to oust your opponent.¡± Moore¡¯s voice remained calm as he stroked his staff, ¡°I paid the price, and became the only Grand Sorcerer in the Jiama Continent. My strength meant nothing with the sheer scale of the war, but I was able to deal a crippling blow to Naga himself, allowing the kings of the Elves, Dwarves, and many other races to defeat the Dark Lord. Victory came at a great price. The races of Jiama lost their kings, while I survived because the protection of the dark realm. But... I...¡±

    Ye Ci, who was enjoying the narration, was stunned by Moore¡¯s sudden pause, ¡°What is it? Were you gravely injured, Lord Moore?¡±

    ¡°No, I did not suffer from any wounds. In fact, I became even stronger than I was, but...¡± Moore continued with a grimace. His hand that was holding his staff trembled, and his body was shaking uncontrobly. Moore was trying his best to calm his emotions, and it would be a very long while before he finally spoke up again in a voice full of sorrow, ¡°But I lost the right to die.¡±

    Ye Ci was taken aback by the lord¡¯s words. To lose the right to die? Doesn¡¯t it mean that he can never die?

    Moore nodded, as if he was able to read Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts, ¡°You¡¯re right. I am not able to die. No matter what I did, I simply would not die.¡±

    Humans have always craved immortality. Qin Shi Huang once sent 500 boys and 500 girls to the east in search of a potion that would grant him immortality. There was also a tale of Chang Er who became immortal after she stole the Potion of Immortality from her husband. This was proof that humanity had always harbored the fear of death. The same thing could be said for the NPC that was imnted with human emotion. But... What will happen to someone who could not die?

    Can immortality bring happiness?

    Maybe not.

    Being immortal means that a person will have an infinite amount of time at his or her disposal. Time will no longer mean something to an immortal, as time will be something unnecessary in his or her life. What can one gain through immortality? It is an endless cycle of losing one¡¯s friends and loved ones over and over again. While a person who is immortal is spared the ravages of time, he or she will experience the loss of friends and families alike as time passes. You might not know what will happen on the next day, but there will always be something that shall remain a constant: you can never die.

    As days, months, weeks, and even years go by and all the life on this world ends, you will still be alive; when the world ends in the far future, you will be the only one who is left. This will be a tragedy, as the only thing left to do is to live, and remain alive you shall.

    This is a fate that is more horrible than death.

    Life and death was something that mattered little to Ye Ci after her reincarnation. She was able to understand Moore¡¯s sorrow. She had experienced the same sorrow on the rooftop of the Glory Corporation building. The sorrow came from the loneliness when theughter and happiness of the people around her was something that had nothing to do with her, and the only thing she had left was her life. I must¡¯ve been longing for death. thought Ye Ci to herself, that must be why I chose to let go.

    Moore must be in a worse spot. I had the option of death, but what about Moore? Does he even have a choice? No. The only thing he can do is to live on, even if there is nothing waiting for him in the future but despair.

    This was a pain that Ye Ci knew she would never experience. A chill went down her spine as she thought of Moore¡¯s fate.

    Ye Ci was lost for words. She stared silently at Moore¡¯s face that was a mask of sorrow for a long time before finally speaking up, ¡°Lord Moore, I think I can understand how you feel.¡±

    The surprise was apparent in Moore¡¯s eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that immortality is a boon?¡±

    It was something that was frequently heard by Moore, and those words were like salt poured on a gaping wound. It was a pain that he was forced to stomach in silence.

    ¡°How can immortality be good?¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°To lose the ability to die is the saddest thing that can happen to a person. Losing the right to die means that a person will always be living in loneliness and in despair. The person might be happy in the first hundred years, but what about a thousand? Or maybe two thousand years? Money, fame, and power will no longer mean anything to the person by then.¡±

    Moore stared long and hard at Ye Ci. He was evaluating her words. A smile spread across his face after a long moment, ¡°Alright, Elf. You¡¯re indeed the only one who can help me.¡±

    Here ites! He¡¯s finally getting to the point! Ye Ci immediately bowed deeply at Moore and spoke with respect clear in her voice, ¡°Lord Moore, I am your most sincere friend. I will do my best to provide any aid that you require of me.¡±

    The words came as a satisfaction to Moore, who nodded at Ye Ci, ¡°Very well, my dear Elf.¡± responded Lord Moore as he stood up. Despite his small frame, he was taller than Ye Ci had expected. Lightning crackled around Moore¡¯s staff as he walked slowly towards Ye Ci. As a Sorceress in herst life, Ye Ci knew that it was the telltale sign of someone with a high level of Intelligence and magical power. She herself have managed to achieve such an effect in her past life, but it was nowhere as impressive as the power disyed by Moore.

    Moore extended his arm towards Ye Ci, and a bright white orb appeared on his palm, ¡°This is my familiar, a Fairy. Follow it, and search for a way that can finally bring my death.¡± he said as he handed the orb of light to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was stunned silent as she stared at the Fairy resting on her palm.

    Sensing her hesitation, Moore lifted his hands and patted Ye Ci on her shoulders, ¡°You must help me, young Elf. I have been living for far too long. I will reward you greatly if you can find a way to kill me.¡±

    Ye Ci bowed at Moore after some brief thoughts, ¡°Lord Moore, you are a person worthy of respect.¡±

    ¡°I know that you have a lot of questions for me, and I shall answer them if you can find a way to kill me.¡± said Moore with a voice full of sorrow as he turned around and walked slowly back to his throne, ¡°A person worthy of respect? No, young Elf. You¡¯ll not think so when you learn of the truth.¡±

    ¡°Lord Moore,¡± replied Ye Ci, ¡°There¡¯s no right or wrong in this world. History is written by the victors. But no matter what history says about you, you are still a person worthy of my respect.¡±

    ¡°Even if we end up as enemies someday? Will you still say the same?¡± Moore turned around and shed Ye Ci a smile.

    ¡°Yes. I will still say the same thing if we end up as enemies.¡± Ye Ci responded with a smile of her own, ¡°And because you¡¯re a person worthy of my respect, I will not hold back if we face each other in the battlefield in the future. This is the highest form of respect I can show you.¡±

    Moore let out a heartyugh. The joy was evident in his voice as he spoke to Ye Ci, ¡°Very good. Very good indeed, young Elf. You¡¯re the most interesting Elf I¡¯ve met since Dau¡¯re. Alright then, if we end up as enemies one day, I shall grant you that chance.¡±

    ¡°You have my gratitude.¡±

    ¡°If you can return safely with what I want, young Elf, I will tell you something about Dau¡¯er. I¡¯m sure this is something that is of interest to you.¡± said Moore as he walked back to his throne.

    Information about the Elven King Dau¡¯er!

    Ye Ci was filled with excitement. She had been looking for information about the Elven King Dau¡¯er to no avail, but she was able to obtain such an information when she least expected it. Even if can only be obtained after Moore¡¯s quest waspleted, she saw a ray of hope.

    ¡°You can leave now.¡± Moore motioned with his hand as he sat on his throne, and Ye Ci bowed deeply at the NPC before leaving the hall. She took a nce at the fairy she received from Moore, which was listed as an equipable item even when it was a quest item. The fairy was able to increase the magical damage of its user by 35%. Ye Ci was a Huntress, but quite a number of her abilities was able to deal magical damage to their targets. She would still be able to benefit from the item, but the item was clearly meant for mages.

    Ye Ci left for the Northern Continent after storing the fairy away and sorting out her inventory.

    She was stopped by Ladar before she could leave Moore¡¯s castle. La¡¯dar¡¯s behavior was very different from before. Ye Ci could feel a hidden intention behind his kind smile, ¡°Dearest Gongzi You, will you be leaving the castle now?¡±

    Ye Ci stared at La¡¯dar. The NPC¡¯s intention was not clear, but Ye Ci answered his question truthfully as she did not want to offend an NPC, ¡°Yes, Mister L¡¯adar. I think I will embark on another long journey.¡±

    ¡°Ahh... It is something that I envy. I wish I can travel around the world like you.¡± said La¡¯dar with a smile on his face.

    Ye Ci nodded at the NPC. She would always have a feeling of unease as she dealt with the NPC. Her instincts were screaming at her that La¡¯dar was not someone to be trifled with, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be taking my leave. I look forward to our next meeting.¡±

    ¡°I have a favor to ask from you. Can you perhaps help me out as you embark on your journey?¡± La¡¯dar immediately went straight to the point after Ye Ci expressed her intention to depart.

    ¡°How can I be of service? I will do my best to help you with whatever you need.¡± Ye Ci was wary of La¡¯dar, but it did not necessarily mean that she wouldpletely dissociate herself from the NPC. Besides, La¡¯dar was the mayor of Dark y City, which meant that she needed to maintain a good rtionship with La¡¯dar.

    ¡°That¡¯s great! I have a rtive running a store in the town of Laafar in the ins of Mor Ami. If you happen to pass by the town some day, please hand this letter and this parcel to him.¡± said La¡¯dar as he handed the items to Ye Ci.

    Ah... A courier quest. It¡¯s no big dear. Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief, I am being too paranoid and epted La¡¯dar¡¯s request. The letter was sealed with wax, which meant that Ye Ci could not open the letter before delivering it to its receipient. She could hear a crackling sound from the parcel, which meant that the content of the parcel could very well be valuable gems.

    The ins of Mor Ami was situated in the Northern Continent, which was not far from the continent¡¯s Mithril ore vein. I don¡¯t think going to the town will be a problem. thought Ye Ci to herself.

    Ye Ci headed to the docks at the outskirts of Dark y City after taking her leave She did not notice the perculiar smile of La¡¯dar¡¯s face.

    Her intention was to head to the Northern Continent as soon as possible, and she would be arriving at the continent before long after boarding one of the boats. Just when Ye Ci set foot on the dock, however, she received a message from Timely Rain.

    ¡°Gongzi, we have a problem.¡±

 Chapter 254 The Beach Part 2

    Chapter 254 The Beach (Part 2)

    Timely Rain was of course talking about the Mithril ore vein. Ye Ci¡¯s heart clenched. Did somebody unlock the quest? But it¡¯s impossible! I¡¯m the only one who can do that! But if that¡¯s not the case... What can it be?

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did somebody unlock the quest?¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s far worse than that.¡± sighed Timely Rain. It was not a joke, but a feeling of dread that he could feel in his heart.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ye Ci was curious. What can be worse than that?

    ¡°The Bloody Steel guild scoured the entire area with their Rogues, and our men were almost spotted on several asions. They¡¯ve even sent miners into the area.¡± Timely Rain was deeply troubled. This is something that belongs to Upwards Ho!, but Bloody Steel is running things like they own the ce!

    Miners? Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. She knew that the Mithril ore vein will remain locked, but resources in Fate were like resources in the real world. The miners might not be able to obtain Mithril from their operations, but they would severely deplete the minerals in the area, which would affect the output of Mithril. This was something that Ye Ci wanted to avoid at all cost.

    ¡°And if you think this is bad, there¡¯s something worse.¡± sighed Timely Rain. There seemed to be more reasons behind his distress.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci grabbed at her hair. Whatever! I have so many problems right now that having one more will not make a difference anymore.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s because of Bloody Steel, but our intelligence group reports that many of the major guilds have begun sending miners to mine out the area at the coordinates. It¡¯s getting more and more crowded here.¡± Timely Rain was visibly irked. How did ite to this?

    Fuck! Even the other major guilds are involved in this! They really want a share of the cake huh? Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows furrowed even further, but calmness washed over her in the next moment. It might not be a bad thing. This might affect our output, but at least nobody will find out about the Mithril ore vein. Upwards Ho! was not the only guild to have set up an intelligence division. It was only natural for the other major guilds to take note and to react to the actions of Bloody Steel.

    It was a time where the strong survive and profit is the only thing that matters in Fate. ¡°Alright then, why don¡¯t we send some of our miners as well?¡± said Ye Ci with a smile.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Timely Rain was startled by her words, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t we stand out a lot if we¡¯re the only ones who are not joining in on the mining fever? Besides, they will never be able to get even a piece of Mithril as I have not unlocked the quest yet. They will soone to the realisation that there¡¯s nothing valuable in the area. We won¡¯t be able to hold the mine with how we are right now, what can we do when Golden Era arrives? This will help ensure our survival in the future.¡± despite the anger in her heart, Ye Ci knew that the smallest of sacrifices could lead to victory.

    Timely Rain nodded, ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll send someone over there.¡±

    ¡°By the way, get Blossom to level up his skills quickly. I need him to be a High-tier Goblin Engineer as soon as possible.¡±

    It wasmon knowledge that Goblin Engineers were capable of producing siege weapons. The blueprints to these weapons, however, were next to zero, especially in the current stage of the game. This was why the major guilds refrain from investing their resources into Goblin Engineering.

    Timely Rain knew Ye Ci very well. He did not question her actions as he knew that each of her action served a purpose.

    Ye Ci sat in silence at the docks of Dark y City after her call with Timely Rain ended. Looks like the Mithril ore vein in the Eastern Continent has attracted quite a lot of attraction. To make up for the loss, I¡¯ll have to find the Mithril ore veins in the Northern and Southern continents no matter the cost.

    A huge ship approached the harbor as Ye Ci was still deep in her thoughts. The yers at the docks, some of the from the Eastern Continent and some of them from the North, immediately boarded the ship.

    It was obvious that they were headed to the Northern Continent.

    Ye Ci had spotted a tailor selling cloaks as she took a stroll in Dark y City. The cloaks were able to hide a yer¡¯s gender, equipment, and attributes from prying eyes, which made them the perfect equipment to hide one¡¯s identity. The cloaks were categorised as essories, which meant that they will not be taking up any of a yer¡¯s inventory slots. The tailor¡¯s shop was fairly new as Ye Ci had only seen yers walking around the city with cloaks very recently.

    Despite its useful attributes, a cloak would not be able to hide a yer¡¯s identity as an enemy when he or she was in a hostile continent. The cloak would be able to hide a yer¡¯s appearance, but one could still tell a hostile yer apart even when the yer came equipped with a cloak. With the Brooch of Deceit, however, Ye Ci could easily traverse the Northern Continent.

    Ye Ci equipped a cloak, and boarded the huge ship after paying the fare of 200 gold coins.

    The few vessels traveling between the docks of Dark y City and Dor¡¯Ami were crewed by neutral NPC sailors of different races. They would not attack yers from any factions as their livelihood depended on the fares paid by their passengers.

    Only four ships would depart from Dark y City to Dor¡¯Ami daily, and they would always be packed full of yers.

    Ye Ci sat against a wooden barrel on the deck of the ship. Her appearance was hidden by her cloak, just like the many yers on the ship.

    The vessel was fast, and would take only an hour to cross the strait separating the East and the North, bringing her onto hostile shores. The sea in the area was never calm. A sailor shouted a warning 20 minutes after their departure as he spotted raging waves ahead, which was ignored by Ye Ci as storms were amon urrence both in real life and in Fate.

    Ye Ci drifted slowly into sleep. It would be a waste to not grab some sleep during the one-hour trip.

    Her sleep was distrubed when the ship shuddered with tremendous force, and she was tossed to the other side of the ship. Ye Ci instinctively grabbed hold of a thick rope. Many of the yers have also lost their bnce due to the raging sea. The ship shuddered as it was hit by waves upon waves. This was indeed a violent storm.

    Memories of Ye Ci¡¯s past life flooded her mind. There were simr incidents where ships were destroyed by storms and yers were thrown into the sea. Such urrences were rare and had only happened four times in the span of 10 years. Am I running into such an incident right now?

    A huge wave mmed into the ship, snapping Ye Ci out of her thoughts. Many of the yers on deck were drenched while quite a number of them were washed overboard.

    ¡°Will I fall into the water...¡± Ye Ci shivered. Another wave crashed onto the ship, sshing her face with seawater.

    Ye Ci held on tight to the rope. The yers who have fell overboard would mostly be fine, but if they were tond on particrly sharp rocks or objects, they would die a horrible death.

    The intensity of the storm grew. The captain and his sailors were struggling to find their way to safety, but it seemed to be a lost cause. Ye Ci forced herself to remain calm. She could not afford to panic. She knew that she must assess the situation to guarantee her survival.

    Ye Ci looked up at the darkened skies. She knew that it was impossible for the storm to stop before the ship fell apart under the torrent of waves. Ye Ci let out a sigh, well, I¡¯ve jinxed it. I¡¯ve never thought that something like this will happen to me. Just how unlucky am I?

    She refused to resign to such a cruel fate.

    To ensure her safety, Ye Ci tied the rope to her waist. She would be safe as long as she did not cut the rope before the ship disintegrated.

    She had also begun identifying spots that were free of hazard, taking care to avoid debris that were washed overboard. She would then cut the rope, jump into the water, and swim away from the storm.

    Of course, this was not something that could be pulled off easily.

    The rope was too thick, and Ye Ci might not be able to cut it in time before the ship sank. This was why she resorted to simply clinging on to the rope. The ship was rocked back and forth by the raging storm, and Ye Ci was like a leaf caught by a raging wind. She almost lost her gripping on multiple asions, but she was able to hold on tightly to the rope through sheer force of will.

    Ye Ci was thrown around by the wind for five full minutes. This is probably one of the worst situation I¡¯ve found myself in ever since I started the game! She could hear the dreaded sound of the ship¡¯s structure creaking, and her heart sank as she saw the huge cracks that were beginning to form on the deck. Even the sailors have begun to abandon their ships.

    Alright. It seems that I¡¯ll have to jump no matter what might be down there. thought Ye Ci to herself.

    The chance, however, did not arrive. The ship fell apart just before Ye Ci could steel herself for the jump, plunging her into the sea below. Fuck this shit! Why is this happening to me?

    Ye Ci struggled against the raging waves to swim away from the ship as she did not want to be sucked into the vortex of the sinking ship but a sudden sharp pain at the back of her head plunged her world into darkness...

 Chapter 255 Bone Arrow Part 1

    Chapter 255 Bone Arrow (Part 1)

    It took a long while before Ye Ci regained her consciousness.

    She could feel the cold seeping into her body. She could tell that she was enveloped by something wet as well. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw an azure sky filled with white fluffy cloud. The scenery was breathtakingly serene.

    Where... Am I?

    At that very moment, Ye Ci¡¯s mind was nk. She could hear ringing in her ears, masking away the sound of her surroundings.

    Her body were sore. She could feel extreme pain on her arms and legs, but it felt as if she no longer havemand of her limbs at the same time.

    It was a very conflicting set of sensations.

    Ye Ci slowly regained the ability to think after wallowing in these strange sensations. She moved her neck, and realised that she was submerged in water. Her arm was still clinging onto a thick strip of rope attached to the ship¡¯s mast, which was the sole reason that saved her from the fate of drowning.

    Where the hell is this ce? Ye Ci attempted to move her limbs, and gritted her teeth at the pain that followed. The seawater was cold, she would be dead if she suffered from a muscle cramp at a time like this.

    She clung on to the mast, and surveyed her surroundings with great difficulties. She could see nothing but a vast stretch of water no matter where she looked, and she was surrounded by debris from the shipwreck. The azure sky remained calm, with the serenity of a loving mother.

    Ye Ci¡¯s wits finally returned to her, and she was able to recall the events that happened before she lost her consciousness. It was a horrible incident. She could not believe that a storm that had wrecked her ship had happened in such a calm sea.

    Her Stamina was almost drained, and a system notification was ringing in her ears. She would die of exhaustion if she did not replenish her Stamina. She held on to the mast with one hand, pulled out a bottle of wine from her inventory with her free hand, and immediately chugged it down. It was a bottle of extremely valuable wine dropped from a Goblin during her trip to the Western Continent. The wine could only be consumed by yers who were at least lvl60, and could increase a huge percentage of the yer¡¯s stamina. Ye Ci was reluctant to consume the wine, but this was the only thing that could keep her alive.

    She would definitely lose her life if she did not choose to consume the wine to replenish her rapidly dwindling Stamina.

    Alcoholic drinks had a better effect of raising one¡¯s Stamina. And Ye Ci could feel the numbness of her body fading away as her Stamina rose. She no longer felt cold, and her body was no longer sore. Her current condition was a far cry away from her usual self.

    But it was way better than what she was feeling earlier on.

    Ye Ci began to once again survey her surroundings once she was able to move her body.

    The sun had risen and it was shining down on Ye Ci with its full re, scorching her skin with its intense heat. The sunny weather also meant that Ye Ci¡¯s visibility had significantly improved. As a Huntress with high Perception, this meant that she could see further than an average yer. She searched for survivors and life rafts that might be scattered around her but was disappointed by what she found. She was alone in this vast stretch of ocean, surrounded by nothing but debris.

    Ye Ci called out her map with the intention of getting her bearings. She might was hoping that there was an ind or even a continent nearby. She was once again disappointed when her map showed that she was in an unexplored zone. There were no nearby inds, nor was she in close proximity of a continent. A system notification appeared as she tried to zoom out with the map, ¡°Map not avable¡±.

    ¡°It seems that the map¡¯s no use.¡± Ye Ci took a short rest, and activated Hawkeye in an attempt to search for anything that could be of help. Disappointment came when even the search with Hawkeye proved to be fruitless. Well, it seems that I¡¯ll have to depend solely on luck.

    The only silver lining in Ye Ci¡¯s situation was the good weather, which meant that she could see as far as 800 yards away. She was surrounded by water from all sides, but there was a thinyer of fog to her north, and she could tell that something was obscured behind the fog.

    Despite the uncertainty, Ye Ci decided to swim north after a short consideration of her situation.

    She knew that death was the only thing that awaits if she remained at the same spot, and she was not someone who would sit and wait for her doom.

    Even when diving into the water was a faster option than swimming on the surface, Ye Ci was forced to swim due to herck of potions that would allow her to breath underwater.

    Swimming was something that was very exhausting. Theyer of fog that was 2,000 yards away seemed so unreachable to Ye Ci, who barely reached her destination after consuming another bottle of wine. She took a short breath before swimming into the fog. Even with her visibility reduced to a mere 300 yards by the fog, Ye Ci had a lingering feeling that something was hidden behind the fog. She refused to stop despite her exhaustion, knowing full well that she might never be able to muster the willpower to swim forward again if she took another break.

    How strong is the will of a person? This was a question without an answer. Ye Ci was pressing on through the sheer power of her will. She had already lost her sense of time, and she did not know what awaited her ahead. Despite that, she made her resolved to continue swimming, and she would not stop.

    The sea was not as calm as it seemed. Ye Ci could spot countless aquatic life forms of varying sizes beneath the water ranging from with levels ranging from lvl60 to lvl100. Of course, most of the life forms were neutral monsters who would not attack Ye Ci as long as she left them alone.

    Ye Ci could even see fishes as she continued forward. They were not ssified and monsters, and was instead materials vital for culinary and alchemy. The schools of fish swam all around Ye Ci, showing no sign of fear. Some would even brush past her as they swam by.

    This was a very brief moment of joy for Ye Ci¡¯s otherwise mundane swim to her objective.

    She was then hit by a sudden realisation. These fish do not live in the deep sea. Their habitats were at the shallows. This was an indicator that she was a short distance away from the shore.

    Such a knowledge strengthened Ye Ci¡¯s resolved. She began swimming ahead with renewed vigor with an even higher speed.

    The fog parted and a stretch of shore appeared before Ye Ci just as she thought that she would die from exhaustion. I¡¯m almost there! She had been swimming for a full 20 minutes. She did not have even a shred of strength left as she arrived by the shore. She slumped onto the ground andid on the soft sand.

    ¡°Ye Ci, where are you?¡± Ye Ci was spread eagle on the beach. The warm and soft waves caressed the lower part of the body as sheid beneath the warm glow of the sun. Despite her difort, she no longer had the energy to move. This was when she received the message from Bai Mo.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± replied Ye Ci. This map was something that had never appeared in her past life, and her past self had never had the misfortune of running into such a terrifying storm.

    Could this be the butterfly effect of my reincarnation? Ye Ci had realised things were different since her reincarnation, which made her experiences in her past life unreliable.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Bai Mo was baffled by Ye Ci¡¯s words. Is there even a ce in the Jiama Continent that she knew nothing about?

    ¡°I¡¯m very unlucky.¡± replied Ye Ci with a self-mocking smile. Even Bai Mo was speechless when Ye Ci recounted the incidents that led to her current predicament, ¡°I¡¯m currently lying on a beach. I might be on an ind, but there is also a chance that I ended up in a continent. Though thetter is not quite possible.¡±

    Bai Mo creased his eyebrows as he listened to Ye Ci.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Someone from Battle Spear wishes to see you.¡± Bai Mo sighed at the person sitting in front of him.

    ¡°Battle Spear?¡± Ye Ci was shocked, ¡°Is it Unbridled Willow or is it Zero Arsenic?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Zero Arsenic.¡±

    ¡°Why is he looking for me?¡± hearing the name of Zero Arsenic gave Ye Ci goosebumps. She might be able to handle Unbridled Willow, but Zero Arsenic was someone who she did not want to deal with.

    ¡°If my hunch is correct, he¡¯s here because of the people mining at the Lesser Demon Sanctuary.¡± as he was not using a private channel, Bai Mo¡¯s words were heard by Zero Arsenic, who nodded his head in confirmation.

    Bai Mo rolled his eyes at Zero Arsenic what a shameless guy...

    ¡°Tell him that even I have no idea where I am.¡± said Ye Ci as she sat up. She continued with a sigh when her attempt to leave the ce with a city-recall stone failed, ¡°And I don¡¯t seem to be able to use a recall stone here. Tell him to make himself home, I¡¯m busy.¡±

    Zero Arsenic was not surprised when Bai Mo ryed the message, ¡°I¡¯m here to make a deal with her. I guess it¡¯s a no go then.¡± and he clicked his tongue.

    ¡°What sort of deal?¡± Bai Mo was wary as the Mithril ore vein was involved. He was reluctant to deal with the sly fox named Zero Arsenic, but with what was at stake...

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to talk to Gongzi You about it in private.¡± replied Zero Arsenic, who had expected Bai Mo¡¯s response, in a calm voice.

    Bai Mo narrowed his eyes at Zero Arsenic. He was irked by the man¡¯s response, but he did not allow his emotions to show on his face. ¡°Alright then. You can try contacting her when she¡¯s back then.¡± he nodded with a smile. Bai Mo then stood up to see Zero Arsenic out, who departed after nodding at Bai Mo.

    ¡°What is he here for?¡± asked Timely Rain in a hushed voice when Zero Arsenic was safely away from Upwards Ho!¡¯s guild encampment.

    ¡°There is a possibility that he knows about the Mithril ore vein.¡± Bai Mo narrowed his eyes, and his heart was filled with unease.

    ¡°Huh? How did he find out about it? Not more than 10 of our members know about this! Could this be the job of a traitor?¡± Timely Rain was panicking. If there was a traitor in the midst of the small group of 10 yers, Upwards Ho! was in a grave situation.

    ¡°It could be.¡± Bai Mo had refrained from telling Timely Rain about Genesis¡¯ effort to locate the Mithril ore vein of the Western Continent.

    ¡°Goddamn it!¡± Timely Rain mmed his fist on the table. A sense of failure gripped his heart. Different scenarios was running through his head as he attempted to identify the culprit of the information leak.

    But the more Timely Rain thought about the matter, the more distraught he became. In the even, every single one of the 10 members felt like the culprit to him.

    Bai Mo was able to read Timely Rain¡¯s thoughts, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. It¡¯s just a possibility. Don¡¯t doubt the members of our guild so easily, or we¡¯ll have internal troubles even before somebody tries to take us on.¡±

    Timely Rain took in a deep breath, ¡°Should Iunch an investigation?¡±

 Chapter 256 An Absurd Quest Part 1

    Chapter 256 An Absurd Quest (Part 1)

    Ye Ci continued crafting the ribs into Bone Arrows in high spirits. The movement of her hands were still clumsy, but she had a very high sess rate. She was rewarded a mere 2 mastery points with each arrow crafted, which was a huge contrast to the 300 mastery points that she received when shepleted the first arrow.

    It seems that inventing new stuff in the game is a good way to earn mastery points. thought Ye Ci to herself, then again, I¡¯m not a Life yer. I doubt I¡¯ll be this lucky next time. and she dismissed the idea of leaving things to chance.

    With the creation of Bone Arrow, theck of munitions was no longer Ye Ci¡¯s concern. She was merciless as she hunted the monsters on the ind, and was able to explore more than half the ind within a mere four days. Despite her progress, Ye Ci was not able to trigger any special events during her exploration, nor was she able to find a way off the ind.

    On this day, Ye Ci was sitting by a campfire, crafting bone arrows with the bones of the beasts that she hunted after a day¡¯s worth of exploration. She had be adept at the art of crafting Bone Arrows, and the four minutes she needed to craft and arrow was greatly reduced to a short ten seconds. The wind carried a sound into her ears as her attention was focused on crafting an arrow.

    Ye Ci¡¯s long, pointed ears pricked up at the sound, and her movements stopped. She immediately stood up and studied her surroundings. She held her eyes shut, trying her best to pick up the source of the sound that had died down. Ye Ci had even thought that it was nothing but her imagination, and was about to give up before the wind once again carried the weird sound into her ears.

    This seems to be some sort of musical instrument, and the music is apanied by a faint singing voice as well. What is going on?

    Ye Ci stored her arrows away, and immediately dashed at the source of the sound after putting out the campire. Speed was something that was essential to the Hunter ss, and as Ye Ci streaked through the forest, jumping from one branch to another, the wind that blew past her ears was an out of the world experience.

    Yet another set of different sounds entered Ye Ci¡¯s ears as she approached the source of the melody. It was thepping of waves against the shore.

    Excitement filled Ye Ci¡¯s heart. It seems that I¡¯ve found my way out.

    The trees began to thin out and the beach was soon in sight. Ye Ci jumped down from a tree and surveyed her surroundings while remaining hidden in the tree line. She saw a girl sitting on arge rock facing the sea, cuddling a harp in her embrace. The girl was strumming her harp as she sang with her pleasant voice.

    The song was sung in anguage not known to Ye Ci Even the girl¡¯s race remained a mystery to her.

    The girl had her back to Ye Ci. Her long, blonde hair flowed over her shoulders, draping over the rock and hiding her back and the lower part of her body from Ye Ci¡¯s view. Her arms that were strumming the harp were smooth and slender, and the azure pearl bracelet was a sharp contrast to her skin that is white as jade.

    Ye Ci stood silently under the shade of the trees as she listened to the song. Even when the meaning of the lyrics was not known to Ye Ci, the singing was very pleasant to her ears. The song was so nice that Ye Ci could not hold back the urge to walk towards the girl and her feet began moving on their own.

    But why am I walking towards her? Ye Ci herself did not have an answer for that question. Her vision was swirling, and the voice was beckoning her to walk closer to the girl.

    This isn¡¯t right, something is wrong here!

    Ye Ci knew that something was wrong, but her body was not under her control. She was getting closer and closer to the rock with each step.

    Mind Control!

    The two words appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s mind. Mind Control was a high-tier spell of the Priest and Cleric ss that could only be learned by a character at lvl100. Due to their limited offensive spells, Clerics and Priests were equipped with arge variety of crowd control spells, and Mind Control was one of the most important spells to the two support sses. Ye Ci could still remember a particr ingenious Cleric who was able reign undefeated in PVP battles with his creative ways of using Mind Control. Even a BOSS that was at his character¡¯s level was easily defeated by the Cleric.

    This was proof that Mind Control was a formidable spell.

    A yer afflicted by Mind Control would lose his or her capability to fight. They would be at the mercy of their opponents. An NPC¡¯s Mind Control, however, was more advanced than that of a yer¡¯s. NPCs could disable a yer¡¯s ability to fight, and even force a yer to carry out its will.

    It was obvious that Ye Ci was affected by the spell of an NPC, and it was definitely the girl singing on the rock.

    I have to stop. thought Ye Ci to herself. She knew that things would not end well for her if she continued moving forward. I don¡¯t mind if I got killed, but what if I ended up getting enved by that NPC? That will be bad! But how can I free myself from her control?

    The Dark Dispersal skill of Buru¡¯s ring immediately came to Ye Ci¡¯s mind, but she was not capable of even casting a single spell. She could feel her consciousness slipping away.

    No! I can¡¯t let this happen! Ye Ci repeated again and again in her mind before her consciousness slipped fully away, and she was able to activate Dark Dispersal with thest of her strength. The influence of Mind Control over Ye Ci immediately disappeared.

    Despite that, Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts remained sluggish.

    The singing stopped as well when Dark Dispersal was activated, but it did not take long for the girl to resume her singing.

    Oh no! Her Mind Control is at a very high level! Even the Dark Dispersal of Buru¡¯s ring could notpletely dispel its effect. If I got controlled again, I¡¯m finished despite having a clear picture of her situation, Ye Ci was still walking towards to the girl on unsteady steps.

    Ye Ci¡¯s hand reached towards her hip, pulled her dagger out of its sheath, and plunged it into her thigh with her remaining strength.

    ¡°Argghhh!¡± even with the pain simtion set at 30%, the heart-wrenching pain on Ye Ci¡¯s caused her to scream in agony, breaking the control of the spell over her. Ye Ci slumped onto the beach, almost passing out from the pain.

    Guan Yu is a fucking hero! thought Ye Ci to herself, I¡¯ve almost passed out at 30% pain! How did he manage to stand the pain of having his bone scrape? [1] As expected... There really is a substantial difference between different individuals....

    I am afraid of pain! I am a scaredy cat!

    The pain was so intense that Ye Ci could see ck spots in her vision. She took a look at her bleeding thigh, took in a deep breath, and pulled out the dagger. Blood sttered all over the ground, and some even made their way onto Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth and bandaged her wound. This was something that could not be treated without a visit to one of the main cities, and this wound that Ye Ci had inflicted upon herself...

    She then stood up slowly and cast her gaze at the direction of the rock. The girl turned her head around, and Ye Ci could see the wless beauty of the girl¡¯s face, and her azure eyes that were as alluring as the sea. The girl was no longer singing. She pursed her lips as her gaze rested at Ye Ci, who was shocked to find that the strings of the harp had snapped.

    It was very likely that the strings of the harp were snapped when Ye Ci stabbed herself with her dagger to free herself from the effects of the Mind Control. The girl wore a calm expression on her face. She was not angered by the damage suffered by her harp, but it was obvious that she was not at all happy.

    Ye Ci stared at the girl from a distance. Despite the pain at her thigh, she was ready for an attack. She cast Detection on the girl, but saw nothing but question marks due to the girl¡¯s high level. Even the name of the girl could not be revealed by Detection.

    She¡¯s bad news.

    If a monster¡¯s HP could not be revealed by Detection, it meant that the monster was at least 20 levels higher than Ye Ci, but when a monster¡¯s stats was hidden as well, it meant that the monster was at least 40 levels higher than her. When even the name of the monster could not be revealed by Detection, then the monster was at least 60 levels higher than Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci¡¯s Gongzi You was a lvl60 character, and if the girl was truly at least 60 levels above her, this would mean that the girl was at the very least lvl120. She might even be a BOSS. Ye Ci began taking note of the terrain around her that she could turn to her advantage. There was no way she could kite this NPC girl to death. A lvl120 BOSS would have a far higher movement speed than Ye Ci. Her only option was to escape.

    She slowly backed away, waiting for an opportunity to escape.

    But the girl spoke up unexpectedly, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a female.¡±

    Ye Ci was stunned. She studied the girl once again, who had turned the rest of her body around to face Ye Ci. She was shocked to see that the lower part of the girl¡¯s body was a blue fishtail.

    Oh fuck! She¡¯s a mermaid!

    So this was why she had such a beautiful singing voice and was very good with mind control! Mermaids were not a benevolent species. They would never rescue a prince in danger like the tales told in fairytales. The mermaids in Fate were the embodiment of greed.

    Mermaids of Fate had gorgeous appearances and beautiful singing voices that they would put to good use to lure men to their deaths by the sea. Of course, only the females of the race were spotted hunting for food. Where are the males? one might ask, but this was the question that even Ye Ci had no answer to. She had only seen female Mermaids in her past life. Well, I guess the males of the race were busy taking care of their young at home... mused Ye Ci. ¡°Howme! I was putting in so much effort but a female showed up instead!¡±

    The menacing aura around the mermaid had disappeared. She stared calmly at Ye Ci with a pout on her face, ¡°The Elves are getting scrawnier nowadays. Give it a few years, and we won¡¯t even be able to tell the males and females of your race apart¡± said the Mermaid as her gaze rested on Ye Ci¡¯s chest.

    The mermaid unted her bare voluptuous bosom as she spoke to Ye Ci. Her curves were so wless that one would get a nosebleed just by staring at them. What the heck? Why is this NPCparing breast sizes with me?

    Even if mine are not asrge as hers, they¡¯re still not that small! Why does she sound like I¡¯mpletely t?

    ¡°Aiya, what brings you here, Elf?¡± the Mermaid continued with a smile after a short moment of silence,pletely oblivious to the distress her words brought upon Ye Ci.

    ¡°A shipwreck.¡± replied Ye Ci.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± eximed the Mermaid as she sat upright, with her ample breasts bouncing due to her sudden movement, ¡°Are you talking about the storm a few days ago? It brought us quite arge amount of food!¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at the Mermaid, if I did not hold on to the mast, I might¡¯ve ended up as their food as well and said, ¡°Alright, if there¡¯s nothing else you have to say, I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, why are you leaving? I didn¡¯t say that you can leave yet!¡± shouted the Mermaid.

    Paying no need to the slutty mermaid, Ye Ci headed back into the forest. Mermaids can¡¯t walk, I can just ignore her. Who cares about her anyways?

    ¡°Hey hey hey!¡± the Mermaid called out to Ye Ci. Realizing that she was ignored, she jumped down from the rock. ¡°Ouch!¡± shouted the Mermaid as shended on the beach.

    Ye Ci stopped for a very brief moment before continuing on forward while muttering under her breath, ¡°This is a lvl120 BOSS-tier NPC. She is very intelligent. She will definitely find some way to kill me. I will ignore her.¡±

    ¡°Aiya!¡± the Mermaid screamed when she noticed that Ye Ci had quickened her pace. Her voice was so pleasant that it gave even Ye Ci, who was a girl, the goosebumps. A guy would definitely have melted right here and now. thought Ye Ci to herself.

    The torrent of shouts from the Mermaid was a great source of annoyance to Ye Ci. ¡°Whatever! She¡¯s an NPC! Even if she¡¯s somewhat slutty, and was slightly annoying, I should still go talk to her. She might know the way out of this ce.¡± she muttered under her breath, and walked towards the Mermaid. She was surprised to notice that the Mermaid¡¯s tail was reced by a pair of beautiful looking legs.

    So Mermaids are able to walk onnd after all! No matter how tough they are in water, they¡¯re severely weakened when they¡¯re on drynd. Ye Ci stood 5 yards away from the Mermaid. She could not risk to be too close to the Mermaid, especially when she was not sure if the Mermaid was a friend or foe.

    ¡°Oh my dearest Mermaid, how can I be of help?¡± despite Ye Ci¡¯s use of honorifics, it was obvious that respect was not the feeling she was harboring towards the Mermaid.

    ¡°How could you leave just like that after breaking my harp?¡± the Mermaid pouted.

    If looks could kill, the Mermaid would definitely have died under Ye Ci¡¯s intense re. She could feel a strong urge to strangle the Mermaid, scrape her scales clean, and scream down her throat, ¡°I broke your harp? My ass! Who¡¯s the one at fault here? Screw you! Do you think that you can put the me on me just because you¡¯re in NPC? Go fuck yourself! Even if you¡¯re an NPC, you shouldn¡¯t be pushing my limits like that!¡±

    Of course, these were merely thoughts that Ye Ci could never voice out. ¡°What do you want?¡± she sighed.

    ¡°I want you to repair it for me¡± the Mermaid¡¯s request was simple.

    ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t have the time to meddle in this business of yours. I need to get out of here.¡± Ye Ci declined the request. She wanted nothing to do with the shameless Mermaid.

    ¡°How can you be so irresponsible! You shall be smited by the heavens!¡± the Mermaid began throwing a tantrum, and her actions put Ye Ci in a bad mood.

    Trantor¡¯s Note:

    Before *some* people start screaming bloody murder about how authors are objectifying women in Asian novels h h h.... Let it be known that the author of this novel is a female.

    [1] A story from Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Guan Yu was wounded by a poison arrow fired by troops under themand of Wei general Cao Ren during the battle for Fan Cheng City. Guan Yu was treated by the miracle doctor, Hua Tuo, who offered to have him blindfolded and his hands tied before the operation. Guan Yu refused the offer and instead proceeded with the operation after chugging down some wine. Hua Tuo was able to scrape the poison off Guan Yu¡¯s bones as he yed a game of chess with one of his retainers.

 Chapter 256 An Absurd Quest Part 2

    Chapter 25 An Absurd Quest (Part 2)

    ¡°I¡¯m a woman. This will not work on me. Like I said, I¡¯m looking for a way to leave this ce. I don¡¯t care about anything else.¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips.

    The Mermaid was not happy with Ye Ci¡¯s words. She shot her a re, ¡°Fine! If you can fix my harp, I¡¯ll get you out of here.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the harp. Even if I can acquire the materials to repair the harp, is there someone who can fix it on this damn ind? and she immediately voiced out her concern to the Mermaid.

    The Mermaid nodded after a brief moment of thought, ¡°You¡¯re right. There¡¯s nothing but some very ugly creatures here. You won¡¯t be able to find someone who can fix my harp.¡±

    And the mermaid continued, ¡°Alright then, there¡¯s a person named Dalufar living by the Kalidar Volcano, and he has a harp. If you can bring me the harp, I¡¯ll get you out of this ce.¡±

    ¡°The Kalidar Volcano?¡± Ye Ci was confused. What is this ce?

    The Mermaid chuckled when she noticed the confusion on Ye Ci¡¯s face, and pointed at something behind her. Ye Ci shifted her gaze to the direction, and saw a towering mountain covered with lush green nts. It looked nothing like what Ye Ci expected a volcano to be. ¡°That mountain is the Kalidar Volcano?¡±

    ¡°Of course. It has always been known as such ever since my birth.¡±

    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t look like one.¡± Ye Ci immediately voiced out her doubt. She was never able to treat the Mermaid with respect.

    Ye Ci could clearly see the bewilderment on the Mermaid¡¯s face as she pursed her lips and continued after a short moment, ¡°Anyways, that mountain right there is the Kalidor Volcano, and you¡¯ll find a guy named Dalufar there. The only thing you need to do is to bring me his harp.¡±

    Just then, a system notification appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s view.

    You have triggered the quest ¡°The Mermaid¡¯s Harp.¡± Would you like to ept the quest?

    ¡°Yes¡±

    No shit! I won¡¯t be able to leave this damned ind if I don¡¯t ept the quest!

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be awaiting your good news.¡± the Mermaid stood up and walked towards the sea with awkward steps before gracefully jumping into the water with a loud ssh.

    What an absurd quest.

    All the NPCs in Fate are unique, but they¡¯re all driven by logic. This Mermaid seems to be the odd one out! Even the quest that she gave out was absurd! If I was not the one who ran into the Mermaid... If I did not react the way I did... Will the quest be triggered? thought Ye Ci to herself.

    Of course, Ye Ci knew that it was not the time to ponder upon such matters. She stared up at the Kalidar Volcano. Even if the volcano seemed to be inactive at first nce, Ye Ci knew that it would not be easy to locate Dalufar. After all, a quest from a lvl120 NPC was never easy.

    I have no other choice. Ye Ci took in a deep breath, I have to search for the harp.

    The Western Continent.

    Genesis guild.

    Silent Hymn stared at Absalom, ¡°So... Have you thought of unlocking the quest lock?¡±

    Absalom creased his eyebrows. He was slightly hesitant about the topic, ¡°Have you heard about the thing that is going on in the Eastern Continent?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I¡¯ve seen it in the forums. Even if it¡¯s not a very hot topic, but people are already starting to grow suspicious. I¡¯m not sure how long the mining fever in the Eastern Continent will stop.¡± Silent Hymn nodded. He could understand the reason behind Absalom¡¯s hesitance. Gongzi You has always been cautious and prudent. She will never allow herself to attract so many unwanted attention as she carried out the quest. So... If even such a blunder can happen to her, will the same thing happen to Genesis as well?

    ¡°Have you heard of anything from the Song of Angels?¡± Absalom creased his eyebrows as he read through the forum thread about the mining fever in the Eastern Continent.

    ¡°Not yet.¡± Silent Hymn shook his head. Of course, it did not mean that they would remain silent for long. As the only guild in the Western Continent that could stand toe to toe with Genesis, it was impossible for the Song of Angels to not take note of such an important event in the Eastern Continent. Since the knowledge of such a thing was known to them, they would naturally be able to guess that a simr ore vein existed in the Western Continent.

    The focus of all four continents were focused on the mining operations of the ck Iron Dwarves. Some of the guilds might have started to search for clues, while others were interested in finding out what was being mined by the ck Iron Dwarves before they act.

    ¡°How many days has it been since the mining fever in the Eastern Continent started?¡± Absalom¡¯s expression was dark as he spoke to Silent Hymn.

    ¡°It¡¯s been nine days.¡± came the answer.

    ¡°What have they dug up so far?¡± Absalom knew that Mithril would never be discovered as long as Gongzi You did not unlock the quest. But what if someone was able to dig up high grade ores? This will definitely prompt more yers to continue their mining in the area!

    ¡°Nobody has released any information about their findings yet. In any case, we all know that many of the yers involved are just blindly following the trend. I have a feeling that the area will be mined clean if the existence of something precious there is not disproved.¡±

    ¡°Silent Hymn, I want you to go talk to Smoldering Iron.¡± Absalom spoke up after a long moment of silence.

    ¡°You want me to talk to Smoldering Iron?¡± Silent Hymn was baffled. Smoldering Iron was a friend of the Genesis guild who had been ying in many games with the guild as a life yer. They were able to maintain a good friendship even when they did not meet often in the game.

    Smoldering Iron was a lone wolf with no guilds. Most of the ores gathered by him, however, was sold to Genesis, which considered him as an honorary member.

    He was also the only Grandmaster tier Miner in the Western Continent and in the world of Fate. He was in the possession of a Legendary tier shovel that could increase the drop rate of rare ores and minerals, and was the idol of the Miners in Fate.

    ¡°What for?¡±

    ¡°Get him to transfer his ount to the Eastern Continent and start mining in that area. Get him to post whatever he found on the forums as well.¡±

    Absalom took in a deep breath, ¡°And get the word out that he¡¯s heading to the Eastern Continent so that people will know that even this Grandmaster Miner is interested in the area.¡±

    ¡°Smoldering Iron¡¯s posts in the forums willpletely cool the mining fever down. Why are you helping Gongzi You out?¡± Silent Hymn knew that even if Gongzi You yed a great role in Genesis¡¯s discovery of the Mithril ore vein in the Western Continent, she was still a yer from an opposing faction. They were bound to cross swords in the future, and it would be wise to not get too involved with the girl.

    ¡°I¡¯m not helping Gongzi You. I am helping myself out here.¡± Absalom stared at Silent Hymn, ¡°If this farce in the Eastern Continent do not die down, something simr might start in our continent as well. We won¡¯t be able to unlock our own quest. I can¡¯t afford to drag this on, for Golden Era ising.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± sighed Silent Hymn, ¡°There¡¯s no longsting friendship, nor is there evesting rivalry. There is only profit and benefits.¡±

    ¡°By the way, have you found out which guild is Axia Mist in?¡±

    ¡°Axia Mist?¡± Silent Hymn was slightly stunned, ¡°You¡¯ll never believe where he¡¯s at right now.¡± and a grin appeared on his face.

    ¡°He¡¯s a good yer. It¡¯s easy for him to join one of the major guilds. Could he be in the Wolf Pack?¡± said Absalom, he¡¯s one of the best Rogues in our guild. He definitely be able to make the cut.

    ¡°Nope. And I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he ended up in the Wolf Pack or Tang Dynasty, but...¡± Silent Hymn continued with a smile, ¡°He went to Upwards Ho!.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Absalom was momentarily stunned, ¡°Now that¡¯s a surprise.¡±

    ¡°Now isn¡¯t that interesting?¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± Absalom stood up and gazed out of the window, his thoughts unfathomable. ¡°Do you think he will agree to be our informant?¡± he finally spoke up after a long moment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Axia Mist is a loyal person. Think about it, why would he decide to go over to the Eastern Continent? Why did he make the decision to join Upwards Ho!? It might work out if it¡¯s just a coincidence, but what if it¡¯s not?¡±

    Absalom took in a deep breath, ¡°We can get Fleeting Time to talk to him. If he refuses, we¡¯ll have to find someone else.¡±

    ¡°Why are you so interested in Upwards Ho!?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in the guild, but the Mithril they hold. I don¡¯t thin Upwards Ho! will be able to defend their mine with their current strength. If they can¡¯t defend it, we can defend it for them.¡±

    ¡°Ahh... So this was why you agree to cooperate with Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s one of the reasons.¡± a smile appeared on Absalom¡¯s face, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m sure that Gongzi You had already taken this into consideration before making the decision. Even with Golden Era as ourmon enemy, she will never allow me to have a favorable deal. I will of course react in kind.

    ¡°Your actions are not befitting of your usual self who was someone who would treat members of the fairer sex tenderly.¡± Silent Hymn shook his head.

    ¡°It depends on who I am dealing with.¡± said Absalom as he headed for the door.

    ¡°Why not this one then?¡±

    ¡°Do you think it¡¯ll be easy to deal with a girl who has caught the attention of Fleeting Time?¡± snorted Absalom, ¡°She¡¯ll be climbing on to me head if I was not being ruthless.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± asked Silent Hymn as Absalom walked out of the guild conference room.

    ¡°To look for the guy who can deal with her.¡±

    The Kalidar Volcano had definitely remained inactive for a very long time. Ye Ci could easily tell from the lush forest around that volcano that the ce had not seen an eruption for quite some time. She navigated through the forest, and was able to reach the volcanic crater after battles after battles against monsters ranging from lvl60 to lvl70. She knew that it locating the NPC in such a dense forest was not an easy task.

    As Ye Ci studied her surroundings, looking for a rtively smoother path to Dalufar, she noticed something peculiar.

    She was in a forest, and one would expect the forest floor to be covered by fallen leaves, dried twigs, and moss. These things were indeed present on the ground, but to the eyes of a keen observer, it was obvious that there were traces of activity in the area.

    This was definitely not an easier path.

    As a Huntress, Ye Ci was skilled in setting up traps, and these traps were not trouble for her. She cast Detection and found herself surrounded by traps that were scattered across the forest floor. Ol¡¯ Four had not triggered a single one of them?

    Is this because of my luck?

    The existence of traps signified the presence of sentient life forms. She knew not if they were humanoid monsters of quest-giving NPCs, but it was obvious that they hunt for animals in the forest as a source of food. 99% of the humanoid NPCs found in the wild were always hostile, while the other 1% of their brethren were NPCs that were giving out quests.

    From the number of traps scattered in the forest, Ye Ci could tell that the area was resided by more than one humanoid life forms. The process of setting up a physical trap was very draining on a character¡¯s stamina, and even Ye Ci herself would need to spend a lot of time and Stamina to set up a medium-tier trap. If only one person was responsible for setting up these traps, just how long did it take for him or her to set them all up?

    This was why Ye Ci was sure that there was definitely more than one humanoid life forms in the area.

    Life in Fate was an urate portrayal of life in the real world. This meant that the NPCs in Fate had their own lifestyles just like people from the real world. The NPCs had the need to sleep, eat, and procreate. Some of them might need help from the yers, and their requests were handed out in the form of quests.

    NPCs living in the city and in the wilderness had their own lifestyle.From the perspective of a yer, some of the NPCs might be opponents that had to be defeated, but even the yers could not deny that they NPCs were ¡°alive¡± just like them.

    With her 10 years of experience in Fate, Ye Ci could tell that there was a tribe nearby. Are they hostile humanoid monsters or are they neutral NPCs? This was a question that Ye Ci had no answer to.

 Chapter 257 The Doluo Tribe Part 1

    Chapter 257 The Doluo Tribe (Part 1)

    Ye Ci dismissed Ol¡¯ Four in a bid to avoid unwanted aggro and entered Stealth. She traversed around the traps and advanced deeper into the forest.

    As Ye Ci had expected, she encountered some humanoid NPCs some 500 yards away. Several Humans clothed in animal hide with bows strung on the backs were setting up traps. Their bodies were sturdy, and they were way taller than a standard Human. Their well-toned muscles, slightly reddish skin, big soles, and strong limbs were telltale signs that they were used to life in the jungle.

    Ye Ci remained hidden behind a bush, observing the NPCs from afar. The physical traps that were buried were not high-tiered, but were expertly nted. Even Ye Ci herself would find herself in deep trouble if she was not a Huntress, a character ss that was adept atying down traps.

    The NPCs spoke in anguage not known to Ye Ci as they worked on setting up their traps. This came as a source of great curiosity for Ye Ci. There were 59 recorded races in Fate, each with their own uniquenguage. Members of these 59 races lived in different tribes, which brought more diversity to thenguage of the races. It was entirely normal for Ye Ci who knew onlynguages in the game to not understand the words spoken by the NPC, but most NPC would speak in a Common Language that was mainly used tomunicate with yers in the process of handing out quests.

    The NPCs then stood up and headed deeper into the forest once they were done setting up the traps. Ye Ci tailed the NPC from afar. Despite her curiosity about their destination, she knew that she could not afford to get too close. She had cast Detection earlier on, and found that the NPCs¡¯ were at the level of 70, and were neutral. This fact alone, however, did not guarantee her safety. While neutral NPCs bare no ill will towards the yers, it also meant that they did not have a good impression of the yers as well. This was why Ye Ci made the decision to remain hidden.

    The NPCs did not set up more traps along the way, and were instead chatting happily with each other. Ye Ci marked the trees with a dagger as she followed the NPC deeper into the forest to prevent herself from getting loss as the terrain was not known to her.

    A primitive vige built from wood and animal hide soon appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s view. She waited patiently a safe distance away, and began slowly making her way to the outskirts of the vige once she was certain that the NPCs have entered deep into the vige, with the intention of scouting the vige out and to search for the NPC named Dalufar.

    But just as Ye Ci approached the vige, an eye-shaped orb mounted on a pole outside the vige turned towards her, and her Stealth was immediately dispelled with a system notification ringing in her ears: ¡°Stealth attempt failed.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart sank. I¡¯ve been discovered! She turned around and began to leave.

    A loud roar came from the vige before she could safely withdraw, ¡°Dfrgm ......edgm!!¡±

    And Ye Ci found herself surrounded by weapons that were pointed at her. The weapons themselves were dull, but Ye Ci knew that she would not be able to survive even with her Agility when she was in the midst of such a huge number of enemies.

    She stood still as she stared her assants. The dozens of different faces each wielding a different weapon stared back at her with nk expressions. Ye Ci was stunned. Just what are they? They have the appearance of humans, but their movements were too fast! Where did they evene from?

    Any attempts from Ye Ci tomunicate with the NPCs ended with failure. From the nk expressions on their faces, it was obvious that they could not understand even a single word from Ye Ci¡¯s mouth. Ye Ci was at a loss. What should I do in a situation like this...

    Just then, the crowd parted and a tall and study old man made his way to Ye Ci. The old man¡¯s face was unknown to her, but his facial hair was white, and the wrinkles on his face was a sign of the passing of time. The old man wore avishly decorated crown on his head, and his body was covered by a blue robe decorated by the teeth of unknown beats. Ye Ci could feel a powerful auraing from the fist-sized red colored gem mounted on the old man¡¯s staff.

    The old man walked slowly towards Ye Ci with a sharp gaze in his eyes. His steps were slow, but Ye Ci could feel an unknown pressure with each step he took. She cast Detection and the old man, but his information were disyed as strings of question marks just like the Mermaid she encountered earlier on. This was an indication that the old man was at least 60 levels above Ye Ci. The old man studied Ye Ci silently, and she could feel from his prating gaze that he was a formidable man.

    Ye Ci held his gaze and took in a deep breath. She was able to remain calm despite the intimidating air around the old man.

    He began speaking to Ye Ci in ancient Common Language, ¡°It has been a long time since I¡¯ve seen an Elf. There are usually only Mermaids around here. So what are you doing in this ce, Elf?¡±

    Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief. Thank God there¡¯s one of them who can speak the Common Language! Ye Ci, who was on the ground, made an attempt to stand up as a sign of respect for the elder. His level was as high as the Mermaid, but Ye Ci could tell from his apparent age and demeanor that he was way more reasonable and reliable.

    The weapons that were already lowered were immediately pointed again at Ye Ci at the slightest sign of her movement, forcing her to remain still as she continued staring at the old man.

    The old man was surprisingly courteous. With a gesture of his hand, he dismissed his tribesmen who immediately backed away from Ye Ci. They were, however, still in a position where they could easily strike at her.

    Ye Ci stood up and held her hands up, indicating that she was unarmed and that she bore the NPCs no ill will, before she bowed at the old man and addressed him with the most standard greeting in the game with respectful tone, ¡°Honorable elder, please forgive my trespassing into your territory. I am an Elf from the Jiama Continent, and I arrived here by chance when my ship sank as a result of a storm. I¡¯m lost and I can¡¯t find my way back. I came across your tribesmen by chance as I was exploring the forest and followed them here. If I have offended you with my actions, I would like to offer my sincerest apology.¡±

    Ye Ci was confident in her abilities to handle an NPC, and her confidence was rewarded when the tension on the elder¡¯s face immediately began to ease. The NPC, of course, was not quick to trust Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°Dear Elf, I can smell the scent of a Mermaid on you, and why is that?¡± he asked after studying Ye Ci for a short moment.

    ¡°Honorable elder, I did run into a blue tailed Mermaid before meeting you here. In fact, I almost ended up as her food, but she let me off for reasons unknown. She wanted me to search for a man called Dalufar who is in possession of a harp she needs, but I was not able to locate Dalufar at the Kalidor Volcano, and ran into your tribesmen instead. I then made the decision to follow them here.¡± Ye Ci spoke the whole truth. The NPC appeared to be very intelligent, and it was obvious that he was a person of great importance. Such an NPC could tell if a yer was lying, and would punish the yer for the lie that was told.

    A yer might lose the trust or an NPC, or even his or her life.

    And this was why Ye Ci did not hesitate to tell the truth.

    The old man nodded after a long moment of silence, ¡°You¡¯re right. Mermaids despise the consumption of the flesh of a female. It is repugnant, and even toxic to them. They prefer male flesh.¡±

    So that¡¯s why! thought Ye Ci to herself, No wonder I was let off the hook so easily! I¡¯m a female, and they prefer to eat males!

    ¡°I have spoken to the Gods. They told me that you speak the truth, Elf. Since that is the case, I shall trust in your words.¡± the old man mmed his staff onto the ground thrice, and the crowd immediately dispersed, ¡°I am the Dalufar that you¡¯re looking for, Elf.¡±

    So he is Dalufar. Ye Ci sighed. The things that I need the most tend to appear before me when I least expect it.

    ¡°Greetings, Mr.Dalufar. I am Gongzi You.¡± Ye Ci immediately introduced herself with a voice full of respect.

    Dalufar nodded at Ye Ci, and his expression softened, ¡°A Mermaid wanted you to get a harp from me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what she wanted me to do.¡± Ye Ci was in no rush. She knew that a lvl120 NPC will never hand her a quest item so easily.

    ¡°Alright then. Follow me, and see what she needs.¡± said Dalufar with a nod before leading Ye Ci into the vige.

    Eh? Is the questpleted just like that? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. Perhaps I¡¯ve been thinking too much about it. This could actually be a simple courier quest. Ye Ci¡¯s gaming sense was screaming at her that she had been mistaken, but the current situation was suggesting an entirely different thing.

    Ye Ci studied the NPCs and the buildings in the vige as she followed close behind Dalufar. The vige was big, and was easily inhabited by thousands of NPCs. Their bodies were muscr and well built, and even the females appeared to be tough despite their smaller build. The NPCs greeted Dalufar respectfully in an unknownnguage as he passed.

    The buildings in the vige were simple structures made out of wood and animal skin that were built in different fashions. There were even watch towers on the hill overlooking the vige. Despite their designs that were decorated by animal bones, Ye Ci could tell that the towers were could even rival the towers of Champion City.

    This was a source of amazement for Ye Ci, who did not expect traces of advanced civilization in the midst of a primitive vige.

    Ye Ci could suddenly feel a multitude of gazes resting upon her as she continued onwards with Dalufar. She turned around and just to find eyeballs staring at her from a few totems that were erected on the ground.

    ¡°This person is a guest.¡± said Dalufar and he tapped his staff lightly on the ground in front of the totems, and the eyeballs immediately averted their gaze from Ye Ci.

    Totems could only be ced by a Shaman. thought Ye Ci Is he a Shaman? Dalufar turned around to face Ye Ci as she was still deep in thought, ¡°Are you trying to guess my identity?¡±

    ¡°Forgive my rudeness, Mr.Dalufar, but I¡¯m amazed by your ability to control totems. You reminded me of the statue of a hero in Champion City. It was said that his mastery of the totems was superb. It¡¯s a shame that I¡¯m not able to witness his prowess with my own eyes.¡±

    Dalufar stared at Ye Ci with an unfathomable expression before finally speaking up with a soft voice, ¡°You must be talking about Khutak.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci nodded, ¡°Do you know him, Mr.Dalufar¡± she asked with surprise clear in her voice.

    ¡°He was my brother.¡± replied Dalufar with a calm voice.

 Chapter 257 The Doluo Tribe Part 2

    Chapter 257 The Doluo Tribe (Part 2)

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart almost stopped when the reply came from Dalufar. She clutched at her chest with her left hand to calm her rapidly beating heart. This guy is more than a thousand years old? The battle between the heroes and the Dark Lord Naga happened a thousand years ago! If Dalufar is the brother of Khutak, he is definitely more than a thousand years old.

    She spoke up after some slight hesitation, ¡°I¡¯ve never expected to meet someone like you here, Mr.Dalufar.¡± and she continued, ¡°But if memory serves, Khutak was a Human, but you...¡±

    The sentence remained unfinished, but Ye Ci knew that Dalufar could understand the meaning behind her words.

    Dalufar stared at Ye Ci before finally speaking up, ¡°We are the Doluo tribe, born from the union between Humans and Barbarians.¡±

    Ye Ci responded with a nod. So this is why the tribe looks as tough as Barbarians but still possess the intelligence of Humans. They¡¯re descendents of both races!

    ¡°You must be thinking that we¡¯re a superior race due to our Barbarian strength and Human intelligence.¡± it was as if Dalufar could read Ye Ci¡¯s mind. She was shocked by his words. Can he actually read my mind? How did he know? Ye Ci replied despite her surprise, ¡°Yes, it seems like it.¡±

    Dalufar let out a long sigh and led Ye Ci deeper into the vige, ¡°But the truth is far from that.¡±

    Ye Ci listened attentively as she followed behind Dalufar, interjecting from time to time as an indication that she was listening seriously to his narration. This was the best way to deal with an NPC.

    An NPC would not be happy when his or her narration was disrupted by a yer, but as the narrative dragged on, it was easy for yers to lose interest in what the NPC had to say. If a yer remained in silence for a long period of time, the NPC would assume that the yer was not listening to their story and take offense. A yer who interacted too frequently with the NPC would also cause feelings of dissatisfaction that might affect their interaction with the NPC in the future.

    A quest would usually follow after a long narration. If an NPC took offense over a yer¡¯s attitude, then he or she would definitely receive a tougher quest with less rewards from the NPC. This was why interaction with NPCs was also a skill that must be learned by yers.

    Ye Ci, of course, had a good mastery of such a skill. Aided with her Sly trait, she had always been able to handle a conversation with an NPC well.

    She paid attention to each of Dalufar¡¯s words, as she knew that his words would be useful during her quest even if they made no sense to her.

    The Doluo tribe was not supposed to exist. They were never recorded in the history of the Jiama Continent. One could even say that history had forgotten all about them because they were too weak. ¡°Doluo¡± in thenguage of the Barbarians carries the meaning of ¡°to leave¡± or ¡°to abandon¡±. In other words, the Doluo tribe was a race that had been forgotten.

    Despite their traits that were inherited from both the Barbarians and the Humans, the Doluo were not as strong as the Barbarians, nor were they as agile or as intelligent as the Humans. They were like the jack of all trades, but master of none. They have been forsaken by both Humans and Barbarians even before the Dark Lord¡¯s invasion of the Jiama Continent.

    Tribes that were abandoned by their own race suffered a terrible fate. No aid were sent when they were attacked by the Dark Lord¡¯s forces, and they were treated horribly by the other races as well. Due to theirbination of strength and intelligence, the Doluo tribe was hunted by nobles of the other races and many were enved.

    The Doluo tribe attempted to hide in the harsh wilderness, but were in the end captured. They were loaded into a ship bound for original capital of the Jiama Continent, the Glory City to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The ship sank in a storm, and the ve masters that were in charge of their transport were washed away into the sea. The tribe survived in the wooden cages that have managed to stay afloat.

    They attracted the attention of the Mermaids, and the tribe narrowly avoided the fate of bing food for the Mermaids when their chieftain struck a deal with the ruler of the Mermaids. In exchange for safe passage to an uninhabited ind, the Doluo tribe would produce musical instruments for the Mermaids, who hunted their prey through the use of brute force. This proposal was made when the leader of the Doluo tribe realised that Mermaids had a beautiful singing voice.

    The ruler of the Mermaids attempted the method of charming prey with her song, and found such a way to be more efficient than the use of sheer strength. Hence the proposal was epted, and the Doluo tribe settled down in this ind that was surrounded by Mermaids. Fearing the ferocity of the Mermaids, members of the other races stayed away from the ind, and the Doluo tribe began producing musical instruments that could cloud the minds of their victims for them as a gesture of gratitude.

    The Doluo tribe lived in peace and tranquility on the ind for many years without fear of prosecution from the other races. They have even developed their ownnguage along the way. The tribe¡¯s inherited strength and intelligence from their Barbarian and Human ancestors made them great Shamans, but many talents were wasted as the Doluo tribe were considered to be at the bottom of society, and were not given the chance to acquire knowledge to be a Shaman. Such situation went on until the birth of Khutak. He was the most talented among the Doluo tribe, and had shown an interest in bing a Shaman even during his youth. His was eager to learn, and was taught the way of the Shaman by the Mermaids. He became a full-fledged Shaman at the age of 20.

    Dalufar eventually became a Shaman as well under the influence of his brother, Khutak.

    Khutak was a kind-hearted individual who was full of enthusiasm. Even the knowledge of his tribe¡¯s persecution by the races of the Jiama Continent was not enough to stop him from venturing to forth onto the continent. Despite his status as the next chief of the tribe, and even with the objection from his tribe, Khutak traveled to the Jiama Continent with the help of a Mermaid. When the Dark Lord Naga dered war upon the continent, Khutak went to war as well.

    He demonstrated an unprecedented talent on the battlefield, and was quick to be recognised as the youngest Elder Shaman in the Jiama Continent. Khutak refused to reveal his lineage to the surprise of the other races, and his race was finally revealed when he fell in battle against Naga. His bravery and kindness was burned into the hearts and minds of every citizen of the Jiama Continent. Even when the continent was split into five after the battle against the Dark Lord, the statue of Khutak can still be seen in major cities of all the continents.

    The Doluo tribe would eventually find out about Khutak¡¯s death years after the battle when the Mermaid who ferried him away from the ind delivered his staff back to the tribe. The Doluo people were grief-stricken, and Dalufar became the new leader of the tribe with the death of their chieftain.

    Ye Ci stole a nce at Dalufar¡¯s staff and thought to herself: Damn! This thing is an artifact of the hero Khutak. ording to the history of the Jiama Continent, the heroes that fell in the battle were granted godhood as a reward for their valor. They were not as powerful as the other gods, but it was still an amazing feat.

    This means that even if Khutak is dead, he is still a low-tier God. And an artifact left behind by Khutak... Is a godly artifact!!!

    A godly artifact...

    Even when Ye Ci was not a Shaman, she could still not resist the urge to stare at the staff. This thing is a godly artifact! I can¡¯t believe it! It looks like a Purple Equipment at most! I can¡¯t believe that it¡¯s actually a godly artifact!

    Ye Ci was one of the best Sorceress in her past life, but even she had never seen a Godly artifact during her 10 years of gaming. Then again, there were only dozens of godly artifacts scattered throughout the world of Fate. Even if a yer was lucky enough to get his or her hands on one of the artifacts, the yer would definitely not made their discovery known to the public. This was the first time Ye Ci was able toy her eyes upon a godly artifact in both her leves.

    She even had a brief thought of snatching the staff away, but it was soon snuffed out by her rationality. Angering a Legendary-tier Shaman armed with a godly artifact was not something that an intelligent person would do.

    ¡°The Doluo tribe is very amazing, but why don¡¯t you go and interact with the races in the outside world?¡± Ye Ci voiced out her curiosity about the primitive vige.

    Dalufar stopped and stared at Ye Ci before shaking his head, ¡°The outside world is filled with excitement, but it also contains a lot of temptation. Our race iscking when ites to ability in reproduction. If people are to leave our vige, our poption will drop, and we will be bullied.¡±

    Despite her difference in opinion, Ye Ci wasted no time in changing the topic, ¡°That watch tower is beautiful. Was it built by your tribe?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We Doluo are good Shamans and skillful builders. We could¡¯ve built a mighty fortress if there were enough materials in the area.¡± Dalufar¡¯s love for his tribe was apparent as a smile lit up his face when the topic was brought up.

    His words might be unintentional, but to a listener with a motive...

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart leapt as she heard Dalufar¡¯s words.

    Talented builders! Does it mean that they will be able to build an indestructible fortress as long as they have the materials? With the introduction of abandoned cities and fortresses into the game, Builders are bing a popr ss. This particr character ss, however, is very hard to train as the only way for this ss to level up their skills is by building structures. The cost and materials needed for such a thing was not something that could be afforded by solo yers and small guilds.... And this includes Upwards Ho!.

    But...

    If I can gain the trust of the Doluo tribe, they might be happy to lend me some of their Builders. From how well their watch towers were built, the Builders of the Doluo tribe are definitely at the Grandmaster tier. If I can get them to help me out... I might just be able to build a fortress at the Mithril ore vein and fortify it with Goblin weapons. With all this in ce... We will be able to defend the mine!

    Ye Ci¡¯s mood was immediately improved, and a grin appeared on her face. She had originally nned to leave the ind as soon as possible, but this was no longer her objective. Before I leave, I must at least form a good rtionship with Dalufar, am I right?

    Even if Dalufar was highly perceptive, it was merely the trait of a high leveled NPC. He was not capable ofprehending the little schemes that was going through Ye Ci¡¯s mind. Why is she suddenly beaming at me? thought the NPC to himself.

    To avoid suspicion from Dalufar, Ye Ci retracted her gaze and nodded, ¡°Dear Mr.Dalufar, I thank you for the chance to have a tour around your vige. The Doluo are indeed great people.¡±

    Dalufar was happy to hear Ye Ci¡¯s words. He nodded with a smile and responded with a warning, ¡°Do not attempt to bring outsiders to this ce, Elf, or the guardian deity of our tribe will hunt you down.¡± and with the wave of his staff, Ye Ci received a debuff.

    It was ¡°The Mark of Doluo¡±. Ye Ci would be hunted down by the members of the Doluo tribe if she revealed the secrets and location of the Doluo tribe to anyone who was not a Mermaid.

    Damn it! Isn¡¯t this a bit of an overkill, old man? Do you think I¡¯ll be that stupid? Of course I will not tell anyone your secrets! Is this curse even necessary?

    Despite her thoughts, Ye Ci voiced out her affirmation and bowed at Dalufar. The chieftain was apparently satisfied with her actions as her prestige with the Doluo tribe was immediately increased to ¡°Friendly¡±.

    Well, since I have not figured out a way to raise my prestige with the Doluo tribe, I might as well proceed with the Mermaid¡¯s quest. Dalufar was apparently thinking of the same thing. He led Ye Ci into arge tent that was surrounded by totems, with their eyeballs gazing at each and every passer by. A sign with the carving of musical instruments was hung at the entrance of the tent.

    There were eight young Doluoians in the tent and each of them were focused on their work. A middle aged man noticed Dalufar¡¯s presence in the tent, and immediately greeted his chieftain in an unknownnguage.

    Dalufar responded in kind as well, which was a headache to Ye Ci. Do they know that this is a torture to me? Dalufar rested his hand against Ye Ci¡¯s head after a brief conversation with the man. He muttered a short incantation, and his palm began to glow.

 Chapter 258 Alaunar Part 1

    Chapter 258 unar (Part 1)

    Is he going to ce another curse on me? Ye Ci grimaced, What sort of curse will it be this time?

    The light disappeared after a few seconds, followed by a system notification: ¡°You¡¯ve learned the Doluonguage.¡±

    As expected of a game! I learnt a newnguage just like that! Why can¡¯t I do that in real life? Ye Ci was not very gifted when it came tonguages. The onlynguage she could speak other than Mandarin was bits and pieces of English. She was forever envious of the characters in-game that could learn anguage in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Alright, Elf, you can talk to Barik for the purchase of a harp. If there¡¯s something else you need from me, I¡¯ll be in the grand hall.¡± Dalufar handed Ye Ci over to the middle-aged individual and left the tent.

    Ye Ci bowed at Dalufar as he left. After all, she was in the territory of someone else, and paying respect to their leader was the right thing to do.

    Barik was apparently satisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s disy of courtesy, ¡°So, are you here to buy a harp, Elf?¡± he smiled at Ye Ci.

    ¡°Yes, Mr.Barik.¡± Ye Ci nodded as her eyes swept over the musical instruments hanging on the wall behind Barik. They were all masterfully crafted pieces of high quality.

    ¡°Very well. Everything here is up for sale.¡± said Barik as he initiated a trade with Ye Ci. The wide selection of musical instruments in his inventory was dazzling for Ye Ci. She found herself unable to make a choice.

    Barik noticed Ye Ci¡¯s expression and asked with a smile, ¡°You seem to have trouble choosing a musical instrument. I happen to be very good at something like this. Why don¡¯t you tell me what you need? I might be able to help you out.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded when she saw the sincere expression on Barik¡¯s face, ¡°Mr.Barik, I¡¯m here to buy a harp for a Mermaid, but there¡¯s so many of them here. Do you have any suggestions for me?¡±

    Barik tilted his head, ¡°Does she have a blue tail, blond hair, and speaks in a weird fashion?¡±

    Ye Ci immediately nodded. It was apparent that the Mermaid was well known even among the Doluo tribe.¡±

    ¡°Ahh.. Her name¡¯s Lia. She¡¯s an old customer of ours.¡± said Barik with a smile, ¡°She tend to break her harp. But lucky enough for us, Lia has never med us for the mishap that happened to her musical instruments. We will be troubled if she uses us of producing harps with inferior quality.¡± said Barik as he tapped on the trade window and pointed at a golden harp on thest page, ¡°This is the one Lia had always bought. So you can just buy this from me and hand it over to her.¡±

    Ye Ci noticed that the harp was just like the one she saw in Lia¡¯s hand. She stole a nce at the amount of gold in her inventory, and made the conclusion that she would be able to afford the harp, ¡°Okay then, Mr.Barik. How much does this cost? I¡¯ll take it.¡±

    ¡°This does note cheap. It¡¯ll cost you 20 pieces of Ancient Emerald Ore.¡±

    The smile remained on Barik¡¯s face, but Ye Ci¡¯s expression was morphed into a frown, ¡°What did you say? 20 pieces of what?¡±

    ¡°Ancient Emerald Ore.¡± Barik nodded.

    ¡°You don¡¯t deal with money?¡± Ye Ci blinked.

    ¡°What sort of money?¡±

    ¡°This.¡± said Ye Ci as she produced a gold coin from her pocket and ced it on Barik¡¯s palm.

    Barik stared at the gold coin, and even nipped it in his mouth before returning the coin to Ye Ci, ¡°What is this? What is it for?¡±

    Ye Ci was rendered speechless by his words. What is this you say? This is the general currency of the game! It can be used in every single continent! Why can¡¯t I use it here? She could not bring herself to believe what she heard, ¡°Mr.Barik, are you saying that this thing is useless here?¡±

    ¡°Of course, Elf. Is it useful to you?¡± Barik replied with a shrug.

    His words were met with silence from Ye Ci. Fine! This is a primitive vige. Of course the currency from the outside world will not work here. But can someone tell me what to do right now? Ye Ci nodded at Barik after a short moment of thought, ¡°Very well, Mr.Barik. I think there¡¯s something that I need to discuss with Mr.Dalufar. I¡¯ll be seeing you again shortly.¡±

    Barik nodded at Ye Ci, who bowed at him before leaving the tent. She then headed straight to therge tent at the center of the vige.

    I knew it! There¡¯s no way in hell a lvl120 NPC will give out a simple courier quest! So this is the deal! Thought Ye Ci to herself.

    She was quick to arrive at Dalufar¡¯s tent. After greeting the elder and initiating a small talk, Ye Ci immediately went straight to the point, ¡°Mr.Dalufar, is the currency from the Jiama Continent not usable in your vige?¡±

    ¡°Of course. We¡¯ve never traded with anyone other than the Mermaids, and they¡¯ve never used the currency from the Jiama Continent. Your gold coins worth nothing here.¡± said Dalufar matter of factly.

    Ye Ci sighed, ¡°What sort of currency do you use then, Mr.Dalufar? Is it the Ancient Emerald Ore?¡±

    ¡°The Ancient Emerald Ore is just one of the currencies that we use. We trade with Ancient Ores, and the Ancient Crimson Ores are one of our mostmon currencies. A hundred of these are worth an Ancient Azure Ore, while a hundred Ancient Azure Ore is worth one Ancient Golden Ore. You can exchange one hundred Ancient Golden Ore for an Ancient Emerald Ore.¡± Dalufar proceeded to exin the currency used by the Doluo tribe to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci could hear ringing in her ears as she listened to the exnation. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! These things are not easy to get! God knows how long it¡¯ll take me to obtain 20 pieces of Ancient Emerald Ore...

    ¡°And how do I obtain these ores?¡± asked Ye Ci with a sigh. Her intention was to leave the ind, and the only way out was to obtain the 20 pieces of Ancient Emerald Ores.

    ¡°Well, there are two ways, and both of them involve having you travelling to the depths of the Kalidor Volcano. You can either mine for ores in the cave, and with luck acquire an Ancient Emerald Ore, or you can head to the Pitch ck Cave. There are a lot of Magma Golems in the cave, and you can obtain ores by killing the golems.¡± Dalufar smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°By the way, I happen to be in possession of a shovel. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be needing it.¡±

    As Ye Ci received the shovel from Dalufar, she had a nagging that she was being tricked. It felt as if she was being exploited by the NPC.

    Despite such a feeling, Ye Ci knew that she must endure. She was a yer, and he was a highly intelligent NPC. They were already on unequal footing at the beginning.

    ¡°Go to the southern corner of the vige. You¡¯ll find Nuoba there. He¡¯s the general of our tribe, and he will lead you to the bottom of the Kalidor Volcano.¡± and with that, Dalufar refused further dialogue with Ye Ci. Knowing that she would make no further progress with Dalufar, Ye Ci bowed at the NPC and headed for Nuoba after leaving the tent.

    Nuoba was a Doluo who towered over his fellow tribesman. Armed with a sharp spear, the man was clothed better than most of his tribesman, and his neck was decorated by several rows of wild beast teeth. The battle scars that covered his body were telltale signs that he was a brave warrior who fought and bled for the sake of his tribe. Ye Ci walked up to Nuoba and stated her purpose. She was greeted warmly by the general, who immediately agreed to send one of his men to guide Ye Ci to the bottom of the Kalidor Volcano.

    ¡°The way to the bottom of the volcano is not an easy one, Elf. The paths are tooplicated. Do you wish to hire one of my tribesman as your guide?¡± Nuoba smiled at Ye Ci. Despite his gruff appearance, Nuoba was cunning when it came to making money.

    Having thepany of a mercenary in an unknown ce had its merits. Ye Ci could save herself the trouble of exploring the terrain, and would even receive help in times of danger. Then again, she had no means of paying for the hired aid, which was why she shook her head with regret clear in her expression, ¡°I don¡¯t have any Ancient Ore with me, Nuoba, not even a piece of Ancient Crimson Ore.¡±

    Nuoba¡¯s eyebrows furrowed upon Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°That¡¯s a shame.¡± he said with a pause, and his eyes lit up instantly as he cast a nce at the guards posted behind him, ¡°Ah, my dear Elf. You¡¯re our guest, and was sent here by the chieftain. It¡¯ll be discourteous of me to turn you away just because you do not have any ores in your possession. I have a suggestion for you. What if I send one of my men with you, and you can pay me when you get back?¡±

    Is there such a nice thing in this world? Ye Ci was sceptical. There is no free lunch in this world. Nuoba is definitely up to something. Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, but she did not decline Nuoba¡¯s offer immediately. I want to know just what is this guy up to. ¡°I can¡¯t do that. I¡¯m staying here because of the good graces of Mr.Dalufar. Isn¡¯t it ungrateful of me to be doing this?¡± she said with a troubled expression.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Elf. We of the Doluo tribe treat our guests well. I¡¯m d to be of service.¡± Nuoba let out a heartyugh. He gestured with his hand, and a thin and sickly looking Doluo boy walked up to Ye Ci. Nuoba pointed at the boy, ¡°Do not underestimate this child, Elf. He is agile on his feet. He¡¯ll have no problems serving as your guide. Besides, he is quite cheap. You only have to pay 50 Ancient Crimson Ores per day for his services.¡±

    Ye Ci studied the Doluo boy. The boy¡¯s skin was pale, and the color of his hair was dull. He was young and very thin. By Doluoian standards, the boy was a sickly person. One might even say that he was sick beyond cure. In a society that ced martial prowess above all, the boy was definitely a misfit, or even a burden. Ye Ci had no idea how the boy ended up as one of Nuoba¡¯s troops, but it was obvious that the general disliked the boy, and was even harboring thoughts of getting rid of him.

    The boy¡¯s arm that was holding a wooden stick was even slimmer than the arms of an Elf. He stood on unsteady feet, and Ye Ci feared that the boy might fall over in the next moment. She was deeply troubled by the boy¡¯s condition. Is it even a good thing to have someone like this as my guide? What if he dies on the way there? Will his death be a responsibility of mine?

    Nuoba smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°We of the Doluo tribe do not fear death. It is a glory for us to die in battle, just like Khutak once did.¡± it was as if the NPC was able to read Ye Ci¡¯s mind.

    Ye Ci cast a nce at Nuoba and sneered at the NPC. The bastard. He might look like a good person, but he¡¯s far from being one. He was hinting to me that it did not matter if the boy die, and in a way was telling me the if the boy stays alive, I¡¯ll have to pay him the fees for hiring one of his men. If I take the boy with me, I¡¯ll be getting rid of a burden from him while he earns a side ie from me.

    Nuoba did nothing to hide his intentions from Ye Ci¡¯s piercing gaze. One with strength held the right of speech in the Doluo tribe. Those weak were nothing but trash in their society, and ording to thews of the jungle, death was the only fate that awaited the weak. Nuoba himself did not think that he was in the wrong.

    The Doluo boy raised his head and stared at Ye Ci. His face was pale, and his breaths shallow. It looked as if the boy might drop dead at any second. From his eyes, however, Ye Ci could see an unyielding spirit. There was not a hint of the feebleness of the weak in his gaze. All traces of hesitation disappeared from Ye Ci¡¯s heart. She did not know what would happen in her journey ahead, but she was certain that a person with such a piercing gaze would never bow down before fate.

    She nodded at Nuoba and stroke the boy¡¯s head, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hire the boy. What is his name?¡±

    ¡°Diluo¡± replied Nuoba, and his word was followed by snickers from his men. Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She knew not of the meaning of such a word, but it was definitely not something good, ¡°You can call him Diluo, Elf.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± Ye Ci wanted nothing more to do with a viper like Nuoba. She had a great distaste for his snobbish personality, ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way then.¡±

    ¡°Go, Elf. You can head there from that entrance.¡± said Nuoba as he pointed at the direction of a few guards posted not far away, ¡°With Diluo as your guide, I¡¯m sure that you can reach the bottom of the Kalidor Volcano very soon.¡± it was apparent that the general was in a good mood.

    Ye Ci left the entrance with the Doluo boy, and was quick to arrive at a huge, deep crater. Lush green growth can be seen growing from the cracks surrounding the crater, and there were even herbs hidden among the grass. The area was full of life, a sign that the Kalidor Volcano was indeed an inactive volcano that has not erupted for a long time.

    The boy¡¯s movements were quick despite his frail frame. He led Ye Ci to the bottom of the volcano through a small deserted road. Ye Ci was deep in thought as she followed behind the sickly thin boy. She cast Detection on the boy, but was not able to gain any useful information with the skill. The boy had a very in outlook, but Ye Ci could feel a mystery hidden behind him.

    ¡°So what does Diluo mean?¡± asked Ye Ci without warning.

    The boy¡¯s body shivered at the word, and his soft voice mirrored the sadness in his heart, ¡°I-it means ¡®trash¡¯.¡±

    Ye Ci responded with a nod. It was just as she had expected. Every NPC has their own past in Fate. A yer who was able to form a bond with the NPCs would be able to gain ess to secrets or benefits that were not avable to the rest of the yer poption. Ye Ci¡¯s understanding of the Doluo tribe came from Dalufar, which was from a very positive viewpoint ofmunity. She knew that hiring a builder from the Doluo tribe would not be easy through the official channels, but the boy... He might know things that were not known by others.

    After a quick analysis on the boy, Ye Ci came to the conclusion that he was a rather capable individual. After all, the boy was able to earn a spot in Nuoba¡¯s troop. The general¡¯s uncaring manner towards the boy¡¯s life was a sign that he did not have an influential background. As for why Nuoba was looking down on an individual with talents... Ye Ci had no answer to the question. She could tell that the boy was not useless based on his performance. The boy, at least, did not see himself as trash.

    As long as Ye Ci was able to get along with the boy, it would be easy to build a good rtionship with him.

    ¡°And what is your name?¡±

    ¡°Diluo...¡± the boy¡¯s voice grew even softer.

 Chapter 258 Alaunar Part 2

    Chapter 258 unar (Part 2)

    ¡°So do you feel that you should be called ¡®diluo¡¯ as well?¡± said Ye Ci coldly as she stared at the boy¡¯s back.

    The boy¡¯s response did not arrive immediately. The boy remained silent, and just as Ye Ci was starting to doubt her own actions, he finally spoke up, ¡°My name is unar.¡± his voice was soft, and was devoid of confidence.

    The ghost of a smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips. Good. This means that I¡¯m right. The boy has an unyielding spirit within him. He will grow up to be a very sessful man as long he does not give up.

    Ye Ci was not good at striking up conversations while unar was a person of few words. It was impossible for the two to keep up a lively conversation. The duo proceeded on their journey, and Ye Ci was finally able to find out about the story behind unar during one of their few small talks.

    unar was the son of a warrior of the Doluo Tribe. His mother possessed a weak physique that was rare among the tribe. unar¡¯s father alone shouldered the responsibility of providing for the family. He died in a hunt for the sake of putting more food on the table for his wife and child. Despite the tradition among the tribe to take care of the widow and child of a warrior, the family of unar¡¯s father was fond of him and his mother. Despite his physical weakness, unar was a male, he was the man of his family. Dalufar could not break the rules established since the formation of the tribe to provide aid for this unfortunate family. The only thing he could do was to arrange for unar¡¯s position as one of Nuoba¡¯s men. His meagre sry would be sufficient to provide for his mother and himself.

    However, Nuoba was a man who worshipped martial prowess above all else, and was nowhere as sympathetic as Dalufar. He expected his men to be brave and strong. unar received the scorn of the general as he was only able to join the army due to Dalufar¡¯s good graces. The boy¡¯s weak physique had also provoked much ire from Nuoba. He could not disobey the orders of his chieftain, but he could still make unar¡¯s life a living hell.

    Ye Ci¡¯s arrival was the perfect opportunity for Nuoba to be rid of unar. He was willing to go to great lengths to expel unar from the army. Besides, if the boy remained alive, he could earn a profit a 50 Ancient Crimson Ores a day. This was a great deal for the general.

    As tragic as the story was, sadness was thest thing that Ye Ci felt. There were many tragedies unfolding all around the world every single day. Who would have the tears to spare for the sob story of somebody else? Besides, even unar himself did not think that what happened to him was a tragedy at all.

    ¡°Have you been to a battlefield?¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about a hunt?¡± unar was no longer wary of Ye Ci after realising that the Elf was not a bad person during their many interactions.

    ¡°Yup.¡± the Doluo tribe was living on an istednd. The only conflict that its warriors would see was during a hunt.

    ¡°Yes. Nuoba made sure that I was positioned at the front every single time. Perhaps he hoped that I would die in battle.¡± unar¡¯s tone was rxed as he answered the question, ¡°But I was quick on my feet, and my luck was good as well. I¡¯ve always managed to go home alive.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded at unar. She could tell that the NPC had a high Agility value that rivalled even that or her own.

    The ground on the mouth of the Kalidor Volcano was littered with ck ores. As the duo advanced further into the crater, the ores began to thin out. Ye Ci would asionally dig up some ores during their descent. Most of the ores were Ancient Crimson Ore, followed by Ancient Azure Ore. The Ancient Golden Ores were an even rarer existence, and Ye Ci had never even seen an Ancient Emerald Ore during the journey.

    unar would always wait patiently by Ye Ci¡¯s side as shebored away with her shovel. His gaze was calm, and there was not even a single hint of greed in his eyes. It was as if Ye Ci was simply mining up ores that mattered not to him instead of the currency used by the rest of his tribesman. After another round of hard work, Ye Ci was able to dig up a piece of Ancient Golden Ore and a dozen of Ancient Crimson Ore. Even as she sat on the ground to catch a breath, unar remained standing, constantly surveying their surroundings like a verypetent sentry.

    Ye Ci was baffled, ¡°Hey unar, can these ores be exchanged for items once we get back to the vige?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°So why don¡¯t you dig some of them up as well?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t own them. They belong to the tribe. I¡¯m not allowed to mine any of them. Besides... Nobody can mine the ores without a shovel enchanted by Lord Dalufar.¡± unar shook his head.

    So that¡¯s how it is. He¡¯s not a person without his own thoughts after all. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll just go back to mining the ores.

    It did not take long for Ye Ci to realise that mining was a painstaking ordeal. Her patience was long since exhausted, and she no longer wished to continue such a mundane and meaningless task. She remembered Dalufar words, and made the decision to try out the other option of obtaining Ancient Ores.

    ¡°unar, do you know where the Pitch ck Cave is?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± unar nodded. He was surprised by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden mentioning of the ce. Before he could speak up, however...

    ¡°I want you to bring me there.¡± at that very moment, any form of ugly monsters that might be dwelling in the cave was way more adorable than the unmoving ores waiting to be mined.

    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± even when he knew that he was not in the position to question Ye Ci¡¯s decision, unar decided to voice out his thoughts.

    ¡°To get more ores, of course.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes at unar. Does he not know that the monsters in the Pitch ck Cave produce ores as well?

    ¡°But... The Magma Golems in the cave are strong! We¡¯ll both die!¡± unar shook his head.

    Unlike a yer, the NPCs in Fate had only one life. They would be erased from the world of Fate permanently upon death unless a special resurrection skill was employed to bring them back to life. This was of course something known to Ye Ci, and she was reluctant to see unar dead. She needed information from the boy, which meant that she would not do anything that might endanger his life, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Just bring me to the cave. There¡¯s nothing to worry, I can take care of them.¡±

    ¡°But... I¡¯m your mercenary...¡±

    The boy¡¯s stubbornness was something that Ye Ci could understand. ¡°Exactly. You¡¯re my mercenary, so all you have to do is to obey my orders.¡± she shook her head at unar.

    unar was about to voice out his protest, but chose to swallow his words instead, and led Ye Ci towards another direction.

    With Magma Golems as her opponent, Anti Burn Potions were definitely a necessity. Ye Ci took stock her inventory, and found that she had a healthy supply of Medium Anti-Burn Potion. While the fight ahead will be tough, it was enough. She did not know the levels of her opponent, but she was confident of her ability to finish them off as long as their levels were under 80.

    It did not take long for the duo to reach the Pitch ck Cave.

    The small cave entrance was hidden behind several huge chunks of ck rock. A person who was not familiar with the terran would never be able to locate the entrance. There was no sign of nt life in the area that was littered with ck ores. The ground itself was charred ck.

    ¡°This is the Pitch ck Cave, Elf. Are you sure you want to go in?¡± unar was nervous.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very scary inside. Nuoba and his men came to this ce before, but they suffered horrible casualties. Lord Dalufar is the only one in our tribe who is able to approach this cave even until now. The Magma Golems are very strong. They are covered inva that can roast a man alive.¡± the fear was apparent in unar¡¯s expression. This Elf was the only one who had treated him kindly other than his mother and the chieftain Dalufar. He did not wish for harm to befall upon the Elf.

    ¡°Are you afraid, unar?¡± Ye Ci smiled at unar.

    unar lowered his head and answered truthfully after a short moment of silence, ¡°Yes, Elf. I am very afraid. They say that it¡¯s very scary in there.¡±

    ¡°Do you know why we feel fear?¡± asked Ye Ci in a gentle voice as she caressed the head of urnar.

    unar shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Fear is caused by two things.¡± Ye Ci smiled at unar, ¡°One stemmed from our fear of the unknown, while the other was born out of our own weakness. So which of them is the source of your fear?¡±

    unar raised his head and stared at Ye Ci with vigor in his eyes. It was as if Ye Ci¡¯s words had opened a new window in the boy¡¯s soul, showing to the boy a world that was previously unknown to him. ¡°Are you afraid then, Elf?¡± he asked after a moment of thought.

    ¡°No, I was never afraid.¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°Even when my foes were far superior, I held on to the belief that I will win. Of course, I¡¯m talking about situations when the disparity of strength between us is not vast. I will never be able tost against an opponent like Mr.Dalufar, which is why I will avoid conflict with someone like him. Do you understand what I¡¯m trying to say?¡±

    unar shot Ye Ci a weird look before finally nodding his head, ¡°I understand.¡±

    Ye Ci patted the boy on his head, ¡°Alright unar, wait for me here. I¡¯ll return safely.¡±

    She then unstrung her bow and headed into the Pitch ck Cave.

    Just like its namesake, the interior of the Pitch ck Cave was pitch ck. It took Ye Ci quite a moment before her eyesight could adjust to her surroundings as she advanced slowly into the darkness. Even when she was not able to every single detail of the cave in the dark, Ye Ci was still able to have a good grasp of the terrain with the aid of the superior night vision of the Elven race.

    Ye Ci felt a puff of hot hair against her face as she entered the Pitch ck cave. While the difference between the temperature of the cave and the outside world was not as great as expected, it was still a telltale sign that Ye Ci had entered a more hostile environment.

    Due to the narrow terrain, summoning Ol¡¯ Four was not an option for Ye Ci. Ol¡¯ Three, on the other hand, was very behind in level. This meant that he would not be able to withstand sustained damage from the mobs in the cave. The only thing that Ye Ci could do was to press forward in hopes of finding a wide opening where Ol¡¯ Four could be summoned. With the situation ahead unknown, Ye Ci made the decision to enter Stealth.

    She advanced slowly into the deeper parts of the cave, with the temperature rising with each step she took. The temperature was not high enough to deal damage to Ye Ci, but she was already sweating profusely from her forehead.

    It would be a long while before Ye Ci heard a low rumbling sound in the cave. She cautiously advanced to the source of the sound, and found two Magma Golems sleeping on the ground. The rumbling was actually the sound made by the golems as they slept. There was another Magma Golem lurking not far from the sleeping golems.

    Magma Golems were not made out of magma, but was instead formed by huge chunks of glowing red rocks. Some of these rocks were molten by magma, and they dripped onto the ground with a sizzling sound as the Magma Golems walked.

    These golems were not an unfamiliar sight for Ye Ci as they were often present inrge numbers inte game fire-themed dungeons. The Magma Golems could deal huge amounts of burn damage with the magma dripping from their bodies, but they were physical damage monsters. As long as Ye Ci was careful to keep her distance, it would be easy to dispatch her foes.

    Ye Ci cast Detection on the Golems, and found them to be lvl75. They were 15 levels above Ye Ci, which meant that the level penalty would be significant. Despite that, she had no intention of summoning Ol¡¯ Four. The golems¡¯ melee attacks could deal a lot of damage, and even Ol¡¯ Four would notst in the face of their attacks.

 Chapter 259 Shaman Part 1

    Chapter 259 Shaman (Part 1)

    Ye Ci did a quick nce at her abilities, and identified a few that were perfect in her situation. A very effective way to deal with a high level opponent was to attack it with skills that damage a target over time. The damage dealt might be low, but such skills were usually not affected by level penalty. Some of the higher damage dealing skills would deal lower amounts of damage due to the level penalty, and some might even miss. It was easy for Ye Ci to kite the lvl75 Magma Golems if she was able to restrict their movement speed.

    She deployed Frost Traps along the paths that might be taken by the Magma Golems. A Frost Trap was an ability that can slow the movement of an enemy, which was one of the few crowd control skills possessed by the Hunter ss. This was why each and every abilities that possessed crowd control effect was valuable to a Hunter. And the perfect usage of such abilities could allow the Hunter ss to easily bring down its opponent.

    After deploying the traps, Ye Ci cast Empowered Falcon Protection on herself. It was an ability that greatly improved the ranged damage of a Hunter, and was one of the most important skills of the Hunter ss. Abo with Empowered Falcon Protection and Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark could easily deal huge amounts of damage to an opponent. Ye Ci then cast her Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark on one of the Magma Golems. The red mark of the ability was especially eye-catching in the cave that was filled with nothing but darkness and the strong scent of sulfur.

    With her preparationsplete, Ye Ci thenunched her pre-selected skills onto the Magma Golem. Serpent Stinger, Bleeding Stinger, and Shadow Arrow were skills with low level requirement and a low cooldown. These skills were able to deal continuous damage over the period of more than 10 seconds, making them the perfect tools against high leveled enemies. Ye Ci then followed up her attack with a lvl5 Concussion Arrow that could reduce her opponent¡¯s movement speed by 50% for 8 seconds. The effect, however, would immediately be canceled if the target afflicted by the slow was attacked. This was why Ye Ci stopped her attack, and waited patiently for the Magma Golem to step on her Frost Trap.

    The Magma Golem was taking a leisurely stroll in its territory, oblivious to the Empowered Hunter¡¯s Mark on its head until the first of Ye Ci¡¯s many arrows begannding on its body. The paint was barely registered by the Magma Golem, but it was enraged by the sudden attack. It studied its surroundings, and spotted Ye Ci who was standing not far away. The Magma Golem charged at Ye Ci, but was slowed down by the Concussion Arrow.

    The damage indicators floating on the Magma Golem¡¯s head as it struggled to reach its assant was a tragic sight.

    yers had to be smart in a battle against Magma Golems. They were monsters that were highly resistant to me damage, rendering Fire Mages useless in battle. Magma Golems, however, were vulnerable to Ice, Holy, or Dark Magic, and were easy pickings for Sorcerers specializing in crowd control. Melee characters would have a hard time dealing with the Magma Golems. They were forced to either learn the skill ¡°Stone Skin¡±, or employrge quantities of anti burn potion. Character sses like Hunters and Rogues would find the Magma Golems formidable as theyck the crowd control of the other sses, and their arrows would be easily damaged or even destroyed by the flowing magma on the Golems.

    Magma Golems weremonly sighted in post lvl60 maps. Of course, this did not mean that Magma Golems were the only monsters that had a high spawn rate in high level maps. It simply meant that the spawn rate of monsters with dual elements were significantly increased in these maps.

    The Magma Golem that was Ye Ci¡¯s opponent was the perfect example. It was made of rocks and mayma, which meant that yers would have to be very careful to not hit the magma on the Golem¡¯s surface or their weapons would be damaged by the high temperature, incurring a high repair cause. An attack on the magma part of a Magma Golem would also have its damage drastically reduced. This was why yers were careful to choose the best spots tond their attacks in a fight against Magma Golems. A hit to the neck, waist, or knees would deal huge amounts of damage to a Magma Golem, and might even cause instant death.

    Ye Ci focused her attacks on the waist and knees of a Magma Golem. She knew that attacking the neck could deal even more damage to the Golem, but it was also a very risky spot. The magma flowing from the Golem¡¯s head and shoulders might spill onto its neck and destroy Ye Ci¡¯s arrow, nullifying her damage to the Golem in the process.

    With the Magma Golem slowed by Ye Ci¡¯s Concussion Arrow, her Serpent Stinger and Bleeding Stinger were ready when her opponent stepped within the range of the Frost Trap. Even when there were 2 seconds left on the Concussion Arrow¡¯s effect, Ye Ci did not even hesitate as sheunched yet another wave of attack on the Magma Golem. The monster, finally freed from the slow debuff, charged at Ye Ci¡¯s direction only to step on the Frost Trap. Icy spikes sprung from a thinyer of ice that had formed within a 9 yards radius of the trap¡¯s location. This was a sign that the Frost Trap was activated.

    Despite the extreme heat that would melt the ice formed by the Frost Trap, the slow effect on the Golem was what Ye Ci wished to achieve. It had only two thirds of its hitpoints left, and as long as her attacks did not miss, she would be able to defeat the Golem before it can get within range.

    Of course, not all expectations would be reality.

    Even with her best efforts, Ye Ci¡¯s hit rate was simply too low. The Magma Golem was quick to escape the Frost Trap¡¯s area of effect and regained its movement speed. It charged at Ye Ci with a mighty roar, forcing her to back away. Her original n was to slowly kite the Golem to death, but the confined space and the two other Golems sleeping nearby limited her options.

    Ye Ci was forced to try her best to dodge the Magma Golem¡¯s attack, and keep it beyond the 8 yards distance. The Magma Golem was a cumbersome creature due to itsrge and heavy body made of rocks. It was not an easy task for such a clumsy creature to keep up with an Elven Huntress that was much more agile. The Golem was frustrated when its attacks was repeatedly evaded by the pesky Elf that were dancing dodging and weaving around in the cave. It raised its two gigantic fists and let out a roar. The magma on the Golem¡¯s body began to boil. It was the sign that a Magma Golem was about to unleash its skill called Boiling Lava. It was an attack that would be used by Magma Golems if they were not defeated within 3 minutes and there health was at 10%. This ability would spill magma everywhere in any direction, dealing high burn damage to its enemies.

    Boiling Lava was a skill that could be canceled, but Ye Cick the ability that could cancel the channeling of such a skill. Her only option was to dodge the attack or perish in the attempt.

    Ye Ci attempted a backwards jump, but was soon to realise that she had her back against the wall. Her heart immediately sank. I would have to suffer the full brunt of this attack. She immediately chugged down a bottle of potion. Even if a Medium Burn Resistant Potion was not as effective against a lvl75 monster, it was all she had.

    Just as Ye Ci was ready to receive the attack, the crackling sound of electricity entered her ears, and the Magma Golem that was at the brink of finishing its channeling lowered its head. She was dumbfounded by the sudden change of events. There was a ¡°Paralysed¡± on the Golem¡¯s status bar. She immediately jumped away as she fired off her skills, putting some distance between her and the Magma Golem.

    It did not take long for Ye Ci to reduce the Magma Golem into a pile of shattered stones on the ground. She let out a long breath and began scanning her surroundings, and found 3 totems at the feet of the Golem. They were Lightning Totems deployed by a Shaman. The totems could deal Lightning Damage to an opponent with a ¡°Paralyze¡± effect. Lightning Totems were the best tool of a Shaman in battle.

    But is there even a Shaman around? Could it be a yer instead? Even Ye Ci herself doubted her own deduction. My arrival on this ind was by sheer chance. Will there even be another yer here? Even if someone is able to make his or her way to the ind, he or she might not be able to locate the Doluo tribe. Even if they did find their way to the Doluo tribe, they might not necessarily be able to locate the Pitch ck Cave, and by the odd chance that a yer actually show up in this ce, he or she has no obligation at all to offer me aid. So if that¡¯s not a yer, what is it?

    Ye Ci studied her surroundings, but was not able to find the caster of the skill.

    Just then, she heard a loud crunch of grinding rocks from the direction of the entrance. She narrowed her eyes and adjusted her gaze to the source of the sound just to find a silhouette hiding in the shadows. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± asked Ye Ci in a low voice, but she received no reply.

    Ye Ci¡¯s tone grew harsher, ¡°Who¡¯s there? Show yourself!¡±

    The silhouette slowly revealed itself after some slight hesitation. Ye Ci could not hold back herughter. Isn¡¯t that unar who I left at the entrance? Why is he here?

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Elf.¡± unar was nervous. It was apparent that he was not at ease for disobeying the orders of his employer, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell Nuoba that I¡¯ve disobeyed an order from you or he¡¯ll deduct my sry.¡±

    ¡°Why are you here? Didn¡¯t I tell you to wait outside?¡± asked Ye Ci with a smile. She walked up to unar, patted him on the head, and spoke with a gentle voice, ¡°It¡¯s dangerous here.¡±

    ¡°I know, b-b-but...¡± unar stared at Ye Ci with determination in his eyes that shone through the darkness, ¡°But I don¡¯t think that I can afford to be afraid. If I¡¯m afraid, I will no longer be able to fight.¡±

    Ye Ci continued to stare at unar in silence.

    unar spoke up when he noticed the silence from Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m just thinking that I should be learning from you. I should stop being a coward and face my problems bravely. Even if I might be a burden to you, I¡¯ve made the decision to help you.¡± unar¡¯s voice trembled. It was apparent that the boy had the intention to joining Ye Ci in her battle in the Pitch ck Cave, but had mistook her silence for rejection. He attempted to change Ye Ci¡¯s mind, not knowing that her attention was focused on something else.

    Ye Ci finally spoke up when despair started to grip unar¡¯s heart, ¡°You¡¯re a Shaman?¡±

    Her words immediately rendered unar silent. He transferred the wooden staff gripped in his right hand to his left, and rubbed his right hand against his clothes. He even averted his gaze from Ye Ci, not daring to meet her eyes, ¡°I¡¯m not. I¡¯m a Warrior.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re not a Shaman, then who was the person who deployed the totems just now?¡± this question was the focus of Ye Ci¡¯s attention.

    ¡°I was the one.¡± unar spoke with a very soft voice, as if he was making a confession to a grave sin.

    ¡°A Warrior capable of deploying totems?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice was filled with disbelief, ¡°I don¡¯t think Warriors have an ability like that, but why is a Warrior of the Doluo tribe capable of such a feat?¡±

    ¡°N-n-no, it¡¯s not like that.¡± unar shook his head upon Ye Ci¡¯s words. He bit down hard on his lips. It was obvious that something was troubling his mind. Ye Ci was not a very curious person, but it was a habit of hers to get to the bottom of matters in a game, especially when even the tiniest hints could be used to her advantage.

    ¡°You can trust me. I¡¯ll help you keep your secrets. Of course, I will not think differently of your should you choose to keep them hidden from me.¡± Ye Ci patted unar on the head. It appeared as if she had given unar a choice, but her words wereden with trap that would trick a person who was not careful into spilling his or her secrets.

    Of course, such a measue would never work on a highly intelligent NPC like Dalufar. unar on the other hand, was easily tricked by Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    It did not mean that unar wascking in intelligence, but NPCs in Fate were designed to imitate humans in real life. An NPC like unar would only possess the mental capacity of a child. It was very easy for Ye Ci¡¯s tricks to work on the boy.

    unar¡¯s decision to reveal his secret to Ye Ci after a short moment of hesitation was well within Ye Ci¡¯s expectations, ¡°Can you help keep the secret for me, Elf?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ye Ci nodded. She had always kept her promises to the NPCs. After all, isn¡¯t that the rules of the game?

    ¡°I am indeed a Warrior, but I¡¯ve always performed badly in battle because of my weak physique. I¡¯m interested in magic, and would always sneak up on Lord Dalufar as he practiced his magics in the middle of the night. That was why I was able to erect the totems just now.¡± unar blushed a deep shade of red. It was apparent that he was embarrassed by his actions.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a good thing! Why must you keep it a secret?¡± Ye Ci agreed that Aluanar was not suitable as a Warrior. She had seen mages with strong physiques, but never Warriors that were weak and sickly thin. How could a Warrior who looked as if he would be blown over by a strong gust of wind be expected to hold the line against ferocious monsters?

    unar immediately shook his head, ¡°No no no no no...¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

 Chapter 260 Dalufar Part 1

    Chapter 260 Dalufar (Part 1)

    The Mysterious Egg.

    Ye Ci herself had to admit that her memory was not very well. She would always forget about the many tricks that she had up her sleeves especially in situations when her capabilities alone was able to handle any problems that might arise. The Mysterious Egg was the perfect example. She had forgotten all about the egg after handing it to the Undead NPC. She might not even remember the existence of the egg if she did note across the Magical Crystals.

    After all, Ye Ci was never interested in things that depended on luck. She was a person with horrible luck. She had never once believed that something good would hatch from the egg. It might even be aplete trash. This was why Ye Ci had long since forgotten about the egg.

    Well, since there¡¯s a lot of them here, and they¡¯re essential building fortifications, I might as well bring some back with me and spare some to hatch the egg.

    ¡°Is it possible for me to mine these crystals with my pickaxe?¡± Ye Ci had realised through her conversation with unar that not all of the Doluo Tribe had the rights to enter the Kalidor Volcano, and only members of the tribe that were authorized by Dalufar could mine any ores in the volcano. The ores could only be mined by those in possession of a special pickaxe that was enchanted by Dalufar.

    Ye Ci did not know if the rule applied to her as well, which was why she made the decision to ask a local before she wasted her very limited Stamina.

    ¡°You can.¡± unar nodded at Ye Ci, ¡°Individuals that are granted permission to mine the Ancient Ores are not allowed to mine any other ores in the cave, but you¡¯ve been granted special permission by Lord Dalufar, which means that the rule does not apply to you.¡±

    ¡°How would Dalufar know if someone mines up something other than Ancient Ores? What if the miners all agreed to lie to him about it?¡± Ye Ci immediately set to work once she was sure that she was allowed to mine the crystals. Her progress, however, was slow as her Strength was not as great as Warriors or Miners.

    unar pointed at Ye Ci¡¯s pickaxe with a smile, ¡°Lord Dalufar has ced a special enchantment on the pickaxes. He will know who was doing the mining and what was being mined when they returned the pickaxe to him. It is very unlikely for someone to try something like that.¡±

    That old fox has even ced a surveince magic on this pickaxe! Ye Ci was shocked.

    And she continued her mining.

    Ye Ci was an inexperienced miner, and the swings of her pickaxe were random. It did not take long before unar started pointing out her mistakes, ¡°You must¡¯ve been inexperienced in mining, Elf.¡±

    ¡°How can you tell?¡±

    ¡°I can tell that you¡¯ve never done something like this before when I saw you mining outside.¡± unar chuckled. He was a naive child, and due to his interactions with Ye Ci, the boy was no longer as reserved as he spoke, ¡°What you¡¯re doing is a waste of good ores.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Ye Ci stood up straight and wipe away the sweat from her face. As someone who was inexperienced in mining, she would of course humbly ept any pointers from a veteran, ¡°Am I not doing it right?¡±

    ¡°Of course. You¡¯ve been swinging your pickaxe wildly at the ores, and this will shatter them into pieces. Even if you¡¯re able to get something out of it, they will ores with low quality. You have to put your back into every swing, aiming at the base of the ore.¡± unar demonstrated a swing with his staff as he stood beside Ye Ci, ¡°With this, you¡¯ll be able to conserve your strength and get some good quality ores.¡±

    Ye Ci assumed the same posture as unar, and resumed mining for ores just low how she was taught by unar. The result was within expectations. Even when her progress seemed to have slowed, she was able to obtain more ores at higher quality.

    The mining waspleted within half an hour, and Ye Ci was able to obtain nearly a hundred pieces of Magical Crystals that were very high in quality.

    Despite Ye Ci¡¯s desire to continue her exploration, the sky had begun to darken and time was not on her side. She led unar to the entrance of the cave, and the boy immediately unequipped his Shaman equipment and stored them into his inventory.

    ¡°This is your reward for the day.¡± said Ye Ci as she handed 3 pieces of Ancient Azure Ores to unar.

    unar was shocked. He shook his head in protest, ¡°But I¡¯ve already received a lot of rewards from you...¡± he had indeed received a lot of equipment and skill books from Ye Ci which were deemed very valuable by the tribe. It was a boon that unar himself did not expect. The 3 Ancient Azure Ores that he received from Ye Ci was more than he could have dreamnt of, and this filled his heart with guilt.

    ¡°Just take it.¡± Ye Ci did not wish to waste her energy on such trivial matters. She knew that the equipment and skill books that she gave to unar would not fetch a good price in the outside world, but were able to increase the loyalty of unar when given to the boy. These items meant nothing to her, ¡°Can those things fill your belly with a warm meal? Don¡¯t you have a mother at home to take care of?¡±

    Ye Ci was so sensible that unar found himself unable to refute her words, but his heart was still full of unease, ¡°B-but that¡¯s just too much. My sry is 50 Ancient Crimson Ores per month, if you give me that...¡±

    F*ck! Nuoba you bastard! The fees you charged me per day is the monthly sry of unar! Aren¡¯t you earning a little too much out of this? Ye Ci¡¯s inner anger was not reflected by her appearance. Whatever, these ores are useless when I get out of here anyways.

    Ignoring unar¡¯s protest, Ye Ci shoved the 3 Ancient Azure Ores into his hand. The duo then ascended the volcano.

    Nuoba was already waiting for them at the vige entrance. He stole a nce at unar who was cowering behind Ye Ci and smiled, ¡°How¡¯s your day, Elf?¡±

    Ye Ci tossed two pieces of Ancient Azure Ore at Nuoba, ¡°I¡¯m going to be hiring him for 3 more days.¡±

    This caused much confusion to Nuoba, and he stole a nce at unar. The boy is still annoying as ever, and very weak. Just what does the Elf see in him? Ye Ci¡¯s action was iprehensible to Nuoba. After all, NPCs like him were not as intelligent as Dalufar.

    ¡°Did he cause trouble for you?¡± asked Nuoba with confusion clear on his face as he stuffed the Ancient Azure Ores into his pocket.

    ¡°Nope, he was quick on his feet and a good guide.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes as the ghost of a smile appeared on her lips.

    ¡°You seem to have earned quite a good profit today, Elf,¡± said an elderly voice. Ye Ci shifted her gaze, and saw Dalufar making his way towards her. The Doluo tribesman, including Nuoba and unar immediately bowed at their chieftain.

    Ye Ci bowed at Dalufar as well and replied with a smile, ¡°Yes, Mr.Dalufar. I¡¯m certain that I¡¯ll be able to afford that harp very soon.¡±

    The smile did not leave Dalufar¡¯s face as he shifted his gaze from Ye Ci to unar, then to Ye Ci again. The then gave Ye Ci a meaningful look as he spoke, ¡°It seems that you¡¯ve found a treasure that you like as well.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyes narrowed. Why does it feel like the old man knows that I¡¯m interested in unar? Despite theck of obvious hints, but Ye Ci¡¯s told her that it was the beginning of a Hidden Quest. Dalufar is trying to figure out what my attitude is towards unar. If I want to take him with me, I¡¯ll definitely need his permission to do so. But will he allow me to do that? What do I have to do to make it happen?

    A Hidden Quest of such nature did not allow the yer the luxury of taking their own sweet time to think. After all, yers might incur the anger of NPCs if they did not respond to a question quickly. Ye Ci was quick to make her choice of words after a brief moment of pause, ¡°A treasure will always be a treasure. Even if it was hidden beneathyers of dust, even if I did note across the treasure today, I¡¯m sure it will eventually shine bright like it was meant to be.¡± said Ye Ci with a smile as she caressed unar¡¯s head.

    Dalufar was apparently satisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s answer. He nodded at Ye Ci and spoke to unar, ¡°If it is possible, unar, are you willing to ept this Elf as a guest in your house?¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about that, Lord Dalufar? I¡¯m afraid that my house is not a ce fit for such an esteemed guest.¡± unar was shocked to see the smile on Dalufar¡¯s face.

    ¡°Of course. Think of it as a mission I have for you.¡± Dalufar nodded. Despite Ye Ci¡¯s impression that the old NPC was a powerful and intelligent individual that was a force to be trifled with, Dalufar was unusually kind towards his tribesman, ¡°I¡¯ve sent some guards to deliver the necessary materials needed to host our guest to your mother. Go, be on your way now.¡±

    unar nodded and spoke to Ye Ci, ¡°My house is at the northeastern corner of the vige, Elf. I¡¯ll head back first to set things up. I¡¯ll be back for you once I¡¯m done.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded as unar sprinted away with glee.

    Dalufar was still staring at Ye Ci. ¡°Your calm appearance cannot hide the desire in your heard.¡± he observed silently.

    It took a short moment for Ye Ci to recover from the shock when she heard the NPCs words, ¡°I have nothing to hide from you, dear Mr.Dalufar.¡±

    ¡°Your eyes remind me of my brother.¡± Dalufar did not immediately respond to Ye Ci¡¯s words. He stared at Ye Ci for a long moment before finally speaking up, ¡°His eyes were always filled with a strong sense of longing and desire as well.¡± and he let out a sigh, ¡°I hope that you can get what you want.¡±

    Ye Ci bowed deeply at Dalufar as he left. As she stood up straight, she could hear the hushed voices of Nuoba¡¯s men with her superior hearing.

    ¡°Lord Dalufar is making up excuses to look out for unar¡¯s family again! It annoys me!¡±

    ¡°I know right! That boy is useless, but he¡¯s receiving extra care from Lord Dalufar just because his mother is a widow!¡±

    ¡°Why do we have someone so weak but yet so shameless in our tribe?¡±

    ......

 Chapter 261 Forbidden Grounds Part 1

    Chapter 261 Forbidden Grounds (Part 1)

    ¡°Onest question.¡± Dalufar stood up and stared at Ye Ci with a serious expression, and Ye Ci could immediately tell that answering the question was no easy task. ¡°What do you think of unar?¡±

    It was a question that she did not expect. The questions asked by Dalufar were well within her expectations, as they were something that the chieftain of a tribe would ask. As long as she was careful with her answers, Ye Ci would never run into trouble. The final question however, caught Ye Cipletely off guard. Her instincts were screaming at her that this question was the key to bringing unar off the Ind with her. She mped her mouth shut, and stared at Dalufar silently. A smile appeared on her face after a short moment of silence.

    ¡°He¡¯s an outstanding Shaman.¡± replied Ye Ci.

    Dalufar¡¯s expression immediately grew cold. He stared at Ye Ci in silence, and any semnce of emotion slowly faded from his face. His gaze was intense, and his thoughts remained unknown. Despite that, Ye Ci remained calm and was able to maintain the smile on her face, as if she was not affected at all by Dalufar¡¯s change in demeanor.

    Dalufar let out a long breath after a short while, ¡°He... is but a mere warrior.¡±

    ¡°Yes. unar can only be a Warrior in the Doluo Tribe.¡± Ye Ci nodded. She had learned the customs of the tribe after her long stay. unar was right. Only the children from the rich and powerful had the right to learn the ways of the Shaman. It was something that a poor child like unar could not achieve despite his talents. This was why Ye Ci had the impression that the Doluo Tribe was a very narrow mindedmunity.

    As the most intelligent NPC in the entire Doluo Tribe, Dalufar would naturally understand the meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°You knew everything all along, Elf.¡± he said with a sigh.

    ¡°Yes, Mr. Dalufar. I knew all along.¡± Ye Ci made no attempts to deny his statement, ¡°I knew everything.¡±

    ¡°Why did you not ask me about it? You¡¯re always meeting me alone.¡± Dalufar took his seat once again.

    ¡°I would be exposing unar¡¯s secret to you by asking something like this. It will destroy his dreams. I can¡¯t do that. I can¡¯t bring myself to destroy a person¡¯s dream, especially when it was so precious to unar.¡± Ye Ci shook her head and replied in the Common Tongue, expecting that Dalufar would understand the meaning behind such a gesture.

    ¡°You are a kindhearted and wise person.¡± Dalufar stared at Ye Ci for a long moment before letting out a sigh. A system notification immediately chimed in, and Ye Ci noticed that her reputation with the Doluo Tribe was raised to the level of ¡®Revered¡¯, and her intimacy with Dalufar was increased to ¡®Intimate¡¯.

    This also meant that the stats of Dalufar was finally made avable to Ye Ci. She cast Detection on Dalufar, and was shocked by what she saw. Dalufar is a lvl240 Legendary Shaman! The NPC was far more formidable than Ye Ci had expected.

    The subjugation of such a BOSS would require a minimum of 3000 yers that were at the level of 240.

    Looks like the Godly Artifact will remain a legend. Mused Ye Ci as she stared at the staff in Dalufar¡¯s hand.

    A row of words were written as Dalufar¡¯s social status: Leader of the Doluo Tribe.

    This was a title given to Dalufar by the system, and was also an indicator that the NPC would never be able to be hired as a mercenary or servant. Ye Ci would not be able to depend on his strength in the future.

    ¡°I can see it in your eyes. You wish to take unar with you.¡± Dalufar did not hold back as he pointed out Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts.

    A sly smile formed on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, ¡°Is this one of the questions that you wanted to ask just now, Mr. Dalufar?¡±

    ¡°No, but I still want an answer. The real answer.¡± Dalufarughed after a slight pause.

    Ye Ci nodded at the NPC. She was not rmed by the fact that Dalufar had discovered her intentions, ¡°Of course, Mr. Dalufar. I want to bring unar with me so that he can see the outside world, just like your brother did.¡±

    A hint of sadness surfaced on Dalufar¡¯s face, ¡°If he did not leave the tribe... He might not have died...¡±

    ¡°But he was able to win the respect of the entire Majia Continent. He showed the world that the Doluo is a great tribe, and the members of the Doluo Tribe are a great people. I know why you¡¯re reluctant to let Khutak leave the tribe, but I know that you¡¯ve been gathering information about the outside world at the same time.¡±

    ¡°How did you find out?¡± Dalufar was shocked.

    Ye Ci responded to the question with a smile. It was the result of her research on the forums when she logged out of the game. She could never tell Dalufar that the description of Khutak in Fate¡¯s official website included the following sentence: Khutak¡¯s brother seems to be very curious about the outside world, and had collected a lot of books about the Majia continent. She instead diverted the conversation into another direction, ¡°I understand that the best way for the Doluo Tribe to survive is to continue your current way of life, but this also means that unar will not be able to fulfill his dream. I like the boy, and I want to help him in fulfilling his dream.¡± and she stared right into Dalufar¡¯s eyes, ¡°I¡¯m sure that you yourself know how cruel an act will be if you stop me from taking him to the outside world. You¡¯ll be killing the dreams that you¡¯ve given to him with your own hands. Is this something that you want to see?¡±

    Ye Ci spread her arms open and smiled at Dalufar. She was certain that the NPC would agree with her words after the days she spent in the tribe. Dalufar was conflicted, but he still clung on to the tiniest sliver of hope that unar would be a Legendary Shaman just like him. He knew that something like this was impossible if the boy remained with the tribe, but he was unwilling to let such a talented individual go.

    Dalufar was forced by Ye Ci to face his dilemma. He was no longer able to lie to himself that keeping unar in the tribe was his only option. Ye Ci had done all she could, and it would be up to the system to decide if she was able to bring unar and his family along as she left the ind.

    It all depends on fate now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to think about it.¡± it was an obvious sign that Dalufar no longer wanted Ye Ci¡¯spany, and she would naturally not overstay her wee. She bowed at Dalufar, and was about to leave the tent when the chieftain of the tribe spoke up, ¡°Many in the tribe needs your help, Elf. If you so wish, you can help them out.¡±

    That¡¯s great! I can finally startpleting the quests here!

    As she stood at the entrance of Dalufar¡¯s tent, Ye Ci could see golden exmation marks appearing on the heads of many of the NPCs in the vige. This was an indication that quests were being offered by the NPCs. While most of the quests offered were Common Quests, they were still useful in increasing her Prestige.

    These quests were simple, and could easily bepleted by Ye Ci alone. They were able to give her huge amounts of Prestige with the Doluo Tribe, and earn her a number of Ancient Ores. With her increase in Prestige , many of the services by NPCs were finally made avable to her. Such services would already be made avable to yers when they were able to reach the Prestige level of ¡°Friendly¡±, but in the Doluo Tribe, the Prestige level of ¡°Respected¡± was required.

    But when these NPC functions were finally avable, all of Ye Ci¡¯s efforts were worth it.

    Despite the secluded location of the Doluo Tribe, the goods sold by its NPCs were top-tier. Every single piece of equipment sold by the NPCs were Purple and above, and included the equipment of every single ss. They were very high in quality but came at very high prices as well. The items were also avable in the outside world, which was why Ye Ci had never once considered purchasing the items. She knew that her time with the Doluo Tribe was limited, and the Ancient Ores in her inventory were not limitless. She had to spend her resources wisely in such a situation.

    After browsing through the different weapons, armor, and potions offered by the NPCs, Ye Ci did not make a choice to purchase any of the items. They might be rare, but they were simply not worth the price. She then paid the NPCs selling misceneous goods a visit. Such stores in secluded viges had a veryrge variety of items due to theck of more specialised shops.

    This was why Ye Ci had very high hopes for the misceneous NPC. She might be able to acquire some rare items that were not avable in the outside world.

    Unlike the 10-odd pages of items offered by NPCs inmercial districts, the NPC in the Doluo Tribe had an item list of up to 100 pages. Every single page contained items that would make Ye Ci¡¯s heart leap. She was filled with the desire to purchase all the items avable in the shop, but she had notpleted Lia¡¯s quest, and she knew that she would never have enough funds once the quest waspleted.

    Ye Ci was like a starving person that was staring at a table filled with delicacies through a ss window. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes. Why am I so poor?

    When she was at the secondst page of the item list, Ye Ci saw something that immediately caught her eye: Master Key.

    Her heart leapt as she took a look at the stats of the Master Key.

    Master Key: Orange Equipment. Can be used to unlock any chest below the level of 12. (Sole Item) Can be leveled up, cannot be discarded.

    There were a huge number of treasure chests scattered throughout the world of Fate, but these chests were locked, but the keys to unlock the chests were very hard to forge. This was why it was a norm in the game that Rogues were the only ones who could open a treasure chest. Ye Ci herself hade across multiple treasure chests during her many adventures in Fate. Despite the knowledge that these chests contained valuable items, Ye Ci was forced to ignore them as shecked the capability to unlock the chests.

    If I have this thing... I can open any chests that Ie across!

    The treasure chests in Fate were divided into 15 levels. Chests with the levels from lvl1 to lvl12 could possibly be found in almost any map in Fate, but chests that were lvl9 and above were usually ced in dangerous locations that were guarded by strong monsters. Treasure chests that were above lvl12 could only be found near the BOSS ofrge dungeons or Hidden Dungeons. yers would never be able to gain ess to a treasure chest without defeating the BOSS.

    Even in Ye Ci¡¯s past life, the appearance of treasure chests that were above lvl12 were very rare, and even if one did appear, it would require a force of at least a thousand yers to defeat the BOSS guarding the chest. Lvl1-lvl12 treasure chests, however, are verymon. With her Stealth, Ye Ci was confident that she would be able to easily gain ess to treasure chests below the level of 9.

    With the Master Key in her possession, Ye Ci would be able to unlock a treasure chest just like the Rogue ss. I can overlook the other items, but I must buy this Master Key no matter what! Ye Ci nced at the price of the Master Key. It was sold at 3 Ancient Emerald Ores, which was the entirety of Ye Ci¡¯s current fortune. She was reluctant to part with her ores, as it meant that her stay on the ind would be dyed.

    Then again, I would definitely hate myself in the future for not buying this Master Key.

    Without much of a thought, Ye Ci immediately made the purchase. When the Master Key was safely stored away in Ye Ci¡¯s inventory, she noticed a change in the item list of the NPC. This was an indication that there was only 1 Master Key in the NPC¡¯s inventory.

    Ye Ci was shocked. Does it mean that all the items sold by the NPC are like that as well?

    Ye Ci had noticed the ¡°Sole Item¡± trait in the description of the Master Key, and made the assumption that only one copy of such item could be owned by a yer. What she did not expect was the fact that the same could be said for the NPC as well. She immediately browsed through the items in the NPC¡¯s inventory, and found that most of the items sold by the NPC werebeled as ¡°Sole Items¡± as well.

    She had never felt so troubled in her gaming life. There were only two options avable to Ye Ci. She could either spend a long time on the ind to clear all the unique items from the NPC¡¯s shop. Or she could alsoplete the quest she received from Lia the Mermaid and return to the Northern Continent as soon as possible toplete the Mithril ore vein quest, but she was unsure if she could ever return to the ind ever again.

    Sole Items or the Mithril ore vein?

    Ye Ci was in a dilemma.

    Since Dalufar has not given me an answer about unar yet, and I have not collected enough of the Ancient Emerald Ores to leave the Ind, I might as well continue exploring the Pitch ck Cave instead of wasting my time pondering about something like this. Sighed Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was already at the deepest part of the Pitch ck Cave.

    But something just doesn¡¯t feel right, thought Ye Ci, is this the deepest part of such a deep andplex cave system? Why is there no BOSS? Why have I not run into any Elite monsters yet? This is not normal.

    The Pitch ck Cave was definitely not a normal map. Even if not a single person had talked about the Pitch ck Cave, Ye Ci¡¯s instincts were telling her that there was something peculiar about the cave. She explored all corners of the Pitch ck Cave with unar in tow, but to no avail.

    The Magical Crystals and the Magma Golems in the cave have not respawned yet . The cave was empty. There was nothing but the asional heat wave that would wash over Ye Ci¡¯s face. Ye Ci mined up thest piece of Magical Crystal in sight. The chunk of crystal that was as big as Ye Ci¡¯s fist was of good quality. She sat down to take a rest, and pulled out two chunks of meat, and threw one of them at unar while keeping one for herself.

    unar snatched the meat out of the air and began stuffing his mouth full of food.

    The Intimacy between Ye Ci and the NPC were already very high. Due to her interaction with unar¡¯s family, her Intimacy level with the boy was just a small step away from ¡°Loyal¡±. This was something that Ye Ci had been trying very hard but has failed to achieve.

    This could be just like my Intimacy with Yn. I need a chance. A chance that will raise our Intimacy level to ¡°Loyal¡±. thought Ye Ci.

 Chapter 263 Soul Restoration Part 2

    Chapter 263 Soul Restoration (Part 2)

    The Master Key was a very strange item.

    The chests in Fate were locked, and none of the locks shared simr designs. Despite such a fact, the Master Key was able to fit into any and all keyholes. Ye Ci¡¯s heart was filled with worries as her hand hovered just inches away from the keyhole with the Master Key. She was shocked was the key fit right into the hole, as if it was tailored just to open that particr chest.

    A system notification immediately appeared: Opening chest, 3%... 7%... 39%...

    A high level chest would naturally take a longer time to unlock, and this rule applies to Rogues and any yers with a key. Ye Ci was able to unlock the chest in peace due to the absence of monsters in her surroundings.

    yers love treasure chests, no matter the game they might be ying. A treasure chest signifies the promise of loot, and the rush of adrenaline from the tense moment as the chest was opened. Everyone was a gambler, the only difference between the yers were the stakes.

    The padlock on the chest snapped open with a loud ¡°Crack!¡± after 3 long minutes, and Ye Ci pulled her Master Key out. The key was immediately ruined, with its status turning grey.

    Ye Ci opened the treasure chest that was already filled with golden sand. She dipped her hands into the soft sand, and after a short while of groping around, found three items. She ced the items into her inventory, emptied the sand from the chest, and began fiddling the chest around in search of more possible loot until she was sure that it was truly empty. The chest that was emptied of its content vanished mere momentster.

    Ye Ci then began taking a closer look at the three items she pulled out from the chest.

    Two of the three items were equipment: An Unidentified ne and an Unidentified armguard. Items dropped from a treasure chest in a map like this would definitely be high in quality. Ye Ci had no way of appraising the items, which meant that she would have to have it appraisedter on.

    Thest item was an iplete book. The front half of the book wasplete, but the rest were torn beyond recognition. A few golden words could be seen on the dark red leather cover of the book: Soul Restoration.

    Ye Ci was shocked. Soul Restoration! This was something very rare even in her past life. Running into this skillbook in a ce like this was beyond her wildest expectations.

    She immediately inspected the stats of the book.

    Soul Restoration Fragment: Can be used to resurrect an NPC, but due to its iplete state, the resurrected NPC will enter a 24-hours weakened state, and lose a random amount of Loyalty. ss: All. Level Requirement: 5.

    The skill book itself was iplete, but the stats written on the book was still something that was shocking. Ye Ci could still remember the NPC and Mercenary system from her past life. yers would usually be apanied by humanoid NPCs that could aid them in battle or craft essential consumables. Normal NPCs, however, did not possess high intelligence, which meant that they faced a high risk of losing their lives. yers treasured their NPC very much as humanoid NPCs were very hard to acquire.

    There were still moments when meticulous nning failed due to unforeseen misfortunes, resulting in the deaths of NPCpanions. This was when Soul Restoration was introduced into the game, and it was a relief to the yers of Fate.

    ording to in-game legend, Soul Restoration was one of the few rare skills that were left behind by the gods in the continent. This made the skill extremely valuable, and was not avable to all the yers. A Soul Restoration skillbook cannot be obtained from NPCs, and could only be obtained through chance drop from quest rewards and treasure chests. Luck was indeed a deciding factor in such an encounter. But how many of the yers could enjoy such luck?

    Soul Restoration could be used to revive dead NPCs without cooldown and barely and limitations. It would not even reduce the stats of a revived NPC. The skill could even be used to revive NPCs that did not belong to a yer. This was why the skill was considered to be an overpowered existence in the game.

    And because of this overpowered stats, the first yer that acquired Soul Restoration was able to gain a small fortune just by reviving dead NPCs.

    Ye Ci¡¯s copy of the skillbook was a mere fragment which was restrained by a lot of limitations, but she was still overjoyed. She was worried that unar might die. The 24 hours weakened state and the slight loss of a random amount of Loyalty and Intimacy was a lesser evil than permanent death.

    And without the slightest hesitation, Ye Ci immediately learned the skill.

    This was the best loot she was able to get her hands on since her arrival in this ce.

    The duo¡¯s previous battle had left unar severely exhausted. He sat on the ground and began munching on a piece of roasted meat. Despite retaining most of her Stamina, Ye Ci was still afflicted by hunger after their long journey, and Ol¡¯ Four himself was staring at the food in unar¡¯s hand. Ye Ci had no other choice but to set up a campfire and began preparing a meal. Before long, the sizzling of roasted meat could be heard, and the air was filled with a wonderful aroma.

    Even unar began staring openly at the greasy roasted meat. Apparently the appeal of a freshly cooked meal was greater than one that has already begun to cool.

    ¡°Just a little longer,¡± Ye Ci chuckled at unar, ¡°The meat is not cooked yet.¡±

    An embarrassed unar scratched his head, and continued munching on his roasted meat. A sudden sudden thought shed across the boy¡¯s mind, and he tossed the piece of meat at Ol¡¯ Four, which caught the meat with its mouth out of reflex. The beast then came to a sudden realisation and spit the meat out. It then red at unar and growled at the boy. Ol¡¯ Four was feeling that it had been treated unfairly, and if Ye Ci was not around, the beast would have pounced on the boy to put him in his ce.

    The ¡°interaction¡± between Ol¡¯ Four and unar was wholly ignored by Ye Ci, and Ol¡¯ Four, feeling that it was wronged, nudged at Ye Ci with its head. unar did not waste a second in mocking the beast for its tantrum, ¡°You can drop the act. Look at how big you are, it¡¯s disgusting.¡±

    Ol¡¯ Four immediately bared its fangs at unar, and the boy did not stop with his provocations. To Ye Ci, it was a friendly banter between children. She smiled at the pair as she continued roasting the meat. Just then, Ye Ci sensed movement near her. Her assant¡¯s movements were so quick and silent that she waspletely caught off guard. Ye Ci¡¯s reflex immediately kicked in as she drew her short sword with a flick of her wrist and pressed it against the neck of her assant.

    ¡°Ahhh! Don¡¯t hurt me!¡± a voice rang out.

    The timing of that voice was so abrupt that Ye Ci was shocked into sheathed her sword. She stared at the silhouette that had approached her, and found a scrawny man staring right back at her. The man was looking at Ye Ci as if she was a monster, and not an Elf who was known for the race¡¯s kindness.

    Ye Ci studied the man closely, but was unable to tell his age. His skin was dark, and his body was very thin. It was as if the man¡¯s skin was hanging loosely from his bones. The man was literally a pile of moving skins and bones with a few shreds of cloth hanging from his body. He stood on bare legs as he extended a crooked arm towards Ye Ci.

    ¡°Who are you!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice was calm, but her expression suggested otherwise. She could not let her guard down against an NPC who was able to sneak up on her undetected, especially in such a weakened state!

    ¡°I¡¯m just a merchant. Please, I need some water.¡± the man gasped. It was apparent that he was not far from death.

    unar was already on his feet as he stared at the man. Even when he was still a normal NPC, the boy was more aware of his surroundings after his time spent with Ye Ci. Ol¡¯ Four was on alert as well. The beast red at the man standing in front of Ye Ci as if he was the most dangerous life form it had ever encountered. It was ready to pounce on the man and tear him apart.

    ¡°A merchant?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, ¡°Caravans run through this palce?¡±

    ¡°Yes yes.¡± the man nodded as he replied with a hoarse voice, and he started coughing violently. It was apparent that he would die if he received no water.

    Ye Ci ced a pouch filled with water in front of the man after a brief moment of thought, ¡°The water is yours if you tell me what I want, or....¡± Ye Ci tapped her sword against the pouch, ¡°You won¡¯t be getting any of it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright!¡± the man¡¯s eyes widened the moment he saw the pouch. It was as if thergest diamond in the world was right before his eyes. He let out a shriek of despair when Ye Ci inched her sword closer to the pouch, ¡°No! Please! I¡¯ll tell you anything you want to know! Just give me water!¡±

    The man¡¯s reaction was natural. And Ye Ci tossed the pouch to the man once she was certain that it was not an act. She cast Detection on the man, and found that he was an NPC called Mark. NPCs such as Mark were not gifted with high intelligence, which meant that his reactions were genuine. This was why Ye Ci lowered her guard.

    Mark immediately gulped down the content of the pouch.

    unar approached Ye Ci silently and asked in a hushed voice, ¡°Is that man dangerous, Elf?¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head, indicating to the boy that she was unsure as well. Her instincts were telling her that this encounter was linked directly to events that might happen in the map, and her only source of intelligence was the NPC. She had a feeling that Mark was not the only NPC in the map. Many NPCs just like Mark were scattered across the map, waiting to be approached by yers.

    ¡°Here you go.¡± Ye Ci handed Mark a small piece of meat.

    Mark¡¯s was overjoyed, but he hesitated to reach out for the meat.

    ¡°Eat up, drinking the water alone will do you no good. You need some food as well.¡± said Ye Ci with a friendlier tone.

    ¡°Thank you! Thank you!¡± Mark immediately snatched the piece of meat from Ye Ci¡¯s hand and shoved it into his mouth.

    This earned Mark a low growl from Ol¡¯ Four, and he immediately jumped back at the sound. Ye Ci patted her pet, and gave out pieces of roasted meat to unar and Ol¡¯ Four. Despite Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s resentment towards Mark for taking a share of the meat, the beast quieted down once it received the huge chunk of meat.

    Mark was revitalised after receiving food and drinks for Ye Ci. ¡°Thank you for helping me out.¡± he immediately expressed his gratitude to Ye Ci.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. By the way, where are you from? And where are you headed?¡± judging from Mark¡¯s physical appearance, Ye Ci was certain that the NPC was not capable of running away from her. This was why she shifted her attention elsewhere to calm the NPC down, which might work well to loosen his lips.

    ¡°I¡¯m a merchant from the Majia Continent on my way to Jade ind.¡± Mark sighed, ¡°I was hoping that I can bring some rare goods with me back to the Majia Continent.¡±

    ¡°Jade Ind?¡± Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows. She was surprised. Jade Ind was something that was recorded in the history books of the Jiama Continent, and was also promoted by the developers of Fate in Ye Ci¡¯sst life. However, none of the yers were able to gain entry to the ind, making it one of the greatest mysteries of Fate at that time.

    ¡°Yes, Jade Ind.¡± Mark did not appear to be interested in exining the details of Jade Ind to Ye Ci. The NPC sat on the ground with a pained expression. It was apparent that he was in a state of exhaustion and sorrow.

    ¡°Is this your first time going through this route?¡± asked Ye Ci as she studied Mark¡¯s form.

    ¡°N-no. I¡¯ve used this route frequently, but this is the first time something so terrible has happened to me!¡± terror immediately appeared on Mark¡¯s face, a telltale sign that he had witnessed an unspeakable horror.

    Whatever happened to Mark will happen to me if I continue forward. Thought Ye Ci to herself as she stared at the NPC. ¡°What did you see beyond the rolling sands?¡±

    Mark cupped his face with his scrawny hands and began weeping. Even Ye Ci was at a loss when she saw the NPC¡¯s sorrowful expression.

 Chapter 264 Stuck Part 1

    Chapter 264 Stuck (Part 1)

    Ye Ci stood at the bottom of the stairs leading into the Shrine of Sha¡¯gar, and looked back at Mark, ¡°Are you sure you saw those things entering this ce?¡± she asked with a low voice.

    ¡°Yes, my friend. I swear to the Gods and all my lost wealth that they¡¯ve entered this ce.¡± came the reply from Mark who was shaking with here as he was reminded of the horrifying scene, ¡°It¡¯s so scary! They do not have their heads! They have no heads!¡± the man shivered.

    Ye Ci motioned with her hand to quiet Mark down when she noticed that unar¡¯s already pale face had turned a shade whiter, ¡°Alright, I get it.¡± She then turned to face the towering shrine, ¡°Do you want to enter the shrine with us?¡± she asked.

    ¡°NO NO NO! I DON¡¯T WANT TO! I¡¯ll wait for you two here.¡± Mark furiously shook his head. He cleared his throat when he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s darkened expression, ¡°Actually, my friend... My body is too weak... I¡¯ll just be a burden for you. I do not wish to drag you down, which is why I must remain here.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded at the NPC. She knew that the absence of an NPC like Mark would only serve to benefit her as she proceeded with the quest. The presence of Mark would only degrade her quest into a tiring escort mission. Settling Mark down outside the shrine was a very wise choice, ¡°Alright, be careful out here.¡±

    ¡°My dearest friend, if it¡¯s of convenience for you...¡± Mark rubbed his hands together as he stared at Ye Ci with a glint of greed in his gaze, ¡°If it¡¯s of convenience for you, can you please bring my lost cargo along with you as well? I promise that I will make it worth your while.¡±

    Mark¡¯s request elicited a snort from Ye Ci, who promptly ignored the man and spoke to the pale-faced unar, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    unar¡¯s grip on his staff tightened as he nced at Mark. He then nodded at Ye Ci and followed after her. Mark sighed as the duo headed into the shrine, ¡°Don¡¯t me me if you die in there. This is not what I want... Of course, I¡¯ll be happy to see the two of you walking out of that ce alive. My goods... My precious goods....¡±

    Of course, Mark¡¯s words were lost to Ye Ci and unar, who were already ascending the stairs to Sha¡¯gar¡¯s shrine. Wind bellowed past the duo, peppering the duo with golden sand. unar¡¯s eyebrows were deeply furrowed as he walked behind Ye Ci, ¡°Hey Elf, what are the headless monsters that the merchant was talking about?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea. We¡¯ll find out when we see them.¡± replied Ye Ci truthfully. There are many types of headless monsters in Fate, I wonder which of them will we be going up against.

    ¡°Why do I have a feeling that we should not trust that merchant, Elf.¡± unar spoke up carefully, ¡°If those monsters are as formidable as he said. If they¡¯re capable of ughtering each and every one of the members of his caravan... Why is he the only survivor?¡±

    Ye Ci was shocked by the boy¡¯s words. She stared at unar, an NPC like him is capable of such high order thinking? It seems that unar will soon evolve into a higher level NPC. ¡°He is not trustworthy at all.¡± Ye Ci confirmed unar¡¯s suspicion. To her, Mark was a mere quest giver NPC, and it mattered not to her if he was not speaking the truth. The man¡¯s job was to grant her ess into the temple. After all, Ye Ci wanted to leave the ce as soon as possible, and entering the shrine will unlock the map. She knew not what awaited ahead, but it was something that must be done. To unar, however, Mark was an outsider that could not be trusted as his treachery will threaten his life.

    The differing opinions between Ye Ci and unar regarding mark was something that was well within her expectations. But to help with the boy¡¯s growth, Ye Ci ced herself in the shoes of unar, and analyzed the situation from his point of view, ¡°He must¡¯ve had an agreement with the monsters. That was why he appeared before us. Besides, his appearance was so sudden that even I was unaware of his presence. Of course, this fact alone was necessarily an indication that something is wrong with the merchant.¡±

    unar immediately grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s arm, ¡°Can we not go into that ce then, Elf? Since even you are harboring some form of suspicion against Mark, he must be a bad man. Why must we let him lead us here? Why must we enter the shrine?¡± The boy looked up at the towered shrine and shivered, ¡°I think we should leave.¡±

    ¡°unar, there are things that you can¡¯t back away from in this world. If you want to be a hero, you must have the courage to strive against hardship. Besides, we can¡¯t leave this ce without venturing into the shrine. Is that something you want? Once we exhaust our supply of food and water, we¡¯ll either die of starvation or dehydration. We¡¯ll be two corpses in this vast desert, and vultures will pick our bones clean. It doesn¡¯t really matter to me, but you¡¯ll never be able to see Yn and Mara again. Is this something you want?¡± unar was a very useful NPC, but hisck of courage was a difficulty that would hinder Ye Ci¡¯s journey.

    The only way to solve this problem was to face it head on, and light the me of courage within his young heart with the things that he held dear.

    As expected, Ye Ci was able to raise unar¡¯s courage by a small margin. The boy cast a nce at the bones half buried under the golden sand and visibly shivered. He immediately quickened his pace and followed after Ye Ci, ¡°Did Khutak face hardship like this when he left the tribe, Elf?¡±

    For an aspiring Shaman like unar, Khutak was an idol that was beyond his reach.

    ¡°Of course he did. The hardship that he faced might even be tougher than this.¡± said Ye Ci, casting a sideway nce at unar, ¡°Do you think bing a hero is easy? Their struggles were something that people like us would not know.¡±

    Just then, Ye Ci stopped dead in her tracks and stared intently at the rows of pirs outside the shrine.

    ¡°What is it, Elf?¡± unar stood behind Ye Ci. Despite the dose of courage he received, the boy was still rmed by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden behavior.

    ¡°unar, prepare forbat.¡± said Ye Ci as she unslung her bow as she fired Illumination Arrows towards the pirs.

    The effectiveness of the Illumination Arrows were greatly affected when they were used in broad daylight, but they still served their purpose of revealing arge group of mounted apparition at the entrance of the shrine. These monsters were capable of stealth, which would have spelled certain death for the duo should Ye Ci was not alert.

    ¡°Riders, a lot of them.¡± unar visibly gulped as he took his stance, ¡°I¡¯m ready, Elf.¡±

    Ye Ci had recently discovered a very practical use for her Cat ws other than scaling walls, and that was to... Sheunched her Cat w at one of the riders, and pulled the apparition down from his mount and towards the duo. The rider was dispatched by thebined firepower of Ye Ci, unar, and Ol¡¯ Four before it could even react.

    The same method was then employed by Ye Ci to eliminate the rest of the riders once she collected the loot of a few gold coins and a white-quality equipment from her victim.

    As the map itself was meant to be a gigantic puzzle, the monsters were set to never respawn upon their deaths.

    Despite their superior level, the riders were easily defeated by Ye Ci and her posse. They were able to clear the entrance of any foes in a very short time. Ye Ci stood before the doors of the shrine, which swung themselves open slowly without warning.

    Ye Ci was startled, but it did not take her long to regain her sense. She picked unar up from his feet and rolled behind one of the pirs. Ol¡¯ Four followed after its master as well, taking great care to hide its huge body behind therge pir.

    ¡°What is it....¡±

    unar stared at Ye Ci, confused. He was dumbfounded by the sudden change of event.

    Ye Ci responded by cing her finger on her lips, and the boy immediately glued his mouth shut. The frightening sound of bellowing wind blew out from the temple when the doors were finally fully open.

    She heard a deep, gloomy voice from the temple, speaking anguage that she was familiar with, but could notprehend. It was anguage that was widely used by monsters in dungeons. If Ye Ci was not mistaken, thenguage that was being spoken was Demon Tongue. This was proof that Sha¡¯jia was a subordinate of the Dark Lord Naga, and that the shrine was filled with Dark-type demonic life forms.

    Divine beings are the bane of Demonic beings. Monsters with Demonic traits will receive additional damage from Divine-type attacks. With the introduction of more enemy types in theter stages of Fate, yers were forced to their characters with skills of different elements. Many of the mage yers at the current stage specialized in three elements, but when more monsters with resistance to specific types of damage appeared, they would be forced to improve the mastery they had on their characters.

    In theter stages of the game, the yers will gain ess to a significantlyrger variety of skills. The monsters that yers had to face in the field would also be tougher. This meant that yers had to utilize a wider variety of skills to defeat an enemy. A severe limitation to this would be a yer¡¯s mana points. Not many of them were equipped with Ye Ci¡¯s Energy Conservation that guaranteed her an unlimited amount of mana. The amount of mana of a character is the direct equivalent of the ability of the character to deal damage inbat. If a character was nevercking in mana, then the character would be able sustain the usage of its skills and abilities. Then again, this situation was very rare among yers, and their limitation in terms of mana in theter stages of the game would eventually force the yers to be better at utilizing their mana.

    Another barrier that must be ovee by yers was the very limited Talent Points. A character with high Talent Points would be highly customizable, but yers could only gain very limited amounts of Talent Points by leveling up. Additional Talent Points would only be awarded to yers with special achievements.

    This was why First Blood was very important to the yers of Fate. There was no limit to the number of yers in the game, but the First Blood to dungeons and BOSSes were very limited. Only a party with superior equipment would be able to obtain First Blood for the reward of Talent Points, which enabled the yers to further strengthen their characters. These stronger characters will then be able to secure more First Bloods and First Fives.

    It was an unending cycle.

    The difference was miniscule at the early stages of the game, but when more and more Talent Points were umted into theter stages of the game, the differences were obvious.

    A character with higher Talent Points would be able to unlock more skills, obtain more HP and mana, and more stat points. These Talent Points could even be used to master certain skills. This was why Ye Ci was very obsessed with obtaining First Bloods.

    Greed was something benevolent to Ye Ci when used correctly. And it was her greed that greatly benefitted her growth in Fate.

    Of course, yers such as her were few and far between. The weak will always outnumber the strong, as nothing is far in our world.

    Ye Ci listened closely to the Demon Tongue. She could not understand the words that were being spoken, but they reminded her of a speech given to an army before they depart.

    But where is the army?

    Ye Ci loathed her luck at times like this. She would often find herself in situations where her worst expectations were turned into reality.

    Loud cheers from within the temple entered Ye Ci¡¯s ears almost immediately after the thought surfaced in her mind. The sound was so loud that even the ground below Ye Ci¡¯s feet began to tremble.

    ¡°What is happening?¡± unar gulped anxiously.

    Ye Ci shook her head, a signal for the boy to remain silent. She cast her gaze at the direction of the entrance, and the uniformed cking of hooves entered her ears. A tall dark horse mounted by a rider in ck armor soon appeared in view

    The knight¡¯s armor was glowing with a faint light that highlighted its demonic aura. The longsword hanging at the waist of the knight further contributed to its intimidating aura. Of course, the most eye-catching trait of the knight was the empty space above its neck.

    A Duhan.

 Chapter 264 Stuck Part 2

    Chapter 264 Stuck (Part 2)

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart sank.

    Duhans were formidable opponents with high resistance to magic and a high physical evasion. The most effective way to deal with an opponent like this was with a Priest¡¯s high level Holy Prayer, that could potentially one-shot a Dark-type opponent. Ye Ci did not have a Priestpanion. She was a Huntress that dealt Physical and Magical damage while unar was a Shaman with only Magical damage. Taking on the Duhan would prove to be a challenge for the duo.

    Ye Ci almost gagged when she cast Detection on the Duhan. It¡¯s a lvl95 mini BOSS! The Duhan even had a name: Vantor. Named monsters in Fate were formidable opponents, and Vantor itself was a min BOSS, which meant that Ye Ci would have a hard time taking the NPC down.

    Vantor began moving down the stairs before Ye Ci could formte a strategy that would allow her to defeat the NPC. He was followed closely by arge group of Duhan. Twenty of these monsters marched in a single row, in a formation with twenty rows. Their equipment was not as impressive as Vantor, but they were very well equipped.

    The Duhans formed ranks in the sea of sand in front of the shrine.

    Ye Ci hid behind a pir and dismissed Ol¡¯ Four. The pir was huge, but it was not enough to hide the beat¡¯s stout body.

    Vantor and his Duhans then began their drill on the sand. The group would split into smaller formations, regrouping and splitting into different formations again and again.

    This went on for quite some time before Vantor raised his swords and gathered his troops. He began delivering a speech that Ye Ci was still unable to understand. What was being said mattered not to Ye Ci. To her, the Duhans were enemies that she must eliminate to gain ess to the shrine.

    But how can it be done? This was a question that had been repeating in Ye Ci¡¯s mind again and again.

    Ye Ci entered Stealth after instructing unar to hide himself behind the pir. It took Ye Ci 10 minutes to scout out the area surrounding the shrine, but Vantor was still not done with his speech. Wait, even monsters are into meetings like this? Just what is taking him so long?

    Of course, Ye Ci¡¯s main concern was to look for a spot that she could use to her advantage in theing fight. She needed a safe ce that she could safely deal damage to the Duhans while staying out of their reach. It did not take her long to notice the two huge pieces of boulders at the base of the shrine.

    The two huge boulders were leaning against each other at a 45 degree angle, forming a perfect hiding spot for three. Due to their position at the base of the shrine, there was only one possible entrance from the east, which was a rather narrow crevice.

    Ye Ci knew from her past experience that a phenomenon was perfect for funneling monsters into a chokepoint. This would of course require very exquisite positioning, which was why Ye Ci decided to have a look at the area first. She needed a spot that could fit both unar and herself, and could also reduce the effectiveness of the Duhans¡¯s charge, while simultaneously enabling the duo to effectively dish out damage to their opponents.

    Ye Ci stepped between the boulders and observed her surroundings. It was a very good spot. The position of the rocks could be said to be an unintentional BUG. The rocks leaned against each other and against the base of the temple, forming a triangr space with a tiny entrance at its tip. A b of stone protruding from a shrine served as a roof,pletely blocking off ess from the top, and with Ol¡¯ Four blocking the entrance, no monsters would be able to reach the position.

    With her survey of the area done, Ye Ci silently led unar to the spot.

    At that point in time, unar was already at lvl86, which meant that the boy could deploy 14 totems at a time. She carefully directed unar to ce his totems around the entrance, which would form a killzone for the Duhans.

    Ye Ci entered Stealth and crept towards Vantor once the preparations were done. Vantor had 400 Duhans under hismand, and their aggro were all linked together. An attack on one of their numbers would trigger the entire horde.

    She knew that she could never outrun the Duhans on their steed, but she stood a chance with the use of a bottle of Potion of Haste. It¡¯s time to put the two bottles of Medium Potion of Haste dropped by the shadow riders earlier on to good use. She unslug her bow, and fired off an arrow at Vantor

    It was a Barbed Arrow

    The arrow hit, and Vantor was affected by Bleed.

    Ye Ci was shocked. She did not expect her first shot tond on an opponent that was 35 levels ahead of herself. Damn! That¡¯s quite some luck I have! She did not even have the time to have a look at the damage done by her arrow. She drank the Potion of Haste and immediately dashed towards the two boulders.

    Due to a difference of 35 levels, the Barbed Arrow did only a very tiny amount of damage to Vantor, but it¡¯s damage over time effect was dealing at least 200 damage to the NPC every second. This was easily nullified by Vantor¡¯s self-regenerating HP. The Duhan turned to face Ye Ci, and despite the absence of its head, Ye Ci could still feel a cold re on her back. She had been discovered by Vantor.

    Then again, Vantor was a high level monster. Spotting Ye Ci was anything but hard for the NPC.

    Vantor let out arge shriek that shook the ground itself.

    She dared not look back at her enemies. She knew what horrors would being her way just by the sound alone.

    Ye Ci was not slow on her feet, but even with another dose of Potion of Haste, she had a feeling that she could not outrun the Duhan. She sprinted full on ahead, as if Death itself was right on her heels.

    Vantor was enraged. It charged at Ye Ci with an angry roar. The soundwave that was empowered with magic brushed past Ye Ci and her movement speed was immediately decreased.

    Shit! It¡¯s a Sonic Attack! Thought Ye Ci. She was afflicted by a debuff that reduced her movement speed by 50%. I¡¯m going to die if this keeps up, and I¡¯m almost there too! She gritted her teeth and prepared to activate her ring¡¯s Dark Dispersal.

    That thing got to have a cooldown right? There¡¯s no way he can use it again so soon right?

    Dark Dispersal!

    The 50% movement reduction debuff on Ye Ci was immediately removed, and she immediately headed straight for the tworge rocks.

    Vantor did not expect that his opponent would remain unaffected by his attack. The monster¡¯s enraged gap that he was able to close was rapidly widening. He spurred his horse onwards and dashed towards Ye Ci.

    ¡°Hurry, Elf! The big guy is right behind you!¡± shouted unar as he peeked out from behind the rock.

    Ye Ci knew that Vantor was right behind her, but she was at least 8 yards and 2 seconds away from safety.

    A second could pass in the blink of an eye, but it could also mean life and death.

    The whistling of wind was picked up by Ye Ci¡¯s sensitive ears, and she dodged slightly to her left out of reflex. A sword brushed past her ears, missing its mark but also taking away nearly a third of Ye Ci¡¯s health. This was a great source of rm to Ye Ci, who increased her speed.

    Vantor momentarily lost his momentum when his attack missed. He paused for a mere second, before charging at Ye Ci. The horse reared its legs and leapted at Ye Ci....

    Who did a roll and right into safety, with the hoofs of Vantor¡¯s steed missing her head by mere millimeters, leaving two pockmarks in the sand. Ye Ci knew that she would lose her life there and then if the hooves did not miss their mark.

    Ye Ci gazed out from the crevice, and saw the sand that was kicked up by the countless Duhans galloping at full speed towards the two boulders. With all the aggro currently on her, Ol¡¯ Four would be torn to pieces by the monsters. This was why Ye Ci had to transfer her aggro immediately to unar.

    She stared at the mass of Duhan, and shouted once they were within the range of unar¡¯s totems, ¡°Begin your attack!¡±

    Despite his anxiety, unar was encouraged by Ye Ci¡¯s presence. He nodded at hispanion and began channeling his spells. Ye Ci cast feigned death once unar¡¯s totems began dealing damage to the Duhans.

    ¡°You¡¯re no longer inbat.¡± rang a system notification.

    As long as she was no longer inbat, her aggro would be transferred to unar, which meant that the monsters would not attack Ol¡¯ Four even if he stood in their way. Such was the rules of the game. The party member with the highest aggro would be the one who would be attacked by the monsters.

    unar¡¯s Chain Lightning dealt massive amounts of damage to the Duhans and caused a ¡°Paralyzed¡± debuff that greatly reduced their movement speed. Ye Ci rummaged through her inventory and produced her three remaining Scarlet Bombs. It¡¯s time to put them to good use.

    As the momentum of the Duhans¡¯s charge carried them forward, none of them noticed the single Scarlet Bomb slipping into their midst.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    The explosion blew a huge crater in the ground, and shrapnels rained on the surroundings. The boulders were able to block most of the shrapnel, but this did not mean that Ye Ci and unar were left unscatched. A Recovery from unar, however, was able to heal the duo up.

    Ye Ci saw countless corpses of Duhans scattered around the crater when the dust had finally settled. A number of them that survived were strewn across the ground, missing most of their health, and disoriented from shellshock.

    Vantor who could be seen staggering had apparently survived the explosion, but with only less than a third of his health.

    ¡°Keep attacking, unar!¡± Ye Ci was overjoyed by Vantor¡¯s state. She could barely damage the monster, but with unar¡¯s aid, taking out Vantor was easy especially when they were safely hidden away in this fortress of stone.

    unar nodded at Ye Ci. He was brimming with confidence when heid his eyes on the havoc wrought upon their enemies by the Scarlet Bomb. The fear in his heart was gone. He closed his eyes and began channeling a spell. The totems crackled with energy, and began dishing out vast amounts of damage.

    Ye Ci could see a sea of red damage values from her safe spot, and her EXP gauge immediately soared. This is a very good way of farming EXP!

    It¡¯s a shame that something like this can only be achieved with the right conditions... Despite her slight disappointment, Ye Ci had racked in a huge profit from this battle alone.

 Chapter 265 Dark Inferno Part 1

    Chapter 265 Dark Inferno (Part 1)

    It did not take the duo long to dispatch the Duhans.

    Their leader Vantor was in grave peril as well. The BOSS went Berserk when his health was at 20%, but it did nothing to turn the situation around. The boulders would not budge despite Vantor¡¯s onught, and Ye Ci was able to dodge the BOSS¡¯s blows when he stabbed his sword through the crevice.

    Ye Ci¡¯s hiding spot was simply too perfect. It almost felt like a BUG that was intentionally left behind by the developers themselves. Of course, Ye Ci¡¯s priority was not to report the BUG. She stumbled upon the map through sheer luck. It was very unlikely that another yer would be able to gain ess to the map after her departure, which meant that reporting the BUG would do her no good.

    The sanctuary provided by the two boulders stood firm despite Vantor¡¯s attacks. The BOSS¡¯s impotent rage did nothing to harm his enemies and was instead weakening himself. BOSS-tier monsters in Fate tend to go Berserk at low health, greatly enhancing their attack and defense. However, this state would notst forever. It was just like a temporary buff that would put the BOSS in a weakened state upon expiration.

    Berserk could be said to be an act of paying for extra stats in advance, and the price that a BOSS had to pay was its health. It was a gamble that could change the course of the battle if it was able to defeat its opponent during its Berserk state.

    Defeating a Berserk Vantor would usually require at least a hundred lvl90 yers, but with their unmovable stone fortress, all the duo had to do was to wait for Vantor to be weakened after his Berserk.

    Perhaps realizing Ye Ci¡¯s ploy, Vantor¡¯s attack grew even more frantic. It swung its sword in a flurry of attacks and even directed his steed to stomp its hooves against the boulder in an attempt to create an opening. His efforts were futile.

    It was a one-sided ughter that ended with Vantor¡¯s demise.

    After making sure that the enemies in their surroundings were eliminated, Ye Ci led unar out of their hiding spot. The boy, despite his limited inventory slots, could still hold some items for Ye Ci. She handed some of the loot with better stats to unar, and filled her own inventory slots with blue-quality equipment.

    She was also able to gain a considerable amount of Ancient Ores from the Duhans, enabling her to afford Lia¡¯s harp and many of the items from the merchant NPC.

    As a minor BOSS, the items dropped from Vantor were all unidentified, but Ye Ci could tell by a nce that they were meant for tank characters. She stuffed them all into her inventory and would hand them over to Bai Mo when she finally returned to the Eastern Continent.

    Once all the loot was sorted out, Ye Ci could finally enter the Shrine of Sha¡¯jia.

    She slowly climbed up the stairs and stood before the shrine¡¯s massive doors. Ye Ci stared into the pitch-ck interior of the shrine, took in a deep breath, and walked through the entrance.

    Two system notifications appeared before Ye Ci the moment she entered the shrine.

    The first notification was a change to her equipment, ¡°Your equipment seems to have experienced some sort of change, please take note.¡± She immediately raised her hand and stared at a particr ring on her finger. The in-looking ring was emanating a faint glow as she called up the stats window of her item.

    Mysterious Ring (Rarity: Normal):

    Strength +20

    Intelligence +2

    Level requirement: 0

    Special Trait: Allows user to activate skill: Featherfall. Duration: 3 minutes. Cooldown: 20 minutes

    Just like when it first appeared, there was a short description written under the ring¡¯s stats. ¡°Life has returned to the seemingly dead ring when you entered the Shrine of Sha¡¯jia. What caused the change?¡±

    Ye Ci was not surprised by the change. Sha¡¯jia was a demon, a subordinate of Naga. The ring was an artifact of Naga ording to Frodo. The ring¡¯s reaction to a demonic shrine would, of course, be natural. Ye Ci wanted to know how the ring would look like at the final stage of its growth, but she was still unclear about the future of her gaming career.

    Will I continue to be a devout follower of the Gods, or will I end up as a follower of Naga?

    But there was something that would not change: Ye Ci¡¯s desire to grow stronger.

    She needed strength. The strength to protect the people around her.

    Light or dark, divinity or corruption, there was no right or wrong for a yer. It was merely a choice of the game. The only thing that would go on was the conflict between humans.

    Ye Ci was determined not to allow the system to dictate her choices after her reincarnation. She wanted to grow stronger with her knowledge of the game. Good and evil mattered not to her, only her desire to protect. Even when she knew that the ring was trying to lure her onto the path of corruption, it mattered not as long as she had something to gain.

    The other system notification appeared in the form of a low voice, narrating a story just like Ciel did. The voice could be heard by Ye Ci, but not unar, who was standing beside her.

    ¡°I cannot forget the day we first met, my master, my king. You stood before me and my followers alone, and you said to me, ¡®You will swear your allegiance to me, or die by my sword.¡¯ With the difference in our status back then, I could¡¯ve refused your demands, but I chose servitude instead. I threw everything away and became your most devout follower. It mattered not if we were walking down the path to hell itself or the heavens. As long as you¡¯re here my lord, I, Sha¡¯jia, will always follow you. Please do not hide your face from me. Please guide me and give me strength. I, Sha¡¯jia, am always yours, in this life and the next,¡± said the androgynous voice.

    The voice grew softer but clearer as Ye Ci headed deeper into the temple.

    The interior of the shrine was instantly lit up following a loud ¡°Bang!¡± Ye Ci was finally able to see her surroundings clearly once the shrine was illuminated by the countless torches on the walls. She could see a red carpet with delicate patterns at the center of the shrine hall, with twelve 30-foot tall pirs on both sides of the carpet. Cushions littered the floor beyond the pirs. Those were apparently the praying altars for devotees of a god. The wall behind the praying altar was lined with drawings.

    The drawings, done in a unique style, recorded the first meeting between Sha¡¯jia and Naga. The two demons were depicted as benevolent deities full of righteous glory in the drawings. The ghost of a smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips. Only the weak would record their life¡¯s story in the form of paintings so that they could be remembered. They were unaware that it was futile. These paintings couldst for a long time, but they could notst forever. They would one day be lost to the unforgiving forces of nature.

    She turned around and headed to the front of the shrine. There were no portraits, no drawings, no statues, but a desk. And on that deskid an arrow.

    Yes. It was an arrow.

    Ye Ci could not believe her eyes. It¡¯s an arrow! But why is an arrow doing here? Isn¡¯t this the Shrine of Sha¡¯jia? Why are they worshipping something like this here?

    Based on her past memories, Sha¡¯jia was the final BOSS of the Death Abyss dungeon. The Demon himself was a mage and not an archer, adept at casting high damage spells. That was why the presence of this arrow in the Shrine of Sha¡¯jia felt so out of ce to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci could feel the temperature of her ring rising as she approached the arrow, and it eventually burst into ck mes that surrounded the golden ring in a horrifying sight. She checked the stats of her ring once again, but nothing seemed to have changed.

    Of course, the change of its appearance alone was a shock to Ye Ci. She could tell that the ring was leading her to a hidden quest in Fate.

    ¡°Hold it right there! Where did youe from? How dare you vermins defile the divinity of Sha¡¯jia!¡± a voice rang out in the empty hall.

    Ye Ci turned her gaze toward the direction of the voice and saw a woman in a ck mantle standing by the main altar. There was a faint red glow in her eyes as she stared at the intruders. She stood with a golden staff in hand, staring at Ye Ci with a cold re, her eyes glowing faintly red. It was as if the woman would bring destruction upon Ye Ci if she took another step forward.

    Detection was not even needed for the NPC¡¯s stats. It was avable for all to see.

    Servant of Sha¡¯jia, Ciss. Level: 95. She was a BOSS-tier NPC.

    If Ye Ci¡¯s assumption was correct, Ciss was the BOSS of the Shrine of Sha¡¯jia. She was not worried despite their difference in levels. She knew that it would take a party of at least 100 yers to take on Ciss head-on. She was nothing but a speck of dustpared to Ciss.

    But this did not necessarily mean that Ye Ci had no way of taking down Ciss.

    If she wanted me dead, she would¡¯ve killed me the moment I entered the Shrine. Why now? Ye Ci stared at the ck mes surrounding her ring, and her eyes narrowed. This is an open-ended quest that can be cleared easily if I can give the correct answer.

    I might even get something unexpected out of this.

    Ye Ci¡¯s gaze then strayed towards the arrow. She had a strong urge to check it out, as if her whole being was drawn to the arrow.

    After all, it had something to do with her character ss, and not many yers could remain calm when they came across an item that had something to do with their ss. Ye Ci, of course, was one of them.

    ¡°A shrine, you say?¡± Ye Ci sneered at Ciss. ¡°How dare a low-level demon y god. It¡¯s a joke!¡± Ye Ci did not wish to anger Ciss, but under such circumstances, any answer had the potential of triggering her anger. Yet when Ye Ci stared at her ring, she felt the urge to make a gamble. It was a gamble of Ciss¡¯ loyalty to Sha¡¯jia, and Sha¡¯jia¡¯s loyalty to Naga. It was also a gamble to see if the ring was indeed an artifact of Naga.

    The worst-case scenario upon her loss was death. She was not afraid of dying as she would receive no reduction in level in a dungeon like this. Most of the monsters had been defeated, which meant that retrieving any items would be an easy task. She could always revive unar with Soul Restoration with a 24-hour debuff. It did not worry her much.

    Since it was a gamble, there must be a risk to y. But the rewards that she could gain from winning this gamble outweighed her loss. It was a chance that she would never let slip.

    ¡°What did you say? How dare you insult Sha¡¯jia! You will pay for your impudence!¡± Ciss began channeling a spell.

    With Ciss¡¯s level, she could kill Ye Ci very easily. ¡°Run!¡± Ye Ci whispered to unar.

    ¡°What?¡±

 Chapter 265 Dark Inferno Part 2

    Chapter 265 Dark Inferno (Part 2)

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, leave!¡± Ye Ci stood in front of unar and raised her hand. The dark me surrounding her ring was burning brighter and brighter.

    Understanding dawned upon unar. He stared at Ye Ci. Her already pale skin was a shade whiter under the sickly glow of the dark me that casted greenish shadows on her skin. Despite the fearful sight, there was no fear in Ye Ci¡¯s eyes. The boy saw something he could not understand in those eyes, and was surprised to see the faint smile on her lips.

    unar could not believe what he saw. He blinked once, twice, and continued staring at Ye Ci¡¯s face. The Elf was indeed smiling. Her face was not filled with fear, but with joy. It was as if she was not staring upon her imminent death, and was instead looking at a very precious treasure. At that moment, unar finally realised that the Elf standing before him was not an ordinary person. He realised that she was a gambler.

    Yes, Ye Ci was a gambler. She was a gambler who was addicted to high stakes.

    Life or death, victory or defeat... It all depended on that single moment.

    Ye Ci adopted a defensive stance and stared at Ciss. She could still feel unar¡¯s presence behind her. ¡°Why are you still here? Go!¡± She did not want the boy to die. Despite her ability to revive unar, the cost that she had to pay in terms of Loyalty was simply not worth the risk.

    A sudden surge of courage red in unar¡¯s heart, ¡°No! I will not leave you here!¡± the boy shook his head. With unar¡¯s decision already made, Ye Ci no longer voiced out her objections, and instead focused her attention on Ciss.

    Will she live? Or will she die?

    Cisspleted her channeling, andunched a dark shade at Ye Ci from the tip of the staff. The shade was in an even purer color of ck than the dark me of Ye Ci¡¯s ink. It was just like the darkness of night, and the ck of ink.

    The ring seemed to have sensed the iing shade as its me red swell. The dark me was now half the size of a human.

    Ye Ci could feel her hand shaking. The ring seemed to havee to life. It was hungered, and it wanted to devour the dark shade.

    The dark shade shot towards Ye Ci at high speed, but it collided with the dark me of her ring. The me was able to block Ciss¡¯s attack, but the impact of such a high leveled skill sent Ye Ci sprawling on the ground at least 6 yards away.

    Ye Ci could feel a stabbing pain in the back from her fall, but to her great fortune, did not suffer significant damage. The dark shade did not dissipate, but was instead trapped by the dark me, and was slowly being devoured.

    ¡°Are you alright, Elf?¡± unar immediately cast Recovery on Ye Ci, bringing her back to full health. Concern was clearly written on the boy¡¯s face.

    As Ye Ci stood back up on unsteady feet, the trembling of her hand was getting greater. It was of course not due to her injury, but because of her ring that had be even more active after devouring the dark shade. The ring was livelier than ever, and the dark me surrounding it was almost asrge as Ye Ci.

    There were no changes to the stats of the ring, but Ye Ci remained vignt. She knew that demonic items might turn against their owners if a yer was not careful. Arge number of yers in her past life had suffered from such fate due to their negligence. Some of them lost their levels, while others had their Talent Points devoured by such artifacts.

    This was why Ye Ci was wary of the ring even when she desired the power of Naga. She had to make sure that she was in control before taking the risk. The ring¡¯s reaction to the dark shade was a source of great concern for Ye Ci, but she decided to keep in on. After all, it was not easy for a demonic item to harm its owner unless it was highly refined or the seal ced on the item had been removed.

    Ciss¡¯s visibly stiffened when her attack was devoured by the dark me. ¡°Y-you...¡± she said with a soft voice as Ye Ci approached her.

    ¡°Do you want to go for round two?¡± Ye Ci was brimming with confidence as she raised her hand. She knew not the effects of another attack from Ciss would have on the ring, but it was worth a try.

    ¡°N-no, no.¡± Ciss recoiled in fear.

    She let go of her staff and knelt before Ye Ci, ¡°My master, my king, I knew not of your arrival. I have offended you. I¡¯m willing to atone for my mistake.¡±

    Ye Ci let out a long sigh and lowered her hand. The ring immediately returned to its dormant state, as if nothing had changed, as if it was just an ordinary ring.

    ¡°You are forgiven.¡± said Ye Ci.

    ¡°I thank you for your mercy, master.¡± Ciss¡¯ voice was full of gratitude as she prostrated herself before Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci could never understand the obsession of religious fanatics harbored for their deities. Even a normal person carrying an artifact of their god was treated like the god himself. It was a foolish gesture.

    ¡°Why is the Shrine of Sha¡¯jia here?¡± This was a question that Ye Ci desperately needed an answer. She could remember being transported to this map after touching the book, which meant that the map was an illusion.

    ¡°This is not the true shrine of Sha¡¯jia. It is an illusion created by the power of the Book of Demons.¡±, The ring was an artifact of Naga with strong demonic energy that was something familiar to Ciss. The servant of Sha¡¯jia recognised the ring as Naga¡¯s artifact, which led to her respectful treatment of the ring¡¯s bearer, Ye Ci.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, there¡¯s a Doluo Tribe nearby. Why did you choose this ce to create a shrine?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    Despite her lower intelligence, Ciss hesitated. She did not want to answer the question. Her hesitation prompted Ye Ci to raise her hand once again. me surged out from her finger and Ciss cowered back in fear.

    ¡°Oh? You will not answer my question?¡±

    ¡°N-n-n-no.¡± and Ciss immediately spilled all her secrets to Ye Ci.

    Arge gem known as Inferno¡¯s Heart was hidden at the bottom of the Kalidar Volcano. It was the source of the energy stored within the volcano. Naga¡¯s men had been searching for such an energy to awaken their master after he was sealed during the Great War. They soon discovered Inferno¡¯s Heart that was hidden deep in the heart of the volcano. Try as he might to obtain the gem, Sha¡¯jia was met with failure due to the strong magical barrier that protected the Inferno¡¯s Heart. This was why he colluded with Nuoba of the Doluo tribe. If Nuoba could destroy the magical barrier, Sha¡¯jia would grant him the power to take over the Doluo Tribe and be the new chieftain.

    The Doluo tribe was led by a powerful Shaman that was feared by even Sha¡¯jia himself, and was protected by the Mermaids. Sha¡¯jia who was severely weakened after Naga¡¯s defeat was no match for theirbined might. He could only erect an illusion of his shrine within the Pitch ck cave as a means ofmunication with Nuoba, and to collect dark energy that he could use to erode the barrier.

    unar was enraged. The boy held Dalufar with high regard, but Nuoba and the woman standing before him were nning to kill the great Shaman. He would have attacked the woman had Ye Ci not stopped him in time. Fearing that unar would foil her ns, Ye Ci sent the boy out of the temple. Despite his protest, unar obeyed her order.

    Ye Ci then turned around to face Ciss once again when unar was a safe distance away, only to find the servant of Sha¡¯jia staring at her with a doubtful expression, ¡°Why are you with a member of the Doluo tribe?¡± and Ye Ci responded with a smile, ¡°Oh? You¡¯re working with Nuoba, but I¡¯m not allowed to have a Doluo as my guide?¡±

    ¡°N-n-no, it was not my intention to doubt you.¡± Ciss¡¯s face became a mask of fear when she noticed the displeasure in Ye Ci¡¯s voice.

    Ye Ci stood at the grand hall of the shrine. An illusionary dungeon like this was verymon in theter stages of the game, but the creation of such a dungeon would require a medium. The master of this dungeon was no doubt Sha¡¯jia, and the medium that was supporting the existence of the dungeon was definitely the arrow on the altar.

    ¡°Where is Sha¡¯jia?¡± Ye Ci stood before the altar, carefully hiding the glint of greed in her eyes as she studied the arrow.

    ¡°Lord Sha¡¯jia has not recovered from his wounds from the Great War.¡± Ciss was apparently excited at the mention of Sha¡¯jia. She had fully trusted Ye Ci due to their previous interaction. This was proof that an NPC with lower level of intelligence could be tricked easily with the right way.

    ¡°So where is Sha¡¯jia? Is he here?¡±

    ¡°N-no,¡± Ciss shook her head, ¡°I do not know where Lord Sha¡¯jia is. I can feel his presence in every shrine.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded at the NPC. She was able to deduce from Ciss¡¯s information that Sha¡¯jia had erected multiple shrines and illusions of himself, and was hiding his true form in an unknown location.

    But how did Sha¡¯jia receive his wound? Due to the vast quantity of information that had been umted in theter stages of the game, Ye Ci could not remember the minor details of the lore. She knew nothing of the wound suffered by Sha¡¯jia.

    ¡°Are you an illusion as well?¡± Ye Ci shifted her gaze from the arrow to Ciss.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m real.¡± a strange glint appeared in Ciss¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°cing your true form in an illusion is very dangerous.¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid! I¡¯m willing to give my life for Lord Sha¡¯jia, and for you my master!¡± Ciss madly proimed her faith.

    Ye Ci stared at her ring. If this ring can absorb her spell, can it devour her soul as well? A cold sneer appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face as she stared at Ciss. She stood before the woman and pointed at her, ¡°I do not believe you.¡± Dark mes immediately surged from Ye Ci¡¯s ring. Ciss¡¯s expression grew ck as she stared at the ring as if she was in trance, ¡°What do I have to do to gain your trust?¡±

    ¡°Offer to me your life.¡± Ye Ci responded without even a shred of emotion.

    Ciss stared at Ye Ci with dull eyes, and Ye Ci could see the confusion on her face. She knew that the NPC was hesitating.

    ¡°What is it? Are you denying your own words?¡± Ye Ci sneered at the NPC, ¡°Is this the extent of your loyalties?¡±

    ¡°N-no! No, it¡¯s not!¡± Ciss shook her head. Her religious fervor was pathetic to Ye Ci¡¯s cold gaze.

    As an NPC, Ciss was still trying her best to analyze the situation, but her personal trait had decided her fate. She could only think of one thing in her fervent state.

    I MUST PROVE MY LOYALTY! I MUST PROVE MY LOYALTY!

    ¡°What will you do if I can prove my loyalty?¡± Ciss retained some basic sense of judgment despite her ever decreasing retionality.

    Ye Ci waved her hand in front of Ciss, and the dark mes danced with her movement, ¡°Then you shall be granted eternal life.¡±

    It was a temptation that Ciss could not resist. Madness crept into her red pupils as she continued to stare at the ring, and she drew a dagger without warning.

    Ye Ci could tell from the jewel encrusted hilt of the weapon that it was no ordinary item. The dagger, which was a mage¡¯s secondary weapon might becking in terms of damagepared to the dagger of a Rogue, but it could still deal a high amount of damage if it struck a vital spot.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Ciss. If the NPC decided to strike at that very moment, she could only resign to her bad luck.

    But Ye Ci had apparently overestimated the level of intelligence possessed by Ciss. The servant of Sha¡¯jia stared at Ye Ci with a hystericalugh, ¡°I AM SHA¡¯JIA¡¯S MOST LOYAL SERVANT! NOBODY CAN DOUBT MY LOYALTY!¡± and she plunged the dagger into her heart.

    Warm blood gushed out of her wound, sttering the ground, and onto Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    As she wiped the blood away from her face, Ye Ci stared at Ciss.

    The beautiful looking NPC was staring back at Ye Ci as the life slowly drained from her eyes.

 Chapter 266 A Hero Like Khuâ€™tak Part 1

    Chapter 266 A Hero Like Khu¡¯tak (Part 1)

    Homicide and suicide meant a whole world of difference to an NPC.

    It was impossible for Ye Ci Ciss with a single blow even if her attacknded right at the NPC¡¯s heart. The NPC¡¯s suicide, however, was a very different situation. Ciss stabbed her dagger into her heart, and immediately lost her life despite the weapon¡¯s low physical damage.

    Ye Ci knelt beside Ciss and ced a finger below the NPC¡¯s nose. Ciss was dead. Ye Ci sighed as she stared at her beautiful face. As expected of a face generated by the system. If such a person exists in real life, she¡¯ll be causing traffic congestions wherever she goes.

    Even if she was the cause of Ciss¡¯s suicide, Ye Ci was not rewarded by the system for the NPC¡¯s death as she did not deal the killing blow.

    A stream of ck mist lingered on Ciss¡¯s corpse upon her death, as if it was reluctant to leave her perfect body behind. Thissted for a few seconds before the mist flew into Ye Ci¡¯s ring. The dark mes that surrounded Ye Ci had dissipated, and the ring itself retained its normal form. Despite itsck of change, Ye Ci could tell that something was different about her ring. She wanted to obtain information about the ring from an NPC, but with its status as an artifact of Naga, not many NPCs were able to provide the information Ye Ci needed. She could only wait patiently for the mystery of the ring to unravel during her journey.

    Ye Ci stole a quick nce at Ciss¡¯s corpse. Despite theck of loot drops, the NPC¡¯s staff and dagger was still clutched in her hands. Is it possible to obtain these items? Ye Ci¡¯s hand was already reaching for the items when such a thought surfaced in her mind.

    Ciss did not cling onto the dagger like a miser in her death. Ye Ci was able to easily pry the dagger from the NPC¡¯s corpse. A quick nce at the dagger¡¯s status revealed that it was indeed an item worth of a lvl90 BOSS.

    Ciss¡¯s Dagger: Dagger, secondary weapon.

    This is a treasured item of Ciss, the most trusted servant of Sha¡¯jia. The dagger was forged by the Dwarven Grandmaster Smith Puck, and was embedded with the most valuable gems gathered throughout the Jiama Continent. It was bestowed upon Ciss by Sha¡¯jia, and it was one of the few items truly treasured by Ciss.

    Quality: Purple

    Attack: 468-624 Attack Speed: 1.5

    Magical Damage: 890

    Intelligence +680

    Spirit +

    Agility +300

    Special trait: Increases magical damage of Dark-type spells by 10%, reduces Dark-type spells channeling time by 15%, deals additional damage to life forms with ¡°Holy¡± attribute.

    Special Skill: Dark Curtain

    After channeling for 3 seconds, creates a Dark Curtain with a 35 yards radius. Enemies enveloped by the spell will have their vision range reduced by 50% and movement speed reduced by 30%. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes. (Note: The skill can only be used 5 times in 1 hour.)

    Ye Ci was greatly satisfied by the utility offered by the dagger. Despite its high level requirement, the weapon¡¯s potential was also great. The Dark Curtain was a skill that would be extremely potent inrge scalebat that would affect enemies in a 35 yards radius while friendlybatants were rendered immune to the skill¡¯s effect. A squad of Rogues backed by a mage armed with such an ability would be able to ovee any opposition within the ability¡¯s 30-seconds duration.

    The only downside to the skill¡¯s short cooldown was its limited use that was restricted to 5 times within a single hour. This meant the dagger¡¯s user must have a very good game sense and be in possession of good gaming mechanics.

    Of course, as a secondary weapon, the dagger and the skill it offered was a very satisfying loot. Ye Ci fiddled the weapon before quickly storing it into her storage. I can¡¯t equip this dagger. Might as well dump it into the Guild Warehouse and let it be Timely Rain¡¯s problem instead.

    If Ciss¡¯s dagger was an obtainable item, her staff would naturally be no exception.

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips the moment sheid her hand upon the stuff. As expected of the weapon of a BOSS! It might be inferior to Dalufar¡¯s staff, but it has a quality of its own.

    The Sealed Staff of Gore: Staff, main weapon.

    Gore was one of Naga¡¯s most powerful servant expert in Lighting-type spells, and was inmand of the vanguard of Naga¡¯s forces during the Dark Lord¡¯s invasion of the Jiama Continent. Gore was eventually in by Shealtiel, King of the Humans, and his staff was sealed by humanity¡¯s greatest mages and was stored within a magical circle within the Grand Temple of the Jiama continent as a Demonic Artifact. The staff was lost when the Grand Temple was destroyed by the rampage of Naga¡¯s forces and was never heard of again. It was eventually acquired by Sha¡¯jia¡¯s most trusted servant, Ciss...

    Quality: Purple, Sealed (5/5)

    Attack: 579-895

    Attack Speed: 3

    Magical Damage: 1690

    Intelligence +930

    Agility +370

    Endurance +450

    ss Requirement: Sorcerer, Shaman

    Level Requirement: 100

    Special Trait: Increases Lightning damage by 15%, increases the chance of Lightning effects by 20%, reduces the channeling duration of Lightning spells by 15%, adds a damage over time effect to Lightning spells, increases Mobile Casting movement speed by 0.5.

    Special skills:

    Lightning Storm: Deals Lightning damage up to 10 enemies after channeling. Enemies afflicted by the stun will be stunned or paralyzed (status does not stack). The damage of Lightning Storm will increase with the spell¡¯s channeling time. Channeling duration: 10 seconds, can be interrupted. Cooldown: 1 minute.

    Lightning Shield: After offering a prayer to the God of Thunder, the caster receives a shield capable of absorbing 10,000 damage with a 2 minutes duration. Enemy units around the caster will receive 300 damage per second. The shield will automatically disappear after 2 minutes if it receives no damage. Instant cast, Cooldown: 5 minutes.

    Lightning mages were very rare in the Jiama continent. Many of the yers preferred me and Mystic spells for their damage and Ice spells for their crowd control capabilities. Lightning-type spells did not have the damage to match the former, whilecking the crowd control effectiveness of thetter. This made leveling hard for Lightning mages in the early stages of the game. But this ss of mage was armed with argest variety of spells that could slow, stun, paralyze, and even reduce the movement speed of their opponents in thetest stages of the game, and yers with Lightning mage characters were highly sought after by the major guilds.

    Shamans on the other hand rely on their totems, and most of the Shamans¡¯ totems were capable of dealing Lightning damage. This was why the majority of the Shaman yers focused more on Lightning-type spells while using me-type spells and healing spells to aid them inbat.

    They were thergest group of consumers for equipment with Lightning attributes in the market.

    Unfortunately for such yers, the drop rate of Lightning attributed equipment was very low, and Lighting attribute dungeons were a rare urrence in the Jiama continent. This drove the avability of these equipment even lower for pre-lvl60 characters. Lightning attributed equipment was always in high demand, and even a piece of such equipment with slightly decent status could fetch a high price.

    Ye Ci knew full well that the staff she held in her hand would definitely attract the attention of Shaman yers and many of the major guilds if it ever appeared on the auction house. The staff was already a very formidable item in its sealed state, and one could only imagine its destructive power when its full potential was unleashed.

    A named equipment was few and far between in the Jiama continent, and only an idiot would ever think of selling them in the auction.

    Ye Ci stared at the staff, then at unar who was sitting at the entrance of the temple, and made the decision to reserve the staff for the boy. While the level of yers was capped at 60, unar was already nearing the lvl100 mark. If she was able to cultivate the unar into an Elite NPC and supplement hisbat capabilities with the staff, the boy would be almost invincible inbat.

    Humans are always driven by greed. Ye Ci immediately showed interest in Ciss¡¯s jewelleries and clothing after obtaining the two items. She knelt beside the corpse and began groping about in an attempt to undress the now lifeless Ciss. This earned her a warning from the system, ¡°Please respect the dead. No matter who she was in life, you are not allowed to defile her corpse.¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at the notification. I¡¯m not defiling her! I¡¯m just looking for items that might be useful. She¡¯s dead anyways! It would be a waste if I leave those clothes on her! But with the verdict already made by the system, Ye Ci was forced to give up. She stood up and began walking towards the main altar of the shrine.

    The arrow that was illuminated by the dim candlelight gave off a very intimidating aura.

    Despite her spectacr haul, Ye Ci¡¯s true goal was the arrow. It was the reason she drove Ciss to her death. She studied the altar for signs of any magical circles or seals, but found nothing protecting the arrow. The arrow was guarded closely by Ciss, and with her death, it was free for Ye Ci¡¯s taking. Perhaps due to her overindulgence in wuxia novels, Ye Ci was a firm believer that danger lurked in the safest of ces. She studied her surroundings closely for a long moment before finally reaching the conclusion that the area was safe.

    She took in a deep breath and reached for the arrow. She felt a stabbing pain the moment her hand came into contact with the arrow, and mes immediately red from her ring. The mes immediately disappeared when Ye Ci ced the arrow into her inventory.

    There¡¯s something odd about the arrow.

    Ye Ci opened up her inventory window and searched for the arrow.

    Tainted Arrow: This is an arrow tainted by blood. The name engraved on the tip of the arrow has faded away. There¡¯s no way to tell who it belonged to, but one thing is certain: The arrow was fired into the chest of Sha¡¯jia in a battle long, long time ago, wounding the demon. Why don¡¯t you pay the Elven vige a visit if you wish to find out about the origins of this arrow? Perhaps someone in the vige can tell you more about it.

    This is the only description of the arrow. It seems that I have to take a trip back to the newbie vige.

    Ye Ci then scoured the entire shrine and found Mark¡¯s items in a secluded corner.

    Despite the NPCs apparent treachery, Ye Ci was determined toplete his quest.

    Ye Ci noticed unar¡¯s sulky expression as she left the shrine, ¡°What is it? Are you angry at me?¡± she asked as she stood beside the boy.

    ¡°No.¡± unar¡¯s reply was the exact opposite of his mood. It was very obvious to Ye Ci that the boy was indeed sulking.

    Ye Ci responded to the boy¡¯s anger with a smile, ¡°Fighting your enemies might not always be the wisest choice. Sometimes, you must learn their motives to eliminate thempletely, am I right?¡±

    unar stared at Ye Ci and spoke after a long moment of silence, ¡°Why would Nuoba betray us? I know that he hates me, but he¡¯s also a member of the tribe. Why would he work with these bad people, why...¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips in response. She was at a loss for an exnation that could make unar understand that people tend to make different choices when they are faced with a choice between power and morality. She stood silently beside the boy for a long moment before finally speaking up, ¡°unar, be a hero, just like Khu¡¯tak once did.¡±

    ¡°Will something like this stop happening once I be a hero?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But you will bring your tribe great honor by bing a hero. Your name will forever be recorded in the tribe¡¯s history, and perhaps...¡±

    unar¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. He walked up to Ye Ci and spoke with enthusiasm clear in his voice, ¡°How did Khu¡¯tak be a hero, Elf?¡± Ye Ci was stunned for a brief moment before she could respond, ¡°He left his home, to where the people are. He helped them, and he saved a lot of them. This was why he was remembered and became a hero.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± unar¡¯s eyes were shining like two zing stars under the setting sun, ¡°I want to be a hero just like Khu¡¯tak! I want to help people just like he did!¡±

 Chapter 266 A Hero Like Khuâ€™tak Part 2

    Chapter 266 A Hero Like Khu¡¯tak (Part 2)

    Mark was overjoyed when he received his goods from Ye Ci. The NPC traced his skinny hand over the chest, and mumbled to himself, ¡°That¡¯s right, this is it. This is it...¡± Ye Ci sneered at Mark and nted her foot onto the chest, ¡°Mark, you¡¯ve not been honest with me.¡± ¡°What?¡± Mark looked up and Ye Ci and instinctively shrunk back, ¡°What are you talking about, Elf? I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, and Mark grew even more nervous, ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, Elf. What are you trying to say? Can you spare this foolish Mark such trouble? Why don¡¯t you just speak more directly to Mark? Mark does not like riddles.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyes narrowed even further. He has the gall to me me? Suspicious indeed. She did not show her anger, and instead drew her short sword, burying it onto the chest with a dull ¡°thud¡±. Mark visibly shrunk again as fear slowly crept into his expression.

    ¡°We Elves are not fond of riddles,¡± snorted Ye C, ¡°If you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about, I¡¯ll make it known to you.¡± Ye Ci shook Mark violently, ¡°This entire ce is an illusion! So how did you get in here? And how are you going to Jade Ind?¡± the man was intimidated by Ye Ci and a very angry unar beside her, ¡°Y-you knew...¡±

    ¡°Enough of your nonsense! I want answers!¡± Ye Ci snorted, ¡°Or you will end up like the crate over there.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s threat instilled fear into Mark, ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll talk! Just don¡¯t... Don¡¯t hurt me.¡±

    Mark was unintelligible, but his fear of Ye Ci meant that she was able to slowly coax the truth out of the NPC. He was indeed a merchant who had lost his way in the realm of illusion created by Ciss. His greed drove him to steal the wealth of the temple, which led to his capture by Ciss. Mark was threatened to trick new sacrifices into the temple under the pain of death, and was doing it out of the need to survive.

    Jade Ind was indeed something real, and it can be reached by traversing the desert. But when asked about the true location of Sha¡¯jia¡¯s Shrine, Mark was surprisingly reluctant to cooperate. Ye Ci had no choice but to give up, as she knew that learning about the secrets of a wider part of the game was next to impossible in a mere dungeon. When asked about a way to leave the illusion, Mark offered a very cryptic response, ¡°You have to leave from where you came from.¡± to Ye Ci¡¯s dismay. She was unconscious when she was brought into this realm, and would naturally not remember how she was able to gain ess to the realm. Fortunately for Ye Ci, unar had a good memory, and was able to guide Ye Ci on their way back.

    They found a teleportation circle that was glowing with a faint shade of blue. It was apparent that the circle would activate once the duo was in the circle. With a bright sh of light, Ye Ci and unar was transported back into the cave.

    Just like their previous experience, Ye Ci was not able to see what unar saw. She cast a nce at unar and asked, ¡°Is the book here?¡± Despite his confusion at Ye Ci¡¯s question, the boy replied, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s there.¡±

    Ye Ci once againid her hand on the book. She could feel that the book was infused with a strange power. She was no longer teleported into the realm of illusion when her hand came into book, and instead received a system notification, ¡°You¡¯ve explored the Shrine of Sha¡¯jia. You can no longer explore the map.¡±

    So this is a single entry dungeon. Thought Ye Ci to herself. Why is this map not made avable to the rest of the yers like Vosok? But her question was quickly answered by her own realisation. I did not kill Ciss with my own strength, which means that I¡¯m unable to unlock this dungeon. Besides, the ind itself was a hidden map. There was no point in unlocking the dungeon.

    Ye Ci looked around to confirm her location, and found herself suspended in the air, as if nothing had changed. She then nced at unar, and the two began to traverse through theke filled with Water Sprites and theva pool back to the stairs.

    As the duo reached the end of the stairs, Ye Ci shrugged at unar who stared back at her, ¡°It¡¯s all on you now, I have no idea how they opened the door from this side.¡± The boy nodded and Ye Ci and began looking around the entrance. It did not take him to locate the mechanism that would open the door, and Ye Ci responded with a sigh. It seems that the door only works against outsiders like me, but is renderedpletely useless by a member of the Doluo tribe.

    Ye Ci motioned for unar to hide within the cave as she scouted ahead for signs of Nuoba¡¯s men, and the duo returned to the vige when she was sure that the coast was clear.

    ¡°Running a littlete today eh, Elf?¡± Ye Ci knew not how time flows in the realm of illusion, but when she looked up into the sky, it was already growing pitch ck. The sentry¡¯s question was nothing out of the ordinary.

    Ye Ci smiled at the guard and patted her pickaxe, ¡°Can¡¯t help it. I need to get Lia¡¯s harp as soon as possible.¡± and the sentry snorted at her response.

    unar followed close behind Ye Ci with his head hung low. The boy appeared to be exhausted, but Ye Ci knew that he was simply hiding his anger. An observant individual could even tell that his body was shaking with anger.

    Ye Ci then patted unar on the head, ¡°Go home, and tell no one about what we saw today. Can you do that for me?¡±

    unar raised his head and stared at Ye Ci, the mes of anger apparent in his eyes. The boy was grinding his teeth and his hands were clenched into tight fists. It was as if he was a volcano that was ready to erupt.

    ¡°Patience is a virtue that a hero must learn. If you are not capable of doing that, you can only be a reckless fool for the rest of your life.¡± Ye Ci shook her head at the boy.

    The rage in unar¡¯s eyes subsided ever so slightly at Ye Ci¡¯s words. He bit on his lips and finally spoke up after a short while, ¡°But... Nuoba intends to kill Lord Dalufar...¡±

    ¡°I know. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± unar stared at Ye Ci and thetter saw the boy¡¯s kindness and sincerity returning to his eyes. He nodded at Ye Ci, and headed home, ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll head home now.¡±

    Ye Ci logged out of the game for some rest and dinner as well after she was sure that unar had made his way home.

    Bai Mo, Zuo Xian, and Ye Nantian were baffled as Ye Ci gorged down her food.

    ¡°Even if you can¡¯t leave the house due to your injuries, can you please restrain yourself? You¡¯ll grow into a pig in no time.¡±

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian nodded in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s right. A girl like you should eat less. Nobody would want to marry you if you¡¯re fat.¡±

    Ye Ci ignored the onlookers and continued stuffing her mouth full of food, ¡°What do you know? I¡¯m being pushed to the limit here. Who knows if I¡¯ll be able to make it out alive if I don¡¯t have some good food.¡±

    Her family knew that she was in the middle of an exceptionally tough quest, and was not surprised by her words. Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian were Life yers, which naturally meant that they were not interested in the quest itself. They believed that their daughter was capable ofpleting the quest, and dismissed her grumbling.

    Bai Mo, on the other hand, was worried, ¡°You¡¯ve been stuck in that ce for almost a week now. Can¡¯t you find your way out of there?¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll be able to leave soon if all goes ording to n.¡± sighed Ye Ci.

    Bai Mo nodded at his cousin, ¡°Just do your best. The members of our guild are working hard in leveling up. We¡¯ll have a lot of lvl60 yers in the near future.¡±

    ¡°What about the Mithril?¡±

    ¡°The mining attempts have stopped.¡± came the reply.

    ¡°That fast?¡± Due to her recent activities on the ind, Ye Ci had no energy to spare on the forums. Her only source of intelligence on what was going on in the outside world came solely from Bai Mo and Tan Png. She knew that people would eventually give up on the Mithril ore vein once they realised that their mining operations were futile, but she did not expect the fever to die down in a week.

    ¡°Yup. Because some big shot came along.¡± Bai Mo narrowed his eyes.

    ¡°WHo was it?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of Smoldering Iron?¡±

    Smoldering Iron? Ye Ci was shocked. It was a name that she knew well. He was the first Grandmaster Miner in Fate during herst life, and was poached by many of the major guilds.

    ¡°Of course I know that name. Why? Did he somehow join in on the mining fever as well? Isn¡¯t he a yer from the Western Continent?¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips.

    ¡°You¡¯re actually right. That guy spent arge amount of gold to switch his home continent just to mine at that spot. He even posted his findings at the forums every single day. Because of his fame as a miner, most of the yers gave up.¡± Bai Mo offered his analysis.

    Ye Ci nodded in agreement, but she noticed something else in Bai Mo¡¯s expression, ¡°What? Is there something else you wish to know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a Life yer, so I¡¯ll never be able to understand their... Enthusiasm.. In certain things.¡± Bai Mo shrugged.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ye Ci could tell that there was a hidden meaning behind his words.

    ¡°Why would Smoldering Iron spend 100,000 gold coins to have his home continent changed just to go back to the Western Continent after a few days. It felt like he was just trying to prove that there is no Mithril there.¡± Bai Mo smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°If that¡¯s not the case, why would he go back to the Western Continent? Isn¡¯t there ores in the Eastern Continent as well?¡±

    ¡°Just get to the point.¡± replied Ye Ci as she munched on a piece of pork rib.

    ¡°Genesis sent him to debunk the rumors, didn¡¯t they?¡± Bai Moughed, ¡°They¡¯re smart. You now owe them a favor, and they¡¯re able to protect their own interest as well.¡± and Bai Mo¡¯s eyes narrowed once again, ¡°But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the only thing they have in mind.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What do you mean by that?¡± Ye Ci stared at Baimo.

    ¡°Genesis might have their eyes on our Mithril mine.¡± Bai MO sighed, ¡°We¡¯re not a million-member guild like them. We can¡¯t defend it on our own. As our coborator, will they offer their aid in the mine¡¯s defense? If we¡¯re forced to ept their help because of Golden Era of the threat of other parties that might get involved, will we still be able to retain ownership of that mine?¡±

    Ye Ci closed her eyes. Bai Mo had spoken out her worries.

    There was no friendship between business partners. Benefit was the only deciding factor in such a rtionship. It was impossible for the Eastern Continent¡¯s mine to remain locked forever, and the moment Upwards Ho! began their mining was the day they might lose their grasp on the mine. As their closest partner, Genesis might seize such an opportunity to take over.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. Greed is indeed more terrifying than a tiger.

 Chapter 267 Servant Part 1

    Chapter 267 Servant (Part 1)

    ¡°What level is Blossoming Tree¡¯s Goblin Engineering at?¡± Ye Ci suddenly asked out of the blue.

    ¡°He¡¯s almost a High-tier Goblin Engineer now. He can surely level up very fast if someone provides him with the materials he needs. But...¡± Bai Mo hesitated for a moment. ¡°You¡¯ve recruited him for the sole purpose of building siege machines, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°The blueprint is difficult to find; you can¡¯t even buy it from the market. The major guilds have long recognized the benefits of Goblin Engineering, so they have been recruitingrge groups of Life yers. Moreover, they have assigned a lot more people than our guild at the auction, so it won¡¯t be easy for us to outbid their yers. Take our guild for example, we only managed to seize a total of five hundred blueprints from auction and market since our establishment. This is only an insignificant numberpared to the massive amount of blueprints that are being circted.¡± Bai Mo sighed.

    ¡°Some of the rarer blueprints are very limited in number, so it is very likely that only one Life yer in an entire will have the chance of ever using one. I know it would be better for the rarest recipe to be learnt by fewer people, but having only one of us mastering these blueprints will seriously hamper our production. This case is especially true for the higher tier blueprints that require multiple skills toplete. Having more blueprints will solve this bottleneck.¡±

    Ye Ci naturally understood what Bai Mo was trying to tell her. She was reminded of Mara¡¯s skill which would allow her to duplicate blueprints and skillbooks. These two skills could very well solve Bai Mo¡¯s concerns. Not only that, she could also create duplicates of old but rarely seen recipes and skillbooks for sale. Cash woulde flowing in and she would be able to y mind games with the major guilds. It was not a bad idea.

    However, this would only happen if she could bring unar, Mara and Yn out from the Doluo Tribe, but even the mere mention of bringing unar with her had worried the old man.If she were to propose bringing the entire family away, would the old man knock the life out of her with his God-tier staff?

    Thinking up to this point, Ye Ci suddenly lost her confidence again. She had control over her own path, but she had no control over the system. Although her chances of sess was great, nothing was decided until it really happened. Having such an unknown factor in her n was indeed worrying.

    In any case, it was no use for Bai Mo to worry about anything right now because his worries were not something that could be resolved within a short amount of time. When Bai Mo noticed that things also seemed like it wasn¡¯t going so well on Ye Ci¡¯s side, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You look like you are worried about something.¡±

    ¡°Nothing serious, just some uncertainties.¡±Ye Ci told everything about unar¡¯s family to Bai Mo and as expected, he was extremely shocked. ¡°How truly unbelievable! How truly unbelievable!¡± He chanted.

    ¡°What?¡± Ye Ci burst outughing when she saw the rare expression on Bai Mo¡¯s face. ¡°Yo, I¡¯ve never thought that I¡¯d ever see that look on your face. Aren¡¯t you one who is always smiling, cousin?¡±

    Bai Mo reached out and pped Ye Ci on her head in response to her statement, but quickly continued speaking. ¡°It¡¯d be great if we can bring those three here. As long as Blossoming Tree can reach the Master-tier in engineering, we won¡¯t have to worry about guarding the Mithril ore vein.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Yn is a Master-tier Builder. She can construct fortifications around the Mithril ore vein. Since Mara can duplicate blueprints, she can make multiple copies of such blueprints. Once Blooming Tree starts arming these fortifications, we¡¯ll be able to defend the mine.¡±

    Bai Mo agreed. ¡°Although the future is uncertain, at least for now, this n can allow one man to hold out against ten thousand.¡± He thought for a bit, then stood up. ¡°Alright, I will n ahead by having Timely Rain recruit more Engineers and Builders.¡±

    Ye Ci breathed out a sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s a good n, but I¡¯m still not sure if I can bring out this family of three.¡±

    ¡°Just do what you can and leave the rest to God.¡± Bai Mo patted Ye Ci on her shoulder. He took his bowl into the kitchen and went inside his room to prepare.

    Ye Ci was still eating, but she had obviously lost her appetite. Ye Nantian rested his hand against hers and smiled, ¡°Little Ci, do your best but don¡¯t be too harsh on yourself. Always remember that Dad and Mom will always be here for you.¡±

    Ye Ci, who was rendered speechless by Ye Nantian, stared at her father.

    Zuo Xian also patted Ye Ci on her head with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯re a family. No one will be able to separate us no matter what, so just do what you can.¡±

    Family? Family...? Ye Ci seemed to suddenly be enlightened! It turned out that she had forgotten about something all this while! How could she forget such an important thing! Ye Ci suddenly stood up then rushed up to her parents with a smile. ¡°Dad, Mom! I know now! I know now!¡± While saying that, she rushed into her room, leaving Zuo Xian and Ye Tiannan behind in their confusion, wondering what had Ye Ci figured out.

    Ye Ci went online and strode quickly to the tent where unar and his family lived. She peered into the leather tent through the gap and saw Yn passing a bowl of meat soup to her children, then rubbing her children¡¯s heads affectionately. The gentle look and affection on her face seemed so familiar to Ye Ci. It was exactly the same as how her parents would look at her!

    She actually forgot that Yn, Mara and unar were family! Although Ye Ci had been talking about family, she never thought of them as one entity. She saw them as three separate individuals andpared them to each other, trying to figure out who was more loyal to her. It was only now she understood her grave mistake. She shouldn¡¯t have viewed them as three separate individuals in the first ce. If she were to view them as one entity, then things would be much easier.

    Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but get excited at the thought. She reached out to part the leather p and walked into the tent.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re here! I just made some meat stew. Come, have a bowl! The mountain is very cold in winter, have a bowl of soup to warm yourself up.¡± Yn quickly invited Ye Ci to sit down when she saw hering in. unar was going to bow to Ye Ci, but Ye Ci gestured for him to sit down and eat instead.

    After spending a few days with Ye Ci, Mara was quite used to Ye Ci now. She quickly fetched a bowl for Yn to serve Ye Ci a bowl of meat soup.

    Ye Ci epted the bowl and drank the soup after expressing her gratitude to the family. Although her real body was stuffed, her body in the game was still exhausted. Drinking the soup seemed to instantly dispel her weariness and allow her to slowly regain her HP.

    unar stared at Ye Ci in silence before suddenly speaking up, ¡°Elf, have you gathered enough ores?¡±

    ¡°Mhm.¡± unar had been following Ye Ci so he naturally knew how much ores she had taken, so Ye Ci didn¡¯t try to deceive him either. As for his question, Ye Ci could vaguely figure out the reason behind it.

    ¡°Does that mean you can buy a harp for Lia soon?¡± unar gripped his soup bowl tightly as he gazed at Ye Ci fervently, seemingly trying to suppress his emotions.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    unar thought for a very long time before asking, ¡°Elf, do you know what is Lia¡¯s most impressive ability?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci didn¡¯t directly answer unar but chose to smile at him, then swept her gaze over Yn and Mara. Both of them had sort of a lonely look on their faces. It would seem like they knew what unar was going to say.

    ¡°She can whisk you away from this ind.¡± unar lowered his voice and had a very secretive expression on his face, thinking that Ye Ci was really oblivious to this information.

    Ye Ci pretended to be surprised to y along with unar. ¡°Oh? That¡¯s really impressive!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! I heard that it was handed down in Lia¡¯s family. Khu¡¯tak managed to leave back then thanks to Lia¡¯s great great grandmother!¡± unar seemed rather pleased with himself speaking up to this point. This was a secret between him and Lia, so naturally no one else would know about it.

    Although Ye Ci didn¡¯t really know about that, she wasn¡¯t really concerned about it. What unar was going to say next was more important. ¡°So that means as long as I pay Lia, I can leave here?¡±

    unar was stunned. So were Yn and Mara. The three of them stared at Ye Ci as though she was aplete stranger.

    ¡°Why? Did I say something wrong?¡± Ye Ci shrugged.

    ¡°No, no. You¡¯re right. If you buy a harp for Lia, she will definitely send you away from here.¡± unar lowered his head, looking a little upset.

    Ye Ci reached out to ruffle his hair and consoled him with a smile. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you reluctant to see me go?¡±

    unar stared into the bowl of soup he was holding, looking determined. Yn spoke up instead. ¡°Elf, unar is very fond of you and is hoping that you would stay. Must you leave?¡±

    Ye Ci nodded. ¡°Yes, Yn. I am an adventurer. To me, there¡¯s a more beautiful and vastnd beyond this ce, beyond this this ind, beyond this sea...¡± Ye Ci was quickly interrupted by Mara before she could even finish speaking. ¡°But don¡¯t you think this ce is very beautiful? We have lush forests, vast oceans and you can even hear the mermaids sing. Why would you want to leave such a beautiful ce? Are the foreignnds that attractive?¡±

    Ye Ci knew Yn and Mara were not anxious because of her. They were anxious because unar had made some sort of decision. It was for this reason, Ye Ci could only look at Mara gently and speak to her in a soft tone, ¡°Mara, you are right. This ce is very beautiful. The sky is very blue and the forest is very green. The people here are very kind. Although I don¡¯t have any good impression on the mermaids, I can¡¯t deny their beauty and melodious voices either. Some of the ces beyond here are filled with blooming flowers. But some are barrennds with snowy mountains, deserts, forests and waterfalls. In the outside world, every step leads to a different scenery. Even though this is a great ce, the blood of an adventurer still runs through my veins. I love a life of uncertainty; I yearn for that kind of excitement.¡±

 Chapter 267 Servant Part 2

    Chapter 267 Servant (Part 2)

    ¡°Excitement?¡± Mara cocked her head to the side and looked at Ye Ci quizzically.

    ¡°Yes. You never know what kind of excitement you will go through in the next moment. You could be in danger, or receive boons beyond your wildest imagination, or find yourself in the face of disaster. You will never know for sure. It¡¯s exactly because of this unknown that you can feel how truly exciting the world really is. Unlike here, where the sky is always blue, the forest is always green and the beautiful mermaids are always there.¡±

    Yn listened to Ye Ci attentively. She had never left this tribe ever since she was born, so the world out there greatly fascinated her.

    She suddenly smiled wryly. ¡°I think I know why my husband yearned for the world outside so badly. Perhaps, he was also an adventurer.¡±

    ¡°Mommy, you can¡¯t say that! That means...¡± Tears welled up in Mara¡¯s eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.

    unar reached out to grab Mara¡¯s hand, then gently shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Mara.¡±

    Mara bit her lower lip. Although she was very young, she knew a lot of things. She lowered her head in great sorrow. ¡°Brother, Khu¡¯tak also yearned for the outside world back then. But in the end, the mermaids brought back news on his departure and he never returned. If you are going to be like Khu¡¯tak, will you still remember me and mommy?¡±

    Ye Ci determined that the timing was right, so she put on a look of surprise. ¡°W-Wait...! unar, are you thinking of leaving here?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± unar snapped his head up as soon as he heard Ye Ci¡¯s question. There was no hesitation, only unswerving determination.

    ¡°B-But... Dalufar probably won¡¯t allow you to leave.¡± Ye Ci shook her head. ¡°I think he regards all of you very importantly. You are Dak¡¯s younger brother. He surely wouldn¡¯t want the same thing to happen again.¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Brother, Elf is right. There¡¯s no way Lord Dalufar will allow you to leave.¡± Before Mara could finish speaking, she was stopped by Yn. She shook her head gently to Mara, then sighed. ¡°Stop it, Mara. Your brother has the right to decide his own future.¡±

    Mara bit her lips and lowered her head. Tears fell from her eyes.

    ¡°Elf, I need your help.¡± unar looked at Ye Ci, with the determination of a man.

    ¡°My help?¡± Ye Ci pointed at herself, acting as though she was very innocent while asking the question even when she already clearly knew the answer.

    ¡°Elf, please take me with you!¡± unar set down the bowl he was holding and walked to Ye Ci. He kneeled on his right knee, ced his left fist on his chest and lowered his head as he spoke earnestly. ¡°If you are willing to take me with you, I swear that I will forever be your loyal servant!¡±

    Ye Ci had thought of this before, but she didn¡¯t expect unar to suggest this on his own ord. This was still quite shocking to her. She silently stared at unar who was kneeling before her on one knee. This was the most formal and respectful bow in the Doluo Tribe. It was the highest form of respect one could show to another.

    She looked at unar for a good while, before finally reaching out to help him up. She seated him beside her and spoke to him with a serious expression. ¡°unar, do you really wish to leave?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I want to be a hero like Khu¡¯tak! I don¡¯t want Doluo people to remain unknown. I want everyone to know, the Doluo isn¡¯t some useless tribe being exiled by Humans and Barbarians. We are one of the best tribes in the world. I don¡¯t want our people to continue to be oppressed, and be tempted by Devils. We are clearly capable of defending ourselves. That¡¯s why I want to leave and train. I want to be the second Khu¡¯tak, no, I want to be an even bigger hero than Khu¡¯tak!¡± unar wasn¡¯t loud, but his speech was powerful and resonating. Even as a yer, Ye Ci couldn¡¯t help but cheer the NPC on for his lofty ambitions.

    ¡°I can take you away.¡± Ye Ci stared into unar¡¯s ck eyes for a long while, before giving him a careful answer. A sparkle of joy shed across unar¡¯s eyes when he heard her reply. However, Ye Ci¡¯s next word made him anxious again. ¡°But...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t ept you as my servant.¡± This was Ye Ci¡¯s conclusion after pondering the matter over for a good while.

    ¡°Why?!¡± unar couldn¡¯t believe it. In his simple mind, he thought that he wouldn¡¯t be able to leave and see the outside world without bing Ye Ci¡¯s servant. So Ye Ci¡¯s answer was no different than outright refusing his request and this naturally made unar feel extremely helpless. ¡°I am willing to be your servant! I am willing!¡±

    ¡°No. I still can¡¯t agree to that regardless if you are willing or not.¡± No matter how much unar insisted, Ye Ci was firm on refusing him because she suddenly thought of a way to bring their entire family away. Sometimes, refusing didn¡¯t mean denying and agreeing didn¡¯t necessarily mean epting either. ying hard to get was indeed an intriguing phrase.

    ¡°Why?! You have to give me an answer!¡± unar was extremely agitated. He had a strange feeling toward Ye Ci. He admired, feared, revered yet also unwilling to submit to her. Despite the fact that he was still a mercenary hired by Ye Ci, he was acting recklessly and being unruly.

    Ye Ci wasn¡¯t bothered by this because she knew unar wasn¡¯t fully loyal to her yet. If his loyalty had reached that extent, then this situation wouldn¡¯t ur in the first ce. ¡°The answer is actually very simple.¡± Ye Ci looked at unar, then nced at Yn and Mara. In her gaze was forgiveness and smile. ¡°A hero should never be a servant.¡±

    Unlike the mindset of Chinese where ¡®a hero might also have a humble family root¡¯, status was taken very seriously in Jiama Continent. If a hero or warrior came from a less honorable background, his growth would be affected negatively. It was for this reason Ye Ci decided to refuse taking unar in as her servant. Only by maintaining unar¡¯s pride would she win Yn and Mara undying loyalty.

    As expected, the tent fell into silence after the answer came out of her mouth. After a long while, only then she heard Yn¡¯s faint sobs. Both her and Mara had kneeled before Ye Ci and were rubbing their hair against Ye Ci¡¯s feet. ¡°Thank you, my master. Thank you for making my son possess the dream and journey of bing a hero. My son cannot serve you as a servant, but my daughter and I are willing to serve you as your servants in his ce. We are willing to serve you with our whole life, my master!¡±

    ¡°Mara agrees with mommy!¡±

    Ye Ci secretly assessed Yn and Mara¡¯s fondness toward her, and discovered that their loyalty toward her had been maxed out. It seemed like all she needed to take unar down was to loosen her reins on him in order to grasp him better. Ye Ci quickly helped Yn and Mara up, then shook her head with a smile. ¡°How is that possible? I can¡¯t even agree to have unar as my servant, how will I possibly agree to having both of you as my servants? Moreover, it¡¯s pointless even if I were to ept your request. I¡¯m leaving here after all. There¡¯s no way both of you will leave your hometown. So...¡±

    unar looked at his mother and younger sister, then suddenly spoke up. ¡°Can you take all of us away from here together?¡±

    ¡°Together?¡± Ye Ci blinked, acting as though she was bewildered, but her heart was blooming with joy. I did it, I finally did it!

    ¡°Yes, together.¡± unar nodded. ¡°Truth be told, I am the only son in my family. If I were to leave my mother and sister behind in the tribe alone, I don¡¯t think I will ever be at ease.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Dalufar taking good care of your family?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Lord Dalufar takes special care of orphans and widows like us. But Lord Dalufar is the chief of this tribe. There¡¯s a limit to how much he can care for us. Even if I am here in the tribe, my mother and sister are still being bullied. If I¡¯m gone, I¡¯m afraid that life is going to get more difficult for them. So, if you¡¯ll allow, I wish to bring my mother and sister away from here too. That way, they won¡¯t be too worried about me as they can always see me.¡±

    unar seemed to have suddenly grown up at this very moment. He was very mature in his thinking, and was no longer the willful youth who only did the things he wanted. He was really like the pir of his family now.

    ¡°What do you think, Yn and Mara?¡± Naturally Ye Ci couldn¡¯t only listen to unar¡¯s opinion when it came to matters like these. She had to listen to the opinions of the people who were involved in this. ¡°Do you both agree to leave the tribe with unar?¡±

    Yn looked at Mara. After thinking for a moment, she finally spoke up. ¡°I have never left the tribe and have no idea on what lies out there beyond here. But if master is willing to take us with you away from here, we are willing to leave the tribe together with unar. We are a family. Unless there is any special circumstances, we are not willing to part with each other.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded, extremely satisfied with the turn of events. ¡°Alright. If all of you insist, then I can bring you all with me.¡± After Ye Ci said that, she could immediately hear three system messages.

    ¡°Doluo Tribe member Yn is now your servant.¡±

    ¡°Doluo Tribe member Mara is now your servant.¡±

    ¡°Doluo Tribe member unar is now your guard.¡±

    Guard? Ye Ci was slightly taken aback. In the previous world, she had only heard about the mercenary and servant systems but not a guard. Could it be that she has triggered the system, that she never did in the previous world, in this world? Just when Ye Ci was thinking about that, she received another system message. ¡°You have discovered the servant and guard systems due to your diligence and resolve, would you like to make your ID public?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    It would be best toy as low as possible when ites to matters like these. Letting more people know that she had servants and guards would only invite trouble, so she ought to be more cautious.

    ¡°Due to... yer¡¯s unrelenting diligence and resolve, the servant and guard systems have been discovered. The servant and guard markets will now be opened in cities for yers to experience these new aspects in the game. Have a good time.¡± After Ye Ci refused making her ID public, this message immediately popped up in the global chat, and caused passionate discussions among guilds and yers. Even so, Ye Ci didn¡¯t seem to be too bothered about it.

    That was because Ye Ci was more concerned on how to break the news that she would be bringing the three away to Dalufar. After mulling it over for a long time, she came to the conclusion that it was better to rify things up with Dalufar as early as possible. She had been to the illusionary realm, and discovered Nuoba¡¯s Secret. She was certain that Dalufar was close to discovering the truth as well. If she did not share what she knew, Dalufar might not allow her to bring the family with her easily.

    Ye Ci went to buy the harp that Lia needed first, then bought the most decent recipes from the shop. After spending thest piece of ore she had on her, only then she went toward Dalufar¡¯s tent. However before she even reached Dalufar¡¯s tent, she spotted unar watching her silently under the moonlight.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, unar? Why are you standing here?¡± Ye Ci was curious, so she went up to him and asked.

    ¡°Master, I know what you are about to do. I wish to join you.¡± unar ran up to Ye Ci and bowed. Ever since he became her guard, he was behaving a lot more polite around her.

    ¡°Are you sure you want to do this?¡± There was no way unar didn¡¯t know what she was going to do, and he was adamant in following her so Ye Ci was worried if it was wise for him to do that.

    ¡°I am sure, master. I know what I am doing. I have my own obligations toward this tribe.¡± unar seemed so sure that he would probably disagree even if Ye Ci were tomand him to return to his own tent. Guards and servants were different. Guards had their own rights in doing certain things, but not servants. Servants would always obey their master¡¯smand, regardless if it was right or wrong.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ye Ci nodded. In any case, she was going to use Nuoba¡¯s matter as a deal with Dalufar and make him owe her a personal favor so he would willingly release the family of three. At first, she was still worried if she would be able to convince him alone. Now that unar was joining, it would probably be easier to convince Dalufar.

    Dalufar was quietly sitting in front of his huge table as usual. The table was piled up with all sorts of books. Under the dim light, Dalufar¡¯s white hair and beard was tinted gold, making him look very divinely. His magical staff rested quietly against the right arm of his chair, just within his reach. Ye Ci looked at the staff and thought to herself that it was impossible for her to ever get her hands on it in her entire life. It was fine though, she shouldn¡¯t be too greedy as she had already reaped a lot of rewards bying here.

    Dalufar sensed Ye Ci entering the tent, yet didn¡¯t raise his head. He continued reading his book but spoke slowly, ¡°I heard you have bought Lia¡¯s harp.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lord Dalufar.¡±

    ¡°Are you preparing to leave?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Dalufar. I¡¯ve been here too long. I must continue my journey.¡± Ye Ci responded with a very standard answer, as an NPC with high intelligence would see through any possible y of words.

    Dalufar nodded, then closed up the book in front of him and lifted his head. He looked at the boy standing behind Ye Ci in silence. After a very long time, he finally spoke. ¡°What about you, unar? Have you made your decision?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Lord Dalufar. I have. I wish to leave with her to travel the outside world, just like Khu¡¯tak did back then.¡± unar¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, but one could hear the unwavering determination in it.

    Dalufar listened to unar and seemed to be dispirited. He remained seated and let out a long sigh before shutting his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s been many years. I thought I wouldn¡¯t hear anyone talking about leaving the tribe again, yet I am hearing it now. Thest time I heard this, I was still a youth like you, unar. Back then, Khu¡¯tak stood before me and told me the same thing. I was proud of him. After so many years, you¡¯re now telling me the same thing again. I...¡± Speaking up to this point, Dalufar paused slightly and an affectionate smile appeared on his face. ¡°I am also proud of you.¡±

    unar was very nervous at first but after hearing Dalufar¡¯s words, he felt relieved at once. After he rxed, the only response he could give was speechlessly staring at Dalufar in a daze. After a long while, only did he manage to speak again. ¡°Is that so? Lord Dalufar, are you really proud of me?¡± ¡°Of course, my child. I am proud of anyone who can find their courage to take this first step out. Not only that...¡± Dalufar paused slightly, then looked at Ye Ci and continued speaking, ¡°Advancing for the sake of your dream is a joyous thing that is worth celebrating. unar, I look forward to the day you¡¯ll be a Great Shaman.¡±

    unar was even more shocked now. ¡°What? A Shaman? Not a Warrior?¡±

    ¡°Why a warrior? Aren¡¯t you a shaman?¡± Dalufar stood up, with the magical staff that Ye Ci had been drooling over in his hand. He slowly walked toward Ye Ci, then lowered his head to look at her. He sighed, then spoke only loud enough for both of them to hear. ¡°I think what you said is right. People should chase after their own dreams. I can¡¯t make him stay here. Elf, I¡¯ll leave them in your hands.¡±

    Dalufar¡¯s words greatly astonished Ye Ci. He had figured out everything before she even said anything. This must be a BUG...

    Despite Ye Ci¡¯s surprise, she still nodded and made a promise with Dalufar. She nced at unar behind her, then spoke to Dalufar. ¡°Lord Dalufar, Ie here today to inform you of another matter.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    Ye Ci sighed, then told everything about the things she and unar saw in the Pitch ck Cave as well as everything in the realm of illusion to Dalufar. Dalufar appeared to be shocked. ¡°What?! You are saying that Nuoba and Sha¡¯jia are actually colluding together?!¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think it is Sha¡¯jia. That was only an illusion. Only Sha¡¯jia¡¯s servant, Ciss, was inside that illusion.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any difference.¡± Dalufar¡¯s face turned sour. ¡°I only know that the Heart of me is sealed under the Pitch ck Cave. I¡¯ve been watching over it with care for so many years, so that no demons have any chance to get close to it! Yet I didn¡¯t expect Nuoba to actually collude with a demon to steal the Heart of me! Just what is he thinking?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that Nuoba is coveting over your position.¡± Ye Ci sighed and slowly pointed out the key point of this matter. After all, Dalufar had been alive for too long. Although he was powerful, it was inevitable that some of his subordinates would start to misbehave.

    Dalufar stared at Ye Ci intently, unable to utter another word.

    The moon was shining bright In the night sky above Doluo Tribe. The moonlight silently shone on the ancient tribe that seemed silent, yet lurking with wild ambitions within.

 Chapter 268 Doluo Civil War Part 1

    Chapter 268 Doluo Civil War (Part 1)

    The battle with Nuoba was an oue that Ye Ci had expected, but how it happened was something that even she could not foresee.

    She knew that Nuoba had all the warrios of the Doluo tribe on his side, but she did not expect him to attempt his coup so soon.

    Dalufar showed no fear as he stood before Nuoba¡¯s warriors. Ye Ci stared at the lvl 240 BOSS-tier NPC, and the godly artifact that he held. He remained calm and rational, and it was as if nothing in this world could faze the NPC.

    ¡°Why have you gathered so many of your men in front of my tent, Nuoba?¡± Dalufar¡¯s gaze swept across the warriors gathered before him before finally resting on Nuoba. There was no unease nor arrogance in his voice. He was just like an old man who was conversing with an unruly youngster.

    Greed and hatred were present in Nuobas eyes as he stared at Dalufar and Ye Ci could sense the defiance from the man as he bowed at his chieftain.

    Nuoba then smiled at Dalufar, ¡°Honorable Lord Dalufar, I¡¯m here to pay you the highest of respect.¡±

    ¡°Oh really? Then I shall receive it with thanks. You can leave with your men now.¡± Dalufar remained unfazed by Nuoba¡¯s words.

    ¡°I would dly do so, Lord Dalufar, but it is not the will of my men.¡± Nuoba gestured at the Doluo warriors surrounding the tent.

    ¡°Is that so? Why do they refuse to leave?¡± Dalufar¡¯s face remained a mask of serenity even as he gazed upon Nuoba¡¯s men.

    Ye Ci could tell that they were the elites of the Doluo tribe. The tribe itself had a poption of 6,000, and the vast majority of the tribe members were women, children, the elderly, and those who were injured in battle. Men who were fit to fight were all in the tribe¡¯s military, and were under Nuoba¡¯smand. At this point, Nuoba¡¯s intention was very clear.

    There¡¯s no way Dalufar is unaware of this. Thought Ye Ci to herself. Why has he done nothing? There¡¯s no way he has overlooked something like this. Ye Ci had no ess to Fate¡¯s systems. She could not tell what was going on in Dalufar¡¯s head. The only thing she could do was to stand by Dalufar, and wait for the inevitable quest that would be given to her.

    yers experience the stories of NPCs in the game in their own way, and there were times when how they felt or what they thought could change the oue of a quest or even an entire battle. There were also times, however, when the system merely required the presence of yers as an observer and a listener to a story that was about to unfold.

    And this is one such situation.

    ¡°Because they¡¯ve been treated unfairly!¡± a cold sneer appeared on Nuoba¡¯s face as he pointed at unar. ¡°Lord Dalufar, I¡¯ve never doubted your wisdom. In fact, I¡¯ve thought that you¡¯re perhaps the wisest person in this world even when I was a child. That is, of course, until the appearance of this mongrel!¡±

    ¡°unar? What about him?¡± Dalufar¡¯s expression remained unchanged. His calm expression was a sharp contrast to the mask of rage on Nuoba¡¯s face.

    Ye Ci cast Detection on Nuoba, and found that he was a lvl180 NPC. Even if he was a BOSS, the disparity in strength between Nuoba and Dalufar was very immense. The oue of a battle between the two NPCs was apparent, but...

    Nuoba¡¯s men that numbered at least a thousand were still a fighting force that could not be ignored. If a fight broke out between Nuoba and Dalufar, the chieftain with his divine artifact might still be overwhelmed by the sheer number of Nuoba¡¯s men. After all, even ants could kill an elephant if they had the numbers.

    She knew that the standoff would result in a battle, and her sess of bringing Aluanar away with her depended on the course of action she chose to take.

    So what should I do when the battle starts? Ye Ci began surveying her surroundings, and remembered the two remaining bombs in her inventory, should I use these...

    Ye Ci stole a nce at Dalufar and sighed. Will I offend him by using these? Those are his people... She looked up into the sky, Ah, whatever, we¡¯ll see how it goes...

    ¡°You assigned the mongrel to my militia, and that is something that I am willing to overlook. But Lord Dalufar, why are you teaching him the way of the Shaman in secret? Don¡¯t you know that he does not have the birthright to do so?¡± Nuoba¡¯s eyes were filled with jealousy. It was apparent that he knew about the boy¡¯s secret.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not Lord Dalufar¡¯s fault...¡± unar immediately jumped to Dalufar¡¯s defence. The old Shaman was a noble and holy figure in the boy¡¯s eyes. He was a figure that unar would not allow to be questioned and even vilified.

    Dalufar immediately blocked unar¡¯s path with his staff, ¡°Back down, unar.¡±

    ¡°But...¡± unar stared at Dalufar.

    ¡°I told you to back down¡± Dalufar¡¯s gaze was still fixed on Nuoba as unar retreated silently behind the Shaman.

    ¡°Birthright? What is that?¡± a smile appeared on Dalufar¡¯s face, ¡°My brother Khu¡¯tak and I were also from a family of low-borns. We¡¯re not nobles, and yet we¡¯ve learned the way of the Shaman and be Shaman¡¯s ourselves.¡±

    Disdain immediately appeared on Nuoba¡¯s face, ¡°And this is why our tribe has been declining after you became chieftain! How can the offspring of low-born scums be equals with the children of nobles? You¡¯ve robbed us nobles of our power! Are you looking down on our tribe¡¯s tradition?¡±

    Dalufar was unfazed, ¡°What¡¯s so bad about it?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing good about it!¡± Nuoba was enraged by the indifference disyed by Dalufar.

    ¡°I¡¯m a noble of the Doluo tribe, but I have to listen to orders from a low-born like you! You put me in charge of the guards while you hold the highest authority for yourself! How is this fair?¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. Nuoba had finally cast away his pretense. His nobility was nothing but a mask to hide his jealousy. A person could not hide the fact that he was rotten to the core no matter how hard he tried.

    ¡°We¡¯re all fighting to protect our tribe. Don¡¯t you think that nobles andmoners alike share the same responsibility to keep the tribe safe? Do you think you deserve special privileges when the livelihood of our tribe is at stake?¡±

    ¡°Hmph! What does the life and death of the low-born scums have to do with us nobles? We¡¯re born to rule, and they¡¯re born to serve! Why must we fight to keep them safe? That¡¯s ridiculous!¡±

    ¡°And?¡± despite theck of change in the Shaman¡¯s expression, Ye Ci could sense his displeasure.

    ¡°And this is why you should not be allowed to remain in power! Doom awaits our tribe with you on the helm! I shall lead our tribe to glory, and only I alone am capable of such a feat!¡± madness reced the jealousy and anger in Nuoba¡¯s eyes. He had coveted the position of Chieftain for far long. His men still follow him despite his madness? As expected of a system generated event.

    Anger finally reced the air of serenity around Dalufar, ¡°Where are you leading them? Into the depths of hell itself? To be sacrificed to the demons?¡± and he mmed his staff onto the ground.

    Nuoba¡¯s expression changed. He cast a nce at his men, and some of them immediately shook their heads. Those were faces that were familiar to Ye Ci. Aren¡¯t they the ones in the cave? Nuoba then sneered at Dalufar, ¡°So you knew. Don¡¯t you know that being in possession of knowledge that you¡¯re not supposed to have is dangerous? It seems that you¡¯re tired of living.¡±

    ¡°Oh? If you can do such a thing, surely I am allowed to expose the truth.¡± Dalufar responded with a sneer of his own.

    ¡°Heh, you could¡¯ve lived for longer, but since you wish to court death, I will send you on your way...¡± Nuoba waved his hand, and his men immediately raised their weapons, ¡°Kill him! Kill him!¡±

    Ye Ci was shocked by the madness disyed by Nuoba¡¯s men. They¡¯re the elites of the tribe, but not all of them are nobles. A normal NPC should show some degree of response to Nuoba¡¯s words, but why are they unaffected? And she noticed the eyes of the NPCs. They were red, just like the eyes of Ciss.

    mes began to appear on Ye Ci¡¯s ring, dancing in the dark with the night breeze. Ye Ci immediately put on a pair of gloves to cover the mes. I have no idea how this thing works, might as well cover it up first. Of course, her action went unnoticed due to the tense atmosphere surrounding the tent.

    One thing is for sure though, the appearance of these ck mes meant that demons are present. Thought Ye Ci to herself, The ck mes... Red eyes... Have these soldiers been demonized?

    ¡°Lord Dalufar! These men... There¡¯s something wrong with them. Their eyes are red, they¡¯re demons!¡±

    Dalufar was shocked by revtion, and hisposure waspletely shattered. His emotion was not reced with panic, but with grief, ¡°Nuoba! What have you done?¡±

    A smile appeared on Nuoba¡¯s face, ¡°What have I done? I gave them power! Unlimited power!¡± and he shot a venomous look at Ye Ci and unar.

    A lvl180 Nuoba was not a cause for concern. As a melee ss, he would suffer at the hands of a ranged attacker like Dalufar. But fighting against a demonic Nuoba was an entirely different scenario.

    ¡°You¡¯ve sold your soul to the demons!¡± shouted Dalufar as Nuoba¡¯s eyes began to glow sickly red and his body began to grow. Oh no! Thought Ye Ci as Nuoba¡¯s body continued growingrger and his muscles began to bulge.

    ¡°So what if I did?¡± Nuoba¡¯s clothing were torn apart as his body became evenrger, and a pair of ck wings erupted from his back while horns appeared on his head, ¡°You know too much, Dalufar! You must die!¡±

    ¡°Nuoba!¡± Dalufar was greatly shaken by Nuoba¡¯s transformation. The NPC has not only sold his soul to the demons. He had be on himself! He then cast a nce at Nuoba¡¯s men and shouted at Ye Ci, ¡°I leave the safety of unar and his family in your hands, Elf. Take them away! Bring them to safety!¡±

    Ye Ci knew that it was next to impossible toplete such a task. If things are that simple, then I won¡¯t be trapped in this mess, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I can¡¯t fulfill your request, Lord Dalufar.¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°I¡¯m a warrior fighting for peace and justice. I flee when my friends are in danger. I shall remain and fight by your side!¡±

    unar, who was worried that Ye Ci would act ording to Dalufar¡¯s instruction, was encouraged by her words. ¡°As will I!¡± The boy stood beside Dalufar with determination in his eyes.

    Dalufar nced at Ye Ci, then at unar. Calmness had returned to his expression, but Ye Ci could see the gratitude in his eyes. It seems that my decision is correct. I don¡¯t know how this will end, but I¡¯ve definitely earned his respect.

    ¡°Very well. Leave Nuoba to me, Elf. I¡¯ll leave his men to you and unar!¡± Dalufar nodded at the duo and spoke in a firm voice.

 Chapter 268 Doluo Civil War Part 2

    Chapter 268 Doluo Civil War (Part 2)

    Ye Ci pursed her lips as she stared at the overwhelming number of Nuoba¡¯s men. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! We¡¯re supposed to deal with them? I¡¯m only lvl60! They can literally just trample me to death! Wait, I still have two of the Scarlet Bombs left, but am I even allowed to use those?

    ¡°Lord Dalufar, do you need me to keep them alive?¡± asked Ye Ci, it¡¯ll be bad if I piss him off by using the bombs on them.

    Dalufar was shaken by Ye Ci¡¯s words, and at that very moment, he looked like a frail old man, ¡°They¡¯ve sold their souls to the demons. They are beyond redemption. Even if I wish to save them, they are noting back.¡±

    The indirect answer was an indicator to Ye Ci that she was free to act as she saw fit. Well, since the boss has spoken, I¡¯ll do my best!

    ¡°Deploy your lightning totems. Paralyse them when I draw them into your attack range.¡± said Ye Ci to unar.

    ¡°What are you trying to do, Mistress?¡± unar was confused for the briefest of moments before realisation dawned upon him, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re going to deal with them like what you did to the duhans!¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    Hesitation appeared in unar¡¯s eyes, but the boy nodded when he saw Dalufar who was locked inbat with Nuoba, ¡°Alright, leave it to me.¡±

    Ye Ci nocked an arrow, and began sprinting around Nuoba¡¯s, dodging and weaving as she went. Nuoba¡¯s men, who were provoked by her actions, raised their weapons and charged. Ye Ci was able to attract the aggro of Nuoba¡¯s men, and clumped them up together to maximize the effect of her Rain of Arrows.

    She fired an arrow into the air after making severalps, and arrows rained down upon Nuoba¡¯s men. Red damage indicators appeared on the sentries¡¯ heads. Ye Ci was unable to deal any significant amount of damage to Nuoba¡¯s men due to the level penalty in the game, but it was still a satisfying sight.

    Even with the attention of the bulk of Nuoba¡¯s men on Ye Ci, unar was still kept busy by stragglers as he struggled to deploy his totems. As they were all melee fighters, it was still rtively easy to deal with them as long as they did not get close.

    In an attempt to buy more time for unar, Ye Ci continued kiting Nuoba¡¯s men around the vige while harassing them with arrows. She was not able to take them down, but she was able to dish out a significant amount of damage. Of course, Ye Ci¡¯s sess was due to the fact that the demonized sentries, with their level of intelligence greatly reduced, had been following Ye Ci around in circles. They followed her around the vige, and eventually into the area filled with unar¡¯s totems.

    The vige itself was in a state of disarray. No buildings and tents were left untouched as Nuoba¡¯s men scrambled to catch up to Ye Ci. Have the NPCs fled? Mused Ye Ci. Whatever, this is not the time to worry about that.

    I¡¯m lucky that these sentries do not have a Priest among them. If I¡¯m hit by a crowd control skill, I¡¯m as good as dead.

    ¡°I¡¯vepleted the preparations, Mistress.¡± unar¡¯s voice finally rang out in Ye Ci¡¯s ears, and she immediately led Nuoba¡¯s men in the direction of the boy. unar began channeling his spells. While weaker than the spells cast by Dalufar, unar¡¯s Chain Lightning was more than enough to paralyze Nuoba¡¯s men.

    Dalufar was locked inbat with the demonized Nuoba. Despite Nuoba¡¯s disadvantage in level, the NPC had gained a huge boost in his stats by bing a demon, as well as the ability to fly, which made him a formidable opponent for even Dalufar himself. But the Shaman was still able to cast Blessing on Ye Ci and unar even when he was busy dealing with the demonized Nuoba.

    Tears began rolling down Ye Ci¡¯s cheeks when she noticed the effects of Dalufar¡¯s Blessing. So this is a Blessing by a godly artifact wielding, high level NPC. If I can bring him to the maind with me, we can crack every dungeon with his Blessing alone.

    The crackling of electricity filled the cold night air along with the howls of Nuoba¡¯s men.

    Ye Ci intended to throw out one of her bombs, but out of the thousand of Nuoba¡¯s men, only 300 were paralyzed by unar¡¯s spell. The rest of the demonized sentries were still close on her heels. It seems that unar has to fend for himself for a short while. ¡°unar, I¡¯m not in a good position to throw the bombs, can you deal with them on your own?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I should be able to take care of them with my totems quite easily.¡±

    unar¡¯s words brought relief to Ye Ci, and she continued kiting Nuoba¡¯s men around the ruined vige. Even Ye Ci herself had lost count of theps she made around the vige when the red damage indicators in her screen were reced by the golden numbers of experience points gained. Wow, that was quick! Thought Ye Ci as she cast a quick nce at unar. The boy had managed to dispatch most of his foes. The few remaining stragglers chased after unar, who avoided their attacks with astonishing agility, and before long even the stragglersid dead on the ground.

    The boy immediately began redeploying his totems in preparation for the next wave of Nuoba¡¯s men that Ye Ci would bring into his trap.

    Ye Ci was quick to lead the demonized sentries into unar¡¯s attack range. With their prior experience, the duo was able to spring their trap at the right time, trapping 500 more of Nuoba¡¯s men within the range of unar¡¯s totems. The remainder of the sentries, though unaffected by unar¡¯s lightning, could not make their way to Ye Ci as theirrades were blocking their way.

    Now is the chance! They¡¯re so tightly packed. If I don¡¯t use the bombs now, I might not get another chance! Ye Ci tossed her bombs into the crowd without even the slightest hesitation, and threw herself and unar onto the ground.

    ¡°Watch out, Lord Dalufar!¡± Ye Ci shouted at the Shaman. If he¡¯s somehow killed by the explosion, there¡¯s no way unar and I can deal with Nuoba.

    Dalufar did not know what Ye Ci and unar were nning, but immediately cast a shield on himself when he received the warning. A golden shield with lightning crackling on its surface enveloped the Shaman. Isn¡¯t that a Lightning Shield? Ye Ci was quick to recognize the skill that was used by Dalufar.

    Just then, Nuobaunched his attack against Dalufar with renewed vigor. He pped his wings, summoning strong gusts in the cold night sky.

    ¡°BOOM!¡± a loud explosion shook the ground, throwing dust, debris, and pieces of armor into the air.

    Despite their rtive safety, Ye Ci and unar were still affected by the concussive force and debris from the explosion. Ye Ci immediately produced a Health Potion from her inventory as her health plummeted, but to her amazement, her health bar was instantly refilled along with unar¡¯s before her lips could even touch the mouth of the bottle. Dalufar! He¡¯s casting a healing spell on us, unar, and himself while maintaining his shield.

    Motherfluffer! As expected of a lvl240 BOSS-tier NPC!

    He¡¯s literally immortal!

    Dalufar himself was of course not safe from the effects of the explosion, but a Shaman is the jack of all trades, which meant that he could easily heal himself up. Nuoba, on the other hand, had no such luck.

    The NPC had absorbed the full brunt of the explosion with his giant form. One of his wings were shredded into bloody ribbons by the debris and fragments caused by the explosion. As Nuoba bellowed in pain, Dalufar sprung into action. With his ability to fly, which gave him an edge in his fight against Dalufar lost, Nuoba was helpless against the onught of spells that rained down upon him.

    Despite the marvelous spectacle of the fight between the two NPCs, Ye Ci herself was still inbat. Many of Nuoba¡¯s men were dead, but there were still stragglers trapped in the crater created by therge explosion. They struggled to regain their footing, and continue their attack on Ye Ci. This is the moment. If I die here, all my efforts will be wasted. Ye Ci forced herself back on her feet, and beganunching attacks against the trapped sentries,pletely disregarding the state of her equipment.

    unar shook away the disorientation and was able to recover from the effects of the explosion. He immediately began redeploying his totems and aid Ye Ci in her fight against thest of Nuoba¡¯s men.

    With only so few of their numbers left and nearly dead, Nuoba¡¯s men were no longer a threat to the duo. Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four and was able to easily defeat the sentries with unar¡¯s aid.

    The fight between Nuoba and Dalufar wasing to an end as well.

    With a few more attacks from Ye Ci, unar, and Ol¡¯ Four, Nuoba copsed after howling in rage. The NPCs death filled their experience gauge with a huge amount of experience points. unar himself was able to reach lvl90 after the battle.

    Dalufar released his grip on his staff and stared at the mountains of corpses. He closed his eyes, and returned to his tent.

    ¡°Lord Dalufar!¡± shouted Aluanar, with the intention of following after the Shaman into the tent. He was stopped by Ye Ci, who shook her head at the boy. She knew that Dalufar did not wish to be distrubed, even by unar.

    ¡°What is it, mistress?¡± unar was confused.

    Ye Ci let out a sigh. She could understand Dalufar¡¯s grief. The ones who had lost their lives were his tribesmen.

    ¡°My son! Why did you sell your soul to the demons? Why did you turn your de against our tribesman?¡± a voice filled with woe rang out in the silent night. A Doluo woman was howling in anguish as she clutched Nuoba¡¯s corpse in her embrace. More women, children, and the old began appearing all around the vige. They knelt beside the corpses of their loved ones and wept.

    The entire vige was filled with grief and sorrow. Despair was spread into every corner of the vige like a gue.

    unar himself was weeping in silence as he stood beside Ye Ci. A thought appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s mind as she stared at the members of the Doluo tribe.

    Wait, there¡¯s so many of them? Where have they been during the fight?

 Chapter 269 To the Northern Continent! Part 1

    Chapter 269 To the Northern Continent! (Part 1)

    The sun rose, basking the ruined vige and everyone in it in golden light.

    No one knew how long the sorrow would linger. Ye Ci stood in the vige, feeling nothing but the endless irritability in her heart. She suddenly realized that the Doluo Tribe was truly destroyed.

    In a tribe that had lost all its manpower and was left with only the old and frail, they were going to face natural selection whether they like it or not. They would either have to continue living strongly or disappear into the long river of history.

    Ye Ci was suddenly overwhelmed by sorrow.

    She felt as though she had done something she really shouldn¡¯t have.

    Although she saved Dalufar, the entire Doluo Tribe might crumble or even vanish because of this incident. This might not be a good thing in the long run. The game has its own rules of survival. Is it really a good thing for me as a yer to interfere with an NPC¡¯s way of life?

    She had no idea, no idea at all.

    Just when Ye Ci was lost in her thoughts, she heard the rustling of clothes. She turned her head around, only to see Dalufar had appeared before everyone in ck robes.

    He seemed to have aged a lot overnight. The tears in his wisdom-filled eyes weren¡¯t dried yet. It would seem like the incident earlier had caused him grief.

    However, as a chieftain, and the leader of his tribe, he knew that he could not continue drowning in his own emotions. He knew that he must step up and speak to the remaining tribesmen.

    The sobs slowly faded upon Dalufar¡¯s appearance. Everyone was looking at him in silence. Their faces were still stained by tears, yet their eyes were filled with hope when they saw Dalufar.

    Due to the fact that Dalufar was a high-level NPC which owned a god-tier artifact, he was still alive despite a thousand year had passed. However, this wasn¡¯t the same for the other NPCs in Doluo Tribe. All of them were mortals, just like humans. The only thing that remained unchanged was their unwavering loyalty toward Dalufar. Of course, Dalufar¡¯s wise and just image was a direct contribution to such a fact, and his age was something that aided in this.

    Originally, Dalufar¡¯s robes were not ck. Now that he changed into ck robes, Ye Ci could instantly feel his sadness towards the loss of lives.

    ¡°My dear friend, thank you for everything you have done for me and the tribe. However, there are now things that only concern our tribe. Would it be alright for you to recuse?¡± Dalufar looked at Ye Ci and spoke very respectfully. Ye Ci looked at her intimacy level with Dalufar and Doluo Tribe ¡ª they were both extremely high by now, especially thetter which had reached the level of ¡°Respected¡±. It was for this reason Dalufar no longer addressed Ye Ci as ¡®Elf¡¯ but ¡®dear friend¡¯ instead.

    Ye Ci knew as well she would not be able to help for the rest of the matters even if she wanted to. Hence, it was better for her to avoid this ce. So she nodded, left the tribe and made her way toward the beach.

    Shortly after that, she found Lia who was basking in the sun on a rock. Ye Ci seethed inwardly at the sight of thezy mermaid. Why hasn¡¯t the sun turned her into a dried fish yet?! All of a sudden, Ye Ci felt that she should have raised a cat. If she did, the cat would be very interested in this fish right now.

    ¡°Ohhh look who¡¯s here! It¡¯s the t Elf girl!¡± Lia annoyingly propped her upper body and greeted Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci suppressed her urge to beat the shit out of this mermaid and instead merely snorted in response to Lia. When Lia saw that her greetings did not provoke any reaction from Ye Ci, she felt a little curious. She curled her beautiful blue fish tail, propped her chin on her hand and looked at Ye Ci. ¡°Hey Elf, you seem upset.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Lia. ¡°Unlike you, I don¡¯t bask in the sun all day doing nothing.¡± Lia chuckled mischievously. ¡°Do I smell jealousy?¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes. Of course she was jealous of this stupid mermaid.

    ¡°What happened in Doluo Tribest night? I was shocked by the greatmotion!¡± Lia leaned her head to the side and kept her tail curled as she gazed at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci shook her head. She did not feel like talking about the event that transpiredst night anymore. She climbed onto the rock and sat beside Lia as she gazed into the vast ocean. ¡°Lia, what are you doing sitting here every day?¡±

    ¡°Keeping watch! I have to quickly inform my sisters if food ising!¡± Lia blinked her big eyes. When she saw Ye Ci¡¯s gloomy face, she reached out and patted on her shoulder. ¡°Rest assured, females are not food to us mermaids because their flesh tastes sour. We much prefer the flesh of males.¡± Ye Ciughed wryly. ¡°Well thanks for that, I feel honored.¡± ¡°No worries at all!¡± As expected, Lia¡¯s face was way thicker than a city wall.

    A beautiful song came out of Lia¡¯s mouth and echoed throughout the ocean. Although Ye Ci did not understand what she was singing, she could feel the sorrow in her song. It was a very emotional kind of sadness, and there were a few times Ye Ci she was touched by it. If Lia did not stop and repeatedly ask her for food, she would probably be moved.

    ¡°How was it? Give me more food. I sang so long for you!¡± Lia was obviously very interested in the aromaticmb Ye Ci had on her. It was so much more attractive than a man, so Lia started to shamelessly pester Ye Ci for food every so often when singing.

    Ye Ci watched as Lia devoured the meat with a gloomy face, thinking to herself that she would never believe mermaids were gorgeous and elegant creatures again. They were all gluttons ¡ª no different than a boor. ¡°If I give you the harp, you will bring me away from here?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Didn¡¯t we agree on that before?¡± Lia licked her fingers as she savored the aftertaste of the smokedmb with her eyes closed. It was simply delectable.

    ¡°What if I¡¯m bringing someone else with me?¡±

    ¡°Someone else?¡± Lia looked at Ye Ci in puzzlement, then suddenly narrowed her eyes. She licked her lips with her pink tongue, then shed Ye Ci the smile of a predator. ¡°I can¡¯t let you do that if it¡¯s a man.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about unar and his family.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes. As expected, these mermaids were really gluttons. All she could think of at a moment like this was food.

    ¡°Huh? unar¡¯s family? They¡¯re leaving with you too?¡± A surprised expression appeared on Lia¡¯s face, looking as though she could not believe that statement. ¡°If they are sneaking away, then definitely no! You ought to know that my great-great-grandmother brought Khu¡¯tak away from here when she was young. When Khu¡¯tak died after that, the chief of Doluo Tribe came to find trouble with us. My great-great grandmother was punished very severely for it. Therefore, I will never allow you to bring unar and his family away from here without Dalufar¡¯s consent!¡± Lia shook her head fervently as though she was a rattle-drum, showing Ye Ci that there was no room for negotiation.

    Ye Ci grimaced at her words. Fortunately, she had thought of seeking Dalufar¡¯s permission. Otherwise, not only she would not be able to bring the family away, she might even jeopardize her chance of leaving this ce.

    After chatting with Lia for awhile again, Ye Ci gathered that Doluo people could travel to the mermaids¡¯ territories. Thoughts brewed in her mind as she nned to have unar bring her there for a tour next time. She might just find something good there. However, she would have to leave this all till next time. Just when she was spending her time with Lia, Mara came and informed her that Dalufar wished to see her. Ye Ci was a little puzzled over this but did not ask anything else. She bid her farewell to Lia and followed Mara back to Doluo Tribe.

    Only half a day had passed, but most of the corpses in Doluo Tribe had been cleared away. Even the huge crater made from the explosive was filled in. The copsed tents and totem pole were gradually restored through the efforts of women, children and the elderly. Ye Ci followed behind Mara as she looked at the people hard at work, thinking to herself that she had wrongly judged the women of Doluo Tribe. There was no way they could bepared to women of other tribes because they were so much stronger than even the men of some other tribes.

    It would seem like Ye Ci was worried for nothing.

    She followed Mara into Dalufar¡¯s tent and saw Yn and unar standing inside. Dalufar was seated and still dressed in ck robes. He stood up when Ye Ci entered, then greeted her with a nod. ¡°My dearest friend, you have returned.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Honorable Lord Dalufar.¡±

    ¡°First, I am extremely sorry that I have to make you leave earlier...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Lord Dalufar. I understand. I am just worried if Doluo Tribe can return to its peaceful lives from now on.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s question was vague, but she was sure Dalufar could understand her intention. After all, the dead Nuoba¡¯s warriors were from many families. Even if Nuoba was the one who tempted them, even if they had sold their souls to the devil, they were still family members no matter what.

    However, now that Dalufar had killed them, it was hard to say if these people would bear any grudge against Dalufar despite their absolute obedience and respect toward him. Ye Ci only asked that question because she was concerned about it.

    Dalufar was a highly intelligent NPC, so of course he would understand the intentions behind Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    He nodded lightly and showed her a smile. ¡°My dear friend, do not worry. Doluo Tribe has weathered through a great deal of problems up to this day, but each was very well handled through the efforts of every chief. Although I don¡¯t know if I can do as well as them, I¡¯ll definitely do my best to flourish Doluo Tribe even more through my own hands.¡±

    Since Dalufar had spoken, Ye Ci did not press further. This was never her problem to begin with, it was merely a form of formality. ¡°May God be with you.¡± Ye Ci bowed to him.

    Dalufar walked toward Ye Ci, looked at unar and his family then at her again. ¡°My dearest friend, I was initially worried about leaving this family in your hands but I have changed my mind. Perhaps bringing them away from here with you is for the best.¡± While speaking, he raised the staff in his hand and waved it around Ye Ci. She then noticed a BUFF called ¡°Dalfuar¡¯s Permission¡± in her stats. ¡°Now go find Lia. I believe she will definitely bring all of you home safely.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded. After expressing her gratitude, she heaved a long sigh. It seemed like with this, her quest had ended and she could finally return to Jiama Contient.

    Just when everyone was leaving, Dalufar seemed to suddenly recall something. He turned around to retrieve a sheepskin scroll from the bookshelf, then passed it to Ye Ci. ¡°Oh right, I have a map here, my friend. It was left by my brother long ago. I have done many research through books over the years and discovered that it was written in Elvish. I feel that you are the best person to keep this.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyes lit up when she epted the scroll. Amazing! Isn¡¯t this the Fragment of Dau¡¯er? Unexpectedly, she now had three of them. Only one left then she could report back to Natasha. I have a hunch that this quest has a great connection to my ss, so I must take it seriously.

    With this, Ye Ci could finally leave with unar and his family. She handed over the harp to Lia and exined her purpose. Since she carried with her Dalufar¡¯s permission, Lia did not stop her. She very cooperatively led Ye Ci away from the map where she had spent too long in.

    White light shed by and Ye Ci appeared in Upwards Ho!¡¯s base along with unar¡¯s family. She led the other three into the conference room then soon after that, Bai Mo and Timely Rain reached too.

    Since they knew about Ye Ci¡¯s encounter with unar¡¯s family in Doluo Tribe, they weed them very warmly. Ye Ci handed Yn and Mara over to Timely Rain so that he could make arrangements for them, and the two obediently left.

    As for unar, Ye Ci did not need him around her all the time since servants in the servant system were capable of independent action. They would only fight alongside their master when summoned, so unar had great freedom. Ye Ci just told unar the location of theShaman Academy and the library in Red Lake City before sending him off to do whatever he pleased. unar did not decline Ye Ci¡¯s suggestion since he was filled with curiosity about this world, so he left everything he carried on the table in the conference room and left.

    Ye Ci then took out the items in her own pocket, ced them on the table and told Bai Mo, ¡°I have no time to appraise these items, you guys do it. I basically got them off level 80 monsters, so maybe no one can equip them right now. But keeping these in the store room may just be a good motivation for everyone.¡±

    Bai Mo nodded. These matters were best left to Timely Rain. ¡°Are you still going to the Northern Continent?¡± He asked.

    Ye Ci nodded. ¡°Yes, even if it¡¯s not for Mithril, I still have another epic-tier quest waiting for me so I must make the trip.¡± When she spoke up to that point, she noticed the strange look on Bai Mo¡¯s face so she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You have something else to say?¡±

    ¡°ording to our intel, I¡¯m afraid that the Mithril ore vein in the Northern Continent has already been discovered.

 Chapter 269 To the Northern Continent! Part 2

    Chapter 269 To the Northern Continent! (Part 2)

    ¡°It was discovered?!¡± Ye Ci sprung up.

    ¡°No, I mean to say that people have started doing the prerequisite quest.¡± Bai Mo quietly looked at Ye Ci. He did not look surprised but just seemed like he was taking the matter as a fact. On the contrary, Ye Ci looked a lot more dismayed.

    ¡°People have started doing the prerequisite quest?¡± Ye Ci grasped her hair, appearing to be very agitated. ¡°The Mithril ore veins in the Eastern and Southern Continents are now in my hands. The ore vein in the Western Continent belongs to Genesis while the one in the Northern Continent is out of my control...¡± She mmed on the table. ¡°How did that even happen?!¡±

    ¡°Just two ore veins is enough for us. Besides, even if we got the northern Mithril ore vein, we wouldn¡¯t be able to guard it on a hostile continent like that. Even arge guild like Genesis couldn¡¯t guard it, let alone us. We¡¯re not going to take over it, even if the time and ce is right. Therefore, let¡¯s not touch the Mithril ore vein in the Northern Continent.¡± Bai Moforted Ye Ci with a smile when he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s frustration. Truth be told, he understood Ye Ci¡¯s frustration. It was not a problem about the ownership of the ore vein, but...

    ¡°The problem now is not whether or not we are able to guard it!¡± Ye Ci sighed. ¡°If the Mithril ore vein is taken by others, then it will be exposed very soon. With our current strength, we cannot even guard a single ore vein. The moment they are revealed, we will never be safe...!¡±

    ¡°Calm down, Little Ci,.¡± Bai Mo looked at Ye Ci who was extremely distressed and hurriedly sped her hands in attempts tofort her. ¡°I understand what you mean but do not be too pessimistic. Perhaps things aren¡¯t that bad.¡±

    ¡°Not that bad? How would it be?!¡± Ye Ci was no longer in control of her own emotions.

    All of Ye Ci¡¯s pent up pressure exploded right at this moment, ¡°Have you ever thought that we¡¯re very far behind in terms of manpower and the quality of our yers? We alsock the number of Life yers that the other guilds have. So what if we have Mara and Yn? They can¡¯t build us a fortress out of thin air overnight! They certainly can¡¯t do the same for the growth of our guild either! If a third party learns about the Mithril ore vein, we won¡¯t be able to hold the Lesser Demon Sanctum! Even if I¡¯m holding on to the quest lock, the major guilds could simply flood the area with their yers and stop me from continuing the quest!¡±

    Bai Mo stood up. He embraced Ye Ci and stroked her long hair, just like he did when she was young, then spoke to her gently, ¡°I know. I know all that. I know all these pressures on you. Stop thinking about them. Don¡¯t shoulder that much burden yourself. You still have us. You have to believe that Upwards Ho! is growing at a very rapid speed. Just focus on what you like to do and leave the rest to us.¡±

    Bai Mo¡¯s voice seemed to have the kind of magic thatforted people. Ye Ci calmed down very soon. She leaned against Bai Mo¡¯s chest, listening to his powerful heartbeats and felt a wave of exhaustion hitting her. She let out a long sigh. ¡°I¡¯m so tired, cousin. The Golden Age ising, but we are still nothing.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everything will get better.¡± Bai Mo patted Ye Ci on her back as he gently consoled her.

    ¡°Old Mo! Are we clearing a dungeon tonight or do we continue to level up?¡± Let Go Of That Girl suddenly barged into the conference room. He looked at both of them, then apologized profusely while subconsciously retreating from the room. ¡°Sorry, sorry. Please carry on, carry on.¡±

    Once out of the conference room, Let Go Of That Girl suddenly felt that something was off. Ye Ci and Bai Mo did not seem like lovers...

    Just when he was trying to wrap his head around it, Ye Ci came out. She did not even seem awkward and only threw a nce at Let Go Of That Girl. ¡°Where¡¯s Ideal?¡± she asked.

    ¡°O-Oh, s-she went off to make food.¡± For some reason, Let Go Of That Girl grew nervous instead as he stammered through his reply.

    Ye Ci snorted. ¡°So you let your wife go to cook while you stay online to y game. What a nice man you are,¡± she said before turning to leave.

    Let Go Of That Girl did not know how to answer that, so he could onlyugh dryly while scratching his head. After a good while, only then he looked up and wondered what just happened.

    Then, Bai Mo came out too. He looked at Let Go Of That Girl, then spoke to him in his usual tone. ¡°Those who are below level 60 will continue grinding. Gather up those who are here and find a suitable dungeon to grind.¡±

    When Let Go Of That Girl saw Bai Mo was acting normal, he called out to him. ¡°Old Mo, Old Mo! Just who is Gongzi to you?¡±

    ¡°She is my cousin.¡± Bai Mo looked at Let Go Of That Girl. There was not even a shred of ambiguity in his eyes.

    ¡°Cousin! You kissing and hugging so intimately as cousins?!¡± Let Go Of That Girl continued bbing at a lower volume. ¡°You¡¯re not trying to fool us right?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t kiss her.¡± Bai Mo gave Let Go Of That Girl a side-eye. ¡°Her mother is the biological sister of my mother. I am rted to her by blood!¡±

    ¡°Are you sure one of you isn¡¯t adopted...?¡± Let Go Of That Girl seemed like he was still skeptical. He just couldn¡¯t shake off his suspicions that Bai Mo and Ye Ci were more than just cousins.

    ¡°You watched too many Korean dramas.¡± Bai Mo gave him an amused look. ¡°This is how we always behave around each other.¡±

    ¡°Oooooh!¡± Let Go Of That Girl nodded, then squinted and started prying more. ¡°Won¡¯t your future wife or husband be jealous of your intimacy with each other?¡±

    This was enough to make Bai Mo start rolling his eyes. Just what is this idiot going on about? ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into it.¡±

    He was really reading too much into it... right?

    Ye Ci walked along the street of Red Lake City. The sun was moving westward, basking everyone in warm twilight. The poption in the city was growing. These people had settled down in Red Lake City. As residents, they undertook quests for the city and made a great amount of contribution toward the city¡¯s development. With all the quests they hadpleted umted together, Ye Ci believed that the Red Lake City would level up very soon.

    She stood at the city¡¯s entrance and the guards greeted her. This was all she could get from her current prestige in Red Lake City. If Ye Ci¡¯s prestige in this city were to reach the Respected level, then these guards would act differently in her presence.

    There were two paths before her now. One was to go to the Northern Continent while the other was for her to return to the Newbie Vige.

    Ye Ci¡¯s initial n was to head to the Northern Continent as soon as she exited Doluo Tribe. However, she would have to push this n to the back of her head for now. The fact that someone has started doing the prerequisite quest at the Northern Continent¡¯s Mithril ore vein was only known to those people and Upwards Ho. Of course, Ye Ci wouldn¡¯t find Green Hill¡¯s Moon to investigate this matter since she had to keep things under profile. She was rather conflicted about her next n.

    Ye Ci stood at the city entrance for a good while. All of the yers that passed by were giving her looks of envy.

    In the end, Ye Ci only sighed and decided to not overthink. She had never been like this. She wasn¡¯t sure if she was always overthinking before doing things due to having too many ideas now. Thanks to that, she had lost her decisiveness. Ye Ci shook her head. Bai Mo was right about only worrying about things when it happens. Rather than wasting time thinking about things that hadn¡¯t happened yet, she should just focus on properly doing the task on hand.

    Ye Ci summoned Old Four, tossed it some meat then rode toward Elf¡¯s Newbie Vige on its back.

    Elf¡¯s Newbie Vige was rtively much closer than the Northern Continent. Ye Ci looked at the arrow in her bag and instantly thought of Natasha the NPC arrow vendor. The Elf would definitely possess profound knowledge on this Tainted Arrow.

    Natasha epted the Tainted Arrow that Ye Ci handed over. It was strange that the arrow which painfully scorched Ye Ci¡¯s fingers did not seem to be doing anything to Natasha¡¯s hands. It was though she had some sort of magical power in her hands.

    ¡°Where did you find this arrow?¡± Natasha fixed her eyes on the arrow in silence. Surprise, doubt and agony shed across her eyes before peace finally settled back into them. She lifted her head and looked at Ye Ci quietly. Her purple eyes were cold and rational, as though they were devoid of emotions.

    Ye Ci immediately recounted all her recent encounters to Natasha without leaving any detail out.

    Natasha nodded and let out a sigh after listening to her. She lowered her gaze to the arrow in her hand, then spoke to Ye Ci as though she was speaking to herself, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to end up as a medium for Sha¡¯jia to create the realm of illusion. This must have been a great humiliation to you.¡±

    For some reason when Natasha said that, Ye Ci thought she saw the arrow slightly quivered as though it agreed with Natasha. Then, the arrow remained at rest in Natasha¡¯s hand, as though it never moved. If it wasn¡¯t for Ye Ci insisting on believing her memory, she would nearly think her eyes were ying a trick on her.

    ¡°Do you know the history of this arrow?¡± Natasha suddenly spoke up, as she looked at Ye Ci solemnly.

    Ye Ci shook her head. Of course I didn¡¯t, otherwise, why would I take the trouble toe and see you?

    ¡°This arrow belonged to Elven King Dau¡¯er.¡± Natasha seemed to have expected Ye Ci wouldn¡¯t know about the arrow, so she went on exining its background without making much issues.

    ¡°What?!¡± Ye Ci was slightly shocked, but quickly recovered. Elven King Dau¡¯er participated in the deadly battle against Dark Lord Naga and as Dark Lord Naga¡¯s pawn, Sha¡¯jia, also participated in that bitter war. Hence, it wasn¡¯t too unbelievable for this arrow to be Dau¡¯er¡¯s. ¡°So that means Sha¡¯jia was killed by our great Elven King Dau¡¯er?¡±

    Natasha shook her head. ¡°Dau¡¯er¡¯s arrow had indeed pierced Sha¡¯jia¡¯s heart, but it didn¡¯t kill him. Sha¡¯jia went into hiding along with this arrow.¡± She caressed the arrow that was stained by ck dried blood. ¡°You must have not known the value of this arrow.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded. She had no idea at all.

    ¡°There were only five arrows in Elven King Dau¡¯er¡¯s quiver.¡± Natasha spoke quietly. ¡°He didn¡¯t carry a lot of arrows like you all do.¡±

    Well of course. Ye Ci nodded. From the name alone, Elven King Dau¡¯er sounded like a very powerful NPC.

    Why would he use arrows that normal hunters use?

    ¡°These five arrows were the final products that the great dwarf arrow maker Cuihua spent several decades making, using the earth¡¯s molten core, the thousand-year frozen crystal, the thousand-year venomous viper raised at the Poison Lake, the sacred core in Tedar¡¯s Shrine and the dark core in Naga¡¯s old nest. Elven King Dau¡¯er precious arrows weren¡¯t only deadly, but also capable of returning to the quiver at their own will. During the battle with Naga, Elven King Dau¡¯er used the Holy Arrow. However, the Holy Arrow was enveloped by Naga¡¯s intense dark aura, stolen away and was ultimately lost amidst the chaos. Elven King Dau¡¯er wished to be reunited with it but until his veryst breath, his wish never came true.

    Ye Ci listened to Natasha¡¯s story but did not take great interest in it. However, she coveted those five arrows instead. Oh dear. Based on Natasha¡¯s story, those arrows are definitely great treasures. I wonder what will happen if I manage to collect all of them.

    ¡°So this is the Holy Arrow that was stolen by Naga?¡± Ye Ci gazed at the dark bloodstained arrow that hadpletely lost its luster, unable to believe its powerful property.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Natasha nodded, then handed the arrow to Ye Ci. ¡°If it¡¯s possible, I wish you can journey to the Northern Continent. Find the Sacred Spring in the deepest part of the Sacred Snowy Mountain. Rid the filth of this arrow and let its light be witnessed by this world again.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I shall fulfill your request.¡± Ye Ci bowed to Natasha as she gained another strong reason to visit the Northern Continent. Since every request was pointing her to the Northern Continent, she had no choice but reluctantly make a trip there.

    ¡°Are you done collecting the fragments?¡± Natasha threw a nce at Ye Ci and suddenly asked.

    ¡°Not yet. Only one left.¡± Ye Ci replied honestly.

    Natasha nodded as she gazed into the sky. ¡°Go now. May Elven King Dau¡¯er be with you, from now until forever.¡±

    Ye Ci exited Natasha¡¯s hut bowing. She stood at the three forked road for a long while. Even now, there were still countless new yersing and going through here just like she did when she was a newbie. She took a deep breath, summoned Old Fourth then rode away from this ce, leaving a trail of dust behind her and attracting the attention of many new yers as a result.

    ¡°Wow, look! That Huntress is so cool!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s one huge dinosaur she¡¯s riding! She¡¯s so cool!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to do my best so I can be like that Huntress in the future!¡±

    ¡°You guys don¡¯t know who she is?¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s she?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s the Solo King of the Eastern Continent, Gongzi You! The awesomest Huntress in our Eastern Continent!¡±

    ¡°Woooow! Then I must learn from her more in the future so I can be an even awesomer hunter!¡±

    Ye Ci had no idea that her image had been and was still a source of inspiration and motivation to many new yers, because her journey was still far from being over.

    Back at Red Lake City, Ye Ci repaired all her equipment. She replenished her supplies back at the guild and not forgetting to fill up her quiver either. Incidents like meeting Genesis and Fleeting Time would not happen during her uing trip to the Northern Continent this time. In the eyes of other yers there, Ye Ci was an invader, so they would definitely not show any mercy to her. She would only have a short window to replenish her supplies when she use her Brooch of Deceit everyday. Even so, she must keep her guard up at all time.

    Ye Ci could never be too careful in the unfamiliar and hostile continent.

    ¡°Why? You must make the trip to the Northern Continent this time?¡± Bai Mo smiled at Ye Ci.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci nodded to him. ¡°All my requests are pointing me there. I have to make the trip.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t put too much pressure on yourself.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled. She knew what Bai Mo was saying. ¡°You are the guild leader, Bai Mo. Why would I be pressured?¡±

    She then turned around and walked toward the entrance of the guild base.

    Amidst the setting sun, her shadow stretched on behind her.

    Go forth Huntress, to the Northern Continent!

 Chapter 270 Breeze Part 1

    Chapter 270 Breeze (Part 1)

    F City.

    The wholesale market in the suburbs of the city was bustling with activities.

    Vendors and distributors were gathered in the market. The noise level in the ce could rival even that of a food market.

    An expensive car was parked itself slowly in one of the alleys behind the market. The middle-aged man at the back of the car creased his eyebrows. Even through the windows of his car, the man could smell the pungent sweat of the workers scurrying about. He produced a silk handkerchief from the pocket of his suit and pressed it against his nose, ¡°Zhang Ping, are you sure this is the ce?¡±

    ¡°Yes, boss. This is the ce.¡± the youngster in colorful clothing who was seated in the front passenger seat nodded respectfully at the middle-aged man.

    ¡°Why would they be in a ce like this...¡± the middle-aged man surrounded his surroundings. It was a mess. Are the people we¡¯re looking for really in a ce like this?

    ¡°Boss, aren¡¯t you the one who taught us about not judging a book by its cover? I guess we shouldn¡¯t judge.¡± Zhang Ping smiled and left the car.

    The middle-aged man sighed. Well, might as well give it a try.

    This ce reeks of poverty. Thought the middle-aged man as he stepped out from his car, trying in vain to keep the smell out of his nostrils by pressing his handkerchief harder against his nose. ¡°Lead the way.¡± he said to Zhang Ping.

    Just like how the middle-aged man was not used to the smell, the people gathered in the market were startled by the presence of the luxurious car.

    Many of them stopped their work and were staring openly at the car. Some of them were trying to get a rough estimate of the car¡¯s price, while many more were wondering about the presence of the middle-aged man who was apparently rich.

    Zhang Ping led the middle-aged man towards an old three-storey building after having a short conversation with the driver.

    Such a building was amon sight near the market. The first floor of the building was a shop front selling a wide range of goods ranging from cigarettes, liquor, sugar, and even tea. One of the vendors of a stall outside the building was even sting music through his loudspeaker.

    It was apparent that the middle-aged man was overwhelmed by the spectacle. He had never been in such a horrible environment in his life. He was, however, able to calm his nerves rather quickly due to his excellent upbringing.

    The middle-aged man followed Zhang Pin into the narrow stairways of the small building. It was apparent that hygiene was not the priority of the caretaker of the building. Trash littered the floor while the walls were covered with ck and brown stains as well as a wide range of flyers.

    ¡°What are the second and third floors for?¡± asked the middle-aged man.

    ¡°They¡¯re usually used as storehouses for the vendors. But the rooms might also be rented toborers working in the construction sites nearby.¡± came the reply from Zhang Ping.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought that I¡¯d see such a sight in a city as developed as F City,¡± a smile appeared on the middle-aged man¡¯s face, ¡°Today is just-¡± and he stopped mid sentence. Despite his years of quality education, the man was lost for words.

    ¡°ces like this exist in every city, boss. It¡¯s only natural for you to not know about this. You don¡¯t mingle with people from ces like this.¡± exined Zhang Ping.

    ¡°Are we there yet?¡± asked the middle-aged man as he followed behind Zhang Ping with light steps. He was worried that the dust on the floor would dirty his shiny leather shoes.

    ¡°We¡¯re almost there. It¡¯s on the third floor.¡±

    The hygiene on the third floor was significantly better than the mess that was the second floor. It was obvious that the ground was cleaned regrly, although not as thorough. Despite its slightly better condition, the walls on the third floor were still covered with flyers and posters.

    A metal door stood in the way of the duo. Zhang Ping pushed past the door, and motioned for the middle-aged man to follow.

    The middle-aged man scrutinized his surroundings for a brief moment before finally following after Zhang Ping.

    Despite theck of odor, the third floor was still ringing from the music from below, a reminder that the duo was still in the poverty stricken suburbs. The middle-aged man looked out of a window from the corridor, and spotted the skyscrapers of F City standing tall under the bright sun. Heh, I was there in a meeting this morning. Can¡¯t believe I¡¯m now in apletely different ce even when I¡¯m still in the same city.

    A smile appeared on the man¡¯s face. Life is like a box of chocte, you never know what you¡¯re gonna get. He thought.

    The cking of high heels rang out in the hallway, drawing the attention of Zhang Ping and the middle-aged man. It was a young woman in short skirts. Her long legs were not covered by pantyhose favored by women of her age, exposing her thighs to the bright sunlight. The woman¡¯s hips were swaying as she walked on her shoes with heels that were 10 centimeters long. She wore no makeup, apparently confident in her natural appearance.

    One could easily tell that the woman was cleaning up after a meal judging from the stacks of tes and bowls in her hands. She was momentarily stunned when she noticed the presence of Zhang Ping, ¡°Are you Zhang Ping?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Zhang Ping nodded with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m looki-¡±

    The woman ignored Zhang Ping and shouted into the room behind her, ¡°Go clean these up, Little Liu!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m on it!¡± a voice responded, followed by a young man in white t-shirt who took the dishes from the woman before brushing past Zhang Ping and the middle-aged man.

    The woman pulled a wet wipe from her pocket and began cleaning her slender fingers as she made her way to Zhang Ping. She greeted the middle-aged man with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m sorry you have to see that, Mr.Shu. My name is Death Blossom.¡±

    Death Blossom! Zhang Ping, and even the man behind him were shocked. Death Blossom was a top-tier Rogue. It had been 10 years since the name had first appeared. The name was always among the top yers in countless games until it abruptly disappeared one day.

    Zhang Ping expected Death Blossom to be someone in her mid 30s, but the woman standing before him was in her mid 20s.

    Is she simply very young, or she¡¯s just very good at maintaining her appearance?

    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. How lucky am I to meet the famous Death Blossom here today.¡± Mr.Shu extended his arm to shake the extended hand of Death Blossom. He smiled and nodded at the woman with sincerity written clearly on his face.

    Death Blossom snickered in response, ¡°I¡¯ve always found gentlemanly men to be boring, but you proved me wrong. Now that I¡¯ve met you, Mr.Shu, I think that a gentle man is the best type of man. Their words are so sweet that they can easily make a woman swoon.¡±

    Mr.Shu maintained a neutral expression despite hearing her words, ¡°I¡¯m wondering if you can bring us to Mr.Breeze.¡±

    Death Blossom pursed her lips and studied Mr.Shu up and down openly. She then brushed her hair to a side with her slender fingers and headed to a room at the end of the corridor, ¡°This way please.¡± she said with a smile.

    Mr.Shu attempted to look into the rooms at both sides of the corridor, but his curiosity was left unsatisfied as most of the doors were closed while the entrances to the rest of the rooms were covered.

    It did not take long for the duo to reach the room at the end of the hallway.

    The room was thergest on the entire floor, and it was partitioned into two smaller rooms. The door of the inner room remained closed while the outer room was visible to all. The small outer room was fitted with a desk with a triple monitor setup and a chair. A man was sitting at the desk, and his face was obstructed by the monitor.

    Sofas and a small coffee table were ced on the other side of the room. A small pot of bonsai sat on the table. It was apparent that the bonsai was well taken care of. The room itself was air conditioned, which liberated Mr.Shu from the afternoon heat.

    The man continued staring at his monitor when Death Blossom stomped into the room, ¡°Who did you get to wash the dishes this time? It¡¯s not nice of you to get these men to do the dishes for you all the time.¡±

    ¡°Stop sounding so pompous, you never help out!¡± Death Blossom scoffed at the man.

    ¡°I¡¯m busy today. Haven¡¯t I helped you out whenever you¡¯re free?¡±

    ¡°Bullshit! You¡¯re busy 360 days out of the 365 we get a year!¡± Death Blossom snorted, ¡°By the way, Mr.Zhang and Mr.Shu are here.¡±

    The man sat up straight and stared at the men behind Death Blossom. His facial expression remained neutral as he greeted the duo, ¡°Would you like something to drink? Maybe tea? Or perhaps in water?¡±

    Zhang Ping had been around his boss for a long time. He was used to the sight of his boss being treated warmly and with respect even when such treatment was not out of sincerity.

    The man, however, seemed to be indifferent to the presence of his boss.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s better if you get these gentlemen a cup of water each. They might not be used to our low grade tea.¡± the man smiled at Death Blossom, ¡°Get me a cup as well. A big one. Your cooking is too salty today.¡±

    Mr.Shu was not offended by the man¡¯s behavior. He was even looking at him with a hint of admiration.

    Death Blossom rolled her eyes and stomped away, ¡°Is it not enough that I¡¯m cooking for you? I swear I¡¯llce your food with rat poison one of these days. You won¡¯t even get to eat at all!¡±

 Chapter 270 Breeze Part 2

    Chapter 270 Breeze (Part 2)

    Breeze nced at Zhang Ping, ¡°Have you tried out the game, Mr.Zhang?¡±

    Chapter 270 Breeze (Part 2)

    The man clutched at his hair, slightly embarrassed by Death Blossom¡¯s words. He stood up and greeted Zhang Pin and Mr.Shu, ¡°Don¡¯t mind her, she¡¯s always like this. I¡¯ve pampered her too much.¡±

    ¡°The happiest thing that a man could ask for is a woman that would cook for him. Her cooking might not be on par with those high end restaurants out there, but she made them just for you. Don¡¯t fret even if it¡¯s bad, and she¡¯ll be d to cook for you for the rest of your lives.¡±

    ¡°Wow, you have a good taste in women, Mr.Shu.¡± the man responded with augh, and dragged his chair to take a seat in front of Mr.Shu and Zhang Ping.

    Mr.Shu dismissed his words with a wave of his hand, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s something that you¡¯ll understand once you¡¯ve been married for long enough. You should treat your wife like how you¡¯d caress a pet. Always move your fingers along the direction of their fur, or you¡¯ll be in for a huge trouble. After all, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Learn to back off, and you¡¯ll enjoy a happy marr-.¡± Death Blossom stomped her way back into the room before Mr.Shu could finish his sentence. He immediately shut his mouth and smiled at the man seated in front of him.

    The younger man in his mid 30¡¯s was of average height, and was dressed in a very casual attire. Perhaps due to the hot weather, the man was only wearing a pair of slippers instead of proper shoes.

    From the look of his fingers, Mr.Shu could tell that the man was used to physicalbor. Despite his in appearance, his piercing eyes were something that one would not easily forget. Mr.Shu would easily overlook such a man in the streets, but people like this tend to pose the most danger and are filled with the most surprises.

    Death Blossom poured water into each of their sses, and even chugged in a few cubes of ice and a slice of lemon each. It was apparent that she was an intelligent woman with a pure heart and spirit. The droplets of water on the tips of her fingers as she held the sses made her even more stunning. She did not carry the scent of the perfume preferred by girls of her age, but instead had an enticing scent of fresh fruits.

    Her attention to detail was made even more apparent when Mr.Shu took a look into his ss. While his drink was only decorated by a single cube of ice and a slice of lemon, he could see three cubes of ice in Zhang Ping¡¯s ss while half of Breeze¡¯s ss was filled with ice. She had even ced a te of cherries on the table.

    Zhang Ping, who had noticed the difference as well, voiced out his curiosity. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about Mr.Shu, but a man his age should be mindful of his health. Some slightly chill drink is enough for him. As for the lemon... Well, it¡¯s to add a little bit of vor.¡± Mr.Shu was impressed. So this is how she remains undefeated. Her observation skills and ability to judge a situation is astonishing.

    Death Blossom sat in a corner after the drinks were served, disying no intention to leave while Breeze himself did not show any indication that the woman should not be in the room as well. It was obvious that there were no secrets to be kept between the two.

    ¡°Mr.Breeze, Fate¡¯s first major patch will be released in 10 days. How is the preparation on your side?¡±

    Breeze shook his head with a smile, ¡°This is not something that you need to know. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of our reputation. Why do you need to ask something like this? Just wait for the results like our previous employers.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not the same this time, Mr.Breeze. Fate is not like any other game. This is why we want to know your progress.¡± Zhang Ping shook his head, ¡°Have you tried your hand in Fate before, Mr.Breeze? This game is said to have revolutionized the gaming industry. They¡¯re vastly different from the other Virtual Reality games in the market. I don¡¯t think you should too confident in your abilities.¡±

    Breeze nced at Zhang Ping, ¡°Have you tried out the game yourself, Mr.Zhang?¡±

    Zhang Ping¡¯s face reddened. He looked at Mr.Shu before giving his reply, ¡°I did.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your current level? Or rather, how well are you doing in the game?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing that good.¡± replied Zhang Ping after some slight hesitation.

    ¡°How well do you know this game?¡±

    ¡°It requires a high degree of teamwork, and yers are allowed more freedom in this game. Based on the information we have, quests in this game were divided into two types. Those that were avable to all yers, and those that were hidden. A hidden quest has the potential of affecting the oue of main quests and the overall climate of the game. This is like a wild card in the game.¡± Zhang Ping immediately shared his knowledge about Fate.

    Breeze raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. Mr.Shu on the other hand motioned for Zhang Ping to stop, ¡°I believe that Mr.Breeze here has already had a good grasp about the game. In fact, he might know more about that game than we do. But tell me, Mr.Breeze, will you be using the human wave tactic that you¡¯ve previously employed?¡±

    ¡°Well isn¡¯t that the most direct way?¡± Breeze shrugged, ¡°From what I know, it has always been a very efficient way of ruining the game.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a tried and true method that you¡¯ve managed to pull off throughout the years. But for this particr job, I have a suggestion for you.¡± Mr.Shu narrowed his eyes. At that very moment, the middle-aged man was like a predator ready to pounce on its prey.

    ¡°I¡¯m all ears.¡± Breeze stared at Mr.Shu with an expression that could not be discerned.

    ¡°Fate at its current state is mostly popted by yers from China. While there is indeed a significant poption of foreign yers in the game, they are still far too few inparison. This is due to the fact that the Glory Corporation has not started their marketing efforts overseas. But once they begin...¡± the ghost of a smile appeared on Mr.Shu¡¯s lips. It was rather obvious what the man was hinting at. Even if Excellent Era could send millions of yers into Fate, their numbers would pale inparison to the yer poption worldwide.

    ¡°So what are you suggesting, Mr.Shu?¡± Breeze asked after a short moment of silence.

    ¡°Instead of trying to get the job done with sheer manpower, why don¡¯t you use a... Slightly more intelligent method?¡± Mr.Shu smiled at Breeze, ¡°i know you study Economics during your time in the university. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re no stranger in this matter.¡±

    Breeze¡¯s eyebrows furrowed slightly upon hearing his words.

    And Mr.Shu continued, ¡°I know, it¡¯s costly, but you don¡¯t have to worry about it. As long as you¡¯re willing to get the job done, I¡¯ll provide you with the funds. Even if you can¡¯t ruin Fate, you can at least dy their growth.¡±

    Breeze did not ask for Mr.Shu¡¯s motive. He knew that it would be better to know less. He was just a mercenary hired to take care of the problems of his employers. Their motives had never mattered to him. This situation, however, was special. The fact that the employer himself was meddling in his business before he even started the job meant that this would not be easy.

    ¡°What if I fail?¡± he asked after a brief moment of contemtion.

    ¡°Fail?¡± a hint of cruelty appeared on Mr.Shu¡¯s face, ¡°That word does not exist in my dictionary. I hope you don¡¯t forget that.¡± It was at this moment that Mr.Shu¡¯s intimidating aura finally broke through his facade.

    Breeze nced at Mr.Shu, then at Death Blossom, and shook his head, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I implore you to look for someone else to take the job.¡±

    Mr.Shu was taken off guard by Breeze¡¯s response, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°The risks are too big.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know, Mr.Breeze? The higher the risks, the greater the reward!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a married man, Mr.Shu. I have a family, and I have to care for my men as well. Putting everything on the line is something I no longer wish to do. All I want for myself and my men is a low risk job that pays. I¡¯m too old for this, and I¡¯ll be honest with you. I¡¯ve never really wanted to take this job, but your pay is just too good. I was thinking of doing onest job for the sake of my men before closing down the business for good. But if I have to take such a huge risk, I¡¯d rather not take the job.¡±

    And Breeze smiled, ¡°We can even enter Fate not as the locusts that we were feared as. I think we can do some serious damage with our strength. It will be an arduous task, but at least we won¡¯t risk losing everything.¡±

    Mr.Shu remained silent, his thoughts unfathomable.

    And Breeze chuckled, ¡°Truth to be told, I can go ording to your ns, but I hope that you leave us some room for error. You¡¯re paying us to take care of your problems, and we will do that once we get paid. But you have to know that change can always ruin a n. My sess is not guaranteed. This is why I¡¯d rather back off than to take the pressure from you. If you want me to pay for breaching our contract, I can. That is my responsibility. But if you want me to take the me for failing with your methods, I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t think I can agree to your terms.¡±

    Mr.Shu stared at Breeze with narrowed eyes for a long moment before letting out a sigh, ¡°You¡¯re a cautious man, Breeze. But know that I¡¯m not someone who is careless.¡±

    Breeze of course could understand the meaning behind those words. He shook his head at Mr.Shu, ¡°Do you know why I picked such a ce as my headquarters?¡± The sudden question caught Mr.Shu off guard.

    Breeze motioned at his surroundings, ¡°This ce is dirty and messy, and the public security here is abysmal. Quite a number of my men are honest and respected people. But why do you think I chose a ce like this as the headquarters of Excellent Era?¡±

    Mr.Shu narrowed his eyes. He could immediately tell the meaning behind Breeze¡¯s words.

    ¡°It has been 16 years since I started my gaming career at the age of 16. I created Excellent Era when I was 18 years old, and that was 13 years ago. Do you think I¡¯ve not offended a lot of people during those years? But why do you think I¡¯m able to survive. Do you think it¡¯s because of sheer luck?¡± Breeze stood up and gulped down the content of his ss, ¡°Honey, more please.¡± he said to Death Blossom with a smile as he handed her the ss.

    Death Blossom rolled her eyes at Brooze and left to refill the ss.

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Mr.Shu could smell the dinger in his words.

    Breeze shook his head, ¡°No¡± his expression was very sincere, ¡°I¡¯m merely telling you that I¡¯m not afraid of trouble. Bear in mind that we¡¯re partners, and I¡¯m not a pawn that you can order around. I have no obligation to y such a role.¡±

    Mr.Shu stared at Breeze for a long while and let out his breath, ¡°Fine. I¡¯m willing topromise in this matter. All you have to do is to dy the growth of Fate for two years. If you fail, you¡¯ll have to pay me twice the amount of penalty that we¡¯ve agreed on.¡±

    A smile immediately lit up Breeze¡¯s face, ¡°Won¡¯t it be nice if we started off the conversation like this, Mr.Shu?¡±

    Mr.Shu did not respond to his words, and instead gave Zhang Ping a meaningful nce, and the man immediately handed a stack of documents to Breeze, ¡°Here you go, Mr.Breeze. This is the intelligence that we¡¯ve gathered about the major guilds in Fate. Please have a look.¡±

    A smile appeared on Breeze¡¯s face as he read through the file, ¡°Ahh... I see a lot of old friends in this list. I can¡¯t believe we¡¯ll be meeting each other real soon. Such luck. Think they¡¯ll invite me for a drink this time?¡±

    Relief washed over Mr.Shu when he noticed Breeze¡¯s calm demeanor. Just then, the man¡¯s voice rang in his ears, ¡°What guild is this?¡±

    Breeze¡¯s movements stopped when he noticed the name of an unknown guild in the file containing the details of many major and well known guilds. A guild with less than 30,000 members was something that in conventional sense, was not worthy of attention. This guild, however, appeared on the list. He was shocked as he read into the information of that guild. Despite its size, the guild has secured ? of the First Bloods in the Eastern Continent, and had a spot in the First Five of many dungeons.

    He was shocked. How can such a small guild oupete guilds like Tang Dynasty, Wolf Pack, and Battling The Heavens? Is there some sort of secret behind their sess? And he pulled the two sheets of paper and cast a nce at Mr.Shu.

    Mr.Shu saw the words ¡°Upwards Ho!¡± on the piece of paper and rubbed his chin, ¡°It¡¯s a guild newly created when Fate¡¯s server wasunched.¡±

    ¡°How can a guild like this secure so many First Bloods? Is it because of their equipment? Or the teamwork of their yers?¡± Breeze was curious.

    ¡°They have very skillful yers. It¡¯s strange though. Most of their elites are very good yers that you¡¯d expect to see in major guilds, but Upwards Ho! is collecting them like they¡¯re collecting stamps. And an even stranger fact is that these yers were nobodies before they joined the guild.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Breeze¡¯s interest was piqued as he skimmed through the roster of Upwards Ho!¡¯s elites, ¡°They might be good, but they¡¯re not that much of a threat.¡±

    ¡°By the way, there¡¯s also something else that made Upwards Ho! Famous.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°They have an extremely skillful Huntress in their guild. She¡¯s known as the Solo Queen of the Eastern Continent. A true top-tier yer.¡± Mr.Shu was of course not interested in the titles given to the developers to its yers, but it was information that he had to ry.

    ¡°She¡¯s that good?¡± Breeze was immediately interested in the Huntress

    ¡°I¡¯m more proficient in doing business than I am in a game.¡± Mr.Shu did not voice his opinion of the Huntress, ¡°Mr.Breeze, if you¡¯re satisfied with the terms of our partnership, I¡¯d like to invite you to my office tomorrow to sign a formal contract.¡±

    ¡°Sure. I have no problems with that.¡± Breeze smiled at Mr.Shu, ¡°I¡¯ll see you at 10am tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter 271 Fair Deal Part 1

    Chapter 271 Fair Deal (Part 1)

    Mr.Shu began to leave the unit with Zhang Ping following behind him. Right as he was at the entrance of the third floor, he turned around and spoke to Breeze, ¡°The Huntress¡¯s name is Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You?¡± Breeze raised his eyebrows, surprised.

    ¡°Yes. Have you heard of this name before?¡± Mr.Shu studied Breeze¡¯s expression.

    Breeze shrugged and spread his hands open, ¡°Nope, I¡¯m sorry. This is the first time I¡¯ve heard this name.¡±

    A smile appeared on Mr.Shu¡¯s lips as he pointed at Breeze, ¡°You¡¯re quite arrogant. I like that.¡±

    Breeze remained silent and sent the duo off with a smile.

    ¡°Hey, hey ,hey! Whose care is this? Why is it parked in a ce like this? Can¡¯t you see that it¡¯s blocking the traffic?¡± a loud voice entered the duo¡¯s ears just as they descended the stairs. Breeze looked down from a window, and saw thedy from the neighbouring store on her motorcycle. A car was blocking her way, and the ice in her ice pack meant to keep her frozen food cold was melting under the hot sun, and this put thedy into distress.

    When her shouts went unanswered, thedy dismounted from her vehicle and mmed her hand onto the jet ck body of the car. She then shouted into the driver¡¯s seat, ¡°Are you deaf? Can¡¯t you hear what I said? F*ck off! You¡¯re blocking the way! Do you think you¡¯re the only one with a big car? If you don¡¯t move your car out of the way right now, I will move it for you with my truck!¡±

    Death Blossom, who has returned to the room with Breeze¡¯s drink, stole a nce through the window as well. She handed the ss to Breeze and chuckled, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Mr.Shu¡¯s car?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Who else can afford a car like that?¡± Breeze nodded.

    ¡°Is he out of his mind? With a car like that, even a scratch will cost a fortune to fix.¡± snickered Death Blossom as she took joy at the scene unying before her.

    Breeze wrapped an arm around her shoulder and the couple enjoyed the spectacle unfolding below. Zhang Ping and Mr.Shu tried their best to remain calm, but Mr.Shu¡¯s slightly disheveled hair betrayed his true emotions.

    Thedy, noticing their presence, immediately redirected her barrage of insults towards the duo. As someone who was born with a silver spoon and had interacted with people from simr social status, Mr.Shu was not used to being berated in such a manner. He stared dumbfounded at thedy without even uttering a single response.

    When Mr.Shu and Zhang Ping finally retreated into the car and sped away from the area, Breeze and Death Blossom erupted intoughter, ¡°I don¡¯t think Mr.Shu will ever want to set foot in this area for the rest of his life.¡± said Death Blossom.

    Breeze apparently shared the same thought as well, ¡°You¡¯re very smart, darling.¡±

    ......

    A video was ying on the triple disy. It was a battle between two Hunters. Their positioning was excellent, and their precision and timing were very impressive as well.

    Breeze drummed his fingers on the table as he watched the video. He was in a good mood.

    Death Blossom, who was in her nightgown, set a te of sliced watermelon on the table, cast a seductive nce at Breeze and sat on hisp, ¡°Aiya, let¡¯s go to bed hubby. Why are you still awake?¡± she purred.

    Breeze snaked his hand into her nightgown and kneaded the soft lump of meat on her chest and grinned, ¡°I¡¯m looking at a beautiful girl.¡±

    ¡°F*ck! You¡¯re still looking at other girls even with a big beauty like me around?¡± Death Blossom rolled her eyes and nced at the monitor. She was immediately stunned by what she saw.

    Breeze ripped open her nightgown, brought his lips against her delicate mounds, and began caressing them with his tongue. He was pushed aside by Death Blossom, ¡°Get lost!¡±

    Breeze tightened his grip on death blossom and began tracing his hand along her smooth skin, ¡°Honey, let¡¯s go to bed, why are you still awake?¡± He imitated her tone.

    Death Blossom pointed at the screen ¡°Who are they?¡± she was focused wholly on the video.

    ¡°The girl is Gongzi You, a yer from the Eastern Continent, and that guy is Fleeting Time, Western Continent yer.¡± answered Breeze absentmindedly, ¡°Can you win in a battle against them?¡±

    Death Blossom¡¯s eyes were glued to the screen, ¡°I¡¯ll give myself a 50-50 odds.¡± she replied after a moment of thought.

    Breeze shared the same sentiment as well. He was shocked when he saw the Hunters in action. The yers in Fate are actually THIS good? He had always dismissed the titles of ¡°Solo King¡± and ¡°Top yers¡± as gimmicks made up by the developers. What he saw was beyond his expectation. If they¡¯re this good in the video, then I wonder how it feels to fight against them.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have the chance to fight against those two.¡± Breeze whispered into Death Blossom¡¯s ears when he noticed the excitement in her eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame that such asions will be few and far between¡± Death Blossom grimaced, ¡°We¡¯re not ying for fun. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll actually be able to fight them.¡±

    ¡°Who cares? As long as it¡¯s your wish, I¡¯ll do my best to make it a reality.¡± a smile appeared on Breeze¡¯s lips.

    Death Blossom returned his smile, ¡°If you do that, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll get used to your pampering.¡±

    ¡°It will be my pleasure.¡± Breeze inched closer to her, and bit softly on her lips. As his tongue slithered across her lips, Breeze¡¯s hands had been busy as well. Death Blossom moaned in pleasure as the rest of her clothing was removed.

    The night was still young. And there are many, many things to be done.

    Ye Ci stood underneath her cloak at the Dor Ami dock. The red signature of enemy yers filled her vision along with the green glow of yers from allying factions. The Dor Ami ins was the only Neutral Zone in the Northern Continent filled with yers from all four continents. yers flooded the map despite the absence of a city. They were there for the Trade Market in the center of the Dor Ami ins.

    The Trade Market was popted by NPCs that could repair the equipment of yers and traders that could replenish their supplies. There were also soldiers stationed within the Trade Market to keep the peace.

    yers from all four continents would gather at the market and sell goods. As each of the continents had very different weather and geography, they would naturally have their own special produce, and these items were in high demand by Life yers seeking to level up their skills.

    Of course, the Trade Market was also frequented by other yers as well. yers were always in need of good equipment, no matter which continent they hailed from. The Dor Ami shore was well known for its pearls and gems that were needed for equipment upgrades.

    The Dor Ami ins was significantly more peaceful than the Swamp of Sorrows even with a yer poption of multiple continents. Most of the yers were here to trade, and nobody wanted to make life difficult for themselves. Despite the rtive peace, conflicts would still arise between yers fighting over spawn locations and treasure chests.

    Ye Ci found herself in one of such situations. Two groups of yers from opposing continents were locked inbat. Their numbers, teamposition, and levels were rather simr, making it a battle of attrition. Such battles were amon sight in a Neutral Zone, which was why Ye Ci ignored themotion and summoned her steed.

    Just then, ¡°Our reinforcements are here! Charge, my brothers! Let¡¯s f*ck these Northern Continent bastards up!¡± a yer shouted, and Ye Ci turned around just in time to spot the red glows of enemy yers in close proximity.

    They¡¯re quite spirited, aren¡¯t they? Ye Ci was never interested in joining fights like this. Is a spawn location really worth all this? They might as well use the time and energy to look for a better spot.

    An Arcane Missilended on Ye Ci as she was still deep in her thoughts.

    And a system notification immediately appeared, ¡°You¡¯ve been attacked by Northern Continent yer: Kiss Me Baby. You are allowed to retaliate in this zone with no time limits.¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, and spotted a lvl45 Sorceress as she adjusted her gaze to the direction of the spell¡¯s caster.

    Two more Arcane Missilesnded on Ye Ci during that short window.

    The spell barely dealt damage to Ye Ci, but her response to such attacks was always the annihtion of the aggressor. She strung her bow and fired a few arrows at the caster. The Sorcerer ss was known for its low survivability and maneuverability. These factors, along with Ye Ci¡¯s huge lead in terms of level, meant that the Sorceress died immediately when the first arrownded on her.

    It was not supposed to be anything out of the ordinary as yers would always die to a stray shot or two in a melee between two groups ofbatants.

    Ye Ci paid no more heed to her aggressor and continued on her merry way to the Trade Market.

    More attacksnded on Ye Ci, followed by yet another system notification, ¡°You¡¯ve been attacked by Northern Continent yer: Kiss Me Baby. You are allowed to retaliate in this zone with no time limits.¡±

    Eh? This name looks familiar. Thought Ye Ci as she noticed the name of the attacker. Wait, isn¡¯t this the Sorceress that I¡¯ve just killed? She had no interest in the battle, but the Sorceress had gained her full attention. She surveyed her surroundings and spotted a graveyard not far away. Ah... So she¡¯s on her way back to the battlefield after reviving in the graveyard and she saw me. It certainly does not take long for her to forget the lesson I gave her.

    The Sorceress was dressed in a dark grey robe inscribed with glowing runes. One could tell from a nce that the robe was something very expensive. The staff that she held tightly in her clutches was something that Ye Ci could easily recognize. It was a top-tier lvl45 staff, The Drifter¡¯s Staff. So she¡¯s not only stupid, but also rich.

    If skill level was not a factor, Ye Ci would always prefer a rich opponent over one who was poor. You¡¯ll never know what a rich yer might drop. Come to think about it, I did not have a chance to see what she dropped just now. What a shame.

    Kiss Me Baby headed to the battlefield the moment she spawned in the graveyard. She had notified her party members about the belt that had dropped upon her death, and it was sessfully retrieved. She was confused by the events that unfolded before her death. The only thing she did was to attack the enemy reinforcements, and she was instantly in. She called up her battle report, but it was already refreshed upon her revival. This meant that she remained ignorant of the identity of her assant.

    She did not expect toe across the same yer as she was on her way and anger immediately boiled within her. You were lucky to have allies around you. Now that you¡¯re alone, it¡¯s time for me to teach you a lesson. Thought Kiss Me Baby as she fired an Arcane Missile at the yer.

    The Arcane Missilended on its target, but Kiss Me Baby was shocked by the damage value that appeared. 300? Are you kidding me? My Arcane Missiles has a 20% attack buff! It should be dealing at least 1500 points of damage! What the hell?!

    It did not take long for her to realise that the yer¡¯s level was way ahead of hers, and that the yer alone was responsible for her earlier death.

    Fear gripped Kiss Me Baby¡¯s heart the same time realisation dawned upon her. She had mistaken the identity of her killer in the brawl, which was why she had the courage to even challenge the yer. But with this realisation, she began to panic.

    Kiss Me Baby was not a terrible yer, but she was used to fighting in a group. Going up against another yer in a 1v1 was an entirely different story. She knew that her good performance in most of her fights was due to the presence of other teammates that kept her safe as she sted away with her spells without much of a care.

    Her brain was a mush as the yer began changing direction towards her. What do I do? What do I do? It took her quite a moment to recover from her shock, and she began running away from the yer. In her panicked state, Kiss Me Baby had even forgotten to summon her steed.

 Chapter 271 A Fair Deal Part 2

    Chapter 271 A Fair Deal (Part 2)

    Ye Ci turned her steed around, and stared square at the Sorceress who had attacked her. She was a Human female with shoulder-length chestnut hair. The sorceress would be considered cute in normal circumstances. However, cute was something that was far from her expression at that very moment. Ye Ciughed as she looked at the Sorceress who was losing her head out of fear. She¡¯s somewhat of an idiot...

    There was no need for mercy against a yer who was rich, and an idiot, and had attacked her. She spurred her horse and galloped at full speed in the direction of Kiss Me Baby, who immediately fled without even summoning her steed.

    Ye Ci was confused. Does she really think that she can outrun a horse? Is she thinking that she can outrun me, a Huntress? If she was not in a hurry, Ye Ci might evene up with many interesting ways to toy with the Sorceress. Time was, however, not on her side, and she was not in the mood.

    Ye Ci strung her bow the moment Kiss Me Baby was within her attack range, and fired off three arrows at the yer, which resulted in critical hits. Kiss Me Baby immediately dropped dead on the ground.

    She walked up to Kiss Me Baby, and noticed that the Sorceress had dropped a small hoe upon her death. It was a Purple Quality Herbal Hoe with quite a few stats that could increase the gathering sess rate and gathering speed of medicinal herbs. It could even increase its user¡¯s sess rate in potion brewing. Despite her secondary ss as Potion Brewer, Ye Ci was not interested in leveling her life skills. It¡¯ll be a waste for me to keep this. I might as well give it to someone who needs this.

    Ye Ci stared at the Sorceress and smiled. As expected, this girl¡¯s rich. I can sell this for at least 50,000 gold coins in the market. Things like this are in high demand! I wonder if she¡¯ll burst a vein when she realises that her hoe is gone...

    Ye Ci ced the hoe in her inventory and headed to the Trade Market.

    In Dor Ami ins, where conflict could happen at any time in any ce, the only safe zone was the Trade Market. Combat was not prohibited within the market itself, but with its garrison of lvl200 soldiers, yers found it wise to keep their emotions in check and maintain the peace in the market. If a yer initiated a fight... The wrath of the lvl200 NPCs would descend upon, swiftly taking their life while giving out the penalty of reducing their level by 1.

    Ye Ci remained cloaked as she wandered around the Trade Market looking for yers that might be selling maps. She had never been to the Northern Continent in her past life, which meant that her knowledge about the geography of the continent was very limited. This was why she needed to buy maps off Northern Continent yers.

    After squeezing her way through the crowd, Ye Ci finally found herself standing before a stall with a lot of maps, ¡°Maps! I¡¯m selling maps! They shall be the light that guide you to the right path, and your best tool for murder! You¡¯ll need these if you¡¯re nning to travel across the continent!¡± shouted the owner of the stall, ¡°Maps! I¡¯m selling maps! The mostplete collection of maps of the Northern Continent is up for sale at the lowest price in the entire server! Quality is assured! It¡¯s entirely your fault if you don¡¯t stop by the first time, but if you don¡¯t drop by the second time, it¡¯s on me! Come, have a look! Maps, maps!¡±

    Quite a number of yers gathered in front of the store, but not many of them were customers. After all, few had the capability of traversing through enemy territory. It was something that came at a high risk with very low return. yers preferred to stay within the Dor Ami ins itself.

    Despite theck of buyers, the yer selling his map did not give up. He continued shouting at the top of his lungs in a bid to attract buyers.

    Ye Ci studied the yer who was selling the maps. He was encased in a suit of rusty armor and armed with a motley two handed sword. The yer was not part of a team, and had a low level. It was obvious that things were not going very well for him.

    She pulled the hood of her cloak lower and walked up to the yer, ¡°Are you selling the maps of Mor Jiami ins and the Sacred Snowy Mountain?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm... Let me have a look.¡± the man sifted through his inventory with apparent enthusiasm at the sight of a rare customer, but he then stopped his movements and stared at the yer standing in front of him, ¡°You¡¯re looking for the maps of the Mor Jiami ins and the Sacred Snowy Mountain?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s face was hidden by the cloak, and her expression was hidden from the yer, but this did not mean that his face was hidden from her.

    The map seller was baffled by the yer standing in front of him. Her identity, appearance, and ss were hidden by the cloak, but the unmistakable red glow marking her as a hostile yer was still visible. So what are the maps for?

    Those two ces are in the hearnds of the Northern Continent. There¡¯s a lot of big cities and dungeons over there. Are they trying to start some trouble over there?

    The yer then rolled his eyes at himself. I¡¯ve thought too much into it.

    There¡¯s at least 200 million yers in the Northern Continent. What can this person do alone? Even if they can reach the Mor Jiami ins or the Snowy Sacred Mountain, they¡¯ll be hard pressed to even survive. What trouble can they make?

    With his worry out of the way, the yer continued looking for Ye Ci¡¯s maps. He found only the map of Dor Ami ins in his inventory as the Snowy Sacred Mountain was a high level map that even Northern Continent yers would avoid.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I only have a map of the Mor Jiami ins, and it¡¯ll cost you 3,000 gold coins.¡±

    Ye Ci took the map and paid the full amount to the yer¡¯s delight. He was running a small business that was not earning much, and yers who would haggle and try to talk the price down was something that he hated.

    This unknown yer from an opposing continent, however, did not even ask for a reduction in prices. Their generosity was something that he liked, and he decided to strike up another deal, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to wait, I can get you a map of the Sacred Snowy Mountain.¡±

    Ye Ci surveyed her surroundings, and found no other map sellers, ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll give you an hour.¡± she nodded at the yer.

    ¡°I gotchu! I have fast travel points all over the continent. I¡¯ll make it in time.¡± the yer immediately packed up his goods. The market price for a piece of Sacred Snowy Mountain map was 5,000 gold, but it could be sold at up to 10,000 gold coins at times. It was something that not many would usually ask for, but when there is a demand...

    ¡°I want a copy of the maps leading to that ce as well.¡±

    Ye Ci had earned a substantial amount of coins from farming the monsters near the Doluo Tribe. Money was something that she was not short on.

    ¡°Got it. Just give me a moment, and I¡¯ll be back as soon as I can.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s words were music to the yer¡¯s ears. He cared not if she was a yer from an opponent continent, nor did she care about her business in the Northern Continent. She was a huge buyer, and such buyers are hard toe by, ¡°By the way, the name¡¯s Rogue Rabbit One. I¡¯ll wait for you here when I get back.¡± Ye Ci nodded at the yer, and moved on to another stall.

    What is the benefit brought by markets such as this upon the game? It drives the economy of the game, funneling resources that would otherwise remain inessible to yers of different continents. At this very moment, Ye Ci was standing in front of a stall with a vendor selling backpacks.

    Thergest backpack in Ye Ci¡¯s possession was a 22-slot pack, but the yer was selling a 24-slot pack. Ye Ci was in a dilemma. It¡¯s just 2 extra slots. Should I buy them? But paying 5,000 gold for 2 more slots is not worth it. The market price of a 22-slot pack is only 1,000 gold.

    The yers in the market shared the same sentiment with Ye Ci as well. Many were attracted by the 24-slot backpack, but most immediately lost their interest when the price was made known to them. The one selling the backpacks was a Life yer, who remained unfazed by the protests of his potential customers.

    ¡°Heh, are you here to buy some backpacks?¡± asked the yer when he noticed Ye Ci standing in front of his stall.

    ¡°They¡¯re all too small.¡± Ye Ci shook her head.

    The yer was slightly confused, ¡°You¡¯re telling me that 24-slot bags are small?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re charging me an additional 4,000 gold coins for the 2 extra slots they have over the 22-slot ones. They¡¯re not worth it.¡± replied Ye Ci.

    This prompted aughter from the yer, ¡°It¡¯s all about supply and demand. Hell, I¡¯ll be able to sell these at a higher price in the capital.¡±

    Ye Ci wasted no energy in arguing with the yer. She knew that he would not be selling his goods in a ce like this if he could sell them at a higher price in the capital of the Northern Continent, ¡°Well, sell them in the capital then.¡±

    ¡°Which you will be selling at an even more absurd price.¡±

    The yer inched closer to Ye Ci and spoke in a low voice, ¡°The price can be negotiated.¡±

    With backpacks ofrger size not yet avable in the Eastern Continent, Ye Ci was indeed in need of the packs, ¡°What else do you have?¡± the yer pulled a sturdy looking brown pack out of nowhere and initiated a trade with Ye Ci, ¡°This is a 28-slot pack! Do you want it?¡±

    A 28-slot backpack? Even Ye Ci herself was shocked. This is WAYrger than the ones I have. If I can swap all of my packs with this... I¡¯ll have 30 additional slots...

    But... The price though...

    Despite her newfound wealth, she was still wary of spending arge sum of money.

    ¡°How much for one of these?¡±

    ¡°20,0000.¡± came the reply.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. It¡¯s a fair price. Especially for something like this that¡¯s in high demand. She was still not very willing to part with her coins. After all, a new patch would soon be introduced into the game, and blueprints for backpacks would be made avable to yers visiting the Central Continent.

    ¡°I want five of them, but I don¡¯t have the coins. Are you willing to trade for an item istead?¡± Ye Ci shook her head.

    ¡°So what will you be trading me for the backpacks?¡± asked the yer, ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but I don¡¯t want trash either.¡±

    Ye Ci shrugged at the yer. Well, it¡¯s not like I really need them.

    She ced Kiss Me Babe¡¯s hoe in the trading tab and said to the yer, ¡°This is it. Take it or leave it. It¡¯s up to you.¡±

    The yer was surprised to see the Purple-quality hoe. He was a tailor, but this hoe would benefit the Potion Brewer in his team greatly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes when she noticed the yer¡¯s expression. She knew that the hoe was a high quality item, but she also knew about an Orange-quality hoe that was way superior that could be from a hidden quest, ¡°This is a rare stuff, but I have a feeling that 28-slot backpacks will be obsolete once the new patch is released...¡±

    The yer, understanding the meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words, ced five 30-slot backpacks into the trading tab, ¡°This is the best I have! I¡¯ll trade them for the hoe!¡±

    Ye Ci did not even hesitate in epting the trade.

    Just then, a loud voice rang out in the market, ¡°There! There¡¯s the bastard who killed me twice!¡±

 Chapter 272 Spotless Autumn Part 1

    Chapter 272 Spotless Autumn (Part 1)

    It was an unfamiliar voice, but like any normal human being, Ye Ci reflexively turned her head towards the source of the voice. What she saw was a rather familiar silhouette surrounded by more than a dozen yers. Who else could it be but Kiss Me Baby?

    Ye Ci looked at her hood. She was well covered, and so were the yers around her. What? Is her eyes that good? Did she really just identify me in the crowd that is hooded? She let out a sigh, Whatever. There¡¯s no way they will attack me in the market anyways. Who would want to mess with the lvl200 soldiers? The most I¡¯d get is some tongueshing.

    ¡°It¡¯s him! It¡¯s him! He was the one who took my hoe!¡± Kiss Me Baby pointed at Ye Ci¡¯s direction, and turned towards the Priest standing behind her, ¡°You have to help me! I don¡¯t care, I want my hoe back!¡±

    The Priest patted Kiss Me Baby on her shoulder, signaling for her to remain calm. He then made his way through the crowd towards Ye Ci. A smile appeared under her hooded face. Such audacity. Doesn¡¯t she know that an item dropped inbat belongs to whoever that picked it up?

    As Ye Ci steeled herself for the confrontation, the Priest walked past her and stopped in front of another hooded yer, ¡°Is that him?¡± the Priest turned around and asked.

    ¡°Yes! That¡¯s him!¡± Kiss Me Baby stomped her way towards the Priest and gritted her teeth as she stood in front of the yer.

    Ye Ci arched an eyebrow and nced at the yer, who had his back to the Priest and was still browsing for items by a stall.

    We look nothing alike. His height and the build of his body is nowhere near mine! I don¡¯t know what his ss is, but there¡¯s nothing simr between us other than the hood that he¡¯s wearing. Ye Ci then shifted her gaze to Kiss me Baby, Is she okay? How can she mistake someone like that for me?

    Of course, since Kiss Me Baby has misidentified the yer, Ye Ci would never do something as daft as stepping out and say something like, ¡°Don¡¯t drag him into this, he¡¯s innocent. I¡¯m the one who took your hoe!¡± She blended in with the crowd and watched the spectacle before her unfold as she waited for Rogue Rabbit One¡¯s return.

    Hooded yers were amon sight in a neutral map. With a crowd of onlookers now surrounding the yers, Ye Ci found herself in the midst of hooded yers just like her.

    With the faint green grow around the yer identifying him as a friendly, Ye Ci was certain that he was from the Southern or Eastern Continent, while Kiss Me Baby and her posse was from the Northern Continent. Combat was allowed anywhere and anytime in neutral maps, and the system might register an idental gesture as an attack. This was why the Priest refrained from touching the hooded yer.

    He stood behind the yer and spoke with a firm voice, ¡°Greetings. I¡¯m Thousand Mile Dream from the Northern Continent guild, Sangharama Shrine. May I have a moment of your time?

    This evoked a collective gasp of surprise from the yers around them. Even Ye Ci herself furrowed her eyebrows.

    He¡¯s a member of the guild Sangharama Shrine.

    The guilds Sangharama Shrine, Heavenly Body, and Rain Of Blood were the threergest guilds of the Northern Continent. They were not as peaceful as the guilds in the Eastern Continent, nor were they openly hostile against one another like the ck Plum Family and Isle Of Heroes of the Southern Continent. These three guilds were locked in weird bnced coexistance.

    They were allies, but frequently bickered among one another. Treaties were signed, but this did not quell the animosity that the guilds harbored against each other. Despite their desire to take over one another, neither of these three guilds had the strength to take on the other two. A peculiar sense of false peace was hence maintained on the surface while the three guilds awaited for the chance that would allow them to tear each other apart. The guilds would often work behind each other¡¯s back as they encouraged their members to harass members from the other guilds. Even without the intervention of yers from another continent, the Northern Continent was already in turmoil.

    Even when Ye Ci was expecting an encounter with yers from the three major guilds, she did not expect to run into Sangharama Shrine members during her first hour in the continent. She was not afraid of trouble, but even she was wary of Sangharama¡¯s Grace, who was the leader of Sangharama Shrine.

    Based on her memories of her past life, Sangharama Shrine was the first guild to ally themselves with Golden Era and had greatly benefited from their arrangement. They were even able to emerge rtively unscathed when Fate was ruined by Golden Era and was able to rise as the top guild in Fate. This was all thanks to Sangharama¡¯s Grace.

    The man¡¯s vision, intelligence, and courage allowed Sangharama Shrine to assert its dominance over the Northern Continent and be the top guild in Fate. Ye Ci did not have a chance to know Sangharama¡¯s Grace, but it was something that she definitely wanted to do in her current life.

    The hooded yer was slow to react. It took him two full seconds to process Thousand Mile Dream¡¯s words. He looked around him, then at Thousand Mile Dream, before finally pointing at himself, ¡°You¡¯re talking to me?¡±

    Thousand Mile Dream was a good natured man. Even with Kiss Me Baby raging on behind him, the man maintained the smile on his face, ¡°yes.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± any other yer would definitely have panicked in such a situation. Even if they were able to remain calm on the surface, they would still be afraid deep down. The hooded yer, however, was not fazed by the show of force. Ye Ci could not see his expression, but she could tell from his voice that the yer was not affected at all by the disy.

    ¡°Did you attack this Sorceress twice in the wilderness and took her hoe?¡± Thousand Mile Dream went straight to the point, ¡°I know the rules. An item dropped by a yer in PVP is the rightful property of the victor, but that hoe is very important to us. Can you perhaps return it to us? I¡¯ll trade you any two pieces of Purple-quality equipment for it.¡±

    This prompted a collective gasp of surprise from the onlookers.

    Purple-quality equipment was still rare in the current stage of the game. A solo yer was lucky to have a few pieces of Blue-quality equipment, not to mention a Purple one. Even major guilds were only able to equip their elites with Purple equipment while their normal members could already stand proud even if they owned only a single piece. Thousand Mile Dream was willing to offer two pieces of such equipment in exchange for the hoe. One could only specte what sort of stats the hoe possessed.

    Even Ye Ci herself began rubbing her chin in contemtion. Did I misjudge the worth of that hoe? She turned around to look for the yer who sold her the packs, and realised that he was no longer there. Well, it seems that I¡¯ve grossly underestimated that hoe.

    Kiss Me Baby anger red when she heard his words, ¡°Brother Mile! He¡¯s the one at fault here! He killed me and took my stuff! Just get him to return it! Why must we trade for the hoe with Purple equipment?¡± she pointed at the hooded yer as she shook Thousand Mile Dream.

    Another female yer pampered by her guildmates. Ye Ci chuckled. Even with the rising poption of female yers, the pretty ones and the cute ones would still be treated like goddesses by the male yers. As time went on, they tended to grow bossy and unreasonable. I should¡¯ve camped her spawn point. I¡¯m sure she has lots of valuable items on her. What a shame. Thought Ye Ci as she stared at Kiss Me Baby.

    ¡°Quiet.¡± Thousand Mile Dream furrowed his eyebrows. It was apparent that he was annoyed by the behavior of Kiss Me Baby. If the hoe was not that important to him and possibly the guild, he might not have mobilized so many members of his guild.

    Kiss Me Baby was actually afraid of Thousand Mile Dream. She immediately forced her mouth shut at his warning.

    What was truly weird, however, was the reaction of the hooded yer. He remained silent throughout the entire ordeal and stared at Thousand Mile Dream and Kiss me Baby.

    ¡°Is my proposal satisfactory to you?¡± Thousand Mile Dream finally turned back to the yer once he managed to quiet Kiss Me Baby down.

    The yer was juggling an exquisite looking bottle of potion in his hand. ¡°Two Purple items for one? Sounds like a good deal to me.¡± he shrugged a response.

    Ye Ci was perplexed by the yer¡¯s response. Why is he not denying their usation? Doesn¡¯t it mean that he¡¯s admitting to be one who killed Kiss Me Baby? And the one who took the hoe? Doesn¡¯t he know that Sangharama Shrine is a major power in the Northern Continent? He¡¯s messing with the wrong people...

    Ye Ci was suddenly interested in the yer. Just what is he thinking?

    Thousand Mile Dream beamed at the yer, thinking that his proposal was epted, ¡°So what is your ss? What sort of Purple equipment do you need? My people will get it for you immediately.¡±

    The hooded yer instead chuckled, ¡°Well it will be a good deal if I do have the hoe. Too bad...¡± the yer drew out the sentence as long as possible before shaking his head, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that Sorceress before, nor have I fought her.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s you! You¡¯re the one! Don¡¯t deny it! I remember it¡¯s you! Give me back my stuff! Give it back!¡± the anger that Kiss Me Baby worked hard to suppress surged upon hearing those words. She charged at the yer, and would have swung a punch if she was not stopped by Thousand Mile Dream. If her blow had connected, it was guaranteed that she would meet her death at the hands of the patrolling soldiers.

    Thousand Mile Dream pushed Kiss Me Baby towards a Warrior and said, ¡°Watch her. Don¡¯t let her cause any more trouble for me.¡±

    The Warrior nodded, and gripped on tightly to Kiss Me Baby. Despite her best effort to struggle out of the Warrior¡¯s grip, a Sorceress was way outssed in terms of Strength by a Warrior. But even with her movement limited, Kiss Me Baby was still able to speak, ¡°How can you be so shameless? Why don¡¯t you just admit that you hit a woman? Will it cost it your life? Will you get pregnant? We¡¯ve promised you two pieces of Purple equipment! Just return the hoe!¡±

    The hooded yer immediatelyughed at her words.

    Thousand Mile Dream creased his eyebrows and lowered his voice, ¡°It¡¯s okay if you killed her. This is a neutral map. It¡¯s survival of the fittest. She lost to you because you¡¯re a better yer. As long as you¡¯re willing to give me that hoe, I¡¯ll add in another Purple equipment into the deal.¡±

    ¡°Pfft... I didn¡¯t know that Sangharama Shrine can be so generous.¡± the manughed and pulled down his hood, revealing his short ck hair and his handsome Asian face, ¡°But there¡¯s really nothing that i can do. This is my first time seeing thatdy.¡±

    I feel like I¡¯ve seen him before. Thought Ye Ci the moment the man pulled down his hood.

    Thousand Mile Dream stared at the man, and noticed his sincere expression, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s him?¡± He turned back to face Kiss Me Baby.

    Kiss Me Baby herself could not remember the appearance of her killer clearly. Due to her panicked state, she had forgotten to check thebat log before reviving after her second death. She did not know who was the one who killed her, but she noticed that her hoe was missing. That was why she immediately went to Thousand Mile Dream and headed straight to the market.

    Many of the yers in the market, however, were cloaked, and could only remember the outline of her killer vaguely as the yer was mounted and was fast. Her usation was based solely on the instinct of her gut.

    Kiss Me Baby started to lose herposure at the question. Even she herself was not sure if she had identified the right person, ¡°Y-yes. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s him.¡±

    Thousand Mile Dream turned around to face the man again, his expression darkening, ¡°I¡¯m very sincere in resolving this problem, and I thought that I could earn your sincerity as well. It seems that we do not have a deal. If you¡¯re willing to return it to us today, the offer still stands. But if you don¡¯t...¡±

    The man was amused, ¡°If I don¡¯t?¡± a mischievous grin appeared on his face.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t, we of the Sangharama Shrine will make your stay in the Northern Continent a living hell.¡± Thousand Mile Dream¡¯s politeness was instantly reced with bloodlust, ¡°I¡¯m sure that our guild is capable of something like that.¡±

    And the man chuckled, ¡°Will you be satisfied if I say ¡®Oh, I¡¯m so scared!¡¯?¡±

 Chapter 272 Spotless Autumn Part 2

    Chapter 272 Spotless Autumn (Part 2)

    Thousand Mile Dream¡¯s smile froze. Who does he think he is? How can he face down our threat and not even flinch? He grunted in frustration. This person is making us lose face.

    The yer ignored Thousand Mile Dream, and stared at Kiss Me Baby, ¡°Are you sure that I¡¯m the one?¡±

    Kiss Me Baby studied the man¡¯s face and bit her lips. It was a handsome face that belonged to a scary person that sent ripples down her spine with his stare. She looked at Thousand Mile Dream, then at the yer, and gritted her teeth, ¡°Y-y-yes. I-it¡¯s you!¡±

    The man sighed, ¡°It seems that we find ourselves in a peculiar situation. Are you being daft now, Miss Sorceress? What is the character ss of the person who killed you?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean I¡¯m being daft? I was killed by a Hunter!¡± a sudden realization shed across Kiss Me Baby¡¯s mind, ¡°Brother Mile, I remember now! I was killed by a Hunter!¡±

    The yer raised an eyebrow and watched the exchange between the two guildmates as if he was nothing but a mere onlooker.

    ¡°What¡¯s the name of that Hunter?¡±

    ¡°I.... I don¡¯t know...¡± Kiss Me Baby bit her lips as she stared at the yer¡¯s smiling face, ¡°But I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s him! It¡¯s definitely him! He charged at me on horseback! I¡¯m sure he had such a despicable smile under his hood as he killed me!¡±

    Ye Ci looked at the yer, and touched her own face. Is my smile really that despicable? No way...

    ¡°That¡¯s a shame. I¡¯m not a Hunter.¡± The man spread his arms open, and revealed a staff that was clutched in his right hand. He shrugged at the members of Sangharama Shrine and walked towards the other end of the market.

    Thousand Mile Dream¡¯s expression was as dark as a starless night. He shot Kiss Me Baby a re, and she immediately remained quiet, but was still harboring hatred against the yer. This was why she raised her foot and kicked the yer on the back of his knee as he walked past. She had always done such a thing to the male members of her guild without repercussion, which was why she vented her anger on the yer through the same way.

    What she did not expect, however, was the fact that the yer was able to put a significant distance between them right after her kicknded. A Hail Missile that took away most of her hitpointsnded on her right at the next moment, followed by a Snow Missile that finished her off.

    It all happened so fast that not a single person from Sangharama Shrine was able to react.

    When the events that transpired had finally registered in the minds of Thousand Mile Dream and his men, the yer was already smiling at them from a distance away. He shrugged at the Sangharama Shrine yers and pointed at the patrolling soldiers with a huge smile on his face. Kiss Me Baby was the one who started the fight and had been killed by the yer, who did not attract the attention of the NPC soldiers. The same thing could not be said for Thousand Mile Dream and his guildmates who were under close scrutiny due to the aggression of the party member.

    Even if the Sangharama Shrine was a force to be trifled with, and even if Thousand Mile Dream himself was apetent yer, there was no way the party could take on more than a dozen lvl200 NPCs and survive. Despite his anger, Thousand Mile Dream could do nothing but watch as the yer covered his face with his hood and disappeared into the crowd.

    Even if their member was the one who started the fight, Sangharama Shrine would of course attribute their blunder to the other party in order to save face. Thousand Mile Dream red at the direction of the yer, and the crowd immediately parted, not wanting to get in the way of the Sangharama Shrine yers.

    ¡°Revive her.¡± said Thousand Mile Dream to the Cleric in his party.

    The Cleric immediately cast Resurrection on Kiss Me Baby who immediately surveyed her surroundings, ¡°Where¡¯s that mage? Where is he?¡± she asked through gritted teeth.

    Thousand Mile Dream¡¯s expression was as dark as the darkest of night. Apetent opponent is never as scary as a useless teammate. If Kiss Me Baby was not the sister of one of the guild¡¯s higher ups, Thousand Mile Dream would never concern himself with something like this. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve had a good look at his name this time, haven¡¯t you?¡± he spoke in a low voice.

    As the saying goes, a wise person will not trip over the same rock twice. Even if Kiss Me Baby was not a good yer, she knew that she would be strangled to death by Thousand Mile Dream if she could not remember her killer¡¯s name this time. She stared at Thousand Mile Dream¡¯s scary expression and replied with a soft voice, ¡°It¡¯s Spotless Autumn.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Thousand Mile Dream was astonished. There was even a slight hint of fear in his expression.

    ¡°Spotless Autumn.¡± Kiss Me Baby repeated herself. She could not understand the change in Thousand Mile Dream¡¯s demeanor.

    Even the onlookers were shocked. Who exactly was Spotless Autumn? He was the top-tier hailing from the Southern Continent, just like Gongzi You of the Eastern Continent, Fleeting Time of the Western Continent, and Lethal Poison of the Northern Continent. Spotless Autumn was a mysterious solo yer who appeared to be an Ice Mage, but was also a master in Fire and Lightning type spells.

    So it¡¯s him.

    Ye Ci had finally realised why the face was so familiar to her. The man was one of her rivals in herst life. He would usually appear under a hood, which was why Ye Ci could barely remember his face. But his name was something that Ye Ci would never forget.

    Thousand Mile Dream had also finally realised why the man was not afraid of his threat. It¡¯s because he¡¯s Spotless Autumn!

    ¡°Brother Mile...¡± started Kiss Me Baby timidly. She was unaware of the full gravity of the situation, but she could sense the awe from Thousand Mile Dream when the name of the yer was mentioned. She extended an arm and shook Thousand Mile Dream on his sleeve.

    Thousand Mile Dream pped her hand aside. He was in a sour mood. They were humiliated by Spotless Autumn, and hadpletely lost track of the hoe. He knew full well that they were barking up the wrong tree, and that the person who took the hoe was not Spotless Autumn. He was arrogant, but was never petty. The fact that it was a Hunter who has in Kiss Me Baby made it even more obvious that Spotless Autumn was innocent.

    But just what sort of Hunter is capable of killing Kiss Me Baby with one hit? She might be mediocre, but her equipment is top notch. It¡¯s very rare for a lvl45 yer in the entire Sangharama Shrine to be equipped with a full set of Purple equipment. Even if she was a mage, not many could kill her with one blow.

    Two names immediately appeared in Thousand Mile Dream¡¯s mind. Could it be Gongzi You or Fleeting Time... But he shook the thought out of his head. This can¡¯t be... One top-tier yer from an opposing continent was trouble enough. If there¡¯s a second one.... No.. This can¡¯t be!

    Despite the denial in his heart, the missing hoe was still a reality that he had to confront. It was something that the guild had worked hard to acquire. The first squadron was supposed toplete the quest, but the responsibilitynded on the second squadron due to unexpected events. They were able to obtain the hoe, and the quest would bepleted once they were back in the safety of their guild encampment. Nobody expected a fight against a guild from the Southern Continent.

    He was reluctant to ce the hoe on Kiss Me Baby, but ultimately relented because of her nonstop pleas.

    It was a decision that he wasing to regret. I would never have let her have the hoe if I knew something like this would happen! Damn it! And now we¡¯re humiliated by Spotless Autumn, and I have to answer to Sangharama¡¯s Grace for this...

    Thousand Mile Dream could feel his temples bulging.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡± asked one of his party members. He then looked at his nmates, and the bystanders. He knew that it was impossible to track the hoe down at this point. The real perpetrator would have hidden himself or herself after witnessing themotion. ¡°What a disaster.¡± he sighed.

    His voice was soft, but it was enough for Kiss Me Baby to overhear his words. He was not calling her out, but it was human nature to overthink. Kiss Me Baby immediately bursted into tears, ¡°It¡¯s just a hoe! What¡¯s so great about it! So what if we lost it? I¡¯ll go talk to the guild leader myself! Do you really have to say that? I know I¡¯m a burden to the second squadron! Do you really think that I like being with a moody person like you? Fine! I¡¯ll go look for the hoe myself!¡± and she stomped her feet and left.

    The other guild members were left dumbfounded. What just happened? Damn her princessplex. Then again, she¡¯s the sister of one of our higher ups, should we just let her run off like that? The Cleric who had just revived Kiss Me Baby walked up to Thousand Mile Dream and asked with a soft voice, ¡°Thousand, do we...¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the guild encampment.¡± Thousand Mile Dream was extremely annoyed. He knew that having someone with a princessplex in his party would spell disaster, and the worst case scenario had just happened.

    ¡°Then what about Kiss Me Baby...¡¯

    ¡°Leave her be. Do you expect me to go look for her? Who does she think she is? A princess? This is a game, we¡¯re not in a romance novel. I do not have the time to waste on her.¡± the frown on Thousand Mile Dream¡¯s face deepened as he turned around to head for the teleportation point.

    His party members looked at each other in confusion and followed after him.

    The crowd immediately dispersed once themotion was over, as if nothing had happened. Ye Ci stared at the direction where Thousand Mile Dream and his posse was headed, and then at the direction that Spotless Autumn had disappeared to, and continued her exploration of the market.

    Ye Ci did not even feel a hint of guilt even as the perpetrator of the entire incident. She was used to things like this. There¡¯s nothing to feel guilty about. We live by the sword and die by the sword. It¡¯s always normal for the weak to fall prey to the strong.

    It did not take long for Rogue Rabbit One to return with the maps, ¡°Aiya, sorry for letting you wait this long. I¡¯ve been away for quite awhile.¡± said the man as he handed Ye Ci her maps, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a discount since you¡¯re buying so many at a time. All you have to pay me is 20,000 gold coins.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded at Rogue Rabbit One, satisfied with the price, and immediately handed 20,000 gold coins to the yer.

    Happiness instantly lit up the man¡¯s face, ¡°Uhh.. If you don¡¯t mind.. Why exactly are you going to those ces?¡±

 Chapter 273 Sacred Snowy Mountain Part 1

    Chapter 273 Sacred Snowy Mountain (Part 1)

    The purpose of one¡¯s presence in a hostile continent had always been a taboo.

    Ye Ci would naturally be wary of Rogue Rabbit One. She gave him a cold stare and turned around, but the Warrior grabbed hold of her arm, ¡°You misunderstood me. I¡¯m not really trying to find out why you¡¯re here. It¡¯s just that...¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Ye Ci snorted, but she could see the sincerity in his expression, ¡°Let go of me.¡±

    Rogue Rabbit One immediately loosened his grip, ¡°Urmm.. Actually... You¡¯ve bought so many maps from me, I thought the least I could do is to let you know about the situation in our continent.¡±

    Ye Ci turned around and narrowed her eyes at Rogue Rabbit One, ¡°What are you trying to tell me? Why would you do that?¡±

    ¡°Eh, just think of it as a post-purchase service. I¡¯m a good merchant after all.¡± chuckled Rogue Rabbit One.

    ¡°I¡¯m a yer from an opposing continent. Are you sure I won¡¯t start any trouble with the intelligence that you¡¯re offering?¡± Ye Ci studied Rogue Rabbit One with eyes narrowed.

    Post-purchase service? Is he out of his mind?

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you alone are capable of starting anything big.¡± Rogue Rabbit Oneughed, ¡°I¡¯m merely reminding you that you can¡¯t just walk around like it¡¯s your home continent. The Northern Continent is in a mess right now.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s something that has happened very recently. A yer triggered some sort of quest in the Sacred Snowy Mountain and a lvl160 Yeti BOSS appeared out of nowhere.be careful out there.¡± warned Rogue Rabbit One.

    ¡°The Mor Jiami ins is not really a peaceful ce at the moment. The three major guilds in our continent are looking to conquer an abandoned fort, and they are marshalling their forces in their map. A yer like you might not be able to make it through the map safely. If you really have to go, you should at least wait for the battle for the fort to be over. There will be less yers in the map then, and it¡¯ll be safer for you.¡±

    Ye Ci was surprised by his words. Wow, these Northern Continent guilds work fast. They¡¯re starting the process of taking over abandoned forts, and three of them are converging on the same fort. Thought Ye Ci. So that¡¯s why the hoe is so important to Sangharama Shrine. They must have a Potion Maker that is trying to reach Master-tier. The hoe will help in getting higher quality herbs for high tier potions.

    A melee between multiple guilds is not a test of the strength of their yers, but a showdown of the efficiency of their logistics and resources. The three major guilds were equal in terms of the strength and their yers, equipment, and even their logistics.

    But a Master-tier potion maker could break the stalemate.

    I guess this is what they call ¡°hanging by a thread¡±.

    Upwards Ho! was still not as powerful of a major guild, but they were slowly catching up. With Bai Mo and Timely Rain managing the guild, its growth was not a problem that Ye Ci had to worry about. Her only concern was to secure more valuable resources for the guild.

    ¡°So I should be safer in the Sacred Snowy Mountain then?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re looking from the number of enemies you¡¯ll run into, yes.¡± Rogue Rabbit One began to analyse the situation from Ye Ci¡¯s perspective, ¡°The Yeti is alone, and hiding from a single BOSS is still easier than trying to evade tens of thousands of yers.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded at his words, ¡°Do you know when the three guilds will begin their attack on the fort?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea. Solo yers like myself have no idea of knowing ssified information of the major guilds.¡± Rogue Rabbit One shook his head, ¡°You¡¯re not going to start something in the midst of those tens of thousands of yers are you?¡±

    Ye Ci responded with augh, ¡°Thank you for the information. I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for your patronage. You¡¯re always wee to visit my store anytime.¡± Rouge Rabbit One was in an extremely good mood.

    With her increased carrying capacity, Ye Ci was able to purchase a good inventory of supplies enough for her trip to the Sacred Snowy Mountain and the Mor Jiami ins.

    She was not nning to spend a lot of time in the surrounding maps. She did not have the time to spare. The new patch was going to be implemented soon, and with it the arrival of Golden Era.

    Even when Rogue Rabbit One was a yer from a hostile continent, Ye Ci was confident in her judgement of the yer¡¯s character. The man had no reason to lie to her, and the information that he shared was not exactly a secret and could be obtained by spending a few hundred golds on a random passerby.

    Ye Ci made the decision to avoid the Mor Jiami ins as the forces of the three major Northern Continent guilds gathered at the Mor Jiami ins. No matter how good of a yer she was, there was no way she could fight off the tens or even hundreds of thousands of yers gathered there. Her main objective was the Sacred Snowy Mountain. La¡¯dar¡¯s courier quest to the Mor Jiami ins was not part of Moore¡¯s Epic Quest, and a slight dy was inconsequencial.

    After weighing her options, Ye Ci headed towards the Sacred Snowy Mountain.

    Rogue Rabbit One was a merchant who kept his promises. With the maps leading to her destination already mapped out, Ye Ci was able to traverse through the maps adjacent to the Dor Ami ins with rtive ease. But when the density of hostile yer poption eventually increased, Ye Ci was forced to continue her way on food and in stealth to the Sacred Snowy Mountains.

    It took her three days to finally arrive at the map.

    The Sacred Snowy Mountain was situated at the northwest corner of the Northern Continent. It was not the continent¡¯s tallest peak, but was well-known throughout the continent due to the presence of Drow and Blood Elves on the mountain.

    There were even rumors of an ancient Elven temple at the peak of the mountain guarded by high level Yetis.

    Of course, at the stage of the game where the Sacred Snowy Mountain was not fully explored by the yers, it was all considered a rumor. Even Ye Ci¡¯s maps were merely a brief sketch of the terrain based on the description of adventurers by a Map Maker in one of the major cities, which. Ye Ci would still have to explore the map herself to put more details on her map.

    The Sacred Snowy Mountain was a cold ce covered by snow. yers might find themselves afflicted by frostbite if they were not careful. That was why Ye Ci purchased a fur coat made specially to resist the cold.

    The Hunter ss was known for its agility, but Ye Ci¡¯s movements were encumbered by the thick clothing keeping her warm. There were still a significant number of Northern Continent yers at the foot of the mountain. The area was a spawn point of lvl50 monsters like Snow Tigers and Snow Cats as well as a number of humanoid monsters. The high spawn rate and high rewards were the main attraction for yers visiting the map.

    Due to the cold weather and therge amount of consumables required tobat the cold, most of the drops found on monsters were potions and food. yers leveling the area might not be able to earn a lot of coins, but they would still not make a loss.

    Ye Ci made her way through the leveling zone and ascended the mountain. There were significantly less yers at higher altitudes, but those who were present were full of vigor. They were not there to hunt for monsters, and were instead looking for steeds.

    The stables in the major cities of each continent were not the only source of horses. yers could purchasessos from a merchant and capture their own steed. Of course, it was not an easy task. Some of the yers lost their temper after multiple failed attempts and ended up killing the steeds, while others were not able to seed due to level penalties. This was why a map with a high spawn rate for steeds was frequented by yers.

    With the Northern Continent as an example, the most favorable spot for yers to capture their steed was at the foot of the southern corner of the Sacred Snowy Mountain. The area was popted by Snow Horse that could increase a yer¡¯s movement speed by 120%. It did not have a huge advantage over the horses sold in the stables in terms of stats, but because of the Snow Horse¡¯s white fur and the different colors of their eyes, they were favored by female yers. This meant that Snow Horses could fetch a high price in the market, and was why yers flocked the area in droves. If their luck pulled through and they were able to obtain a horse that had more than 120% movement speed, they would be able to earn a fortune.

    Many major guilds saw this as something that was beneath them, but the yer poption remained enthusiastic. They gathered in groups formed mainly by Hunters and Rangers supported by a Cleric or a Shaman and a tank character like a Warrior or Knight. A group with great teamwork would be able to acquire up to six horses in a single day.

    ¡°That one! The one with red eyes! I have a feeling that it¡¯s a good one!¡± Ye Ci could hear the excited voices of yers near her. It was a group of five yers made up of a Hunter, a Ranger, a Rogue, a Cleric and a Warrior. The Ranger who was at the front of the group was swinging hissso as he advanced towards a Snow Horse.

    ¡°Hurry, Cleric! Cast Slow on that horse! Warrior, move up and cut off its escape route, I¡¯m ready!¡± shouted the Ranger. His movement was fast. Faster than an average Ranger. Ye ci could tell that he was equipped with speed boosting equipment.

    The Cleric¡¯s movement speed was slow, but he was a yer with good game sense. Instead of following right behind the Ranger, he made a turn to match the horse¡¯s change in trajectory while the Warrior charged at the horse from another direction in an attempt to drive it into the encirclement of his party members.

    The Hunter and the Rogue on the other hand were on high alert as they scanned the area for other yers that might jump them as they captured the horse.

    After observing the yers for a moment, Ye Ci continued on her way to the top of the mountain. She made her way around the yers as it was shown on the map that the main road ahead was popted by lvl80 Snow Bears. It was a leveling spot forrger groups of yers, which was something that Ye Ci wanted to avoid.

    There was a cliff at the southern side of the mountain inessible to yers, but with her Cat w, Ye Ci was able to ascend the cliff.

    Conflict with Northern Continent yers was thest thing Ye Ci wanted. It was something that a yer who was in the deepest part of hostile territory would avoid at all cost.

    But as the Rogue of the party slowly fanned out to the surrounding area, he was inadvertently slowly shifting towards Ye Ci¡¯s direction. She immediately backed off to avoid the Rogue. Despite her good equipment and higher stats, the Rogue ss was still a ss with very high Perception value. She could easily be detected if she wandered too close to the Rogue.

    As the saying goes ¡°everything that can go wrong will go wrong¡±. As Ye Ci tried her best to maneuver away from the Rogue, the Hunter was rapidly approaching her from another direction. Are they equipped with some sort of radar? Why are they always moving to where I am?

    The two yers were moving closer and closer to Ye Ci, and she was backed into the cliff. The only thing she could do was to hide behind arge icicle and hope for the best. The Hunter did not notice Ye Ci¡¯s presence, but the Rogue with his high Perception noticed a presence when he was eight yards away from her hiding spot. He turned around and cast Detection, revealing Ye Ci in his vision.

    The Rogue was shocked to see the red glow of a hostile yer, ¡°Oh shit! An ambush!¡± he shouted to the rest of his party.

 Chapter 273 Sacred Snowy Mountain Part 2

    Chapter 273 Sacred Snowy Mountain (Part 2)

    Chapter 273 Sacred Snowy Mountain (Part 2)

    The other yers of the party were shocked. The Ranger was almost able to swing hissso over the Snow Horse¡¯s neck. The sudden appearance of a hostile yer might lead to wasted effort.

    Despite their initial shock, the party was a veteran of such situations. They did not panic, and the rest of the party with the exception of the Ranger began regrouping on the Rogue¡¯s position.

    ¡°It¡¯s a yer from a hostile continent. Be careful, if he can make it here alone, he must be really good.¡± said the Rogue as he backed away from Ye Ci and entered Stealth.

    Unlucky! I still got discovered despite my best attempts to avoid that! With the way they¡¯re trying to encircle me, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to talk myself out of this. I guess I¡¯ll have to take them out quickly before more troublees my way. Ye Ci sighed internally.

    She dashed out from her hiding spot and fired off a few damage over time skills at the Cleric. It was always the same in every fight. The Cleric was always the priority target in a fight, as they were the ones keeping their party members alive. This was why Clerics had the highest casualty rate whenever there was arge scale conflict between yers.

    The Cleric immediately healed himself up and began maneuvering in a zigzagging pattern. Goddamn it! Thought the Cleric, A couple of hits and I¡¯m almost dead? His damage is unreal! And the Cleric¡¯s face paled when he took a look at thebat log, ¡°I think we should fall back.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°The one who attacked me is Gongzi You! It¡¯s Gongzi You of the Eastern Continent!¡±

    ¡°What!¡±

    The worst thing to happen in a fight is distraction and fear, and the Cleric was being affected by both. He was immediately reduced to a corpse lying on the ground in the next second. Ye Ci spared no attention to the Cleric¡¯s dropped item. She had to take care of the remaining yers as soon as possible.

    ¡°I think we should retreat and get some reinforcements.¡± The party¡¯s Hunter knew that he was outssed by Gongzi You.

    ¡°Ranger, are you done?¡± The Warrior knew that they were at a disadvantage, and that it was in the best interest of the party to retreat once the Ranger had sessfully captured the horse.

    Death would mean a loss in experience points and equipment.

    ¡°I need 15 more seconds, hang in there! Grab the Cleric¡¯s stuff, don¡¯t leave them for Gongzi You!¡± the Ranger called out to his teammates. He was the leader of the party, and it was his responsibility to minimize the losses suffered by his party.

    ¡°Lead Gongzi You to me. If I cannd a Staggering Blow on her and stun her, we¡¯ll be able to make quick work of her!¡± shouted the Rogue who had been maintaining a 20 yards distance behind Ye Ci. If the members of his party could force Ye Ci to move at least 5 yards in his direction, he would be able to close the distance between them and hit Ye Ci with his Staggering Blow.

    ¡°Understood, leave it to us.¡± Despite their fear of Gongzi You, the Hunter and Warrior of the party understood very well that hesitation would mean death. They began chugging down potions while herding Ye Ci towards the Rogue.

    Ye Ci did not react to the rest of the yers with overwhelming force out of the need to conserve her arrows. She opted instead to pepper them with lower CD skills that consume less arrows and eventually wear them down. It was like fighting with one of her arms tied behind her back.

    A smile appeared on her face as her attacksnded on the Warrior and the Hunter. There¡¯s still a Rogue lurking somewhere behind me. What is he trying to do? Is he going to hit me with Staggering Blow? I must not underestimate the prowess of the Rogue. Thought Ye Ci. She knew that her identity was exposed the moment sheunched her attack on Cleric. This meant that she could summon Ol¡¯ Four into battle without much of a worry.

    A whistle rang out followed by the appearance of Ol¡¯ Four. Tyrannosaurus Rex could be said to be one of the best pets second only to Dragons, and they possess the ability to intimidate pets of other life forms. As the Hunter¡¯s cheetah pounced on Ye Ci, it was swept away by Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s tail. The cheetahnded on the ground some distance away curling up into a ball and whimpering in pain. It was apparent that it had sustained arge amount of damage.

    The Hunter was stunned. Gongzi You was the role model of Hunters, and it wasmon knowledge that her pet was formidable. He had seen a lot of videos of Ol¡¯ Four in action, but fighting against Gongzi You¡¯s pet in actualbat was still an entirely different experience. He could already feel a pressure weighing down on his shoulders when they engaged Gongzi You inbat. And with Ol¡¯ Four now summoned into the battle, it felt as if the party would buckle under the pressure at any moment.

    Gongzi You did not engage them with her high damage skills, and instead chose to harass them with some of her more basic skills. They did not dish out massive amounts of damage, but they were still extremely lethal.

    They were instant cast skills with low CD. Despite their significantly lower damage, these skills were deadly if they were used int he right way.

    Ye Ci fired off Scorpion Stingers at the Warrior and Hunter in front of her, and directed Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s attention to the Rogue. Despite his size, Ol¡¯ Four had an impressive reaction time. He was more than a match for the Rogue due to his level penalty.

    ¡°What the hell? What¡¯s with that Scorpion Stinger? My mana is almostpletely drained!¡± the Warrior who had finally closed his gap with Ye Ci was dismayed to find that his mana was almost drained. The character sses in Fate needed mana inbat, and a character¡¯s MP was something that was more important than its HP inbat. Having sufficient MP meant that one could still carry on the fight, but once a character¡¯s MP was depleted, it meant that the fight was over.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! She might have buffs from her equipment. It¡¯s that, or her skill¡¯s level is very high!¡±

    The Hunter was struggling to keep up with Ye Ci¡¯s rapid movements. He was confused when even his most carefully aimed shots were all evaded by Gongzi You.

    ¡°Goddamn it!¡± with a surge of energy, the Warrior finally closed the gap and swung his shield at Ye Ci. His movement appeared to be clumsy, but it was a ruse that would normally fool a yer.

    But Ye Ci was not a normal yer. She stepped slightly to the left as the Warrior raised his shield. The Warrior was confused when Gongzi You disappeared from his view, and he felt a sharp pain on the joints of both his legs in the next second that was apanied by a system notification, ¡°You have been crippled.¡±

    The Warrior was depressed. His mana was drained, he missed his Shield Bash, and he was now crippled by Gongzi You. To add salt to the wound, he was not even able to react to her attack. He was confident that he was a decent yer, so why is a fight against Gongzi You so one-sided?

    Ye Ci had the need to conserve her Stamina and supplies, which was why she turned away from the Warrior once he was crippled. She eyed the Hunter who was at very low health, and finished her opponent off with an arrow. Her attention was then turned towards the Rogue.

    The Rogue was, at the moment, fighting a losing battle against Ol¡¯ Four. The beast was fast, its attacks were ferocious, and its defense formidable. Why do I have to fight against something like this! A Warrior would be more suited to handle a life form like this!

    ¡°Ranger, retreat as soon as you¡¯re done! Don¡¯t let her kill you or our efforts here today is wasted!¡± the crippled Warrior shouted at the Ranger.

    With two of his party members dead, one crippled, and another barely holding on, there was nothing the Ranger could do, ¡°I¡¯ll get back to the city and return with reinforcements!¡± he sait through gritted teeth and fled for his life.

    ¡°Be careful, Rogue, Gongzi You is headed your way!¡± the Warrior could only watch helplessly as Ye Ci dashed after the Rogue and finished him off before he could even finish his sentence.

    Ol¡¯ Four wagged its tail at Ye Ci, excited by its chance to perform once again. Ye Ci threw a chunk of meat at Ol¡¯ Four and decided not to give chase to the fleeing ranger.

    The Warrior could feel the piercing gaze of Ye Ci¡¯s cold stare as she made her way back to the southern cliff. Is this the strength of a top yer?

    He could tell that Gongzi You did not go all out during the battle, and the disparity of strength between Gongzi You and his party.

    The Huntress showed no interest in their equipment. Her interest was on the Ranger who had managed to flee. How is he so fast? What is making him so fast?

    The Warrior clenched his fist as he stared at Ye Ci¡¯s silhouette. One of these days... I¡¯ll be an expert yer as well!

    A figure in ck clock was observing the battle with great interest from a hill some distance away. Heh, never thought that I¡¯d run into someone like this.

    Just then, realisation dawned upon him and he snapped his fingers, ¡°Wasn¡¯t the one who killed that Sorceress twice a Huntress? How could I have forgotten about it?¡±

    The figure shifted his gaze towards therge dinosaur, ¡°Aiya, Gongzi You, what a mischievous person you are! You made me a scapegoat...¡± a smile appeared on his face as he turned around and vanished into the bellowing snow.

    Ye Ci could feel a gaze on her, but saw nothing but snow as she surveyed her surroundings. It must¡¯ve been my imagination. Thought Ye Ci as she mounted Ol¡¯ Four and made her way to the cliff.

    The cliff was not the safest way to ascend the mountain. Most of the rocks had long since been eroded, but they were covered by thickyers of ice due to the cold weather. The ice and snow on the Sacred Snowy Mountain never seem to melt. The mountain had never seen a single summer, and even spring and autumn were short. They brought rain to the mountain, which would be frozen ice when winter came, adding a newyer of frozen rain water to the thick ice covering the mountain.

    Ye Ci could see the sunlight refracting off the icicles into a myriad of colors as she stood beside the cliff. Despite the fog and the cold winds, the weather was perfect.

    She swung her Cat w towards the cliff, and heard a loud ng. It was an indicator that theyer of ice on the cliff was too hard for even the Cat w to gain a solid grip.

    Ye Ci was not disheartened. She continued to swing her cat w towards the cliff from different spots in an attempt to look for a spot where the Cat w could take hold.

    As Ye Ci was trying to ascend the mountain, the General Chat of the Northern Continent was in turmoil. It was flooded with news of a party¡¯s encounter with Gongzi You. With the appearance of Spotless Autumn a hot topic, the two top-tier yers immediately became the focus of attention.

    The spectacle had even attracted the attention of the three major guilds.

    Sangharama Shrine.....

    ¡°Guild leader, we¡¯ve received news that Gongzi You had been spotted in the Sacred Snowy Mountain. Do we send some of our men after her?¡±

    ¡°Why would we want to do that?¡± Sangharama¡¯s Grace nced at Thousand Mile Dream before shifting his attention back to the map sprawled before him.

    ¡°But this is the second top-tier yer to have appeared in our continent. Don¡¯t you think that they¡¯re up to something? Besides...¡± Thousand Mile Dream paused mid-sentence. The missing hoe was a topic that he wanted to avoid.

    ¡°So what if they¡¯re top yers? It¡¯s just the two of them. Let them be. We must focus our efforts on the abandoned fortress. Nothing else matters.¡± Sangharama¡¯s Grace would not risk the growth of his guild because of two yers, ¡°Send somebody over to monitor their movement if you have the time to spare. If they¡¯re here toplete a quest, ignore them.¡±

 Chapter 274 Legend Part 1

    Chapter 274 Legend (Part 1)

    Heavenly Body guild.

    ¡°Leader, we¡¯ve received information from a reliable source about the sightings of Gongzi You in the Sacred Snowy Mountain. She got into a fight with one of the parties there.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± The leader of Heavenly Body was none other than the top-yer of the Northern Continent, Lethal Poison, who was also known as the No.1 Druid of Fate. He was a plump man who was always wearing a kind smile on his face. But if one mistook him for a pushover, they would be making a grave mistake. Despite his good nature, Lethal Poison could also be cruel in battle. He was more vicious and merciless than the top-yers of the other continent, and those who dared stand in his way would find themselves suffering from his wrath.

    And his methods were very creative.

    Lethal Poison was currently studying the map of the abandoned fortress made by one of the Life yers in his guild.

    The major guilds in the Northern Continent each had tricks up their sleeves to survive in their peculiar bnce of power. Each of them maintainedrge numbers of sub-guilds, as well as untold numbers of Life yers that were not part of their guild as part of their logisticswork.

    The benefits of such a measure is self-evident. It could greatly reduce the spendings of a guild, and hide the true strength of a guild¡¯s logistics from its rivals.

    Heavenly Body would of course employ such a measure, as well as Sangharama Shrine, Rain of Blood, and the other major guilds of each continent.

    Each guild knew that their rivals would do the same thing, but they could never have an urate gauge of the extent of their rivals.

    Lethal Poison¡¯s maps were made by one such group of Life yers, who made the maps under the escort of one of the sub-guild¡¯s Rogues under very dangerous circumstances. Even if they could not gain direct ess to the fort, the yers were still able to map out the staging area of the three guilds.

    It could be said to be the best possible map to be made. If GPS existed in the game, it would achieve the same result.

    Lethal Poison¡¯s attention was focused fully on the maps. He did not appear to be paying attention to his subordinates, but those who were close to him knew full well that he was capable of multitasking. He was digesting the information given to him even as he was studying the map.

    His subordinates waited patiently for his orders. They knew the way he handled things after working for him for a long time. He might appear to be absent-minded, but the cogs in his mind were churning.

    Lethal Poison raised his head after a long while, ¡°How many members were there in the party? Five of them?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Were they all killed?¡±

    ¡°No, three of them were killed, one was crippled, and one managed to flee.¡± Lethal Poison¡¯s subordinates were confused by his question, but they remained silent. They knew that even if his questions served a purpose even if they appeared to be illogical.

    Lethal Poison blinked, and the smile returned to his face as he continued studying the map. Some of his subordinates were growing restless, ¡°Leader, do we...¡±

    ¡°Go after Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Yes. She¡¯s the top yer of the Eastern Continent. Won¡¯t there be a problem if we leave her be?¡± the guild members aid with a sigh, ¡°Her presence in this ce especially at a time like this is quite worrying.¡±

    ¡°Nangong, do you think that I¡¯ve not thought about that?¡± Lethal Poison who was still staring at the map smiled at a Rogue standing before him d in Purple-quality equipment. Despite the usually dark theme of a Rogue¡¯s equipment, the faint patterns on his armor was a sign that it was of the best quality. The Rogue was Nangong Yunfei, the top Rogue of the Heavenly Body guild, and was one of Lethal Poison¡¯s most trusted subordinates.

    Nangong Yunfei was actually a yer who was on par with a top-tier yer. But due to his humble nature and his rare appearance in public, not many of the guild¡¯s members knew about his true strength. Some of them did not even know of his existence. This trait was exactly what Lethal Poison needed. A nameless but skillful yer who could lurk in the dark was more useful than a well-known yer at times.

    This was why Nangong Yunfei was deeply involved in intelligence gathering for the guild.

    ¡°I don¡¯t quite get it.¡±

    Nangong Yunfei and Lethal Poison shared a weird rtionship. Their rtionship was that of a subordinate and a boss, but they were also old friends who knew each other very well.

    ¡°I know how you like to y things safe, but I don¡¯t Gongzi You is here because of the fort.¡± said Lethal Poison with a smile.

    ¡°I disagree. Are we going to ignore the fact that she might help one of our rivals out just because she¡¯s a yer from an opposing continent? If I¡¯m not mistaken, she made a deal with Genesisst time.¡± Nangong Yunfei shook his head. He was worried about the presence of a top-tier yer from an opposing continent.

    Lethal Poison nodded at his words, ¡°You¡¯re not necessarily wrong, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case.¡±

    He looked away from the maps and at Nangong Yunfei, ¡°If Gongzi You is here to help one of the guilds out, she would be scouting out the Mor Jiami ins instead of sneaking her way into the Sacred Snowy Mountain. That is proof that she did not wish to be caught in a fight against us. It¡¯s obvious that her destination was the Sacred Snowy Mountain from the start. If my guess is correct, she was here for a very important mission. Besides, if she wouldn¡¯t have been spotted by that party so easily if it was her intention to raise trouble for us.¡±

    Nangong Yunfei was still worried despite Lethal Poison¡¯s words, but he remained silent after noticing the certainty in his guild leader¡¯s expression , ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll send someone to spy on her.¡±

    ¡°By the way, find out what sort of mission she is up to if you can. She might be trying to explore a dungeon just like the one she did with Fleeting Time.¡± there was a hint of annoyance in Lethal Poison¡¯s voice, ¡°Goddamn it, those lucky bastards in Genesis! I bet they got a lot of items with two top yers clearing a hidden dungeon for them.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Nangong Yunfei knew that Lethal Poison was not happy with the exploration of Vosok by Gongzi You and Fleeting Time. After all, the number of dungeons in each continent were bnced. But ever since Vosok was explored by Fleeting Time and Gongzi You, Genesis was able to monopolize on unique high quality items acquired from the dungeon. Some of the lower end items even made their way to the Northern Continent. This earned them the envy of Lethal Poison.

    There was nothing that he could do to change the situation, but the vice leader of Genesis was able to earn quite a considerable sum of money from Heavenly Body. Nobody would enjoy having a huge chunk of flesh torn out of their side, which was why Lethal Poison immediately directed his subordinates to search for hidden dungeons in the Northern Continent.

    ¡°Is Spotless Autumn in the Northern Continent as well?¡± a sudden thought entered Lethal Poison¡¯s mind. Due to his immense workload, his only source of information was from Nangong Yunfei. He hadpletely forgotten about the presence of Spotless Autumn until the name Gongzi You was brought up.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And he got into a fight with the Sangharama Shrine?¡± as he was busy preparing for theing battle, Lethal Poison had no energy to spare on mere gossip, which was why he immediately took the chance when he had the time.

    Nangong Yunfei began exining the circumstances surrounding the confrontation to Lethal Poison once again, ¡°ording to my intelligence, the Sangharama Shrine had recently acquired a Purple-quality hoe with very good stats....¡±

    Lethal Poison bursted intoughter after listening to the exnation, ¡°I told you. Sangharama¡¯s Grace is good at everything but the management of his subordinate¡¯s family members. Why would they allow aplete trash like Kiss Me Babe to handle the hoe? That is just outright stupid.¡± and he rubbed his chin, ¡°And Kiss Me Babe was killed by a Hunter?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    A smile appeared on Lethal Poison¡¯s face, ¡°Oh, I see....¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Nangong Yunfei was curious, ¡°You seem to be thinking about something funny.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m wondering... What will happen if Spotless Autumn finds out that he became a scapegoat of Gongzi You? Will they end up fighting?¡± the regret was clear in Lethal Poison¡¯s expression, ¡°What a shame. If only I can witness their fight in person...¡± and he let out a long sigh, ¡°Get some men to shadow the both of them. Do not interfere with whatever they¡¯re doing, and don¡¯t let them know that we¡¯re watching them.¡±

    The task of shadowing two top-tier yers was not an easy one. They were the top yers of their continent for many reasons. Their skill level would undoubtedly be high, and their equipment and gaming sense was also something that should be taken into ount. Locating these yers would also be a very daunting task. Nangong Yunfei, however, was excited. He was always happy to receive a high difficulty mission.

    Lethal Poison stared out at the azure sky outside his window when Nangong Yunfei left. He could not help the grimace that appeared on his face. Ahh... I really want to go meet them both. Not as a guild leader, but as a yer.

    ...

    But as a guild leader, he was without the freedom to act as he pleased.

    There was no way for Lethal Poison to escape the crushing responsibility of a guild leader. The guild was like a churning machine that crushed his dreams of freedom as a yer. He once again let out a long sigh and refocused his attention on the map.

    Whatever. I might as well concentrate on what I have to do.

    Rain of Blood guild.

    The news of Gongzi You¡¯s arrival in the Northern Continent was spreading like wildfire in the guild encampment.

    Dried Bones, the leader of Rain of Blood was rubbing his forehead with a pained expression, ¡°How are the two other guilds handling this situation?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve sent people to watch over the two, but they don¡¯t seem to have the intention to interfere with their business.¡± the person speaking to the guild leader was also wearing a pained expression. It was someone who knew Gongzi You very well. He was none other than Melodious Flute, the man who died to Gongzi You every single time, and the only one to have a feeling of dread when he received the news. He had a feeling that Gongzi You was the bringer of his bad luck.

    Every confrontation against Gongzi You was a failure.

    ¡°Alright, I guess we should send someone from our side to see what they¡¯re up to as well. Don¡¯t get too close, or she might be forced into a situation where she must fight our people. Even if a fight does break out, we¡¯ll let the bastards from Sangharama Shrine and Heavenly Body to take the brunt of the damage. Do not reveal yourselves.¡±

    There was of course more than one abandoned fort in the Northern Continent, but both the Sangharama Shrine and Heavenly Body guilds had their eyes set on the fort. It was in a strategic location, and it would be the first ever fort to be conquered by Northern Continent yers. This was why the two major guilds did not hesitate tomit their forces to the map, and why Rain of Blood was willing to enter the fray.

    Dried Bone¡¯s objective was simple.

    If he was hoping to capture the fort when Sangharama Shrine and Heavenly Body were tearing at each other¡¯s throat. Even if his guild was not able to capture the fort, there was still much to gain by scavenging the battlefield. The equipment that were dropped during the battle could be used to arm the new recruits of Rain of Blood.

    Melodious Flute could feel a shiver crawling down his spine as he stared at Dried Bone, ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±

    ¡°Eh? Have I not made it clear enough for you? You¡¯re the one who is in charge of this mission.¡± Dried Bone shrugged.

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Haven¡¯t I told you that I¡¯m always getting my ass handed to me whenever I run into her?¡± Melodious Flute shook his head.

    ¡°But you¡¯re the only one in our guild who had experience in fighting against her. You should be used to it by now. It¡¯s only logical to assign this mission to you...¡± Dried Bone saw nothing wrong in his arrangement. It was something that any guild leader would do for the benefit of his or her guild.

    Melodious Flute was at a loss for words. He knew that he could not escape the dark fate that awaited him, but it was worth trying. After all, nobody would want to go up against that walking disaster, ¡°What about the things here? Are there any problems?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Dried Bone shook his head despite the worries that were written all over his face, ¡°I¡¯m just trying to make a quick fortune out of this fight. I wonder if Sangharama Shrine and Heavenly Body will give me the opportunity to do so.¡±

 Chapter 274 Legend Part 2

    Chapter 274 Legend (Part 2)

    ¡°It¡¯s good to hide your trump card, but there are times when you have to go all in.¡± Melodious Flute did not find himself agreeing with Dried Bone. His leader had always been overly cautious. If he had the chance, he would definitely have been bold and decisive.

    Dried Bone was cautious and very prudent, but it also meant that his foundation was firm. It would not be easy to destroy what he had achieved. A person like him was crucial in the growth of a guild.

    ¡°Do you think that I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on in your mind? But have you considered the fact that the new patch is going to be released in less than a week? We¡¯ll have more opportunities, as well as challenges. Do not forget that Golden Era ising. I¡¯m sure you know what sort of guild they are. If we don¡¯t build up our strength, do you think that we can survive theing storm?¡± Dried Bone sighed. The worry was something that was shared by the leaders of many other guilds.

    The discussion sent Melodious Flute¡¯s head swimming. His only interest in the game was to explore its vast world and the excitement of engaging other yers like him inbat. He was never someone who could set his mind to the management of a guild. Why would people want to be the leader of a guild? He had always thought to himself, aren¡¯t they just asking for trouble?

    ¡°Fine, fine! I¡¯d rather handle Gongzi You than the development of our guild.¡± Melodious Flute cupped his hands against his ears, ¡°If you¡¯re looking to bore yourself to death, be my guest. Don¡¯t drag me down along with you. Your brother I am still young and unmarried yet. I don¡¯t want to end up like a dried pile of bones like you.¡± and he turned around to leave.

    But Dried Bone called out to him.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°By the way, do you know that Spotless Autumn is in the Northern Continent as well?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Rumors have it that he even got into a fight with someone from the Sangharama Shrine.¡± he responded after a slight pause, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want to track him down as well.. Unlike Gongzi You, he¡¯s very unpredictable. He¡¯s way more troublesome to deal with than Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry too much about it. It¡¯d be nice if you can track him down. If you can¡¯t, so be it. I believe the other guilds have sent out their own as well.¡± said Dried Bone with a smile, ¡°We¡¯re at the eve of battle, I¡¯m sure they do not have the men to spare in hunting down the two. There might be two of them, but they might actually be more powerful than two squadron¡¯s worth of yers. Everything is fine as long as they stay away from the Mor Jiami ins.¡±

    ¡°But the Mor Jiami ins is right beside the Sacred Snowy Mountain. Of course, there¡¯s no path leading down the mountain from that direction other than a very high cliff.¡± Melodious Flute was anxious. He knew nothing good woulde from an encounter with top-tier yers. One could never be certain what would happen during that encounter.

    ¡°This is why there¡¯s nothing we have to worry about. No matter how good they are, there¡¯s no way they can survive a fall from several thousand meters.¡± Dried Bone waved his hand dismissively.

    Yeah, I might¡¯ve been overthinking here, thought Melodious Flute, ¡°Alright then. You can worry yourself silly here, I¡¯ll be heading to the Sacred Snowy Mountain.¡±

    As the three major guilds were busy sending out the Rogues to conduct surveince on Gongzi You, Ye Ci was still looking for the right spot to climb the cliff. She had been repeating the same action for almost half an hour, but to no avail.

    Ye Ci sat one the ground to replenish her Stamina with food and wine when her ears twitched and she heard the sound of conversation from quite a distance away.

    ¡°Did the real Gongzi You actually appear in this ce?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t the party earlier on confirm that they ran into her here?¡±

    ¡°What is Gongzi You doing here?¡±

    ¡°Do we even need to be here if we know?¡±

    ¡°Is it because of something that she found here?¡±

    ¡°Who knows.¡±

    ¡°I think we should head back. Is it really worth tracking Gongzi You down? What if we actually find are? You¡¯re gonna walk up to her and say ¡®Hey, I¡¯m a fan of yours, let¡¯s take a selfie!¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Nonsense! We¡¯re not here for a selfie!¡± responded a hoarse and very distinguishable voice.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be famous if we can kill Gongz You! She¡¯s the top-tier yer of the Eastern Continent! I¡¯m sure she has a lot of good gears on her. Don¡¯t forget that yers dying in a hostile continent will be facing a higher penalty. If she drops some of her good equipment, We¡¯ll be rich!¡±

    A smile tugged on Ye Ci¡¯s face. People are so willing to die for the sake of wealth. She paid the yers no heed as Ol¡¯ Four stood guard beside her.

    ¡°But she¡¯s Gongzi You! She¡¯s not your average Tom, Dick, and Harry! Do you think it¡¯s that simple to try and take her on?¡±

    ¡°This is why we brought so many with us! More wille. We can¡¯t take her on alone, but with so many of us here, we can literally bury her with the bodies of our dead!¡±

    The yers were 60 yards away from Ye Ci, who could still hear them clearly despite their soft voice. She stood up, and saw a group of more than a hundred yers heading towards her.

    The area facing a cliff was shaped like a bottle gourd, which provided Ye Ci with a narrow chokepoint that she could use to her advantage. It¡¯s a shame that their equipment is mediocre at best, or I would be able to put my backpacks to good use.

    She cast detection in some of the yers that have entered the chokepoint. They were mostly yers that were barely lvl50. As a lvl60 character, Ye Ci enjoyed the advantage of level penalty against them. What a shame, I¡¯ve used up all my bombs, and Blossom is not at the level where he can make bombs yet.

    Ye Ci had no intention of engaging these yers inbat. She knew that they would swarm at her like flies once fighting broke out, and no matter how skillful of a yer she was, she would run out of supplies and eventually be buried under the sea of yers.

    It was not a good way to die.

    But the battle ahead was something that she could not avoid. Her only option was to finish her opponents off quickly and ascend the cliff.

    As long as she could enter a lvl80 zone, she would no longer have to worry about the yers.

    With her mind set, Ye Ci immediately gave the order for Ol¡¯ Four to charge.

    The narrow area was immediately filled with Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s roar. The reverberating sound was even causing snow to drop down from the cliff.

    And the rmed yers immediately adopted a defensive posture.

    ¡°W-what is happening?¡±

    ¡°Aiya, it¡¯smon to have mini avnche happening in the Sacred Snowy Mountain. Just stay away from the cliff, and we¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. Can¡¯t you guys hear that sound?¡± the yers who were at the front had obviously heard the roar from Ol¡¯ Four. The roar of a tyrannosaurus rex was very distinct from the life forms that popted the mountains.

    ¡°Could be a bear or something like that. The spawn point of Snow Bears is right above us.¡±

    ¡°No! Look! Something is heading right towards us!¡± one of the yers pointed at Ol¡¯ Four that was charging in their direction.

    The entrance leading to the terrain was narrow, and with their vision obstructed by the bellowing snow, the yers at the back of the formation had no idea what was going on. Panic began to spread among the group of yers.

    ¡°What is it? What¡¯sing?¡±

    ¡°Fall back! Fall back now! There¡¯s a monstering our way!¡±

    ¡°Aiya! You guys at the front, stop pushing!¡±

    The party that was formed impromptu by a mix and match of yers was incapable of handling sudden changes in a situation. A well coordinated party would never panic in such a situation, and could face the sudden appearance of Ol¡¯ Four with rtive calm. But Ye Ci she was facing down such a party, her chances of winning would be very slim.

    Ol¡¯ Four was already in a position to attack before the yers could begin to sort the mess out. Arge number of them were Stunned by Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s Tremor and Tail Swipe.

    ¡°Motherfluffer! This guy is tough! Let¡¯s get the hell out of here!¡±

    ¡°Wait a minute, isn¡¯t this thing Gongzi You¡¯s pet? Does it mean that she¡¯s nearby?¡± some of the more observant yers have realised that the dinosaur standing before them was Gongzi You¡¯s pet. It¡¯s distinct size and color was something that was very unique in the entire game.

    And to speak of the devil...

    Gongzi You appeared in their view right when her name was mentioned.

    Ye Ci bounded into the air from Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s tail, and fired Rain of Arrows at the group of yers. The yers were showered by arrows in less than 5 seconds, and the sea of red damage indicator that appeared on their heads was a horrifying sight.

    ¡°No way!¡± most of the squishy characters were immediately in, while some with heavier armor remained standing.

    ¡°My God, is this the true strength of Gongzi You? Is she at max level already?¡±

    ¡°Why are you still standing there? Let¡¯s make a run for it! Do you want to lose your equipment?¡± many of the yers were merely there in hopes that they could gain something while staying out of the action. Gongzi You¡¯s disy of strength was a rude awakening for these yers, who immediately began to flee.

    The few yers who remained untouched by Ye Ci¡¯s attacks ran as well, leaving the bodies of their dead on the ground as they scattered in every direction.

    Ye Ci did not give chase. She knew that she would not be able to chase down so many yers, and that her best option was to ascend the cliff.

    After directing Ol¡¯ Four to pick off the stragglers, Ye Ci continued to look for a good spot that would allow her to climb the cliff.

    The battle was an unforgettable experience for the yers of the Northern Continent who were present on that day. The only thing they saw was the sudden appearance of a Huntress d in winter clothing who leapt into the air as she appeared from the mist, and arrows began raining down at the next moment, killing the majority of their numbers. The Huntress then disappeared back into the mist without even looking back.

    Not a single one of them was able to see her expression, or even her face on that day. The only thing they saw was the faint blood red glow around her character.

    Her sudden appearance, and her equally abrupt disappearance became the stuff of legend.

    Ye Ci was still attempting to find a spot where her Cat w would gain purchase on the cliff. Perhaps due to the battle and the countless enemies in, Ye Ci¡¯s luck was drastically improved. Her first swing was able to find a firm grip on the icy cliff. After giving the rope a few tugs, a satisfied Ye Ci began climbing up the cliff.

    It did not take long for Ye Ci to make her way up the cliff. She looked down, and saw the silhouette of Ol¡¯ Four in the mist chasing the yers around. She shook her head, and disappeared into the bellowing snow after dismissing Ol¡¯ Four with a sigh.

 Chapter 275 The Sacred Spring (Part 1)

    Chapter 275 The Sacred Spring (Part 1)

    The Sacred Spring

    Ye Ci was finally on the Sacred Snowy Mountain.

    But the location of the spring was not easy to find.

    Ye Ci had spent an entire day exploring the mountain, but the Sacred Spring was still nowhere in sight. She started a fire in the middle of a forest and began roasting some meat. Due to theck of spice, she was not able to cook anything other than roasted meat. But because of her higher quality meat harvested from the Snow Bears she had in, Ye Ci was still able to recover a significant amount of her Stamina.

    Even Ol¡¯ Four was salivating from the smell of the roasted meat. It did not attempt to steal Ye Ci¡¯s food, but it was obvious that the beast was begging for food from the looks that it was giving Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was busy marking her map of the Sacred Snowy Mountain to identify the terrain that she had explored when she noticed Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s gaze. She stared at Ol¡¯ Four and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s time for you to slim down. People are saying that you¡¯ve grown fat. It¡¯ll make you ugly.¡±

    Ol¡¯ Four snorted at Ye Ci, as if it was proiming its satisfaction towards its own body figure.

    Ye Ci cast a sideway nce at Ol¡¯ Four and delivered her threat. ¡°But if you grow too fat, you¡¯ll be slow. And if you¡¯re slow... I¡¯ll consider getting rid of you.¡±

    Ol¡¯ Four snorted again, but Ye Ci could not understand her pet.

    The meat was already cooked by then. Ye Ci sighed as she lifted one of the pieces of meat and waved it in front of Ol¡¯ Four, which was tracking the meat with its eyes. It grunted in frustration at the food that was just out of its reach, and Ye Ci was satisfied with the trouble that she caused Ol¡¯ Four. she nodded and threw the meat at Ol¡¯ Four and chuckled as her pet devoured the meat, ¡°This is thest time you¡¯ll ever get a treat. You¡¯re on a diet starting tomorrow.¡±

    Ol¡¯ Four grumbled at Ye Ci, obviously ignoring her threat. To Ol¡¯ Four, whates tomorrow is something that it only has to worry about on the next day.

    Ye Ci looked at the setting sun as he munched on her food. The bright red sun was about to sink below the horizon, and a Sacred Snowy Mountain without sunlight would be much colder. So how the hell am I supposed to look for the Sacred Spring? Thought Ye Ci. She was not fond of the cold weather.

    Thend was enveloped by darkness when the sun finally sank below the horizon.

    With a sudden movement, Ol¡¯ Four raised its head and began studying its surroundings, and its throat began rumbling with its low growl. It was a response that would typically be disyed by Ol¡¯ Four when danger was near. Ye Ci was rmed by the sudden disy. Is there something out there?

    She immediately put out the fire with snow. The sizzling sound of the charcoal as the fire was put out was especially loudpared to the quiet forest. Ol¡¯ Four was growling loudly as its muscles tense. It was ready to meet any threat in battle.

    Ye Ci patted Ol¡¯ Four as a signal for her pet to quiet down, and waved at it so that it would crouch down beside her. Despite its reluctance, Ol¡¯ Four obeyed.

    A Hunter would never choose a random spot to take a rest in the wilderness. A resting spot must always have an easy escape route while offering great concealment for the Hunter.

    Such was the spot that Ye Ci had chosen. She was mostly hidden by fallen and dried trees while a wide path was not far away behind her. In the dark of the night, it was easy for her to hide in such terrain.

    What sort of danger has Ol¡¯ Four sensed?

    Ye Ci began studying her surroundings to spot the source of danger that sent Ol¡¯ Four on edge.

    She had picked the spot as she had noticed that it was rarely frequented by the beasts that inhabited the area. This was why she started the fire and began cooking.

    And with the advantage of the terrain around her, Ye Ci was confident in her ability to escape even if a beast came across her campsite.

    Come to think about it, I¡¯ve never actually ran into monsters for quite some time now. In a forest this thick? That¡¯s impossible. It was a fact that Ye Ci had ignored, but a feeling of unease was creeping into her heart, Is there something in this forest?

    Just as Ye Ci was pondering the question, she spotted figures roaming between the trees, and she immediately found her answer.

    So this is why!

    The mystery behind the absence of wild beasts in the forest was unraveled. This forest is dominated by Spectres!

    So this is how a Devil¡¯s Night looks like. Spectres are a truly bizarre life form. Due to the abundance of sunlight, Spectres were not amon sight in the day. Most of the Spectres would only appear at night when it was dark.

    As the sky grew darker, the number of Spectres around Ye Ci increased.

    With their levels ranging from lvl100 to lvl120, the Spectres were nearly impossible to defeat by Ye Ci. She would never engage them inbat unless it was absolutely necessary.

    Spectres do not have physical bodies, and attack mainly through Psychic-type skills. They did not take a lot of damage from Physical attacks, but were weak to Fire and Holy damage. The forest could be said to be the perfect leveling spot for a high level Priest, but as a Huntress, it was very unwise for Ye Ci to attack the monsters.

    Of course, the Spectres were not without weakness. A long time in the darkness without a physical body meant that the sense of hearing, sight, and smell of a Spectre was weak. The Spectre, however, could still detect a yer¡¯s precise location through echolocation, and any casting of skill could also be picked up by the Spectre¡¯s senses. They¡¯re just like bats! Thought Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci made the decision to dismiss Ol¡¯ Four due to its immense size. It was a formidable fighter, but even it could notst long against the onught of a swarm of high level enemies.

    Just then, an orb of light appeared from Ye Ci¡¯s bag much to her astonishment. What the hell is this?

    The orb was not one of her skills, but the sudden appearance of a light orb in the midst of so many Spectres was still a tense situation for Ye Ci. She even extended her arm to grab the orb of light with the intention of shoving it beneath her clothing to cover its light.

    But a quick observation of her surroundings told Ye Ci that the Spectres remained unaware of the orb¡¯s presence. After a moment of thought, Ye Ci decided to release the orb from her grip. The light orb floated into the air, and was immediately spotted by the Spectres, which proceeded to ignore the presence of the orb.

    The orb circled around Ye Ci, and she realised that she was covered by the same light that was generated by the orb.

    But the question is: What is this orb?

    Ye Ci nced at its stats, and realised that the orb was released by Moore¡¯s familiar.

    She was then reminded of Moore¡¯s words, and that his familiar would lead her to the secret to his immortality, and the way to his death. The orb was circling around Ye Ci, as if telling her that she should follow after it. As Ye Ci carefully stood up, she orb rose as well, and flew forward.

    The ball stopped and flew back towards Ye Ci when it realised that Ye Ci was not following after it. At that moment, Ye Ci waspletely certain that the orb of light would be her guide. She cast a quick nce at the Spectres around her and followed the orb after entering Stealth.

    Unlike Ye Ci, the orb did not seem to be aware of danger. It flew onwards without paying heed to its surroundings, and would even fly through groups of Spectres. These moments would always cause mini heart attacks for Ye Ci who was following close behind.

    The Spectres, however, were very forgiving of the orb¡¯s presence. They would not even pay heed to the orb as it flew past one of their numbers. Ye Ci was still wary of the Spectre¡¯s despite the orb¡¯s strange behavior. She would often maneuver around groups of Spectre in her path and carve markings into the tree along the way with her sword.

    The sky was dark, and Ye Ci knew that she would easily get lost in the forest if she did not mark the trees especially when her map remained mostly unexplored. She encountered arge number of Spectres along the way, and slowly came to the realisation that the orb¡¯s like that coated her character was protecting her from detection.

    Her speed increased significantly after the discovery was made.

    The orb of light finally stopped after a long time, and Ye Ci could see a shrine ahead. The white marble walls of the shrine was a gloomy sight in the white endless snow. It reminded Ye Ci of death.

    As Ye Ci eyed the orb, it began to shine brighter, illuminating arge patch of ground in the dark night.

    And after a slight moment of pause, the orb of light began floating towards the shrine.

    Ye Ci continued following after the orb. She had to maneuver around the increasing number of Spectres that stood in her path while simultaneously studying her surroundings. The shrine was built into the mountain, and only its great gates could be seen from the outside. Perhaps due to the constant storm, even the shrine¡¯s entrance was half covered with snow and icicles.

    It was unclear which deity was the patron of this shrine, but it was clear that the shrine had been long abandoned. Due to its hidden location within the Snowy Sacred Mountain, the shrine remained unexplored by yers.

    That¡¯s strange.

    They seem to be afraid of something in the shrine. It might be abandoned, but something in the shrine is scaring the Spectres away.

    The orb of light floated gracefully past the gate covered by snow, but Ye Ci was forced to climb over the snow to gain entry to the shrine.

    The interior of the shrine was a mess.

    There were no monsters in the shrine, and in their ce was a substantial poption of rats.

    Rats are very strange creatures. They exist in game and in real life, and often in the harshest of environments.

    As the orb of light led Ye Ci into the shrine, most of the life forms that she encountered were groups of rats that were not afraid of the Elf.

    It took Ye Ci quite a while to reach the interior of the shrine.

    Much of the shrine¡¯s interior had fallen into ruin, but Ye Ci could still see masterfully crafted murals and paintings on therge dome that made up the temple¡¯s ceiling. There was no statue of any gods on the altar of a shrine, but there was a small fountain.

    With theck of windows of the shrine, its interior was supposed to be dark. But the entire shrine was illuminated by a weak light.

    Two rows of chairs were ced in front of the altar. They were old, and one of them even crumbled into dust as Ye Ci brushed her hand across its surface.

    When was this shrine abandoned? Not a single soul knew.

    The orb of light slowly faded away before finally disappearing from Ye Ci¡¯s sight. It seems like the secret of Moore¡¯s curse of immortality is just ahead. Ye Ci climbed over the fallen pirs and debris, making her way towards the altar.

    There was a fountain in front of the altar. The water in the fountain was crystal clear, but the mouth of the spring was blocked by debris, allowing only a trickle of water to flow into the pool.

    A strict voice called out to Ye Ci just as she extended an arm to clear away the debris, ¡°Stay your hand, mortal! Who gave you the permission toy your hands on the purest Sacred Spring in this world?¡±

    Sacred Spring!

 Chapter 275 The Sacred Spring Part 2

    Chapter 275 The Sacred Spring (Part 2)

    Ye Ci was more intrigued by the Sacred Spring than the owner of that voice. A smile appeared on her face as she stared at the fountain. It looks like I¡¯ve finally reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Now that I¡¯ve confirmed the location of the Sacred Spring, let¡¯s find out just who was shouting at me.

    She turned around to face the source of the voice, and spotted a man walking towards her from the shadows. Despite his rtively young appearance, Ye Ci could tell from the man¡¯s eyes that he was someone who had been alive for hundreds or even a thousand years.

    A Detection cast on the man showed nothing but question marks.

    Ye Ci sighed and raised her eyebrows. Great! Now every NPC has a higher level than me! Guess I should show him some respect. And she bowed respectfully at the man.

    ¡°Greetings, sir. I¡¯m a traveler who is lost in this dark night. It is by chance that I came across this shrine, and I¡¯m immediately captivated by the water in the fountain. I mean no ill will, I just want to restore the fountain to its former glory.¡±

    The man bore down on Ye Ci who was still bowing at him with a face devoid of expression, ¡°I can smell the scent of a Wraith on you, mortal. You¡¯re not being entirely truthful with me.¡±

    The scent of a Wraith?

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. What does he mean by that? Could it be the Sacred Arrow? Or maybe the ring? Or is it something entirely different? She spoke to the man with confusion clear on her face, ¡°What Wraith? I¡¯ve never been in contact with a Wraith before.¡±

    The man closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a long moment before finally letting out his breath, ¡°That¡¯s right, this is the scent of a Wraith. So even after a thousand years, you have not managed to find a way to end yourself.¡±

    Ye Ci was struck by a sudden realisation, he¡¯s talking about Moore!, ¡°Ah, you¡¯re talking about Mr.Moore.¡±

    ¡°Moore?¡± the man¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°He goes by that name nowadays?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Ye Ci nodded, ¡°I was sent here by Moore to look for a way that will finally allow him to die.¡± she continued after putting on a mask of sorrow, ¡°Although ¡®Wraith¡¯ is not something I¡¯d use to describe Mr.Moore, but sir, I can tell that he¡¯s a man full of sadness and sorrow.¡±

    ¡°If my ears are not ying tricks on me, mortal, you¡¯re pleaing in Moore¡¯s stead?¡± the man stared silently at Ye Ci before finally speaking up.

    Ye Ci was stunned. The identity of the man was still not known to her, and she knew that her response would determine the oue of the next stage of a quest. ¡°I¡¯m but a mere mortal, sir, but from what I can see with my very own eyes, it¡¯s the truth.¡± replied Ye Ci after a long moment of silence.

    The man stared long and hard at Ye Ci before letting out a sigh, ¡°You Elves are indeed the most kindhearted race in this word. You¡¯re always unwilling to look at the ugly side of things. Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯ll bring more harm to your race than good?¡±

    He¡¯s speaking as if he¡¯s familiar with Elves!

    Ye Ci thought of the Sacred Arrow in her inventory, and a bold n began formting in her mind.

    Her brain was processing the information she had received about the Elven King Dau¡¯er thus far like a supeputer.

    Dau¡¯er fought alongside the rulers and heroes of all the races across thend against the Dark Lord Naga and lost his life. Of course, there were rumors that he did not meet his death in thest battle against the Dark Lord, and was instead sealed by Naga.

    The lord of Dark y City, Lord Moore, took part in the battle as one of Dau¡¯er¡¯srades. In the quest for power, Moore obtained immortality, and became a Wraith as mentioned by the man standing before her.

    The Elven King Dau¡¯er had fought against the subordinates of Naga as well, and had gravely wounded Shajia with his Sacred Arrow. Despite being a creature of darkness, Shajia did not perish, and instead fled the battle with the Sacred Arrow. Nuoba then summoned Shajia after an untold amount of time, and sold his soul to the demon.

    When Ye Ci eventually obtained the Sacred Arrow from the Shrine of Shajia, she was redirected by the Elf Natasha to cleanse the Sacred Arrow of Shajia¡¯s corruption.

    Moore¡¯s familiar was able to guild Ye Ci through the treacherous terrain of the Sacred Snowy Mountain to the Sacred Spring.

    The Sacred Spring is the key to the cleansing of the Sacred Arrow, and Ye Ci ran into the man who was also an acquaintance of Moore in the shrine hosting the Sacred Spring.

    From her conversation with the man, she found out that Moore was not the only one the man knew. The Elven King Dau¡¯er was an acquaintance of him as well.

    The lord of the Dark y City has made a promise to provide Ye Ci with crucial information that he knew about Dau¡¯er if she could find a way that would release him from his immortality.

    All her encounters thus far had some form of rtion with the Elven King Dau¡¯er. They might seem unrted at first nce, but they were in reality linked together by an intricate web of details and lore. Ye Ci knowledge of the Elven King was nothing but the tip of the iceberg.

    ¡°Do you know Dau¡¯er?¡± Ye Ci spoke the question out loud after all the connection was made. The desperation of her voice was not only the desperation felt by the Elves, but also as a reincarnator who was deeply ensnared by the mystery of Dau¡¯er who was always present in her quest since her reincarnation. She was desperate for an answer, but she did not know if the man was willing to share what he knew.

    The man was of course not surprised by the question. Dau¡¯re, the King of Elves, was the ruler of all Elves and the one who led the entire Elven race to glory in the past. He chuckled and crossed his slender and feminine fingers, ¡°It seems that we can have a deal, Elf.¡±

    ¡°A deal?¡± Ye Ci was shocked.

    ¡®A deal¡¯ was not a phrase unfamiliar to Ye Ci, but she was not used to being on the receiving end of an offer, ¡°What sort of deal?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I know about your king, and you¡¯ll tell me about that Wraith.¡± the man smiled, ¡°You see? It¡¯s a fair deal. Both of us have something to gain out of this. I get to satisfy my curiosity about that Wraith, and you¡¯ll have all your questions about Dau¡¯er answered. We both have our own curiosity that needs to be satisfied. Don¡¯t you think this is the perfect deal for you?¡±

    Ye Ci found herself staring at the man¡¯s face. His smile was beautiful. It was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. Despite his age, the man¡¯s smile was so captivating that Ye Ci could not look away from him.

    A sudden wave of nausea washed over Ye Ci. Something¡¯s not right! She attempted to move her fingers, and found them to be unresponsive. Ye Ci was rmed. Oh no! He¡¯s using magic on me! I¡¯ll be in big trouble if I continue staring at him!

    Ye Ci attempted to force her eyes closed, but they remained wide open to her dismay. She took in a deep breath and turned around with a sudden surge of energy. She was shocked to realise that her back was drenched with sweat, and her limbs were already sapped of energy.

    The man raised his eyebrows and stared at Ye Ci¡¯s shivering form with a smile.

    ¡°This is not fair.¡± Ye Ci could finally speak after taking in a few breaths. She stared at one of the copsed columns of the shrine, as if it was of great interest to her.

    ¡°How is it unfair?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re never equals in this deal. You can force any information out of me with your spell, but I can only hope for your benevolence. You¡¯re the one who will always have the initiative, while the only thing I could do is to wait for the scraps that you¡¯re willing to feed me.¡± Ye Ci gave her reply after taking in a long breath, ¡°I refuse your offer.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re refusing my offer?¡± the man seemed to have anticipated the response, he remained emotionless as he continued, ¡°Is this your only reason for refusing me?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t give away Moore¡¯s secrets.¡± Ye Ci responded. Every NPC in Fate held a unique trait. Ye Ci was not familiar with Moore, but she could tell that the NPC was someone who would want his secrets kept. Ye Ci was not willing to share the secrets she knew to an NPC with unknown identity. She knew that one wrong step would earn her the scorn of Moore and even the NPC.

    ¡°And why is that? His plight is not a concern of yours. You can just tell me about it.¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°We Elves are known as a race that can bring a secret even to our graves. I cannot betray the honor of my race. Besides, I don¡¯t think I should be telling you a secret that does not belong to me. I might not know Moore very well, but I have an obligation to keep his secret to myself.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a rather stubborn Elf.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I¡¯m not stubborn, I¡¯m merely upholding my principles. Only a person who¡¯s able to remain tight-lipped is a person that is respected.¡± Ye Ci sighed, ¡°I do not wish to cause trouble for Moore because of my slip.¡±

    ¡°Even at the cost of information about Dau¡¯er?¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at the question, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not the only one who took part in the battle. I believe that I can get the information from somebody else.¡±

    The man stood in silence for a very long moment before finally breaking intoughter.

    ¡°Why are youughing?¡±

    ¡°It seems that you Elves are still a very interesting race after so many years.¡± the man turned around and walked towards the fountain. He removed the debris blocking the spring, and water began to flow into the fountain once again.

    ¡°What do you think of the Sacred Spring?¡±

    Ye Ci nced at the Sacred Spring, I guess I should be okay as long as I do not stare into his eyes, and turned around to face the spring, ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    It was indeed beautiful.

    The beauty of the spring did not lie in its clear water, but due to the contrast it presented in the ruins of the temple. Its beauty was that of a lotus springing from the festering mud around it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve admired its beauty for many years. Even I have forgotten the age of this spring.¡± the man smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°You¡¯re a very kind hearted Elf. Your ability to keep Moore¡¯s secret is a sign that his judge of character has improved over the years.¡±

    Relief washed over Ye Ci as she heard the man¡¯s worth.

    I knew it! I¡¯d definitely be in trouble if I epted his offer just now! Ye Ci knew not what was the choice made by the yer who epted the quest in herst life, but she was certain that she had made the right choice.

    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± Ye Ci decided ask the question after a short moment of thought.

    ¡°Who am I? I think even I myself have forgotten the question to your answer.¡± the man sighed, ¡°I was once known as ¡®rabbi¡¯ by Moore. Perhaps that is my name.¡±

    Rabbi? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned, doesn¡¯t the word ¡®rabbi¡¯ carry the meaning of ¡®my teacher¡¯?

    Could this man be... Moore¡¯s mentor?

    It can¡¯t be! He¡¯s way younger than Moore, and Moore¡¯s more than a thousand years old. If he is the mentor of Moore, he must be older than the man by a lot!

    As expected of an NPC... He was able to maintain such a youthful appearance despite his age.

    ¡°If Moore sent you... Does it mean that he is regretting the choice he made?¡±

    Ye Ci was stunned into silence by Rabbi¡¯s words. She thought of the words spoken to her by Moore and nodded, ¡°Yes. I think Moore is indeed regretting his decision.¡±

 Chapter 276 What Makes a Warlock? Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 276 What Makes a Warlock? Part 1</h4>

    Chapter 276 What Makes a Warlock? (Part 1)

    Ye Ci stared at Rabbi. Despite his apparent youth, she could sense the wisdom of age from him, especially from his eyes. It was the wisdom of a being who had lived through countless years and witnessed the passing of many seasons. It was a wisdom that could not be masked by the man¡¯s demeanor. She was nothing but a childpared to him.

    Such was the difference between the NPCs in a normal game and the NPCs in a virtual reality game. Every NPC in a virtual reality game has a story of their own, but they retain endless possibilities in the future of their lives.

    Such cases were especially true for NPCs in possession of high levels of intelligence. The story behind their character was merely a guideline given to them by the system. The NPCs themselves, however, were masters of their own future.

    Rabbi was apparently one of the intelligent NPCs. Ye Ci did not know what the man had seen during his life, but she was impressed by the NPCs¡¯ aura of wisdom. This was probably one of the best advantages of ying a virtual reality game. It gave the experience of great immersion to the yers, as if they were living out a second life in the game.

    Rabbi smiled at Ye Ci¡¯s response, ¡°Really?¡±

    His smile was beautiful, but was also bitter.

    ¡°Can you answer Moore¡¯s question, Mr.Rabbi?¡± asked Ye Ci after waiting for the answer that did note.

    Her entire journey here was to seek for the answer to Moore¡¯s question. The information she gained from gossipping with NPC was not as important as the task at hand.

    ¡°I would¡¯ve died a long time ago if I know how. Why would I still be in a ce like this?¡± Rabbi snorted at Ye Ci. it was apparent that his temperament was bad despite his age.

    Ye Ci was dumbstruck by Rabbi¡¯s response, So he doesn¡¯t have an idea as well. Just then, a sudden wave of realisation washed over her. Wait, what was it that he said just now?

    ¡°I would¡¯ve died a long time ago if I know how.¡± Rabbi¡¯s response gave Ye Ci a huge clue. He has made the same pact with the Darkness just like Moore!

    The revtion came as a shock to Ye Ci. she stared at Rabbi, who was d in white robes. It was the robe that was worn by the clergy in a temple. So he¡¯s not a Priest, but a Sorceress instead?

    ¡°A-are you a sorcerer?¡± Asked Ye Ci cautiously.

    ¡°A sorcerer?¡± Rabbi raised an eyebrow, and a chuckle left his mouth, ¡°So that¡¯s what Moore told you? That he is a sorcerer?¡±

    Ye Ci was once again stunned into silence. Is that not the case? Of course, the question did not leave her mouth. She continued staring at Rabbi with a smile on her face. The man had no intention of waiting for an answer from Ye Ci, ¡°It seems that he¡¯s still a coward. He hasn¡¯t found the courage to tell people what he truly is.¡± he snorted.

    At this point, Ye Ci¡¯s curiosity was fully aroused. She held back her questions, but her eyes had betrayed how she truly felt. Come on,e on! Tell me! She was already screaming internally for an answer, Tell me now! What the heck is going on! Do you really have to be beat around the bush like that?

    ¡°Do you know a Warlock is?¡±

    Of course I¡¯d know that! Ye Ci nodded, ¡°I do.¡± She was confused by the sudden question. Why would Moore hide his identity as a Warlock? Aren¡¯t there hundreds of thousands of Warlocks in the Jiama Continent?

    Rabbi chuckled at Ye Ci, as if he was able to read her mind, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m talking about that rabble in the current Jiama Continent?¡± there was a hint of disdain in his voice.

    Ye Ci did not utter a response, but a question had indeed formed in her mind. Are they not the same?

    ¡°Do you know what sort of person the first Warlock is?¡± continued Rabbi.

    How would I know? Ye Ci shook her head, it¡¯s not recorded in the National Library, and it¡¯s not like I know what the developers were thinking!

    ¡°The first Warlock to ever walk on the face of this world is a woman. We call her Eliana. Of course, that was her name in Dragonian. It means ¡®Precursor¡¯ in the Common Tongue.¡± a smile appeared on Rabbi¡¯s face.

    ¡°Dragonian? Why would she be named in Dragonian?¡± confusion was written all over Ye Ci¡¯s face. Is he telling me that the first Warlock is a Dragon? An image began forming in Ye Ci¡¯s mind: a mighty Dragon pping its wings and spewing fire from its mouth as it clutched a staff in its w with minions scurrying on the ground below it. What the hell?

    ¡°That was because of her father. He was the prince of the Dragonia.¡± Rabbi stared into the horizon as his mind wandered to the deepest part of his memories.

    Ye Ci almost choked on her own saliva. What?? Eliana¡¯s father is a Dragonian prince? So what is her mother then? A Human? Or maybe an Elf?¡±

    ¡°Her mother was a kind-hearted Human. Oh what a weak existence she waspared to the mighty Dragonia.¡± it was as if Rabbi had read Ye Ci¡¯s mind once again.

    A strange thought not suitable for children wormed its way into Ye Ci¡¯s mind. So how do a Dragon and a Human mate? Did he do it with the form of a Dragon? Or did he transform into a Human first? So what does their baby look like? Does it look like a Human? Or will the Human womany an egg...

    Of course, it was not the main focus of the story.

    Even if Rabbi was indeed in possession of the ability to read minds, it was limited only to what a yer might think about the quest. He had no way of knowing what sort of naughty thoughts Ye Ci was having at that very moment. He made the assumption that Ye Ci was listening attentively to his story when he noticed the expression on her face.

    ¡°Humans are the most pitiful race in the continent. Their strength came only in their numbers.¡± Rabbi¡¯s voice was full of disdain. Ye Ci sighed internally at that remark. Wow, the developers really hate their own race! What¡¯s so bad about having strength in numbers? It¡¯s a good thing! Chairman Mao once said: More poption means more power! Besides, it¡¯s not as if the other races are nobler or more beautiful than the human race!

    ¡°While the Dragonia are at the ultimate life form in the Jiama Continent. They were strong, intelligent, and powerful. Their might was second only to that of the Gods and the Demons themselves. Eliana¡¯s father was born as the prince of all Dragonia during their golden age. He was the strongest, and most handsome of all the Dragonia. His body was covered by scales of gold, and his eyes were as beautiful as the azure sky. Eliana¡¯s father held the highest authority in his race. It¡¯s only natural for the prince to marry a female of his own race so that an even stronger bloodline could be born, but s, life is full of uncertainties. The prince was injured during a hunt, and his savior... Was a human woman.¡± Rabbi then shifted his nce towards Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already figured out who that woman was by now...¡±

    Ye Ci responded with a nod. No shit! Of course I can figure something like this out! Isn¡¯t this their favourite method of storytelling?

    ¡°He fell in love with the human, and married her despite the protests of his kin, giving birth to the greatest shame in Dragonian history... A fetus.¡± Rabbi sighed. One could tell that he was speaking with great sorrow as he narrated the story, ¡°To the Dragonia, the shell of a Dragonian egg was the best supplement for the young, but the fetus was born naked. It was a girl as beautiful as her father, but in possession of the body of a Human. And like I¡¯ve said, Humans are a very frail race. The woman died shortly after giving birth to the little girl. And that girl was Eliana, the first Warlock. Of course, she was still a child back then.¡±

    ¡°Eliana¡¯s father was forced to marry a female of his race for the sake of his race. The female was cruel, and treated Eliana poorly. The only reason the girl was able to grow into maturity with her frail body was the protection of her father. It was very strange that the girl had a great mastery of magic despite her status as a halfblood and the shame of the Dragonian race. Her ability to control the flow of magic far surpassed any single member of the Dragonia. Her stepmother was terrified of her powers. She began plotting against the girl, and was able to force her away when she was 15 years old. Even when Eliana¡¯s father knew that his wife¡¯s trickery was in ce, he could not protect his daughter. The only thing he could do was to send Eliana to the Humans where she could learn the ways of magic from the Great Sorcerer Zerubbabel.¡±

    Ye Ci listened to Rabbi in silence. She was no longer ridiculing the story, and was instead trying to capture every single word said by the man. She had a feeling that the story ys a crucial role in many of the quests in Fate. The fact that records of such an event could not be found in the National Library meant that the rulers of the world during that time did not wish for the truth to be found. The truth, however, was something that was crucial to the universe of Fate.

    ¡°Zerubbabel could tell that there was a great power hidden within Eliana during his time as the girl¡¯s mentor. It was power not known to Dragonia, nor known to mankind. It was the power of curse that belonged to the World of Darkness.¡±

    ¡°The power of curse?¡± Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. Warlocks were a ss focused on reducing the stats of their opponents through the use of curses.

    ¡°Yes. She was the offspring of the strongest and weakest life form on the face of this world, hence she was cursed by the Gods the moment she was born. It was a curse that she would have to carry into her grave. The condition of Eliana¡¯s body is closely rted to this curse...¡± Rabbi sighed, ¡°Zerubbabel took a pity on Eliana, and tried his best to hide the secret. But unbeknownst to the great sorcerer, it was something that had long since been discovered by Eliana. She was a halfblood with the strength of the Dragonia and the wisdom of Humans.She was not afraid of death, but her great interest in magic became the pir that anchored her to the world of the living even as her body degraded.¡±

    ¡°So how did she end up as a Warlock?¡± Ye Ci finally lost her patience.

    But Rabbi silenced her with a wave of his hand, an indication that Ye Ci should continue listening to his story.

    ¡°Do you still remember the stepmother of Eliana? She was a noble blue dragon. But her noble blood did not mean that her heart was as pure and noble. She was the opposite of the upright and straightforward nature of the Dragonia. She was the candidate chosen to marry the prince before Eliana¡¯s father met her mother. She did not expect her ns to be foiled by the sudden appearance of a Human woman that was brought back by Eliana¡¯s father after his hunt. The prince ended up marrying the Human despite the protest of all his kin. Jealousy was like a poison, and this poison ultimately drove the blue dragon to kill Eliana¡¯s mother with poison. Of course, she covered her tracks well.¡± continued Rabbi.

    ¡°She married Eliana¡¯s father, but soon developed jealousy towards Eliana herself, who robbed her of her husband¡¯s love. Even after she drove Eliana away, it was not enough. She wanted Eliana gone, forever. Unfortunately for her, Zerubbabel was a very skillful mage. That was why she bode her time until the chance finally arrived and she took care of Zerubbabel with one fell swoop.¡±

    Ye Ci rubbed her chin. Love is crazy. The only thing that the blue dragon wanted was her husband¡¯s love. In a sense, she was not wrong. I understand why she did it, but it was not the right way.

    ¡°It was Zerubbabel¡¯s death that finally shattered Eliana¡¯s sanity. The Darkness and the power of the curse that were locked deep in her heart exploded into a vortex that devoured all the kindness in her.¡±

 Chapter 276 What Makes a Warlock? Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 276 What Makes a Warlock? Part 2</h4>

    Chapter 276 What Makes a Warlock? (Part 2)

    ¡°Only one thing was left in her heart: Vengeance! Where there is light, there will be darkness. If Gods exist, then so do Demons. The change in Eliana¡¯s personality allowed darkness to devour her powers, converting it into a new form of magic. That was how the power of curse was born, and it was Eliana¡¯s strongest attack. She became the first Dark Mage in the Jiama Continent. She became a Warlock.¡±

    Rabbi shook his head as he remembered the sorrowful event from the distant past.

    ¡°So what happened after that?¡± Ye Ci waspletely captivated by the story.

    ¡°What happened then? She returned to the Dragonia, and brought ruin upon the entire race. No one would¡¯ve thought that the mighty race would be driven into extinction at the hands of a pitiful halfblood. Eliana¡¯s father begged for mercy from his daughter. He begged for her to spare the Dragonia from extinction. But Eliana, who had long lost herself to the darkness, slew her father as well.¡±

    ¡°She was like the embodiment of Darkness, and a ruthless killing machine in our world of Light.¡±

    ¡°What? The Dragonia went extinct?¡± Ye Ci was stunned, It can¡¯t be! I saw a red one not long ago!

    ¡°No, but they¡¯re as good as extinct. While Eliana in all the adults, she had forgotten about the eggs stored in the Dragonia¡¯s nests. They survived her onught, but were corrupted by her powerful dark aura, and became creatures of darkness. They were still struggling to once again be creatures of Light even until this day, but it barely worked. The eggs were badly affected by Eliana¡¯s powers, and hatchlings that were born had their ability to reproduce greatly reduced. Ever since that fateful day, the once proud race vanished from the great stage of history, hiding themselves in the most secluded corner of the Jiama Continent. And there they sat waiting... Waiting for the chance for their race to once again rise and reign supreme.¡±

    So this is why Dragons are very rare in Fate! Ye Ci raised her eyebrows as she browsed through her memories of her past life. The discovery of a single Dragonian nest drove the entire yer base into a frenzy. After all, Dragons were the symbol of might and dominance.

    ¡°What happened to Eliana after that?¡± asked Ye Ci. There¡¯s no way Rabbi will talk about this girl if she has nothing to do with Moore.

    ¡°Eliana became a Sorceress even stronger than Zerubbabel after wiping out the Dragonia. But she renounced the title of ¡®Sorceress¡¯, and founded her own branch of magecraft, and dered herself a Warlock. She knew deep down that she had fallenpletely into darkness, and had lost the right to worship the Light, and ever call herself a Sorceress ever again. She devoted everything she had to the World of Darkness and turned her back against the Light.¡±

    Just then, Rabbi directed a question to Ye Ci, ¡°Do you know what the name ¡®Warlock¡¯ means?¡±

    Ye Ci had always thought of the term ¡°Warlock¡± as the name of a character ss, but she was proven wrong by Rabbi on this day, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr.Rabbi. I¡¯m not as knowledgeable as you are. I do not know what ¡®Warlock¡¯ means.¡±

    ¡°The word ¡®Warlock¡¯ came from the World of Darkness. It means ¡®one who is cursed for life¡¯. Perhaps this is what Eliana thought of her life. But the people of the Jiama Continent knew nothing about the true meaning behind this word. They thought that a Warlock is an existence as powerful as a Sorcerer. Many who sought such a power flocked to Eliana and became her disciples. They... Became Warlocks.¡± Rabbi turned around and walked towards one of the chairs. His form was a woeful sight as he made his way across the shrine.

    ¡°Eliana did not turn them away. I did not know why she made that decision even until this day. Perhaps she wished for those who craved power to be cursed for the rest of their life. Or perhaps she simply wanted to pass on her magecraft. But as time passed, the Warlocks rose as a ss as powerful as Sorcerers. Despite her past, the people of the continent worshipped strength, and Eliana who was the most powerful of Warlocks was worshipped as an idol. Thissted until the day Eliana could no longer stand the world of Light, and went into the world of Darkness where she belonged, and became the only ruler in that world, the Queen of Darkness.¡±

    ¡°The Queen of Darkness!¡± eximed Ye Ci. She was a BOSS with strength far surpassing that of Naga¡¯s. Unlike Naga and his demons, the Queen of Darkness was a pure being of Darkness, and was even recorded in the National Library. Naga begged for strength from the Queen of Darkness, and paid a terrible price for the powers that he gained. But the price that the Dark Lord paid to gain his power was never recorded in history.

    ¡°Yes. You¡¯ve heard of her before?¡± Rabbi was shocked. Hmm... This Elf seems to know a thing or two.

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve read about her in the National Library. It was said that Naga prayed to the Queen of Darkness when he was young, and received her blessing at a terrible price. But I do not know what price Naga had to pay.¡± Ye Ci immediately told Rabbi about the information she had obtained about the Queen of Darkness. She was certain that Eliana was one of the important BOSSes in her quest, if not the ultimate one.

    ¡°You are correct.¡± Rabbi nodded at Ye Ci, ¡°You¡¯re not wrong at all. Naga paid a terrible price, just like we did.¡±

    ¡°The curse of undying?¡±

    ¡°No, he lost the ability toe back to live.¡± Rabbi replied with a smile, ¡°Naga offered his body to Eliana. His body had a special trait that allowed it to umte an infinite amount of Dark energy. Eliana made his body into an ornament that she wore with her at all times. This means that Naga had forfeited the ownership of his body forever.¡±

    ¡°So does it mean that the Naga that the heroes had fought so hard against was just a soul without a body?¡± Ye Ci was astonished by the revtion. Even she as a reincarnator had never seen Naga before in herst life.

    ¡°Yes, and no.¡± Rabbi shook his head, ¡°Naga could never revive his body, but he can still create vessels that can host his soul. It was one of such vessels that the heroes have battled during the war.¡±

    A sudden thought shed across Ye Ci¡¯s mind, ¡°Wait a minute, so Moore sold his death to the Queen of Darkness for power to be a Warlock and defeated Naga?¡±

    ¡°You can say that.¡±

    ¡°But Naga¡¯s strength came from the Queen of Darkness as well. Is she not fighting against herself then, by lending her strength to Moore?¡± Ye Ci was confused, ¡°Why would she do that?¡±

    ¡°I did not know at that time, but I¡¯ve finally have an answer after so many millennia..¡±

    ¡°And what is that?¡±

    ¡°Well... A lonely person had to find her joy somewhere, am I right?¡±

    A smile appeared on Rabbi¡¯s face. It was a smile full of sorrow. Ye Ci found herself rting with the Queen of Darkness. She herself had caused wars between guilds out of boredom in herst life as she reaped rewards from the chaos. Her achievements were not as great as the Queen of Darkness, but it was still of the same nature.

    Seems to me that Eliana is a rather pitiful person.

    Rabbi¡¯s story gave Ye Ci a clearer understanding of the bigger picture. She still know not where to unlock the quest that would lead her to the Queen of Darkness¡¯s secret, but she had still greatly benefitted from the story, ¡°So is there really no way for Mr.Moore to die?¡±

    Rabbi shook his head, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±

    ¡°Moore¡¯s mentor?¡±

    ¡°No, that was merely one of my most insignificant identities.¡± A smile appeared on Rabbi¡¯s face, ¡°I was one the first followers of Eliana. There was eight of us back then, and all of us handed our right to die in exchange for great power. This is why we¡¯re kept alive until this day. We were forced to continue our miserable existence with no way of ever dying. What can Moore possibly do?¡± Rabbi shook his head, ¡°If there is truly a way, we would¡¯ve already been dead. You won¡¯t even be seeing me here.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded at Rabbi, she could feel sympathy for the man, ¡°Very well then, Mr.Rabbi. I¡¯ll ry your words to Mr.Moore.¡±

    ¡°You tell Moore, that no one can escape from the Queen of Darkness¡¯s curse. There is simply no way.¡± Rabbi stooped forward and pulled a stalk of green grass from a crack on the altar. He stared at the grass with warmth in his eyes. The healthy green color of the grass was a contrast to its cold harsh surroundings. He turned around and handed the grass to Ye Ci, ¡°This is my thanks to you, for listening to my story. You¡¯ve brought great joy into my heart, so I¡¯ll gift this to you.¡±

    The grass appeared to be unremarkable, but Ye Ci epted the gift with respect. She was shocked to see the stats of the grass.

    The Shrine¡¯s Hope (consumable): Permanently increases a random stat.

    This is very good! Ye Ci immediately looked around in hopes of spotting more grass, but the one she held in her hand seemed to be the only one in the shrine.

    ¡°By the way, don¡¯t you have something with you?¡± Rabbi spoke up.

    Ye Ci nodded after a slight pause. She waspletely captivated by the story, and would have forgotten about her quest if it was not for Rabbi¡¯s timely reminder. She pulled the corrupted Holy Arrow out from her pack, and handed it to Rabbi, ¡°This is also one of the reasons why I¡¯m here. I wish to cleanse Shajia¡¯s corruption from this arrow with water from the Sacred Spring. Do I have your permission to do so?¡±

    Rabbi studied the arrow, and smiled, ¡°Ahh, it¡¯s Little Dau¡¯er¡¯s arrow. Thought it¡¯s something big. Go ahead. Cleanse it.¡±

    Little Dau¡¯er? Ye Ci was dumbfounded by the way Rabbi had addressed Dau¡¯er, Are you kidding me? The most revered figure in Elven history, and he¡¯s just ¡®Little Dau¡¯er¡¯ to you? Just how old is this guy?

    Of course, Ye Ci did not have the courage to voice out herints. She braced herself for the pain as she took the arrow from Rabbi and headed to the Sacred Spring.

    White smoke billowed from the Holy Arrow apanied by a loud ¡°hiss¡± the moment it touched the water of the Sacred Spring.

    Ye Ci removed her gloves and submerged her water into the spring as well, and her hand that was scalded by the arrow was immediately healed.

    She then began to wash the arrow of its corruption.

    ¡°Some of the corruption on the Holy Arrow has faded away. Please continue cleansing the arrow.¡±

    ¡°Some of the corruption on the Holy Arrow has faded away. Please continue cleansing the arrow.¡±

    ¡°Some of the corruption on the Holy Arrow has faded away, you have to work harder..¡±

    Ye Ci was bombarded by system notifications as she washed the corruption away from the arrow.

    And another system notification finally rang out after ten long minutes, ¡°The Holy Arrow is free of corruption. Please return to the relevant NPC.¡±

    Ye Ci stood up, and studied the Holy Arrow. The arrow was pure white, and was glowing with light, but nothing other than ¡°Cleansed Holy Arrow¡± was written in its stats. It seems that I have to return to Natasha first.

    This is an errand quest.

    It is hard, but the higher difficulty only means that it¡¯s a high level errand quest.

    Such is the fate of yers, always running errands of NPCs, one way or the other.

    ¡°You have my thanks, Mr.Rabbi. I¡¯ve cleansed the Holy Arrow. Thank you for letting me use the Sacred Spring.¡±

    Rabbi pulled a yellowish map from one of his sleeves, ¡°Ah, I remember now. I have with me something about Little Dau¡¯er. Perhaps it can be of great interest to you.¡±

    Ye Ci could hear ringing in her ears as she stared at the map. No way! It can¡¯t be! Could this be thest fragment of Dau¡¯er¡¯s map?! Ye Ci did not forget to express her most sincere gratitude as she received the map from Rabbi.

    ¡°Go on your way now. Day is upon us. You won¡¯t be running into those damned Phantoms on your way back.¡± Rabbi nodded at Ye Ci before disappearing into the shadows.

    Ye Ci left the shrine, and into the daylight outside. The sun shone brightly onto the ground below, and the Phantoms silently faded away, just as how they have silently appeared.

 Chapter 277 Some Help Please? Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 277 Some Help Please? Part 1</h4>

    Chapter 277 Some Help Please? (Part 1)

    It was a different experience traversing through the forest in the day. Due to the white snow that was reflecting the moon¡¯s light, the forest was notpletely dark, and Ye Ci was able to travel through the forest with rtive ease. But when day came, the sunlight reflected from theyers of ice on the trees were a hindrance to Ye Ci.

    But due to the markings she carved, Ye Ci was not lost.

    She began marking the terrain disyed in her map on her way back. They would fetch a good price if she sold the map to an NPC, but due to her status as an Eastern Continent yer, Ye Ci was not able to enter the capital, Warrior City, even with her Brooch of Deceit.

    Due to theck of presence of monsters in the forest during the day, Ye Ci made the decision to summon Ol¡¯ Four, and headed straight for the resting spot she had discovered on the day before. It took Ye Ci six hours to reach the spot.

    Ye Ci¡¯s campfire had long since been buried by the snow. She would even have missed the spot if it was not for the two wilted trees that served as very visiblendmarks.

    Ye Ci started a fire, and began grilling some bear meat. Her Stamina was nearly depleted, and hunger was slowly setting in. She immediately logged out of the game during this short window and took the opportunity to clean herself up before logging back into the game in the evening after some much-needed rest.

    Bai Mo was the only one at home as Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian were out at the supermarket. Bai Mo, who was eating whileughing like an idiot at aedy show immediately set his bowl down as Ye Ci limped out of the room, ¡°Take a seat, I¡¯ll reheat up the food for you.¡±

    Ye Ci slumped herself onto the sofa and began watching the show as well.

    And when Bai Mo finally arrived with the food, she spared no courtesy for Bai Mo and immediately started gobbling down her food. The duo then began discussing the recent events in the game as they ate.

    ¡°The guild is doing quite well. What about you? How¡¯s your quest in the Northern Continent going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯vepleted the major one, but there¡¯s still an errand I have to run, and I¡¯m not sure if I should do it.¡±

    ¡°Why not? You¡¯re already in the Northern Continent. Do you want to make a second trip?¡± Bai Mo was someone who would see everything through, as he did not wish to be tied down in the future by unfinished tasks that were trivial.

    ¡°I want to, but it¡¯s not as easy as you think.¡±

    ¡°And why is that?¡± Bai Mo stared at Ye Ci, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t tell me that you have to go to Warrior City toplete that quest. That¡¯s impossible. You can¡¯t enter the city.¡±

    ¡°No, I have to go somewhere else, but it¡¯s crawling with yers from their three major guilds right now.¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°There¡¯s no way I can make it through the midst of hundreds of thousands of their elites safely.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about Sangharama Shrine, Heavenly Body, and Rain of Blood?¡± Bai Mo knew the situation of each guild well, even if they were not hailing from the Eastern Continent.

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°What are they doing there?¡±

    ¡°They want an abandoned fort,¡± and she continued after a brief moment of thought, ¡°If I have to guess, the level of the monsters in that fort is not that high, probably in the high 80s or at lvl90. They wouldn¡¯t have made the decision otherwise.¡±

    It was something that Bai Mo found himself agreeing upon. The duo continued their conversation about the game before Bai Mo pped himself on the forehead with a sudden movement, ¡°By the way, there¡¯s something that I¡¯ve forgot to tell you. Ahh, my memory is so bad these days.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci nced at Bai Mo as she continued shoving her mouth full of food.

    ¡°I ran into your ssmate earlier today. The one named Susu.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Fang Susu.¡± Ye Ci nodded and confirmed that she had an intimate friendship with the girl, ¡°She¡¯s a member of World Conqueror. What about her?¡±

    ¡°She was asking about your leg, and when will you be returning to school. Your leave is almost over, and she can¡¯t reach you by phone, so that¡¯s why she was asking me about you.¡± exined Bai Mo.

    After her long hours of gaming, Ye Ci was finally reminded of her identity as a second year university student. Her parents had remained quiet about this matter, and she herself had seemed to have forgotten about her studies as well. Bai Mo¡¯s reminder had woken her up from her dream.

    ¡°What did you say to her?¡±

    ¡°I told her that your injury is quite bad, and that you¡¯re currently resting in your grandma¡¯s ce. About your phone... Well, I told her that you¡¯ve lost it, and haven¡¯t had the time to have it reced.¡± Bai Mo smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m such a genius. Of course, I met with your Head of Department as well. I told him that you¡¯re going to extend your leave by another month. That old man can be quite benevolent. He told me that you don¡¯t have to worry about your attendance as long as you pass your finals. Of course, I told him that you¡¯ll have no problem pulling it off...¡±

    Ye Ci could hear ringing in her ears. I¡¯m a reincarnator alright, but it did note with all the perks that they have in the novels. Easily acing an exam by just skimming through the textbooks? Knowing the winning number for the lottery by closing my eyes? Nope, can¡¯t do that. The only advantage Ye Ci had was her knowledge of Fate. She did not enjoy any advantage when it came to real life. In other words... She might fail her exam if she did not work hard.

    Ye Ci groaned as she leaned back against the sofa, ¡°I¡¯m finished... I¡¯m truly finished this time...¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡±

    ¡°Do you think that I¡¯m a machine? How am I supposed to pass my exam without studying? I¡¯vepletely forgotten about the exams! Hell, I¡¯ve even forgotten that I¡¯m actually a student! You almost gave me a heart attack just now.¡± Ye Ci cupped her face, tears almost flowing out of her eyes. Will mom and dad beat me up if I fail my exams?

    What do you mean reincarnators have the advantage? Ye Ci sighed. I don¡¯t even feel like one!

    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Bai Mo patted Ye Ci on her head, ¡°I¡¯ll help you out with your studies a little. Let¡¯s have some revision before your exams. Maybe you¡¯ll have a chance of actually making it through the semester.¡±

    At this point, it was Ye Ci¡¯s only option.

    Wang Jiangnan stretched his sore body. He had been working overtime for days. The only thing in his mind at the moment was to have a good meal, followed by shower and a good night¡¯s sleep.

    But his simple wish would not be granted.

    The new expansion would be introduced into Fate very soon, and the developers were working day and night to ensure that things would go smoothly. It was a luxury that none of them could afford.

    Wang Jiangnan let out a yawn. He had woken up from a four-hour nap due to the fatigue, but he was still feeling the fatigue. The only thing he could do was to stand up and walk around the office. His colleagues were either still working in their cubicle, taking a nap, or were having snacks. They were all very tired.

    Due to their efforts, the higher ups of thepany had loosened up on the regtions during work hours, giving more freedom to the employees.

    The developers were locked in an eternal cycle of working, having a snack when they were tired, and taking a nap when the fatigue was no longer bearable. There was no longer an ¡°after-work hour¡± for the developers. It was amon sight to see the development team of Fate eating and even sleeping in their office.

    Wang Jiangnan could still feel the fog in his mind even after stretching his limbs. He made the decision to head to the pantry for a cup of coffee and to wash his face. His colleague, Big Zhang, who was seated beside him was already nowhere to be seen.

    With hisrge porcin cup in hand, Wang Jiangnan headed to the pantry. He washed his face, filled his cup, and walked back to his seat. It was at that moment that he saw Big Zhang tip-toeing back to his seat.

    ¡°What¡¯s up with you, Big Zhang?¡± Wang Jiangnan patted Big Zhang on the shoulder. The man immediately jumped back in surprise, almost knocking over Wang Jiangnan¡¯s cup in the process.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you! You scared the living hell out of me! How did you manage to walk around without making a sound?¡± Big Zhang let out a breath.

    ¡°Are you serious? What do you mean that I¡¯m not making any sound as I walk?¡± Wang Jiangnan was wearing a pair of leather shoes that would ck loudly on the floor whenever he walked around the office, ¡°Why are you so pale? Did you see a ghost or something?¡±

    ¡°What ghost?¡± Big Zhang let out a sigh as he sat on his chair, ¡°I saw the boss of Big World Corporation.¡± he said as he pulled Wang Jiangnan closer to him.

    ¡°The boss of Big World Corporation?¡± Wang Jiangnan was stunned. The Big World Corporation is the onlypany in the country that isparable with Glory Corporation. Isn¡¯t their boss on bad terms with our director? Why did Big Zhang run into him in this ce? Wang Jiangnan was in a state of disbelief. ¡°Are you perhaps not feeling well, Big Zhang? The boss of the Big World Corporation is not someone you can meet easily. Even if you ran into him, how do you know it¡¯s him? It¡¯s not like his has made a lot of public appearances or anything¡±

    ¡°Of course I¡¯d know! I used to work in Big World! Do you think that I¡¯ll forget how my former employer looks?¡± Big Zhang was annoyed when his words were questioned by Wang Jiangnan. He would definitely have raised his voice against Wang Jiangnan if it was not for the nature of their conversation.

    Wang Jiangnan nodded at his colleague. Ah, I forgot about that.

    ¡°How did you run into your former boss? Besides, you don¡¯t have to act like you¡¯ve seen a ghost or something.¡±

    Big Zhang let out a long sigh and grimaced, ¡°That¡¯s what I thought too, but it¡¯s not as simple as it seems.¡± and he began narrating the conversation that he overheard between the directors of Big World and Glory when he was having a smoke break

    ¡°So Mr.Shu of Big World is seeking a corporation with ourpany? And he¡¯s offering to buy part of the shares of Fate with a high price?¡± Wang Jiangnan was shocked.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°This can¡¯t be. Mr.Shu is not an idiot. Why would he do something that goes againstmon sense. There¡¯s no way we would sell our shares to him no matter the price. Doing so will be like killing the chicken thatys the golden egg.¡± Wang Jiangnan shook his head, ¡°There¡¯s no way the director will agree to that.¡±

    ¡°No shit! Of course he won¡¯t! But guess what did Director Shu said?¡±

    ¡°And what did he say?¡±

    ¡°Golden Era.¡± Big Zhang whispered the name into Wang Jiangnan¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Say what?!¡± Wang Jiangnan raised his voice and nearly lost hisposure, but he was quick to rein himself in, ¡°You¡¯re saying that... Director Shu is hiring Golden Era to infiltrate Fate?¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s not just that. He told the director that he has a mole in ourpany. He knows our secret.¡± Big Zhang sighed, ¡°I¡¯m sure Director Shu has some tricks up his sleeves. He¡¯s not an idiot. He wouldn¡¯t havee all the way just to issue empty threats.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan was stunned into silence. The conversation he had with Ye Ci on the bridge in the Southern Continent reyed in his mind. Ye Ci had questioned their decision to release the patch, and he had asked for the yer¡¯s opinion for a way to deal with Golden Era. ¡°ce a man in danger, and he will fight to live.¡± came the reply.

    To Wang Jiangnan, Ye Ci was a weird person.

    It almost felt like she had the ability to look into the future. Despite the absurdity of such a thought, Wang Jiangnan could not help the idea that popped into his mind.

    What did she mean by that? Wang Jiangnan was in a dilemma, Will she give me an answer if I confront her directly? I don¡¯t think so. He sighed. I guess I¡¯ll figure it out when the time is right.

    Big Zhang patted Wang Jiangnan on his shoulder when he noticed that his colleague was spacing out, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just that... With that threat from Big World, I wonder what sort of measures our director will put in ce...¡±

 Chapter 277 Some Help Please? Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 277 Some Help Please? Part 2</h4>

    Chapter 277 Some Help Please? (Part 2)

    ¡°Downsizing maybe? Or our work on the game will start gettingpartmentalized.¡± Big Zhang shook his head, ¡°Employees like us will never know what our higher ups think. I¡¯m just a developer. My job is to work on the game. How it goes from here has nothing to do with me.¡± and Big Zhang turned around to resume his work, ¡°By the way, do not tell anyone about what I told you just now. If word gets out, I might be fired.¡± he said to Wang Jiangnan out of worry.

    Wang Jiangnan nodded at his colleague. Of course. What the decision-makers of thepany think... Has nothing to do with employees like us. He took a sip of his coffee, and nced at the wish card that he had written before joining thepany: I want to be the Lead Developer of Fate.

    It had been two years since that day, but he was still a low level programmer debugging the game every single day. Any ideas he might have about the game would only end up as an aplishment of his superiors. How long can hest in such an environment? How long must he persevere to achieve his dreams?

    Or perhaps it was not a dream, but merely his wishful thinking.

    Wang Jiangnan leaned against his chair, and let out a long sigh, ¡°ce a man in danger, and he will fight to live huh?¡± he muttered Ye Ci¡¯s words under his breath, ¡°What did she mean by that?¡±

    To avoid the grim fate of failing her exams, Ye Ci was forced to reduce her time for rest and gaming. Due to the efforts of Bai Mo acting as her mentor, Ye Ci found herself catching up with the sybus with rtive ease.

    The sky was almost dark when she was finally able to log back into the game, and the Phantoms were almost beginning to materialize. Ye Ci did not dare to linger in the forest. She summoned Ol¡¯ Four, and rode away at top speed from the ce that was so full of danger.

    The Phantoms appeared as the sky became dark. Ye Ci had not expected their presence when she first entered the forest. Her only worries were the beasts lurking around the forest, which was why she traversed deep into the forest.

    She spurred Ol¡¯ Four onwards, as anxiety began creeping into her heart.

    More and more Phantoms began to appear, and without the protection of Moore¡¯s familiar, the Phantoms were able to detect her presence. They screeched at her, and began the pursuit.

    Without their physical bodies, the Phantoms¡¯ movements were not limited by the terrain around them while Ye Ci was forced to weave and dodge between trees andrge chunks of rocks. This allowed them to rapidly close their gap with Ye Ci.

    The area beyond the forest was the spawn point of the Snow Cats. Unlike the Snow Leopards that dwelled at the foot of the mountain, Snow Cats were lvl90 monsters with formidable attacks.

    Ye Ci found herself caught between a rock and a hard ce. She would attract more monsters if she continued forward, but she had to shake off her pursuers as well. As she directed Ol¡¯ Four to run in a zig-zagging pattern, Ye Ci called up her Guard menu. She had intended for unar to learn more skills in Red Lake City as a Shaman before summoning him, but her situation was dire.

    And with a sh of golden light.

    A youth in green robes and a staff in his hand appeared, ¡°Master...¡± he greeted Ye Ci with respect.

    But Ye Ci had no time to spare for pleasantries, ¡°unar! Attack!¡±

    unar immediately attacked the Phantoms at Ye Ci¡¯smand. He was able to learn more skills during his stay in the Red Lake City. The Shaman¡¯s Guild in the city was not as skillful as Dalufa, but they offered arge variety of skills that could be learned by unar. This allowed unar tobine his abilities to deal higher and swifter attacks to his enemies inbat. With his level nearing 100, unar was able to fend off the 6 Phantoms behind Ye Ci with rtive ease.

    This allowed Ye Ci to focus her attention on the three Snow Cats in front of her. Despite her improved situation, dealing with three lvl90 monsters was not an easy task for Ye Ci and Ol¡¯ Four.

    Ol¡¯ Four itself was not able to manage the aggro of the Snow Cats well, and every attack from one of the monsters would cause it a high amount of damage. unar, locked in battle with the 6 Phantoms, was unable to aid Ye Ci in the fight.

    Just as Ye Ci was at the brink of being overwhelmed by the three Snow Cats, she heard a whistling sound and a hail of ice begannding from the sky, greatly reducing the Snow Cats¡¯s speed. Am I being ambushed? Ye Ci was shocked by the sudden event, but there was no indication from a system notification that she was under attack. She quickly surveyed her surroundings, and spotted a mage who was casting his spell. He was attacking the Snow Cats.

    Who is that guy? Despite her curiosity, Ye Ci knew that it was not the time. She immediately began directing Ol¡¯ Four into attacking the Snow Cats, and was able to dispatch the monsters within minutes.

    She then shifted her attention to unar. She might not be able to damage the Phantoms, but she could still cast some of her crowd controlling skills on the enemies. It did not take long for unar to defeat the Phantoms. Knowing that there was another yer around, Ye Ci immediately sent unar back to Red Lake City once the battle was over, and began looting items dropped by the Phantoms.

    When Ye Ci finally turned around to face the Sorcerer who helped him out, she saw no red glow from the yer. This meant that he was a friendly yer from the Eastern or Southern Continent. She narrowed her eyes. What is an allied yer doing in a ce like this? And mage ss like him... Just who is this guy?

    The yer started walking towards Ye Ci as she was still deep in her thoughts, ¡°We finally meet, Gongzi You.¡± he chuckled.

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart sank. Who is he? Why does he know my name! I¡¯m wearing a hood, he shouldn¡¯t be able to tell who I am!

    She took a step back as her hand inched closer to her short sword. She was ready to pounce on the yer if he made a sudden move. No matter how good he is, he¡¯s a mage ss. I¡¯ll be faster than him. As long as I¡¯m quick enough, he won¡¯t have time to react to my attack.

    ¡°What? You don¡¯t know me, Gongzi You?¡± the man chuckled, his voice sounding very familiar to Ye Ci.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She could not sense danger from the man, but she would not let her guard down just yet. Her muscles remained tense, ready to deliver the killing blow when the need arose.

    ¡°It seems that Gongzi You really do not know me. Then...¡± the man pulled down his hood and spoke slowly, ¡°Do you remember that time I became your scapegoat?¡±

    The silvery moonlight shone down onto the ground below, and onto the man¡¯s face.

    His jet ck hair, pale skin, his handsome face, and the slight smile on his face was revealed to Ye Ci.

    Who else could it be, if not Spotless Autumn.

    Ye Ci knew who the yer was the moment the words left his mouth, but she was not going to admit to that, ¡°Just who the hell are you, bro?¡± she shrugged.

    Spotless Autumn grumbled, ¡°Gongzi You, you were there during my confrontation with Sangharama Shrine. I saw you.¡± but the ghost of a smile on his face was an indication that he was not at all angry.

    With the cat out of the bag, Ye Ci saw no point in lying, ¡°The thing with Sangharama Shrine aside, how do you know I¡¯m Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°I saw you taking out a party two days ago.¡± Spotless Autumn chuckled, ¡°I was on the cliff when you fought them. I saw everything clearly with my own two eyes. You hid your name, but those moves... Only Gongzi You and Fleeting Time are capable of doing that. And... Fleeting Time is a guy. So it can only mean that you¡¯re in the Northern Continent as well, Gongzi You.¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes. So this is why I could feel someone staring at me that day. It¡¯s him!

    ¡°I see.¡± Ye Ci forced a smile and cupped her hands in salute, ¡°Just as how the mountains will remain lush, and the rivers flowing, I¡¯m sure we¡¯re bound to meet again in the future. I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡±

    Ye Ci fully intended to take her leave. She knew that Spotless Autumn was a formidable opponent. She might be able to win in a straight up fight, but she had a feeling that Spotless Autumn was just like her. He was a cunning yer.

    This was why Ye Ci felt the need to be as far away from Spotless Autumn as possible. There was no guarantee who mighte on top in a fight. She would of course not mind if she was able to win against Spotless Autumn, but what if things turned out the other way around? And he¡¯s still not letting that misunderstand with Sangharama Shrine go. Damn it!

    ¡°Gongzi You, that thing with Sangharama Shrine is nothing. Really. But if I did not help you just now, you might¡¯ve died. You can¡¯t just walk away like that.¡± Spotless Autumn¡¯s voice entered her ears before she could take a second step.

    Ye Ci stopped right in her tracks and turned around to face Spotless Autumn, ¡°I did not ask for your help. You did it on your own volition.¡± she chuckled, ¡°And now you¡¯re asking for something in return? No way.¡±

    Spotless Autumn was not angry. He nodded, walked up to Ye Ci, and sighed, ¡°Confucious was right. Women and small-minded men are the hardest to deal with. Even Gongzi You, the god-tier yer of the Eastern Continent is no exception.¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips and stared coldly at Spotless Autumn, ¡°What do you want? Stop beating around the bush.¡±

    Spotless Autumn held his hands in front of him, ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯m the one at fault here alright? We¡¯re not from the same continent, but we¡¯re still allies right? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s very touching to run into an ally in a hostile continent?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows creased. This guy sure likes to talk. Why can¡¯t I just run into a quiet one? Is ¡®Silence is gold¡¯ no longer a thing? She snapped her fingers and her voice portrayed her sour mood as she spoke, ¡°Get to the point.¡±

    ¡°You want me to get to the point?¡± Spotless Autumn was slightly stunned when he was cut off by Ye Ci, ¡°Oh, right. I need your help.¡±

    ¡°What do you need help with?¡± it was Ye Ci¡¯s turn to be surprised. She stared at Spotless Autumn incredulously. His skills, game sense, and positioning should be able to get him out of most trouble.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I need approximately two hours from here, but there¡¯s too many monsters in that area, I can¡¯t get to that ce safely alone. That¡¯s why I need your help.¡± exined Spotless Autumn with a smile, as if it was a simple task.

    But Ye Ci could tell that something was amiss, ¡°What made youe all the way here from the Southern Continent? And what is it that is so hard that you can¡¯t handle it alone?¡±

 Chapter 278 The Drow Tribe Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 278 The Drow Tribe Part 1</h4>

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯ll cost you 10,000 gold.¡± Ye Ci extended her hand towards Spotless Autumn.

    Chapter 278 The Drow Tribe (Part 1)

    Spotless Autumn¡¯s smile widened at Ye Ci¡¯s question, ¡°It¡¯ll be easier if I just show you. Follow me, and you¡¯ll see.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a little toote by then?¡± Ye Ci snorted, ¡°You have two choices. Tell me now, or you can go on your own.¡± Ye Ci turned around to leave.

    Her action sent Spotless Autumn into a panic, ¡°Alright, alright. You win! I¡¯ve received a Hidden Quest, and an important quest item is here in the Northern Continent. I found it after scouring through the mountain for two day, but I can¡¯t get it alone. This is why I¡¯ve decided to ask for your help since you¡¯re here as well. I really need your help... Please...¡±

    ¡°If even a god-tier yer like you are not able to reach that ce,¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, disbelief was written clearly on her face, ¡°Then it means that I can¡¯t as well.¡±

    ¡°Ohe on! Don¡¯t be like that. We¡¯re allies aren¡¯t we? Help me out here.¡± it was apparent that the quest item was very important to Spotless Autumn. The calm and collected demeanor that he disyed during his standoff with Sangharama Shrine was gone, and it was reced by worry and anxiety, ¡°Being a ¡®god-tier¡¯ yer is just a meaningless title alright? Besides, no matter how good I am, I¡¯m still a mage, and mages are slow! Isn¡¯t speed your thing? Help a fellow yer out here. What goes aroundes around!¡±

    Ye Ci, who could no longer stand the torrent of words from Spotless Autumn, made a gesture with her hand to silence the man, ¡°Alright, alright. You win. Lead the way.¡± this man is way too talkative for his own good.

    ¡°So you agree to help?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes and snorted, ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Hurry up. I need to get back to the Eastern Continent soon.¡±

    ¡°Alright. This way please.¡± Spotless Autumn instantly became quiet the moment his objective was achieved, and led Ye Ci through the forest. Ye Ci

    The silvery moonlight left a beautiful sight on the forest ground as Ye Ci followed Spotless Autumn into the deepest part of the Sacred Snowy Mountain. The duo advanced without speaking a word. The only sound that apanied them was their footsteps echoing in the snowy night and the rumbling of Ol¡¯ Four as it followed close behind.

    Spotless Autumn is a weird man.

    That was what Ye Ci thought about him. He gave Ye Ci the impression of a talkative man, but he remained silent along the way. Ah, it seems that he only speaks when the time is right. He¡¯ll talk when he needs help, but value silence when his goal is achieved.

    With Spotless Autumn remaining silent, Ye Ci was finally able to experience a brief moment of tranquility. She marked her map with a quill as she followed close behind Spotless Autumn, noting down the monsters andndmarks along the way.

    The duo maintained their silence until Spotless Autumn finally stopped in his tracks, ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± he turned around and said to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci stopped, and studied her surroundings. The area was shrouded by a thinyer of mist. Visibly was low despite the abundant moonlight. Ye Ci cast Hawkeye, and once again surveyed her surroundings.

    She was quick to spot Elves with dark skin and red eyes lurking in the mist, ¡°You¡¯re looking for Drows?¡±

    Spotless Autumn shook his head, ¡°No, I¡¯m looking for the treasure they¡¯re hiding.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded at him and cast Hawkeye once again. She clicked her tongue in admiration as she observed the Drows, ¡°As expected of the race superior to us Elves and the Blood Elves. They¡¯re way superior to Elves in terms of stats, and their mages are one of the best in thend. Many among them are mages.¡±

    ¡°Yup. Their levels range from lvl90 to lvl120. It¡¯s not easy for a lvl60 me to take one of them on, and they roam in groups! I¡¯ll get swarmed the moment I attack.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re so high leveled. Even I will die at their hands.¡± Ye Ci continued observing the Drows, ¡°Are you trying to get me killed because of the thing with Sangharama Shrine?¡¯

    How petty of her. Spotless Autumn eyed Gongzi You and smiled, ¡°Well, you can go into Stealth, and you¡¯re fast! You can attract their attention while I sneak in to get what I want!¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Spotless Autumn, ¡°Do you want me to die, bro? Why don¡¯t you say so! How am I supposed to survive the attacks of so many Drows?¡± I would be hacking if I don¡¯t die to them! Thought Ye Ci as she stared at the huge crowd of Drows.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a helper with you? I saw him taking on five lvl120 Phantoms by himself. Can¡¯t you just lend him to me?¡± Spotless Autumn gave Ye Ci a knowing look as she held back the urge to give him a p.

    He saw unar. Then again, he would be blind if he did not. Ye Ci shrugged at Spotless Autumn, ¡°No can¡¯t do. I can summon him once per day, and I just did.¡±

    Spotless Autumn sighed in dejection. He did not have a Servant, and had no way of verifying the truth of Ye Ci¡¯s words. He leaned against a tree and stared at the Drows, ¡°Let me think of a way...¡±

    ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s just clear out the Drows at the outer perimeter first.¡± Ye Ci was one who preferred to be proactive.

    But Spotless Autumn grimaced at her, ¡°Can we not fight them?¡±

    ¡°Why? Are you running low on consumables?¡± That was the only reason why a mage ss yer would want to avoid a fight.

    ¡°Nooooo...¡± There was a hint of sadness in Spotless Autumn¡¯s voice, ¡°But fighting... Is so tiring...¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened. She narrowed her eyes at Spotless Autumn. I¡¯m such an idiot! Why did I agree to help him out? He¡¯s obviously hoping that I¡¯d die so that he can go in and reap the rewards!

    She turned around after cursing the man under her breath, ¡°Alright. Goodbye. Forever.¡±

    ¡°Alright! Alright! I¡¯ll fight! Don¡¯t go! Gongzi You, I¡¯ll fight them!¡± Spotless Autumn immediately began to panic.

    Ye Ci was once again bombarded by his words. I hate someone like this. She turned around and spoke to the talkative man, ¡°You pull something off like that again, and I¡¯m gone for good. Your stupid quest has nothing to do with me in the first ce! I¡¯m doing charity here! It¡¯s something that I¡¯ve never done in my life!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. Get your pet to tank their aggro.¡± Spotless Autumn nodded. Not only is she petty, her attitude is rotten as well! Nobody would want to marry a girl like that!

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯ll cost you 10,000 gold.¡± Ye Ci extended her hand towards Spotless Autumn.

    ¡°Why!¡± eximed Spotless Autumn as he stared at Ye Ci with fear in his eyes. He was a Sorcerer specializing in three different branches of magic. His character was formidable, but it also meant that he was always short on money. This made Spotless Autumn a very frugal person. He was a man who would pick up even a single copper coin that someone had dropped. The amount asked by Ye Ci came as a huge shock to him.

    ¡°Hey, do you think I¡¯ll be helping you for free?¡± Ye Ci stared at Spotless Autumn as if she was looking at an Alien, ¡°Do you think my arrows and potions appear out of thin air?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t cost 10,000 gold do they!¡± Due to his financial status, Spotless Autumn was very sensitive when it came to money. He was almost driven to anger by Ye Ci¡¯s unreasonable request, ¡°I¡¯m not a Hunter, but from what I saw in the auction house, they might not even cost you 3,000 gold! Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being too unreasonable?¡±

    ¡°Do you not know that we¡¯re on the Northern Continent! Do you know what intion is?! You might not even get something that cost 3,000 gold coins in the Eastern Continent with 10,000 gold coins here! I¡¯m helping you out as allies on a hostilend, and you¡¯re trying to haggle me down!¡± Ye Ci roared at the man

    Spotless Autumn clutched at his wallet. 10,000 gold coins! That¡¯s half of what I have! No way!

    ¡°Can¡¯t you give me a discount?!¡±

    ¡°No! Don¡¯t forget about mybor fees as well! I¡¯m wasting precious time helping you here. 10,000 gold coins is not even near what I¡¯m losing by staying here. Can you not be so petty?¡±

    ¡°Oi, Gongzi You! You¡¯re a god-tier yer of the Eastern Continent! Why are you fussing over something so minor? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s embarrassing?¡± Spotless Autumn immediately resorted to guilt-tripping Ye Ci.

    But it did not work, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a god-tier yer in your continent yourself? You¡¯re a man! Why are you haggling like a woman?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± what a troublesome woman, and a top-tier yer at that!

    ¡°Cut the crap and give me my money!¡± Ye Ci snorted at the man. It was her time for revenge, and there was no way she would relent.

    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be cheap. I just... I really can¡¯t afford that amount.¡± Spotless Autumn was backed into a corner, ¡°It¡¯s true that mages can earn a lot at theter stages of the game. But what they meant by that were mages with only one specification! And I...¡± he continued after a slight pause, ¡°I¡¯m specializing my characters in three different branches! I really don¡¯t have a lot with me. Why don¡¯t we sign a contract? I¡¯ll repay you with a favor next time. I don¡¯t have money. What I have is my life.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Spotless Autumn. He¡¯s right, a three-branch mage is poor. Even if he¡¯s the Solo King of the Southern Continent, he won¡¯t be earning much before he hits lvl100. Which one is worth more? The favor from a top mage yer, or 10,000 gold coins?

    The answer would of course be thetter.

    Ye Ci chuckled internally as she studied Spotless Autumn. Even if he can¡¯t return the favor, he can still work for Upwards Ho!.

    Spotless Autumn was anxious when Ye Ci remained silent. But her answer came right before he was about to lose his mind, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s sign a contract then.¡±

    A contract was automatically generated by the system, and was immediately put into effect once it was signed by both parties.

    Ye Ci studied every line of the contract before storing it into her inventory, ¡°Since you¡¯re such an understanding man, I¡¯ll help you out.¡±

    Spotless Autumn rolled his eyes. This girl...

    Is really like what they said in the forums. She¡¯ll never allow you to gain the upper hand in a deal.

    Even when the duo, along with Ol¡¯ Four, were only lvl60 characters, they were very capable fighters. Ye Ci and Spotless Autumn had vastly superior gear, and very good mechanical skills. They were able to work out their team work after taking out a small patrol. Even Spotless Autumn who was used to leveling alone was happy to have Ye Ci in his party.

    The battle was a fast one.

    Ol¡¯ Four charged at the Drow patrol and cast Tremor, while Spotless Autumn and Ye Ci released their AOE abilities at the Drows. A sea of red damage indicators immediately floated on the NPC¡¯s heads.

    The Drow tribe did not deploy a lot of sentries in its outer perimeter, but their patrol was still high level Elves specialised in defense.

    Despite their teamwork, Ye Ci and Spotless Autumn still found it hard to deal with the Drows. A small patrol of five required half of Spotless Autumn¡¯s mana. Every encounter with a patrol meant that Spotless Autumn would have to replenish his mana after the fight.

    Ye Ci, on the other hand, had it easier than her party member. She was never short of mana due to her Strength Conservation passive. Her only problem was with Ol¡¯ Four, who would take huge amounts of damage from the Drows. Whenever Spotless Autumn took a rest to replenish her mana, Ye Ci had to feed Ol¡¯ Four to heal its health back up.

    It took the party of two an hour to clear out the tribe¡¯s patrols. They did not know how long it would take for the patrols to respawn, but a rough estimate ced it to be quite soon. This was why the duo was desperate to enter the vige as soon as possible.

    As the day slowly became brighter and the mist parted, the duo studied the Drow vige from their resting spot.

 Chapter 278 The Drow Tribe Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 278 The Drow Tribe Part 2</h4>

    Chapter 278 The Drow Tribe (Part 2)

    Wooden houses that appeared to be the Drows¡¯ dwelling stood within the vige. A significant number of sentries were posted at the entrance. The duo would be able to gain entrance to the vige after defeating the Drows.

    Ye Ci fired off a re into the night sky. Once it was certain that there were no hidden enemies in their vicinity, the duo began engaging the Drow sentries.

    As the duo assaulted the Drow vige, the three major guilds were ready for action in the Mor Jiami ins.

    Sangharama Shrine.

    ¡°Leader, the men we sent out to watch Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn are back.¡± Thousand Mile Dream whispered the details to Sangharama¡¯s Grace.

    Sangharama Grace was handing out tasks for the leaders of his guild¡¯s squadron as the news arrived. A slight hint of fatigue could be seen at the corner of his eyes due to theck of rest from the days he spent to prepare for the battle, but his vigor was still not lost. Theck of rest had not affected him in the slightest.

    ¡°What?¡± Sangharama Grace stared at Thousand Mile Dream. The yer was an expert scout of the guild, and the intelligence he provided aided greatly in Sangharama Grace¡¯s battle n.

    The siege of the fortress would not be an easy one. Sangharama Shrine would have to minimize their casualties while remaining vignt against the two other guilds. They were wee to have a try at the fort as well, but if their attempts would jeopardize the benefits of Sangharama Shrine, things would not go well.

    But...

    It was virtually impossible to attack the fortress unimpeded by the two other guilds when they had already established a significant presence in the ins. Sangharama Shrine hadid out their ns as well as possible, and Sangharama Grace was confident that his guild would seed as long as no special events urred.

    Of course, it was not assurance enough.

    Sangharama Grace was always one to pay attention to even the smallest of detail. He would always kill a problem before it can grow out of its cradle.

    Thergest hidden threat that his guild faced were the two uninvited guests, ¡°What¡¯s going on over there?¡± Even at the eve of battle, Sangharama Grace knew that any intelligence about Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn could not be ignored. He motioned for his subordinates to remain silent so that he could receive the report from Thousand Mile Dream without interruption.

    ¡°We sent out three teams of 20 Rogues each to look for them. ording to our scouts, Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn have ascended the Sacred Snowy Mountain three days ago, and have not returned. Our men who were guarding the entrance had just informed me that there were no signs of them yet. They have not left the mountain to replenish their supplies. We¡¯re certain that they¡¯re still on the mountain.¡± Thousand Mile Dream delivered a detailed report.

    ¡°Do you know where in the Sacred Snowy Mountain they are?¡± Sangharama Grace¡¯s eyebrows creased when he received the report, but he was then struck by a sudden realisation, ¡°Or rather, which zone are they in?¡±

    ¡°Our best Rogue did not find any traces of them in the zones lvl80 and below. They must be in the lvl90-lvl120 zone. The area is too dangerous for our men, so I did not send anyone to scout it out.¡± came the reply. He did not have the exact location of Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn, but he knew that it was not as important as the battle that would soon begin.

    Sangharama Grace was satisfied with the response, ¡°It seems that they¡¯re really here for a quest. But to think that they would be doing it in the lvl90-lvl120 zone. Impressive.¡±

    ¡°Will their presence affect our battle n?¡± asked one of the squad leaders.

    It took a few moments for Sangharama Grace to respond to the question. It was indeed one of his worries, but there was no direct route from the Sacred Snowy Mountain to the Mor Jiami ins. And after taking such a fact into consideration, his worries were immediately squashed. He shook his head and spoke to his subordinates, ¡°Let us continue with the meeting.¡±

    Heavenly Body guild.

    As Nangong Yunfei was ready to deliver the intelligence he had on Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn to Lethal Poison, his leader was sleeping on a chair.

    Unlike Sangharama Grace who would be worried as an important event drew near, Lethal Poison tends to be rxed. Whenever there was a battle, Lethal Poison would definitely grab a good nap before the action.

    Nangong Yunfei rapped his fingers against Lethal Poison¡¯s chair. The sound was not loud, but it was enough to rouse him from his sleep. He stared groggily at Nangong Yunfei, as if to identify the person who dared disturb his sleep. He sat up straight dejectedly and yawned when he noticed that the person was Nangong Yunfei, ¡°It better be important or I¡¯m going to beat the shit out of you.¡±

    Nangong Yunfei shrugged and ryed the news. Lethal Poison¡¯s reaction was the exact opposite of Sangharama Grace¡¯s, ¡°Say... If those two ended up fighting... Will someone record it?¡±

    Nangong Yunfei was used to the absurdity of his guild leader¡¯s train of thoughts, ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°What a shame,¡± Lethal Poison spread his hands, ¡°It would¡¯ve been nice if those two fought. A fight between Huntress against a three-branch mage would be interesting to watch.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll end up fighting each other.¡± Lethal Poison¡¯s fantasy was destroyed by Nangong Yunfei¡¯s words.

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re allies in our continent. They might bepleting a quest together.¡±

    Nangong Yunfei¡¯s analysis of the situation was more realistic than that of Lethal Poison¡¯s.

    But Lethal Poison looked at him with disdain, ¡°You must be fun at parties!¡±

    Nangong Yunfeiughed at that remark, ¡°The battle is about to start. Isn¡¯t that when the fun begins?¡±

    Lethal Poison chuckled before letting out another yawn. He stood up straight and took in a deep breath before walking out of his tent. ¡°Form up, men!¡± he shouted at the members of his guild who had gathered in the Mor Jiami ins.

    Rain of Blood guild.

    Dried Bones received the same news from Melodious Flute.

    The man nodded and stared at the abandoned fort not far away, ¡°Let¡¯s get ready. Our aim is to minimize casualties, but it does not mean that we¡¯re not looking tow in.¡±

    Melodious Flute shifted his gaze towards the Sacred Snowy Mountain. The mountain was shrouded by the morning mist. Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn were on that mountain, and with luck they would stay there forever.

    ¡°Alright then. To victory it is.¡± Melodious Flute nodded, and raised his hand with a smile.

    Dried Bones lifted his hand as well, and the duo gave each other a high five.

    Sacred Snowy Mountain.

    In the Drow vige.

    Ye Ci was grilling some meat in the middle of the Drow vige that was strewn with corpses. Spotless Autumn clicked his tongue as he surveyed the carnage around him, ¡°Say, Gongzi You, aren¡¯t they your brethren? You did not even hold back. How cruel of you.¡±

    Ye Ci nced at Spotless Autumn, ¡°The ver¡¯s Ship dungeon is way bigger than this vige and it was filled with Humans. They¡¯re your brethren as well. I doubt that you¡¯ve shown them any mercy. After all, most of your equipment seems to be from that dungeon.¡±

    Spotless Autumn chuckled and was immediately silent. He pointed at an altar not far away and a pond filled with water that had a faint blue glow. It was amon sight for Ye Ci, for Elves believed that they were beings born out of nature, and water was an important part of nature. Such a pond could be found in any Elven vige, and even in the viges of hostile NPCs as long as it was founded by Elves.

    It was said that an Elf¡¯s wounds, no matter how grievous they may be, could be healed by a dip in the pond. This made it the most important structure in an Elven vige. A pond like this would usually be apanied by an altar.

    ¡°Do you see the altar over there? What I want is on that altar.¡± said Spotless Autumn as he took a bite out of a piece of roasted meat, ¡°But getting there is hard.¡±

    It was indeed hard.

    The Drows within the vige were all dispatched by Ye Ci and Spotless Autumn, but there was still arge group remaining around the altar led by a Drow that appeared to be a High Priest. The aggro of these Drow were linked. If one of them was attacked, the rest would descend upon their assant in the blink of an eye. They were normal NPCs, but their numbers and levels made them formidable opponents.

    Arge rumbling could be heard from the distance as the duo continued their discussion.

    ¡°What was that!¡± the duo shared a look and eximed in unison as the tremor shook them where they sat.

    Before they could react, however, the Drows around the altar erupted into a panic chatter. Ye Ci immediately dismissed Ol¡¯ Four and entered Stealth while Spotless Autumn chugged down a bottle of Medium Invisibility Potion to avoid detection.

    Spotless Autumn was a Human, and he did not study Elvish, ¡°What are they saying?¡±

    Ye Ci, who initially was not paying attention to the Drows¡¯ chattering immediately paid attention to them at Spotless Autumn¡¯s question, ¡°They¡¯re saying that the Gods are angry.¡± Despite his panic, the Drow High Priest remained near the altar. It was apparent that whatever around the altar was very important to the Drows.

    The High Priest was an Elite lvl120 NPC. A normal lvl120 would have no problem facing down the High Priest, but Ye Ci and Spotless Autumn were both lvl60. Taking on the High Priest would not be an easy task.

    ¡°That High Priest is spooked as well. Will we be discovered if we get to the altar now?¡±

    Spotless Autumn had apparently noticed the same thing.

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Ye Ci replied truthfully. Having a group of NPCs panicking due to an unknown factor was a rare urrence.

    ¡°Whatever, this is our only chance!¡± a loud explosion rocked the entire vige at the same time Spotless Autumn finished his sentence. At that point, even the High Priest began to flee. Spotless Autumn seized the opportunity to charge at the altar, ¡°Cover me!¡±

    ¡°I got it. Hurry up!¡± came the response. Spotless Autumn gulped down a bottle of Haste Potion and made his way to the altar at full speed. He was spotted by some of the Drows, but was ignored in their panicked state.

    This is a good chance! Thought Spotless Autumn. He climbed onto the altar and grabbed his quest item, shoving it into his backpack, and ran back to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief and slung her bow. Leaving the vige with Stealth was her best option.

    Just then, a system notification rang out in her ears, ¡°Your party members have stolen the Artifact of the Sacred Snowy Mountain Drow Tribe. Due to his dispicable, your party has incurred the wrath of the Guardian. You will be tracked for 24 hours by the Guardian! Countdown begins now.¡±

    RAAAWR!

    An earthshaking roar shook the Drow Vige. Ye Ci surveyed her surroundings, but was unable to spot the Guardian. ¡°What have you done!¡± she asked through gritted teeth.

    ¡°I have no idea! Run for it!¡±

 Chapter 279 Unlucky! Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 279 Unlucky! Part 1</h4>

    Chapter 279 Unlucky! (Part 1)

    In terms of their ability to escape, the Rogue ss was ranked no.1 in Fate, followed closely by the Ranger ss and the Hunter ss. The three sses most notoriously known for theirck of ability to escape from a dodgy situation were Sorcerer, Priest, and Cleric.

    The contrast was very obvious when a Huntress and a Sorcerer were running for their lives.

    Of course, Hunters in Fate had a trick up their collective sleeves that was the envy of other character sses: Feigned Death. A Hunter could simply cast Feigned Death to remove his or her aggro, even in theter stages of the game as the dynamics between yers, monsters, and aggro remained the same. The skill was able to get a Hunter out of a dire situation, but if the Hunter was in a party, it would spell disaster for the members of the party.

    Spotless Autumn followed close behind Ye Ci as they fled. Even as he continuously gulped down bottle after bottle of Haste Potion, his speed was no match for Ye Ci. He gritted his teeth. Why does the Sorcerer ss have to be one of the slowest in the game! I can barely keep up with her!

    Of course, Spotless Autumn kept his thoughts to himself. But a sudden thought crossed his mind, ¡°Hey, Gongzi You! Don¡¯t you dare use Feigned Death!¡± he shouted at Gongzi You.

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes. It was her n for the start. But since she was already called out by Spotless Autumn, there was no longer a need to keep up her pretenses, ¡°And what if I do?¡±

    Spotless Autumn was rmed by her response. He immediately drank yet another bottle of High Haste Potion and caught up with Ye Ci. It was something that he was able to afford as he was a Potion Maker himself. He could feel an intense pain in his heart. Every bottle of potion consumed meant that he was losing gold. And those gold were crucial for him in his process of leveling up his character.

    He knew that it was a necessity, as the Sorcerer ss was also weak in terms of its survivability. Even a slight graze from the Guardian would be able to take his life, and death was a heavier price to paypared to the expenditure of his potions and gold. The possibility of him dropping the quest item and his hard earned equipment, as well as the loss of his experience points were just too much of a cost to bear.

    Noone would be around to pick his items up for him in a ce like this.

    Ye Ci grinned at Spotless Autumn, ¡°You have all the aggro, as long as you don¡¯t die, I won¡¯t have to use that skill.¡±

    Spotless Autumn¡¯s expression darkened when he noticed the aggro of the Guardian. It was his quest, and he was the one who had stolen the quest item from the altar. It was only natural for the aggro to be focused on him while Ye Ci had only 7% of the Guardian¡¯s aggro on her. ¡°Do the developers not know that Sorcerers are very slow? Are they trying to get me killed here?¡± he eximed.

    ¡°Shut up! Focus on running away. That Guardian is gaining on us.¡± Ye Ci was an Elf and a Huntress. This meant that she enjoyed a high movement speed. She sprinted through the forest, frequently casting nces towards therge silhouette that was lumbering behind the duo in the mist.

    The morning sun shone down on the Sacred Snowy Mountain, basking it in golden sunlight. Visibility was low in the morning mist and the dense forest. Even when the Guardian was a mere 30 yards away from the duo, she could still barely see the monster despite her superior vision.

    But due to the vision buff of the Hunter ss, Ye Ci could still make out the faint outline of the Guardian through the mist, ¡°That thing is huge. If we don¡¯t run, we¡¯ll get squashed.¡±

    ¡°Enough! Are you trying to cheer me up or are you trying to scare me!¡± Spotless Autumn chugged down yet another bottle of Haste Potion.

    ¡°I¡¯m merely stating the truth.¡± shrugged Ye Ci, who was easily keeping ahead of Spotless Autumn.

    ¡°Hey, where are we going!¡± The duo had been blindly running forward, and Spotless Autumn could feel the trembling of the ground. He did not have the courage to even cast a backwards nce. It was a sign that the Guardian was near.

    The situation, however, was rapidly deteriorating. The duo barely paid attention to their surroundings as they fled, and the risks of them running into monsters lurking in the area was high.

    But Gongzi You was very good at avoiding the monsters, and Spotless Autumn himself was great at dodging them as well. The duo was able to run around the monsters and avoid their aggro.

    Spotless Autumn¡¯s question was something that Ye Ci had already asked herself in her mind. She already had a quick look on her map. They were in unexplored terrain. This was why Ye Ci did not have an answer to his question.

    ¡°Come on, answer me! Weren¡¯t you looking at your map just now? Where are we right now!¡± Unlike Gongzi You, Spotless Autumn could not afford an extra map. He had only found the Drow Vige through his excellent game sense an a small pinch of sheer dumb luck.

    He had originally prepared to spend half a month on the map to locate the Drow Vige. A map was something that he had originally thought to be inconsequential at that time. But when his life was on the line, he finally realised the importance of having a map.

    Ye Ci did not have the heart to tell Spotless Autumn the truth. He had been trying very hard to keep up with her, and it would be demoralising to find out that they were lost. Ye Ci found the kindness in her heart, and spoke to Spotless Autumn in a calm voice, ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t know.¡±

    Cold crept down Spotless Autumn¡¯s spine when he heard those words, but he was still desperate for an answer, ¡°Just tell me. I don¡¯t want to die without knowing why!¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±

    ¡°Yes! I don¡¯t want to die without knowing where I can retrieve my items!¡±

    Ye Ci sighed at Spotless Autumn. Both of them knew that without the flying shards, it would take a considerable amount of time and energy to reim their lost items. The system might have even removed the items by the time they returned to the spot of their death.

    ¡°My map is an iplete one. We¡¯re in unexplored terrain. The map makers have not marked anything on this part of the map yet.¡± said Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m sure you understand what I¡¯m trying to say, right?¡±

    ¡°F*ck me!¡± Spotless Autumn¡¯s face immediately grew pale, ¡°And f*ck the devs too!¡±

    Ye Ci pulled out her map once again. The duo was at the edge of the Sacred Snowy Mountain. The crooked lines representing the mountain range on the map indicated that they were in a very uneven terrain.

    What¡¯s the map right next to the Sacred Snowy mountain again? Thought Ye Ci as she tried her best to recall her past memory. She had traveled to all corners of the Jiama Continent, but it did not mean that she had been to every single map. Her trip to the Sacred Snowy Mountain was a short one, and she could not remember the maps that were adjacent to the Sacred Snowy Mountain at the spur of the moment.

    ¡°Hey, something¡¯s not right. Why can I feel strong winds ahead?¡± asked Spotless Autumn as he continued gulping down bottles of Haste Potion, which was his only measure to stay ahead of the Guardian.

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyes narrowed. She could feel the wind as well. This meant that they were near a ridge. There would no longer be any mountain range ahead.

    Her heart sank when she saw nothing but emptiness before her. They were at the end of a cliff. There was no road ahead. Ye Ci stopped right on her tracks, and Spotless Autumn stopped along with her, ¡°Why did you stop! Keep moving!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no road ahead.¡± The mist grew thicker, and the strong wind blew snow into the air, greatly reducing the visibility of the area. It took Ye Ci quite a moment to confirm that they were indeed at the edge of a cliff.

    ¡°No way!¡± Spotless Autumn cried out in despair as he studied their surroundings, ¡°Hurry, mark this spot on your map, Gongzi You! Even if we die, we might be able to get our stuff back!¡±

    Ye Ci was not someone who would waste time in retrieving any items that she might drop. The same could not be said for Spotless Autumn, as he was carrying an important artifact from the Drow vige. The item could be dropped upon death, which was why he was running so hard for his life.

    ¡°It¡¯s possible for that quest item of yours to drop?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll waste my time running if it¡¯s not the case?¡± Spotless Autumn sighed. His luck was at its end.

    Ye Ci immediately marked the spot. If they died, she might not have to return, but she could hand the map to Spotless Autumn so that he could return alone for his items.

    There were no monsters in the area, nor were there dense forests. The duo was surrounded by nothing but snow. Of course, the area was not entirely deste. Many high tier herbs grew by the cliff, and if the duo was not pursued by the Guardian...

    The Guardian was already upon the duo by the time Ye Ci was done marking her map. Perhaps sensing that its prey had nowhere else to go, the Guardian slowed down its steps, and approached the duo slowly.

    Ye Ci could see the gigantic Guardian approaching through the bellowing snow.

    As the Guardian got closer and closer, Ye Ci could finally see the true form of the Guardian.

    It was arge white ape with the face that resembled that of a Human, but was much more feral. The bulging muscles on its arms were an intimidating sight. The Guardian could easily beat the duo into pulps of flesh.

    The expression on the Guardian¡¯s face also became clear to Ye Ci.

    Even if it was a high level monster, and even if it was a Yeti, there was still a smile on the Guardian¡¯s face. It was a cunning smile that dered the Guardian¡¯s disdain for the duo, as if the Guardian was taunting the duo, ¡°Come on, keep running. What are you waiting for?¡±

    ¡°I think he¡¯s angry.¡± Spotless Autumn noticed the Guardian¡¯s expression as well.

    Ye Ci snorted in response to his words.

    Perhaps due to the fact that he was already backed into a corner, Spotless Autumn finally regained hisposure. He even began making rude gestures at the Guardian that was standing 20 yards away, and the Guardian bared it fangs at the man. ¡°Say, what form of death would be cooler for us, Gongzi You?¡± chuckled Spotless Autumn.

    Ye Ci had not given up. She was a Huntress. A Sorcerer might not have a way to get out of this situation, but a Huntress might still stand a chance, and Ye Ci herself had a way.

    ¡°What do you think of jumping down the cliff?¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips when she noticed that Spotless Autumn had already given up.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Spotless Autumn looked at the ground below. It was apparent that he was not supportive of the idea. Falling to one¡¯s death was a gruesome sight after all.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s better than getting mauled by that thing.¡± Ye Ci smiled sarcastically at Spotless Autumn.

    This girl! She saw right through me! Spotless Autumn shivered, ¡°Why do I have a feeling that the smile on your face is a malevolent one?¡±

    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t think so.¡± Ye Ci shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m actually a very sincere person. We¡¯re just not that close yet.¡±

    Spotless Autumn narrowed his eyes. In what universe is that called sincere? Gongzi You of the Eastern Continent being sincere? No way! The people in the forums were right after all! Does she really think that I¡¯m blind? There¡¯s no way I will mistake that for sincerity!

    ¡°Say, are you serious about jumping down the cliff?¡¯

    ¡°Of course. Do I look like someone who would tell a joke?¡±

    Spotless Autumn studied Gongzi You¡¯s expression. He could feel a trap lying behind her expression. I shouldn¡¯t have asked for her help! He deeply regretted his decision in seeking Gongzi You¡¯s aid.

    ¡°When you say jump down the cliff... Do you mean that we are jumping together or am I jumping alone?¡± Spotless Autumn sneered at Ye Ci, ¡°Are you trying to trick me into jumping down and cast Feigned Death to escape?¡±

 Chapter 279 Unlucky! Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 279 Unlucky! Part 2</h4>

    Chapter 279 Unlucky! (Part 2)

    ¡°Oh I¡¯ve thought of doing that, it¡¯s clearly stated in the notification that the Guardian will be tracking us for 24 hours. I¡¯m guessing that it will keeping after us as long as it is alive. We will still be in danger even if we die. Feigned Death is useless in this situation. Do you think that I¡¯ll be that stupid?¡± Ye Ci gritted her teeth, ¡°We¡¯re definitely going to die if we fall down this cliff, but it also means that this big guy right here will not survive the fall. We¡¯ll be able to get rid of him, won¡¯t be?¡±

    What Ye Ci said made perfect sense to Spotless Autumn. But a question suddenly crossed his mind, ¡°What if I drop the quest item?¡± he howled with grief.

    ¡°Pick it up then.¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes. She shifted her attention back to the Guardian that was a mere 10 yards away. The Guardian¡¯s muscle was tensing up, it was ready tounch its attack.

    The tiny detail was picked up by Spotless Autumn as well, who sighed, ¡°It¡¯s going to attack.¡± The cogs in his mind were moving. If he had no other way to get out of this situation, then Gongzi You¡¯s solution was their only bet. Damn it, what a radical move. Do you really want to see me dead? ¡°Count down for me when you¡¯re ready to jump. I¡¯m slower than you, so I¡¯ll be jumping a second earlier.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± This was a benefit of always being aware of the situation. A person who was a good judge of the situation would always know what was the best for himself or herself. They would always find the best way out of the worst situation. Ye Ci stared at the Guardian, and from the slight hunch of its front paw and the contraction of its leg, she could tell that the Guardian was preparing to pounce.

    She narrowed her eyes, and began quickly calcting the distance between them. There was a chance that the Guardian¡¯s momentum would carry it down the cliff. The chances were slip, but the duo would still seed if they moved slightly backwards.

    But Spotless Autumn spoke up before Ye Ci could voice out her thoughts, ¡°With how big that thing is, and taking its movement speed into ount, it might not fall down the cliff when it pounces on us. We¡¯ll have to move 5 more yards to the back.¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. He might appear to be unreliable, but I guess this is why he¡¯s the top-tier yer of the Southern Continent. She nodded at Spotless Autumn, and the duo immediately backed off from the Guardian. With the thick snow and billowing wind, it was very hard for the duo to have a good estimate of their distance from the edge of the cliff.

    As Ye Ci took yet another step backwards, she was shocked to realise that she was stepping on air. The thick snow that covered the ground had caused her to make a mistake in her judgement. It¡¯s over. How unlucky I am... Ye Ci¡¯s heart sank.

    Just then, a strong pair of arms grabbed on to her, and she was able to gracefullynd back onto the edge of the cliff.

    And at the same time, the Guardian was once again preparing to attack.

    Despite having some level of intelligence, the Guardian was not a very smart NPC. It failed to see through the duo¡¯s intention of luring it to the edge of the cliff. It assumed that the duo was merely attempting to get out of range of its attack, which came as a mild annoyance to the Guardian. It mirrored the movements of Ye Ci and Spotless Autumn, and moved forward, cing the duo once again in its attack range.

    Ye Ci stared at the Guardian, trying to capture its every movement. As an Elven Huntress and a reincarnator, Ye Ci was experienced in the behaviors of monsters in Fate. She began counting down as the Guardian readied itself for an attack, ¡°Three, two, on--¡±

    The Guardian sprung into action just when Ye Ci finished her countdown. Two figures jumped off the edge of the cliff, followed closely by arger figure that plunged right down.

    Followed by a loud rumble and the unmistakable sound of flesh mming into solid ice from the bottom of the cliff. Spotless Autumn witnessed the Guardian¡¯s fall through the white nothingness.

    He pursed his lips. It sounds painful. Thank God I¡¯m not the one who fell down there. Thought Spotless Autumn as he stared at the girl who was holding on to his belt, ¡°Is this what you¡¯ve been nning from the start?¡±

    Ye Ci was holding on to the Cat w which was lodged to the side of the cliff with her right hand as she held onto Spotless Autumn with her left, ¡°Nope. I improvised.¡±

    Spotless Autumn could not believe what he heard, ¡°Hey, think you can hoist me up? Blood is pooling to my head, I can¡¯t stand it much longer.¡± he called out to Ye Ci.

    ¡°I¡¯m a Huntress, not a Warrior. I don¡¯t have the strength.¡± Ye Ci grimaced, ¡°It¡¯s taking all the strength I have just to hold you. How do you expect me to get you up there?¡±

    ¡°Well, you can¡¯t just hold me like this. I¡¯m seeing stars in my vision now.¡± Spotless Autumn¡¯s face was already a dark shade of red.

    Ye Ci stared at her Cat w. She knew that they could not afford to dangle from this cliff forever. The Cat w simply could not hold theirbined weight. She studied her surroundings, and spotted a tiny slope by the side of the cliff. The duo couldnd on that spot, but they would need to swing. She ryed her n to Spotless Autumn.

    Spotless Autumn raised his head and spotted the tiny slope, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best, but you¡¯ll have to swing me over.¡±

    ¡°I know, but you¡¯ll have to help me with it.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know.¡±

    Spotless Autumn adjusted his posture, and began swinging himself back and forth while facing the slope.

    ¡°Alright, keep it up.¡± Ye Ci could feel the vibration on the rope as Spotless Autumn began gaining momentum.

    With the duo¡¯s seamless cooperation, they were able to slowly reach the slope.

    ¡°Come on, hang in there, just a little bit.¡± victory was in sight, and Ye Ci was not stingy with her encouragements for Spotless Autumn.

    At this point, Spotless Autumn was barely able to speak as he had been swung like a pendulum while being suspended upside down.

    Just then, a loud roar could be heard from the bottom of the cliff. The duo shared a look of disbelief with each other as their heart sank.

    No way! It¡¯s still alive? From this height? Just what is it made of!

    But it did not mean that they have given up. Who cares if that thing can scale the cliff wall! We have to get our feet on solid ground!

    Perhaps due to a stroke of misfortune, a huge explosion shook the entire area when they resumed their efforts. It was not made by the Guardian, but was simr to the sound heard in the Drow Vige.

    Due to their distance from the source earlier on, the duo could not recognise the sound, but it was clear to them now that it was the sound of an explosion.

    ¡°Who threw a bomb?¡± Spotless Autumn was gasping for air as he studied his surroundings. But he could not spot anything due to the thick snowstorm.

    ¡°It¡¯s something more powerful than that.¡± Ye Ci was gasping for air as well. Hanging by the cliff was a very tiring ordeal. She had been handling bombs in Fate, and could tell that the explosion was caused by something even more powerful than a bomb. Just what the hell made that sound?

    A sudden thought crossed Ye Ci¡¯s mind.

    A Gunpowder Siege Engine.

    A Gunpowder Siege Engine was a machine that could be purchased from NPCs. It was expensive, but was armed with explosives and the capability to lob a projectile the size of a barrel at a target. It was the best tool in a siege battle. The only downside of employing Gunpowder Siege Battles was the machine¡¯s inuracy. But due to theck of options in the current stage of the game, it was still the best choice.

    The sound from the explosion of a Gunpowder Siege Engine¡¯s projectile was something that she heard often in herst life. But when Goblin Engineering finally showed its potential, the siege machine was slowly phased out at theter stages of the game.

    It took Ye Ci a long while to remember such a thing.

    But why would there be siege machines nearby? Is someone fighting a siege battle? Ye Ci suddenly remembered the information provided by Rogue Rabbit One. The three major guilds of the Northern Continent were preparing for an attack on an abandoned fort, and the Mor Jiami ins was right beside the Sacred Snowy Mountain.

    Just then, Spotless Autumn¡¯s panicked voice entered her ears, ¡°Why can I see chunks of snow falling?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened when she noticed the chunks of falling snow. Even Spotless Autumn¡¯s expression changed, ¡°No way! There¡¯s no way we¡¯re this unlucky!¡±

    Despite their knowledge of what would happen next, the duo began praying. Please don¡¯t let it be real!

    It was apparent that they were not frequent worshippers of the divine, which was why their prayers were left unanswered. The Guardian let out another roar, causing the worst to happen.

    Thanks to thebined efforts of the three major guilds, Gongzi You, Spotless Autumn, and the Guardian, the Sacred Snowy Mountain that had watched over the Northern Continent for years like a serene mother expressed its rage for the first time.

    Yes, an avnche ising.

    It was not a rare phenomenon in real life, and would of course not be absent from the hyper realistic game known as Fate.

    So...

    It was obvious what happened next.

    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!¡±

    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhh!!!¡±

    The duo shrieked as the unstoppable force of nature swept them into the bottom of the canyon. If a person was around at that time, then he or she would certain hear the duo cursing at each other as they fell.

    ¡°You¡¯re a jinx, Gongzi You! It¡¯s a curse to run into you!¡±

    ¡°No, you are the jinx, Spotless Autumn! Why did you ask for my help, you trash! Curse you! Curse you!¡±

    ¡°When I get respawned, I¡¯ll have my revenge! Just you wait, your level will be zero once I¡¯m done with you!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do to you! I¡¯ll hunt you down until you delete your ount! Mark my words!¡±

 Chapter 280 Avalanche Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 280 Avnche Part 1</h4>

    Chapter 280 Avnche (Part 1)

    Ye Ci have never felt so frustrated in both her lives before.

    Why did I decide to show him some benevolence? Screw the alliance! Screw helping each other out in hostilend! It¡¯s all bullshit! Thought Ye Ci. Reality had proven to her that nothing good woulde to her when she meddled in the business that had nothing to do with her.

    Ye Ci activated Featherfall asrge chunks of ice and rocks fell all around her. The safety of Spotless Autumn who was no longer in sight was not a concern of hers. Her only priority was to keep herself alive.

    Featherfall was able to slow down her fall, but did nothing to protect her from the avnche that came crashing down.

    She was peppered by chunks of ice of varying sizes as she floated down onto the ground. And due to her inability to maneuver herself in the air, Ye Ci could not avoid any falling object that went her way.

    Lucky would be something that she had to rely on. A hit from a blob of snow might not be fatal, but a ncing blow from even a solid block of ice could potentially take her life.

    Perhaps God had decided that it was not the time and ce for Ye Ci to die yet, and that was why she miraculously managed to avoid all therge chunks of ice. She was able to stay alive by gulping down bottles of Health Potions.

    When she was 8 yards away from the ground, however, arge chunk of snow flew straight at Ye Ci. She had seen iting, but she could not adjust the direction of her fall when Featherfall was in effect. This meant that she could only watch as the blob of snow fell right on top of her. She nced at her health bar. It was full. Of course, she did not forget to hurl more curses at Spotless Autumn before she was engulfed with snow.

    Pain.

    Cold.

    And darkness.

    Those were the only sensation Ye Ci could feel as she was washed away by the avnche. Did she feel anything else? No. Because she had already passed out at that point, but she was quick to regain her consciousness.

    yers, veterans and newbies alike, maintained a habit of always paying attention to their HP bar. Is it full? Or is it almost empty? These questions had always been the concern for yers in any game.

    Ye Ci was no exception. She immediately began examining the status of her character once she was certain that she was still alive.

    Great, I still have 60 HP left... Ye Ci, who was at lvl60, had nearly 8,000 HP. It was nothing to a Warrior, but the amount was formidable whenpared to characters of simr sses like the Rogue, Ranger and the Hunter ss. Therge blob of snow dealt more than 7,000 damage points to her, and she was still suffering from damage over time due to the cold. Even though it was dealing a mere 10 points of damage to her health every 10 seconds, Ye Ci would still notst very long.

    She might have lost her life had she not regained her consciousness.

    Ye Ci immediately recovered her health with a Large Health Potion before she could finally shift her attention elsewhere. Due to its limited number in the market and high demand, a bottle of Large Potion cost 2,000 gold coins. But due to the efforts of Upwards Ho!¡¯s Potion Makers, the guild had a small supply of Large Health Potion.

    They were usually ced in the guild warehouse, but she was handed a dozen of them by Lovely Fruits for her trip to the Northern Continent as Bai Mo and Timely Rain were worried that she would not be able to resupply.

    She had initially thought that she would not need the potions at all, but she had been proven wrong.

    Ye Ci felt gratitude for the two nosy men from the bottom of her heart. Sometimes, it really pays to be prepared.

    She began observing her surroundings once the threat of death was gone.

    White. Everything before her eyes was white. Ye Ci extended an arm towards the whiteness in front of her, and something cold fell onto her face.

    It was snow.

    And the snow was loose. She was buried under a pile of snow formed by therge chunk thatnded on her earlier on. As the snow was loose, Ye Ci could still move her limbs.

    She began digging upwards with her arms and legs.

    But she was not met with sess.

    As she dug her way upwards, more and more loose snow fell onto her, pinning her down and restricting her movements. She cold from the snow was dealing damage to her as well, stacking up a Cold debuff that had no limit. This debuff would slow her movement speed down and deal a small damage over time to her. While a singr stack of the debuff was miniscule and inconsequential, the effects of 20 of such debuff that Ye Ci had umted over the span of a mere 10 minutes was something that she could not ignore.

    Ye Ci was forced to consume a bottle of Cold Resistant Potion and a bottle of Health Potion before she could resume her efforts. She knew that she had to dig her way out or she would eventually die from the cold.

    She could still hear rumbling as she dug. It was apparent that things were continuing to fall, adding more weight onto the snow.

    This was a source of great displeasure for Ye Ci. Therge pile of snow was hard as rock and twice as dangerous. As they melt and harden into ice, their sharp surface could potentially cut a character and deal damage. At the same time, remaining buried meant that Ye Ci¡¯s supply of air was limited. She would slowly suffocate to death even if she could survive the cold.

    Ye Ci could already see a ¡°Suffocating¡± on her character status. Her health was dropping as a result, and as the ¡°Suffocating¡± debuff stacked, she would suffer more damage. This debuff would not be removed unless she received fresh air.

    She tried her best to move, but the snow was stacking up onto her. The thick fur coat that she had worn tobat the cold was beginning to get torn by the mixture of snow and ice. She did not suffer from injuries that would bleed, but she could feel a sharp pain on one of her legs.

    It seems that a particrly sharp chunk of ice has pierced the skin of my hip as I was moving around. Ye Ci¡¯s heart sank, but not because of the injury. It was due to the realisation that her situation was rapidly worsening and she would end up as a corpse if she did not act fast.

    Her thoughts drifted towards Spotless Autumn. It would be nice to have him around at a time like this. He can just st the ice away or simply make them melt with his spell. My only choice now is to continue digging, but it¡¯s no longer possible to pull it off with my bare hands. She moved her hand towards the dagger on her hip, and each movement she made brought pain when the ice punctured her skin.

    It took great effort for Ye Ci to reach her dagger.

    But she was faced with yet another problem. With the dagger now firmly gripped in her palm, she found herself not able to maneuver her arm.

    She narrowed her eyes, and pulled her hand upwards. Pain immediately shot up from her fingers up her arm. She gritted her teeth at the sensation. It was not pleasant, but her hand was once again near her chest. The ice near her chest began to slowly melt away, and soon she was able to freely move her head again.

    This meant that she could finally inspect her hand. The gloves that she had worn to resist the cold were already shredded to pieces, and the back of her right hand was badly mangled.

    Ye Ci ignored the wound once she was certain that it was not causing her damage over time. As long as she could dig her way out, she was willing to sustain more injury.

    The dagger enabled her to quickly widen the space around her, and she was able to free her body. She immediately gulped down another Cold Resistance Potion and a Health Potion when she realised that her character was near death due to the cold and suffocation debuff, and resumed her work.

    The dagger allowed her to escape at a significantly higher speed. She was not buried very deep, but due to her misfortune, she had fallen into an indented area of the ground.

    The chilly fresh air entered Ye Ci¡¯s lungs with one final swing of the dagger, dispelling her suffocation debuff in an instant.

    She could finally see the outside world.

    And she began working on expanding the small hole into an exit that she could finally crawl through.

    It had been a struggle.

    Ye Ci knelt on the ground to rest once she was free, and took in a deep breath to enjoy the fresh air.

    What is happiness? It was a question with no definite answer.

    Happiness meant different things to different people. For some, happiness meant the ability to afford the best food, the best clothing, and the best car. Others perceive happiness as having a stable life. Some do not need to be rich to be happy, while many more would simply be content with leading a healthy life.

    Happiness can be as big as the salvation of mankind as a whole. It can also be something very personal. If you and I are having aching stomachs, and I am in a toilet while you are not, then I can be said to have been happy.

    It was a very subjective word.

    For Ye Ci, happiness was when she was able to enjoy fresh her after surviving death twice.

    But just as she enjoyed the bliss of breathing in lungfuls of fresh air, a crackling sound entered her ears.

    It was not loud, but the sound urred regrly. Ye Ci studied her surroundings, but could not find the source of the sound. It was the sound of the skill of a particr character ss.

    She was able to quickly triangte the source of the sound. It came from underground, not far away from her. The name of a certain man immediately entered her mind, but she shook it off immediately.

    She struggled onto her feet and stood on unsteady legs. She needed to locate a safe spot to replenish her exhausted Stamina, but it was not at this spot. She wished nothing more to do with the bringer of bad luck.

    But there were times when reality betrayed one¡¯s expectations.

    Before she could even get 10 yards away from her spot, a familiar voice rang out behind Ye Ci, ¡°F*ck me, I¡¯m finally out. God, it¡¯s so tiring.¡±

    Come on, hurry up!

    Ye Ci forced herself to pick up the pace. She had a feeling that she would continue to be showered by bad luck if she was anywhere near that man. She must get away.

    ¡°I thought that was the end. Damn, I¡¯m so lucky!¡± Spotless Autumn enjoyed the fresh air as well when he finally managed to free himself. He was d to have brought so many potions along with him. He studied his surroundings, and was quick to spot Gongzi You who was limping away. I¡¯ll be damned, Gongzi You is still alive! I thought she¡¯s dead!

 Chapter 280 Avalanche Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 280 Avnche Part 2</h4>

    Chapter 280 Avnche (Part 2)

    Even if Gongzi You brought him bad luck, Spotless Autumn knew that having a teammate with equal skills would be of great help to him for the ordeals that he must face.

    He immediately called out to Gongzi You, ¡°Hey! Hey, Gongzi You, I¡¯m here! I¡¯m here!¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°This is an illusion, this is just an illusion.¡± she mumbled under her breath. I would be an idiot to stay anywhere near him. Spotless Autumn stood up when he realised that he was being ignored by Ye Ci. He was not buried as deep under the snow, and was not suffering as bad as Ye Ci from the suffocation debuff. Although he had difficulties walking, Spotless Autumn was able to quickly recover, catching up to Ye Ci with a few steps, ¡°Hey, Gongzi You, where are you going?¡±

    Ye Ci began to walk faster, mumbling to herself as she went, ¡°This is an illusion. This is definitely an illusion!¡±

    ¡°Hey, can you hear me? Did you get a concussion or something?¡± Gongzi You was the Solo King of the Eastern Continent, but she was still a girl. As a gentleman, Spotless Autumn felt the obligation to check on her well being. After all, he was the one who asked for her help.

    So I¡¯m not hearing things after all. Ye Ci sighed and red at Spotless Autumn, ¡°Stay away from me! You¡¯re a walking cmity!¡±

    Her words were not pleasing to Spotless Autumn¡¯s ears, ¡°Who are you calling a walking cmity? Don¡¯t forget that I took the me for you for killing that yer!¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression immediately darkened, ¡°Well you walked out of it alright didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Y-y-you...¡± a loud roar cut Spotless Autumn off before he could finish the sentence.

    The duo shared a look before breaking into a sprint. Their mouths did not remain idle even when they were fleeing for their lives, ¡°Look what you¡¯ve done! It¡¯s your fault that I¡¯m being chased around by that thing for 24 hours! You must¡¯ve done something really bad in yourst life!¡±

    ¡°Gongz You! You¡¯re the one who deserves a thousand deaths! Why did youe to the Northern Continent at a time like this? Why did you have to run into me!¡±

    ¡°Do I have to report my every trip I take to you? Who do you think you are? Someone like you should be the one to make an announcement everytime you¡¯re on the move. We¡¯ll know to avoid you. Anyone who runs into you will suffer from bad luck for three years straight without even knowing why!¡±

    ¡°Y-you...¡± He was at a loss for words. As a gentleman who had always been humble, Spotless Autumn was used to being treated with courtesy by the yers of his continent. He had never been in a verbal argument with anyone, and especially a girl.

    Their interaction was interrupted by arge explosioning from the direction of the ins, and mother nature was ready to show her fury once again in the form of another avnche that came crashing down with even more ferocity.

    The duo was already at the foot of the Sacred Snowy Mountain, in the part of the map that bordered the Mor Jiami ins. With the avnche that was crashing down on them and the threat of the Guardian behind them, there was only one right course of action: To escape.

    ¡°Where the hell are we?¡± This was Spotless Autumn¡¯s first trip to the Northern Continent, and he did not have a map. His only source of information was from Ye Ci, who happened to be in the possession of a map.

    ¡°The Mor Jiami ins.¡± came the reply, ¡°I think¡± added Ye Ci who did not receive any system notification.

    Spotless Autumn rolled his eyes at Ye Ci. He did not have the energy for another question. He gulped down a bottle of potion, and sprinted along with Ye Ci.

    The cost of his potions was no longer an issue to him. He did not want to die to the raging avnche and the Guardian that was hot in pursuit.

    ¡°We should find some sort of barrier to hide behind. There¡¯s no way we can outrun the avnche.¡± asked Spotless Autumn when he noticed that Ye Ci was staring at her map. The threat of a natural disaster of this scale is greater than that of a BOSS.

    With certain death looming ahead of the duo, they grew calmer.

    ¡°Rumor has it that the three major guilds of this continent are preparing to attack a fort near our position.¡± Ye Ci stowed her map away. The terrain was simply too t. There was an absence of even smaller hills and trees. With theck of natural barriers, the protection of man-made objects was the next best choice.

    Spotless Autumn had always beenying low, but he was also the Solo King of the Southern Continent. He could be as cunning as Ye Ci when the moment arose. ¡°Gongzi You is such a meticulous schemer.¡± it did not take him long to understand the meaning of her words.

    The ghost of a smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, ¡°Likewise. Aren¡¯t you thinking about the same thing as well?¡±

    The sarcasm in Ye Ci¡¯s words were ignored by Spotless Autumn, ¡°The explosion just now. Was it a gunpowder siege machine?¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. As someone who¡¯s not a reincarnator, he¡¯s quite knowledgeable.

    ¡°Then I will feel no guilt. I was about to feel bad for them, but it seems that they brought this upon themselves.¡± Spotless Autumn nodded.

    The battle for the abandoned fort raged on in Mor Jiami ins as the duo fled from the avnche.

    Sangharama Shrine.

    Sangharama¡¯s Grace was directing the battle from the rear of his guild¡¯s formation. As the topmander of Sangharama Shrine, it was not his job to throw himself into the heat of the battle.

    The abandoned fort known as Fort Timan was situated in the northwest corner of the Mor Jiami ins. It was nked on one side by a dense forest, which meant that the fort could only be attacked from the east, south, and west, which were each upied by a guild.

    The entrance of the fort was facing the south, which was the area upied by the Sangharama Shrine, the first guild to begin deploying its forces in the Mor Jiami ins. The two other guilds were slow to arrive after preparations were done by Sangharama Shrine.

    Heavenly Body was the second guild toplete the deployment of its forces in the tug of war. The guild had lost a favorable position, but was still able to secure the second best spot to attack, which was on the eastern side of the fort. It was slightly more narrower, but the terrain was still ideal for an assault. But unlike Sangharama Shrine who had the luxury of spreading their forces out, the members of Heavenly Body were forced into a narrowbat width.

    The concentrated formation meant that Heavenly Body would be able to concentrate a lot of their firepower in taking down the walls, but they would be hard pressed to funnel forces into the fort once its walls were breached.

    And the west side of the fort would of course be upied by the guild Rain of Blood.

    The guild was not quite as powerful as its opposite numbers, but they were still able to hold their own against the two other guilds with theirrge poption of ranged sses.

    But Dried Bones had different ns on this day. His main objective was not the fort. The few siege engines deployed by his guild was nothing but mere disy. They were the ones who put the least effort in bombarding the walls of the fort amongst the three guilds, and most of the shots from the siege engines were directed against the portion of the wall that was connected to the main entrance. Dried Bones was hoping to benefit from the intense bombardment from the Sangharama Shrine.

    With a wave of his hand, Sangharama¡¯s Grace directed his men tounch another barrage at the fort. The guild deployed six siege machines that were lined up in a straight row in front of the fort. The machines were reloaded simultaneously, and delivered the ordinances onto the fort at the same time, resulting in a thunderous roar.

    This disce of force was also the cause of the avnche.

    As the top guild of the Northern Continent, their members were well coordinated. This was why the six siege engines of Sangharama Shrine fired almost at the same time, their munitions detonating almost simultaneously as well.

    ¡°BOOM!¡±

    Another round of explosion shook Ye Ci and Spotless Autumn to their bones. They had even temporarily lost their hearing as a result of the thunderous explosion. It took them half a minute to regain their sense of hearing, and that was when Ye Ci heard the string of curses from Spotless Autumn, ¡°F*ck me! Which retarded guild is that? Are they trying to take out the entire Sacred Snowy Mountain?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You might¡¯ve missed it, but as a mage, my resistance to sound waves is higher than yours. I could hear the snow crashing down after thest barrage.¡± Spotless Autumn grimaced, ¡°And...¡±

    ¡°And what?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow when she noticed the grimace on his face. Since we¡¯ve had nothing but bad luck, the situation can¡¯t be any worse can it?

    ¡°The number of our pursuers have increased. I can see two of them now.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately turned around, ¡°I don¡¯t see them!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re buried under the snow. I have a feeling that those Guardians are immune to the avnche. They will appear soon enough.¡± Spotless Autumn stared ahead, and spotted a ck mass 30 yards away. He could not make out their forms from the distance, but his instincts were telling him that they were yers.

    The weather in the Mor Jiami ins was great.

    This gave the duo a good view of their surroundings. The same view was of course enjoyed by the members of the three guilds.

    They could feel the rumbling as well when the cannon fire from Sangharama Shrine subsided.

    It was dismissed as an effect of the noise generated barrage as Sangharama¡¯s Grace continued directing the battle of his guild members against the monsters that swarmed out from the fort.

    Not a single person expected the speed and ferocity of the iing avnche.

    It was also way greater than Ye Ci had anticipated. They had begun fleeing from the avnche three minutes after recovering from their fall. Her speed was high, and Spotless Autumn was able to catch up with her with the aid of his Haste Potion. The duo had been running for five minutes straight, and the avnche was a mere eight feet away from the duo. It would take another minute before the avnche washed over the entire Mor Jiami ins.

    Ye Ci spoke to Spotless Autumn when they were a yard away from the mass of yers, ¡°Drink down all your potion. We need to be quick.¡±

    ¡°I know, I know.¡± Spotless Autumn was already numb to the resources he had expanded. It was something that he did not wish to remember anyways.

    The Rain of Blood guild was the first to realise that something was horribly wrong. Their entire formation was arrayed at the southern side of the fort, and a band of Rogues were deployed to their rear. And these Rogues were the ones to discover the impending doom.

    Dried Bones turned around and spotted the sea of white rapidly approaching, with two blobs of red glow leading in front, ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea...¡± Melodious Flute was stunned by the spectacle as well. The anxiety in his heart grew even as he answered the question. His gaze was fixed on the two red glows in front of the surging avnche, and a name appeared in his mind..

    Gongzi You... Is that Gongzi You?

    No way...

 Chapter 281 Final Outcome Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 281 Final Oue Part 1</h4>

    Chapter 281 Final Oue (Part 1)

    The bizarre phenomenon was spotted by Sangharama Shrine and Heavenly Body as well.

    A grave expression appeared on the face of Sangharama¡¯s Grace, ¡°What is that?¡±

    Thousand Mile Dream was dumbfounded by the sight as well, along with the yers on the ins.

    Not a single one of them could describe what they saw with words.

    A huge wave of whiteness was surging towards the Mor Jiami ins, as if a living beast seeking to consume all live in its path. It was perhaps not an umon sight out at sea, but such an event was happening in the Mor Jiami ins.

    The sky was blue, the ins green, but the gigantic wave that came crashing down was nothing but white. Each of these colors were elegant but pleasing to the eyes, but at that very moment, they were forming a scene that induced terror in the hearts of those whoid their eyes upon them.

    Lethal Poison bit down hard on his lips as he stared at therge ¡°wave¡±. He was gripping onto his staff so hard that his knuckles had turned white. ¡°Move all our siege engines to a safe ce. And be quick about it!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Nangong Yunfei immediately ryed the orders, ¡°You know what that is?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Lethal Poison shook his head, ¡°but I can tell that if we don¡¯t pull back some of our assets now, we will be in big trouble.¡±

    ¡°What about our men?¡± Nangong Yunfei scanned the formation of yers from his guild. They saw what wasing, but they were able to remain calm.

    Lethal Poison took in a deep breath, ¡°They won¡¯t be able to make it. Let¡¯s just pull them back and hope for the best.¡±

    The order was immediately ryed by Nangong Yunfei, and the entire Heavenly Body guild was able to retreat from their attacking positions into the forest beside the abandoned fort. Their actions were mirrored by the members of Sangharama Shrine and Rain of Blood.

    The discipline of the guild members ofrge guilds enabled them toplete their evacuation within 30 seconds, but it was still not enough.

    ¡°They¡¯ve begun to retreat.¡± observed Spotless Autumn who was following behind Ye Ci. Despite therge expenditure of his Haste Potion, he was still not able to catch up with the speed of a Huntress.

    He was simply too slow.

    ¡°Of course they will. They don¡¯t want to die.¡± replied Ye Ci.

    ¡°I mean, isn¡¯t it a little toote for them? Besides...¡± Spotless Autumn narrowed his eyes, a smile forming on his face, ¡°The fort is filled with monsters. They are cing themselves into more trouble.¡±

    He¡¯s right. Thought Ye Ci. Time is not their only problem. If they pull back just like that, the monsters surging out from the fort will be a thorn in their sides. A sudden thought shed across her mind, ¡°Hey, how many Honor Points do you have?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking of grinding some Honor Points?¡± Spotless Autumn¡¯s eyes were shining like the stars in a dark night.

    ¡°Should Ipliment you for your intelligence, or should I look down on you because you¡¯re a rascal?¡± Ye Ci smiled at the man.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter to me. You¡¯re thinking about the same thing, and it is speaking volumes about your character,¡± Spotless Autumn chuckled, ¡°We did not cause the avnche. We will never gain the honor points if they die.¡±

    The avnche was a result of the relentless bombardment by the three major guilds, while the duo were simply in the wrong ce at the wrong time.

    Ye Ci was silent. They were yers, and yers were forced to follow the rules of the game. Noone was above the game¡¯s system, and it was a fact that she could not change.

    But while yers were governed by the rules of the game, it did not mean that they could not use the rules to their advantage.

    And one of them was fully prepared to do just that.

    Spotless Autumn pulled out two bottles from his inventory and tossed one to Ye Ci, ¡°I have an idea, if you¡¯re willing to follow it through.¡±

    The ck liquid in the tiny bottle emitted a faint glow.

    Nameless Potion: Attracts all the aggro on the map 1 second after consumption while granting Invulnerability for 60 seconds. Penalty: Reduces user level by 1, reduces user¡¯s gold by 10%, randomly drops 1 item (Item dropped will not be able to be picked up by its owner)

    ¡°You made this?¡±

    ¡°Do you seriously think that I am capable of making something like this? No. It was dropped by a Hidden BOSS some time ago and I¡¯ve never found the chance to use it.¡±

    Ye Ci stared silently at the potion.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to do it. Just help me pick up the item that I drop.¡± Spotless Autumn offered a smile.

    Ye Ci responded with a smile of her own as she produced two bottles of Large Invisibility Potion from her backpack and tossed one of them to Spotless Autumn, ¡°Remember to stay close. Make sure that you¡¯re near me when we have our level dropped. We can help each other out with the equipment drop.¡±

    Spotless Autumn snatched the bottle out of the air with a well-practiced grace, ¡°Where did you find the form for this?¡±

    Ye Ci cast a sideway nce at Spotless Autumn, and saw the envy written all over his face. She could tell that he was a potion maker himself. Even if he was a top-tier yer, a solo yer like him would find it hard to survive if he was not equipped with a useful second skill. Spotless Autumn, who was already in poverty, would be in deeper trouble if he did not have a potion brewing skill.

    ¡°Do you think I have the time for that?¡± she smiled, ¡°It was found by one of our guild¡¯s team that specialises in looking for potion.¡± Of course, it was I who told them where to find it.

    Spotless Autumn¡¯s eyes lit up like two tiny light bulbs. Despite his best efforts to suppress his emotions, his true feelings were betrayed by the hint of excitement in his voice, ¡°You even have a specialised squad like that in your guild?¡±

    It was only natural for a guild to have Life yers in their employment, but high leveled Life yers were very rare in the game. And despite the importance of Life yers, thebat yers that were tasked with pioneering the new contents of the game, and setting records for the guild would receive more priority. This meant that most of the guild funds would be poured into arming these yers, while Life yers would only receive significantly less resources. A team specialising in searching for recipes and blueprints was an even rarer existence.

    The growth of a Life yer is a money consuming ordeal. They had to rely onrge amounts of money to level up, and if they do not have the money to do so...

    This was a topic that had been discussed time and time again by Bai Mo and Timely Rain, who held differing stances regarding the treatment of their yers. But with the increasing number of Life yers brought into the guild by Ye Ci, Timely Rain¡¯s opinion of giving priority to thebat yers were swayed. This was why Upwards Ho! remained a rtively small guild.

    The rewards they received from dungeon clearing was enough to expand the guild by at least 6 times its current size, but because of the decision of the higher ups to funnelrge amounts of resources to the Life yers instead, Upwards Ho! remained a small guild.

    Spotless Autumn was enticed by Ye Ci¡¯s words. He knew that he was just one person despite his skills. His strength was limited, and was no match for a squad specialised in hunting down recipes. He was deeply envious of the Life yers of Upwards Ho!. Luck bastards! They can stay in their guild encampment all day long and not have to worry about anything else. Even the recipes that they need are taken care of by a specialised squad.

    Ye Ci pretended to not notice the envious stares from Spotless Autumn. She nced at the man, but remained silent. The intention to recruit Spotless Autumn was there, but she knew that the time was not right. They were still fleeing from an impending doom,and they were still not very close friends. Besides, she was certain that her grasp on Spotless Autumn was firm especially with their contract in ce.

    The duo was getting closer to the mass of yers before them.

    Despite their swift actions, it was impossible for the guilds to fully retreat to safety. What awaited them was the full destructive power of the avnche.

    ¡°Who are the two red yers over there?¡± Lethal Poison spotted the two glows of red running ahead of the white wave. It was as if they were leading the raging force of nature right into the formation of yers.

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken...¡± Nangong Yunfei pursed his lips.

    Lethal Poison silenced Nangong Yunfei with a wave of his hand, ¡°The Lord sure works in mysterious ways. I was just thinking about the missed opportunity to fight those two, and here they are.¡±

    ¡°Guild leader...¡± Nangong Yunfei was at a loss of words when he noticed the expression on the face of his guild leader.

    Lethal Poison was cursing the two red yers in his heart, but he knew that cursing at them would not solve the problem at hand. The only thing he could do was to attempt to reduce the losses suffered by his guild, ¡°Have our Warriors form up and lock shields. We¡¯re on the east side, we should be able to avoid the full force of that avnche.¡±

    The leaders of the two other guilds gave out the same order as well, and the Warriors of the three guilds formed up into fouryers of shield walls that were glinting under the sun.

    ¡°Wow, they are fast.¡¯¡¯ Despite the slight disdain in her voice, Ye Ci was impressed by the guilds¡¯s reaction speed. As expected of the top guilds of the Northern Continent. They¡¯re on a level that Upwards Ho! in its current state can never hope to match.

    Unlike Ye Ci, Spotless Autumn¡¯s concerny somewhere else, ¡°Say, do you think the guilds over there can recognise us?¡±

    ¡°Of course they will.¡± Ye Ci nodded. The leaders of these top guilds are not idiots. Of course they will figure it out.

    ¡°Then.. Do you think that they will hate us for it?¡±

    ¡°Well, I will definitely hate us for it if I¡¯m one of them. In fact, I will even hunt us down no matter

    the cost.¡± Ye Ci knew the meaning behind the question.

    ¡°So... Where should we retreat to?¡± Spotless Autumn shrugged. He was calm. It was as if he did not mind even if there was a bounty on him in the Northern Continent.

    ¡°Are the Guardians dead?¡± asked Ye Ci after a brief moment of thought.

    Spotless Autumn immediately became silent. Fine! Hepletely forgot about that.

    As a mage with low mobility, Spotless Autumn was able to increase his movement speed and jump height with his consumption of arge number of Haste Potion. With Ye Ci¡¯s coaching prior to their attempt, he was able to leapt cleanly across the walls of shields and keep up with Ye Ci.

    Wading into a sea of enemies would usually be an act of suicide for two lone yers, but the circumstances were different on this day. With the avnche fast approaching, the duo was able to make it past therge group of yers unopposed and disappeared out of sight.

    And the duo immediately gulped down their Nameless Potion after they were past the shield walls.

 Chapter 281 Final Outcome Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 281 Final Oue Part 2</h4>

    Chapter 281 Final Oue (Part 2)

    The duo¡¯s n was to ce the aggro of the avnche upon themselves, which would effectively guarantee their rewards of Honor Points. But they have forgotten to take the monsters hiding within the abandoned fort into ount as well. They had effectively transferred the aggro of not only the aggro of the avnche, but of the monsters as well onto themselves.

    ¡°My God! Where did theye from?¡± Spotless Autumn shivered at the sight of therge number of monsters. The duo were invulnerable, but their invincibility would onlyst for 60 seconds, and 60 seconds was not a very long period of time. They would lose their lives along with the rest of the yers on the map if they were not able to find a way out.

    Spotless Autumn raised his head, and spotted the forest that shielded the Heavenly Body guild, ¡°Over there!¡± he pointed at the forest, ¡°Climb onto one of those trees! Hurry!¡±

    Ye Ci cast a backwards nce. The avnche was a mere 5 seconds away, and they were still 20 yards away from the closest three. With so many yers in the way, it was impossible for the duo to make it in time.

    She pulled out her Cat w, held onto Spotless Autumn¡¯s belt, and swung her Cat w at the nearest sturdiest looking tree, and pulled herself along with Spotless Autumn towards the tree.

    Her movements were so fast that Spotless Autumn did not even have the time to react before Ye Cinded on the tree.

    Before he could speak, the white wave had swallowed the first row of Warriors, followed closely by the second, third, and fourth row. Despite their sacrifices, the Warriors¡¯ attempt to slow the raging tide of snow and ice was in vain. Man was helpless before the wrath of Mother Nature.

    The fear in their hearts drove the members of the three guilds into despair. They wanted to flee, but it was no longer a viable option. The avnche swallowed all life on the ins in the blink of an eye, washing past the forest itself as well as the abandoned fort.

    The tree that sheltered Ye Ci and Spotless Autumn almost fell from the impact, but it remained anchored to the ground, saving them from the fate of once again being buried under the snow. The duo clung onto the tree, and stared at the spectacle before their eyes.

    How many time had passed?

    Noone knew.

    The time it took for the wrath of nature to snuff away all signs of life on the ins with a sea of white felt so short to the duo.

    Mother Nature is a force to be reckoned with.

    ¡°Your invulnerability will end soon. You will receive a penalty once you are no longer invulnerable.¡±

    A system notification rang out as the duo was still hanging onto the tree.

    ¡°Ah, I lost a level.¡± observed Spotless Autumn when his level was reduced to lvl59. He was not worried about his equipment with Ye Ci by his side, but his heart ached for the 10% loss of his gold coins.

    The gold coins were not dropped onto the ground, and were instead immediately deducted by the system. Spotless Autumn¡¯s hopes of picking up his gold coins from the ground was immediately crushed.

    Ye Ci stole a quick nce at the inventory, and the Mysterious Ring was the equipment that she had dropped onto the now-snowy ground. She spotted another ring on the ground as well. It belonged to Spotless Autumn. With all the monsters in their vicinity dead or dying under the thick snow, Ye Ci dropped down from the tree, picked up Spotless Autumn¡¯s ring, and began reading its description.

    The shock she received drove her to stare at Spotless Autumn in awe. Damn, he sure has some very good luck!

    Zerubbabel¡¯s Ring: A beloved item of the Great Mage Zerubbabel. It was buried with him in his grave, but was eventually lost.

    Quality: Orange

    Stats: Hidden

    Trait 1: Allows user to control Ice, Fire, and Lightning type magic.

    Trait 2: Hidden

    Trait 3: Hidden

    Ye Ci waved at Spotless Autumn, ¡°Come on, get down here and help me get my stuff.¡±

    Spotless Autumn, who was worrying about the fall damage stared at the ring in Ye Ci¡¯s hand, and then at his own fingers before letting out a sigh. Unlucky! Of all the things that the system could drop.. Now she knows! The fall damage was now no longer his concern. He dropped down from the tree and sprawled out on the ground. He then stood up, patted away the snow on his clothing, and walked towards Ye Ci.

    He picked up the ring beside Ye Ci, and chuckled when he read its description, ¡°So this is why you were able to survive the fall.¡± The stats of the ring might not be meant for a Huntress, but the skill ¡°Featherfall¡± was something that was far more valuable.

    Ye Ci smiled silently as she took her ring from Spotless Autumn, ¡°You have a nice ring as well.¡±

    Spotless Autumn responded with a smile of his own. A yer would always like to keep his or her most valuable equipment a secret, and this ring was especially important to him.

    ¡°Get an NPC to bind that thing to you. Would be a shame if you drop it next time.¡± Ye Ci flipped open her Honor panel once she did a quick inventory of her equipment. She was already at the rank of Grand Marshal, and had enough Honor Points stored to unlock the next tier when it eventually got released. The only thing she saw earlier was a sea of golden words and letters, flooding her vision with a gleaming light.

    ¡°Wow! We sure earned a lot of Honor Points. I¡¯m a Grand Marshal now!¡± Spotless Autumn eximed when he opened his own Honor panel, ¡°I can get a decent set of PVP equipment when I get back to Hurricane City.¡±

    A sudden thought shed across Ye Ci¡¯s mind, ¡°Aren¡¯t we still under pursuit by two Guardians? Can you track them?¡±

    ¡°Only one left. I guess the other died.¡± as the main target of the Guardians, Spotless Autumn had the ability to track their location. He studied the ins that had been dyed into a sea of white and shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s buried under the snow, I can¡¯t find it.¡± and he let out augh, ¡°We¡¯re no longer inbat!¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Time to go home!¡± Spotless Autumn began casting a spell, and a ck hole appeared before the duo.

    Ye Ci was shocked. Spatial Magic! Even she who was the top Sorceress in herst life was not able to get her hands on any Spatial Magic skill book. ¡°You can use Spatial Magic?¡±

    ¡°Just a little.¡± Spotless Autumn responded with a smile and rubbed the thumb and the index finger of his right hand together. He would of course wish to expose more of his secrets to Ye Ci, ¡°Are youing? This portal leads to Hurricane City. You shoulde with me if you have nothing else to do on the continent,¡± and he continued after a short pause, ¡°I have a feeling that the remaining Guardian will not be your only worry if you remain here.¡±

    Ye Ci understood the meaning behind his words. Despite the silence that had fallen over the Mor Jiami ins, there were still yers who had survived the avnche. These survivors would pose a serious threat to her along with the remaining Guardian. Her courier quest in the Northern Continent was simply not worth the risk.

    There was also nothing she could do about the Mithril ore vein in the Northern Continent. Then again, with two of the ore veins firmly in her hand, Golden Era would never be able to cause a lot of damage even if they ended up in control of Northern Continent¡¯s ore vein.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll follow you to Hurricane City then.¡± Ye Ci replied after a brief moment of hesitation.

    The city was the home turf of the ck Plum Family and the Isle of Heroes, but being on an allying continent was always better than staying on a hostile one.

    The duo arrived in the Tower of Mages of Hurricane City after a bright sh.

    This tower was a ce used by mage yers to learn and upgrade their skills. It was the residence of the best mage NPC of the entire continent, and the home of NPCs that would asionally give out Hidden Quests to the yers. This made the Tower the most frequented ce by mage yers.

    The Spatial Magic brought the duo to the first out of three below-ground levels of the Tower of Mages. The first underground level of the tower, which was guarded by four Grand Magicians, was thending point for teleportation spells. The second underground level of the tower housed the energy source for the entire tower, and was guarded by six Elite Grand Magicians, and in the third underground level of the tower, guarded by eight BOSS-tier NPC,id the controlling mechanism for the tower.

    Only ess to the first underground level would be granted to yers.

    The duo could see the influx of yers entering and leaving the tower when they made their way out of the first underground level, ¡°It¡¯s so good to not see a single red glow.¡± Spotless Autumnughed.

    The same feeling was apparently shared by Ye Ci as well, ¡°There¡¯s something that I have to attend to. As for our contract...¡±

    Spotless Autumn¡¯s expression immediately changed at the mention of the contract, but was ignored by Ye Ci who chuckled at the man, ¡°I¡¯ll let you know when I need your help in the future.¡±

    ¡°Is this how you treat someone who saved your life? Why must you be so petty!¡± Spotless Autumn wasted no time in voicing out his protest.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, ¡°I think that is something that I should say to you.¡± and she took her leave of Spotless Autumn, heading for the Teleportation Stone of Hurricane City. It did not take her long to arrive in Red Lake City.

    She let out a sigh of relief when she arrived at the city. Ahh.. It¡¯s good to be back in my own home turf. But Ye Ci¡¯s moment of respite was short-lived. The World Channel exploded into activity before she could make her way back to the headquarters of Upwards Ho!.

    Of course, it was unbeknown to Ye Ci, who had her World Channel permanently muted. But it did not mean that the measure was mutual to many of the yers. Her Guild Channel was in chaos as well, and messages began to flood into the Private Channel as well. It was as if the entire world had turned mad.

    Ye Ci was dumbfounded. Her Private Message, which had long been quiet, was suddenly filled with activity.

    Bai Mo: Are you okay? What happened?

    Timely Rain: Gongzi, what happened?

    Fruit Jelly: Hey hey hey, what did you do this time?

    Sir Ditty: Do you need help?

    Clear Moon: Let me know if you need reinforcements. I¡¯ll be the first one there.

    Unbridled Willow: Do you need help? I¡¯ll get to you right away!

    Zero Arsenic: Hey, who did you piss off this time?

    Flutter n¡¯ Sway: What¡¯s going on, Ye Ci? Why are you being hunted?¡±

    Clingy Wolf: Little Ci, what¡¯s going on? What did you do?

    Lukewarm Water: What happened, Gongzi? Let me know if you need my help.

    NightAndDay: I know them. I can talk to them for you.

    Good Ol¡¯ Days: I¡¯m quite close with Sangharama Shrine. What happened? Do you need me to settle it for you?

    Messages continued flooding into Ye Ci¡¯s Private Message channel. The yers on her friend list were usually as quiet as the dead, but it was apparent that they were simply feigning their deaths. Her Private Message channel was bustling with activity just like a market. She immediately muted the channel so as to regain her sanity and some silence.

    She then opened the Guild Channel, and began reading its messages. Despite the constant influx of messages, one thing was for sure. They were all about Ye Ci, and the guild members were worried about her. She finally understood what was going on after a brief moment.

    And she turned on her World Channel, which seemed to be the main culprit of all the ruckus.

 Chapter 282 Bounty Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 282 Bounty Part 1</h4>

    Chapter 282 Bounty (Part 1)

    The World Channel was in turmoil. Messages were flooding the channel at an unprecedented speed. After applying some filters to the chat, Ye Ci could finally have a clear picture of what was going on.

    World: The Northern Continent guild Rain of Blood has ced a huge bounty on Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn. Any kills scored on either of the yers would be rewarded with 20,000 gold coins or its equivalent in real world currency. Bounty duration: 3 months.

    World: The Northern Continent guild Heavenly Body has ced a huge bounty on Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn. Any kills scored on either of the yers would be rewarded with 30,000 gold coins or its equivalent in real world currency. Bounty duration: 3 months.

    World: The Northern Continent guild Sangharama Shrine has ced a huge bounty on Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn. Any kills scored on either of the yers would be rewarded with 40,000 gold coins or its equivalent in real world currency. Bounty duration: 3 months.

    And she received three system notifications at the same time.

    ¡°A bounty has been ced on you by the Northern Continent guild, Rain of Blood. Duration: 3 months. Please do your best to keep yourself safe.¡±

    ¡°A bounty has been ced on you by the Northern Continent guild, Heavenly Body. Duration: 3 months. Please do your best to keep yourself safe.¡±

    ¡°A bounty has been ced on you by the Northern Continent guild, Sangharama Shrine. Duration: 3 months. Please do your best to keep yourself safe.¡±

    yers and guilds in Fate were allowed to ce a bounty on a yer after paying a specific amount of fees. The bounty would then be added into a game as a quest. yers who epted the bounty could then hunt down the target of their bounty even if it was an allying yer withoutmitting a crime. The longest possible duration for a bounty ced by an individual was at a month, while a guild could ce out a bounty for three months.

    It was very obvious that Ye Ci¡¯s involvement in the avnche had incurred the wrath of the three major Northern Continent guilds. The bounty was ced on them right after the leaders of the three guild returned to the capital of their continent.

    Of course, bounties were amon sight in Fate, as the cost of cing bounties on a person was rtively cheap. But the bounties ced out on this day had caused a turmoil in the entire game. It was ced out by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent, and these guilds with their millions of yers made up at least half the continent¡¯s poption. It was simply unbelievable that guilds at such a scale would ce out bounties against individual yers.

    And the subject of the bounties were equally mind blowing to the masses, as they were none Gongzi You and Spotless Autumn.

    Who is Gongzi You?

    And who is Spotless Autumn?

    These were names not known to only yers who were new to the game. They were the top yers of their respective continent, and the former was the role model for all Hunters, while thetter a benchmark of how a Sorcerer should be. These mechanically skillful yers were like living legends in the game. It was simply unbelievable that the two would have a bounty ced upon them by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent.

    Why is there a bounty out for them? Did they run into each other by coincidence? But how could two yers cause such arge inconvenience to three powerful guilds to the point where bounties were ced on them?

    It was simply unimaginable.

    Rumors were beginning to surface regarding the incident that happened between the duo and the three major guilds. The silence from both sides involved left a lot of room for imagination.

    The World Channel was full of gossip and nothing else.

    Ye Ci once again muted her World Channel, and sent a message to Spotless Autumn, ¡°How are things on your end?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in hot soup right now. Take care of yourself.¡± came the short reply.

    Ye Ci could already imagine the situation that Spotless Autumn had found himself in. He might be able to handle any yer that came his way, but even he would eventually tire out under the unending numbers of yers that were after his bounty.

    She would soon be forced into the same situation.

    Ye Ci could not help the sigh that escaped her mouth. She was not one to be afraid of trouble, and since trouble was already at her doorsteps, the only thing she could do was to be careful.

    Despite the turmoil in the World Channel, Ye Ci was not peppered by the members of her guild the moment she arrived in the headquarters. She had thought that her guild members were not into gossipping, but it was revealed that Bai Mo and Timely Rain had managed to suppress their curiosity. But this incident was still brought onto the table by Ye Ci herself in a meeting between officers.

    The officers who finally learned of the truth let out a collective sigh of release, ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t you think they¡¯re just being mean?¡± said Let Go Of That Girl, ¡°You should be careful with this bounty on your head. Why don¡¯t you head into the dungeon with us? If you¡¯re with us, it¡¯ll be harder for anyone who has epted their bounties to go after you.¡±

    yers from the opposing continents would be the least of their worries, but it would not be as simple to deal with yers from the same continent as only yers who had epted the bounties and the target of the bounties could fight withoutmitting a crime. The bounties¡¯s target could not expect help from even his or her own party members.

    This was why many of the officers agreed with Let Go Of That Girl.

    Timely Rain could tell what was in Ye Ci¡¯s mind when she remained silent. He knew that she would not agree to such an idea. ¡°What do you think? Do you want to follow us into the dungeons? You¡¯ll have safety in numbers.¡± asked Bai Mo.

    Ye Ci shook her head and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, you don¡¯t have to be worried about me. I¡¯ll be fine as long as I¡¯m careful. The dungeon clearing roster is full anyways. I don¡¯t want a member to lose their spot just because of me. I¡¯ll be careful.¡±

    With Ye Ci¡¯s mind already made, the issue was immediately cast aside. After all, it was a waste of resources and time to focus solely on the same issue, and they knew for a fact that Ye Ci was not one to hold back if she needed the help.

    Bai Mo chuckled as he left the conference room with Ye Ci after the meeting, ¡°I¡¯ve never thought that you¡¯ll raise so much trouble in the Northern Continent. I bet they hate you to death now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s none of my concern, really. It¡¯s all a matter of coincidence that Spotless Autumn and I were involved in that incident. They were the ones who brought it upon themselves, while we simply did not want to miss out on a chance to earn so many Honor Points. They won¡¯t dare to pull anything big especially when Golden Era ising.¡± Ye Ci sighed, ¡°I¡¯m more worried about the arrival of Golden Era itself.¡±

    Bai Mo shook his head at Ye Ci, ¡°This is not something that you should worry about. Just do what you¡¯ve always been doing. I¡¯m here. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±

    Ye Ci could feel warmth washing away the worries in her heart as she stared at Bai Mo. She let out a sigh when she heard his words. It¡¯s good to have someone to rely on.

    ¡°So how did your quest go?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯vepleted three of my more important quests. But there was still a courier quest that I did not manage toplete because of the avnche. There¡¯s also the Northern Continent¡¯s Mithril ore vein. I was nning to kill the NPC involved in the quest if I could not figure out which guild was the one who activated the quest, but there was nothing I could do after the avnche. You can say that my trip to the Northern Continent did not go as well as nned.¡±

    ¡°Having the control of two Mithril ore veins is already enough. Blossom and your two servants still need time to grow. I don¡¯t know what will happen in the game until then, but not everything will go ording to n. You must learn to let go. We can barely defend the ore vein that we have, so there¡¯s nothing we can do with two of them. I know that you¡¯re not satisfied with how things ended, but letting go is not a bad thing.¡± Bai Mo, who could sense Ye Ci¡¯s worries, patted her on the shoulder.

    ¡°O.¡± came the reply. She knew that she had to let go, but she was still not satisfied with the results.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you still have quests toplete?¡± Bai Mo chuckled, ¡°Why don¡¯t you focus on that instead of things that you can¡¯t control?¡±

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath and nodded. Alright then, what is done is done. With the guild¡¯s focus ced on its Life yers, it was only natural for its growth to be affected. She stared once again at Bai Mo. With him around, there¡¯s really nothing that I have to worry about.

    A smile appeared on her face, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be on my way then.¡±

    ¡°Go. I¡¯ll be the first one there if you need help.¡± Bai Mo patted Ye Ci on her head. His smile was as warm as a spring breeze under the shining sun.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips, and continued walking. She turned around and waved her hand at Bai Mo.

    And she ran into Tan Png who was sitting by the guild headquarter¡¯s teleportation NPC and fiddling with his daggers. The faint glow of the daggers was a sign that they were rare equipment. ¡°Heh, long time no see.¡± he raised his head when he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s presence.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re always at school.¡±

    ¡°Yup, you¡¯re right.¡± Tan Png nodded, ¡°The school had instructed us to fill in our university of choice. I¡¯ve of course listed down your school as my first choice.¡±

    ¡°Are you confident that you can make it?¡± Ye Ci sat down beside the boy. Tan Png had spent lesser and lesser time on the game due to his studies. He was lvl50 when he first joined the guild, and due to his many exams, he was not even lvl60 yet.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that I can get a rmendation from my school. This will give me more time to spend on the game. It¡¯ll be very tiring if I can¡¯t catch up with the rest of the members.¡±

    ¡°Are you doing well enough to get a rmendation?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a few marks away from getting one in myst test. If I can score well in this test and the one at the end of the year, I will be able to get one.¡± Tan Png smiled at Ye Ci. The gray jacket that he wore was also a high-tiered item.

    Ye Ci patted the boy and the head and offered him a smile, ¡°You can do it! I¡¯m sure of it.¡±

    ¡°I heard from mom that you still have problems with your leg.¡± Tan Png was worried, ¡°And what about your finals? Will you be failing your subjects?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a fractured bone. Do you think it¡¯ll heal that fast?¡± Ye Ci paid little heed to the question, ¡°And well.. With Bai Mo around, I think I¡¯ll be able to pass my exams. He¡¯s always good at predicting the questions.¡±

    Tan Png stared at Ye Ci and bit his lips.

    Will I die if I mention it to her?

    ¡°Is there something that you want to say to me?¡± asked Ye Ci when she noticed Tan Png¡¯s expression.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± he shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m just worrying about the bounty ced on you by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that. There¡¯s nothing to worry about. I won¡¯t die that easily.¡±

    Ye Ci offered him a smile.

    ¡°But what if Fleeting Time had epted the bounty as well?¡± Tan Png spoke up after a long silence.

 Chapter 282 Bounty Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 282 Bounty Part 2</h4>

    Chapter 282 Bounty (Part 2)

    ¡°Fleeting Time?¡± Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows. It was a name that she had not heard for a long while. So long, in fact, that she had forgotten about the man. She was worried. Fleeting Time was a difficult opponent to deal with, and he was just slightly better than her as a Hunter. With how shameless that guy is, I¡¯ll never be able to guess what he¡¯s thinking in a conventional way.

    ¡°How did you know that Fleeting Time has epted the bounty?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    Tan Png rolled his eyes. Well, I can¡¯t just tell her that I have an ount and am a long-time lurker in Genesis¡¯s forum, can I?

    He had immediately logged into his forum ount when he saw the bounty on Gongzi You. And as expected, Fleeting Time was one of the first among the members of Genesis to ept the guild, ¡°I took a look at the namelist from an NPC, he did not remain anonymous when he epted the bounty.¡±

    Bounties could be epted from specific NPCs that allowed yers the option to remain anonymous. Most of the yers in Fate would of course select the option to hide their name so that they could keep their identities hidden and avoid retaliation. But Fleeting Time was not afraid of retaliation, nor did he wish for his identity to be hidden from Ye Ci. In fact, he was probably hoping that Ye Ci would see his name.

    Love is a very powerful force. Thought Tan Png. Even someone like Fleeting Time is acting dumb when he is struck by love. Does he not realise that he¡¯s being childish? The boy then stared at Ye Ci¡¯s face, hoping to capture any and all emotion disyed on her face.

    As expected, Ye Ci¡¯s expression was wonderful.

    She pursed her lips and her eyes were narrowed, ¡°Come get me if you can, b-b-b-baka...¡± she snorted coldly.

    Tan Png lowered his head and spoke up after a long while, ¡°Sister Ye Ci, do you think that Fleeting Time can kill you?¡±

    Ye Ci pondered the question for a brief moment before offering an impartial answer, ¡°It depends on the environment. I should be able to kill him if I have the high ground. If I don¡¯t, it¡¯s hard to say.¡±

    Red Lake City pet shop.

    Ye Ci handed the Magic Crystals from the Doluo Tribe to the Undead NPC, ¡°Are these enough?¡±

    The NPC stared at Ye Ci, then at the Magic Crystals on the table. She lifted one of the crystals and studied it under the sun, ¡°Ahh, this crystal is very pure. This is some fine stuff you have here.¡± and the NPC continued to pick out a few more pieces of crystals from the pile that Ye Ci had ced on the table, ¡°Good, good. They¡¯re all very good.¡±

    And the NPC began to sweep the crystals into her drawer.

    Ye Ci who was observing the NPC from the side immediately grabbed hold of its hand with a sneer on her face, ¡°Did I say that they¡¯re for you?¡±

    It was as if the Undead NPC had only just realised her presence. She cast a sideway nce at Ye Ci and chuckled, ¡°You seem familiar.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so you recognise me.¡± Ye Ci responded with a chuckle of her own.

    ¡°Oh, I remember now. Are you the owner of this egg?¡± she pulled her hand free from Ye Ci with a flick of her waist and pulled out a transparent container filled with thick green liquid and an egg before Ye Ci could react.

    The egg was about the same size as when Ye Ci had left it with the NPC. She opened its status panel, and was able to confirm herself as its owner, ¡°Yes, it is mine.¡±

    ¡°Good. Give me the crystals.¡± and the Undead began cing the crystals one at a time into the container. Each crystalnded in the container with a loud ¡°Bang!¡±. This feels more like some sort of magical experiment than the process of hatching an egg. Thought Ye Ci.

    When there was only one final piece of crystal left, the Undead NPC chuckled at Ye Ci, ¡°Hatching the egg would usually cost you a lot of gold, but if you can give this crystal to me, I think I¡¯ll be very motivated toplete my job.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at the Undead NPC, ¡°What do you need it for?¡± her curiosity was aroused.

    The Undead NPC ced a finger on her lips and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡±

    Ye Ci decided to not intrude upon the secret of an NPC, and instead shifted her attention to the egg, ¡°Are the Magical Crystals that you¡¯ve thrown into the container enough?¡± she still had a sizable stockpile in her inventory, but the crystals were essential for the construction of fortifications ording to unar. They were a resource that she wished to preserve.

    ¡°They are enough.¡± the Undead fiddled the Magical Crystal between its fingers and replied absentmindedly. But it was quick to sense Ye Ci¡¯s dissatisfaction, ¡°They¡¯re definitely enough. In fact, they¡¯re more than enough. It¡¯s just an egg, why do you need so many crystals for?¡± she said with a smile.

    ¡°When will it hatch?¡± Ye Ci asked the question that she needed an answer the most.

    ¡°Ten days. You cane back for your egg in ten days.¡± replied the NPC as it dipped its finger into the greenish solution, to Ye Ci¡¯s disgust, and she immediately left the shop.

    With the release of the new expansion creeping closer, Ye Ci¡¯s life as a gamer had slowly calmed down. She had cleared all of her quests before the update, and the quests that followed could only be unlocked after the Middle Continent was finally released to yers. With her level dropped during her exploits in the Northern Continent, the only thing left she could do was to farm for EXP points and regain her losses before the update.

    But things were not entirely smooth for her due to the bounty on her head. She was hounded by bounty hunters wherever she went. She had never encountered a yer from opposing continents, but it did not mean the seduction of the bounty was simply too great to yers from the Eastern and Southern Continents. They have never seeded in killing Ye Ci, but the sheer number of yers that attempted to hunt her down was still a source of great annoyance.

    It was not easy to evade so many yers despite the disparity of their strength and levels.

    After 3 hours and 24 dead bounty hunters, Ye Ci was finally at her limit. With dinner time arriving, Ye Ci entered stealth, searched for a safe spot, and logged out of the game.

    ¡°The update ising tomorrow, how¡¯s your progress in leveling up?¡± asked Bai Mo. With the rare presence of Tan Png in the house, the dishes on the dining table had multiplied.

    ¡°Forget about it. Things have been annoying thus far.¡± Ye Ci had spent half her time online evading or fighting against yers who were after her bounty.

    ¡°What is there to be annoyed at? This is life. If you treat life with contempt, then life will treat you with contempt as well. Having patience will bring you a long way in life.¡±

    Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian were worried when they learned that bounties have been ced on their daughter by the three major guilds of the Northern Continent. But as time passed, so did their worries. They even began to see the bounties as a challenge that Ye Ci had to ovee in life.

    ¡°Alright. I understand.¡± Ye Ci nodded as an affirmation to her parents words. She did not want to worry her parents.

    Tan Png cast a sideway nce at Ye Ci before speaking up, ¡°Are those people from our continent or have yers from hostile continents showed up?¡±

    ¡°No, not yet.¡± Ye Ci paid the matter no heed, ¡°yers from hostile continents will have to go through a lot of our own yers to get to me. I doubt that they will be much of a problem for now.¡± Despite her words, Ye Ci found her thoughts wandering towards a certain person.

    Fleeting Time.

    He was someone who could not be judged like a normal yer. His appearance in the Eastern Continent is almost guaranteed the moment he epted the bounty.

    Having an unknown factor like him was a thorn in Ye Ci¡¯s side.

    Bai Mo, of course, knew that Fleeting Time had epted the bounty on Ye Ci. But judging from Ye Ci¡¯s response, he was certain that she was not troubled by it, which was why he changed the topic, ¡°We¡¯ll need to update our games tomorrow because of the new patch. And with Golden Era¡¯s arrival, I think the game server will be clogged with traffic when it reopens. Why don¡¯t you take the time to go to the hospital for a reexamination? Oh you can also take the opportunity to go to campus as well.¡±

    Ye Ci agreed after a moment of consideration. The server will be under maintenance during the day, and Golden Era¡¯s members would begin swarming into the server when maintenance was over. It was naturally a wise choice to avoid the chaotic hour.

    Ye Ci left with Bai Mo and Tan Png early the next day. Ye Nantian lent his car to the trio due to Ye Ci¡¯s injuries so that Bai Mo could send Tan Png to school and Ye Ci to the hospital. Ye Ci was worried when Bai Mo was doing the driving because of her experience in her past life, but Tan Png remained rtively calm.

    Luckily for the trio, Bai Mo was able to handle the car steadily, and he dropped Tan Png off at school before heading to the hospital.

    A ce like the hospital would always be packed full of patients. And it was already 1pm in the afternoon by the time Ye Ci was done with her checkup, ¡°Damn, the hospital is packed.¡± mused the duo as they sat panting in the car.

    ¡°The service is faster in the emergency room. We did not have to wait. We were sent right in.¡± Bai Mo who was passed out during that night did not experience what went on when they were sent to the hospital, but he could still understand what Ye Ci was hinting at, ¡°Don¡¯t jinx yourself. Why would you want to get sent into the emergency room anyways?¡± he rolled his eyes at her.

    Ye Ci let out a chuckle and studied her medical report, ¡°Look, look at this. This shattered bone right here is quite serious. I wonder how long will it take for my leg to truly heal.¡±

    Bai Mo could feel needles pricking into his heart as he nced at the x-ray film of Ye Ci¡¯s leg. In the end, he had failed to protect his little sister, ¡°If something like this happens again, I want you to leave me behind and run.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Bai Mo, and remained silent.

    ¡°Did you hear what I said?¡± asked Bai Mo when he noticed the smile on her face.

    ¡°I did. But do you seriously think that I¡¯ll listen?¡±

    Bai Mo raised an eyebrow. She¡¯s right. She might¡¯ve heard me, but she might not listen.

    He knew that Ye Ci was a very stubborn person. She would still make the same decision if the same thing was to happen. Bai Mo let out a long sigh, and tossed the report card to the backseat, ¡°Thank God you¡¯re not a ballerina, or your career is finished.¡±

    This elicited a fit ofughter from Ye Ci. This was the first time she was thankful that she was not a dancer. It¡¯s good to be a normal student. Thought Ye Ci as she rubbed her nose, ¡°Alright, drive. Let¡¯s head to the campus. I¡¯m sure that my head of department is missing me a lot.¡±

    The duo stopped by a roadside stall for some food, and arrived on campus by 2pm.

    Ye Ci¡¯s Head of Department was a man who knew littleughter. He let out a sigh when Ye Ci limped into his office, ¡°What caused you to fall down like that, Ye Ci?¡±

    Ye Nantian did not tell the truth when he requested a leave of absence in Ye Ci¡¯s stead. He simply made up a story that Ye Ci had suffered an injury in an ice skating ident, ¡°To tell you the truth, sir, I want to know the answer to that question as well.¡±

    Ye Ci handed her homework to the Head of Department as well as her medical report after some small talk, and she was sent home with an advice to rest at home until her finals arrived.

    sses were in session when the duo was ready to leave the campus. Ye Ci limped her way into the car with help from Bai Mo, and the duo immediately sped home.

    Today was a different day for Ye Ci, Bai Mo, and every other yer in Fate.

    It was the day where the storm that would change their fates would finally arrive.

 Chapter 283 Hero City Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 283 Hero City Part 1</h4>

    Chapter 283 Hero City (Part 1)

    The sun was still shining high up in the sky. There was no sign that the weather was getting colder even when autumn was almost arriving.

    Ye Ci rolled down the window on the passenger seat, and warm wind immediately blew onto her face. She stared at the rows of houses beyond, her thoughts unfathomable.

    ¡°Are you worrying about the game?¡± asked Bai Mo.

    And she grunted in affirmation without looking back at him.

    She was worried.

    The experiences she had in herst life was very different from the life that she was living in the present. Is the Fate that I knew the same with the Fate now? Will the measures I take now be useful?

    It was a big question that had been troubling Ye Ci deeply.

    ¡°Are you worrying about Golden Era?¡±

    Ye Ci was snapped out of her thoughts. Am I really worrying about Golden Era? No. I¡¯m worrying about myck of ability to protect the people that I care about from theing storm.

    She was fortunate to be given a second chance, and she knew what should be the most important things in her life. She wanted to protect the things, but she was afraid. She was afraid that she might lose what she had gained once again.

    ¡°Not really.¡± Ye Ci responded with a sigh and shook her head, ¡°I¡¯m just worried. I¡¯m worrying that I can¡¯t protect mom and dad like I am now when Golden Era arrives.¡± and she continued after a pause, ¡°and you, Png, and Upwards Ho! too.¡±

    Bai Mo nced at Ye Ci, and turned his head back to the road ahead. He did not immediately speak up, but there was a smile on his face. The sunlight shone down on his slender, long fingers. It was a good sight. ¡°Little Ci, the people you want to protect want to protect you as well.¡± he finally spoke up after a long moment of silence, ¡°They¡¯re not the only ones who need protection. They are also protecting you. Don¡¯t you worry about it. Golden Era is just a single guild. There are things that can¡¯t be destroyed by even the strongest of storms.¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. She stared at Bai Mo, and was at a loss for words.

    And she let out augh. I¡¯m wasting my time worrying about things that are not in my control again.

    Fate was already bustling with activity by the time Ye Ci logged into the game. Of course, it was not solely due to the influx of Golden Era yers. The pre-existing yers of Fate were very eager for the release of the new patch, where their level cap was finally raised and the Middle Continent was made avable to all. They might not be able to survive in the maps infested with monsters, but they could still take a stroll in Hero City of the Middle Continent.

    The Hero City was essible by spending a few gold coins to rent a flying pet from the Flight Manager stationed beside each of the main city¡¯s Teleportation Stone. It was not a straight flight to the continent itself. Perhaps due to design by the developers to allow their yers to appreciate the beauty of the world of Fate, the flight n of these flying pets would take yers across the skies of each of the maps in their home continent before finally arriving at the Middle Continent. It meant that the flight would consume arge amount of time, and of course, gold coins.

    But to yers who are eager to explore the new continent, the time spent in the air for nearly an entire day was a worthy price to pay. There was already a long line by the time Ye Ci made her way to the Flight Manager. Every yer who were at lvl30 and had more than 2 gold coins in their pockets were queuing up in a trip to the Middle Continent.

    Ye Ci wasted no time in joining the queue of thousands of yers. Fortunately for the yers waiting in line, the NPC was not set to deal with yers one at a time. But even with its capacity of dealing with 50 yers at a time, there was still a long wait ahead for yers to finally be able to fly.

    Ye Ci could see familiar faces in the queue. Some of them friends, while others were her enemies. They wore excited smiles on their faces, eager to soar into the skies and explore the Middle Continent. Despite her knowledge about the continent from her past life, Ye Ci could still feel the anticipation growing in her heart as she waited among the countless thousands.

    The voices of yers who knew each other could be heard from therge group.

    ¡°Hey, XXX, are you heading to the Middle Continent?¡±

    ¡°Yup! Are you going to the Middle Continent as well?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Do you want to go together?¡±

    ¡°Sure! It¡¯s good to havepany.¡±

    Simr conversations were happening along the entire line.

    Ye Ci directed Ol¡¯ Four forward as the line advanced slowly. Ol¡¯ Four was not happy at all to b e surrounded by such arge crowd. It would have broken into a fit of rage if Ye Ci had not calmed it down in time.

    ¡°Where are you headed, Dear Traveler?¡± asked the Flight Manager as Ye Ci finally made her way to the front of the line.

    ¡°I want to go to Hero City, sir.¡± Ye Ci stated her destination.

    ¡°Alright. Have a safe journey!¡± said the Flight Manager as he led Ye Ci to her Gryphon on a tform, and two gold coins were immediately deducted from Ye Ci¡¯s inventory. Gryphons were the mostmon flying pet in all four continents. They were already domesticated by Humans, and were very tame in nature. Their great endurance made them the ideal means of transportation for long distances.

    The Gryphons are not the only flying pets in Fate. There was a wide range of flyers such as giant bats, eagles, and other winged beats that could be kept as pets. These beasts lived in abandoned forts, and could not be obtained in the state of the game where none of the guilds had sessfully conquered an abandoned fort, which meant that Gryphons were the only form of transportation in the current state of the game.

    ¡°My Gryphon is too thin. Look at howrge I am. What if it falls out of the sky in the middle of my flight? Give me a stronger one!¡± It was the first thing that entered Ye Ci¡¯s ears when she ascended the tform and stood beside the Pet Trainer. A Barbarian Warrior was grumbling at the trainer, and standing in front of him was a petitely built Gryphon.

    The size of flying pets were randomly generated to provide yers with a different experience each time, but their stats remained the same. But the body size of the Barbarian simply did not match the size of his ride. It was easy to see why he was unwilling to mount the Gryphon.

    ¡°This is the only one, take it or leave it!¡± the trainer was at the end of her patience. She turned around to talk to another yer, and resumed ring at the Barbarian.

    ¡°No! Give me another mount, or give me a refund!¡±

    NPCs in the major cities had received a major boost in their AIs capability after the release of the new expansion. Their dialogues were no longer limited to the few lines that were predetermined by the system. This made the conflict between yers and NPCs after the update amon sight, and the Barbarian was starting an argument with the trainer which was one of the NPCs with a more intelligent AI.

    ¡°No refunds! Take it or leave it! Now stand aside, don¡¯t get in the way of the customers behind.¡± at the current stage of the game, Flight Managers were still exclusively avable to the capital city of each continent. This meant that they had a monopoly on air travel, and were not afraid to offend the yers.

    The Barbarian¡¯s face was red with rage, but there was nothing he could do.

    ¡°Are you headed to Hero City?¡± Ye Ci had long since dismissed Ol¡¯ Four and stood before the trainer alone. As long as yers do not attempt to incur their wrath, the NPCs would disy a good attitude. Ye Ci received an entirely different treatment from the Barbarian before.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    The trainer offered her a smile and pped her hands. Arge Gryphon appeared before Ye Ci. It was a majestic beast with shiny feathers and a wingspan of 4 yards. There was a seat cushioned with feathers strapped on the Gryphon¡¯s back. It looked like afortable ride. ¡°Enjoy your journey.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded at the NPC, and was about to mount the Gryphon before she felt a presence behind her. She dodged out of reflex, but the person was quicker, and managed to grab hold of her arm. This came as a shock to Ye Ci. She turned around, and found the Barbarian standing behind her.

    The man was facing Ye Ci with a smile, ¡°Come on, Elf. Help me out here. Why don¡¯t we exchange mounts?¡± and Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at the man. Does size really matter that much to him? It¡¯s just a bunch of codes.

    ¡°You see, I¡¯m big, but the NPC gave me a small mount,¡± the Barbarian continued when he received no response from Ye Ci, ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s not appropriate?¡±

    ¡°How so?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a long trip to the Middle Continent, and this Gryphon is so small. What if it dies of exhaustion in the middle of its flight? And what if I have to pay for the loss of the Gryphon?¡±

    ¡°The size of the flyers might be randomized, but they still share the same stats. Your Gryphon has the same stamina and carrying capacity as mine. Something like that will not happen.¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips. The reasoning behind the yer¡¯s action was simply too absurd. It was information that was already released by Fate officials to the yers in the patch notes.

    Even when his excuse was easily brushed aside by the Elven Huntress, the Barbarian did not give up, ¡°Aiya, aren¡¯t we yers from the same continent? Let me out here! I¡¯ll look ridiculous riding that small thing. I won¡¯t look cool at all? How am I supposed to impress thedies? Just think of it as saving a life!¡±

    Ye Ci could never understand how young male yers interpret the aesthetic judgement of female yers. To her, stats was more important than appearance.

    ¡°Come on, I¡¯ve waited for almost half a day here for a ride. You¡¯re the only one who managed to get such arge Gryphon. Why don¡¯t we exchange our rides? I will look so cool on that Gryphon that thedies will certainly be impressed. If you ride on the small one, you¡¯ll appear small and petite, and the gents will want to protect you...¡±

    Ye Ci cut the Barbarian off before he could continue his string of nonsense and spoke to the trainer, ¡°Can we switch mounts?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re both okay with it, I don¡¯t mind.¡± The trainer, who was already thoroughly annoyed by the Barbarian Warrior, immediately epted the proposal so that he would disappear from her sight.

    ¡°Alright, this is yours then.¡± Ye Ci handed the reigns of her Gryphon to the Barbarian, not wanting to waste more time on something as trivial as the appearance of her mount.

    The smaller Gryphon was actually very beautiful as well with its body covered with golden skin, and its head with white feathers. It was a shame that these Gryphons belonged to the System, and were not easily obtainable by yers.

    Ye Ci leapt onto the Gryphon and grabbed hold of its reigns, taking off with an almost perfect posture. The Gryphon circled around the yers below before finally climbing high up into the sky.

    Even with their flight paths set, yers were still in charge of the take off andnding of their flying mounts. A less skillful yer would find himself or herself falling off a mount very frequently. Of course, such dangers only presented themselves in the process of taking off andnding. yers were protected by the system during their flight, which would prevent them from falling when they were in the sky. This meant that yers who were flying for their first time would not fall out of the sky due to their own anxiety.

    Ye Ci had her fair share of embarrassments from falling off her mount in herst life, and had already mastered the art of mounting a Gryphon, as well as taking off. Her body automatically assumed the most correct posture out of reflex as shepleted these actions in a series of fluid motions to the surprise and even envy of yers around her before soaring into the blue skies.

    ¡°Wow! You were so cool back there! Teach me how to do it, Elf!¡± Ye Ci heard a voice behind her when she was in the sky.

    Why is this voice so familiar and yet so annoying?

    Ye Ci turned around and saw the Barbarian Warrior behind her with a wide grin on his face, riding on the Gryphon that he had traded from her earlier on.

 Chapter 283 Hero City Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 283 Hero City Part 2</h4>

    Chapter 283 Hero City (Part 2)

    Ye Ci¡¯s principle in life was to avoid unnecessary trouble. She had already exchanged her steed with the Barbarian, and she would be an idiot to engage him in a conversation.

    This was why she turned away from the Barbarian, and ignored his words.

    But the Barbarian was unfazed by her action.

    His barrage of words continued even when he received the cold shoulder from Ye Ci, ¡°I saw what you did back there! You were holding onto the leash when you mounted your steed. Can you aplish that beautiful arc by grabbing onto the reins?¡±

    ¡°Oh, by the way, Elf. What do I have to do tond perfectly? You have to teach me how to do it! There will be a lot of pretty girls at thending point in the Middle Continent. I¡¯ll be able to win over a lot of hearts if you can teach me how tond.¡±

    ¡°Ohe on, Elf. Teach me. I¡¯ll pay, generously.¡±

    As the Barbarian Warrior continued to jabber on and on, Ye Ci tried her best to ignore his words.

    She was slightly impressed with his patience. The man was able to continue the conversation even when he was ignored by the other party. He would even change the topic of the conversation so that he would not feel lonely or bored talking to himself.

    ¡°Wow! Where are we now? It¡¯s so beautiful! I¡¯ve never been here before!¡±

    ¡°Ahh, the wind is so cold here. I should wear more clothes next time.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Why is the Gryphon ascending vertically? Will we fall? Will we fall??¡±

    As the Gryphons would fly through the same route at the same speed, and yers were not allowed in any way to prematurely end their trip, Ye Ci could only beart with the constant yapping of the Barbarian.

    To make matters worse for Ye Ci, he would always shout his words out whenever he spoke. Almost shouting out every word would not deal damage to a yer¡¯s character, but it was dealing critical damage to Ye Ci¡¯s mental well being. She was beginning to regret her decision to fly up into the sky immediately. Wouldn¡¯t it have been nice if I waited for a minute or two and took off after he did?

    ¡°Hey Elf, look at that! We¡¯re so high up in the sky right now! We¡¯re literally flying through the clouds! I can touch them with the tips of my fingers! This is so cool!¡±

    ¡°Look down there, Elf! Is that the sea? It¡¯s so wonderful up here! It would be nice if I can have a beautiful girl with me along on this ride. It¡¯ll make a very romantic date.¡±

    ¡°Woooow! Look at that thing in front of us, Elf! Is that the Middle Continent?¡±

    After three hours of nonstop noise pollution, Ye Ci was finally at her limits. ¡°Shut the f*ck up!¡± she turned around and shouted at the Barbarian Warrior.

    The Barbarian Warrior, who had grown used to Ye Ci¡¯s long silence, was caught off guard by her sudden outburst. He was stunned for a mere few moments before finally continuing his chatter with renewed vigor, ¡°Ah! So you¡¯ve been listening to me all along! I thought you couldn¡¯t hear me from there!¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes. She even wished that she was deaf at that very moment, just so that she would not suffer through his endless yapping along their entire flight. Only an idiot would talk to him.

    ¡°The name¡¯s Lotus Supercenter. What is your name?¡± the Barbarian offered his name, ignoring the fact that Ye Ci had been paying no attention to his words the entire time.

    Lotus Supercenter? Isn¡¯t that the name of a supermarket? Ye Ci nced at the Barbarian, and revealed her name after some slight hesitation, ¡°Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Lotus Supercenter was momentarily stunned, and his annoying voice disappeared. He craned his neck and stared at Ye Ci¡¯s face, causing her great difort. She turned around and red at the man, and Lotus Supercenter immediately averted his gaze. After a few awkward moments and some chuckles after his breath, the man shouted as if he had seen a ghost, ¡°You¡¯re Gongzi You???¡±

    Ye Ci stared off into the space ahead, her heart filled with regret. I shouldn¡¯t have talked to him. Now I¡¯m in more trouble!

    But Ye Ci¡¯sck of response did not affect Lotus Supercenter by one bit. He continued his chatter, and his topic was now focused on the gossip about Ye Ci.

    ¡°Gongzi You, is it true that there¡¯s something going on between you and Fleeting Time of the Western Continent?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You, is it true that your love transcends the difference in race?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You, how did you and Fleeting Timee to know each other? Was he the one who tried to woo you first or was it the other way around?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You, will you and Fleeting Time ever get married? Will you still be in separate continents after the marriage? Or will one of you move?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You, don¡¯t forget to invite me to your wedding with Fleeting Time. I¡¯ll help collect the red packets for you. I¡¯m very good at maths.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s head was at the verge of exploding. Where did this guye from? He¡¯s so dang annoying! ¡°Keep talking if you want me to ce a one-month bounty on you.¡± said Ye Ci with a dark expression.

    She was sessful in shutting Lotus Supercenter up. He stared at Ye Ci, and noticed that he had truly angered Gongzi You. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, ¡°Well I was just curious. A person is not truly famous without some gossip. It¡¯s good to have gossip about you!¡±

    Ye Ci red daggers at Locus Supercenter, who immediately raised his hands in defence, ¡°Alright! Alright! I get it! I¡¯ll not talk about Fleeting Time again.¡±

    With tranquility finally returning, Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief. It would take one more hour to reach the Middle Continent¡¯s Hero City, and when she was there, she could finally rid herself of Locus Supercenter for good. It was a happy thought in her mind.

    But the silence was all but temporary. Locus Supercenter was not willing to give up on the chance to talk to Gongzi You, the legend of the Eastern Continent. It did not take long for the chatterbox to once again pepper Ye Ci with a torrent of words.

    Of course, he was smart enough to avoid any topic about Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Those Northern Continent yers are so petty. How could they ce a bounty on you? Three months! Don¡¯t you think that they¡¯re very despicable?¡±

    ¡°Aiya, these people are just looking for trouble, aren¡¯t they? Is the bounty troubling you, Gongzi You?¡±

    Ye Ci lowered her head and grimaced. She finally understood the saying ¡°the cowardly fears the valiant, and the valiant fears those who have no regard for their lives.¡±. Lotus Supercenter was a prime example of such a person.

    She was as silent as the dead throughout the rest of the journey, while Lotus Supercenter grew more and more excited as he babbled on.

    When she finally arrived in Hero City, Ye Ci pulled on the reins of her steed, and circled it around the air on top of the Flight Manager before slowly descending to a spot beside the Trainer. She leapt down from her steed and immediately disappeared into the crowd.

    Lotus Supercenter was not as adept as Ye Ci in the handling of a flying steed. He struggled to control hisnding in the air for quite some time that ended in a roughnding beside the Trainer. He jumped down from his steed and studied his surroundings, but Gongzi You was nowhere to be found, ¡°Aiya, I¡¯ve forgot to add her into my friendlist. What a shame!¡±

    ¡°Lotus, you¡¯re here as well?¡± a voice called out to him as he was still looking around for Ye Ci.

    He turned around, and walked towards the source of the voice, ¡°Damn right. Have you been here for long?¡±

    The man responded with a smile as well, ¡°Yeah. What took you so long?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I was caught up with something in Champion City just now.¡± Lotus Supercenter scratched his head, not willing to tell the tale of his argument with the Trainer about the size of his steed. ¡°Where did the guild leader create his character?¡±

    ¡°The guild has divided itself into four sections stationed in each continent. The leader and Death Blossom have not joined the guild yet, so we do not know which continent they will be in. Our men have started their grind for experience points. Go lead a dungeon expedition if you have the time.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will.¡± Lotus Supercenter patted his chest, ¡°But I want to explore Hero City for now, and see if there¡¯s anything new.¡±

    Hispanion sighed, ¡°You¡¯re just looking for prettydies, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Lotus Supercenter let out a heartyugh and waved the man goodbye before heading into Hero City.

    Ye Ci headed straight for the Job Center after leaving the Flight Manager.

    yers from all four continents flocked to Hero City for different reasons. Some of them were here for the sight, and to explore the new continent. But Ye Ci was here to increase her level cap.

    With the release of the new patch, the level cap of yers was increased to lvl100. The experience points to advance through these 40 levels was greater than that of the previous 60 levels. yers were unable to increase their level cap in their home continent, and could only do so by visiting specific NPCs in Hero City. Despite the increase in level cap, there was still not many yers who have reached the level of 60.

    Despite the huge number of yers in Hero City, the Job Center was rtively empty.

    To amodate the yers from all four continents, Hero City was built to berger than the capitals of all four continents. The Job Center was a white building situation in the middle of a wisteria garden on the eastern side of the city. The contrast between the purplish garden and the white of the building gave off an air of otherworldly beauty.

    Bards and poets could be found around the wisteria garden, singing and reciting songs and poems from the olden days as they yed with their instruments.

    Thebination of falling wisteria buds, bards and poets, as well as tables filled with fruits and cups of wine formed a beautiful scenery. Many of the female yers who passed through the garden stopped and began taking pictures of the ce.

    Ye Ci made her way through the garden and into the Job Center. Of all the yers in the area, she was the only one who seemed to be in a hurry.

    She could still remember how mesmerized she was by the same scenery when she first visited the garden. But as time passed, she had grown numb to its beauty.

    ¡°It was a night just like tonight. The beautiful moonlight was shining down on us. You told me that you will embark on a long journey; and I gave you my promise, that I will await your return. You promised me the prettiest bellflower from the Missia Summit as a decoration for my wedding gown. I¡¯ve waited, oh have I waited for you.. My wedding dress has been ready for many years but oh my hero when will you return?¡±

    ¡°I want not the bellflowers from the Missia Summit. I want not the most beautiful decoration for my wedding dress.¡±

    ¡°My hero, do you know that...¡±

    ¡°That your love is the most precious gem to me?¡±

    ¡°Please do not let war slow down your pace, and the wild flowers cloud your eyes, and return to me... Oh my hero...¡±

    One of the bards was reciting a poem that was different from the rest, and even Ye Ci stopped dead in her tracks to listen to the bard who was standing below a wisteria tree with a crowd of yers gathered around him.

    She drummed her fingers against her arm, trying her best to remember the quest that was rted to the poem.

    Each poem and songs of every bard in the wisteria garden had origins of their own. They would often lead to a new quest, but such a fact was still not known by yers. Ye Ci herself only knew about the secret behind them because of the experiences in herst life.

    That particr poem was rted to a preliminary quest for a particr dungeon. But due to the passing of time, Ye Ci could no longer recall the name of the dungeon. She gave up with a sigh, and decided to settle the matter at hand first.

    With that thought in mind, she immediately headed into the Job Center.

 Chapter 284 Wisteria Garden Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 284 Wisteria Garden Part 1</h4>

    Chapter 284 Wisteria Garden (Part 1)

    The first floor of the Job Center was thergest, housing NPCs that offer their services to level up the skills of yers of all sses.

    yers in Fate learn their character skills primarily through the use of skill books, but they require the services of an NPC to level up their skills, as long as they have the coins to pay.

    To prevent the overcrowding of yers, the Job Center of Hero City had employed 7 NPCs to take charge of the skill leveling of each character ss.

    The number of yers was significantly less on the second floor, which housed the NPCs in charge of giving out ss quests as well as arge variety of unique quests. These quests can only be triggered by the fulfilment of specific requirements. These can be fulfilled by yers who followed the guides, but at the current stage of the game, yers were still unable to meet most of the requirements. This was why the second floor of the job center was significantly less popted.

    Ye Ci could barely see any yers on the third floor.

    The NPCs on the third floor were the busiest whenever new level caps were released, but due to the uneven yer levels, only four NPCs were stationed on the floor.

    Only a handful of yers in Fate had reached their level cap, which meant that there were barely any visitors on that particr floor. It was apparent that the few who set foot on that ce wished to keep their identity a secret, as they hid their faces behind their hoods.

    Ye Ci was one of them. She hid underneath her hood as she arrived on the third floor, and found it nearly deserted safe for the dozen of yers gathered before the four NPCs. Every single figure on that floor other than the four NPCs was hooded.

    She walked up to one of the NPCs surrounded by less yers, and a cheerful tune erupted as she was queuing up. It was the BGM of a yer leveling up.

    Ye Ci nced at the source of the sound, and saw a yer glowing up with a colorful disy of light. Ahh, so there¡¯s quite a few who have already reached lvl60 just like me. That guy has stored quite a lot of experience points as well.

    The NPC spoke to Ye Ci as she was still trying to figure out how many levels had the yer advanced, ¡°How may I help you, o¡¯ hero from a distantnd?¡±

    Ye Ci snapped out of her train of thoughts, and nodded at the NPC, ¡°Yes, sir. Can you help me raise my level cap?¡± she said with a smile.

    The NPC muttered under his breath. It was apparent that he was doing a check on Ye Ci¡¯s level, ¡°Of course, hero from a distantnd. Your level has met the requirement. I am d to be of service, he said with a smile as orbs of hand rose from his palm and floated towards Ye Ci, who received a system notification: Your level cap has been increased.

    The notification was followed by the jovial music of leveling out. The music rang out six times before finally stopping. The journey from lvl60 to lvl100 is a long and arduous one indeed. Ye Ci grimaced. She had been storing up a lot of points by fighting against monsters that were on levels higher than hers, but had only umted enough points to raise her level by six. Well, it seems that getting to lvl100 is something that can¡¯t be achieved in a short amount of time. ¡°Wow! Six levels! Not bad, Little Gongzi. That¡¯s impressive.¡± Just as Ye Ci was considering her options of leveling spots, she felt a pat on her shoulder and a loud voice.

    It was a voice that she would never forget even at the end of her life. She leaped away from the person, and stared at him. The person had already removed his hood, revealing his silvery hair and ck eyes.

    A yer could remain anonymous as long as he or she remain hooded, which was why Ye Ci immediately ran the moment she saw that handsome face.

    F*ck! I want nothing to do with that man right now! Ye Ci was his rival, and after he had epted the bounty on her by the three guilds, she was also a pile of gold coins to him. Hero City was neutral ground, but it does not mean that yers could not engage each other inbat. Thest thing Ye Ci wanted was to start a fight with him in the middle of Hero City. It would be a huge waste of time.

    Ye Ci was quick, but Fleeting Time was even quicker. He caught up with Ye Ci in the wisteria garden, standing before her with his arms crossed in front of him with a grin on his face, ¡°We meet again, Little Gongzi. Why are you so eager to leave before we can even have a good talk?¡±

    ¡°You got the wrong person.¡± Ye Ci pulled her hood lower rin an attempt to hide her face and spoke in a faked hoarse voice.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes and studied the figure in front of him, ¡°I got the wrong person?¡± a smile appeared on his face.

    Ye Ci nodded at him as an affirmation. Come on, just let me go. I don¡¯t want any trouble today.

    ¡°Ah, sorry about that.¡± Fleeting Time was not apologetic at all despite his words, ¡°You look just like someone I know. That girl is so cruel. She stole my heart, but left without even saying goodbye. I¡¯ve been waiting to hear from her for so long, but she did not even talk to me. Ah, poor me.¡± he even pretended to wipe away nonexistent tears as he spoke.

    The grip Ye Ci had on her hood tightened, and rxed. There was a hint of anger in her expression, but it was quickly suppressed. Just ignore that rascal... Just ignore that rascal... Ye Ci repeated to herself over and over again.

    With her mental resistance firmly built up, Ye Ci spoke up to Fleeting Time who was still expressing his sorrow, ¡°Can you get out of the way?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m in your way!¡± Fleeting Time reacted as if he had juste to a sudden realisation. He looked at the positions here he was standing, and s, he was indeed in the middle of the road, and was blocking Ye Ci¡¯s way.

    He sighed and offered an apology, ¡°Ahh, I¡¯m so sorry. You see, I feel sad j whenever I see someone who looks like that girl and I just can¡¯t resist the urge to get in the way.¡± but he showed no intention of moving out of Ye Ci¡¯s way.

    Fine. If he¡¯s not going to move, I¡¯ll just go around him. Ye Ci sighed when she realised that Fleeting Time would never move.

    ording to Ye Ci¡¯s knowledge of Fleeting Time, he was good, and he has a quick reaction speed. He was like an adhesive that would never let go once he had locked on to a target. Even Ol¡¯ Four would not be much help for her. This was why she made the decision to make a run for it.

    But Ye Ci had overestimated her own speed, as well as the reaction speed of Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time had identified any and all possible escape routes when he first intercepted Ye Ci, and was able to react to any action that she might take. The time she spent listening to Fleeting Time¡¯s nonsense was actually the best time for her escape.

    The man was able to grab hold of Ye Ci¡¯s shoulders as she sprinted past him, and he pressed down on her with force.

    Ye Ci was caught off guard by the sudden force that was pulling her back. She would have fallen onto the ground if she did not support herself with one hand against one of the pirs beside her.

    She pushed hard on the pir,unching herself away, and was able to twist away from Fleeting Time¡¯s grasp.

    But Fleeting Time was not someone she could shake off that easily. Due to Ye Ci¡¯s motion, she was not able to evade Fleeting Time for a second time as she made another grab at her. She could feel a force throwing herself backwards.

    And at that moment, Ye Ci remembered her battle against Fleeting Time in the Southern Continent. He had used the same method against her on that day. Oh? Is he trying to pull the same move on me? A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips. If that¡¯s what he has in mind, then he has grossly underestimated what I can do.

    Ye Ci would never fall for the same trick twice. She pretended to lose her bnce as she was tossed away by Fleeting Time, but immediately rebounded and pounced on him the moment shended.

    She was hoping that she would catch him by surprise, but a smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face as she approached.

    Her heart sank the moment she noticed the smile.

    She had always been a sceptical person.

    And because of that smile, she could not decide if she wanted to press the attack, or to seek for a better opportunity.

    Her body, however, had already reacted to the change of Fleeting Time movements. She drew her sword with her right hand, and changed the path of her attack in midair towards the left arm of Fleeting Time.

    But Fleeting Time jumped backwards with a sudden movement.

    Ye Ci did not even think as she drew a dagger with her other arm, and advanced on Fleeting Time. She had been enraged by Fleeting Time, hence her attacks were all aimed at his most vulnerable spots.

    Fleeting Time countered with a pair of his own daggers, and their nking of their weapons as they met each other in the air was like a symphony in the tranquil wisteria garden.

    The fluttering wisteria buds made the already breathtaking spectacle of their fight into a more astonishing sight.

    Perhaps due to the scent of wisteria that filled the air in the battlefield, or perhaps due to the contrast of the soft wisteria buds against the sharp killing intent, the intense battle between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time was like a work of art created by a master artist.

    Fleeting Time did not attempt tounch his own attacks, and was only backing away from Ye Ci. His movements were swift like the wind that was slipping through the gaps between her fingers. None of Ye Ci¡¯s attacks hadnded on Fleeting Time.

    But she was not frustrated by her failed attempts. Each miss had only served to make Ye Ci¡¯s head cooler, with her movements matching the swiftness of Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Wow! Look at those two! Are they fighting?¡± Some of the yers in the wisteria garden noticed the battle between the two Hunters. Many stopped dead in their tracks, and began watching the awe inspiring spectacle that was ying before their eyes.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be! They must be NPCs ced here by the system. Look at their movements! Do you think normal yers could do that?¡±

    ¡°This is so cool! I¡¯ve never done anything like this.¡±

    ¡°And the songs from the bards are like background music to their fight! Awesome!¡±

    While their movements were graceful and elegant to the onlookers, only Ye Ci and Fleeting Time could see the dangers that lurked behind every move.

    Fleeting Time slowed his movements without warning, and leaned backwards as if he was about to fall.

    But Ye Ci could see the trap, and redirected the de of her sword, stabbing it towards her back.

    One of them sprinted forward, as the other leaned backwards. Ye Ci could feel the de of her sword cutting through something, but she did not have the time to look as shended 4 yards away.

    Fleeting Time was already back on his feet, and was a mere step away from Ye Ci as she recovered from hernding. She felt something cold pressing against the back of her neck before she could react. Ye Ci creased her eyebrows. She had failed to see through Fleeting Time¡¯s movement. He had apparently began tounch his attack as Ye Ci barreled past him.

    ¡°Aiya, you¡¯re a troublesome person. Why did you start attacking before I can finish talking?¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s lips formed themselves into a beautiful arc as he spoke with a voice filled with mirth. Ye Ci could see a trail of blood on his face. The wound was not deep, but it was seeping blood.

    Despite the game¡¯s realism, Ye Ci¡¯s attack would not leave a permanent scar on Fleeting Time¡¯s face. But Ye Ci still enjoyed the satisfaction of leaving a scar on that beautiful face nheless. The satisfaction that she felt was that of a person crushing a beautiful flower. Especially when the flower was Fleeting Time. It felt good.

    She was caught by Fleeting Time, but she could not but smirk as she stared at the wound that she left on his face. If he¡¯s a tad bit slower, I would¡¯ve cut that pretty face of his into shreds. Even his own mother would not recognise him by the time I¡¯m done.

 Chapter 288 Beyond Expectation

    <h4>Chapter 288 Beyond Expectation</h4>

    ¡°Really?¡± it was obvious that Bai Mo did not believe what Ye Ci had said. If they were fighting, why would Fleeting Time send a message like that? Bai Mo had a feeling that he had developed the talent of a gossiper like Fruit Jelly and her friends.

    But he was indeed excited.

    The subject of the gossip were two top-tier yers, and one of them was his sister. It was a weird feeling. It felt odd that his sister was involved, and yet he was excited to hear news about the incident straight from the person involved.

    It was something that a novice gossipper would not understand.

    Bai Mo wiped sweat away from his face. He had to worry about the wellbeing of his sister, and at the same time, he was also excited for more gossipping materials.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Even Ye Ci herself was not convinced by her own words. But a text message meant that Bai Mo was not able to see her expression, nor was he able to discern anything from her tone. She was not worried that Bai Mo would learn of her secret.

    Bai Mo chuckled when he saw the two-word response. Of course he would not believe what she said. It was something that even Ye Ci herself had failed to realise. Ever since she was young, she would often offer answers that were brief and short whenever she felt guilt or was attempting to lie. A person who knew her would be able to gauge the truth simply from her response.

    And it was only natural for Bai Mo to notice such a trait. He did not expose her lie. ¡°You¡¯ve increased your level cap now. When will you be back?¡± Instead, he changed the topic of the conversation.

    ¡°Soon. There are things that I have to buy. I found a good shop in Hero City.¡± Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief. She was d to offer up the truth once the conversation had shifted to another direction.

    ¡°Alright then. We¡¯ll be exploring the Deste zing Canyon for the first time tonight. Will you be joining us?¡± It was one of the reasons Bai Mo came looking for Ye Ci.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Ye Ci replied after a moment of thought.

    ¡°Okay. Get things settled there ande back as soon as possible. I¡¯ll see you in Red Lake City.¡± Bai Mo ended the conversation, and Ye Ci immediately headed into a secluded shop in Hero City.

    The shop was situated in the alleys of the northern part of Hero City, and was known for the rare consumable that it offered. The items sold by the shop were refreshed weekly, and each item would only be sold at a limited number. yers would have to wait for the next refresh whenever the stocks were sold out.

    The major guilds in Ye Ci¡¯s past life would often post men in front of the shops who would then immediately clear out whatever items that were avable whenever they were refreshed. It was a contest of speed and luck.

    In this life, however, only Ye Ci knew of the shop¡¯s existence.

    Hero City had only been opened to the yers, and arge number of them were still busy exploring the new realm. At this stage of the game, it was rare for yers to stumble upon a secluded area like this. They would instead tend to flock to the more poptedmercial zone of the city as well as anyndmark and beautiful sceneries found in the city.

    But these ces had little appeal to Ye Ci who was already used to the city. The only intention in her mind was to benefit from this shop before it was discovered.

    Solo yers like her barely stood a chance against the major guilds when it came to acquiring the rare items, but it did not mean that she was a stranger to the shop. She was an expert in snatching up the leftovers.

    She turned into a narrow alley, and headed towards a shop with the name David¡¯s Groceries.

    The shop was small, and its sign worn. The shop assistant sitting behind the counter was almost asleep when Ye Ci walked into the shop. The items disyed behind him were nothing butmon consumables. Any yers who knew nothing about the shop would naturally lose interest and leave for therger shops in a busier part of the city.

    But an observant yer would be shocked by the items sold by the shop.

    Judging a book by its cover is a major drawback of human nature.

    Ye Ci walked into the shop, and rapped her hand against the counter, waking up the shop assistant who was snoring. He woke up, and stared at Ye Ci with a confused expression before finally speaking up after letting out a yawn, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°I want to buy something.¡±

    ¡°Oh, if that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you head out from our shop, turn right, and walk straight until you see a sign. Follow that sign, and you will reach themercial area of the city. The shops there have way more than what we have to offer.¡± the shop assistant stifled another yawn.

    Any other yer would definitely have left the shop there and then. Nobody would be willing to shop in a ce that immediately directed a customer somewhere else. Even Ye Ci herself would immediately leave if she was not a reincarnator even if she was the first person to discover the shop.

    ¡°No, I want to buy them from you.¡± Ye Ci shook her head with a smile on her face.

    The shop assistant was shocked. He studied Ye Ci for a long moment before grumbling under his breath, ¡°What a weird person.¡± he then stood up and spoke to Ye Ci, ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll get my boss.¡±

    He then disappeared into the shop and returned with a Gnome wearing thick sses and tattered clothing in tow. The NPCs appearance would not attract any attention if he was walking down the streets of the city. His name was David, the owner of the shop.

    ¡°You¡¯re seeking to buy something?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    The Gnome David scratched his balding head, ¡°I don¡¯t sell normal goods here.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Ye Ci offered her smile. She was here exactly because she knew.

    ¡°Alright then, if you insist. I¡¯ll show you my wares. Scram if you don¡¯t need anything! I don¡¯t have time to waste.¡± David was apparently not a good natured person. He spared no courtesy for Ye Ci even when she was his first customer.

    ¡°Show her what we have.¡± he spoke to one of his employees, ¡°I¡¯m busy. Don¡¯t bother me if it¡¯s nothing big.¡±

    The shop assistant nodded, and opened up his inventory when his employer left.

    Most of the items were expensive, but affordable by Ye Ci. They might not be as good as products of Goblin Engineering, but they were still items with high destructive power such as deep water torpedoes, electricals, time bombs, and many more.

    Only 20 of each item were sold, and they would only be restocked in the following week.

    Ye Ci nced at the amount of gold she had, and bought all the avable Deep Water Torpedoes, Electric Net, Medium Time Bomb, and Large Time Bomb. By the time the purchase waspleted, she had only a single digit amount of money left. Looks like it¡¯s time to ask Bai Mo for some money.

    The shop assistant was shocked by therge transaction made by Ye Ci. He ignored David¡¯s warning, and ran into the shop. David soon emerged once again with his employee, and when he spoke to Ye Ci, it was with a more polite tone, ¡°You sure know your stuff, Elf!¡±

    Ye Ci nodded at David, ¡°You¡¯re the one with the good stuff.¡±

    David was satisfied with the praise he received from Ye Ci. He weed Ye Ci to shop in his ce again with a chuckle. This came as a disappointment to Ye Ci, who was expecting some form of discount as the first customer to the shop. It seems that David is living up to the stingy reputation of the Gnomes.

    Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Four and headed straight for the city¡¯s Flying Stone once she left David¡¯s shop. A Gryphon ride was no longer necessary when the stone was activated. The cost of using the stone was twice the fare charged by a Gryphon ride, which meant that the Flight Manager would still retain its customer despite the convenience.

    She carefully studied her surroundings once she was at her destination. Once she was certain that there were no hooded yers in her vicinity, Ye Ci dismissed Ol¡¯ Four and walked up to the stone.

    But before she could return to Red Lake City, Ye Ci felt ap tight on her shoulder followed by an annoying voice, ¡°Heh, we meet again Little Gongzi.¡±

    Ye Ci yelped and jumped away from the man, canceling her the channeling of her recalling spell. She raised her head and stared at the shameless man who had just greeted her, ¡°Fleeting Time! Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m here because you are here.¡± Fleeting Time smiled.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Ye Ci, who was at a loss of words, red at Fleeting Time.

    She did not expect Fleeting Time to pull up his hood, leaned forward, and whispered into her ear, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, it¡¯s dangerous.¡±

    His voice was soft, and the yers around them did not take note of the interaction between the two hooded yers.

    ¡°You rascal!¡± Ye Ci spoke through gritted teeth. Her face was rapidly heating up. She had hoped to forget what happened in the wisteria garden, but with the rascal around, it was a hard thing to do.

    ¡°Me? A rascal?¡± Fleeting Time was not angry, and was instead grinning from ear to ear. He muttered under his breath before replying, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve said anything wrong. But if Little Gongzi is calling me a rascal just because of the few words I said, perhaps you¡¯re thinking about¡­ Something¡­¡± he chuckled.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking for it!¡± Ye Ci was truly angered. Why does such a shameless man exist! Her perspective of Fleeting Time had slightly improved during her time spent with him in the Western Continent, but it was immediately destroyed by his shamelessness. Her voice was so cold that it could even freeze the very air around her. She pulled her dagger out of its sheath, and plunged it into Fleeting Time¡¯s chest.

    By sheer muscle memory, Ye Ci aimed at the most vulnerable part of the human body with her strike even without thinking.

    It was also the weakest spot of a yer¡¯s character: The heart.

    A strike to the heart could almost guarantee an instant death.

    But what Ye Ci did not expect was Fleeting Time¡¯s inaction even as the dagger headed straight for his heart. Based on her knowledge of Fleeting Time, Ye Ci thought that he would definitely be able to avoid her attack.

    She was stunned, ¡°Why did you not dodge?¡±

    Fleeting Time lost 90% of his health when the strikended, and his health was rapidly dropping because of the bleeding. He smiled at Ye Ci whispered into her ear, ¡°If you want me dead, I will not fight back.¡±

    ¡°Are you an idio-¡± Fleeting Time dropped dead before Ye Ci before she could finish her sentence, and the system notification immediately rang out in her ears, ¡°You¡¯ve killed an innocent in a Neutral Area of Hero City. You will be arrested by troops from the Hero City Guard. Please do not resist arrest.¡±

 Chapter 290 Incarcerated

    <h4>Chapter 290 Incarcerated</h4>

    And that was how the entire incident ended.

    It ended with the incarceration of the murderer, and the revival of her ¡°innocent victim¡±.

    But things were not that simple.

    The yers in the World Channel and the Map Channel had begun to piece the clues together. They were not certain of the identity of the murderer, but there could only be one logical answer: Gongzi You.

    Of course, the ¡°murderer¡± had already long switched off her World and Map channel on her way to the jail. She had made the decision to stay away from the madness of the two channels the moment Fleeting Time shouted for her to enjoy the scenery in the wisteria garden with him.

    She could tell what was going on in those channels without looking at them.

    Ye Ci had never had such a strong feeling before: Fleeting Time was like the bane of her existence. Nothing good would happen whenever they met, and she no longer wanted to see him.

    But she was instantly filled with regret the moment she remembered her deal with Absalom. I should¡¯ve let him kill me there and then! Who cares about the deal and Golden Era? They¡¯ll probably leave Upwards Ho! alone anyways with how small we are. Didn¡¯t my action guarantee the increase in my interaction with Fleeting Time?

    I¡¯m so stupid! I¡¯m an idiot! Why did I ask for cooperation with his guild?

    Fleeting Time, however, was not having a good time as well.

    He had grown used to the presence of the crowd around him, but it did not mean that he liked it. Especially under such circumstances.

    His death at the hands of Gongzi You, her arrest, and the ongoing discussion about the wisteria garden made the situation extremely ufortable. Of course, yers would not dare to approach someone like Fleeting Time, but this would not stop them from gossipping, and he could feel the stares on him.

    Fleeting Time pulled up his hood to cover his face, and summoned his signature steed, the Unicorn. He was ready to leave the scene.

    Under normal circumstances, yers who were not close with him would not have the courage to even speak to him. But with the especiallyrge crowd around him, things were slightly different.

    A Lycan Sorcerer called out to Fleeting Time just when he mounted his steed, ¡°H-hey, Fleeting Time!¡±

    Fleeting Time stopped and raised an eyebrow, ¡°What is it?¡± he replied with a cold voice, indicating that the Lycan¡¯s presence was not wee.

    It was obvious that the Lycan¡¯s friends had pressured him into speaking to Fleeting Time. He cast a nce back at his friends when he noticed Fleeting Time¡¯s tone, and one of them responded with a thumbs up, ¡°Uhhh...¡±

    Fleeting Time¡¯s gaze swept across the group of friends before finally resting back on the Lycan, ¡°If you have nothing to say, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±

    ¡°There is!¡± the Lycan grabbed Fleeting Time¡¯s sleeve with a sudden burst of courage.

    A frown appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face when he noticed the hand on his sleeve. He red daggers at the Lycan from underneath the hood. Despite his inability to see Fleeting Time¡¯s face, the Lycan immediately shrunk back, releasing his grip in the process.

    Fleeting Time continued to stare at the Lycan, waiting for him to speak.

    Despite his reluctance to deal with strangers, Fleeting Time did not forget his manners. The Lycan Sorcerer had business with him, so he remained to hear him out. He might not be interested in what the yer had to say, but he could still tolerate his presence for a minute or two.

    The Lycan chuckled under his breath, and visibly gulped, ¡°Fleeting Time, was Gongzi You the one who killed you just now?¡±

    Fleeting Time was momentarily stunned by the question. But a quick nce at the World and Map channel allowed him to understand the situation. Arguments had erupted in both the channels, and the topic of their discussion was the question that had just been asked by the Lycan.

    He offered the Lycan a smile, and avoided the question, ¡°Why? Is it very important?¡±

    And the Lycan chuckled awkwardly at Fleeting Time, ¡°N-no, not at all.¡± before retreating back to his group of friends. Despite his desire for gossip, he knew that it was not a wise choice to be a bother to Fleeting Time, as nobody knew what he might be thinking at that moment.

    The Lycan was weed with a smack from one of his friends, ¡°Why did you say that it¡¯s not important! I¡¯ve even taken pictures of you! Do you know how good a topic this is if we post it on the forums? Don¡¯t you know that the Top 3 posts of the month will receive a reward? How is that not important!?¡±

    ¡°Exactly! Why did you say that! We wouldn¡¯t have gotten you to talk to him if it¡¯s not important! We thought Fleeting Time did not like talking to strangers! Why did you let go of such a rare chance!?¡±

    ¡°You fool!¡±

    ¡°You idiot!!!¡±

    The Lycan protested, ¡°Who do you think he is? Of course I would not dare to bother someone like him!¡±

    Fleeting Time cast a sideway nce at the Lycan Sorcerer and his friends and smiled. The Lycan would have received an answer if he had stayed longer.

    He summoned his steed, and cast onest look at the yers around him before heading straight to the city¡¯s jail.

    The crowd parted for Fleeting Time, allowing him an unobstructed passage to his destination.

    Hero City¡¯s jail was wayrger than the jails of the other major cities in Fate. yers would be kept in different parts of the jail ording to the crime theymited. A murderer like Ye Ci would naturally be ced in the deepest part of the dungeon.

    ¡°You¡¯vemitted murder in the middle of the streets, Elf! Do you plea guilty for you crime?¡± the Head Judge of Hero City spoke in a weird voice.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci yawned. This was her only option. She did not wish to be thrown into jail longer than she should for trying to trick the judge, nor did she want to get executed on the spot by the NPC soldiers. Pleading guilty to her crime was the only way to get a reduced sentence.

    Of course, despite her response to the judge, Ye Ci felt that she was innocent.

    The judge was apparently satisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s response. He stroked his beard, and smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°I see that you¡¯vee to your senses. I shall give you a light sentence, for this is your first offense. I hope you¡¯ll turn over a new leaf, and be a better person in the future.¡±

    Ye Ci resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and responded with as much sincerity as she could muster, ¡°Yes, Your Honor. I will.¡±

    And an NPC stood up to read out her sentence, ¡°The Elf Gongzi You has been convicted of the murder of the Elf Fleeting Time. Her crimes had severely disrupted the public order in Hero City. As punishment, she will be imprisoned for three days, effective immediately!¡±

    Thank God, it¡¯s only three days.

    Ye Ci listened intently as her sentence was read out. She was satisfied with the oue of her trial. Perhaps due to the significantly lower poption of criminals at the earlier stages of the game, judges would tend to give out a heavier sentence to yers for the jail cells were rtively empty.

    She had seen a sentence of an entire month of imprisonment be brought down upon an unfortunate yer in her past life. But when the crime rate increased in theter stages of the game and the poption of inmates in the jail soared, judges would simply order the execution of murderers.

    Unfortunately for Ye Ci, the three-days sentence that she received would be counted in terms of in-game time, which meant that she had to spend 72 hours online in the jail.

    With the wave of his hand, the judge called forth soldiers who immediately escorted Ye Ci to her jail cell.

    A system notification appeared in the Map Channel at the same time, announcing Ye Ci¡¯s sentence to the yer poption.

    The news of Gongzi You killing Fleeting Time was many times more valuable as a gossip material than Fleeting Time¡¯s death itself. Ye Ci¡¯s inbox was flooded with messages from her friends as she was escorted into her cell.

    Even her guildmates were excited at the news.

    ¡°Ahh!! You killed Fleeting Time in the middle of the streets in Hero City? That¡¯s impressive, guild leader! You killed him in the middle of a bustling street without being detected!¡± came the message from Pea Cake.

    Which was immediately followed by a response from Fruit Jelly, ¡°Wasn¡¯t she caught? And her crime was announced?¡±

    ¡°So how did Fleeting Time die if it was not the case?¡± Ideal Height 1.7m chuckled, ¡°We all know how skillful of a yer he is. There¡¯s no way Gongzi could kill him silently.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Something¡¯s fishy.¡± came the almost instant follow-up from Let Go Of That Girl, ¡°I can smell it.¡±

    ¡°Which one do you think is more worthy of gossip? The murder or the untold story behind those two?¡± even Pickled Pepper Phoenix w who barely participated in gossip had spoken up.

    ¡°Well, if you ask me, I¡¯d say that there¡¯s definitely something going on between those two.¡± concluded Blossom, ¡°And we all know it¡¯s the truth.¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips as she read through their messages, ¡°I¡¯ve decided! I¡¯ll follow you guys into every dungeon you go, and I¡¯ll be the one looting the corpse.¡±

    Silence fell upon the Guild Chat for three full seconds before Timely Rain appeared, ¡°I think I should talk to Absalom. I¡¯m sure he needs help from very skillful yers in the exploration of the new dungeons. We can rent a certain someone to Genesis...¡±

    ¡°Ahh, I like the idea!!!¡± his proposal immediately received the praise of the members of Upwards Ho!.

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth at the Guild Chat as she sat in her jail cell.

    ¡°Heh, Little Gongzi. Do you want some food? It¡¯s a Hero City delight.¡± the voice of thest man Ye Ci wanted to see on Earth rang out in her ears as she was at the peak of her anger.

 Chapter 291 Visitors

    <h4>Chapter 291 Visitors</h4>

    There was a type of people who would always appear when their presence was not wee.

    And there were also events that would ur in the worst possible moment.

    The appearance of Fleeting Time outside of Ye Ci¡¯s cell was abination of both. It was a cmity.

    She stared incredulously at the man. Why is he here? The man was casually leaning against the wall in the dark, damp jail. The smile on his face disgusted Ye Ci as he stared at her silently, as if she was all that mattered to him at that moment.

    A shiver ran down her spine. It was not because she was cold, but was due to a feeling.

    It was simr to the primal instinct of an animal. They could sense any changes in their surrounding, be it something harmless or an approaching danger. It was an instinct that would remind them that something wasing.

    Ye Ci have no fear of Fleeting Time, or rather she had never known fear. Even if she had died time and time again to his arrows in her past life, she was not afraid.

    And in this life, her regrets in the past pushed her into his life. He had been a formidable opponent from the beginning, but she was still not afraid.

    Pressure had never been Ye Ci¡¯s reason to fear, nor was the strength of her opponent.

    But she felt fear at that very moment.

    Even Ye Ci herself could not understand the source of her fear. She was not afraid that she would one day surpass him, nor was she fearing defeat by his hands. But Fleeting Time still struck fear into her. She had the urge to flee whenever he appeared before her, even if she was fully capable of defeating him. She felt so helpless and nervous in front of Fleeting Time, even when he was a corpse.

    And the same feeling was washing over her.

    Fleeting Time was standing casually not far away from Ye Ci, and she felt the urge to hide in a corner of her cell. Her grip on the bars of her cell tightened, to the point where the whites of her knuckles could be seen. She did not have the courage to look him in the eye, and instead snorted at him, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I came to visit a prisoner of course.¡± he replied matter of factly as he walked towards Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci subconsciously took two steps back. There was still a yard between them, but Ye Ci could feel an unseen pressure weighing down on her chest. It was a pressure that only Fleeting Time was capable of exerting on her.

    But she had nowhere to run.

    Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow to her reaction, ¡°You¡¯re afraid of me?¡±

    ¡°Why would I?¡± snapped Ye Ci. She snorted, and took in a deep breath, ¡°I just do not want to get too close to you.¡±

    ¡°Well what¡¯s wrong with that? It¡¯s not like I will eat you.¡± Fleeting Time asked quizzically as he studied Ye Ci¡¯s expression.

    Ye Ci, who was at a loss for words, gritted her teeth and sat down. She closed her eyes and proceeded to ignore Fleeting Time.

    But he was not angered by her gesture, and instead produced some food and wine from his inventory, cing them in front of Ye Ci¡¯s cell.

    She opened her eyes, but remained silent even after seeing the food.

    ¡°Staying in a jail cell will drain your stamina quickly. If you don¡¯t eat, these three days will be ufortable for you.¡±

    But Ye Ci remained silent.

    ¡°Are you mad at me?¡± asked Fleeting Time. He sat down on the floor outside the cell, and extended an arm. He wanted to pat Ye Ci on the head, but he stopped himself. He redirected his hand towards a piece of fruit, and ced it in Ye Ci¡¯s hands.

    And that was when she finally lifted her head and looked at Fleeting Time. She trained her eyes at Fleeting Time with her dark eyes, as if he was a stranger.

    Panic gripped Fleeting Time¡¯s heart when he saw her expression. This was the first time he was not in control of a situation. The feeling was strange to him, and it made him nervous. I must not panic or I might end up doing something that I¡¯ll regret. Fleeting Time warned himself, and forced a smile on his face.

    Am I afraid? Fleeting Time would never admit the truth, but he knew deep down that he was afraid of Ye Ci. It was not a fear of her strength or her arrogance. He was afraid of rejection. And because of that fear, he had been using the most childish and foolish way that angered her time and time again to get closer to her. He knew it would not end well, but he was inexperienced, and it was the only way he had in mind.

    There was a saying, that males had their unique way to pursue their mate. They might not seed, but it was still unique.

    But Fleeting Time¡¯s method was way too childish. ording to Absalom, Fleeting Time was like an elementary school kid trying to woo a child of the same age. He was beaten up by Fleeting Time because of that, but the truth was undeniable. Fleeting Time was simply too childish.

    Fleeting Time gulped as he stared into Ye Ci¡¯s eyes, ¡°So you really are mad at me?¡±

    And Ye Ci was still silent.

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s all my fault. I promise that I¡¯ll dodge the next time you want to kill me in the middle of the streets.¡± Fleeting Time grimaced, ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be mad anymore. I¡¯ve apologised.¡±

    Ye Ci sighed. He¡¯s apologising for the wrong reasons.

    She did not mind that she was imprisoned due to the murder. She was angered by the chaos he caused in the World and Map Channel by mentioning her name. The thought that her name would once again be associated with Fleeting Time made her cough up blood.

    ¡°You¡¯re here as a visitor?¡± Ye Ci sighed.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Fleeting Time smiled at Ye Ci, his worries washed away by her response.

    ¡°Well, now that you¡¯re done, you can leave now.¡± replied Ye Ci.

    Fleeting Time bit back a response and stood up, ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll leave. Just don¡¯t be mad anymore.¡±

    Ye Ci looked away not wanting to continue their conversation.

    Fleeting Time scratched his head. He knew that he did something wrong, but he did not know what his mistake was. He would not gain an answer by staying, which was why he made the decision to leave. She was imprisoned for three days. He would have more time to talk to her.

    ¡°Little Ci!¡± a voice rang out in the silent jail as a Warrior made his way to Ye Ci¡¯s cell.

    Little Ci? Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes. Is that Gongzi You¡¯s name in real life? He stood aside and stared silently at the heavily armored Warrior.

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyes flung open when she heard the voice. She jumped up from the ground, and rushed to the door of her cell with surprise written on her face, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Why am I here? You killed someone, and your sentence was announced by the system. How do you expect me to not know? I happen to be in Hero City, that¡¯s why I came as soon as I heard.¡± Bai Mo was relieved when he saw Ye Ci healthy and well. He extended an arm through the bars of her cell and caressed her head, as if it was a gesture that was very natural to him.

    But to Fleeting Time, it was something else. His eyes narrowed into slits, emanating a thick killing intent that was obviously directed at Bai Mo.

    Bai Mo was rmed by a chill going down his spine and the feeling that someone was ring at him. He turned around and saw a male Elf with silvery hair staring at him with hostility.

    It did not take him long to figure out the situation. A smile appeared on his face as he nodded at Fleeting Time and proceeded to ignore the man. He then turned around and spoke to Ye Ci, ¡°I guess you won¡¯t be out very soon.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯lle get you when it¡¯s time for dinner.¡± Bai Mo intentionally raised his voice.

    Ye Ci was dumbfounded by his words. Bai Mo had never called her down for dinner. He was even afraid that her presence would mean less food for him. Did the sun rise from the west this morning?

    Then again, perhaps he¡¯s just pitying me because I¡¯m imprisoned.

    ¡°Okay.¡± she nodded.

    This normal interaction however, made Fleeting Time nervous.

    That man seemed to be very close with Gongzi You, and he even knew her in real life. As the saying goes, the pavilion closest to the water enjoys the moonlight first. Even if they were not in a rtionship, he was already in an advantageous position.

    The thought annoyed Fleeting Time to no end. He stared coldly at the intimate interaction between the man and Ye Ci as the mes of anger began to grow in his heart. But Ye Ci¡¯s reaction to the man was like a bucket of icy cold water that sshed down on him.

    Gongzi You had always faced him with a mask of anger. And even at the best of times, her expression would remain neutral. She had never treated him with joy. Have I already lost something that I wasn¡¯t even able to get?

    Fleeting Time¡¯s thoughts were thrown into disarray. He could not bear to watch the smiles on their faces. He felt very out of ce standing in front of Ye Ci¡¯s cell, as if he was an insignificant extra. He gritted his teeth and left the prison.

    The smile on Bai Mo¡¯s face disappeared along with Fleeting Time, ¡°Was that Fleeting Time?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts were immediately jumbled up upon the mentioning of his name.

    Bai Mo appeared to not have noticed Ye Ci¡¯s change in behavior, ¡°He seems like a very skillful yer.¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s anger immediately exploded at Bai Mo¡¯s praise of Fleeting Time, ¡°He¡¯s just a rascal! Hmpf! I¡¯ll beat him up the next time I see him!¡±

    ¡°Reaaallyy?¡±

    ¡°Are you doubting me?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyebrows creased.

    Bai Mo responded by patting her on the head and smiled at the food and drinksid on the ground, ¡°I have to go. The people at the guild are waiting for me. Have fun!¡±

 Chapter 292 Iâ€™m Here As Well

    <h4>Chapter 292 I¡¯m Here As Well</h4>

    Fleeting Time stepped out of the prison, and into the warmth of the sun. He took in a deep breath, the chill in his bones had been washed away. It took him quite a long moment of mediation to calm himself down.

    A smile appeared on his face as he studied the yers passing by not far away. Am I going to give up just like that? No. Of course not. Fleeting Time was someone who never knew the meaning of giving up. He was a person who would soldier on even when the odds were stacked against him as long as there was still a sliver of hope in everything he did, and of course, for love.

    He looked back at the prison, and again at the yers in the bustling street. His smile was filled with confidence as he walked back to the heart of the city.

    Fleeting Time was nowhere in sight by the time Bai Mo finished his visit. He was slightly disappointed. He could sense the hostility and animosity from Fleeting Time moments ago in the prison. He was slightly disappointed to find that the man was not waiting for him. Of course, he did not expect Fleeting Time to seek an exnation from him.

    He had thought that the man would have the confidence in confronting him, but he was wrong.

    What can a man do if hecks patience and confidence? He might be good at the game, but in the end, he¡¯s just an idiot. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll allow Ye Ci to be with someone like that.

    Bai Mo sighed and yawned, ¡°Ye Ci, looks like I¡¯ll still have to be by your side for a long time.¡± he said to himself with a smile.

    Fleeting Time removed his hood in the middle of the city. He stared at the yers walking by, and stared back at him. They were apparently surprised by his sudden appearance.

    Just then, Fleeting Time shouted out to the yers around him, ¡°I have an offer for you. Anyone who is willing to die by my hands will receive 10,000 gold coins aspensation. This is your only chance.¡±

    The yers immediately stopped dead in their tracks with shock written all over their faces. They were confused, and one of the braver among their numbers walked up to Fleeting Time, ¡°Fleeting Time, when you say 10,000 gold per death, do you mean that you want us to fight you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s up to you. You can even unequip all your stuff before we begin and stand still as I kill you. I¡¯ll pay 10,000 coins every time you die¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s smile was as bright as the morning sun.

    ¡°In the arena?¡±

    ¡°No, we¡¯ll do it right here.¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯re in the middle of the city!!!¡± eximed the yer. He was confused by Fleeting Time¡¯s words. Wasn¡¯t Gongzi You arrested for killing someone in the middle of the streets and was imprisoned for three days? Hold up! Wait a minute!

    Gongzi You was in jail. And Fleeting Time is pulling something like this off. Thought the yers. Could this be... There could be only one exnation to his seemingly idiotic decision.

    But Fleeting Time left no time for the yers to continue their line of thoughts, ¡°This is your only chance to earn an easy 10,000 gold. I¡¯m in a hurry.¡± he said to the yers closest to him.

    ¡°Me! Me! Me!¡± shouted a Gnomish Warlock before Fleeting Time could finish his sentence. He immediately initiated a trade with Fleeting Time and began removing his equipment, ¡°It¡¯s an honor to die to you, Fleeting Time! I¡¯ve never thought that I...¡±

    And he dropped dead before he could even finish whatever he was trying to say. A text bubble then appeared on his head, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little too quick? I was not ready yet! I didn¡¯t even see you attacking...¡±

    The crowd of yers surrounding the Warlock did not see how the killing blow was struck. The Warlock was on the ground by the time they realised that Fleeting Time had made a move.

    Fleeting Time sheathed his weapon when the system notification chimed in his ears. He took a seat by the fountain in the city center, silently waiting for the soldiers to arrive for his arrest.

    It did not take long for the NPC troops to locate and surround Fleeting Time, ¡°I did it...¡± he raised his hand in surrender, and was immediately taken into custody.

    ¡°What the heck just happened...¡± sighed one of the onlooking yers.

    ¡°Fleeting Time paid 10,000 gold coins to kill someone in the city center and has been arrested.¡± news of the incident immediately began to spread among the yers.

    Fleeting Time immediately admitted to his crimes in court. The judge was bored by his disy of good attitude. He had finally had the chance to bring the hammer of justice to bear upon two murderers, but their behaviors were exceptionally good.

    ¡°Your Honor, I plead guilty to all my crimes. Since I am so honest and sincere, can you please grant a little wish of mine?¡± Fleeting Time smiled at the judge when his sentence was read out.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked the judge.

    ¡°Can you keep me in the same jail cell as Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Why? Are you nning to break out of prison together? I¡¯ll have you know that our prison is heavily guarded! You will never escape!¡± the judge red at Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Of course not, Your Honor. I would never dare to have such a thought. I wanted to be with gongzi You because I have some unfinished business with her.¡± Fleeting Time was like a cunning fox as he smiled innocently at the judge.

    And after a long moment of consideration, Fleeting Time¡¯s request was granted by the judge.

    He was sent to the cell immediately after his sentence was announced.

    And he ran into Bai Mo who was ready to leave. He shed Bai Mo a confident smile, and it was immediately followed by the impable timing of a system announcement announcing his crime.

    Before Bai Mo could fully grasp the situation, FLeeting Time was already on his way to Ye Ci¡¯s cell.

    It took Bai Mo quite a while to realise what had transpired. He let out a heartyugh. Ahh, it seems that I¡¯ve misjudged that man. He had a whole new level of respect for Fleeting Time. He did not expect such a bold move from the man. It was something that he would never be able nor afford to pull off.

    But do you think you can take my sister away that easily? Then you¡¯ve greatly underestimated me, Fleeting Time.

    You¡¯ve won the battle, but it does not mean that you¡¯ll win the war. Thought Bai Mo as a smile appeared on his face.

    Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time as if he was the Devil himself.

    She had a feeling of unease when she learned of the news of Fleeting Time¡¯s crime from members of her guild. She had been trying to convince herself that it was all a joke but...

    Fleeting Time appeared right before her in the next few minutes.

    Fleeting Time noticed Ye Ci¡¯s staring at him with eyes wide open. Her expression alone was worth his inprisonment.

    ¡°H-how did you get in here?¡± Ye Ci choked back a scream, making no attempts to hide her shock.

    ¡°I killed someone in the middle of the streets.¡± Fleeting Time shrugged as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

    ¡°W-why did you do that...¡¯¡¯ Ye Ci pointed at Fleeting Time, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that you¡¯ll be sent to jail for that? Do you not know that it¡¯s very ufortable here?¡±

    ¡°Little Gongzi, are you perhaps worried about me?¡± Fleeting Time snickered.

    Ye Ci could feel her face heating up. She lowered her hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t want to see you here because you¡¯re annoying. I¡¯ve already hidden myself in prison, how could you shamelessly follow me here?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that I¡¯ll be here with you shortly?¡± Fleeting Time grinned, his good mood not affected at all by Ye Ci¡¯s disy of anger.

    Ye Ci was at a loss for words. She pursed her lips, and turned around, ¡°Nobody wants you here. I want to be as far away as possible from you.¡±

    Just then, she was hit by a sudden realisation, ¡°Hold on, there are so many empty cells, why are you ced here?¡±

    ¡°Must¡¯ve been sent here by the system.¡± Fleeting Time shrugged with an innocent look on his face.

    Ye Ci immediately turned her back towards Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Fleeting Time!!! Do you want to die!!! Why don¡¯t you just tell me!!! Turn on your Private Message goddamn it!!!¡± Absalom was roaring in anger in the guild conference room.

    Fleeting Time sighed. The consequence of his action had finally arrived. He opened the channel, and sent a message to Absalom, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°What do I want?? That¡¯s all you have to say? Do you have a death wish? If you want to die, don¡¯t you just tell me? I¡¯ll send you on your way you piece of shit!¡± Absalom had nned to explore a new dungeonter in the day, but the most important member of his party was imprisoned for a murder.

    ¡°State your business or I¡¯ll mute you.¡± Fleeting Time was not at all afraid of Absalom¡¯s anger.

    ¡°Y-y-y-y-you! I-I-I...¡± Absalom was flustered and exasperated, ¡°I¡¯ll set White Fairytale loose on you if you do that!¡±

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes, ¡°Fang Congshu, have you finally grown tired of living?¡± It was rare for Fleeting Time to call him by name in game and in real life, which was why Absalom immediately shivered with fear when he heard the words

    Some things should never be mentioned, and White Fairytale was the one person that Fleeting Time despised. He would always react to her name with anger or with indifference, and it was apparent that Absalom was out of luck on that very day.

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s my fault.¡± Absalom sighed, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have mentioned her name...¡±

    ¡°What do you want? Tell me now or I¡¯ll mute you. Your voice annoys me.¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s good mood was destroyed by the mention of her name.

    ¡°No! Don¡¯t do that! But Fleeting Time, now that you¡¯re arrested, what about our dungeon exploration tonight?¡±

    ¡°There are so many elites in Genesis. I am not needed.¡± Fleeting Time paid no heed to Absalom¡¯s words.

    ¡°But... They might not be enough!¡± Absalom had a worry of his own.

    ¡°Well it¡¯s time to put your abilities to the test, Guild Leader.¡± replied Fleeting Time as he proceeded to mute his Private Message channel.

    Absalom held back the tears in his eyes as he looked at Silent Hymn, ¡°Hey Silent, have I wronged him in my past life?

    Silent Hymn apparently wanted nothing to do with the drama between the two friends, ¡°Even a pig can see that nothing good will happen whenever White Fairytale is mentioned in the presence of Fleeting Time! Not to mention in a time like this! You¡¯re dumber than a pig! Do you exist solely to reduce the average IQ of our guild?¡±

    ¡°What sort of situation?¡±

    ¡°Why do you think he killed someone and went to jail?¡± Silent Hymn rolled his eyes at Absalom.

 Chapter 293 Zuo Xiaolanâ€™s Worries

    <h4>Chapter 293 Zuo Xian¡¯s Worries</h4>

    The first three hours of the duo¡¯s imprisonment were quite uneventful.

    Ye Ci sat meditating in one corner of the cell, trying her best to ignore the presence of Fleeting Time, who sat in another corner. They sat there in silence, until it was time for dinner, and Ye Ci opened her eyes to look at Fleeting Time. She thought of calling out to him before logging out of the game, but decided against it. After all, they were not that familiar with each other yet. There was no such need.

    That was why Ye Ci went offline after casting a nce at Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time opened his eyes once Ye Ci was gone. He looked at the spot of herst location, rubbed his chin, and logged out of the game after some moment of thought.

    The fragrance of food assaulted Ye Ci¡¯s nostrils as she limped out of her room. The dishes tonight are rather sumptuous. She could feel her stomach rumbling even as she made her way into the dining room.

    Bai Mo, who happened to have walked out of the bathroom at that moment stared at Ye Ci with amazement. He flicked the water away from his hands, walked up to Ye Ci, and proceeded to study her up and down, ¡°Heh, did the sun rise in the west today? You¡¯re actually punctual today.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Bai Mo, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you will let me know when it¡¯s time for dinner? You didn¡¯t seem to be nning to do so!¡±

    ¡°Well, you have to be idling in the game anyways, it doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯rete for dinner?¡± Bai Mo shrugged. He leaned forward and whispered into Ye Ci¡¯s ears, ¡°Besides, I have a feeling that you have a lot to say to Fleeting Time. Wouldn¡¯t I be making a huge mistake if I get between you two?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about!¡± Ye Ci shot Bai Mo a re.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the staring contest over there? Come grab your rice and eat.¡± Ye Nantian called out to Ye Ci and Bai Mo when he noticed the duo in the living room.

    Bai Mo grabbed at his hair innocently under Ye Ci¡¯s re. He walked into the kitchen, followed by Ye Ci who was surprised by the number of dishes on the table, ¡°Wow! That¡¯s a lot of food! Is Pnging back today?¡±

    ¡°Yup. He had an exam today. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be arriving soon.¡± said Ye Nantian with a wide smile on his face as he set an extra chair down for Tan Png. He was happy to have all the members of his family gathered by the dinner table.

    The rustling of keyes announced Tan Png¡¯s arrival as Ye Ci was having a small talk with Ye Nantian, ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± shouted the youth.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back?¡± Zuo Xian poked her head out from the kitchen, ¡°Go wash your hands, I¡¯m almost done here.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± The joy in Tan Png¡¯s voice was an indicator that he did well in the exams.

    Tan Png¡¯s results would of course be the focus of the family in their conversation during dinner. Other than his satisfactory performance, what happened to Ye Ci was also inevitably brought up.

    ¡°Little Ci, will getting imprisoned in the game affect anything in real life?¡± Zuo Xian was very worried. They were from a very ordinary family. She was afraid that her daughter¡¯s action would result in awsuit in real life.

    But Ye Nantian spoke up before Ye Ci could respond to the question, ¡°What are you talking about? Why would it affect her in real life in any way? Everything in the game is fake! You should understand it after ying the game for so long. It¡¯s just like having to eat in real life after eating in the game! Is the portion of your meal suddenly decreased just because you¡¯ve eaten in game?¡±

    But Zuo Xian¡¯s worry was not fully dispelled by his words. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it auntie.¡± said Bai Mo, ¡°The game has nothing to do with real life. Besides, it¡¯s a verymon urrence in the game. You don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately voiced out her agreement as well. Tan Png who was still unaware of the events that had transpired threw in his weight as well before Zuo Xian¡¯s worry was finally quelled.

    It was apparently not the only worry that Zuo Xian had intended to voice out. She looked at Ye Ci, then at Ye Nantian and instead changed the topic of the conversation.

    Ye Ci immediately went online after her meal. She knew that she had to make every second count so that she could leave her cell as soon as possible. She did not want to stay in that ce even a single second longer.

    Bai Mo had long since returned to the game as the guild was nning to explore the Scorching Canyon dungeon at night. Tan Png was the only one who remained behind to help Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian in cleaning up the table.

    He noticed the frequent stares from Zuo Xian as he was washing the dishes. It was something very unusual, as Zuo Xian had always been blunt with her words.

    ¡°Mom, is there something you want to say?¡± asked Tan Png.

    Zuo Xian chuckled. Am I being that obvious? But since Tan Png had spoken up, she decided to go straight to the point, ¡°Png, remember that time you told me about the guy who was interested in Little Ci? What¡¯s his name again?¡±

    ¡°His in-game name?¡± asked Tan Png and Zuo Xian responded with a nod, ¡°Fleeting Time.¡±

    ¡°Liu as in the flower of water, and nian as in a ¡®year¡¯?¡± asked Zuo Xian.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Tan Png nodded, ¡°What about him?¡±

    ¡°Well, Little Ci was sent to jail today for murdering this man...¡± Zuo Xian voiced out her worries, ¡°Were they fighting because that Fleeting Time person is no longer interested in Little Ci?¡±

    Tan Png almost gagged when he heard the question. He had only been away for half a month, and the first news received upon his return had blown his mind. He took in a deep breath and stared incredulously at Zuo Xian, ¡°Mom, are you telling me that Fleeting Time was the one killed by sister Ye Ci today?¡±

    ¡°Yup! That¡¯s right!¡± Zuo Xian nodded, ¡°Isn¡¯t Fleeting Time interested in Little Ci? Why did they end up fighting? Was it because Ye Ci did not like him, and did not want him to woo her?¡± Zuo Xian knew her daughter well. Ye Ci had never had good interactions with boys since she was young. She had even beaten up a few boys in her kindergarten.

    Zuo Xian did not think much about it. After all, her daughter was still young. But the situation did not change even when she was in her highschool. Even when Ye Ci had never gotten into a fight, none of the boys in her school had ever expressed their interest in her. Zuo Xian was very worried. Many of her neighbour¡¯s children had gotten into puppy love with many others entering their rebellious phase while her daughter remained the same.

    She could not decide if she should be happy or be worried when she heard of all theints about children of Ye Ci¡¯s age during the parents teacher meeting.

    Ye Ci had always been a selfish person, but her behavior was never problematic. Zuo Xian had never had to worry about her daughter, and she could not decide if it was a blessing or a curse.

    She was certain that her daughter would start to have a romantic rtionship when she finally attended a university. But after a year and a half of silence, Zuo Xian had almost given up. She had even started to think that her daughter was a lesbian. Is she really not into men? Does it mean that I will never have a grandchild? It had always been her dream.

    But good news arrived from Tan Png before Zuo Xian fell into despair. A man who was very good in the game had fallen for her daughter. It was probably the greatest news Zuo Xian received in her entire life. She rejoiced as if she had just won the jackpot.

    And from that day onwards, Zuo Xian began paying attention to every single news about the yer named Fleeting Time. But he was a yer from the Western Continent, which meant that there really was not a lot of information about the man other than ounts from the other yers that he was very good at the game.

    The messages on the World Channel on this day reignited Zuo Xian¡¯s worry. She had waited long and hard for someone to finally start wooing her daughter, but before their romance could grow, her daughter had dealt him such a heavy blow. At that moment, Zuo Xian¡¯s world became dark.

    It¡¯s been like this since she was three. Even her admirer in the game is pushed away by her. I guess there¡¯s no more hope left for her in real life.

    Tan Png knew nothing about what was going on in Zuo Xian¡¯s mind. To him, his mom was simply worrying about the fight between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time, ¡°It¡¯s no big deal mom. It¡¯s normal for yers to kill each other in this game. I¡¯ve done something like this to my friends, but our friendship remains strong.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Zuo Xian still had a feeling of unease despite his reassurance.

    ¡°Ohe on mom, don¡¯t worry about it. I have to go study now.¡± Tan Png patted Zuo Xian on the back with a smile and went back to his room after cleaning thest bowl.

    His studies? That was merely part of the reason he was in a hurry. The real driving force behind his action was his strong sense of curiosity. There was no way Fleeting Time would be killed by Ye Ci without even putting up a fight, and he knew that Ye Ci would never make the simple mistake of killing a yer in the middle of the streets. Things were not as simple as they seemed.

    Tan Png entered his room, and was able to confirm that Bai Mo was already in game with the glowing of his gaming cabin. He then logged into the forum of Genesis. Before he could begin his journey of gossipping, he noticed a private message.

    As a long time lurker, Tan Png did not expect the sudden message, and he clicked it open out of curiosity, ¡°What is your phone number?¡±

    The content of the message was baffling, but Tan Png was shocked when he noticed the name of its sender.

    Fleeting Time is asking for my number? What¡¯s up with that? Tan Png was curious, but he quickly remembered what he said to Fleeting Time before leaving the Western Continent.

    A smile appeared on his face as he typed in a string of numbers and hit the ¡°reply¡± button. He proceeded to browse through the forums, but there was nothing much to be seen other than the discussions about thetest patch.

    One post in particr managed to catch Tan Png attention with its title:

    What is being discussed on the official forums? Tan Png immediately clicked into the thread, but there were no replies. Even the OP had long abandoned his own post. It seems that the gosippers had swarmed to official forums. Thought Tan Png as he logged into his forum ount.

    Due to therge number of yers, the official forums of Fate supported multiplenguages. And the game¡¯s high yer count meant that it was normal to have tens of thousands of threads posted each day. Tan Png had already steeled himself mentally to have a long search for the thread that was mentioned from a sea of other posts.

    Trantor¡¯s note:

    Fleeting Time¡¯s name in Chinese is written as Á÷Äê( li¨²ni¨¢n ). As many Chinese characters share the same pronunciation, Zuo Xian was trying to figure out what the characters were, hence the question.

 Chapter 294 To The Forums Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 294 To The Forums Part 1</h4>

    Chapter 294 To The Forums (Part 1)

    Fate¡¯s official forum was thergest and the most popted gaming forums with the most content.

    Due to the poprity of Fate, millions of yers log into the forum on a daily basis, with tens of thousands sometimes even millions of threads posted on a daily basis. There were posts about information relevant to several sses, guild recruitments, yers showing off their prowess in-game, and gossip.

    This made the Fate official forum one of the best gaming forums.

    The multitude of threads on Fate¡¯s forums will be ranked based on their poprity, and the top-10 thread would be judged, and the best among the ten would receive a considerable amount of mary reward.

    While not many could benefit from these rewards, it did not stop yers from trying their luck. One would never know if one¡¯s thread might make it into the top-3.

    The most popr thread on this day was posted by a user named ¡°Just A Passerby¡±, with the title <>

    It had been three hours since the thread was posted when Tan Png logged into his ount, but there were already more than 200,000ments. He was on the forums to look for news about Fleeting Time, but curiosity drove him to click into the thread.

    Despite the quality of Fate¡¯s servers, it still took quite a while before the page could be properly loaded. Tan Png creased his eyebrows. Dozens of seconds have passed, but he was still unable to see the content of the post.

    But the contents of the post loaded just when Tan Png was almost giving up.

    The poster, ¡°Just A Passerby¡± recounted a story to the users of the forum. It was a story about a fight between two yers from opposing continents in the wisteria garden.

    ¡°Hey, is the OP talking about who I¡¯m thinking?¡± ament immediately appeared after the story was posted.

    ¡°Hey, the user upstairs, I think you and I are both thinking about the same people.¡±

    ¡°Replying to the yer upstairs, I know who you¡¯re talking about. In fact, I saw them in the wisteria garden this afternoon.¡±

    ......

    It was followed by the response ¡°......¡±

    And after dozens of simr responses in the thread, some of the yers were finally at the limit of their patience, ¡°Come on, can you guys stop that? Who is the OP talking about?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, just tell us! Come on!¡±

    ......

    ¡°......¡±

    But the yers who had long since figured the answer was able to form a mutual understanding and refused to relent.

    And the yers began looking for the OP, ¡°Just A Passerby¡±.

    ¡°Hey OP, are you going to continue the story?¡±

    ¡°Calling OP! Where are you OP?¡±

    ¡°Quiet, OP is meditating.¡±

    ......

    And just like that, there was nothing meaningful in the first few pages of thements until the OP finally showed up. He was genuinely surprised by the sheer number ofments on his post. It had only been 15 minutes since the thread was made, and thements had already exceeded 3 pages ments on Fate forums were limited to 100ments per page). Just A Passerby immediately apologised and continued his narration.

    He tailed the two yers from afar, until they were at a secluded corner of the wisteria garden, and that was when some steamy action that made him blush and his heart flutter happened.

    ¡°OP, do you know what you¡¯re talking about!?¡±mented a yer.

    ¡°I wonder what is so shocking, OP!¡±

    ¡°Come on, OP! We need pictures! Screenshots!¡±

    ¡°Pics or it did not happen!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, I¡¯m just passing by.¡±

    ¡°Pics or it did not happen!¡±

    ......

    And Just A Passerby once again appeared after a torrent ofments by the forum users, with many of them asking for proof and rification. The OP stated that he was still processing the pictures, and called for the yers to remain patient.

    The thread immediately exploded into activity of unprecedented proportions. Even long time lurkers began to surface to leavements on the thread.

    ¡°Could the OP be talking about Eastern Continent¡¯s Gongzi You and Western Continent¡¯s Fleeting Time?¡±

    This set off a chain reaction among the yers. Many of them began confirming the sightings of the duo in the wisteria garden. There were even Hunter yers in their number who began to describe the amazing moves the duo pulled off during their fight.

    Some of the female yers had alsomented on how romantic it was for the duo to be engaging in a fight under the falling wisteria buds.

    Just then, a user with the name ¡°1234567¡± directed the discussion into another direction.

    ¡°Guys, I think we¡¯re missing the point here. Didn¡¯t the OP mention something about some ¡®steamy action¡¯? Shouldn¡¯t we be focusing on that instead?¡±

    And with that, the voices asking for the truth and evidence supporting the truth grew louder.

    Tan Png himself was curious as well. Something that Fleeting Time and Sister Ye Ci did that would make a person blush? I wonder what it is! It was at that moment that Tan Png had forgotten about his original attention in visiting the forum as the passion of gossipping lit up in his heart.

    Comments were flooding into the thread at an unprecedented speed. Tan Png, who started his journey of gossiping by reading each and everyment eventually gave up as morements were left on the thread. He even resorted to purchasing a one-month subscription on the ¡°View Poster Only¡± function using Forum Coins and began searching for responses from Just A Passerby.

    He finally found the response from Just A Passerby in the 200th page ofments. The user had uploaded more than 20 pictures, but none of them had anything to do with the thing that would ¡°make someone blush¡±. They were all pictures of Fleeting Time and Ye Ci in the wisteria garden. With their hoods removed, the identities of the duo were clear as day.

    But these were not what the yers wanted, especially when they knew what was toe.

    The yers continued to call for the OP to release the pictures.

    But the OP remained unrelenting as he sent pictures after pictures that had nothing to do with the steamy action that he promised. ording to the OP, there were simply too many pictures to edit before they could be released. He finally caved in to the yers¡¯ demands to stop editing the pictures and release them raw after morements flooded his post.

    In actuality, Just A Passerby had simply added some ambience to the pictures he took, but it was all deemed unnecessary by the yers who were hungering for gossiping materials. What they wanted was the steamy action that the poster had promised.

    It did not take long for the pictures of the duo in the secluded corner was uploaded. The camera angle was from that of the OP looking up. There were even des of grasses that were captured within the screenshot.

    Many of the yers were dissatisfied, ¡°Hey OP, why are you hiding in a bush so far away?¡±

    ¡°I know right! Why can¡¯t you move closer? And why are you in a prone position¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have some closer, unobstructed shotster, but all of them were taken from a prone position¡± came the exnation, ¡°You all know that Fleeting Time and Gongzi You are top-tier Hunters. Their Perception must be very high. I¡¯ll be dead if I¡¯m taking the shots from a different position. I¡¯m lucky to have found a hole in the ground surrounded by grass. Do you think I¡¯ll have the chance of taking these pictures if I got closer?¡±

    The yers expressed their regrets at an opportunity lost, but most of them voiced out their understanding of the OP¡¯s position. More requests for the pictures to be released immediately followed, but the OP expressed his intention to edit the pictures. The yers were at the end of their patience. There were even some among their numbers who had begun to doubt the OP.

    And at that point, there were already 500 pages worth ofments left on the thread. Many of the yers wished to witness the scene described by the OP.

    Tan Png finally found what he was looking for on the 627th page in the form of 5 screenshots uploaded by the OP.

    The duo was in very close proximity with each other in the pictures. The expression on the male Elf¡¯s face was shocking. A smile was on his face as he lifted the female Elves chin up with his right hand. He appeared to be whispering into the female¡¯s ears as her eyes widened in shock.

    The five pictures have captured the scene perfectly, as if they were frames of a video.

    ¡°They suddenly stopped mid-fight, and Fleeting Time said something to Gongzi You. That was when he started to do something... Naughty...¡± said ament left by the OP.

    ¡°Ahhhhh!!! What happened next, OP? Come on, you can¡¯t just leave us with a few pics! Do you know how many people you¡¯ll kill by doing that?¡±

    ¡°We need to know what happened next!¡±

    ¡°+1¡±

 Chapter 295

    Chapter 295

    Chapter 295 To The Forums (Part 2)

    The OP is an asshole! Thought Tan Png, is there really a need to tease us like that? It¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s trying to reach the top of the leaderboards! It¡¯s almost the end of the month now, and if this keeps up, this post will definitely surpass the current top 1 within three days .

    Many of the yers shared the same thought, but they could not hold back their curiosity, and in the process contributed to the OP¡¯s effort in reaching the top . The topic was simply something that they could not ignore . Most of them have heard of Fleeting Time¡¯s murder on Gongzi You¡¯s hands, while some had witnessed it in person .

    They knew that it was not something as simple as a showdown of strength between two yers of opposing continents . Something was up, and they wanted to find out what it was .

    And the most enticing thing in the world was an iplete truth .

    It was just like how a fully naked woman would never be as enticing to perverts as someone dressed in very revealing clothing . Humans were born with a natural desire to explore the unknown . Everybody knew how a beautiful girl would look fully naked . What mattered to them was the excitement they felt as one slowly removed each item of her clothing .

    The story between Gongzi You and Fleeting Time was just like the beautiful girl . She was dressed, but it also meant that their curiosity and their imagination were running wild . They wanted to know what lies beneath her clothes .

    They have seen Fleeting Time provoking Gongzi You in the World Channel with their very own eyes, but there had never been a back and forth between the two . Gongzi You would always respond with something violent like ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± that broke their immersion .

    But things changed for the first time when a post by a yer with the name ¡°Boundless Moonlight¡± appeared .

    The post itself was nothing special . It was about the fight between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time, and was a very good learning material for Hunters . But the poster himself who was full of imagination was able to create gossip from the short video .

    It solidified the belief in many of the yers¡¯ hearts that the duo were up to something . But their interaction ended just as abruptly as it began . They heard nothing from Fleeting Time in the World Channel, and Gongzi You would of course remain silent .

    Things once again returned to normal as if nothing had happened . There was nothing to gossip about . The only rtionship between the yers was the rivalry between their continents .

    This was a killjoy for the countless gosipper lurking in the forums . They were so close to uncover something between the two Hunters, and yet it was just out of their reach . It was a pain that remained unquelled in the hearts of many .

    Life went on, and just when the incident was about to be forgotten and swept away from the minds of the yers, the post by ¡°Just A Passerby¡± appeared in the forums, and it sessfully reignited the passions in the yers¡¯ heart . Their thirst for the unknown once again surged forth like a storm that swept through the entire official forum within a matter of hours .

    It is human nature to gossip . Many of the posts that were made at the same time were nowhere near as popr as Just A Passerby¡¯s postbined . Everybody wanted a piece of the gossip .

    It was simply human nature and nothing to be ashamed of .

    Tan Png and many others like him were furiously mashing their F5 key to refresh the thread .

    Wang Jiangnan stretched his body and was about to head to the cafeteria for a meal when he caught a glimpse of his colleague Xiao Wang staring intensely at the scrolling texts on his monitor, ¡°Are you hungry Xiao Wang? Let¡¯s head to the cafeteria together . ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pass . Can you help pack up some sweet and sour pork for me?¡± Xiao Wang did not even turn around to face him . It was a rare urrence, as Xiao Wang was a person who would usually slip out of the office at any given chance .

    Paying no heed to his colleague, Wang Jiangnan headed to the cafeteria with his debit card . Many of the employees were working overtime on the first day of the patch¡¯s release, which naturally meant that the cafeteria was packed full of developers, artists, editors, writers, and customer service employees . It was apparent that many of them were nning to stay in thepany throughout the entire night .

    With the cafeteria packed, Wang Jiangnan could only bring his food back to his office .

    He noticed that Xiao Wang was browsing through the forum as he handed food to his colleague . Xiao Wang rarely cares about the forum, thought Wang Jiangnan, why is he so fixated on that thing now?

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± ask Wang Jiangnan who was a close acquaintance of Xiao Wang . ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Xiao Wang looked at him with clear disdain, ¡°Have you never tried gossipping?¡±

    ¡°What sort of gossip?¡± Wang Jiangnan leaned forward to look at Xiao Wang¡¯s monitor as he stuffed his mouth full of rice, and saw the rows of words on the screen, ¡°Pics or it did not happen!¡± ¡°Come on, show us already!¡±

    He responded with a chuckle, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you so interested in something like this before . ¡±

    ¡°Pfftt . . What do you know? It¡¯s because the OP knows what he¡¯s doing!¡± Xiao Wang cast a sideway nce at Wang Jiangnan and continued spamming the F5 key on his keyboard as he shoved his mouth full of rice .

    ¡°You¡¯re done with your work?¡± Wang Jiangnan attempted to pour a bucket of cold water on the raging mes of gossip in Xiao Wang¡¯s heart .

    But it was not effective, ¡°We have working in everyday, but gossip material like this? Once in a blue moon! Do you not have something to pursue in life?¡±

    Wang Jiangnan¡¯s interest was piqued, ¡°Just what sort of gossip are you looking at?¡±

    Xiao Wang immediately sent a link to Wang Jiangnan through thepany¡¯s internal messaging system, ¡°See for yourself . ¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You and Fleeting Time!!!¡± Wang Jiangnan was shocked .

    ¡°Yup! The top yers of Fate from opposing continents sharing a rtionship like that... Isn¡¯t it exciting?¡± Xiao Wang chuckled, ¡°Why is the OP not following up with more pictures? Come on! I swear I will hack into hisputer!¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey, hey...¡± Wang Jiangnan stared at his colleague, ¡°Are you for real...¡±

    ¡°Of course! Are you doubting my capabilities?¡± Xiao Wang chuckled, ¡°I might not be as good as you, but I¡¯m sure I can hack into hisputer without leaving a trace . ¡±

    ¡°Are you really that crazy?¡± Wang Jiangnan was shocked by the incident, but he had not fully immersed himself in the gossip like Xiao Wang .

    ¡°Me? Crazy?¡± Xiao Wang let go of his mouse and scooped some rice into his mouth before looking in Wang Jiangnan¡¯s direction, ¡°Do you know how many of our coworkers are into this? Look at this, this guy is from the tech department, this person right here is from the development team, and this right here is someone from the arts department . There¡¯s easily a hundred of them on the forums! Are you telling me that all of us are crazy?¡±

    Wang Jiangnan rolled his eyes . The picture of Fleeting Time lifting up Gongzi You¡¯s chin was disyed on his monitor . A smile lit up the man¡¯s face, while shock was written all over Gongzi You¡¯s face . This image was enough to drive the imagination of anyone wild .

    As he leaned against his chair, Wang Jiangnan thought of the girl named Ye Ci standing under the sun with a smile on her face . She was not a beautiful person, and some would even consider her to be overly thin . But nobody could deny that Ye Ci had her beauty of her own, and an aura about her that could attract the attention of those around her no matter where she was .

    Will someone like this... Even have a rtionship with another yer? Wang Jiangnan could not understand . He did not even have the courage to ponder too long on the question . The first time he met her was in the game, and so was their second and third encounters . He had never met the girl in real life, but he had long ssified her as someone who was at the top of the food chain .

    Wang Jiangnan had mixed feelings for Ye Ci . He felt appreciation, friendship, and even a slight hint of infatuation towards the girl, but she was just so far from his reach . He had never seen her as a living person, but as Gongzi You who had always belonged to the world of Fate .

    But a strange feeling grew in Wang Jiangnan¡¯s heart when he saw the picture of her with Fleeting Time .

    He looked up at the group photo he took with the visiting Conquering The Heavens yers . Gongzi You was standing right beside her . Her lips were formed into a slight smile thatcked any form of warmth, as if she was merely doing it for the sake of taking the photo . Will someone like her even be involved in online romance? He chuckled and continued reading the content of the post .

    ¡°Oh by the way, Jiangnan . Weren¡¯t you the one who received yers from several Eastern Continent guilds? Have you seen Gongzi You back then?¡± a sudden thought shed across Xiao Wang¡¯s mind .

    Wang Jiangnan once again nced at the cold expression of the girl beside him in the photo and shook his head at Xiao Wang, ¡°No, Upwards Ho! was not invited . I¡¯ve never met Gongzi You before . ¡±

    ¡°Aiya, we must invite them along this year . ¡± Xiao Wang narrowed his eyes, ¡°I really want to know how Gongzi You looks like . ¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know what Fleeting Time looks like?¡±

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m a man, I¡¯m not interested in another man . ¡± Xiao Wang shook his head . He gulped down a mouthful of water and continued refreshing the post, ¡°Come on OP! If I don¡¯t get any update from you today, I¡¯ll really hack into yourputer!¡±

    Wang Jiangnan took onest nce at the post before finally closing it for good to resume his work on monitoring the data of new yers . The new patch and Golden Era were his greatest worries .

    He could still remember Ye Ci¡¯s words clearly in his mind: I am a person with a dream . He had sworn to work hard in achieving his dream, but... What about Gongzi You?

 Chapter 296 To The Forums Part 3

    <h4>Chapter 296 To The Forums Part 3</h4>

    Chapter 296 To The Forums (Part 3)

    Just A Passerby, the OP of the most popr thread of the day, finally appeared after his post was flooded by messages calling out for him.

    He wasted no time in releasing 10 pictures that started with Fleeting Time and Gongzi You staring at each other, and ended with them kissing. All of the pictures were in high definition due to the high quality of the OP¡¯s gaming equipment. The pictures were so clear that yers could even zoom in and look at the individual eyshes of the duo. These pictures were immediately followed by another row of words, ¡°Heed my words, ye mortals. Do you think this is where the excitement ends? Then you are certainly wrong! As long as thements continue, I as the OP will release more content for all to see. Now, I have pictures to edit, catch you guyster.¡±

    And just like that, Just A Passerby once again disappeared, leaving behind yers who were begging for more.

    ¡°Oh my God! Is this real? Are my eyes ying tricks on me?¡±

    ¡°No way... I¡¯ve expected something like this but... When I actually see it... I can¡¯t even..¡±

    ¡°H-holy shit.. I think I need some fresh air!¡±

    ¡°My God! My mind was already blown away by this, and you have more?!¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You of the Eastern Continent and Fleeting Time of the Western Continent? I think I¡¯m starting to believe in love again...¡±

    ¡°Hey, can we have any insider news? Where the hell are the people from Upwards Ho! and Genesis? Are you guys still alive? Why the silence? This is so not like what your guids would do!¡±

    ......

    Tan Png could not believe what he saw. Have I been away for that long? When did this happen? Why am I feeling that I¡¯ve been kept in the dark? Why am I always thest one to know about things like this!

    Studying was thest thing on Tan Png¡¯s mind that night, and Bai Mo who was in the gaming cabin behind him showed no indication that he would be out of the game as well.

    The release of the pictures brought in a new wave ofmenters. The thread was already sitting at 6000 pages worth ofments, and the pages were still increasing at a rate that was iprehensible by Tan Png. It felt like a festival that was celebrated simultaneously by the entire yerbase.

    It was 11pm when Just A Passerby appeared again with a message, ¡°This is a revtion on an unprecedented level! If you wish to see what happens next, show me your passion in thements!!!¡±

    The post, which was released for a mere 8 hours, had already amassed 20,000 pages worth ofments. It was apparent that the post would make it into the Top 1 of the month.

    And under the constant teasing by Just A Passerby, the excitement of the yers were at its peak. They havepletely given up their grind for experience points and equipment, and were fully immersed in scrolling through the walls of text on the forums.

    A message from the OP finally popped up 10 minutes after hisst appearance. It was apanied by a single picture.

    Fleeting Time could be seen pushing Gongzi You against a wisteria tree, and the picture was taken so perfectly that it was indeed worth more than a thousand words. Even when they were staring at nothing but a motionless picture, the yers felt as if they were watching the entire scene unfold with their very own eyes.

    Despite theck of caption, their imaginations were running wild.

    ¡°If my eyes are not ying tricks on me... Fleeting Time seemed to have pushed Gongzi You against a tree! What is he trying to do?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re actually asking that? Do you even call yourself a man?¡±

    ¡°But isn¡¯t something like that prohibited in the game?¡±

    ¡°You obviously do not have a close friend with high Intimacy. You can go for the first base, the second base, third base, and even the Home Run if your Intimacy is high enough.¡±

    ¡°Question: What do you mean by Home Run?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Is the guy upstairs underaged? Do you seriously not know what Home Run means?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, what is it? I have no idea as well! Can anyone tell me what that is?¡±

    ¡°Well... It¡¯s MAKING things that you LOVE. You know... I can¡¯t say more or I might get banned.!¡±

    ¡°Ohmygod! Are they really going to do it right there? Holy shit! They did it in the wisteria garden and someone took a picture of it!¡±

    ......

    Tan Png dared not to put the snacks and drink he prepared anywhere near his mouth. With the direction the conversation was heading, he was afraid that he would choke to death by ident.

    But on the other hand, his mind was racing. No way! Are Sister Ye Ci and Fleeting Time that bold! They won¡¯t really do that in public right! Tan Png was single. He had never had any sort of romantic interaction with members of the opposite sex, nor had he watched any adult videos, but there was nothing a youngster on that day and age would not know. At that moment, his hair was already standing with excitement.

    The pictures that followed were even more fiesty.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe Fleeting Time can be so forceful. I¡¯ve always thought that a good looking man like him would turn out to be a sissy!¡±

    ¡°What do you know? A man¡¯s still a man even if he¡¯s a sissy! He¡¯s born with the equipment to go on the attack!¡±

    ¡°Damn, that was a little too explicit.¡±

    ¡°Who are you calling a sissy? Fleeting Time-sama is the manliest of man! That washboard named Gongzi You should f*ck off! Fleeting Time-sama belongs to us! If I run into that b*tch I¡¯ll kill her!¡±

    ¡°Yup, yup! Fleeting Time-sama~ That vixen must¡¯ve poisoned your mind! There¡¯s no way you¡¯d fall for someone like her! It¡¯s still not toote to turn around, your fanclub is waiting for you!¡±

    ¡°Aiya~ Fleeting Time is so manly! Oh how I wish I was the one who was pushed down! Why does it have to be that shameless b*tch Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°Watch who you¡¯re calling shameless! Fleeting Time is trash! There¡¯s no way our invincible Gonzi You will fall to that silver haired bastard! He must¡¯ve used some sort of weird potion on her! I¡¯m going to report Fleeting Time to the GMs! We have to report him for r*pe!¡±

    ¡°You tell em man! Fleeting Time is henceforth the mortal enemy of us the Gongzi Gang!¡±

    ¡°The Gongzi Gang? Come fight me if you have the balls!¡±

    ¡°Fine, have it your way! I¡¯ll y every single one of you so-called Fleeting Time Fanclub!¡±

    ......

    ¡°Hurry up and post the pictures OP! These idiots might actually start fighting!¡±

    ......

    The thread was in utter chaos. It slowly turned into a verbal brawl between fans of both Fleeting Time and Gongzi You, as well as yers from the Eastern and the Western Continent.

    You¡¯re so bold sister Ye Ci, thought Tan Png, to do something like that with Fleeting Time in broad daylight... And he even started blushing. I¡¯m still a young innocent boy, how am I going to live the rest of my life from now on?

    Just then, a new picture was posted by the OP. He had even drawn an arrow pointing at a certain person¡¯s hand with the caption: ¡°Take a look at this...¡±

    Madness swept across thement section of the thread.

    ¡°Wow! He¡¯s taking off his clothes! I can feel my nose bleeding! This is better than any adult videos that I¡¯ve watched! Gongzi You! Fleeting Time! Good job!¡±

    ¡°Say, does Gongzi You even have a good figure? I¡¯ve seen videos of her but... Her chests... They¡¯re not that big!¡±

    ¡°So what? It works as long as she has a xxxxxx...¡±

    ¡°F*ck! It got censored! But I¡¯m sure you pervs out there know what I was trying to say.¡±

    ¡°Ahhhhhh!!! Is Fleeting Time-sama taking off his pants? Compared to that b*tch Gongzi You, I¡¯m more willing to see him taking his pants off! Fleeting Time-sama, can I ask about your size?¡±

    ¡°Is this their first time? If it is, damn they¡¯re bold! They¡¯re having their first time in public! As expected of God-tier yers! Whatever they do will always be awe-inspiring! This will definitely go down in history!¡±

    ¡°Aiya, I¡¯ll definitely dream of Fleeting Time tonight!¡±

    ¡°Gongzi, you must¡¯ve been drugged by that bastard! There¡¯s no way you¡¯ll do something like this willingly! Even if you do, shouldn¡¯t you be the one who was attacking?¡±

    ¡°Heck you on about? Does she even have the equipment for that?¡±

    ......

    And yet another picture was silently posted by the OP. It was a picture of Fleeting Time burying his face into Ye Ci¡¯s neck. His expression was not visible from the angle as it was obstructed by Ye Ci¡¯s hair, but it was apparent that he was whispering into her ears, while Gongzi You¡¯s mouth was slightly open as well, as if she was speaking to Fleeting Time. The OP drew a circle around Fleeting Time¡¯s waist and included a caption, ¡°Gents, I¡¯m sure you know what this movement means!¡±

    ¡°What does it mean? What is he doing? Gongzi You are shorter than him, isn¡¯t that natural...¡± it was a reply from a female user.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand...¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand +1¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand +2¡±

    ......

    ¡°Damn, it hurts! Even I can feel it through the screen!¡±mented another user.

    ¡°Why did they not continue? Hasn¡¯t he already started removing his clothing? Did Fleeting Time notice that someone is taking pictures of them?¡±

    ¡°No way, do you think OP would leave in one piece and post these pictures online if he was discovered?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re from opposing continents. I guess they do not have enough intimacy to carry on.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°I see +1¡±

    ......

    ¡°I¡¯m not Fleeting Time, but I can feel his pain.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit, me too! I¡¯d feel the same if I was forced to stop halfway through! I think I¡¯ll cry!¡±

    ¡°Me too! This is not a good one for him.¡±

    ¡°Can anyone tell me why it would hurt? Can¡¯t you guys speak some sense?¡±

    ¡°To thedy upstairs, ask your husband or boyfriend if you have one. This is not a question someone would answer in public.¡±

    ......

    Tan Png¡¯s hands hovered over a certain body part as well when he read the message. Fleeting Time, you¡¯re one brave man. He sighed.

    But just when the yers thought that it was the end of story for the duo¡¯s ¡°affair¡±, the OP followed up with another set of pictures depicting the arrival of a mage, and Fleeting Time¡¯s outrage and pursue of the new arrival as Gongzi You took a rest and left with her hood on.

    The yers were immediately able to rte the pictures with the message Fleeting Time had sent earlier. Oh... So that¡¯s what they were doing.

    At that point in time, the thread had be the most popr thread in the entire forum. There were even calls for the parties involved to step out and testify on what had happened. And Just A Passerby was apparently a master of suspense.

    ¡°Do you think this is the end of the story? You¡¯re all wrong! If you want to see the video I have, keep thementsing. I¡¯ll post the full video once we reach 100,000ments.¡± he wrote.

    And it drove the entire forum mad.

 Chapter 297 Reaction Part 1

    <h4>Chapter 297 Reaction Part 1</h4>

    Chapter 297 Reaction (Part 1)

    Ye Ci was quick to log back into the game after her meal, into her dark prison cell. She was the only one in the cell. He¡¯s not here? I guess he went offline to eat as well. Ye Ci snorted. Wait, what does it have to do with me!

    With nothing else to do, she began browsing through thetest game rted news released by Fate officials, and started nning her itinerary for when she was eventually released from jail. She then logged into the forums, and immediately saw the most popr thread on the site <>

    She was never a person who would delve in gossip. Most of her time spent on the forums was spent looking at discussions about the mechanics of the game. But due to the poprity of the post, even Ye Ci could not resist the urge to click open the thread that was posted a mere two hours ago.

    Ye Ci woulde to regret that decision for a long time toe. She had even thought of chopping off the hand that clicked the post open. A delusion had formed in her mind: Things would¡¯ve been better if I did not see that post!

    Of course, she could not rewind time. There was nothing she could do to change reality.

    She saw the pictures, and thements left by the many yers visiting the forums. Oh how she wished that she could bury herself into a crack on the ground and never leave the spot for the rest of her life. Why?! Why did I not notice that guy! Why did I not stop Fleeting Time from doing that!?

    A million ¡°why¡± swirled in Ye Ci¡¯s mind as she read through the thread. There¡¯s no way I can face anyone anymore at this point! Those pictures! That thread! How am I supposed to carry on my life in the game? Bai Mo will definitely learn about this very soon, and so will the people back in the guild! And my parents... Ye Ci had a strong urge to smash her head against the wall, I shouldn¡¯t have reincarnated!

    This was the first time Ye Ci hated her reincarnation. She had always been thankful for the second chance, and the chance to cherish what she had lost. But her heart was filled with regret at that very moment. I should¡¯ve just died from the fall! It¡¯s better than to suffer from an embarrassment like this!

    Ye Ci could no longer bring herself to look through the rest of the pictures.

    No! It¡¯s not me! I¡¯m Gongzi You, the strongest yer of the Eastern Continent! There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll do something like this! I¡¯m not the one in those pictures!!

    She turned off the forum page, and found Fleeting Time staring at her. A tidal wave of emotion came crashing down in her heart as she stood up, walked up to Fleeting Time, raised her hand, and pped him across the face.

    Fleeting Time nced at the clock as he logged out from the game. It was 6am, dawn was just breaking in America.

    Sunlight crept into Fleeting Time¡¯s room and enveloped him in a nket of warmth. His eyes were stung by the sunlight as he stared out of the window, and it forced him to crawl out from his gaming cabin into his bathroom but not before turning on hisputer.

    He turned on the shower and tested the temperature. He filled his bathtub with lukewarm water before heading into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of milk. He then made two pieces of toast before finally heading into his study and sat in front of hisputer with his breakfast.

    Fleeting Time logged into Genesis¡¯s forum on his administrator¡¯s ount, and found Axia Mist¡¯s alt ount with ease. Heh, you little spy, a smile appeared on his lips as he stared at the ount, do you think you can keep your presence hidden after removing your main ount simply by noting online? Absalom and Silent Hymn might be fooled, but me? I knew it was you from the start. Despite knowing the truth, Fleeting Time did not remove the ount. He knew that the boy would sneak around in the forum from time to time.

    He had never felt the need to remove the ount. The boy was not even 10 years old when they first met. The boy, with the purest eyes Fleeting Time had ever seen, swore that he would eventually surpass him. He could not bear to crush the dreams of a boy with such eyes.

    Even when he knew not why Axia Mist migrated to the Eastern Continent, he knew that the boy missed his friends in the Western Continent very dearly.

    Fleeting Time stared mischievously at the ount. He could still remember what the boy said to him before his departure to the Eastern Continent, ¡°Brother Fleeting Time, Gongzi You is in the Eastern Continent. I have a feeling that you treat her differently. Do you need me to give you information about her? And by that I mean any and all the information you need...¡±

    He declined the boy¡¯s offer back then, out of the embarrassment of having his thoughts seen through, and due to the uncertainty he felt in his heart. Can I really go down this path? He had long since discovered the answer to that question. He wanted her to be his. He was certain about it.

    His mind was sad, and it would be foolish of him to not use all the resources he had at his disposal to achieve his goal. He did not know how Axia Mist would be able to gain so much information about Gongzi You. It was impossible even if they were in the same guild. But he trusted the boy. He was not a person who would lie. That was why he decided to ept Aixa Mist¡¯s help. But is it toote for that?

    So what if it¡¯s toote? Thought Fleeting Time, There¡¯s nothing in this world that one can¡¯t aplish once you set your mind on it. ¡°What¡¯s your phone number?¡± He sent a message to the alt ount.

    He then proceeded to nce over the official released patch notes, finished his breakfast, and headed into his bathroom.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s cellphone rang as he was dipping in the tub filled with lukewarm water. The caller was persistent, but he would not leave thefort of the tub. The slight warmth of the water was chasing away the morning chill, stimting his muscles as his thoughts grew clearer.

    He closed his eyes as heid in the bathtub. Memories of his encounter with Gongzi You in the wisteria garden reyed in his mind. He could not hold back the smile that appeared on his face. He was captivated by the Gongzi You who was startled by his sudden move. He could even feel the lingering warmth of the kiss they shared on his lips.

    ¡°Little Ci...¡± he murmured the name that Bai Mo had uttered in the dungeon. Is that her real name? He narrowed his eyes, his smile widening into a grin. It was a strange feeling.

    He had already started to miss her mere moments after logging out of the game. He missed her fierce attitude, her intense aura, her anger, and her as an individual. Fleeting Time submerged his face into the water. It was as if the only way he could burn everything about her into his memory and even his very soul was in such a state.

    Fleeting Time made his way into his study. He had moved his bedroom into the study itself so that it would be more convenient for him to log into the game. He wanted to sleep under the warm glow of the rising sun so that he could experience the wisteria garden once again in his dreams. He hummed jovially to himself as he made his way to his bed.

    But the phone rang again.

    Or rather, the ringing had never stopped.

    Fleeting Time picked up his cellphone. He raised his eyebrows when he noticed the caller ID: Fang Conshu. Why the hell is he calling me at a time like this? Shouldn¡¯t he be getting to explore a dungeon? He sifted through his call log and found more than 40 missed calls from the man. Is he trying to drain my battery or something? What¡¯s so important?

    The phone continued to ring, and Fleeting Time finally epted the call, ¡°Hello...¡±

    ¡°Oh f*ck me, you finally picked up! What the hell are you doing? You¡¯re not online in game and on the forum, and you¡¯re not picking up my call! Do you know that it¡¯s annoying to have you disappear just like that?¡¯

    ¡°Why are you annoyed? I¡¯m not your wife. It¡¯s not like it will affect you in any way.¡± Fleeting Time wiped his hair cleaned and headed into the kitchen with his empty cup and te.

    ¡°Of course it will! Don¡¯t you know that it will drive Mo Leng(White Fairytale¡¯s name IRL) crazy? And when it does, she¡¯ll call my wife. My wife will then be forced to console her. And you know what happens next? I¡¯ll be the next in line to receive the trouble! Don¡¯t you think that it affects me a lot?¡±

    ¡°You brought this upon yourselves, it has nothing to do with me.¡± Fleeting Time responded with a sneer.

    ¡°Can you not be so heartless? Mo Leng is our friend! I know you despise her, but can¡¯t you give me some face? We need some breathing room as well you know?¡± said Absalom, ¡°You dumped it all on us and left. We have to clean up your mess for you! Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s somewhat of a dick move?¡±

    Fleeting Time¡¯s expression grew colder. He had drawn a line in this matter, and he would not relent even when he knew that Fang Congshu had difficulties of his own, ¡°Your wife is the one asking for trouble. Do you think that woman would end up like this if it¡¯s not for your wife? What does it have to do anyways? Do I have to reciprocate her feelings just because she likes me?¡±

    ¡°B-but...¡± Fang Congshu knew that his wife had been a source of trouble for Fleeting Time, but seeking help from the man was the only way to solve the problem in hand.

    ¡°Fine, what is it? Come on, stop beating around the bush! I need to sleep.¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s mood soured at the mention of Mo Leng¡¯s name.

    ¡°Mo Leng called Dandan and told her that she wanted to kill herself. Dandan left for her house immediately, and I¡¯ve been trying to call you ever since, ¡°Fang Congshu let out a sigh. He was also annoyed by Mo Leng, the woman who had been intruding upon his peaceful life.

    ¡°She¡¯ll not die.¡± Fleeting Time snorted coldly, ¡°Didn¡¯t she say that she would kill herself if I go overseas. Well, I left, isn¡¯t she still well and alive?¡±

    ¡°What if she actually die?¡±

    ¡°Call the cops, notify her parents.¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s voice was devoid of emotion as he stared at the scenery outside his windows.

    ¡°Are you really that heartless?¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you tell your wife to keep herpany for the rest of her life?¡± Fleeting Time life, ¡°Nobody can tell me how to live my life! I don¡¯t care if there are 10 Mo Leng and they have loved me for 10 lifetimes! It has nothing to do with me.¡±

    ¡°You...¡± Fang Congshu was at a loss of words, ¡°Fine! You have a point there. I respect how you wish to live your life, but can you not cause an uproar with your romance? Can¡¯t you just let me have some peace?¡±

    ¡°What uproar?¡± Fleeting Time was confused.

    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know? Go have a look at the forum. Mo Leng wanted to kill herself because of that.¡± Fang Congshu sighed, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have to go check on her. I¡¯ll be seeing youter.¡±

 Chapter 298 Reaction Part 2

    <h4>Chapter 298 Reaction Part 2</h4>

    Chapter 298 Reaction (Part 2)

    The scowl on Fleeting Time¡¯s face had never left since he saw the post on the forum. He did not care how people thought of him, but what of Gongzi You?

    Gongzi You is a girl. Will she remain unfazed by this like me? I think not.

    Try as she might to deny it, Fleeting Time knew that deep down, Gongzi You would be disturbed by the entire incident. How will she react to all of this? He thought.

    Yes, I¡¯ve had my fair share of fun teasing her, and I¡¯ve enjoyed watching her face flushed with anger, but everything has its limit. There were things that even Fleeting Time would not do in public. He might be able to ignore such a thing, but he was a man, and Gongzi You was not! He has made the decision to spend the rest of his life with that person, and he would not allow her to be harmed.

    Impossible! Why did I not notice that we¡¯ve been followed? How could that yer remain beyond my direction range?! Fleeting Time mmed his fist onto his table and almost broke the sturdy furniture in half. He stood up, took in a deep breath to calm himself down. He then sat on his chair and proceeded to report the post to the developers. It was a vition of the privacy of the parties involved.

    But the post was not immediately removed, and anger once again returned to Fleeting Time. This was the first taste he had of the helplessness of a yer. He immediately dialed the customer service number of Fate, and his call was quickly connected, ¡°Hello! I am Fate Customer Service Employee no.948. How may I help you today?¡± said a female voice.

    ¡°I want to speak to your manager.¡±

    ¡°Our manager... sir?¡±

    ¡°Get your manager right now! Or do I have to lodge aint against you to make it happen, Customer Service 948?¡± anger was hidden within Fleeting Time¡¯s calm voice.

    ¡°May I know why you are looking for the manager? I am confident in my abilities to solve your problems, sir.¡± the customer service employee¡¯s smile froze on her face. This man is rude...

    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯m lodging aint against you for your unsatisfactory service. Put someone else on the line. MayI speak to your manager now?¡± a smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face, but his gentle voice was filled with malice.

    ¡°Alright, sir. Please hold the line for a moment, I will get the manager for you.¡± came the reply after a long moment of silence. The customer service employee immediately contacted her manager after switching over to the inte and grumbled about the call. The manager himself was confused by the sudden request. Why is he asking for me right off the bat? The manager grumbled to himself. He could feel trouble looming ahead, but customers are Gods. There was nothing he could do but pick up the call after offering some words offort to his subordinate.

    ¡°Good day to you, sir. I am the manager on duty for today. How may I be of service?¡±

    ¡°What is your employee number? How do I know you¡¯re not lying to me?¡± Fleeting Time was familiar with the tricks that a gamepany had up its sleeves.

    And the manager had no choice but to provide his employee number.

    ¡°There¡¯s a post in your forum with the title <>, is that correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s one of the most popr post of the week...¡±

    ¡°I want you to remove it...¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± it took the manager quite a while to process the request. After all, he was just scrolling through the post mere moments ago, ¡°May I know why?¡±

    ¡°I am Fleeting Time.¡±

    Fleeting Time continued as the manager remained silent, ¡°ording to the current Online Gaming Law, the post on your forum has infringed upon my privacy. I have the right to sue you, and I have confidence that I will win.¡±

    It was an undeniable truth. The customer service manager was shocked to receive a phone call from Fleeting Time, the man who was also the top Hunter in the Western Continent, and one of the main characters involved in the scandal.

    After eventually recovering from his initial shock, the manager sighed and began asking about Fleeting Time¡¯s ount details as a confirmation of his identity.

    ¡°Very well, Mr.Fleeting Time. We will solve this issue for you immediately.¡± said the customer service manager after confirming his identity.

    ¡°What I want is not your words. I want action. You have 5 minutes. If the post and everything rted to that post are still up by then, I have printed out all the evidence, and I can guarantee you that your board of directors will be hearing from the legal department within an hour.¡±

    This gave the customer service manager a headache. A yer like him who paid attention down to even the most minute of details was the bane of his existence. ¡°Alright sir, please give me a moment..¡±

    The manager was quick to notify his immediate superior of the incident, and his superior contacted the team in charge of the forum. Despite his woe at losing such a rare post, the person in charge of the forum had no choice but to remove the post and any content that was rted to the post.

    Hence the most popr post in the forum was wiped out of existence with not a trace remaining. And it was all done within 5 minutes. Fleeting Time knew that many of the yers would definitely have the pictures already stored in theirputers, but there was nothing he could do. He could only hope that Gongzi You would not feel too bad about it.

    Fleeting Time let out a long sigh. After all, it was entirely his fault. Something like this would never have happened had he not behaved so rashly. It was only natural for him to face Gongzi You¡¯s anger and take responsibility for his actions. It might mean that his chances with her would grow dimmer, but he had always been one to acknowledge his own mistakes.

    With that thought in mind, Fleeting Time climbed back into his gaming cabin instead of going to sleep.

    Glory Corporation.

    ¡°Hey boss, who was what? He was so rude! This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a yer like this! He even lodged aint against me! Oh no, my weekly bonus...¡± Customer Service 948 stood by the doorway to her manager¡¯s office with pursed lips.

    The manager grimaced at the deleted post, ¡°Do you want to know who he was?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± nodded the customer service employee. ¡°Aiya! Why was the post deleted? What the hell are the guys managing the forum doing? Why did they remove the post without telling us!?¡± came a voice before the manager could offer a reply.

    ¡°What?! They deleted the post?!¡± Customer Service 948, who was a gossip at heart, could not even wait for the answer from her superior. She turned around and walked back into the office. Just then the manager¡¯s reply entered her ears.

    ¡°That man was Fleeting Time.¡±

    The customer service employee stopped dead in her tracks and stared at her boss with mouth agape, ¡°No way...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to close the door.¡± the manager shrugged and offered her a smile.

    Fleeting Time logged back into the game and the jail cell. He stared at Gongzi You who was sitting at the opposite corner. Her face was pale. It was obvious that the post had struck her a massive blow.

    He wanted tofort the girl, but he was at a loss of words. The only thing he could do was to stare at her in silence, as she slowly lost control of her emotions.

    She finally lifted her head, and their eyes met. She bit down on her lips, and walked up to Fleeting Time,nding a p on his cheek without much of a hesitation.

    Thwack!

    The sound of that p resounded in the quiet cell.

    Fleeting Time stood still and waited for the blow tond. She was the one who had been hurt the most in this incident. He was the one at fault, and he would take whatever she would throw his way.

    ¡°You bastard!¡± Ye Ci red at Fleeting Time who was staring at her apologetically.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Fleeting Time spoke with a soft voice. Those were not the only words he had for Ye Ci, but they refused to leave his mouth. He had never felt so powerless in his life before.

    Ye Ci¡¯s lips were trembling. She knew that she had to say something to him. She knew that she should at least do something to him as an expression of her anger.

    But for reasons unknown, she felt her strength draining from her. She stumbled backwards and leaned against the cell bars, ¡°I really regret knowing you.¡± she spoke through gritted teeth.

    Fleeting Time took in a deep breath and walked up to Ye Ci. He stared into her eyes that were full of fatigue and said, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about what happened. Please give me a chance to make it up to you, okay?¡±

    ¡°You want to make it up to me?¡± Ye Ci red coldly at Fleeting Time. Her face was pale, but there was a glint of strength in her eyes, ¡°What do you think I am? A weak female lead in some shitty soap opera? Ridiculous!¡±

    Fleeting Time was momentarily stunned. He scratched his head and grimaced, ¡°I know what I say now means nothing to you, but I¡¯m sorry not for what I did. I do not regret kissing you.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s anger red once more, ¡°Then what the f*ck are you apologising for?!¡±

    Fleeting Time was surprised by the vulgar word that left Gongzi You¡¯s mouth. It was the first time it had happened. ¡°I am sorry because I did not notice the presence of the yer who took our picture, and I am sorry for not stopping him. I am also sorry that the photos were leaked into the forum without your permission.¡± he chuckled.

    ¡°Are you saying that if you have my permission, then the post...¡± Ye Ci could not bring herself toplete the sentence.

    ¡°Why not?¡± Fleeting Timeughed, ¡°If you agree, it means that we¡¯ve approved of what people think of our rtionship. And why would I hide it?¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time as if he was a person from another, ¡°What sort of nonsense is that?¡± she asked incredulously.

    ¡°It¡¯s a man¡¯s logic. If...¡± and he continued after a slight post, ¡°If you¡¯re my significant other, I will never hide it. I want everyone to know that you belong to me, and that post is doing a very great job.¡±

    Ye Ci continued ring at Fleeting Time. She could not understand his thoughts. Perhaps he is from another. She had the feeling that it was a waste of time to even attempt tomunicate with the man standing before her. I might as well think of ways to deal with Bai Mo, Png, and my parents. They would definitely have seen the post.

    She turned around and headed to another corner of the cell, ¡°Whatever, you stay there with your logic. Just leave me alone. I have other things to worry about.¡±

    Fleeting Time stared at Gongzi You for a long moment before finally speaking up, ¡°Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Ye Ci, who was deep in thought, snapped at the man.

    Fleeting Time was not angered, and instead offered her a smile, ¡°What do you think of our rtionship?¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°Well, we¡¯re rivals from opposing continents.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Despite his casual demeanor, Fleeting Time¡¯s heart was filled with unease. What came next was probably one of the most anxious moments in his life, ¡°Then... Do you wish for us to have a more... Intimate rtionship?¡±

 Chapter 299 Reaction Part 3

    <h4>Chapter 299 Reaction Part 3</h4>

    Mo Leng felt as if the world was crumbling around her as she stared at the screen of her monitor.

    The pictures in the forum were of someone she had etched into her heart and mind. She would never forget that man even if he turned to dust. She would remember that face until the end of her life.

    But why! Why would such a person treat her like that? How can he do that to her? She had been trying to give him space. Even when there were rumors about the girl, she chose not to confront him.

    She waited and waited for him in the quietest corner she could find. She did not ask for much. All she craved was his recognition. And wait she would until the day he would finally acknowledge her existence.

    But why! How did things end up like this!

    Mo Leng refused to believe that the man did not know of her feelings. She refused to believe that he could ignore her passion for him for so many years. How could he hurt me like this? She thought. Can¡¯t he leave some room for me to breath? Am I not allowed to even admire him from afar anymore?

    Mo Leng stood up on unsteady feet and raised her head. She wanted to cry, but her tears would not flow. Perhaps they have dried up after years of crying for the man...

    What should I do now? What do I do now? Mo Leng blind. She felt helpless. Wait, wasn¡¯t I going to head into the shower? Didn¡¯t I n to go into the dungeon? Even if Fleeting Time is not there, I will always wait for him, wouldn¡¯t I?

    Mo Leng felt cold despite the hot water raining down on her body. For reasons that were unknown even to her, time seemed to have frozen at the moment she saw the pictures.

    The man of her dreams had a warm smile on his face, a sight that she had never before seen! But how could he show it to another girl!

    Pain, Mo Leng felt nothing but numbing pain in her chest. And the pain was spreading to all parts of her body, and into the core of her very being.

    Mo Leng balled her hand into a fist, and mmed it against the ceramic tile lining the wall of her bathroom. ¡°Why!¡± She screamed at the top of her lungs, ¡°Why are you doing this to me!? Who gave you the rights to do this to me!¡±

    Even Mo Leng herself did not know how long she spent in the shower. She stared into the mirror in front of her, and saw ady with a beautiful woman with dark hair and dazzling eyes. Her skin was fair, she had a firm pair of breasts, and her legs slender. She was a symbol of literal perfection. A person with a body figure like this could easily seduce any man.

    Mo Leng struck a few poses in front of the mirror. That¡¯s right. She was never ugly. In fact, she was a rare beauty. I can seduce anyone with this body of mine, but why! Why can¡¯t I have him?

    She took two steps forward, and pressed her naked body against the cold surface of the mirror. It was as if only through the coldness that she could be sure that she was a person. A person who was still alive and well.

    ¡°Why... Why?! Why won¡¯t you even look at me? I¡¯m giving myself to you for nothing, and you wouldn¡¯t even hold out your hands to ept me! Why?!¡± a wave a dizziness wave over Mo Leng, and she staggered back onto her couch. She stared up at the ceiling. I don¡¯t want to live anymore.

    But am I going to die just like this? No! She was not afraid of death. But she was afraid of how she died. She knew that if she died at that moment, the news would not even reach Fleeting Time. She would not be able to leave a mark in his life even in death.

    She must die in a way that Fleeting Time would never forget. She would haunt him for the rest of his life.

    And only they could bring news of her death to Fleeting Time.

    Mo Leng struggled to stand on her feed. She grabbed her phone and called Liao Dandan (the name of Sour Apple in real life).

    Liao Dandan was busying herself in the kitchen. Fang Congshu had been a good husband as ofte, and she decided to reward him with his favourite dishes.

    She hummed as she prepared the ingredients for dinner, ¡°Honey! Do you want desserts for dinner?¡± and she called out to Fang Congshu who was studying a dungeon clearing guild in his studies.

    ¡°As long as it¡¯s not inconvenient for you!¡± came the reply.

    Liao Dandan chuckled at the response, and her eyes narrowed into slits as a smile appeared on her face, ¡°Then we¡¯ll be having mango pudding for dessert.¡±

    ¡°Okay then!¡± Fang Congshu had nothing but absolute obedience for his wife. He was in a good mood. Despite his suffering at the hands of Fleeting Time earlier in the day, it was like a candle to the burning happiness in his heart as he received a dungeon clearing guide from the man.

    And the sudden ringing on Liao Dandan¡¯s phone was a shock to him. He had a feeling of unease when he lifted the phone. The caller was Mo Leng.

    His heart sank when he saw the name. He always lived in fear of receiving a phone call from Mo Leng. Nothing good ever came out of a phone call from her. It was always a request to deliver her message to Fleeting Time, or for his wife to keep herpany.

    She was starting to have a negative effect on his rtionship with Fleeting Time, but she would not relent, as if she did not know of the consequences of her actions.

    What will it be about today? Is it because of what happened in the World Chat? Goddamn it! It¡¯s not like she didn¡¯t know that Fleeting Time has a thing for Gongzi You! Wasn¡¯t she the one who chose to wait and see what happens? Why is she calling my wife again? She made the choice! Fleeting Time did not force her to like him!

    Liao Dandan heard the ringtone of her phone as well, ¡°Is that my phone, honey?¡±

    Fang Congshu furrowed his eyebrows, it was a question he did not want to answer, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s Mo Leng!¡±

    ¡°Mo Leng?¡± Liao Dandan¡¯s eyebrows creased. Mo Leng had been acting quite calm recently. It was rare for her to disturb her at a time like this. That¡¯s weird, we met in game just now. Why is she calling me now? Did something happen?

    Liao Dandan let out a sigh. She could only hope that it had nothing to do with Fleeting Time. As long as it did not involve Fleeting Time, she was happy to have a conversation with her friend.

    She turned off the stove and made her way into the studies where Fang Congshu had tossed her phone aside and was staring at the guide.

    ¡°Why did you not pick it up?¡± Liao Dandan sighed. The phone had stopped ringing the moment she entered the room.

    ¡°I want none of her bullshit! What if she wants me to talk to Fleeting Time for her again? You go talk to her.¡±

    ¡°How am I supposed to talk to her? The call has ended!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯ll call again.¡± replied Fang Congshu as he gave the phone onest nce before returning his attention to the guide.

    And as expected, the phone rang again. Liao Dandan immediately connected the call, and Mo Leng¡¯s shrill voice immediately entered her ears before she could even speak, ¡°Dandan! So even you are abandoning me? Just like Fleeting Time did?¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? I was in the kitchen, and my husband was bathing! The call ended by the time I got to the phone!¡± Liao Dandan was mildly annoyed by Mo Leng¡¯s tone, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Dandan...¡± Mo Leng appeared to have calmed down after receiving the exnation, she spoke with a faint voice, ¡°I think... I don¡¯t want to live anymore.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Liao Dandan was shocked ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid!¡±

    ¡°Something stupid?¡± Mo Lengughed, ¡°Fleeting Time has already uploaded those kinds of pictures to the forum. Isn¡¯t he literally asking me to go die?¡±

    ¡°Pictures? The forum?¡± Liao Dandan was baffled. She stared at Fang Congshu, but he was equally confused, ¡°What are you on about?¡± asked Liao Dandan as her husband began sifting through the forum.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Mo Leng sighed, ¡°Dandan, you¡¯re been like a sister to me. Thank you for being with me for so many years. Take care of yourself.¡± and she ended the call before Liao Dandan could react.

    ¡°Mo Leng, don¡¯t do anything stupid!¡± Liao Dandan was baffled, ¡°No! Don¡¯t hang up on me! Listen to me! Hello?!¡± she shouted into her phone until she noticed the beeping sounding from the other end. ¡°Oh no.. Oh no...¡± she stared at Fang Congshu with panic clearly written on her face.

    ¡°What¡¯s with her?¡± Fang Congshu had finally found the thread, and was sorting the posts by ¡°View OP only¡±.

    And what he found next left his mouth agape.

    It was not because of what they did, but because of the fact that Fleeting Time had never done something so intimate with a girl. Even if he was in a VRMMORPG, he would always maintain a polite distance from the female yers in-game.

    Liao Dandan pushed Fang Congshu aside and saw the pictures as well, ¡°This is... Fleeting Time and Gongzi You...¡± she finally understood Mo Leng¡¯s distress.

    ¡°Damn right.¡± Fang Congshu has not recovered from his initial shock. It was something that was simply iprehensible. Fleeting Time is kissing a girl? He¡¯s actually doing it?!

    ¡°Right my ass!¡± Liao Dandan gave her husband¡¯s head a smack and headed into the bedroom.

    ¡°The hell are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I have to get to Mo Leng¡¯s ce!¡± said Liao Dandan as she searched for a change of clothes, ¡°Call Fleeting Time!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why do I have to call him? Go to Mo Leng¡¯s if you want, but there¡¯s no way I¡¯m calling that guy!¡± Fang Congshu could feel unease slowly creeping into his heart at the sheer thought of what he was asked to do, ¡°Why must I call Fleeting Time about Mo Leng? You¡¯re not the one who would get into troubleter!¡±

    ¡°Something¡¯s off about her! She must¡¯ve seen the pictures as well! She sounded like she was going to kill herself! I¡¯ll go have a look.¡± exined Liao Dandan as she put on her clothes.

    ¡°What? Suicide? You¡¯re kidding me right? Can¡¯t shee up with something new? Fleeting Time is in America right now! Can she stop bothering us?¡± eximed Fang Congshu. He was more annoyed than surprised.

    ¡°Shut up and call him,¡± said Liao Dandan as she mmed the door shut and headed downstairs.

    And Fang Congshu could only make a call to Fleeting Time to deliver a news with reluctance heavy in his heart.

 Chapter 300 Reaction Part 4

    <h4>Chapter 300 Reaction Part 4</h4>

    When Liao Dandan pushed open Mo Leng¡¯s front door after unlocking it with a set of spare keys, she could smell gas in the air. She immediately covered her nose and dashed into the kitchen to turn the stove off and proceeded to open up all the windows for venttion before finally searching for Mo Leng.

    Laio Dandan found Mo Leng leaning against her gaming cabin in the studies. She was unconscious. Liao Dandan could feel her heart in her mouth, and immediately called for an ambnce.

    She then walked up to Mo Leng, and ced a finger under her nose. The girl was still breathing.

    Liao Dandan called out to Mo Leng again and again, but Mo Leng never regained consciousness. It was as if she was already dead.

    The ambnce arrived just when Liao Dandan was at the brink of losing her mind. She apanied Mo Leng into the back of the ambnce, and called Fang Congshu on her way to the hospital, ¡°Have you managed to get ahold of Fleeting Time, honey?¡±

    ¡°I just got off the phone with him. What is it? Are you at Mo Leng¡¯s right now? How¡¯s she doing?¡± Fang Congshu was in a bad mood after this call with Fleeting Time.

    Liao Dandan, who would usually protest to such attitude, only responded with a faint voice, ¡°She attempted tomit suicide by inhaling gas. I¡¯m riding along with her in an ambnce on the way to the hospital.¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Fang Congshu was shocked. Mo Leng will never kill herself. Fleeting Time¡¯s words were still ringing in his ears. You do not know her, Fleeting Time! He thought, A girl will do anything out of desperation, and this blow might have just driven her tomit suicide! ¡°Which hospital are you headed to? I¡¯ll be on my way!¡±

    Fang Congshu immediately put on a change of clothes and sped to the hospital in his car once he received a reply. He saw Liao Dandan sitting alone by the bench outside of the emergency room, and ran up to her, ¡°Honey!¡±

    Liao Dandan raised her head and looked at Fang Congshu. Her face was pale, her eyes red and puffy, and her body was trembling. It was apparent that she had received quite the shock. She pulled Fang Congshu into an embrace and spoke through sobs, ¡°Honey, she¡¯ll be fine right? Right?¡±

    Fang Congshu hugged his wife tightly andforted her, ¡°It¡¯ll be alright honey. With how advanced technology is nowadays, she will be fine.¡±

    Just then, a male doctor pushed past the doors of the emergency room, ¡°Are the family members of Mo Leng present?¡±

    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s me!¡± Fang Congshu stood up and dashed towards the doctor.

    ¡°You are...¡± the doctor stared at the two approaching individuals. He was hesitant at first, but his gaze finally rested on Fang Congshu.

    ¡°We are Mo Leng¡¯s friends. Her best friends in this city.¡± replied Liao Dandan.

    ¡°Very well. Her condition is stable now. We¡¯ve admitted her into a normal ward for further observation. You can go visit her now.¡± said the doctor as he removed his surgical mask and smiled at Fang Congshu, ¡°Ohe on Old Fang, do you not recognise me anymore?¡±

    Fang Congshu was stunned. He studied the face of the doctor standing before him and recognition immediately dawned upon him, ¡°Liu Zi! It¡¯s you!¡±

    ¡°Heh, you still remember me after 20 years? Not bad!¡± Liu Zi chuckled. ¡°A friend of your wife?¡± asked the doctor when he noticed Liao Dandan¡¯s expression.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Fang Congshu nodded. He knew what was going on in his mind. Even he himself was not in the mood to catch up with his friend.

    But Liu Zi spoke up before Fang Congshu could voice his mind, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go on first, madam? I would like to talk to Old Fang for a moment. I¡¯ll get someone to take you there.¡± and he motioned to a nurse nearby.

    Liao Dandan eyed the doctor suspiciously, and then at Fang Congshu before leaving with the nurse.

    Liu Zi spoke to Fang Congshu when Liao Dandan was no longer within earshot, ¡°It is not my ce to ask, but since it¡¯s you, I guess I¡¯ll have to.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Fang Congshu and Liu Zi were childhood friends who had not seen each other for 20 years after being separated in primary school. But they maintained a close friendship, and they would always get straight to the point with each other.

    ¡°Are you having an affair with the girl with the suicide attempt?¡± asked Liu Zi.

    Fang Congshu almost gagged at the question, ¡°Heh, you¡¯re still able to almost shock me to death with the first few words that leave your mouth eh?¡±

    ¡°Of course. So is thedy with the gas poisoning something other than the friend of your wife?¡± a fake smile appeared on Liu Zi¡¯s face.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Fang Congshu said with a gesture of his hand, ¡°I can¡¯t stand that woman! She¡¯s a friend of my wife who has taken a liking to another friend of ours. She has no interest in me at all. Even if she does, I don¡¯t think I have it in me to stand her!¡±

    Liu Zi nodded, ¡°Oh, then it¡¯s all good. Alright, I¡¯ll get back to work. Don¡¯t forget to keep in touch!¡± and he handed Fang Congshu his phone number.

    Fang Congshu stopped Liu Zi before he could leave, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t just leave me hanging like this. Tell me what¡¯s going on!¡±

    ¡°Since it has nothing to do with you, just forget about it.¡± Liu Zi shrugged. He was not a person who likes to gossip.

    ¡°Come on, just tell me! That friend of mine is in America right now. If you have anything about the girl, just let me know. She might not have her eyes on me, but she¡¯s driving me insane!¡±

    Liu Zi studied Fang Congshu¡¯s expression for a long moment before finally nodding, ¡°Alright then. This girl is a cunning one. If you have an affair with her, end it, or she will bring you trouble.¡±

    ¡°You know her!?¡± eximed Fang Congshu.

    ¡°No, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen her.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you say that?¡±

    ¡°ording to your wife, she received a phone call from that girl 40 minutes ago.¡±

    ¡°Yup, that sounds about right.¡± Fang Congshu nodded in confirmation. There was a one-hour gap from when Liao Dandan first received the call from Mo Leng, and when Fang Congshu was notified of the suicide attempt by Liao Dandan.

    ¡°If she really intends to kill herself, then she would¡¯ve immediately turned on the gas after ending the call. She would¡¯ve been dead by the time your wife arrives. Even Jesus himself would not be able to save her.¡± Liu Zi smiled cynically at the situation, ¡°But she¡¯s only suffering from minor gas poisoning. Based on my calctions, she has only inhaled around 10 minutes worth of gas. It¡¯s very hard to cause a person¡¯s death with that amount.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why the hell did she do that?¡± Fang Congshu was shocked.

    ¡°How would I know?¡± Liu Zi turned around and was about to head back to work, ¡°Remember to stay in contact. My mom would always get me to pay your mom a visit, why didn¡¯t you do the same?!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll do it someday.¡± Fang Congshu nodded. He appeared rxed, but his heart was in turmoil after receiving the news from Liu Zi. He stood in front of the emergency room for a brief moment before heading to Mo Leng¡¯s ward.

    He did not enter, and instead listened in on the conversation between Liao Dandan and Mo Leng outside.

    ¡°Why did you do something so stupid! It¡¯s better to be alive! If you die, what chance do you have with him?¡±

    ¡®Do I even have any left? He would not even look at me, but he spreaded those pictures everywhere! How can I live after seeing that? Everybody knows that I¡¯ve liked him for years! My parents thought that we¡¯re dating each other! I can¡¯t just tell everyone now that he likes someone else and not me! How can I carry on living after that? I should¡¯ve just died!¡±

    ¡°Why are you so obsessed with him? He¡¯s not the only man in the world, it doesn¡¯t have to be him!¡±

    ¡°It must! It must be him! I can¡¯t live without him!¡± Mo Leng sniffed, ¡°Dandan, please, help me onest time. I can¡¯t live without him!¡±

    Fang Congshu bursted into the room and disrupted the conversation before Liao Dandan could give her reply. He was quickly able to find an excuse to leave the room with Liao Dandan after having some small talk with Mo Leng.

    ¡°Stay out of this.¡± Fang Congshu spoke with a firm tone.¡±

    ¡°But.. Don¡¯t you pity her? She attempted suicide because of Fleeting Time!¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that she did it for real?¡± Fang Congshu sneered as he ryed what Liu Zi had said to Liao Dandan. ¡°I will not y messenger for you any longer¡± said Fang Congshu before heading to the parking lot, ¡°If you still want to meddle in their affairs, then you go talk to Fleeting Time yourself.¡± and he continued after a slight pause, ¡°That girl is very cunning. Don¡¯t let her drag our guild down.¡±

    And with that, an angered Fang Congshu walked away, leaving Liao Dandan standing alone in the cold, bone-chilling wind.

    Bai Mo had been quiet throughout the entire night.

    And it was a rare sight, as Bai Mo was a person who would always talk and crack the asional jokes to cheer his guild members up during an expedition into a dungeon. The silence was almost suffocating.

    Even the entire party was silent. The channel was silent other than the asionalmand from the person in charge.

    Ideal Height 1.7m who could no longer stand the silence sent a message to Timely Rain, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up with the boss, Little Rain?¡±

    ¡°How the hell would I know?¡±

    ¡°Could it be the pictures that are circting in the forum?¡± Ideal Height 1.7m had heard from Release That Girl that Bai Mo and Gongzi You were cousins that shared a very close rtionship. It was entirely possible that Bai Mo has gotten jealous due to the incident.

    ¡°I do not know.¡± Timely Rain shook his head. He was a man of facts that would not voice his opinion out based on mere assumptions.

    Ideal Height 1.7m started conversation with Fruit Jelly instead when he realised that he would not get anything out of Timely Rain. The mentality of the males and females when it came to gossip waspletely different. Despite her worries, Fruit Jelly was excited at the gossip, ¡°Have you seen the pictures? I haven¡¯t seen all of them yet. Goddamn it OP, why are you holding on to them? Post them already!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve reached the part where they kissed.¡± Ideal Height 1.7m was excited to find a gossipping partner. And the two main DPS of the party began a lengthy discussion about the pictures of Fleeting Time and Gongzi You.

    ¡°This is the first time I have such a good look at Fleeting Time¡¯s face, and I got to say, his face is pretty!¡±

    ¡°Pfft... Is it even a good thing for a guy to have a pretty face?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point. Do you think that Fleeting Time actually did it with Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°I guess so. This is the first time he¡¯s involved in a scandal. I¡¯ve heard that he never once showed an interest in girls. Did he just break his taboo for Gongzi?¡±

    ¡°Well from the pictures at least, that seems to be the case. Then again, Gongzi seems to be quite cooperative. Perhaps she did not dislike Fleeting Time that much deep down.¡±

    ¡°I think she simply doesn¡¯t understand the wonders of what a man can bring her.¡± said Fruit Jelly, ¡°The only things she knows are dungeon clearing and First Blood.¡±

    ¡°You pervert...¡±

    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s a fact.¡±

 Chapter 301 Reaction 5

    <h4>Chapter 301 Reaction 5</h4>

    Chapter 301 Reaction (5)

    Bai Mo was in a horrible mood.

    He would never admit to anyone else, but the source of his ire came from the very popr forum post.

    Deep down, he knew that it was time for Little Ci to be dating someone, and he was actually supportive of the idea of her searching for a partner. They can get the approval of their parents, and see each other whenever they felt like it.

    It was such a simple wish.

    But there was a huge gap between a wish and reality. And on this day, Bai Mo had finally realised just howrge the gap could be. He had a strong urge to beat Fleeting Time up the moment he saw the pictures.

    It was a weird feeling. It was as if the most precious thing he had in the world. The loathing that he felt was something that could not be described with words.

    Even when he knew that Little Ci would eventually have to get married and have a family of her own, he could not ept what he saw.

    And he knew for a fact that Ye Nantian would share the same feeling as well.

    Why! Why must I hand the precious jewel that I¡¯ve been taking care of for so long to someone else just like that!

    That bastard had not even made it past his assessment yet. He did not even have the chance to know the guy, but he was already hugging and kissing Little Ci. How dare he! That guy...

    Bai Mo could not even find the right words to describe what he felt about Fleeting Time. But one thing certain, he did not like the man.

    Fleeting Time was very good at the game, but what good would it do in real life? Wouldn¡¯t Little Ci suffer if the only thing he was good at was with games? Of course, Bai Mo could not deny that a full-time yer could earn a lot of money, but he was displeased, and anything could be used as an excuse to fuel the mes of his anger.

    Of course, Bai Mo knew that his view of Fleeting Time was overly biased, and he knew that he hadn¡¯t had the chance to get to know the man better. He¡¯s a yer from the Western Continent. He has barely spent time with Ye Ci, not to mention meeting her in real life. What if she was tricked by him?

    Our Little Ci is so such a pure and innocent child. She had been romantically involved in anyone before.

    . .

    She had never even held hands with a boy before! She was like a nk piece of paper, but her first time was defiled by that bastard!

    Bai Mo was in a bad mood. He was in a really bad mood. His performance was a direct reflection of his mood as he directed his anger towards the monsters in the dungeon.

    He did not make even a single mistake in the dungeon, as if he was a veteran of a hundred expeditions to this dungeon. His party members were impressed by his sudden surge of performance.

    As he was still reeling with anger, he received a message from AuntOrchid for the first time in forever. Of course, AuntOrchid was the mother of Ye Ci and Bai Mo¡¯s aunt, Zuo Xian.

    ¡°What are you doing, Little Mo?¡± due to herck of understanding of the game¡¯s features, Zuo Xian had barely sent any private message, and it was apparent that she did not know that she could check the location of her Friends through her friendlist.

    ¡°I¡¯m in a dungeon right now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see. You must be busy. I¡¯ll talk to youter than.¡± Despite herte start and herck of knowledge about parts of the game, Zuo Xian had gotten used to the ngs and terms used in the game. She knew that Bai Mo was busy once she learnt that he was in a dungeon.

    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll be out in 30 more minutes. I¡¯ll go look for you once I¡¯m back in the city.¡± Zuo Xian would rarely contact Bai Mo in the game. She would always discuss things with him in real life. Her sudden behavior was an indicator that something was troubling the mind, and it was very likely about Ye Ci.

    And the only thing that had to do with Ye Ci at the moment was her scandal with Fleeting Time.

    It was very likely that Zuo Xian had found the pictures on the forum after looking at the World Chat. Bai Mo did not know how Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian would react to the incident.

    Bai Mo wanted to protect Ye Ci from the harm it might cause no matter the cost, which was why he was worried about the reaction of her parents.

    And thanks to his talent in multitasking, Bai Mo was able to perform well in the dungeon even when his thoughts were upied elsewhere.

    But his silence was unnerving to the members of Upwards Ho!. It was a face of Bai Mo that they have never seen before.

    And this behavior had an unexpected effect on the dungeon clearing party. They became more focused on the tasks at hand, and listened well to Bai Mo¡¯smands. And at the end of the expedition, they were able to clear the dungeon without making any mistakes.

    They were exploring a lvl60 dungeon. The average level of yers was already at lvl60, but the dungeon clearing progress of the yers weregging behind. None of the guilds in the Eastern Continent had managed to clear even a single lvl60 dungeon due to their focus on leveling up.

    And once the patch was released and their level cap increased, the major guilds began to organize expeditions to explore the Scorching Canyon dungeons, which was the major dungeon in the Eastern Continent yielding lvl60 to lvl80 equipment.

    All the major guilds of the Eastern Continent were simultaneously exploring the first dungeon of the Scorching Canyon dungeon cluster on this night.

    But Upwards Ho! was the only guild to avoid any setbacks thus far. And even without Ye Ci¡¯s aid, they were able to defeat the first BOSS of the dungeon cluster, Fiery Hound And.

    The members of Upwards Ho! could not believe their eyes as Andy dead before their feet. It was just a test run, and even their Mi Lu had pointed out that there was no need of consuming potions or food that would buff their stats. Nobody expected them to be able to clear the dungeon on the first run.

    ¡°No way! We cleared it? Is there a BUG with the BOSS or are we just too strong! Tang Dynasty¡¯s party was wiped out six times by the BOSS!¡±

    Mi Lu was speechless as well.

    This was not the result that Bai Mo had expected. He snapped out of his daze after a long moment and said to the members of his party, ¡°Nice, we made it.¡± Due to his bad mood, Bai Mo felt no excitement even when the boss was in, ¡°Mi Lu, get someone to collect the loot.¡±

    And a system notification rang out in the World Chat at the same time.

    ¡°Congrattions Upwards Ho! for achieving First Blood on the Normal Difficulty 100-yer dungeon, Scorching Canyon BOSS, Fiery Hound And. Rewards: 3000 Guild Prestige Points, 30,000 Prestige Points in all major cities, 25,000 Gold Coins. Let us remember their names!¡±

    The World Chat went silent for a short moment after the system announcement. Despite their interest in the scandal, the yers knew that it was just a seasoning to the main dish that was the game. Clearing dungeons and farming for equipment was still at the top of their list of priorities. Messages asking for guides and recordings from Eastern Continent yers began flooding the chat.

    But they received no response from the yers of Upwards Ho!.

    Sir Ditty was shocked to not find Gongzi You on the roster. Then again, the shock would be even greater if her name was on the roster, as she was still locked away in prison in Hero City. Upwards Ho! was able to get First Blood without Gongzi You? Just how strong have they be?

    But Sir Ditty did not ponder upon the question longer than he should. His guild¡¯s aim was to defeat the first BOSS Fiery Hound And as well. ¡°Pay no mind to the announcement. Let¡¯s give the boss a try again. Our goal was never the First Blood, am I right?¡±

    And the elites of Sir Ditty guild began to set out into the dungeon yet again with renewed vigor.

    Eastern Continent, in a Human starter vige.

    Breeze was waving his staff again and again against a small ck Boar. His movements stopped for the briefest of moments when he noticed the system announcement, and he lost half his HP to the boar. He delivered onest blow to the ck Boar with a grimace, and the monster dropped dead on the ground.

    ¡°What an impressive guild. They were able to give all the major guilds a p on their collective faces on the first day the patch was released,¡± Breeze chuckled. He gave the corpse of the boar thaty dead by his feet a kick, ¡°I hope money is not the only thing I get out of this job. Perhaps I will actually enjoy the game this time.¡±

    His voice was soft. So soft that it was blown away by a breeze that swept through the newbie vige.

    With no Warrior equipment dropped, Bai Mo eyed the dozen Purple-quality equipment, and transferred the distribution rights to Timely Rain, ¡°You¡¯ve done well today. Go get some rest after you get your guild points awarded to you. We will be going after the next BOSS tomorrow.¡±

    It was an obvious sign that Bai Mo intended to leave the dungeon, ¡°Boss, do we continue clearing the mobs?¡± asked Mi Lu.

    Bai Mo eyed Release That Girl and Little Cold Icy Hands and said, ¡°If Release and Little Hand wish to continue, then you may proceed. There are things that I have to take care of.¡±

    The two yers who were mentioned offered Bai Mo a smile, ¡°Of course! Go do what you have to do. We¡¯re all high in morale anyways! This is just unexpected. I haven¡¯t even have the chance to use all my skills yet, of course I¡¯ll continue clearing the dungeon.¡±

    Bai Mo nodded and appointed Timely Rain as the party leader. He then turned around and spoke to Mi Lu, ¡°Mi Lu, don¡¯t let their enthusiasm die off. I know you want to try the second BOSS, but don¡¯t push yourself.¡±

    Mi Lu scratched his head in embarrassment when his thoughts were pointed out, ¡°Heh, I guess you know me too well boss,¡± he chuckled, ¡°Alright then. Go be on your way. I¡¯ll be careful.¡±

    Despite his young age, Mi Lu was a careful person. Bai Mo knew that his advice was enough. He left the party and immediately headed to Zuo Xian¡¯s shop once he was back in Red Lake City.

    The introduction of a new patch attracted a huge wave of new yers into the game, and the shop operated by Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian saw a bloom in business. But the couple was not in their shop, and the ce was ran by a few NPCs. Bai Mo sent Zuo Xian a private message, and immediately made his way upstairs once she told him that she was on the third floor.

    The third floor of the shop selling ready-made clothing could only be essed by customers once permission was granted, but Zuo Xian had already granted special privilege for members of her family to enter the level, which meant that could walk right into the shop without being stopped by the system.

    His shining armor attracted the attention of many of the female customers on the floor. Many of them even began to whisper into each other¡¯s ears, discussing the possibility of snagging him up for themselves.

    But Bai Mo¡¯s mind was already upied. He paid no heed to the yers around him as he quickly disappeared from their view.

 Chapter 302 Reaction 6

    <h4>Chapter 302 Reaction 6</h4>

    Chapter 302 Reaction (6)

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian were old, but it did not mean that they were idiots. The inte was already a thing when they were both young. They did not have the chance to explore it back then, but it was still not toote for them.

    In any case, their generation was one that could still catch up with times. That was why they were able to quickly locate the forum post when news about Ye Ci began to spread in the World Chat.

    But their reactions werepletely opposite of each other¡¯s.

    It had always been Zuo Xian¡¯s deepest fear that her daughter would not be able to get married. The appearance of a skillful and handsome yer who had managed to capture her daughter¡¯s heart was like an oasis in the desert. The worry she has kept for 20 years was swept away in an instant. I knew it! My daughter is still quite charming! Why would a guy treat her like that otherwise! Must¡¯ve been my genes!

    Ye Nantian, however, was way more conservative. Unlike his wife, he was not overjoyed by the news. Ye Ci was the most beautiful daughter in his heart, and nobody deserved to take his daughter¡¯s hand in marriage.

    He was never worried as not a single boy had dared to approach Ye Ci when she was young. The boys around her knew not of her beauty! Only those who are mature could appreciate her charm. That was why Ye Nantian never shared his wife¡¯s worry.

    But this man... He heard about him from Tan Png, and had also done some research on him as well. Fleeting Time had a good character, was a skillful yer, and was quite wealthy as well. He could be said to be the perfect candidate for his daughter. But... He had never agreed to their rtionship yet!

    ¡°Hmpf! He must¡¯ve forced himself on our Little Ci!¡± retorted Ye Nantian, ¡°Kissing and groping her in public like that!¡± His words were like a bucket of cold water that was sshed on the burning passion of his wife.

    And Zuo Xian would naturally be displeased, ¡°Oh, I never knew that the man who besotted me when we were 18 can be so old fashioned! If we haven¡¯t been living together for so long, I would¡¯ve thought that somebody else has taken your ce instead¡± sneered Zuo Xian, ¡°Did the guy who kissed me at a traffic junction die?¡±

    ¡°Hey hey hey! It has nothing to do with this!¡± Ye Nantian¡¯s face reddened, ¡°What happened was between us. We¡¯re talking about Little Ci here!¡±

    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re being a hypocrite now? Fleeting Time doesn¡¯t look like a bad person! At least he knew to do it in secret, unlike you! Do you know how embarrassed I was back then?¡± Zuo Xian is very critical of Ye Nantian¡¯s hypocrisy.

    ¡°Oh? Did he now? So how did the news spread so fast!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because somebody followed them and took a picture without them knowing! Have you not heard of paparazzis? Those shameless people have been around even when we were young!¡± Zuo Xian red at her husband, but the smile returned to face when she thought of what happened between Fleeting Time and Ye Ci, ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not like they wanted the picture to be taken.¡±

    Our Little Ci has always been hopeless when ites to romance. I doubt she¡¯ll ever get married without something like this happening to her! Zuo Xian was extremely satisfied with her future son inw.

    ¡°Thank God somebody was there! We won¡¯t even know what might happen if nobody was around!¡± Ye Nantian¡¯s heart was filled with anger at the thought that his precious daughter was defiled by Fleeting Time.

    I must teach that bastard a lesson!

    Just then, Bai Mo who has been listening to their bickering in silence let out a cough to attract their attention. He had identally eavesdrop upon the story of romance between his aunt and uncle when they were young, and he did not want to hear more things that he was not supposed to know.

    ¡°Ah, Little Mo is here!¡± Zuo Xian immediately pulled him to an empty seat and began bombarding him with questions, ¡°Have you seen the pictures on the forum? What do you think?¡±

    Bai Mo pursed his lips. What do you mean ¡®What I think¡¯?

    ¡°What do you mean by that, auntie?¡±

    ¡°What do you think of Fleeting Time? Will he make a good husband for my Little Ci?¡± came the reply.

    There was a glint in Zuo Xian¡¯s eyes as she stared at Bai Mo. At that very moment, Bai Mo could truly see how simr Zuo Xiand and his mother, Zuo Xiaoqing were. He had always thought that his mother had nothing simr to Zuo Xian other than their looks.

    His mother was clumsy, while Zuo Xian could be said to be the role model of housewives around the globe. He had finally realised that Zuo Xiand and Zuo Xiaoqing were indeed sisters. Because Zuo Xian was staring at him just like his mother would. And just like his mother, danger was lurking behind Zuo Xian¡¯s eyes, and her eyes were telling Bai Mo that he would perish if he did not agree with her words.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to your aunt, Little Mo! Fleeting Time doesn¡¯t look reliable at all! And I¡¯m sure you share my thoughts on this.¡± Ye Nantian sat beside Bai Mo and grabbed hold of his arm.

    Bai Mo agreed with Ye Nantian¡¯s words, but he also knew that he could not speak what was truly in his mind. There might be arger poption with the surname Ye in Ye Ci¡¯s family, but he knew that the power of life and death was held by the one with the surname Zuo. For the preservation of his life, it was in his interest to remain silent.

    ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re obviously trying to gaslight Bai Mo and pull him to your side! Your wicked method is uncalled for!¡±

    ¡°Me? Wicked? Zuo Xian, what are you thinking! You¡¯re not the 18 years old girl you were now! Can¡¯t you be more rational? Can we really trust a man as frivolous as him to take our daughter¡¯s hand in marriage?¡±

    ¡°Frivolous? Just because they kissed? You think your daughter is 3 years old? Or do you think she¡¯s a loli? She¡¯s a grown up! She¡¯s of marrying age now, but she knows nothing about romance! At this point is not being pure and innocent, she¡¯s being foolish!¡± eximed Zuo Xian, ¡°Do you think we¡¯re still living in the olden days? Where girls get married without knowing who their husbands were until the night they see each other in the bridal chamber?¡±

    ¡°At least things shouldn¡¯t go so fast!¡±

    ¡°And how¡¯d you know they¡¯re doing it fast? Have you been following Little Ci around all this while? How do you know of the progress of their rtionship?¡± Zuo Xian snorted, ¡°How do you expect her to be able to try things out if you¡¯re being so restrictive? Are you not worried that their size might not match after they get married? If he¡¯s big enough then it should not be a problem, but what if he¡¯s too small? Who will take care of my daughter¡¯s happiness for the rest of her life!?¡±

    Zuo Xian¡¯s words caused Bai Mo to spurt out the sip of water in his mouth. S-she really is the sister of my mother! The way she speaks is just like her! His size... Dear Lord.. You¡¯re sure a bold one, auntie..

    ¡°Whaaaat?! Try his size out?!¡± screamed Ye Nantian as he stared at Zuo Xian incredulously, ¡°You must¡¯ve gone crazy!¡±

    ¡°Alright, auntie, uncle, I think that...¡± Bai Mo wiped the water away from his face. He had a feeling that the house would copse from their fury if he did not break up the fight. But the couple spoke up simultaneously before Bai Mo¡¯s words could leave his mouth, ¡°Little Mo! Don¡¯t you think he(she) is not making any sense!?¡±

    Bai Mo was at a loss for words.

    Anything that he might say could potentially damage the rtionship between his aunt and uncle. But he knew that he would be in trouble if he remained in silence, ¡°To be honest with you, I don¡¯t think it matters what we think of Fleeting Time.¡±

    ¡°Then whose thought do you think matters?¡±

    ¡°Uhh..¡± Bai Mo visibly gulped as the couple red at him, ¡°I think Little Ci¡¯s thoughts matter the most.¡± and he continued once he noticed the slight change in the couple¡¯s expression, ¡°You see... We¡¯re not the ones romantically involved, and we¡¯re not the ones getting married. Shouldn¡¯t we... Ask the person directly involved in this?¡±

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian stared at each other, but they remained silent. They sat and pondered Bai Mo¡¯s words and found them logical.

    Bai Mo continued when he noticed that the couple became silent, ¡°Why don¡¯t we ask Little Ci when she gets out of jail?¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡± came the reply, and the couple faced away from each other with a huff. And after a short while, Zuo Xian stood up and left, ¡°I¡¯m going offline to sleep.¡±

    Ye Nantian and Bai Mo were left staring at each other in silence. Bai Mo noticed the expression on Ye Nantian¡¯s face, and decided that it was time for him to leave, but he was stopped by his uncle, ¡°Little Mo, you must stand on my side in this matter!¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Bai Mo was confused.

    ¡°We can¡¯t let that bastard Fleeting Time have his way!¡± Ye Nantian¡¯s face was a mask of anger, ¡°I know that I will have to marry off my daughter someday, but I¡¯m not going to Fleeting Time get away with it so easily.¡± You¡¯re a true man uncle! The ghost of a smile appeared on Bai Mo¡¯s face. I was thinking the same thing!

    And with that, the two men reached an ord on the third floor of Zuo Xian¡¯s shop.

    Zuo Xian nced at Ye Nantian¡¯s gaming cabin when she got offline. Oh, you¡¯re still in the game? She climbed out of hers and locked his cabin from the outside. This meant that Ye Nantian would never be able to leave his gaming cabin as long as Zuo Xian did not let him out. Heh, you dare oppose me you old fart?

    Zuo Xian gave the gaming cabin onest look before heading into Bai Mo¡¯s and Tan Png¡¯s room. She pushed open the door silently, just in time to catch Tan Png fumbling with hisputer in an attempt to close down his browser. But she had already seen the picture of Ye Ci and Fleeting Time on his screen.

    With a cunning smile on her face, Zuo Xian walked up to Tan Png and chuckled, ¡°What are you looking at, Png.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. I got tired after studying and decided to surf the web.¡± the smile that Tan Png offered Zuo Xian was unnatural.

    ¡°Oh really? I thought I saw two people kissing.¡± Zuo Xian narrowed her eyes, as her smile grew wider.

    Tan Png visibly gulped. He had finally realised where Sister Ye had picked up her cunning nature from. It was from her mother! The only difference was that she magnified this hidden trait of her mother¡¯s.

    While her mother¡¯s cunning nature was hidden well by her virtue.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing mom! I was just mindlessly browsing the!¡± Tan Png struggled to switch off hisputer, but his hand was held down by Zuo Xian, who promptly took control of the mouse and clicked open a particr website. ¡°Mom, I-I know Fleeting Time in real life! H-he¡¯s a good guy. He has never shown such affection towards a girl before. I-I think he really likes Sister Ye...¡±

    ¡°Png... There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to discuss with you.¡± Zuo Xian smiled at Tan Png before he could finish his sentence.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Tan Png could literally feel his heart thumping in his mouth.

    The two made a pinky promise, and Zuo Xian began whispering into Tan Png¡¯s ears.

 Chapter 303 Consolation?

    <h4>Chapter 303 Constion?</h4>

    Ye Ci stared incredulously at Fleeting Time. Did I just lose my hearing? Or is there something wrong with my brain? I don¡¯t understand a single word he said!

    And Fleeting Time stared back at her in silence. Her expression was new to him, and it was interesting. This was the first time Gongzi You behaved in such a way.

    She had always been confident and arrogant, as if nothing in this world could be a problem to her. She gave off an air proiming that as long as she had the will and was willing to work to achieve her goals, victory would surely be hers. And it was exactly this part of Gongzi You that made him fall for her. They were the same type of person.

    People tend to say that a perfect couple was one thatplemented the strengths and weaknesses of each other, but Fleeting Time thought differently. He wanted to see how a rtionship between a couple that mirrored each other¡¯s behavior would y out.

    Fleeting Time was never a believer of fate ever since he was old enough to think for himself.

    That was why he was confident that he could conquer any obstacle that stood in his way to Gongzi You¡¯s heart. Even if the challenge came from Gongzi You herself, he would see it ovee at all cost as long as he remained alive.

    He stared at Gongzi You¡¯s expression and thought to himself, it¡¯s that, or I might ended up being conquered myself.

    The Gongzi You who was standing before him was showing an expression that she had rarely worn: Shock. Her eyebrows formed themselves into two arches and her mouth was slightly agape as she stared at Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time could feel warmth seeping into his heart as he stared at her.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Ye Ci could not believe what she heard. He must¡¯ve made a mistake! Or it could be me! Which was why she once again directed the question to Fleeting Time.

    ¡°What? Was I unclear, Little Gongzi?¡± Fleeting Time raised his eyebrows, but he did not wait for a reply, ¡°I said, have you ever thought of having a more intimate rtionship with me other than remaining in the awkward and boring position of being rivals from opposing continents?¡±

    ¡°Awkward? Boring?¡± Ye Ci raised her voice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Fleeting Time shrugged, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s boring for us to just fight whenever we meet?¡±

    ¡°Hmpf! You¡¯re from the Western continent and I¡¯m from the East. You¡¯re a bunch of Honor Points to me, just like I am to you. Isn¡¯t it normal for us to fight? Why would it be boring?¡± Ye Ci might not have a very high EQ, but it did not mean that she was aplete idiot. Her heart clenched when she heard Fleeting Time¡¯s words, but she was quick to divert the direction of the conversation.

    Am I being afraid?

    Even Ye Ci could not answer her own question. But she knew that she was subconsciously trying to avoid Fleeting Time¡¯s question, as if it would bring danger upon her.

    But Fleeting Time would not cooperate with Ye Ci¡¯s effort. He narrowed his eyes at her. He knew what she was trying to do, and he would not allow her to seed.

    He would never allow Gongzi You to change the topic. He knew he could not afford to fail, for he would never have another better opportunity.

    The 72 hours were almost over, and no one knew what would happen after they left the dungeon. Fleeting Time could feel anxiety gripping his heart.

    His mind was upied by the smile that Warrior gave him earlier on. The Warrior¡¯s smile was gentle, but there was a hint of provocation behind that smile.

    He was not afraid of any challenges, nor was he afraid of any opponents. This was because he had absolute confidence to deal with any situation. But something unexpected happened.

    It appeared in his life in the form of Gongzi You.

    He would not have been afraid of the Warrior. But because of Gongzi You, he grew wary of the man who called her ¡°Little Ci¡±. And it stemmed from his uncertainty about Gongzi You.

    But he knew that he could not afford to treat this matter like he always did. He could not afford to wait until he was confident of his chances with Gongzi You.

    Fleeting Time could not afford to wait.

    He did not mind waiting if that man did not appear. He would rather take it slowly, and to give Gongzi You more time. But the sudden appearance of that man threw Fleeting Time off his game. He was hit by a sudden realisation, that he did not even know Gongzi you as a person. His efforts in wooing her did not mean that she was not seeing someone else.

    He realised that he made a grave mistake.

    Gongzi You was never his, and he must work his hardest to close the huge gap between them.

    And the awareness of that gap made Fleeting Time restless. And his restlessness in turn reced his usual calmness and rationality. He took in a deep breath and stared at Gongzi You.

    There were things that could not be dealt with rationality alone.

    He was 25 years old, and he needed the excitement and passion befitting his age. And this passion would be directed at Gongzi You.

    ¡°Little Gongzi,¡± Fleeting Time crossed his arms in front of him and smiled, ¡°This is not what we¡¯re talking about.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately became silent as she took in a deep breath and looked away. She stared at the floor of the jail cell, as if it was the most beautiful painting in the word.

    I¡¯m not that old, you will not make me forget what I said that easily. Fleeting Time smiled.

    Ye Ci¡¯s figure appeared so frail as she sat down on the ground. She did not look like the capable fighter that she was.

    ¡°If my memory doesn¡¯t fail me, I believe I was talking about having a more intimate rtionship, and not about what yers from the Eastern and Western continent should do when they meet. Am I right?¡±

    Fleeting Time had not moved an inch from his spot, but Ye Ci could feel his presence bearing down upon her in the tiny jail cell. Even breathing felt like a luxury under the overwhelming pressure. She attempted to back herself against the wall to escape the feeling, but it did not work.

    But Fleeting Time remained unfazed by Ye Ci¡¯s silence. He continued staring at her with a smile on her face as he babbled on and on. Tried as Ye Ci might to ignore his words, they were still able to slither their way into her ears.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this nice. At least it¡¯s quiet now.¡±

    ¡°Nobody knows what will happen in the future. But if we know, then there will be nothing to look forward to.¡±

    ¡°I might be a top-tier yer, but it¡¯s lonely up here..¡±

    And he went on and on...

    Until he finally stopped and stared silently at Gongzi You.

    The sudden silence was unsettling to Ye Ci, and she met his gaze for the first time, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Me? Nothing.¡± Fleeting Time shrugged, ¡°All you have to do is to answer my question.¡±

    Ye Ci finally offered an answer after a short pause, ¡°What if I tell you that I like our rtionship the way it is?¡±

    And her response was apparently something that was well within Fleeting Time¡¯s expectation. He nodded and smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°It seems that Gongzi You prefers to have our intimate interaction happening in full view of the public. I guess we¡¯ll just have to maintain the rtionship then.¡±

    Ye Ci was taken aback by Fleeting Time¡¯s words. What?! Is he an alien or something? Why does everything thates out of his mouth sound so weird? No! That¡¯s not the point! Does he mean that he will cause more scandal between us in the future?

    ¡°Fleeting Time, can you stop being so shameless?!¡± Ye Ci roared.

    ¡°I¡¯m shameless?¡± Fleeting Time then nodded at Ye Ci, ¡°Alright then. If you say that I¡¯m shameless, then I am shameless. Even though I do not know why.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re threatening me to repeat what happened today, aren¡¯t you?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes as a sneer grew on her lips, ¡°I do not respond to threats well. Especially when theye from the likes of you.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, how can it be a threat? Why do you assume that something like this will happen again?¡± Fleeting Time shook his head, ¡°I will never be tripped by the same stone twice.¡± he chuckled, ¡°No matter what we do in the future, I will never allow anybody to see us ever again.¡±

    Ye Ci could feel her face heating up instantly. She was trying her best to suppress the memories of what had transpired in the wisteria garden, and Fleeting Time meant to continue what he started...

    No no no no no! Ye Ci could feel herself at the verge of suffocating.

    She stood up and stomped up to Fleeting Time before finally stopped not far away from him, ¡°Have I told you that I hate getting threatened? And have I told you that I hate you? I don¡¯t want to have anything to do with you! A more intimate rtionship? What about no rtions at all!¡±

    Fleeting Time was saddened by Ye Ci¡¯s near-hysterical response.

    Ah, so I¡¯ve been rejected after all.

    He was prepared for such an eventuality, but when it finally came, it did not feel good at all. He lowered his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was able to quickly suppress the sadness in his heart and shrugged at Ye Ci.

    ¡°I ended up getting rejected.¡± Fleeting Time smiled warmly at Ye Ci, which was something that was the exact opposite of his usual behavior. Even Ye Ci was shocked by this disy, ¡°What do you mean by rejected?¡±

    ¡°Eh? Did you not notice that I¡¯m trying to woo you?¡± Fleeting Time sighed. He shrugged at Ye Ci. Despite his carefree appearance, he was feeling helpless deep down.

    Ye Ci was at a loss for words. She did not know how she should respond. She found herself caught in a situation that she had not experienced before even in a past life. If Fleeting Time was a BOSS, then Ye Ci had no idea how to deal with the BOSS.

    She wanted to ease the situation with a smile, but it seemed not appropriate at that time.

    She did not know what she could say to lift the awkwardness in the air. And this sense of helplessness was causing her distress.

    How do I sort this mess out?

    Ye Ci cleared her throat, and patted Fleeting Time on the shoulder for reasons unknown even to herself, ¡°You see... Ummm... When ites to pursuing a girl, it¡¯s not about the oue. It¡¯s about the journey you have to take, am I right? Hahahaha...¡± she let out an awkwardugh.

    Oh God! What have I done! Ye Ci could feel herself sweating as Fleeting Time¡¯s eyebrows rose.

 Chapter 304 The Means and the End

    <h4>Chapter 304 The Means and the End</h4>

    Is she consoling me?

    Fleeting Time cast a sideway nce at Ye Ci¡¯s hand that was resting on his shoulder. Her movements were very rigid. If Fleeting Time was right, then Gongzi You was feeling just as awkward as he was. He had imagined all sorts of reactions from Gongzi You after listening to his confession, but this was not something he expected.

    Eh? She¡¯s patting me on the shoulder?

    Does she think that she¡¯s staring in some sort of shittyedy movie? If they were both in a movie, Fleeting Time did not like the plot even one bit. But at the same time, he found the situation to be extremely funny. Trying to console him in an awkward fashion was not something that the Gongzi You he knew would do.

    Is this how you¡¯re supposed to console a person?

    Fleeting Time had a sudden urge tough, but he was quick to suppress that feeling. He knew that his chances with Gongzi You would end right there and then if he failed to contain hisughter. That was why he continued staring silently, staring at the hand that was resting on his shoulder.

    In truth, Fleeting Time was not the only one who found the situation funny. Even Ye Ci herself was slowly losing herposure. Oh my God! What am I doing? Why does it feel like I¡¯m trying to console a good friend of mine? We¡¯re not that close are we? And this is not how you¡¯re supposed to console a person that you¡¯ve just rejected! This... Ye Ci found her experience in this mattercking.

    And she realised that there was absolutely no need for her to console Fleeting Time.

    That was possibly one of the most awkward moments in her life, and probably the most foolish one as well.

    Fleeting Time was still staring at her hand, and she could feel his gaze boring holes into that hand. She immediately retracted her arm and chuckled.

    The atmosphere in the cell was filled with awkwardness.

    Just like a room filled with gas that would instantly explode with even the slightest of sparks.

    ¡°Can I think of your words just now as a constion?¡± Fleeting Time slowly raised his head and settled his gaze on Ye Ci¡¯s face. It was as if he was stating the truth, and nothing but the truth. But when the words fell upon Ye Ci¡¯s ears, it felt like there was a hidden meaning behind his words.

    Should I say something? Maybe I shouldn¡¯t. It will simply mean that I¡¯m going to make more mistakes. Ye Ci made the decision to remain silent. She did not want to make the situation more awkward than it is, or she would never live it down for the rest of her life.

    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll ept your constion.¡± Fleeting Timeughed as he stared at Ye Ci¡¯s guarded expression and he shrugged.

    Ye Ci could feel a tremendous weight lifted off her chest upon hearing his words. She let out a long internal sigh and nodded at Fleeting Time: Now that it¡¯s settled, let us not talk about this ever again.

    Despite having barely any interactions with Gongzi You, Fleeting Time was able to understand her thoughts. Even when Ye Ci was still lying to herself, Fleeting Time had already understood her feelings.

    He found that he had discovered something new about Gongzi You, and he found it funny. The girl would always try to run away from something from a situation that she could not control and pretend that it did not happen.

    It would definitely cause troubles for Fleeting Time in the future, but he could not help but find this trait of Gongzi You interesting.

    Another smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face. He would not lef Gongzi You off the hook that easily. It was just not in his nature to do so. ¡°You said that when ites to trying to woo a girl, the journey is what matters, and the end does not. Am I right, Little Gongzi?¡±

    Oh no! Why is he bringing it up again? Didn¡¯t he just ept my constion? Ye Ci could feel trouble looming just ahead.

    She was reluctant to answer the question, but it would be rude of her to just ignore Fleeting Time when the question was obviously intended for her. She might not like her attitude, but she knew to show a fellow human being some courtesy, ¡°Yes, I did.¡±

    Fleeting Time pped andughed happily, ¡°And you¡¯ve rejected my advances am I right?¡± and he continued after noticing Ye Ci¡¯s troubled expression, ¡°You did not say it directly, but that was what you meant, correct?¡±

    Ye Ci could feel her face heating up. I did not do such a thing! I did not do such a thing, but why does it feel so embarrassing when he repeated it to me?

    She gulped, and spoke up with a stiff voice after clearing her throat, ¡°Yes, it was.¡±

    ¡°So this means that the end is your rejection of my attempt to woo you. Am I right, Little Gongzi?¡± a glint of deviousness was shining in Fleeting Time¡¯s eyes, and the cunning smile on his lips gave him the appearance of a predator that was slowly backing its prey into a trap.

    Why does it feel like there¡¯s a hidden meaning behind it? Ye Ci did not immediately respond as she tried her best to discern his words.

    But Fleeting Time would not allow her that luxury, ¡°Am I right, Little Gongzi? Tell me if I¡¯m wrong. You¡¯re saying that I¡¯m still allowed to woo you.¡± and he began inching closer to Ye Ci, who was reddening rapidly when she finally processed his words.

    With barely any time to think, and with Fleeting Time rapidly approaching, Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts were in a jumble. She was no longer capable of processing his words. Panic began to grip her heart as Fleeting Time walked closer to her, and images of what happened in the wisteria garden began flooding into her mind.

    Ye Ci took a step backwards, but found that her back was already pressed against the wall of the cell. There was no escape, and Fleeting Time who was just in front of her hand no intention of letting her off the hook.

    She did not know what to do. And in her panicked state, Ye Ci put her arms in front of her in an attempt to block Fleeting Time¡¯s advance, ¡°Yes, I have rejected you.¡±

    Her hands rested on Fleeting Time¡¯s armor, who was hugging his form like a second skin. Despite theyer of metallic armor between her hand and his body, Fleeting Time could feel warmth seeping from Gongzi You¡¯s hand into his chest.

    The fires of passion immediately lit up Fleeting Time¡¯s entire being. A voice was whispering in his head as he stared at Ye Ci¡¯s beet red face, ¡°This is it. This is your chance...¡±

    But his rationality roared back, ¡°NO! You can¡¯t do this! Are you going to let all your efforts go to waste just like this?¡±

    Of course, Fleeting Time would not want to see his efforts go to waste, but he was just a mortal man.

    Ye Ci could hear Fleeting Time¡¯s breath growing heavier, and see a strange fire burning behind his eyes.

    He was staring intently at her, as if he was trying to hold something back. His warm breath washed over Ye Ci, heating her face up. She gulped, and realised that her hand was still ¡°groping¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s chest. And with a scream, she pulled both her arms back.

    The sudden movement however, caused Fleeting Time to stumble forward. Just when he was about to fall on Ye Ci, Fleeting Time was able to catch himself and stop the fall. He was closer to Gongzi You now, but his body was still not pressed against hers.

    Ye Ci pressed herself back even further against the wall. Her breathing hike as she stared at the face that was almost on top of her.

    She was panicking.

    That¡¯s right, she was so panicked that she felt like she might die right there and then.

    What is he trying to do? What will happen next? Will the thing that happened in the wisteria garden happen again? Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts were a jumbled mess.

    Sometimes choices that one has to make can be painful. And Fleeting Time found himself in such a situation. He was so close to Ye Ci that he could reach her lips just by lowering his head. His body was craving for more, but his mind was shouting for restraint.

    Fleeting Time took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He balled his hands into fists and turned around with a sudden movement as she took a step away from ye Ci.

    He was a mortal man, and he knew not when the next opportunity would arise if he stopped himself on this day. But... For the sake of his future, a painful choice had to be made.

    And with Fleeting Time stepping away, Ye Ci felt as if she had received a dose of fresh air that managed to calm her heart. But her brain was still a mush.

    ¡°Since that is the end, why don¡¯t we talk about the process then?¡± Fleeting Time turned around and grinned at Ye Ci.

    ¡°Process? Ye Ci was still in a state of confusion. ¡°That¡¯s right. The process.¡± Fleeting Time was satisfied with the effect he had on Gongzi You. He was finally sure that it was not that the girl felt nothing for him, she was merely unsure of her feelings.

    ¡°What process?¡±

    ¡°The process of me wooing you.¡± Fleeting Time maintained the smile on his face. He was trying his best to stay away from Gongzi You. There were things that had to be taken slowly.

    ¡°The process of you wooing me?¡± Ye Ci blinked. She stared dumbfoundedly at Fleeting Time before her intelligence returned to her, ¡°What are you talking about? What do you mean by the process of wooing me?!¡± she raised her voice as her eyes widened with surprise.

 Chapter 305 Willingly Taking The Bai

    <h4>Chapter 305 Willingly Taking The Bai</h4>

    t

    What a shame. Doing everything with rationality is not fun at all! Thought Fleeting Time when he noticed that Gongzi You¡¯s wits had finally returned to her. Then again, it might not be a bad thing if I win in the long term, isn¡¯t it?

    Fleeting Time shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m talking about the process of me wooing you.¡± he said innocently.

    ¡°And what do you mean by that?!¡± Ye Ci hadpletely calmed her nerves, as if what happened earlier was just a dream. But the heat lingering of her face was a constant reminder to her that it was all real.

    Fleeting Time sighed, Gongz You had returned to her usual demeanor. This is... What a shame..

    ¡°I meant what I meant.¡± Fleeting Time blinked. The smile on his face was so innocent and yet one could feel danger lurking beneath it.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and stared at Fleeting Time, appearing to be trying to tell spot the lies and deception within his words. But she did not realise that she had missed the entire point of what he had said, for in her effort to find the lies that might be hidden in his words, she hadpletely missed the intention behind those words.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s mood significantly improved when he noticed that Ye Ci was deep in thought. ¡°Since you thought that the result of me trying to woo you would end in failure, then the process of me doing so would not matter, am I right?¡±

    It sounded so right, and yet something still felt wrong. Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Fleeting Time.She was silently processing Fleeting Time¡¯s words.

    ¡°And?¡± Ye Ci finally raised an eyebrow after a long while. She did not know why the man standing before her was beating around the bush and what he wished to achieve by doing so.

    ¡°And that¡¯s why...¡± The smile on Fleeting Time¡¯s face was mesmerising. He stood up, and spoke in a soft voice, ¡°And that¡¯s why... I¡¯ve decided to continue wooing you.¡±

    Snap!

    Ye Ci could the threads holding her sanity together snapping. It took her a short moment before she finally reacted, ¡°Do you even know what you¡¯re saying?!¡± she bellowed at Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Of course I do.¡± Fleeting Time remained calm in the face of Ye Ci¡¯s rage, as if he was stating a simple fact.

    The two cellmates were a direct contrast of one another. Fleeting Time was calm like the surface of water in a pond, while Ye Ci was raging with the force of an erupting volcano.

    ¡°What do you know?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice wasced with danger, ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with your brain! You don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re talking about!¡±

    ¡°I know, Little Gongzi. Of course I¡¯d know what I¡¯m talking about.¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s smile was so despicable to Ye Ci that she had an urge to wipe it off his face, ¡°And I think you know too, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°How do you expect me to understand what you said? You¡¯re like an alien! It¡¯s impossible to try and understand you with conventional wisdom!¡± Ye Ci took in a deep breath, ¡°I¡¯ll say it again. Whatever the process is, it will end the same! Do you understand me? Yes! I rejected you!¡±

    Fleeting Time¡¯s head bobbed up and down as he nodded at her, ¡°I understand what you say. Of course I do! But you¡¯ve said that the end does not matter, and what matters is the process and the journey.¡± he smiled at her, ¡°And I¡¯ve given it a long thought. I agree with that. Since it¡¯ll end with your rejection anyways, why don¡¯t you let me enjoy the process of doing so?¡±

    Ye Ci was dumbstruck. She thought of her own words, and the words that were spoken by Fleeting Time, and was finally able to make a connection! Fleeting Time had been digging a hole all this while, waiting for Ye Ci to fall into his trap. And Ye Ci who was sharp with her wits was rendered speechless. She could only re at him in silence.

    ¡°What you meant was that instead of aiming for a rtionship thatsts for an eternity, we should cherish what we have.¡± Fleeting Time was satisfied by his ability to render Ye Ci speechless, as he continued to take her words out of context, ¡°I¡¯d never have thought that Little Gongzi is quite a philosopher. Very well, I shall heed your words, and try to appreciate what I have.¡±

    ¡°I did not say that! I¡¯ll never be that irresponsible!¡± she red at Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Ohhhh...¡± Fleeting Time nodded as if he had just made a great discovery, ¡°So you might actually change your mind after experiencing the process with me? Is this what the responsibility that you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    ¡°No! I did not!¡± even Ye Ci did not know the reason behind her sudden loss of intelligence. Isn¡¯t he just putting words into my mouth?

    ¡°Aiya, Little Gongzi, you¡¯re confusing me. So what are you talking about then?¡± Fleeting Time smiled as Ye Ci struggled toe out with an exnaiton. It was a sight that filled him with an unknown happiness.

    The fish will take the bait soon.

    ¡°Oh my god! Just who the hell is confusing who?!¡± Ye Ci clutched at her head. She had never been teased so badly by someone before. Her rationality had almost been wiped out by Fleeting Time. She pulled out her dagger and stabbed it at Fleeting Time.

    The desire to kill a person had never been so strong in her before.

    But this course of action was prohibited in the prison cell. It was a ce designed so that yers would repent for their actions. A yer¡¯s weapon might not be taken away when they were ced into a prison cell, but this did not mean that they were able to freely use their weapons on their cellmates. A system notification immediately rang out in Ye Ci¡¯s ears the moment her dagger plunged itself into Fleeting Time¡¯s body, ¡°Fighting is prohibited in this area. Your attack will not deal damage to any other yer in this area. Please behave and repent for your crimes.¡±

    Why is my luck so bad these days?

    And because of the system restriction, Ye Ci¡¯s attack did not deal any damage to Fleeting Time. It was just like her throwing a tantrum at Fleeting Time.

    After plunging his dagger again and again into Fleeting Time with no effect, Ye Ci threw her weapon to a side and red at Fleeting Time as she leaned against the wall of the prison, ¡°What do you want, Fleeting Time?¡±

    ¡°My goal is simple.¡± Fleeting Time replied with a serious tone.

    ¡°And what is it? To torture me to death?¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Fleeting Time. She could no longer hold a conversation with him with conventional wisdom or she would be driven mad.

    ¡°Why would you think like that?¡± Fleeting Time was exasperated by her misunderstanding, ¡°I¡¯m not that perverted, at least I think so...¡± and his gaze softened. He wanted to pat Ye Ci on the head, but stopped himself at thest second. He stood not far away from Ye Ci and spoke with sincerity in his voice, ¡°What I want... Is to be able to hold hands with you in public.¡±

    It was a rather artistic way of describing it.

    But it did not work on Ye Ci who did not not even know the meaning of romance, ¡°Why would you do that? Are you a pervert? Why would you hold my hand for no reason?¡±

    It was Fleeting Time¡¯s turn to be rendered speechless. He took in a deep breath. He finally learned something new about Gongzi You. Being romantic would not work on a girl like Gongzi You. He let out a long sigh and stared up at the ceiling.

    Just when Ye Ci thought that Fleeting Time had almost given up, he lowered his head and grabbed hold of her hand, and with a swift motion, pushed her against the ground.

    Ye Ci did not even have time to react to his sudden movement as she fell onto the ground with Fleeting Time on top of her. When she finally reacted, she realised that she was in a bad spot, and she struggled to get free of Fleeting Time¡¯s grip.

    Fighting was not allowed in the prison cell, as it was a ce for yers to repent for their actions.

    And for a certain someone... It was the beginning of a tragedy.

 Chapter 311 Things To Be Said

    <h4>Chapter 311 Things To Be Said</h4>

    Ye Ci left the dining room and her mother as if she was escaping for her life. She had always known of the cunning side hidden behind her mother¡¯s usual kind demeanor.

    And that hidden attribute had almost driven her to tears.

    She was absolutely certain that Zuo Xian had found out about the pictures, along with Ye Nantian and Bai Mo. Even Tan Png knew of them as well. Oh God... They knew... And I was still lying to myself! How can I be so stupid!

    What do I do? What do I do?

    Ye Ci¡¯s brains were overheating as she leaned against the door of her room. She could not think, and she was barely able to suppress the urge to scream in frustration. By the time she snapped back into reality, even her feet had be numb.

    Whatever. There¡¯s no use worrying about it now. Since the cat¡¯s already out of the bag, they can do what they want with me. Ye Ci had already given up on salvaging the situation. It¡¯s just a kiss... It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll die from it!

    Ye Ci turned around to face the mirror on her dressing table. She attempted to force a smile, but found her expression to be sour instead.

    She sighed and decided to give up.

    Whatever, it¡¯s not like they¡¯ll do anything to me anyways. I mustn¡¯t think too much about it. Better get online.

    Hence, Ye Ci logged into the game with very low spirits. But she had forgotten that she would be facing an even more awkward atmosphere in the game.

    Of course, Ye Ci was quick to realise the problem, but it was toote as Fleeting Time was already greeting her, ¡°Hi Little Gongzi, I guess you¡¯re online as well.¡± His voice crushed Ye Ci¡¯s hope of logging off the game. She wanted to run away, but she refused to do it in front of Fleeting Time. She hated to show her weak side to anyone, especially when that someone was Fleeting Time.

    And that was how she found herself in an extremely awkward situation, ¡°Yup. You¡¯re early.¡± but she still replied with as much courtesy she could muster.

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯ve only just logged in.¡± Fleeting Time nodded with an unfathomable smile.

    ¡°Oh.¡± responded Ye Ci with a nod of her own as she proceeded to gravitate to the furthest section of the cell away from Fleeting Time. She sat down on the ground and immediately shut her eyes. She did not know how to face Fleeting Time, as she would be reminded of what took ce the day before.

    But she felt a presence taking a seat beside her, and her eyes immediately shot open in time to see Fleeting Time¡¯s smiling face, ¡°Weren¡¯t you there just now? Why do you have to sit beside me? This cell has enough space for the both of us!¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not yours.¡± Fleeting Time shrugged, ¡°I can sit wherever I want.¡±

    Ye Ci was rendered speechless.

    Alright then, if you¡¯re acting shameless... Ye Ci stood up and sat in another corner. But Fleeting Time followed her to the corner as well, ¡°What is it this time?!¡±

    ¡°Well this feels like a better ce.¡± Fleeting Time was beaming at her.

    Ye Ci stood up, and proceeded to yet another spot in the cell. But no matter she went, Fleeting Time followed. And the two found themselves in a game of tag in the cell.

    ¡°Hey, what are you doing!¡± they were soon stopped by the same warden that had witnessed their previous ¡°fight.¡±.

    Fleeting Time chuckled when he saw the NPC, ¡°We¡¯re doing some warming up exercises!¡±

    ¡°Warming up?¡± the warden¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. Realisation soon dawned upon the NPC, ¡°Are you trying to break out of the prison?!¡±

    ¡°No. How are we supposed to escape with so many guards around?¡± Fleeting Time smiled meaningfully at the guard, ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m in any hurry to get out yet.¡±

    The warden continued to stare in amazement as the duo continued chasing each other around in the cell before finally leaving. His job was to stop the inmates from fighting or breaking out of jail. He did not care what they did in the cell.

    And the two finally stopped after a short while. Ye Ci was gasping for air. Her Stamina was exhausted, and so was Fleeting Time¡¯s. They stared at each other for a brief moment and proceeded to stuff food into their mouth to replenish their Stamina and resume the chase.

    ¡°Why are you following me around?¡± said Ye Ci as she munched on her food. She realise that her actions had been foolish.

    ¡°¡±What? You don¡¯t know?¡± Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°How would I know? It¡¯s not like I can read your mind!¡± Ye Ci snorted.

    Fleeting Time smiled in response to Ye Ci¡¯s words as he continued eating his consumables. And Ye Ci, who was not as curious before, was infuriated, ¡°Are you going to answer the question?! What do you think you are? A narrator for some shitty drama?! Catch us in the next episode if you want to know what happens next?!¡±

    ¡°Have you forgotten about it?¡± asked Fleeting Time. And Ye Ci stared at him dumbfounded.

    ¡°We signed an agreement yesterday. That I¡¯m allowed to woo you for a yea-¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s voice was gentle.

    The sentence was cut short by Ye Ci, ¡°Alright, alright! I get it!¡± a blush was slowly forming on her face.

    She was finally reminded of something that she had forgotten due to the impact of the incident on her. How she wished that she could bury her head into the ground and not face Fleeting Time ever again.

    An untold joy crept into Fleeting Time¡¯s heart when he noticed the blush. He was probably the only one to see this side of Gongzi You in the game.

    ¡°So, you are...¡± Ye Ci could not bring herself to continue the sentence.

    But Fleeting Time understood her meaning fully well. This was his first time wooing a girl, and even he found it hard to say it out loud. And he knew very well that it would be impossible for a person like Gongzi You to be straightforward when it came to matters about their rtionship.

    Fleeting Time did not wish to see his first romantic experience go down in mes.

    It was a strange and yet very refreshing experience. He was not afraid to try, and even if he might not be able to change its oue within a year, he would still try his best. He refused to allow himself to be the next White Fairytale.

    He did not wish for himself to be filled with regrets.

    Not even once.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Fleeting Time nodded, as his expression grew gentler, ¡°I am wooing you..¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t say it!¡± the blush on Ye Ci¡¯s face deepened. The words dealt more damage to walls surrounding her heart than the kiss they shared. She did not know how to deal with them.

    ¡°No. some things must be said.¡± responded Fleeting Time as he took her hands into his and stared into her eyes.

 Chapter 314 Not Your Responsibility

    <h4>Chapter 314 Not Your Responsibility</h4>

    Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time, and suddenly spoke up after staying silent for a long time to Fleeting Time¡¯s surprise, ¡°You said that you like me?¡±

    He was shocked by the question. It was indeed what he said, but there were also other things that have been said by him, and he was not sure if Gongzi You understood his words. But it did not matter as long as she understood part of what he was trying to tell her. He responded with a nod without much of a thought, ¡°Yes. That¡¯s what I said. You¡¯re the first person I like.¡±

    ¡°What a strange person.¡± Ye Ci tilted her head and stared at Fleeting Time with a strange glint in her eyes. It was not joy, nor was it surprise or despise. She was judging him just like how a merchant would judge his goods.

    And it naturally ced an unknown weight on Fleeting Time¡¯s chest.

    He knew that the person who made the first move would lose the initiative in a rtionship, but he did not regret making the first move. But he was not used to this feeling.

    ¡°What makes me strange?¡±

    ¡°Why do you like me? Do you know me? Do you know my past, my ws, and my strengths? You¡¯ve never even met me in real life before! Don¡¯t tell me what you like is the cluster of data in-game! You do not look like someone who would be that childish. So why would you like me? It doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± Ye Ci shrugged, but her eyes were two pools of rity.

    She hadid out the facts before her as if they were nothing but numbers waiting to be analysed.

    ¡°Besides, there is always a reason for liking someone. Do you like my looks? I have to say that I am not a looker. Do you like me because of my character? I don¡¯t think my character is that likeable. Perhaps you like skills? So tell me... What do you like about me?¡± asked Ye Ci, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you like the me in-game! The me who was always at the forefront of every fight. This does not make any sense. No man would like a headstrong girl like me, nor will a man ever like a selfish and cunning person such as myself. I doubt you are a masochist. But if that¡¯s why you like me, I can only say that it¡¯s because you¡¯ve not known a girl well before, and you¡¯re doing it just to experience something new. I am not the perfect candidate for your romance. Aren¡¯t you just torturing yourself by doing this?¡±

    Ye Ci was speaking slowly, and the tone of her voice indicated that she was speaking with rationality in her mind.

    Fleeting Time was profoundly shocked by such a disy. From the appearance of her character, Fleeting Time could tell that she was not very old. A rough estimation would ce her at the age of 20. It was very rare for an individual of such an age to disy that level of maturity.

    And this alone was reason enough for Fleeting Time to be impressed.

    But to Fleeting Time, her logic was full of ws. He narrowed his eyes and smiled, ¡°Are you experienced in rtionship stuff, Little Gongzi?¡± Fleeting Time would tend to talk in a roundabout fashion, and it was a source of Ye Ci¡¯s annoyance in many of their encounters. But she had grown ustomed to it after their days spent in Vosok.

    She was able to keep up with his way of thinking ever since.

    But his question still caught her off guard. A grimace appeared on her face after the initial shock. Am I experienced? I don¡¯t think so. Ye Ci had always thought herself as someone who was not particrly intelligent, and had an even lower EQ. She had always failed in dealing with interpersonal rtionships with the people around her in herst life and even in her current life.

    She would not have met her death in herst life if that was not the case.

    ¡°I do not have a very high EQ.¡± Ye Ci adjusted her gaze towards Fleeting Time, and the ghost of a smile appeared on her lips.

    Fleeting Time was inexperienced in romance, but he was not an idiot. He could tell that Gongzi You was feeling sad for reasons unknown, and he was smart enough to pursue the topic. ¡°But you sounded like you know a lot.¡± he nodded at her.

    ¡°I¡¯m merely stating the facts. Once you¡¯ve seen enough, you¡¯ll understand it even if you¡¯ve not experienced it.¡± her own words reminded her of Dong Yin. The girl and He Xiao were exactly the people she was talking about.

    ¡°It might make sense to you, but it doesn¡¯t make sense to me at all.¡± Fleeting Time shook his head, ¡°Little Gongzi, I¡¯ll admit that I don¡¯t know you. But do you know me? What you said is entirely from your perspective. People tend to be biased when they look at something. Which means that what you see and what I see are entirely different..¡±

    ¡°You ask why I like you? I can answer that question.¡± and Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Why do you like me?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    ¡°I do not have a reason for liking you.¡±

    ¡°You do not have a reason?!¡± Ye Ci raised her voice out of shock, but was quick to once again lower her voice, ¡°How can that be? One does not love without reason, nor does one hate without reason. Everything happens for a reason, and you¡¯re telling me that there¡¯s no reason behind your liking of me? Fleeting Time, do you really think that I¡¯m stupid?¡±

    ¡°Why would I?¡± Fleeting Timeughed as his gaze grew gentle, ¡°You¡¯re right. Things do not happen without reason. But there are also things that you can never exin. I like you because I like you. It has nothing to do with your appearance, your character, or your abilities as a yer. I like you because I¡¯m Fleeting Time, and you¡¯re Gongzi You.¡± Ye Ci was at a loss for words. Two voices were echoing in her head.

    One of the voices belonged to Wandering Clouds, ¡°I like you. Your ws, and your strengths. I like them all.¡±

    While the other voice was from Fleeting Time, ¡°I like you. It has nothing to do with your appearance, your character, or your abilities as a yer. I like you because I¡¯m Fleeting Time, and you¡¯re Gongzi You.¡±

    The two voices ovepped with one another. And Ye Ci could not tell if which of them were in the right.

    Just what does it mean to like a person?

    ¡°I do not understand.¡± Ye Ci sighed after a long moment of silence, ¡°Nothing happens without a reason in my world. I... Cannot ept the logic behind your words.¡±

    ¡°And why do you have to?¡± Fleeting Time leaned forward and ced her hands in his, ¡°It¡¯s normal to have things that you can¡¯t understand and can¡¯t ept in this world. So why are you forcing yourself to ept it?¡±

    ¡°But...¡± Ye Ci was growing even more confused, ¡°Why are you telling me this? Why do you tell me if I do not have to ept it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you because I want you to know that I like you.¡± Fleeting Time smiled, ¡°I¡¯m doing it out of my own volition. You do not have to take responsibility for it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not... My responsibility?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s world was turned upside down. This was not what Wandering Clouds had said to her. He had forced her to ept his confession, even if she did not like it. But why... Why is Fleeting Time so different?

    ¡°You will always be Gongzi You. Nothing will change. And I will always be Fleeting Time. Nothing will change about me either. We¡¯ll still be enemies from opposing continents once we leave this cell. The only thing that will change are my feelings towards you.¡± and he let go of Ye Ci¡¯s hands with a smile, ¡°You do not have to bear any responsibilities for my action. I do not ask for you to repay my feelings, but I¡¯ll be happy if you can like me back. It¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t. You can just let things remain as they are.¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time.¡± a frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°What exactly are you thinking?¡±

    The smile on Fleeting Time¡¯s face widened into a grin, ¡°I think I¡¯m going crazy.¡±

 Chapter 315 The Stream Of Visitors

    <h4>Chapter 315 The Stream Of Visitors</h4>

    For some, 72 hours can be very long, and many things could be done with this amount of time. But Fleeting Time could not truly put the 72 hours to good use. His n was to spend some quality time with Ye Ci during their sentence, but other than the first dozen of hours, the prison was bustling with activity like a market.

    Members from Upwards Ho!, Genesis, and yers who were close to the duo arrived in droves to pay them a visit. They were shocked to find the duo in the same cell, and once the shock had finally faded away, a glint of the desire to gossip could be seen in all their eyes.

    There were no restrictions for the prison in Hero City. yers could enter the prison as long as they pay a single gold coin to the guards outside.

    And because of that, even arge number of yers who were not rted to the duo ended up paying them a visit as well in search of gossipping materials.

    The top tier yers were like paper tigers in their cells. Some of the bolder yers even began taunting the duo, but they received no response in return.

    Gongzi You remained seated in a corner of the cell while Fleeting Time sat at the opposite corner. They were both facing the wall, and they were both doing very well in ignoring the yers.

    Of course, there were still moments when a yer took it too far, and would in turn receive icy stares from Gongzi You or Fleeting Time. The threat was clear: You¡¯re dead as soon as we get out.

    These yers would immediately flee from their sight. No matter how harmless they were in their cell, both Fleeting Time and Gongzi You would not be imprisoned forever. And once the tigers were finally free to bare their fangs... The yers knew that they would be in deep trouble.

    Several special individuals decided to visit as well.

    The first of them to visit was Spotless Autumn. As partners in the ¡°crime¡± they did in the Northern Continent, Spotless Autumn was quick to visit to express his most sincere constion to Gongzi You.

    ¡°Gongzi You, you need to get out of here quickly. Please don¡¯t ck off from serving out your sentence.¡±

    ¡°Be careful Gongzi You. Keep yourself safe. Don¡¯t die!¡± Spotless Autumn was rmed when he saw Fleeting Time in the same cell.

    His presence was of course not weed by Fleeting Time, who stared silently at Spotless Autumn with a nk expression. Despite theck of emotion disyed on his face, Autumn could still feel the icy daggers from Fleeting Time¡¯s gaze burying themselves right into his body.

    But Spotless Autumn had always been a shameless person. He did not even pay any heed to the tant hostility of Fleeting Time as he continued bbering away at Ye Ci.

    ¡°Why do you want me out of jail so fast?¡± Ye Ci could no longer stand the constant annoyance.

    ¡°Aiya, don¡¯t you know that all the bounty hunters areing after me now because my partner in crime is in prison? If you¡¯re free, you can share some of that aggro.¡± Ye Ci felt the urge to take a swing at Spotless Autumn¡¯s smiling face.

    The man finally left the prison and continued his life as a fugitive under the insistence of Ye Ci and the death re of Fleeting Time.

    The next visitor that they received was Ye Nantian.

    But to Ye Ci¡¯s surprise, he was not with Zuo Xian. The couple had never left each other¡¯s side the moment they started ying the game.

    ¡°Dad! Why are you here alone?¡± Ye Ci immediately went to the front of the cell at the sight of her father. Fleeting Time, who thought of him as just another yer, almost gagged at the revtion.

    He stood up as well, but maintained a respectful distance away from Ye Nantian. ¡°How are you, uncle?¡± he greeted the man humbly.

    But the only response he received from Ye Nantian was an icy glow that clearly expressed his unspoken words, ¡°I do not like you!¡±

    This was something that he did not expect. It was not because of his confidence in winning over the hearts of Ye Ci¡¯s parents. He had never considered the fact that they would be ying the game as well. Their presence in the game could only mean that they have seen the pictures on the forums. And it was only natural for Ye Nantian to have a strong dislike of him.

    And since Ye Nantian had shown his dislike of him, Fleeting Time did his bad to not further deepen that feeling. He greeted the man and stood at a side with a smile on his face. He was humble with his conduct, but he was not backing down much to Ye Nantian¡¯s surprise. The young man standing before him was either very bad at reading the atmosphere or was very confident in himself. But this fact alone did not change Ye Nantian¡¯s dislike of him.

    Making a show of confidence was simple. But having the same confidence in anywhere at any time was the real challenge.

    Ye Nantian knew it as well, but it did not stop him from directing some hostility at the young man albeit in a roundabout fashion, ¡°People nowadays are very, very evil! You must open your eyes wide, Little Ci! Show them no mercy!¡±

    ¡°The most important quality of a man is to have a sense of responsibility! Looks do not matter if his heart is rotten! The only thing that matters is if he treats you well and takes responsibility for his actions!

    ¡°I hope indecent acts are not allowed in this cell! I have to ask the NPC if they can transfer you to another cell! Purity is the most important thing to a girl! How can they allow an unmarried girl to stay with an unmarried guy in the same room!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still young, you don¡¯t have to rush things. You¡¯re good looking, so you don¡¯t have to be afraid that you won¡¯t get a boyfriend in the future...¡± Ye Nantian continued bbering at his daughter.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression was rapidly darkening. She knew that her parents had seen the pictures and the forum post. But they have not brought it up since the short discussion by the dining table in the morning. This was why she had momentarily forgotten that members of her family knew of the incident.

    As Ye Nantian red at Fleeting Time, a weird feeling crept into Ye Ci¡¯s heart.

    She was happy to have her dad taking her side. But the situation felt inappropriate to her as Fleeting Time was not entirely responsible for the incident.

    This went on for half an hour before a guard arrived to lead him away. Ye Nantian might have even visited Ye Ci in prison every day to express his displeasure at Fleeting Time if there was no visitation limit in ce. He was angered when he noticed that his words did not seem to affect Fleeting Time in any way.

    Zuo Xian arrived next with Ye Nantian¡¯s departure.

    But her attitude was theplete opposite of Ye Nantian. She paid no heed to his daughter, and focused her attention on Fleeting Time instead. She studied the man with a wide grin on his face, patting him on the head, and even touching his muscles and his chest. This was aplete shocker to Ye Ci, and she had to step in to stop her mother on several asions.

    But Fleeting Time did not express any anger or displeasure. He remained smiling at Zuo Xian as she directed questions after questions his way. It was as if Zuo Xian and Fleeting Time were old friends who had known each other for a long time.

    When a guard finally arrived to escort Zuo Xian away, the woman had even invited Fleeting Time to pay her shop in Red Lake City a visit. And she received a guarantee from Fleeting Time that he would try his best to visit the shop despite his status as a yer from an opposing continent.

    When the ruckus had finally died down and only the two of them were left in the cell, Ye Ci did not even know how to face Fleeting Time who still had a smile on his face. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind what my parents said. They were usually... Quite normal.¡±

    Fleeting Time of course knew what she meant. ¡°They are very interesting people. And I can tell that they¡¯re good people.¡±

    And Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened once again.

 Chapter 316 Release

    <h4>Chapter 316 Release</h4>

    The 72 hours was finally over.

    Ye Ci thought that she would be released before Fleeting Time.

    But due to her mistake in managing her time, she was released along with Fleeting Time.

    And this foiled her n to abandon him the moment they left prison.

    Fleeting Time was following not far behind her even as she made her way down the long prison hallway, maintaining a distance that was not too far apart, but was not too close to her.

    The sunlight at the end of the long hallway just ahead was a weing sight to Ye Ci. She could finally see the sun, and she was finally free of a certain dangerous individual who was sharing her cell.

    ¡°Gongzi You!¡± someone called out to Ye Ci before she could take off and gain her freedom.

    She stopped in her tracks and turned around out of reflex just in time to see Fleeting Time walking slowly towards her. He had called her by her full name instead of ¡®Little Gongzi¡¯. It was not something that she was used to, but Ye Ci was able to bring herself to quickly adjust to the situation, ¡°What is it?¡±

    But Fleeting Time remained silent as he continued walking towards Ye Ci.

    His footsteps were firm and unwavering as he made his way to Ye Ci and stared at her face with an unfathomable expression.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Ye Ci again. But the tone of her voice was calm. It was not the tone she would always use when speaking with an enemy, but one she normally used.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just wanted to have another look at your face.¡± Fleeting Time sighed and gave an honest answer.

    And Ye Ci was rendered speechless by his words. She did not know how she would be interacting with Fleeting Time in the future, but she was fairly certain that they were not that close yet at the present.

    He was acting so familiar with her. So familiar that in fact she could not muster up a response other than a simple ¡°Oh.¡±

    And at the face of such a distant attitude, Fleeting Time responded with a smile. He then pulled Ye Ci into a tight hug.

    Ye Ci was caught off guard by his sudden gesture. It took her quite a moment to recover from the shock and she began struggling to push him away, ¡°Let go of me, Fleeting Time! What are you doing? Let go...¡±

    But Fleeting Time would not budge. He let out a long sigh into Ye Ci¡¯s ears. And the warmth of his breath was like a magic that calmed Ye Ci down. ¡°Let go of me.¡± she said once again, but with a softer voice.

    ¡°Allow me just onest hug.¡± Fleeting Time finally spoke up. His voice,ced with a sense of sorrow that Ye Ci had never seen before reverberated in the silent hallway.

    And Ye Ci finally calmed down. Why am I not resisting? Even Ye Ci herself did not have an answer to this question. But she could feel the warmth of Fleeting Time¡¯s hug. It was very real. But it was different from the warmth of Bai Mo and even her parents.

    She remained silent in her embrace just like that. She could even hear the thumping of Fleeting Time¡¯s heart as she leaned against his chest.

    A sudden thought appeared in her mind. There are some people in this world that we are able to connect with even when we are not close. What do we call them?

    She did not know. But the feeling was a pleasant one.

    ¡°It¡¯s a shame. Why must we end up as enemies?¡± Fleeting Time let out a long sigh.

    ¡°How is that a bad thing?¡± It was indeed nothing bad for Ye Ci, as this meant that they would not be seeing each other frequently. Even she herself did not know when she was no longer able to act naturally around Fleeting Time. And she was afraid of this change.

    She did not like that feeling.

    ¡°Of course it¡¯s a good thing to you.¡± Fleeting Time grimaced, ¡°You would be even happier if I disappear from your lifepletely.¡±

    Ye Ci was at a loss for words.

    And Fleeting Time did not utter more words as well. He tightened his embrace, and let go of her slowly. The emotions swirling in his eyes as he spoke was something Ye Ci did not recognise, ¡°I¡¯ll be looking forward to our next meeting.¡±

    ¡°Our next meeting?¡± it was something that Ye Ci had never considered. She pursed her lips at him, but made no attempts to refute his words. She nodded at Fleeting Time, and nodded again.

    ¡°Go.¡± Fleeting Time patted Ye Ci¡¯s shoulder with a smile and pointed towards the light not far ahead, ¡°Leave this ce.¡±

    ¡°What about you.¡±

    I have somewhere else to be.¡± Fleeting Time shrugged.

    Ye Ci nodded at Fleeting Time. She was never an overly curious person. She turned around and headed towards the entrance of the prison. Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci as she left. He took in a deep breath when Ye Ci finally disappeared into the light, and walked slowly towards the entrance.

    ¡°There¡¯s something you need from me, Silent?¡± Fleeting Time studied his surroundings when he was finally out of the prison. Ye Ci was nowhere to be seen. He pulled up his hood and sent a message to Silent Hymn who had been trying to get into contact with him.

    ¡°Have you been released yet?¡± came the instant response.

    ¡°I just did. I¡¯m standing at the entrance of the prison. What is it?¡± Fleeting Time was quick to walk away from the prison. Standing at such a ce would usually not attract any attention, but the area around the prison had begun bustling with activity ever since the duo was imprisoned. It was not a wise move to remain in its vicinity.

    ¡°Hero City¡¯s Guard Captain is giving out a quest to a solo dungeon with a mysterious map as its reward. I have a feeling that it¡¯s a key to a hidden dungeon. Many of our guild¡¯s members have epted the quest, but none of them was able to clear the dungeon. I need you to go have a look and see if you can¡¯t ept that quest.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just make a guide from the intelligence gathered by the members that have entered the dungeon? Why must I go?¡± Fleeting Time was curious.

    ¡°The interior of the dungeon is randomized. We do not have enough intelligence to make a guide yet,¡± Silent Hymn grimaced at the question, ¡°Go give it a shot. ording to my sources, some of Golden Era¡¯s vanguards have epted the quest as well. We must not fall behind.¡± Fleeting Time epted the request after a brief moment of thought.

    Ye Ci¡¯s immediate destination after leaving the prison was Red Lake City. Her Mysterious Egg was almost about to hatch. If it contains a strong pet, then it will be worth her time.

    Ye Ci made her way to the Flight Manager, paid her fees, and mounted a Gryphon.

    The Gryphon soared into the skies and towards Red Lake City, leaving Hero City that was the source of her troubles for thest few days.

    One would find travel from Hero City to Champion City and then to Red Lake city rtively easy if one had the money to pay. And Ye Ci was quick to arrive at her destination.

    The incident in Hero City might have been in the past for Ye Ci, but it was not the case for the other yers. It was still one of the hottest gossiping topics in the game. And many different versions of the story had been shared among yers.

    Ye Ci had heard at least 5 different versions of the story between her and Fleeting Time during her short walk from the Teleportation Stone to the City Hall. But what could she do but to ignore the rumors? It would take a long time before the topic was finally washed away by the river of time.

    Ye Ci let out a sigh. The only thing she could do was toy low. She pulled her hood lower to conceal her entire face and quickened her pace towards the pet shop.

    The pet shop entered her view after a short while. Due to the new patch, acquisition of pet eggs was made easier. And the once quiet pet shop was bustling with activities.

 Chapter 317 The Pet Shop

    <h4>Chapter 317 The Pet Shop</h4>

    There are many different types of pets in Fate, but the mostmon ones were thebat-type pets typically used by Hunters and Warlocks. But a Hunter must capture his or her own pet, while a Warlock¡¯s pet was summoned. It was impossible for yers of other sses to acquire pets of this variant.

    Of course, other types of pets exist as well in the form of steed as well as pets used for cosmetic purposes.

    They might not be as useful asbat pets, but they were still very popr among yers. Steeds have always generally existed in the form of horses before the new patch was introduced. Even a dinosaur like Ol¡¯ Four and Fleeting Time¡¯s Unicorn were pets unique only to the Hunter ss due to their Pet Capture skill. Any hunter yers with good luck could acquire a steed-type pet.

    And due to a Hunter¡¯s inability to trade away his or her pet, yers from other sses were not able to enjoy the benefits of having these pets.

    But this problem was solved by the release of the new patch, where yers could potentially receive eggs as a form of loot drop from dungeon or field BOSSes.

    These eggs would then hatch into steeds or cosmetic pets. The yers were ecstatic at the release of this new feature, and many of them immediately joined the hunts for the many BOSSes in every corner of Fate. And this meant that the game was flooded with arge quantity of pet eggs.

    This also brought an unprecedented number of yers to the pet shops in each city.

    To Ye Ci, steeds were an essential in the game, but pets that exist solely for cosmetic purposes were next to useless. They were highly popr among female yers, but Ye Ci was someone who prioritized functionality over aesthetic. No matter how cute a pet might be, it was useless in Ye Ci¡¯s eyes if it could not be used inbat.

    Ye Ci could see a sea of yers with their cosmetic pets from far away, and most of them were female yers. These pets were hard to acquire, and not many were willing to work to collect the pets. This opened up windows for male yers to woo members of the opposite gender. Male yers in Ye Ci¡¯sst life would give cosmetic pets to female yers that they like to show their love. And this trend did not die off even by the time of her death.

    And it was apparent that the trend would continue in her current life.

    Female yers who received these pets from male yers would immediately bring their pets for a walk or put them on disy outside pet shops. It was of course a form of unting their pets. And these yers were not few in number.

    Ye Ci brushed her way past a yer apanied by a white bunny, and sidestepped another with a tiny boar pet, then squeezed between two other yers with a small butterfly pet and a tiny maneater flower pet before finally making her way to the entrance of the pet shop.

    She let out a long sigh. The female yers standing outside the shop were either having conversations with their friends or were tantly showing off their pets. She shook her head in disapproval. Do they not know that their pets will expose their positions inbat?

    Of course, it was none of Ye Ci¡¯s business. Each yer had their own goals in the game, and it was not Ye Ci¡¯s ce to force her ideals on them.

    The first thing that Ye Ci noticed upon entering the shop was that it had been renovated. With the crowd gathering outside and her hood that was limiting her view, Ye Ci was not able to have a good look at the shop¡¯s exterior.

    But judging from the looks of its interior, the shop had been upgraded into a lvl3 shop. The size of its building had been significantly increased, and here were even NPC helpers in the shop.

    ¡°How may I help you,dy?¡± a blond Human NPC walked up to Ye Ci and greeted her just as she was having a look around in the shop.

    The NPC treated her more respectfully than the other customers of her shop due to her Prestige in Red Lake City.

    ¡°I wish to see your boss. I handed her an egg some times ago, and this is our appointed date.¡± Ye Ci lowered her voice to hide her identity.

    ¡°Alrightdy, this way please.¡± the Human NPC lowered her voice as well.

    The smart NPCs in the game could tell a yer¡¯s intention by listening to their tone. With her hushed voice, the NPC was able to guess that Ye Ci wished to keep her pet a secret, which was why she lowered her voice as well.

    Ye Ci followed the NPC to the back of the shop.

    And the rest of the yer did not even notice the hooded yer who had just entered the shop and was quick to disappear into the back of the shop.

    The Human NPC brought Ye Ci to the Undead NPC and left. The Undead NPC turned around to have a good look at Ye Ci who had removed her hood and was staring straight at the NPC. Despite her beautiful face, the Undead NPC still gave off an eerie aura.

    It was perhaps due to their long interaction with the dead since their birth.

    ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± the Undead apparently remembered Ye Ci since theirst interaction.

    Ye Ci nodded, ¡°Has the egg hatched yet?¡±

    The NPC smiled at Ye Ci. ¡°There is nothing that I, Luna, cannot aplish.¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. So her name¡¯s Luna. As a reincarnator, Ye Ci would of course know the names of NPCs that are important to the major quests in Fate, but Luna was not one of them. She was perhaps an NPC that was insignificant to the plot of the game. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you again, Luna.¡± but Ye Ci still decided to treat the NPC with respect.

    Luna did not seem to pay any mind to the courtesy disyed by Ye Ci. The NPC walked towards a container filled with red liquid. The white egg in the container belonged to Ye Ci, and it had grown since Ye Ci left it with the NPC.

    Luna took the egg out from the container, and the churning liquid immediately grew calm, as if nothing had happened.

    She then brought the egg to a small table covered by golden velvet. A pillow with a frame was ced on the table. It was apparent that the frame was designed to hold the pet egg. Luna ced the egg into the frame, and pulled out a small golden mallet embedded with gems.

    She handed the mallet to Ye Ci, ¡°Go, knock on it lightly, and the egg will hatch.¡±

    Ye Ci was shocked by her words. Based on her memories of herst life, a pet¡¯s egg was hatched using a drop of blood from its owner. But she was handed a mallet... Wait, won¡¯t it kill whatever¡¯s in it?

    Luna smiled when she noticed Ye Ci¡¯s hesitation. ¡°A special egg can only be hatched through special means. You can trust me on this. I am the best breeder in the entire Red Lake City. If I cause the death of a pet entrusted to me, aren¡¯t I ruining my own reputation?¡±

    With Luna¡¯s reassurance, Ye Ci¡¯s doubt was swept away. She took the mallet from Luna and walked up to the table, ¡°Where do I hit?¡±

    ¡°At the top most part, where it is the most pointed. Hit it lightly, don¡¯t use too much force.¡±

    Luna took a step backwards, and pointed at the location to Ye Ci with a smile.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath, and tapped the mallet against the egg lightly. The shell immediately shattered, and a white life form dropped onto the pillow.

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at the white worm-like lifeform wriggling on the pillow and stared at it for a long while. ¡°What is that?¡± asked Ye Ci as she lifted the white thing between her fingers.

 Chapter 319 Sea of Sand

    <h4>Chapter 319 Sea of Sand</h4>

    ¡°Are you sure you want to name your pet ¡®Ol¡¯ Six¡¯?¡± even the system seemed to be trying to advise Ye Ci against naming the extremely rare Holy Dragon with such an unsophisticated name, as the prompt appeared multiple times.

    But Ye Ci confirmed her choice, and after several prompts, the system finally gave up, leaving the Holy Dragon to its fate of receiving such a name.

    There was nothing special behind her decision to name her pet. She was supposed to name the pet ¡°Ol¡¯ Five¡± based on the numerical sequence of her previous pets, but Fleeting Time¡¯s pet bat shared a simr name. With that in mind, Ye Ci decided to name the Dragon Ol¡¯ Six instead.

    She did not even care if her pet was one of the rarest creatures in Fate. Coming up with a sophisticated name was simply too much of a hassle for her.

    ¡°You have sessfully named your pet.¡± the system finally relented, and begrudgingly assigned the name ¡°Ol¡¯ Six¡± to the only Holy Dragon in the game at its current stage. But this sentiment was not shared by Ol¡¯ Six, as Ye Ci ced a Super Pet Core in front of it.

    Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s eyes were closed, but its sense of smell was very sharp. It could smell the scent of the Super Pet Core not far away. It let go of Ye Ci¡¯s finger, and stumbled its way on its short stubby legs towards the core.

    It did not take Ol¡¯ Six long to climb onto the Super Pet Core that was almost twice its size. It opened its mouth and began biting on the core, theck of teeth not hampering its effort to enjoy its meal. The Super Pet Core that felt so hard in Ye Ci¡¯s hand was devoured by Ol¡¯ Six in mere moments as if it was nothing but tofu.

    Ye Ci smiled and patted Ol¡¯ Six on the head when she saw its bulging tummy. She then sent her back into the pet inventory so that she could travel to a leveling spot to level Ol¡¯ Six up.

    Just then, Ye Ci received a private message from Bai Mo, asking if she wanted to join an expedition into a dungeonter at night. She declined the offer after a moment of consideration. She was not interested in dungeon clearing. Her interest was now focused on leveling Ol¡¯ Six up. She could not wait to see how a Holy Dragon would look like when it grew into its adult form.

    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Bai Mo did not expect Ye Ci¡¯s rejection. Is she nning something with that bastard Fleeting Time in Hero City?

    But Ye Ci¡¯s disyed location was in Red Lake City, which removed the possibility that Fleeting Time was with her. So why is she not taking part in the dungeon clearing?

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯m not going.¡±

    ¡°Why not? We¡¯ve in the first BOSS, and have already almost figured the second one out. We¡¯ll be able to kill it tonight.¡± Bai Mo refused to give up.

    ¡°Nope, no way. I¡¯m a bringer of misfortune. I do not want to curse your loot drop.¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°Do you want them to grumble at me again?¡±

    But Bai Mo knew that it was definitely not the main reason, ¡°Are you nning to go meet up with Fleeting Time...¡± he chuckled.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at his words, ¡°Seriously, you¡¯re just imagining things.¡± and she continued, ¡°I¡¯ve acquired a decent pet. I n to level it up. So count me out of any dungeon expeditions. I¡¯m not interested.¡±

    Bai Mo did not press her for further answers, and instead shifted to a different topic, ¡°By the way, Blossom has almost reached the tier of High Goblin Engineer. He made quite a number of high damage bombs. Do you need some with you? It¡¯ll help with leveling up.¡±

    After giving the matter a thought, Ye Ci headed to the guild headquarters and took 100 Small Bombs with her before leaving Red Lake City.

    With Ol¡¯ Six at lvl0, the best spot to level him up was at a lvl15-lvl20 map. And the map closest to Red Lake City that met the requirements was the Sea of Sand. The map was popted by Sand Snakes and Sand Worms that had a very high spawn rate. Most of the leveling spots, however, were far away from resupply points, which made it an area not suitable for newbies. But for someone like Ye Ci, it was the best spot.

    Ye Ci mounted Ol¡¯ Four, and immediately headed to the Sea of Sand.

    The Sea of Sand was a small desert map surrounded by trees with a river running through the center of the map. Despite the hot sun, the environment in the map was not entirely hostile to yers. The resupply point of the map was located in a small forest at the northeastern part of the map, but was too far away from the spawn locations of the map¡¯s monsters. yers who wish to level up in this map had to form themselves into parties to increase their efficiency.

    And that was why yers leveling in the map solo were few and far between. When Ye Ci finally made her way to the resupply area, it was packed with new yers who were partied up into small groups. From the appearance of their equipment, they have spent quite some time on the map, as many of their equipment were the loot drops of this map.

    The new yers were shocked by Ye Ci¡¯s appearance in the Sea of Sand, and they were especially intimidated by the presence of Ol¡¯ four. Some of them even began to whisper among themselves.

    ¡°Wow, she looks like she has a very high level. Do you think she¡¯s lvl60 yet?¡±

    ¡°She might be at an even higher level.¡±

    ¡°Hey, have you guys not been to the forum? She¡¯s the Solo Queen of our continent, Gongzi You! She¡¯s a top-tier Huntress!¡±

    ¡°Are you for real now?¡±

    ¡°What would Gongzi You be doing here?¡±

    And Gongzi You proceeded deeper into the Sea of Sand with the envious gaze of the yers fixated upon her.

    Ye Ci traveled between the spawn points to see if the spots have been taken by yers. She would move away from an upied spot, and continued to the next location in search for a suitable spot.

    She finally found a small crater that housed three spawn points for the Sand Snakes. With the high spawn rate of the monsters, even a party would be hard pressed to handle their numbers, which meant that yers would usually give the area a wide berth.

    She dismissed Ol¡¯ Four, and summoned Ol¡¯ Six. The creature with its sleep interrupted let out a long yawn before it was set by Ye Ci on her shoulder where it can continue its sleep while earning experience points.

    Despite numbering in the hundreds, the Sand Snakes were barely a threat to Ye Ci due to their vast level difference. She sprinted around the Sand Snakes, and drew them into a tight group before throwing a bomb into their midst.

    Under normal circumstances, Ye Ci would not be able to gain experience from these kills, but the level requirement was lowered due to the presence of Ol¡¯ Six, and she was able to watch with satisfaction as numbers signifying the gain of EXP rose from the dead snakes.

    Ye Ci sat waiting for the next spawn once the snakes were all dead. She left all the carcasses of the dead snakes untouched. These would then be removed from the game by the system once the snakes respawned.

    Ye Ci was able to raise Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s level to lvl15 after clearing away more than a dozen waves of snakes. It had grown to the size of a kitten as it satzily on Ye Ci¡¯s shoulder, and she was satisfied with her progress.

    As she continued to wait for a new wave of monsters to spawn, a party of 5 approached the crater. It was apparent that they have been leveling in the spot judging from their familiarity with the terrain. They were shocked to see the ground littered with dead snakes and the lone figure before them.

    The leader of the party was a man with her staff. He stood not far away from her with eyes narrowed. ¡°Breeze, should we go to another spot?¡± asked the female Rogue beside him.

 Chapter 321 A Tes

    <h4>Chapter 321 A Tes</h4>

    t

    ¡°Impossible!¡± eximed Starry Sky, ¡°There¡¯s no way sister Blossom can be spotted from that distance! She¡¯s lvl19, and was fully equipped with the best sneak equipment! Her stealth should be as good as a lvl45 Rogue at the moment!¡±

    But Breeze remained calm, ¡°There is always someone better out there. Death Blossom is only lvl19. No matter how good her equipment is, there is still a big chance that she¡¯ll be spotted by a high level yer.¡±

    ¡°But that... That is just too far!¡± said Kitten with a frown, ¡°She¡¯s 120 yards away from that yer!¡±

    ¡°What is that guy¡¯s character ss? How can his Perception be so high?¡± Sweeping Reed found himself frowning as well, ¡°Does he have equipment that enhances his Perception?¡±

    ¡°Now I¡¯m more interested in that guy.¡± Breeze remained unperturbed

    Death Blossom had already walked up to Ye Ci by that time. She greeted Ye Ci with a polite smile and spoke up, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±

    Ye Ci took a good look at the female Rogue. She had jet ck hair, pearl white skin, and a very beautiful face. It had always been an unspoken rule for Rogue yers to not have an appearance that would attract attention. She had seen how the Rogue moved, and she knew that the Rogue was not a newbie. But why the appearance? Perhaps she looks even prettier in real life, and this is already the lowest limit of the system¡¯s settings!

    A Rogue yer with an overly eye-catching appearance was never a good thing. There were, however, some exceptions. Ye Ci knew of a beautiful and very skillful female Rogue yer from herst life. She had even seen her in tournaments before, and was deeply impressed by her skills. But the female Rogue was a Golden Era yer, and she left the game when Golden Era pulled out of Fate. Ye Ci could still vaguely remember the Rogue¡¯s name: Death Blossom.

    A sudden realisation shed across Ye Ci¡¯s mind. She stared intently at the female Rogue, and thought of her movements. An rm was ringing in her mind. That¡¯s right, the person standing before her was Death Blossom!

    She might not remember the yer¡¯s appearance, nor was she able to recognise her voice, but Death Blossom¡¯s movements and skill was something that one does not simply forget. The Rogue might not be as good as she was in theter stages of the game, the impression she gave Ye Ci was etched deep in her memory.

    If she¡¯s Death Blossom, then... Ye Ci stole a nce at the 4 other yers who were keeping their distance, That man with that staff must be her husband. He¡¯s Breeze!

    What are they trying to do? Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She did not have much of an interaction with the officers of the Golden Era guild. She did not know how they thought, and knew nothing of their goals.

    Death Blossom was displeased when she received no response from the hooded yer. As the bossdy of Golden Era, and an extremely skillful yer, she was used to being the focus of attention wherever she went. She knew that it was vanity, but she could not stand being ignored.

    But she was also a rational person.

    The choice between the benefit of her guild and her personal feelings was an easy one to make. She once again smiled at Ye Ci and greeted her in a warmer voice, ¡°Hello, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± responded Ye Ci after staring at Death Blossom for a short while. Her voice was cold and distant, and she sounded arrogant, but it was not something she did on purpose. She was simply born with that voice.

    Ye Ci¡¯s tone was aplete contrast of Death Blossom¡¯s warm tone. And the Rogue could not help but feel that she had been given the cold shoulder. But she was quickly able to adjust her mood, ¡°This is a good spawn location, but there¡¯s only 5 of us. We can¡¯t take on so many snakes. Can you help us out?¡±

    Does the boss of Golden Era need my help? Ye Ci pursed her lips. It was to her knowledge that Breeze had sent many of his yers into Fate, where theyy hidden in the various major guilds in all the four continents. They have already left their guilds upon Breeze¡¯s arrival and were awaiting instructions. He could have always sent for some of these high leveled yers to speed up his leveling process.

    So Death Blossom has an ulterior motive in mind. Maybe I should try to find out what they¡¯re up to.

    But before Ye Ci could think of something up, Ol¡¯ Six let out a soft roar. She lowered her head, and saw the creature attempting to crawl out from underneath her cloak. Death Blossom¡¯s attention was immediately attracted to the Dragon¡¯s sudden movement.

    A slight frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, and she immediately gave up on her previous n. Hiding the presence of Ol¡¯ Six was her biggest priority. She tightened her grip on the Dragon and stood up, ¡°There are three spawn points at this location. There¡¯s simply too many monsters for the 5 of you. Head 32 degrees to the east. There¡¯s a spawn location 60 yards out. You guys can take that spot.¡±

    Death Blossom understood that her request had been rejected. Her main aim was merely to try and figure Ye Ci out. But since Ye Ci had given her response, there was nothing more to be said. ¡°Thank you!¡± she thanked Ye Ci with a smile.

    And she waved her hand at Ye Ci before heading back to rejoin Breeze and the party.

    Ye Ci did not stay for long as well. She stood up, summoned her horse, and left the area.

    Breeze was watching the short conversation from afar. He had not been able to tell the character ss of the yer in the end. The only thing he noticed about the yer was that she was very thin, and her steed was something that was verymon among yers.

    But a person like her was able to take on so many snakes alone, and was able to detect the presence of Death Blossom from a hundred yards away. Who is she! Why have I not heard about her before?

    Death Blossom had already rejoined the party when Breeze was still deep in his thoughts. He could see the slight displeasure on his face. It was apparent that the conversation she had with the yer was not a happy one. And anyone who could cause that reaction on Death Blossom was not someone to be trifled with.

    ¡°How was it?¡± he patted Death Blossom on the shoulder.

    ¡°She¡¯s a girl.¡± Those were the first words that left Death Blossom¡¯s mouth, much to the surprise of the four other yers. That yer is a female? Of course, their shock did note from sexism, and it did not mean that they were looking down on female yers. Female yers had a very substantial presence in online gaming ever since the dawn of gaming itself. But female yers tend to have their attention focused on other aspects of the game other than leveling and grinding, while male yers focused more on the more mechanical part of the game like PVP and PVE. This was why arge portion of the higher level yers were male.

    And that was why the members of the party were shocked.

    The gender of a yer had never been a problem to Breeze, but strength was something that mattered, ¡°What do you think of her?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s very strong.¡± Death Blossom continued after a moment of thought, ¡°She is stronger than anyone we know so far. She might have a Perception higher than Mary Sue!¡±

    Mary Sue was the top Ranger of Golden Era, and was known for her high Perception value. She was one of the highest level amongst Golden Era¡¯s vanguard, and her equipment and Perception boosting gear were the best in Golden Era.

    She has a Perception stats higher than even Mary Sue?! Breeze was stunned into silence. ¡°Do you know what ss she is?¡± he asked after a short moment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Death Blossom shook her head, ¡°I did not see a weapon, and she did not use any skill that could help define her ss. But I¡¯m very sure that she¡¯s either a Rogue, a Huntress, or a Ranger.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡¯

    ¡°It¡¯s a gut instinct.¡± Death Blossom continued after a slight pause, ¡°I saw something resting on her leg, but it was hidden underneath her cloak. That thing was alive. I think it might be... A pet.¡±

 Chapter 322 What If Sheâ€™s Gongzi You?

    <h4>Chapter 322 What If She¡¯s Gongzi You?</h4>

    Breeze considered Death Blossoms ford for a long while before turning to Kitten, ¡°What do you think, Kitten?¡±

    Kitten was known for his ability to think in a rational and calm way in Golden Era, ¡°If she¡¯s a female, and is either a Rogue, Huntress or a Ranger, and has a pet... I think she might be Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°Hey hey hey, are you sure about that?¡± Starry Sky shook his head, ¡°Wasn¡¯t Gongzi You arrested in Hero City for killing Fleeting Time? Even Fleeting Time himself was arrested as well. They were in the same cell, probably having a good time.¡±

    Sweeping Reed pursed his lips, ¡°You sure like gossipping. You¡¯ve just started the game a few days ago but you already know something like this.¡±

    ¡°No! It¡¯s not like I like to gossip, but it¡¯s all over the forum! Isn¡¯t it just a romance between two of the game¡¯s top yers? Why are people gossipping about it?¡± Starry Sky scratched his head, ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re not here from the start. It¡¯s been going on for some time.¡± Sweeping Reed sighed, ¡°To be honest with you though, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s even worth the effort to gossip about it...¡±

    ¡°Stop...¡± Death Blossom could no longer stand their bickering, ¡°Can you not talk about this whenever you¡¯re free? This is not the time for that.¡±

    The duo immediately went silent, and directed their attention to Kitten, who let out augh, ¡°Of course I know that Gongzi You was sent to jail, but... If you look at the time, she should be out by now. If the same thing happens to me, I¡¯ll definitely stay online for a full day straight until I get released. I might even get out of jail sooner than her.¡±

    ¡°But if she¡¯s Gongzi You, why did she not summon that dinosaur of hers?¡± Breeze stared at the direction where Ye Ci had left.

    Kitten gave the question a moment of thought before replying, ¡°If she really is Gongzi You, and if she did not summon that dino, it means that she already has a pet summoned. Of course, she could be hiding her strength. That¡¯s the point of staying hooded, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°If she really is Gongzi You, do you think we can get her to join our side?¡± Death Blossom asked the most important question in her mind.

    Breeze was silent for a long moment, ¡°If she¡¯s Gongzi You... I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have a chance.¡± he shook his head.

    Death Blossom nodded, ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to take her out.¡± she juggled her dagger in her hand and said with a wide grin on my face, ¡°Leave her to me. I¡¯ll teach her a lesson.¡±

    But Breeze did not approve of Death Blossom¡¯s confidence. There was a strange feeling of danger gnawing at his mind, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate her.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. Have you seen me lose to someone before?¡± Death Blossom was confident as ever. But the unease in Breeze¡¯s heart grew as he stared at the confident smile on her face.

    Bai Mo was curious when he saw Ye Ci leaving the Sea of Sand and arriving in Red Lake City. She has only been there for two hours. Is she done leveling up her pet? There¡¯s no way... He sent a message to Ye Ci, ¡°Why are you back? Are you done?¡±

    ¡°Forget about it.. I ran into Breeze.¡± Ye Ci sighed. It was apparent that she was not happy with her encounter with Breeze and his party.

    ¡°Breeze?¡± Bai Mo could not recognise the name. A sudden realisation shed across his mind, ¡°Golden Era?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Did they attack you?¡±

    ¡°Nope. But they were trying to figure me out. I don¡¯t know if they found out who I am.¡± Ye Ci would never underestimate her enemies. Despite her disguise, she would never dismiss the fact that her identity had been found out by Golden Era. Only a fool would make such an assumption.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Bai Mo asked for a quick rundown of the encounter, and Ye Ci immediately filled him in. ¡°It seems that he¡¯s trying to poach you over. But if they know that you¡¯re Gongzi You, they¡¯re very likely to give up.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Ye Ci wanted to hear Bai Mo¡¯s opinion in this matter.

    ¡°From what information we¡¯ve gathered, they¡¯ve sent arge number of their yers into Fate, but their numbers were not asrge as they were when they invaded . I think Breeze knows that Fate was on an entirely different level from .¡± said Bai Mo, ¡°He knew that having numbers alone will not be enough to destroy Fate. Arge number of their vanguards have already entered the game, and many of them are high level yers by now. Most of them are at lvl55 to lvl62. Their numbers are of course just a small percentage of the yer base, but they are trying to poach yers from major guilds...¡± and Bai Mo continue after a slight pause, ¡°Even the members of our guild received invitations to join Golden Era. And these are just the ones who told us about it. What about those who have not?¡±

    ¡°And?¡± Ye Ci had never worried herself with the management of the guild. Bai Mo did not sound worried to her, which meant that he had the situation under control.

    ¡°I think they¡¯re trying to put quality into their usual quantity.¡± Bai Mo concluded his opinion.

    Ye Ci was slightly shocked. She could still remember how Golden Era almost ended Fate by controlling its economy. She did not know how it all started as she was a mere solo yer. The intelligence gathered by the major guilds was not avable to her.

    ¡°Little Ci...¡± Bai Mo called out to her when she remained silent for a long time.

    ¡°What?¡± and his words snapped Ye Ci back to reality.

    ¡°What do you think of this?¡±

    ¡°Let our enemies make their first move.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll leave the management of the guild to you guys. What I¡¯ll do is to look for more resources for our guild.¡±

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. Leave it all to me. Be careful out there.¡± Bai Mo smiled at ye Ci, ¡°From how they previously did things, they will try to destroy things or people that cannot be of use to them. They might end up going after you. So you must be careful. After all, there¡¯s still arge bounty on your head.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡± replied Ye Ci before ending the conversation.

    Bai Mo was right. Breeze might still be weak, but Golden Era¡¯s vanguards were hidden amongst the yers. They might not be the best, but they were still a hidden threat. Ye Ci was the one at a disadvantage as she was in the open while her enemies were not, especially with the bounty on her head.

    And she knew that Golden Era would never send lone yers her way if they wanted her dead. They would send a group of yers after her, and dealing with them would not be an easy task.

    With that in mind, Ye Ci decided against leveling Ol¡¯ Six in a low level area. The closer she was to danger, the farther away she was from harm. She was already at lvl66, which meant that she could afford to travel to a lvl70 map. It was not an easy task, but the rewards for ying a higher level monster was simply too good to ignore. Traveling to such a ce would also lead her away from highly popted areas.

    She did not know what Golden Era was nning. But the poaching attempt by Golden Era had a very significant implication. The core members of her guild might remain loyal to the guild, but this was not a guarantee that the other members of the guild remained unaffected. This situation would be the same in many other major guilds.

    And based on what Bai Mo had said, Golden Era would definitely attempt to gather arge number of high level yers under their banner. These yers were usually already recruited by the major guilds. And poaching was their only way to win over the loyalties of these yers.

    And Ye Ci had a feeling that she would never be left alone.

    With that in mind, she decided to travel to a map far away from the concentration of yers. She handed in her quest for Dauer¡¯s arrow and Dauer¡¯s map shard to Natasha. And she was then directed to an abandoned fortress in the Middle Continent popted by lvl80-lvl120 monsters. They were a threat even to Ye Ci.

    She decided to set the two quests aside, and headed to the lvl75-lvl85 map of the Eastern Continent, Mist Forest, after replenishing her supplies. I have a feeling that I¡¯ll be staying here for a long, long time. At least until Ol¡¯ Six has grown into his adult form.

 Chapter 323 Golden Eraâ€™s First Move

    <h4>Chapter 323 Golden Era¡¯s First Move</h4>

    The Golden Era guild was living up to their name as locusts of the gaming world. The effects of their presence in the game could already be felt 10 days after the new patch was introduced.

    It came in the change in the top 20 to top 50 yers on the leaderboards of each continent. Many of the yers who had long held their ce on the boards were reced by new names that were previously beyond rank 100. And they were all the vanguards of the Golden Era guild.

    The change would have gone unnoticed if it happened to only one or two old yers. But dozens of yers being reced on the leaderboard across all four continents within the short span of 10 days was something that simply could not be ignored.

    The major guilds have started to feel the peril knocking on their doorsteps. And even Ye Ci who was in the Forest of Mist could sense danger looming ahead. She decided to contact Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    As an information broker, Green Hill¡¯s Moon saw every other yer as a gleaming pile of gold, with Ye Ci, who gave him a helping hand in his most dire hour, the only exception. He was someone who would acquire any sort of information as long as he was paid.

    And business was booming for him.

    He was so busy that Ye Ci¡¯s call went into his voicemail. ¡°Hello, thank you for calling me! If you wish to know something about the Eastern Continent, press 1. If you seek information about the Southern Continent, press 2. If you need information about the Western Continent, press 3. For information about the Northern Continent, Press 4. If you¡¯re just here to talk to me, please hang up the call now...¡±

    ¡°You have 10 seconds to return my call, Green Hill¡¯s Moon. If you do not do that, I will post what you did in the past to the forum.¡± Ye Ci left a message for the man, and began counting down.

    It did not even take 5 seconds for Green Hill¡¯s Moon voice to ring out in Ye Ci¡¯s ears, ¡°Ahhh! Mercy Gongzi You! Aren¡¯t I here now? As long as you have a need for me, I wille to you even if I¡¯m in the middle of a roller coaster ride!¡±

    Ye Ci snorted at his words. Who knows how many people he had repeated the same line to.

    ¡°Say, what do you need?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon felt awkward when Ye Ci expressed her disbelief, and immediately changed the topic. He knew that Gongzi You did not call him for an idle chat. And he also knew that he was also not someone who Gongzi You would engage in an idle chat. She was here for business, and an important one.

    ¡°What¡¯s with the leaderboard in all the continents?¡± Ye Ci went straight to the point.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about Golden Era¡¯s move?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon had already epted many requests recently, and they were always questions about a yer¡¯s location, skills, equipment, and strength. The yers who were reced on the leaderboard would also seek information from him.

    ¡°Yup.¡± and this was why Green Hill¡¯s Moon was someone that Ye Ci enjoyed talking to. He could guess her intentions clearly just by listening to her words.

    ¡°You want to know how Golden Era yers were able to climb the board so fast in such a short window.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon knew that Ye Ci was someone highly intelligent, and he knew what information she needed.

    ¡°Green Hill¡¯s Moon, do you know what I like the most about you?¡± she smiled.

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon chuckled in response, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone that you like me. I don¡¯t want to have a bounty ced on my head as well. Admire is a better word.¡±

    But his words were ignored by Ye Ci, ¡°You¡¯re smart. You always know what I want. It¡¯s not tiring talking with you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my highest honor to receive such praise from Gongzi You.¡± and after a short conversation with Ye Ci, Green Hill¡¯s moon proceeded to provide her with the information she sought, ¡°I¡¯ve received a lot of requests from Golden Era. they were never here alone. They must have a department of sorts for things like this.¡± and he continued after a slight pause, ¡°Oh by the way, I¡¯ve moved to the Middle Continent. I¡¯ll be staying here from now on. You cane find me if you¡¯re free.¡±

    With the rapid development of Green Hill¡¯s Moon business, staying only in the Eastern Continent will severely limit its growth. This was why he immediately moved to Hero City when the new patch was released. This enabled him to receive requests from yers from all four continents.

    And Green Hill¡¯s Moon continued, ¡°They bought information of yers from me. Information like their levels, equipment, skills, pets, and their current location. I thought of it simply as a group of yers seeking revenge on someone, so I did not ask questions. Their pay was quite high as well. But requests like this kepting. I would get dozens of them a day. I was starting to feel that something was up, but nothing was happening, so I did not look further into this matter.¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon let out a long sigh, ¡°But things began to change on the 4th day the patch was released. The yers whose information that I sold were dropping from the leaderboard left and right. I was shocked, and I sent some of my people to find out what happened. It seems that those yers were assassinated by a group of unknown assants.¡±

    ¡°They were very discreet, and were doing a very good job in hiding their identities. They did not entirely zero a yer, but they would hunt a victim down until his or her level had dropped by 10, loot all their good gear, and disappear.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t the yers who were attacked receive notification about their assants¡¯ identity?¡±

    Ye Ci voiced out her question, ¡°They were all from major guilds. Why do these guilds not fight back?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of August Cherry?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon smiled.

    August Cherry?! Ye Ci was shocked. The name was so familiar to her, and yet she could not remember who the person was, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a Higher-tier Tailor who was previously not well known. But she found a limited edition blueprint.¡±

    ¡°What sort of blueprint?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of something called a ¡®Secret Cloak¡¯?¡± asked Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    Ye Ci would of course know what it was. The cloak was sold at the price of as high as 1 million gold in herst life, and only a hundred of them existed in the game.

    It was a normal essory item, but it had the stats that were said to be game breaking.

    It could hide the name of a yer¡¯s would-be assassin.

    This meant that a yer who was attacked by yers equipped with Secret Cloaks could not identify their assants, and not even the system would reveal their names.

    Of course, it was a knowledge from Ye Ci¡¯sst life, and she could not answer his question truthfully, ¡°Nope. What is it?¡±

    Green Hill¡¯s Moon exined the function of the Secret Cloak to Ye Ci and said, ¡°These cloaks were made by August Cherry. She¡¯s a member of Golden Era.¡±

    Ye Ci was stunned. She did not know that August Cherry was part of Golden era, ¡°This is a BUG! If August Cherry can make one for every member of Golden Era, we won¡¯t be able to fight against them at all!¡±

    ¡°Something like this would of course have a number limit.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon could find himself rting with Ye Ci¡¯s surprise, ¡°Only a hundred of them can be produced from that blueprint. Which means that there can only be 100 Secret Cloaks in Fate.¡±

    Ye Ci found herself frowning, ¡°What are the sses of these assassins?¡±

    ¡°Most of them are Rogues, and sometimes a few Hunters or Rangers. They are always sses with high speed and are very hard to deal with. They would always attack with 10 yers who were working well as a team. It seems that they have been practicing for a long time. That¡¯s probably why very few of their victims were able to escape. I think even you would have trouble against such an attack.¡± and Ye Ci knew very well that Green Hill¡¯s Moon was simply analysing the situation objectively.

 Chapter 324 Assassins

    <h4>Chapter 324 Assassins</h4>

    ¡°Even you would have trouble handling their attack.¡± Ye Ci was able to guess that Golden Era¡¯s men would be at the level of lvl58 to lvl60. With their ability to work as a unit and the expected quality of their equipment, Ye Ci knew that she would not be able to gain the upper hand if ten of them went after her.

    It was apparent that Golden Era had been nning for this for a long time, and they were even more prepared than she had anticipated. She thought that she could limit Golden Era¡¯s growth by securing the Mithril ore veins, but she was too naive.

    ¡°Oh, one more thing.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon sighed after a long silence from Ye Ci.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°They have started to collect information about you.¡± he said in a low voice, ¡°I did not give them yourplete information, and I have even provided them with some fake ones. I do not know if they will send someone else to buy information about you from me, but they did it once yesterday. With how they do things previously, their assassins will be going after you within 3 days. And since it¡¯s you, I think they will be sending 20 of their men.¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. So they¡¯re not going to just leave me alone after all. She had expected them to make a move, but never in her wildest dream did she anticipate for them toe for her so soon, ¡°Have they bought my location from you?¡±

    ¡°They tried, but I told them that you¡¯re in an unknown map that I can¡¯t reach. I think they will try to acquire your whereabouts through other means. Be careful out there¡± said Green Hill¡¯s Moon, ¡°I remember you still have the bounty of the 3 major Northern Continent guilds on you. They have a lot to gain for killing you.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She was no pushover. Even if Golden Era were toe after her, she would give them a run for their money.

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s something else that you should know as well.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°They have also bought information about Lethal Poison, Fleeting Time, and Spotless Autumn as well. But they were unable to locate Spotless Autumn. Even I do not know where that guy is hiding. He should be safe at the moment. Lethal Poison on the other hand had already been attacked.¡±

    ¡°How did it go?¡±

    ¡°They failed. He took out three of them. Rumour has it that a Secret Cloak was dropped by one of his assassins.¡± as the best information broker in Fate, there was little that Green Hill¡¯s Moon did not know.

    ¡°And what about..¡± a frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face at the thought of that person, and she did not finish the sentence.

    But Green Hill¡¯s Moon knew what she was about to ask, ¡°Fleeting Time¡¯s information was bought 3 days ago. If my estimations are correct, they might be fighting even as we speak. I do not know how it will end, but I will contact you once I have information. You¡¯re both Hunters, so the oue of his battle might be of use to you.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be in danger if you stay in the Mist Forest. Be careful.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon spoke to Ye Ci as if she was an old friend, and disconnected the call.

    She was sitting on the branch of a very tall tree, and Ol¡¯ Six was slowly munching on a piece of roasted beef beside her. The Dragon was now the size of a horse and was at lvl35. It was starting to look more and more like a proper Dragon. But because he has not evolved into the next tier, Ol¡¯ Six still looked silly to Ye Ci.

    Meat was plentiful in the Mist Forest due to its high poption of beast-type monsters. Despite Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s current size, he was still a cub, and was still not able to be used inbat. It could only be sent into battle at Tier 7, but Ye Ci had not found a way to ascend her pet yet.

    As Ye Ci rested against the trunk, Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s words were reying in her mind. Is Fleeting Time under attack now, or will he soon be attacked? She took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh. Even she herself had not realised that she was worrying for Fleeting Time.

    But she was quick to redirect her attention somewhere else. They were yers from different continents, and there was nothing she could do to help him. Even if she wanted to warn him, she did not have the means to contact him. All she could do was to wish him the best of luck. And she was confident that Fleeting Time would fare better if not as well as Lethal Poison. There was really nothing to worry about.

    Ye Ci descended from the tree once Ol¡¯ Six was done with his meal, and fired off an arrow at the nearest monster. Ol¡¯ Six pped its wings clumsily and followed after Ye Ci, casting its only skill, Intimidation at the monster.

    The two had been leveling up following such a training regime for some time. Ol¡¯ Six was not interested in fighting, but with its loyalty already at 100% and the enticement from Ye Ci¡¯s roasted meat, he was more than happy to throw itself into battle.

    Tan Png had almost fallen asleep on the bus on his way home. He was satisfied with his performance in the exam, and he was one step closer to securing his schrship. The hot afternoon sun shone down on the ground on his face.

    The urge to sleep washed over him once again. It was a 1-hour trip from school back home. With nothing else to do, the trip was a long and arduous one.

    His phone beeped just when he let out yet another yawn. One nce at the sender of the message was able to wash away his fatigue.

    It was a message from Fleeting Time.

    The man had made a long call to Tan Png after getting his phone number. The 2-hours long conversation was mostly Tan Png catching up with Fleeting Time, but he had also made his intentions clear.

    Firstly, he liked Gongzi You.

    Secondly, he needed to know the rtionship between Tan Png and Gongzi You.

    And thirdly, he wanted Tan Png to y matchmaker between him and Gongzi You.

    His requests were all epted by Tan Png who saw gossipping as his life. Hepletely sold Ye Ci out to Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time did betray any reaction after receiving the information from Tan Png, but their conversation had also opened up a window for him tomunicate more often with the boy. Tan Png would always receive a message from Fleeting Time without fail on his way home from school. Today was no exception.

    But what he received today was very peculiar. ¡°Has Gongzi You been assassinated recently?¡±

    Assassination? That¡¯s scary! Tan Png was shocked. Did something happen to Sister Ye when I was away? ¡°Are you talking about the bounty? Who else other than you can take her on?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have asked if it¡¯s just that. Try finding out when you get home and tell me.¡± Fleeting Time did not divulge more information.

    ¡°Oh, alright then.¡± Tan Png would never refuse a request from Fleeting Time especially when it also benefits Ye Ci. He did not know what was going on, and interpersonalmunication was not Fleeting Time¡¯s strong suit. Tan Png¡¯s only source of clue was Bai Mo.

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian were preparing dinner when Tan Png arrived home. He was told to take a shower and to call Ye Ci and Bai Mo down for dinner. Bai Mo was climbing out of his gaming cabin when Tan Png returned to his room after taking a shower. And the boy began asking Bai Mo about events that happened in game. He was quickly able to piece together the intention behind Fleeting Time¡¯s question.

    It came as a huge shock to him, ¡°No way, Golden Era is acting that boldly?! Won¡¯t that make them targets for retaliation?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still not widely known yet. It¡¯s still all rumors and spections at the moment. Nobody could prove that Golden Era was behind it. But I think the major guilds will be acting soon.¡± Bai Mo put on a change of clothes and continued, ¡°Be careful whenever you¡¯re online. Don¡¯t go anywhere alone especially when you¡¯re not in a city.¡±

    Tan Png nodded, and he asked after a slight pause, ¡°But isn¡¯t Sister Ye alone? Do you think she¡¯ll be safe?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope that she¡¯ll be careful,¡± Bai Mo let out a long sigh.

 Chapter 325 Donâ€™t Worry

    <h4>Chapter 325 Don¡¯t Worry</h4>

    Tan Png ryed the news to Ye Ci during dinner, but she merely responded with a smile. Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian did not share their daughter¡¯s calm attitude. ¡°I¡¯ll only die if I¡¯m weaker than them. I¡¯ll be careful.¡± was what Ye Ci said to her parents.

    They were not entirely convinced, but her words were able to calm them down.

    After the long time they spent in the game, the couple was slowly getting used to things happening in the game.

    They were able to fully immerse themselves in the game even as life yers. And nothing else would cause them rm unless it had something to do with Ye Ci.

    But Bai Mo was still worried for Ye Ci, ¡°They went after Lethal Poison first. But he¡¯s the top yer of the Northern Continent. They have severely underestimated him. Thanks to their numbers, however, Lethal Poison had a hard time fighting against them.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s hard. What matters is he won.¡± replied Ye Ci, ¡°Spotless Autumn is hiding in a ce where even Green Hill¡¯s Moon could not find. I¡¯m sure the entire Golden Era is looking for him.¡±

    ¡°Is he strong?¡± Bai Mo was not familiar with Spotless Autumn, but Ye Ci knew him well.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I haven¡¯t fought against Lethal Poison before, but I know that he¡¯s fat.¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°That man is quite agile despite his size. Spotless Autumn is definitely going to be more agile, and he¡¯s a Master Potionmaker. It won¡¯t be that easy to kill him.¡±

    ¡°Then...¡± Bai Mo did not like the name that he was about to speak. But he knew that it was important to have a clear idea in the greater scale of things so that he could make the best judgement of the situation. The major guilds in Fate were starting to go on the offensive, but a small guild like Upwards Ho! might find it hard in a confrontation against Golden Era. He needed the information to keep his guild safe.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Ye Ci raised her head to look at Bai Mo when he fell silent, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°What about Fleeting Time? As fair as I know, he¡¯s on the list as well. Do you know how well he¡¯s doing?¡±

    The name did not provoke much of a response from Ye Ci, but the same could not be said for Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian.

    ¡°What? That bastard Fleeting Time was assassinated as well? Well serves him right! Even God is not on his side this time! They did a good job! It¡¯d be better if they zero himpletely! Then he¡¯ll have no choice but to stay away from our Little Ci!¡± Ye Nantian was overjoyed at the news, but he was quickly silenced by a re from Zuo Xian.

    ¡°Is he okay? How bad was it? It¡¯s a shame that we¡¯re not on the same continent. We could¡¯ve paid him a visit.¡± Zuo Xian was worried. She looked at Ye Ci while casting meaningful nces at Tan Png, hinting at what must be done.

    Zuo Xian was definitely the best actor in the entire family.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression became awkward at that question. She ced her chopsticks down and looked at her mother with a grave expression, ¡°Mom, I really do not have that sort of rtionship with him. You¡¯re not close with him as well, why are you acting as if you¡¯ve been best friends for a long time?¡±

    Zuo Xian snorted at Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°My familiarity with him depends on how your rtionship ends.¡±

    ¡°Mom...¡± Ye Ci could feel tears welling in her eyes. She had never thought that her mother was someone who loved gossipping.

    ¡°I know right? Our daughter is not close with him at all! Why must you push themb into the tiger¡¯s jaw? I do not like that punk! He¡¯s good looking, and he¡¯s always smiling! I can tell from just one look that he¡¯s up to no good! Our daughter will definitely suffer if she¡¯s with him!¡±

    ¡°He never talked back to you even once! Where are you going to find a second one like him?¡± Zuo Xian apparently had a very good first impression of Fleeting Time.

    Ye Ci sighed at her parents, and turned around to speak to Bai Mo instead, ¡°I¡¯ve received information from Green Hill¡¯s Moon. He¡¯s probably going to be assassinated today. But we do not know how it will end yet.¡±

    ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll win?¡±

    Ye Ci gave her answer after some moment of thought, ¡°If they send only 10, then they will lose. But if they increase their numbers to 20... Then I do not know.¡±

    Golden Era had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Lethal Poison. They would not trip on the same rock twice. Fleeting Time was a Hunter, which was an agile ss just like the Rogue ss, and was known for his impressive skills. He would also definitely be hiding in a map that was hard to reach. This meant that Golden Era would be under a lot of pressure to make the assassination a sess. Fleeting Time could easily take care of 10 opponents by using the terrain, but if the number of assants was increased to 20...

    The oue of the battle was unpredictable.

    ¡°Who do you think has a higher chance of winning?¡± asked Bai Mo.

    ¡°He¡¯s slightly better than me in terms of our mechanical skills, but there are abilities that I have that he does not. We¡¯re equals when ites to our positioning. I¡¯ll be at a slight disadvantage if we¡¯re fighting in open ground, but if it¡¯s in jungle terrain, we both have an equal chance of winning.¡±

    Ye Ci had analysed her capabilities along with Fleeting Time¡¯s. Her objective view of the situation was able to give Bai Mo an urate insight of the situation.

    He took in a deep breath, and set his bowl on the table after wolfing down thest few mouthfuls of rice, ¡°Uncle, Auntie, there are things I have to take care of. Sorry I won¡¯t be able to help with cleaning up.¡± Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian knew what was going on in thest few days. They were worried, but they did not let it show on their faces, and put up smiles instead.

    With Bai Mo back in his room and Tan Png scurrying off to talk to Fleeting Time with the guise of studying, only three members of the family remained by the dining table.

    Zuo Xian and Yenantian had stopped their bickering. They were more worried for the guild than their daughter¡¯s rtionship with Fleeting Time.

    Bai Mo, Ye Ci, and Tan Png had never once told them the difficulties that Upwards Ho! faced since they started ying the game, but they knew that the guild was a pir to them, and even the family. They must not allow it to copse, but they were always worried that they would bring trouble by trying to help.

    ¡°Little Ci... About the guild...¡± Zuo Xian was very worried.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mom. Bai Mo and I will take care of things. Just keep the shop running and don¡¯t leave Red Lake City if there¡¯s nothing important. The city is a safe zone.¡±

    Ye Ci offered a parents a smile.

    ¡°Is Golden Era really that scary?¡± Ye Nantian could not understand the fear of the yer base towards a new guild.

    ¡°Scary?¡± Ye Ci pondered for a short while. Golden Era itself was not scary. The thing that was truly scary was the human heart, ¡°We¡¯re just standing on different sides.¡± she shook her head.

    ¡°Are they bad people?¡± Zuo Xian could not understand what was going on in the game. She was purely looking at things as good or bad.

    ¡°There¡¯s no good people or bad people in the game, mom. We simply have different goals.¡± Ye Ci set down her chopsticks and stood up to head back into the game to continue leveling up Ol¡¯ Six.

    ¡°How can we help, Little Ci?¡± Ye Nantian knew there was nothing much he could do to help his daughter, but as a parent, he could not allow his daughter to face the danger ahead alone, ¡°Your mom and I are both life yers. We¡¯re not very great yet, but we¡¯d like to help.¡±

    Ye Ci could feel emotion welling in her heart as she stared at her parents¡¯ determined faces. She brought her parents into the game so that the family could be closer. She had never expected help from her parents. But she discovered that she had been wrong all this while. Her parents might be old, but they were still trying their best to do what they thought was right.

    And as a daughter, she could not bring herself to refuse their good intentions.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Ye Ci smiled at her parents, ¡°You can help by making food that helps boost stats!¡±

 Chapter 326 Target: Gongzi You!

    <h4>Chapter 326 Target: Gongzi You!</h4>

    Ye Ci fed another Super Pet Core to Ol¡¯ Six once he was past lvl40, hoping that it would trigger the Dragon¡¯s growth.

    But she did not know if it would seed. For her, raising a Dragon was something that she had never done before.

    Ol¡¯ Six became groggy after consuming the Super Pet Core, and Ye Ci dismissed him back into her Pet Inventory and summoned Ol¡¯ Four instead.

    Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s level had fallen quite behind, but his synergy with Ye Ci meant that raising his level would not be something hard.

    Ye Ci had been keeping a close contact with Green Hill¡¯s Moon due to the assassinations by Golden Era. The guild had increased the number of its assassins from ten to fifteen after their first defeat instead of the twenty that was predicted by Ye Ci.

    Then again, Golden Era was also going after at least a dozen yers simultaneously. With most of its yers still at lower levels, the guild could not afford to send too many of its vanguards against the top-tier yer.

    Fleeting Time did not fare very well against the fifteen assassins sent against him. He was almost killed in several asions, but his great mechanical skills and therge quantity of potions that he carried after the assassination attempt on Lethal Poison allowed him to survive. The fight ended in a draw.

    He was able to defeat four of the assassins and acquire a Secret Cloak while almost losing his life. But the man was able to escape at thest moment of the battle. This was not one of Fleeting Time¡¯s best fights, but being able to survive and not forcefully revived and killed repeatedly was his greatest victory.

    Golden Era grew even more wary in their fight against Spotless Autumn after their second defeat. But Spotless Autumn was a 3-element Mage equipped with arge variety of skills and abilities. He also had in his possession arge variety of potions and scrolls that could be utilized inbat.

    Even when he was always alone, he was able to throw his assassins into disarray and escape. This battle was even more humiliating than Golden Era¡¯s previous defeats.

    Despite the result of the battle, Spotless Autumn did not kill even a single assassin sent after him, which naturally meant that Golden Era did not lose yet another of their very limited Secret Cloak, and this was the greatest victory the guild could achieve out of the situation.

    Theirst target was of course Gongzi You.

    Ye Ci had received a lot of potions from Spotless Autumn through the mail. She also received descriptions of the assassins with even greater detail than Green Hill¡¯s Moon intelligence. She did not leave Spotless Autumn empty handed as well. She knew that he was always short of gold, and it was not easy for him to send such arge quantity of potion under such circumstances. This was why she sent arge amount of gold to him in return.

    And he epted the gold under Ye Ci¡¯s insistence.

    Of all the potions sent by Spotless Autumn, one of them stood out among the rest. It was a potion called ¡°Perception Enhancement Potion¡±. Its Purple quality was an indication that it was a very rare potion. And its high rarity could only mean that the buff it gave was special. Instead of increasing a yer¡¯s Perception by a certain amount of points, it increased the yer¡¯s Perception by 50%.

    The potion had a duration of an hour, but had a cooldown of two hours. This meant that a person consuming the potion must time its usage very well or risk putting it to waste.

    The Mist Forest was the perfect ce for solo leveling, but Ye Ci did not stay in one spot for too long due to Golden Era¡¯s recent activities. The high level requirement of the map meant that there were not yers exploring the map, which gave Ye Ci a literal monopoly on the many treasure chests hidden on the map as she was leveling up.

    The Mist Forest got its namesake from thick mist that formed as a result of the damp forest floor due to ack of sunlight. But there were no swamps in the forest, and the mist was not poisonous. The only inconvenience that yers would face in the jungle was the low visibility because of the mist.

    Ye Ci took a rest in the middle of a well hidden rock formation after defeating a few monsters. The formation ofrge rocks was like a stone den that allowed Ye Ci and Ol¡¯ Four to take shelter within. It was also hidden behind thick vegetation that blocked the entrance from view. It was a spot discovered by Ye Ci after exploring the Mist Forest for days. A first timer would never be able to spot the ce easily.

    Ye Ci tossed a few pieces of meat to Ol¡¯ Four and began replenishing her own Stamina as well. She did not entirely rx herself as she took her rest and was instead constantly studying her surroundings.

    It had been four days since Green Hill¡¯s Moon sold part of her information to Golden Era. They would usually act after three days, so why am I an exception? Are they doing it on purpose? Or have they actually given up after their failed attempts?

    Something is not right.

    Based on Ye Ci¡¯s understanding of Golden Era from herst life, the guild would never give up.

    Once they have made up their minds to zero a yer, Golden Era would never give up unless due to special reasons. The guild¡¯s current goal was to assassinate the top yers of each continent. They were seeking to send a message to Fate¡¯s yers, that their so-called top yers were nothing to Golden Era.

    After all, it was within their expectation that the four top yers would never spread news about such an incident. Golden Era¡¯s reputation would not be affected.

    And the truth had proved them right. Lethal Poison, Fleeting Time, and Spotless Autumn did not spread the news of their encounter with the assassins. Only a selected few knew of the whole story, and their numbers were insignificant in the face of Fate¡¯s overall poption.

    Golden Era had also been very discreet with their actions. The three top yers who were attacked could not find any concrete proof that the assassins were indeed from Golden Era, and even if the assassins¡¯ names were known, they were names that were unheard of. It was next to impossible to link these yers to any guild.

    This was why Golden Era was able to recruit yers from other guilds while carry out assassinations in secret.

    And even an idiot could tell that Golden Era would not give up on Ye Ci¡¯s assassination.

    The yers of Golden Era were not idiots. Their four days of inactivity was due to their preparation for the fight toe. They had to acquire Ye Ci¡¯s location and analyze her strengths and weaknesses. Fleeting Time was a Hunter, and Ye Ci was of the same ss as well. They were formting ns to increase their chances of winning against Ye Ci after the fight against Fleeting Time.

    After doing a thorough analysis on Ye Ci¡¯s capabilities, her equipment, skills, and abilities, Death Blossom who had been silent pointed at the screen disying the video of thest fight between Ye Ci and Fleeting Time, ¡°We can see from this recording that Gongzi You and Fleeting Time were not fighting to the fullest of their abilities. And do take note that they werepletely different from what they were back then. Their levels have significantly increased. The yers we sent after Fleeting Time were all lvl60, but they still received a level penalty in their fight against him. This meant that he was at least lvl65. We do not know how high Gongzi You¡¯s level can be. And they were fighting in melee in this video instead of at a range where Hunters can fight best. We do not know well we will fare against Gongzi You. And don¡¯t forget that we had a numerical advantage against Fleeting Time, and our teamwork was what prevented it to be a total defeat. You¡¯ve all heard of how close these two are. So we must also take into ount that Fleeting Time had already told Gongzi You about us.¡±

    Death Blossom was one of the best Rogues in Golden Era, and even the game. This had nothing to do with her identity as Breeze¡¯s wife. She was simply a very skillful yer. She was able to maintain an 80% in the previous games she yed. It was an impressive achievement in and of itself. Death Blossom was also the founder of Golden Era¡¯s assassination group. The group was seldom needed in their previous games, but they were instrumental in carrying out Golden Era¡¯s opening shots in Fate.

    Members of the assassination group were no pushoevers. They had to pass through a very strict selection process, and had absolute obedience to Death Blossom and the guild. They were a sharp de that would aid Golden Era in subjugating the world of Fate.

 Chapter 327 An Anatomy Of Gongzi You

    <h4>Chapter 327 An Anatomy Of Gongzi You</h4>

    ¡°Are you saying that we should give up on our assassination attempt on Gongzi You, sister Blossom?¡± asked a short Human Rogue with the name Honey Barbie. Despite her appearance of a little loli, she was one of the core members of the assassination group. Not a single target had slipped from her grasp since the day she joined the group.

    ¡°Of course not, don¡¯t be silly.¡± Death Blossom shook her head. She was able to raise her level to lvl22 with the help of Golden Era¡¯s higher level yers, but there was still a huge gap between her and Gongzi You.

    She wanted to have a showdown with Gongzi You when their strength was on par, but she knew that her decision would ultimately affect the growth of her guild. Their main aim was to test out the strength of the top yers of all four continents so that they could have a clearer picture of the strength of yers on these continents. The guild would then make their move against the weaker continent first before working their way through the other continents.

    When her personal interest was in conflict with the interest of her guild, Death Blossom knew which choice to make.

    Her eyes had never left Gongzi You disyed on the screen. She did her best to acquire videos of Gongzi You, but the yer was simply too elusive, and had beenying very low. Even videos of dungeon clearing involving Gongzi You were rare materials toe across.

    Death Blossom could not have a good grasp of Gongzi You¡¯s capabilities. She had fought against many formidable opponents, and all of them ended up lying dead under her feet. Gongzi You was her next target.

    ¡°Sister Blossom, you seem to be very interested in Gongzi You.¡± Honey Barbie knew Death Blossom could tell what Death Blossom was thinking just from her gaze.

    Death Blossom responded with a smile. She did not deny the statement, ¡°It¡¯s just temporary. How long itst depends on the result of your battle.¡±

    Honey Barbie nodded and turned towards another of the assassination group¡¯s core member, March Spring, ¡°Spring, you ¡®re one of the first to enter the game, and has been staying in the Eastern Continent. What do you know about Gongzi You?¡±

    March Spring was a young man with an unremarkable appearance that suited his ss as a Rogue very well. His face was not something that one could remember well. He was exactly like the sort of person someone would least expect to stab a person in the back. He studied Gongzi You silently for a short while before giving his reply, ¡°She¡¯s a great Huntress.¡±

    Honey Barbie pricked up her ears to listen to what March Spring had to say about Gongzi You, but that was the end of his sentence, ¡°That¡¯s all you have to say? Don¡¯t you have anything more useful for us?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve not actually met her before.¡± March Spring sighed when he saw the frown on Honey Barbie¡¯s face, ¡°There are 300 million yers in the Eastern Continent. Do you think it¡¯s that easy to run into a person like that? Gongzi You had always beenying low despite all the high profile things she did, and she¡¯s very elusive. Even the members of her guild do not know where she is at times. I can only give you my most objective observation about her based on what I¡¯ve heard about her. And in conclusion, she¡¯s a great yer.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not saying much.¡± Honey Barbie snorted.

    But Death Blossom disagreed, ¡°What did the other yers say about her?¡± She was interested in finding out the yers¡¯ opinion of Gongzi You.

    ¡°Her mechanical skills are great, her moves are very grandiose, and she would always go for the vitals when she attacks.¡± March Spring¡¯s answer was something that wouldmonly be seen in the forum.

    And Death Blossom was not interested in that information, ¡°Is there anything else?¡± she raised an eyebrow.

    March Spring lowered his head and thought for a long while beforeing up with an answer, ¡°I was in Tang Dynasty, and was good friends with a Rogue under their Vice Leader, Wandering Clouds. He fought against her before, and had also worked with her to fight off the Western Continent¡¯s invasion. And he told me one thing.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Death Blososm¡¯s interest was piqued. She had finally found something more useful than thementaries and videos of Gongzi You. It was the first hand ount of someone who fought against her.

    ¡°He told me that he could not even see her movements before she struck his windpipe with a fatal blow.¡± March Spring stood up to reconstruct the fight that had happened a long time ago, ¡°There were here and here. He was charging towards Gongzi You along with Wandering Clouds. She dashed between them, and he attacked her. He thought his attacknded, but Gongzi You was left standing while he died. He never figured out how Gongzi Younded that hit.¡±

    ¡°What was their level back then?¡± Death Blossom was shocked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s anywhere above lvl20.¡± March Spring himself was unsure, ¡°It happened so long ago.¡±

    ¡°High speed...¡± Death Blossom began summarizing the guild¡¯s intelligence on Gongzi You as she mumbled to herself, ¡°High perception... And she had won against opponents far more capable than the ones we¡¯ve faced before. What a tough nut to crack.¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s someone who knows Gongzi You more than all of usbined, but...¡± March Spring shrugged.

    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about Fleeting Time then you might as well shut up.¡± Honey Barbie rolled her eyes at March Spring, ¡°Everybody knows that Fleeting Time had the most experience fighting against Gongzi You. Do you think you can find him right now? And even if you can, do you think he¡¯ll just tell you?¡±

    March Spring could only rub the bridge of his nose in silence.

    ¡°Honey, Spring, we¡¯re still going to send 15 against Gongzi You, but changes must be made to the team.¡±

    Honey Barbie and March Spring began to listen to Death Blossom¡¯s instruction, ¡°Take 2 Hunters and a Ranger with you this time. The rest of the team will still be Rogues. Pick who you want to take and show me the roster.¡±

    ¡°Why do we need the extra Hunters and Rogue? We did not bring them along when we fought Fleeting Time.¡± Honey Barbie was confused.

    ¡°Gongzi You is a Huntress. Have you forgotten the troubles that damn bat of Fleeting Time caused you? It was strong enough to kill 3 Rogues on its own! With 2 Hunters tagging along, their pets will be able to solve that problem. Make sure that one of them has a panther. That thing has the highest Perception among pets. It¡¯s the best anti-stealth option you have if Gongzi You go into stealth. And the Ranger that you take along with you should be able to heal. It might not be much, but it can help conserve ourbat strength when things go bad.¡± Death Blossom analyzed her strategy to Honey Barbie and March Spring, ¡°We¡¯ve lost to 3 of the 4 top yers. We can¡¯t afford to lose again!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t thest one end with a draw? That Spotless Autumn guy didn¡¯t kill any of us...¡± Honey Barbie pursed her lips.

    Death Blossom nced at her, ¡°If you are able to escape unscatched under the attack of 15 enemies from sses that counter yours, do you call it a victory or a draw? We outnumber him 15 to 1, and we failed to kill him. Don¡¯t you think this is a form of failure?¡±

    Honey Barbie lowered her head in silence.

    Death Blossom patted her on the head, ¡°A top yer might sound like they¡¯re not far off from a skilled yer, but that¡¯s not the case. Don¡¯t underestimate them just because we¡¯ve killed many of the skilled yers in the game. Arrogance is the root for many defeats.¡±

    ¡°I understand, Sister Blossom.¡± Honey Barbie had always held Death Blossom with the highest regard. She nodded her head, but the decision was already made in her mind to defeat Gongzi You and achieve victory no matter the cost.

    Ye Ci did not detect any movements after finishing her meal in her hiding spot. Well, I might as well continue leveling up. But she sensed a presence that was unfamiliar to her when she stood up.

    She immediately lowered herself into a crouch and drank the Perception-enhancing potion she received from Spotless Autumn. Her sense of sight, smell, and sound was instantly enhanced. She took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began sensing her surroundings.

    Something was definitely different.

    She could feel the presence of more than 10 yers. The closest of the yers were 150 yards away from her, and the one who was at the furthest was barely 200 yards away. She could not tell theposition of the group. I guess I¡¯ll have to have a look to find out.

 Chapter 328 Tug Of War

    <h4>Chapter 328 Tug Of War</h4>

    Ye Ci immediately entered Stealth after dismissing Ol¡¯ Four. She walked out of her hiding spot and climbed onto a tree not far away. Why am I so good at climbing trees in-game but not in real life? Thought Ye Ci. Well perhaps it¡¯s because I won¡¯t get fined if I do it in game.

    Ye Ci studied her surroundings once she was at a vantage point. She could feel yers approaching, but she could not obtain their precise location. She was reminded of unar. If only I have some sort of Warding Totem like that boy. It¡¯d be easy to take them on.

    Of course, Ye Ci would not give up even if she did not have the totems.

    She stood up, and was able to sense a presence 130 yards away from her. yers who entered Stealth would have their speed significantly decreased, which means that it would be some time before she would get into contact with her enemies.

    She stood up, and jumped away from the branch like an arrow. She was not fast enough topletely evade the enemy, but her speed still rendered them unable to have a grasp of her precise location.

    Fighting in the jungle, especially outnumbered, was a test of patience between the pursued and the pursuers. The side losing their patience first would find themselves facing defeat.

    It was something Ye Ci was very familiar with. It was something that she had been doing for the most part of herst life. Andpared to herst life, her current one had been rtively peaceful.

    Ye Ci could feel the excitement she experienced in herst life rushing into her. She was never afraid of this form of warfare. Even as a Sorceress, she was able to toy with a party of Hunters and Rogues that were at a higher level. A battle against 15 opponents with lower levels was an easy task.

    Fleeting Time was unlucky to get caught in the desert. Thought Ye Ci. If he¡¯s fighting in the jungle instead, Golden Era¡¯s casualties would be higher. There was barely any ce to hide in the desert, and it was very easy for a yer to leave footprints behind on the sand.

    But with the assassins engaging her in the jungle, Ye Ci was determined to kill everyst one of them.

    Of course, she was not underestimating her opponents. She had understood from her lifelong experience that the act of underestimating one¡¯s opponent would lead only to defeat. Nothing was certain in this world.

    Ye Ci¡¯s perception range was boosted to 240 yards. She stopped and jumped down from the tree once the presence of her pursuers weakened. She entered Stealth, and began studying her surroundings.

    She was surrounded by lvl70-lvl80 monsters. With her level at lvl67, even she would have to be careful while she was in Stealth. The monsters were deadly to her, and were even more scarier for the pursuers close behind.

    But Ye Ci would never force her opponent into a position where they would be pinned down. To her, it was not a victory, but a defeat.

    She began cing traps on the ground. To the eyes of an outsider, the traps were ced in a very random pattern, but only Ye Ci herself knew that these traps were ced in well calcted locations. Her pursuers will be in deep trouble once theye within range of her traps.

    Of course, she would not simply wait for them to walk into her traps. She would have to bait them into the area.

    Ye Ci attracted the aggro of the monsters around her that have a higher chance of stumbling upon her traps, and led them in a circle before heading towards Golden Era¡¯s assassins.

    As the yer with the highest Perception in the party, Honey Barbie was at the forefront of the formation. But she could not detect the presence of Gongzi You ever since her disappearance. But just when doubt was slowly crawling into her mind, Gongzi You¡¯s presence mysteriously appeared once again.

    She began leading the rest of her party slowly towards Gongzi You, but was quick to lose her presence once again. The process repeated itself several times before Honey Barbie was thoroughly annoyed, ¡°What is Gongzi You doing! I could sense her already just now, but she just disappeared! If I did not have this Perception equipment on me, I would¡¯ve thought that she¡¯s making a fool out of us.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure that your Perception is higher than Gongzi You?¡± March Spring was doubtful of Honey Barbie¡¯s words.

    ¡°Hey, are you doubting me?¡± Honey Barbie shot him a re, ¡°Sister Death Blossom told me that her Perception is high, so I took this gear out from our guild warehouse. My base Perception is high enough, and this gear has boosted my perception to 160 yards. ording to Sister Blossom, Gonzi You¡¯s Perception is at a mere 120 yards. Do you think that she can detect me?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not doubting you, but Gongzi You might¡¯ve taken a potion or used some sort of equipment to boost her Perception. She must¡¯ve gotten wind of what we were doing these few days.¡± March Spring was still able to calmly analyze the situation.

    ¡°Can you not ruin our morale at a time like this?¡± Honey Barbie harbored an extreme dislike for March Spring¡¯s overly cautious behavior.

    March Spring could only relent with a sigh.

    Just then, Honey Barbie called out to the rest of the party, ¡°Gongzi You is heading towards us. Everyone, spread out! We¡¯ll get a surround on her!¡±

    March Spring was shocked. But before he had the time to analyze the situation, the members of the party had begun spreading out and entering Stealth. He could feel something gnawing at his mind, but chose not to voice his concern out. Honey Barbie might be younger, but she was also a veteran of many battles who had seldom failed her mission. Despite his doubts, March Spring decided to follow her orders.

    Ye Ci had been attacking the monsters with low damage over time attacks to attract their aggro and at the same time to mask her motives. She had already sensed the presence of the assassins as she slowly led them into her trap. She was confident that her n would work.

    Of course, she would not lead the monsters directly into the assassins as even an idiot could figure out what she was up to. She ran in circles around the forest, while killing a monster at random moments, and was eventually approaching the group of assassins.

    Honey Barbie was the first to spot Ye Ci who was 30 yards away, ¡°Hunters, ready!¡±

    The two Hunters readied themselves to set their pets loose on Ye Ci.

    The order was given when Ye Ci was 25 yards away, ¡°Attack!¡±

    Two arrows immediately soared through the air towards Ye Ci, and four Rogues dashed at Ye Ci from their hiding spot.

    Ye Ci acted surprised by the sudden appearance of the yers. The slight hesitation of her movements allowed the two arrows tond right on their mark, taking away 10% of Ye Ci¡¯s HP. One of them was a Stun Arrow. Ye Ci was instantly Stunned!

    ¡°Hah! We got her!¡± Honey Barbie shouted, ¡°I thought the top yer of the Eastern Continent would be a tough opponent to crack, but she¡¯s not as good as we thought. We don¡¯t even have to do anything to her! The monsters with their aggro on her will do the job for us! This is too easy! Sister Blossom¡¯s expectations of her were wasted.

    But March Spring did not share the same feeling of joy. For he saw a strange smile on Gongzi You¡¯s face the moment the arrowsnded on her...

 Chapter 329 A Clever Scheme

    <h4>Chapter 329 A Clever Scheme</h4>

    ¡°Let¡¯s go everyone, kill her!¡± Honey Barbie immediately gave the order when Ye Ci was Stunned.

    But March Spring was worried, ¡°I think we should keep some of our men behind...¡±

    But he was cut off mid sentence by Honey Barbie, ¡°Spring, I¡¯m the one in charge today. We failed to defeat Fleeting Timest time because of your failure. Don¡¯t drag me down along with you. I¡¯m the captain, and you¡¯re just a team member. I hope you can listen to mymand!¡±

    March Spring frowned at the girl. She was popr in the guild because of her cute looks, but her character was despicable at times. There was nothing he could do but to obey hermand.

    A team leader in Golden Era had absolute authority during a mission. But their authority also meant that they were entirely responsible for the sess or failure of the mission. Due to his failure to assassinate Fleeting Time, March Spring was demoted by two ranks. It did not affect his sry, but it was still a humiliation for him.

    Of course, he knew that such an arrangement was made to maintain the morale within the group, and he did not harbor any anger or dissatisfaction against Breeze and Death Blossom. The only thing he could do was to work his best to redeem himself so that he could regain his rank.

    He volunteered for the mission to assassinate Gongzi You. But he could feel an unease in his heart. He had a feeling that the mission would have an oue even worse than their fight against Fleeting Time. However, with Honey Barbie ignoring his words, there was nothing he could do but execute hermand.

    Honey Barbie was pleased when March Spring relented. He had originally held the same position, but was demoted due to his failure. But her sess would surely bring promotion. And the excitement of that thought made her even more eager to close the gap between her and Gongzi You to finish the job.

    It was all within Ye Ci¡¯s calctions. Her movement speed was 3.0, while the monsters pursuing her had the movement speed of 2.5.

    And after running in circles around the forest, she had put some distance between herself and the monsters. It would take at least 5 seconds for the monsters to catch up, while it would take only 4 seconds for the Rogues to reach her location. The sess of her n hinged on what happened in the next 1 or 2 seconds.

    Ye Ci might be nervous if it was her first time pulling off such a maneuver. But this was not her first. It was something that she had practiced and put to good use time and time again in herst life. She knew what must be done even when this was the first time she pulled it off in her current life. She was excited.

    And the only thing she could do was to try her best to calm herself down.

    The leading Rogues were almost upon Ye Ci. Their daggers soared across the air, but the target disappeared just before they could hit their mark.

    But the 4 leading Rogues could not cancel their skill once they were casted. The sudden disappearance of their targets meant that their attacks handnded on the monsters behind Gongzi You.

    For the sake of dealing the maximum amount of damage to Gongzi You in the shortest time, all of the skills that were released were high damage skills with high aggro. And even with the level penalty between the lvl60 yers and the high level mobs, they were still able to attract the aggro of the monsters.

    The 4 Rogues were dead in a matter of seconds.

    Honey Barbie was stunned by the sudden turn of events. But as a seasoned veteran, she was able to quickly recover from the shock and react to the change. The order was immediately given for the rest of the group to enter Stealth so that the aggro of the monsters will not shift towards them.

    The remaining 11 members of the party were able to retreat safely away from the monsters.

    But Gongzi You were nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Pick up their items.¡± said Honey Barbie as she studied her surroundings. Her voice was not loud, but her anger was apparent. She attempted to calm herself down and continued to study her surroundings for signs of Gongzi You.

    How did Ye Ci disappear? It was simple. She was holding a High Invisibility Potion when she was struck, which was consumed the moment she activated Dark Dispersal. She then... Vanished.

    A High Invisibility Potion enables its user to remain unseen for 30 seconds. The user would remain invisible even when he or she was running as long as no attacks were made by the user. This was why Ye Ci was able to reposition herself to a spot where she could be clearly seen by the assassins.

    She had her eyes on a Rogue with a tiny frame. From the movements of that Rogue, Ye Ci had determined that she was the leader of the group, and that she was desperate to prove herself in battle. Had the leader remain calm, she might not have fallen into Ye Ci¡¯s trap.

    When Honey Barbie was able to once again detect the presence of Gongzi You, the Huntress was somewhere behind her. She turned around just in time to see the Huntress standing not far away with a smile on her face. She then lift her arm, and showed Barbie the middle finger.

    Honey Barbie exploded into rage. She had never been humiliated in such a way before. Even if she knew that Gongzi You¡¯s level was higher than hers, she wanted the Huntress dead.

    ¡°Just you wait, Gongzi You!¡± she shouted. But Ye Ci responded with nothing but a smile before jumping away and heading deeper into the forest.

    ¡°After her!¡± Honey Barbie gave the order.

    ¡°No, Barbie! It¡¯s a trap!¡± shouted March Spring as he grabbed at Honey Barbie, ¡°Gongzi You is luring us into her trap! We are all heading to our deaths!¡±

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Honey Barbie refused to listen to reason. She pushed March Spring aside and red at the man, ¡°Are you going or not? I¡¯ll report you for desertion if you refuse to obey my orders! You know very well what the penalties for desertion are!¡±

    Many of the party members knew that the pursuit would not end well. It was obvious that Gongzi You hadid down traps in wait for them. But with Honey Barbie holding absolute authority over them, they could only obey.

    March Spring shook his head. This will not end well. He pulled up his private channel message. He had a strong urge to report the situation to Death Blossom, but decided against it, and contacted another officer who was his best friend, Kitten.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell Death Blossom?¡± Kitten was shocked.

    ¡°Kitten, I¡¯m telling you about it as a friend, not as a subordinate. I¡¯m a team member, and not the leader this time. You know what happens if I bypass my immediate superior like this.¡± March Spring sighed, ¡°I hope it won¡¯t go too bad for us. Four of us are already dead.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Breeze and Death Blossom about this.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯ll get me into trouble!¡±

    ¡°Spring! Our guild is still growing. Which one do you think is important? Your trouble as an individual or a potential big loss of the guild?¡±

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±

    Kitten quickly ryed the situation to Breeze and Death Blossom.

    Death Blossom was shocked. She did not expect Honey Barbie to behave so rashly. Her expression was dark when she sent Honey Barbie a message.

    The 11-members party of Honey Barbie was chasing after Ye Ci. They no longer had to maintain stealth as their presence was already known. Gongzi You was fast. It was apparent that the Huntress was not putting her full effort in fleeing. She was like a butterfly that was floating through the air. The Mist Forest was like a stage, and she was the lead actress.

 Chapter 330 Counter Measure

    <h4>Chapter 330 Counter Measure</h4>

    The weather was nice.

    Rays of sunlight were able to prate the dense leaves and into the forest despite the thick mist.

    As Ye Ci dashed through the forest, her shoes were soaked wet by the damp forest ground. The cold air was filled with the angry roars of monsters. Ye Ci¡¯s movement was quick, but she was not travelling in a straight line. After the days spent in the Mist Forest, she was very familiar with the terrain around her. That was why she was confident that her opponents were able to catch up despite her high speed maneuvering.

    A PVP battle was not all about skills. A very important aspect in a battle against yers was the mind games that were being yed between the both sides. The side that was able to outsmart their opponents would be able to gain a definite upper hand in the battle.

    In the short span of 30 seconds, Ye Ci already had a good grasp of theposition of her pursuers. There were two hunters among the eleven survivors. Their pets might not be as strong as Ol¡¯ Four, but were still formidable. The Panther in particr was able to detect hidden enemies especially when their levels were not high. It was apparent that the presence of the two Hunters was a measure Golden Era took against Ol¡¯ Four.

    The Ranger in the party did not have the highest Speed, Agility, and Stealth. It was apparent that he was ying a supporting role in the party.

    And the remaining assassins that were sent against her were all Rogues that were above the level lvl58 to lvl61. They had good mechanical skills, and disyed very good teamwork. Ye Ci knew that she would definitely be dead if they were able to close in on her.

    Despite their strength, her enemies were not entirely without an opening. She was able to quickly spot one in the form of their leader. She was a yer who acted on her impulse more than reasoning. She did not know why Golden Era would allow such a yer to lead the mission, but it was a good chance that she would not miss, and she would not underestimate her opponent.

    Ye Ci knew that Golden Era had a strong financial backing based on their ability to take on almost the entire yer base of the game. The guild must also have a very effective leadership, and favoritism was something that was next to impossible, at least when it came to hunting down the top yers of all four continents.

    It was, however, none of her concern.

    Her biggest concern was to deal the highest possible damage to her pursuers and walk away alive.

    Utilizing her speed and familiarity of the terrain, Ye Ci quickly disappeared from the view of her assassins. Honey Barbie, who was at the front of the group stopped dead in her tracks, and her party members followed suit as well. The members remained silent, but a frown appeared on March Spring¡¯s face. He felt the need to give Honey Barbie a reminder for the sake of the guild, ¡°Barbie, we¡¯ve lost her. Don¡¯t you think we should retreat and call it a day?¡±

    Honey Barbie responded with a sneer, ¡°I never knew that even as a veteran of our assassination group, you¡¯re afraid to die. We¡¯ve just found her, and you want to just give up after we lost her? Or are you doing this because you¡¯re jealous of my sess?¡±

    March Spring was starting to feel anger rising in his heart, ¡°Being afraid of dying and knowing when to quit are very different things. You want all of us to die with you, lose a level and a piece of our equipment just because you¡¯re not afraid of dying? Why don¡¯t you take a moment and think! What are our chances of winning? What should we do if our party gets wiped out?¡±

    ¡°What are you saying! You¡¯re destroying our own morale! How could someone like you get recruited into Golden Era¡¯s assassination group? What a coward!¡± Honey Barbie sneered, ¡°Why do you think we¡¯ll lose? Gongzi You is alone, but there¡¯s evelen of us! Do you think she¡¯s invincible? She¡¯s not even as good as Fleeting Time, and even he had to flee from us! And you want me to give up on someone who¡¯s not even as good as Fleeting Time?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s different this time! We had the upper handst time! There was no cover for him in the desert, but we are in the forest right now! We do not know the terrain as well as Gongzi You! We¡¯re at a disadvantage here!¡± March Spring had the urge to crack open Honey Barbie¡¯s skull to see what was in her brain. Can you not see something so obvious?

    Honey Barbie was of course not oblivious to that fact. She was a veteran in the group. Despite her young age, she had taken part in many battles. But her judgement was clouded by her strong desire to kill Gongzi You so that she could climb to a position higher than March Spring. Gongzi You¡¯s taunting had also worked very well on her.

    There were some who were willing to let go of their dignity for the greater good, while there were some who viewed it as the most important thing in the world.

    Honey Barbie was apparently thetter. She hadpletely lost her calm due to her own desires.

    Impulse is the work of the Devil. And humans acting on their impulses would often find themselves facing the consequences of their actions.

    Honey Barbie red coldly at March Spring. Her dignity had been challenged, and her orders were questioned on multiple asions by March Spring who was under hermand. She no longer had the patience to deal with the yer.

    What happened next was something that March Spring and the rest of the members did not expect.

    ¡°You have been removed by Honey Barbie from the party.¡± chimed a system notification. ¡°What are you doing, Honey Barbie!¡± March Spring roared in anger.

    ¡°I do not need a member who refuses to follow orders in my party.¡± Honey Barbie Snorted. Just then, she picked up the presence of Gongzi You, and turned around to continue her pursuit of the Huntress.

    The remaining party members looked at each other, then at March Spring, and finally at Honey Barbie. They did not know what to do. Honey Barbie and March Spring were both at a higher position than them in the guild.

    ¡°Spring...:¡±

    ¡°Go. This has nothing to do with you. You¡¯ll get punished as well if you disobey her.¡±

    The members knew that it was something they do not have the authority to handle. They nodded, and followed after Honey Barbie.

    March Spring stood on the same spot for a long time. He let out a sigh and decided to head to the direction of Gongzi You as well. He had the option of leaving, but he was still worried for Honey Barbie.

    Ye Ci was unaware of the small conflict that happened among the members of the assassination group. She kept up her own pace and led them towards the trap that she had set up. They would disappear in five more minutes, but if things went well, she could end the battle before that time.

    She slowed down slightly so that the assassins could catch up. She then matched their speed and led them into the traps that were ced between packs of roaming monsters. The assassins were hard pressed in trying to keep up with Ye Ci while trying to avoid attracting the aggro of the monsters.

    Honey Barbie was excited as the distance between her and Gongzi You rapidly shrunk. The ghost of a smile appeared on her lips as she elerated yet again. She was ready to plunge her dagger into Gongzi You¡¯s back.

    Just then, Honey Barbie realised that her body was frozen. She had triggered a trap.

    And at that precise moment, she received a message from Death Blossom, ¡°Barbie! What¡¯s the situation over there?¡±

 Chapter 331 Thereâ€™s One More

    <h4>Chapter 331 There¡¯s One More</h4>

    Honey Barbie¡¯s mind was a jumbled mess. Even the world¡¯s most renown author would have problems describing how she felt at that moment.

    But one could say that she waspletely at a loss.

    A mixture of feelings ranging from the shock she received by stepping on a Frost Trap, the anger she had towards Gongzi You, the surprise from the message she received from Death Blossom, and the panic due to the current situation that she had to report to her superior washed over Barbie.

    She had an urge to cry.

    What the f*ck...

    It was absolutely normal for Gongzi You to be able to evade the party, and the trap was something that could happen as well. These were things that could happen in a PVP. Honey Barbie would never lose her calm as a veteran in PVP. But Death Blossom¡¯s message came at a very peculiar timing.

    It was simply iprehensible.

    Death Blossom was a person who trusted her subordinates. She would never interrupt their progress during a mission.

    She cared not about the process, but about the results that her subordinates achieved. That was how Death Blossom led her group of assassins. Her subordinates were allowed more freedom to carry out their objectives, and her trust in her subordinates would usually yield satisfying results.

    Honey Barbie was rtively young, but she had been under Death Blossom¡¯s wings for a long time. She knew her superior very well.

    And this was why she was shocked, and was caughtpletely off guard by the message.

    This threw her off her game.

    With her experience in PVP, Honey Barbie would not allow her target to escape even when she had triggered a Frost Trap. But the timing of Death Blossom¡¯s message threw her into disarray.

    Humans are a strange life form.

    Even the merest form of distraction could cause grave consequences to a person who was trying his or her best to concentrate.

    There were of course people who had the ability to multitask, but Honey Barbie did not count herself as one of them.

    Death Blossom¡¯s voice caused her to stumble. It would normally not be a fatal ident for Honey Barbie. Even under the effect of the Frost Trap, she would be able to adjust her posture, but the distraction had proven to be fatal. Things might have ended differently if Death Blossom¡¯s call did not arrive at that moment.

    But it did.

    Honey Barbie¡¯s momentum carried her forward into another trap.

    And she was immediately frozen into a huge chunk of ice.

    The nine yers behind her suffered the same fate. Of course, they had also triggered a wide range of traps with varying effects. Some of them were frozen solid, while others were enveloped by mes that dealt continuous damage to their characters and many others were frozen stiff.

    The effects of the trap was only at a mere thirty seconds.

    It was not an overly long period of time, but it was enough to decide the oue of a battle. Ye Ci immediately summoned Ol¡¯ Four, and directed her pet to attack the assassins afflicted by her me Trap. Their health were rapidly decreasing, and their movements were severely hampered, but they were not entirely immobilized.

    Ye Ci along with Ol¡¯ Four had to take on tenbatants. It was impossible to dispatch all of them within thirty seconds. This was why she made the decision to first take care of the yers who remained mobile.

    Of the ten assassins, four were frozen solid while six of them had their movement greatly decreased. They did not form themselves into a tight group, but they were still a close distance apart. Ol¡¯ Four was able to stun four yers with its Tremor, and began attacking them one at a time.

    Ye Ci had two targets locked in her eyes.

    Her Speed, Bnce, and Perception were one of the highest among the yers of Fate, and it gave her an advantage in a fight within the forest.

    With her level higher than the assassins, it was easy for her to dispatch two opponents within thirty seconds.

    A flurry of high damage attacksnded on the yers before they could even fight back.

    Honey Barbie was frozen, but it did not mean that she could not see what was happening. The fight against Gongzi You alone was cing a considerable weight on her mind, but Death Blossom¡¯s voice continued ringing in her ears, ¡°Barbie, are you there? Respond! What¡¯s the situation?¡±

    Anger boiled within Honey Barbie. Only one question upied her mind: Why is sister Blossom calling me? It doesn¡¯t seem like something she would do. She scanned the yers around her, and March Spring was not present. Honey Barbie gritted her teeth in anger.

    She muted her private message channel and roared into the party chat, ¡°What are you guys doing? How did the put stun you? Didn¡¯t we prepare potions for this? Where are our Hunters? Summon your pet and have them attack that dinosaur! Do you all want to die here?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been frozen as well...¡± the two Hunters and the party¡¯s only Ranger were frozen along with Honey Barbie.

    yers who were frozen were immobilized until they were attacked or when the ice eventually melted thirty seconds after the trap was triggered. And that was why the four assassins could only watch as Gongzi You ughtered the rest of their party.

    ughter?

    That¡¯s right. It was a ughter.

    March Spring despised Honey Barbie¡¯s attitude, but he did not allow his personal feelings to get in the way of his responsibility towards the guild. He would not allow his guild¡¯s benefits to suffer, even if he was removed from the party.

    This was why he had been trailing Honey Barbie¡¯s party from a distance away. When he could finally see Gongzi You, what he was was a ughter.

    It was a one-sided ughter.

    He did not know how Gongzi You was able to ce the traps, nor did he know how she was able to lure all the members of the party into her trap. Honey Barbie and the two Hunters along with the Ranger of the party were all frozen. He did not know if it was by Gongzi You¡¯s design, but all of the party¡¯s ranged attackers were immobilized. The six remaining Rogues, no matter how good their teamwork were, were like six cripples to Gongzi You with half their movement speed reduced.

    And four of them were already stunned by her pet.

    Golden Era knew of the abilities of Gongzi You¡¯s pet, and have made precautions against its ability to stun the members of the assassination group. But the party members never had the chance to react due to their severely reduced speed.

    They could not even fight back as they were cut down by Gongzi You.

    Gongzi You were maneuvering around the Rogues at high speed. Their 50% reduced movement speed meant that they never had hope to catch up to Gongzi You before they were turned into two corpses lying on the ground. Gongzi You aimed her bow into the sky, and arrows rained upon the four Rogues that were stunned by her pet.

    March Spring was 70 yards behind Gongzi You. He immediately charged at her when she released an AOE skill that required a small window of channeling. The entire assassination group was pinned down. He was the only one avable. He knew he did not have a chance if he attacked Gongzi You head on. But from his current position, March Spring felt that he had a 50% chance of winning.

    Even if his chances were at a mere 20%, March Spring knew that he had to strike. He charged at Gongzi You, raised his twin daggers, aiming them straight at Gongzi You¡¯s back. It was a high level Rogue skill: Double Evisceration.

 Chapter 332 Outcome

    <h4>Chapter 332 Oue</h4>

    There¡¯s one more behind me!

    Ye Ci was able to sense a presence behind her that was not part of the group that was pursuing her. It was the presence of a neer.

    She scanned her surroundings, and counted ten yers. The ten, along with four that she was able to take out earlier, made up only fourteen yers. But ording to the intelligence that she had managed to gather, Golden Era would send fifteen assassins against her. This meant that the presence behind her was thest remaining assassin.

    A n quickly formted in Ye Ci¡¯s mind to draw thest assassin out.

    She relocated to a spot that was close to the yer, and cast an AOE damage skill.

    Rain of Arrows.

    Rain of Arrows was a guided skill that required its user to take aim at a target. Ye Ci would not be able to move if she intended to deal the maximum amount of damage to her opponents. Of course, even if she had the choice, she would choose not to move, as what she needed was to give her enemy a perceived opening.

    And that was why she exposed her back to the final member of the assassination group.

    She was certain that the yer would act. As thest member, the yers had only two choices. The first one was to leave, and the second choice was to look for a window of opportunity to take her on and pick up the equipment of the dead yers.

    If she was in the same situation, Ye Ci would of course choose thetter. She had always been a firm believer in the high risk high reward style of gamey. As long as there was a chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, she would do whatever she could to turn the tables on her enemies.

    But what about that yer? Ye Ci made the bold assumption that the yer would make the same choice. It was not because she was projecting her mentality on her opponent, but it was due to the fact that the Secret Cloak was a very rare item. If the assassination attempt failed and Ye Ci was able to obtain a Secret Cloak, it would be the ultimate humiliation to Golden Era.

    Ye Ci did not know if the yer would take the bait, but she had a nudging feeling that it was a chance that was too great to be passed on.

    And she was right!

    The assassin quickly closed the gap between them, and aimed a pair of daggers at her ribs. Ye Ci dodge slightly to a side just at thest possible moment. The daggers left two gaping scars on her armor, but ultimately missed their intended target.

    March Spring was stunned when his skill did not register a hit. How can this be? How did my attack miss?

    Is it because of the level penalty? Impossible! March Spring had been diligently sparring against members of his guilds and other yers in the arena. His Dual Evisceration had never missed their mark. But he did not have the time to dwell on this matter, as Ye Ci had already turned around andunched an attack of her own during his slight moment of hesitation.

    I¡¯m finished.

    The figure before him moved slightly during that short moment, and fear immediately gripped his heart.

    The movement reminded him of the words of Lazy Blue from Tang Dynasty about Gongzi You.

    ¡°She was too fast. I didn¡¯t even see anything, and it¡¯s all over.¡± March Spring had always wondered just how fast Gongzi You was. And he finally received an answer at this very moment.

    It was only a mere fraction of a second, but he felt a stinging cold on his chest before the person before him disappeared.

    As the cold began spreading through his body, March Spring tightened his grip on his dagger and attempted to swing his weapon, but was dismayed to discover that he was sapped of strength.

    He forced himself to shift his gaze, and finally found the girl who was supposed to be heavily wounded by his attack.

    She was kneeling on the ground, with the hilt of a short sword in her right hand. March Spring could not see the de of the sword, as it was buried deep into his chest. The Huntress held another beautiful dagger on her left hand. But what was it for?

    His question was immediately answered by a system notification.

    ¡°You have been crippled.¡±

    Ye Ci did a backwards roll, and stood up in front of March Spring.

    She twirled her weapons in the air with a smile on her face and sheathed the sword and the dagger.

    She took a quick look at the time. There were only ten seconds left before the effect of her traps would finally time out. It was impossible for her to kill the remaining yers within the short window, and she did not wish to prolong the battle. She hurried over to the corpses of the six enemies thatid dead on the ground, looted their equipment, and disappeared into the forest.

    Honey Barbie scanned her surroundings for signs of Ye Ci when the ice block finally melted. But Gongzi You had long disappeared into the Misty Forest. She closed her eyes and attempted to get a fix on the Huntress¡¯s location. But there was nothing...

    ¡°Barbie,¡± a Hunter called out to Honey Barbie. She looked at him with bloodshot eyes and let out a frustrated scream that sliced through the quiet air like a knife.

    The Ranger of the party was growing anxious, ¡°Barbie, what do we do?¡± he could sense danger lurking around him, ¡°The monsters here have very high levels...¡±

    Barbie took in a deep breath and raised a hand to cut the Ranger off mid sentence. She tried her best to calm her nerves and to reflect upon her actions. Her gaze drifted towards March Spring who was clutching his chest while gulping down a bottle of Health Potion. The man was kneeling on the ground. It was apparent that he could not move.

    Honey Barbie took in a deep breath and walked up to March Spring, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been crippled.¡± March Spring grimaced.

    Honey Barbie pulled him up and said to the rest of the party, ¡°Pull back.¡± and directed the dead to revive themselves at the grave. It was simply too risky to revive on the spot.

    And the five remaining members retreated away from the Misty Forest.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Honey Barbie apologized to March Spring. She had allowed her judgement to be clouded by her own personal feelings. She could easily see through Gongzi You¡¯s scheme if she was able to remain calm, but...

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back.¡± March Spring shook his head with a smile, ¡°We¡¯re allrades. Everyone has their own moment.

    Ye Ci sat on the branch of a tree and began going through her spoils of war. Three of the equipment dropped by her opponents were from the Rogue ss. Despite their high quality, she had no use for them. Her biggest haul was three Secret Cloaks.

    They looked just like her own, but they were made with better material and craftsmanship.

    Secret Cloak

    Level Requirement: 0

    ss: All

    This item does not require an inventory slot. Hides the appearance, level, and ID of the wearer.

    Ye Ci smiled as she ran her hand along one of the cloaks. She had a great haul, but it was a shame that she was alone. Had she been able to kill all the members of the assasination party, she might be able to acquire even more cloaks.

    Just then, she received a message through her private message channel. The identity of the sender came as a shock to her. It¡¯s NightAndDay! Why is he looking for me?

 Chapter 333 Yolanâ€™s Blueprint.

    <h4>Chapter 333 Yn¡¯s Blueprint.</h4>

    Ye Ci¡¯s rtionship with NightAndDay was a peculiar one.

    They were not friends. He had ordered an attack on Upwards Ho! in the past, and Ye Ci had said something to him. They did not know each other very well, and it was not possible for them to improve their rtionship, especially when Wandering Clouds was still in Tang Dynasty.

    She and NightAndDay were not overly close, but were not distant as well. And Ye Ci did not know why NightAndDay came looking for her.

    And this curiosity drove her to ept his voice call.

    NightAndDay did not beat around the bush, ¡°Gongzi, do you want to form an alliance between our guilds?¡±

    Ye Ci was shocked. The question was too sudden for her, ¡°Why is that?¡± she asked after a short pause.

    ¡°Golden Era.¡± NightAndDay went straight to the point.

    Golden Era. It¡¯s Golden Era again.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath. She knew that Golden Era would cause arge ripple with their arrival, but she did not expect the major guilds to be affected so soon, especially a huge guild like the Tang Dynasty. Ye Ci came to the realisation that she had greatly underestimated the capabilities of Golden Era.

    ¡°Night, you are a guild with millions of yers, while Upwards Ho! is a guild with only tens of thousands of yers. Even if it¡¯s against Golden Era, don¡¯t you think you should be talking to guilds like the Wolf Pack, Conquering the Heavens, or Iron Blood? Why me?¡±

    NightAndDay could hear Gongzi You¡¯s cold, distant voice. It was as if the entire crisis had nothing to do with her. He pursed his lips. It¡¯s not that easy to have dealings with her after all.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be frank with you, Gongzi You. Golden Era will never rely on sheer numbers alone this time. They won¡¯t be able to affect the game in any meaningful way. I think they have something more sinister in mind.¡± and he continued after a slight pause, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of what happened to the leaderboards. Nobody was able to prove that it was their doing, but I¡¯m sure that you know what¡¯s going on. Besides...¡± NightAndDay continued, ¡°There have been some... Assassination attempts that I think you know better than me.¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. It¡¯s natural for the leader of a major guild to know about the leaderboards. But the assassination attempts on the top yers of all four continents? Curious. It seems that Golden Era¡¯s notoriety is worse than I thought.

    ¡°And?¡± Ye Ci neither confirmed nor denied his words.

    ¡°And?¡± NightAndDay chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s just a small taste of what¡¯s toe.¡±

    ¡°Fate is ultimately a PVP game with a main quest line. If they fall behind in terms of progress, Golden Era¡¯s efforts in taking over the leaderboards will be wasted. Their main force are still not sufficiently leveled enough, but I¡¯m sure they will eventually work their way up like a major guild. I¡¯m seeking to work with you because Upwards Ho! had always been surpassing the major guilds in terms of dungeon clearing. I know that you y a big part in making that a sess. That¡¯s why... I want to buy guides from you so that we can have a huge lead before Golden Era can establish themselves properly in the game.¡± he let out a long sigh, ¡°This is why I contacted you.¡±

    Ye ci brushed her fingers against the Secret Cloak as she listened to NightAndDay. She could tell that he was sincere, and his analysis of Golden Era was quite urate while not as in-depth.

    Ye Ci had also pondered the same question. And she arrived at a simr conclusion as NightAndDay. She did not forget about the Mithril ore vein, but not many knew about its existence.

    ¡°I¡¯m just someone running errands for the guild. You can talk to Remote Depths.¡± Ye Ci gave her answer after a long thought. She did not want to involve herself in inter-guild rtionships as she was not entirely familiar with the management of her guild. That was why she decided to leave the matter to Bai Mo and Timely Rain.

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it as well, but...¡± NightAndDay grimaced, ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯d want to talk to me. Our guilds have a rather rough rtionship.¡±

    Ye Ciughed. Timely Rain and Bai Mo were sensible people who would not allow their personal feelings to cloud their judgement when it came to guild matters, ¡°Night, I¡¯m sure you know that you won¡¯t gain any upper hand from a deal with me. If you want to buy my guides...¡±

    ¡°Money is not an issue as long as we¡¯re the first guild to get it.¡±

    ¡°I cannot guarantee that.¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, ¡°Do you think that you¡¯re the only one who would think of something like this? We¡¯ve maintained a pretty healthy rtionship with Wolf Pack and World Conqueror. So...¡± a cunning smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, ¡°I can only guarantee that the highest bidder will get it.¡±

    ¡°And what if Golden Era is the highest bidder? Will you sell it to them as well?¡± NightAndDay did not give an immediate response.

    Ye Ci snorted, ¡°I might be a merchant, but I have my own principles.¡± She would never sell any dungeon clearing guides to Golden Era no matter how much money they were willing to offer. She knew that selling them to Golden Era would only lead to her demise.

    ¡°Alright then.¡± NightAndDay smiled, ¡°I will talk to Remote Depths.¡± and he ended the chat.

    Ye Ci immediately gave Bai Mo a call after the conversation and ryed what happened to her cousin, ¡°You¡¯re just one second faster than him. He just called.¡± Bai Moughed.

    That¡¯s fast. Thought Ye Ci. It seems that he¡¯s really serious about this.

    ¡°Just leave guild affairs to us.¡± said Bai Mo when Ye Ci remained silent, ¡°Tang Dynasty was not the only one who gave us such an offer. Wolf Pack, World Conqueror, and even Battle Spear came looking for an alliance as well. And it¡¯s all because of Golden Era. I did not reject their proposal. We can benefit from this.¡±

    Well, since Bai Mo and Timely Rain have made their decision, there¡¯s nothing for me to worry about. Thought Ye Ci. And when asked about Golden Era¡¯s assassination attempt, Ye Ci held no details back from Bai Mo, ¡°Thergest haul I got out of that fight are three Secret Cloaks. It¡¯s not a lot, but it¡¯s better than getting none at all.¡±

    Bai Mo was worried, ¡°I wonder what they will do next.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Ye Ci was unfazed, ¡°We¡¯ll see how it goes.¡±

    The two ended their conversation after some small talk, and Ye Ci took in a deep breath before clicking open her Pet storage. Ol¡¯ Six was fast asleep. This was Ye Ci¡¯s first interaction with a high-tier life form like a Dragon, and was her first time putting a Super Pet Core to use. She did not know what were the signs that would be shown by a pet that was evolving in tier.

    But when she clicked open the stats window, Ye Ci could see a word under Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s status: Evolving...

    It was apparent that Ol¡¯ Six would advance into the next tier when it woke up.

    Ye Ci could not summon Ol¡¯ Six as it was fast asleep, but she had arge number of consumables left. This led her to make the decision to continue leveling up in the Mist Forest with Ol¡¯ Four.

    Time passed quickly, and Ye Ci had exhausted her supplies three dayster, but Ol¡¯ Six showed no signs of waking up. Ol¡¯ Four on the other hand, was at the same level as Ye Ci.

    She decided to head back to Red Lake City to replenish her supplies and to hand over the two other Secret Cloaks to Bai Mo.

    And just like Ye Ci, Bai Mo was impressed by the stats of the Secret Cloaks. With the officers of the guild busy with administration work, Ye Ci decided to head to the guild¡¯s workshop instead. She was looking for Yn, who was a Master Builder despite her status as an NPC. She was also a servant of Ye Ci, which meant that she would obey hermands without question.

    The time hase for her to put Yn to good use. The woman would soon walk up onto the stage that was the history of Fate.

    By Ye Ci¡¯s suggestion, Bai Mo had recruited a number of Builders into the guild, but they were still at a lower level that could only buildmon houses. Their abilities could not hold a candle to a Master Builder like Yn. Of course, they were not entirely useless as they could still build structures ording to the blueprints created by Yn.

    Yn¡¯s room was packed full of blueprints and construction materials. She no longer had to mind what her tribesmen think of her since she arrived at Red Lake City, and she was finally able to show her talents as a builder.

    The NPC was drawing a new blueprint as Ye Ci walked into a room. She coughed lightly to attract the NPC¡¯s attention.

    Yn immediately stood up and bowed at Ye Ci, ¡°Mistress.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve created quite a number of blueprints, Yn.¡± Ye Ci nodded at her with a smile.

    Yn was embarrassed when she wasplimented by Ye Ci, ¡°It¡¯s just a small hobby of mine, Mistress. I wasn¡¯t able to do much due to my bad health, so this is the only thing I can do.¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°Whatever it is, as long as it¡¯s useful, then it is good. Your tribe might think lowly of what you¡¯re doing here, but to me, it¡¯s all very useful.¡±

    Yn¡¯s eyes immediately brightened up, ¡°Really?¡±

    Ye Ci continued to sift through the blueprints on the table before her. She was not well versed in construction, but she could tell that the blueprints were all made by an expert. The designs of the wall, its ramparts, and its defences were drawn down to its most tiny detail. The wall that was being designed by Yn was greater than even the defences of Red Lake City.

    ¡°Where can this fortification be built?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve designed it based on the defences of Red Lake City. It can be built on any map with some slight modifications.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, ¡°Are you sure about that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, mistress.¡± Yn nodded in confirmation.

    Ye Ci let out augh, ¡°Come with me Yn. I need you to tell me if I can build a fortress at a particr ce.¡±

    Excitement filled Yn¡¯s eyes, ¡°You¡¯re building a fortress, mistress?¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at the NPC, ¡°Come with me and you¡¯ll see.¡±

    Happiness washed over Yn as she followed Ye Ci to the teleporter.

 Chapter 334 The Builderâ€™s Guild

    <h4>Chapter 334 The Builder¡¯s Guild</h4>

    The Lesser Demon Sanctum was still the hellishndscape that it was. The rising smoke from the red soil was a telltale sign of how hot the surface of the ground was.

    Ye Ci looked up into the sky that was covered by dust from Ol¡¯ Four¡¯s back. There had never been a moment with a clear blue sky in the map. Yn was with her as well, but the timid NPC had always been afraid ofrge monsters, she was very anxious when she had to take a ride on Ol¡¯ Four.

    One of the NPC¡¯s hands clung on tightly to Ye Ci¡¯s cloak while her other hand snaked around Ye Ci¡¯s waist. Yn was trembling with fear. She was afraid that her slight movement would anger the giant beast.

    But her fear subsided as time passed, and Yn began to grow bolder. She was even able to talk to Ye Ci normally.

    ¡°What is this ce, mistress?¡± asked Yn when she noticed that Ye Ci did not show any intention of moving away from the ce.

    ¡°The Lesser Demon Sanctum.¡± Ye Ci replied as she gazed at the horizon. The map was a lvl60 map, which made it a good spot for leveling up. yers were starting to flock into the map, but their numbers were still not great due to the geographical environment that would ce a debuff on yers. It was simply too draining for yers to be leveling in the map on the long run. Many of them were still reluctant to invest their money into the game even as the currency conversion system had long been introduced into the game.

    That was why most of the yers in the Lesser Demon Sanctum were either in parties or were yers who spent money on the game.

    ¡°Lesser Demon?¡± Yn had apparently not heard of such a life form before. She studied her surroundings and was quick to spot a few Lesser Demons scurrying around on the ground, ¡°Those are the Lesser Demons you¡¯re talking about?¡± Yn¡¯s eyes widened.

    ¡°Why? You¡¯ve seen them before?¡± asked Ye Ci who noticed Yn¡¯s expression.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t those Ore Eaters? Why are you calling them Lesser Demons?¡± Yn furrowed her eyebrows, ¡°Do people from this continent know them by a different name?¡±

    Ore Eaters? Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. What¡¯s with the name? ¡°Why are they called Ore Eaters?¡±

    ¡°Legend has it that they¡¯re souls of miners that have been corrupted by demons. They love ores, and their presence would often mean that an area is rich with ores. You can tell the grade of these ores from the color of the Ore Eaters¡¯ skin. The darker their skin, the higher the level of the ores, because these things love eating ores. There are a lot of them back in the volcano on our ind.¡± exined Yn.

    A ce with Lesser Demons will have a mineral deposit? And the darker their color, the higher the grade of the minerals? Thought Ye Ci after listening to Yn¡¯s words.

    The NPC was correct. Ye Ci knew that there were mithril ore veins on all four continents, but she was only sure about the locations of the veins in the Eastern and Southern Continent. And from her memories of her past life, there were indeed Lesser Demons around the area of the mithril ore veins. While the Lesser Demons were fewer in numbers of the Southern Continent, they were still present. She did not have a chance to explore the veins on the Western and Northern Continent, but her memory told her that the demons were present in those locations as well.

    These demons rarely appeared anywhere else on all the continents, except for some high danger maps on the Middle Continent. Ye Ci¡¯s train of thoughts continued. Does it mean that there are Mithril or minerals with quality higher than Mithril on the Middle COntinent? Ye Ci was thrilled. Mithril was the most precious resource in herst life. The presence of a more precious ore was merely teased by the officials, but were never discovered by yers.

    Ye Ci was excited at that prospect.

    ¡°Mistress, mistress...¡± Yn was worried that she had offended Ye Ci when she fell on a long silence, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts snapped back into reality and she gave Yn a smile, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. I was just thinking about something. Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll show you where I want the fortifications built.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± Yn¡¯s attention was immediately diverted to construction, which was her passion. She did not know the impact her words brought to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was still thinking of the possibility of Mithril or rarer minerals on the Middle Continent as she made her way to the Mithril ore vein. I mustn¡¯t tell anyone about this. Guess I¡¯ll have to go find out myself when my level is high enough.

    And before long, the two arrived at the Mithril ore vein, where Jasmine and the ck Iron Dwarves were continuing their mining. But it was all a show put on by the system. Their mining will not progress unless the quest is continued. The yers who had been scouring the area around the ck Iron Dwarves were long gone, and at this point in time.

    There were no monsters in their vicinity, and with only a few ck Iron Dwarves who offered no clue, not many yers were willing to venture to this ce.

    Yn dismounted from Ol¡¯ Four and looked at the small hill before her, ¡°Mistress, do you want me to build fortifications around this hill?¡±

    ¡°Is it possible?¡±

    ¡°Technically, I¡¯m able to.¡± Yn nodded, but the NPC had a troubled expression on her face.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve reported to the Builder¡¯s Guild of Red Lake City earlier. We¡¯re not allowed to build fortifications in the wild.¡± as a Master Builder, it was necessary for Yn to interact with the NPCs of the Builder¡¯s Guild.

    They might be mere NPCs to the eyes of many yers, but the NPCs were still highly advanced artificial intelligence with their own way of life. It was something that the majority of the yers could never understand.

    A frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. So we¡¯re not allowed to build fortifications in the wild? What sort of setting is this? Why have I not heard of this?

    Of course, it was natural for Ye Ci tock knowledge in this matter, as she had always been solo during herst life and had never involved herself with guilds. She would never think of something like building walls in the wild.

    In her current life however, Ye Ci was aiming to benefit from the ore vein while expanding the minimum manpower. That was why she acquired a Master Builder. It was part of her n to secure the interest of her guild.

    ¡°Are you sure? We can¡¯t build anything in the wild without premission from the Builder¡¯s Guild?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure.¡± Yn nodded.

    ¡°What if we ignore their regtions and just have it built?¡±

    ¡°Then they¡¯ll remove it by force.¡± replied Yn.

    They¡¯re going to forcefully remove it? Ye Ci rolled her eyes. This game sure is catching up with times.

    For the security of her Mithril ore vein, Ye Ci made the decision to take a trip to the Builder¡¯s Guild. She instructed Yn to have a good look at the geographical area of around the ore vein so that she could design fortifications for its defence, and headed to the Builder¡¯s Guild headquarters in Champion City.

    The city was bustling with activity as usual, just like how the game was before Golden Era¡¯s entrance into the game. The yers around Ye Ci did not seem to be affected by Golden Era¡¯s arrival.

    The center of the city was of course the busiest as it was the home to the auction house, Mercenary Guild, Grandmaster cksmith, and many other facilities that were essential for yers. Ye Ci¡¯s destination was the headquarters of the Builder¡¯s Guild which was also situated in the same ce.

    But unlike the other buildings that were frequented by yers, the Builder¡¯s Guild Headquarters was empty and quit.

    As expected of builders. Thought Ye Ci as she stood in front of the headquarters. They sure spared no effort in building their HQ. The building itself was not grandiose, but it definitely was built from quality materials and the craftsmanship that made the building was definitely at a higher level than even the Royal Pce and the Grand Monastery in Champion City.

    Ye Ci covered her face with her cloak, and walked into the building.

    The first floor of the Builder¡¯s Guild HQ was popted by skill trainers that would teach yers skills rted to Engineering and Building. Ye Ci took a look around the floor, and was quick to spot a beautiful set of stairways leading to the second floor, where the administrators of the guild were situated.

    But she was stopped by a Human male just as she approached the stairs. He greeted Ye Ci warmly and spoke with a smile, ¡°Greetings, brave adventurer. This is the administration wing of the Builder¡¯s Guild HQ. How may I help you?¡±

    I guess I can¡¯t just walk in there. Ye Ci bowed at the man and said, ¡°Greetings. I¡¯d like to build some fortifications in the wild, but I¡¯ve heard that it requires approval from the Builder¡¯s Guild. What sort of procedures do I need to go through?¡±

    ¡°You wish to build fortifications in the wild?¡± the man was shocked, ¡°This is the first time someone from the Eastern Continent made such a request.¡±

    ¡°Why? Are we not allowed to do that?¡± Ye Ci was worried.

    ¡°No,e with me.¡± the man led Ye Ci to the second floor, and spoke to her as they walked. His name was Wyatt, and he was a Grandmaster Builder despite his young age, and he was in charge of the restoration of lost cities.

    Lost cities were abandoned forts or cities that were popted by monsters. When one of these ces were cleared by yers, they could then acquire a permit from the Builder¡¯s Guild to restore and expand the city.

    Construction of structures on the entire continent were monitored closely by the Builder¡¯s Guild, and yers who wished to construct any form of structures on a location of their choice would need to fulfill very strict guidelines from the guild.

    But information was scarce as not a single yer nor guild had tried their hand in constructing structures in the wild.

    And the permit to construct buildings in the wild could only be obtained from the Guildmaster of the Builder¡¯s Guild. And Ye Ci could tell from Wyatt¡¯s tone that he was a revered old man.

    Ye Ci could feel trouble looming ahead. An old person that was held in such esteem in Fate was always a highly intelligent NPC. It would be very hard to attempt to trick an NPC like this.

    Just then, Wyatt stopped before arge, beautifully crafted wooden door, ¡°The Guildmaster has been informed of your business, adventurer. He¡¯s waiting for you in this room.¡±

 Chapter 335 A Maze Dungeon

    <h4>Chapter 335 A Maze Dungeon</h4>

    Ye Ci had mostly never noticed the Builder¡¯s Guild in herst life. With her always running from people after her life, she did not have time to care about the other aspects of the game.

    This was her first time in the Builder¡¯s Guild, and her first time meeting the super secret highly intelligent NPC.

    The NPC was a bald man in histe seventies. He was dressed in a purple robe decorated by a crest with a ck Gryphon. It was the symbol of the Council of Elders of the Eastern Continent, and a sign that the Guildmaster of the Builder¡¯s Guild held a high rank in the Eastern Continent¡¯s capital. Despite his plump face, the man¡¯s beard was almost as white as snow, and the pair of sses on his face hid the intimidating aura that would otherwise radiate from his stern gaze partially.

    The NPC was poring over arge drawing with a magnifying ss when Ye Ci entered the room. He stopped his work and looked up at Ye Ci when he noticed her presence.

    Ye Ci was immediately caught in his sharp gaze, and she greeted the elder with respect, ¡°Greetings, most honorable Guildmaster.¡±

    ¡°Ah, an Elvish adventurer. I¡¯m d to meet you here.¡± the intimidating aura of the old man was reced by a kind demeanor, ¡°I¡¯ve heard from Wyatt here that you¡¯re interested in building something.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Guildmaster. I wish to build a series of fortifications in the wild. May I know what sort of procedures I have to go through first?¡± Ye Ci immediately went straight to the point. She knew that it was futile to attempt to trick a highly intelligent NPC that might even outsmart her. The only way she could get what she wanted was to be honest.

    ¡°Why do you want to do that, adventurer?¡± instead of answering Ye Ci¡¯s question, the Guildmaster responded with a question of his own, ¡°It¡¯s way harder to maintain than buildings in already established cities.¡±

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. An intelligent NPC would never make decisions based solely on a yer¡¯s words. They had their own thoughts, and would make judgement based on their interaction with a yer. That was why Ye Ci responded with sincerity and truthfully, ¡°It¡¯s simple. I have my eyes on a nice stretch ofnd, and I¡¯ve decided to build fortifications to protect it. What sort of procedure do I have to go through to obtain a permit?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Guildmaster narrowed his eyes at Ye Ci, trying to detect any lies from Ye Ci¡¯s behavior. But the adventurer standing before him met his gaze firmly. It was apparent that she was not lying, ¡°It¡¯s not that you can¡¯t get a permit, but it¡¯ll be troublesome.¡±

    ¡°I am not afraid of trouble, Guildmaster.¡± replied Ye Ci.

    Other than arge sum of fees, Ye Ci was required to submit blueprints created by at least one Master Builder. She was also required to obtain a quest item called the ¡°Building Tome¡± from an NPC called ¡°Traitor Builder¡±, which was the final BOSS of a 10-yers dungeon called the Builder¡¯s Guild Basement.

    The fees and the blueprints were not a problem for Ye Ci, but the dungeon was an entirely different matter. It was a dungeon that was triggered by her actions in the game. Not a single yer had encountered something like this in her past life. She was truly a pioneer in exploring this dungeon.

    It was easy for her to recruit the help of ten of Upwards Ho!¡¯s elite yers. With the interior of the dungeon still unknown, Ye Ci formed a well bnced party with a Cleric, a Priest, a Warrior, a Rogue, two Sorcerers, a Worlock, a Berserker and a Huntress which was Ye Ci herself.

    She did not bring any members of the first squadron along as they were busy with the exploration of the Scorched Canyon dungeons. Her party was formed from the elites of the second squadron.

    It was the first time the yers had the chance to work with Ye Ci, and some of them had only seen her for the first time. They were excited by the prospect of working together with a top tier yer like Gongzi You. even the members of the first squadron might not have such an opportunity. A top yer had skills that they could never learn from anybody else.

    ¡°Leader.¡± they saw a cloaked yer sitting on the bench outside the Builder¡¯s Guild HQ. Even though she did not identify themselves, the nine yers of the second squadron were able to recognise Ye C right away.

    Ye Ci had almost drifted into sleep when she heard their voices. She jumped up and saw the nine yers with Upwards Ho! emblem standing before her, ¡°Hello. I¡¯m just someone running errands for the guild. You can call me Gongzi.¡±

    Gongzi You had been described as someone who was heartless and cold in the forum, and this made the yers anxious about meeting her. They did not expect her to be someone very friendly.

    Ye Ci asked about their stats and the supplies they carried. Their equipment were not as good as the yers from the first squadron, but were still better than the average yer in the entire game.

    The party then headed into the dungeon Builder¡¯s Guild Basement.

    ¡°Gongzi, why have we not heard of this dungeon before?¡± asked the Cleric.

    Ye Ci responded with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve only heard of it after epting a quest.¡±

    ¡°So... Does it mean that we¡¯re pioneering this dungeon?¡± The yers were excited when Ye Ci confirmed the question. They had thought that they would be clearing a normal dungeon with Gongzi You. They were all excited to learn from Gongzi You.

    Unlike the other dungeons that were situated inrge maps, the Builder¡¯s Guild Basement was built underground. This meant that the yers were surrounded by nothing but bricks and moss.

    There were not a lot of monsters when the party first entered the dungeon. The monsters were lvl60 Elite Monsters, but they were no match for the 10-yers party.

    These humanoid monsters had a higher equipment drop rate than the othermon monsters, and they would also drop different recipes of food, potions and other consumables. The party was able to acquire a sizable loot thirty minutes into their exploration.

    As the nine other yers were still living out their excitement of exploring a dungeon with Gongzi You and the bountiful loot that they had obtained, Ye Ci was quick to spot a problem. The party had been going around in circles at the same spot. Monsters would spawn whenever they came back to their original spot, giving them the illusion that they were advancing through the dungeon.

    Despite her suspicions, Ye Ci was still not entirely sure. She did not want to cause unease among her party members as well. She lingered at the back of the group, and marked the surface of the wall with her dagger.

    The party arrived at the same spot ten minutester. One of the Sorceress in the party realised that something was wrong, ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be much of a chance in sceneries around here. Everything looks the same.¡±

    The other members of the party realised the peculiarity as well. Ye Ci stood by a wall, and was able to spot the mark that she left with her dagger, ¡°No, we¡¯ve been going around in circles.¡±

    ¡°What!¡± the other members were shocked. ¡°Are we trapped in some sort of anomaly?¡± asked one of the party members.

    This elicited augh from Ye Ci, ¡°We¡¯re in a maze dungeon. The exit is definitely hidden somewhere along the route we¡¯ve passed by just now.¡±

    ¡°A maze dungeon?¡± the nine yers asked collectively, ¡°What is that?¡±

    A maze dungeon was a special dungeon in Fate that was very rare in the earlier stages of the game that yers must solve with their wits. A traditional dungeon was rtively easy during the game¡¯s early stages, with the only challenge being the BOSS battle. But a maze dungeon not only offered tough BOSS battles, but also required yers to solve puzzles along the way. Solving the puzzles would yield a higher reward when the BOSS was defeated.

    ording to Ye Ci¡¯s memories, maze dungeons would only be avable to lvl85 yers. Why are we in one right now?

    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys think that we¡¯ve been walking around in a maze?¡± asked Ye Ci as she could not give too much details about the knowledge from herst life.

    Her exnation was immediately epted by her party members.

    ¡°Have any of you yed around in one of those mazes they have in gardens before?¡±

    ¡°I know what to do!¡± eximed the Priest.

    ¡°I have been exploring mazes like this in real life. All we have to do is to get back to the entrance and move along one of the walls. We should be able to find the exit that way.¡±

    It might be a long route, but it was one of the simplest ways to navigate a maze. And the yers immediately returned to the entrance, and moved as one along one of the walls.

 Chapter 336 Solving The Riddle

    <h4>Chapter 336 Solving The Riddle</h4>

    When one was navigating through a maze, especially a maze that one was not familiar with, then the simplest way was the most effective way.

    The party continued forward along the wall, and would not leave its vicinity even when there were monsters at the path ahead. Their efforts were soon rewarded.

    And after rounding yet another corner, the Priest spotted a small opening that was rtively well hidden. It was small, and could only fit one person at a time. The opening was hidden in the shadows casted by the dim light in the corridor, which made it very hard to spot. One would not be able to even discover its existence without tracing their hand along the wall.

    ¡°Hah, it¡¯s here all along!¡± eximed the Cleric, ¡°We¡¯ve been through here for God knows how many times, and none of us spotted it!¡± and a few members of the party expressed their shock as well.

    This maze was nothingpared to the maze dungeons that yers would face in the future. Other than challenging a yer¡¯s wit, the maze dungeons would also push the yers¡¯ observation skills and teamwork to the limit.

    And after a short discussion about the small opening, the members of the guild turn around and stared at Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi, are we going in?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take the lead along with our Rogue. I suspect traps in the corridor. Be careful in there.¡± said Ye Ci as she walked through the small opening.

    The Rogue¡¯s role in the party was to improve the survivability of its members, and they were always used as a scout whenever a new dungeon was being explored, as their high Perception allowed them to detect the presence of hidden traps. But Ye Ci decided to scout on ahead along with the Rogue. It was not because she did not trust in the capabilities of the Rogue, but because she was the leader of the party, and she needed to lead from the front so that she could figure the best way to clear the dungeon out.

    It did not take long for two high Perception characters to scout out a safe path. The darkness in the small narrow path was not a threat to the members as Ye Ci directed them forward with her high Perception.

    The party was initially not used to being robbed of their sense of sight, but was quickly able to adjust themselves to the darkness. The Rogue who was leading the way was very cautious. He would pay attention for signs of traps on the path ahead, and skillfully disarm them before leading the party forward.

    But ident still happened when a mine the Rogue attempted to disarm exploded. The party was able to proceed rtively unscathed thanks to the Cleric and the Priest.

    They were soon to arrive at the end of the narrow path.

    But there was no way ahead.

    The party investigated the area thoroughly, but was unable to locate any sort of mechanism. Ye Ci ran her fingers against the surface of the wall ahead, and sensed patterns on the wall. She pulled out a torch, which illuminated a small area of the wall.

    She saw pictures on the wall, but could not tell what they meant.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked the Main Tank of the party.

    Ye Ci noticed that the bricks on the lower right corner of the wall was smooth, which was way out of ce on the rough wall. A sudden realisation struck her mind, she took a few steps back, and smiled when she had a good look at the wall, ¡°It¡¯s a puzzle.¡±

    ¡°A puzzle?¡± the members of the party had apparently never considered such an answer.

    ¡°You¡¯ll see when you¡¯re far enough from the wall.¡± said Ye Ci as she directed the Warrior to move the bricks on the wall.

    And just as expected, the bricks were movable. Once the party was certain that whatid before them was indeed a puzzle, they proceeded to attempt to solve the puzzle, which waspleted within the short span of three minutes.

    The wall immediately began to rumble when the puzzle waspleted. But there was no hint from the system of any danger, and Ye Ci decided to silently wait for the rumbling to subside. The rest of the party followed suit.

    As the rumbling grew stronger, Ye Ci studied her surroundings, and found an entrance slowly opening. She did not know where it would lead, but since an exit had shown itself, they did not have much of an option.

    The rumbling intensified as the wall continued to move. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to return to this spot once we go through that. ¡°Follow me. We¡¯ll go through the opening over there.¡±

    A system notification appeared when the party gathered at the entrance of the opening, ¡°You have triggered an unknown mechanism, sending tremors through the entire basement. Rocks and dust were falling from the ceiling. A feeling of dread crept into your heart. It seems like the ceiling is copsing.¡±

    And a cold female voice rang out in the narrow space, ¡°The ceiling will copse in sixty seconds...¡± and the voice proceeded to count down by the second.

    ¡°Run!¡± shouted Ye Ci as she began sprinting through the opening, followed closely by the rest of the party.

    ¡°Remember to drink Speed Potions, mages. Do not allow yourselves to die here!¡± shouted Ye Ci as debris began falling from the ceiling. More and more debris began to fall as the party ran. It was as if the basement was alive, and it was trying to bury the entire party underneath its rubble.

    The second squadron of Upwards Ho! were no pushovers. They might not be top tier yers like Ye Ci, but their game sense was still excellent. Many of the had already pulled potions out from their inventory, and they immediately gulped down the potions once the instruction came from Ye Ci and they began to run.

    The path was long, narrow, and dark. There was no telling where it would lead to, but there were thankfully no traps lying in wait for the party. The falling rocks and debris were closing on the party¡¯s heels. Even characters with higher movement speed like the Warrior of the party was forced to drink his Speed Potion.

    One minute might not be a long period of time, but it felt like an eternity to the party. It felt as if they had been running straight ahead for ten thousand years before the Rogue called out to the rest of the party, ¡°I can see light ahead! We¡¯re near the end! We can do this!¡±

    The good news was a weing one indeed to the yers. They quickened their pace, and greeted their teeth as they made their way to the exit.

    And they were met with bright light as they leapt through the narrow path and into a grand hall. With a final rumble, debris fell down andpletely blocked the entire path.

    There was only one way left, and it was to move forward.

    The party took a moment of rest before surveying their surroundings. A chess board with an unfinished match was ced in the middle of the hall.

    The hall had no visible exit, and the only entrance had already been sealed shut. The only way the party could leave the hall was toplete the chess match.

    A system notification rang out when Ye Ci attempted to lift one of the ck chess pieces, ¡°You are moving as White.¡±

    It was apparent that they had toplete the match to leave the ce. The White side was controlled by the yers, while the ck side was controlled by the system. It was not a hard obstacle to clear but... Ye Ci did not know how to y chess.

    She was an expert in the game, but there were things that she did not know.

    ¡°Do any of you know how to y chess?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was prepared for the worst case scenario. If no one knew how to proceed with the match, then they would have to make random moves and suffer the penalty of losing the match. It was based on Ye Ci¡¯s confidence that the developers of the game would not ce an obstacle that was impossible to defeat in the game.

    The developer who ced the obstacle in this ce might be a chess enthusiast, but even the developer could not expect every yer in the game to know chess. There would be a way to clear this obstacle even if the yers lost the match.

    And with her ten years worth of experience from her past life, Ye Ci was certain that there was indeed a way to get past the obstacle.

    But she did not expect the Warlock of the party to be able to y. He ced his staff into his inventory and walked up to the chess board, ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± and he let out a sigh after studying the board, ¡°It¡¯s not easy. I cannot guarantee that I will win. The White side is at a disadvantage.¡±

    After receiving reassurance from his party members that the oue did not matter, the Warlock proceeded with the match.

    Ye Ci and the rest of the party finally understood the real purpose behind the chess match. The system had a pre-recognised set of moves, and the White side would be able to achieve victory within twenty moves. But any mistakes made within the twenty move would result in the appearance of an Elite monster with high attack and defense values that must be in within two minutes or it would regain all of its lost health.

    And only two minutes were given to the chess yer to make a move. If the yer did not make any moves during the two minutes duration, the system would recognise it as a wrong move, and spawn an Elite monster.

    The party would also be rewarded with a rainbow orb that would provide all its yers with a two-hour buff for every correct move. Each buff provided by the rainbow orbs would not ovep with one another.

    This ced a huge pressure on the Warlock to make the correct move. The buff would be useful for the fight ahead, while the Elite monster was designed to deplete the yers¡¯ supply of consumable.

    The Warlock was able toplete the match under the immense pressure. He made three mistakes and seventeen correct moves. It was a result that Ye Ci was satisfied with.

    A wall in front of the party copsed once the Warlock made thest move, revealing arge canyon before them.

 Chapter 337 Dominoes

    <h4>Chapter 337 Dominoes</h4>

    The appearance of the canyon, and the copsing of the wall happened so suddenly that the party and even Ye Ci were caught off guard. She was expecting a BOSS to appear after the chess match was concluded, and the party would have to defeat the BOSS to obtain a quest item that would allow them to continue exploring the dungeon.

    She did not expect things to be straightforward, and that the path to the next stage of the dungeon would just show itself so abruptly.

    The party looked down, and could feel wind blowing upwards from the bottom of the canyon. It was not entirely dark. And from the dim lighting down below, the party could see a square shaped structure at the bottom at the canyon.

    ¡°Are we going down there?¡± the Cleric visibly gulped.

    ¡°I think we are.¡± the Berserker beside him chuckled.

    ¡°You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me...¡± the Cleric wailed in anguish.

    ¡°What/s wrong?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    The Priest chuckled at Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi, he¡¯s afraid of height. Looking down from such a high ce will make him dizzy.¡±

    Ye Ci was baffled. Am I hearing this right? He¡¯s scared of heights? Aren¡¯t we in the game? His fear of heights tranted into the game as well? ¡°Is it bad?¡± she asked when she noticed the Cleric¡¯s pale face.

    ¡°It is. Whenever the second squadron explores a dungeon with some form of gorge, ravine or gulch, he would ask someone to either cast Featherfall on him or to carry him down.¡± the Warrior sighed.

    Ye Ci felt sympathy for the Cleric. It¡¯s not easy to have such a serious condition of acrophobia.

    ¡°The ravine is too deep... How am I supposed to get down there?¡± cried the Cleric again.

    ¡°I¡¯ll carry you.¡± the Warrior smiled, and pulled a rope out of his inventory. He tied one end of the rope to a firm spot, and threw the other end down the ravine. ¡°Why are you not a beautiful youngdy... Why must I carry a man like you on my back?¡± he waved his hand at the Cleric.

    And the Cleric immediately shot him a re, ¡°I¡¯ll remember this.¡±

    They were from the same squadron, and had a friendly rtionship for a long time. Despite the Cleric¡¯s apparent anger, the entire partyughed.

    This is how a party should be like. Thought Ye Ci as she observed their interaction. Just then, a system notification rang out in their ears, announcing the imminent copse of the Central Control Room. The party had only two minutes to escape the Central Control Room to the bottom of the ravine.

    The party was then prompted to finish their preparations. It was apparent that a countdown would be initiated once someone descended the ravine.

    ¡°F*ck! Not again! I¡¯ve never hated countdowns so much in my life.¡± the Berserker cursed under his breath.

    ¡°Two minutes?¡± the Warrior¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. Anxiety was stricken all over his face.

    ¡°What is it?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can reach the bottom of the ravine in two minutes if I have to carry the Cleric. This is the first time I have to carry him to a ce that deep. It might affect my speed by a lot...¡±

    It was a problem that was very hard to address, especially under the constant pestering from the system for the yers to descend as soon as possible.

    Ye Ci looked down the ravine and was able to have a rough estimation of its height. She did a mental calction of her own Strength and Agility, and said to the party, ¡°Go on ahead. I¡¯ll carry him with me. See you at the bottom.¡±

    ¡°But leader...¡± the party blurted out almost at the same time.

    She raised her hand and cut them off sentence, ¡°We¡¯re exploring a dungeon right now. Teamwork is essential. Nothing else matters.¡± she turned around and smiled at the Cleric, ¡°If you¡¯re worried because I¡¯m a girl, you have nothing to worry about. Gender does not matter in the game. The only thing that matters is our character ss. Remember this.¡± she then walked up to the Cleric and tied him to her.

    The members were already done by the time Ye Ci¡¯s preparations wereplete.

    They stood at the edge of the ravine, and with a nod from Ye Ci¡¯s head, the party immediately began rappelling downwards.

    Instead of the controlled fall of her party members, Ye Ci allowed herself to fall freely after she took a leap. Wind brushed past her face, filling her ears with the wheezing of the wind, as well as the cries of the Cleric.

    The Cleric¡¯s grip tightened on Ye Ci as they fell.

    Ye Ci could feel her eardrums being pushed to their limits. The scream from the Cleric was not something she would expect out of a man. And just before the duo hit the ground, Ye Ci tossed her Cat w at the face of the cliff.

    Once her fall was stopped 10 centimeters off the ground, Ye Ci released her Cat w andnded gently on the ground. The Cleric was still screaming as she untied him from her.

    ¡°We¡¯vended.¡± she said to the Cleric.

    The Cleric¡¯s screams continued for a few more seconds before sudden realisation washed over him. He opened his eyes and said in a voice full of disbelief, ¡°I¡¯m alive!¡±

    Ye Ci chuckled as she sat on the floor for a short rest, and waited for the rest of the party.

    The party was able to descend the ravine quickly before the countdown was finished. They have seen Ye Ci on her way down, and have also heard the screams of their Cleric friend.

    They expressed their admiration for Ye Ci, and their sympathy for the poor Cleric.

    There was a BOSS in the middle of the ravine, Bob the Traitor Builder.

    It did not take the party long to locate Bob the Traitor Builder, who was sitting on a very t terrain. The BOSS was drawing something on his blueprint. His hair was long and messy, and his clothes were in tatters. Bob had the appearance of a mad wanderer. But the most eye-catching feature of bob was the thick five yards long chain around his neck that was attached to the ground.

    This meant that the BOSS¡¯s movements were limited within a five yards radius. As long as the BOSS was not a mage and tank was avable to attract its aggro, it could be defeated easily.

    There was but a small problem. The developers would naturally never ce such an easy BOSS fight in the game. The BOSS was indeed a physical attack monster, but when 20% of its HP was finally chipped away by the party, the BOSS started using his skills, ¡°Haul¡± and ¡°Rage¡±.

    Haul allowed Bob to pull a random yer to him and m the yer onto the ground, dealing huge amount of damage to the yer while releasing arge AOE damage, while ¡°Rage¡± amplifies the AOE damage of ¡°Haul¡± to five times the amount of the yer who was affected by ¡°Haul¡±.

    This meant that when a yer with 5,000 HP was pulled in by ¡°Haul¡±, ¡°Rage¡± would amplify the AOE damage to a whopping 25,000 damage. Even the toughest tank character at the current stage of the game could not withstand a single attack from ¡°Rage¡±.

    Bob¡¯s AOE attack had a diameter of 25 yards.

    This meant that a single AOE attack from Bob could cover all the open ground around the BOSS. None of the party members would survive if they took an attack from Bob.

    But the developers would not design a BOSS that could not be defeated. Ye Ci was the only surviving party member after Bob¡¯s attack.

    Ye Ci was saved not by her stats, but by her reflex. She immediately jumped towards a rectangr structure nearby when a rage bar appeared under the BOSS, which released its skill the moment shended safely.

    As ¡°Rage¡± only deals damage on a single ne, Ye Ci was not within attacking range of the skill due to her elevation. This was why she was able to survive.

    When she looked back behind her, only the corpses of her party members remained.

    ¡°Let¡¯s revive.¡± said the Cleric. With almost the entire party dead, there was no way the dungeon could be cleared.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t do that.¡± said Ye Ci, ¡°They way here is shut. We won¡¯t be able to get in even if we revive. Let me think of a way to kill him. I won¡¯t allow our efforts to be in vain.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to take it on solo?¡± the party members were shocked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a GM.¡± Ye Ci grimaced, ¡°There¡¯s no way I can do that. I¡¯m just thinking of a way.¡±

    This was because Ye Ci had realised something as she stood on the rectangr structure. There were five such structures around Bob with varying lengths, and she was standing on one of them. These rectangles felt familiar to Ye Ci.

    They reminded her of dominoes.

    It wasmon knowledge that when a single piece fall, the other will fall as well in a chain reaction until all the pieces fall.

    Ye Ci continued studying her surroundings. She was certain that the rectangr objects surrounding the empty space were dominoes. Everything that could be found in Fate¡¯s dungeon serves a purpose. The dominoes were certainly not ced there. They¡¯re meant to be used on the BOSS! Thought Ye Ci as she stared at the five rectangr objects behind Bob.

    The objects were 15 to 20 yards tall, and if all of them fell, they would eventually fall on Bob.

    ¡°Hold on, don¡¯t revive yet, I¡¯ll be back quickly.¡± Ye Ci did not care if she leftbat by leaving the t arena as she sprinted towards the edge of the ravine.

    The members of the party could only watch on as Ye Ci headed off. Just as they started a conversation of their own, the ground began to rumble.

    And before they knew what was happening, a rectangr object fell, and itnded on Bob.

    The fallen object kicked up a lot of dust, and it took away 19% of Bob¡¯s HP.

 Chapter 338 Ingenuity

    <h4>Chapter 338 Ingenuity</h4>

    yers who were ¡°dead¡± could still see what was happening around them, but their visions were not clear as they could only see things in ck and white. To them, the thrill of the games were gone, and was reced with a scene from a ck and white film.

    But this did not affect the ability of the nine party members to continue observing their surroundings. They have grown used to being wiped out as a party, and their deaths did not affect their morale by one bit. The dead members were even starting to discuss the situation among themselves.

    The ground began to rumble as they were still deep in their discussion about the BOSS¡¯s possible weaknesses and the best method to kill the BOSS. Of course, it was already something they had grown used to after spending time with the dungeon.

    Arge rectangr object fell... And right on top of Bob.

    What¡¯s going on? Why did that rectangr object fall down?

    As the members of the party were still dwelling in their shock, a silhouette appeared in their vision. She stood on yet another rectangr object, strung her bow, and fired off skills after skills at Bob.

    The ¡°corpses¡± on the ground were gaping in awe at that point. Where did Gongzi You appear from? What¡¯s with that falling object earlier? But the answers to their questions would note very soon. The only thing they could do was to continue ying their roles as audiences to Gongzi You¡¯s solo performance.

    It was a performance showcasing the capabilities of the Hunter ss, and the skill of Gongzi You as a person.

    Each of Gongzi You¡¯s movements were precise and elegant. She was graceful as she bounded around Bob, and each of her jumps, and every move she made were stunning. It was as if she was starring in a blockbuster movie.

    Ye Ci¡¯s level was slightly higher than Bob, which was why she could easily break his Defense without suffering from level penalties. But as the final BOSS, Bob was still a very tough opponent. Even if Bob had 1% of his HP left, it would take Ye Ci a full minute to defeat the BOSS.

    ¡°Ah! He has 20% of his HP left!¡± eximed the Cleric when he noticed Bob¡¯s HP bar. He was not the only one who was in awe. ¡°Gongzi, be careful!¡± came a string of messages from the rest of the party.

    Bob let out a low growl, and lifted his right arm. He swung the chains that had been holding him down at Ye Ci.

    While the target of ¡°Haul¡± was picked at random, Ye Ci was the only yer left alive, which made her the only viable target for the skill.

    The party members let out a collective sigh as the chains flew straight towards Ye Ci. It¡¯s finished, our party will get wiped out.

    But things did not happen as expected. Just when the chain was about to make a connection with Ye Ci, she rolled to her left and sessfully evaded the attack.

    It all happened in the blink of an eye, when not a single person was expecting her to be able to escape from the BOSS¡¯s attack.

    The Berserker of the party had a very good view from his position. He was able to have a front row seat on the action, and he saw clearly how Ye Ci was able to dodge the BOSS¡¯s attack. ¡°Nice one!¡± he shouted. Even as a less agile character, and as someone who barely watched videos of Gongzi You in action, he had heard about the Huntress.

    This was his first time witnessing the skill of Gongzi You in person, and he held nothing but respect and awe for the Huntress. This came not from her precise movements and timing, and not from her well practiced mechanical skills, but from her ability to remain calm despite the tense situation.

    The Berserker himself would not be able to dodge the attack under such circumstances, and even if he did, he knew very well that he would not be able to remain calm like Gongzi You. ¡°Boss, Gongzi You is good!¡± He sent a message to Purity Essence.

    Purity Essence chuckled at the message, ¡°Sometimes, a picture is more than a thousand words.¡±

    ¡°So this is why you used to tell us that you came to Upwards Ho! for Gongzi You. I have a lot to learn from her.¡± the Berserker said from the bottom of his hard.

    The battle between Ye Ci and the BOSS was still raging on.

    When Bob¡¯s attack missed, ¡°Fury¡± was triggered even earlier than before. He mmed onto the ground, and sent out a ripple of energy that Ye Ci was able to evade with ease.

    This happened in a mere 15 seconds, but Ye Ci was able to react quickly to his attacks, and dish out damage of her own. It might look easy in a video, but only yers who were there in person could truly feel the thrill of the moment.

    A system notification rang out in Ye Ci¡¯s ears after she evaded the attacks, ¡°The tremors are causing a second set of dominoes to copse. Please be careful.¡±

    It¡¯s the dominoes again.

    Ye Ci had discovered after some scouting that they were the key to defeating the BOSS. She risked leavingbat to have a good look in the area, and a few rectangr blocks with names that were different from the others ¡°Loose Domino Block.¡±. That was what told Ye Ci that the dominoes were the key to defeat Bob. She pushed on one of the blocks, and it caused a chain reaction that eventually led to one of the rectangr objects falling right onto Bob.

    One hit was able to take away 19% of the BOSS¡¯s health.

    A yer who was no longer within the attack range of a BOSS for a full minute would automatically leave his or herbat state, but there were only a limited set of domino blocks in the arena. A single mistake would cost her dearly.

    With the buff she gained from the Central Control Room, Ye Ci was able to deal some significant damage to Bob. But due to the sheer amount of the BOSS¡¯s HP, it took Ye Ci a long while to chip away even 1% of his HP.

    Ye Ci was worried that she would have to once again manually trigger the copse of the domino sets when Bob¡¯s HP approached its 20% mark, but the system notification was a weing sight to her.

    It was apparent that the domino blocks were set to automatically fall once it was triggered, and would fall on the BOSS whenever it lost 20% of its HP. The yers would have to deal with the 1% remaining HP to trigger the next set.

    But after her first attempt, Ye Ci was able to get used to the movements of the BOSS, and she was able to slowly but surely defeat Bob.

    As the BOSS finally copsed in the midst of the dominoes, he raised his hands and roared, ¡°I refuse to die like this! Galeoli! I will not allow your ns toe to fruition!¡± and he copsed onto the ground with a prompt from the system notifying Ye Ci that her party had sessfully cleared the dungeon.

    But the Builder¡¯s Guild Basement was a mission dungeon, which meant that a sessful exploration would not be announced in the World Chat. There was also no First Blood to be rewarded to the yers.

    But the yers were still overjoyed by the fact that they have cleared a whole new type of dungeon.

    There were no respawn points in the dungeon, and no way back. With the Cleric dead, there was no way for the nine other members of the party to be revived even with the dungeon finally cleared. They were, however, fortunate enough to receive experience points for defeating the BOSS.

    ¡°We¡¯ll revive now. Go get the loot.¡± said the Warrior.

    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll see what he drops. If they can be of use to you, you can have it.¡± responded Ye Ci.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, we did nothing in the BOSS fight...¡±

    ¡°This is a lvl60 BOSS, and my level is way higher than that. I have no use for any equipment that he might drop. But you guys will be able to put it to good use.¡± and she walked up to the corpse of Bob, ¡°But you have to mentally prepare yourselves. I¡¯ve not have much luck when ites to loot drops.¡±

    But Ye Ci¡¯s luck was notpletely horrible. She was able to obtain three weapons from the BOSS. While none of them were of use to her, they were able to benefit the members of the guild. A blueprint was also dropped by the BOSS, along with Ye Ci¡¯s quest item, the ¡°Builder¡¯s Encyclopedia¡±.

    The quest item was immediately ced into Ye Ci¡¯s inventory by the system. And after distributing the equipment, Ye Ci left the dungeon along with her party.

    The members of the party were embarrassed to receive the items from Ye Ci as they did nothing in the final boss fight. But Ye Ci was quick to reassure them that they were a party, and she would not be able to clear the dungeon without their aid.The party then reluctantly epted the items and returned to rejoin their squadorn.

    Ye Ci returned to the guild encampment and retrieved Yn¡¯s blueprint. She took stock of the gold in her inventory, and headed to the Builder¡¯s Guild.

    She saw arge crew of NPCs repairing the entrance to her dungeon when she arrived on the second floor. ording to Wyatt, tremors from the basement earlier on had caused a lot of damage to the building and the basement itself.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. So what happened in the dungeon affected the building above as well. She was quickly reminded of the name, Galeoli. ording to Wyatt, Galeoli was none other than the Guildmaster of the Builder¡¯s Guild, and the NPC who sent her toplete the quest.

    What¡¯s the rtionship between Bob and Galeoli? Why did Galeoli have him imprisoned in the basement? Ye Ci had a lot of questions in her mind, but these were questions without answers, and hence were not her concern. She handed the quest item to Galeoli and was able to obtain a permit to build fortifications in the Lesser Demon Sanctum.

    Ye Ci let out a long sigh when she ced the permit into her inventory. I¡¯ve finally obtained this thing.

    And as she organized her inventory, Ye Ci was shocked to find a new item. It was a tattered hardcover book. What is this? She did not remember obtaining the book before.

    She took the book out from her inventory to have a good look. The words ¡°Bob¡¯s Diary¡± were written on the cover of the book.

 Chapter 339 Preparations

    <h4>Chapter 339 Preparations</h4>

    What is this? How did it get into my inventory? Thought Ye Ci. Ahh, I must¡¯ve picked it up when I collected the loot just now.

    She flipped open Bob¡¯s Diary to see what was written in its pages.

    But reality had other ideas.

    The pages of the diary were filled with words, but they were written in anguage that Ye Ci could not understand. She then received a system notification: This seems to be written in an unknownnguage. You do not know how to read its words yet.

    Ye Ci blinked. Is the system telling me that I¡¯m an illiterate?

    She wanted to know what was written in Bob¡¯s Diary, as it might lead to a hidden quest. But it was not a pressing matter, as she could always initiate the quest once she figured out thenguage that was used by Bob. Her priority at the moment was to prepare to build the fortifications around the Mithril ore vein.

    Wyatt was waiting for Ye Ci with a smile when she returned to the first floor. It was a smile devoid of emotion that wasmonly seen among NPCs. Despite their high intelligence, the NPC stillcked the humanity that made them natural, and this was why Ye Ci could never truly see an NPC as a human being.

    Perhaps due to her experiences in herst life, or perhaps due to the overtly long time she had spent on the game, she no longer felt the joy of exploring new things in the game.

    Ye Ci met Wyatt¡¯s gaze, but the NPC was still giving her a mechanical smile. She returned the smile. She did not expect Wyatt to walk up to her, ¡°How was it? Have you obtained the permit?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I did.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    ¡°It must¡¯ve been hard.¡± Wyatt did not seem surprised by Ye Ci¡¯s response. It was as if the NPC knew that Ye Ci would seed.

    ¡°It was fun.¡± to Ye Ci, exploring a new dungeon would definitely be hard, but it was also an enjoyable process that NPCs like Wyatt would never understand.

    And as expected, Wyatt was surprised. He cocked his head and looked at Ye Ci, and changed the topic, ¡°You¡¯ve received the permit to build things in the wild, but it¡¯s dangerous out there.¡±

    ¡°Dangerous?¡± Ye Ci was curious. She was nning to build a fortress, what sort of danger could there be? She was not an expert in building, hence she did not hesitate to ask, ¡°Will our construction work attract the attention of monsters?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Wyatt shook his head, ¡°But a construction site in the wild will not receive protection from soldiers. Even a mighty fortress is extremely vulnerable during its construction. An attack, no matter how small its scale, will be able to destroy it.¡±

    Is he saying that... A frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    ¡°Wyatt, are you telling me that monsters will not attack the construction site, but people will?¡± Ye Ci was able to catch the meaning behind the NPCs words despite his indirect answer.

    ¡°It all depends on your rtions with people. If it¡¯s bad, it¡¯ll be quite troublesome.¡± The response was enough for Ye Ci to have a conclusion. Wyatt had also realised that his words were not entirely pleasant, and he quickly added, ¡°I¡¯ve not dealt with many adventurers, but I know that you¡¯re not as peaceful in the wild as you are in the city.

    Of course! Who would fight in the city? We¡¯ll be arrested if we kill someone!

    ¡°Is there a way to reduce the danger?¡± asked Ye Ci. Since the issue had been raised, there must be a solution.

    ¡°There is one, but it might not be very effective.¡± Wyatt shrugged.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°You can simply build it faster. If you¡¯ve made your decision to build the fortress, you can hire some workers from the Builder¡¯s Guild. As long as you have all the materials ready, they work very fast. It¡¯ll greatly reduce the risk that you face during the construction.¡± Wyatt smiled and continued, ¡°Of course, the workers will not be working for you for free.¡±

    Just then, an NPC walked up to Wyatt, seemingly to discuss something important. Wyatt nodded politely at Ye Ci and bade her farewell.

    So he¡¯s not trying to help after all! Thought Ye Ci as she stared at Wyatt. He¡¯s just trying to find business for his guild!

    Despite knowing that hiring the workers would not be cheap, Ye Ci knew that it was impossible for the construction work at the Lesser Demon Sanctum to go unnoticed. There was still a substantial yer poption on the map, and the sudden appearance of a construction site would definitely attract the attention of many.

    The major guilds would definitely react to this sudden development. Some might choose to investigate the site covertly, but others might not be as subtle. No one knew how a guild like Golden Era would react. This made elerating the building speed a good idea.

    Well I guess there¡¯s no choice but to let the Builder¡¯s Guild rip me off.

    Of course, the workers would be hired from the Builder¡¯s Guild in Red Lake City. Ye Ci had a high Prestige the city, and it might work to her advantage in negotiating for a lower price.

    It was not easy to run a guild. The guild must grow, but it must also explore new dungeons while also providing for the many Life yers. And now the guild must also fund the building of the fortifications in the Lesser Demon Sanctum.

    With Wyatt upied with his work, Ye Ci hid her face underneath her cloak and returned to Red Lake City.

    And she was correct. The Builder¡¯s Guild in Red Lake City offered arge discount due to her Prestige, but the fees were still high despite the discount. But it did not affect Ye Ci¡¯s mood, as it was something that was necessary.

    With the permit, the building blueprints, and the manpower ready, the only thing left was the construction materials.

    It was the most simple task, but was also the most difficult one.

    It was easy because certain materials could be bought as long as she had the money to pay, but it was also difficult because there were materials that could not be bought.

    But Ye Ci was in luck. While some of the materials required were rare, Upwards Ho! was still able to acquire them from the market. And to prevent suspicions from the other guilds, Upwards Ho! took ten days to prepare the materials. This meant that there were no fluctuations in the market, which meant that those who were watching the market were none the wiser about their activity.

    Ye Ci had been leveling up in the Mist Forest during these ten days. None of Golden Era¡¯s assassins came after her after their initial defeat, and she had never ran into even a single Golden Era yer. Even the World Chat is devoid of the presence of yers from Golden Era. The guild was so quiet that it was as if they did not exist.

    But Ye Ci was unsettled by their silence. She knew that Golden Era would not just take the defeat lying down. They were simply waiting for the right time to act.

    Of course, Ye Ci did not know what Golden Era would try, and it did not matter to her. The ten days of peace meant that she was able to reach the level of lvl70. Leveling from lvl69 to lvl70 alone was not an easy task. It took her a few days just to grind out the experience required for leveling up.

    It was a happy asion that was also regretful.

    Ol¡¯ Six was still evolving, and there was no progress bar in the pet inventory. She did not know how long it would take for the Holy Dragon to evolve and surprise her with its new looks.

    Ye Ci had also received a mail from Bai Mo the day she reached lvl70, telling her that the materials were prepared. She returned to Red Lake City, and waited for night to fall.

    The pay for a single Builder was 100,000 gold coins per day. But the discount she received from the Builder¡¯s Guild reduced the pay to 80,000 gold coins per day. The construction would need at least a hundred builders, but Ye Ci did not have the money to pay, and there was an upper limit for the number of builders hired for a construction.

    ¡°I can hire only 50 of you?¡± Ye Ci creased her eyebrows. Hiring fifty builders a day would take four million gold coins. It was a high price, but the investment was worth it. But hiring only fifty workers would significantly lower the construction speed.

    ¡°Yes. ording to your blueprints, you can only hire 50, and only for four days.¡± replied the NPC of the Red Lake City Builders Guild.

    ¡°Can the construction be finished in four days?¡±

    ¡°Yes... But only if there is not outside interference.¡± replied the NPC.

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at the NPC. The only thing she could do was to pay the fees to hire the NPC, and she received a transmitter in return. The workers would then arrive at the construction site when she pressed the button on the transmitter at the intended site.

    She took in a deep breath as she looked at the apple-sized transmitter held in her hand. She could only pray that nothing would happen during the four days of construction, or the losses suffered by her guild would be too great to bear.

 Chapter 340 A Cunning Strategy!

    <h4>Chapter 340 A Cunning Strategy!</h4>

    There is no wall in this world which hasn¡¯t cracked. Despite Upwards Ho!¡¯s best efforts to mask its intention, there were still some who managed to piece the clues together.

    It was an eventuality that could not be avoided, but when it finally happened, the people who were deeply invested in the prospect would find it hard to ept. Scouts began lurking near the construction side when the officers of Upwards Ho! busied themselves with the fortress. Ye Ci was displeased.

    She knew thatplete secrecy was next to impossible. But how do they find out so soon? It¡¯s only been 24 hours since the construction began! Just how much attention are you all paying to this ce?

    More and more scouts appeared at the Mithril ore vein, and eventually entire groups of yers started showing up. Ye Ci, who was hiding in a nearby hill, was irritated.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll continue to observe the situation.¡± Bai Mo who was standing beside her was visibly calmer.

    Ye Ci knew that Bai Mo was right, but she could not bring herself to calm down. This was an event that could decide the ultimate fate of the game, and she did not wish for her secrets to be found.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never informed our life yers about this. Everything is done by the NPCs. Don¡¯t worry about it, the NPCs will never leak the identity of the owner of this fort.¡± Bai Mo rubbed Ye Ci¡¯s head when he noticed her worried expression, ¡°Stop worrying about it! What if something actually happens? It¡¯ll ruin your judgement of the situation.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Ye Ci took in a deep breath and grimaced, ¡°I thought I have always been an easygoing person, but it seems that I¡¯m not. That¡¯s because the things that happened thus far would not truly affect me at all.¡±

    Bai Mo smiled at Ye Ci, but did not offer an immediate response. ¡°Little Ci,¡± he said after a long moment, ¡°Are you nning to be a professional gamer for the rest of your life?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡± she did not even have the need to put much thought into her answer. She was reminded of her past life. She was also a professional gamer, but it did not end well for her in game and in real life as well. Am I just trying to prove something to myself by making the choices I did in this life?

    It was something that she had never pondered before, and she was at a loss when the question came from Bai Mo.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve made the decision to be a professional yer for the rest of your life, then it¡¯s normal for you to care about something like this. Even someone who is not a pro yer could never remain calm in the face of an event that could potentially bring a huge change to Fate. You¡¯re not a God, Little Ci. You¡¯re just a normal human being who is good at the game. It¡¯s normal for you to lose your calm in the face of something like this. Don¡¯t put too much pressure on yourself.¡± Bai Mo pulled a wine bottle from his inventory and gulped down a mouthful of its content, ¡°We¡¯re here with you. You¡¯re not alone. The entire guild will share your burden, and you.. You¡¯ll have to learn to share that burden with us. Don¡¯t put it all upon yourself. You¡¯ll copse one day.¡±

    Bai Mo stood up and tossed the bottle of Ye Ci before walking downhill, ¡°I¡¯ll go see how things are going. You stay here and keep watch.¡±

    Ye Ci snatched the bottle from the air and looked at Bai Mo as he left.

    ¡°I am the leader of Upwards Ho!. I will not allow anybody else toy their hands upon who is rightfully ours. I swear this on my name.¡± Bai Mo waved his hand at Ye Ci as he walked away, and he quickly disappeared from sight.

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°Thank you, Bai Mo¡± as she said with a voice that only she could hear.

    The calm before the storm is the most silent, and the darkness before dawn was always the darkest.

    Ye Ci had never gone offline for 72 hours thanks to the nutrients attached to her gaming cabin. She hid herself on the hills near the Mithril ore vein and was observing the construction.

    She was not alone. The officers who were Rogues from Upwards Ho! Were also hidden around the vicinity of the Mithril ore vein. Timely Rain and his men were also keeping Ye Ci updated on the situation.

    ¡°Are things going well?¡± Bai Mo who had returned to the guild encampment was also kept updated by Ye Ci.

    ¡°Everything¡¯s going well so far. There¡¯s a lot of people here, but many of them are just trying to figure out what¡¯s going on.¡± Ye Ci was fatigued due to theck of rest, but her mind was still sharp, ¡°It seems that not sending our yers to help with the construction is the correct thing to do.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how long it willst, but let¡¯s hope that nothing bad will happen before the construction is finished.¡± Bai Mo sighed. He had been staying online for days just like Ye Ci to monitor the construction.

    ¡°But...¡± Ye Ci sighed. A feeling of unease was gnawing at her heart.

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°Has Golden Era made their move?¡±

    ¡°Not yet.¡± Bai Mo thought for a short while before continuing, ¡°But I don¡¯t think anything will happen. Most of their members are still lvl20 yet. There¡¯s no way they can get here that easily.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s unease was still growing despite Bai Mo¡¯s words. She shook her head, and could only hope that it was only her imagination.

    There were times when a person could not trust his or her guts too much.

    Ye Ci waspletely exhausted when the construction was six hours away frompletion. She could almost smell victory when she looked at the fortifications that were almostpleted.

    She took in a deep breath, and leaned against arge boulder. She intended to take a rest, but ended up fallingpletely asleep.

    And after an untold amount of time, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Ye Ci reflexively attacked towards the direction of the person, and heard a voice, ¡°Aiya!¡± it was a voice that she knew. It was Fruit Jelly.

    Fruit Jelly was a Cleric. She was an officer of the guild, but was not assigned to monitoring the construction of the fortifications. She was supposed to be in the guild encampment overseeing the forging of new weapons by Blossom.

    ¡°Can you not be that fast? I¡¯d have died if I was a little slower!¡± Fruit Jelly¡¯s face was a sheet of white.

    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s a reflex of mine.¡± As a character ss that are experts inbat in the wild, it was only natural for Ye Ci to have quick reflexes, ¡°Why are you here? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be back at the guild?¡±

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll be here if you reply to your private messages?¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Ye Ci could tell that something bad had happened from the panic in Fruit Jelly¡¯s voice.

    ¡°See for yourself...¡± Fruit Jelly bit on her lips and pointed to the direction behind Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was shocked by what she saw. The entire Lesser Demon Sanctuary was packed full of yers. There was an especiallyrge group of yers in the vicinity of the guild¡¯s fortifications. The entire Upwards Ho! yers have mobilized, and were formed up in a defensive formation in front of the fortress. They were engaged inbat with an endless swarm of yers.

    Skills from different character sses formed a grandiose disy of fireworks in front of the fort. Ye Ci was positioned far away from the ore vein, which was why she was not woken up by the sound ofbat.

    But none of the yers were high level. They were all lvl20 ounts. Despite their level, there was still arge number of them, numbering at least a hundred thousand.

    ¡°Where did they alle from!¡± Ye Ci could not even begin to describe how she felt. The sheer numbers of the attacking yers were an awe inspiring sight even if they were smurf ounts, ¡°Golden Era?¡± she gritted her teeth.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Fruit Jelly sighed.

    Anger surged in Ye Ci¡¯s heart. Her eyes were also filled with the fires of rage. This was something that only Golden Era could think of. They were all low level ount, and many of them would be lost during their journey to the Lesser Demon Sanctum, but there was simply too many of them.

    The lvl20 ounts do not have high attack values, but their sheer numbers meant that every bit of damage was contributed to arger whole. There was barely 50,000 yers in Upwards Ho!, and theirbatants numbered at a mere 30,000. There was no way the guild could hold against such arge number of yers even with superior levels and equipment.

    Their Stamina and Mana were limited. There was simply no telling how long they could hold before the swarm of yers rushing their position.

    Oh Golden Era, you are indeed a formidable opponent.

    Even if they did not know the fort belonged to Upwards Ho!, even if they knew nothing about the Mithril ore vein protected by the fort, the idea that they would swarm an enemy with such a number of low level ounts alone was disgusting.

    Everyone thought that lvl20 ounts were not much of a threat, but Breeze had proved them wrong.

    ¡°How long has this been going on?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s anger was so great that she could feel herself calming down. She knew that losing her rationality at a time like this would be fatal. The only thing she could do was to calm down and search for a possible solution.

    ¡°More than ten minutes now.¡± Fruit Jelly sighed, ¡°Thank God Remote Depths had the foresight of instructing the guild¡¯s main force to bind their city stones to this location temporarily, or we wouldn¡¯t have made it in time.¡±

    ¡°Go support them.¡± Ye Ci took in a deep breath.

    Fruit Jelly wanted to say something, but decided against it when she noticed Ye Ci¡¯s demeanor.

    ¡°Alright. What about you?¡± the girl in front of her was just like that when they first met, and she was able to ovee every single hardship that stood in her way.

    ¡°I¡¯ll continue observing the situation from here.¡± Ye Ci did not turn around. Her hands were balled into tight fists.

    Fruit Jelly knew that action at this moment, would definitely speak louder than words. She turned around and began making her way to join the battle, adding her strength to the defense of the fort.

    What do I do? What do I do?

    Do I use the bombs?

    No, there¡¯s too many of them. It won¡¯t be enough. What else can I do?

    Ye Ci cast a nce at the fortification. The builder NPCs were finishing up their work. The battle that was raging on in the map did not affect their progress by one bit. She looked at the timer. There was only an hour left before the construction waspleted. An hour! I need to buy an hour for the NPCs!

 Chapter 341 Turning Poin

    <h4>Chapter 341 Turning Poin</h4>

    t

    But one hour was simply too long of a period.

    Even when Upwards Ho! yers were able to kill an opponent with a single attack, there were simply too many of them. Golden Era was arge guild, and the guild had five million low level ounts in the Eastern Continent alone. Even a fraction of that number would spell trouble for Upwards Ho!. With their enemies reviving themselves after each death and relentlessly throwing themselves back into the fray, could Upwards Ho!st for an hour?

    And what if they couldst for an hour?

    The fortifications would bepleted, but the defences were not installed yet. It would still crumble under the onught of so many low level ounts.

    Ye Ci¡¯s heart was bleeding. Is this it? Is this the end for us? No matter how hard I tried, I¡¯ve failed to prevent the inevitable! Is Golden Era going to achieve what they came for?

    No! I refuse to let this happen!

    Ye Ci could feel her blood running cold. Is there.. Really no way to turn this around?

    In the battlefield not far away, Golden Era¡¯s low level ounts were still swarming towards the wall. Ye Ci had never felt so powerless before.

    So even if I am strong, and even if I have so many helpers around me... I am still nothingpared to arge guild. She had thought that her strength was enough to weather the storm. So... Am I still not able to escape from fate?

    Even the fire in her heart was starting to die out.

    And everything felt so cold.

    This is it. This is the limit of my capabilities. I¡¯ve failed to stop Golden Era. Ye Ci grimaced. This is the extent of what I can do even as a reincarnator.

    ¡°Your pet has sessfully evolved!¡± came the system notification just when all hope seemed lost to Ye Ci.

    Pet? Evolved?

    Ye Ci could not process the information. Her rationality began to return. Her only pet that was evolving...

    Was Ol¡¯ Six.

    That¡¯s right. It was Ol¡¯ Six! The Holy Dragon!

    Two things appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s mind. The Warlock with his Skeletal Dragon during herst life, and the Red Dragon Queen in the Swamp of Sorrows.

    Dragons. They were the most arrogant and noble race. And wherever they go, death follows!

    She did not know what an evolved Ol¡¯ Six could not, but it was a Dragon. And one of the rarest breeds in the game. It was a Holy Dragon!

    Ye Ci could feel warmth in her heart again. She did not know if Ol¡¯ Six could turn the table, but it was a chance. And it was a chance that she must take.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath and prayed, hoping that Ol¡¯ Six would evolve into an adult dragon. It did not have to be asrge as Orthra, but she hoped that it would not remain small.

    Of course, it was all rtive.

    She summoned Ol¡¯ Six.

    And a huge beast appeared before Ye Ci. The huge light blue Dragon was 60 yards long. With its wings folded to its side, Ye Ci could not tell how long Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s wingspan was. The Dragon¡¯s long neck, and its long tails fit the description of the Dragons described in Western Fantasy. The best raised its head and opened its eyes. Its jet ck eyes disyed a glint of ferocity.

    She had mentally prepared herself for the size of the Dragon, but Ye Ci was still shocked when Ol¡¯ Six appeared before her. He¡¯s huge! Well I do not have to worry about not being able to ride on him. It¡¯ll be absurd if I can¡¯t ride on something that big!

    She clicked open Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s stats, and was shocked by what she saw.

    Species: Holy Dragon

    Name: Ol¡¯ Six

    Type: Combat, Steed (Land and Air)

    Owner: Gongzi You

    Loyalty: 100

    Level: 47

    HP: 358900/358900

    Mana: 192400/192400

    Trait: Fierce, Loyal, Cunning.

    Skills: Intimidation(lv4), Dragon Breath(lv1), Poison Breath(lv1), Hurricane(lv1), Swipe(lv1)

    Favourite Food: Super Pet Core, Meat.

    Ye Ci ran her eyes over Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s HP and Mana again and again. The vast amount of HP and Mana was absolutely insane. But Ye Ci did not have time to be in awe. There was a battle to be won, and Upwards Ho! was on the losing side under the constant onught by the horde of Golden Era yers. They were barely holding on as the battle continued.

    Ye Ci was overjoyed by the change in the situation. Fate was on her side. The butterfly that had just hatched from its chrysalis will turn the tides in Upwards Ho!¡¯s favor.

    She did not even think much as she leapt onto Ol¡¯ Six and flew towards the heart of the battle.

    When she was finally in the air, Ye Ci was able to see just how long the wingspan of her pet was. Ol¡¯ Six let out a roar unique only to the Dragon race, and it struck fear to the Lesser Demons of the Lesser Demon Sanctum.

    The yers in the Lesser Demon Sanctum were trembling in fear as well.

    The sun that was hanging high up in the sky was blotted by a huge beast, and it was flying right at thergest concentration of yers.

    Its appearance was so sudden that many of the yers, especially the Golden Era yers who were charging at the fortifications, could even find out the source of the terrifying roar before a green mist descended from the sky and blurred their vision.

    The yers¡¯ HP began to plunge right after they were shrouded by the green mist. They had all been afflicted by a ¡°Poisoned¡± debuff that would deal 800 to 1000 damage to their health every second.

    It was like an instant death for the lvl20 ounts.

    A torrent of screams rose up when the mist shrouded the ground. And when it finally dissipated, only a terrifying sight remained. The entire field was littered with corpses!

    Ye Ci was tinypared to Ol¡¯ Four. With her so high up in the sky and her body covered with a cloak, the yers below did not notice her on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s back.

    She tapped open Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s skill tree and found four new skills that she had never seen before.

    And she selected Poison Breath, and Ol¡¯ Six lowered its head and spewed a thick green mist onto the ground below. But Ye Ci¡¯s aim was not very good, and only half of the Dragon¡¯s attacknded on the yers gathered below.

    The attack consumed 3,000 points of Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s mana, which was only a tiny amount of its total mana pool. Despite the rather poor aim, all the yers touched by Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s Poison Breath met an instant death, and Ye Ci was satisfied with the results.

    Golden Era was a guild that highly encouraged their yers to engage in PVP. Of course, their yers would receive penalty in the form of Sin Points for hunting down yers from the same continent. A yer with a high Sin value could only move about in his or her own main city as the yer would immediately be arrested in any other city.

    The yers of Upwards Ho! had already umted a high amount of Sin. They were fated to remain in Red Lake City for a very long time. Ye Ci felt sorry for the members of her guilds, but she was also touched by what she saw in the Guild Chat.

    ¡°Wow! My Sin is over 100! I¡¯ve killed about a thousand of these low level ounts!¡±

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m about to catch up soon you idiot!¡±

    ¡°Damn it, can you mages not be so cocky? Leave some for the Rogues will you?¡±

    ¡°Serves you right for picking a ss like that! In a wholesale ughter like this, we mages are unmatched! A single Meteor Storm of mine can kill dozens of them!¡±

    ¡°Hehe... Aren¡¯t we barred from entering the Champion City if our Sin is over 100?¡¯

    ¡°Wait... I think so...¡±

    ¡°Boss Mo! Please take care of me! Let me into the third squadron and send me into a dungeon! My Sin is almost at 100!¡±

    There were also messages from the officers of the guild, and Ye Ci could feel the gratitude in their words.

    ¡°Thank you all foring today. The guild will take full responsibility for your Sin values! You will each earn guild points ording to your Sin value. These can all be exchanged for equipment and materials in the guild warehouse!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, boss! This is a matter concerning our guild! We¡¯re all members of Upwards Ho! boss! Why are you thanking us for this?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right boss! Don¡¯t thank us for this! We¡¯re all doing it out of our own free will!¡±

    ¡°F*ck me! Our guild might be small, but we will not allow anyone else to look down on us!¡±

    But the conversation was interrupted when Ol¡¯ Six was spotted by one of the yers.

    ¡°What the f*ck was that! A huge monster came out of nowhere! It seems to know poison type attacks! I saw it spewing some green mist and killed a bunch of Golden Era yers!¡±

    ¡°I saw it too! It¡¯s flying towards us!¡±

    ¡°F*ck! Are we that unlucky?!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a Dragon...¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯re in even worse luck! Have you forgotten about the red one that appeared in the Swamp of Sorrows? A lot of yers died that day!¡±

    ¡°Oh no, there¡¯s so many people around here... This will be a ughter...¡±

    ¡°Wait, that¡¯s not the point alright, I don¡¯t mind dying but.. What if it attacks our fort?¡±

    Thement was like a pebblending on a calm pond. Panic began to spread among the ranks of Upwards Ho! yers.

    And Ye Ci immediately sent a message notifying the members of the guild that the Dragon was her pet, and the yers and for were safe.

    Silence fell upon the guild chat for a few seconds, before messages of joy began flooding the channel.

    But with the battle still raging on, Ye Ci did not wish to be distracted. She muted her guild chat and focused her attention on the fighting below.

    No matter who it was, the sudden appearance of a Dragon was simply too shocking.

    Especially when the Dragon was not passing by and was reaping the lives of the yers on the ground.

    And among all the yers present in the Lesser Demon Sanctuary, Sweeping Reed was probably the one with the worst mood. He was the mastermind behind Golden Era¡¯s attack, and he was standing on arge boulder at the rear of the group. A frown was etched deep into his face as he stared up at the Dragon.

 Chapter 342 God Is On My Side!

    <h4>Chapter 342 God Is On My Side!</h4>

    As Ye Ci¡¯s rampage on the battlefield continued, Breeze finally learned of the news.

    He was surprised.

    ¡°What did you say Reed? A Dragon had appeared in the skies of the Lesser Demon Sanctum?¡± Breeze could not believe what he heard.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a Dragon.¡± Sweeping Reed continued after taking in a long breath, ¡°Boss, do you still remember the forum post that we saw about the major events that happened in Fate?¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about...¡± a sudden realisation struck Breeze, ¡°You¡¯re talking about the red Dragon that appeared in the Swamp of Sorrows.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± said Sweeping Reed as he jumped down from the boulder and hid himself. The light blue Dragon was headed his way. Please no more of that Dragon Breath! And even if it is, please let it be breathing fire instead! A pir of me could easily be dodged, but poison would spread in the air before it dissipated. Sweeping Reed was at lvl37, but it was very obvious that the Dragon was at a much higher level. Even a ncing blow from one of the Dragon¡¯s attacks could be fatal.

    Perhaps it was due to Sweeping Reed¡¯s prayers, or perhaps Ye Ci had simply grown bored of using Dragon Breath over and over again, she lowered Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s altitude and began using Hurricane.

    Golden Era¡¯s yers were mostly at lvl20, but after a few rounds of baptism by the Dragon¡¯s attacks, they immediately spread out and began to flee. But the yers were simply slower than the Dragon.

    A yer¡¯s normal walking speed in Fate is 2.0, and running will increase that speed to 5.0. With a 60% speed from a steed, a yer¡¯s movement speed could be increased to 8.0. Even the slowest aerial steed had the base speed of 12.0 while the fastest had a speed of 24.0 Ol¡¯ Six was a Tier 7 life form. It was not in its adult form yet, but its movement speed was at 16.0. It was a speed that the yers could not hope to match.

    No matter how hard they tried, the yers of Golden Era were slowly falling victim to Ye Ci and Ol¡¯ Six. She took aim at the fleeing Golden Era yers and cast Hurricane along the path of their retreat.

    Ol¡¯ Six began pping its wings, and with its roar, two gusts of strong wind crashed into the yers. They were tossed thirty yards into the air before falling back onto the ground.

    Not many could survive a fall from that height, and it was an even more horrifying experience than dying to Dragon Breath due to the pain suffered by the body.

    Ye Ci did not want to allow herself to be exposed, and began increasing Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s altitude once again after casting the Hurricane.

    ¡°ording to the forum, it was really bad. The red Dragon left mountains of corpses wherever it went.¡± a frown appeared on Breeze¡¯s face, ¡°Is the same thing happening over there...¡± but Breeze could hear nothing but the loud sound of the wind from Sweeping Reed¡¯s end.

    A feeling of unease crept into Breeze¡¯s heart, ¡°Reed! Reed! What is going on?!¡± he shouted into the voice call.

    Death Blossom had also noticed that something was wrong. She stood up and looked at Breeze with a worried expression.

    Breeze stood up with his face pale when he received no further responses from Sweeping Reed. He waspletely sure that something bad had happened to his subordinate.

    The target of their operations was simply too big, and it was not suitable for high level yers to appear in the theatre. That was why Sweeping Red was the only officer present during the battle. But it was apparent that something had happened to Sweeping Reed that rendered him unable to respond. This meant that Breeze no longer hadmunication with the people at the front lines. He was worried.

    Death Blossom could sense his worry, ¡°What happened.¡±

    ¡°Something bad happened over there.¡±

    ¡°What was it?¡±

    ¡°He told me that a Dragon appeared in the skies of the Lesser Demon Sanctum, and allmunications with him was cut off.¡±

    ¡°A Dragon?¡± Death Blossom was an officer of the guild and was also Breeze¡¯s wife. They have known each other for years, and she knew immediately what he was talking about. It was a post on the forum about the appearance of a red Dragon in the Swamp of Sorrows.

    The implication of a Dragon appearing in the Lesser Demon Sanctum meant that death would follow in its wake as well. Golden Era had sent 800,000 low level yers into battle, and it was a known fact that even high level yers could not withstand an attack from a Dragon. The casualties would definitely be high.

    ¡°It seems that we will suffer very high casualties.¡± Breeze sat back down and massaged his temples. He did not like the way things were going.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. We¡¯ve already nned for this eventuality. Think of it this way. The yers of Upwards Ho! will not escape from the Dragon unscathed. Their fort might also be destroyed by the Dragon. 800,000 low level ounts for their fort and the deaths of so many of their elites is a worthy tradeoff. Besides, it also means that we will be able to gain ess to whatever they¡¯re trying to protect with their fort.

    Breeze opened his eyes and saw the gentle smile on his wife¡¯s face. He sighed, and took hold of her hand, ¡°I hope things will progress that way.¡±

    Despite his own words, the feeling of unease lingered in his heart, and was slowly spreading to his entire being.

    Is it really as she said? Is the Dragon like the one that appeared in the Swamp of Sorrows? But why do I have this feeling in my heart?

    ¡°Death Blossom, how many Super Pet Cores were bought from the auction housest time?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Around five of them.¡± came the reply after a short silence. Just then, Death Blossom came to the same realisation, and her eyes widened, ¡°Breeze, do you mean to say that...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a guess, I¡¯m not entirely sure myself.¡± Breeze¡¯s expression darkened, ¡°When youst saw Gongzi You, she was hiding a pet under her cloak?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Death Blossom¡¯s face grew pale.

    ¡°What sort of pet do you think Gongzi would be hiding from you?¡± Breeze¡¯s expression darkened even further.

    Death Blossom was speechless. Her lips were trembling and her heart was filled with unease. Even Death Blossom was shaken by the possibility.

    ¡°Gongzi You...¡± Breeze let out a long sigh, ¡°Is a member of Upwards Ho!...¡± he spoke with a soft voice.

    ¡°Breeze! You must not be so pessimistic! It might not be as bad as you think.¡± Death Blossom visibly gulped. Even she herself was not convinced by her own words.

    Breeze was silent. It was all clear from Death Blossom¡¯s expression.

    Just then, Sweeping Reed was finally able to contact his leader, ¡°Boss, boss, are you still there?¡± his voice was hoarse.

    ¡°I¡¯m here, Reed. What happened?¡± Breeze was prepared for the worst, but he was still harboring some hopes in his heart.

    ¡°F*ck! That damn Dragon started pping its wings! I would¡¯ve been blown away if I was hiding behind a rock!¡± Sweeping Reed was coughing in between words.

    ¡°Is there someone riding the Dragon, Reed?¡± asked Breeze after a short pause.

    Sweeping Reed was baffled by the question, but he still looked up at the light blue colored Dragon, ¡°I can¡¯t see anything. The visibility in this map is low, and that Dragon is too high up in the sky.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Breeze lowered his head and said after some thoughts, ¡°Is it only attacking our yers?¡±

    ¡°Hold on, let me get to a vantage point. It¡¯s been only three minutes since it appeared, I¡¯m not entirely sure about that myself.¡± Sweeping Reed climbed back onto the rock and looked at the ongoing battle afar, ¡°That Dragon is in front of Upwards Ho!¡¯s fort now, where the fighting is the fiercest.¡± and a grin appeared on his face, ¡°Heh, I think they¡¯ll be suffering a very high casualty this time. Their guild is small and is not financially backed. That fort must¡¯ve took all they had to build. If the Dragon destroys that fort, they¡¯re finished.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that the Dragon is attacking everything indiscriminately?¡± Sweeping Reed¡¯s words had greatly improved the mood of Breeze, ¡°Is it attacking Upwards Ho! as well?¡±

    ¡°Hell yes!¡± Sweeping Reed squinted at the Dragon as he breathed down a stream of fire down at the yers below.

    ¡°Have I been worrying too much? It¡¯s not Gongzi You? It¡¯s not her pet?¡± Breeze stood up with a sudden motion, ¡°God is on my side today!¡±

    But Sweeping Reed''s expression was rapidly darkening.

    What¡¯s going on? The pir of fire was tearing gaping holes in the ranks of the Golden Era¡¯s yers, while Upwards Ho! remained untouched.

    Don¡¯t tell me...

    Sweeping Reed¡¯s heart clenched. The Dragon was spewing mes at the scattering Golden Era yers, turning them all into corpses.

    What the heck?

 Chapter 343 Defea

    <h4>Chapter 343 Defea</h4>

    t

    Even Sweeping Reed himself could not describe what he was feeling in his heart at that very moment. It felt as if he had been sshed by a cold bucket of ice.

    That Dragon... Is controlled by a yer?

    That Dragon is a pet of an Upwards Ho! yer? That was the only exnation for theck of damage the Dragon¡¯s attack dealt to the Upwards Ho! yers on the field. The fort remained unscathed as well under the Dragon¡¯s attack.

    Death Blossom was overjoyed by Breeze¡¯s apparent excitement of the news. This meant that Golden Era had dealt a crushing blow to Upwards Ho!.

    The guild might be small, but it did not mean that it was not able to put up a fight. Fate was different from the games that were previously ruined by Golden Era. The yer base of the game was simply sorge that the sheer number of the guild could not bring a meaningful impact to the game, and was not able to defeat the major guilds that were already in the game. They needed a way to keep up with the progress of all the guilds in the game.

    Golden Era¡¯s tactic might be underhanded, but all was fair in love and war. What they wanted was results, and the process did not matter to them. That was why the guild would employ everything in their tool to gain the upper hand. They were always the ones to have thestugh in their previous games.

    Despite their bad reputation, Golden Era would always face sesses in recruiting new blood. It was something that Breeze had understood a long time ago. No human was without sin, and even a saint was bound to make mistakes sooner orter.

    And it was exactly because of his philosophy that Breeze agreed to employ the strategy proposed by Sweeping Reed.

    Upwards Ho! was small. It was never able topete with the giants like Tang Dynasty, Wolf Pack, and ck Plum Family. Even the newly split Iron Blood and Battle Spear were guilds that Upwards Ho! could not even hope to match. But a guild¡¯s potential was not determined by its size, but the quality of its yers.

    A guild¡¯s unity, and its progress in dungeon clearing, as well as its reputation among the yers, were the most defining features of a sessful guild. Upwards Ho! was a guild that had met that standard.

    Such a guild was very rare in the Eastern Continent, and even the entirety of Fate. Breeze knew that if he could not crush Upwards Ho! within the first year of the opening of Fate, the guild would only continue to grow, and dealing with them on ater date would be an even greater challenge.

    This was why Upwards Ho! was one of Golden Era¡¯s priority targets when they first entered the game. The guild was famous among the yers, and had a substantial number of yers topping the leaderboards despite its small size. They were like a very elusive eel that had avoided the assassination attempts by Golden Era.

    These yers were always in major cities or in dungeons, and the very few opportunities Golden Era had at dealing any significant damage to Upwards Ho! ended in failure.

    Their assassination attempt on Gongzi You yielded an even more humiliating oue. Ten of their assassins were defeated by Gongzi You, and they have lost three Secret Cloaks in the process. Honey Barbie was punished after the incident, but no amount of punishment could reverse the fact that the guild had suffered an irrevocable loss.

    And Golden Era had learned a very important lesson on that day. They immediately ceased their aggression against the other guilds, until the construction of the fort in the Lesser Demon Sanctum.

    The fort was built in such secrecy that it took three days for Golden Era to finally get wind of its construction. But it did not matter, as a strong guild like Golden Era was able to quickly gather all the information that was needed, and was able to find out the identity of the fort¡¯s owner.

    It was like a godsend opportunity to Breeze. He knew that Upwards Ho! was attempting to protect something by building a fort in the Lesser Demon Sanctum.

    What the guild had intended to defend did not matter to Breeze. But he was soon to receive information that the fort took everything Upwards Ho! had to build.

    This meant that the object that Upwards Ho! was trying to protect was very important. It was so important that Upwards Ho! was willing to gamble everything they had. If Golden Era struck, the guild would definitely be crushed.

    A human wave tactic might not be effective against the entire poption of the game, but it is more than something that a small guild like Upwards Ho! could handle. There were millions of low level ounts in the Eastern Continent, and even a small fraction of them could crush Upwards Ho! under their sheer weight.

    But Breeze did not act early enough. The attack was carried out when the fort was nearing itspletion. It was a decision made out of the consideration that Upwards Ho! was allies with many of the Eastern Continent¡¯s major guild.

    This meant that any attacks that wereunched early would give the allies of Upwards Ho! to react and send in their forces to the guild¡¯s aid. This would spell total disaster for Golden Era as they do not have the manpower to take on multiple major guilds at the same time.

    And if the fort was destroyed at a moment near itspletion, Upwards Ho! morale would surely be crushed along with it. This would mean that whatever the guild was trying to defend would fall into his hands.

    The spoils belong to the victors. It has always been the way of the world.

    But he did not expect Upwards Ho!¡¯s elites to bind their Recall to the Lesser Demon Sanctum, and was able to react to the attack in time. Their presence might be troublesome, but it was a small price to pay for the victory ahead.

    The sea of low level yers caused a lot of headache to Upwards Ho!, but the Dragon caused nothing but misery to the yers of Golden Era.

    Dragons were the highest life form in Fate, and had always yed the role of BOSSes in dungeons. It would take a hundred elite yers with high tier equipment to take on such a BOSS, and a Dragon encountered in the wild would require even more manpower to ovee. A Dragon capable of flight like this was definitely high in level, and the hundreds of thousands of Golden Era low level ounts were as helpless as ants before a methrower. It was a one-sided massacre.

    This was why Breeze was unsettled when the Dragon appeared. But Lady Luck was on his side, as the Dragon would also deal catastrophic damage to Upwards Ho!.

    But when Reed remained silent for such a long time, the feeling of unease immediately returned, ¡°Reed, are you still there?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± came the response with a gloomy voice.

    Breeze could immediately tell that something had gone wrong, ¡°Did something happen?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Sweeping Reed¡¯s voice caused Breeze to slightly frown. Something was very wrong.

    But he was a veteran. He would not allow himself to panic in a situation like this. He knew that he had to remain calm and make the wrong decisions.

    ¡°That Dragon belongs to someone from Upwards Ho!.¡± Sweeping Reed squeezed his words out through gritted teeth. The Dragon was still tearing through the Golden Era yers as he spoke. It did not move fast, but it was still faster than the low level yers. Each attack from the Dragon would leave a sea of corpses in its wake.

    Sweeping Reed had brought 850,000 low level ounts with him. His n was to drown Upwards Ho! under the sheer numbers of his own men. But the Dragon aloneid waste to his ns.

    The yers, who were reluctant to allow their hard earned experience points to be wasted, started to flee towards the edges of the map and any teleportation points. But their sheer number meant that their escape was slow.

    Ye Ci was very satisfied with chaos caused by her attack.

    She guided Ol¡¯ Six after the fleeing Golden Era yers, leaving death and destruction wherever she went. The damage counters from fleeing yers filled her vision with nothing but red. She had umted arge amount of Sin points by ughtering such arge number of yers.

    Breeze smashed his fish against the table, ¡°How many of you are still alive?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Sweeping Reed grimaced, ¡°There¡¯s no way to tell. I don¡¯t even know how many died from just one attack.¡±

    ¡°Forget about it. Pull back.¡± Despite his reluctance to ept this defeat, Breeze knew that pressing the attack would only result in more losses.

    And a person who refuses to face defeat would never seed.

    ¡°But boss... Are we going to give up just like that?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why don¡¯t you go y that Dragon then?¡± Breezeughed.

    Sweeping Reed knew his boss very well. He knew that he was not allowed to continue the attack. ¡°Everyone retreat!¡± he shouted into themand channel, ¡°Those who are dead, go revive yourselves in the grave and Recall.¡±

    The Golden Era yers were very disciplined. They did not even utter a single world in the Map or World Chat when they received the order. The yers began withdrawing from the battlefield with a hastened pace.

    Is it over?

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath and looked up into the sky. The day was still gloomy in the Lesser Demon Sanctum, but there was sunshine blooming in Ye Ci¡¯s heart.

 Chapter 344 Aerial Steed

    <h4>Chapter 344 Aerial Steed</h4>

    The Sin system in Fate was different from other games, but were also simr in many ways.

    Some cities were made inessible by yers with high Sin values, while NPCs would also ignore the yers¡¯ dialogue requests. These yers would also be denied entry to some dungeons as well.

    Of course, the killing of yers might not necessarily result in high Sin values, as there were continents hostile to one another. Killing an enemy yer would give a yer reward instead of a penalty, and while the rewards of killing hostile yers were not as high in the early stages of the game as travel between the continents were fairly limited, things were entirely different when the patch was introduced.

    With the Middle Continent was amon ground,rge scale battles between yers of different continents were bing a more and moremon urrence. Each enemy defeated would result in arge amount of EXP rewarded and dropped equipment, and each kill would also award yers with Honor Points as well. Death, while punishing, was very well worth the risk.

    Suchrge scale battles between yers were allowed and were even encouraged by the developers.

    But Fate was a game focused on not only its PVP elements, but also PVE as well. This was why certain measures were put in ce to protect the interests of yers who favored PVE.

    A team might not necessarily be limited to a party or a guild. It could also include a continent, and even two allying continents.

    And this was why Fate was designed to punish PVP activities between yers of the same continent or allying continents. Of course, this was all in terms of principle.

    There were still incidents where yers from the same continent fought against one another. yers with simr levels would not suffer too great a penalty by killing each other. While Sin points would still be to a yer, it would easily decay over the span of a few hours, and the yer could return to the main city as if the killing did not happen at all.

    But if there was arge difference in levels between twobatants, yers would be penalized with a higher Sin value. A Sin level of 100 and above would not be removed so easily.

    This was a mechanism put into ce to protect new yers.

    This was why yers would not attack low level ounts unless their hands were forced. The high Sin value was simply not worth the act.

    And it was very rare for yers to employ human wave tactics using low level ounts in the game. It was something that a person might not even see in his or her lifetime as a gamer.

    And who would have expected something like this to ur?

    Even as a reincarnator. Ye Ci did not even dream of something like this would happen to her. This was why she did not even know what to do when her character had umted nearly 40,000 points of Sin.

    F*ck! This Sin value is too high! I don¡¯t even know how much money I have to pay to cut the figure down. How long will it take for it to naturally decay? How many monsters do I have to kill?

    It¡¯s all Golden Era¡¯s fault! This wouldn¡¯t have happened if they did not send out so many low level ounts against us! This meant that I¡¯ve killed at least 400,000 low level ounts with Ol¡¯ Six in half an hour!

    She did not even know if she should be happy for Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s performance, or be angry because of the tactic employed by Golden Era.

    As she waited for the construction of the fort to finallyplete, Ye Ci¡¯s mood was gloomy. There were no signs of therge battle that took ce moments ago.

    This was one of the benefits of the game. yers were not required to clean up the battlefield as their corpses would be cleared away by the system ten minutes after their revival.

    Ye Ci pulled out a bottle of wine inventory and gulped down a few mouthfuls of alcohol.

    Despite her woes at the oue of the battle, Ye Ci was able to enjoy the fight as a reincarnator who had grown bored of fighting.

    Just then, a voice called out to her. She lowered her head, and saw Ideal Height 1.7m standing beside Ol¡¯ Six.

    A teasing smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face as she looked at the Dwarvish yer. With her already short height, and Ye Ci¡¯s elevated position on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s back, the contrast between the two yer¡¯s height was very apparent.

    Of course, the two yers were still good friends. There was no way Ye Ci would speak to her from Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s back. She jumped down from her steed, and stood beside her friend before giving her a warm greeting.

    She did not dismiss Ol¡¯ Six. The presence of her pet was no longer a secret after the fight with Golden Era. The same thing could be said about the owners of the fort. It was already made clear that Upwards Ho! was the guild who was behind the construction of the fort. And Ye Ci decided to put the presence of Ol¡¯ Six to good use.

    The battle with Golden Era had just ended, but it also meant that many of the major guilds had caught wind of the incident. They would definitely learn of the presence of Ol¡¯ Six. They might still be uncertain about the identity of the owner of the Dragons, but its sheer presence alone was enough intimidation for any parties who might try to challenge Upwards Ho!.

    ¡°Heh, only a tall race like you can ride something like this. I don¡¯t think I can even climb onto that thing.¡± Ideal Height 1.7m looked up at Ol¡¯ Six. It was at that moment that Ye Ci came to the realisation that Ideal Height 1.7m¡¯s legs were not even as long as the sole of Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s foot.

    The teasing grin returned to her face.

    ¡°Wipe that grin away from your face!¡± Ideal Height 1.7m snorted at Ye Ci, ¡°Don¡¯t think that I do not know what you¡¯re thinking!¡±

    Ye Ci crossed her arms in front of her and taunted Ideal Height 1.7m, ¡°Do you want me to carry you up so that you can enjoy the view up here? Or maybe a breath of fresh air?¡±

    Ideal Height 1.7m waved her staff at Ye Ci, and Ol¡¯ Six turned its head around and huffed at the Dwarven yer. Had she not clung on to Ye Ci¡¯s cloak, Ideal Height 1.7m would have fallen onto the ground.

    ¡°F*ck it! Don¡¯t look down on short people!¡± Ideal Height 1.7m red at Ol¡¯ Six as Ye Ci broke intoughter.

    ¡°By the way, how long will that pet of yours be here?¡± Ideal Height 1.7m climbed on to the wall of the fort and tossed a bottle of wine to Ye Ci while she pulled another one from her inventory.

    ¡°At least after Blossom is done installing the defences on the fort, or we might lose this fort to another wave of Golden Era¡¯s attack.¡±

    ¡°I guess so. They might not send low level ounts again in their next attack. It¡¯ll be a pain in the ass if their lvl50 and lvl60 ounts show up.¡± Ye Ci nodded in agreement. It was one of her worries as well.

    As one of the guild¡¯s fighters, Ideal Height 1.7m was bored out of her mind once the battle was concluded.

    She asked about Ye Ci¡¯s Sin value after some small talk, and was shocked to hear that it was nearing 40,000 points. ¡°Well I guess it¡¯s normal. One breath from your Dragon took out arge crowd of them¡± she said after recovering from her initial shock, ¡°But there¡¯s no way your Sin will decay so quickly with that amount right? Will you be spending gold to clear your Sins?¡±

    ¡°No way. With this amount of Sin, it¡¯ll take a veryrge amount of gold coins.¡± said Ye Ci as she took a sip of wine, ¡°I do not have that sort of money to give to the game developers¡±

    ¡°But you won¡¯t be able to go to any city other than Red Lake City like this.¡± Ideal Height 1.7m was worried.

    Ye Ci tilted her head to a side, ¡°I¡¯ve actually thought of heading to the Middle Continent. Sin value does not value much there, and there are a lot of high level maps. It¡¯s not bad over there.¡± but Ideal Height 1.7m was still worried as there was still a bounty on Ye Ci. It was not a worry that was shared by Ye Ci, who left after a short conversation with Ideal Height 1.7m.

    A post featuring Ol¡¯ Six and the Golden Era yers quickly made its way into the forum. From the angle where the video was taken, it was obvious that the post was not made by a Golden Era yer, and was instead made by an onlooker from a vantage point.

    It became the most popr post of the day, and even attracted the attention of Fate developers. They could of course easily acquire the identity of the Dragon¡¯s owner through their own database, but it was not something they would do. The material itself was enough as a free form of advertisement. This was how the video was uploaded to Fate¡¯s official site with the title ¡°When yers have dominated thend, who will rule the skies?¡±

    This was originally a video captured by a yer in the game, but it was able to gain a lot of attention due to the promotion by Fate developers. It suddenly became a hint from the developers that aerial steed would be introduced into the game.

    And the discussion quickly shifted from the one-sided ughter to the possibility of having aerial steed in the game.

    When the Dragon was revealed to still be in the Lesser Demon Sanctum, countless of yers swarmed into the map.

    Ye Ci equipped the Secret Cloak and remained in stealth beside Ol¡¯ Six. She held a strong disdain for the yers who began taking pictures and videos of Ol¡¯ Six. As she still could not leave, Ye Ci could only allow the crowd to continue staring at Ol¡¯ Six as if it was a tourist attraction.

    Of course, people were already guessing who the owner of the Dragon was. Many of the answers pointed at Gongzi You.

    Blossom finallypleted the instation of eight Meteor Cannons on the fort and stocked up arge number of munitions in the warehouse. With such an equipment, the fort could hold off against an attack from even a guild like Wolf Pack for at least three hours.

    Ye Ci was satisfied with the results. With all the preparationsplete, she walked up to Jasmine and unlocked the quest. This finally began the mining operations of the only Mithril ore vein on the Eastern Continent. But ording to the quest, the ores could only be mined by the yer holding the quest, or by the ck Iron Dwarves hired by the yer. The Dwarves did not take gold as payment, and instead needed only a small portion of the Mithril mined.

 Chapter 345 The Fate Of Fate

    <h4>Chapter 345 The Fate Of Fate</h4>

    It was Ye Ci¡¯s first chance to go offline in days.

    The same could be said for Bai Mo, who had been online since the beginning of the fort¡¯s construction.

    Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian were overjoyed to see the two finally getting off the game. And with Tan Pnging home on that day, the dishes on the dining table were rich. Ye Nantian had even poured each of them a cup of wine.

    Despite Tan Png¡¯s exams, he was still involved in things happening in the game. Even a yer who had not gone online would have received news of what was going on in the game after the video of the battle was promoted by Fate developers.

    Ye Ci, Bai Mo, and Tan Png were having a small conversation on the balcony after dinner. Tan Png was still soaked in the glory of the moment where Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s one-sided battle against the low level ounts of Golden Era.

    The boy spoke as if he was right there in the thick of the action. Ye Ci and Bai Mo who were part of the battle could only smile at the boy.

    ¡°By the way, Sister Ye, won¡¯t you be able to just hold off an entire army on your own with Ol¡¯ Six by your side?¡± Tan Png could not suppress his excitement after seeing the ferocity of Ol¡¯ Six in the video.

    Ye Ci cast a nce at Bai Mo after hearing the boy¡¯s words. Bai Mo was not as knowledgeable in aerial steeds, but he was not as optimistic as Tan Png, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s barely a year and a half since the game started. If they release more creatures like Ol¡¯ Six, it¡¯llpletely break the bnce of the game. I don¡¯t think the developers are that stupid.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Ye Ci nodded, ¡°The only reason Ol¡¯ Six was basically invincible during the battle was due to theck of aerial steed. And don¡¯t forget that we were fighting against low level ounts. Aerial steeds would usually be able tounch attacks that are stronger than that of a yer. An aerial steed could easily defeat a yer of the same level, not to mention low level ounts. Ol¡¯s Six will not be as scary as it is now when more aerial steeds are made avable to yers and when the average yer level increases.¡±

    Fate was a well bnced game. Even a powerful life form like a Dragon has its counter in the game.

    ¡°Even then, Ol¡¯ Six is a Dragon! Even when aerial steed bes moremon in the game, Dragons are still very rare! You¡¯ll still have a huge advantage with Ol¡¯ Six. I bet it¡¯ll be able to take on at least three opponents at once!¡± Tan Png was still highly optimistic.

    ¡°Even a Holy Dragon is not invulnerable. It has its own weaknesses as well.¡± Ye Ciughed.

    ¡°What can kill a Holy Dragon?¡± asked Bai Mo and Tan Png simultaneously.

    Ye Ci stood up and stretched her legs, ¡°There¡¯s a book called ¡®Legend of the Dragon yers¡¯ in the National Library. You guys can check it out.¡±

    Ye Ci hade across the book in herst life as she was hiding from her people after her life. She had always dismissed the stories depicted in the book as mere legends until her encounter with the Skeletal Dragon as a mercenary.

    ¡°Eh?¡± the two shared a look. They were not happy to be kept in suspense, ¡°Come on, tell us! Is there really a way to deal with a Holy Dragon?¡±

    ¡°Working for that knowledge on your own is the best way for you to remember.¡± responded Ye Ci before she disappeared back into her room and logged into her game.

    The most direct counter to Dragons was right under their noses. It was the Mithril that Ye Ci was trying so hard to protect.

    As arge part of a Dragon¡¯s attacks was Magical Damage, a piece of equipment made from Mithril could help in reducing that damage. yers armed with Mithril equipment would not suffer from a one-sided ughter with Mithril in their arsenal.

    Of course, this applied to every aerial steed with Magical Damage as well.

    But even when a yer receives reduced damage from other steeds, this did not necessarily mean that their steed would enjoy the same protection. This was why Tan Png was still correct to a certain degree.

    But this was something that would happen quite some time in the future. It would take at least two years for the game to reach that state yet. This was why Ye Ci was careful to not leak any information she had about the future of the game. Ol¡¯ Six could be say to be a very overpowered presence in the game, and she must tread carefully so that the developers would overlook her Dragon. What she must do was to not attract too much attention or the developers¡¯s hands would be forced to nerf the Dragon.

    And in actuality, the yers of Golden Era had already thought of such a thing, and were in the process of reporting Ol¡¯ Six to the developers.

    Wang Jiangnan happened to be the manager on duty of the day. He was able to call up the data on Ol¡¯ Six with a few strokes on his keyboard, and his lips twitched when the owner was revealed to be Ye Ci. His lips continued to twitch when he saw the source of the Dragon.

    He would never forget the day he handed the Mysterious Egg to Ye Ci. He seemed to have something to do with the appearance of the Dragon in the game.

    The developers of Fate were split into two factions with differing opinions. One faction intended to work with Heaven and Earth Corporation in developing the next stages of their game, while the other faction wished to maintain independence.

    Some of the lead developers working for Glory Corporation had been poached by Heaven and Earth, and Glory Corporation¡¯s stocks were also suffering from their trade war with Heaven and earth Corporation.

    The entrance of Golden Era into Fate had also brought some form of impact to the yer base of Fate. It might not be very obvious at this point, but the impact brought upon by Golden Era would definitely cause the downfall of Fate. From the statistics of yer activity alone, the number of inactive yers rose drastically after Golden Era entered the game.

    Glory Corporation would of course now bow down to Heaven and Earth Corporation, but thepany¡¯s wealth could simply not match itspetitors.

    Big Zhang had even told Wang Jiangnan that many of the developers had already handed in their resignation letter. Two of the lead developers have already been guaranteed key positions in of Heaven and Earth Corporation.

    Wang Jiangnan was not at all surprised. He knew that something like this would happen the moment the director of Heaven and Earth appeared in the office of the Glory Corporation.

    He thought of the big office on the developers¡¯s floor. A third of the seats were already empty. If the situation continues, will Fate be finished?

    A Golden Era yer was stillining about Ye Ci¡¯s Dragon.. Wang Jiangnan himself was annoyed by the call. He promised to look into the stats of the Dragon and that he would give a formal response in 24 hours before ending the call.

    Wang Jiangnan leaned back on his chair and let out a long sigh after ending the call. There was a huge weight on his chest. And it came not only from his worry for Fate, but also from an email in his mailbox.

    He had received an email from the human resource department of Heaven and Earth Corporation, offering him a high position in hispany with twice his annual sry. The benefits and opportunities from his offer was so tempting that even Wang Jiangnan¡¯s resolve was shaken.

    Should I leave like the rest of them? Or should I stay until the end? He was not one of the pioneers of Fate, but he had poured his heart and soul into Fate since he started his career in Glory Corporation as a low level developer. His name was only listed in a tiny corner of a long list of names of the many developers working on Fate, but it was enough for him. Do I... Give up?

    Wang Jiangnan¡¯s thoughts were a jumbled mess. He pulled out his phone and stared at the group photo he took with Ye Ci and the World Conqueror guild for a long while before finally putting his phone away.

    He pulled out his character card from a drawer, and informed his subordinates to not redirect any calls into his workce as he would begging into the game to check on an issue. He then made his way to the high end gaming cabin reserved for the manager on duty.

    It was a gaming cabin designed for the development team of the Glory Corporation. The gaming cabin would not be bound to any character card so that employees could log into the game to check on any issues reported by the yers.

    Wang Jiangnan inserted his card and climbed into the gaming cabin. He appeared in the game world shortly. He did a quick search on Gongzi You¡¯s location, and found her to be online. And after inputting a series ofmands, Wang Jiangnan appeared beside Ye Ci.

    But he did not expect Gongzi You to be in the air.

    Gravity pulled at Wang Jiangnan the moment he moved to Ye Ci¡¯s location.

    Ye Ci saw something appearing at the corners of vision, but disappeared just as quickly. She quickly looked at her surroundings, but could see nothing around her, ¡°It must¡¯ve been fatigue.¡± she said to herself.

    But who is Wang Jiangnan? He is a Fate developer. He keyed in a few moremands, and his fall from the sky halted. And he appeared beside Ye Ci once again with a Holy Dragonrger than hers momentster.

    Ye Ci was shocked by the sudden appearance of such arge object. A familiar voice rang out just when she was ready tounch an attack, ¡°Long time no see, Gongzi You!¡±

    She narrowed her eyes, and saw Wang Jiangnan mounted on the Dragon beside her. Damn it! I thought it was some sort of BUG!

    ¡°Hey, Wang Jiangnan, are you telling me that you¡¯re using your admin privileges to do some sketchy stuff? Look at that tier 10 Holy Dragon with perfect stats! What are you trying to do?¡±

    ¡°To show off of course!¡± Wang Jiangnan chuckled. He keyed in a few strings ofmand, and the Dragon disappeared.

    Just as Ye Ci gaped at the customer service employee, a voice appeared from behind her, ¡°Say Gongzi You, where are a Red Name like you going?¡±

 Chapter 346 None Of My Business

    <h4>Chapter 346 None Of My Business</h4>

    Ye Ci turned around and saw Wang Jiangnan behind her, ¡°Say, what are you doing in a ce like this? Did I do something again?¡± she stared quizzically at the man.

    ¡°Ahh, it¡¯s not like I can stop you from keeping that line of thoughts.¡± Wang Jiangnan shrugged. He even squatted down and touched the scales on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s back. But Ol¡¯ Six did not even react to Wang Jiangnan¡¯s touch.

    Ye Ci was confused. And sensing her confusion, Wang Jiangnan smiled at her and said, ¡°This is a special ount. Only you can see me at the moment, and even your pet will not be able to detect my presence.¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips and returned her attention to the skies ahead. She would often adjust Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s speed and make course corrections so that the Dragon was headed in the right direction.

    ¡°So what brings you here?¡±

    ¡°Make a guess.¡± Wang Jiangnan smiled at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci did not even need much thought, ¡°It¡¯s definitely because of the reports andints you receive from Golden Era yers about my pet.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, as expected of Gongzi You. You¡¯re not wrong!¡± Wang Jiangnan¡¯s voice that was supposed to be filled with excitement was monotonous.

    Ye Ci was baffled by Wang Jiangnan¡¯s reaction. She turned around to face the customer service employee, but his expression was unexpectedly calm. She set Ol¡¯ Six to automatic flight as the skies in Fate was still very safe. As the only yer with an aerial steed, there was no fear of being ambushed in the sky.

    Ye Ci then turned around and sat crossed-leg facing Wang Jiangnan, ¡°Oh? Are you here to nerf my Dragon? And perhaps throwing me down from here while you¡¯re at it?¡± Ye Ci smiled at Wang Jiangnan, ¡°Too bad though, we¡¯ve just flown past Champion City¡¯s territory. Even if I die from the fall, I¡¯ll not be sent to jail. After all, I¡¯m in the wild right now.¡±

    ¡°Why would I do somethingme like that?¡± Wang Jiangnan pursed his lips. He was not satisfied with the way Heaven and Earth Corporation dealt with Glory Corporation, and he was the one who gave Gongzi You the pet. If the Dragon was handled as a BUG, he would also be affected as well.

    And of course, he did not wish to be a tool for Golden Era to ruin the game, even if it was something that was within his responsibility as a developer.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s not because you don¡¯t want to,¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Wang Jiangnan, ¡°It¡¯s because you have something to do with this as well. I happened to luck out with the Holy Dragon, but you were the one who gave me the egg. So you¡¯re partially at fault here, am I right?¡±

    ¡°Can you not be so smart?¡± Wang Jiangnan pursed his lips, ¡°You don¡¯t have to spell everything out for me. We both know what happened. Can¡¯t you just pretend to be stupid just this once?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just not who I am.¡± Ye Ci snorted.

    She tilted her head and continued, ¡°Even if you¡¯re ignoring them right now, Golden Era will never let this go so easily. What are you nning to do?¡±

    ¡°You think thepany will me me for what happened?¡± Wang Jiangnan could tell the meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    Ye Ci nodded. She had always been a cold and distant person, but when the future lead director of Fate was sitting right in front of her and was engaging her in a small talk, even she could not act so cold.

    ¡°It won¡¯t happen. Thepany is barely surviving right now. They will turn a blind eye as long as it¡¯s not an actual game breaking bug.¡± said Wang Jiangnan, ¡°Besides, that Dragon of yours had already been made into a promotional material. Do you think game developers are stupid? Why would we p ourselves on the face?¡± Wang Jiangnan was apparently in a bad mood.

    Ye Ci could tell that something was going on in Wang Jiangnan¡¯s life, but she kept the question she had to herself. Based on her memories from herst life, Fate was not the only one that suffered on Golden Era¡¯s hands. Even the Glory Corporation itself was badly affected as a result.

    Of course, the yers themselves paid no attention to something like this. But when she thought about it, the only reason Golden Era could be so sessful in establishing their presence in the game was because of financial backing from a third party.

    The downfall of Fate, as well as the losses suffered by the Glory Corporation happened almost simultaneously. It was proof that Golden Era¡¯s entry into Fate was orchestrated by the same person who wished to see the downfall of the Glory Corporation.

    Everything was now clear to Ye Ci.

    She pursed her lips at Wang Jiangnan and spoke, ¡°So, what do you need from me?¡±

    Wang Jiangnan suddenly found himself at a loss. Why did I log into the game to meet Gongzi You? Am I here for her opinions? Is that the truth? Is it... He had a feeling that the overly young girl was too mature for her age. He was able to calm himself down whenever he was around her, and she would always have an answer to his questions.

    When did this all start? Even Wang Jiangnan himself could not answer the question. But even if the answer remained unknown, his subconscious mind acted before his rationale could ract. Perhaps this is why he was here.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t waste my time. Haven¡¯t you heard? Time is money.¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow.

    Wang Jiangnan was embarrassed, but he still could not make up his mind. Should I tell her? But we¡¯re not that close are we? He raised his head and grinned at Ye Ci, ¡°Why are you so sure that I need something from you? Can¡¯t I just here to witness the journey of a red named yer?¡±

    Ye Ci let out a snort and stood up slowly, ¡°Oh really?¡±

    A feeling of unease crept into Wang Jiangnan¡¯s heart as he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s narrowed eyes, ¡°Hey hey hey, what are you trying to do? This is a GM ount, I¡¯ll kill you where you stand with just a string of....¡± Ye Ci raised a food and gave him a kick before he could finish his sentence.

    Ye Ci dusted her hands and looked down at the direction that Wang Jiangnan fell, ¡°So what if you¡¯re a GM? I¡¯ll do that to a GM if the GM annoys me.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan, who was in a freefall, immediately keyed in a string ofmands and reappeared on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s back. He noticed the re from Ye Ci and immediately crouched down and grabbed hold of the scales on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s back, ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll stop beating around the bush! I promise! This has nothing to do with your red name. Don¡¯t kick me down again! It¡¯s not pleasant to be in a freefall with my head pointing downwards!¡±

    With the promise to speak the truth from Wang Jiangnan, Ye Ci decided to stop messing with the future lead director of Fate. After all, her future lies in his hands, ¡°Alright then. Speak up. I don¡¯t have much time.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan sat in front of Ye Ci, and finally told her about the events that were happening in Glory Corporation, and about the offer from Heaven and Earth Corporation. He needed a listener, and was in need of Ye Ci¡¯s advice. Of course, it was under the guise that these were things that happened to a friend of his.

    She of course knew what was going on in his mind, and understood that Glory Corporation was undergoing arge problem. But she was baffled. Wang Jiangnan was poached as well in myst life? But just what sort of decision did he make back then if he¡¯s asking me about it now?¡±

    ¡°What does it have to do with me?¡± Ye Ci offered her response after some moments of thought.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve always been very straightforward.¡±

    ¡°And what does it have to do with you anyways?¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes.

    If ¡°it¡¯s none of my business¡± and ¡°what does it have anything to do with you?¡± could be used as answers to many of the issues we face in our lives, then we would be able to save a lot of time for ourselves.

    Wang Jiangnan was at a loss for words.

    ¡°Is your friend short of money?¡± Ye Ci snorted.

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Wang Jiangnan felt as if the darkness in his heart had been dispelled by Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°What business do I have with his own decision anyways.¡±

    And he stood up and said to Ye Ci, ¡°Say, do you need some favors from me, red name? I can give you items to clear all those Sin points of yours.¡±

    Ye Ci cast the future lead developer of Fate a sideway nce, ¡°It has nothing to do with you!¡±

    Wang Jiangnan broke out intoughter and patted Ye Ci on the shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll be on my way then.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, show yourself out.¡± Ye Ci did not even turn around to face him.

    Wang Jiangnan lowered his hand, and called out a control panel. He gave one final look at Ye Ci and a smile spread across his lips. ¡°Thank you.¡± he said after a long while and disappeared in a sh of light.

    Ye Ci did not even turn around. She continued staring at the skies ahead as she flew towards hero City. ¡°Idiot. How are you supposed to convince people that you¡¯re a genius if you have to ask me something so simple?¡± she sighed.

    She then looked up at the azure skies, and the bright sun. So even a developer has his own worries and doubts. Thank God he has not given up yet, or Fate... Is finished.

    She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sun for a long while.

    She then opened her eyes and flew Ol¡¯ Six higher into the sky. She was cheering Wang Jiangnan on in her heart.

    You can do it Wang Jiangnan! For your dreams! And for Fate!

    Wang Jiangnan¡¯s mind was filled with Ye Ci¡¯s words as he climbed out of the gaming cabin.

    ¡°Is your friend short of money?¡±

    ¡°What does it have to do with you!¡±

    And he chuckled to himself.

    The girl was right. What happened to thepany, and the decisions of his coworkers were none of his business. So what if Heaven and Earth offered him a higher sry? His sry with Glory was enough for him to lead afortable life. Do I really need the money? No! I do not!

    So why am I giving up on my dreams? He was finally reminded of his dream when he first joined thepany. He remembered the joy when his name was tucked away at the smallest corner of the long list of Fate developers.

    His dreams had nothing to do with money! His dreams were with the game called Fate. Anything else... Was none of his business!

 Chapter 347 Return To Hero City

    <h4>Chapter 347 Return To Hero City</h4>

    Ye Ci was forced to travel to the Middle Continent due to her high Sin value. She continued her flight to the Middle Continent after bidding her farewell with Wang Jiangnan. Ol¡¯ Six was flying at the speed of the Gryphon of the Flight Manager, but unlike the Gryphons, the Dragon had to be fed constantly.

    Despite her high cooking level and high grade food material, most of the food she prepared was roasted. This resulted in lower level food that did not do much in satisfying Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s appetite.

    With the exception of her Cooking skills, all of Ye Ci¡¯s Life Skills were still at the rank of Beginner. It was all thanks to the needs to satisfy herrge pets. But due to herck of recipes, she was unable to prepare any food that could increase the stats of yers upon consumption.

    Ye Ci finally arrived at the gates of Hero City just when her supplies of food were almost depleted.

    Hero City was built on top of a magical floating ind at the center of the Middle Continent. yers could only reach the city through the use of teleportation and aerial steed. The teleportation shards to the city were more expensive than the shards to the other cities, and could only be purchased from very specific NPCs. Ye Ci herself bought a few pieces during her first visit to the city, but with Ol¡¯ Six hatched, she no longer had a need for the shards.

    The entrance of Hero City was littered with corpses. It was apparent that arge scale battle took ce just in front of the city moments ago, but it had already devolved into a battle of words.

    All eyes shifted to Ol¡¯ Six when Ye Cinded. The gazes from so many yers would have drilled countless holes into Ye Ci if not for the Secret Clock she obtained from Golden Era. but she could still feel the heat of the a thousand suns on her as she walked into the city.

    With Ol¡¯ Six already made into promotional material by Fate officials, there was no need for Ye Ci to hide the presence of her Dragon. With the Secret Clock equipped, she did not have to worry about her identity. This allowed her to walk through the gates of Hero City without worry.

    Ye Ci was a Red Name, and despite her high level and stats, there was no way she could survive an attack from dozens of yers at once.

    But none of the yers around her showed any intention of attacking as she made her way into the city.

    She was able to walk into the city unmolested under the watchful gazes of the yers around her.

    Unlike the yers, NPCs could see the precise Sin value on Ye Ci. Despite living in an absolutely neutral city that would not cast judgement upon yers ording to their Sin values, the residents of Hero City would still react to a yer¡¯s Sin values.

    An NPC with a high sense of justice would often shun yers with high Sin values, denying them ess to quests and items.

    Ye Ci was not chased down by the city¡¯s soldiers as she walked through its streets, but as she walked into the eastern district of the city, she was refused by the warehouse NPCs, and she could do nothing but to head to the western district of the city.

    The different districts of Hero City were home to different types of NPCs. The NPCs with conscience would not reside in the same district with NPCs without a sense of justice. And this was why Ye Ci was forced into the western district of the city.

    Her high Sin values meant that she was not weed by the NPCs in the eastern district. The only NPCs who would deal with her were living in the western district of Hero City.

    She could feel an entirely different atmosphere the moment she set foot in the western district. The NPCs were all staring at her as if she was their prey. And even the streets of the western district appeared to be gloomy and dark inparison.

    When siege battles were introduced to the game in the future, the number of yers with high Sin values would increase. They would naturally flock to the western district of the city when their services were refused by the NPCs in the eastern district.

    But these yers were fewer in numbers at the current stage of the game, which meant that the western district did not receive many visitors.

    The ie of the NPCs would in turn be very low. And this was why they treated every visiting yer as a prey.

    Ye Ci stocked up in the shops of the western district, and visited a Cooking NPC for some high level recipes so that she could satisfy Ol¡¯ Six¡¯srge appetite. With all the preparations done, she was ready to head to the lvl75-lvl80 map of the Middle Continent to level up and to clear her Sin value.

    She noticed a presence behind her as she approached the main gate of Hero City.

    She slowed down her pace, and studied her surroundings. She was able to detect the presence of a Rogue following behind her. But the Rogue¡¯s Stealth was so high that even Ye Ci could not pinpoint the yer¡¯s exact location. Is that a yer? How can someone have such a high Stealth value?

    Ye Ci was excited. If the yer was an enemy, she would be able to engage the yer freely inbat as the western district was not patrolled by soldiers. After all, it was the darkest corner of the city.

    The Rogue lost Ye Ci as she passed by an intersection. He could not detect her presence anywhere in the narrow street.

    A sneer appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips as she stared down at the Rogue from the second floor balcony of one of the buildings.

    It was a yer. A Red Name yer from a hostile continent. She could tell from the Rogue¡¯s figure that he was either a short Human or an Elf. And from the Rogue¡¯s posture and level of alertness, Ye Ci knew that he was a veteran.

    And this particr Rogue was very good at tailing a yer and escaping. A Rogue like him might not necessarily have a high attack, but was very good at evading his opponents. Even Ye Ci herself was not sure if she could take him out with a single hit.

    But Ye Ci was ready to strike. She nocked an arrow, and took aim at the Rogue.

    While the Rogue was still trying his best to locate Ye Ci, her arrow flew threw the air at its target.

    The Rogue was immediately able to pinpoint Ye Ci¡¯s direction when she released her arrow. He rolled to a side, knowing better than to take a hit from Gongzi You. If he was stunned, it would be a trip to the grave.

    He knew that he had lost the fight the moment he took the action to evade Gongzi You¡¯s attack. He was a good yer with good gaming sense, and he knew how to utilize his Agility and Evasion to gain the upper hand in a fight. But the moment he dove to a side to evade the arrow, the Rogue knew that he had fallen into Gongzi You¡¯s trap.

    The Huntress was an expert at engaging her opponents at range, and was also a good melee fighter. She was also known by her precise attacks that would often strike at the vitals of her opponents and render them crippled.

    Ah, who was the one who said that Gongzi You was cold and heartless? She is also actually a very cruel person.

    If I¡¯m not mistaken... The Rogue took a defensive stance when he evaded the attack, and felt the cold sensation of a dagger pressed against his neck, ¡°Don¡¯t move if you do not wish to lose your experience points.¡±

    The Rogue let out a sigh. He did not know Gongzi You well enough, and could naturally not tell what her next move would be. It was impossible to win if he could not predict what his opponent might do next.

    Hence the Rogue gave up on any thoughts of fighting back. He rxed his muscles and chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t be rash, Gongzi You. My guild leader wants to see you.¡±

    A frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°Your guild leader?¡± her question was followed by a sneer, ¡°Breeze?¡±

    But Ye Ci¡¯s guess was wrong. And the Rogue himself did not expect the name was well. It took him a full minute to respond to Ye Ci¡¯s question, ¡°It seems that you¡¯ve been a victim of Breeze¡¯s activities. Is that why you¡¯re rting this to him as well?¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. Who else can it be then? She let out augh as she pressed the dagger harder against the yer¡¯s throat, ¡°Who else will send a Rogue with such a high Stealth to take me out if not Breeze?¡±

    ¡°Oh I¡¯m not here to fight you, and I never will.¡± the Rogue chuckled, ¡°You know our boss, and you know another guy in our guild even better.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Ye Ci was baffled.

    ¡°My boss is Absalom. As for the other guy...¡± Ye Ci released the Rogue and cut him off mid sentence, ¡°What does Absalom want from me?¡± she asked as she sheathed her weapon.

    ¡°I do not know.¡± the Rogue shrugged, ¡°But you¡¯ll find out once you meet my boss. He is waiting for you.¡±

    ¡°Where is he?¡±

    ¡°The Shining Gold Tavern in the eastern district.¡± The Rogue dusted his cloak and pulled back his hood, revealing a smile on a very young face. Ye Ci could see the guild insignia beside the yer¡¯s name once his face was revealed. He was indeed from Genesis.

    ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    What does Absalom want from me? Thought Ye Ci. Whatever, it must have something to do with the Mithril.

    It did not take long for the duo to arrive at the Shining Gold Tavern.

    The Shining Gold Tavern was not the most well known in the district, nor was it blooming with business. It was tucked away at a secluded corner of the city.

    Ye Ci saw a Sorcerer in an elegant robe as she walked through the entrance of the tavern. The man stood up when he noticed her presence and grinned.

    Who else could it be but Absalom?

    There was also a man that she had not seen before beside Absalom. He was wearing a robe as well, but was not equipped with anything that could define his ss.

    Ye Ci studied her surroundings out of reflex, and was relieved to not detect the presence of a certain someone in the tavern. She did not know why, but a feeling of emptiness crept into her heart.

 Chapter 348 Business Partner

    <h4>Chapter 348 Business Partner</h4>

    ¡°Long time no see, Gongzi You.¡± Absalom was beaming at Ye Ci as he introduced her to the man beside him, ¡°This is the vice leader of Genesis, Silent Hymn. And this is Eastern Continent¡¯s Gongzi You, one of thergest customers of our guild.¡±

    Ye Ci exchanged pleasantries with the duo, and when she once again turned around, the Rogue was already nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Your guild¡¯s Rogues are not bad. That guy is quite good at shadowing someone.¡± she smiled at Absalom.

    ¡°Blue Wolf would¡¯ve been pleased if he knew that¡¯s what Gongzi You thinks of him.¡± Silent Hymn was paying close attention to Ye CI¡¯s expression the moment she entered the tavern. She was hiding her emotions very well, but he could sense the slight disappointment she had of Fleeting Time¡¯s absence.

    ¡°Anyways, I¡¯m sorry for calling you over so abruptly. We did not n for this meeting, and we¡¯ve just acquired your location, that¡¯s why Fleeting Time is not here...¡± Absalom grinned at Gongzi You.

    The Huntress¡¯s expression immediately, ¡°If this is what you have to say to me, then I¡¯ll take my leave...¡±

    Silent Hymn shot Absalom a re as Ye Ci turned around to leave. You idiot! Don¡¯t you know that some things can¡¯t be said? This is not the time for gossipping!

    He called out to Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi You, this is not what we called you here for. There¡¯s something important that we have to talk to you about.¡±

    Ye Ci turned back to face the duo again, but her expression was still dark.

    Genesis would of course not waste their time and Gongzi You¡¯s on baseless gossip. And Ye Ci¡¯s guess was correct. It was about the Mithril ore vein. ¡°What? You want me to help defend your fort?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s eyes widened as she stared incredulously at the duo, ¡°Absalom, am I losing my hearing or have you gone mad?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not hearing things. We¡¯re nning to build a series of fortifications around the Mithril ore vein of the Western Continent. We¡¯vepleted the quest, and have hired the workers required to build the fort. The construction will begin as soon as I give the order. But after their defeat at your hands, I¡¯m sure Golden Era would have learned of the existence of Mithril in this game. And I believe they will not sit back and watch as we build our fort.¡±

    ¡°Absalom, your guild is one of thergest guilds in Fate.¡± Ye Ci sneered at Absalom, ¡°You have your own elites, and they are more than a match for Golden Era. Why do you need me? I¡¯m a yer from a hostile continent...¡±

    ¡°Of course, what we need is not you. We need your Dragon.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s face was without expression as she stared at Absalom. The words were unspoken, but it was written very clearly on her face: I knew you¡¯re up to something! But she did not let Absalom wait long for her response, ¡°Impossible.¡±

    Absalom sighed. He had expected the answer, ¡°Will you please reconsider?¡±

    ¡°Say, Absalom, look at my red name. Are you sure you want me to do something like this?¡± Ye Ci pulled back her hood so that her stats could be revealed to the other party, ¡°Besides, you and I are from opposing continents. Have you ever thought that your men will take damage from my Dragon as well?¡±

    ¡°Of course we did! That¡¯s why we¡¯ll not be sending you near the fort. We hope that you can stand guard at teleportation points and ces where different maps meet.¡± Absalom chuckled, he had nned for this all along, ¡°Think about it, is there a better chance to farm for Glory Points? I wouldn¡¯t have asked if you do not have that Dragon. But now that you do, you can just fly over to our continent, right?¡±

    Ye Ci clicked her tongue at Absalom, ¡°You¡¯ve really thought it through haven¡¯t you? It¡¯s all part of your little scheme¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Absalom smiled at Ye Ci. His smile was harmless, but there was a glint of cunningness in his eyes, ¡°Weren¡¯t you scheming something as well when you gave us the location of our Mithril ore vein? You knew that you can¡¯t possibly keep all four veins to yourself, that¡¯s why you gave one to us so that we¡¯ll owe you a favor. Of course, I have to admit that you¡¯re sincere in our alliance against Golden Era, but Upwards Ho! is the one that will suffer more at the hands of that guild don¡¯t you think? They¡¯re most active in the Eastern Continent, and have only made a move against your guild. I think you know that they¡¯re using you to set an example for the other guilds...¡±

    Ye Ci did not deny Absalom¡¯s assertions. His analysis of the entire situation was correct, and this annoyed Ye ci. She could smell the threat in his words. A frown appeared on her face.

    ¡°So? What you¡¯re trying to say is...¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s make another deal.¡±

    A deal? What sort of deal? Ye Ci did not like the word when it came out of the mouth of somebody else, as it meant that she would not be the one in an advantageous position.

    She rxed herself and leaned back against the chair, ¡°Name your terms, and I¡¯ll see if we can work it out.¡±

    ¡°We need you to defend our fort until thepletion of its construction. I¡¯ll lend a thousand of my Elites to Upwards Ho! for an entire year if you promise to help us. They¡¯ll obey anything you ask of them.¡± Absalom chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m taking a veryrge risk here.¡±

    It was a very tempting deal. A thousand elites from Genesis was definitely of higher quality than the elites of a normal guild. They could definitely improve the quality of Upwards Ho! yers during their stay in the guild. Even Ye Ci herself was tempted to ept the deal right there and then.

    But Ye Ci was someone who would always maximize her benefits. There was no way she would one-sidedly ept Absalom¡¯s terms.

    ¡°You make it sound like a really fair deal, but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ye Ci drummed her fingers against the table.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Absalom had a bad feeling when he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s expression. It was exactly the smile she had on her face when they first met in the cave. Her eyes felt even colder and more calctive in the cave. Absalom was rmed. The girl before him was no pushover. She would never give up before she pecked thest shred of meat from his bare bones.

    ¡°There¡¯s no way that Golden Era will use the same strategy twice. And even if they did, and I sessfully intercepted their yers, this will only mean that their anger will be focused on me alone and not your guild. What sort of treachery is this?¡± despite the smile on her face, Ye Ci¡¯s words were as sharp as a knife.

    Absalom avoided her gaze and cleared his throat, ¡°What do you mean...¡±

    ¡°Let me spell it out for you then. If you can guess correctly that the Dragon is mine, then surely Breeze can do the same. Doesn¡¯t it mean that I will suffer retaliation from Golden Era in Genesis¡¯s stead?¡± said Ye Ci, ¡°I am a member of Upwards Ho!, and this means that Golden ERa¡¯s anger will be focused on my guild. We¡¯re way smaller than them, and Breeze himself is on the Eastern Continent. Do you think he¡¯ll let us be if we continue to be a hindrance to him time and time again?¡±

    A sneer appeared on Ye ci¡¯s lips, ¡°My guild will surely suffer a huge loss. And I don¡¯t think the risk is worth a mere thousand elite from your guild. There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll exchange the entire Upwards Ho! for just a thousand yers!¡±

    Silent Hymn spoke up before Absalom could respond, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Gongzi You was someone who would haggle over the smallest trifle. It seems that the rumors are not wrong. You¡¯re an expert at the game, and is also good at doing business.¡±

    Ye Ci shifted her gaze to Silent Hymn, and stared at him in silence.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong, we may have overlooked some of the details, but...¡± Silent Hymn continued after he noticed Ye Ci raising her eyebrows, ¡°This assumption is based on the fact that Golden Era will be using the same strategy. And even you have said that Golden Era will not repeat the same mistake twice. And if they fight our main force head on, doesn''t it mean that you don¡¯t have to do anything at all? You¡¯ll be getting a thousand elites from our guild by staying in the Western Continent for a few days. Don¡¯t you think this deal is worth your while?¡±

    Ye Ci remained silent for a long moment before resting her arms on the table and leaned forward, ¡°Why are you so sure that I¡¯ll give you my cooperation?¡±

    ¡°Why not? I¡¯m sure that you, of all people, would want to increase the strength of Upwards Ho! after your fight with Golden Era.¡± Silent Hymn was apparently very confident with their sess in sealing the deal.

    ¡°But you¡¯re only here today because I gave you the location of the Mithril ore vein.¡± Ye Ciughed.

    ¡°And even if you don¡¯t, I¡¯m sure that my guild will eventually stumble upon this little secret.¡± Silent Hymn refused to back down.

    ¡°But... It also means that the other guilds will be on the move as well. If I did not give you the coordinates, the other guilds on your continent will be alerted by the existence of the Mithril ore veins. They¡¯re not idiots, they¡¯ll definitely go look for it. What if they find it before you do?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s thoughts were masked well by her smile.

    ¡°The chances of that happening is small.¡± Silent Hymn was very confident of his guild¡¯s strength.

    Ye Ci¡¯s smile widened. And Silent Hymn was unsettled by her smile. He have not dealt with Ye Ci before, but he knew that he must be careful. Absalom who was seated beside Silent Hymn was also unnerved by the smile on Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    ¡°How are you sure that I¡¯ve told you all the secrets of the Mithril ore vein?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s smile was apanied by the words that struck fear in their hearts.

 Chapter 349 Killing The Famous

    <h4>Chapter 349 Killing The Famous</h4>

    Ye Ci stretched her back as she stood in front of the Shining Gold Tavern. She turned back to look at the entrance, where Absalom and Silent Hymn were beaming at her. She knew that they were cursing her in their hearts, but she returned a smile of her own as well.

    Absalom could not bring himself to smile, but Silent Hymn was able to put on a very happy face for Ye Ci, ¡°Hey, can you stop that? Will it kill you to smile at her?¡±

    The leader of Genesis tried his best to lift the corners of his mouth, ¡°It won¡¯t, but I think I will die if I have to smile at her.¡±

    ¡°You can dieter when we get back. Do you want to get screwed harder than we already had?¡±

    Absalom did not wish to see it happen, which was why he struggled to put on his best smile. Of course, it was a very ugly sight, ¡°So we have a deal then, Gongzi You. You¡¯ll being over to the Western Continent once the construction begins. Genesis will guarantee your safety.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s for sure. I will depart the moment your three thousand elites join my guild.¡± Ye Ci waved a scroll in her hand as she spoke. It was an agreement that had been signed by the trio when they were still in the tavern.

    ¡°But that three thousand elites of yours might not be very cooperative.¡± a sly smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, ¡°Unlike me. I¡¯ll do whatever you tell me to...¡±

    ¡°I know. If any of them refuses to obey, then our contract will be void.¡± Absalom red at the scroll in Ye Ci¡¯s hand. The agreement was not signed under fair terms. At least, the terms were unfair for Absalom.

    Ye Ci tossed the scroll up into the air and caught it before it fell, ¡°Oh right, I want Blue Wolf among the three thousand you¡¯re sending.¡±

    Absalom gritted his teeth so hard that they might even shatter. He gave Ye Ci a long and hard stare before averting his gaze so that he could suppress the urge to run up to the girl and beat her up. And of course, he was also saving himself from being beaten up by her as well.

    ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Well, see youter then.¡± Ye Ci sped her hand together, summoned Ol¡¯ Four, and left the ce.

    ¡°Why have you not warned me about her?¡± Silent Hymn faced Absalom with a darkened expression.

    ¡°How would I know!¡± Absalom grimaced, ¡°I¡¯ve only met her once!¡±

    ¡°And she ended up having Fleeting Time as an escort for an entire week! Wasn¡¯t that an indicator of how tough a nut she is?¡± Silent Hymn groaned. He knew not that Gongzi You was a cunning individual.

    ¡°Fleeting Time offered himself up like a free meal alright? It had nothing to do with me!¡± Absalom snorted, ¡°Besides, it was for a Mithril ore vein! Wouldn¡¯t you yourself be tempted by a deal like this?¡±

    Silent Hymn nced at Absalom and sighed. The man was right. Anybody who knew of the value of Mithril could not resist the temptation especially when it showed up right at their doorsteps. And Absalom himself was able to remain rationals he signs the agreement with Gongzi You.

    ¡°I hope Golden Era will put up a fight and not just leave us alone, or we¡¯ll be giving these yers away for free.¡± said Silent Hymn with a low voice, ¡°But I did not expect her to exclude Fleeting Time from our deal...¡±

    Absalom snorted at that remark, ¡°She¡¯s just hiding her intentions, that¡¯s all!¡±

    Ye Ci was in a very good mood when she ced the agreement she made with Genesis into her inventory. She had truly gotten a treasure by doing literally nothing. She had a strong feeling that Golden Era would not deploy the same strategy on Genesis, and this would mean that she would be receiving the three thousand elites for free.

    But she was also taking a huge risk. Neither of them were part of Golden Era, which naturally meant that they did not know how the guild would act. This was truly a high risk investment by Ye Ci.

    After replenishing her supplies in the city, Ye Ci decided to head out into the wild. She decided against traveling to maps with a high poption count to avoid getting jumped by the other yers.

    She could still remember the fate she had to endure during herst life when she was hunted down by yers from different factions. And it was during a time when she was not a Red Name. Her current status as a yer with high Sin values meant that she was a target for almost anyone seeking to earn Glory and Prestige points in their respective home continent. No matter how good she was, she knew that she could not win against overwhelming numbers.

    Ye Ci pulled her Secret Cloaked tighter to hide her face. It would be able to hide her identity as a Red Name, but she knew that her cover would be blown the moment she summoned Ol¡¯ Six. The yers were not idiots. They knew who the owner of that Dragon was. Nobody could resist the urge to try their luck with a Red Name like her.

    This was why Ye Ci opted to travel on horseback instead in an effort to sneak out of Hero City. She was unsure if her identity had been discovered by people like Blue Wolf, but all seemed well to her.

    But she was soon proven to be overly optimistic.

    There was already arge crowd of yers at the entrance of Hero City when Ye Ci arrived on her little horse. They sat staring at one another at each side of the road, just like how they were when Ye Ci first arrived. But Ye Ci could feel that something was off.

    She pulled the reins of her steed right before the boundaries of the city.

    Hero City was a neutral area, but its soldiers were not just for show. While the soldiers remained indifferent to the fighting that urred beyond the boundaries of their city, they would immediately react to any attacks on yers within the city limits.

    And this was why yers would often immediately flee into the borders of a city when they deemed a fight to be unwinnable. This practice was frowned upon by many, but it did not mean that there were no measures that could prevent such an act. A verymon solution was to prepare traps just before the entrance so that a fleeing yer could be immobilized and killed.

    Ye Ci was a single step away from the soldiers¡¯ protection. She knew that she would die if the crowd just outside the city wished her harm.

    But... Are they here for me?

    Ye Ci could not decide what to do. The yers appeared to be taking a rest after their battle, but she had a feeling of unease in her heart. The two groups once again engaged each other inbat under her watchful gaze, as if they had not detected the cloaked yer by the entrance.

    She steeled herself and walked out of the city. Despite the battle raging around her, Ye Ci was on high alert to summon Ol¡¯ Six. The Dragon had already been promoted by the developers of the game, there was no way she could continue hiding her pet.

    But just when Ye Ci thought that she was safe, a fireball flew towards her and exploded.

    A system notification immediately rang out in her ears, ¡°You have been attacked by Northern Continent yer ¡®Your Final Love¡¯. As punishment for your high Sin values, you will not be granted immunity for fighting back. Please prepare yourself for battle!¡¯

    Was it a stray shot? Ye Ci shifted her gaze to the Sorcerer who cast the spell. He was channeling a second attack. And judging from the direction he was facing, Ye Ci could tell that the attack was intentional.

    But just as she dismounted and was about to attack the yer, more system notification chimed in her ears.

    ¡°You have been attacked by Northern Continent yer ¡®Bbabby¡¯. As punishment for your high Sin values, you will not be granted immunity for fighting back. Please prepare yourself for battle!¡¯

    ¡°You have been attacked by Northern Continent yer ¡®Short Eared Kitty¡¯. As punishment for your high Sin values, you will not be granted immunity for fighting back. Please prepare yourself for battle!¡¯

    ¡°You have been attacked by Western Continent yer ¡®Moley Face¡¯. As punishment for your high Sin values, you will not be granted immunity for fighting back. Please prepare yourself for battle!¡¯

    ......

    Notifications continued flooding into her ears as her health plunged. She was also afflicted by multiple debuffs like Stunned, Paralyzed, and Tangled that rendered her immobilized.

    I¡¯m an idiot! Ye ci cursed at herself. Why did I not prepare myself when I noticed that something¡¯s not right! I shouldn¡¯t have tried my luck like that!

    Ye Ci immediately activated Dark Dispersal and summoned Ol¡¯ Six. She leapt onto the Dragon¡¯s back and soared into the sky.

    Due to her experience in herst life, Ye Ci was able to react quickly to the sudden event. Any other inexperienced yers would have lost their lives there and then.

    Ye Ci gulped down two High Health Potions once she was a safe distance away in the sky. Her health returned, but was still dropping slowly due to the debuffs. It took her a full twenty seconds before the duration of the debuffs ended.

    Ol¡¯ Six was already a distance away from the entrance of Hero City. But would she leave just like that? Of course not. She was a firm believer of paying an eye for an eye. This was why she immediately headed back to the entrance of Hero City on Dragonback the moment her health was at a safe amount.

    Many of the ranged yers were still trying to chase after her, but they were simply unable to catch up without aerial steeds of her own.

    The Map Channel was bustling with activity, ¡°The yer with a Dragon has appeared!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Red Name yer here,e and kill that guy!¡± And more and more yers began swarming towards the entrance.

    Ye Ci did not expect therge concentration of yers remaining at the entrance. She had thought that the crowd would slowly disperse. She hovered in the air, dodging the attacks from the ranged yers, and cast Dragon Breath on the yers below.

 Chapter 350 Tamraâ€™s Diary

    <h4>Chapter 350 Tamra¡¯s Diary</h4>

    The yers immediately began to disperse when they saw the Dragon. After all, everyone had seen the video made by Fate officials at that point.

    And that was why Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s Dragon Breath did not deal any significant damage, but..

    Ye Ci made a mistake, and the attack connected with one of the guards stationed at the entrance of Hero City.

    And...

    A system notification immediately chimed in her ears, ¡°You¡¯ve attacked a Hero City soldier. They will now initiate Level 1 Alert Level. Prepare yourself forbat.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately fled the scene of the crimes. The NPCs were way formidable than the yers she had been fighting. One might be able to escape from the yers, but escape from the NPC soldiers was not guaranteed.

    Her health was plunging rapidly from the sustained damage dealt by the musketeers of Hero City. She did not even dare to turn back, and continued gulping down Health Potions after Health Potions as she retreated beyond the range of the NPCs.

    Why is my luck so bad!

    ¡°You are no longer in range of Hero City. Your wanted level in Hero City is at Level 1 (Duration: 72 hours)¡± just then, another system notification rang in her ears.

    ¡°What the hell is this luck!!!¡± Ye Ci shouted.

    Having a Level 1 Wanted Level meant that a yer would not be able to enter a city for 72 hours, and could not replenish his or her supplies in any maps that were under the city¡¯s jurisdiction or they would be immediately arrested by the city¡¯s soldiers.

    Any NPCs within the city¡¯s territory would also report the yer¡¯s location to the soldiers in real time as well.

    She was able to quickly adjust her emotions. Whatever! I¡¯ll be fine as long as I avoid the humanoid NPCs!

    As for her status as a Red Name. It doesn¡¯t matter as well! I won¡¯t be able to clear those Sin values away that quickly! I¡¯ll just have to spend some money to bind all the equipment to me.

    Unlike the other continents with multiple major cities, the Middle Continent had only one megacity which was Hero City. Many of the cities in other maps of the Middle Continent were abandoned cities that were popted by monsters, while a number of them were popted by neutral races like ck Iron Dwarves, Drows, Goblins, and Elementals.

    These races had taken part in the war against Naga, but had grown distant from the other races of the other continent as time passed. This was why they were neutral to yers and were not under the jurisdiction of Hero City. A yer with a high enough standing among these races could purchase items from their cities and might run into rare quests from the NPCs.

    But these cities were situated in high level and very secluded maps that were still inessible to yers.

    Of course, Ye Ci was an exception.

    Ol¡¯ Six was capable of flight. And this meant that she was free to travel through maps without flying monsters.

    The Middle continent was way more dangerous than the four other continents in terms of PVE and PVP as well. But despite its riches, the four other continents were still able to flourish as they were still the main bases of operations for yers in Fate.

    Ye Ci was reluctant to travel to high level maps. These ces, while not under the jurisdiction of Hero City, were still highly dangerous. Death in these maps meant that she had a high chance of respawning in Hero City as the neutral territories around the city remained unexplored. This meant that she would be immediately apprehended by Hero City soldiers upon her respawn.

    There were not many ces that Ye Ci could go that were not within Hero City¡¯s jurisdiction and was suitable for her level. The closest map was the Sorrowful Canyon.

    The Sorrowful Canyon was one of the few maps in the Middle Continent without an outpost. The map was split in half by a river with lvl80-lvl85 monsters living on one side of the river and lvl100-lvl120 monsters living on the other side.

    Ye Ci¡¯s destination was of course the lvl80-lvl85 part half of the map.

    With the average yer level between lvl55 to lvl60, there was no risk of running into other yers in the map. And with a pet like Ol¡¯ Six, leveling would be very easy.

    The Dragon had grown formidable since its evolution, and so had its appetite. Ye Ci had already learned many new recipes from Hero City, and purchased new materials as well. She knew that roasted meat would no longer satisfy her pet.

    The lower level half of the Sorrowful Canyon was popted by humanoid monsters called Dark Apostles. These NPCs were dressed in ck robes with a hood covering their faces. Their numbers were few, and their defences weak, but these mage type monsters could dish outrge amounts of damage. Even a pet like Ol¡¯ Six would lose a significant portion of its health from even a single attack due to level penalty despite having a health pool in the hundreds of thousands.

    Ye Ci engaged these monsters two at a time, as Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s attacks on these monsters would often result in misses.

    But due to their low defences, Ye Ci was still able to deal with the Dark Apostles, and was able to level Ol¡¯ Six up fairly quickly due to the high EXP rewards for their defeat.

    There was also a significant poption of aerial monsters called Sorrow Vultures in the map. These monsters would fly 100 yards away from the ground, and were always moving alone. But due to their animalistic nature, these monsters were at a lower tier than Ol¡¯ Six. This meant that Ol¡¯ Six could deal with the vultures with rtive ease.

    A few hours of fighting yield arge number of materials such as high level cloth and feathers for Ye Ci, as well as something called Tamra¡¯s Diary Shartd.

    The shards were written in Elvish, which meant that Ye Ci could easily read the contents of each shard. She did not pay much attention to the shards in the beginning, but when they slowly grew in number, Ye Ci realised that these were not mere trash dropped by the system.

    Each of the shards contained very few words, but Ye Ci was able to make out something interesting from the shards she had collected.

    ¡°.... Laura told me that Naga¡¯s minions areing. I¡¯m afraid. What can Elves from the lower caste like us do? Fight? Fighting is for heroes, but we...¡±

    ¡°... The vige is destroyed. My house did not survive. Tina is missing. I wrote this entry beside the pond where we used to date. I am sad. We did not start this war, but why must we suffer?¡±

    ¡°I found a new hiding spot yesterday. It¡¯s dark here. The stench of rot and sulfur is always hanging in the hair. I think I am very close to the front lines. Why am I not afraid? Perhaps I¡¯ve simply grown numb after so many deaths.¡±

    ¡°There are many corpses in the swamp to the west. Orcs, Dwarves, Gnomes, Humans, and even Elves. I managed to salvage a lot of rations from them. I think these are enough to sustain me for a month.¡±

    ¡°I went to the swamp again today. There was constant fighting in that area, and there will always be new corpses. I found an Elf in that swamp. She¡¯s so beautiful, just like Tina. And she¡¯s so young... But she will forever slumber in that cold swamp...¡±

    ¡°How long do I have to continue living like a rat? I¡¯m filthy, and I¡¯m barely surviving. I don¡¯t feel like an Elf anymore!¡±

    ¡°... it has been two years. The Alliance is still fighting against Naga¡¯s minions...¡±

    ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s possible to survive from a battle? I found a survivor today. He seems to be an Elf. Poor thing, he lost his beautiful Elven ears. He is still alive. I left him there. If he¡¯s still alive by tomorrow, I¡¯ll bring him back with me.¡±

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have brought him back with me. He¡¯ll finish my rations...¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s sick... I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll live to see tomorrow...¡±

    ¡°... Oh, praise the Elf King, he¡¯s alive! Why am I so happy? Perhaps it¡¯s because this is the first time I¡¯m able to speak to my kin after so long.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±

    ¡°... He told me that Dau¡¯er is dead. The pir of the Elvish kingdom is dead. We Elves will never prosper again. I do not feel sad, but I can feel tears streaming down my cheeks...¡±

    ¡°Why did you give it to me?! I¡¯d rather remain a rat! I do not want to be a hero! No! I don¡¯t want to!¡±

    ¡°I must hide. Stop looking for me! Stop!¡±

    This was how the story in the diary ended. And the rest of the story could only bepleted by collecting more shards. Ye Ci could guess from what she saw that Tamra was an Elf who ran into another Elf who survived the battle against Naga¡¯s army. The Elf brought news of Dau¡¯er¡¯s demise, and handed Tamra something before his death.

    That item must be very important, as there were enemies looking for Tamra.

    Ye Ci¡¯s interest in Tamra piqued. She continued to collect the fragments of Tamra¡¯s diary in an attempt to locate the Elf. She was interested in the war that happened before the game began, and had talked to many NPCs who had witnessed the war, but none of them mentioned Tamra in their ounts. Perhaps I can find clues about Dau¡¯er once I meet Tamra.

    With this thought in mind, Ye Ci headed to a ce with more Dark Apostles.

 Chapter 351 Tamra

    <h4>Chapter 351 Tamra</h4>

    The Sorrowful Canyon was a tnd between two mountain ranges with a clear river flowing through the middle. Trees and many other nts grew on the t terrain. They were not big, but there was still enough of them to block away the sunlight from anyone taking a stroll along the river.

    The map was devoid of buildings. There was no indicator of where the Dark Apostles came from. Every monster in Fate existed for a reason in the game and it was very usual for the presence of humanoid enemies to be apanied by some form of encampment. But Ye Ci had note across any of those, and it baffled her.

    Her supply of food was slowly dwindling, as food materials were never dropped by humanoid enemies. This was why Ye Ci was forced to expand her own supplies to satisfy Ol¡¯ Six''srge appetite.

    But there was still a small chance for rations to drop from a humanoid monster. Their drop rates might be low, but it helped in replenishing the dwindling supplies that Ye Ci was carrying.

    After her nonstop battles against the Dark Apostles and Sorrow Vultures, Ye Ci logged out from the game to have lunch and a short nap. She had spent more than fifteen hours in the Sorrowful Canyon.

    Despite therge amount of Tamra¡¯s Diary Fragment she had gathered, many of them were duplicates. Ye Ci was quick to realise that fragments containing important parts of Tamra¡¯s stories had a rtively low drop rate.

    Ye Ci hadpleted nearly half of the diary, but most of the pagescked any useful information. They were merely the records of Tamra¡¯s feelings when the war broke out, and his encounters after fleeing his home.

    Most of the diary entries were written in the form of poems, as if the Elf was a bard wandering from ces to ces.

    Ye Ci was not able to gather fragments containing information about the Elven soldier and clues of Dauer. But patience was one of her greatest virtues. While a person might get bored of something repetitive, Ye Ci was someone who was able to press on despite the boredom. This was probably why she was able to spend most of her time in the library when she was being hunted by her enemies in herst life.

    Obtaining the fragments were repetitive, but it was still way more interesting than spending her time in the library. At least she was able to look forward to leveling up.

    Killing enemies with higher levels could be rewarding, but the sheer amount of EXP required to leveling up meant that only 15% of her EXP was filled since her trip to the Sorrowful Canyon. Ol¡¯ Sxi¡¯s level on the other hand, had increased from lvl47 to lvl51.

    And with an increase in each of its levels, Ol¡¯ Six was able to deal more and more damage to the enemies in the Sorrowful Canyon.

    And after more than 36 hours spent in the Sorrowful Canyon, Ye Ci was finally able to obtain a fragment of Tamra¡¯s Diary containing its owner¡¯s location.

    ¡°...I ran, and I hid. I was almost caught on several asions, but I got away. My race had always been adapt at surviving in the wild. I ran through the forest, across the ins, and I think I¡¯m finally able to shake them off...¡±

    ¡°...I¡¯m not a very good Druid, but I¡¯ve learned a lot. I was able to transform myself into animals and blend into the forest. I wonder why Naga¡¯s minions were never able to find me. Many among those who were fighting at the front lines were Druids. Perhaps Ick the killing intent...¡±

    ¡°Naga¡¯s minions have finally left. I can finally thank this forest that saved my life.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to settle down in this ce. It shall be my home, and my final resting ce. I shall stay here until my kinsman who had inherited the will of Dau¡¯er finds me.¡±

    The story stopped there. Tamra¡¯s location was hinted at, but it was still unclear. There were no precise coordinates to his location, and many of the entries recorded were simply too incoherent for Ye Ci to have a good idea of his exact location.

    The fragments of Tamra¡¯s Diary had formed into a book as Ye Ci read through their entries. But there were still many missing pages left. It was apparent that she had toplete the missing parts to obtain the location of Tamra.

    After reading through Tamra¡¯s diary yet again, Ye Ci was sure that her judgement was correct, and she headed deeper into the Sorrowful Canyon.

    She could not recall any yers who havepleted the quest in herst life. But it was also possible that a yer might havepleted the quest, but chose not to share it online. After all, Hidden Quests were quite rare in Fate.

    Tamra¡¯s Diary was one such example. As the diary was written in Elvish, only yers with characters who have learned thenguage couldplete the diary and learn of its secrets. But with so many races in Fate, a yer could simply not afford to learn all thenguages in the game. And this meant that not many of the yer poption was able toplete hidden quests like this.

    And even if an Elven yer came across the fragments, and could understand its words, the yer was still unable to proceed with the quest if he or she had never epted any quests rted to the Elven King Dau¡¯er.

    Ye Ci was a very patient yer.

    And she was finally able to obtain enough diary fragments from the Dark Apostles after spending nearly fifty hours in-game on the map.

    ¡°...I like it here. It¡¯s just like my homnd. I can build a house on the tall trees. The ins are blooming with life, and the clear river is just like the ce Tina and I used to meet. Oh, how I missed you Tina.. I¡¯ve been thinking a lot about hertely. Perhaps it¡¯s because I¡¯ve grown old.¡±

    ¡°I did not build my house on a tree. It¡¯s too dangerous. Who knows if Naga¡¯s minions would return. The cave on the cliff is a good ce. Perhaps it will be where I die. We Elves have never buried our dead in caves, but I have forgotten what it is to be an Elf...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a warrior, nor am I a follower of Dau¡¯er. I¡¯m but an Elf and the lowest rung of our society. The Elven King had always been a name to me. I do not know why, but I missed him.¡±

    ¡°O¡¯ my kin who has inherited the will of Dau¡¯er. Will you be able to find me? I do not know how much time I have left...¡±

    ......

    The fragments of Tamra¡¯s diary had revealed his location. He was indeed in the Sorrowful Canyon. And fortunately for Ye Ci, the Elf did not build his home on a tree. It was harder to find an Elven Druid on trees than in a cave.

    And it was an easy task for Ye Ci to find a cave on the face of the two cliffs. After all, her pet was a Dragon. She was able to fly over the lvl80 half of the map as none of the monsters in the area were a threat to Ol¡¯ Six.

    But the lvl120 side of the map was popted by Poisonous Mosquitoes. There were a substantial number of them, but they were not fast and were spread out over a wide area. Ye Ci was able to evade the mosquitoes and spot a well hidden cave.

    The mouth of the cave was too small for Ol¡¯ Six. Ye Ci hovered her pet near the entrance, and swung her Cat w onto the face of the cliff, and was able to leap into the cave.

    She headed into the cave after dismissing Ol¡¯ Six.

    It was a very low cave. Or rather, it was a crack in the mountain with a very narrow and crooked path. Ye Ci had to lower herself as she ventured deeper into the cave. The entrance to the cave was so well hidden that Ye Ci would have thought that she had gone to the wrong ce if not for the Elvish words written on the wall of the mountain.

    She continued walking forward with a torch in hand, and before long, she could hear singing ahead. It was a melody sung by an old voice that was very familiar to Ye Ci. The song was something that every Elf would hear the moment they were born.

    ¡°...the lilies of the valley are waiting as well, as the bard yed his instrument, oh my love. Where are you, in the midst of the chaos of war...¡±

    Ye Ci called up her character¡¯s menu, and selected a song. It was a song known to all Elves. Her character then began to sing. The voice wasing from her throat, but it was controlled by the system. Ye Ci was grateful to the developers for this function, as she was someone who could not sing at all.

    ¡°Have you forgotten about me? Have you forgotten about me, o¡¯ my love... The fires of war have faded, but where are you now? Where are you now? The way back home is here, don¡¯t lose yourself, find your way home to me.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± the singing stopped.

    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± replied Ye Ci as she continued walking forward, ¡°I am an Elf from the Majia Continent.¡± she saw an Elf sitting in the deepest part of the cave.

    The Elves were a race that would never grow old, but the Elf¡¯s snow white hair was an indication of his very long age. But there was a sharp pair of jade eyes under his white eyebrows.

    The owner of the eyes stared at Ye Ci. He was old and frail, but Ye Ci could sense strength from the Elf. He¡¯s lvl120! Thought Ye Ci. He can easily kill me if I handle this wrongly.

    ¡°Greetings, my kinsman. I am Gongzi You. I found fragments of a diary written by Tamra and collected it. I found my way here ording to the clues written in that diary, and heard the song of our homnd, and I couldn¡¯t resist the urge to join in. I am sorry for disturbing you.¡± Ye Ci greeted the older Elf with respect.

    A smile appeared on the Elf¡¯s face as he studied Ye Ci, ¡°Ah, so you found it...¡± and he let out a long sigh, ¡°I am Tamra, and I wrote that diary when I was young. I no longer do that anymore.¡±

    Ye Ci nced at Tamra. The Elf was not as weak as he described in his diary. She was certain that he was as strong as a BOSS.

    ¡°You¡¯re from our homnd, am I right? Can you tell me how it¡¯s like back there? Is it still in ruins?¡± Ye Ci could sense longing in the Elf¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful. We Elves have begun to prosper. It¡¯s always as if thend was untouched by the mes of war.¡± Ye Ci replied.

 Chapter 352 Andrielâ€™s Grave

    <h4>Chapter 352 Andriel¡¯s Grave</h4>

    ¡°I thought we Elves are doomed. It seems that I¡¯ve been too pessimistic.¡± Tamra tugged lightly at the corner of his robes. His skin was so pale that it was almost transparent. It was a sign that an Elf was very old, or was in very poor health.

    But Tamra¡¯s expression was not of someone who was frail and weak. The Elf then tidied up his hair with his hand, ¡°Seems that it has note to past.¡±

    ¡°What has note to pass?¡± Ye Ci was confused.

    The intensity of Tamra¡¯s gaze disperse as he stared at Ye Ci, ¡°The world did not end because of the demise of a single individual.¡± he smiled, ¡°Even if that person is Dau¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°The Elven King Dau¡¯er?¡± It was the first time Ye Ci had heard the name spoken in such a way by an NPC. She had a feeling that Tamra was different from the other NPCs.

    ¡°Yes. He¡¯s the mightiest hero and the greatest king in Elven history. He was the first Elf who seeded in uniting our different tribes under one banner. Our people grew stronger than ever under his rule. No other race dared look down on us. We were great people.¡± Tamra spoke as if he was merely discussing something that was insignificant.

    Even his voice was calm.

    Ye Ci remained silent, as Tamra had been staring at the pitch-ck cave wall as he spoke, as if he was seeing things from far far away, ¡°I thought that our race is doomed after Dau¡¯er¡¯s death. But it seems that we shall be great once again even without Dau¡¯er. But will he be sad if he knew that his death would not bring that much of an impact on the history of our race?¡± a sorrowful smile appeared on the old Elf¡¯s face.

    And the cave returned to silence once more. Tamra did not speak, and did not even acknowledge Ye Ci¡¯s presence. The NPC began humming a song instead.

    This phenomenon was not umon in Fate. It was usually the prelude to a Hidden Quest. NPCs that were in charge of giving out such quests possess high levels of intelligence, and this was a mechanism that allowed yers to think of a proper response. The sess or failure of the yer to unlock the next stages of the hidden quest depended on their answer.

    And this was why the same quest might yield different results when it waspleted by different yers.

    Ye Ci called out her ¡°Quest¡± menu. Her intuition was correct, a Hidden Quest with the instruction ¡°Talk to Tamra¡± had appeared.

    Her conversation with Tamra was listed below the description of the quest. She read through the conversation, and began thinking up a response.

    She closed the ¡°Quest¡± menu after a short while and spoke to Tamra, ¡°I¡¯m but a normal Elf. I do not know how King Dau¡¯er would feel, but if I¡¯m the king himself, I will not be sad.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why is that?¡± Tamra narrowed his eyes and rested his gaze on Ye Ci.

    ¡°It has always been the king¡¯s wish for us Elves to grow stronger. He is not capable of affecting the course of an entire world in life or in death. He has done what he can when he was alive. And he did a very good job. How us Elves will fare in the days without him is no concern of his.¡± Ye Ci smiled at the old Elf.

    ¡°How do you know he will not be worried? Didn¡¯t you say that that cannot tell what he is thinking?¡± Tamra¡¯s gaze on Ye Ci grew sharper.

    But Ye Ci was not afraid. She shrugged at the Elf, ¡°Of course I can¡¯t tell what he¡¯s thinking.¡± and she let out a breath, ¡°But I believe that the wisdom of a king is something that we cannot hope to match. And this is why I have confidence that things like this will not cause much concern to him.¡±

    She then smiled at Tamra, ¡°Esteemed elder, I am still young, and I stillck wisdom. My view of the world is simple. I might be wrong, but I hope that it did not offend you.¡±

    Tamra did not immediately respond to Ye Ci¡¯s words. He stared at her for a long time before lowering his head, ¡°Simple is good. From simplicityes strength.¡± he chuckled.

    Ye Ci did not respond to that remark.

    Tamra then raised his head and sighed at Ye Ci, ¡°Young one, you are very smart. Tell me, are there many like you among our kin?¡±

    Ye Ci bowed at Tamra, ¡°Most esteemed elder, intelligence and wisdom are things that flow in the blood of all Elves. It¡¯s not mine alone, but a gift from my race to me, it was also a gift that you have received as well.¡± she was subtle with her ttery.

    Not many in this world were immune to ttery. And Tamra was no exception. He did not disy his joy to Ye Ci, but his tensed expression had grown warmer, ¡°You¡¯ve read my diary?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± replied Ye Ci as she immediately handed the diary to Tamra.

    Sorrow crept into Tamra¡¯s expression as he brushed his fingers against the cover of his diary, as if he was reliving the moments in the past.

    ¡°I was arrogant but also had very low self esteem in my younger days.¡± he spoke up after a short moment of silence, ¡°And I was selfish, pessimistic, and callous. I missed a lot of opportunities in my life, But... I have never once regretted my decision to save Andriel.¡±

    Ye Ci furrowed her eyebrows, ¡°Is Andriel the Elf who brought you the news of Dau¡¯er¡¯s demise?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I found him in the swamp and saved his life. But he died despite my care.¡± Tamra sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve not left this ce for a long time, young one. And it has been a long while since I¡¯ve visited his grave. Can you do it in my stead?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s quest of ¡°Talk to Tamra¡± was reced by a new quest: ¡°Locate Andriel¡¯s grave.¡±. The location of the fallen Elf¡¯s grave was described in detail in the quest description. Ye Ci immediately epted the courier quest.

    Tamra offered no more information that was of value after Ye Ci epted the quest. The Elf continued humming his song and would not engage Ye Ci in any form of conversation. It was apparent that the quest would only progress when Ye Ci located Andriel¡¯s grave.

    Ye Ci summoned Ol¡¯ Six after leaving the cave. She jumped onto the Dragon¡¯s back and flew towards the map indicated by the quest, the Swamp of Despair.

    The Swamp of Despair was in the southwestern part of the Middle Continent. The map was not big, but its location was unique. It was the battlefield where the armies of the alliance shed against Naga¡¯s minions.

    And it was a ce where the fighting was the fiercest.

    It had been hundreds of years since the battle in the distant past, but thend had been ravaged by the war. The swamp had been a lush green in with clear spring water, but it was forever transformed into a swamp due to Naga¡¯s magical energy. The warriors who fought and died in the war still roamed the swamp as Ghouls and Phantoms.

    This was how the map was given the name Swamp of Despair.

    The Swamp of Despair was a high level map with monsters at the level of lvl160. It was the perfect spot for mages to level up in theter stages of the game. yers could find monsters lurking near any body of water, and a simple bait would attract the attention of countless enemies to the yers.

    Due to the extremely high spawn rate of the monsters, the Swamp of Despair was a ce avoided by solo yers. Those who had the misfortune of venturing near the bodies of water would find themselves in peril almost immediately.

    Ye Ci hovered in the sky when she arrived at the Swamp of Sorrow and began studying her surroundings.

    Unlike the monsters found in other maps, the monsters in the Swamp of Despair would remain docile unless they were triggered.

    The howling wind in the Swamp of Despair and the corpses of the dead warriors on the bodies of water scattered around the swamp were an unpleasant sight. These corpses were not entirely harmless to the living, as they had been corrupted by Naga¡¯s powerful magic.

    The corpses would open their eyes and stare at yers who walked past the water. They would then cast ¡°Charm¡± on the yers. Any yer afflicted by Charm would approach the water,and would be dragged down by the corpses.

    But there were also ways to counter this effect. If yers were a distance away from the corpses, they would not be able to grab hold of the yers before the effects of Charm wore off. A smug smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face as she looked down at the corpses that were trying to grab hold of her.

    She directed Ol¡¯ Six tounch a Dragon Breath attack on the corpses, but gave up when the Dragon¡¯s attack resulted in nothing but misses.

    No matter how formidable a life form Ol¡¯ Six was, its attack was still limited by the level penalty of the monsters. Ye Ci¡¯s hopes of leveling up in the Swamp of Despair was instantly crushed.

    And with a sigh, she set out to locate Andriel¡¯s grave.

    ording to the hints in her quest description, Andriel¡¯s grave was located at the border separating the Swamp of Despair and the Scorched ins. The ins was one of the ces Tamra had set foot in his travels ording to his diary.

    It was one of the closest maps to the ancient battlefield between Naga¡¯s minions and the armies of the alliance of races, but due to the natural barriers protecting the map, it became the sanctuary for refugees of the war. Despite being a high leveled map, the poption of monsters in the Scorched ins was very low.

    While their numbers were few, aerial monsters with levels far surpassing Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s roamed the skies of these two maps. Ye Ci was forced to proceed with extreme caution out of fear for these monsters. She did not want to be killed and arrested in Hero City when she respawned.

    And due to her experiences in herst life, Ye Ci was able to avoid the monsters and was quick to locate Andriel¡¯s grave. She jumped down from Ol¡¯ Six, dismissed her pet, and immediately entered stealth. She then approached the grave once she was certain that her surroundings was safe.

    It was a very simple grave with its marker made from rocks and tree branches. Half the grave had copsed due to its exposure to the elements, and Ye Ci could even see the scattered remains of corpses around the grave. It was a very sorrowful sight.

 Chapter 353 Andrielâ€™s Reques

    <h4>Chapter 353 Andriel¡¯s Reques</h4>

    t

    ording to the description of Ye Ci¡¯s quest, she had already discovered Andriel¡¯s grave, but there was no update to her quest. Could it be a BUG?

    She took a few steps back, and walked towards Andriel¡¯s grave again. A system notification immediately chimed in her ears, ¡°You have discovered Andriel¡¯s Grave¡±. But there were still no changes on her quest description much to her confusion. Is this a BUG or is there something that I¡¯ve missed?

    Ye Ci did not like contacting customer service in circumstances like this, as Fate was different from traditional MMORPGs. It required yers to be observant and think critically inpleting a quest. Contacting the customer service at this point would render the clever designs of the game pointless.

    Not triggering the next stage of the quest despite locating Andriel¡¯s grave meant that there were details that she must have missed.

    Ye Ci studied the site of Andriel¡¯s grave, and began thinking of what Tamra said to her when he gave her the quest.

    ¡°I¡¯ve not left this ce for a long time, young one. And it has been a long while since I¡¯ve visited his grave. Can you do it in my stead?¡± were Tamra¡¯s words to Ye Ci. Visiting someone who¡¯s already dead? Oh! Is he asking me to clean up the grave site?

    Ye Ci looked at scattered remains of a corpse around the grave, and realisation shed across her mind. This must be it! She carefully picked up the remains, and cleaned them with a high grade cloth carefully before cing them into her inventory. They were listen a quest items to Ye Ci with the name Unknown Remains.

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. It seems that I¡¯m correct.

    And with an idea already in her mind, Ye Ci began to proceed to cleaning the copsed grave. It was apparent that the grave had been neglected for a long time.

    Ye Ci then picked up the half a corpse remaining in the grave and cleaned it before cing it into her inventory. It was disyed as ¡°Andriel¡¯s Iplete Remains¡± in her inventory. She thenbined the two parts of Andriel¡¯s remains in her inventory into ¡°Andriel¡¯s Complete Remains¡±.

    She let out a sigh once the task was done, and proceeded to repair the damaged grave. Fate was a game featuring many different races, but their remains were designed to be simr to that of a human¡¯s. This meant that Andriel¡¯s remains looked just like a human skeleton.

    Ye Ci herself had already grown numb to the scary atmosphere of the game, but new yers would definitely be horrified by the remains in their inventory.

    It did not take Ye Ci very long topletely repair the grave site, and she ced Andriel¡¯s remains into the grave after wrapping it with some high grade animal skin.

    Ye Ci stood up after the deed was done and let out a long sigh. She then called up her Quest panel, and saw that the description of her quest had changed to ¡°Talk to Andriel.¡±

    Talk? To Andriel?

    Ye Ci could feel the corners of her lips twitching. You¡¯ve gotta be kidding me! Why must games do this all the time? Must I talk to the guy after cleaning up his grave? Doesn¡¯t it mean that Andriel will not have a peaceful death if more yers epted the Hidden Quest?

    Just as she wasining to herself, Ye Ci could feel a chill crawling down her spine.

    She turned around, and saw a puff of green smoke rising from the grave and forming itself into the shape of an Elf. There was a tiny wound at the figure¡¯s ear, just like what Tamra described in his diary.

    Andriel¡¯s appearance began to form from the green shape. The Elf¡¯s eyes remained close until his entire form had taken shape.

    And he stared at Ye Ci with his blue eyes.

    ¡°Oh, what do we have here? A young Elf.¡± Andriel¡¯s voice was pleasing to the ears. It was as if the Elf was alive. Ye Ci had never heard the voice of the Elf when he was alive, but she was certain that it would be very pleasant as well.

    ¡°Greetings, my name is Gongzi You.¡± Ye Ci greeted the spirit of Andriel, ¡°I am here to pay my respects, great hero.¡±

    The spirit of Andriel stared at Ye Ci intently, with a sense of longing and kindness in his eyes, ¡°You¡¯re... Alive?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±

    ¡°How long has it been since I¡¯ve seen an Elf alive at such a young age?¡±

    Andriel closed his eyes and let out a long sigh before opening his eyes once again, ¡°You do not seem like you came from the field of battle. I do not smell the stench of war on you. Where are you from?¡±

    ¡°I came from our homnd, and ran into Tamra. He wanted me to visit an old friend of his in his stead.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s reply was short and simple.

    ¡°Our homnd?¡± Andriel appeared to be taken aback. Tears welled in his eyes as he leaned closer to Ye Ci and took in a deep breath, ¡°Yes, I can smell the scent of the forest on you. I like that smell.¡± the spirit let out a sigh, ¡°Does it mean that the war has ended?¡±

    ¡°Yes, o¡¯ great hero.¡±

    ¡°So we Elves did not fall into ruins after Dau¡¯er¡¯s demise?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Our race was able to survive thanks to the bravery of heroes like you.¡± Ye Ci ced her hand on her chest and knelt before Andriel, ¡°I thank you on behalf of the members of our race.¡±

    Andriel stared silently at Ye Ci for a long while before sighing, ¡°That¡¯s good... That¡¯s good.¡± He looked up into the sky and extended an arm towards Ye Ci, ¡°Rise, young one. I am d to see you.¡±

    Ye Ci rose to her feet and stared at Andriel, ¡°Is Tamra still hiding in that cave?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Yes. He told me that he hasn¡¯t left that ce for a long time. That¡¯s why he wanted me toe visit you.¡±

    Andriel nodded at Ye Ci, the smile on his lips was full of sorrow as he spoke, ¡°I¡¯ve brought trouble to his doorsteps. He¡¯s not like me. He¡¯s just a refugee fleeing the war, but I am a warrior fighting at the frontlines. Dying in battle is my glory, and ensuring the survival of our race is his mission. I shouldn¡¯t have forced my duty upon him. Perhaps this is why he no longer visits me.¡±

    Ye Ci paid close attention to every word. She was certain that the secret behind the Elven King Dau¡¯er was hidden in this quest. She knew that she could not afford to miss any of the NPCs¡¯ words.

    And it was apparent that Andriel¡¯s mission was highly important. ording to Tamra¡¯s diary, Andriel handed him something very important before his death. This was why Tamra was pursued by Naga¡¯s minions and was forced to hide in the cave for the rest of his life.

    ¡°We Elves have always been a race that was true to our hearts. If Tamra is angry with you, he wouldn¡¯t have missed you so dearly. He wouldn¡¯t have asked me to visit you in his stead. So don¡¯t worry.¡± Ye Ci smiled. She was hoping to give constion to Andriel, as it was the only way she would be able to obtain any useful information from the Elf.

    Andriel stared gently at Ye Ci, ¡°Thank you, young one. I do not know if this is what Tamra thinks of me, but thank you. You must¡¯ve faced many difficulties to get here from our homnd. Tell me, are you brave?¡±

    ¡°Yes, great hero. I am willing to help fulfill any wish that you still hold.¡± Ye Ci was able to sense the meaning behind Andriel¡¯s words.

    The Elf was satisfied with Ye Ci¡¯s response. He extended his arm towards Ye Ci, and revealed a brooch in his palm, ¡°This was given to me by Tamra as an encouragement for me to live. But I¡¯ve disappointed him in the end. I give this to you now, please hand it back to Tamra. Tell him that you¡¯re willing to take over the burden he has been carrying with him. Please tell him to ept this brooch from me. I want to encourage him to continue living just as he did for me. I want him to return to our homnd instead of ending up like me. We¡¯re Elves, and we belong with the trees in our homnd.¡±

    Andriel drew his hand back to Ye Ci¡¯s confusion when she extended her hand to ept the brooch, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Worry was written all over Andriel¡¯s face, ¡°Young one, do you know what it means to take over the burden from Tamra?¡±

    Ye Ci tilted her head and smiled at the Elf, ¡°What is there to fear? Death is probably the worst oue I have to face, and I do not fear death.¡±

    Andriel was stunned by her response. A bright smile appeared on his face after a long while, ¡°I can sense Dau¡¯er¡¯s bravery on you. I think I¡¯ve made the right judgement.¡±

    And with that, he handed the brooch to Ye Ci. He sped Ye Ci¡¯s hand tightly, and she could feel a chill crawling on the skin of her hand, ¡°Go, young one! You can alwayse to me if you have questions. ce your palm on my grave, and I shall know that you need me.¡±

    Andriel then let go of Ye Ci¡¯s hand, and disappeared into a puff of green smoke.

    Ye Ci then summoned Ol¡¯ Six and headed back to Tamra¡¯s cave.

    She handed the brooch back to Tamra, and ryed to him what had happened. The Elf appeared deep in thought as he epted the brooch from Ye Ci. his shoulders were trembling. Despite the calm expression on his face, the Elf¡¯s true feelings were revealed in his eyes.

    He let out a sigh after a long silence and stared at Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m old. I don¡¯t think I can make it home anymore. Has Andriel forgotten? I don¡¯t even remember the way home anymore...¡±

    Even if they were in a game, Ye Ci had a realisation that war would always leave an irremovable scar on those who survived.

 Chapter 354 The Fun Begins Now!

    <h4>Chapter 354 The Fun Begins Now!</h4>

    Ye Ci did not expect the item that Tamra would hand to her was an arrow.

    She was no stranger to the arrow, as she was in possession of one that was very simr. It was an arrow used by the Elven King Dau¡¯er. But unlike Ye Ci¡¯s Holy Arrow, the arrow that she received from Tamra was jade green.

    Green smoke rose from the arrow as Ye Ci held it in her hand. The arrow was disyed as a Quest Item, with the name Venom Arrow, but the stats of the arrow was not avable to Ye Ci.

    This must¡¯ve been a very powerful item. Thought Ye Ci. Even when she could not view its stats, and even if the owner of the arrow was not revealed, Ye Ci was certain that it belonged to the Elven King Dau¡¯er. And an arrow that was used by Dau¡¯er would naturally be a very powerful artifact.

    Ye Ci set Ol¡¯ Six to auto navigation as she sat on its back. Tamra was sitting opposite of her. The Elf was simply too frail. His robe was like a giant piece of cloth hanging on a tree branch. Tamra was so thin that he was like a walking corpse.

    The old Elf had made the decision to return to his homnd with Ye Ci. He sat with his back straight as he rode on Ol¡¯ Six, as if he was trying to maintain his dignity. Tamra sighed as Ol¡¯ Six flew over the grave of Andriel, ¡°I¡¯m sure Andriel would like to go home as well.¡±

    Ye Ci did not respond, and instead stared silently at Tamra. When Andriel¡¯s grave was no longer in sight, the old Elf looked at Ye Ci and said, ¡°Young one, please bring Andriel home as well if you have the chance...¡± and the Elf appeared to have grown even older.

    Ye Ci could understand his sorrow. His lips were trembling as he spoke to Ye Ci, ¡°I want you to bury him beside me.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± Ye Ci replied softly. She did not offer any constion to Tamra. Perhaps the old Elf had already seen death as something that he must face, and his words were merely an unfulfilled desire that he hoped Ye Ci couldplete in his stead.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± a sincere smile appeared for the first time on the face that was ravaged by time. Tamraid on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s back and looked up into the sky, ¡°Ahhh.. I¡¯ve never realised that the sky here is blue as well. It¡¯s not as pleasant as the skies of our homnd, but it has a beauty of its own.

    Tamra was ultimately not able to live to see his homnd. He closed his eyes forever on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s back. When the system notification ¡°Tamra has passed away.¡± appeared, Ye Ci¡¯s heart was filled with sadness that she could not even begin to describe.

    This was the first time she sang in the game, not with the assistance of the system, but with her own mouth in memory of the old Elf who could not see his wish fulfilled, and the many more that died on the battlefield. It was a song of their people, and a song to put their souls to rest.

    ¡°The lilies of the valley were waiting, the bards instruments have never stopped, oh my love. Where are you, in the chaos of war? Where are you? The creek in the canyons never ceases to flow, and the oriole are still singing. Oh my love, do not forget me, in the chaos of war, do not forget me. Time passes day and night, but I¡¯ve always been waiting for you, oh my love. I¡¯ve been waiting for you. Have you forgotten about me? Oh my love. The fires of war have died out, but where are you oh my love? Where have you been? The way home is here, Come home to me.¡±

    She called up her Quest tab when Ol¡¯ Six arrived at the Eastern Continent. Her quest description was already updated to ¡°Bury Tamra¡±, along with a set of coordinates where the body should be buried.

    It was a simple task for Ye Ci, as the burial site was designated at a newbie vige. Even the grave was already dug by the system, and the only thing Ye Ci had to do was to carefully ce the corpse of Tamra into the grave.

    The ground was immediately covered and a tombstone appeared once Tamra¡¯s corpse was ced into the grave. The words ¡°Here lies a nameless hero¡± were written on the tombstone. Of course, the words were not written by Ye Ci, and were instead generated by the system.

    Ye Ci stood before Tamra¡¯s grave for a short while, and took a look at her quest description: ¡°Fulfill Tamra¡¯s final wish.¡± It was apparent that Ye Ci would have to move Andriel¡¯s corpse back to the Eastern Continent as well.

    She read through her quest log, and each stage of the quest was heavily rted to Dau¡¯er, but none of them mentioned anything about the Elven King¡¯s death. It was apparent that she needed more clue to uncover the truth behind Dau¡¯er¡¯s death.

    Tamra¡¯s arrow was not entirely useless as well. Ye Ci brought the arrow to Natasha, and the Elf was shocked to see the arrow.

    She stared at Ye Ci, then at the arrow, and finally at Ye Ci again before epting the arrow from her, ¡°I¡¯ve thought that I¡¯d never be able to see this thing again.¡±

    Natasha was a good NPC. Of course, Ye Ci¡¯s definition of ¡°good¡± was not due to an NPC¡¯s moral alignment. Natasha was good because she would always go straight to the point.

    The NPC told Ye Ci about the history of the arrow, and that it had been with Dau¡¯er in many battles. His Five Arrows had disappeared since his death, and it was the highest form of glory for the arrow to return to Elvennds once again.

    Natasha had even given Ye Ci some advice, ¡°The arrow is in good condition. I can even sense Dau¡¯er¡¯s aura on that thing. Not all of Naga¡¯s minions have perished in the Great War. Many of them are still alive, and are looking for a way to resurrect the Dark Lord. The energy of this arrow is exactly one of the things they need. As long as this thing is in your possession, you will be hunted down by his minions. Be careful.¡±

    Ye Ce attempted to ask about ways to avoid Naga¡¯s minions pursue, but the system was apparently reluctant to let the yers learn of such knowledge. That was why Natasha refused to divulge any information to Ye Ci.

    Well, it seems that I¡¯ll simply have to be real careful. Thought Ye Ci.

    With her wanted period already over, Ye Ci decided to return to Hero City. Due to her condition, it was simply safer for her to remain in the Middle Continent.

    She was no longer wanted by Hero City¡¯s soldiers, but the NPCs in the city treated her even colder than before. They even pretended that she did not exist. She decided to head to the western district of the city, counting on the fact that the NPCs would still respond to her because of money.

    But she was wrong.

    There were things that could not be solved with money.

    Despite their questionable morality, the NPCs of the western district despised anyone who dared harm the protectors of their city. None of the NPCs in the western city were willing to talk to Ye Ci.

    You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! Does it mean that I can only resupply in Red Lake City now?

    This is ridiculous!

    Ye Ci stood at a crossroads of the western district. She was deep in thought. Her ess from public facilities have been cut off, and it meant that she would not be able to utilize the many services in the game that was run by NPCs. Is there no other way? There¡¯s no way I can use the teleporter, but the people in Upwards Ho! can¡¯t send me items as well because the courier will not talk to me.

    Just then, Ye Ci felt a tug on her sleeve. She turned around and saw a beggar with dark skin standing behind her, ¡°Hey adventurer, can you spare some coins? I haven¡¯t had a proper meal for a long time.¡±

    Ye Ci did not even think twice as she handed ten gold coins to the beggar. The beggar stared at her and left with a smile on his face after counting the coins.

    Wait, wasn¡¯t that guy an NPC? Why was he talking to me? A sudden realisation washed over Ye Ci as the beggar disappeared from her sight.

    She studied her surroundings, but found no sign of the beggar.

    She then immediately headed to the direction where the beggar and disappeared, and found herself in a maze of small alleys with the beggar nowhere in sigh.

    ¡°Heh, are you looking for me, adventurer?¡± Ye Ci heard the voice of the beggar when she was about to leave.

    She turned her head to the direction of the voice, and saw the beggar appearing out of nowhere on the street that she had been searching.

    ¡°Why are you talking to me? Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯m a wanted criminal?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. The behavior of the NPC was very suspicious.

    The beggar paid no heed to her warning. He chuckled and dashed into an alley, ¡°Come with me if you want to find out.¡±

    Curiosity killed the cat.

    Ye Ci finally understood the true meaning of the idiom.

    She could not resist the urge to follow after the beggar with peculiar behavior even when she knew that it could be dangerous. So what if I die? It¡¯s just a game. I¡¯ll only lose some EXP and maybe a few gold coins and my equipment.

    She immediately followed after the dagger through the alleys.

    The beggar stopped in front of a small tavern.

    The Devil¡¯s Horn.

    A feeling of unease crept into Ye Ci¡¯s heart. She had a feeling that she had fallen into a trap.

    She walked into the tavern. It was empty safe for a waiter working by the counter. The beggar was apparently very familiar with the ce. He gave Ye Ci a look that clearly said ¡®Follow me¡¯.

    Ye Ci was not certain who the beggar was, but she followed anyways.

    The duo walked into the kitchen. And there was a door that was tightly shut at the back of the kitchen.

    The beggar knocked at the door with a certain rhythm that Ye Ci attempted to memorize. Just then, the beggar turned around and said to Ye Ci, ¡°The fun begins now, Elf!¡±

 Chapter 355 Choice

    <h4>Chapter 355 Choice</h4>

    Ye Ci instinctively jumped backwards, but something grabbed hold of the sole of her foot before she couldnd. She lowered her head, and was immediately hit in the face by a gust of hot air. A fissure had opened up below her, and a hand extending out of the fissure was grabbing on to her foot.

    She would be lying if she imed to not have been scared by such a situation. A scream made its way out of her mouth, but at the same time, her body reacted out of sheer instinct.

    Before Ye Ci could realise it, she had already pulled her dagger out of its sheath, and she plunged it right into the hand.

    The hand immediately loosened its grip and shrunk back into the fissure. Ye Ci stumbled backwards and fell onto the ground. I have to leave this ce! She thought as she turned around to flee.

    She was fast, but there was something faster than her. She could feel a hand on her arm pulling her backwards before she could make it to the entrance.

    It was the beggar. He had a very unremarkable appearance, but his grip on Ye Ci¡¯s arm was strong. The door behind the beggar swung open, but there was nothing but a dark void. Ye Ci swung her dagger at the beggar, but an eerie smile appeared on his face, ¡°The same trick will not work twice, Elf!¡±

    The beggar then released Ye Ci, and her body was immediately sucked towards the door.

    But nothing happened. It was as if there was no crevice on the floor, nor was there a beggar. It was almost like the incident that happened earlier was just an illusion.

    Ye Ci felt herself floating into the air, and was then mmed onto the ground. She could taste copper in her mouth as the impact jarred her body, and she was lifted up into the air again.

    Her vision was dark the moment she was sucked into the door. But she could still see her own status. Her health was dangerously low.

    Her HP, that was nearly at ten thousand, was reduced to a mere two digits. Even the slightest wind could take away her life. She attempted to produce a Health Potion from her inventory, but was prompted by the system, telling her that she could not move.

    Oh really now? So I¡¯m basically sitting duck right now?

    Her body fell towards the ground approximately five secondster, reducing her health to a single digit.

    Ye Ci was screaming internally when she looked at her HP, ¡°F*ck you! Kill me if you want to! What did I do to deserve this?¡±

    ¡°Was it fun, Elf?¡±

    The voice rang out in Ye Ci¡¯s ears as she was seething with anger. A dim light entered her view, and she saw the beggar kneeling on top of a pir not fair away.

    YeCi attempted to move her head, and there was no system notification this time. This meant that he had finally regained her movement. She immediately drank a bottle of Health Potion, and her increasing HP was a soothing sight. ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked the beggar as she took a defensive posture.

    The beggar chuckled with the voice of tens of thousands of knives scratching the surface of a ss.

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath so that her state of mind would not be affected by the eerie situation. She stared silently at the beggar as she slowly calmed her nerves.

    The beggar was staring at Ye Ci like it was a predator studying its prey, and Ye Ci was very ufortable under his gaze.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Ye Ci finally spoke up after a long moment of silence.

    ¡°What do I want?¡± the beggar chuckled, ¡°do you really not know, Elf?¡± he stood up and extended his warm. With a shout, a pair of ck wings sprouted from the beggar¡¯s back as his form slowly changed into a demon.

    The demonized beggar blew a puff of smoke into the air and pped his wings. He pointed his ws at Ye Ci, ¡°I am a subordinate of the Dark Lord. Do you understand why I¡¯m here now, Elf?¡±

    And Ye Ci naturally did.

    That¡¯s fast! I¡¯ve just returned to the Middle Continent and they¡¯ve found me! I guess I¡¯ll have a rough time ahead. She nced at the status of the demon, Oh great, lvl150...

    A monster at this level could easily take Ye Ci¡¯s life even if she had help from all her pets and unar in the fight.

    This was all due to their difference in levels.

    ¡°What if I say no?¡± Ye Ci prepared herself forbat despite their vast difference in levels. She was not one who would go down without a fight.

    ¡°Do you perhaps intend to fight me, Elf?¡± the beggar, or rather, the demon named Lornarughed.

    ¡°What if I do?¡±

    ¡°Do you think you can stop me? You¡¯re just like an ant to me!¡± Lornar extended a w at Ye Ci, ¡°I can squash you here and now like a vermin if I so wish to.¡±

    ¡°And so what?¡± Ye Ci retorted, ¡°I¡¯ll never give you what you want.¡±

    Lornar¡¯s purplish pupils contracted. It was apparent that Ye Ci¡¯s defiance had angered the demon. But he did not immediately explode into rage. He merely chuckled and began pping his wings.

    The demon flew in circles around Ye Ci, but she stood her ground.

    ¡°Think about it carefully, Elf. I can kill you very easily.¡± said Lornar as he hovered in front of Ye Ci.

    ¡°We adventurers are not afraid of death.¡± death meant nothing for Ye Ci, as it merely meant that she would be losing some experience points and equipment. But with her progress, she would be able to recover the loss very quickly.

    Lornar had expected Ye Ci¡¯s rejection, and the demon was not angry, ¡°You think too highly of yourself, Elf. You¡¯re the most evil adventurer I¡¯ve ever seen. Just take a look around the city. None of its citizens were willing to talk to you. So why are you still trying to help them? Have you not realised that beings like me are the bestpanions for you?¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned. The NPC is actually smart enough to threaten me with my Sin status?

    ¡°What do you think? I¡¯ll not harm you if you hand over what I want. We¡¯ll even open a door to another realm for you. It¡¯s a world that you¡¯ve never seen before. Everyone in this world crave for strength, but ites with a price. The price you have to pay happens to be what I want.¡± said Lornar.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes and pondered the question carefully. If I hand the arrow to Lornar, doesn¡¯t it mean that I¡¯ll be joining Naga¡¯s faciton? This has not happened in myst life! Is this a system that I¡¯ve not heard of? And if it really exists, won¡¯t I be able to benefit greatly from it by joining their side right now? But what if he¡¯s lying to me?

    If he¡¯s lying... And I hand over the arrow just like that... Doesn¡¯t it mean that the search for Dau¡¯er will stop right here and now? Doesn¡¯t it also mean that I¡¯ll never live to see the day all five arrows of Dau¡¯er are discovered?

    This was a tough choice to make for Ye Ci indeed.

    ¡°What say you, Elf? Don¡¯t you want to be stronger? Stronger than anyone else?¡± Lornar seemed to be rapidly losing his patience.

    Ye Ci smiled at Lornar, ¡°And what if I still refuse?¡±

    ¡°Foolish Elf!¡± anger finally erupted from Lornar. With a loud screech, the demon struck at Ye Ci, instantly taking her life, ¡°Do you think I can¡¯t do anything to you just because you can keep reviving yourself?¡± he roared at Ye Ci¡¯s corpse, ¡°You¡¯ll regret rejecting Lornar today, Elf! Naga¡¯s army will pursue you to the end of the world until the day you disappear!¡±

    A system notification appeared before Ye Ci as Lornar flew away, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to Revive yourself in an Unknown Area. Please resurrect yourself at the grave. You will be resurrected in a random city. Do you ept?¡±

    Ye Ci was forced to ept the choice.

    She did not know why she ended up rejecting Lornar. Her usual self would definitely fall to Lornar¡¯s temptation. The ability to gain new strength and the opportunity to explore an unknown area of the game was something that she would usually not let go.

    But she made the choice to reject the offer. She did not know why she made the decision, but it was something that she did not regret. She came to realise that strength was not everything in the game. Even powerful beings like Naga and Dau¡¯er would eventually face their death.

    She wanted to know the story behind Dau¡¯er¡¯s past, and because of that curiosity of hers, she sacrificed the opportunity to gain strength. And she did not regret the sacrifice she made.

    With her option confirmed, Ye Ci arrived at the grave with a bright sh of light. She studied her surroundings, and found herself somewhere she did not recognize.

    Color flooded back into her world. The map was filled with red. The very ground she was standing on, and the skies were all an unsettling shade of red.

    A sound entered Ye Ci¡¯s voice as she looked at the details of the map. It was a voice that she would never forget, ¡°Aiyo, we¡¯re truly destined to meet aren¡¯t we, Little Gongzi! We even resurrected at the same ce.¡± the voice said in a tone that was a mixture of shock, joy, and teasing.

 Chapter 356 On The Same Boa

    <h4>Chapter 356 On The Same Boa</h4>

    t

    Ye Ci could feel her temples throbbing. Why do I keep running into unfavorable situations in the game like this?

    It was one thing to be ced in an unfavorable situation, as Ye Ci would always be able to find herself a way out. But this person had been nothing but a major headache for her. She was even slightly afraid.

    Afraid? Yes. The word that did not exist in Gongzi You¡¯s dictionary was added into her vocabry whenever a certain someone appeared.

    His constant pestering was not something that she could ignore as he would never give up. It only meant that it would continue.

    ¡°What sort of rotten luck brings me to the same grave as you?¡± Ye Ci sighed.

    ¡°You randomized your spawn location as well?¡± Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®as well¡¯...¡± Ye Ci rolled her eyes. She crossed her hands in front of her chest, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you got killed by some sort of BOSS as well, and arrived here after randomizing your spawn location?¡±

    Fleeting Time rubbed his chin and stared at Ye Ci, ¡°So this is how you died.¡±

    Ye Ci was exasperated. She looked up into the sky and let out a sigh. She did not admit to such a thing, but her response was an answer for the question.

    ¡°The same thing happened to me as well. It might not be what you¡¯ve experienced, but I was sent here by the system as well.¡±

    Ye Ci had always been so helpless before Fleeting Time, but even she could not deny that the man was a better yer than her. This was why her curiosity was aroused when she heard his words.

    ¡°You were killed by some sort of BOSS?¡±

    ¡°Ah, it seems that a Quest BOSS got you.¡± stated Fleeting Time.

    Ye Ci nodded in response, ¡°Yup. I was killed by a Quest BOSS. I guess the same thing happened to you.¡± she sneered at Fleeting Time, ¡°So even Fleeting Time would die in the game.¡±

    ¡°Why not? Even Gongzi You died. So why can¡¯t I?¡± Fleeting Time smiled as he stretched himself, ¡°Is there a yer who hasn''t died in the game?¡±

    Fleeting Time clearly intended to extend his conversation with Ye Ci, but his expression changed suddenly as he cursed under his breath, ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave now. There are things that I have to deal with. I¡¯ll be seeing youter.¡± he said as he immediately sprinted away.

    Ye Ci was baffled by his behavior. He was someone who was very persistent. She was shocked that he took his leave moments after their meeting.

    ¡°Well goodbye then! I hope we won¡¯t be meeting again!¡± she shouted and waved at Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time turned his head around and smiled at Ye Ci as he continued running away, ¡°I¡¯ll have to apologize about that. I don¡¯t think I can grant you that wish.¡± And Ye Ci waspletely baffled by how fast Fleeting Time was running away from the graveyard.

    Just then, a system notification chimed in her ears, ¡°Naga¡¯s minions have discovered your location. Arge number of them will be arriving at your location shortly. Please prepare yourself for battle.¡±

    What? Naga¡¯s minions?

    Don¡¯t tell me... They¡¯re at the same level as Lornar...

    Ye Ci shivered at that thought. Oh no! I¡¯ll die for sure!

    She immediately studied her surroundings, and found no signs of Naga¡¯s minions. It was time to flee. She summoned Ol¡¯ Six, and shot up into the sky.

    The sky was clear and there was no sign of Naga¡¯s minions. Is the system ying with me? Thought Ye Ci. Just then, she heard a loud crack, and almost received a heart attack from what she saw. Arge fissure had opened up in the air, and arge centipede was making its way out of the fissure in the air and immediately charged at Ye Ci.

    She turned Ol¡¯ Six around, and one such monster behind her as well. She narrowly avoided its jaw and continued speeding ahead. Fissures were opening up in the skies as countless centipede monsters appeared from the portals.

    Ye Ci was surrounded within mere moments. She waspletely cut off by the monsters.

    She let out a sigh. They¡¯re all lvl120 Elites. Looks like I¡¯m dying again.

    Ahh, whatever. Ye Cipletely gave up on fighting back. She was reduced to a corpse within seconds. And just like when she died to Lornar, Ye Ci could only resurrect herself at the graveyard. And the only destination avable was the Scarlet Hignds.

    ¡°No way, you died again!¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s voice entered her ears the moment she arrived at the graveyard. There was nothing but surprise in his voice.

    Ye Ci looked at the source of the voice and saw Fleeting Time standing at the middle of the graveyard. She was shocked as well, ¡°Did you die as well?¡±

    Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci for a brief moment and asked, ¡°Did you receive a notification that some sort of special monster will appear, and you died...¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyes narrowed at the question, ¡°Is that how you died?¡±

    ¡°I guess it was the same for you then.¡± Fleeting Time chuckled as he clutched at his hair, ¡°Were you killed by Naga¡¯s minions?¡±

    Ye Ci was truly shocked at this point. She had guessed that Fleeting Time was in the middle of a simr quest, but now she was certain that they were indeed trapped by the same quest, ¡°What sort of mission have you epted?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to leave it forter. I received another notification that Naga¡¯s minions are approaching. Why don¡¯t we stick together? I died because there were too many monsters. If you¡¯re with me, I think we can handle them.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately agreed to the proposal. Fleeting Time was a skillful yer, and she was not able to deal with Naga¡¯s minions alone. Having another skillful yer with her would greatly increase her chances of survival.

    She might not want to have anything to do with Fleeting Time, but she knew that it was not the time to fret. They were also trying toplete the same quest, and in the neutral continent that was the Middle Continent, there was no reason for them to not work together.

    Besides, neither Ye Ci nor Fleeting Time were willing to part so easily with their hard-earned EXP.

    The duo immediately sprinted to the eastern side of the graveyard once they formed a party. They exchanged information as they fled, and Ye Ci was able to confirm that Fleeting Time had also epted a Hidden Quest rted to the Elven King Dau¡¯er, and he was tasked with protecting an arrow. Tamra was of course not the NPC who gave the quest to Fleeting Time, for Hidden Quests such as this that affected the main quest were triggered under different circumstances.

    The only remaining question that was troubling Ye Ci¡¯s mind was...

    ¡°What arrow are you carrying?¡±

    ¡°The ze Arrow.¡± Fleeting Time held nothing back from Ye Ci. He was originally merely impressed by Ye Ci¡¯s sensitivity to Hidden Quests and her skill at the game. But after their many interactions together, Fleeting Time began seeing her in an entirely different light.

    Ye Ci might not agree with his views, but it did not stop him frompletely trusting her, ¡°You¡¯re not carrying the same one, are you?¡±

    ¡°Nope. The one I have with me is the Venom Arrow.¡± Ye Ci answered truthfully, ¡°How many of Dau¡¯er¡¯s arrows have you collected?¡±

    ¡°Two. I have another one with me called the Dark Arrow.¡± came the reply, ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°I have two as well. The other one I have is the Holy Arrow.¡± and Ye Ci shot him another question after a brief moment of thought, ¡°We both hold different arrows. Does it mean that there¡¯s only one of each of the five arrows in this game?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that. We can talk about it once we take care of our pursuers.¡± Fleeting Time sighed, ¡°There¡¯ll be a lot of them. Be careful.¡±

    ¡°I have a Dragon. Let¡¯s fly up.¡±

    Fleeting Time immediately shook his head, ¡°No, don¡¯t do that. Aerial monsters will spawn if you summon your Dragon. They¡¯re way harder to deal with than the monsters on the ground.¡±

    A frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°Are the monsters spawning based on the highest tier life form in the party and our levels?¡±

    ¡°Yes. And that¡¯s why I gave up on summoning an aerial steed and stuck to traveling bynd. I did not even dare to summon my pet in fear of raising the levels of the pursuing monsters. But as you know, the Hunter ss is at a disadvantage without pets in the wild.¡± Fleeting Time was able to calmly analyze the situation, Ye Ci could even sense a hint of excitement from that man.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be dealing with two waves of monsters. Be careful not to get surrounded.¡± Ye Ci could understand his excitement, for she was sharing the same feeling as well. It was perhaps something that all top yers would feel in the face of an impossible challenge. They have stood at the peak for too long, and it was time to reach for a new height.

    It did not take long for Naga¡¯s minions to arrive at their location. The two Hunters summoned no pets, which meant that the monsters were spawned based on the strength of their characters.

    Arge group of lvl75 monsters hurled themselves at the duo. They might not be Elites, but their numbers were great. And the Hunters engaged them in a running battle in the Scarlet Hignds.

    Their teamwork was near perfect during the battle. It was as if they were not enemies originating from opposing continents. They did not even need a lot ofmunication as they fought against the horde of Naga¡¯s minions. It was as if they have long since grew familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of one another, and were able toplement each other very well.

    A battle like this was very draining, but the system allowed a moment of reprieve for the duo. The battle ended in ten minutes when thest of the monsters dropped dead on the ground.

    Ye Ci was so tired that she could barely lift her hand. She looked at Fleeting Time, who smiled at her before tossing a bottle of wine, ¡°Here, the best stamina recovery wine in Hero City.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately gulped down the bottle of the content. Her Stamina bar that was shing red was immediately restored. She let out a sigh and took a look at her inventory. Her supplies were almost depleted. If she had to continue fighting like this, she would soon be useless.

    Fleeting Time sat beside Ye Ci and initiated a trade with various supplies to her shock, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a wanted criminal in Hero City and a Red Name as well? Your supplies are almost depleted, am I right?¡± Fleeting Time smiled and selected the ¡®confirm¡¯ button.

 Chapter 357 Mutual Understanding

    <h4>Chapter 357 Mutual Understanding</h4>

    Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°Being generous are we? Bear in mind that I can¡¯t afford to pay you back right now.¡± she said as she epted the trade. She was never a superficial person. She understood that she would be a big burden to Fleeting Time if she ran out of supplies, and there seemed to be no end to Naga¡¯s minions.

    Fleeting Time let out a long breath when Ye Ci epted the supplies, ¡°What is mine is yours, and what¡¯s yours is still yours.¡± he mumbled under his breath.

    Ye Ci could not believe what she heard, as it was simply impossible with their current rtionship, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Fleeting Time took in a deep breath and turned around to look at Ye Ci, ¡°What?¡±

    Ye Ci blinked at Fleeting Time. She had even started doubting her hearing, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± she shrugged, and began taking stocks of the supplies she received from Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time stared silently at Ye Ci, his thoughts known only to himself. His sight might be on Ye Ci, but his thoughts had already wandered somewhere else. ¡°Do you like surprises?¡± he asked suddenly.

    ¡°Are you asking me?¡± Ye Ci was taking stock of her arrows when the question came.

    ¡°Of course. You¡¯re the only one here other than me. Who else can I ask?¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time for a long moment with curiosity written all over her face before responding truthfully, ¡°Of course I know. I¡¯m just curious. We¡¯re not that close are we?¡±

    The response from Ye Ci hit Fleeting Time with a wave of distress. Her intention to draw a line between them was obvious.

    But he was still able to maintain the smile on his face, ¡°Well, there¡¯s still time left until the next way, we can talk to each other from past time.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like surprises.¡± Ye Ci apparently epted the exnation as she replied with a soft voice.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s only a surprise if you do it well. Pull it off in a bad way, and it¡¯s more of a scare.¡± Ye Ci was done sorting out thest set of arrows, she lifted her head and looked at Fleeting Time, ¡°Don¡¯t you think that surprises have ruined a lot of things in this world?¡±

    Fleeting Time rubbed the bridge of his nose. He refused to admit that Ye Ci was right. But a system notification announced the arrival of Naga¡¯s minions before he could offer his opinion. The duo immediately stood up and prepared themselves for battle. Defeating the minions of Naga was their priority at the moment.

    The duo was fatigued after waves of enemy attacks. Ye Ci waspletely exhausted after an untold period ofbat. It was not fatigue felt by her character, but a mental fatigue due to long moments of concentration fighting against Naga¡¯s minions. Sheid on the red ground, gasping for air.

    Fleeting Time was not faring any better as well, as heid a spread eagle beside Ye Ci.

    ¡°I do not like the color of this map.¡± Ye Ci was the one who broke the silence.

    ¡°The color of red?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice was weak, ¡°I don¡¯t like it at all.¡±

    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. Red makes one irritable.¡± Fleeting Time replied faintly as he stared up into the red sky, ¡°I like green better.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± Ye Ci closed her eyes, wiping out the red from her world.

    ¡°In body or in mind?¡±

    ¡°Both.¡± she let out a long sigh, ¡°How many more waves do you think there are?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± the fatigue was clear in Fleeting Time¡¯s voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go offline if you¡¯re too tired to proceed. There seems to be no end to them.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± and Ye Ci logged out of the game after bidding farewell with Fleeting Time. She had never talked so calmly to him for a long time, as their meeting would always end in a fight. This was the first time she was able to truly rx in his presence.

    Talking to him is not bad. Thought Ye Ci. At least he understands what I¡¯m trying to say, and our view of the world is more or less the same. It¡¯s rare to have someone like this. Perhaps he truly knows me well.

    As the saying goes, your enemy knows you best.

    Is he my enemy? Ye Ci smiled. Perhaps. We¡¯re enemies with a peculiar rtionship.

    Fleeting Time turned his head and stared at the spot where Ye Ci was lying at moments ago before the fatigue was too much to bear and he logged out from the game as well.

    Ye Ci¡¯s exhaustion was gone after a good night¡¯s rest. She logged into the game, but Fleeting Time was nowhere to be found on the Scarlet Hignds. Should I wait for him toe online?

    And after some hesitation, Ye Ci decided to patiently await his arrival. He was her only way to resupply in this continent. She did not know how long it would take for him to log into the game, but she had always been patient.

    And fortunately for Ye Ci, Fleeting Time appeared before her not longter.

    He was shocked to see Ye Ci, ¡°I thought you¡¯d leave.¡±

    Ye Ci eyed Fleeting Time, ¡°Firstly, I do not know when Naga¡¯s minions will appear. Secondly, I won¡¯t be able to deal with them alone if they appear. I do not wish to lose my EXP. Andstly, I am out of supplies.¡±

    Fleeting Time¡¯s eyebrows rose as he listened to Ye Ci¡¯s exnation, and he let out augh.

    ¡°What is it? Was what I said weird?¡± Ye Ci was baffled by his reaction. Did I say something funny?

    ¡°No.¡± Fleeting Time shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s just that.. You¡¯re the most direct girl I¡¯ve ever met.¡±

    ¡°Why? You like one who beats around the bush?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows as well.

    ¡°I like how direct you are.¡± said Fleeting Time, as if he was merely stating a fact. He turned around before Ye Ci could respond, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll head to the Ruined Cathedral. We¡¯ll be able to resupply at the campsite there.¡±

    Fleeting Time''s tone was so calm, as if he was simply stating something very normal, but Ye Ci was stunned. This was not the first time the word ¡®like¡¯ came out of his mouth, but this was the first time Ye Ci was deeply moved by it.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Fleeting Time turned around and looked at Ye Ci when he noticed that she was not following after him.

    His words snapped Ye Ci back into reality. She lowered her gaze, took in a deep breath, and regained herposure, ¡°Are you able to keep up with me?¡±

    And she started sprinting towards the Ruined Cathedral.

    It took Fleeting Time quite a while to react to Ye Ci¡¯s words. There was a smile on his face as he raced Ye Ci to the cathedral.

    The Ruined Cathedral was a map adjacent to the Scarlet Hignds. It was a map with lvl65 to lvl70 monsters, and the majority of its monster poption was humanoid in shape. Due to its fast respawn rate, the map was one of the most popr maps in the Middle Continent.

    Traveling to the map, however, was not easy. The fees required to travel to the Middle Continent alone was quite high. And there were also many high level maps between Hero City and the Ruined Cathedral.

    That was why most of the yers in the map were members of different guilds.

    As the NPCs refused to talk to Ye Ci, she could only rely on Fleeting Time to resupply. As Ye Ci stood at the entrance of the encampment, staring intently at a particr piece of rock by her foot, a voice called out to her, ¡°Gongzi You? It really is you!¡±

    She looked up and narrowed her eyes when she saw the owner of the voice. What a coincidence...

 Chapter 358 Cooperation?

    <h4>Chapter 358 Cooperation?</h4>

    ¡°I¡¯ve not seen you for a long time.¡± the man smiled as he pulled down his hood.

    Ye Ci was surprised to see him, ¡°Yup. But why are you here, Autumn?¡±

    The owner of the voice was none other than Spotless Autumn. He stood at the entrance of the encampment, and Ye C could see a brand new staff with a gleaming emerald gem on his back. The staff¡¯s appearance was nothing out of the ordinary, but a weapon that was owned by Spotless Autumn would naturally have very good stats.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I be here?¡± Spotless Autumn pursed his lips, ¡°Your words are hurtful as always.¡±

    Ye Ci petted him on the shoulder, ¡°Why is a man like you more petty than I am? What I mean is why are you in such a low level map? Are you up to something again?¡±

    Spotless Autumn waspletely baffled by her words, ¡°Well look at you... This is not a low level map, the monsters are all at lvl65 to lvl70. It¡¯s considered high level by most of the yers. Besides, I¡¯ve beenying low. I¡¯m not here for the same reason. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s up to something.¡±

    ¡°Heh...¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, but she did not continue the sentence, for Spotless Autumn¡¯s next words had aroused her interest.

    ¡°I found a hidden ce beneath the cathedral. Do you want to go have a look?¡±

    Ye Ci did not want to let go of such an opportunity, but with the condition of her quest and the presence of another member in her party, she needed more information to make a decision. Not every hidden spot in Fate would guarantee a bountiful loot, ¡°Why are you being so nice?¡±

    ¡°Good things must of course be shared with my friends¡± replied Spotless Autumn.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, she did not believe his words by even the slightest bit, ¡°I want the truth.¡±

    Spotless Autumn clutched at his hair. Why must she be so smart... ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really. I just thought that...¡±

    And he was cut off mid sentence by Ye Ci, ¡°Autumn, my patience is not without limit.¡±

    Spotless Autumn shot her a re, and she returned his gaze. ¡°Alright then! The monsters in that ce are too strong, I can¡¯t beat them alone.¡± he finally relented, ¡°I was about to call for helpers, but I saw you, so...¡± he shrugged.

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, ¡°So you need my help to save money?¡±

    ¡°Hey hey hey!¡± Spotless Autumn was embarrassed when his little ploy was seen through by Ye Ci, ¡°Why are you so not cute? Can¡¯t you at least pretend to be stupid just this once?¡±

    ¡°Just what sort of ce is that?¡± his protests fell upon deaf ears, ¡°Even a top yer like you couldn¡¯t handle the monsters? What¡¯s in there?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s where the leaders of the Alliance were buried.¡± Spotless Autumn handed an old note to Ye Ci, ¡°Here, have a look.¡±

    ¡°.... They once led the Alliance against Naga, and here they are buried...¡± there were only a few words on the note.

    Excitement coursed through Ye Ci¡¯s heart. Does it mean that this is where the leaders of the alliance were buried? Wait... Doesn¡¯t it mean that I¡±ll be able to find the Elven King Dau¡¯er? She knew that she had to explore the ce no matter the cost.

    ¡°F*ck! You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! Why am I so unlucky!¡± eximed Spotless Autumn as Ye Ci was still reading through the content of the note. She looked up, and noticed that the man had taken a fighting stance. His target was none other than Fleeting Time who had juste back from buying supplies.

    Fleeting Time had apparently forgotten about Spotless Autumn. Or rather, he knew the name, but did not know that the person standing before him was the victim of his wrath, ¡°A friend of yours? Why don¡¯t you introduce him to me?¡± he smiled at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci stared incredulously at Fleeting Time. Has he forgotten about Spotless Autumn? Did he not remember the guy who he killed in the wisteria garden? He probably even received bounty for that too.

    Then again, one can not expect the butcher to remember the faces of the animals he killed.

    It was not the best metaphor.

    Spotless Autumn¡¯s expression changed, ¡°Gongzi You, did your lover forget that he killed me?¡± He sent a private message to Ye CI.

    Ye Ci immediately shot him a re, ¡°Say that again, and you¡¯ll die an even more painful death.¡±

    Spotless Autumn gave her a warm smile. ¡®I know what¡¯s up.¡¯ was written all over the man¡¯s face much to Ye Ci¡¯s anger. With Fleeting Time still looking at her expectantly, Ye Ci let out a sigh and pointed at Spotless Autumn, ¡°This is Spotless Autumn of the Southern Continent.¡± she then pointed at Fleeting Time, ¡°This is Fleeting Time of the Western Continent.¡±

    Fleeting Time adjusted his gaze to Spotless Autumn. He was smiling at the man, but the smile did not reach his eyes. Do you think I did not see you flirting with her? Little Gongzi is definitely not in the wrong. This means that this bastard from the Southern Continent is the one at fault.

    And Fleeting Time was someone who would always have his revenge.

    Spotless Autumn felt a chill crawling down his spine.

    He immediately regretted his decision to greet Gongzi You and ask for her aid. Gongzi You have brought nothing but bad luck to me! Why haven¡¯t I learnt from my past mistakes already?

    I better take my leave. Compared to the money he had to spend for hired help, Spotless Autumn treasured his experience points even more. The loss of experience points upon his death was way greater than the expenditures to hire helpers.

    Of course, it was not because of hisck of confidence for Gongzi You¡¯s capabilities as a yer. It was out of fear for Fleeting Time and the sinister smile on his face.

    Of course anyone would be afraid of the man capable of defeating him so easily.

    ¡°You see... There¡¯s some emergency that I have to attend to...¡± began Spotless Autumn.

    But Ye Ci spoke up before he could leave, ¡°Autumn found a big hidden map under the cathedral. It seems to have something to do with the leaders of the Alliance. I want to go have a look, what about you?¡±

    ¡°So we might be able to clues about Dau¡¯er?¡± Fleeting Time nodded after a moment of consideration, ¡°Let¡¯s go then. I hope we can end this quest soon.¡±

    Don¡¯t ignore me like that! Spotless Autumn could only stare helplessly at the pair of hunters. Didn¡¯t I say that I have to leave? Why am I being ignored?

    But he waspletely helpless against the two yers who were many times stronger than him.

    Fleeting Time saw Spotless Autumn as a thorn in his side, and Spotless Autumn was afraid of Fleeting Time. But this did not stop the trio from forming a party. They were all top yers of the game, which meant that they were naturally very skillful yers. The only thing they needed was some time to get used to working with one another.

    Spotless Autumn led the two Hunters around the cathedral, and then into an abandoned prayer room. Many of the furniture and decorations in the room had already crumbled into pieces, and the room itself was covered by a thickyer of dust.

    Spotless Autumn walked up to the empty altar left in the room, and began touching a hidden mechanism behind the altar. A with a soft click, the alter began moving slowly aside, revealing a dark entrance.

    He lit a torch, and took the lead into the entrance with Ye Ci and Fleeting Time following closely behind. The altar moved back into its original position once the trio had walked through the entrance.

    With the dim lighting from Spotless Autumn¡¯s torch, Ye Ci could see the narrow corridor leading underground clearly.

    Spotless Autumn spoke up after a short silence, ¡°There are a lot of Phantoms in the corridor. They are Elite monsters, and they are fast, and have high resistance to crowd control skills.¡± a chilly gust of wind blew towards the trio right when he finished his sentence, ¡°They¡¯re here!¡±

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time immediately prepared themselves for battle. But due to the limited space in the corridor, Ye Ci was not able to summon her pet. Fleeting Time on the other hand whistled and a cobra appeared.

    From the status of the snake as a teammate, Ye Ci could guess that it was Fleeting Time¡¯s pet. But Spotless Autumn spoke up before she could evenment on the pet, ¡°Say, is this your pet Fleeting Time?¡±

    ¡°You have a problem with my pet?¡± Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°No, not at all. But wasn¡¯t your pet a bat? How did it turn into a snake?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know that a Hunter can own more than one pet?¡± Fleeting Time snorted.

    ¡°A bat.. A snake... Are you trying to collect the Five Poisons?¡± Spotless Autumn chuckled.

    ¡°Yup! It¡¯d be nice to get a golden cicada while I¡¯m at it too.¡± Despite his back and forth with Spotless Autumn, Fleeting Time was still paying attention to his surroundings. He immediately directed his pet to attack when a faint glow appeared from the bend ahead.

    The snake shot forward like a coiled spring, filling the silent corridor with its hiss. And a mechanical sound followed after. It was not a sound that Ye Ci was familiar with.

    The answer was quick to appear before Ye Ci, as a few ck Skeletons lumbered into view, swinging their weapons as they charged at the trio.

    ck Skeletons?

    Undead monsters were the bane of the Hunter ss. Arrows did not deal a lot of damage to Skeletons, and spirit type enemies would not take a lot of damage from arrows as well unless the Hunters were using Holy weapons. There were only two ways a Hunter could effectively deal with an Undead opponent: With their pet, or by engaging them at melee.

    Fleeting Time had chosen the former, while Ye Ci used thetter. She pulled a Green quality hammer that she had obtained earlier as a loot drop and swung it at the knee of the skeleton closest to her.

    She broke the knee of the ck Skeleton with a loud crack, and the monster¡¯s speed was drastically reduced. Spotless Autumn immediately threw up a Fire Wall, dealing fire damage to the enemies, while Fleeting Time continued directing his pet against the opponents so that Ye Ci would have more chance to break the knees of their opponents.

    The trio had never discussed their strategy before, but they were able to work with each other like members from a party who had known each other for a very long time.

 Chapter 359 Hidden Cemetery

    <h4>Chapter 359 Hidden Cemetery</h4>

    Mages were still the most effective ss against Undead opponents. As long as the aggro was not on them, mages could easily deal with Undead with their me attacks.

    But it would not be an easy task for the yer holding the aggro. A Warrior might fare better with the ss¡¯s high defense and HP, but a Hunter taking the role of tanking the aggro would be in a very ufortable situation.

    Ye Ci was experiencing such a thing first hand. She was forced to withstand the ck Skeletons¡¯ attacks as she was worried that the monsters would make it past her to Spotless Autumn.

    She could feel her heart in her mouth when her health plunged. She knew that she would be long dead had Fleeting Time not been healing her up from the rear.

    The trio took a rest after defeating yet another wave of enemy, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that Gongzi You has talent as a tank.¡± Spotless Autumn chuckled.

    Ye Ci remained silent. She had already grown used to the idiot who was Spotless Autumn.

    But it did not mean that the other person in the party would let thatment slip, ¡°I like that idea.¡± said Fleeting Time, ¡°While we¡¯re at it, why don¡¯t you pay the repair fees for her equipment?¡±

    Spotless Autumn immediately began to stammer. He looked at Ye Ci, then at Fleeting Time, and finally at Ye Ci again, ¡°I have to pay? I¡¯m sure Gongzi You is not that stingy right? Right?¡±

    Ye Ciughed at his words. She had originally thought to simply ignore the remark, but it was simply too good of an opportunity to miss. Spotless Autumn had always been a very stingy person. ¡°Autumn, don¡¯t you know what they call me?¡± she asked.

    ¡°What?¡± Spotless Autumn visibly gulped as he avoided Ye Ci¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°They say that I¡¯m a selfish person. Do you think I¡¯ll let go of an opportunity to rob you?¡± teased Ye Ci. It was just an act, but Spotless Autumn was terrified.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think talking to him will lower your IQ?¡± whispered Fleeting Time as he handed Ye Ci a bottle of wine.

    Ye Ci let out augh, ¡°I think so too. But it¡¯s not that easy to get rid of an idiot.¡±

    Fleeting Time pursed his lips. He nced at Spotless Autumn who was still yapping away about his poor financial condition and gritted his teeth. This was not the first time he felt the urge to kill the mage.

    But while he was an idiot, Spotless Autumn was also a skillful yer. Even when she was the best Sorceress in the game in herst life, Ye Ci was still forced to admit that Spotless Autumn was a top-tier yer.

    The trio was able to make it through the corridor without much of the problem.

    Spotless Autumn looked up at the end of the corridor, and saw arge stone b. It poked at it with his staff. The stone b was movable. But a mage¡¯s Strength was very limited. Even with his face red with exertion, he could not move the b by even one bit.

    He turned around, and saw the two Hunters observing his hardbor with their arms crossed in front of their chests. He was angry, but his anger was quick to dissipate when he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s intense gaze, ¡°Help, I do not have enough Strength.¡±

    It was as if Ye Ci was waiting for that exact moment. She beamed at Spotless Autumn and patted him on the shoulder, ¡°Ah, why didn¡¯t you say so? How would I know if you do not have enough strength? I even thought that you¡¯re trying to disarm some sort of trap. I would¡¯ve helped if I knew!¡±

    ¡°Thank you...¡± Spotless Autumn was ovee by a feeling of sorrow. Gongzi You had always imed that she was a Huntress in the game, and that she was not a girl. But her behavior stated otherwise. She was still as petty as a woman.

    Fleeting Time grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s arm as she walked up to the stone b, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    Ye Ci would of course not reject an offer like this, and Fleeting Time walked up to the stone b. It did not even take him much effort to move the b. Bright light shone down on Fleeting Time, coating his hair into ayer of white, ¡°I¡¯ll go up and and have a look. Stay here, I¡¯ll let you know what I see up there.¡±

    Spotless Autumn grumbled under his breath when Fleeting Time was out of sight, ¡°How can you do this to me, Gongzi You? You¡¯re bullying me with a yer from a hostile continent...¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at his words, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that when he¡¯s around?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t win against him.¡± Spotless Autumn¡¯s heart was filled with nothing but sadness. The only thing he could do was to curse Fleeting Time in his heart when memories of his suffering at the Hunter¡¯s hands once again surfaced in his mind.

    ¡°All clear. You two cane up now.¡± came Fleeting Time¡¯s voice when the two continued their small talk. They climbed up, and saw a cemetery.

    Not many were buried in the cemetery. Despite its size, only a few tombstones could be seen.

    ¡°Not many are buried here.¡± said Ye Ci after surveying her surroundings.

    ¡°Yup. I counted only nine of them.¡± stated Fleeting Time, ¡°There are no monsters in this ce as well. It seems to bepletely isted. I took a quick look at the map. This cemetery is within the Ruined Cathedral.¡±

    Ye Ci clicked open her map, but could not locate any cemetery in the cathedral, ¡°Where in the Ruined Cathedral are we?¡±

    Fleeting Time showed Ye Ci his map, and pointed at a hill behind the Ruined Cathedral, ¡°The cathedral is built by the hill. And we walked through the corridor here.¡± he pointed at a spot on his map.

    Ye Ci saw a hollow circle on the map that was notbeled. It was something that could be easily missed by yers. And even if it was noticed, no one would be able to locate the cemetery without first noticing the secrets of the prayer room.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± She looked at the nine tombstones. If these are the graves of the nine leaders of the nine Alliance races, then who buried them here?

    She then remembered why the cathedral was abandoned. The Ruined Cathedral was thergest cathedral in the Middle Continent called the Glory Cathedral. It was said to be the ce closest to the Gods.

    But in Naga¡¯s bid to destroy the religion in the Majia Continent, he sent waves after waves of minions to attack the cathedral. The monks of the cathedral and warriors of the Alliance shed against Naga¡¯s minions for days in defence of the Glory Cathedral, causing massive casualties on both sides, and forcing Naga to withdraw his forces.

    As a final act of spite, Naga bribed one of the monks to assassinate the Archbishop of the Glory Cathedral, causing the copse of the cathedral itself.

    The members of the clergy residing within the cathedral began to leave. And when thest of its original inhabitants passed away decadester, the cathedral became the home to Dark Apostles and the Undead, as well as a good leveling spot for yers.

    It was said that the nine leaders of the Alliance died in battle against Naga¡¯s army, but the location of their graves remained unknown. The Ruined Cathedral could very well be their final resting ce. And to allow the heroes their final rest, the monks of the cathedral buried their bodies in this hidden cemetery, and ced the entrance at a seemingly insignificant prayer room.

    ¡°Ah, this is it!¡± eximed Spotless Autumn as Ye Ci was still deep in thought. She lifted her head, and saw the Sorcerer kneeling by a tombstone and was reading the words etched on its surface.

    ¡°Here lies the heroes of the Gnomes.¡± Ye Ci could see the words on the tombstone when she walked up to Spotless Autumn. He¡¯s looking for the hero of the Gnomes?

    Spotless Autumn brushed away the dust on the grave, revealing a small hole in front of the tombstone. He pulled a staff out from his inventory, and nted it into the hole. Spotless Autumn then stood up, and twisted the staff slightly. His movement was followed by a loud rumble from behind the tombstone.

    To Ye Ci¡¯s amazement, the soil behind the tombstone cracked open to reveal a sarcophagus.

    Spotless Autumn was excited. He too in a deep breath and sighed, ¡°Thank God, my quest is finally at its end.¡± and he proceeded to push open the lid of the sarcophagus.

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time, who were driven by curiosity, peered into the sarcophagus.

    There were no remains in the sarcophagus. What lied within was nothing but a bloodied robe.

    Does it mean that the leaders of the Alliance were not buried here? Is this merely their cenotaph? Ye Ci was stunned. And even Spotless Autumn appeared to be slightly disappointed.

    The trio were quiet for a long time before Spotless Autumn finally broke the silence, ¡°F*ck! Can the system not y with me like that! I thought I¡¯vepleted the mission for sure! And this is what I get?¡±

    A low voice rang out as he took the robe out from the sarcophagus. Ye Ci could not understand thenguage that was being spoken, but Spotless Autumn began talking to the voice in the samenguage with a grave expression on his face.

    ¡°Whatnguage is that?¡± Fleeting Time creased his eyebrows.

    Thenguage was very familiar to Ye Ci, as it was something that she learnt in herst life as a Sorceress, ¡°It¡¯s Ancient Gnomish, anguage entirely different from the standard Gnomish we have now. You can only learn it by epting certain quests.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci.

    She was momentarily stunned. It was anguage that she needed from herst life as a Sorceress as the Gnomes were the best mages of thend, and the only way she could learn high level spells from the Gnomish NPCs was by learning Ancient Gnomish.

    Ye Ci opted to simply ignore the question, and at the same time, Spotless Autumn¡¯s conversation with the voice had ended. He put the robe into his inventory, bowed at the direction of the tombstone, and walked back towards the duo.

 Chapter 360 Old Foes

    <h4>Chapter 360 Old Foes</h4>

    ¡°Why do you look so sad?¡± asked Ye Ci.

    ¡°I¡¯ve epted a quest that was rted to sorcery when I was still a newbie and have been trying toplete for a year. I thought that this was the end of the quest, but I was wrong.¡± Spotless Autumn let out a long sigh.

    ¡°A sorcery rted quest?¡± Ye Ci was instantly reminded of her Elven King Dau¡¯er questline.

    Each race in Fate has characters of different sses, but each of the races had their own signature ss. Elven Hunters, Human Pdins, Dwarven Warriors, Gnomish Sorcerers, Lycan Summoners, Undead Rogues, Orcish Shaman were all examples of a race¡¯s signature ss.

    Of course, it did not mean that members of the race who chose the specific ss would receive additional stats. It simply meant that the sses that were chosen were the sses of the rulers of a specific race. The Elven King Dau¡¯er was a Hunter, but it did not mean that an Elven Hunter had an advantage over his or her Human counterpart.

    This was why Spotless Autumn¡¯s quest target was a Gnomish NPC. Ye Ci was certain that the man was attempting toplete the Sorcerer¡¯s main questline. He was definitely looking for the monarch of the Gnomes, which was also known as the Sorcerer King, Ltiti.

    ¡°Is the quest by chance about the Gnomish King Ltiti?¡± Ye Ci stared straight at Spotless Autumn, trying to capture his emotion.

    ¡°F*ck! Are you a mind reader, Gongzi You? How did you know!¡± shock washed over Spotless Autumn, ¡°You¡¯re not a Sorceress, the Sorcerer King Ltiti shouldn¡¯t be mentioned in your quest. How did you know about her?¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. I seemed to have said something that I shouldn¡¯t again. She could of course not tell him that she was a Sorceress in herst life, and the name Ltiti was something that she had been hearing since she started the game.

    ¡°I have been doing some reading in the National Library.¡± was the only response that Ye Ci could offer. Of course, it was something that she had done in herst life.

    ¡°Oh, you sure have a lot of free time on your hands. I barely went to the National Library myself.¡± Spotless Autumn did not doubt Ye Ci¡¯s words. He even clutched at his hair as self reflection, ¡°Seems to me that I should head to the National Library sometimes. I might learn a thing or two over there.¡±

    ¡°Yup. There is treasure in every book.¡± Ye Ci chuckled.

    Fleeting Time stood silently during the exchange, and was staring at Ye Ci with an unfathomable glint in his eyes.

    ¡°Was that the voice of Ltiti?¡± Ye Ci was certain that Ltiti was a female, but she heard a male voice.

    ¡°No, that voice belonged to the guardian of this tomb. I don¡¯t think you two could see him. He¡¯s a quest NPC that appeared just to deliver the dialogue. He was one of the monks who built the passage to this ce, and volunteered to guard the cemetery.¡± Spotless Autumn did not hide any details from Ye Ci as the nature of his quest was already revealed.

    ¡°He told me that the nine leaders of the Alliance went missing after the war against Naga. The clothing that was kept here were all sent here by their subordinates, as the Glory Cathedral was the ce closest to the Gods, and they hoped that their heroes can rest in peace here.¡± exined Spotless Autumn, ¡°But it seems that the Gods have abandoned this cathedral. Look at the state of this ce. Closest to the Gods my ass... People who are religious are so gullible...¡±

    Ye Ci remained silent after that remark. She did not wish to discuss the topic of theology with Spotless Autumn. But Fleeting Time who had remained silent until them finally spoke up, ¡°They¡¯re not gullible. They¡¯re just more willing to believe the good in our world. God might actually exist in this world, for there are always things that cannot be exined with science. And we call these phenomena.. Miracles.¡±

    Miracles? Ye Ci opened her mouth to speak, but she was at a loss for words.

    What about my reincarnation then? Was it a miracle of God as well? This is something that cannot be exined by human knowledge.

    Ye Ciughed. Is my current life a miracle as well?

    ¡°What are you two looking for?¡± asked Spotless Autumn when he noticed Ye Ci and Fleeting Time walking towards the tombstones.

    ¡°You¡¯re done looking for your ancestors, can¡¯t we Elves do the same?¡± retorted Fleeting Time.

    Spotless Autumn snorted at him, ¡°Hey, unlike you two, I have business with mine, okay?¡± He had harbored a certain degree of hatred towards Fleeting Time since the incident at the wisteria garden, but he did not have the courage to take the Hunter head on.

    To Ye Ci, what Spotless Autumn felt towards Fleeting Time was probably how a pig felt towards a butcher. He hated him, but he was also helpless against him. It was a very sorrowful sight.

    After all, mages had always been at the mercy of Hunters in a one on one battle.

    Fleeting Time and Ye Ci were able to quickly locate Dau¡¯er¡¯s cenotaph. They pushed open the dirt in front of the tombstone, and found a hole.

    ¡°What sort of hole is that?¡± Ye Ci was confused when she saw the single hole. It was bigger than even five arrowsbined.

    ¡°This is probably meant for a bow.¡± said Fleeting Time after a moment of thought, ¡°Have you seen the staff that idiot was holding? It looked like a beginner¡¯s weapon, but it¡¯s probably a key.¡±

    He then investigated the tombstone directly beside Dau¡¯er¡¯s cenotaph, and found a crack, ¡°I have a feeling that this belongs to a Barbarian. This crack is probably meant for the de of an axe.¡±

    ¡°It seems that Spotless Autumn has a simr quest, but his progress is more advanced than ours.¡± Ye Ci stood up and dusted her hands, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll return once we reach that stage of our quest.¡±

    ¡°Very well.¡± Fleeting Time nodded and cast a nce at Spotless Autumn who was studying an old piece of paper, ¡°Sometimes... Fortune favors the idiots.¡± he pursed his lips.

    Ye Ciughed at thement. She knew very well what Fleeting Time was talking about. Herughter was like a blossoming flower in spring, and was like a blinding light that has blinded Fleeting Time¡¯s eyes. He stared dumbfoundedly at Ye Ci, the words that were about to leave his mouth forgotten. He was shocked by the warm smile that had melted away her usual cold demeanor.

    ¡°What are you two talking about? What¡¯s so funny?¡± Spotless Autumn raised his head and put the quest item away into his inventory when he heard herugher.

    Fleeting Time pursed his lips, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. We¡¯re just discussing the rtionship between God and idiots.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± SPotless Autumn waspletely baffled.

    Ye Ci promptly covered her smile and said to him, ¡°Let¡¯s go, you¡¯re done with your quest right?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Thank you! I¡¯ll take my leave once we get out of this ce. I need to get to the next quest location.¡± Spotless Autumn¡¯s dislike for Fleeting Time was clear, but he was still on good terms with Ye Ci.

    Fleeting Time silently cast a sideway nce his way, and jumped down into the tunnel. He was followed closely by Ye Ci and Spotless Autumn.

    And in this world, ns would always be foiled by changes.

    The trio heard a voice just when they left the prayer room, ¡°The third floor is reserved by Golden Era yers! The third floor is reserved by Golden Era! Please level up somewhere else!¡±

    The owner of the voice was rtively polite, but such an act was looked down upon by yers of many games, especially the smaller guilds and solo yers. But despite their strong dislike, these yers could do nothing as they did not have the strength.

    There were only three options for them: Leave, trash talk, or fight.

    And many of the yers began trash talking the Golden Era guild. But the guild came prepared, as its Rogues, Warriors, and Sorcerers who were high leveled yers immediately fell upon the trash talkers on the third floor.

    They were made into examples.

    The yers in the map were all above lvl60, and each death would result in a 20% loss of experience points. It was something that they could not stomach.

    Before long, the yers in the third floor dispersed, and the few that were killed revived themselves at the graveyard after more trash talk. Only the trio and sixty Golden Era yers were left on the third floor out of the hundred minutes ago.

    ¡°Hey, you three! Why are you still here? Do you want to lose your experience points?¡± The Golden Era yer ten yards away from the trio was a Druid.

    Despite their fame, Ye Ci, Fleeting Time, and Spotless Autumn preferred to keep a low profile. This meant that all three of them hid their identities with cloaks. The Druid had only thought of them as three normal yers.

    ¡°Do we fight them?¡± The trio were silently discussing the possibility of taking on the Golden Era yers in their party channel.

    ¡°Of course! We have to pay them back for their assassination!¡± Spotless Autumn had never liked the Golden Era guild, and he despised the guild after their assassination attempt. He was a solo yer, and was even more low profile than Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. But when an opportunity presented itself, he would never say no.

    ¡°There¡¯s sixty of them. Why don¡¯t we have apetition?¡± Fleeting Time did not like boring work. He preferred to add some joy to stuff that was boring.

    ¡°Then we must have a prize. What will the prize be?¡± the ghost of a smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips.

    ¡°A gold coin!¡± shouted Spotless Autumn, and he could immediately feel the stares from Fleeting Time and Ye Ci the moment he finished the words left his mouth.

    ¡°So my hard work is only worth a single gold coin?¡± Ye Ci raised her eyebrows.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Spotless Autumn would always receive a boost in intelligence whenever money was involved. He wagged his index finger at the duo and said, ¡°It¡¯s not about the money. That¡¯s what I think the value of their lives is.¡±

    His excuse was so highscounding that even Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were rendered speechless.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little too high? I think they¡¯re worth a copper coin.¡± but it did not take Fleeting Time long toe up with aeback.

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it, but one copper coin feels meaningless.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Are you three still not leaving?¡± the Druid shouted out to the trio again when they showed no intention of leaving. He gave his party members a meaningful look, directing them to kill the party of three.

 Chapter 461 Figh

    <h4>Chapter 461 Figh</h4>

    t

    Fate was still a considerably bnced game. In a situation where the difference in levels and equipment between yers were not great, even a top tier yer would have trouble taking on multiple opponents alone. But everything has an exception.

    Top tier yers were at the top of the food chain not only because of their mechanical skills, equipment, level, but also because of things like luck.

    Luck was something that was very powerful in Fate. Just like how some could win hundreds of millions from a lottery and change his or her life forever, while many others could not.

    The trio were exactly like that. Their luck that other yers did not possess was also a factor that gave them a considerable advantage other than their mechanical skills, the efforts they put into the game, as well as their equipment and level.

    The yers on the third floor of the cathedral were between lvl60 to lvl65, and there were a dozen monster spawn locations with a high spawn rate. This made it a highly contested leveling area for members of the major guilds.

    But a leveling party was usually not organized by the officers of a guild, and was instead led by the leaders of each of their squadrons. And these squadrons would usually not cut off the remainder of the yers from the spawn locations as a tacit understanding between yers.

    After all, there was still arge number of solo yers in the game, and the major guilds were reluctant in incurring their wrath. They might not be able to take the guilds on in a fight, but they could still easily harass members of the major guilds.

    It was very rare for a guild to act like Golden Era, and clear out an entire leveling yer. Ye Ci knew not if it was an order from Breeze. And if it was indeed an order from the leader of Golden Era, then the only thing that Ye Ci could say was that Breeze was an idiot.

    Despite theirck of interaction, Ye Ci could tell from the few times they met that Breeze was someone who was highly ambitious, but was also capable of keeping a low profile.

    It was not easy for Golden Era to take up all the spots with only sixty of their yers, but it was also a sign that these yers were very skillful.

    And the yers soon proved Ye Ci correct. They were able to work wlessly with one another in their battle against the trio. Despite their best attempts to take out the Priests, Clerics, or any other healers among the Golden Era yers, they did not seed.

    ¡°That ck robed Cleric in their party is good.¡± said Spotless Autumn when he dodged yet another attack. He gulped down a bottle of Haste Potion, and cast arge area Water type spell to slow down his opponents.

    yers would normally be panicking when they were outnumbered in a PVP fight. And even if they were able to calm their nerves, they would never have the time to chat with each other in the party channel.

    The same thing could not be said for the trio, who were casually chatting as the battle raged on.

    ¡°Yup. I think he has equipment that buffs his movement speed and evasion. Even I¡¯m having some difficulties in taking him out.¡± Ye Ci nodded. She had attempted to kill the Cleric, but he was able to dodge her arrows and hide himself behind the Warriors or Pdins in his party.

    ¡°And his healing is good. We must take him out first or the fight will be hard for us.¡± Fleeting Time exined the situation calmly. A rough estimate ced the Cleric¡¯s level at lvl64. He was certainly one of the higher level yers in the party.

    The Cleric had survived multiple attacks on him, and he was able to escape death on multiple asions by dodging iing attacks and was even able to save several other yers in his party form the brink of death.

    ¡°What a waste of time. We¡¯re not getting any EXP out of them, and I have only more Sin values to gain.¡± Ye Ci was at the end of her patience. The teamwork between the Cleric and his Pdin and Warrior party member was simply too frustrating.

    ¡°What are you nning to do?¡± Fleeting Time asked with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯ll blow them all away. My pet might have a lower level, but as long as they do not have Mithril armor, I¡¯ll be able to burn them to death.¡± it was apparent that Ye Ci had finally lost her patience.

    ¡°Do you need some help?¡± Fleeting Time smiled at her, ¡°Let¡¯s end this.¡±

    ¡°You have an aerial steed as well?¡±

    ¡°As a matter of fact I do.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your steed?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s something with a slightly lower tier than yours.¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s words could only mean two things. He knew that Ol¡¯ Six was Ye Ci¡¯s pet, and he had in his possession a formidable aerial steed.

    There¡¯s not many aerial steed in Fate, and a life form that was just one tier lower than a Dragon... Could it be?

    Ye Ci wasted no time in guessing. She immediately summoned Ol¡¯ Six. Despite the cathedral¡¯s high ceiling, there was still not enough space for a Dragon to fly. Ol¡¯ Six was forced to fight onnd. Its speed was not as fast, but its Dragon Breath¡¯s range was able to make up for its slower speed.

    The loud chirping of a bird rang out on the third floor of the cathedral not long after Ol¡¯ Six appeared. Ye Ci turned around to see a bird with fiery feathers standing not far behind her.

    Ye Ci took in a sharp breath. It¡¯s a phoenix! While Phoenixes ranked one tier lower than Dragons, they had a very powerful skill that could be utilized in battle. It was a skill called Nirvana. The skill had a CD of four hours. This meant that the Phoenix could revive itself inbat every 4 hours.

    ¡°Do you really have to do that? There¡¯s no way I can win at this point!¡± eximed Spotless Autumn when he spotted the two pets. Despite his words, he began retreating behind the tworge animals.

    ¡°Spotless Autumn, it¡¯s just one gold coin. Do you really have to be that stingy?¡± said Ye Ci as she directed Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s attack against the Golden Era yers.

    ¡°Many a mickle makes a muckle.¡± came the reply from Spotless Autumn.

    And Ye Ci almost coughed up blood.

    If the previous battle was a contest of skills between the two sides, it had be a one-sided ughter. The Golden Era yers were defenseless against thebined might of a Dragon and a Phoenix without Mithril armor.

    And the battle ended very quickly just like Fleeting Time said. The Golden Era yers were reduced into corpses in less than a minute along with the many monsters in the third floor of the cathedral. The trio received arge amount of Honor Points, Experience Points, Sin value, and equipment during that short window of time.

    The majority of the Golden Era yers did not like trash talking, and a few of the dead Golden Era yers were apparently the minority in their guild. Text bubbles with very intimate greetings for the female family members of the trio immediately appeared from the corpses, but these werepletely ignored, for another text bubble appeared on the Cleric¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s foolish of you to fight against us? So what if you are top yers? Do you think you can take on the entire Golden Era guild?¡± his words were logical, but it meant nothing to Ye Ci.

    ¡°And what do you want us to do? Sit still as you attack us?¡± she sneered.

    ¡°Of course not.¡± replied the Cleric, ¡°But if you can apologize to us in the World Channel, we will forget about what happened today. If not...¡±

    Ye Ci ignored the Cleric¡¯s threat and said to Spotless Autumn, ¡°Pick up their equipment. You¡¯ll probably make enough money for a month¡¯s worth of leveling.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, you¡¯re such a good person, Gongzi You!¡± said Spotless Autumn as he began happily picking up the equipment.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be taking a portion of the money.¡± said Fleeting Time, and Spotless Autumn stumbled.

    ¡°Gongzi You, Fleeting Time, you¡¯ll regret this!¡±

    But his threats werepletely ignored.

    The map was not arge one, which meant that its graveyard was at a rtively near spot. The trio immediately ran into Golden Era yers inrger numbers when they walked out of the cathedral.

    At least 500 had gathered before the cathedral, and they were led by the Cleric himself, ¡°Gongzi You, Fleeting Time, Spotless Autumn... I told you you¡¯ll regret what yo-¡± an arrow pierced through the Cleric¡¯s throat before he could finish his sentence, sending him back to the grave. The attack came so fast that nobody realised that Gongzi You Had already begun her attack.

    Another battle ensued in front of the cathedral. While Ol¡¯ Six and the Phoenix were finally able to take flight, this did not mean that the battle was made easier.

    Without the confines of the cathedral, the Golden Era that came prepared were able to scatter after consuming Haste Potion. They were able to deal a considerable amount of damage to both the aerial steed.

    But it was all still a futile attempt. While some of them were able to avoid the aerial steeds¡¯ attack, many more were caught and the damage they took could not be healed by the Clerics who were a distance away. Before long, the Golden Era yers have already suffered heavy casualties.

    ¡°Do not panic! Reinforcements are on the way¡± shouted a voice as the battle continued. It was the Cleric.

    Ye Ci could feel her head aching. She did not wish to waste more time in a fight against more Golden Era yers. Her goal was to end the battle as soon as possible and leave the area.

    The Golden Era yers might not be afraid of death, but she was worried about wasting her time.

    But the Cleric¡¯s words did nothing to raise the morale of his men. They were pitched in a one-sided battle against two aerial steeds, and they knew that their reinforcements would also suffer heavy casualties when they joined the battle.

    A familiar voice called out to Ye Ci just as she thought the battle was at its end, ¡°Long time no see, Gongzi You.¡±

    Ye Ci steadied Ol¡¯ Six in the air, and spotted the owner of the voice when she lowered her altitude. She did not know how she should respond to the greeting.

 Chapter 262 Refusing To Let Go

    <h4>Chapter 262 Refusing To Let Go</h4>

    A person who has already died once would never remember things that were too distant in the past. The future was ahead of Ye Ci, and memorizing things from the past was a waste of her energy.

    Of course, not many in this world had already embraced the eventuality of death like her.

    Ye Ci at least, was more willing to let go since she had already tasted death.

    To her, things in the past no matter in game or in real life were things that she could easily put down as she continued marching on ahead. But as she saw the person standing before her, she came to realise that her ability to let things go did not matter, for there would always be people who were tangled in past events.

    ¡°Long time no see, Thousand Sunsets.¡± Ye Ci finally returned the greeting after staring at the man for a very long time. Her gaze then drifted to the two figures standing not far behind Thousand Sunsets. Dong Yin and Yi Cang.

    Ahh.. So they¡¯re still in the game, and they¡¯re still with Thousand Sunsets. But the person who stood beside Thousand Sunsets was reced by Peacock Blue. She could tell that Thousand Sunsets and Peacock Blue were not close, but she could sense that there was something special in their rtionship.

    She even took a pity to Dong Yin when the information provided to her by Green Hill¡¯s Moon about the families of two once again surfaced in her mind.

    It was sorrowful to be forced away from a person that one loved dearly just because of one¡¯s family background. She did not understand why Dong Yin would remain by Thousand Sunsets¡¯s side as he found a new person in his life, and as they joined their hands in marriage. Was it worth her pride as a person?

    And this was what Ye Ci hated about Dong Yin.

    But hermenting did notst long, for she was not blind. She could see the animosity and the hatred on the faces of Dong Yin and Yi Cang. If looks could kill, then Ye Ci could have been impaled by the thousands of daggers they were ring at her.

    Her instincts were telling her that they were still dwelling in the past. Even if she felt that what happened in the past should stay in the past, the two would never let it go.

    Ahh... How troublesome.

    No one knew when the battle had died down, butbatants from both sides were now staring at the new group of yers.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Fleeting Time could feel the tension in the air between Ye Ci and the newly arrived yers. He spun in a low flying circle above the heads of the yers as an intimidation before stopping beside Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci shifted her gaze from Thousand Sunsets and his posse to Fleeting Time, ¡°It¡¯s someone I used to know a long, long time ago.¡±

    Fleeting Time immediately understood the meaning behind her words. He was not a person who liked gossipping, and the only posts on the forums that received his attention were those rted to the technical part of the game. He had never concerned himself with the gossip of each continent.

    That was why he knew very little about Thousand Sunsets. Absalom, on the other hand, would instantly recognize the man. But the name was still awfully familiar to Fleeting Time, ¡°Thousand Sunsets? Was he the former leader of Iron Blooded Battle Spear?¡±

    ¡°Aiya? You know him Fleeting Time? I didn¡¯t know you like gossiping as well.¡± Spotless Autumn was shocked when Fleeting Time knew of the guild, as there were countless medium sized guilds in Iron Blood in Fate.

    Fleeting Time cast a sideway nce at Spotless Autumn, but chose to ignore his remark. He knew of the guild because of Gongzi You. He did a small investigation into her background in an attempt to know her better, ¡°Is he here looking for trouble? Is it because of what happened to his guild warehouse?¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head. She did not know why the people who had long since left the stage in her memory were appearing once again before her.

    ¡°Gongzi You, we¡¯re old acquaintances now, and we¡¯re both from the same continent. Why don¡¯t you end this fight and consider this incident settled?¡± Thousand Sunsets looked at the yers of the Golden Era and then smiled at Ye Ci.

    ¡°Oh? Your influence is so great that even Golden Era has to listen to you now?¡±

    Thick sarcasm wasced in Ye Ci¡¯s words, and many of the more hot-headed members behind Thousand Sunsets were ready to attack when Thousand Sunsets stopped them with a gesture of his hand. ¡°This is between me and Golden Era, Gongzi You. Don¡¯t worry about it. This is for your own good as well. Even with that Dragon of yours, the three of you will not be able to win against so many yers. It will not benefit you, or Upwards Ho! by even a tiny bit. Why don¡¯t you back off and consider this matter settled?¡±

    Ye Ci wanted the fight to end not because of her inability to win, but because it had little to no meaning to her. She knew that Fleeting Time and Spotless Autumn shared the same thought. They had things that must be tended to, and wasting time on a PVP that did not benefit them in any way was useless.

    And she also knew that Thousand Sunsets was not here just to help, ¡°Let¡¯s get straight to the point, Thousand Sunsets. What do you want from me?¡±

    ¡°Does it mean that you¡¯re agreeing to stop the fight?¡± she did not receive a direct response from Thousand Sunsets.

    Ye Ci grunted as a response. And with a smile on his face, Thousand Sunsets turned around and began speaking to the Cleric of Golden Era. The Cleric was enraged, and even began shouting at Thousand Sunsets.

    The guild leader was still speaking calmly to the Cleric. And with ast re to the trio, the Cleric left with the rest of his men.

    ¡°Autumn, this has nothing to do with you.¡± Ye Ci said to Spotless Autumn, ¡°Get out of here, and beware of the Golden Era yers.¡±

    But Spotless Autumn refused to budge, ¡°What is this? You¡¯re sending me away because there¡¯s a fight? Do I look like someone who would abandon my friends?¡±

    ¡°This is between me and them. This has nothing to do with you. Don¡¯t get dragged into this.¡± Ye Ci continued staring at the yers in front of her, ¡°There¡¯s a few hundred of them, and they¡¯re better equipped than the yers before. You do not have an aerial steed. You¡¯ll be in danger if fighting breaks out.¡±

    Ye Ci moved forward before Spotless Autumn could offer a response, ¡°Just think of this as giving me face. It¡¯s something private, I do not wish for more to learn of it.¡±

    At this point, Spotless Autumn knew that it was better for him to take his leave. He consumed a bottle of Invisibility Potion and disappeared after repeatedly telling Ye Ci to be careful. A system notification indicating that Spotless Autumn had gone offline appeared a short momentter.

    Ye Ci then looked at Fleeting Time, but he spoke up before she could open her mouth, ¡°I respect your privacy, but I simply can¡¯t leave you alone against so many people.¡± and he climbed to a higher altitude on his Phoenix, ¡°I¡¯ll be up here. If things turn bad, I¡¯ll be able to help. Just pretend I don¡¯t exist for the time being.¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Ye Ci could finally focus her attention back on Thousand Sunsets.

    ¡°Ohe on, Gongzi You, I was just passing by.¡± responded Thousand Sunsets with a smile.

    And this earned him a sneer from Ye Ci, ¡°With so many yers?¡±

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re all out here to level up.¡± it was as if Thousand Sunsets did not notice the sarcasm in Ye Ci¡¯s voice, ¡°Of course, now that we¡¯re here, there are things that we wish to deal with.¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips, and continued waiting silently for the man to continue.

    With a gesture of his hand, the yers behind Thousand Sunsets retreated thirty yards to the back, and only Dong Yin and Yi Cang remained, ¡°Or more precisely, I¡¯m not the one who has business with you. But they do. I am but a manager.¡± and he followed after the members of his guild.

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow as she stared at the two, ¡°What is it? What do you need from me?¡±

    ¡°Draw your weapon!¡± said Dong Yin with a sneer as she pulled out her magical staff.

 Chapter 363 You Canâ€™t Win

    <h4>Chapter 363 You Can¡¯t Win</h4>

    Ye Ci was confused as she looked at Dong Yin. Wasn¡¯t she a Warrior? Why is she dressed like a Sorceress right now? She even has a staff with her! yers were not allowed to create a second ount in Fate, and there was no known means of changing the ss of a character after its creation. How did Dong Yin be a Sorceress? Have I remembered things wrongly? Has she always been a Sorceress all this while but I was the one who mistook her as a Warrior?

    She started a bout of self-criticism. I am still young! My memory should be fine! Perhaps she changed her ss somehow?

    Ye Ci continued staring silently at Dong Yin from Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s back. She pursed her lips when she saw the face that was so full of hatred. Ol¡¯ Sixnded on the ground with a thud. The pping of its wings blew up the lower part of Dong Yin¡¯s robes, revealing her long, white legs.

    She did not speak to Dong Yin, for there was simply nothing she had to say to the girl. To her, Dong Yin was someone from her long forgotten past, and she had decided long ago to not look back into the past.

    ¡°Draw your weapon, Ye Ci!¡± Dong Yin repeated herself again when Ye Ci remained silent. Her tone had grown softer, but Ye Ci knew that it was not because of her reminiscence of their childhood friendship. It was simply a sign of anxiety.

    Ye Ci shifted her gaze from Dong Yin to Yi Cang. He was standing not far behind Dong Yin in a suit of Pdin armor, and his face was a mask of frost. ¡°You¡¯re here to fight me as well, Yi Cang?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Yi Cang replied after a momentary shock. It was apparent that he did not expect Ye Ci to call out his name.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take me on first? Or are you giving the priority to thedy?¡± Ye Ci smiled, just like she would when they were children, and it sent Yi Cang into a daze. But he was able to snap himself back into reality, ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡± he whispered to Dong Yin as he walked up to her.

    Dong Yin looked back at him, and he could see the determination in her eyes. They did not exchange any words, but Yi Cang backed away after letting out a sigh, ¡°Yin Yin made her choice.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Ye Ci smiled as she returned her gaze to Dong Yin. She did not expect the day Dong Yin who had always been hiding herself at the back to ce herself at the front woulde.

    ¡°Draw your weapon, Ye Ci.¡± this was the third time Dong Yin repeated her words. Her overbearing demeanor was gone, and it was now merely a statement.

    ¡°Dong Yin, you can¡¯t win.¡± Ye Ci merely stated the truth. She respected every opponent, but she did not wish to fight in a battle with a very clear oue. It was something that was meaningless to her.

    ¡°How do you know without even trying?¡± Dong Yin snorted. She waved the staff in her hand and said to Ye Ci, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that overconfidence can be one¡¯s downfall?¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, ¡°I respect every single of one of my opponents. And do you know what is the highest respect one can give to an opponent?¡±

    ¡°And what is that?¡±

    ¡°By going all out.¡± Ye Ci sighed, ¡°Dong Yin, how long do you think you canst if I go all out on you?¡±

    ¡°Cut the crap! Get down here and fight me! I do not have the time nor do I have the mood for your nonsense!¡± Dong Yin¡¯s expression darkened as her voice grew louder, ¡°I know you¡¯re good, but are you really certain that you can win everytime? Do you think someone like me will never be able to defeat you? You think too highly of yourself!¡±

    Was Ye Ci overestimating herself? Certainly not. At this point, she was very sure that Dong Yin was equipped with a very powerful gear that allowed her to change her ss from a Warrior to a Sorceress.

    Dong Yin¡¯s confidence meant that there was something about her equipment that she was very certain could be used as a counter to Ye Ci. The girl must have thought that she had, at the very least, a 50% chance of winning.

    But Dong Yin had failed to realise that experience was also an important factor in a PVP fight other than equipment and level. It was impossible for Dong Yin who had only started ying the game for a year and a half to match Ye Ci¡¯s skills. She was a Sorceress in herst life, and nobody in this game knew the ss more than she did.

    And this was why Ye Ci was certain that Dong Yin was no match for her.

    ¡°Very well. If you¡¯re so sure about that.¡± Ye Ci smiled at her.

    ¡°Hurry up and dismount then. Are you going to fight me on your steed?¡± Dong Yin shouted angrily at the massive creature in front of her.

    Ye Ci let out augh, ¡°Dong Yin, do you really think that the Dragon is merely a steed? I¡¯m a Huntress. And don¡¯t you know? A Huntress can summon pets.¡±

    ¡°This is your pet?¡± Dong Yin¡¯s voice rose.

    ¡°Why not? Do you seriously think that I¡¯ll only have some cute animals like cats or dogs as my pets?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice was t.

    It was apparent that Dong Yin did not expect the Dragon to be a pet and was a mere steed, ¡°How can this me?¡±

    ¡°Dong Yin, you made the greatest mistake in a PVP battle.¡± said Ye Ci as she leapt down from Ol¡¯ Six.

    ¡°And what is that?¡± Dong Yin¡¯s face began to grow pale.

    ¡°You do not know your enemy. You do not even know what sort of equipment and pet I have before challenging me. No matter how great your equipment is, you¡¯re still looking to fail.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice was calm, as if she was talking to a stranger. But to Ye Ci, the girl standing before had already be a stranger.

    Dong Yin¡¯s face grew even paler. Her staff was trembling slightly in her hands.

    ¡°Do you still want to fight?¡± Ol¡¯ Six lowered its head and rubbed itself against Ye Ci¡¯s face. She caressed the Dragon, and the beast seemed to enjoy her affection as it closed its eyes. But its intimidating aura did not dissipate.

    ¡°Yes...¡¯ Dong Yin red at Ye Ci, and proimed her determination with a shaky voice.

    Ye Ci looked at her fingers, and began casually blowing away the dust that had umted under her nails. At the same time, Ol¡¯ Six let out a Dragon Breath, turning Dong Yin into a corpse in an instant.

    ¡°Like I said, you can¡¯t win. No one canst more than five seconds under the effects of Dragon Breath, especially a mage like you.¡± said Ye Ci in an indifferent tone, as if Dong Yin¡¯s death had nothing to do with her, ¡°Do you still want to fight? The graveyard is nearby. I don¡¯t mind waiting.¡±

    Dong Yin¡¯s corpse quickly turned into nothing but skeletons. She resurrected herself, and charged at Ye Ci, ¡°Again!¡±

    And she was hit by another Dragon Breath.

    This continued on and on, and even thebatants themselves have lost count of how many times Dong Yin met her demise.

    ¡°I refuse to ept this! Why do you always have the good things, Ye Ci!¡± shouted Dong Yin as shey dying on the ground, ¡°You¡¯re good at the game, your level is high, and you¡¯re good at dungeon clearing! He Xiao¡¯s eyes were always on you! Even when you¡¯re enemies, he was still thinking about you! We were friends, but you¡¯re so selfish that you would not even help me! What else do you want!¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Dong Yin. She could not understand a single word that came out of her mouth. There was nothing between me and Thousand Sunsets! Why does she sound like I¡¯m her rival?

    ¡°Thousand Sunsets was only trying to use me, and I didn¡¯t want to be used. It¡¯s just that simple. By the way, Peacock Blue is your love rival, not me.¡±

    Dong Yin¡¯s eyes bored into Ye Ci like venomous snakes, ¡°Go die, Ye Ci!¡± She stood up and charged at Ye Ci.

    And this time, Ol¡¯ Six did not attack. With a slight movement, Ye Ci disappeared from her view. When she finally reappeared, she was already sheathing a pair of daggers behind Dong Yin, ¡°I told you, you can¡¯t win.¡± she said in a soft voice.

    She then walked past Yi Cang, and climbed onto Ol¡¯ Six, ¡°If you still wish for your deaths, you¡¯re always free to get even more high tier equipment. I¡¯m not interested in fights that are too easy.¡± and with that, she soared up into the sky.

 Chapter 364 Business Trip

    <h4>Chapter 364 Business Trip</h4>

    Ye Ci flew at a very high speed, as if something terrible was catching up with her.

    Her mind was filled with Dong Yin¡¯s twisted expression, but she found it funny.

    She finally understood Bai Mo¡¯s words, that nobody in this world could apany her forever. She was her own bestpanion. Many would enter her life in her journey from her birth to death, she might like them, and she might dislike them, but they were simply guests in her journey.

    Hatred might be what she felt for Dong Yin in herst life, but the girl meant nothing to her in her current one. She understood that everyone had their own goals, and she did not have the right to judge.

    She might not agree with Dong Yin, but she was able to put herself in the girl¡¯s shoes. Besides, the girl was the source of many good memories in her childhood.

    Thanks right. I should be thankful for her.

    I should thank her for being part of my life.

    Ye Ci realised that she had grown stronger in her current life. She no longer med others for her own choices, and instead epted them wholly with a smile on her face.

    Fleeting Time was eventually able to catch up with Ye Ci on his Phoenix. ¡°That person. Does she really hate you that much?¡± he asked in the Party Channel.

    ¡°Why are you asking me this?¡± Ye Ci turned around to look at him.

    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t hate you, why would she keep trying to fight you even after dying so many times? It feels like she wants you dead there and then. That feeling she has, it¡¯s probably hate.¡± Fleeting Time stared off into the space ahead. The golden sun was piercing through the clouds with its magnificent ray, enveloping the duo with his golden glow.

    ¡°Hate?¡± Ye Ci found herself looking at the sun as well. She had to narrow her eyes due to its golden light. She thought carefully about Fleeting Time¡¯s words, and gave her response, ¡°Hate? I¡¯m afraid not. Hate is a strong feeling. How is there hate, when there was never love? I think she simply dislikes me. She does not hate me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s something new. Is there really someone out there who dislikes you?¡± Fleeting Time was someone who was very protective of the people he liked, even when it came to their ws.

    ¡°There¡¯s no shortage of them.¡± Ye Ciughed, ¡°Have you been to the forums?¡±

    Fleeting Time cast a nce at Ye Ci. He had never seen such a beautiful smile on her face before. It took a lot for a person to be able to make fun of herself. And this gave him some newfound respect for Ye Ci.

    ¡°Is Gongzi You with your right now?¡± Fleeting Time received a private message from Absalom after a long silence between the two. He immediately studied his surroundings, but found no one else other than Ye Ci and himself. How did Absalom know? ¡°Did you ce some sort of tracking device on me?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Absalom immediately denied the usation. Even if something like this existed in the game, he would employ such an underhanded trick on one of his own.

    ¡°Then how do you know Gongzi You is with me?¡± Fleeting Time was curious. He was very certain that his location was known to none. How did Absalom find out?

    ¡°Aiya! I¡¯m actually correct!¡± he could hear the excitement in Absalom¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Oh, so you were trying to trick me?¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes. It¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve beaten him up. Perhaps he has forgotten about that.

    ¡°Nooooo.. I heard from one of our members that your Phoenix was spotted near the Ruined Cathedral with a Dragon, so I simply made a guess. You really are with Gongzi You right now!¡±

    Absalom would of course never tell Fleeting Time that he had a member trailing the Hunter at all times so that he would not disappear all of a sudden.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s eyes narrowed even further. He refused to believe in such a coincidence, but he did not wish to waste the energy to figure out what the gossipy man was thinking, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Can you inform Gongzi You that we¡¯ll begin construction of our fort in two days? Tell her to get ready.¡± and Absalom ended the call right there and then. It was apparent that the leader of Genesis was busy.

    Fleeting Time then ryed the message to Ye Ci after a brief moment of thought, ¡°You can¡¯t return to the Eastern Continent right now through teleportation. So how do you n to get to the Western Continent?¡± he asked, ¡°Do you n to fly there?¡±

    ¡°Yup. That¡¯s the only way. But where in the Western Continent should I head to? Where does Absalom need me? I can¡¯t just stay in a random map and get attacked by your yers now can I?¡±

    ¡°This seems to be a problem¡± replied Fleeting Time. But Absalom had already ended the call and it was very obvious that the man was busy at the moment, ¡°I can apany you on the way there. You¡¯ll have someone looking out for you this way.¡±

    ¡°Very well. Thank you.¡± Ye Ci replied after a brief moment of consideration.

    A faint smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s lips. He did not respect the response from Ye Ci, but he was quick to forget the fact when the joy of being able to apany Ye Ci on her trip to the Western Continent washed over him.

    The Middle Continent was an equal distance away from all four continents, and this meant that the duo was able to quickly reach the Western Continent. Ye Ci logged out of the game once Fleeting Time led her to the map where the fort will be constructed.

    Ye Ci did not know what might happen in the few following days, but she knew that it would be a time consuming ordeal. That was why she decided to take a good rest before going back online.

    She logged back into the game on the day the fort was scheduled to be constructed. The first thing she saw was a Phoenix beside her much to her surprise. She then looked at Fleeting Time, ¡°DId you not go offline?¡±

    ¡°I did. I just came online not long ago. I was afraid that you can¡¯t find me when youe back, so I waited for you at the spot you logged out.¡± Fleeting Time responded to the question matter of factly. But Ye Ci could tell that she was someone who paid attention to detail in everything he did. She had also worried about not being able to contact anyone from Genesis when she came back online, for her contract with Absalom might be a secret that was kept from the rest of Genesis, and she could not send private messages to the leader of Genesis as they were yers from opposing continents.

    And Fleeting Time was able to notice the problem, and took the appropriate measures in solving it, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re most wee.¡± he smiled at her, and turned his Phoenix around, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Absalom is waiting for you.¡±

    She had noticed a slight change in their rtionship ever since Fleeting Time¡¯s confession. They had always been fighting whenever they met, and Fleeting Time would always make fun of her in the World Channel. But the rtionship they shared now was something that was closer than strangers, but not entirely friends.

    She had hoped more than once that she would never run into Fleeting Time in the past, but things seemed different to her now, and she was at a loss. She would always react to his teasing with violence, but she did not know how to react to the current Fleeting Time.

    But after delving in her own thoughts for a short while, Ye Ci realised that she was being idiotic. There¡¯s nothing much to think about! We¡¯re enemies from opposing continents, it¡¯s natural for us to fight! And with that thought in mind, she followed after Fleeting Time to meet Absalom.

    Absalom spared no pleasantries with Ye Ci, for it was a very crucial moment for his guild that would decide Genesis¡¯s dominance in the Western Continent. And the guild would be facing an even harsher challenge than Upwards Ho!.

    Golden Era might not be the only one attempting to breach the fort, as many of Genesis¡¯spetitors might also do it out of spite and to sabotage its growth.

    Friends do notst forever, and so do one¡¯s enemies.

    Despite their fairpetition between guilds, there was no guarantee that the other guilds would simply stand idly as Genesis worked its way to be the sole dominance power in the Western Continent.

    And this was something that Absalom had apparently taken into consideration. Ye Ci could see arge number of Genesis yers around the fort. Her job was to take care of Golden Era, which meant that she did not have to take part in any battles against the other Western Continent guilds.

    She knew that Absalom was forced to employ her aid against Golden Era. But to her, be it Golden Era or the other Western Continent guilds, they were nothing but Glory Points.

    Her alliance with Absalom was merely out of necessity. It was a measure to hamper Golden Era¡¯s growth in Fate. Anything else was not a worry of hers.

    She began patrolling the teleportation points at the edges of the map. She could easily detect any yers attempting to enter the map from neighbouring maps as well as anybody appearing in the teleportation points. The only thing she had to do was to wait for signs of yers, and they would then be quickly turned into Honor Points by Ol¡¯ Six.

    The only price she had to pay was food for Ol¡¯ Six. To her, it was simply an idle work that was also very time consuming.

    But patience was something Ye Ci had in abundance.

    The first day passed quickly without any appearance of Golden Era, but Genesis was locked in viciousbat against the other Western Continent guilds.

    The second day passed as well but Golden Era still did not show up as the battle raged on. Ye Ci could hear the sound of battle from afar. It was apparent that Genesis and their foes had made a lot of preparations.

    Golden Era did not appear even on the third day.

    Ye Ci let out a huge yawn as she sat on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s back. Absalom was wrong. Golden Era would not trip on the same stone twice. And Fleeting Time¡¯s Phoenix alone would be enough to handle any sudden developments in the situation. He was giving away his three thousand elites for free.

    A chime rang out from her Private Message channel as Ye Ci waited for the battle to end.

    I¡¯ve told people from the guild about my ¡°business trip¡±. They shouldn¡¯t be looking for me. Did something happen to the guild? Ye Ci could feel unease creeping into her heart. But a quick nce showed that the message was from someone she did not know, and the identity of the sender was hidden.

    She epted the call after some moments of consideration, with the sole reason being her crushing boredom.

    ¡°Is this Gongzi You?¡± a very pleasant female voice entered her ears.

    ¡°Yes.¡± she continued after some hesitation, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The woman chuckled before replying, ¡°Gongzi You, I am Death Blossom.¡±

 Chapter 365 Refusal

    <h4>Chapter 365 Refusal</h4>

    Duplicate names were not allowed in Fate, and there was only one Death Blossom that Ye Ci knew.

    She was the Death Blossom of Golden Era. She was the wife of Breeze. And she was the top Rogue in herst life.

    But there was still something Ye Ci could not understand. She had never interacted much with Death Blossom other than their short encounter at the Sea of Sand. She was also an enemy of Golden Era.

    Of course, another very important factor was that Ye Ci was in the Western Continent, and Death Blossom was a yer from the Eastern Continent. This meant that the Rogue would not be able to send her a message if she was not on either the Western or Middle Continent. Wait, so where is she now?

    ¡°Are you on the Western Continent?¡± she asked.

    Death Blossom was momentarily stunned. She did not expect the question from Ye Ci, ¡°As expected of Gongzi You. You were able to guess my location.¡±

    ¡°Are you somewhere near me?¡± Since Death Blossom is in the Western Continent, Ye Ci reasoned, it¡¯s only natural that she would be somewhere near the battlefield.

    ¡°I¡¯m at a ce where I can spot you easily, but you can¡¯t see me.¡± Death Blossom chuckled. She loved dealing with people who were smart. It saves time and energy.

    Ye Ci carefully studied her surroundings, but was not able to spot Death Blossom. The Rogue had hidden herself well, ¡°What do you want from me?¡±

    ¡°Would you believe me if I tell you that I¡¯m merely greeting you? After all, we¡¯re from the same continent!¡± Death Blossom smiled.

    Ye Ci chuckled at her words, ¡°That¡¯s a good excuse. If you¡¯re willing to believe it, then I will too.¡±

    Death Blossom chuckled as well before, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you won¡¯t believe my words even if I do.¡± her voice was soft, and Ye Ci could not hear her clearly, but she did not bother to ask. To Ye Ci, there was nothing to discuss between Death Blossom and herself.

    And Death Blossom knew that Gongzi You was not interested in continuing the conversation as well. This is not easy at all. She sighed.

    ¡°If it¡¯s convenient for you, why don¡¯t youe down here? I¡¯d like to talk to you.¡± said Death Blossom and she left Stealth. Ye Ci then realised that Death Blossom was hiding in a hole while in Stealth. So that¡¯s why I can¡¯t find her.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything that can be discussed between us.¡± Ye Ci immediately rejected the proposal. She was at work, it would not be wise to leave her post as it meant that she would be putting her three thousand elites at risk. She was never a person with a strong sense of curiosity, which was why she did not find the need to talk to the second inmand of Golden Era.

    Death Blossom was at a loss for words. She did not expect her proposal to immediately be rejected by Ye Ci.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious at all?¡± she asked after finally recovering from her shock.

    Ye Ci lowered Ol¡¯ Six and hovered above Death Blossom, ¡°Not at all.¡± she said with a smile, and Death Blossom¡¯s expression immediately darkened.

    Death Blossom let out a sigh. She knew from the beginning that it would not be easy to deal with Gongzi You, and that the Huntress had a very bad impression of Golden Era, especially after their few encounters. But she also knew that patience was something that she needed to handle such a situation, and she needed to be shameless. This was why Death Blossom continued her persuasion after a few seconds of silence, ¡°Gongzi You, can we not be enemies?¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to negotiate a truce with you on behalf of Golden Era.¡± Death Blossom sighed. She had a nudging feeling that her negotiation with Gongzi You would end in failure.

    ¡°A truce?¡± Ye Ci let out augh, ¡°Golden Era wishes to have a truce with me? Don¡¯t you think this is ridiculous? You attacked me, and my guild, and you want to have a truce with me? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking, but don¡¯t you think I¡¯m an idiot if I ept your offer just like that?¡±

    Ye Ci was not a person of many words, especially for people who she did not like.

    ¡°Alright then,¡± Death Blossom sighed, she was now certain that a truce with Gongzi You was impossible, ¡°Golden Era is willing to buy Mithril from you with a price higher than its market value.¡±

    Even Ye Ci was shocked. She stared at Death Blossom with disbelief clear on her face. How did Golden Era know about the Mithril? How did they know that we are in control of an ore vein?

    The purpose of our guild¡¯s fort is known to only a few of our officers. Even the battle on that day was disguised as a Guild Quest. Genesis must¡¯ve taken the same measure as well. So how did Golden Era know about the ore veins?

    Ye Ci realised that a long period of silence you arouse suspicions from Death Blossom. And she was able to quickly calm her nerves, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    Her response was already expected by Death Blossom, ¡°Let¡¯s be straightforward with each other, shall we? I¡¯m sure we all know why you and Genesis are building those forts.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s gaze grew colder. She stared silently at Death Blossom, not confirming nor denying her words. ¡°And what does it have to do with Golden Era?¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You, don¡¯t you know what they call Golden Era?¡± Death Blossom was twirling her dagger around, ¡°We might not have a good reputation, but I¡¯m pretty sure game developers will have headaches whenever they hear our name. If even the developers of a game are helpless against us, what can a small guild like Upwards Ho! Do?¡±

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Why would I? I do not condone violence. Though I have to admit, it¡¯s a very effective method.¡± Death Blossom smiled, ¡°I¡¯ve always believed in peaceful coexistence. And I hope you¡¯d want to peacefully coexist with me.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Death Blossom, and the sweet and seductive smile that was on her face.

    Is that not a threat? Ye Ci sneered at the Rogue, ¡°Death Blossom, I know that Golden Era will not be negotiating with me if you think you have a chance of winning. No matter how strong I am, I am still nothing but a speck of dustpared to your entire guild. I believe that you¡¯re standing here today not because you¡¯re afraid of me. ording to your own words, fighting fire with fire is the simplest and most effective way. And I agree with you. Upwards Ho! was not afraid of you back then, and we will never be afraid of you.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re rejecting my offer then?¡± Death Blossom sighed. She knew that the negotiation would end in such a way. Gongzi You was right. Upwards Ho! was nothing but an insignificant speck of dustpared to Golden Era, but it was also a ticking time bomb standing in the way of the guild¡¯s dominance of Fate. The bomb might be small, but it had the potential to cause an avnche when it detonates. And this was why Death Blossom wished to talk to Ye Ci.

    The Mithril ore vein was one of her goals, but it was simply something like a bonus if they were able to destroy Upwards Ho!. They had now learned that Upwards Ho! would never go down without a fight. It was a foreseeable future, but it would not be an easy one for Golden Era.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait for the day youe after Upwards Ho!.¡± Ye Ci smiled at Death Blossom.

    And at that point, Death Blossom had already given up on negotiations, ¡°Very well. We shall meet again in the future.¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡±

    Death Blossom stared at Ye Ci, and finally spoke up after some hesitation, ¡°I have a request.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°When the timees, I hope we can meet each other inbat.¡±

    ¡°As you wish.¡± Ye Ci smiled.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡± Death Blossom disappeared behind a screen of smoke, and Ye Ci climbed back into the sky.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Fleeting Time arrived at the spot and saw the white smoke, ¡°Was it a Rogue from Golden Era?¡± he asked with a frown on his face.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s Death Blossom.¡± Ye Ci did not hide the truth. She then turned around and stared at the handsome face beside her, ¡°Fleeting Time.¡±

 Chapter 366 Hello Gongzi You

    <h4>Chapter 366 Hello Gongzi You</h4>

    ¡°What is it?¡± Fleeting Time shifted his gaze quickly from the white smoke to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci stared at Ye Ci, and after some slight hesitation, bit back the words that she originally intended to say, ¡°Has the battle ended over there?¡±

    ¡°Yes. it has.¡± Fleeting Time nodded. He knew what Ye Ci was initially about to say, and he decided to not press her for details. But he still felt slightly dejected.

    He was impressed by Gongzi You¡¯s strength, but was also saddened by the fact that Gongzi You was shouldering her troubles alone. He wanted to assure her that things would be alright as long as he was with her, but he did not want to make things awkward for Gongzi You. The only thing he could do was to smile at her.

    Ye Ci was shocked, ¡°The construction isplete? It¡¯s not even seventy two hours yet!¡±

    ¡°Yu.¡± Fleeting Time nodded, ¡°Well, we do have a lot of manpower. That¡¯s what they¡¯re here for.¡±

    Ye Ci smiled. She finally understood the meaning of ¡®the power of the people¡¯, ¡°Am I still needed or I can go back now?¡±

    Fleeting Time blinked at Ye Ci and sighed, ¡°Head over to the fort. Absalom has a lot of rubbish to say to you.¡±

    And Absalom indeed had a load of rubbish for Ye Ci. He tried to haggle, and to appeal to sympathy, but no matter what he said, Ye Ci continued leaning against arge piece of boulder and proceeded to ignore the man¡¯s words while feeding Ol¡¯ Six once in a short while.

    She then nced at Absalom, ¡°I think the spring water in the newbie vige will be able to quench your thirst.¡±

    ¡°Eh? What?¡± Absalom confused by Ye Ci words. He was in the middle of his speech to persuade Ye Ci to cut down on the number of Genesis elites that she would be bringing over to the Eastern Continent.

    Silent Hymn and Fleeting Time tried their best to suppress theughter that threatened to leave their mouths.

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at the two standing at the side, then shifted her gaze back to Absalom. Ahhh.. The joke flew right over his head. She sighed. I was telling him to have a drink for all the bbering he did so that I can leave. She looked up into the blue sky, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Carry on if you still have something else to say.¡±

    Fleeting Time was leaning against a boulder opposite to Ye Ci. He received more and more surprises from Gongzi You the more he interacted with the Huntress. She did not strike him as someone who was capable of telling corny jokes.

    But Absalom¡¯s thoughts were not on Ye Ci¡¯s words. He realised that Ye Ci¡¯s patience was already at its limits, but he did not want to give up on his persuasion attempt.

    Ye Ci allowed her eyes to stray as Absalom droned on and on. She saw a woman in fiery robes approaching the group. She was finally able to recognise the familiar face as the woman came closer. But she did not expect the woman to greet her first, ¡°Heh, do you still remember me Gongzi You? We met during yourst visit here.¡±

    Ye Ci had a decent memory. She would of course remember the woman, ¡°Long time no see, Sour Apple.¡± Just then, she noticed another female Cleric in blue robes decorated with elegant patterns standing behind Sour Apple. Arge gleaming gem was fixed on the tip of the staff she carried on her back.

    From a nce, Ye Ci could tell that she was one of Genesis¡¯s main Cleric. Her equipment was the best pre level 60 Cleric set, and they were all enchanted and were embedded with high level gems. She must be a very skillful yer, or Genesis wouldn¡¯t entrust something like this to her.

    The Cleric was staring back at Ye Ci as well. Ye Ci would usually ignore the stares she received from someone else, but the Cleric was different. She did not like the way the Cleric was looking at her.

    Absalom immediately mped his mouth shut when he noticed that White Fairytale had arrived along with his wife. Even if Sour Apple was his wife, he understood very well that it was wise to not let too many people in on the guild¡¯s secrets.He smiled at the two women as a form of greeting.

    Silent Hymn did the same as well, but his gaze was shifting from Ye Ci to Fleeting Time, then to White Fairytale. A meaningful smile appeared on his face.

    Absalom¡¯s eyebrows furrowed when he noticed what was going on. He shot a re at Sour Apple, who could only sigh in response. She was exasperated and embarrassed at the same time. White Fairytale had insisted on intruding upon the meeting when she saw Gongzi You despite Sour Apple¡¯s best efforts to stop her friend.

    Fleeting Time saw White Fairytale as well, but his expression did not change. He nced at her as if she was just an insignificant member of the guild.

    White Fairytale had been focusing solely on Fleeting Time after her arrival. She knew who the girl was. She was not an idiot, and was not blind and deaf. She knew every single rumor about Fleeting Time and the girl, and this was why she must have a look. She wanted to know just what sort of rtionship Fleeting Time was having with the girl.

    She knew that she was not liked by Fleeting Time, but she refused to let go. Even if he doesn¡¯t like me, can he at least hate me? Hate is also an emotion, right? If he hates me, I will at least have a spot in his heart!

    But the look that Fleeting Time gave her was enough to freeze her blood. She knew that her presence might anger Fleeting Time, but what she did not expect was the look she received from him. It was like he was simply looking at a piece of rock. His eyes were cold, and his face did not even show even a hint of emotion.

    She bit on her lips as she cast a sideway nce at the girl who managed to capture Fleeting Time¡¯s heart. Her silvery hair that matched Fleeting Time¡¯s color was tied into a ponytail. She could sense a hint of arrogance in the girl¡¯s eyes. The girl¡¯s appearance was nothing out of the ordinary, but she exerted a strong pressure on those around her.

    The girl¡¯s Dragon stood beside her as she leaned against a boulder. A person like the girl would usually be ignored in the presence of something like a Dragon, but she was different.

    Her appearance might not be remarkable, and her equipment was not at all impressive, but all eyes were still attracted by her presence.

    So... This is Gongzi You?

    The Gongzi You before her was not the Gongzi You that she imagined. She had always thought of Gongzi You as someone who was prettier, gentler, and someone who loved Fleeting Time even more than him.

    Why is she able to grab his attention?

    The atmosphere immediately grew awkward. Ye Ci was studying the Cleric with mild interest. She was a beauty who was even more gorgeous than Dong Yin and Peacock Blue, and her eyes had never left Fleeting Time the moment she arrived.

    Ye Ci looked at the Cleric, then at Fleeting Time, and a smile that filled Fleeting Time¡¯s heart with unease appeared on her face.

    Fleeting Time wanted to say something to diffuse the situation, but he was at a loss for words. What can I say? I have nothing to do with this woman? He knew that it would only make matters worse. Let¡¯s go somewhere else? One look at Ye Ci¡¯s expression told him that she had no intention to leave.

    White Fairytale walked up to Ye Ci when Fleeting Time was still figuring a way out of this situation. A gentle and yet charming smile hung on her face as she extended her hand towards Ye Ci, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m White Fairytale.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at the Cleric as she walked gracefully towards her. Hell, even I might¡¯ve fallen for her if I¡¯m a guy. The hand that she extended towards Ye Ci was like a work of art. It was soft, delicate, and tender.

    But...

    What does it have to do with me?

    Shouldn¡¯t someone be introducing her to me instead? Ye Ci realised that not a single person had made a move to introduce her to the Cleric. This was an indication that her presence was either not needed, or she came uninvited.

    But all of it had nothing to do with Ye Ci. She was merely a business partner with Genesis, and anything else had nothing to do with her.

    But why is she introducing herself to me?

    Ye Ci looked at White Fairytale¡¯s smiling face, then at her demure hand, and raised her eyebrow. She studied the faces of the Genesis members'' present, and noticed different expressions. Absalom and Sour Apple had strange looks on their faces, while Fleeting Time¡¯s eyebrows were furrowed, and Silent Hymn was watching the entire scene unfold with amusement on his face.

    It took Ye Ci at least ten seconds toplete this series of action, and White Fairytale¡¯s hand was left hanging in the air all this while. The atmosphere was very awkward, but she did not retract her hand because of that. The smile remained on her face as she waited for Ye Ci to shake her hand.

    White Fairytale looked at Fleeting Time from the corner of her eyes. She saw the man¡¯s eyebrows furrowing slightly when she extended her arm before the cold indifference once again returned. He was staring at her coldly as if she was a despicable enemy.

    ¡°Gongzi You.¡± Ye Ci finally shook White Fairytale¡¯s hand before letting go quickly.

    And just then, Fleeting Time who had remained motionless walked up to Ye Ci and pped away White Fairytale¡¯s hand that was still holding on to Ye Ci¡¯s, ¡°They say shitty mechanical skills are contagious.¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. This was not the first time Fleeting Time had done something like this, and the reasons he used were simr.

    To her, Fleeting Time was not a very likeable person. He was handsome, but this attitude of his left more to be desired.

    But... For reasons unknown to Ye Ci, she suddenly felt that the Fleeting Time with a deadpan expression at the moment was somewhat cute.

    White Fairytale blushed and her eyes reddened. She lowered her head for a short while before once again looking at Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m Fleeting Time¡¯s ssmate.¡± she said with a sorrowful smile.

 Chapter 367 Living The Momen

    <h4>Chapter 367 Living The Momen</h4>

    t

    ssmate is a very abstruse word.

    Especially when it was used to describe the rtionship between a man and a woman of marriageable age.

    It was something that one would use to introduce a friend of the opposite sex, ¡°This is my ssmate.¡±

    And this would usually earn looks that said ¡°I know where this is going¡± from one¡¯s peers.

    It was like a gray area between being friends and being a couple. It was an informal deration that there was something between the two.

    Had Ye Ci not been a reincarnator, she would not have understood the meaning behind White Fairytale¡¯s words. She would naively believe that White Fairytale was nothing but a ssmate of Fleeting Time.

    But herst life has taught her a lot.

    She narrowed her eyes at White Fairytale, and then nced at Fleeting Time. A slight smile appeared on her face, ¡°Oh.¡± she nodded.

    Fleeting Time frowned. He also knew what White Fairytale was hinting at, but he could not refute her words, ¡°We¡¯re friends back in junior high school.¡±

    But White Fairytale immediately spoke up after him, with a bright smile, ¡°That¡¯s right! From junior high, to senior high, and all the way to university. It¡¯s a shame we¡¯re not studying the same major, but we¡¯ve spent at least ten years as ssmates.¡±

    Fleeting Time¡¯s face was devoid of emotion as he stared at White Fairytale. He was angered by the smug smile of White Fairytale¡¯s face.

    Ye Ci¡¯s smile grew even wider. She now knew why the woman was talking to her. She could feel the hostility seeping from White Fairytale, and that hostility was directed towards her.

    But... What does it have to do with me?

    Ye Ce yawned at the back and forth between Fleeting Time and White Fairytale and spoke to Absalom, ¡°So are you done here?¡±

    Absalom was of course not done, but he knew better than to continue the previous conversation in a situation like this, ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m done.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave then.¡± Ye Ci immediately mounted Ol¡¯ Six and waved at the group, ¡°See you.¡±

    Ol¡¯ Six shot up into the sky with a loud roar.

    ¡°Gongzi You!¡± White Fairytale suddenly called out to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci pulled on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s reins and looked down at White Fairytale, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go for a drink the next time we meet? The ck Tea in the Western Continent is quite famous in the game.¡± White Fairytale was smiling as she waved her hand at Ye Ci.

    But she was cut off mid sentence by Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I do not drink with strangers. Besides, I¡¯d prefer wine since we¡¯re in a game.¡±

    White Fairytale¡¯s smile immediately froze, but it was ignored by Ye Ci as she flew away on Ol¡¯ Six.

    Fleeting Time cast a look at White Fairytale that was so cold that it could freeze the very air in front of him. He summoned his Phoenix to follow after Ye Ci, but White Fairytale grabbed hold of his arm, ¡°Don¡¯t be like this, Fleeting Time.¡±

    But Fleeting Time was calmer than a pool of water, ¡°Let go.¡±

    ¡°Fleeting Time...¡±

    ¡°Let go.¡± a slight frown formed on Fleeting Time¡¯s forehead.

    As a person who had a crush on Fleeting Time for thirteen years, White Fairytale knew him very well. She understood every single bit of his bodynguage. His left brow would always rise when he was angry, and his brows would crease, while his mouth would be pursed up into a straight line.

    And if the situation continued to be unpleasant to Fleeting Time, his anger would erupt, and he might even take things too far.

    White Fairytale did not wish to see Fleeting Time going after Gongzi You, but she was also afraid of his anger. She loosened her grip, and Fleeting Time¡¯s arm immediately shot out from her hands. He jumped onto his Phoenix and immediately flew up into the sky after Gongzi You.

    Absalom felt nothing but heartache and sorrow as the duo departed. His three thousand elites were given away just like that. He felt like he would cough up at least three litres of blood. But what was done was done, and there was no way he could take his words back.

    He sighed and gave Silent Hymn a meaningful nce. As he left along with his second inmand, Absalom shot his wife a re and snorted.

    Sour Apple sighed when she saw his expression. Her actions had caused a lot of trouble. No matter how much Absalom loved her, he was still a man of principles. He had already insisted upon removing Mo Leng from the guild after her ¡°attempted suicide¡±, but hecked a valid reason.

    Silent Hymn on the other hand was worried that White Fairytale might seek revenge on the guild by selling Genesis¡¯s secrets to the other guilds on the Western Continent. And this was why she was still allowed to remain in the guild. One thing however was made very clear to Sour Apple: She must cut ties with Mo Leng and not tell her anything about the decisions made by the guild¡¯s officers.

    Of course, it was all done without White Fairytale¡¯s knowledge. Sour Apple was the only one who knew, and she shared the same views as Absalom. She had even begun keeping a distance from White Fairytale, but the incident today was something she did not anticipate would happen. She stared at White Fairytale who was still looking at the direction where Fleeting Time had left and sighed. Why is this happening to me...

    Fleeting Time was able to quickly catch up with Ye Ci. He studied her expression but found nothing out of the ordinary. But he was still unsettled by what happened.

    Ye Ci of course knew that Fleeting Time had caught up to her. She cast a sideway nce at the man, and noticed that his eyebrows were furrowed, and worry was written all over his face much to her fascination. I¡¯ve never thought that I¡¯d see such an expression on his face.

    She retracted her gaze and stared to the front. White Fairytale had not done anything to ce her in a bad mood, but it made her realise that some things must be let go.

    Her encounter with Fleeting Time was something that was bound to happen. He was her target that must be surpassed, but she had also ended up as his target as well. She did not dislike Fleeting Time. She was merely not used to the feeling of being the focus of the attention of her target.. And this filled her with unease.

    Unease?

    That¡¯s right, she was filled with unease.

    This was amon emotion when humans found that things were no longer in their control. Ye Ci did not know how to proceed. She did not know if she should face it head on or to flee.

    The romantic rtionship she shared with someone else in herst life had affected her in ways she did not realise. And what about this life? Do I still have it in me to trust someone else again? Or will this new rtionship end in yet another failure?

    She was never one to hesitate, but at this very moment, she found herself hesitating. She let out a long sigh. Being in a rtionship was harder than clearing the hardest difficulty dungeon.

    ¡°Fleeting Time, how would you deal with something that you¡¯re not sure of?¡± Ye Ci looked up into the sky.

    Fleeting Time was surprised. He was still thinking of a way to initiate a conversation with Ye Ci, but she had spoken to him.

    This question sent his imagination running wild. Something that is uncertain? Well aren¡¯t I facing such a situation right now? He smiled at Ye Ci and gave her his response, ¡°Nobody knows what will happen in the future. And since it¡¯s full of uncertainty, why don¡¯t we just live the moment to the fullest?¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow and looked at Fleeting Time, ¡°Live the moment?¡±

    Fleeting Time nodded in response. Ye Ci looked away from him and into the skies ahead. It¡¯d be nice to live out the moment and not think about the future.

    And what should I be doing in the present? Ye Ciughed. Well, Fleeting Time is not that bad of a person. I don¡¯t think I hate him that much, and at least... It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t enjoyed the moment we shared in the wisteria garden.

    And with that, Ye Ci came to a sudden realisation.

    Fleeting Time was worried when Ye Ci remained silent. Panic gripped his heart as he stared at her face. And he finally spoke up after some hesitation, ¡°I... She and I are just friends, Little Gongzi. Nothing but that.¡±

    A faint smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, ¡°Fleeting Time...¡±

 Chapter 368 The Forgotten Key

    <h4>Chapter 368 The Forgotten Key</h4>

    ¡°What is it?¡± Fleeting Time was anxious as he stared at Ye Ci.

    ¡°What happened in your past has nothing to do with me.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s mood lifted when the words left her mouth. Some things felt impossible before they were spoken, but once they have finally left one¡¯s mouth, one would realise that it was very simple.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s heart sank. He did not know how to respond to Ye Ci¡¯s words. He stared at her silently as she continued, ¡°What matters to me is your future.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Fleeting Time was stunned. His brains hadpletely shut down,and all forms of logical thoughts in his mind ceased. What does she mean by that?

    He looked at Ye Ci with a troubled expression. Not as smart as you usually are, aren¡¯t you? Ye Ci nced at him. She did not speak, but a smile appeared on her lips. Has he suddenly be dumb?

    Fleeting Time finally understood the meaning behind Ye Ci¡¯s words after a long moment of thought. But a frown was quick to appear on his face. Absalom had once told him that convincing a woman is about as easy as walking to the moon, and before he could even begin, things had already taken such a turn. Wait, haven¡¯t I literally skipped to thest part before I even begin the process of convincing her of my innocence?

    ¡°So you mean to tell me that...¡± Fleeting Time continued carefully after a long silence, ¡°You were not angry just now?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Fleeting Time. Isn¡¯t he supposed to be smart? Why is hisprehension in certain matters so bad? But Ye Ci did not n to allow Fleeting Time to think about the meaning behind her words on his own. Some things must be said clearly to prevent any misunderstanding.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you like me? Are you going back on your words?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Fleeting Time shook his head. He could feel his heart in his mouth. It had been a very thrilling day.

    ¡°I still do not know how to reciprocate your feelings, but... I think I¡¯m willing to try.¡± Ye Ci smiled at Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Try?¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s thoughts were once again thrown into disarray. He had always been smart, but right at this moment, he had a feeling that he was the dumbest human being in the entire world, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Fleeting Time was repeating each of Ye Ci¡¯s words with anxiety written all over his face. He was like a child who did something wrong as was waiting for judgement from his parents. Ye Ci wanted tough, but she held back the urge due to how appropriate it was in a situation like this, ¡°To try liking you back.¡±

    He blinked, and blinked again. His heart and his breathing stopped. He stared at Ye Ci with disbelief, as if it was all a dream. It took him quite a moment to recover from the daze. He took in a deep breath and lifted his head after reflecting upon his stupidity, ¡°I have a question for you, LIttle Gongzi.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci was in a good mood. The big boulder that had been waiting her heart down was finally removed. She was now looking at life with a renewed perspective. I want to live out the moment! Who cares what happens tomorrow!

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you always disliked me? And even hated me? Why the sudden change of heart?¡± a wave of dizziness washed over Fleeting Time. He had always thought that he had a long way to go in his journey into Gongzi You¡¯s heart, but a good ending was already served to him on a tter. Even he was caught off guard by something like this.

    Ye Ci began pondering his question. He¡¯s right. Why am I changing my mind? Just because I want to live in the present? No, I don¡¯t think so. She stared at Fleeting Time¡¯s handsome face. Everything felt like it happened a lifetime ago. They were so close and yet so far apart from one another in herst life. His skillful y was something that she could never forget. And that was why he became a target that she must surpass. But the distance between them shrunk without her even realising it.

    And that was why Ye Ci responded with augh, ¡°Because you¡¯re Fleeting Time.¡±

    Fleeting Time returned when Ye Ci was at the border of the Western Continent. He wanted to escort her all the way to the Middle Continent, but Ye Ci knew that there were still a lot of things that must be done when Genesis¡¯s fort was freshly constructed. The guild needed manpower, and Absalom needed Fleeting Time¡¯s presence at the fort.

    But Fleeting Time was reluctant to part with Ye Ci so quickly, and his displeasure was written all over his face. Ye Ci looked at his expression, and a wide smile lit up her face when she thought of the misfortune that will surely befall Absalom soon.

    Naga¡¯s minions have stopped appearing. Ye Ci did not know when their next attack would begin, but it would be a waste of time to simply wait for their arrival. She thought of the cemetery hidden behind the cathedral. A bow was required to unlock the cenotaph of Dau¡¯er, but she did not know where the bow could be found. Two NPCs came into mind: Natasha and the spirit of Andriel.

    But it was not a good idea to head straight to the Middle Continent. From where she was, returning to the Red Lake City for supplies would be a wiser choice, and she could look for Natasha in the newbie vige.

    She summoned Ol¡¯ Four when she was nearing the newbie vige, as a Dragon would simply attract too much unwanted attention. But her red name meant that she was shunned by the new yers on her way to the vige.

    She was able to quickly locate Natasha, and the NPC began thinking long and hard for an answer once Ye Ci stated her purpose of visiting. Ye Ci did not disturb the NPC. She stood by silently, and Natasha finally gave her the answer, ¡°There is a temple at the Kira Mountain Range, where our race was born. It¡¯s probably already in ruins, but there is an ancestry bow deep within the temple. Perhaps it is what you¡¯re looking for.¡±

    Ye Ci bade her farewell with Natasha after receiving her answer, and left for Red Lake City.

    The Kira Mountain Range was situated in the Southern Continent. The four continents were one in ancient times, and the Elves originated from the Kira mountain range. The race was only spread across the four continents when thends began drifting apart. Ye Ci would have to replenish her supplies before heading to the Southern Continent.

    She immediately visited the warehouse upon her arrival in Red Lake City and sorted out her items. She spotted a key in her warehouse. It was something that she had forgotten a long time ago.

    Red Monastery Secret Chamber Key.

    Ye Ci had never entered the sacred chamber in herst life. She did not know what it contained, and in her current life, her curiosity was piqued by the key. She wanted to have a look. The key was obtained when she was lvl40, and due to how busy she was, she had forgotten all about it.

    The Red Monastery was a lvl40 dungeon. It was something that Ye Ci could easily handle solo. She immediately headed to the Red Monastery after replenishing her supplies in Red Lake City.

    The dungeon was frequented by lvl40 yers, but Ye Ci had never visited the ce along with her guild as she had been busy exploring the world of Fate. This was the first time in her current life going into the dungeon, but she still knew the dungeon like the back of her hand due to her past life experience. She could clear the dungeon with her eyes closed.

    Level was the best equipment of the game. Ye Ci had difficulties clearing the dungeon even with a strong party during herst life, but she was able to clear the dungeon solo within thirty minutes.

    When the final BOSS fell dead by her feet, Ye Ci pulled out the key and opened the door to his left. The hidden chamber was hidden within the room.

 Chapter 269 Black Widow

    <h4>Chapter 269 ck Widow</h4>

    The Hidden Chamber was not very well hidden at all. It was located at the back of the boss¡¯s study, beside the firece. One could immediately find its entrance as it existed in the form of arge elegant door with a lock. yers who wished to enter the room would be prompted with ¡°Please insert the key¡± by the system. And that was the reason why the room was known as the Red Monastery Hidden Room by yers.

    It was the most obvious Hidden Room in the history of Hidden Rooms in Fate.

    Ye Ci was standing at the entrance of the Hidden Room, while Ol¡¯ Four stood beside her. It took a sniff of the lock, and ¡®this is not food¡¯ was clearly written on its face. It nudged the door with its snout, and decided to divert its attention somewhere else when the door would not budge.

    Ol¡¯ Four began to ¡°investigate¡± the books within the study, which involved how to turn them into smaller pieces.

    Ye Ci inserted the rusted key into the keyhole, and was able to unlock the door with great effort. She pushed open the door after directing Ol¡¯ Four to be ready forbat. Cold air gushed out of the room. There were no monsters, but there was an eerie air in the atmosphere.

    The Hidden Room itself was nothing special. It was just a passageway that was built with bricks with torches that had been long extinguished lining the wall. The holder of each torch was eloquently built. It was obvious that the passageway was leading to somewhere important.

    Ye Ci investigated the passage with Hawkeye, and slowly advanced forward after making sure that there were no monsters ahead.

    But as Ye Ci began progressing through the process, lower level monsters began to appear. Despite being Elites, the monsters levels were rtively low. Ye Ci did not even have to engage the lvl40 monsters as they were all dispatched easily by Ol¡¯ Four.

    This meant that Ye Ci was free to observe her surroundings as she proceeded forward. There was nothing on the walls, but she noticed two pirs on each side of the corridors decorated with sinister carvings every few yards. It was something that Ye Ci was very familiar with. The markings could be found on totems in theter stages of the game. They were used to worship the demons.

    It was apparent that some sort of shrine for some demon was at the end of the passageway.

    The number of monsters grew as Ye Ci continued moving forward. Even their levels have begun to increase, but they are still weakpared to Ol¡¯ Four. But for the sake of saving time, Ye Ci was forced to enterbat as well.

    A long flight of stairs awaited Ye Ci at the end of the passageway. She led Ol¡¯ Four up the stairs, and pushed past the doors at its end. There was nothing but ruins in front of her.

    She had arrived in a ruined courtyard with tall grasses that was half the height of a normal human. Even the decorative nts and trees in the courtyard had wilted away. There was a small mansion at the middle of the courtyard, and it was Ye Ci¡¯s destination.

    As Ye Ci made her way to the mansion, she was attacked by many monsters, but they were all defeated easily. The doors of the mansion had long rotten away as they barely hung on their frame. A light kick from Ye Ci was able to easily splitter the doors.

    She could hear the low growl of monsters as she stepped into the mansion. ¡°You¡¯re entering unexplored territory. Unknown danger lurks ahead. As the first yer to explore the map, you will receive a very bountiful reward, but you might die here. Do you wish to proceed?¡± a system notification appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s view.

    Ye Ci selected ¡°ept¡± without much of a thought. After all, this was what she was here for. She was not afraid of dying in the game. The little experience lost upon death was nothingpared to the exploration rewards.

    A female voice full of anger immediately entered her ears, ¡°I sense an unfamiliar scent in the air. You do not belong in my domain! Guards! Expel the stranger from my realm!¡±

    A swarm of lvl55 Dark Sentries immediately appeared. Whilte Ye Ci was already at lvl72, the sheer weight of the monster¡¯s number still proved to be a challenge to her. A normal lvl55 party would be in big trouble in a fight against the Dark Sentries.

    It did not take very long for Ye Ci to defeat the Dark Sentries. She proceeded to explore each room of the mansion. The female voice did not appear again even after she defeated the many monsters in the mansion.

    As she continued exploring the mansion, Ye Ci arrived at what seemed to be the entrance to an underground prison. It was way brighterpared to the dimly lit mansion.

    The prison was three storey tall, and Ye Ci could hear the voice of the female summoning monsters against her as she explored each level of the prison. The levels of these monsters had been increased to lvl65, and Ye Ci was starting to feel hard-pressed in the fight against the monsters.

    Despite its high defense, Ol¡¯ Four was still nearly overwhelmed on multiple asions by therge numbers of enemies, and its mood soured rapidly.

    Ye Ci quickly healed her pet up after defeating thetest wave of enemy and fed it with its favourite food. She then decided to dismiss Ol¡¯ Four and summon Ol¡¯ Six instead.

    It was impossible for Ol¡¯ Six to fly in the underground prison due to its sheer size, but the system was still rather generous. An aerial steed that was summoned as abat pet would often have their size reduced slightly. While Ol¡¯ Six was stillrge, it was at least able to follow Ye Ci around in the underground prison.

    Ol¡¯ Six might not have a level as high as Ol¡¯ Four, but its damage output was at an entirely different level. This greatly reduced the burden that was ced on Ye Ci. Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s level was increased by one when the level was finally cleared.

    The final level was arge hall where yers would face off against the finally BOSS. The size of the hall was scaled directly to the influence a BOSS held. Judging from the size of the hall, the woman was not at all influential.

    A throne was set in the middle of the hall, where ady in ck robes sat. She was not beautiful, but Ye Ci could feel an intimidating aura from thedy. She looked at Ye Ci, but did not rise from her throne, ¡°It seems that you¡¯re a capable fighter. Even my guards were not able to defeat you.¡±

    And thedy went silent. The battle would begin when Ye Ciunched her first attack. She studied her surroundings, and found some fallen rocks and bricks at a corner of the hall that were as tall as her.

    Ye Ci attempted to move between the bricks and rocks. It was a good choke point. With theck of a tank, and with Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s level not sufficient enough to pull the aggro of the BOSS, Ye Ci knew that she would be courting death by attempting to kite the high level BOSS. The only way to defeat the BOSS was to lure the BOSS to a choke point and take her out.

    With the spot already identified, Ye Ci fired off an arrow at the BOSS and gulped down a bottle of Potion of Haste and sprinted towards the choke point. The BOSS charged at her with a roar, ¡°Foolish Elf! You will pay for your treachery!¡±

    Ye Ci ced Ol¡¯ Six at the entrance of the choke point as she attacked the BOSS. She smiled as she saw the name of the BOSS.

    The ck Widow.

    Yeah, she sure looks like one. With Ol¡¯ Six standing in the way between her and Ye Ci, the BOSS¡¯s attacknded on the Dragon instead. With Ye Ci¡¯smand to hold its position, Ol¡¯ Six did not attack the BOSS despite its anger. It red at The ck Widow as Ye Ci fired off arrows at the BOSS while healing Ol¡¯ Six. And before long, the BOSS¡¯s HP was reduced to only 40%.

    And the BOSS was enraged as her attacks were not able to reach Ye Ci at all, ¡°I shall turn your corpse into fertilizer, Elf!¡± she roared.

 Chapter 370 Bad Luck Returns

    <h4>Chapter 370 Bad Luck Returns</h4>

    And with that, the ck Widow¡¯s body began to bulge and morph into a gigantic arachne. Her lower limb was that of a spider, while her upper limb retained its human form. Her arms morphed themselves into two long scythes, and she began swinging them wildly at Ye Ci. Her attacks were not able tond due to the choke point.

    Ye Ci would duck whenever the scythes swung by, and then resume her attack while directing Ol¡¯ Six to attack with its Dragon Breath.

    It did not take long for the ck Widow¡¯s HP to be nearing the 10% mark. Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s going to change into something else?

    Reality would soon prove to Ye Ci that she had jinxed herself. The ck Widow roared when her HP was at 10%, ¡°Do you think you can win, Elf? I will let you have a taste of death!¡±

    And the NPC headed to her throne.

    Ye Ci was rather upset by how the situation was progressing. Damn it! I bet something bad is going to happen!

    And it did.

    The ck Widow activated a mechanism on her throne, and the throne slowly swung open to reveal a gigantic hole beneath. What the heck is this? Is she going to jump down there? Thought Ye Ci.

    Just then, a giant maggot rose from the hole. One look at the maggot would send anyone with a fear of insects scurrying for their lives.

    Ye Ci sighed. Ahh, so she summoned some sort of pet?

    But what happened next made Ye Ci curse the developer who designed the map. You sun of a beach!

    The ck Widow jumped onto the maggot, which opened its mouth and swallowed her lower limb whole. A bright green light shone from the BOSS just when Ye Ci thought that the ck Widow was feeding herself to her pet. But when the glow of the green light faded again...

    Ye Ci continued cursing at the developer as she evaded a poison attack from the BOSS. Are you kidding me! Which sicko came up with a BOSS like this!

    The ck Widow had fused herself with the maggot. Her upper torso had be the mouth of the maggot, while her limbs its feelers that were attempting to sense Ye Ci¡¯s location so that it could attack her with a spray of poison.

    Each venom attack would inflict a damage over time debuff, Slow, Defense Reduction and many other negative stats on a target. While the BOSS could not leave the hole, it could still attack in very short intervals in a 360 degrees circle.

    While it seemed that the BOSS attack could be easily avoided, each spray of venom had arge AOE with long range. Even Ye Ci with her high Speed and Agility dared not to stop or risk being hit by the poison.

    The dangers of the poison was very apparent as it sshed on Ol¡¯ Six. The Dragon turned into different shades of color with each attack ording to the debuffing effects of the poison. It would have died if not for its high defense value.

    Ol¡¯ Six followed behind Ye Ci as she evaded the attacks. But with its originally slow movement speed and the various debuff, the Dragon had be the main focus of the BOSS¡¯s attack. The only thing Ye Ci could do was to run around in circles around the BOSS while attacking and healing her pet.

    The BOSS was designed as a test for a yer¡¯s Stamina and Speed. A yer with insufficient Speed and Stamina would quickly find himself or herself in trouble during the fight.

    White Ye Ci¡¯s Stamina was slightlycking, her attack was high, and with Ol¡¯ Six attracting the attention of the BOSS, she was able to quickly defeat it without much trouble. With a final hiss, the BOSS exploded into pieces of meat that would deal poison damage to anything that was hit by it.

    The explosion was so great that Ye Ci was not able to avoid the attack. Her health immediately plunged and she would have died had she not immediately chug down a few bottles of Health Potion.

    Ye Ci then proceeded to heal Ol¡¯ Six when her health was in stable condition. Even the formidable Dragon had its health reduced to a 10%. A lesser pet would have already been killed by the BOSS.

    She then fed food to Ol¡¯ Six to recover its mood before going up to the BOSS¡¯s corpse.

    But the BOSS, and its many pieces that were scattered throughout the hall by the explosion had disappeared, leaving a chest by the throne.

    Ye Ci had zero expectations for the loot. Her bad luck would usually mean that the chest would never yield any Hunter rted equipment. It was something that she had gotten used to.

    But it did not stop the overwhelming disappointment she felt when all six lvl70 Purple quality equipment with very good stats were of other character sses. The single Orange quality weapon she obtained was a Warrior¡¯s shield.

    Ye Ci could feel the corners of her lips twitching, ¡°Equipment is not important anyways! My level is the best equipment! My mechanical skills are the best equipment!¡± she tried her best to console herself as tears began welling in her eyes.

    Her first Orange equipment was a Warrior¡¯s equipment, and it was bound!

    Ye Ci felt a strong urge to bash her head against a nearby wall. Ol¡¯ Six sat beside Ye Ci, eyeing the chest intently for anything that it might be able to eat.

    I will not suffer alone. Thought Ye Ci after she was done mourning her bad luck. She immediately opened the Guild Channel and shared the stats of the equipment into the channel used by Upwards Ho!¡¯s elites.

    The channel immediately quieted down when the members saw the stats of the equipment. They asked for Ye Ci¡¯s location but they received no response.

    She received a private message from Bai Mo when all the equipment had been posted, ¡°Where did you get these?¡±

    ¡°The Red Monastery.¡±

    ¡°No way! These are lvl70 equipment, the Red Monastery is a lvl40 dungeon.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a hidden room in the final BOSS¡¯s study.¡± Ye Ci sighed.

    ¡°You killed the BOSS alone?¡± Bai Mo narrowed his eyes. Ye Ci came back from the Western Continent, and it was very likely that she returned to the East with a certain someone...

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci, who was still immersed in her own sorrows, was oblivious to the hidden meaning in Bai Mo¡¯s words.

    ¡°You don¡¯t sound happy.¡± observed Bai Mo, ¡°You didn¡¯t get an equipment for yourself again?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°So what? Shouldn¡¯t you be used to it already?¡±

    Ye Ci almost coughed up blood at his remark.

    And she decided to retaliate, ¡°By the way, I got an Orange equipment too. A Warrior¡¯s shield.¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡± Bai Mo practically screamed into the voice chat, ¡°Are the stats good?¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡±

    ¡°Give it to me!!¡±

    A sly smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, ¡°It¡¯s bound.¡±

    She did not receive any response after that. Bai Mo must¡¯ve fainted from all the blood he¡¯s coughing up. She ended the voice call and was about to leave when she noticed a strange glimmer from the hold under the BOSS¡¯s throne.

 Chapter 371 Heart of Darkness

    <h4>Chapter 371 Heart of Darkness</h4>

    Ye Ci peered into the hole, and saw a faint glint of light. What is that? Her curiosity was aroused. She had been ying Fate for more than twenty years, but the many secrets hidden in the game by the developers never failed to intrigue her. But experience meant that she was a calm veteran in situations like this.

    A newbie might have stared mouth agape at the hole, but Ye Ci was already analyzing the situation. There were several possibilities that await yers in a ce like this. The developers might ce a huge number of mobs at the bottom of the hole, or there could always be a very tough BOSS. It was very rare for scenarios other than the two to happen in Fate.

    Ye Ci studied the hole carefully. She made the decision to enter the hole after some hesitation. Am I a masochist? Why am I heading in there when I know that there will be trouble waiting for me?

    But it did not weaken her resolve. She jumped into the hole, and Ol¡¯ Six followed suit. But the Dragon was stuck as its frame was simply too big. Ye Ci decided to turn a deaf ear to its grunts of protests as she knew that the system would spawn Ol¡¯ Six nearby when she was a distance away.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expectations, however, were not met. She did not run into arge number of mobs, nor did she run into a BOSS. Shended in a cave. An endless cave that was devoid of any life forms.

    She quickened her pace, and even started sprinting ahead at full speed. She wanted to know what awaited her at the end of the cave.

    The cave grew darker and colder as she proceeded further and further. It was so cold that she could feel the chills in her bones, and she could barely even see her fingers when she held them in front of her due to the darkness.

    There must be something ahead!

    She had a nagging feeling that something was hidden deep within the cave, and it was growing stronger by the minute. A cold surface awaited her at the end of the tunnel. It was a door. She was certain that it was a door that stood in her way.

    The door swung open with a push from Ye Ci, and her eyes were immediately blinded by the light flowing from within. But she was able to quickly force her eyes open, as she ran the risk of being overrun by a swarm of monsters if her eyes remained shut.

    But her expectation continued to be proven wrong, for there were no monsters behind the door.

    The room was on fire. But despite the raging mes, Ye Ci felt not even a shred of heat. It was as if the mes before her did not even exist. Ye Ci studied the room, and found smoke rising from arge crater at the middle of the room.

    What¡¯s in there?

    Well, since I¡¯m here, I might as well get in there. Thought Ye Ci. Her inquisitive nature dictates that she find out the truth. Any potential danger was something that she could disregard.

    She walked up to the edge of the hole. There were no monsters, and she did not take any damage from the mes. She peered into the hole and saw a fist sized ck rock that was billowing smoke from the bottom.

    The ck rock was in and simple. It was something that would go unnoticed by passerbys if ced at the side of the road.

    But its position signified that it was something very important. Ye Ci studied the hole, and found that she could easily reach the rock. She jumped into the hole and made her way to the rock.

    That¡¯s strange, why is something like this not guarded by monsters? Ye Ci did not have much time to ponder the question, as her attention was focused wholly on the rock.

    She walked up to the rock, and picked it up.

    And was immediately flung out of the hole by an unseen force the moment her fingers made contact with the rock, mming her onto a wall. Her health immediately plunged after the jarring impact.

    Ye Ci ignored her pain and gulped down a Large Health Potion to recover half her health. She was not the only one who was affected by the force, as Ol¡¯ Six was also mmed against the wall. The impact was enough to disorient the Dragon, which stood back up on unsteady feet.

    Once she made sure that Ol¡¯ Six was safe, Ye Ci returned her attention to herself. The pain was so great that she felt as if her bones were at the verge of falling apart. But the ck stone was still clutched tightly in her hand.

    I¡¯m such a greedy person. Ye Ciughed at herself. I¡¯m still holding on to this thing even at the verge of death. Just as Ye Ci was about to have a look at the rock¡¯s stats, an invisible hand grabbed hold of her neck and lifted her up.

    ¡°An Elf? An Elf again!? Why is your kind still not extinct yet?!¡±

    A horrible screeching sound immediately followed. Ye Ci saw a puff of ck smoke in humanoid shape hovering in front of her near the hole, ¡°Give whatever you¡¯re holding back to me!¡± The smoke extended something that looked like its arm towards Ye Ci as the force on her neck intensified.

    Ye Ci was gasping for air, but she had no intention of handing the rock back to the ck smoke, ¡°Let go of me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll release you once you give it to me.¡± said the ck smoke.

    ¡°You let go first.¡± it was conventional wisdom that a person saying that would always kill the other party once they received what they wanted. This had been something of a cliche in movies and novels. Ye Ci would never fall for this old trick. But the force on her throat intensified. She was barely able to breath.

    ¡°I¡¯m not here to negotiate, Elf. I¡¯ll snap your neck if you do not give me what I want!¡± Ye Ci could feel her blood vessels bulging with exertion, but she continued her struggle, ¡°You know that you won¡¯t be able to get it once I ce it into my inventory even if you kill me!¡±

    Items that were ced into a yer¡¯s inventory could not be essed by NPCs unless through certain special means.

    ¡°Are you threatening me, Elf?!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s words had apparently angered the puff of smoke, as its hold on Ye Ci¡¯s throat grew even stronger.

    As her health continued to fall, Ye Ci used thest of her strength to ce the rock into her inventory, ¡°NO! You filthy Elf! I¡¯ll kill y- Ack! Damned Holy Dragon!¡± the hand on Ye Ci¡¯s throat threw her aside like a ragdoll, reducing her already much depleted health even more. Am I going to die like this?

    But Ye Ci¡¯s luck held, and the drain on her health stopped when she had 4 HP left. The owner of the hand was engaging Ol¡¯ Six inbat, and the Dragon was at a clear disadvantage. Ye Ci gulped down a few bottles of Large Health Potion and stood up on unsteady feet. She attempted to use a teleportation stone to retreat to Red Lake City, but a system notification reminded her that the action was not allowed.

    The door of the entrance was already mmed shut. It was apparent that she could not leave if she did not defeat the smoke.

    A quick nce at the stats of her known assant showed nothing but ¡°?¡± signs on all its stats and even its name. It was apparent that her opponent was at a level way higher than hers. She could simply not win.

    And that was why Ye Ci resorted to a final desperate measure. She took a quick nce at the rock and was shocked when she saw its name ¡°Heart of Darkness¡±.

    The Heart of Darkness? Wasn¡¯t it used by Dau¡¯er to create the Dark Arrow?

    Are you serious?

    Of course, there was a more pressing matter at hand. Ye Ci needed to go to Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s rescue, as a Holy Dragon could not be revived like any other normal pet upon its death. Even a reincarnator like Ye Ci did not know of a way to revive a Dragon. ¡°Stop!¡± she shouted at the puff of smoke.

 Chapter 372 To Enter The Dark Shrine

    <h4>Chapter 372 To Enter The Dark Shrine</h4>

    Of course, Ye Ci did not expect the NPC to stop. It would not immediately switch its target and go after her just because she told it so like in soap operas.

    And she was right. The aggro was all on Ol¡¯ Six. The NPC was not stupid. It continued focusing its attention on Ol¡¯ Six. Ignoring her own pain, Ye Ci immediately cast Pet Healing on her Dragon.

    Healers who tend to overheal were the most feared in a dungeon. Ye Ci¡¯s healing skill on Ol¡¯ Six was able to attract the aggro of the NPC towards herself. It promptly abandoned its attacks on Ol¡¯ Six and turned to face Ye Ci, sending her flying with a swipe of its hand.

    Damn it! Don¡¯t bully me like this just because your level is higher! Even if you¡¯re a BOSS, you shouldn¡¯t look down on yers like this, alright? Ye Ci felt like her bones were breaking apart. F*ck you Fate! Can¡¯t you ce the pain values a little lower? The impact once again took away a huge chunk of Ye Ci¡¯s HP, bringing her very close to death.

    And the NPC was already upon Ye Ci before she could heal herself back up. She raised her hand and shouted at the ck smoke right before she was about to die to its ws, ¡°Stay back or I¡¯ll smash this thing into pieces!¡±

    The NPC immediately stopped and stood silently ten yards away from Ye Ci. Smoke was billowing from the NPC. It was apparent that the NPC had lost its calm. Ye Ci dared not to move her eyes away from the NPC. She stared at the puff of smoke and began to gulp down bottles of Health Potion. Damn it! This BOSS is impossible! I¡¯ve finished a few thousand gold worth of potions here!

    ¡°Of all the races that walk thesends, I¡¯ve always hated your Elves the most.¡± the puff of smoke stared at the Heart of Darkness in Ye Ci¡¯s hands.

    And to avoid any more damage on Ol¡¯ Six, Ye Ci set her pet¡¯sbat to be Passive, and the Dragon returned to her while eyeing the puff of smoke. ¡°I did not wish to offend you.¡± said Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯ve merely wanted to have a look at the Heart of Darkness.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± the ck smoke snorted, ¡°Then return it to me at once!¡± it extended an arm towards Ye Ci and motioned her to return the Heart of Darkness.

    Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°I might¡¯ve returned it to you if you didn¡¯t attack me just now. But after that fiasco? I don¡¯t think I trust you anymore. This thing seems to be very important to you. How am I able to guarantee my safety if I return to you right now?¡±

    ¡°Lies!¡± the ck smoke retracted its arm and sneered at Ye Ci, ¡°You Elves are the most pretentious and hypocritical lot! If I did not stop you just now, you would¡¯ve stolen my Heart of Darkness like thest one!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just here by coincidence. I do not know the Elf you¡¯re talking about.¡± replied Ye Ci carefully.

    ¡°A coincidence?¡± the ck smoke paused, and appeared to have realised something, ¡°Why are you not harmed by the hellfire!?¡±

    Hellfire? Ye Ci nced at the harmless mes in the room. Is this a BUG? Then again, the NPC wouldn¡¯t have asked me something like that if it was. So.... Her train of thoughts was interrupted by the ck smoke, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡±

    The ck smoke let out augh before asking, ¡°Just how much sin are you carrying, Elf?¡±

    Ye Ci immediately rted the question to her status as a red name. The hellfire was unable to harm her due to her high Sin values.

    Who the hell designed this? Doesn¡¯t it mean that a yer with low Sin value will be burned alive? Aren¡¯t they tantly looking down on good people?

    The smoke continued when Ye Ci was silent, ¡°Ahh.. You¡¯re here because of your thirst for Darkness.¡±

    Hey hey hey! I haven¡¯t even said anything yet! Can you not answer your own question? Ye Ci frowned at the NPC. Isn¡¯t this NPC a little full of himself? But she decided to talk to the BOSS to gain more information about Dau¡¯er.

    ording to the NPC, an Elf had stumbled into the hole by sheer coincidence. He almost died to the hellfire, but was still able to make away with a Heart of Darkness. The NPC could regenerate the Heart of Darkness, but it was a very costly ordeal. This was why the ck smoke was very attached to the Heart of Darkness. It would have killed Ye Ci if not out of the fear that she would smash the heart.

    And after a long conversation with the NPC, Ye Ci had finally lost her interest when she could not gain any information about the Elven King Dau¡¯er. She knew that the smoke would not dare to harm her, but she was also certain that the NPC would never let her leave alive if she returned the heart. This was a stalemate.

    But the two were able to eventually reach an agreement. The ck smoke would allow Ye Ci to leave, and she would return the Heart of Darkness to the NPC once she was a safe distance away. The NPC would hunt her down if she went back on her words.

    And if the ck smoke was the one who broke the agreement, Ye Ci would ce the Heart of Darkness in her inventory, rendering the item inessible to the NPC forever.

    While the smoke was doubtful of Ye Ci¡¯s honesty, it was the only way out of this situation. And this was how Ye Ci was escorted to safety by a BOSS that was at least fifty levels above her. When she was finally back at the ck Widow¡¯s hall, Ye Ci returned the Heart of Darkness despite her reluctance.

    The ck smoke was satisfied with the turn of events, ¡°You kept your word, Elf. Perhaps your race is not as shameful as I thought.¡± nodded the NPC, ¡°As a reward for your honesty, allow me to tell you a little secret.¡±

    ¡°A secret?¡± Ye Ci had never been interested in a yer¡¯s secret, but when it came from an NPC... ¡°What sort of secret?¡±

    ¡°You have already gained the right to enter the Shrine of Darkness. If you can get to the shrine... You will be able to gain special strength.¡± the ck smoke disappeared with augh after cing the Heart of Darkness into its chest.

    The Shrine of Darkness? Thought Ye Ci. It was a ce that had never been discovered by yers in herst life. It was simply a myth that existed only in books. So that ce exists?

    Her thoughts were interrupted by a chime in her private message channel. It was Bai Mo, ¡°What? Are you still sad about the Orange shield?¡±

    ¡°Oh forget about it! My heart is already brittle as it is. Come to the fort quickly.¡± Bai Mo grimaced.

    The ¡°fort¡± that Bai Mo meant was Upwards Ho!¡¯s fort in the Lesser Demon Sanctum.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°The first piece of Mithril has been mined up.¡±

 Chapter 373 Letâ€™s Do An Experiment

    Chapter 373 Let¡¯s Do An Experiment

    It had been twenty days since mining on the Mithril ore vein had begun. The progress was slower than what Ye Ci had expected. She did not know how long it took for Golden Era to gain their first Mithril ores in herst life, as it was a closely guarded secret of the guild.

    That was why she instructed Jasmine and the ck Iron Dwarves to begin mining operations as soon as the defences of the fort were installed.

    She did not expect the ore vein to take twenty day to yield its first batch of Mithril ores. When the mining first began, Ye Ci would ask about the progress from Bai Mo on a daily basis, but she ultimately gave up when she was not able to get the answer she wanted.

    She resorted to simply waiting for Bai Mo to inform her when the Mithril ores were finally sessfully mined instead to save herself the worry. She had begun to doubt herself about the Mithril ore vein when she continued to not receive news from Bai Mo.

    And after so many days, Ye Ci had almostpletely forgotten about the Mithril ore vein. Bai Mo¡¯s good news came as a surprise to her. She immediately teleported back to Red Lake City, and flew towards the fort on dragonback.

    Yn had certainly lived up to her name as a Master Builder. The fort that she designed was greater than anything Ye Ci had ever seen in herst life.

    Two teleportation stones were ced in the fort as an entrance and exit. The buildings within the fort were arranged in an intricate pattern that will confuse any attackers who have entered the fort for the first time. Ye Ci flew towards the northern end of the fort, where Upwards Ho! had set up a field headquarters. Not many were stationed within the five-storey building other than a few yers and some NPCs.

    It had be a habit of Ye Ci to be constantly wearing her hood when she reached lvl70. With her pet already dismissed, the yers simply mistook her as yet another guild member. She quickly made her way to the conference room on the second floor, where Bai Mo and Timely Rain were waiting for her.

    ¡°This is the first Mithril ore that we¡¯ve mined up. The quality is not that high, but it¡¯s more enough to make a Mithril ting.¡± said Bai Mo as he tossed the piece of Mithril ore at Ye Ci, ¡°Production of these ores are low, but the ores within the vein will slowly regenerate, which means that we will have a sustainable supply.¡±

    Ye Ci eyed the stats of the Mithril ore before cing it back onto the table. She then looked at Timely Rain and asked, ¡°There¡¯s an issue that¡¯s been weighing on my mind. How can we make sure that the miners that we send into the mines will not embezzle our ores?¡±

    Timely Rain responded with augh, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it as well, but apparently the developers had taken this into ount. As the ck Iron Dwarves have partial im to the production of Mithril ores, our miners would have to report themselves to the Dwarf in charge to receive a BUFF. Only a yer with the BUFF would be able to mine up Mithril, and the yer would then have to report back to the Dwarf in charge of the mine. Failure to do so would render the Mithril ore untradable and could not be removed from one¡¯s inventory. We can then take stock of the production of Mithril from the Dwarf who was in charge.

    The exnation from Timely Rain was able to answer a question that Ye Ci was not able to solve since herst life. With Golden Era controlling all the Mithril ore veins and with tens of thousands of yers working in the mines, it was not hard to smuggle some of the ores out from the mines undetected. But Golden Era was still able to fully control the supplies of Mithril ores in the market. The answer to that question was finally revealed on this day.

    Ye Ci went into silence after asking about the rate of production of the Mithril ores. And she spoke up after a short while, ¡°Which dungeon are you all exploring at the moment?¡±

    ¡°The outer dungeons near the Silent City..¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci thought for a short moment, ¡°Are you talking about the ins of Betrayal?¡±

    ¡°Yup. But we¡¯re running into some difficulties. The monsters in that dungeon have high magical damage. It¡¯s a lvl65 dungeon and we¡¯re all equipped with lvl65 gear, but we¡¯re having troubles with even the mobs.¡± said Bai Mo, ¡°We can handle three monsters at a time in the 100-man dungeon, but anything more than that will spell death for our tank.¡± he grimaced at that thought, ¡°I¡¯ve brought up to thirty healers at this point, any more than that and we won¡¯t have enough DPS. We can¡¯t even reach the BOSS at this point.¡±

    ¡°How many squadrons from our guild are exploring this dungeon?¡±

    ¡°All four of them.¡± Bai Mo frowned, ¡°But... I don¡¯t think we can clear it.¡± and with that, he fell into a short moment of silence before finally speaking up, ¡°But we have Mithril ores now. We can try making Mithril tings and equip them on our armor. It might help raise our Magic Resistance.¡±

    ¡°Do you know the progress of the other guilds?¡± asked Ye Ci after muttering to herself.

    ¡°They¡¯re mostly at the ins of Betrayal. I had a meal with Sir Ditty yesterday, and he wasining about how his guild was stuck at that ce. They couldn¡¯t make it to the final BOSS.¡± Bai Mo shook his head, ¡°These lvl65 dungeons have their difficulties increased by a lot!¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, we need five Mithril ore to make a Mithril shirt. How many yers in our guild have the blueprint to make a Mithril shirt?¡±

    ¡°Seventeen.¡± replied Timely Rain, ¡°The blueprint¡¯s drop rate is not that bad. We have quite a number of them. Are you saying that we should make some Mithril clothes?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci nodded, ¡°That¡¯s how it is.¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t we be wasting a lot of resources?¡± Timely Rain shook his head, ¡°Those are Mithril we¡¯re talking about! A Mithril te is Blue in quality, but a Mithril shirt is an equipment with White rarity with no additional stats.¡±

    ¡°Just try making one.¡± Ye Ci smiled.

    Timely Rain and Bai Mo shared a look with each other. They did not know what Ye Ci was nning.

    ¡°If Mithril ting has Magic Resistance properties, shouldn¡¯t Mithril Clothes have the same effect as well? Besides, an entire clothing made out of Mithril will cover more than a single ting.¡±

    ¡°......¡± Bai Mo and Timely Rain were both speechless.

    Ye Ci stood up and smiled at Bai Mo, ¡°Come on, cous. Just think of it as an experiment. Wear one when you head into the dungeon next time. It won¡¯t kill you.¡± and she began walking towards the window of the conference room, ¡°Don¡¯t forget to tell me how it went.¡±

    ¡°Where are you going? Didn¡¯t you juste back?¡± Bai Mo stared at Ye Ci¡¯s back as she left.

    ¡°There are things that I have to tend to.¡± said Ye Ci. But she immediately turned around as if remembering something, and tossed the key to the Red Monastery Hidden Room to Bai Mo, ¡°This dungeon has a lvl70 BOSS that deals poison damage. This is where I got the shield. If you can¡¯t clear the ins of Betrayal yet, you can try your hand in this dungeon.¡±

    Bai Mo snatched the key out of the air and ced it into his pocket, ¡°Oh? Do you have any walkthroughs for us?¡±

    ¡°The hardest part is at the third stage of the BOSS battle.¡± said Ye Ci after a short thought, and a mischievous smile appeared on her face, ¡°It can spew poison in any direction, so those with low movement speed will find themselves in trouble.¡±

    She then turned around again and waved at Bai Mo, ¡°I¡¯m leaving for real now. Oh, don¡¯t forget to tell me how the experiment ends.¡±

    And with that, she jumped out of the window and disappeared without a trace.

    Ye Ci¡¯s next destination was the Kira Mountain Range of the Southern Continent. But before her departure, she had to contact Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    The man was professional in handling his business with everybody else, but when it came to Ye Ci, Green Hill¡¯s Moon would happily kiss up to her, ¡°Ah, look who¡¯s here. If it¡¯s not the great Gongzi You. What brings you here despite your busy schedule?¡±

    ¡°Since when are you so talkative?¡± Ye Ci frowned.

    ¡°No no no, I¡¯m merely being courteous.¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon was in a good mood, ¡°I¡¯m a merchant, you see. It¡¯s all about customer satisfaction.¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. She did not want to waste time on small talks with the man. He reminded her of something Fleeting Time once said: ¡°Idiocy is contagious.¡±

    ¡°Can you help contact Lethal Poison For me?¡± she went straight to the point.

 Chapter 374 A Monopoly

    Chapter 374 A Monopoly

    Lethal Poison sat in the Lazy Cat Tavern in the western district. He noticed a difference between the NPCs here from the ones in the eastern district. They were dressed the same, but there was a different air about them. It felt as if they were always trying to stab him at the back when he was not watching. Despite the beautiful waitresses, the good wine, and excellent food, he did not like it here one bit.

    He leaned forward and supported his chin with his hands. He was beginning to regret his decision to ept Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s request for him to meet with Gongzi You.

    The losses she caused to his guild was still fresh in his mind. And anger bubbled in his heart at the mere thought of the incident. But he immediately agreed to a meeting with Gongzi You when he was contacted by Green Hill¡¯s Moon. He was simply too curious about the girl. And they did not have any contact before or after the avnche.

    Why is Gongzi You looking for me? Is she going to ce a bounty as well? Lethal Poison pursed his lips. No, that¡¯s simply too absurd.

    He nced at the time. It was five minutes away from the time of their meeting, but there was still no sign of Gongzi You. She¡¯s either very punctual, or is runningte. Lethal Poison rapped his fingers against the wooden table as he waited quietly for her arrival.

    I will not waste even one additional minute waiting for her if she¡¯ste. If Gongzi You can¡¯t even be bothered to be punctual, then she¡¯s not capable of even the most basic of respect.

    Time continued ticking, and it was only thirty seconds until the time of their meeting. Lethal Poison was full of disdain when he lifted his mug and gulped down a mouthful of wine. It¡¯s such a shame. The wine here is good. He was actually interested in talking to Gongzi You over some drinks, but it seemed that it was no longer possible. Heh, despite her skills and apparent fame, she does not know respect. A person like this will never make it far.

    But Lethal Poison was shocked when he set down his mug, for a slim hooded figure had appeared on the empty chair in front of him. The stranger¡¯s tender, fair arms pulled away the hood to reveal a pair of amber eyes, silvery hair that was tied into a ponytail, and a face that was a mask of indifference.

    The girl before him was not a beauty, but there was simply something about her that he would never forget even years after their meeting. He might not be able to remember her expression or her face, but her intense aura was something that would forever be etched in his memory.

    ¡°Sorry for the wait, I¡¯m Gongzi You.¡± she smiled faintly.

    Lethal Poison subconsciously took a nce at the time. The moment Ye Ci spoke was the moment the time of their agreed meeting was disyed on the clock. He was momentarily stunned, but was able to quickly recover and extended a hand towards Gongzi You to shake her hand with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m the one who was running early. I¡¯m Lethal Poison.¡±

    It was a secret meeting that no one expected. Who would have expected that two enemies would be gathering at the same table for a meeting?

    Ye Ci took in a deep breath as she left the Lazy Cat Tavern. The cold night air entered her lungs, and brushed away the fatigue she felt. She stretched herself, and looked up at the bright moon illuminating Hero City¡¯s night sky.

    ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± asked Lethal Poison who walked out of the tavern.

    ¡®What is it?¡±

    ¡°Why the western district?¡±

    ¡°Is the wine here not to your liking? Is the food not good enough?¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips as her. Her amber eyes were distant and yet very alluring under the moonlight.

    ¡°No, but the NPCs here are... Different.¡± Lethal Poison looked up at the moon as well and took in a deep breath, ¡°It feels like I¡¯m always being watched over here. I do not like that feeling.¡±

    ¡°Because this is where the scum of the society gatherers.¡± Ye Ci pulled up her hood and smiled at Lethal Poison, ¡°I¡¯m a red name remember? I can¡¯t enter the eastern district.¡± and she continued after a slight pause, ¡°I look forward to your sess.¡±

    ¡°Time is short. I think Golden Era is already on the move.¡± Lethal Poison sighed.

    ¡°So what? They haven¡¯t found it, have they?¡± Ye Ci seemed to not care about the problem. She hadpleted her objective, and there was no point in staying anymore, ¡°I hope to meet you here again someday.¡±

    ¡°To talk about prices for a monopoly?¡± Lethal Poisonughed, ¡°How are you so sure that the demand would be that great? From the recipes I¡¯ve seen so far, that thing might be rare, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a necessity.¡±

    Ye Ci ced a finger on her lips, ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± and she stood up to leave, ¡°Sometimes, the truth might not be what your eyes see. Do you want to make a bet?¡±

    ¡°And what are we betting on?¡±

    ¡°Half of your production?¡±

    ¡°No way. It doesn¡¯t benefit me at all.¡± Lethal Poisonughed. He was starting to like the girl more and more. Of course, it was not romantic in nature, but a respect that he harbored for someone who was also an expert in the game. It was rare for females to be so ambitious, and yet so agreeable.

    Ye Ciughed as well, ¡°You¡¯re a petty man, Lethal Poison.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have ced a three-months bounty on you if I¡¯m not.¡± Lethal Poison paid no heed to her words as he narrowed his already tiny eyes.

    ¡°See you.¡± Ye Ci waved him goodbye and disappeared into the night.

    And the Lazy Cat Tavern was once again empty, as if nobody had ever appeared in that ce.

    Perhaps due to hisck of understanding of Gongzi You, Lethal Poison felt as if he had nearly missed out on arge sum of wealth. Of course, this was something that he came to realise one month after her meeting with Gongzi You, for he saw a piece of White equipment in the auction house: Mithril Shirt. It was sold at the price of five hundred thousand gold, and was snatched away before he could even have a good look at the stats of the equipment.

    It was a great shock to Lethal Poison at that time. F*ck! Are you guys crazy? That¡¯s five hundred thousand gold! Can¡¯t you at least let me have a look at the stats first?

    What followed was news that Sangharama Shrine had cleared the first BOSS of the Jaded Fairnd, which had been a bottleneck for guilds all across the continent. This put Lethal Poison in a bad mood. The three major guilds of the Southern Continent might be simr in strength, but Heavenly Body had always been the more superior one. Sangharama¡¯s Shrine¡¯s ability to snatch First Blood right before his eyes was like a p to his face.

    And Lethal Poison was speechless when he received even more news. Sangharama Shrine was able to withstand the first BOSS¡¯s magical attack by purchasing twenty Mithril Shirts.

    That was when he finally believed what Gongzi You had told him. He was very upset, but he was still not as petty in the face of greater benefits. He was able to secure the ore vein quest after receiving its coordinates from Gongzi You and a hard fought battle against Golden Era.

    I sure dodged a bullet there. Thought Lethal Poison when he remembered that he almost gave up on looking for the Mithril ore vein.

    Heid staring at the ceiling in his room like an unmoving statue for nearly half a day before finally letting out a sigh. He contacted Green Hill¡¯s Moon, and instructed him to bring Gongzi You a message, ¡°I¡¯d like to talk to you about the prices.¡±

    Ye Ci was at the Southern Continent¡¯s Kira Mountain Range munching on roasted meat when she received the message. Ol¡¯ Six was eyeing the piece of meat on her hand. She pursed her lips and tossed the meat to Ol¡¯ Six when she received the message from Green Hill¡¯s Moon and stuffed another piece of meat into her mouth as she stared up into the blue sky.

    So how will Golden Era dominate Fate when they¡¯ve lost their grasp on its economy? She was very curious about the answer to the question.

    ¡°Little Ci, Golden Era hasunched a sneak attack on our fort!¡± came a message from Bai Mo when she sat resting by a campfire.

 Chapter 375 Encountering Aerial Steeds

    Chapter 375 Encountering Aerial Steeds

    A month might be short for some, and long for others. Many things can be done in a month, but there is also a possibility that nothing was done within the month. Ye Ci found herself to be thetter. She spent the better part of the month on the Kira Mountain Range.

    Due to the sheer size of the map, and the many hidden mini dungeons scattered all over the mountain range, Ye Ci had aplished nothing except leveling and finally reaching lvl75.

    She had not even found the so-called origins of the Elves, and she had grown tired of traversing through the mountainous terrain. She immediately headed back to the Eastern Continent when she received the message from Bai Mo.

    The journey from the Kira Mountain Range to Upwards Ho!¡¯s fort would take six hours. And it six agonizing hours for Ye Ci as she made her way back to her home continent.

    It meant nothing to Golden Era due to their wealth, but Upwards Ho! could not sustain itself in a prolonged battle.

    Can theyst for six hours? Ye Ci doubted it very much. She might be able to change the course of the battle, and no matter the oue, she felt bad for not being there for her guild when they needed her the most.

    The Kira Mountain Range was not very far away from the Eastern Continent¡¯s borders. This meant that Ye Ci could immediately recall to Red Lake City and fly the rest of the way to the fort. Her journey would be reduced by at least three hours.

    Ye Ci set Ol¡¯ Six to autopilot when the Lesser Demon Sanctuary was almost in sight and contacted Bai Mo and the officers of the guild to have a good grasp of the situation.

    ¡°How is it going? Will we be able to hold?¡±

    ¡°Yes. But it¡¯ll be hard.¡± the reply did note from Bai Mo. It was Ideal Height 1.7m who answered the question, and her voice was not at all convincing.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Ye Ci frowned, ¡°Did they bring a lot of siege engines? Is their firepower ¡±

    ¡°Our fortifications are tough, and they¡¯re reinforced by shields powered by magical crystals. We¡¯ll be able to hold them off even if they have a lot of firepower. Besides, they did not bring a lot of siege engines, but...¡±

    Ideal Height 1.7m shouted out amand before she finished her sentence, ¡°The enemy is airdropping twenty of their yers in the western sector¡¯s forges. Their sses are Warriors, Pdins, Sorcerers, and Warlocks! I want all Hunters, Rangers, Priests, and Rogues in the area to converge on their location!¡±

    The frown on Ye Ci¡¯s face deepened when she heard themand that was being issued, ¡°Can somebody who is still free exin to me what is going on?¡± she asked in the guild¡¯s Command Channel.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how they did it, but Golden Era somehow obtained a blueprint to some sort of flying machine and built two of them.¡± it was Fruit Jelly who replied to her question, ¡°The machines themselves did not have great offensive capabilities, but they were able to drop thirty yers at a time from the air into our fort. We could only react whenever their yers were dropped.¡±

    The frown on Ye Ci¡¯s face grew even deeper when she received the response, but she was still able to calmly make her decisions, ¡°How long will it take them to make their flying machine operational again?¡±

    ¡°Around ten minutes.¡±

    ¡°Can you take out the thirty yers that were airdropped into the fort within ten minutes?¡±

    ¡°We should be able to.¡± responded Fruit Jelly after a short pause, but she did not sound entirely convinced.

    ¡°Are our forces spread out right now? Are wecking ranged yers to defend the wall?¡± Ye Ci was able to quickly analyze the situation from the information she gained from Fruit Jelly.

    Yup.¡± the fatigue was clear in Fruit Jelly¡¯s voice, ¡°We tried shooting those machines down, but they¡¯re simply too fast. Our magical cannon takes time to reload and they were able to slip past our defences.¡±

    ¡°Hang on, I¡¯m almost there. I¡¯ll take care of those flying machines.¡± Ye Ci elerated towards the battlefield, ¡°How many did Golden Era send?¡±

    ¡°Probably all their lvl60 and above yers in the Eastern Continent. A rough estimate ced their number at a hundred thousand.¡± came the reply from Bai Mo, ¡°Be careful, I have a feeling that the flying machine is not the only trouble you¡¯ll be facing.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve received intelligence from our yers that a number of aerial steeds were spotted at the rear of Golden Era¡¯s formation.¡± exined Bai Mo, ¡°They¡¯ve not joined the battle yet. It looks like they¡¯re waiting for someone.¡±

    ¡°You mean they¡¯re waiting for me?¡± said Ye Ci calmly. She was already in the Lesser Demon Sanctuary.

    It did not take long for six silhouettes to soar out of the clouds towards her. She narrowed her eyes and was quick to identify them as yers with aerial steed.

    There were only two aerial steeds in the entire Upwards Ho!, namely Ye Ci¡¯s Holy Dragon and A Golden Man¡¯s Thunder Hawk. The yers in front of her could only be from Golden Era.

    ¡°Gongzi You, I received news that Golden Era¡¯s aerial steed had taken flight.¡± Bai Mo¡¯s tone was grave, ¡°Where are you? Be careful.¡±

    ¡°I see them. Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯ll take them out.¡± and Ye Ci shifted her attention to the yers who were fast approaching.

    The Golden Era yers were equipped with Gryphons. They might not be as formidable as a Holy Dragon, and would definitely lose a fight against Ye Ci¡¯s pet in a one on one battle. But Gryphons were pack animals, and when three Gryphons were in close proximity to one another, they would receive a skill called ¡°Majesty¡± that would increase in strength when their numbers increased. Any living creature affected by ¡°Majesty¡± would be frozen in ce and left vulnerable to their attack.

    And this was why guilds would tend to equip themselves with a squadron of Gryphons as a counter to high tier aerial steeds.

    The yers flying towards Ye Ci were of high level. It was a teamplete with a healer, a tank, and DPS. It was apparent that Golden Era hade up with a strategy to deal with the threat posed by Ol¡¯ Six.

    The yer leading the formation was a Warrior. He stopped six yards away from Ye Ci with the rest of his party and pulled off his mask, ¡°Gongzi You!¡± he let out a heartyugh, ¡°I did not expect us to meet again under such circumstances.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at the face, but she could not remember who it belonged to, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but who are you again?¡±

    ¡°Ah, a person of distinction is always with a short memory.¡± the man was not angry at all, ¡°You¡¯ve taught me how to ride a Gryphon. I¡¯ve never thought that I¡¯ll be able to defeat you with the knowledge you have imparted upon me.¡±

    Ye Ci was soon to realise who the man was, but it mattered not to her. What mattered to her at that moment was his arrogance, ¡°Someone once told me that I should not dream of things that are still very far away, and that I should be living in the moment.¡± she pursed her lips, ¡°You can¡¯t defeat me with your words.¡± and with that, she sped towards the Golden Era party.

    Lotus Supercenter did not panic. The yers behind him immediately formed themselves into a semi circle, ready to envelope Ye Ci as she flew into their formation.

    Of course, a yer was not entirely helpless against the ¡°Majesty¡± skill of the Gryphons. It was a test of their skills and of their equipment.

    An aerial steed must be equipped with high tier equipment to nullify the crowd control effect of ¡°Majesty¡±, and the yer controlling the steed must be skillful enough to take out the opposing Gryphons so that the strength of their skill could be reduced.

    It sounded fairly easy, but Ye Ci did not let her guard down even one bit. She and her pet were at lvl75, which was a level that her opponents could not hope to match. But what theycked in level the Golden Era yers made up in their numbers. There were six of them, and if they were able to work well with one another, Ol¡¯ Six could easily be immobilized especially when it was still not yet equipped with any equipment that could nullify Majesty¡¯s effect.

    Victory in this fight belonged to the side with better luck.

    Ye Ci smiled at her opponents. She had always believed that luck belonged to the side that was not afraid of death. And she... Was fearless

 Chapter 376 A Battle In The Sky

    Chapter 376 A Battle In The Sky

    It was the first time Lotus Supercenter was at such a close distance with a Dragon. It¡¯s sheer size, its ferocity, and its level were very intimidating.

    Their six lvl65 Gryphons were barely a match against a lvl75 Dragon. When the Dragon soared towards them, the yers dodged out of reflex.

    Fate was a VRMMORPG. It was on an entirely different levelpared to the traditional RPG that was yed in third person view where yers could easily have a grasp of the space around them.

    But in a full dive game like Fate where everything they did were in first person perspective, they suddenly found themselves losing their calm in the face of such monstrosity.

    They knew the Dragon was not real, and that the pain they suffered from a hit would not be as severe, but the yers still flinched in the Dragon¡¯s wake.

    Ye Ci was overjoyed. It was the perfect opportunity.

    But due to their training and teamwork, the party was able to maintain its cohesion. Their involuntary reaction would only buy Ye Ci a very short window of time.

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to take them all out in such a short time. Thought Ye Ci. After all, ¡°Majesty¡± was a very troublesome skill.

    A battle between yers would often be decided in a split second. Lotus Supercenter immediately realized that his evasive action meant that the activation of Majesty was dyed. Such a dy would not affect the oue of the battle against any other opponent, but they were up against Gongzi You.

    ¡°Activate Majesty!¡± shouted Lotus Supercenter. But he could feel the scorching heat of me licking his entire body before he could even finish his sentence. And his health, along with the health of his steed immediately plunged.

    Ye Ci was shocked to find that Lotus Supercenter survived the Dragon Breath attack. While he had a mere 20% of his HP left, the yer was ultimately still alive.

    What¡¯s going on? He should¡¯ve died to Dragon Breath! Just then, Ye Ci was hit by a sudden realisation. He must¡¯ve had a Mithril Shirt! She eyed the remaining yers in the party. All of them probably came equipped with Mithril Shirts as well!

    But she did not have the time to worry about their Mithril Shirt. She attacked again with Poison Breath.

    It was not a lethal attack, but would stack damage over time against an opponent. In a situation where a target was constantly healed, the attack might be rendered ineffective. The cooldown of both Poison Breath and Dragon Breath were at thirty seconds. This meant that if the target was able to survive for the duration of the effect, she might not have a chance again.

    And as expected, Lotus Supercenter immediately gulped down a bottle of Health Potion while the two yers nearby began healing his Gryphon, pulling him back from the verge of death.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She knew that this was her only chance. With two of Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s main attacking abilities on cooldown, there can only be one way...

    She narrowed her eyes and flew Ol¡¯ Six higher and over the heads of Lotus Supercenter and his men.

    ¡°She¡¯s on top of us, attack her! Don¡¯t give her the chance to attack again!¡± Four members among the party had been afflicted by Poison Breath, and were gulping down Health Potions to maintain their health. But this did not affect their ability to track the movement of Ye Ci. They activated Majesty while the ranged yers beganunching skills after skills at Ye Ci.

    She evaded the attack, and nned a flight route for Ol¡¯ Six, before jumping down from Ol¡¯ Six at such a speed that the yers taking aim at her did not even have a chance tounch their attacks.

    Ye Ci was able to angle herself well, andnded behind Lotus Supercenter.

    Lotus Supercenter did not even expect Ye Ci to make such a move. He was a melee yer, and he had tasked the ranged yer in his party to press the attack on Ye Ci as he directed their actions from a distance.

    He saw Ye Ci jumping away from her Dragon, and felt a thud on his steed. The cold de of a dagger was pressed against his neck before he could even realise what was going on.

    ¡°Game over.¡± Ye Ci whispered into his ears as she sliced her dagger across his neck. He could only watch when his already depleted health bar was drained and he slumped to the front dead. With his Gryphon disappearing along with his health, Lotus Superstar began to fall towards the ground.

    Lotus Superstar could see Gongzi You dropping along with him in his ck and white vision. They were so close to one another, but his head was pointing downwards, while Gongzi You was facing upwards.

    This did not mean that he could not see the taunting smile on her face. He did not even see what happened when his body was mmed away by a force. It was the Dragon. Gongzi You hadnded back on her Dragon. She did not even cast a nce at him as she sped towards the rest of his party.

    Killing a yer would not end Majesty, but it could greatly reduce its potency on a target. Ye Ci quickly realised that Majesty¡¯s effects were already greatly reduced on Ol¡¯ Six. Several Majesty skills that were directed at Ol¡¯ Six resulted in ¡°MISS¡±.

    And in a situation like this, the remaining Golden Era yers were no threat to her. Only four of the remaining yers were of the ranged ss, and they were all at a lower level than Ye Ci.

    A Holy Dragon¡¯s speed could not be matched by their Gryphons. And this meant that as long as Ye Ci focused her attention on a single target, she could easily defeat her opponents piecemeal.

    Ranged sses shared the same traits. Their DPS were high, but their defenses were nothing to write home about. Ye Ci was able to dispatch her opponents easily, while the Cleric of the party was able to avoid death by healing himself up.

    Ye Ci did not pursue the fleeing Cleric and the remaining melee yer. Her objective was the two flying machines that were dropping yers behind Upwards Ho!¡¯s lines. And she knew that the yers in the fort were at their limits.

    The flying machines were slightly slower than a Holy Dragon. Golden Era¡¯smanders immediately gave the order for the machines to flee the field of battle once the aerial interception of Gongzi You failed.

    The Gryphon squadron did not suffer aplete loss only because Gongzi You decided against pursuing its fleeing members. And this fact alone was a victory to them. But if Gongzi You was able to catch up with the flying machines, the result would be catastrophic for Golden Era. and this was why the pilots of the machines immediately changed course with their cargo bays still full of yers.

    Ye Ci saw only a single flying machine when she arrived in the skies above the fort. The other machine had long fled the area. She narrowed her eyes. Oh, you think you can get away? And she immediately flew towards the remaining machine on dragonback.

    ¡°Hurry! That Dragon is gaining on us!¡± the yers in the flying machine were panicking. They could not attack with their skills as they were in a transport instead of an aerial steed. This meant that they could only bail out or await death in their seats.

    ¡°I know! But this is our maximum speed!¡± shouted the pilot as he continued flying his machine calmly, unaffected by the panic that was spreading in the passengerpartment.

    And the Dragon was fast approaching.

    With a loud roar, Ol¡¯ Six angled slightly upwards andnded on the flying machine.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the Dragon?!¡± the passengers¡¯ field of vision was limited. And the disappearance of Ol¡¯ Six from their view spread further panic among their numbers.

    But their questions were answered by a violent trembling on the flying machine and huge dents above them.

    Ol¡¯ Six decided that trying to w open the machine was a waste of its energy after its first few attempts. It released the flying machine, and floated to its side, mming its tail against the machine that was already struggling to stay in the air, and sending the machine tumbling down against the side of a mountain.

 Chapter 377 Void Dragon

    Chapter 377 Void Dragon

    Ye Ci watched from midair as the flying machine tumbled downwards to its doom. With a loud crash, the expensive machine disappeared in a ball of fire and smoke. She did not know if its upants were able to escape, but it was a shocking spectacle.

    Her heart was heavy as she watched it unfold. She was saddened not by the losses suffered by Golden Era, but by the certainty that her enemies would retaliate after their loss on this day.

    Upwards Ho! was able to gain arge amount of funds by selling Mithril equipment, and they were put to use by Bai Mo to further develop the guild. Upwards Ho! grew quickly, and ording to Bai Mo, there were already four hundred thousand members in the guild.

    Of course, not all of the new additions to the guild could be deployed into battle. They still needed to be trained and armed with better equipment by the guild before they could effectively take part in any guild activities. Their loyalties to the guild needed some nurturing as well.

    Many of the neers were eager to bring the fight to Golden Era, and they were granted the chance by Timely Rain to join the defense of Upwards Ho!¡¯s fort. These yers were rewarded slightly more DKP than usual as a measure to promote activity among the new members. Of course, a significant number among the new yers refrained from taking part in the battle, which led to the situation at hand.

    Ye Ci turned Ol¡¯ Six around and headed to the battle that was still raging near the fort. The yers that were airdropped by Golden Era were elites that were adept at fighting in urban environments. They immediately hid themselves and waited in ambush for Upwards Ho! yers, which forced the guild to expand even more manpower in an effort to hunt them down. And these were manpower that were diverted away from the walls of the fort, which severely reduced the firepower the guild could employ against Golden Era¡¯s siege weaponry.

    The siege engines used by Golden Era were light, moderately powerful, and could be reloaded in a short amount of time. Their best advantage was that each of them would only require three yers to be operated.

    But this also meant that these weapons were very expensive. The scale of Golden Era¡¯s guild however, meant that they had arge number of Engineers in their employment, which reduced the cost of the siege for them.

    The magical cannons installed by Upwards Ho! were powerful and were very effective against catapults. But they were having a hard time against the lighter and more easily maneuverable siege engines used by Golden Era due to their long reload time and the time it required the gunners to take aim.

    And that was why Golden Era¡¯s siege weapons were able to survive the battle that had been raging for a few hours. The attack was nned meticulously by the higher ups of Golden Era, which had taken into ount many aspects of Upwards Ho!¡¯s defensive capabilities. Have they somehow overlooked thebat potential of my Holy Dragon? Mused Ye Ci.

    Without Ye Ci around, Golden Era¡¯s strategy against Upwards Ho! would have resulted in a victory. They knew that she would appear. So why are they going with a strategy like this?

    Ye Ci was highly suspicious of the entire situation. A feeling of unease seeped into her heart. She noticed that the yers on the ground immediately retreated when they saw her on her Dragon. Even if they¡¯re afraid of my Holy Dragon, there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll run away just like that. Is this a bait?

    And the more she was not able to understand, the more her annoyance grew. She flew Ol¡¯ Six above the retreating yers and bathed them in Dragon Breath. The sea of red damage indicator was a glorious sight.

    Just then, Ye Ci felt danger approaching from her back. An arrow was flying towards her before she could even react.

    The speed of the arrow and the rtively short range meant that Ye Ci was not able to evade the attack entirely. While the arrow failed tond on her vital spot, it still buried itself below her corbone and knocked her off her steed.

    Ye Ci quickly reoriented herself in the air and whistled at Ol¡¯ Six. Her Dragon immediately flew towards her and shended safely on its back. Arrows flew towards Ye Ci once again before she could steady herself, and she found herself enveloped by thick smoke that dealt damage to her and Ol¡¯ Six.

    There was simply no time for Ye Ci to acquire a target. She gulped down a few bottles of Health Potion, and was hit by a strong gust of wind. It was an attack that she had expected, but she still took arge amount of damage as she spun Ol¡¯ Six around.

    With her health almost fully depleted, Ye Ci immediately flew Ol¡¯ Six in a zig-zag pattern as she continued chugging down Health Potions. Arrows were zipping past her as she maneuvered in the sky. She pulled on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s reins and stopped her steed midair before dismissing the Dragon.

    It was apparent that her pursuer did not expect such a maneuver and the attacks missed. She was able to steal a nce at the yer above her, and saw arge silhouette in the sky.

    The yer on the silhouette had temporarily lost track of her. And once Ye Ci was sessfully located, the figure immediately dove at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci blew her whistle just before she was about to hit the ground, and Ol¡¯ Six appeared to break her fall. She immediately flew up to meet her attacker that she could finally see.

    Her opponent was also a ranged yer who was either a Hunter or a ranger. But what attracted Ye Ci¡¯s attention was the yer¡¯s steed. It was a Dragon, and a very rare breed known as the Void Dragon.

    Like the Holy Dragons, Void Dragons were rtively rare. A Void Dragon might not be as powerful as a Holy Dragon, but it was faster and had a very powerful skill: Stealth.

    A Void Dragon¡¯s Stealth was simr to that of a yer¡¯s. A Void Dragon in stealth would decrease its movement speed by 50%, and would be revealed whenever they cast an ability. These Dragons were primarily used by the Dragonia race as scouts and assassins.

    Golden Era has a Void Dragon?! Even as a reincarnator, Ye Ci had never seen a Void Dragon in her life, and she was now fighting against one.

    Ol¡¯ Six had not evolved into its highest tier, and so was the Void Dragon. But the speed of the Void Dragon was something that Ol¡¯ Six could not hope to match. A battle in the air waspletely different than fighting on the ground. A yer must possess very good spatial awareness to excel in aerialbat.

    While Ye Ci was confident in her abilities to predict the movements of her opponents onnd, she was not as confident in the sky.

    Her opponent might have a lower level, but it was apparent that the yer was way more adapted to aerialbat than Ye Ci. This meant that her advantage in level was nothing in this situation.

    Ye Ci¡¯s opponent was able to evade her attacks due to the high movement speed of the Void Dragon, while some of the attacks made by the yer were hitting their mark. While she did not takerge amounts of damage from the attacks, Ye Ci knew that the fight was not going well for her.

    She could not afford to drag out the battle. Her supply of Health Potion was depleted, and her enemy was still well supplied. Realisation shed across Ye Ci¡¯s mind. This was her first taste of aerialbat, and no matter the oue, it was a very valuable experience.

 Chapter 378 Gongzi Yi

    Chapter 378 Gongzi Yi

    Mi Lu and Purity Essence were studying the battle that was taking ce in the sky.

    ¡°Are my eyes ying tricks on me or is Gongzi You fighting against another Dragon?¡± Purity Essence had already experienced the horrors of a Dragon before, which was why he turned around and asked Mi Lu when he saw the Void Dragon.

    Mi Lu looked up at the direction of the battle, and studied therge life form that was the Void Dragon. It did not look like a Dragon at first nce, but he grew more certain the longer he stared at the gigantic beast. Gongzi You¡¯s Holy Dragon was not able to match its speed. He refused to admit that it was a Dragon, as Upwards Ho! was the only known guild to be in the possession of a Dragon. The presence of a Dragon in Golden Era meant that Upwards Ho!¡¯s advantage was nullified.

    And because of that, Mi Lu refused to believe that the opponent that Gongzi You was facing was indeed a Dragon, ¡°No way, you must¡¯ve been mistaken. There¡¯s no way that¡¯s a Dragon. It¡¯s not like Dragons are verymon in this game.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right. But from its size and its attack patterns, that thing sure looks like one.¡± Purity Essence was very certain of what he was seeing with his own eyes, and had even produced a pair of binocrs to observe the battle.

    ¡°Hey, where did you get this, Purity!¡± Mi Lu was eyeing Purity Essence¡¯s binocrs with envy, ¡°Come on, lend me that thing.¡± he extended his arm towards hispanion.

    Purity Essence immediately pped his hand away, ¡°Get yourself a blueprint and tell Blossom to make one for you. It¡¯s not like he won¡¯t help.¡±

    ¡°My party¡¯s been afflicted by Gongzi You¡¯s bad luck. I haven¡¯t seen a blueprint for a very long time. Come on, let me borrow your binocrs.¡± Mi Lu ignored Purity Essence words and made another grab at his binocrs.

    He pressed them against his eyes and looked into the sky, ¡°F*ck me. It is a Dragon! What breed of Dragon is that?¡±

    ¡°Looks like a Void Dragon.¡± Purity Essence was unsure himself, ¡°The only Dragon that can turn invisible is the Void Dragon.¡± he pursed his lips when he noticed Mi Lu¡¯s confused expression, ¡°You illiterate man... Go have a look around in the National Library when you¡¯re free. You might get something out of it.¡±

    ¡°F*ck me!¡± Mi Lu shouted again, ¡°Get that guy Gongzi You! He¡¯s getting cocky! Kill him!¡±

    There was never a person who did not crave victory, but it was apparent that Gongzi You¡¯s chances of winning were slim. She was even being suppressed by her opponents.

    In the face of such a situation, the hearts of the Upwards Ho! members were filled with worry. Gongzi You had always been their spiritual leader. Her skills were something that they had witnessed with their own eyes. To them, Gongzi You would never lose. While he himself did not share such a view, Bai Mo was still worried for his cousin as he looked up into the sky.

    There were things that he never told Ye Ci, but it did not mean that they do not exist.

    He refocused his attention to the fighting on the ground. Ye Ci was not one who would simply resign herself to defeat. She was someone who would struggle until thest moment. But Bai Mo was worried that the oue of the battle would deal a fatal blow to the morale of the guild¡¯s members.

    Even when it was apparent that Ye Ci¡¯s opponent was the one with the upper hand, Bai Mo had never once thought of asking about Ye Ci¡¯s situation. Because no matter the oue, he trusted Ye Ci.

    He trusted her unconditionally.

    And what he needed to do now was...

    ¡°We can do this everyone! We¡¯ll send these locusts back where they came from!¡±

    ¡°Oorah!¡±

    ¡°Send them back!¡±

    ¡°Send them back!¡± the Upwards Ho! members in the battlefield roared in unison.

    Even Ye Ci who was in the air could hear their cry for battle. She was in a hard spot. The fight had left here severely injured, and Ol¡¯ Six was faring no better than herself. Despite the wounds covering its body, the Dragon remained high spirited. It was excited to carry on the fight.

    Ye Ci turned Ol¡¯ Six around and stopped midair, and her pursuer stopped as well.

    The sun shone bright down on Ye Ci, and the sky without wind was eerily quiet.

    Ol¡¯ Six was panting for breath. It was apparent that the Dragon was exhausted. But the Void Dragon was even more fatigued as Ye Ci could see its entire form trembling with the heaving of its chest.

    A very faint smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips.

    The opportunity that she had been waiting for had finally presented itself.

    While the Void Dragon was one of the fastest Dragons in Fate, its Stamina could not hope to match the other Dragons, for it was meant to attack its target and speed away in the shortest possible amount of time.

    Now this is interesting.

    While Ol¡¯ Six possessed a far superior stamina, Ye Ci at her current state could not afford a war of attrition.

    While this seemed like a stalemate, things were of course not as they appeared to be.

    They were in the air. And while Ol¡¯ Six and the Void Dragon each had their own strengths and weaknesses, their owners were still yers. And no matter how strong an aerial steed if, a yer would still fall from the sky once he or she was knocked off his or her steed. After all, this was an aerial battle.

    With the Void Dragon almost at its limits, Ye Ci knew that her chances of victory lied inpletely exhausting the Dragon¡¯s stamina.

    And her opponent understood it as well.

    This was why Ye Ci¡¯s assant decided to stop.

    The yer then removed his hood, and Ye Ci could finally see the ss of her opponent. She had been fighting against a Hunter all along.

    But her face was revealed to Ye Ci, it came as a shock. What is this? Why does it feel like I¡¯m looking into a mirror?

    She was a Huntress like Ye Ci. And just like her, the Huntress had silvery hair that was tied in the same style, amber eyes, almost identical face, and even the same height. The Huntress raised her bow and smiled tauntingly at Ye Ci, ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you atst, Gongzi You. I¡¯ve been looking forward to this battle.¡±

    Ye Ci was momentarily stunned, but was quick to recover, ¡°Since you know my name, why don¡¯t you tell me yours? I don¡¯t like fighting against someone without a name.¡±

    It was apparent that she did not appreciate the taunt, ¡°I¡¯m Gongzi Yi.¡± she snorted.

    Gongzi Yi? The smile on Ye Ci¡¯s face grew. Her opponent was an imitation of herself. From her appearance, her name, and her ystyle, everything Gongzi Yi did was just like Ye Ci.

    What is this? It¡¯s like I¡¯m fighting against my doppelganger?

    ¡°Even your name sounds like mine too.¡± the smile remained on Ye Ci¡¯s face, but the meaning behind her words was apparent.

    Gongzi Yi did not seem to mind what Ye Ci said, and instead admitted that it was an attempt to imitate Ye Ci, ¡°Indeed. You¡¯re the one who inspired me to y this game. Your videos were the reason why I decided to y. And I only have one goal in Fate.¡±

    ¡°And what is it?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. She was starting to have an interest for Gongzi Yi.

    ¡°To surpass you.¡± Gongzi Yi caressed the bow in her hand, ¡°I know of your hostility against Golden Era, and that was why I joined them. But I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯m not interested in whatever¡¯s going on between your guild and Golden Era. I¡¯m only interested in you. I shall surpass you and be the SOLO Queen of the Eastern Continent!¡±

    And Gongzi Yi stared at Ye Ci. The passion in her eyes were like two orbs of fire that could burn everything before them.

    ¡°You can have that title if you want. I¡¯ve never cared about things like that.¡± said Ye Ci as she stared coldly at Gongzi Yi, ¡°But if your aim is to surpass me.. You¡¯ll have to ask my bow first.¡±

 Chapter 379 Seriously Injured

    Chapter 379 Seriously Injured

    Ye Ci could see her past self in Gongzi Yi.

    She had once been trying her best to be as good as Fleeting Time, and would take any opportunity to prove that she was the better yer. She might not be as crazed as Gongzi Yi, but she knew deep down that the girl had the same spirit within her.

    But unlike the girl, she had never once let it show, and instead kept that desire locked in the deepest part of her heart. Gongzi Yi was many times more courageous than her in this regard.

    Reality however, stated that not a single soul would care even if she was an imitation. Her capabilities and her skills as a yer were the one doing the talking for her.

    Gongzi Yi was also someone who was aiming for the top. And she was able to force Ye Ci into a rather dire situation, which was a feat that not many could aplish. Fleeting Time, Spotless Autumn, Lethal Poison, and Gongzi Yi were the only ones who were capable of such a thing.

    Ye Ci stole a nce at Gongzi Yi¡¯s Void Dragon. Its chest was still heaving as it gasped for air. The Dragon¡¯s fatigue was still great despite the short rest. It was apparent that the fight had pushed its stamina to the absolute limit. If the fight continued to be dragged on, the Void Dragon might even suffer from injuries.

    Ol¡¯ Six was not doing very well either. Its body was covered in wounds, and some of the deeper wounds were oozing blue blood. She did not know how long her pet wouldst.

    Perhaps sensing her worry, Ol¡¯ Six turned its head to face Ye Ci and let out a growl. She was shocked, but a smile spread across her face. She immediately fired off an arrow at Gongzi Yi. It was an attackunched without a skill. The arrow flew straight and true, whistling through the air at Gongzi Yi.

    Gongzi Yi sneered coldly at Ye Ci. She dodged the arrow, and retaliated with attacks of her own.

    But Ye Ci was not in a hurry to fight back. She turned Ol¡¯ Six around, and flew in evasive patterns in the sky while asionally firing back at her opponent. It seemed like she was attempting to escape.

    Gongzi Yi had also realised that her Void Dragon¡¯s stamina was fast deteriorating. ¡°Gongzi You! Is this how you became the Solo Queen?¡± she shouted at Ye Ci as she gave chase, ¡°By running away in a fight? Come fight me fair and square!¡±

    Ye Ci turned her head around to look at Gongzi Yi. She smiled when she noticed the frustration that was clearly written on her opponent¡¯s face, ¡°Haven¡¯t I been fighting you fair and square? Did I ask for help? Or was I using some sort of BUG to my advantage? So how have I not been fighting fair and square?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t run if you dare, Gongzi You! Stop!¡± Gongzi Yi grew even more distressed as her Dragon¡¯s stamina grew worse.

    Ye Ci stopped Ol¡¯ Six abruptly and smiled at Gongzi Yi who was still far away, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve stopped.¡± she said as she fired off her arrow that wasced with poison at her opponent.

    Gongzi Yi did not expect such a maneuver. She knew that Gongzi You was attempting to push the stamina of her Void Dragon to its limits. She was expecting Gongzi You to continue speeding away until her Dragon¡¯s stamina waspletely depleted. The counterattack caught herpletely off guard.

    She was so surprised by the attack that she did not think of dodging the arrow that buried itself in her chest. While the arrow did not hit her vital spot, it still dealt a significant amount of damage to Gongzi Yi. The poison on the arrow continued to siphon away her HP bit by bit as she evaded more attacks from Gongzi You, while simultaneously gulping down Health Potions to counteract the damage over time effect of the poison.

    While Gongzi Yi was quick, Ye Ci was quicker. She flew Ol¡¯ Six in front of her opponent and attacked with Dragon Breath.

    Despite her Mithril Shirt, Gongzi Yi¡¯s health plunged again. This threw her into a state of panic. She began to flee as she continued to down potion after potion to avoid outright dying to Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s Dragon Breath.

    But Ye Ci¡¯s aim had not been Gongzi Yi all along. She was aiming for the Void Dragon. She had realised that the Void Dragon was not protected by any defensive equipment during the fight. A Void Dragon¡¯s basic defensive stats were not as formidable as a Holy Dragon. It was inferior in many ways in terms of defense and its offensive capabilities.

    And as expected, the Void Dragon could not evade the attack. It let out a sharp wail when the Dragon Breath connected, and its body began to tremble. Gongzi Yi who was riding on the Dragon was losing her bnce. She could not even fight back as her steed was shaking with pain. It was even thinking of turning around to flee.

    Gongzi Yi immediately stopped her steed. But while she was able to stop her steed from fleeing, she quickly noticed a DEBUFF called ¡°Fear¡± on her Dragon. And the description of the DEBUFF caused unease in her heart. The movement speed of her steed was decreased by 30%.

    Her most potent weapon against the Holy Dragon, which was the Void Dragon¡¯s speed, was well and truly nullified. She was at aplete disadvantage in a situation like this. Despite her burning desire to continue the fight, her rationality was still intact. Knowing that continuing the fight would endanger the life of her Void Dragon, she decided to retreat. The life of her steed was way more important than the fight. Gongzi You was going nowhere, but it would not be easy to resurrect a dead Dragon.

    Although she was on the verge of victory, but the price of victory was simply too much to pay. Gong Yi considered her options, and spoke with a voice full of regret, ¡°Gongzi You, we¡¯ll continue our fight next time!¡± and she turned her Dragon around to retreat from the battlefield.

    What she did not expect, however, was the Void Dragon to swing its spiky tail at Gongzi You.

    Ye Ci saw the Void Dragon lifting its tail, and knew what wasing. She attempted to pull Ol¡¯ Six up. Others in the game might not know that Dragons were a very warlike race, and they were very petty in nature. A Dragon could hold a grudge against its enemy, and would do all it can to inflict harm upon its enemy even at the cost of its life.

    The Void Dragon¡¯s acted out of spite for the battle that it had lost.

    And Ye Ci knew that she could not allow the attack to connect.

    But O¡¯ Six acted even quicker than Ye Ci. It was a Dragon, and even when it did not grow up among its kind, its instinct was something that had been imprinted in its blood.

    The first thing it did was to attempt to intercept the Void Dragon¡¯s tail spike before it could hit.

    Dragon scales were extremely thick, and made very good armor. But a Dragon¡¯s tailspike was even tougher than its scales. It was very rare for a Dragon¡¯s scale to withstand an attack from the tailspike of its own kind, and Ol¡¯ Six was not exempted from that rule.

    The Void Dragon¡¯s tailspike sunk deep into Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s flesh. While none of its vitals had been hit, one of the spikes barely missed its heart by the tiniest of margin.

    And the Void Dragon disappeared after letting out a low growl. It was a sign that the Dragon had returned to the pet inventory due to the injuries it sustained.

    Gongzi Yi did not expect the turn of events at all. She was shocked. And as she plunged towards the ground at, she eyed Ol¡¯ Six that was groaning in pain and gave Ye Ci a knowing smile. The fight had ended in a draw.

    While Gongzi Yi was unfazed by the turn of events, Ye Ci was heart broken. Her Ol¡¯ Six! Her Holy Dragon! The fight ended in a draw, but her Dragon had been seriously injured.

    Ye Ci did not want to remain in the air out of fear for the appearance of more aerial steeds. Sheforted Ol¡¯ Six that was struggling to fly towards the fort in pain. The Dragon crashed into the fort, crushing some of the buildings under its weight and throwing Ye Ci clean off its back. She might have died had she not reacted in time.

 Chapter 380 Post Mortem

    Chapter 380 Post Mortem

    Ye Ci jumped down from Ol¡¯ Six, andnded on the streets with a summersault. She immediately ran up to Ol¡¯ Six after she stood back up on her feet.

    Battles were still raging within the fort. Ol¡¯ Six¡¯snding had smashed many of the structures within the fort, and blocked some of the streets as well. The Upwards Ho! members immediately surrounded the Dragon when it crashnded in the fort out of curiosity and out of concern.

    Ol¡¯ Six was wailing in pain on the ground. It lifted its head when it saw Ye Ci approaching. One look at the Dragon¡¯s status showed to Ye Ci that its stats were greatly reduced. And they did not recover even after Ye Ci cast Pet Healing on her Dragon.

    This situation could only be solved by allowing Ol¡¯ Six some rest.

    Purity Essence and Mi Lu descended from the wall. They frowned at the members around Ol¡¯ Six, and Purity Essence began barking outmands to the yers, ¡°Guys, while you¡¯re staring at the Dragon in envy and in awe, Golden Era is feeling lonely! Do you want them to feel sad? Why don¡¯t we show them some of our guild¡¯s courtesy? Get back into the fight gentlemen! If you don¡¯t return to your post, we won¡¯t have a fort tomorrow!¡±

    The man had always been talkative, but the members who knew him well understood that his orders were something that they could not ignore despite his carefree attitude. He was one of the bestmanders in the entire guild, and disobeying his orders would spell trouble for them.

    And that was how Purity Essence was able to disperse the crowd around Ol¡¯ Six. he walked up to Ye Ci who was inspecting the injuries on Ol¡¯ Six, ¡°We have some potions that work well with injuries. I don¡¯t know how well they will work on a pet, but it won¡¯t hurt to try.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ye Ci nodded at Purity Essence and epted the potion from him.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be enough. It¡¯s a Dragon, not a yer.¡± said Mi Lu as he handed more potions to Ye Ci from his inventory.

    Ye Ci epted their potions, and applied them on bandages before covering them on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s wounds. But due to the sheer size of her pet, Ye Ci could only tend to the more serious wounds as the potions were simply not enough. Ol¡¯ Six was wailing with a low voice all the time, as if it had something that it was trying tomunicate with Ye Ci.

    She petted the Dragon on its head. She knew that things could not go on as it was, and pulled out the few remaining Super Pet Cores from her inventory. Ol¡¯ Six was not at a stage where it could evolve, but she Pet Cores could be used to treat the wounds of a pet.

    Ye Ci did not know what would happen to Ol¡¯ Six, but it was the only way.

    The risks were great, but she had to take it.

    Ye Ci looked at Ol¡¯ Six, and the Dragon saw the Super Pet Cores in her clutches. It immediately understood what Ye Ci was trying to do. It hummed softly at Ye Ci, seemingly agreeing to it, and closed its eyes. She held the cores near Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s mouth, and the Dragon swallowed them all with a flick of its tongue. ¡°Everything will be alright, Ol¡¯ Six¡± Ye Ci murmured to her pet, ¡°Go to sleep, and everything will be alright.¡±

    Ol¡¯ Six, seemingly understanding Ye Ci¡¯s words, let out a low hum, and drifted into sleep. The Super Pet Core was starting to take effect as well, as Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s scales began emitting a faint glow.

    Ye Ci dismissed Ol¡¯ Six back into her pet inventory, and the Dragon¡¯s status had changed from ¡°Can be summoned¡± to ¡°Evolving¡±. She was anxious, as she did not know what effects it would have on Ol¡¯ Six.

    But the ongoing battle still took priority in Ye Ci¡¯s mind. She looked at Purity Essence and Mi Lu and asked, ¡°Which area are you two in charge of?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re in charge of the defence of the walls.¡± came the reply from Purity Essence.

    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once we get to the walls.¡± replied Mi Lu, and the trio began making their way to the fort¡¯s wall while they discussed the situation of the battle..

    Upwards Ho! was no longer in a dire situation. The Golden Era guild has apparently underestimated the readiness of Upwards Ho! for a fight. While their light siege weapons were able to damage the fort¡¯s walls to a certain extent, the massive defensive guns of Upwards Ho! had also exacted a heavy toll on the Golden Era yers.

    A report from Upwards Ho!¡¯s Rogue squadron mentioned at least thirty thousand pieces of equipment recovered from their dead enemies. While the losses of Upwards Ho! was not at all small, but Golden Era¡¯s equipment was of high quality. The equipment salvaged from the battlefield could easily make up for the losses that were suffered by Upwards Ho!, while the loss of the flying machine was a heavy blow to Golden Era.

    Despite their fewer numbers, the yers of Upwards Ho! was not affected by attrition due to the presence of NPCs in the fort. Golden Era¡¯s yers were not able to replenish their consumables, and their only option was to call for a retreat after the heavy losses they have suffered.

    Timely Rain began overseeing the repairs on the fort after the battle, while Ye Ci attended a meeting of the guild¡¯s officers.

    The aim of the meeting was to analyze the battle that had taken ce, and as someone who has not fought at the front lines, Ye Ci had nothing to say. She sat at a corner and listened to Bai Mo, Fruit Jelly, Let Go Of That Girl, A Golden Man, and the other officers as they conducted a post mortem of the battle.

    She stared out of the windows, at the guild members who were putting their backs into the repairs. The fort was bustling with activity. It was as if the yers were celebrating their victory with a banquet in the fort. They might be fatigued, but their morale remained high.

    ¡°Gongzi... Old Mo is talking to you.¡± Ye Ci was pulled back into reality from her daze by a slight nudge from Fruit Jelly.

    She looked at Bai Mo and asked, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m asking if you have anyments to make about the battle.¡± Bai Mo noticed Ye Ci staring out of the window, but there was nothing he could do. She had always been uninterested in meetings such as this, and would rather be out leveling up.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to add.¡± but something shed across Ye Ci¡¯s mind right after she spoke, ¡°Wait, I just remembered something.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°The yers who fought against me just now. They¡¯re all equipped with Mithril Shirts. Where did they get those?¡±

    Bai Mo was shocked, ¡°It might be the few that we sold. The yers who bought them hid their name. I did not expect Golden Era to be the buyers.¡±

    Ye Ci did not immediately respond, and instead thought silently for a short moment before asking yet another question, ¡°How are our guild¡¯s Mithril Shirts sold?¡±

    ¡°We would usually ce them on auction, or sell them directly to the other guilds.¡± replied Pickled Pepper Phoenix w, ¡°Our transactions were all recorded.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not about the ounts.¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°I¡¯m just thinking that we¡¯ll have more trouble in our hands in theing days. From their actions today, Golden Era seems to have found out about our Mithril ore vein, and they want it.¡± she continued after a slight pause, ¡°Death Blossom contacted me before. They wanted to buy Mithril from us, but I declined her offer. I guess they¡¯re now trying to obtain it by force.¡±

    ¡°Our guild is growing. And while we¡¯re maintaining a monopoly on the Mithril Shirts, we stillck funding. Have you thought of seeking investments like the other major guilds?¡± Bai Mo gave Ye Ci a meaningful look.

    But Ye Ci could not understand the meaning he was trying to convey, ¡°You¡¯re the guild leader. It¡¯s up to you to decide. I¡¯m more suited to be fighting in the front lines.¡± she let out a sigh, ¡°I think we should prioritize on leveling up.¡±

    ¡°What are you nning?¡± asked Bai Mo.

    Ye Ci did not respond to the question. She stared out of the window for a long time before saying to Bai Mo, ¡°There¡¯s something I have to deal with. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± to the confusion of the officers.

    And Bai Mo received a private message from Ye Ci at the same time, ¡°We might have a spy in our midst.¡±

 Chapter 381 Alliance

    Chapter 381 Alliance

    Ye Ci could see nothing but destruction as she walked out of the conference room. The fort was in aplete mess. Many of its buildings were damaged by Golden Era¡¯s sieges weapons, and many of its facilities were crippled by hooded saboteurs that went unnoticed during the heat of the battle. Ye Ci stood surveying the aftermath of the battle for quite a while before pulling up her hood and headed to the entrance of the fort.

    A hooded figure was waiting for her at the entrance. She tilted her head to a side and smiled, ¡°Why are you here? This is the Eastern Continent. Are you not afraid that you¡¯ll get attacked by the members of my guild?¡±

    The figure pulled down his hood, and smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°These are trying times. We might be yers of opposing continents, but we¡¯re also allies. I have a feeling that I¡¯ll be alright.¡±

    ¡°Trying time?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, ¡°Does our fight with Golden Era count?¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be if it¡¯s just you against them.¡± he chuckled.

    ¡°Oh? You fought against them as well?¡± Ye Ci smiled. She would have long heard about it if it was the case, ¡°Come on Fleeting Time, I hate it when people beat around the bush.¡±

    Fleeting Time shrugged and imitated her tone, ¡°Little Gongzi, I don¡¯t like it when I¡¯m threatened.¡±

    And the two shared a look before breaking intoughter.

    It felt strange to Ye Ci, as they have never had such an interaction before.

    They would always fight whenever they met, until they made the decision to try out their new rtionship.

    It felt new to Ye Ci.

    They were able to talk to each other openly, with no secrets hidden in their hearts.

    Ye Ci tilted her head. It was apparent that she was fatigued. Even the usual intensity in her eyes had died down. The fight against Gongzi Yi had exacted a heavy toll on her.

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes and asked much to Ye Ci¡¯s confusion, ¡°How good was the person with the Void Dragon.¡± How did he know? Of course, the question did not leave Ye Ci¡¯s mouth. She knew that Fleeting Time had his own ways of acquiring the information, ¡°I felt like I was fighting myself.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°Everything she does is just like me. Feels like I¡¯m looking at a mirror.¡± and Ye Ci quickly remembered the time when she started ying as a Huntress. She had also been imitating the ystyle of Fleeting Time, ¡°How did you feel when you fought against me for the first time? Did it feel like looking into a mirror as well?¡±

    Fleeting Time smiled in response, ¡°How can that be? If it¡¯s a mirror, then my opponent should be a man.¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head, and Fleeting Time continued, ¡°Well in a way it does seem like it. Our ystyles were quite simr, but you have an advantage of your own. And it made me feel the difference between the two of us.¡±

    ¡°And what is that advantage?¡±

    ¡°You fight with reckless abandonment, while I¡¯m more cautious.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... It sure don¡¯t feel that way.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a concept that we¡¯ve interpreted differently.¡± Fleeting Time exined, ¡°One can only deal out the highest amount of damage by staying alive.¡± he chuckled, ¡°That is the truth. But the way you interpreted it ispletely different.¡±

    ¡°You would always take risks while I tend to avoid them. While we might have simr fighting styles, we have very different philosophies in battle. And that was why I can feel that we were different.¡±

    Ye Ci beganparing herself with Gongzi Yi after listening to Fleeting Time¡¯s words, and the man did nothing to distract her from her train of thoughts. He instead turned his head around to look at Upwards Ho!¡¯s fort.

    Our way of fighting was affected by our mentality? A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face as she thought of the fight. Fleeting Time was right. She quickly realised that she had always been fighting with the knowledge that she might die in each fight.

    While Gongzi Yi had a simr fighting style, shecked Ye Ci¡¯s fear of death. If she was Gongzi Yi, she would have continued the pursuit even if the Void Dragon was at its limits.

    The slight lull in the fight was what gave Ye Ci the opportunity to seize victory from the jaws of defeat.

    Gongzi Yi might have imitated her skill, but her will was something the yer was never able to replicate. It was an advantage that she would never be able to match.

    ¡°By the way, you haven¡¯t answered my question yet.¡± Ye Ci smiled at Fleeting Time.

    ¡°And what was it again?¡±

    ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Will you believe me if I tell you that I have to help out my inws since they¡¯re in trouble?¡± Fleeting Time shamelessly dered with a very seductive smile on his face.

    But Ye Ci remained unaffected. ¡°It¡¯s still too early to make that conclusion.¡± Ye Ci snorted, ¡°Nothing is absolute.¡±

    Fleeting Time sighed, and shook his head, ¡°Golden Era came looking for us. They wanted to be partners.¡±

    ¡°Golden Era is way bigger than Genesis. Do they even need to work with you?¡± Ye Ci was confused, ¡°With their new recruits added into their original number, they might even be able to dominate the game.¡±

    ¡°They realised that they¡¯ve made too many enemies. If they don¡¯ty low, the major guilds will simply wipe them out before they can grow. They¡¯ve beenying pretty low this time.¡± Fleeting Time smiled.

    ¡°Have they now?¡± Ye Ciughed, ¡°Doesn¡¯t feel like it.¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s all rtive.¡±

    Indeed. This is not how Golden Era used to do things. Thought Ye Ci. ¡°Were they seeking an alliance against the other guilds? I don¡¯t think Absalom would agree to something like that. Besides, your guild is quite reputable. epting their proposal would only ce you in an awkward spot.¡±

    ¡°They came to talk about Mithril.¡± Fleeting Time finally stopped beating around the bush, ¡°And the price they offered for our ores was quite high. Absalom did not agree, and they offered us another term.¡±

    Ye Ci could feel unease creeping into her heart, ¡°They wanted you to join them in their fight against us, didn¡¯t they?¡± she frowned.

    ¡°My, my. You sure know them well.¡± Fleeting Time nodded, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what they proposed. The ore vein in the Southern Continent is locked, while the rest were controlled by Genesis, Heavenly Body and Upwards Ho!. Genesis and Heavenly Body are bothrge guilds, but Upwards Ho!...¡± a smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face, ¡°Who will you choose as your target if you¡¯re Golden Era? Upwards Ho! will definitely be my choice.¡±

    Despite her anger, Ye Ci knew that Fleeting Time was right. Upwards Ho! was small, new, and did not have the backing of any third parties.

    ¡°So what did Absalom decide?¡± Ye Ci could guess that the offer was declined, but she still decided to ask.

    ¡°Ah, that shameless man would¡¯ve epted their offer if it¡¯s not for my objection out of consideration for my own happiness.¡± Fleeting Timeughed.

    Ye Ciughed as well. She could imagine Absalom¡¯s disturbed expression.

    ¡°I bet he¡¯s not very happy about it.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯m here.¡± Fleeting Time looked at Ye Ci, ¡°Genesis would like to be the first guild to form an alliance with a guild from a hostile continent. Of course, it would be a formal alliance recognized by the system. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I think you should talk to Remote Depths about it.¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips.

    ¡°Of course. But...¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯ve missed you.¡±

 Chapter 382 In Real Life

    Chapter 382 In Real Life

    Breeze reported his progress in the game to Mr.Shu over the phone. ¡°Upwards Ho! is tough. What¡¯s the background? Why did all the major guilds refuse to work with you against them? Do you know why?¡±

    Breeze pursed his lips. It was a topic that he did not like, ¡°There are many guilds in Fate. They¡¯re not the only ones we can contact. I¡¯m sure somebody will eventually agree to our terms.¡±

    But Mr.Shu was not satisfied with his response, ¡°I hope so.¡± he snorted, ¡°And I hope that you can achieve the objective that I¡¯ve set for you.¡±

    ¡°Did you not give me three years? It¡¯s not even half a year yet. Why do you want to end it so soon?¡± While he was paid, Breeze had his own ways in doing things. A frown appeared on his face at the change made by Mr.Shu.

    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. I won¡¯t pay you anything less.¡± and Mr.Shu immediately ended the call.

    Breeze let out an exasperated sigh as he stared at his phone. He was not worried about the payment, but Mr.Shu was disrupting his ns. And this made Breeze angry.

    He leaned back against his chair and sat for a long while before making his way into his studies, where two gaming cabins, one for him and another for Death Blossom, were ced. Death Blossom was already in the game leveling up. She had been diligently leveling up since her battle with Genesis. When asked, the only response was that there was someone she must surpass at all cost.

    Breeze knew that the person was Gongzi You. And with how things were going, Death Blossom might not get the chance she wanted to face off against Gongzi You, for the man who hired them for the job wanted their schedule sped up.

    Of course, Mr.Shu did it not without a reason. He had sessfully poached most of Fate¡¯s developers into hispany. Glory Corporation¡¯s game was hanging by the thread. With most of the developers gone, the remaining staff in thepany were being stretched to their limits. It was the end of the road for many of them. As long as Golden Era could be thergest guild in Fate, they would be able to destroy Fate when thepany¡¯s <martial god="" ol=""> was released into the market.</martial>

    ¡°Jiangnan, haven¡¯t you thought of going over to Heaven and Earth?¡± Big Zhang turned his head and looked at Wang Jiangnan who was writing a program on hisputer, ¡°They should¡¯ve sent you an offer as well.¡±

    ¡°They should¡¯ve sent one your way as well. So why are you here?¡± Wang Jiangnan¡¯s eyes remained glued to the screen of hisputer, as if nothing else in the world mattered to him.

    Big Zhang chuckled and leaned back against his chair with his arms crossed behind his head. More than two thirds of the development team were gone. The department that would usually be bustling with activity was empty.

    He sighed, ¡°I¡¯m just like you. I came to Glory from Heaven and Earth. Won¡¯t I be aughingstock if I go back now?¡± and he grimaced, ¡°Besides, I really love Fate. I don¡¯t think I can bring myself to abandon it.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan¡¯s fingers that were cking on his keyboard stopped, ¡°Is that how you truly feel?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Why does it sound so cornying from a corporate ve like you?¡± Wang Jiangnan chuckled.

    Big Zhang punched Wang Jiangnan lightly on his chest, ¡°Oh, f*ck off. At least I¡¯m a slightly smarter corporate ve. I¡¯m not a single-minded drone like you who would walk down only a single path no matter where it leads.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan returned his attention to the monitor with a smile, ¡°Hey, that path will not necessarily lead to a dead end.¡± and he unconsciously nced at the group photo that was ced beside his monitor, at the smile on Ye Ci¡¯s face.

    ¡°What¡¯s with that photo of yours anyways? There¡¯s not a single prettydy in there. Well she¡¯s probably one of the better looking ones.¡± Big Zhang took the photo from Wang Jiangnan¡¯s desk and pointed at Fang Susu. His eyes then drifted to Ye Ci who stood beside Wang Jiangnan, ¡°Oh wait, there¡¯s this queen here as well.¡±

    ¡°Queen?¡± Wang Jiangnan peered over to his colleague, ¡°Who are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°This one. She¡¯s not a looker, but just look at her. ¡®Queen¡¯ is probably the word best suited to describe her.¡± Big ZHang pointed at Ye Ci, ¡°I think this aura is something that she¡¯s born with. It¡¯s not a matter of age. She looks quite young. It¡¯ll be even more obvious when she grows older.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan responded with a smile. That¡¯s right. She¡¯s just like a queen. And he returned his attention back to his program.

    When Wang Jiangnan returned to his office from lunch, Big Zhang ran up to him, panicked, ¡°We¡¯re done for, Jiangnan. We¡¯re finished for real.¡± he said in a hushed voice.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Boss Yu is leaving.¡± Big Zhang frowned. The name mentioned was the lead developer of Fate, Yu Ping, which was known by his colleagues as ¡®Boss Yu¡¯.

    ¡°He¡¯s leaving? Where to?¡± Wang Jiangnan was surprised.

    ¡°He¡¯s joining Heaven and Earth!¡± Big Zhang dared not raise his voice, but his panic was clear.

    ¡°What?¡± Wang Jiangnan stood up, knocking over his work chair in the process. Big Zhang immediately reached for the chair, but was not able to reach it in time. The news was very impactful to Wang Jiangnan, and Yu Ping was the person who introduced him to this job, and was his immediate superior.

    He loves Fate so much. Wang Jiangnan had once thought. He¡¯ll never leave Glory, and he¡¯ll never leave Fate even if I do. But reality had proven him wrong. The disappointment Wang Jiangnan felt was something that could not be described with words.

    He immediately attempted to give Yu Ping a call, but was stopped by Big Zhang, ¡°I tried. His phone was switched off.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan¡¯s eyes widened. He could not believe what he heard. He pped Big Zhang¡¯s hand away, and dialed Yu Ping¡¯s number. His colleague could only let out a sigh as he made the call.

    And as expected, Wang Jiangnan¡¯s call was redirected to Yu Ping¡¯s voicemail box. And when he rushed to the man¡¯s office, it was already empty.

    He looked out of the window from Yu Ping¡¯s office. The gleaming sunshine shone into the silent office, and he suddenly saw Yu Ping in the lounge, ¡°Boss Yu! Boss Yu!¡± he called out to him.

    Yu Ping heard a voice calling for him, and looked up to see Wang Jiangnan on the third floor. He stopped, and smiled at the young man, ¡°Jiangnan.¡±

    ¡°Wait for me!¡± shouted Wang Jiangnan and he immediately sprinted to the lounge, where Yu Ping stood waiting for him. ¡°Boss Yu, why are you leaving? Is it because of money?¡± he asked as she was still gasping for air.

    Yu Ping smiled at his most valued subordinate. The young man was very talented, and was very serious about his work, ¡°Jiangnan, not everything can be solved with money.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you doing this!?¡±

    ¡°If everything in this world can be exined, the world will not be the way it is.¡± it was apparent that Yu Ping did not wish to discuss the topic any further. He patted Wang Jiangnan on the shoulders, ¡°Goodbye, Jiangnan.¡± and left towards the parking lot.

    Wang Jiangnan stood frozen in the lounge. Despite the scorching sunlight beaming down on him, he could only feel a bone-chilling cold.

    It took him a long while to push past the doors to the director¡¯s office. He walked up to the secretary and spoke with a calm voice, ¡°Secretary Yan, I¡¯d like to speak to the director.¡±

    Secretary Yan looked up at Wang Jiangnan and offered him a smile. She called into the office and after a brief conversation, hung up the phone, ¡°The director said that if you¡¯re here to resign, you can head straight to Human Resources.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not here to resign.¡± Wang Jiangnan took a deep breath and stared at Secretary Yan.

    Secretary Yan was surprised. Most of the director¡¯s visitors were there to hand in their resignation letter. She stood up, nodded at Wang Jiangnan, and led him into the director¡¯s office, ¡°Director, Wang Jiangnan of the development team would like to talk to you

 Chapter 383 Self Recommendation

    Chapter 383 Self Rmendation

    This was not Wang Jiangnan¡¯s first time in the office of Glory Corporation¡¯s director, but this was perhaps one of his most anxious moments in the office. Secretary Yan closed the door behind him as he walked into the office.

    Wang Jiangnan stood awkwardly by the door as he stared at the man sitting behind arge office table who was focused on the screen on hisputer. He was typing away on his keyboard.

    The man was the person in charge of the entire Glory Corporation. He a man nearing his forties, and despite his status, did not have on him expensive watches or fountain pens. The man had an aura about him that could reassure the people around him.

    ¡°Director Qiao.¡± Wang Jiangnan called out to the man.

    Qiao Liang lifted his head and smiled when he saw Wang Jiangnan. Even Wang Jiangnan had to admit that age is probably the best essory that could be worn by a man. While Qiao Liang¡¯s clothing was not expensive, he still gave off an air of maturity and elegance that presented him as superior to his subordinates and his business partners.

    ¡°Have a seat Jiangnan, I¡¯m working on something right now.¡± Qiao Liang motioned for Wang Jiangnan to have a seat before returning his attention to work.

    Wang Jiangnan¡¯s eyes drifted to the many things in the office as he sat in front of Qiao Liang, and finally settled on arge poster to his right. It was a poster promoting Fate¡¯s closed beta test, but was never released to the public. The developers of the game had all signed their names on the poster before Fate was officiallyunched.

    He had been in the director¡¯s office on several asions before, but this was the only time he noticed the poster. The characters on the poster were not unique, but the names of many of his colleagues were written on the poster.

    Wang Jiangnan found it ironic. Many of the names have already left thepany.

    It was indeed a troubling time.

    The sight of the poster filled him with nothing but sorrow.

    Qiao Liang¡¯s voice snapped Wang Jiangnan out of his daze, ¡°It was very lively back then, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Director Qiao...¡± Wang Jiangnan opened his mouth to speak, but could not muster a response.

    Qiao Liang was looking at the poster, but there was no hint of sadness on his face, ¡°Compared to now, at least.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan was shocked by how calm the director was. He knew that thepany was facing huge difficulties at the moment, and he could not understand why the man sitting before him was still brimming with content and confidence, just like how he was when thepany was at its peak.

    ¡°Director Qiao, are you sad that so many have left?¡± Wang Jiangnan asked after a long moment of hesitation.

    ¡°Sad?¡± Qiao Liang turned around to look at Wang Jiangnan, appearing to seriously ponder his question, ¡°Why would I feel sad?¡±

    Wang Jiangnan was caught off guard by the question. It took him a long while before he could respond, ¡°Thepany had lost so many employees because of Heaven and Earth. Aren¡¯t y-you...¡± and he could not find the words to continue his sentence.

    Qiao Liang chuckled at him, ¡°Just because of that? If it¡¯s because of that, there¡¯s nothing to be sad about. Peoplee together by chance of Fate. Even a child must part way with its mother at some point in life when the time is up. There¡¯s no need to be sad. We still have a long road ahead of us.¡±

    A smile finally appeared on Wang Jiangnan¡¯s lips after a long while. The director was like a mountain that would not yield to the elements. It was one thing to preach about such a thing, and it took strength to truly live out such words. There was a reason why the man was at his current position at such a young age.

    ¡°Alright Jiangnan. What sort of business do you have with me? You¡¯re not here to resign, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not here to have a heart to heart with me either.¡± Qiao Liang crossed his arms on his desk and stared intently at Wang Jiangnan.

    The young man was looking at Qiao Liang, as if he did not hear what the director said.

    ¡°Jiangnan?¡± Qiao Liang called out to him again when he continued remaining silent.

    Wang Jiangnan then took in a deep breath, stood up, and walked up to Qiao Liang. He straightened his back, trying his best to calm his raging nerves, ¡°Director Qiao, I saw Boss Yu leaving just now.¡±

    Qiao Liang raised his eyebrow. He was not surprised, ¡°Indeed. He handed in his resignation letter two hours ago. You¡¯ve all learned about it already? Not bad. News sure travels fast.¡±

    ¡°Director Qiao...¡± Wang Jiangnan licked his lips. But he was cut off by Qiao Liang before his words could leave his mouth, ¡°Jiangnan, if you¡¯re here to ask why Yu Ping left, I¡¯m sorry but I can¡¯t tell you. Is there anything else?¡±

    ¡°I... I¡¯m not here because of that.¡± Wang Jiangnan shook his head.

    ¡°Oh? Then why are you here?¡± Qiao Liang¡¯s interest was piqued. Wang Jiangnan was the youngest developer in thepany. He was so handsome that even Qiao Liang felt that Wang Jiangnan had wasted his appearance by not choosing a career as an actor.

    But Wang Jiangnan was also one of the most hardworking employees in thepany. And this was a quality that Qiao Liang respected. The young man had grown a lot during his two years working as a Glory Corporation employee.

    But this was not why Qiao Liang was willing to spare so much time for Wang Jiangnan.

    There was also another quality he found in the young man. His loyalty.

    The young developer refused to leave thepany even when his best friend Yu Ping chose to leave. Qiao Liang did not know why the young man made such a decision, but he wanted to meet with Wang Jiangnan, and he wanted to listen to what the young man had to say to him.

    Wang Jiangnan lowered his head. Ye Ci¡¯s words were still fresh in his mind. She once told him to not give up on his dreams. Are you short on money? Is it really worth it to betray your dreams because of that?

    He took a deep breath, ¡°Director Qiao, do you have a suitable candidate for the position of lead developer yet?¡±

    ¡°I do not have one yet. What is it? Do you have a candidate?¡± Qiao Liang could already guess Wang Jiangnan¡¯s intention when he heard the question. He had been in touch with many of the talented developers in the industry, but none of them had shown an interest in joining thepany, ¡°If it¡¯s suitable, I don¡¯t mind considering that person.¡±

    ¡°Director Qiao, have you considered me as a candidate?¡± Wang Jiangnan said with a smile. It was a question that had long since been kept in his heart.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Qiao Liang was caughtpletely off guard.

    And Wang Jiangnan immediately seized the opportunity to press the attack, ¡°I know that I¡¯m still young, andck the experience. But Director Qiao, I¡¯m here today not because of the spur of the moment. I¡¯ve thought about it. The industry needs new ideas, and young men like me can help foster new ideas in the game. I¡¯m the youngest person in the development team, but doesn¡¯t it mean that I¡¯ll have more time to devote myself to the growth of Fate? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen my work, and I¡¯m confident that I¡¯m on par with, if not better than, the experienced developers in our industry.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re here in hopes that you¡¯ll get the chance to see in what way you¡¯ll burn Fate to the ground?¡± asked Qiao Liang.

    ¡°What about a chance to bring Fate to apletely new height?¡± Wang Jiangnan was flowing with confidence at that very moment.

 Chapter 384 For My Dreams

    Chapter 384 For My Dreams

    Qiao Liang stared at Wang Jiangnan for a long time before finally saying with an eyebrow raised, ¡°You sure are an arrogant one, Wang Jiangnan.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m simply just supernaturally confident.¡±

    ¡°Confident?¡± Qiao Liang smiled, ¡°If you do not have the capability to back up your confidence, then you¡¯re arrogant.¡±

    ¡°Have you not seen what I¡¯m capable of, Director Qiao?¡±

    ¡°I believe in your abilities as a developer, but not as the head of the development team.¡± Qiao Liang was very direct, ¡°These are very different positions. And it decides the future of Fate. I have to take a very high risk to trust in you.¡±

    ¡°Heaven and Earth is preparing tounch their game.¡± Wang Jiangnan spread his arms open, ¡°They¡¯ve not only poached employees from us. They¡¯re bringing in developers from all over the industry. Director Qiao, surely you¡¯ve realised that it¡¯s not that easy to hire someone as good as Boss Yu anymore. Glory Corporation is facing its greatest challenge yet. Things can¡¯t get any worse, can they?¡±

    Qiao Liang drummed his fingers against his table. This was why he preferred to have younger people in hispany. They were always full of vigor, and would not give up easily.

    Humans tend to lose their courage as they grow older. The younger generation was exactly what he needed in hispany.

    ¡°Can I reject your proposal?¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Qiao Liangughed, ¡°I¡¯m the one in charge of thepany, why can¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°Because nobody will give up on a chance to rise to the top once again. And that includes you, me, even Fate.¡± Wang Jiangnan leaned forward and stared into Qiao Liang¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Wang Jiangnan, I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s confidence or arrogance I see in you.¡±

    And Qiao Liang smiled. This was his first sincere smile since Wang Jiangnan entered his office.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care, as long as I seed.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Qiao Liang raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re willing to give me the chance.¡±

    Qiao Liang leaned back against his chair and stared at Wang Jiangnan before breaking into a smile, ¡°Alright, I can give you a chance. You¡¯ll be in charge of the next patch. If it goes well, I¡¯ll formally appoint you as the lead developer. You¡¯re the substitute lead developer for now, but I will not hesitate to rece you if I have a better candidate. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a deal!¡± Wang Jiangnan smiled brightly. There was a childlike excitement in his expression that was contagious.

    ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll get someone to prepare the documents. You can leave now.¡± Qiao Liang nodded.

    ¡°Thank you, Director Qiao!¡± Wang Jiangnan was practically beaming as he left the director¡¯s office.

    Qiao Liang called out to Wang Jiangnan just before he pushed open the door to the office, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind the question, have you received an offer from Heaven and Earth?¡±

    ¡°I did. A long time ago.¡± Wang Jiangnan turned around to face Qiao Liang, he did not wish to keep it a secret.

    ¡°What sort of sry did they offer?¡± Qiao Liang was calm as he asked the question.

    He grimaced when he received an answer from Wang Jiangnan, ¡°It¡¯s a very high sry. At least, I can never offer you something like that. Why have you never considered joining them, Wang Jiangnan?¡±

    Wang Jiangnan blinked, and responded with a smile, ¡°To be truthful with you, I have considered the option. But I changed my mind after someone said to me, ¡®Are you short of money? Is it worth it to betray your dreams?¡¯. That was when I realised what I truly wanted.¡± he continued after a pause, ¡°My dream was to bring Fate to sess. And I will work hard until I achieve my dreams.¡±

    Qiao Liang¡¯s expression softened upon hearing those words. He nodded as an indication that Wang Jiangnan was free to leave his office. The director of Glory Corporation turned his chair to face the window behind him when Wang Jiangnan left. A dream? I once had a dream too. And now...

    I am realizing that dream with those who share it.

    Fate is not just a game. It is the culmination of countless dreams.

    Ol¡¯ Six was still evolving, while it had been very quiet in the game. Upwards Ho! yers continued the routine of leveling up and dungeon exploring. Even Golden Era was exceptionally silent and had been ignoring the provocation of the major guilds.

    The days had grown so quiet and peaceful that Ye Ci was not used to it.

    A number of guilds have attempted to dere war on Golden Era, and Ye Ci had joined their ranks to aid them against the guild. But Golden Era remained silent, and was ignoring all derations of war.

    Ye Ci even had an urge to talk to Breeze or Death Blossom. Are you guys alright? What sort of new schemes are you guys up to? Do you know what your silence is giving me a lot of pressure?

    Ye Ci sat by the fountain in front of Golden Era¡¯s lvl6 Guild Encampment on the Middle Continent. She was eyeing it with envy and jealousy. As expected of a financially backed guild. They¡¯re able to afford something like this not long after entering the game! Upwards Ho! on the other hand, was not able to progress as fast as Golden Era.

    Fleeting Time sat beside Ye Ci and handed her some supplies, ¡°What¡¯s with all the resentment? I don¡¯t remember doing anything to you.

    Ye Ci rolled at her at Fleeting Time, ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m not from a rich guild like you.¡±

    Fleeting Time nced at Golden Era¡¯s guild encampment, and at the members who were walking in and out of the encampment who were avoiding Ye Ci¡¯s resentful gaze, ¡°Can you not re at them like this? You¡¯re making their members very ufortable.¡±

    ¡°This is a public area.¡± Ye Ci was still highly dissatisfied with Golden Era for ignoring the derations of war.

    Fleeting Time stood up and took in a deep breath, ¡°I have to go offline now. Are you nning to level up somewhereter?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± replied Ye Ci as she continued ring at Golden Era¡¯s guild encampment.

    ¡°Be careful.¡± Fleeting Time was slightly exasperated by Ye Ci. Despite their rtionship, Ye Ci was not very enthusiastic about it. They were merely interacting with one another like party members who knew each other very well.

    Ye Ci would never reject his advances, but would never take the initiative to reciprocate as well. Fleeting Time knew not what she was thinking. It felt like he was punching a lump of wool with all his might.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ye Ci knew that Fleeting Time was staring at her, and she did not know how to react to his intense gaze. She ended up pretending not to notice, much to Fleeting Time¡¯s frustration.

    He let out a sigh before logging off the game. And it was a sigh that Ye Ci did not miss.

    I shouldn¡¯t have said that! I shouldn¡¯t have told him that I¡¯ll try liking him! It¡¯s not something I¡¯m good at, but why did I try? What should I do as a girlfriend?

    Should I be more gentle and caring with him? Ye Ci imagined herself behaving like Dong Yin around Fleeting Time, and could immediately feel a shiver traveling down her spine. Okay, that¡¯s really disgusting.

    But haven¡¯t I been too passive in this rtionship? Should I try saying something like ¡®I love you¡¯? What should I do?

    Ye Ci had never faced something like this before in herst life, and she had almost forgotten everything in that regard. Should I ask Fang Susu about this? Wait, nevermind. She¡¯ll probably just make fun of me.

    This is giving me a headache. Whatever, I¡¯ll just go level up first.

    With that, she summoned Ol¡¯ Four and headed to the entrance of the city.

 Chapter 385 Things That A Reincarnator Is Bad At

    Chapter 385 Things That A Reincarnator Is Bad At

    Reincarnators enjoy several advantages, and one of them was knowing what would happen in the future. While Ye Ci as a reincarnator might be ignorant of world events, there was one thing that she knew very well: what would happen in the game.

    She had been working hard to achieve what she had, but most of her sess could be attributed to her knowledge as a reincarnator.

    Despite being a reincarnator and a top-tier yer in the game, she would still have to face her exams...

    She had been resting at home for an entire semester due to her injuries, but this did not save her from the fate of taking her exams. Ye Ci the reincarnator felt like she could cry the day before her exam. Why can¡¯t I receive super intelligence like the main characters in those novels? Why must I still sit through exams as a reincarnator? Dear Lord, can¡¯t you just grant me full marks for all my papers? Or at least stop me from failing?

    But her thoughts were not in line with reality. Despite Bai Mo¡¯s best efforts in tutoring her, she was still afflicted by the exam hysteria that affects students all over the world before their exams.

    Ye Ci barely had any sleep as she tossed and turned on bed throughout the night. She was woken up by Zuo Xian just when she was about to drift into sleep. She was in a daze as she pushed past the door of her house after having a quick shower and breakfast.

    Bai Mo was already waiting for Ye Ci as she left the house with a deadpan expression, ¡°Ohe on, what¡¯s with that expression? It¡¯s such a fine day! Did you just fail your suicide attempt or something?¡±

    Ye Ci sneezed when the cold air blew past her. ¡°No. I did not fail. I¡¯m on my way to meet my death.¡± said Bai Mo as she walked up to him.

    ¡°What? Are you worried about your exams?¡± Bai Mo raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Can you not?¡± Ye Ci was expressionless as she jabbed her hand into the pockets of her jacket as she walked out of her housing area.

    Bai Mo followed after her and asked, ¡°What is it? Is my tuition not enough?¡±

    ¡°Can you please stop?¡± Despite herck of expression, Ye Ci¡¯s heart was filled with anxiety.

    Bai Mo was shocked. He had been doing very well in his studies, and was highly requested by his ssmates to join their study group. But his best efforts seemed to not work on Ye Ci.

    The duo stayed gloomy all the way to campus, and the mood would stay that way until their exams were finally finished.

    Fang Susu let out a yawn and stretched herself. She was a hardworking girl who was able to keep up with her studies despite being in a rtionship and an active member of Conquering The Heavens.

    While she might not be the cream of the crop, she could still pass an exam with ease. The same however, could not be said for Ye Ci.

    ¡°Hey, the first thing you did aftering back to campus is to sit for an exam? Count me impressed.¡± Fang Susu said with a smile.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m finished...¡± Ye Ci¡¯s face was a mask of sorrow.

    ¡°Why? Are you going to fail the subject just now?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± her expression grew even sadder.

    ¡°Then what?¡± to Fang Susu, Ye Ci was someone who was so strong that she was unnatural. There was nothing that she could not aplish.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ll fail all my subjects.¡± Ye Ci slumped onto the table.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding right? They¡¯re very easy, and many of the questions in the papers were important points that have already been marked down by our lecturers. Haven¡¯t I lent you my notes?¡± Fang Susu blinked in surprise.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression grew stiff. She could not tell Fang Susu that she had forgotten all about the notes due to the long time she spent in game. She¡¯ll not kill me... will she? ¡°Susu.. Those questions... They know who I am, but I don¡¯t know what they are...¡±

    Fang Susu blinked and guffawed at Ye Ci. She had never thought that Ye Ci would be caught in a helpless situation. It had destroyed her air of invincibility and made her appear more approachable.

    The results for the exams were released after a few days. Ye Ci let out a long sigh of relief when she saw her results. Thank God, I was able to pass everything. As long as she was able to receive her graduation certificate, her results meant nothing to her.

    A long semester break awaited Ye Ci after her exam. It was something that students looked forward to the most, as it meant that they could throw themselves into their games without restraint.

    But the holiday had an entirely different meaning for Tan Png. He had finally received an offer letter from the university. A new chapter of his life would soon begin, signifying his days struggling as a highschool student. He would finally be able to catch up in levels and equipment.

    He was young, but was also a very talented yer. He was able to quickly obtain equipment and raise his level after devoting his time to the game. It was only a matter of time before Tan Png would be admitted into the first squadron of Upwards Ho!.

    Ye Ci¡¯s progress in game, however, was not as smooth as Tan Png¡¯s. She was stuck at the Kira Mountain Range.

    Two months had passed since she started exploring the map, but she was not able to locate the birthce of the Elves due to theplex terrain and sheer size of the map.

    A yer would usually be able topletely explore a map within two months, but Kira Mountain Range was different. A yer who logged out from a spot would be randomly teleported to another spot within the mountain range. This meant that a lot of her efforts to map out the area was wasted.

    It was simply impossible for Ye Ci to remain online. And even if she wanted to do such a thing, she would be forced offline by the system and woulde online just to be teleported into a different area.

    And this was why Ye Ci was still not familiar with arge chunk of the map.

    She finally understood why the Kira Mountain Range was known as the bane of yers with poor sense of direction in herst life. Even yers with excellent sense of direction would find themselves lost in a map like this.

    But her efforts were not entirely in vain. She was able to increase her level to lvl82 during her exploration. While leveling up was hard after the threshold of lvl60, she was still able to make good progress four months after the new patch was released due to Ol¡¯ Six.

    The Dragon was finally awake after its one month slumber, and it had sessfully evolved to tier 8. Ol¡¯ Six was twice asrge and had the appearance of a fully grown Dragon. Its already formidable stats had grown even more impressive.

    Ye Ci sat to rest and recover her Stamina after clearing out another wave of monsters.

    The enemies that she had encountered so far were Elves of different vors including High Elves, Dark Elves, Drows, and many more. These Elves were separated into tribes, and were servants of evil due to the corruption they suffered. Their viges were hidden in different locations in the mountain range. And Ol¡¯ Six would make short work of the monsters whenever one of such viges was spotted.

    She was leveling up at breakneck speed. The spawn rate of the monsters in the viges was low, and Ye Ci did not have the time to wait around, for her main objective was still the shrine of the ce of origin.

    Ye Ci felt a presence behind her when she was studying her map. She rolled away, drew her bow, and fired off an arrow.

    ¡°I would¡¯ve died if I¡¯m not a GM.¡± said Wang Jiangnan. His was using his employee ount, which was why Ye Ci¡¯s arrow passed harmlessly through his avatar and buried itself in a tree behind him.

 Chapter 386 Because Youâ€™re Wang Jiangnan

    Chapter 386 Because You¡¯re Wang Jiangnan

    Ye Ci finally noticed the person who had approached her. His appearance was different, but his newbie equipment and impossibly high stats announced his identity. She slung her bow and raised an eyebrow at Wang Jiangnan, ¡°Yo, you got a new ount?¡±

    ¡°I just made it. What do you think? Am I handsome?¡± Wang Jiangnan smiled at Ye Ci with the face that he molded using a GM¡¯s authority. The avatar he was using was tall with tanned skin. The newbie clothing could not hide the muscles that were bulging beneath. There was even an unkempt beard on his face. He looked like a middle-aged man.

    Ye Ci was baffled, ¡°It¡¯s... Quite a unique taste.¡±

    ¡°Hah! I think so too. This is what a man should look like!¡± Wang Jiangnan smiled when he heard her response.

    Ye Ci sighed when she recalled Wang Jiangnan¡¯s real appearance. Just how much does he hate his own face? ¡°Why are you here? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re just passing by.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a GM, of course I can.¡± Wang Jiangnan replied absentmindedly. He was still daydreaming about his new appearance.

    But he immediately snapped himself out of the daze when he noticed the frown on Ye Ci¡¯s brows, ¡°But I¡¯m here today to see you.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You wanted to see me?¡± Ye Ci was confused, ¡°Why? I haven¡¯t exploited any game breaking bugstely.¡±

    And to that Wang Jiangnan rolled his eyes, ¡°Do you think that is the only reason I have to talk to you?¡±

    ¡°Hah, you¡¯re a customer service employee and I¡¯m a yer. What do you expect me to think whenever you appear?¡± Ye Ciughed incredulously at Wang Jiangnan. Do you really think that I won¡¯t feel pressured whenever you appear?

    Wang Jiangnan tilted his head to the side, and smiled after pondering her words, ¡°What you think is not important. There¡¯s something I want to tell you.¡±

    ¡°Oh....¡± Ye Ci was apparently not interested in whatever he had to say. She turned around and continued preparing food.

    Ol¡¯ Six on the other hand, could not even detect the presence of Wang Jiangnan due to his status as a GM.

    ¡°So what do you want to say? Are you going to guide me to the origin of the Elves?¡±

    ¡°Uhmm...¡± Wang Jiangnan pulled at his hair, ¡°I can¡¯t do that. GM¡¯s are not allowed to divulge information like this. Won¡¯t it destroy the gaming experience for other yers?¡±

    Ye Ci snorted at Wang Jiangnan, ¡°I bet you didn¡¯t design this map, and you don¡¯t know the secrets of this ce.¡±

    And Ye Ci was correct. Wang Jiangnan was mostly in charge of dungeon design. He was the one responsible for the creation of many high difficultyrge scale dungeons. The man was never in charge of anything in the wild.

    Wang Jiangnan walked up to Ye Ci and sat beside her. He extended a hand towards a piece of meat Ye Ci was roasting and stuffed it into his mouth, ¡°Aiya, that¡¯s not the point. Just listen to what I have to say.¡±

    But Ye Ci was still indifferent, ¡°Oh.¡± she replied as she studied her map.

    Wang Jiangnan was slightly perturbed that he had beenpletely ignored by Ye Ci, ¡°Hey, hey, hey, are you not curious at all about what I¡¯m about to tell you?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Wang Jiangnan, ¡°Well if you¡¯re not going to tell me, you can forget about it.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. Well it seems that she doesn¡¯t like gossiping. ¡°I¡¯ve just be the lead developer of Fate.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s movements immediately stopped. She waspletely caught off guard.

    Now that¡¯s fast.

    Was he already the lead developer back then around this time? ording to her memories, Wang Jiangnan would only be the lead developer three years after Fate was released. It was apparent that things had changed too much in her current life. She lifted her head and beamed at Wang Jiangnan, ¡°Congrattions! Did you get a raise as well?¡±

    ¡°About that...¡¯¡¯ Wang Jiangnan scratched his head, slightly embarrassed, ¡°It¡¯s still a temporary position. So I did not get a raise.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a temporary one?¡± Ye Ci was confused.

    Wang Jiangnan nodded at her question. He told Ye Ci about what happened in Qiao Liang¡¯s office, but did not go into details, ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll only be officially promoted if the next patch is a hit.¡±

    Ye Ci remained silent. She did not have even a moment of interaction with Wang Jiangnan in herst life. She did not know what happened to the young man before he became the lead developer of Fate. She also knew nothing about what he had been doing before the release of the patch that propelled his career to great heights overnight.

    But Wang Jiangnan in her current life was still the same Wang Jiangnan. His personality and character would never change. It would not change even when Ye Ci appeared in his life. She was merely an extra spectator in the man¡¯s journey.

    ¡°It will be.¡± she responded with a smile and certainty in her voice.

    Wang Jiangnan was shocked. He did not know why, but Ye Ci was just like a magician. He always had a feeling that whatever she said was like a prophecy that would certainlye true.

    It was almost as if things happened when she said they would.

    ¡°How are you so sure about this, Ye Ci?¡± he blinked.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re Wang Jiangnan.¡± a faint smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, ¡°Just like how I¡¯m Gongzi You. There are certain things that can only be aplished by Wang Jiangnan, just like how only Gongzi You can achieve certain things.¡±

    And Wang Jiangnan erupted intoughter. This... Is exactly what he expected Gongzi You to say.

    Ye Ci sat resting on the ground, and gulped down a mouthful of high quality wine to recover her Stamina. Wow, he left just like that after receiving the encouragement he needed? Why can¡¯t he point me in the direction of the shrine? Thought Ye Ci as she tore a strip of meat from therger chunk, as if it was the very flesh of a certain someone.

    I hope your patch fails! I hope you won¡¯t be the lead developer!

    Ol¡¯ Six let out a low growl as Ye Ci was still silently cursing at Wang Jiangnan. The Dragon¡¯s sound was soft, as if it was trying to avoid attracting the attention of some beings. Ye Ci looked at Ol¡¯ Six, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Ol¡¯ Six nudged its snout at something not far away, and Ye Ci saw a tiny humanoid creature beside the corpse of a in Dark Elf. The creature with its long pointed ears was carrying arge sack behind it. Glimmering coins can be seen falling from the sack as the creature made its way cautiously through the forest.

    ¡°A Gravedigger Goblin!¡± Ye Ci immediately stood up.

    Gravedigger Goblins were special monsters known for their loot drop of gold and equipment. Their levels depend on the maps that they appeared in, and their HP would vary ording to their levels as well. A Gravedigger Goblin would not attack a yer, but would flee when it was discovered. Untold wealth was hidden within their sack, which includes gold coins, high level equipment, gems, and even high level blueprints. yers must y the goblin before it flees through a portal and collect its wealth.

    These goblins were known as Gods of Wealth by yers in Ye Ci¡¯sst life.

    That¡¯s strange, something like this shouldn¡¯t appear this early. Based on Ye Ci¡¯s memory, Gravedigger Goblins would only appear in the game after Wang Jiangnan took the position of lead developer.

    Oh... So this is the gift that he was talking about!

 Chapter 387 Discovery

    Chapter 387 Discovery

    Gravedigger Goblins would appear for a duration of thirty minutes. They would usually remain in a fixed area if there were no yers around, and would then disappear when the time was up.

    Any attacks would immediately trigger a Gravedigger Goblin to begin to flee while dropping gold coins along the way, attracting the attention of yers nearby and adding more pressure to the yer who first discovered it.

    Despite theirck of ability to fight back, the goblins were fast and were immune to crowd control abilities. They could easily escape from sses like Sorcerers, Clerics, and other characters with low movement speed.

    Of course, yers in Ye Ci¡¯s current life knew nothing about Gravedigger Goblins yet, or the major guilds would have already long since been organizing parties in search for these creatures.

    And with the peculiar setting of the Kira Mountain Range, the map was devoid of any yer presence. Ye Ci had never run into any yers during her two months exploring the map. She was not worried about anypetition.

    As a Sorceress in herst life, Ye Ci suffered greatly in her attempt to hunt the goblins. She once spotted a Gravedigger Goblin in a lvl120 map, and it took her nearly an hour to y the goblin. The loot did nothing to keep Ye Ci from cursing Wang Jiangnan during the chase.

    And Ye Ci was no longer a Sorceress. To prevent herself from tiring out during the chase, Ye Ci sat recovering her Stamina. She immediately began the attack once her Stamina was full.

    She nocked an arrow, and fired off a shot at the Goblin, which was immediately alerted of Ye Ci¡¯s presence. With a shriek, the Goblin immediately began to flee, and Ye Ci bounded after it in pursuit.

    Attack after attacknded on the Goblin. It would have looked like a porcupine if a Hunter¡¯s arrow would be removed by the system once it hit its target.

    A Gravedigger Goblin did not possess high intelligence. The Goblin¡¯s escape route was entirely random. But this also meant that the Goblin would usually wander into a mass of monsters, which would often be a problem for the yers pursuing the Goblin.

    Fortunately for Ye Ci, she had Ol¡¯ Six by her side.

    The Gravedigger Goblin attracted a lot of monsters as it fled, but they were all annihted by Ol¡¯ Six. This enabled Ye Ci to concentrate her attacks on the little goblin.

    It had been a long time since she had to fight a Gravedigger Goblin. And she both loved and hated the goblin at the same time.

    The movements of the goblin was simply too unpredictable for Ye Ci as she followed it in hot pursuit.

    But due to her high movement speed as a Huntress, Ye Ci was still able to keep up with her prey. She would have been struggling at this point as a Sorceress.

    While it was impossible for her to kill the goblin with a few hits, she was still able to keep up with its pace.

    A Gravedigger Goblin would never stop once it began to flee, and Ye Ci did not even have the chance to study the map. She chased the Goblin through the thick forest, where sunlight could barely prate the leaves of the tall trees. The ground was covered with a thickyer of leaves, which captured the moisture very well. Water seeped into Ye Ci¡¯s shoes as she bounded through the forest ground, and the uniquely pleasant scent of rotting leaves assaulted her nose.

    Gold coins fell from the Goblin¡¯s sack as it fled. They glinted on the dark forest ground, allowing Ye Ci to catch up with the Goblin on multiple asions when she had almost lost her target.

    And after a long pursuit, the Goblin¡¯s health was finally near its end. Ye Ci let off a sigh of relief, and fired off thest arrow at her prey. With a shriek, the Goblin dropped dead on the ground, and therge sack it carried dropped onto the ground.

    She walked up to the Goblin and began looting its corpse once she was sure that it was not faking its death.

    And the God of Fortune did not disappoint, as Ye Ci was able to obtain a very bountiful loot from the Goblin.

    She received four pieces of equipment and arge amount of gold. It came to her surprise that three of them were for the Hunter ss: A lvl85 bow, a Purple quality quiver, and a protective charm.

    Acute Bow of Devouring Snake

    Quality: Purple

    Strength +298

    Agility +642

    Endurance +310

    Attack Speed +158

    Critical Attack +30%

    Critical Damage +30%

    Additional skill:

    Applies Poison Damage with attack. Triggers ¡°Devour¡± after dealing three consecutive critical attacks.

    Level Requirement: 85

    ss: Hunter, Ranger

    Devour: Creates a ck hole using the power of the Snake God that devours an enemy with the highest Hit Points, and deals Dark damage to enemies within a 20 yards radius.

    Vampiric Falcon Quiver:

    Quality: Purple

    Agility +300

    Endurance +205

    Attack Speed +80

    Applies Lifesteal to attacks.

    Elemental Protective Charm

    Quality: Purple

    Endurance +55

    Critical Attack +15%

    Critical Damage +10%

    Skill:

    Increase the drop rate of gold and equipment from monsters.

    Thest piece of equipment was a Cleric¡¯s ring with good stats, but Ye Ci did not even bother to have a look at its stats as she would never be able to put it to use. She wouldter hand it to Bai Mo so that it could be given to a Cleric in the guild.

    Tears flowed down Ye Ci¡¯s cheeks as she looked at the three Hunter equipment.

    It has not been easy!

    She had never been able to obtain more than a single piece of equipment from the many BOSSes she killed since she started ying the game. It all felt like a dream to her. Am I finally rid of my bad luck?

    While the bow could only be equipped by a lvl85 character, Ye Ci was able to solve the problem by using her Brooch of Deceit. She then equipped the quiver and the protective charm.

    The increase in her stats was very significant. Due to her luck, she had been using the same lvl60 equipment for a very long time. She was able to defeat monsters using her superior mechanical skills alone, but her damage output was not enough. It would have been impossible for her to level up if not for a strong pet like Ol¡¯ Six.

    She was finally able to deal some decent damage with the new equipment in hand.

    Ye Ci immediately started to survey her surroundings once she took stock of the loot. She was in a ce that she did not recognise. A quick nce at her map told her that she was in a previously unexplored area. It was a spot hidden from view by the high mountain ridges.

    Where am I?

    Ye Ci was quick to realise that she was surrounded by the ruins of an old building, and that she was standing in a courtyard. Only a few pirs remained of therge structure.

    She took a few steps towards the ruins, and immediately received a system notification, ¡°You¡¯ve discovered the Elven Shrine.¡±

    The Elven Shrine? Ye Ci was shocked. But her surprise was quickly reced by a wave of joy. I finally found this ce!

 Chapter 388 An Ordinary Bow

    Chapter 388 An Ordinary Bow

    Elves were not native to the Majia Continent, but they were still one of thergest poptions of migrants a long time ago.

    But the once glorious race had been withered down. Of the many variants of Elves, only the High Elves remained. The rest of the members of the Elven races had long since disappeared or had chosen to hide themselves away from the rest of the world. There were also arge number who were corrupted by evil.

    Ye Ci studied the shrine that was already in ruins. It was not hard to imagine how grandiose it had been before the fall of the Elves.

    The Elves as a race was fractured with the passing of Dau¡¯er, thest king of the Elves. The shrine itself was left to ruins as well, abandoned to the mercy of the elements that reduced it into nothing but rubble.

    But despite its woeful state, Ye Ci could still feel the presence of the divine in this shrine.

    She began marking down her map as she continued exploring the shrine. While the entire mountain range was filled with monsters, the shrine itself was a safe area.

    And it was also eerily silent.

    It was not easy to search for an item in the midst of such vast ruins. Ye Ci looked high and low in many of the crumbling structures, but could not find traces of a bow. But she did find many treasure chests that she was able to open with her Master Key.

    The items within were treasures considered to be very precious by the priests during the olden days. Perhaps the priests had thought of retrieving the items when they fled the shrine, but they never had the chance to return. The metal chests were thus left to rust in the ruins of the shrine until Ye Ci¡¯s arrival.

    She was able to obtain rare potions and fruits from the chests. But the flow of time had rendered the fruits useless. Only the potions were of use to Ye Ci.

    There was also arge number of books within the chest, but many of them simply turned into dust at the merest touch. Only a tiny fraction of the books Ye Ci discovered were of use.

    They were mostly recordings of the history of the shrine and some spells that were written in Ancient Elvish, which was anguage that Ye Ci did not have the chance to learn. She could recognise a few characters on the pages of the book, but most of their contents remained unknown to her.

    And after a lengthy amount of time searching through the surrounding buildings, Ye Ci finally arrived at the main building of the shrine. Only a tattered roof supported by some pirs remained of the once grand building.

    Ye Ci could see symbols of four-leaf clovers etched on the pirs. This was a symbol of the ancient Elves. The building was without a doubt the shrine she had been looking for.

    Every race in Fate was represented by their own symbol. The symbol of Humanity was a Gryphon, while the symbol of the Dwarves was a Holy Sword. Each race¡¯s symbol was based on something that was most important to them, be it a building, a weapon, or a piece of equipment.

    The holiest of symbols for Elves was the four-leaf clover. It was something that wasmonly seen on the clothing of the higher society of Elves.

    And the symbols of four-leaf clovers that were carved onto the pirs was an indicator of the significance of this ce.

    Ye Ci made her way through the deserted za that was full of weeds and stood before the ruined shrine.

    But she could not find an entrance to the ruins of the main building, for the way had long since been blocked by debris and rubble.

    She raised an eyebrow at the spectacle. It seems that I¡¯ll never be able to enter through the entrance. Perhaps there is another way.

    Ye Ci finally found a way in after walking around the ruins. It was a very small opening that was covered by a metal barrier that had long since rusted away. A light kick from Ye Ci was able to break the barrier into pieces and grant her entry.

    She found herself walking down a flight of stairs. It was dark as sunlight could not prate the thickyer of leaves covering the entire building. But she was able to quickly get used to the darkness due to the Elves¡¯s strong night vision.

    She found herself to be in the sewer. While the shrine had long since crumbled into ruins, the sewer remained intact. She could see the stain of water on the stones around her, but the sewer had long since dried away. She advanced quickly through the sewer while remaining vignt of her surroundings.

    But no monsters were found due to the remaining divinity left behind by the deity worshipped by the Elves.

    The only obstacle that impeded her progress was the confusing terrain.

    She finally found her way out of the exit and arrived at the third level of the shrine¡¯s basement. It was originally used as a storage room for the Elves. Therge basement contained more than fifty locked rooms that could not be opened even with Ye Ci¡¯s Master Key.

    She continued moving up to the second level of the basement. They were living quarters for the Elves serving in the shrine. The many rooms within the level were decorated with the same table, bed, and a rack. There was nothing of value on the level.

    The rooms in the first basement were also locked. The doors leading to the room, while elegantly designed, were in tatters. But these doors were shielded by magical formations that denied ess to Ye Ci despite her Master Key.

    She continued moving upwards and arrived at the ground floor of the shrine. And just like the basement, the first floor was in ruins. The corridor leading to the inner courtyard was filled with cobwebs.

    Ye Ci¡¯s attention was immediately attracted by a statue when she made her way into the courtyard. While the surface of literally everything in the building was covered with dust, not a speck of dust could be found on the statue. A goldenmpstand was ced in front of the statue, and the white candle on the stand was still burning with a bright me.

    What she saw before her was a sharp contrast to the rest of the shrine. The statue attracted her attention the most. It was the statue of the Goddess of Nature, which was the deity worshipped by the Elves.

    It was an ordinary bow, just like the weapon used by yers who were new to the game. But Ye Ci knew that the bow was something special. The more precious something was, the more ordinary it would look. yers who judge the item by its appearance would definitely lose a great opportunity.

    Everybody knew that one should not judge a book by its cover, but it was human nature to form an opinion based on first impression.

    And the same logic could be applied to certain aspects of the game.

    She walked up to the altar and looked up at the statue of the Goddess of Nature. That statue is too tall. How do I get that bow? Should I climb up? Or should I pull it down with my Cat w?

    And after a short moment of consideration, Ye Ci decided to climb up the statue.

    But she received a system notification, ¡°You are unable to pass through the barrier.¡±

 Chapter 389 An Outing

    Chapter 389 An Outing

    It was not a good sign.

    Not being able to pass through the barrier meant that she would not be able to obtain the bow. This meant that her two months of effort would be wasted.

    Just then, a notification rang out in Ye Ci¡¯s ears, ¡°Your external rm is ringing. Please attend to it as soon as possible.¡±

    Oh God. Ye Ci sighed. Time sure flies. Another day has passed.

    Zuo Xiand and Ye Nantian had voiced out their displeasure for Ye Ci¡¯s time spent online, and had set a time limit for Ye Ci. She must log out of the game by 11pm every single day, or her parents would press on the external bell of her gaming cabin.

    It was a safety feature built into the gaming cabin in cases of emergencies. A yer could be contacted from the outer world via the bell in event of an emergency. If the bell was ignored, the person at the outside world could continue pressing on the bell. The yer would then be forced offline after five minutes of umted bell time.

    Ye Ci had tried ignoring the bell, but her parents were relentless. They would often press on the bell until she was ejected out of the game.

    Wait... This means that I have to go offline. And if I go offline... Ye Ci nced at the altar. It was very bad timing to go offline.

    The shrine was still in the Kira Mountain Range. And if she was forced offline, there was a chance that she would be teleported into a random location.

    But the person outside the gaming cabin did not know of Ye Ci¡¯s worries. The bell was persistently pressed until she would be forced offline.

    Ye Ci was on the verge of panicking. She thought of contacting Bai Mo or Tan Png, but the two night owls had already gone to sleep. What day is this?

    There was nothing she could do within the five minutes. And she was ejected out of the game with sorrow deep in her heart.

    Ye Ci climbed out of the gaming cabin and saw the smiling face of Zuo Xian looking at her, ¡°I made some congee for you. Do you want to have some before going to sleep?¡±

    There was grief in Ye Ci¡¯s eyes as she stared at her mother. ¡°I¡¯ll go take a shower and head to bed.¡± she shook her head with a sigh.

    ¡°Oh? Are you not going to get back online for a little while?¡± Zuo Xian was curious. Ye Ci would always remain online throughout the night. It was very rare of her to head to bed so early.

    She shook her head and replied weakly, ¡°There¡¯s no need for it anymore. It¡¯s useless now.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Zuo Xian was baffled, but the only reply she received was the door of the bathroom mming shut.

    Perhaps due to the emotional blow that she suffered after being forced offline, Ye Ci did not wake up early in the morning; she slept until she was woken up by Zuo Xian, and eventually stumbled her way to the dining table after a quick shower.

    She was shocked to find Tan Png in fanciful clothing, which was the direct opposite of what he would usually wear at home, ¡°What with the outfit? Are you going out on a date?¡±

    Tan Png rolled his eyes at Ye Ci, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m an unpopr old man like Brother Mo who has to attend blind dates set up by his parents every year?¡±

    ¡°Bai Mo said the same thing when he was your age. Look what¡¯s happening to him now.¡± Ye Ci chuckled at the boy.

    Just as Ye Ci continued talking sarcastically about Bai Mo who had already gone home for the new year, someone pped Ye Ci at the back of her head. ¡°Oh you¡¯re saying something like this when he¡¯s gone? He¡¯ll deal with you when he gets back.¡±

    Ye Ci extended an arm towards the steamed buns on the table, ¡°You and Png are the only ones here. If he finds out, it must be either of you.¡±

    Zuo Xian rolled her eyes at her daughter and continued eating her breakfast, ¡°Png is going outter. Go with him.¡±

    ¡°What for?¡± Ye Ci nced at Tan Png, ¡°He¡¯s all grown up now. He doesn¡¯t need someone going with him.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been staying at home and ying games for days. I wouldn¡¯t have cared otherwise.¡±

    Ye Ci was reluctant to go with Tan png, but she could not defy Zuo Xian¡¯s will. After a few bouts of futile protests, she was forced to change her clothes and leave the house with Tan Png.

    The city was bustling with activity as new year was just around the corner. Ye Ci let out a yawn as she stood waiting for a bus with Tan Png, ¡°What¡¯s so good about a game convention? Almost all the games are getting out of business because of Fate. Why do you even bother?¡±

    ¡°Say, Sister Ye, can¡¯t you show some youthful energy? Shouldn¡¯t game conventions be popr among young people like us? We get to try out new games, enjoy the cosys and other activities that they have over there! Are you not interested in those at all?¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. Young? I was almost forty in myst life...

    ¡°Tell you what, Sister Ye, the Glory Corporation has hired a lot of famous cosyers to the events There¡¯s a lot of handsome guys over there that will make a stay at home girl with no boyfriend like you drool!¡±

    Ye Ci shot Tan Png a re, but she had no words for the boy, for it was the truth that she did not have a boyfriend. Fleeting Time did not count as he was someone she knew from a game. She did not know him as a person in real life.

    And she knew the boundaries between what was happening in the game and in real life.

    Tan Png was worried when Ye Ci remained silent. Have I gone overboard? ¡°Sister Ye, are you in that sort of rtionship with Fleeting Time?¡±

    ¡°What sort of rtionship?¡±

    Are you two a couple?¡±

    ¡°About that...¡± Ye Ci pondered the question for a little while, and gave him a very honest and objective answer, ¡°Fleeting Time is the boyfriend of Gongzi You.¡±

    Tan Png tilted his head. Wait... It doesn¡¯t sound like she¡¯s denying it but... Does it mean that they¡¯re a couple in game, but not in real life? Is she drawing a line with Fleeting Time when ites to stuff in real life?

    He looked up into the sky and sighed. Dear God, please don¡¯t let me get a girlfriend like Sister Ye. I do not have the patience like Fleeting Time.

    When the duo finally arrived at their destination, Tan Png¡¯s excitement was a direct contrast to Ye Ci¡¯s deadpan expression. Oh God, why are there so many people! Isn¡¯t this just a game convention? What¡¯s with the crowd...

    Due to his growth spurt, Tan Png has grown very tall within a year. Ye Ci was gasping for air as she followed her brother through the crowd. She was almost pushed away by the crowd on several asions, but was sessfully pulled back by Tan Png who grabbed hold of her hand.

    Respite came when they finally found an area where the crowd was rtively thin. Ye Ci was exhausted. She had been following Tan Png around in high heels. It was a miracle that she was able to keep up at all.

    This earned her some ire from Tan Png, ¡°Why must you wear something like this, woman? Aren¡¯t you asking for trouble?¡±

    Ye Ci immediately stomped on Tan Png¡¯s foot, ¡°You were the one who told me that you¡¯re just looking around. I didn¡¯t know that we¡¯reing to a ce like this!!¡±

    ¡°That is so cool!!¡± came the voice from a crowd nearby.

    ¡°Wow! Is that guy even human?!¡±

    ¡°That gamey right there! That¡¯s word ss!¡±

    ......

    Tan Png¡¯s eyes immediately lit up when he looked at the direction of the voice, ¡°Sister Ye, let¡¯s go check that out! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°What is that?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s feet were still hurting as she was pulled along by Tan Png.

    ¡°It¡¯s esports! Haven¡¯t you heard about esports?¡± there was a smile on Tan Png¡¯s face as he looked back at Ye Ci.

 Chapter 390 ESports

    Chapter 390 ESports

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes. She did not want to raise her voice just to talk Tan Png in the middle of a crowd. The noise level itself meant that they could not hear each other very well, and raising her voice to shout out her words was something Ye Ci would never do. To her, it was all a waste of energy.

    ¡°Of course I know what it is.¡± Ye Ci grumbled to herself, ¡°I¡¯m not from outer space! What I meant was there¡¯s so many people. Why must we go over there?¡±

    But her words would of course not reach Tan Png¡¯s ears.

    Even if they did, the boy would have disagreed. He was once a professional esports yer, and Ye Ci knew Tan Png¡¯s love for esports very well. That was why she did not make much of a protest despite her grumbling.

    She could understand the excitement of someone who saw something that was of interest to him.

    Tenputers were arranged together in the small space withfortable seats for the yers. There was a partition between the monitors to stop yers from looking into the screen of his or her neighbour.

    But Ye Ci couldn¡¯t see the faces of the yers sitting in front of theputers, as they were surrounded by arge crowd.

    The thirdputer was surrounded by the most onlookers, and they would asionally exim in excitement as they watched on.

    Tan Pnd had experienced growth spurt, boosting his height from 165cm to nearly 185cm. Coupled with his handsome face, he received the attention of many of the female convention goers. But his attention was not on them. It was focused wholly on the yer on the thirdputer.

    He was very curious.

    Just how good is that guy? It had been a long while since Tan Png had dabbled in esports, but it did not mean that his enthusiasm for gaming had died down.

    This was why he was so desperate to have a look at the expert who managed to garner the attention of the majority of the crowd. But he could simply not squeeze his way to the front as nobody was willing to part with their good spots.

    Ye Ciughed out loud at Tan Png¡¯s desperation. The boy had always acted so mature, but his true nature as a young adolescent had surfaced in a situation like this. She grabbed hold of Tan Png¡¯s arm and said to him, ¡°Come with me!¡±

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± grumbled Tan Png as he was dragged towards thestputer, ¡°I can¡¯t go away. I want to watch the match.¡±

    Ye Ci motioned at theputer, ¡°Why don¡¯t you y the game yourself? Isn¡¯t that better than watching?¡±

    It took a moment for Tan Png to process her words. A smile spread across his face. He was a former member of the national team, and while he did not make it past the qualifiers, he was still better than the average yer. The best way for him to have a gauge of the person¡¯s strength was to y against the person himself.

    The yer at thestputer was apparently not very good at the game. The crowd around him was rapidly thinning out. Even his expression was filled with regret. Tan Png walked up to the yer and smiled at him, ¡°Hey bro, are you still ying?¡±

    The man responded with a sigh, ¡°Nope. You want to have a go?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I want to try my hand at this.¡± Tan Png nodded, ¡°Who has the highest score right now?¡±

    ¡°That would be CM001¡± the man stood up, ¡°I fancied myself as a decent yer, but I gotpletely destroyed by him in myst match. That guy¡¯s not human.¡± he sighed as he walked away from theputer, ¡°Do you want to challenge him?¡±

    Tan Png nodded at the man, ¡°Of course I do.¡±

    ¡°Then be prepared. Don¡¯t be overconfident like I was.¡± the man pursed his lips. It was apparent that he did not think well of Tan Png¡¯s chances to win.

    He could hear the man talking to his friend, ¡°I thought there are no good yers in these parts. But count me surprised.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, whatever, let¡¯s go back and y Fate. Your APM is not high enough. Let¡¯s head to the arena and we¡¯ll have a real fight..¡±

    Ye Ci smiled at the two attendees. Fate¡¯s yer base is indeed veryrge. Her gaze then drifted back to Tan Png¡¯s monitor. He had alreadypleted an ount creation, and was in a match against one of the yers.

    Despite hisck of achievements in the esports scene, Tan Png was still a former member of the national team. He was able to defeat the normal yers with rtive ease. She could tell from Tan Png¡¯s strategy and high APM that he was a very good yer.

    He was able to slowly attract a crowd that was rapidly growing around him.

    Tan Png was in Group B, while CM001 was in Group A. It would take him a few more matches to finally be able to meet CM001 in battle.

    And this was why Tan Png had been ying nonstop to reach the points required.

    Time continued to pass, and more and more people had gathered around the yers.

    ¡°That guy on thestputer is quite good! I think he¡¯s better than CM001.¡±

    ¡°I can tell that you¡¯re still a newbie. His APM is not as high as CM001, and his strategies do not make sense.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I think I like PPLL¡¯s (Tan Png¡¯s in-game name) tempo better.¡±

    There was also multiple discussions about the difference between Tan Png and CM001.

    ¡°How long do you think it¡¯ll take him to fight against CM001?¡± asked Ye Ci when Tan Png won yet another match.

    ¡°Very soon. He has a lot of challenges. I think there are at least three more. But those guys are not that good. It should be my turn anytime now.¡±

    Tan Png ended yet another match. And as he stretched himself, he noticed that there was only one more challenger left before he would be able to square off against CM001.

    An employee approached Tan Png as he continued to wait.

    Ye Ci nced at his name tag. He was the employee in charge of the booth.

    The employee squeezed his way through the crowd and tapped Tan png on his shoulder, ¡°Are you PPL?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Tan Png turned to face the employee, ¡°Is there anything I can help you with?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been observing the matches of you and CM001, and we think that you¡¯re both very good yers. It¡¯ll soon be your turn to y against CM001, and we have a lot of esports fanatics over here. Would you mind if we broadcast your match so that everyone can see it clearly?¡±

    Tan Png nced at Ye Ci, who shrugged at the boy. He thought for a short moment before finally nodding, ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± the employee replied with a smile, and he pressed a button on Tan Png¡¯sputer, ¡°You may continue.¡± he nodded at Tan Png before leaving.

    Ye Ci looked up at the screen not far away, and saw the screen of Tan Png¡¯s monitor disyed on the screen. Another feed soon appeared. It was the disy from CM001¡¯s monitor.

 Chapter 391 KING

    Chapter 391 KING

    But CM001 was not as cooperative as Tan Png. It took a lot of persuasion for him to finally relent. Tan Png was able to use the time to mentally prepare himself. He put on the headset prepared by the organizers so that he would not be distracted by the noises made by the crowd.

    Ye Ci saw Tan Png preparing himself for the match, and turned around to look at CM001. Due to therge crowd, she would not have found the yer had it not been therge sign marking his position.

    As she could not see the face of the yer, Ye Ci turned around and looked at therge disy set up by the organizers of the event.

    Ten more minutes had passed, and the casters for the match had arrived on scene. The match officially began once both yers were notified to proceed.

    Ye Ci was not an avid yer of the game, but even she could feel the difference between CM001 and Tan Png. The oue of the match could not be judged by their openings alone, but she had a nagging feeling that Tan Png was fighting against a very strong opponent.

    The caster was apparently a professional. He was able to provide urate insight of the ongoing match for the crowd that had gathered, while effortlessly cracking the asional joke with his colleague.

    More and more attendees were attracted to the booth, making the already crowded area even more crammed.

    Cheers and cries of surprises would often erupt from the crowd.

    ¡°What an interesting match we have here today! These two yers are ying just like professionals. I¡¯ve never seen something like this in my entire life...¡± as the caster was still analyzing the match, Ye Ci could already see the first signs of defeat from Tan Png.

    It was twenty eight minutes into the match, and Tan Png had always been on the offensive, but he was unable to crack CM001¡¯s efences. While it looked as if Tan Png had the upper hand, Ye Ci had a feeling that Tan Png would soon face defeat. And it woulde within fifteen minutes.

    But Ye Ci¡¯s prediction was off. The turning point of the match came not even two minutester.

    Without warning, CM001 broke Tan Png¡¯s offensive, and began tounch waves after waves of attacks of his own. Tan Png was eventually forced into a corner. His advantages were all but gone within the span of a single minute.

    It took just another minute for CM001 to utterly crush Tan Png and end the match with a victory.

    ¡°Oh! What a y from CM001! His attacks were calcted, quick, and very ferocious! PPL did not even have a chance to fight back! I think even a professional yer would not have been able to do anything against his attacks. PPLL was a decent yer, but CM001 is on an entirely different level...¡±

    The attendees were all shocked by CM001¡¯s disy of skills. He was indeed ying like a professional.

    Tan Png was stunned. He sat looking at his screen even after the match had ended. Ye Ci patted the boy on his shoulder in an attempt to console him, but he ignored her entirely. He set his headset aside and stood on his chair to look at the direction of CM001¡¯sputer.

    Ye Ci, who was shocked, immediately tried to pull him down, ¡°What are you doing?! Get down here! How can you step onto the table like this?¡±

    But she waspletely ignored by Tan Png, who continued shouting in the direction of CM001, ¡°King, is that you?! King!¡±

    The boy¡¯s voice was quickly drowned out by the noise of his surroundings, but Ye Ci who was right beside him could hear his words clearly.

    King? Why is the name so familiar? And a sudden realisation crossed her mind. Wasn¡¯t that the name of the five time world champion? But Tan Png had already jumped down from the table and was running towards the direction of CM001.

    ¡°Png!¡± Ye Ci immediately followed after the boy.

    With strength that he did not even know he possessed, Tan Png was able to pushed past the crowd towards CM001, leaving Ye Ci behind to apologize to the people who were pushed aside.

    Tan Png was already standing beside CM001 when Ye Ci finally caught up with the boy. Damn it, can¡¯t he be slightly considerate? Can you not see what shoes I¡¯m wearing?

    ¡°King! Is that you? Why did you not tell me?¡± Tan Png shouted excitedly at CM001.

    Ye Ci directed her gaze towards the person named King. He was a young man not older than the age of twenty five. He¡¯s able to be five times champion in the world tournament at this age? We really shouldn¡¯t judge a book by its cover. The young man was dressed casually in a high cored sweater and a pair of jeans. What a shame. Thought Ye Ci when she saw his face. A face like this should not belong to a man.

    Unlike Bai Mo who was kind and gentle, and Tan Png who was lively and full of energy, Ye Ci could only describe the man with the word ¡°pretty¡±. Indeed, the word was not best suited to be used to describe a man, but that was the only word Ye Ci could think of when she saw his face.

    The man did not appear to be surprised by the appearance of Tan Png, ¡°Long time no see, Png.¡±

    With a loud cry, Tan Png jumped at Fleeting Time and pulled him in for a hug, ¡°You¡¯re back! You¡¯re actually back! I thought you¡¯ll still be staying in America!¡±

    But King took a step back and nudged Tan Png away, ¡°Heh, calm down Png, I¡¯m not gay.¡± his gaze was already set on Ye Ci when he spoke.

    Ye Ci was staring at the interaction between the two. He knew that King was an idol of Tan Png. She understood how the boy felt but... Why is he staring at me?

    ¡°Oh, by the way, King, allow me to introduce. This is...¡± Tan Png was smiling like a child as he introduced King to Ye Ci.

    But his introduction was cut short as the employees of the booth made their way through the crowd, led by a man in a fancy looking suit, who smiled at King, ¡°Good day, CM001. I am the manager in charge of the <<spacewar>> booth today, Huang Qi. Have you attended any international tournaments before?¡±</spacewar>

    King shifted his gaze from Ye Ci to the uninvited guest and narrowed his eyes at Huang Qi¡¯s extended hand and shook it lightly, ¡°What do you need from me, Mr.Huang?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m an esports enthusiast myself. Your ystyle seemed very simr to that of the former world champion King. Allow me to make my guess. Are you perhaps... King?¡±

    A smile appeared on King¡¯s lips, ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not?!¡± Huang Qi¡¯s eyes widened. He looked at Tan Png, who was staring confusedly at King, ¡°How can it be! I¡¯m a fan of King, and I¡¯ve watched every match he yed. Your ystyle... It¡¯s just like King..¡±

    But King cut him off mid sentence, ¡°I¡¯m not King.¡±

 Chapter 392 You Owe Me An Explanation

    Chapter 392 You Owe Me An Exnation

    ¡°You¡¯re not?¡± Huang Qi refused to believe what he heard, but what could he do when the man himself had denied his identity. He directed his gaze to Tan Png instead, ¡°PPLL, did you not just now?¡±

    Tan Png shrugged and smiled at the man, ¡°I think you¡¯re mistaken, Mr.Huang. I did not.¡±

    Huang Qi could only smile awkwardly at the duo, ¡°I apologize. Your ystyles do look alike. Of course, I¡¯m not here because of that.¡±

    And King raised an eyebrow at Huang Qi, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°I can see that you¡¯re a very good yer. Ourpany is forming a team to take part in the world championship. Would you like to join our team?¡± Huang Qi grinned at King. Thepany¡¯s professional team ranked in the top ten within the country. It was very likely that they would qualify for the world championship.

    But King did not even take a moment to consider his proposal, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not interested.¡±

    Huang Qi was not surprised by his rejection, ¡°Please hear me out. I¡¯m from the mes of War pro team, and our team is currently ranked fourth in the country. If you¡¯re willing to join us, your sry will...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m really not interested.¡± King was not even listening to Huang Qi. He looked at the onlookers that were still growing in number and said to Tan Png, ¡°You want to have a drink somewhere?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Tan Png nodded. They were currently not in a ce that was suitable for a conversation, ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way.¡± the boy had a smile on his face as he pushed his way through the crowd.

    King followed behind Tan Png, and turned around to smile at Ye Ci, ¡°Are youing as well?¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. Of course I have to go with you two! I forgot my wallet! I¡¯ll have to walk home if I¡¯m not with Tan Png! And she nodded at King. She did not know why, but she felt a hint of warmth as he looked into his eyes. Do I know him? I don¡¯t think so. But..

    What is this strange feeling?

    ¡°Please wait, CM001! Are you not going to think about it? It¡¯ll be a waste of your skills to not put it on the international stage!¡± shouted Huang Qi.

    Letting Tan Png pick a spot was apparently the wrong decision.

    While he was a skilful yer in Fate, he was still a child at heart. The ce he chose was a super cute ice cream shop.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened when she saw the pink themed shop.

    King apparently shared the same thought, ¡°Do you want to go in?¡±

    Ye Ci immediately shook her head, making it very clear that she did not like ces like this. The two of them stood smiling at Tan Png and spoke in near synchronization, ¡°Can we go somewhere else?¡±

    ¡°Why? The ice cream here is nice!¡± Tan Png tilted his head at them, ¡°My ssmates love this ce!¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°It¡¯s winter. Are you sure you want to have ice cream?¡±

    And King came up with an excuse of his own, ¡°I¡¯ve not eaten ice cream since I was eighteen years old.¡±

    Tan Png looked at Ye Ci, then at King, before giving them a meaningful smile. He walked away from the shop¡¯s entrance and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you two pick a ce?¡±

    And that was how the trio ended up in a coffee shop. Tan Png smiled at Ye Ci once they had taken their seats, ¡°Sister Ye Ci, this is the King that I¡¯ve been talking about. He took good care of me when I was still in the national team. He¡¯s the reigning champion for five years!¡±

    Ye Ci felt a sense of familiarity as she stared at King. ¡°Why did you quit?¡± she asked after Tan Png was done with his introduction.

    King smiled at Ye Ci. He was not offended by the question at all, ¡°Because I ran out of opponents.¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at him. He was arrogant, and he reminded him of a person she knew.

    And King continued, ¡°I waited for someone who could best me for five years. But it turned out to be a waste of time. Life is short, I can¡¯t afford to wait any longer.¡±

    ¡°You remind me of someone.¡± Ye Ci lowered her gaze. She could still remember how Fleeting Time disappeared from Fate in herst life after winning bing the PVP Champion.

    ¡°Oh? And who is that?¡± a smile spread across King¡¯s lips.

    ¡°A rival of mine.¡± some things could not be said to a person that one had just met. And this was why Ye Ci felt slightly awkward when the words left her mouth, ¡°And perhaps something else as well.¡± she continued after a slight pause.

    Tan Png¡¯s gaze drifted between the two. And he pulled out his phone after he was sure that the two did not mind the presence of a lightbulb like him.

    ¡°Ye Ci is your name?¡± asked King.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci nodded, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to introduce yourself?¡±

    King chuckled at that question. He held out his hand, ¡°I¡¯m Yi Qingchen.¡±

    Ye Ci shook his hand lightly and immediately let go.

    Yi Qingchen could feel a shiver traveling down his spine when Ye Ci¡¯s cold fingers brushed against his. He stared silently at her with a charming smile on his face before speaking up, ¡°Little Gongzi, I¡¯m Fleeting Time.¡±

    Ye Ci was still in a daze even when she was on the bus ride home. It all felt like a dream to her. How is this possible! How can the Fleeting Time of the Western Continent, the Fleeting Time who is my rival, the Fleeting Time who would not stop harassing me, and the Fleeting Time who I decided to try liking appear in my life so suddenly?

    This... This does not make sense!

    She was able to eventually recover from the shock. And once her rational mind returned to her, she began to realise that something was not right. She has not told Fleeting Time where she was. The chances of them running into each other in real life was next to zero.

    Hold up... A frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. Fleeting Time = Yi Qingchen = King = five-time world champion = Tan Png¡¯s former teammate.

    She turned an icy re towards Tan Png.

    The boy, who could feel her cold gaze on him, was trying his best to pretend to not notice the stare. With trembling hands, he began turning up the volume of the song that was being yed on his phone.

    I did not see that! I did not see that!

    ¡°Tan Png, don¡¯t you think you owe me an exnation?¡± Ye Ci ced her left hand under her chin and drummed the fingers of her right hand on her knee. Her voice was soft, but the pressure that it exerted on Tan Png was tremendous.

    At this point, the boy was even beginning to hum along to the music.

    Hang in there Tan Png! Just keep feigning ignorance! There¡¯s nothing she can do to you! Hahahahaha...

    Just then, the music in his ears stopped abruptly. He turned around, and saw his earphones in Ye Ci¡¯s hand. He shivered when he noticed the sinister smile on her face.

    The boy visibly gulped and stared back at Ye Ci, ¡°Sister Ye...¡± he blinked. His only chance of survival was to appeal to the benevolence of the demon beside him.

 Chapter 393 Proceeding To The Next Stage (1)

    Chapter 393 Proceeding To The Next Stage (1)

    Only an idiot would tell the truth in a situation like this. Tan Png chuckled at Ye Ci as he slid his hands into his pockets so that he would not clutch at them due to his anxiety, ¡°Let¡¯s go home, Sister Ye.¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows and snorted at the boy, as if she was not interested at all in the idea. She was still waiting for an answer from him.

    Tan Png gulped and looked up into the clear sky. It did not feel like it had been snowing at all. It was as if the sky itself was telling him that he could not keep a secret in this world from Ye Ci.

    And he finally buckled under her intense gaze. Of course, he only offered an exnation about his friendship with Fleeting Time, and hid the fact that he agreed to spy on Ye Ci for the man.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± Ye Ci was apparently finding it hard to believe Tan Png¡¯s words. She knew that Tan Png was not as innocent as he imed to be. There was no way the boy would remain uninvolved in this matter.

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯m telling you nothing but the truth! You can ask Fleeting Time if you want! I¡¯m not lying!¡± Tan Png raised his hands. He knew Ye Ci very well. It was impossible for her to seek an answer from Fleeting Time especially on a topic like this, which was why he decided to push all the me to Fleeting Time. I¡¯m sorry, Fleeting Time. She¡¯s too scary. She¡¯s capable of killing me in-game and in real life.

    He did not mind if it was a clean death, but the only thing he could forsee was endless torture at her hands.

    Tan Png blinked at Ye Ci. He was trying his very best to appear innocent, and to appeal to her benevolence.

    Ye Ci continued staring at Tan Png. She knew that she could not gain any valuable information from the boy, but she also knew that he was cooperating very closely with Fleeting Time. You little shit. I¡¯ve treated you fairly well, haven¡¯t I? But you sold me out! ¡°I¡¯ll have half of your red packet money this year.¡± she snorted.

    ¡°No way!¡± Tan Png screeched miserably. He pleaded for mercy, but all his pleas fell on deaf ears. Ye Ci had no mercy for the ¡°traitor¡±.

    The Spring Festival came not a few dayster. The game itself was bustling with activities just like real life.

    The streets of the main cities were decorated with chinese-style decorations like NPCs performing lion dance, firecrackers, and Spring Festival Couplets.

    Ye Ci spent less and less time online. Due to her missed opportunity caused by Zuo Xian, and her failure to locate the shrine again, she decided to return to Red Lake City instead.

    Fate officials would usuallyunch events in-game during festive seasons that could either increase a character¡¯s reputation or reward them with arge sum of gold or even rare equipment. The Dragon Dance Festival that was held before was an example of such events, and they were all well epted by the yers.

    Upwards Ho! had taken part in the dumpling wrappingpetition this year, and was rewarded with a few pieces of decent equipment. But Ye Ci did not take part in the event as she still had the exploration of the Kira Mountain Range in mind.

    Tan Png had a sudden request for Zuo Xian on the 27th day of New Year, ¡°Mom, a friend of mine is here in our city. Can I invite him over for dinner?¡±

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian had always been hospitable. They agreed to the request without even thinking about it. Ye Ci shot Tan Png a re, but it was ignored by the boy.

    And because of that, Ye Ci decided to have a very serious discussion with Tan Png.

    ¡°Is that friend of yours Fleeting Time?¡± Ye Ci had her hand on her hips as she stood behind Tan Png, who was trying his best to focus his attention on hisputer.

    ¡°Yes. What about it?¡± Tan Png was forcing himself to remain calm.

    ¡°Why did you not ask me about it first?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s heart was filled with fury. If he¡¯sing, doesn¡¯t it mean that he¡¯ll know where I live? Doesn¡¯t it mean that he¡¯ll make his way into my life? And my parents¡¯ as well? Why does this feel so scary?

    Tan Png took a deep breath to strengthen his resolve, ¡°Why should I discuss something like this with you?¡±

    Ye Ci raised her eyebrows, and Tan Png immediately found himself intimidated, ¡°Even you admitted that there¡¯s nothing between you two, but he¡¯s my friend. He took real good care of me when I was on the national team, so why can¡¯t I invite him over...¡±

    Tan Png¡¯s voice was soft, but he was able to render Ye Cipletely speechless. The boy quickly grabbed the opening left by Ye Ci¡¯s silence, ¡°Besides, I haven¡¯t met him for so many years. He did not know anybody in his city. There¡¯s nothing wrong with me inviting him for a meal in our house, right? Can¡¯t you be sympathetic? The Spring Festival is almost here, but he¡¯s alone in an unfamiliar city! Don¡¯t you pity him even one bit?¡± and he stood up without warning, ¡°You¡¯re such an unsympathetic person, Sister Ye!¡± and he rushed out of the room.

    The only person remaining in the room was Ye Ci who was too stunned to even respond.

    Am I being unsympathetic? Wait, how did ite to that? Thought Ye Ci, Wait a minute, Tan Png was simply just redirecting the conversation! I was asking him why he didn¡¯t talk to me about it first! How did it end with me being unsympathetic?

    ¡°Come back here, Tan Png!¡± she shouted. But the boy was nowhere to be seen.

    He had already left the house after leaving the room.

    This was his first time shouting at Ye Ci, and his legs felt like jelly after the experience. Ye Ci¡¯s angered voice was still reverberating in his ears.

    He took in a deep breath and began to pray: I almost died taking a knife for you, Fleeting Time. I hope you¡¯re able to put this opportunity to good use. My future depends on whether you¡¯re able to tame this monster.

    Yi Qingchen arrived at the Ye family home on time the next day, bearing gifts for the members of the family.

    He was courteous and polite.

    The family sat by the sofa and had small talks as it was still not time for dinner. Yi Qingchen¡¯s performance exceeded Ye Ci¡¯s expectations. He was able to say the right things that made Zuo Xiand and Ye Nantian very happy.

    When it was near time for dinner, Zuo Xian left to prepare food, leaving Ye Nantian, Ye Ci, Tan Png, and their guest in the living room.

    The four of them could not simply sit in silence, which was why they decided to y a game of mahjong instead.

    Ye Nantian was the biggest winner on that day, while Yi Qingchen was the biggest loser.

    While Yi Qingchen had been losing since the beginning, he did not disy any hint of displeasure or anger much to Ye Nantian¡¯s satisfaction. He grinned happily as he spoke to Yi Qingchen.

    ¡°How old are you this year, Little Yi?¡±

    ¡°Twenty six.¡±

    ¡°Aiya, I thought you¡¯re barely pass the age of twenty like our Little Ci.¡±

    Yi Qingchen smiled and directed his gaze to Ye Ci, ¡°Ye Ci is past twenty already? You look so young, Uncle Ye, that I thought she¡¯s only around the age of seventeen.¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Yi Qingchen and spoke with a voice that only she could hear, ¡°How pretentious.¡±

    Women were apparently not the only ones who were mindful of their age. Ye Nantian¡¯s grin grew even wider at Yi Qingchen¡¯s words, ¡°Nah, Ye Ci will be twenty one soon. I¡¯m an old man now.¡±

 Chapter 394 Proceeding To The Next Stage (2)

    Chapter 394 Proceeding To The Next Stage (2)

    Ye Nantian was in an exceptionally good mood after his huge wins and the praise he received from Yi Qingchen.

    He was reluctant to end the game of mahjong even when Zuo Xian was calling them for dinner.

    The four of them approached the dinner table filled with dishes that were prepared by Zuo Xian. Each of the dishes were prepared exquisitely with the finest of taste.

    Ye Ci frowned at the food on the table. She had never seen her mother preparing such a grand meal before. But Fleeting Time was able to enjoy such sumptuous food on his first visit much to her displeasure.

    The anger in her heart drove Ye Ci to dig into her meal with her head lowered. She did not take part in the conversation of the other four individuals sitting by the dinner table.

    Zuo Xian stepped on Ye Ci¡¯s foot from under the table, signaling her to improve her behavior. She frowned at her mother, but could not meet her intense gaze.

    There was nothing she could do. Even a Queen has a mother. And a mother¡¯s words hold the greatest power.

    The only thing Ye Ci could do was obey. She lifted her head and forced herself to join in on the conversation.

    ¡°Aiya, I didn¡¯t know what you like, Little Yi. I hope you don¡¯t mind the simple dish.¡± Zuo Xian smiled at Yi Qingchen as she ced more food on his te.

    Ye Ci could only grumble internally at her mother¡¯s word. You call that simple, mom? Who are you kidding!

    I¡¯ve never had such a sumptuous meal for ages! Wow, it sure took you long enough to finally cook something simple, right mom?

    Yi Qingchen smiled at Zuo Xian as she passed him the food, ¡°You¡¯re being modest, auntie. Every single one of your dishes is like a signature dish in a high ss restaurant. If you¡¯re willing to teach me, I¡¯ll surely be able to enjoy such wonderful food everyday.¡±

    Signature dish? What a pretentious man you are, Yi Qingchen! You¡¯re lying through your teeth! Do you think that my mom is stupid? Thought Ye Ci as she stared at Yi Qingchen.

    ¡°Aiya, I¡¯m not as good as uncle here! But it¡¯s true that my dishes were highly praised by many.¡± Ye Ci was apparently mistaken about her mother. She was grinning at Yi Qingchen because of his praise.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression immediately darkened. Praised by many? How many are you talking about, mom? Three? Five? Or ten? Just how shameless can you get?

    Ye Nantian nodded in agreement, ¡°You can cook, Little Yi?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I live alone. It¡¯ll be troublesome if I can¡¯t cook. Takeouts are not good for one¡¯s health.¡±

    Yi Qingchen answered every single question directed at him truthfully.

    ¡°By the way, Little Yi, I heard from Tan Png that you¡¯re a world champion?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not only that, mom! He¡¯s a five-time world champion!¡± Tan Png immediately spoke up when a subject of his interest was brought up.

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian would of course know about esports as it was not anything new. While they were not adept at yingputer games, they would still see news about esports on television from time to time.

    They knew that it was not easy to be a world champion, and being a five-time world champion was indeed a very impressive feat. That was why the couple eximed in awe at Tan Png¡¯s words.

    ¡°Are you still in the pro scene? Will you be taking part this year?¡±

    ¡°No, uncle. I¡¯m no longer a pro. In fact, I retired two years ago.¡± Yi Qingchen replied sincerely.

    ¡°Why did you retire?¡± Ye Nantian was confused, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the champion?¡±

    A smile appeared on Yi Qingchen¡¯s face and his gaze drifted towards Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m twenty six years old, and I don¡¯t earn much by being a pro. I n to get married eventually. How could I expect my wife to suffer with me because of my interest in the game? I need some economic stability in my life so that I can provide for my wife. I want her to be happy.¡±

    Bullshit! That¡¯s not what you said to me, you big fat liar! Ye Ci could feel the urge to curse at the man.

    Tan Png picked that exact moment to look at Ye Ci, and she immediately shot daggers at him. The boy shivered in fear and immediately turned away.

    But Ye Nantian and his wife did not share Ye Ci¡¯s opinion. They were very satisfied with his response, ¡°That¡¯s right. A man must bear the responsibility of providing for his family. It¡¯d be bad if you can¡¯t do even that.¡±

    The conversation eventually drifted towards meaningless small talks between Ye Nantian, Zuo Xiand, and Yi QIngchen much to Ye Ci¡¯s bewilderment. Mom! Dad! You¡¯ve almost revealed his secret! This guy¡¯s Fleeting Time! Why can¡¯t you be more thorough with your line of questioning!

    But those were words that never left Ye Ci¡¯s mouth. She could do nothing but continue to stuff her mouth full of food and tried her best to ignore the asional gaze that Yi QIngchen would cast her way.

    He had even insisted upon helping with cleaning the dishes after dinner.

    Zuo Xian red at Ye Ci who had plopped herself on the sofa and was munching on fresh fruit, ¡°Why are you not helping him?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at her mother, ¡°Why should I?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a guest, and you¡¯re the host! Haven¡¯t I taught you about this before?¡± Zuo Xian continued ring at Ye Ci.

    ¡°He was the one who offered to clean them. It¡¯s not like I asked him to, so why should I help?¡± Ye Ci would have offered to help if it was anybody else, but she refused to step into the kitchen because the guest today was Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Go over there and help him!¡± Zuo Xian spoke through gritted teeth as she pulled Ye Ci up and shoved her towards the kitchen.

    But Ye Ci refused to budge, ¡°Png was the one who invited him! Why don¡¯t you send him into the kitchen? I did nothing wrong, so why must I do the cleaning?¡±

    ¡°Ye Ci, behave yourself.¡± Ye Nantian who was watching the television finally spoke up. His words were like the final nail on Ye Ci¡¯s coffin.

    Despite her seething anger, there was nothing she could do but to head into the kitchen.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll get them washed.¡± Yi Qingchen, who was observing the tug of war between mother and daughter, smiled at Ye Ci when Zuo Xian left the kitchen.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need! It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve never done it before!¡± Ye Ci turned around and shot Yi Qingchen a re. She rolled up her sleeves and shoved him aside before submerging her hands into the basin.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Yi Qingchen grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s hand without even thinking. And he was shocked by the contact. Ye Ci immediately pulled back her hand, her eyes widening in surprise.

    This was a new experience for her, and she was not prepared for it. She could still feel the lingering heat of Yi Qingchen¡¯s hand from the brief moment they touched.

    Yi Qingchen lowered his head after a few seconds of shock. He stared into the basin and said in a shaky and very low voice, ¡°W-would you mind helping me with cleaning them?¡±

    Ye Ci did not respond, and instead walked up to the basin beside Yi Qingchen and turned open the tap.

 Chapter 395 Whatâ€™s Your Impression Of Him?

    Chapter 395 What¡¯s Your Impression Of Him?

    Reality is too different from the world in-game.

    The sense of touch in real life was something that the game could not fully emte.

    Despite their many interactions in-game, this was the first time Ye Ci had any physical contact with Fleeting Time in real life.

    Unlike holding hands in the game, this contact sent her heart racing. The heart that hadid dormant within her chest was thumping hard. She visibly gulped. There seemed to be a ringing in her ears.

    Thump thump thump thump thump..

    Ye Ci tried her best to calm her nerves. She stole a nce at Yi Qingchen when he handed her a te. The man was calm, as if nothing had happened.

    Perhaps I¡¯m thinking too much about this. Thought Ye Ci. And this thought acted as an anchor that allowed her to calm herself. She took in a deep breath, and was able to calm her nerves even further.

    The warm glow of the kitchen light was soothing.. Ye Ci stared out the window as she worked on drying the tes handed over to her by Yi Qingchen. The sky had darkened, the streets were illuminated by the lights from the streetmps.

    She could see children with firecrackers roaming the streets. The night air was filled with their joyousughter.

    Ye Ci was in a daze.

    She could still remember sneaking out of her house after dinner with arge pack of firecrackers to y with her friends. Some beating would of course follow if she was discovered by her parents, but it did not stop her from sneaking out of her house.

    ¡°Did you enjoy doing that when you were young?¡± The silence was broken by Fleeting Time¡¯s voice, and Ye Ci was brought back into reality. She noticed Yi Qingchen staring nkly at the children, and smiled, ¡°Were you ying like that when you were young?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s gaze once again drifted towards the children ying outside, ¡°I¡¯d even get beaten up by my parents.¡±

    ¡°Why did they do that?¡± Yi Qingchen was shocked, but it took him only a moment to realise the answer to his own question, ¡°Maybe they¡¯re worried that you¡¯ll hurt yourself.¡±

    ¡°Yup. I used to hate them for doing it. But I¡¯d always snuck out the next day.¡± Ye Ci giggled at her childhood self, ¡°What about you? Have you done something like this before?¡±

    ¡°I did. Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Yi Qingchen¡¯s gaze grew softer as he smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°But I rarely got beatings from my parents.

    ¡°Ah? Was it because you¡¯re a boy?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°No... That¡¯s because I¡¯m a fast runner. My mom couldn¡¯t catch me, while my dad had always allowed me to do as I please. He said that it was okay for a boy to get hurt once in a while.¡± Yi Qingchen smiled at her. His expression grew even gentler when he remembered the childhood memory.

    ¡°Oh yeah, the Spring Festival is almost over by now, should you go home and visit your parents?¡± asked Ye Ci at the mention of his mother.

    Yi Qingchen¡¯s eyes lost their focus as he smiled at the question, ¡°Ahh...¡± he then returned his attention to the dirty tes in the sink, ¡°My parents are with God now. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to celebrate the Spring Festival with them just yet...¡±

    Ye Ci was stunned, and she immediately apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. They were happy at the time of their death. They passed away in a car crash during their honeymoon.¡± Yi Qingchen shook his head, ¡°They loved each other very much, and would always argue about who would leave this world first when they were alive. They both wanted to be thest person to pass away.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Ye Ci was curious. Interpersonal rtionships had never been her strong suit.

    ¡°Because the one who was left alive was the one who would suffer the most.¡± replied Yi Qingchen with a smile, ¡°The dead do not have to suffer the lonely nights and spend their waking hours longing for their partner. But God was apparently watching over them on that day. Both of them left together. Neither of them had to suffer the loss of the other.¡±

    ¡°But you... You were left behind.¡±

    Even Ye Ci did not realise the aching in her heart as she spoke the words. Yi Qingchen smiled faintly as he stared at Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that bad.¡± he shrugged, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have met you if I went with them.¡±

    Ye Ci opened her mouth, but her words seemed to have been stuck in her throat. She then turned around and refocused her attention on the tes.

    She thought of herself in herst life, and the Fleeting Time of that time. They fought against each other in the PVP tournament, and it resulted in his decisive victory. She had been cold, distant, and very arrogant. Never would she think that she would be able to receive a second chance and would even have a rtionship with the man that was at the top of the game.

    Her fate was turnedpletely around. She would often wonder if this world was even real, or was it a mere dream she was having.

    But it was a question that she would never have an answer to, ¡°It might not be as good as you think. I¡¯m not that good of a person myself.¡±

    Yi Qingchen did not even flinch at the question, ¡°And so what? Even if you¡¯re a sinner, you¡¯re still Ye Ci... Nothing else matters.¡±

    Ye Ci was slightly stunned by his response, ¡°Ignorant.¡± she retorted, ¡°What else do you know about me other than my name?¡±

    ¡°Why must I know anything else?¡± Yi Qingchen raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°Why not? Do you know my character? What strengths? My weaknesses? What are you if not ignorant to say that you do not care even when you know nothing about me?¡±

    ¡°It has nothing to do with me liking you as a person, does it?¡± responded Qi Qngchen with a question of his own. He could not understand Ye Ci¡¯s way of thought.

    ¡°Alright, maybe it does.¡± he said when he noticed the displeasure in her expression, ¡°But I know Gongzi You very well. And I know of her strengths and weaknesses. Is that not enough?¡±

    ¡°But that was me in a game! It¡¯s different.¡± Ye Ci did not know why she was trying to convince Yi Qingchen. And so what if I¡¯m able to convince him? Ye Ci did not know. She did not know why she was having such a thought.

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because we¡¯re both in a game.¡± Yi Qingchen shook his head, ¡°Because in a game where your identity is hidden, you do not have to act or behave. Your strengths and weaknesses will be amplified because your identity remains anonymous. Doesn¡¯t it mean that it¡¯s the best mirror that could reflect your personality? You can easily mask your true self in real life! So why do you even care about something like this?¡±

    Ye Ci bit her lips and stared at Yi Qingchen, ¡°Foolish.¡± was the only word that left her mouth.

    Yi Qingchen chuckled at her words, and eventually broke intoughter. Ye Ci stared at him, confused. She did not know what was going on.

    It took Yi Qingchen quite a while to regain hisposure. His eyes were gentle as he leaned closer to Ye Ci, and spoke with a soft voice that only the two of them could hear, ¡°And that is why I love you.¡±

    ¡°Bang!¡± colorful fireworks lit up the night sky outside the window.

    And Ye Ci¡¯s heart melted when she stared at Yi Qingchen¡¯s face. She turned her head to look out of the window. The firecrackers tonight... They¡¯re beautiful.

    Yi Qingchen left the city the next day.

    Ye Ci and Tan Png stood in the lounge of the airport. She stared out at the nes taking off, but she did not know which of them was carrying Yi Qingchen within.

    ¡°So what do you think of Fleeting Time, Sister Ye Ci?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ye Ci knew what she meant, but she was toozy to give him an answer, which was why she responded with a question of her own.

    ¡°You know, like how he is as a person? And how would you proceed with him now that you met him in real life?¡± there was a slight desperation in Tan Png¡¯s voice.

    And Ye Ci, who could sense the desperation, narrowed her eyes at the boy, ¡°What did Yi Qingchen promise you? Why do I feel like you¡¯re trying to pimp me out?¡±

    Eh? Did he promise me anything? No, he did not! Tan Png was stunned. But... But... He clutched at his hair, ¡°No he did not! I just thought that you two suit each other very well. And he likes you. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if you like him back?¡±

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Tan Png and turned around to leave, ¡°Fool.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Tan Png who was confused immediately followed after her, ¡°Why did you call me a fool, Sister Ye Ci? I¡¯m a top scorer who was guaranteed a spot in the university! I have confidence in my intelligence! How can you say that to me! Besides, I didn¡¯t say anything wrong...¡±

    ¡°I said Yi Qingchen was a fool.¡± a faint smile formed on Ye Ci¡¯s lips, ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask about my opinion of him? Here is my answer. That man is a fool.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± Tan Png¡¯s confusion grew even deeper. He felt as if he could not longer understand the Chinesenguage. No way! The only impression Fleeting TIme gave her is that he¡¯s a fool? What... What happened?

    Ye Ci turned around and shot Tan Png a re, ¡°Are youing?! I¡¯ll leave you behind if you continue standing there!¡± and she began to walk away. A smile was forming on her face, and it was rapidly growing into a wide grin.

 Chapter 397 Meeting Andriel Again

    Chapter 397 Meeting Andriel Again

    This scene was so familiar to Ye Ci. As she clutched on the steering and appeared to be driving calmly on the surface, many things were going on in Ye Ci¡¯s head. She could vividly remember driving with Bai Mo in herst life as well.

    The two of them were having a conversation just like this, but it was less peaceful. It ended with Bai Mo leaving, and her returning to Wandering Clouds.

    And the next time they drove together, Ye Ci was pushing the pedal to the metal, while Bai Mo was trying his best to stop her. It ended with...

    Ye Ci sighed. Thank God I¡¯m able to start things over again. This was why she treasured Bai Mo¡¯s opinion a lot. No matter what he said, she would consider it, instead of going into an argument with him.

    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Bai Mo bit into another steamed bun. It was apparent that he was starving.

    ¡°What do you mean what I¡¯m thinking about?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s head was a jumbled mess. She could notprehend Bai Mo¡¯s question.

    Bai Mo cast a nce at Ye Ci and saw her expression as she focused on the road. She was genuinely confused by the question, ¡°Why was he here?¡±

    It was a question that Ye Ci had pondered. But truth to be told, she did not know the answer. She wanted to ask the same question to Yi QIngchen as well, but... She forgot to ask.

    Damn it! Why did I forget such an important question! She did not even know how to begin to answer his question, ¡°Well, he and Png knew each other for a long time. It¡¯s not harad for him to know where we live. But... I don¡¯t know how he got here, and why he did it.¡±

    Bai Mo raised an eyebrow at Ye Ci. He patted her on the head and a smile appeared on his lips, ¡°What do you think of Fleeting Time?¡±

    This was the second time someone asked such a question. But Ye Ci would never lie to Bai Mo, nor would she give him an answer that was only half the truth. She drove in silence in heavy traffic. The traffic eventually bogged down due to therge number of cars on the road. But this gave Ye Ci a chance to seriously ponder the question.

    ¡°I think he¡¯s just like a child.¡± replied Ye Ci after a long moment of silence, ¡°He likes to waste his time on insignificant problems, is very possessive, willful, and would never give up on the things he wants, just like a child would. I¡¯ve always wondered how he managed to survive growing up.¡± she then turned around to face Bai Mo, ¡°Don¡¯t you think so? He has a lower EQ than even I do. How can he grow up safely like that? Is it because of his luck?¡±

    Bai Mo blinked with confusion, there was disbelief in his voice, ¡°Say, are we talking about the same person.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Ci looked at Bai Mo, ¡°What do you mean we¡¯re not talking about the same person?¡±

    ¡°The Fleeting Time you just described is not the Fleeting Time I know,¡± said Bai Mo.

    ¡°The Fleeting TIme you know?¡± Ye Ci parotted his words, ¡°Then what is the Fleeting Time you know life?¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t behave like a child. He is calm, rational, cunning, and overall a monster. Why does he sound so different from your perspective?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no way we got the wrong person. Tan Png knew him in real life.¡± Ye Ci was confused. There¡¯s no way we¡¯re mistaken right? Is Yi Qingchen not Fleeting Time?

    Bai Mo broke out intoughter, as if he had just heard the best joke in the world.

    Ye Ci was very confused. Did I say something wrong just now? She thought long and hard, I did not say anything funny. Why is heughing?

    Bai Mo held back hisughter when he saw Ye Ci¡¯s confused expression. He took in a deep breath to calm himself down, but there was still a wide grin on his face, ¡°A man would only behave like a child towards a woman he loves.¡±

    It was Ye Ci¡¯s turn to blink in confusion, ¡°You¡¯re saying that...¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not saying anything.¡± Bai Mo faced away from Ye Ci, ¡°Little Ci, you know the answer to your own question. You don¡¯t have to ask me.¡±

    Ye Ci creased her eyebrows, and muttered to herself before asking, ¡°Do you think Fleeting TIme is a bad person?¡±

    ¡°How do I say this...¡± Bai Mo tilted his head, ¡°I think he¡¯s a normal human being just like you and me. There are good things about him, and of course, there¡¯s bound to be bad sides to him too.¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. She did not get the answer she wanted. She stepped lightly on the elerator when the car in front finally moved forward. A sigh escaped her mouth. She wanted to know from Bai Mo if Fleeting Time was worth hermitment, but the question refused to leave her mouth.

    Bai Mo was right. She knew the answer. There was no need to ask him about it. But what about Wandering Clouds? Bai Mo objected to our rtionship back then. What will he do in this life?

    Her rtionship with Wandering Clouds was a trauma that had haunted her for a long time. It made her very timid when she had to face Fleeting Time.

    Bai Mo could understand how Ye Ci felt. He stared silently at her before finally speaking up, ¡°I have a feeling that he¡¯s a very responsible person. While he can be childish at times, he¡¯s still a very mature person. He¡¯ll make a good partner for you in life.¡±

    Ye Ci kept her eyes on the road, but her mind was filled with the times she spent with Fleeting Time. She let out a sigh after a very long time.

    While Bai Mo was silent as if he had already fallen asleep, he was still conscious. He sighed internally. It seems that daughters are bound to leave their families once they grow older. She¡¯s no longer the snotty little brat who used to follow me around. I can¡¯t protect her forever. He understood that one day a man would appear to take over his role as Ye Ci¡¯s protector. A feeling of sadness filled his heart, as if someone had snatched his precious daughter away from him. Damn you, Fleeting Time. I¡¯ll not let you off the hook that easily.

    The Spring Festival gave arge amount of high quality equipment to the yers. These equipment could only be crafted if not for the event. And it was not an easy task.

    But thanks to the new equipment, the major guilds in the game were able to increase their efficiency in dungeon clearing. Many of the BOSSes that had be obstacles to their progress were defeated with rtive ease.

    Upwards Ho! had been busy with dungeon clearing as well. Due to its rapid growth, the guild was now considered a medium sized guild. Its members might not be as numerous as the likes of Golden Era, but the due to its preference for quality over quantity, it was still a verypetent guild

    Many of Upwards Ho!¡¯s yers were skillful and well equipped. They could easily make up for theirck in numbers with the quality of their yers. The guild had even organized its yers into groups that would scour dungeons and farm equipment from the arena to raise their fighting capabilities.

    Ye Ci, on the other hand, had been busy exploring the Kira Mountain Range. Perhaps due to the luck of the Spring Festival, she was able to locate the shrine once again. And after a short exploration, she was able topletely master the terrain in the mountain range. No matter where she was, she could easily navigate her way to the shrine.

    The bow was still held by the statue of the Goddess of Nature, which was in turn protected by a barrier. Despite her best attempts, Ye Ci could not find a way to unlock the barrier. She had to return to Natasha, but the NPC was of no help as well.

    But she received a hint from Natasha. She was told that the warriors who apanied Dau¡¯er in his fight against Naga might know of the barrier¡¯s secrets.

    And Ye Ci knew of a survivor of the war. It was Andriel who was now a ghost.

    She once again returned to the Swamps of Despair.

    The area was still devoid of yers, and even Ye Ci herself was barely able to make the journey due to her stealth capabilities. The swamp was still guarded by the spirits of the dead.

    Ye Ci shivered as a gust of cold wind blew past her. She carefully made her way to Andriel¡¯s grave, careful to avoid detection by the wandering Undead around her.

    It sounded simple, but was no easy task. She was sweating from exertion by the time she arrived by Andriel¡¯s grave.

    She surveyed her surroundings while remaining in stealth. A passing Banshee turned its head towards her, and she held her breath. She was among one of the highest level yers, but her level was still nothingpared to the monsters in the map. A single ncing blow would be able to take her life.

    The Banshee¡¯s hollow eyes remained fixed on Ye Ci¡¯s position for a few agonizing seconds before it floated away. Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief and extended her hand towards Andriel¡¯s grave.

    A puff of green smoke appeared and took a humanoid shape. It was Andriel.

    The deceased Elf stretched his body and took in a deep breath, ¡°I felt a friend calling for me. Let¡¯s see who is here,¡± he lowered himself and smiled when he saw Ye Ci, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, young Elf. It has been a long time.¡±

    ¡°It has indeed, Andriel.¡± Ye Ci bowed at the Elf.

    ¡°How¡¯s Tamra?¡± Andriel smiled at Ye Ci. He was in a great mood.

    Despite his experiences that were filled with tragedy, the Elf was indeed in a good mood.

    Ye Ci hesitated to tell him the truth, but Andriel could sense that something was amidst, ¡°What is wrong, my young kinsman? Why are you hesitating?¡±

    ¡°Andriel, your friend Tamra has arrived at our homnd.¡± Ye Ci finally broke the news to the Elf.

    Andriel was momentarily stunned. He was quick to understand the words. Sorrow washed over him, but he swiftly recovered from his feeling of woe, ¡°That¡¯s good. We both yearned to return to our homnd. At least he was able to return.

 Chapter 398 A Favor For Andriel

    Chapter 398 A Favor For Andriel

    Ye Ci remembered her promise to Tamra before his death, ¡°Andriel, Tamra wanted me to take you home before passing away. He told me that you¡¯ve been through a lot together, and it¡¯s his wish that you¡¯re able to return home as well. Are you willing toe with me?¡±

    It was a quest from Tamra, but it also involved digging up a grave. Ye Ci knew that it was wise to ask first or she might risk offending the owner of the grave.

    Andriel was not surprised to hear her words, as if it was something that he had long expected. He stared at the horizon far away, at the direction of the ancient battlefield where countless Elves lost their lives. How many souls are sleeping in that dested hellscape?

    ¡°No, my kin, I do not wish to leave.¡± Andriel¡¯s gaze drifted back to Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t think you can fulfill thete Tamra¡¯s wish.¡± he smiled at Ye Ci.

    ¡°But why? Don¡¯t you want to return to our homnd? There are trees, and beautiful flowers blooming...¡±

    But she was cut off by Andriel mid sentence, ¡°But myrades are not there. I miss our homnd, and I am indeed a friend of Tamra, but I¡¯m also a warrior. I cannot abandon my brothers in arms in this ce.¡±

    This signified the checkpoint of Tamra¡¯s quest for Ye Ci. In a situation like this, Ye Ci would usually receive a request from Andriel to deliver his response to Tamra. But she was shocked to discover that there was no change in her quest description. She did not fail the quest, nor was the quest showing another progress. This meant that she must bring Andriel back to the Eastern Continent.

    But with Andriel¡¯s rejection clear, Ye Ci could not forcefully dig up the corpse of the NPC, as it would mean a huge reduction in their intimacy. She might even risk angering the spirit of the Elf, which might attack her and kill her where she stood.

    And even if she was not attacked by the Elf, she knew that Andriel would never give his cooperation in unlocking the secrets of the shrine. She would lose her only clue to unlocking the barrier and gain ess to the bow.

    While Andriel had indeed expressed his reluctance to return, the Elf did not say that he would never return no matter what.

    With her mind set, Ye Ci changed her approach, ¡°Andriel, we Elves had always been a race to keep our promises. I am deeply impressed by your conviction.¡±

    Andriel bowed towards Ye Ci in return, ¡°My kin, thank you for your praise. This is the highest honor one can bestow upon me.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded and let out a long sigh.

    ¡°What is it, my kinsman? Why are you sighing?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing Andriel. I¡¯m sighing because I¡¯ll never be a hero like you.¡±

    ¡°Why would you say that? You will be able to achieve such a feat as long as Elven blood flows within you!¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t even keep my promises! What good can I be if I can¡¯t even fulfill the oath that I have made?¡± Ye Ci shrugged, ¡°It seems my promise to Tamra is bound to be broken. I can only hope that he will forgive me.¡± she bowed at Andriel and smiled at the Elf, ¡°I shall take my leave, Andriel. We will meet again.¡± and she immediately turned around and entered stealth.

    Ye Ci was praying with all her might as she walked away from the NPC. Oh God, please let this work. Come on, Andriel! I know you can¡¯t bear to allow me to leave just like this...

    Just then, Andriel¡¯s voice rang out in her ears,¡±Wait.¡±

    Ye Ci could barely suppress her urge to jump with joy. It seems like I¡¯m getting better at fooling the NPCs. I hope his reply will not disappoint me. ¡°What is it, Andriel?¡± she turned around and came out of stealth, ¡°Is there anything else you need from me?¡±

    Andriel was apologetic as he spoke to Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my kinsman. I was being selfish, and had forgotten about your promise.¡± he looked at the direction of the ancient battlefield, ¡°But I do not wish to part with myrades. My kinsman, can you fulfill a wish of mine? If you can, I will return home with you.¡±

    ¡°Of course, great hero! I will do my best to fulfill your wish. What do you need me to do?¡± Ye Ci immediately bowed at the Elf.

    ¡°Myrades and I swore an oath at the shrine before we went to war. We would live and die together on the battlefield. Their bodies were still strewn across the battlefield, while I¡¯m buried here. If I can¡¯t leave with them, then I shall stay here and watch over them forever. If you wish for me to return, then I shall return with myrades. I¡¯m sure they miss our homnd more than I do.¡±

    Hisrades? Ye Ci could not believe what she heard, The Elves that took part in the battle were hundreds of thousands strong! You want me to take them all back with me? Why don¡¯t you just kill me!

    Ye Ci took a deep breath. She could only pray for the benevolence of the game developers. ¡°How many of you do I have to bring back with me?¡±

    ¡°All of us, of course. Our battalion that was a thousand strong swore an oath before going to war. I hope you can bring them all back with me.¡± exined Andriel.

    A new quest appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s quest interface. It was a mission to collect a thousand corpses from the ancient battlefield.

    Only a thousand? Thank God! Ye Ci breathed a sigh of relief. She would definitely have rejected the quest if the numbers were higher. She epted the quest and bade farewell to Andriel before leaving to the direction of the ancient battlefield on dragonback.

    But she did not get far before she was forced tond. The monsters in the air were too numerous. There were even a few low tier Dragons in the mix. While Ol¡¯ Six was a formidable Holy Dragon, its level was still too lowpared to the monsters. Her safety was not guaranteed if she proceeded towards the ancient battlefield in the air.

    She would present a smaller target if she traveled alone bynd. As long as she was quick and agile enough, she would be able to reach the battlefield unscathed.

    But it was still easier said than done. Ye Ci had to traverse through eight maps before she could arrive at the ancient battlefield, and they were all popted by high leveled monsters.

    But she was able to change her stats and appearance into that of a monster¡¯s using her Brooch of Deceit. This greatly reduced the risks she had to face on her journey.

    She began to run into the remnants of Naga¡¯s army as she got closer to the ancient battlefield. With their leaders in in a battle a long time ago, the monsters wandered aimlessly in the destednd.

    And unlike the spirits of the dead, Naga¡¯s army were monsters that were still alive. They would fall upon anything that gave off the scent of the living. This made the map a very dangerous ce for Ye Ci. She disguised herself as a Dark Apostle and would only walk through ces with the thinnest monster poption.

    Just when she was halfway across the map, Ye Ci noticed a Dark Apostle with a slightly different appearance making its way towards her. She stole a nce at the NPC, and was shocked to discover that it was a BOSS.

    A field BOSS like this would be randomly generated in Fate. They would have a higher level and Perception than a normal monster. Ye Ci maintained a steady pace as she attempted to evade the BOSS.

    But despite her best attempts, the BOSS was able to notice her presence and walked up to her. It hissed at Ye Ci, and while she could not understand thenguage that was being spoken, she shrugged at the BOSS and stepped aside. Despite its suspicions, the BOSS continued its way forward and left Ye Ci behind.

    Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief when the BOSS was a safe distance away. She knew that she could not remain in the map for too long, and immediately began to move.

    It took her more than ten hours to finally arrive at the ancient battlefield.

    Despite the rtively small monster poption, all of the monsters in the map were Elites and field BOSS type enemies that were lvl200 and above. There were at least two thousand Elites and nearly two hundred BOSS type monsters scattered across the map.

    The ancient battlefield would be a good hunting ground for guilds in the future due to its monster poption and the treasure chests that could be found in the map. But Ye Ci was here to collect the corpses of Andriel¡¯srades. Survival was of the utmost priority to her.

    She proceeded through the map with utmost caution, and it took her five days to collect 999 corpses from the map. She was also able to unlock a few chests along the way and obtained a number of lvl200 equipment and rare skill books thanks to her Master Key.

    The equipment might not be of use to yers at the current stage of the game, but it was still a good motivational tool for the members of the guild. Their presence in the guild¡¯s warehouse was like a message to Upwards Ho!¡¯s members: The guild is stronger than you think.

    Ye Ci had long since grown familiar with the map by then. She was able to effectively evade the monsters in the map, and knew where the treasure chests would appear. But despite her best attempts, she could not locate the final corpse.

    Knowing that blinding scouring the map would be a waste of time, she decided to return to the Swamps of Despair and summoned Andriel, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, great hero, I was only able to locate 999 corpses after scouring the entire battlefield. I was not able to find the body of the final warrior. Are there any other ces that he might have gone to?¡±

    Andriel¡¯s expression was a mask of surprise. He let out a sigh after a long moment of silence, ¡°My kinsman, you¡¯re an Elf of your words. We Elves are lucky to have someone like you as one of our own.¡± He lowered himself and patted Ye C on her shoulders and said with a smile, ¡°But there is no need for you to look for the final corpse.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Ye Ci was confused. I don¡¯t have to search for it? But the quest is notpleted yet!

    Andriel nodded and spread open his hands, ¡°Because I am thest corpse.¡±

    Ye Ci creased her eyebrows. Thank God I decided to ask him, or I would¡¯ve driven myself mad trying to look for something that is never there!

 Chapter 399 A New Patch

    Chapter 399 A New Patch

    Ye Ci immediately headed back to Red Lake City after collecting all the corpses. She then made her way to the newbie vige after replenishing her supplies.

    While there was still a substantial yer poption in the map, it was nothing like the numbers she saw when the server first opened.

    She received stares from the yers because of her cloak. Some of them even followed her deeper into the vige. She buried the bodies, and ording to Tamra¡¯s wishes, buried his friend beside him. Her quest was finallyplete.

    Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief. But before she could summon Andriel from his grave, the ghost of Tamra appeared before her. The new yers eximed in shock before the ghost even began to speak. This brought the attention of more yers to Ye Ci.

    ¡°Thank you, my kinsman. You¡¯ve fulfilled my wish. I do not have much with me, but there is something in my former home that you might find useful. I give you my permission to search for it.¡± and a quest marker immediately appeared in Ye Ci¡¯s view.

    It¡¯s the Kira Mountain Range again? It seems that another trip is in order.

    Ye Ci then touched Andriel¡¯s grave after bidding her farewell with Tamra. The Elf and hisrades were overjoyed to have finally been able to return home, ¡°My kinsman, I have a feeling that you came looking for me not just because of Tamra¡¯s wish. There¡¯s something you need from me. How may I be of help?¡±

    Can you not be so perceptive? Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, This NPC is too intelligent.

    Despite herints, she knew that she still had to treat Andriel with respect. ¡°There is something that has been troubling me. I tried my best, but I just can¡¯t find an answer. You¡¯re my only hope. Perhaps you can help in solving this riddle.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What is it? Tell me about it.¡± Andriel¡¯s interest was piqued.

    Ye Ci ryed her adventures and what she saw in the shrine truthfully to Andriel. She also told him why she needed the bow, and expressed her wish that he could help with solving the mystery behind the barrier.

    And at this point, even more new yers had gathered around her. They would not see her status due to the Secret Cloak, but they knew that she was a very high level yer. Many of them were hoping that she would help them out with gaining level quickly, but they did not have the courage to interrupt the conversation between her and the NPC.

    Andriel was shocked when Ye Ci recounted what had happened, ¡°You¡¯ve discovered Dau¡¯er¡¯s cenotaph?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°How did you find it?¡±

    ¡°A Sorcerer friend of mine led me to the graveyard. That is where Ltiti¡¯s clothes were buried. Since they¡¯re all buried in the same graveyard, I was able to guess the location of Dau¡¯er¡¯s cenotaph.¡±

    Andriel fell into silence for a long moment before finally nodding at Ye Ci.

    He took in a deep breath as memories began flooding his mind, ¡°That shrine... Was where myrades and I swore an oath to follow Dau¡¯er into battle. It was such a glorious moment for all of us. Even if none of us was able to make it home, it was a price that we had to pay for our ideals. It was our contribution to thend.¡± and he continued after taking in a deep breath, ¡°Oh how I¡¯ve missed that time. Let me try to remember what I know about that barrier.¡± and he closed his eyes, appearing to be deep in thought.

    Ye Ci remained silent and awaited his answer patiently. Many of the crowd had grown bolder at this point, and a number of them eventually worked up their courage to approach Ye Ci.

    She was confused by their behavior.

    But Ye Ci was never a good samaritan. Despite their sincerity, the new yers were all rejected by Ye Ci. She did, however, give them a piece of advice for free, ¡°Don¡¯t take the easy way out especially when you are still new to the game. You need to learn how to use your skills and hone your positioning so that you will not be a burden to your team.¡±

    Most of the new yers reacted to Ye Ci¡¯s words with anger. It did not take long for the crowd to disperse. Only a single Elven Warrior remained, ¡°Is my positioning really that important?¡±

    Ye Ci held some pity for the yer Elves were a naturally agile race with high Agility and low Endurance. He was cing himself at a disadvantage by choosing to be a Warrior as an Elf. But there was no weak character sses in the game, and only ipetent yers.

    ¡°Yes.¡± she nodded at the Warrior, ¡°It wille in handy in many situations. You can even improve your damage output in a battle with good positioning.¡±

    The Elven Warrior¡¯s eyes immediately brightened up at Ye Ci¡¯s words, ¡°Really? I can increase my damage output by doing that?¡±

    Ye Ci groaned lightly when she noticed his sincere expression, ¡°To be honest with you, Elves are not suited to be Warriors. Humans, Dwarves, and even Orcs were more suitable for this ss. But it does not mean that you¡¯repletely useless. Elves have high Agility that can affect one¡¯s movement speed, attack speed, and critical attack. You might not be able to be a tank, but you can still y as a DPS as you will receive more boost in your Agility and Critical Rate than the other Warriors of the same level. As long as you have the right gear, and have a good game sense, you¡¯ll be a very good DPS in your team.¡±

    The Warrior grew even more excited when he listened to Ye Ci¡¯s exnation, ¡°Thank you! You¡¯ve filled me with hope! I was actually thinking of deleting my ount.¡±

    Just then, Andriel seemed to have broken out of his train of thoughts. Ye Ci nodded at the Elven Warrior and gestured with her hand that she had a quest toplete. The Warrior nodded and stood to the side.

    ¡°I remember it now. Dauer was the one who ced the bow into the barrier. How did he do that again?¡± Andriel nodded after a slight pause, ¡°Ah! He has five arrows with him. Each of them has a different color, which represents a different type of magic. The barrier disappeared when he ced all five of his arrows on the altar, and it was restored when the arrows were removed.¡±

    ¡°Five arrows?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Yes. I believe Tamra has handed you a Poison Arrow. It was one of Dau¡¯er¡¯s five arrows. You¡¯ll be able to unlock the barrier by gathering all five of Dau¡¯er¡¯s arrows.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, great hero.¡± Ye Ci bade her farewell with Andriel after receiving the answer she needed.

    She noticed the Warrior still standing nearby and raised an eyebrow, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Hey, you seem like you¡¯re very good at the game. Can you be my teacher? I don¡¯t need you to help me with leveling or with my gears. All I need is for you to give me some pointers from time to time.¡± requested the Elven Warrior.

    Ye Ci shook her head at the yer, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I do not like doing something like this. If you want to improve, you¡¯ll have to train yourself. If you want, you can talk to Timely Rain of Upwards Ho! when you get to lvl60. He¡¯ll sort you out.¡±

    ¡°Upwards Ho!?¡± the yer¡¯s eyes widened with surprise, ¡°Are you perhaps Gongzi You!?¡±

    Ye Ci responded with a wave of her hand, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll be joining us in the future!¡±

    ¡°I will!¡±

    Of the five arrows of Dau¡¯er, both Ye Ci and Fleeting Time had already collected two of them each, but the location of the Frost Arrow remained unknown.

    That was why Ye Ci decided to contact Fleeting Time and ask about the fifth arrow. After all, things would be easier if they could work together.

    With the decision made, Ye Ci traveled to Hero City of the Middle Continent.

    She received a system notification before she could arrive at her destination. It was a message informing yers to log out of the game as a new patch would soon be introduced to the game.

    A frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. What is Wang Jiangnan doing? Didn¡¯t the officials make an announcement that they will not be releasing a patch so soon two days ago? Of course, she knew that there was no use pondering the question. Her priority at the moment was to look for a suitable spot to log out of the game.

    Her character¡¯s status would be rolled back by the system if she was still online when the servers were shut down. She decided to log out of the game while still in the air, as even if Ol¡¯ Six was returned to her pet inventory, she could always activate Featherfall to prevent any fall damage.

    Ye Ci immediately went to herputer once she was out of the game, and began searching for information about the patch.

    It was the first patch released by Wang Jiangnan as the lead developer of Fate. It was a deciding moment for the man¡¯s career.

    Her heart was thumping fast despite her confidence in Wang Jiangnan¡¯s abilities. Her reincarnation had caused a butterfly effect that might change the course of history that she knew, and she was worried for Wang Jiangnan.

    The patch introduced many new dungeons into the game, as well as something known as the Space-time Maelstrom. yers could explore many mysterious maps by traveling through the maelstrom, and it was also one of the few things that were able to gain Ye Ci¡¯s interest.

    Many changes were also brought upon the game by the new patch.

    The requirements for Life yers to level and master their skills were lowered, but blueprints and recipes became rarer in the game. They could only be obtained from loot drops of BOSSes or quests designed specifically for Life yers.

    There was also a series of systems in ce to make the game friendlier to new yers so that they could get used to Fate easier and catch up with the progress of the older yers.

    And the Fortress System was finally introduced in the game. Guilds could upy empty fortresses scattered across different maps, and dere war on fortresses held by other guilds.

    The new patch also saw the addition of hidden races that were mutations of the original races avable to yers that came with their own unique skills.

    There were also a few minor changes made to the skills of each ss that were already in the game. But the changes meant little for Ye Ci as only a few melee skills that she barely used inbat were changed.

    A smile spread across Ye Ci¡¯s face as she read through the patch notes. The new patch introduced a whole new world to Fate. The game had lost a significant number of yers due to Golden Era¡¯s actions, and Wang Jiangnan¡¯s new patch would be able to attract even more yers into the game.

    She could tell that Wang Jiangnan was working hard to obliterate the threat posed by Golden Era and force the guild out of the game.

    Good job, Wang Jiangnan!

 Chapter 402 A Meeting

    Chapter 402 A Meeting

    Elves were a race of elegance and beauty, and had an appearance that would not age.

    The Elf standing before Ye Ci was the pinnacle of beauty. While the Elf was still an NPC, his appearance was very much near perfection.

    While his spirit was transparent, it does not share the appearance of the spirit of Andriel. The spirit was lit up in a white glow that gave his form a more solid feel that made him look real. One might even mistake him for a teammate who was in stealth.

    The most eye-catching feature of the Elf was not his stats, but his name: Illusion of Dau¡¯er.

    That¡¯s right. The spirit standing before the duo was the spirit of the Elven King Dau¡¯er.

    Ye Ci was d. After a long string of troublesome quests, she had finally met the NPC that was the subject of her main quest.

    ¡°Look what we have here... Two young Elves.¡± Dau¡¯er sat on the lid of his coffin and spread his arms open. The Elven King¡¯s form was bristling with muscles, and his armor that hugged his body highlighted his strength well.

    ¡°Greetings, king of the Elves.¡± Ye Ci and Fleeting Time bowed deeply at Dau¡¯er to show their respect for their long lost king.

    Dau¡¯er was apparently used to being treated in such a way. He nodded in acknowledgement of the duo, and smiled at them when they rose, ¡°Oh, let me think... It¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve met such young Elves. Has it been a thousand years? Maybe two thousand even...¡± Dau¡¯er behaved as if he was pondering the question seriously, but he ultimately shrugged, ¡°Wah, it¡¯s been far too long. I don¡¯t even remember it myself. But...a kind smile appeared on his face, ¡°To be able to find your way here... I¡¯m sure the two of you have been through a lot.¡±

    The two of you? This came as a shock to both Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. ¡°Hey, when he said ¡®the two of you, does it mean that we can both proceed with the quest together?¡± asked Ye Ci in their private channel.

    Fleeting Time shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Let¡¯s continue talking to him. Perhaps we¡¯ll get a clue.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an honor for us to be able to follow your footsteps.¡± Ye Ci decided to use the most standard speech in response to Dau¡¯er, ¡°We have always longed to see you in the flesh. But we have only found your cenotaph here. Can you tell us what happened to you, oh Great King?¡±

    ¡°What happened...¡± Dau¡¯er smiled as if he was not affected by the topic that was being discussed at all, ¡°It¡¯s something I do not wish to remember. What a humiliation that was.¡± he let out a long sigh.

    Dau¡¯er began to recount past events, which was in line with what Ye Ci and Fleeting Time already knew about his story. The races on the Jiama Continent united under a single banner and raised a vast army to fight against Naga and his minions.

    Casualties were high on both sides, and the leaders of the Alliance were able to seal Naga at the cost of their life, and their remains were buried in the Grand Cathedral.

    But the seal was not entirely perfect, as part of Naga¡¯s will remained. The Dark Lord could still direct the remnants of his forces and set them loose in search for the lost items of the kings so that his seal could be broken.

    And due to the rampage wrought upon thend by Naga¡¯s minions, the entire Middle Continent fell into ruins. Even the Grand Cathedral was not safe from such a fate. It was forgotten when thest of its monks passed away, and the cenotaph of the lost heroes remained a hidden secret within the cathedral until it was discovered by Spotless Autumn.

    Ye Ci was shocked when Dau¡¯erpleted his story, ¡°So you¡¯re not buried here?¡±

    ¡°Of course. It¡¯ll be too lonely for us.¡± Dau¡¯er had the appearance of a youth, and even his thoughts were that of a youth, ¡°It¡¯s like hell on Earth to be trapped in a graveyard. One will go mad if the only thing one can do is to lie in a coffin. We have entertainment of our own.¡± and Dau¡¯er winked at a dumbfounded Ye Ci, ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll have to ask you to keep this a secret. If the other Elves learn about this, it¡¯ll bring my image to ruin.¡±

    ¡°Then what...¡± Ye Ci sighed, ¡°What should they expect of you?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯d expect me to lie in slumber within this coffin of course.¡± The illusion of Dau¡¯er let out a shout, ¡°Ahhh! It¡¯s so boring!¡±

    ¡°Where does your body and soul lie then?¡± Ye Ci was able to tell that something was up.

    ¡°In the center of the ancient battlefield. That area is covered by mist if I¡¯m not mistaken. It¡¯s the barrier that we put in ce to seal Naga. And I¡¯ve just told you, the shield is imperfect. Naga is still able to project his will through the barrier. We¡¯ve always thought that the barrier wouldst for at least ten thousand years, until a new generation of heroes could rise up and defeat him for good, but...¡±

    A serious expression took over Dau¡¯er¡¯s face, ¡°We¡¯ve recently discovered that Naga¡¯s will is growing stronger by the day. I think the seal is getting weaker. If things continue the way they are, Naga will soon be able to break through the seal and plunge the entire Jiama Continent back into darkness.¡±

    Ye Ci sighed after listening to Dau¡¯er¡¯s words. This does not sound like an easy quest. I think we need at least a thousand toplete something like this. She nced at Fleeting Time, ¡°This sounds like an Epic-tier quest. It¡¯s not something only the two of us can handle. We might even need to enlist more help inpleting this quest.¡±

    Fleeting Time nodded after some moments of thought, ¡°I think we¡¯ll need more men. But we should be able to get the numbers from the elites of Genesis and Upwards Ho!. The rewards forpleting a quest like this will be bountiful. I¡¯m sure Absalom and Remote Depths will be interested in this.¡±

    Ye Ci knew that Bai Mo would never pass up on such a good opportunity, and that Fleeting Time would be able to handle Absalom without a problem. This quest will definitely help improve the Prestige of my guild. It¡¯ll definitely help in our future fights against Golden Era.

    ¡°Great King, the both of us might not be strong, but we have friends. We¡¯re all willing to share this burden with you.¡± she said to the illusion of Dau¡¯er.

    NPCs were always waiting for yers to offer their aid so that they would not appear to be imposing a quest on the yers while simultaneously being able to see their problems solved. A highly intelligent NPC would often attempt to trick yers into offering their aid. And Dau¡¯er had apparently seeded.

    The Elven king nodded as his gaze swept across the faces of Ye Ci and Fleeting Time. ¡°We Elves are indeed the bravest of all races.¡± he sighed, ¡°I¡¯m thankful for your offer even when this has nothing to do with you.¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips. I knew it! It¡¯s not easy to deal with someone with that age.

    ¡°But while I¡¯m thankful for your aid, it is still our fault that the seal that was ced on Naga was iplete. Go fourth, young ones. Head to the Sacred Mountain of Duro Canyon. I heard that Danars is living in seclusion there. I think he¡¯ll be willing to help as long as you tell him your purpose of seeking him out,¡± Dau¡¯er sighed, ¡°He is the first Grand Sorcerer and was part of the Holy Order of Dragon Riders. He¡¯s an old man with a strange temperament. But I think he¡¯ll be willing to help.¡± and Dau¡¯er handed a broken medal each to the duo, ¡°I got these from him. Show him the medals when you find him.¡±

    The duo shared a look and let out a collective sigh. The hardest part of the quest was finally upon them.

    They bad farewell to the illusion of Dau¡¯er after some more exchanges and left the hidden graveyard.

    The duo then left the prayer room and headed for the surface. Due to theck of monsters and chest, the location remained deserted. Ye Ci and Fleeting Time saw a hooded figure making its way towards them when they left the prayer room. The figure was moving fast despite its slightly plump size. And the figure stopped the moment he brushed past the duo.

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time immediately reacted by each jumping to a side and unslung their bows. Two arrows flew at the hooded figure mere momentster.

    The figure turned into a leopard with a sh of light and evaded their attacks.

    ¡°Gongzi You, Fleeting Time, stop! We¡¯re not enemies.¡± The leopard rolled on the ground and returned to its Druid form.

    It was a familiar voice. The duo stopped their attacks but remained vignt as they stared at the Druid.

    The Druid removed his hood and grimaced at the duo, ¡°It¡¯s my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have stopped so abruptly. But you guys sure are fast. Are you really thinking of killing me?¡±

    Ye Ci stared at the smiling face of the Druid and immediately recognised the yer. He was none other than Lethal Poison.

    What the heck is wrong with this day? We ran into Spotless Autumn, and then into Lethal Poison. Are the top yers of all four continents having some sort of meeting?

    Fleeting Time broke intoughter, ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± It was apparent that he was very familiar with Lethal Poison as they were both from allied continents and were the top yers from the top guilds of their continent.

    ¡°I thought you could recognise me from the size of my body. But it seems that even my mother could not recognize me the moment I put on the hood.¡± Lethal Poison sighed.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Despite the deal that they struck, Ye Ci did not enjoy the close rtionship shared between Lethal Poison and Fleeting TIme. She slung her bow and stood silently beside Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Me?¡± Lethal Poison raised an eyebrow and allowed his gaze to drift back and forth between the two, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken,¡± he chuckled, ¡°We¡¯re here for the same reasons.¡±

 Chapter 403 Holy Mountain

    Chapter 403 Holy Mountain

    Just how many of us have epted this quest? Ye Ci did not know the answer, but she herself knew of three other people who were trying toplete this quest.

    She did not know how many of the yers would ultimatelyplete the quest, as she had no memory ofrge scale quests such as this in herst life. Her old self had never even received this quest, nor did any yers who havepleted the quest made any post about the quest.

    But since the quest was epted, this meant that she had to proceed with and and see to its end. There might be obstacles along the way, but they were things that she must ovee.

    Spotless Autumn epted the Sorcerer¡¯s quest, while she and Fleeting Time were trying toplete the Hunter¡¯s questline. It was obvious that Lethal Poison was here because of the Druid quest.

    I wonder who will be the ones toplete the quest for Warriors, Pdins, Rogues, Rangers, Warlocks, Clerics, and the other sses that exist in the game?

    The Holy Mountain was at the northernmost edge of the Middle Continent, in a map called the Land of Bitter Cold.

    As high tier life forms, a Holy Dragon and a Phoenix had no problem dealing with the bone chilling winds in the map, but the same could not be said for Ye Ci and Fleeting Time who were mere yers. Even the highest grade of Cold Resistant potion was not able to resist the effects of the chilling wind.

    Ye Ci let out a huff as she stood at the foot of the Holy Mountain. There was nothing but snow in her vision. She tugged at her thick fur coat as she leaned against a tree, awaiting for Fleeting Time¡¯s return.

    Ol¡¯ Six that was perched beside her was not even affected by the extremely low temperature.

    The duo had attempted to fly towards the top of the mountain on multiple asions, but they were both forced tond as neither of them could withstand the cold. They made the decision o split up to look for a way to the top of the mountain.

    Ye Ci was the first one to return to the foot of the mountain. She decided to wait for Fleeting Time as he was nowhere to be seen. She was afflicted by the ¡°Cold¡± debuff as she waited patiently for him. And as she pulled out a potion from her inventory, she quickly realised that her actions had be slower due to the debuffs.

    With a sigh, Ye Ci gulped down the Cold Resistant Potion, but it did very little to alleviate the effects of the debuff. It was apparent that the potion was not enough to resist the extreme cold.

    She nced at her status. While her HP will not drop from the cold while she was at the foot of the mountain, her capabilities inbat would be severely limited due to the cold. Fortunately for the duo, however, the monster poption at the foot of the Holy Mountain was rtively small.

    The ce is so cold that even time itself seemed to have been frozen solid by the extremely low temperature. Ye Ci paced back and forth as she continued waiting for Fleeting Time. She made the decision to leave the map if Fleeting Time did not show up.

    Just then, his Phoenixnded slowly at a spot near her. She walked up to the Phoenix and leaned against it, as it was a very good source of heat in this cold environment.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for us to get up there.¡± Fleeting Time grimaced at Ye Ci who was holding her hands near one of the fires on his Phoenix¡¯s body.

    ¡°You did not find a way up?¡±

    ¡°Nope. I think we¡¯ll never be able to get up there until we hit lvl100.¡± Fleeting Time walked up to Ye Ci, grabbed hold of her hands, and huffed a puff of hot air at her palms, ¡°This ce is cold.¡±

    Ye Ci was stunned at the gesture that came so naturally by Fleeting Time, but she was able to mask her surprise, ¡°Spotless Autumn¡¯s quest seems to be in another location. I wonder how things are over there.¡±

    ¡°I doubt he¡¯ll be faring better than us.¡± Fleeting Time chuckled.

    Ye Ci snorted in response. He¡¯s not wrong. Spotless Autumn would¡¯vee looking for my freebor if he has a way ofpleting his quest. He must¡¯ve gotten stuck somewhere like us.

    The duo eventually made the decision to leave the cold map.

    There was no time limit to their quest, which meant that the quest would not be affected as long as it waspleted. It was not worth the risk of dying and losing their experience points.

    Their trip to the Holy Mountain however, was far from fruitless. They were able to locate a leveling spot on their way back to Hero City. But Fleeting Time was called away by Absalom as their guild was challenged by its rival, the Ostentatious Heart.

    Ostentatious Heart was a guild based in the American continent that had been active for thirty long years. The guild¡¯s history was ten years longer than that of Genesis, and its current leader Solomon was its sixth leader. The thirty years old man was very ambitious, and had led his guild into greatness in Fate.

    Genesis was ranked second after Ostentatious Heart in herst life, and while they viewed having deals with Golden Era as something that was beneath them, the guild was still able to thrive as the top superguild in the Western Continent.

    Despite the destruction that Golden Era wrought by the game in herst life, Ostentatious Heart had only lost not more than ten thousand of its members, and not a single one of the guild¡¯s elites was among their numbers. They were only a small part of the five million yer strong guild.

    This was why Ye Ci always held the guild in high regard. She would have decided to work with Ostentatious Heart if not for her rtionship with Fleeting Time.

    Fleeting Time was hesitant when he received the message. He knew that he must take part in the battle between guilds, but he was worried for Ye Ci.

    ¡°This is the first time Genesis is challenged by a guild that was on the same par.¡± Ye Ci could read his thoughts.

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to go have a look? Ostentatious Heart is an old guild. They have beenying low for a long time. Even if you are the Solo King of the Western Continent, I¡¯m sure they have yers who can match you inbat. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯ll be missing out if you don¡¯t go?¡± Ye Ci smiled at him.

    And as expected, Fleeting Time appeared to be deep in thought. But he was still slightly hesitant. He nced at Ye Ci and sighed, ¡°But I¡¯m worried about you.¡±

    Ye Ci broke intoughter and patted Fleeting Time on his shoulder, ¡°You know how good I am. There is no need to be worried. How do you think I¡¯ve been doing so far without you?¡±

    Fleeting Time smiled awkwardly at her. He could of course not tell her that he was refusing to part with her after spending only such a short time with her. They both have things that must be done, and it was exactly that that made their time together precious. He pulled Ye Ci into an embrace, ¡°I¡¯ll be going then.¡±

    Ye Ci stood watching as Fleeting Time shot into the sky on his Phoenix like an arrow. The lingering warmth from his touch was still fresh on her head.

    She then turned around and headed to the Wild Cat tavern in the western district, but a call from Green Hill¡¯s Moon came in just then, ¡°Gongzi, where are you?¡±

    Truth to be told, Ye Ci did not like talking to Green Hill¡¯s Moon unless she had something she needed from the man. He was simply too gossipy to like.

    And this was why she was annoyed by the call.

    She pretended to not hear his voice no matter how hard he tried.

    ¡°Gongzi, stop pretending to not be there. I know you¡¯re online.¡±

    A frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face and a sigh escaped her lips. She was not shameless enough to continue ignoring Green Hill¡¯s Moon. ¡°Since you know I¡¯m trying my hardest to pretend to not be here,¡± she finally relented after five minutes of continuous call, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you pretend to give up as well?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to do that, but there¡¯s something I really need to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What is it? Is it about Golden Era?¡± Ye Ci immediately thought of the task she gave Green Hill¡¯s Moon not a few days ago.

    ¡°Golden Era?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon was slightly stunned, and he immediately shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± he sighed, ¡°Say, must you always think about the politics between guilds? Don¡¯t you have other things in your mind?¡±

    Ye Ci sighed, ¡°Of course I do!¡±

    ¡°And what are they?¡±

    ¡°Questing and leveling up.¡±

    This sent Green Hill¡¯s Moon into a long moment of silence, ¡°Don¡¯t you have even the slightest feelings like a normal girl?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression immediately stiffened, ¡°Green Hill¡¯s Moon, maybe you should stop beating around the bush.¡± she said in a menacing voice.

 Chapter 405 A Battle Between Guilds

    Chapter 405 A Battle Between Guilds

    Ye Ci¡¯s mood was not affected by her encounter with White Fairytale. She summoned Ol¡¯ Six and flew towards her leveling spot.

    Just then, a sudden realisation struck her mind. Isn¡¯t White Fairytale one of Genesis¡¯s main Clerics? Why was she there when her guild was challenged by Ostentatious Heart? Is she simply allowed to not take part in guild battles and dungeon clearing?

    The officers of Genesis are pretty bad at keeping their members in line.

    Of course, Ye Ci did not know what was going on in Genesis at that same moment.

    ¡°Bean Curd Xishi, what¡¯s with the healer team? We¡¯re in the middle of a guild battle, and you¡¯re just now telling me that White Fairytale is not around? Is she not informed?¡± The leader of Genesis¡¯s healer team had just informed Absalom that White Fairytale left the party on the eve of battle.

    Shock washed over the leader of Genesis, before it was reced by rage.

    ¡°I did...¡± Beancurd Xishi attempted to exin herself, but she was at a loss for words.

    ¡°Oh you did? Then why is she not here?! Haven¡¯t I told you that only a fixed number of yers are able to take part in this battle? Where do you expect me to find a recement for a Cleric with such good gears?¡± Absalom raised his voice.

    ¡°Can we take the Cleric from our fifth squadron with us? He¡¯s quite good...¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not about the yer¡¯s skills at this point! It¡¯s about his equipment! We have a lot of yers like that, but none of them have equipment as good as White Fairytale! Do you know how much a full set of equipment can affect a yer¡¯s healing capabilities?¡± Absalom could barely hold back the urge to curse.

    Beancurd Xishi protested despite the seething anger of his guild leader, ¡°Well I wasn¡¯t the one who gave her those equipment. She¡¯s not even good enough to receive those...¡±

    His response rendered Absalom Speechless. It was the truth that White Fairytale was not deserving of the equipment she held. It was given to her out of fear that she would leak the secrets of the guild after her attempted suicide.

    Of course, there was no way he could exin such a thing to his subordinate. The only thing he could do was yell at Beancurd Xishi, ¡°Go look for her! And tell Silent Hymn to prepare a set of good Cleric gear as well as a good Cleric yer as substitute. If you can¡¯t find White Fairytale, we¡¯ll at least have a recement.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m on it.¡± Beancurd Xishi immediately left. He did not want to be the fodder of his guild leader¡¯s anger any longer.

    Absalom¡¯s mood continued to sour as he paced back and forth in front of the NPC in charge of Guild Battles. Fleeting Time, who arrived just at that moment, noticed his darkened expression, and decided to stay as far away as physically possible from the man.

    But he was quickly spotted by Absalom, who ran up to him, ¡°Brother, we¡¯re friends right?¡±

    Fleeting Time thought for the briefest of moments, and shook his head, ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Hey hey hey! What sort of friend are you? How can you do this to me?!¡± Absalom wailed.

    ¡°You need a favor from me, and it¡¯ll not be something easy. It¡¯s written all over your face. I¡¯m not an idiot.¡± Fleeting Time snorted, ¡°Besides, you threatening me with our friendship doesn¡¯t exactly help with your case.¡±

    ¡°Alright! Fine! It¡¯s my fault!¡± shouted Absalom as Fleeting Time continued walking away, ¡°Come on, Fleeting Time, help a brother out!¡± there was desperation in his voice.

    ¡°What do you need? I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Fleeting Time could tell from Absalom¡¯s expression that he was indeed in trouble.

    ¡°Come on! You have to actually think first before helping a bro out? Are you even a man?¡± cried Absalom.

    Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes and wagged a finger in front of Absalom, ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m hesitating?¡±

    ¡°Because I can tell that it¡¯s something that I hate. Because a shameless man like you would¡¯ve told me straight away no matter how hard it is,¡± he continued before Absalom could respond, ¡°But... To ask for my opinion before telling me about the favor you need... Let me guess...¡± a sneer appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s lips, ¡°It has something to do with White Fairytale.¡±

    ¡°....¡± Absalom was rendered speechless and his expression ckened. He let out a breath before speaking up, ¡°Fine, there¡¯s no point lying to you anyways.¡± and Absalom began exining the situation to Fleeting Time with a sigh, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have asked you to do something like this if the situation is not so dier. You know that Ostentatious Heart has eleven sets of Holy Protection Armor, while we only have six. We¡¯re already at a clear advantage at this point. If White Fairytale does not show up, we might actually lose this battle.¡±

    Fleeting Time crossed his arms in front of him and narrowed his eyes at Absalom.

    ¡°Can you help me talk to her?¡± Absalom visibly gulped.

    Fleeting Time responded after a long silence, ¡°Even if I help you now, it will not solve the problem at its roots. Don¡¯t you know that keeping someone like her as a core yer is like ying with a ticking time bomb? The more you¡¯re afraid of her, the more power she will have over you. Are you not worried that she might one day threaten to sell the secrets of our guilds to our rivals? Are you expecting me to help you out when it happens? If the answer is yes, Absalom, then I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be friends for long.¡±

    Absalom sighed, ¡°You did not even show your face aftering back. Don¡¯t you know how extreme she can be? Her suicide attempts are driving us nuts!¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s better if she dies.¡± replied Fleeting Time.

    Absalom was taken aback by his words, ¡°How could you say that! While I might think the same, it¡¯s still a human life we¡¯re talking about! And don¡¯t forget, we¡¯ve known each other for so long!¡±

    But the disdain did not leave Fleeting Time¡¯s face, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have said that if she would really go kill herself. Don¡¯t worry about it. People who tend to talk about dying treasure their lives the most. It¡¯s the silent ones that you have to worry about. They might still be smiling at you in the morning, and be dead by afternoon.¡± he gestured at Absalom with his hand before continuing, ¡°This is thest time I¡¯ll talk to that woman for you. The next time it happens, I¡¯ll leave the guild.¡±

    Absalom opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately decided against it.

    Fleeting Time eyed Absalom, and contacted Green Hill¡¯s Moon before he even talked to White Fairytale. He then sent a recording to Ye Ci through Green Hill¡¯s Moon to exin the situation, which made its way to Ye Ci within a few minutes.

    Ye Ci was baffled when she received the recording. And was even more confused when she finished listening to its content. Does he really have to report something like this to me? Am I really that petty?

    But the gesture still made Ye Ci happy. She thought of a response for a brief moment, before sending a reply to Fleeting Time via Green Hill¡¯s Moon.

    Fleeting Time sat in the main hall while sharpening his dagger as he waited for the response from Ye Ci. Absalom was pacing back and forth not far away anxiously, ¡°Did you say that you¡¯ll talk to Whtie Fairytale for me?¡±

    ¡°Oh, stop worrying.¡± Fleeting Time nced at Absalom, ¡°I have to report this to my superior first.¡±

    ¡°Your superior?¡± Absalom was confused. But realisation soon shed across his mind and he gaped at Fleeting Time, ¡°No way! You¡¯re already so afraid of her even before getting married? Are you still a man?!¡±

    ¡°You idiot.¡± Fleeting Time rolled his eyes at Absalom, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid. I¡¯m just taking precautions. What if something happens? How am I supposed to exin it to my superior then? You¡¯re not worried only because it has nothing to do with you.¡±

    Absalom was shocked, ¡°So even you have finally found yourself in a situation like this.¡±

    But Fleeting Time ignored Absalompletely, as the response from Gongzi You just came in, ¡°I don¡¯t see a problem with it. But tell Absalom that there¡¯s no nex time.¡±

    A wide smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face.

    ¡°Oi! You ingrate!¡± Absalom shouted at Fleeting Time, ¡°Has she sent you a reply? What did she say? Why am I at the mercy of someone from an opposing continent!¡±

    Fleeting Time sheathed his dagger slowly before looking up at Absalom, ¡°She said ¡®there¡¯s no next time¡¯.¡±

    Absalom flipped Fleeting Time his middle finger as a show of anger.

    But even Fleeting Time could not reach White Fairytale, who must have muted her private messages as she did not expect Fleeting Time to be contacting her.

    He sighed and patted Absalom on the shoulder, ¡°Well, you can¡¯t expect us to win all the time right? Don¡¯t think too much about it alright?¡±

    Absalom did not know if it was due to the fact that Gongzi You had said something to Fleeting Time, or because he failed to contact White Fairytale, but his performance in the guild battle on that day was very disappointing.

    As the battle between Genesis and Ostentatious Heart raged on, Ye Ci received a message from Bai Mo, ¡°Iron Blood has dered war on us, and I¡¯ve epted their challenge. Are youing?¡±

    Thousand Sunsets? Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. What the hell is he thinking? But a smile soon spread across her face, ¡°Of course! Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±

    And her response came as a surprise to Bai Mo, ¡°You¡¯re actually interested in something like this!¡±

    The conversation ended quickly as Bai Mo left to prepare for the battle.

    Ye Ci found Unbridled Willow¡¯s name in her friend list and sent him a message, ¡°Do you want recordings of a PVP battle against Iron Blood?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The reply came quickly, ¡°Where are you? I¡¯ll be there right away.¡±

 Chapter 407 PVP Cultivation Program

    Chapter 407 PVP Cultivation Program

    Perhaps due to the difort of so many stares, or perhaps due to the pressure of meeting Gongzi You, Unbridled Willow was quick to offer a satisfying price andplete the deal.

    As a Physical Damage character, Unbridled Willow ordered a dish that increased his Physical Damage by 100 points for three hours as well.

    As take away was allowed by the tavern, he was able to leave happily with his food.

    ¡°Gongzi You, are you not afraid that Thousand Sunsets will find out about this?¡± asked Unbridled Willow before they part ways.

    Ye Ci responded with augh, ¡°What can he do? Iron Blood does not have the capabilities to defeat us. Besides, if I can think of selling this to you, he will definitely think of doing the same.¡±

    ¡°That makes sense.¡± Unbridled Willow nodded after a slight moment of hesitation.

    ¡°Alright, I shall take my leave. Let¡¯s do business again when the chance arises.¡± Ye Ci parted ways with him with a wave.

    ¡°Yup. Definitely.¡± Unbridled Willow nodded at Ye Ci, before returning to his home city as well.

    Battles between guilds have been raging on every single day since the introduction of the Guild Wars system into the game. While the victors could not enjoy looting their defeated opponents, the reward in gold coins was still very bountiful indeed.

    PVP in the game was brought to a new height.

    As Fixed Battles that were fought between guilds would not result in the loss of experience and equipment, yers became bold when it came to PVP.

    A Guild War session could allow more yers to join in on the actionpared to the Arena, which meant that yers were able to work out their teamwork during battle.

    But Ye Ci remained uninterested in participating in PVP.

    She saw it as a trap set by Wang Jiangnan. PVP was just like gambling. Everybody wanted to win, but there would always be losers. Participating in PVP was just like gambling in a veryrge scale.

    The will to win, and the will to keep winning more could easily turn a PVE yer into a PVP yer. Once they have grown used tobat in an environment where they would not be penalised upon death, the yers would then gain the confidence to fight in wild maps as well. This was a path that was being paved into the direction of turning Fate into a PVP oriented game.

    Nobody knew what would happen to the game, but it was certain that therger guilds would suffer from such uncertainties.

    That was what Ye Ci thought.

    And that was why she made the decision to stay away from this meaningless PVP.

    She was bored out of her mind.

    With the progression of her quest stuck, and no dungeon clearing expeditions to join, the only way to spend her time was to level up her character.

    She was a patient person, but fighting the same monsters again and again was stretching her patience to its limit.

    Some form of entertainment was what she needed.

    That was how she found herself outside of Hero City,ying on Ol¡¯ Six back. Any yers from opposing continents who saw Ol¡¯ Six would immediately retreat back into the city and leave from a different entrance.

    They did not wish to part with their hard earned money and equipment.

    ¡°Are you bored as well, Ol¡¯ Six?¡± Ye Ci basked herself under the warm sunlight.

    Ol¡¯ Six lifted its head and let out a growl, as if to express affirmation to her question.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, and sat up after a few moments, ¡°Then why don¡¯t we do something fun?¡±

    Hence a Huntress on a Dragon was soon spotted in the lvl70 maps of the Northern Continent, challenging high level yers with good equipment to a fight.

    Lethal Poison was baffled when he received the news. It was obvious that the Huntress was none other than Gongzi You. Isn¡¯t she in the Middle Continent? Why is she here?

    He was able to obtain the answer to his question through Green Hill¡¯s Moon, much to his regret.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m bored.¡±

    It was Gongzi You¡¯s reply.

    But I did not loot their equipment.

    It was the answer he received from Gongzi You.

    And this was why he dly epted the calls for Northern Continent yers to unite against Gongzi You.

    yers were curious when they spotted therge contingent of high level yers heading towards the Snowy Hignds of the Northern Continent, and many of them began asking questions.

    ¡°Is there some sort of event going on?¡±

    ¡°Yup. A rare Field BOSS appeared in the Snowy Hignds.¡±

    Hence the already vast number of yers headed to the Snowy Hignds continued to grow.

    This is too easy. Thought the ¡°Field BOSS¡¯¡¯ as she scoured the Snowy Hignds for opponents. Should I head to the main city instead? But that thought was immediately dismissed as she knew that it was impossible for her to enter the city due to her status as a red name.

    But the world is always full of surprises. The humanoid Field BOSS received hers when she saw therge group of yers making their way towards her.

    And she immediately began to flee on dragonback. Damn you Lethal Poison! Why didn¡¯t you tell me about this?

    The humanoid Field BOSS began to flee towards the border between the Northern Continent and the Eastern Continent as arrows and spells crashed onto Ol¡¯ Six.

    Wow, even low level ounts are formidable in significant numbers. Ye Ci sighed.

    Of course, her definition of ¡°low level¡± included yers who were three levels below her.

    And the surprises of the world did not stop.

    As she approached the borders between the Eastern and Northern Continents, she spotted arge contingent of Eastern Continent yers advancing into the Snowy Hignds.

    What are they doing?

    She was quick to spot Upwards Ho!¡¯s elites among the yers. And curiosity drove her to send a message to Bai Mo.

    ¡°Oh. I heard that you ran into trouble in the Snowy Hignds. So I brought reinforcements.¡±

    ¡°All these guilds are willing to listen to you?¡± Ye Ci was shocked.

    ¡°I told them that arge number of Northern Continent yers had gathered here. It¡¯s a good opportunity to earn some Honor Points.¡± came the reply.

    Ye Ci was rendered speechless. This guy can be quite cunning at times. Thought Ye Ci as she joined in on the battle.

    The battle between the yers of both continents were furious, and resulted in casualties by the hundreds. But this did not stop waves after waves of yers from throwing themselves into the fray.

    Wang Jiangnan¡¯s PVP Cultivation Program had finally bore its first fruit in the Northern Continent¡¯s Snowy Hignds.

 Chapter 408 A Promise

    Chapter 408 A Promise

    Taking part in arge-scale all out battle between yers had an appeal of its own.

    Ye Ci evaded the Northern Continent¡¯s aerial steed on Ol¡¯ Six, andunched attack after attack at the yers down below. She even dismounted and joined the fight on foot to enjoy it from a different perspective.

    A leopard pounced on Ye Ci just as she was happily earning herself some Honor Points. She was immediately Stunned due to her inferior equipment. From the system notification that she received, it was Lethal Poison who had dealt the blow.

    ¡°Why did you attack me? Aren¡¯t we supposed to be allies?¡± Ye Ci grumbled at the leopard.

    ¡°Oh cut the crap, you should¡¯ve gone to the Western Continent instead if you think of me as an ally!¡±

    ¡°Well your continent is closer to mine!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s health was rapidly decreasing under Lethal Poison¡¯s furious assault, but she did not panic. She was patiently waiting for the duration of the Stun to pass.

    ¡°Then why did you attack members of my guild!¡± Lethal Poison¡¯s attacks intensified when he noticed that Stun was almost over. He wanted to take Gongzi You out before she could recover.

    Ye Ci was amazed as she saw the damage dealt by Lethal Poison¡¯s attacks. Damn, he sure has very good gears. It was easy to tell the difference between the quality of their equipment.

    Ye Ci recovered from being Stunned just as Lethal Poison was about to deliver the killing blow. Lethal Poison leapt at her in leopard form. It was a Druid¡¯s Ultimate Skill, and she knew that the fight was over if the attack connected.

    She kicked at Lethal Poison out of reflex, and caught his stomach in midair. It was his soft spot, but was also very hard to heat as he was encased in armor.

    But his leopard form granted Ye Ci ess to his exposed underbelly. A druid in leopard form would receive additional attack damage in exchange for a reduced 30% defence. Lethal Poison could feel a sharp pain on his stomach when Ye Ci¡¯s kicknded on him.

    And hended on the ground not far away with a thud. He attempted to rise and continue the fight, but felt a sharp pain on his abdomen. There was a wound that was bleeding profusely where Ye Ci¡¯s kick hadnded. He immediately looked at Ye Ci, and saw a sharp de at the tip of her boot.

    Damn!

    Lethal Poison had finally understood the true meaning of the saying ¡°the most vicious thing is a woman¡¯s heart¡±.

    And what happened next was like salt poured onto his already gaping wound. Gongzi You gulped down a bottle of potion and smiled at him, ¡°It¡¯s time to slim down, Lethal Poison.¡±

    She then disappeared into the sea of yers.

    Screw you Gongzi You!

    Lethal Poison¡¯s heart was bleeding. I¡¯m not fat! I¡¯m just slightly overweight!

    Strategies and tactics were usually disregarded in arge-scale battle like this as yers on both sides sought to maximize their personal gains. It was also a ce where good opportunities could be found on the battlefield due to therge number of equipment dropped.

    Many of the guilds that participated in the melee had sent out their Rogues to secure the equipment dropped by yers taking part in the battle. This created a scenario where a yer who was on the brink of death would find himself surrounded by Rogues like vultures circling a corpse. It was a nightmare for the yers.

    The battlested for a whopping seven hours, causing tremendous amounts of losses to both sides. It finally ended when the sun rose and dyed the white snowy ground gold with its shining light.

    Nobody knew how the battle started. But they were there for one goal. One might say that it was for the glory of their home continent, but it could also be the fact that they simply could not allow the other side to wind.

    The Snowy Hignds remained a tranquil and quiet ce after the yers left. It was as if the battle did not happen at all.

    Two figures sat beside a campfire on one of the hills in the Snowy Hignds. It was a plump sized man and a skinny woman.

    ¡°How¡¯s your quest progressing?¡± asked the fat man.

    ¡°We¡¯re stuck at the part where we have to go meet a Dragon Rider. Our levels are simply too low to get there.¡± replied the skinny woman as she munched on a piece of roasted meat, ¡°What about yours?¡±

    ¡°I have to look for a person as well. But I can¡¯t find him. His location was not marked on my map.¡± replied the fat man, who was of course Lethal Poison.

    ¡°What is the name of the ce?¡± asked Ye Ci as she grabbed a bottle of wine, ¡°Tell me. Maybe I know where it is.¡±

    ¡°The Blood Altar.¡± Lethal Poison grumbled, ¡°Does it even exist on the five main continents? I can¡¯t find that ce.¡±

    ¡°Oh.. That ce...¡± Ye Ci chuckled.

    ¡°What? Do you know where it is?¡± Lethal Poison¡¯s eyes immediately brightened up.

    ¡°Indeed. But...¡± Ye Ci let out another chuckle, ¡°It¡¯s on the Eastern Continent.¡±

    ¡°Impossible! I¡¯ve hired Green Hill¡¯s Moon to search for that ce in the Eastern Continent, but even he couldn¡¯t find it.¡±

    ¡°Of course. He might be good, but there are ces that even he don¡¯t know of.¡± Ye Ci threw a chunk of meat at Ol¡¯ Six, ¡°It¡¯s in a very hidden location in Hero City¡¯s pce¡¯s west wing. There is an entrance to the sewers there. You have to climb down there, navigate through a maze, and arrive at a room. If you can somehow open the room, you¡¯ll find a hidden altar. There altar is surrounded by six rooms, and one of them is where the Blood Altar is.¡±

    ¡°How did you know...¡± Lethal Poison was shocked.

    ¡°Well... Treasure hunting is a hobby of mine.¡± Ye Ci snorted.

    There was treasure scattered throughout the world of Fate. And yers who were diligent enough in treasure hunting would often discover hidden ces that the average yers could only dream of.

    And since Gongzi You was someone who loved exploring herself, it was only natural for her to know of such a ce. Of course, the truth was far from what he thought. Ye Ci discovered the ce in herst life when she was hiding from her enemies.

    The two continued discussing the details of their quests, and came to the conclusion that it was a very long one indeed. There were hints that the final stages of the quest had to bepleted by all the yers who had epted the quest.

    They then made a promise to look for other yers who had epted the quest while they attempted toplete theirs.

    As the two prepared to part ways, Lethal Poison called out to Ye Ci, ¡°How many lvl70 Golden Era yers are there on the Eastern Continent now?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been paying attention, but I think there should be quite a lot of them.¡±

    Lethal Poison sighed, ¡°There¡¯s almost two hundred thousand of them on the Northern Continent now. Breeze is on the Eastern Continent, I¡¯m sure their numbers will be greater there.¡±

    ¡°What are you getting at?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°Golden Era¡¯s first target will definitely be Upwards HO!.¡± Lethal Poison smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Let me know when the fighting starts. I¡¯lle to your aid.¡±

    Ye Ci responded with a smile of her own, and summoned Ol¡¯ Six, ¡°Well I guess I¡¯ll have to thank you in advance. I¡¯ll be sure to hold you to your words when the timees.¡± and she shot up into the sky and disappeared into the clouds.

 Chapter 409 Interception

    Chapter 409 Interception

    The fight with Golden Era started so suddenly that Ye Ci, Upwards Ho!, and perhaps even Golden Era themselves were not prepared.

    It started from something very trivial. There was a PVP Elimination Tournament in Champion City, where a yer who won ten matches in a row would be rewarded with a very valuable item.

    Fruit Jelly took part in the tournament, and won against a yer who had defeated his opponents nine times in a row. This meant that the yer had lost his winning streak. The yer, out of spite, challenged Fruit Jelly in return and won. But Fruit jelly refused to leave things as they were, and challenged the yer again. This eventually degraded into a situation where the two yers would keep challenging each other out of spite.

    The rewards of the tournament, their experience points, and their own reputation were no longer important.

    Humans would often act irrationally out of anger.

    The two eventually decided to fight outside the ring, but their fight still ended up in a tie. And due to the provocations from people in the crowd, the anger on both sides rapidly rose. This was how they eventually ended up fighting outside the city.

    Both of them were yers of the same caliber, and it was natural that their fight would result in the death of eitherbatant. Both of them had died once in a short period of time, and lost equipment and a level each.

    The anger they held for each other continued to escte from that point onwards.

    They were also part of the core members of their respective guilds. A drop in their level would definitely garner the attention of their guilds. yers from both guilds began flocking to the scene, which eventually led to an all out battle between the two guilds.

    Upwards Ho! was much smaller in sizepared to Golden Era, but most of its yers were already above lvl70. This denied Golden Era its numerical superiority, resulting in a stalemate between the guilds.

    The most important factor was that Upwards Ho! was fighting against the Eastern Continent branch of Golden Era.

    Bai Mo was shouting into the guild chat as the battle raged on, ¡°Wipe them out! We must not allow them to step on our heads! Screw our Sin values! Upwards Ho! will not allow itself to be bullied!¡±

    The incident had even attracted the attention of Ye Ci who barely took part in guild activities.

    ¡°Is there a fight?¡± a reply came instantly the moment Ye Ci¡¯s message appeared in the guild chat.

    ¡°We¡¯re fighting against Golden Era at the entrance of Champion City>¡±

    Ye Ci immediately headed for Champion City, but she received a private message from Bai Mo while she was still on her way, ¡°Don¡¯te.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you asking for trouble by approaching Champion City with that red name of yours? You¡¯re almost lvl90 now. It¡¯s very hard for you to gain even one level.¡± replied Bai Mo even as he threw himself against the Golden Era yers.

    ¡°You might be right, but I cannot forgive myself if I do not show up in a fight against Golden Era.¡± replied Ye Ci. She returned to Red Lake City using Recall before flying towards Champion City on dragonback.

    She saw a Firebird waiting for her just as she entered Champion City¡¯s map.

    A Firebird belonged to the same family as a Phoenix, but was ranked at a lower tier. It did not have the offensive and defensive capabilities of a Phoenix, but was still a rtively rare steed.

    The red glow of the Firebird, while not as majestic as the golden one of a Phoenix, was still ring in the clear skies. That was how Ye Ci spotted the yer in front of her.

    She made no attempts to evade the yer, and stopped in the air before her, staring at the yer riding the Firebird.

    The yer was dressed in dark colored armor with a faint green glow. She was armed with two daggers shining with golden light. While Ye Ci could not see the yer¡¯s face hidden by her leather helm, it was obvious that the yer was a very good Rogue.

    And there was only one highly skilled female Rogue that Ye Ci knew.

    ¡°Long time no see, Death Blossom.¡± she smiled at the Rogue.

    The yer did not remove her helmet, but it was clear that the voice belonged to Death Blossom, ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s been a while.¡±

    ¡°Have you been waiting here for me?¡± Ye Ci shrugged. It was a question that she already had an answer to.

    ¡°Of course. Nobody else is worthy.¡± Death Blossom drew her daggers. And tossed them into the air. The weapons meant for killing were as harmless as elegant flowers in the Rogue¡¯s hands.

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. A lot of people out there are worthy. It all depends on your willingness to do so.

    She gritted her teeth and sighed, ¡°Why are you waiting for me? Do you want to have a duel?¡±

    Death Blossom responded with a smile.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s not worth your while.¡± Ye Ci continued, ¡°Your level is much lower than mine. You won¡¯t be able to win.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s words elicited aughter from Death Blossom, ¡°Gongzi You, I admire your confidence, and at the same time, I like your arrogance.¡±

    Ye Ci did not respond to Death Blossom¡¯s words, and allowed her to continue her speech, ¡°How are you so sure that your level is higher than mine? How do you know that I¡¯ll lose? I think you are the one who will be losing.¡±

    ¡°Death Blossom, I admire your confidence, and at the same time, I like your arrogance.¡± Ye Ci imitated her tone, ¡°But don¡¯t you know that a melee ss is weak in aerialbat? Your Firebird is no match for my Holy Dragon. You¡¯re at a grave disadvantage here.¡±

    But Death Blossom was still smiling at Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi You, do you think that I¡¯ll overlook something like this? Do you think that I¡¯m that foolish?¡± she sheathed her daggers and pped her hands together.

    It was soft, but was very clear.

    And a yer materialized beside her.

    ¡°What if there are two of us?¡± Death Blossom smiled.

    The second yer was none other than Gongzi Yi. ¡°I thought we¡¯ve fought ourst battle. Didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡±

    ¡°Oh you think?¡± Gongzi Yi snared at her, ¡°Gongzi You, you¡¯ve been at the top for far too long. Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s bad to look down on your opponents?¡±

    Ye Ci let out a long sigh, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I have nothing else to say. I¡¯ve never been one to waste my energy on words.¡±

    She immediately fired an arrow at Gongzi Yi. Death Blossom was a formidable Rogue, but there was nothing she could do to Ye Ci in the air as long as she did not allow the Firebird toe close.

    Gongzi Yi on the other hand, was way harder to deal with. Their levels were close, and her steed was also something that she could not ignore. Ye Ci knew that she would be in a pinch if the fight was drawn out.

    She needed to defeat Gongzi Yi before she could turn her attention to Death Blossom. But the Huntress had been imitating her ystyle. The only way to defeat was to strike harder and faster.

 Chapter 410 Taking Them By Surprise

    Chapter 410 Taking Them By Surprise

    Gongzi Yi sneered as Ye Ci soared towards her. She was able to evade Ye Ci¡¯s arrows with a slight movement of her body, ¡°Don¡¯t think that you can defeat me so easily Gongzi You. Do you think that I¡¯ve blindly copied your moves? No! I have also thought of ways to counter yours at the same time!¡±

    But her words did nothing to shake Ye Ci¡¯s resolve. She continued her intercept course towards Gongzi Yi and drew her short sword.

    The sword shed through the air towards Gongzi Yi, who was caughtpletely off guard. When she finally attempted to dodge, Ye Ci¡¯s attack had left a deep gash on her arm.

    Ye Ci put a significant distance between herself and her opponent before turning around. ¡°What a shame.¡± she sighed. It was faint, but her sigh was like a sharp de that was being stabbed into Gongzi Yi¡¯s heart.

    It was a shame that Gongzi Yi was an imitation of herself. As a yer, she was skillful. The blow would havended on her chest had she not reacted in time.

    ¡°Gongzi You!¡± Gongzi Yi¡¯s face reddened with rage when she heard Ye Ci¡¯s words.

    But Ye Ci¡¯s attention was no longer on her, ¡°It seems that today is not the day of our battle.¡± she looked at Death Blossom.

    ¡°While it is what I want, I have to agree that it¡¯s not the time yet.¡± The smile on Death Blossom¡¯s face was a charming one, ¡°This is a battle between our guilds. The oue of this battle will not be determined by our fight alone.¡±

    She did not receive any response from Ye Ci, who let out augh and climbed higher into the sky.

    ¡°After her!¡± shouted Death Blossom.

    Gongzi Yi had already reacted before Death Blossom had shouted out those words. She was already ascending in pursuit of Ye Ci while Death Blossom wasgging behind.

    Her firebird was fast, but it was still slower than Ye Ci¡¯s Holy Dragon and Gongzi Yi¡¯s Void Dragon. She could only sigh as she looked at the two Dragons that were way ahead of her. It seems that Golden Era has to dominate the skies before we can be masters of the world of Fate.

    ¡°Is this why they call you the top yer of the Eastern Continent, Gongzi You? The only thing you can do is to flee in the face of a strong opposition! Is this how you became the Solo Queen of the East?¡± Gongzi Yi was taunting Ye Ci as she followed behind her opponent. Her Void Dragon had not seemed to have evolved after theirst fight. Its size was significantly smaller than Ol¡¯ Six, which was covered in blue scales that glinted under the sunlight.

    But Ye Ci did not slow down. She continued to climb higher into the sky with Gongzi Yi and Death Blossom in tow.

    ¡°You¡¯re nothing but a coward, Gongzi You! Are you afraid of me?!¡± The taunts did not stop.

    Ye Ci might have fallen for the provocation if she was her old self. But she was a changed person in this life. Gongzi Yi¡¯s taunts fell on deaf ears as Ye Ci did not even react to a sigle word she said.

    Her only concern was to make sure that Gongzi Yi and Death Blossom were behind her. And a smile appeared on her face when their presence were confirmed.

    The air became significantly colder as their altitude increased. And the low temperature would naturally affect a yer¡¯s ability to fight.

    A yer¡¯s level and stats were the only thing other than his or her equipment that could help in withstanding the cold in Fate.

    Ye Ci had made a lot of preparations against the cold during her trip to the Holy Mountain. While she was unable to proceed further due to her low level, it was still enough for her to withstand the cold at her current altitude.

    Her pursuers, however, were not prepared. And their lower levels meant that their tolerance to the cold was lower than Ye Ci¡¯s.

    Their movements became slower and slower as the temperature dropped. But it was toote when they finally realized the problem, for Gongzi You had turned around and was diving at the duo.

    An attack with high damage was not scary, as one would be able to take appropriate actions to defend against such an attack. The most deadly attack was one that was sudden and was least expected.

    The only defense a person had against such an attack was his or her sheer instinct, for even the slightest hesitation could be the deciding factor of the fight.

    This was why openings like this would always decide the oue in a fight between expats.

    Ye Ci could hold her own against Gongzi Yi alone, but the presence of Death Blossom acting as a support was something that she could not take lightly, especially when the three of them were yers of simr caliber.

    That was why Ye Ci needed an opening.

    She knew that a drawn out battle would drain her Stamina and ce her in a disadvantage.

    She must strike hard and fast. And it must happen when they least expect it.

    Gongzi Yi saw Gongzi You leaping down from her Holy Dragon and was diving straight at her. She did not know what Gongzi You was nning, and reacted by attempting to dodge the attack.

    She was shocked to realize that her body, which was being affected by the cold, was slow to respond. A simple action to evade the attack was now a full second longer.

    A second was short, but it could mean a world of difference in a dire situation. Gongzi Yi could see the cold glint of Gongzi You¡¯s weapon, but she did not even have the time to think as her body immediately reacted by pulling on the Void Dragon¡¯s reins.

    She simply did not have enough time to react.

    Gongzi You¡¯s sword plunged itself into Gongzi Yi¡¯s head in the next moment as Ye Cinded beside her. Gongzi Yi noticed the smile on Gongzi You¡¯s face as her world turned grey, ¡°Imitation is not enough if you want to be at the top. You still need this...¡± and she tapped lightly on her head.

    Gongzi Yi slumped onto her Dragon, which then disappeared after letting out a wail. As Gongzi Yi plunged towards the ground at very high speed. And was soon tumbling past Death Blossom.

    Death Blossom had only realized that something was not right, and was about to turn around before she saw a shadow brushing past her. She felt a searing pain on her neck before she could even react.

    An arrow had buried itself on her throat. It was a hit on a vital spot that instantly took away 10% of her HP. Was that Gongzi Yi? Or could it be Gongzi You? As her eyes darted towards the silhouette that had brushed past her. She could not tell due to the simrities of their appearances.

    That¡¯s Gongzi You! She was quick to make the realization. Gongzi You was looking up at her as she continued falling towards the ground and slung her arrow. The Huntress sent her a flying kiss with a smile on her face.

    A set of giant wings appeared under Gongzi You and stopped her descent before she disappeared from Death Blossom¡¯s view, and made a dash towards the battlefield.

 Chapter 411 Taboo

    Chapter 411 Taboo

    Death Blossom could not even begin to describe how she felt. She stared wide-eyed at Gongzi You until she was no longer in sight. It was then that she truly snapped out of her daze, and popped a bottle of Health Potion into her mouth.

    She would have died to Gongzi You¡¯s arrow if not for her good equipment. Shended her Firebird, and took in a deep breath before pulling the arrow out from her throat, sttering blood everywhere on the ground.

    Another bottle of Health Potion was immediately chugged down to prevent herself from outright dying for removing the arrow. But the arrow left by the arrow could only be healed by a doctor in the city. Her bleeding had stopped, but the wound still stung with pain, and she was quick to discover that her ability to speak had been lost as well.

    It was a very troublesome situation.

    She sent a message to Breeze as she made her way to the battlefield, ¡°Gongzi You is dead your way now.¡±

    Breeze, who was in the thick of the action, had no time to spare on his text channel. He would usually ignore any text messages during a battle. As husband and wife, Death Blossom knew him very well. A grimace formed on her face. Not being able to speak is a huge inconvenience.

    Breeze was naturally the person taking charge during a battle. Reading text messages would only distract him from the changes of the battlefield. He did not have the time to waste on reading and replying to messages, no matter who it may be from.

    He saw it as something foolish. Using text messaging was simply foolish when voice messages was readily avable to yers.

    And that was why Death Blossom¡¯s messages were all ignored by Breeze. She sighed, and sent a message to Sweeping Reed instead, ¡°Tell Breeze to read my messages.¡±

    Officers of Golden Era were prohibited from responding to text messages during a battle, but Sweeping Reed decided to reply to the message as it was from Death Blossom, ¡°What happened, sis?¡±

    Death Blossom simply did not have the time for exnations, ¡°It¡¯s a long story. Just tell Breeze to read the messages from me.¡±

    Sweeping Reed knew Breeze very well. But he also knew that the messages from Death Blossom were of the utmost importance. He immediately contacted Breeze, who wasmanding Golden Era¡¯s forces at the front.

    The guild leader¡¯s heart sank as he listened to Reed¡¯s words. He handed overmand to the vice leader, and immediately checked his mail.

    A frown appeared on Breeze¡¯s face as he replied to Death Blossom¡¯s message, ¡°What happened, Blossom? You can¡¯t speak?¡±

    ¡°Yup. My throat was punctured.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You?¡± the frown on his face deepend. He knew that it was the only exnation, but he was still hoping that Death Blossom would deny such a possibility.

    ¡°Yup.¡± Death Blossom sighed and continued typing, ¡°She¡¯s already headed your way. That Dragon of hers seemed to have evolved. It¡¯s muchrger than thest time we saw it.¡±

    ¡°What about Gongzi Yi?¡±

    ¡°Dead.¡± came the response.

    ¡°She managed to beat both of you? Is she really that good?¡± Breeze hadplete trust in Death Blossom¡¯s skills as a yer, and he had witnessed thebat prowess of Gongzi Yi with his very own eyes.

    They might not be on par with Gongzi You, but they were still yers who could give the Huntress a run for her money, especially when they worked together. Even if they could not win, he expected the fight to end in a draw as long as they were able to drag out the fight.

    ¡°Our ns could simply not catch up with the changes of the battlefield.¡±

    ¡°How long did the fightst?¡± Breeze suddenly realised a very important question.

    ¡°Not long enough. It onlysted for about ten minutes, perhaps even shorter.¡± robbed of her ability to speak, Death Blossom could only keep her messages short and concise.

    ¡°How were her skills? Can you tell me briefly what you saw?¡± The already deep frown on Breeze¡¯s face deepened even further. Gongzi You¡¯s ability to defeat bothbatants within ten minutes was something he did not expect. Ten minutes?! And both of them are very skilled yers with good equipment and high tier steed. How did she do that? Is Gongzi You really that good? ¡°And what about her equipment?¡±

    ¡°Her skills? You¡¯re not the only one who wants to know. She shot an arrow through my throat before I could even engage her directly, and left. I didn¡¯t even have a chance to see what sort of equipment she has!¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Breeze was shocked, ¡°I need to know what happened!¡±

    Death Blossom sighed, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that. I don¡¯t even know how to even begin to describe what happened. The only thing I know was that Gongzi You was able to defeat Gongzi Yi in an instant. I was shot right after that. I saw nothing.¡±

    Breeze stayed silent for such a long time that even Death Blossom was starting to get worried. It took him quite a while to finally respond to her messages, ¡°Are youing over to the battlefield or have you returned to the city?¡±

    ¡°I want to go see Gongzi You in battle, but I¡¯m worried that I can¡¯t find her.¡± Death Blossom refused to ept the result of today¡¯s battle. She had been crushed in an instant before she could even fight back. Gongzi You¡¯s strength was something that she could not urately gauge, but she still wanted to see how the Huntress performed in battle.

    Gongzi Yi was resurrected momentster, and she was immediately contacted by Death Blossom, ¡°What do you think of Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s very good.¡± came the response in a very cold voice after a long silence. Just like Death Blossom, Gongzi Yi found it hard to ept such a humiliating defeat.

    ¡°Damn it.¡± Gongzi Yi sighed.

    ¡°What do you think of Gongzi You¡¯s fighting style?¡± asked Death Blossom.

    I¡¯m sorry, that¡¯s a question I cannot answer.¡± replied Gongzi Yi, ¡°It¡¯s like what the forums said. But if you really want to know just how good she is, you¡¯ll have to fight her yourself.¡±

    Death Blossom was rendered speechless.

    Gongzi Yi stood up and patted the grass away from her clothing. She let out a sigh, and made her decision, ¡°Death Blossom, thank you for the equipment you provided me. I will return them all to you.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Death Blossom was stunned.

    ¡°I¡¯m quitting.¡± Gongzi Yi took a deep breath, ¡°I will not imitate Gongzi You again. I do not wish to be someone else¡¯s shadow. I can¡¯t surpass that person like this.¡±

    ¡°Gongzi Yi...¡±

    Death Blossom received a system notification before she could continue: Gongzi Yi has left your guild.

    Gongzi Yi returned to her home city and removed all her equipment before mailing them all to Death Blossom. She then took onest look at her character, and at her Void Dragon. Despite the regrets in her heart, she ultimately made the choice to quit the game.

    She deleted her character, and logged into the game once again. From there, she would start anew. With a new identity, and a new ss. She will no longer be an imitation. She will face that girl with her own strength.

 Chapter 412 Idol

    Chapter 412 Idol

    Ye Ci headed towards the battlefield on Dragonback.

    As the fight broke out in a sudden, neither side came prepared. No siege engines could be seen on the battlefield right outside the main city of the Eastern Continent.

    It was a contest of manpower and the effectiveness of theirmanders.

    The terrain was t, and this meant that there was practically no cover for the mages and healers of both parties. They had to be guarded by Rogues setting up a perimeter around them.

    Ye Ci arrived just in time to catch Golden Era¡¯s assassins attempting to move in on the healers of Upwards Ho!. The group was well known in Fate due to their many assassination attempts on the yers listen in the Leaderboards. Their top notch equipment and wless teamwork were something feared by yers in the game.

    Upwards Ho!¡¯s Rogues were quick to find themselves overwhelmed by a superior enemy.

    She saw a familiar face, Honey Barbie, raising her dagger behind a Cleric, who had not yet noticed the presence of the Rogue behind her, and fired off an arrow.

    But her attacknded only after Honey Barbie struck her target. The Rogue¡¯s skillnded on the Cleric,and took away a significant portion of her health.

    Honey Barbie did not expect the sudden appearance of yet another yer. The arrownded on her wrist and knocked her back. Ye Ci seized the opening and pushed the Cleric towards safety.

    Everything happened very quickly. The Cleric named Sister Orange felt a sharp pain on her back, and knew that she was under attack. She immediately cast a healing spell on herself, and was already pushed towards the rest of the Clerics before she could turn around and identify her assant, causing her to bump into another Cleric. She apologized and finally found the chance to see what had happened.

    A cloaked figure was standing at the spot where she was moments before. With the yer¡¯s hood already pulled down, Sister Orange could see her silvery hair that was tied into a ponytail. The yer nocked an arrow, and fired off a shot at a Rogue some distance away.

    That¡¯s probably the Rogue who attacked me. That Huntress saved my life! Sister Orange was almost certain who the Huntress was, but she could not bring herself to believe such a fact. To her, that person was like a legend. It was impossible for a legend to appear before a nobody like her and save her.

    Two Golden Era Rogues charged forth, but were both intercepted by the Huntress. At that range, she could no longer use her bow, and was instead using her short sword. Skillsnded on the Huntress, taking away a huge chunk of her health, and Sister Orange immediately cast a healing spell on her.

    Ye Ci, who was locked inbat, noticed that she was being healed. She cast a sideway nce at the group of Clerics, and was quick to spot Sister Orange. ¡°Thank you.¡¯ she said with a smile, as she dispatched both her assants.

    Sister Orange¡¯s voice trembled when she saw the smile on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°G-guild leader...¡±

    But Ye Ci spotted yet another opening in Upwards Ho!¡¯s protective circle before Sister Orange could even finish her sentence. She smiled at the Cleric and said, ¡°Stay safe. The only way you can contribute to the battle is by staying alive.¡± and she immediately sprinted away to plug the breach.

    ¡°It¡¯s! It¡¯s the guild leader!¡± Sister Orange was blushing with a bright shade of red, and her heart was beating fast in her chest. She could barely breathe whenever she thought of the smile Gongzi You sent her way. ¡°Mushroom! You wouldn¡¯t believe who I saw just now!¡± she sent a message to her closest friend, Little White Mushroom.

    The Sorceress was casting an Arcane Missile when she received the message, ¡°Who is that?¡± she asked as she fired off another spell.

    ¡°I saw the guild leader!!¡± Sister Orange cupped her face with both her hands.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s nothing special. You can see him preparing for dungeon explorations every night at 7.30pm. In fact, I can see him almost everyday.¡±

    Both Little White Mushroom and Sister Orange were members of Upwards Ho!¡¯s fifth squadron. They would often see Bai Mo whenever they prepare for expeditions into the dungeons, ¡°Why are you so excited? You saw him everyday as well!¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not Remote Depths! It¡¯s... It¡¯s...¡± Sister Orange was so excited that she could barely breathe.

    ¡°Are you talking about... Gongzi You?¡± asked Little White Mushroom.

    ¡°Yes! Yes! It is her! I saw Gongzi You! She even talked to me!¡± Sister Orange grew even more excited. The Cleric in charge of her party noticed that she had been cking off and gave her a reminder to pay attention to the fight.

    ¡°No way...¡± Little White Mushroom was growing excited as well, ¡°How can this be! Gongzi You has barely taken part in guild activities. She¡¯s also a red name! There¡¯s no way she¡¯lle here! She might get killed by the NPCs! Maybe you¡¯ve been mistaken?¡±

    ¡°No! There¡¯s no way I¡¯d be mistaken! I saw her! She even saved me and told me to stay safe!¡± Sister Orange¡¯s voice was filled with excitement, ¡°Mushroom, are you doubting me?¡±

    ¡°Was it really Gongzi You? Was it really her?¡± Little White Mushroom was beginning to share her excitement. They joined Upwards Ho! due to the guild¡¯s potential and the benefits it provided for its members. But the main reason they joined was because Gongzi You was in the guild. The Huntress had always been an idol of theirs, but they had never met Gongzi You since they joined the game.

    That was why both of them were excited when Sister Orange ran into the Huntress.

    ¡°It was really her!¡±

    ¡°What does she look like? Is she pretty?!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s so cool! She even smiled at me and told me to stay safe, Mushroom! She told me to stay safe, and she rescued me! And she smiled at me too!¡± her excitement caused her to make yet another mistake, which was immediately pointed out by her party leader.

    ¡°Why am I not a cleric...¡± Little White Mushroom sighed.

    Ye Ci engaged in a bitter fight against Golden Era¡¯s assassination group as the conversation between the two friends was happening.

    She decided to summon Ol¡¯ Four to aid her in battle instead. Ol¡¯ Six was a stronger pet, but its size meant that it was easy for Golden Era yers to focus their attacks on the Dragon. Ol¡¯ Four on the other hand, was more agile, and came with an AOE skill that could stun its enemies. It was the perfect counter to the Rogues lurking around Upwards Ho!¡¯s Clerics.

    Her coordination with Ol¡¯ Four was wless.

    Golden Era¡¯s assassins were not able to exploit the breakthrough they achieved due to Ye Ci¡¯s attacks. And when they were finally beaten back, Ye Ci immediately contacted Bai Mo to strengthen the defences around the Clerics.

    Both guilds were pouring all their resources into this fight on the ground and in the air. Ye Ci looked up into the sky at the battle raging on above. Neither side had been able to gain the upper hand yet.

 Chapter 413 A Sneak Attack

    Chapter 413 A Sneak Attack

    The three thousand elites leased from Genesis might not be a significant number, but they have been distributed into each squadron within the guild. These veterans with good skills and game sense served as examples that were followed up Upwards Ho! yers.

    The effects could be felt by Breeze who was inmand of Golden Era¡¯s yers during the battle.

    While Upwards Ho! numbers barely changed since theirst battle, the quality of the guild¡¯s yer was on a different level. Breeze had made arrangements to exploit theck of game sense of Upwards Ho! yers after theirst engagement.

    But he was shocked to realize that his strategy was not working well on the guild. Upwards Ho! was able to remedy their shorings within a very short amount of time. While their yers might still not be as good as Golden Era, they simply made up for it by having more higher level yers.

    The battle became a stalemate.

    Breeze was forced to resort to other tactics to achieve victory.

    The person inmand on Upwards Ho!¡¯s side was Purity Essence. This was his first time inmand during arge-scale battle. While he had knowledge about the different strategies that could be employed in arge scale PVP, he was stillcking in experience.

    This made him jittery, which was something Bai Mo could understand. Despite the leniency given to him by Bai Mo, mistakes were not made by Purity Essence.

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face when she listened in on themand channel. He¡¯s still not at his peak, but he¡¯s almost there. Besides, every legend has a humble beginning.

    She waste to the battle, but she still managed to have a firm grasp of the situation. She understood very well that reckless actions would only put Purity Essence¡¯s efforts to waste.

    This was a brawl between guilds in the wild. yers who were in would suffer losses in EXP and in equipment.

    Golden Era was superior to Upwards Ho! in terms of wealth and manpower.

    This meant that Upwards Ho! could not afford to lose.

    With this knowledge in mind, Ye Ci knew that she would have to coordinate with her guildmates.

    ¡°Purity, I¡¯m here. Where do you need me?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Eh? Why are you here?¡± Purity Essence was shocked.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t I?¡± Ye Ci sighed. Is it because of my long absence from guild activity?

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± Purity Essence knew of course what Ye Ci was talking about, ¡°What I mean is that... You¡¯re a red name.. It¡¯s too dangerous for you! If you die, you¡¯ll get sent to jail.¡±

    Ah... My red name... Ye Ci sighed when she saw her Sin value, ¡°Forget about that. I¡¯ve avoided all the patrols on my way here. I should be alright if I¡¯m careful enough.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. Join our attack group against the enemy Clerics. They¡¯re very well defended. Our previous attempts at getting to them have failed. But we might seed with you on board.¡± said Purity Essence.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go alone. Breeze knew that I¡¯m here. He¡¯ll be expecting me. Going with a group will only attract attention. If I go alone, it¡¯ll be easier for me to escape.¡± observed Ye Ci.

    Purity Essence agreed to her proposal after a short moment of thought. He was the yer inmand, which meant that he did not have the time to discuss the details of Ye Ci¡¯s attack n. He returned his attention to the battle after telling her to be careful.

    Ye Ci dashed through the sea of yers and dismissed Ol¡¯ Four before entering stealth, vanishing from sight on the chaotic battlefield.

    She equipped her Secret Cloak. It was the best tool for a sneak attack as it would be able to hide her name, level and stats as long as her face was not revealed.

    It did not take her long to make her way past the battle lines of both guilds, and towards the Clerics of Golden Era.

    At first nce, the Cleric seemed scattered, but a person with a keen eye could tell that they were positioned in a way that ced them within the protective umbre of the guild¡¯s mages as well as the protection of Golden Era¡¯s knights.

    Ye Ci activated her recording as she crept up on the Clerics. She wanted to record Golden Era¡¯s strategy so that it could be used against the guild in the future.

    Her steps were light as she slipped past a Knight and plunged her de into a Cleric at the edge of the formation. She was able to dispatch her opponent easily with a swift strike, but she did not linger for long.

    Despite the abundance of victims, her target had always been the ones with better equipment. She disappeared from view and snuck away from the group before they could even realize what had happened.

    Casualties were something to be expected in a battle no matter how well the yers were protected. Even if the Clerics were heavily defended, some of them were still expected to die.

    Ye Ci was able to sneak in and out of their formation unnoticed with the help of her Secret Cloak, assassinating targets and retreating unmolested until the casualties were finally noted by Breeze.

    He knew that the rate of attrition was simply too high. It was a sneak attack.

    Just then, another report came in from the Knights protecting the Clerics, informing him of three more deaths. One of the Clerics was equipped with high level gear.

    ¡°It¡¯s a sneak attack! Keep your eyes peeled! Someone must¡¯ve snuck into our ranks! I want you to hunt that yer down at all cost!¡± Breeze barked out hismands.

    His expression darkened as casualty reports continued streaming in. The Clerics had all been in by a yer without name. It was at that moment that Breeze realized that the yer was equipped with a Secret Cloak.

    And there were only a hundred Secret Cloaks in the entire game, with the majority of them in Golden Era¡¯s inventory. Few were lost in their failed assasination attempts on the top yers, and it was apparent that one of them was being used against his own yers.

    Breeze was almost certain that the yer behind the sneak attack was Gongzi You herself. She was the only one in Upwards Ho! to be bold enough to try and seed in such a feat.

    ¡°Protect our surviving Clerics! And I want that yer found!¡± Breeze roared with anger.

    Ye Ci seeded in taking out yet another Cleric as she slipped through the protective circle of Knights and rogues.

    A smile appeared on face as she watched the defenders wandering around frantically in an attempt to locate her. She was about to move on to her next target when a hand grabbed hold of her arm.

    She was caughtpletely off guard, as she did not expect someone to be able to sneak up on her unnoticed. She pulled her arm away from the person, and swung her dagger.

 Chapter 414 Breezeâ€™s Considerations

    Chapter 414 Breeze¡¯s Considerations

    Ye Ci was quick, but the yer was able to match her speed. He was able to dodge Ye Ci¡¯s attack with a slight movement much to her surprise. Her brief window of hesitation allowed the yer to grab hold of her arm and twist it behind her back.

    The figure then leaned forward and whispered into Ye Ci¡¯s ears, ¡°Little Gongzi, you might die if you don¡¯t pay attention to your surroundings.¡±

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth. She knew who it was. But Fleeting Time¡¯s grip remained firm on her despite her struggles.

    She took in a deep breath, and kicked Fleeting Time with as much force as she could muster. With a groan, he released her arm.

    ¡°You¡¯re too careless, Little Fleeting Time.¡± Ye Ci stood up and smiled at Fleeting Time, ¡°You might die if you¡¯re not paying attention.¡±

    Fleeting Time was equipped with a Secret Cloak as well.

    While his expression was hidden by a hood, his voice was unmistaken, ¡°Ever so ruthless with your attacks. Do you want to be a widow before even marrying?¡±

    His words were so corny that even Ye Ci could not remain unaffected. ¡°I could say the same...¡± she snorted, but was quick to realize how inappropriate her words were. Why are we even discussing marriage now?

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± She immediately changed the topic.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to miss out on the fun.¡± Fleeting Time did not mind her feeble attempts of changing the topic, as he had already heard the words he wanted to hear.

    ¡°Did youe all the way from the Western Continent just to join our fight against Golden Era?¡± Ye Ci did not believe a single word he said.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to inspect the elites that we lended to you as well.¡± Fleeting Time leaned closer to Ye Ci and whispered into her ears, ¡°Or... Are you hoping that I¡¯m here to see you?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s lips twitched. While Fleeting Time was indeed her boyfriend, she still had the urge to give him a good beating. She pushed Fleeting Time away and let out a long sigh, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s appropriate for us to have a conversation in the midst of Golden Era¡¯s ranks? I¡¯m here to kill them.¡±

    ¡°Ohh.. I see...¡± Fleeting Time nodded casually. Hisck of sense of urgency served only to strengthen Ye Ci¡¯s urge tond a punch on his face.

    He then grabbed hold of Ye Ci¡¯s arm, and led her to a spot with the highest concentration of Golden Era yers, ¡°How many Clerics have you killed?¡±

    ¡°Who knows? But I can tell you it¡¯s a lot.¡± she replied calmly.

    ¡°I think so too.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at Fleeting Time.

    ¡°I saw a lot of Rogues roaming around on my way here. I think Breeze intends to kill you.¡± said Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Well you sure don¡¯t seem worried.¡± Ye Ci chuckled, ¡°Aren¡¯t I your girlfriend?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to, but you¡¯ve never given me the chance.¡± Fleeting Time sighed, ¡°Why don¡¯t we have apetition. Let¡¯s see how many Clerics we can kill in twenty minutes.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡± Ye Ci nodded, and the duo immediately split up towards two different directions.

    Ye Ci came to a realization as she took out the Golden Era Clerics one after another. As a couple, she had never interacted with Fleeting Time the same way couples should as depicted in movies and television shows. They¡¯re alwayspeting with one another, and neither of them was satisfied with the results.

    Is this how a couple should be? Shouldn¡¯t we go on a date and enjoy some beautiful scenery somewhere? Maybe we should do something else, like... Oh nevermind... She could never imagine anything else that she could do with Fleeting Time other than fighting. Well, it¡¯s not that bad anyways.

    Ye Ci¡¯s solo attacks had already been an annoyance to Breeze. The arrival of Fleeting Time sent him boiling with anger. He knew that yet another yer had begun attacking the Clerics of his guild, and that yer could only be Fleeting Time.

    But there was nothing he could do despite that knowledge. None of his yers have managed to stop the duo.

    Breeze mmed his fists onto the table set up in front of him after receiving yet another report of casualties among the Clerics. He took a deep breath to calm himself. As expected, the difference between a top yer and an expert yer is vast.

    It was something to be expected. Both Gongzi You and Fleeting Time had proven their prowess against Golden Era¡¯s assassination attempts with yers that greatly outnumbered them. They could naturally handle themselves in an environment where hundreds and even thousands of yers were locked in battle.

    Breeze was not satisfied with the oue of this battle, but even he had to admit that Golden Era yers were no match for either Gongzi You and Fleeting Time. While Upwards Ho! could not even hold a candle to the might of Golden Era, his guild was still not capable of dealing with top yers like Gongzi You.

    He let out a sigh. Have I made a mistake?

    He had walked himself into a dead end without realizing it.

    It was all because of the Mithril ore vein. While Mithril had only proven its usefulness against Magical Damage at the current stage at the game, Breeze knew very well that the Mithril shirt was not the only item that could be made with Mithril ores.

    As the game progressed and the demand for Mithril grew for protection against Magical Damage, it was very likely that even Mithril weapons could be forged. Even Breeze himself could not begin to even imagine what the game would be like in the future.

    To dominate the world of Fate, numbers were not the only thing Golden Era needed. It needed to control the economy system of the entire game, and Mithril was the key to that future.

    In order to secure that future, Golden Era had sent out arge number of spies in search for information regarding other possible Mithril ore veins.

    Golden Era had originally nned to avoid confrontation with Upwards Ho!. Gongzi You alone was already a near-impossible challenge that they had to ovee. The guild itself was also one of the most well-equipped guilds on the Eastern Continent due to its ability to clear dungeons at a very quick pace.

    Upwards Ho! had even exceeded the performance of several other major guilds in terms of dungeon clearing. The guild would have posed a serious threat to Golden Era¡¯s dominion over the continent if it had more yers.

    But Breeze knew that Golden Era must acquire at least a single Mithril ore vein. There were only four known veins in the current stage of the game. With the exception of the ore vein in the Southern Continent that remained locked, the Mithril ore veins of the other continents were each held by a guild.

    Upwards Ho! was considered the weakest among the three in terms of manpower. While all three yers had a top yer of their own, its rtively small size made Upwards Ho! a target for Golden Era.

    And this was why the guild had attempted several attacks against Upwards Ho! for the sake of its benefits.

    But Breeze had finally realized his mistake. He had failed all his attempts to take down Upwards Ho!. Have I been underestimating them? Should I give up and focus on another target instead?

    However, no matter what he might do in the future, Breeze still had to see the battle to its end. He sighed as he observed the yers who were still locked in battle. He knew that Upwards Ho!¡¯s lines would eventually crumble due to its significantly lesser numbers. But... How many of our Clerics have to die until that moment arrives? How much EXP do they have to lose?

    A reduction in level would of course mean a reduction in the Clerics¡¯ performance in a dungeon. This would also mean that expeditions into dungeons were many times harder. The guild¡¯s progress would then be affected, and the gap in strength between them and the other major guilds would only widen.

    While he might win the battle, Breeze knew that he would definitely lose on a strategic level if his Clerics continued to suffer more casualties. It was something he did not wish to happen. ¡°Give the order to retreat.¡±

    Sweeping Reed was shocked. While the casualties of Clerics were high, his guild was at the verge of achieving victory, ¡°Leader, why are we retreating? We¡¯ve nearly defeated them!¡±

    Breeze turned around after casting a sideways nce at Sweeping Reed, ¡°We might win the battle, but it will cost us the war. What I want is to be the one to have thestugh.¡±

 Chapter 415 Are You Serious About This?

    Chapter 415 Are You Serious About This?

    There were simply things that could not be exined in our world, just like how certain individuals would baffle those around them.

    Breeze who gave up at the verge of victory and Fleeting Time who appeared in a ce he should not were very fine examples.

    Timely Rain rubbed the bridge of his nose as he observed the interaction between Bai Mo and Fleeting Time. While the two seemed to be calm, a sharp person could tell that things were not as they seem.

    That was why he decided to head out and oversee the Upwards Ho! yers who were clearing the battlefield.

    Bai Mo smiled at Fleeting Time. This was the first time he had the opportunity to stand side by side with this man. While they had previously attended several events together, this was his first real meeting with Fleeting Time.

    But he could not tell what Fleeting Time was thinking.

    A thick feeling of awkwardness hung in the air. To an outsider, to have an intimidating looking Huntress, an elegant Hunter, and a Warrior with graceful air standing together was an awe-inspiring sight. But the atmosphere however, was entirely different.

    Bai Mo stared at Fleeting TIme who stared back at him. He raised an eyebrow, and shifted his gaze from the overly good looking man to Ye Ci, ¡°Little Ci, shouldn¡¯t you be doing some introductions?¡±

    Fleeting Time smiled like a particrly cunning fox when he heard Bai Mo¡¯s words.

    But Ye Ci did not seem to notice the weird atmosphere hanging in the air. She was staring at Bai Mo with a confused expression that seemed to be asking: Do you really need me to do that?

    But she relented under Bai Mo¡¯s continuous stare. ¡°This is Fleeting Time.¡± she said as she patted him on the shoulder.

    She then turned to Fleeting Time, ¡°This is my cousin, Remote Depths. You didn¡¯t have a chance to meet him thest time you came.¡±

    This very brief introduction still managed to light the fires of anger in both their hearts.

    Bai Mo smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Well it¡¯s not my fault. idents always happen when we least expect it, don¡¯t they?¡±

    Bai Mo¡¯s words felt weird to Ye Ci, but she could not tell what exactly was wrong.

    Fleeting Time on the other hand, narrowed his eyes. What sort of introduction is this? Of course I¡¯m Fleeting Time. Isn¡¯t there something else you should say? Like... Perhaps my slightly special status? He cast a sideway nce at Ye Ci as a sign of protest. How can you introduce me with just four words?

    Bai Mo¡¯s words served only to fuel Fleeting Time¡¯s anger. ident? Is he calling me an ident? idents are something that everybody wants to avoid. Does it mean that her cousin does not like me? He could still remember the man visiting Ye Ci when she was in prison. And he remembered how angered he was when Remote Depths hugged Ye Ci in front of him as if he did not even exist.

    The man was standing before him at this very moment. He had a handsome face. And while he knew that the Remote Depths that he was looking at was just an in-game avatar, there was an unmistaken air of elegance around that man.

    Fleeting Time had a strong urge to punch the face that was smiling at Ye Ci. But could he do that? The answer was no.

    He was the cousin of Ye Ci. This meant that he would always have the high ground.

    Fleeting Time studied the man¡¯s face cautiously before finally letting out a sigh. What an irritating man. Unlike Tan Png, Fleeting Time did not like Remote Depths even one bit. He could tell that the girl that he liked cared deeply about her cousin. She cared more about her cousin than she cared about him.

    Ah... I do not like this feeling.

    A smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face as he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s confused expression, ¡°Well life is always full of surprises. It makes things interesting. Don¡¯t you think our lives will be boring if everything stays the same?¡±

    ¡°Well it depends on what sort of surprises we receive. Sometimes it might even be suffering instead of joy.¡±

    ¡°We will never know until we¡¯ve reached the end of our lives. Suffering might not be entirely bad. It might be a blessing in disguise.¡± Fleeting Time shrugged.

    Ye Ci frowned slightly at the two. Something was simply not right. She nced at Fleeting Time, then at Bai Mo. While there was no feud going on between Bai Mo and Fleeting Time, she could feel the animosity between the two.

    ¡°Have you gone to the Holy Mountain?¡± she interjected just before the situation could escte.

    The question came out of nowhere. Fleeting Time nced at Ye Ci, and noticed her stare. A smile appeared on his face as he replied, ¡°I did. And I found something interesting there.¡±

    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Ye Ci gave Fleeting Time a satisfied nod. She then smiled at Bai Mo, ¡°I need to discuss that damned quest with him. Do you still need my help here?¡±

    Bai Mo¡¯s gaze shifted from Ye Ci to Fleeting Time, and back to Ye Ci again before a smile appeared on his face, ¡°Nope. We don¡¯t need you here.¡± but he did not seem to be willing to let this matter slide.

    He looked at Fleeting Time and said, ¡°Oh by the way, Fleeting Time, there¡¯s something I need you to pass to Absalom for me, but it¡¯s with one of our officers now. Can youe with me real quick?¡±

    Ye Ci sighed. It¡¯s not easy to fool Bai Mo, is it? She nced at Fleeting Time, who smiled at her before saying to Bai Mo, ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s go then.¡± and to Ye Ci he said, ¡°Wait for me here.¡±

    There was nothing Ye Ci could do but to give him a nod. She leaned against a tree and crossed her arms in front of her, ¡°Go then. My time is precious.¡± She then looked at Bai Mo and raised her eyebrows, but the gesture was ignored by her cousin. He was smiling at Fleeting Time. The expression on his face was telling her that he wanted to skin the man alive.

    Hmmm... I wonder who will win in a fight? Thought Ye Ci. It was a question she could not answer. She had never seen Bai Mo in a fight. Perhaps I should have a duel against Bai Mo someday.

    Bai Mo wandered around aimlessly with Fleeting Time in tow, but was trying his best to pretend that he had a destination in mind.

    The two of them were silent. They were both pretending that Bai Mo was really intending to hand something to Absalom.

    They received many states as they walked through the ins that was a field of battle mere moments ago.

    Everyone in Upwards Ho! knew of the rtionship between the two men and Gongzi You.

    But the two main remained calm despite the looks they received.

    Some things must be said. It was unavoidable. Bai Mo stared towards the horizon and took in a deep breath, ¡°Are you serious about this rtionship?¡±

    As a man, Fleeting Time understood the concerns of the man who took the role of Gongzi You¡¯s guardian, ¡°Yes. I am.¡±

 Chapter 416 Conversation

    Chapter 416 Conversation

    And silence fell upon the two. They continued standing at the edge of what was still a battlefield moments ago in silence. It would have been an impressive scenery if the corpses of the dead still littered the battlefield.

    But there was nothing. The tnd just beyond the walls of Champion City was still a sea of green. Sunlight shone down on thend below, and the breeze caressed the flowers and grasses on the field. It was as if the battle that had been fought between the two guilds did not even happen.

    Fleeting Time smiled as he gazed at something afar. Bai Mo nced at the man, and stared at the direction he was looking at. He could see some trees and a tiny pond. It was a verymon sight in Fate. There was nothing special to look at.

    Bai Mo did not attempt to guess what Fleeting Time saw, for it was not his concern. To him, Fleeting Time was someone who was trying to snatch his precious sister away from him. He saw Fleeting Time as nothing but a rascal.

    He had a strong urge to beat the rascal up, and probably even take his life. But it was not something he could do.

    Even if they have nomon grounds, Bai Mo knew that he had to pretend that it existed.

    ¡°What do you like about her?¡± Bai Mo sighed, ¡°Her looks are average, and surely you¡¯ve witnessed her temper. She doesn¡¯t even feel like a girl at all. So what made you like her?¡±

    Fleeting Time was not surprised by the question. While the question itself was overly blunt, and came from someone who Ye Ci thought highly of, Fleeting Time was not surprised. He retracted his gaze and stared at Bai Mo.

    The ghost of a smile appeared on his lips as he clutched at his hair, ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. She¡¯s not like a girl at all. Her looks are average, and she¡¯s too thin. And I have indeed experienced how bad her temper can be first hand. She¡¯s not gentle,cks empathy, and is a very stingy person. You¡¯re right about her.¡±

    He continued staring at Bai Mo, but the man¡¯s eyes were just like two pools of water that ran so deep that he could not guess what the man was thinking.

    ¡°But... Why does it matter?¡± Fleeting Time blinked, and shifted his gaze back to the scenery afar, ¡°So what if there¡¯s nothing good about her? She¡¯s Ye Ci.¡±

    Bai Mo did not like the answer. He did not like it even one bit. He had stated his point, and received a response. But there was annoyance in his heart.

    It was the feeling that a sibling felt when his sister was being criticized by someone else. He was the only one who had the right to do that.

    Thest few words that left Fleeting Time¡¯s mouth served only to deepen his annoyance. Oh, she¡¯s Ye Ci? So what if she¡¯s Ye Ci? Heck, I¡¯m Bai Mo! What sort of dogshit answer is that?

    While the answer itself might not be an ideal one, Bai Mo could not find the words to refute it.

    And it was apparent that Fleeting Time did not n to continue talking as well. He continued staring at the pond with a smile on his face, as if there was treasure hidden within. Bai Mo followed his gaze towards the pond. It was really nothing out of the ordinary. He settled with staring up at the azure sky instead.

    Fleeting Time was the one who finally broke the silence. His voice was sincere as he spoke. The sincerity in his voice scared Bai Mo. He could simply not imagine a rascal like Fleeting Time to be so sincere.

    ¡°In a sense, you and I are enemies.¡± Fleeting Time sighed, ¡°I know that my words might be so hollow, but some things must be said. Thank you for your hard work for thest twenty years. I¡¯ll be taking over from here.¡±

    ¡°Yi Qingchen, you have a very punchable face.¡± Bai Mo snorted coldly.

    Fleeting Timeughed at Bai Mo as he made his way towards the pond, ¡°You can¡¯t beat me, cousin.¡± and he continued after a slight pause, ¡°In game or in real life.¡±

    Bai Mo snorted disdainfully at the man. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at Fleeting Time as he left. He allowed his gaze to drift back once again towards the pond, and what he saw came as a shock to him.

    He saw the reflection of a tree on the pond, and a silhouette was sitting on one of the branches of the tree. From his location, he would never have seen the yer if not for the tree¡¯s reflection.

    Bai Mo finally realised what Fleeting Time was looking at.

    He continued to stare in silence as Fleeting Time made his way towards the tree, and said something to the person on the tree, and received a reply. Fleeting Time said something again and spread his arms open, as if waiting for something.

    He waited and waited, until even Bai Mo was growing bored when he saw the figure with long hair jumping down from the tree.

    Andnded in Fleeting Time¡¯s embrace.

    Bai Mo let out a sigh, and turned around to leave. He needed to look for Timely Rain. nobody knew what sort of trickery Golden Era would be trying next.

    He stopped after taking a few steps. But he did not turn around. He stood in silence for the briefest of moments before continuing his way to look for Timely Rain.

    Ahh... So the saying is true... A girl can¡¯t be sheltered forever, especially when theye of age.

    Ye Ci did not know what happened between Bai Mo and Fleeting Time.

    She stared at them from afar and let out a yawn. She looked around and spotted a tree nearby. That looksfortable. Thought Ye Ci as she made her way to the tree and climbed up to one of its branches before lying down.

    Sunlight seeped through the tiny cracks between the leaves onto Ye Ci. Her eyelids were heavy. And she did not even realize it when she drifted off to sleep.

    The sudden presence of an approaching yer shocked her awake momentster. But she did not sense danger. She looked down, and locked eyes with a gentle gaze.

    That man was making his way straight towards her.

    ¡°When did you arrive?¡± Ye Ci blinked.

    ¡°I just got here. Did I wake you up from your sleep?¡±

    Ye Ci shook her head.

    ¡°Come down.¡± Fleeting Time spread his arms open.

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at him, ¡°What¡¯s with the gesture?¡±

    ¡°Jump, I¡¯ll catch you.¡±

    Do you really have to? Ye Ci had wanted to say. I don¡¯t need you to catch me even if the tree is taller. But the words refused to leave her mouth. She ended up staring at Fleeting Time¡¯s open arms for a long time.

 Chapter 417 Something Troublesome

    Chapter 417 Something Troublesome

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at Fleeting Time. She wanted to test his patience, and the endurance of his arms.

    That was why she continuedying on the branch and stared at the man below. But he was apparently more patient than her. He stood unmoving like a statue, with a smile on his face. He did not lose his temper, nor did he disy any discontent. He was behaving as if it was something expected of him.

    ¡°Hey, are your hands not fatigued?¡± Ye Ci called down to him.

    ¡°Of course they are.¡± Fleeting Time replied truthfully, he did not mind.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you put your hands down?¡± Ye Ci was at the edge of throwing a tantrum. Why must he always test my patience? Does he not know that I¡¯m known for that?

    ¡°Because I¡¯m waiting for you.¡±

    Ye Ci snorted at him and lifted her chin, ¡°Very well. You can remain that way. I¡¯m not going down there.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Fleeting Time was not angered, and instead replied naturally. Everyone who does not know him would even think that he was someone with a good temper. But was he?

    ¡°Oi, do you really think that I¡¯ll jump down like that? I¡¯ll never do something so disgusting.¡± Ye Ci called down to him as he maintained the posture.

    He did not disy any hint of displeasure. The smile on his face had grown even brighter. It was as if he was certain that he had won.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen things like this on movies and TV. I¡¯ll not fall for it. I cannd safely from ces that are higher than this. Move away!¡±

    But Fleeting Time was still smiling at Ye Ci. He sighed and called out to her, ¡°Little Gongzi, I don¡¯t think I can catch you now even if you want me too. I can feel my arms stiffening. I can¡¯t move them. Can youe down here and help me check them out?¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Fleeting Time¡¯s expression and sighed. She refused to believe what he said. He did not look like someone who could not move. She bit on her lips. For reasons unknown, warmth was seeping into her heart as she looked at his open arms.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m just going to help you check your hands okay?¡± she looked around, and took in a deep breath before jumping down after making sure that there was nobody else around.

    Fleeting Time pulled the frail figure into his embrace and buried his face into her silvery hair. He could smell the faint scent of grass and sunshine on her hair. It was a very pleasant feeling.

    And Ye Ci was filled with embarrassment. What a stupid thing to do. She thought to herself. I hope nobody saw it. If they did... My reputation is finished... Her heart was thumping wildly in her chest and at the same time, she could also hear the thumping of Fleeting Time¡¯s heart.

    A pair of lips nted themselves on her neck. They were moist, but they also left a fiery sensation where they met her skin.

    She attempted to push Fleeting Time away, but he tightened his grip, ¡°Fleeting Time, don¡¯t do that.¡± she visibly gulped.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s blood was boiling. But when Ye Ci¡¯s voice crept into his ears, he let out a sigh.

    Ye Ci leaned her head against his shoulder, enjoying the sunlight shining down on them, and her body rxed, ¡°Fleeting Time, you have a lot of bones.¡± she said after a long silence.

    And she received a chuckle in response, ¡°We both have the same number of bones.¡±

    Ye Ci immediately realized the stupidity of her words, ¡°You¡¯re not a likable person.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    This continued for a long while before the two finally broke intoughter.

    The weather was great, in game and in real life.

    Zuo Xian and Ye Nantian went for an evening walk after dinner, and Ye Ci and Bai Mo did the same as well. Tan Png was the only one left in the house. Tears were streaming down his cheek as he stood at the balcony. Why does the youngest one always have to stay behind and clean the dishes? I want to go out as well!

    Despite hisints, Tan Pngpleted his mission of cleaning the dishes. His anguish grew deeper as his eyes caught the dart board in the living room.

    Three darts were stuck out from the board, and two of them were ¡°resting¡± on the areas that were marked ¡°rest¡± while one of them was at an area that wasbeled ¡°do all the chores¡±.

    Of course, the two darts belonged to Ye Ci and Bai Mo, while the remaining one belonged to Tan Png. This was how the three of them decided on who would be doing the chores, and it was obvious that Tan Png was the biggest loser.

    Tan Png¡¯s cellphone rang as he was welling in his sadness. Much to his surprise, the caller was Absalom.

    Silent Hymn had always been the one contacting him when he was still with Genesis. It was very rare for the leader of the guild himself to call the number.

    Absalom started the conversation by talking about very trivial matters. He asked about Tan Png¡¯s well-being, and then moved on to what he was doing in real life. The boy finally let out a sigh after the conversation dragged out for a long time, ¡°What do you need from me, guild leader? Stop beating around the bush. There are chores I have to do.¡±

    But Absalom was still not getting to the point. Tan Png¡¯s patience was already stretched to his limit, ¡°Guild leader, I¡¯ll hang up now if you have nothing important to tell me. The call charges are not cheap right?¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m the one paying.¡± responded Absalom.

    ¡°Well, aren¡¯t I helping you to save money?¡± Tan Png chuckled, ¡°Come on, stop beating around the bush. Aren¡¯t we supposed to be friends?¡±

    ¡°Alright then. Png, has Fleeting Time been to your ce? Is he still there or has he left?¡± said Absalom.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Tan Png was shocked by the question. Did Fleeting Time not tell Absalom where he is? Should I keep it a secret from him as well? But what if it¡¯s something important? ¡°Why are you asking this?¡±

    Absalom massaged his temple. He could hear Mo Leng¡¯s sobsing from downstairs. He was at the verge of losing his mind. The scariest people in this world are not the ones who are not afraid to die, they are probably people who are shameless.

    He and his wife Sour Apple were not very thick-skinned. This was why there was nothing they could do against people like Mo Leng. The woman caught wind of news that Fleeting Time had returned to the country, and she had been looking for him to no avail. This was why the husband and wife once again became her victims.

    Mo Leng¡¯s actions sent Absalom into a fit of rage, but his anger dissipated when Mo Leng broke into tears.

    There was nothing Absalom could do. He had always thought of it as Fleeting Time¡¯s troubles, but it was now his instead. Damn you! Can¡¯t you handle Mo Leng first before going to meet Gongzi You and disappearing?

    The sobs from Mo Leng continued to torment Absalom who was making the call upstairs. ¡°I seem to have found myself in a very troublesome situation.¡±

 Chapter 418 Three Years

    Chapter 418 Three Years

    Tan Png had long since heard rumors about the rtionship between Fleeting Time, White Fairytale, and Absalom.

    While he was interested in the gossip, he simply did not have the energy nor did he feel the need to delve into this topic. Besides, he could feel danger lurking beneath the truth.

    He understood very well that the more he knew, the more he would be entangled in the mess. And Tan Png was someone who did not like to get involved in a messy situation. This was why he was able to quickly suppress his curiosity.

    Absalom¡¯s voice was strange during the call. While Tan Png did not ask for the truth, he could still sense that it had something to do with White Fairytale. He knew of the girl¡¯s crush on Fleeting Time when he was still in Genesis, while Fleeting Time had always avoided her like the gue.

    But the girl was persistent. She would always jump at any chance to approach Fleeting Time, and would often head into the dungeon whenever he was part of the exploration team. She would be kind and gentle even if her advances were rejected.

    This caused Fleeting Time to slowly stop taking part in dungeon explorations, and it also meant that Tan Png¡¯s time to interact with Fleeting Time was greatly reduced as well. As someone who looked up to Fleeting Time a lot, Tan Png ended up holding a grudge against White Fairytale because of that for a very long time.

    He had almost forgotten about her after migrating to the Eastern Continent, but the desperation in Absalom¡¯s voice reminded him of White Fairytale. Anger boiled within him. He had already seen Fleeting Time as his brother inw. He would never offer his help to anyone who might jeopardize that future.

    But he could tell that something was troubling Absalom very deeply, ¡°Leader, don¡¯t you have Fleeting Time¡¯s phone number?¡± he sighed. ¡°What don¡¯t you just talk to him?¡±

    ¡°I would¡¯ve just asked him if he¡¯s willing to tell me.¡± Tan Png could hear the helplessness in Absalom¡¯s voice, ¡°This is driving me nuts.¡±

    While Tan Png was sympathetic to what Absalom must face, he still found himself feeling a wee bit of delight at the man¡¯s misfortune. Of course, he was careful to mask his feelings, ¡°If even Fleeting Time refuses to tell you, then there¡¯s nothing I can say.¡± and he lowered his voice, ¡°Leader, there are things that I simply can¡¯t help you out with. After all...¡± he continued after a slight pause, ¡°Gongzi You is my sister.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Absalom could tell that he had run into a dead end, ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind what I did. I¡¯m getting very desperate here.¡±

    Tan Png let out a sigh of relief once he was certain that Absalom no longer had the attention to press him for answers. He would not know how to handle Absalom if the questioning continued. He was afraid that their years of friendship would be harmed if the situation continued.

    But with things already as they were, he knew that this was no longer his biggest worry, ¡°Leader, I know that I¡¯m not in a position to say this, but there¡¯s something that I just have to say to you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Some things will only be a liability if you do not cut it off.¡±

    Absalom grimaced at those words, ¡°I know, but I simply do not know how to handle someone so shameless.¡±

    He ended the call after more small talks with Tan Png and returned to Mo Leng, while the boy busied himself with the chores in the kitchen. He thought of the call as he washed the dishes, and came to the conclusion that it must be kept a secret from Ye Ci and Bai Mo. He did not know how Ye Ci would react to the existence of White Fairytale. It was a huge risk that might destroy the rtionship between Fleeting Time and Ye Ci.

    Of course, unbeknownst to the boy, Ye Ci had long since known about the story between Fleeting Time and White Fairytale. All of Tan Png¡¯s worries were all for naught.

    The matter continued to weigh down on Tan Png¡¯s mind even as he moved on to the other chores in the house. He pulled out his phone, intending to give Fleeting Time a call, but immediately decided against it.

    It¡¯s very inappropriate for me to tell him what to do. He thought. And he knew that Fleeting Time was just like Ye Ci. He did not like to be told what to do. No matter how close they might be, Tan Png knew that what he was about to say to Fleeting Time was highly inappropriate. Besides, he knew that his emotions might get in the way if he made the call, and it might even lead to a grave misunderstanding. That was why he settled for a text message instead.

    ¡°Brother Fleeting Time, Absalom was looking for you. He called me to ask if you went back. I told him to ask you himself.¡± Tan Png made a few amendments to the message before finally hitting the ¡®send¡¯ button.

    The message served to voice his worry about White Fairtytale while informing Fleeting Time of what had transpired.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s reply came very quickly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll handle it.¡±

    It was not much, but Tan Png let out a sigh of relief at the response. Whenever Fleeting Time said to not worry about something, it meant that he would settle it in the best possible way.

    ¡°What were you and Fleeting Time talking about?¡± a curious Ye Ci asked Bai Mo.

    ¡°A girl should not be so curious about the affairs of men.¡± Bai Mo snorted at her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too full of yourself. Do you think that I won¡¯t dare to beat you up?¡± Ye Cinded a kick on Bai Mo¡¯s butt.

    But Bai Mo was able to nimbly dodge her kick, ¡°Oh really? Do you think we¡¯re in the game right now? How are you so sure that you can win?¡± heughed.

    Ye Ci snorted at her cousin. She did not want to admit defeat, but her curiosity was simply too strong, ¡°Fine, fine, just tell me!¡±

    ¡°Do you really want to know?¡±

    ¡°Well not really.¡±

    ¡°Is that so? I actually wanted to tell you. But since you¡¯re not that interested in finding out, I guess I don¡¯t have to.¡± Bai Mo saw through Ye Ci immediately.

    And Ye Ci proceeded to continue to force the answer out of Bai Mo, who finally lost his patience, ¡°Fine! You damned brat! It¡¯s nothing big, can¡¯t you give me a break?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. Just a brief handover ceremony.¡±

    Ye Ci was baffled, ¡°What is being handed over?¡± she stared incredulously at Bai Mo, ¡°Oh, do you mean the three thousand elites?¡±

    Bai Mo nced at Ye Ci, but he had no intention of exining himself, ¡°We¡¯ll be dealing with Genesis a lot more now. So there was much to discuss.¡±

    Ye Ci nodded in agreement. But she could feel an unknown sense of disappointment in a corner of her heart.

    The days passed without much incident. Mid Autumn arrived in the blink of an eye, as well as the third anniversary of Fate¡¯sunch.

    Upwards Ho! growth continued throughout the months. Its core yers now numbered three hundred thousand. While the guild could still not match the scale of a major guild, it was stillparable in strength with arge guild.

    Golden Era was also working in expanding its influence as well. The major guild with countless members on all four continents had been growing at a very fast pace. It soon found itself locked in conflict with many of therge guilds in Fate. While casualties were suffered by both sides, the victor could still not be determined.

    While this was all going on, Ye Ci had been leveling up nonstop while attempting to explore the Holy Mountain. When she was finally at lvl110, she no longer received damage from the cold at the Holy Mountain. This meant that she could finally explore the map without worry.

    At the same time, a new patch was also released by Wang Jiangnan. A major event was also announced by the lead developer of Fate just before the Mid Autumn Festival. It was the first Solo PVP Tournament.

 Chapter 419 PVP Tournament

    Chapter 419 PVP Tournament

    Ye Ci sat cross legged beside the giganticke of Red Lake City as she inspected her new lvl110 bow, the Holy me. She cleaned her bow with a soft cloth, inspected it once again, and continued to scrub it when she saw a speck of dust on her weapon.

    The scenery was just like something out of a traditional Chinese painting.

    ¡°Have you registered for the tournament?¡± asked Bai Mo who approached Ye Ci from behind.

    ¡°Yup.¡± the reply did note instantly.

    ¡°Which ce do you think you¡¯ll be able to get?¡± a half-smile appeared on Bai Mo¡¯s face as he stared at Ye Ci who was still cleaning her weapon.

    And Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°I¡¯ve not thought about it.¡±

    Bai Mo fell into silence. He leaned against a tree by theke, and enjoyed the scenery along with Ye Ci. He could even hear songs sung by songstresses on the boats that were floating on theke. It was all just like a painting.

    He knelt down beside Ye Ci after some time, and patted her on the shoulder, ¡°Do your best.¡±

    ¡°Of course I will.¡± Ye Ci looked back at her cousin and smiled.

    Bai Mo then stood up and left, leaving Ye Ci to her own thoughts alone by theke.

    Her thoughts were drifting to a ce far far away as Bai Mo¡¯s footstep grew distant.

    She had taken part in a PVP Tournament just like this one in herst life, when she was still a Sorceress, and when she was not Gongzi You. Things were so different back then, and support from friends and family was something that she could only dream of. She was very lonely back then, but she had also arrogantly ignored such a fact as well.

    Many of the details of herst life had been forgotten by her current self. But a few memories still exist. One of them was of her death, and the other was her fight against Fleeting Time.

    But she might even start to forget even these as life moved on.

    She let out a sigh, and slung her bow before pulling out a bottle of wine from her inventory. Her memories of her only interaction with Fleeting Time in herst life flooded her mind.

    It happened during the finals of Fate¡¯s 1st PVP Tournament. The easy victory that she expected was snatched away by Fleeting Time. He was like an entirely different person as he fought against Ye Ci. She could not keep up with the swiftness of his movements and the ferocity of his attacks. It was as if she was fighting against a highly advanced AI.

    Ye Ci had always fancied herself as the top Sorceress in the entire Fate. And she indeed was the best. But even the best Sorceress of Fate could not survive even three minutes ofbat against Fleeting Time.

    She was then snapped back to reality. After long moments of staring at theke, her eyes had grown fatigued. As she closed her eyes, memories of the battle that happened in herst life continued to rey in her mind. She was shocked to realize that the current Fleeting Time was even stronger than the one in herst life. Is this because of the existence of someone capable of matching him in battle? Or is this perhaps the butterfly effect caused by my reincarnation?

    Fleeting Time had disappeared after their first and only battle in herst life. And it became a regret that gnawed at her heart ever since. When Bai Mo asked about her expectations in the tournament, Ye Ci finally realized that she no longer cared about it all. The only thing she wanted was to win against Fleeting Time.

    Bai Mo had once told her that she should always have a rival so that she could grow even stronger. But the desire to win against Fleeting Time was burning in her heart. It was a desire that she must fulfill.

    Even she had to admit that Fleeting Time was strong. He was an existence that she could not ovee. But it mattered not to her. She must fight, and she would not stop fighting until the moment she died.

    She remembered asking Fleeting Time about the reason he left the pro gaming scene. The answer to the question was obvious, but she still asked nevertheless, for she wanted to hear it from the man himself. And his answer did not disappoint, ¡°It got boring. There¡¯s no opponent who could give me a challenge.¡±

    And she knew that she was exactly the same type of person. Once she no longer has a rival, she would lose her goal. And the game would quickly be boring for her.

    The chime on the game¡¯s built-in rm snapped her back to reality once again. She looked at the time, and remembered that she and Fleeting Time had agreed to explore the Sacred Mountain together.

    While her level was high enough to be immune to the cold damage, Ye Ci still found herself shivering in the cold when she arrived at the base of the Sacred Mountain. She immediately equipped her winter clothing and headed to the spot of their meeting.

    She saw a campfire with a figure huddled beside it as she arrived.

    ¡°When did you get here?¡± Yee Ci walked up to Fleeting Time who was warming himself up beside the fire.

    ¡°Not long ago. I just got this campfire set up.¡± Fleeting Time looked up at Ye Ci.

    ¡°You¡¯ve always been punctual. Why are you early today?¡±

    Fleeting Time ignored the question, and handed Ye Ci a bottle of wine, ¡°I just warmed this for you. Drink it. We might not suffer damage with our levels, but it still is cold out here.¡±

    Ye Ci took a swig and handed the bottle back to Fleeting Time, ¡°Drink some too. We¡¯re at the same level. And I don¡¯t think you can stand the cold either.¡±

    Fleeting Time epted the bottle with a smile, ¡°Have you registered for the tournament?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci nced at Fleeting Time. She could still feel the cold, ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°I did as well.¡± said Fleeting Time as he patted the rock beside him, ¡°Come sit, let us talk.¡±

    Ye Ci plopped down beside him, and he pulled her into an embrace. While Ye Ci was still not used to the close interaction, she was slowly getting used to it. She rest her head against his chest, and could feel the thumping of his heart, ¡°You registered on the Wester Continent?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Well, it seems that we¡¯ll only meet during the finals then.¡± A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°And this time, I will win.¡±

    Fleeting Time nted a kiss on her forehead before responding with a smile, ¡°And I will not go easy on you.¡±

 Chapter 420 The Lead Developer

    Chapter 420 The Lead Developer

    Be it the Elven King Dau¡¯er or Dark Lord Naga, both of them were high tier NPCs that yed an important role in the history of Fate. Any quests rted to these two NPCs would naturally be ssified as an Epic-tier Quest.

    And it would of course be impossible for two yers who had just reached lvl100 toplete such a quest.

    Ye Ci traveled around the Sacred Mountain apanied by Fleeting Time despite knowing full well that the quest was an impossible one at the current stage of the game. While they were able to withstand the cold, the duo was severely outleveld by the monsters that popted the map.

    Every single monster in the vicinity of the mountain was a lvl150 Elite. The only way they could get up there was by forming a party of at least a hundred yers.

    The duo was staring at a gigantic Yeti near them. The monster seemed peaceful, but it almost caused their death moments ago. They would have lost their lives if not for their ¡®Feigned Death¡¯ skill.

    ¡°Did you break its defence just now?¡± Ye Ci could still remember how her attacks did not break the monster¡¯s defence despitending on its weak spots.

    Fleeting Time noticed the anger on Ye Ci¡¯s face, and decided to hide the truth that he was able to break its defence out of sheer dumb luck from her, ¡°Of course not. The level penalty was too great.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s anger dissipated at his words. She gritted her teeth at the Yeti, ¡°We might¡¯ve been able to take it out if the difference in levels are not too great.¡±

    The leveling system in Fate is designed in such a way that any attacks against a target with more than 20 levels above a yer would bepletely nullified unless good luck resulted in a broken defence.

    ¡°Sure.¡± Fleeting Time nodded at Ye Ci, ¡°We can try again once we both hit lvl130.¡±

    While Ye Ci was reluctant to just leave the map, reality was telling her that there was nothing she could achieve in that ce.

    Fleeting Time received a message from Absalom when he left the Sacred Mountain. He nced at Ye Ci before taking the call.

    ¡°Did something happen?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at him.

    ¡°The alliance of Western Continent guild got into a fight against Golden Era.¡± Fleeting Time sighed. From his expression, Ye Ci could tell that it was something very troublesome. A fight like this would oftenst for hours, and every core yer would have to be present during the fight no matter what they were doing.

    A frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°They have been provoking the many alliances in all four continents. Have they finally gotten stronger?¡±

    ¡°I think so. Fighting against Golden Era is seriously dragging us down. They have more resources and manpower than we do. The major guilds in our alliances would have to take turns bearing the cost just to keep us from losing.¡± Fleeting Time massaged his temple. He had spent a better part of thest six months participating in battles against Golden Era that were nothing but a test of both side¡¯s manpower.

    Of course, the yers who have been introduced to the excitement of PVP would always look forward to such a fight.

    Ye Ci pursed her lips at that. Upwards Ho! was also part of a multi-guild alliance, and was always required to respond whenever a fight broke out.

    ¡°I have to head over there now. Be careful, the monsters here are very high leveled.¡± Fleeting Time sighed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me.¡± Ye Ci said with a flick of her hand, indicating that he should be heading out. Fleeting Time cast onest nce at Ye Ci and disappeared into a bright sh of light.

    With Fleeting Time gone, Ye Ci decided to head into the arena instead. The ce had grown even livelier since the announcement of the Solo PVP Tournament.

    yers were all encouraged to participate in the tournament. And as a result, the number of participants in the tournament exceeded half the total yer base of Fate. This meant that more and more yers began to flock to the arena, as it was the best ce for training.

    The 1v1 and 2v2 battle mode immediately became the most popr category in the arena.

    Meanwhile in Fate¡¯s Lead Developer Office...

    Wang Jiangnan sat by a desk furiously typing away on the keyboard with five monitors arrayed in front of him. He was a very busy man. As a reward for his hard work, he had been officially promoted to the position of Lead Developer.

    But the job was not an easy one. He had to n for future game contents while reviewing business reports flowing in about the game.

    Despite his tight schedule, Wang Jiangnan was able to quickly get used to the new workload. Qiao Liang, who was the CEO of the Glory Corporation was very satisfied with Wang Jiangnan¡¯s performance. The young man was handed even more freedom in development as well as more freedom in making decisions regarding the future of the game. He had be more and more like the Father of Fate that Ye Ci knew in herst life.

    Even a knock on his door did not disrupt him from his work.

    ¡°Come in.¡± Wang Jiangnan did not even raise his head.

    A man dressed in a tidy suit walked into his office with a stack of reports and set them on his table, ¡°Chief Wang, this month¡¯s market report is here.¡±

    Unlike the man, Wang Jiangnan was dressed very casually in a t-shirt and a pair of jeans while his name tag hung on his neck. Even his hair was disheveled due to his very busy schedule.

    He nodded at the man, ¡°Martial God has officially ended Open Betast month. Do you have their data as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve even made aparison between their numbers and ours. It¡¯s all included in this report here.¡± said the man as he handed a report to Wang Jiangnan, who motioned for the man to leave his office after he had a quick look at the report.

    The man, named Tang Nan, was a secretary assigned to Wang Jiangnan by Qiao Liang. The man was very meticulous with his work, and was a great critical thinker. Wang Jiangnan was able to deal with his immense workload because of Tang Nan¡¯s aid.

    The report was very detailed, and Wang Jiangnan was able to find the data he needed quickly. He looked at the impact of Martial God¡¯sunch on Fate, and sighed. No matter how well he did, Fate was still a game that was already three years old. yers would naturally flock to Martial God just to try out something new.

    Even the daily numbers of new yers in Martial God since itsunch were included in the report by Tang Nan much to Wang Jiangnan¡¯s surprised. How did he get these? Isn¡¯t this a trade secret of theirpany?

    ¡°While Martial God¡¯sunch has impacted us in no small way, and we¡¯re losing more yers since itsunch, we¡¯re still getting arge number of new yers each day. This means that the losses in our yer base are temporary. We should focus more effort on trying to get the older yers to return while polishing the game for the new yers so that they can get used to the game quicker. We should also be paying attention on Golden Era. The guild has managed to gain control of 30% of the game¡¯s economy. We should prepare ourselves for when they withdraw from the game en masse.¡± a brief evaluation was attached at the end of the report by Tang Nan.

 Chapter 421 The First Time

    Chapter 421 The First Time

    Wang Jiangnan let out a long sigh after reading through Tang Nan¡¯s report. He leaned back against his chair and looked out of his window.

    The scorching mid autumn sun was baking the ground with its relentless heat. What a nice day... Thought Wang Jiangnan as he continued staring at the scenery beyond his office window before returning his attention to the stack of reports on his desk.

    ¡°While Martial God¡¯sunch has impacted us in no small way, and we¡¯re losing more yers since itsunch, we¡¯re still getting arge number of new yers each day. This means that the losses in our yer base are temporary. We should focus more effort on trying to get the older yers to return while polishing the game for the new yers so that they can get used to the game quicker. We should also be paying attention on Golden Era. The guild has managed to gain control of 30% of the game¡¯s economy. We should prepare ourselves for when they withdraw from the game en masse.¡±

    Wang Jiangnan¡¯s attention drifted back to Tang Nan¡¯s summary. He rubbed his chin as he read through it once again, appearing deep in thought.

    ¡°They¡¯ll be leaving the game en masse?¡± Wang Jiangnan sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve been too busy nowadays. In fact, I¡¯m so busy that I¡¯ve forgotten all about Golden Era. They¡¯re not just arge guild. They are also locusts.¡± he mumbled.

    He then stared at the monitor disying Martial God¡¯s official website, ¡°President Shu, I wonder how long will it take for your piece to make its next move... Fate at its current state...¡±

    His eyes wandered to a certain group photo on his desk. Ye Ci¡¯s face was still disying a mask of calm indifference. It was as if she would never falter even at the face of the harshest challenge life could throw at her. Wang Jiangnan picked the frame up after staring at the photo for a long time, and wiped the dust away from its disy ss.

    Gongzi You would¡¯ve said something like ¡°Who cares if it¡¯s tough? It can still be ovee!¡±

    That¡¯s right... I¡¯ll ovee this challenge no matter how hard it is!

    Wang Jiangnan let out onest sigh, and looked at the photo onest time, before setting it back to its original ce and returning to his work. He barely had enough time toplete his daily tasks. Ahh how I wish that we get forty eight hours a day. There was simply a lot he had to do before Golden Era withdrew from Fate.

    Ye Ci stretched herself as she sat at the stairs leading to the Arena. Perhaps due to the fact that she had been amon sight in Red Lake City, Ye Ci no longer attracted a crowd wherever she went even when she did not have a hood.

    But her silvery hair still attracted asional stares from the yers around her.

    This is such a nice spot to catch some sunlight. Ye Ci found herself feeling sleepy as she sat by the stairways. She leaned against one of the statues and drifted into sleep.

    A sudden presence nearby jolted her awake. Her eyes shot open immediately, and her dagger was already pressed against the yer¡¯s throat before she could identify who the yer was.

    The yer was apparently stunned by Ye Ci¡¯s sudden movements as he stared at her with mouth agape.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at the man with dark hair. She could see the ambition hidden behind his eyes. While the man himself was not handsome, he still had a certain charm about him. The surprise on his face was quickly reced by a smile, ¡°You¡¯re fast.¡±

    ¡°Not fast enough, or you¡¯d already be dead.¡± said Ye Ci as she sheathed her dagger. Due to her quick movements, her weapon had managed to draw blood from the slight wound on the man¡¯s neck.

    ¡°As expected of Gongzi You.¡± the man raised an eyebrow, ¡°You¡¯re going to kill me in the full light of day?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter anyways. One more yer dying by my hands will not affect my Sin values anyways.¡±

    The yer chuckled at her words, ¡°You¡¯re an interesting person.¡±

    Ye Ci chuckled along as well, ¡°You¡¯re one yourself.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to be here, and yet here you are.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Where do you think I should be then?¡± the yer stared at Ye Ci with interest gleaming in his eyes.

    ¡°The battlefield on the Western Continent of course, Guild Leader Breeze.¡± Ye ci stuck her tongue out and licked her dry lips. Why is the leader of Golden Era not present against a formidable opponent like Genesis? And why is he here of all ces?

    ¡°Why must I be there?¡± asked Breeze, ¡°We have many capablemanders in Golden Era. I am not required to take charge of such an insignificant battle.¡± and a smile appeared on his face as he spoke, ¡°Unlike you, we do not have to rely on Purity Essence alone.¡±

    A frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. She did not like what Breeze said, but she knew that it was the truth. Upwards Ho! was like an antpared to the juggernaut that was Golden Era.

    ¡°So...¡± Ye Ciughed, ¡°Do you happen to run into me here, or do you have something you need from me?¡±

    ¡°Does it matter?¡± The description of this girl on the forums are not urate at all. She doesn¡¯t look like someone who is overly petty. Thought Breeze.

    ¡°Well... If you met me by chance... Let¡¯s just pretend that we didn¡¯t recognize each other and move on.¡± and she continued after a slight pause, ¡°But if there¡¯s something you want for me... Take a seat.¡± she patted on the floor beside her, ¡°I do not want to look up to you.¡±

    ¡°Very well...¡± Breeze chuckled after staring at Ye Ci for quite a while, ¡°There is something I need from you.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, ¡°I thought only your wife would need something from me.¡±

    ¡°Do you think people will take pictures of us and post them on the forums?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    ¡°Ahhh... My wife trusts me.¡± Breezeughed, ¡°At least I know I won¡¯t be punished by her. But you... I heard that Fleeting Time can be quite possessive. Are you not worried at all?¡±

    Oh? So the boss of Golden Era is actually afraid of his wife? Ye Ci nced at Breeze, ¡°Ahh.. There¡¯s nothing to be worried about.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡±

    ¡°He can¡¯t beat me.¡± Ye Ci replied matter of factly.

    Laughter erupted from Breeze. He could almost see the exasperated look on Fleeting Time¡¯s face. He nced at Gongzi You. she was smiling at him, but he could sense the hostility emanating from her eyes. ¡°Gongzi You...¡± he sighed, ¡°How much do you want for the quest lock? Name your price.¡±

 Chapter 422 Unforeseen Circumstances

    Chapter 422 Unforeseen Circumstances

    The sun was setting.

    And Red Lake City was a very beautiful city, and the sunset made it an even more lovely sight.

    Ye Ci blinked at the man sitting beside her, and blinked again. She then looked towards theke not far away, and rubbed her ears with her thumbs. Her expression was that of shock and confusion. I must¡¯ve heard it wrong, haven¡¯t I?

    Her bodynguage was saying that same thing.

    The man sighed when he saw her reaction. It¡¯s a very obvious question. Does she have to react like that? ¡°Yes, you heard me right.¡±

    The movements of Ye Ci¡¯s hands stopped, and she sighed at Breeze, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be straightforward with you Gongzi You. I¡¯m here today because I have information that nobody else have.¡± Breeze has gathered a lot of information about Gongzi You. He knew her habits well, and especially her strong dislike for people who beat around the bush. She was a cunning person. He knew that he could not best Gongzi You in a word game.

    Of course, there were people in this world who would willingly allow themselves to get tricked. But Breeze did not count himself as one of them. He was never greedy, and he did not like to be ced in a position of disadvantage as well.

    Ye Ci acted as if she did not understand Breeze¡¯s words. She continued staring at him innocently, but he could see the calctive look in her eyes.

    Breeze drummed his fingers against his arm. He was not rushing the matter. He knew that Gongzi You had her own considerations as well. She would never make a decision when she could not make up her mind.

    And that was why Breeze allowed her some time to think.

    Ye Ci lowered her hands and narrowed her eyes at Breeze. Bai Mo was the only one who knew of her endeavors in the Southern Continent, and she knew very well that he would never let the secret slip.

    ¡°So you know something that others do not...¡± she smiled at Breeze, ¡°Then how can you be sure that it¡¯s the truth?¡±

    Breeze was rendered speechless by her words. A deep frown appeared on his face, as if he was thinking about something. It took him quite a while to recover from this state, ¡°Gongzi You, I know that you hold the quest lock to the Southern Continent¡¯s Mithril ore vein. I¡¯m not here to y reasoning games with you today. I want ess to that lock.¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow. So... The cat¡¯s out of the back huh? She was hoping that the conversation could drag on, as it would give her the chance to earn more out of it. But Breeze apparently refused to yield the high ground to her.

    ¡°Would you mind if I repeat what I¡¯ve said once again? That I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about?¡± she spread her arms open.

    ¡°Oh, I won¡¯t.¡± Breeze chuckled, ¡°Because what you say will not alter the truth,¡± he looked at the setting sun, and let out a breath, ¡°The sun is setting now. And that is the truth. The time of the day will not change just because someone says otherwise.¡±

    It was Ye Ci¡¯s turn to frown. She shot Breeze an annoyed look. She did not like to be seen through, especially by her opponent. And that was why she remained silent. But Breeze did not seem to mind the re on her face.

    This is so strange. Thought Ye Ci. While she was a solo yer and one of the best in herst life, she still held fear for the high ranking officers of the major guilds. But the fear was no longer present in her current life. She had once viewed Breeze¡¯s authority in envy in herst life. It was something that she wanted the most back then.

    But it all seemed so trivial to her in her current life. She realized that the man was a human being with flesh and blood just like her. There was nothing he had in his possession that was worthy of her envy.

    And with that thought in mind, her mood improved vastly. The fact that Breeze was able to find out about the Southern Continent¡¯s quest lock was no longer a weight in her mind, ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s say that it¡¯s the truth... So what?¡±

    So what?

    Breeze raised an eyebrow at her. He hated the two words. Gongzi You was able to seize the initiative from him with a mere two words. And this was why he did not like to beg for a favor, no matter who it might be.

    As long as one had to resort to begging, one would always be ced on the back foot. Breeze had always been the one holding the initiative. He would never beg whenever there was an alternative. But the person before him had forced him into a position where he must beg.

    Breeze knew that things would not be easy when he learned that Gongzi You was the one who held the quest lock for the Southern Continent Mithril ore vein. Gongzi You was perhaps the only one in Fate who could force him out of his position of power. The best oue of his encounter with Gongzi You resulted in nothing but a draw. This was why he had long since given up on trying to beat Upwards Ho! down.

    And he found his decision to be the correct one.

    As long as Gongzi You was not involved, Breeze would quickly find himself achieving sess when it came to the suppression of the smaller guilds. And from that day onwards, he avoided Gongzi You whenever he could.

    But fate has different ideas for him.

    Gongzi You had still somehow be the obstacle between him and the acquisition of a Mithril ore vein. The importance of Mithril had be more and more apparent one year after its discovery.

    These ores had extremely low drop rates in dungeons, but the demands were high. yers could only defeat monsters of lvl80 and above with Mithril equipment. A party exploring a dungeon without Mithril weapons or equipment would find itself quickly wiped out by the monsters within the dungeon.

    And because of that, the guilds holding the only Mithril ore veins in the game became some of the most powerful guilds in the game. Upwards Ho!, Genesis, and Heavenly Body held three of the four known ore veins in the game, while thest remaining ore vein remained locked.

    Golden Era knew that holding a Mithril ore vein would be the key to its dominion over the world of Fate, but thest remaining Mithril ore vein was in Gongzi You¡¯s hands.

    That was why Breeze was forced to go to Ye Ci.

    ¡°Gongzi You...¡± he sighed. He had been sighing a lot since the conversation with the girl started, ¡°I¡¯m very sincere with my offer. I hope you can sell the quest lock to me. I¡¯ll ept any price you name me.¡±

 Chapter 423 The Next Time

    Chapter 423 The Next Time

    ¡°I hope that you can consider this. It benefits both of us.¡± his voice was soft, but Ye Ci could hear the arrogance in his tone.

    So this is how Golden Era is... And this is how Breeze is...

    A person like him who is highly respected in-game and in real life has probably forgotten about how it¡¯s like to be humble. Thought Ye Ci. He¡¯s trying to speak from a position of power even when he¡¯s begging for my cooperation. She pursed her lips as her expression grew cold, Does he seriously think that Fate belongs to him now? Is he looking down on me?

    ¡°So this is why you¡¯re here?¡± Ye Ci smiled at him. It was a sweet, innocent smile with daggers hidden within.

    Breeze did not know what was going on. He nodded cautiously at Ye Ci, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Very well then.¡± Ye Ci sighed, ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you, Breeze. You¡¯re wasting your time here.¡±

    The leader of Golden Era did not disy any displeasure at Ye C¡¯s rejection. It was as if the result was something that he had expected before meeting her, ¡°Why is that? Are you not going to even consider it?¡±

    Ye Ci snorted in response, ¡°Yup. I will not.¡±

    ¡°But... I¡¯m interested in knowing what you¡¯ll do in response.¡± she continued, ¡°Will you try and stop me from ever leaving Red Lake City? Or will you perhaps continue sending your assassins after me? Know this: I will never hand it over to you. Even if you¡¯ve managed to kill me and reduce my level all the way to zero, it will still be with me.¡±

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°I wonder... Is there someone in Golden Era who can kill me...¡±

    Breeze sighed and responded with a sincere tone, ¡°Gongzi You, you are indeed a top-tier yer, and you have a lot of tools at your disposal. But... Do you know that arrogance is the root to all defeats?¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes, ¡°Ahhh... This is not the first time someone said this to me, but...¡± she ced her index finger under Breeze¡¯s chin and leaned closer towards him. Her gaze was boring into him as she spoke coldly, ¡°What if I tell you that defeat is what I¡¯m looking for?¡±

    Breeze stared at the face before him in silence. He could hear the killing intent in her gentle voice. Gongzi You herself was not a beautiful person, but she had an aura of charm around her. Perhaps this is what they mean by charisma. Thought Breeze. He could feel a chill traveling down her spine.

    She was smiling at him, but she was looking at him like a predator studying its prey.

    It was something unique to Gongzi You that made her somewhat likeable despite her persona.

    But there were also times when he would hate her to the core.

    ¡°Gongzi You, there¡¯s no way Upwards Ho! can hold two Mithril ore veins at once. Why don¡¯t you sell it at a good price instead of letting it sit there unattended?¡± Their interaction might appear intimate to an outsider, but Breeze had a feeling that he was treading on thin ice, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to sell it to me, I¡¯ll give 10% of our daily produce to Upwards Ho!.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s eyes grew even narrower. She pulled her hand back and rested it on her knee, ¡°Are you proposing an alliance with us?¡±

    ¡°What about it? Am I not allowed to do that?¡± it was Breeze turn to raise an eyebrow.

    ¡°But... I seem to remember that Golden Era has always been enemies with Upwards Ho!.¡±

    ¡°Friendship and rivalry will notst forever. The only thing that is eternal in this world is benefits.¡± Breeze smiled at Ye Ci. He could almost feel the sweet taste of victory.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I have even more reason to reject your proposal.¡± Ye Ciughed.

    ¡°Do you have a reason for that?¡± Breeze frowned at her. Things were not going as he had expected.

    ¡°Did you just tell me that friendship will notst forever, while benefits are eternal? I have to agree with you on that. Upwards Ho! might not be able to benefit from my quest lock, and I have much to gain by selling it to you... But when I think about it.. Your guild is already hard to deal with as it is even without a Mithril ore vein in your control. Wouldn¡¯t I be cing my own fate in your hands?¡±

    ¡°I understand your worries.¡± it was as if Breeze anticipated her words, ¡°We can sign a contract. Golden Era will not do anything that can jeopardize Upwards Ho!¡¯s benefits, no matter the circumstances. I¡¯ll also give you my guarantee that we will not move against Upwards Ho!. Is that enough for you?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Ye Ci shook her head.

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Breeze was shocked.

    ¡°You seem to have forgotten one thing.¡± Ye Ci stood up and leaned forward towards him, ¡°You did not join this game out of your own volition. You were hired to y the game. If I have to guess, your employer is Heaven and Earth. You¡¯re nning to leave the game once the time is right, and this willpletely destroy the economy system in Fate. The game will die.¡±

    Breeze bit down hard on his lips. While his thoughts remain hidden, his expression was broadcasting his displeasure. His dealing with Heaven and Earth was supposed to be a secret. Even the officers of Golden Era do not know about this. How did she find out?

    ¡°How did you know?¡± he did not even consider the option of denying the truth.

    A smile appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°Breeze, you have your way of acquiring information, and I have mine. If you¡¯re able to find out about my quest lock, what makes you think that I won¡¯t be able to acquire information about your employer?¡±

    Breeze was silent. It was not because he was thinking of a way to persuade Ye Ci, but because he was now certain that Gongz You would never hand over the quest lock.

    Despite the knowledge, he refused to bow down to what he saw as the inevitable. ¡®Failure¡¯ was not a word in his dictionary. No matter how slim his chances were, he was determined to at least try and make it work, ¡°Are you really not going to consider it?¡±

    ¡°Of course I won¡¯t.¡± Ye Ci shook her head, ¡°You¡¯re using it to destroy the game, while I have to defend my investments in Fate. I do not wish for my efforts to go to waste. And this is why I won¡¯t sell it to you.¡± and she fell into silence.

    Breeze stared at Ye Ci for a long while before finally nodding, ¡°Alright. I understand.¡± it seems that I¡¯ve failed.

    He sighed after casting onest nce at Ye Ci, ¡°Gongzi You, when we meet next, it¡¯ll be a fight to the death.¡±

    A wide smile appeared on ye Ci¡¯s lips. She turned around and headed into the arena.

    A fight to the death? Interesting.

    I¡¯m looking forward to it.

 Chapter 424 An Affair?

    Chapter 424 An Affair?

    Ye Ci had avoided the forums since the wisteria garden incident, and had beenying low. It had been an entire year since she wasst mentioned in any forum posts. But people love gossiping.

    She went offline to have a shower and then dinner after a few more matches in the arena. The rest of her evening was spent on watching variety shows on TV.

    When she walked past Bai Mo¡¯s room, she could feel two pairs of eyes boring into her. She tilted her head and stared at the two males in the room.

    They were staring at her as if she was a monster.

    ¡°Are you two looking at me?¡±

    They both nodded.

    ¡°Have you not seen me before?¡±

    The two of them nodded, and then shook their heads once they realized their mistakes.

    The situation was so bizarre that Ye Ci began checking her clothes up and down. Yup, no missing pieces here. She then patted her face. Nothing wrong with my face either. So what are they looking at?

    ¡°Then what are you two staring at?¡± she raised an eyebrow.

    They shared a look, and immediately began babbling off at Ye Ci. She could not understand even a single word they said, ¡°Alright, stop. One at a time please.¡±

    Tan Png and Bai Mo once again looked at each other, as if waiting for the other to speak. But they ended up turning towards Ye Ci at the same time and started speaking.

    ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t you decide who will speak first,¡± and she turned around to leave. But the two of them called out to her, ¡°Come back!¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re done discussing?¡± Ye Ci smiled at them.

    Tan Png nced at Bai Mo and said, ¡°I¡¯ll let brother Mo speak first.¡±

    Bai Mo wasted no time in motioning for Ye Ci with his hand, ¡°Get in here, there¡¯s something I need to ask you.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at Tan Png, then at Bai Mo. She did not know what was going on. ¡°Alright, what is it? I have things to do.¡± she said as she walked into their room.

    ¡°Have you broken up with that damn rascal?¡± Bai Mo was very certain with his spection when he noted that Ye Ci was behaving absent-mindedly.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Ci was confused.

    ¡°No no no, you¡¯re asking the wrong thing!¡± Tan Png interjected, ¡°Are you having an affair, Sister Ye?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Ci was made even more confused.

    ¡°Come on, even when you¡¯ve broken up with that bastard, you shouldn¡¯t set your sights on a married man!¡± Bai Mo pulled Tan Png aside and walked up to Ye Ci, ¡°Tell me this is a misunderstanding. Your cousin, I will believe you!¡±

    ¡°Sister Ye! You can¡¯t be a third wheel in a rtionship!¡± Tan Png shoved Bai Mo aside and said to Ye Ci.

    Fortunately for Ye Ci, Ye Nantian and Zuo Xian were out shopping, or she would quickly find herself besieged on all fronts.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± she roared at the duo.

    Bai Mo and Tan Png immediately mped their mouths shut and stared silently at Ye Ci who snorted at them and crossed her arms in front of her, ¡°Cheating? ying third wheel?¡± and her eyes narrowed, ¡°Care to exin what you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    The two immediately began to speak up simultaneously once again. Ye Ci could feel a headache slowly intensifying and she motioned for them to remain silent. But it was no use, as the two men were still yapping away at her. A sudden realization shed through her mind when she caught the word ¡°forums¡± in between their sentences, and she immediately pushed past them to theputer.

    A page of the forum was disyed on the monitor with the title, ¡°Fleeting Time¡¯s rtionship in jeopardy, Death Blossom¡¯s back garden on fire! A discussion of the love and hate between top yers!¡±

    Attached to the post were screenshots taken of the interaction between Ye Ci and Breeze. There was even a video where Ye Ci lifted Breeze¡¯s chin with her finger as the conversation progressed.

    Thements of the post were full of theories about the ¡°romance¡± between Gongzi You and Breeze in broad daylight.

    And many of the yers have arrived at the conclusion that Gongzi You and Breeze were having an affair behind the backs of their lovers. It was also stated that Gongzi You was probably the one who initiated the rtionship.

    It took a mere thirty minutes for the post to be the most popr post in the forum. Ye Ci sighed when she saw the number of views it had gained. Why have the posts about dungeon clearing guides not received such attention?

    ¡°What do you feel after seeing this post, Little Ci?¡± Bai Mo and Tan Png were standing behind Ye Ci.

    ¡°Ahh.. I feel nostalgic.¡± Ye Ci snorted, ¡°It¡¯s been awhile since I¡¯ve made it into the forums.¡± and she left the two to their own devices.

    ¡°I was right, pay up!¡± Bai Mo immediately said to Tan Png once Ye Ci was out of sight.

    ¡°But I was not wrong either!¡±

    ¡°Young man... You bet, you pay!¡±

    ¡°No! I did not lose!¡±

    Ye Ci returned to her room and sat by her desk. She stared silently at her cellphone. Should I call him? Or at least send him a message? Perhaps even get Green Hill¡¯s Moon to send a message to him for me?

    Ye Ci blinked and stared into her reflection in the mirror in front of her. Wait... There¡¯s really no need for that. There¡¯s nothing I need to exin, right? She clutched at her hair. It¡¯s not that big of a deal. She could feel that something was wrong, but she who was at a negative in terms of EQ could not tell what was wrong.

    ¡°Heh, between me and Gongzi You, which one of us is prettier?¡± Death Blossom whispered into her husband¡¯s ear.

    Breeze stared at his wife and replied truthfully, ¡°You are, of course.¡±

    ¡°I think Gongzi You is not bad looking either.¡± Death Blossom offered a very objective evaluation of her ¡°rival¡±.

    But Breeze snorted at her words, ¡°Gongzi You does not count as a woman.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a fox. A very cunning fox¡± he replied, much to Death Blossom¡¯s confusion.

 Chapter 425 Coming Storm (1)

    Chapter 425 Coming Storm (1)

    Death Blossom chuckled at her husband, ¡°Honey, did you say that Gongzi You do not count as a woman?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I did.¡± replied Breeze as he made notes on the dungeon clearing guide that he was reading. He was someone who did not like gossiping, nor was he interested in a girl like Ye Ci.

    ¡°Then... Why do you think Fleeting Time likes her?¡± asked Death Blossom with a sadistic grin. It was obvious that she was trying to bait her husband into making a mistake.

    Breeze did not know how to respond. He noticed the excitement on her face. It was as if she wanted him to take part in gossiping as well. He sighed to himself. He did not want to ssh a bucket of cold water onto the burning passion of his wife, ¡°Maybe he likes girls like her...¡± he responded.

    Death Blossom blinked, and blinked again, ¡°Honey, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re suited to be a DPS. You should be a tank instead.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Breeze was confused.

    ¡°You¡¯re very good at pulling aggro, and your taunts are on point as well.¡± said Death Blossom.

    Breeze thought about her words for a moment before bursting intoughter. He patted her head and said, ¡°Nonsense.¡±

    Death Blossom chuckled at his response, ¡°Honey, how do you think Fleeting Time will respond when he sees the video?¡±

    How will he respond? Breeze looked up at the ceiling and thought for a long while before finally shaking his head, ¡°I can¡¯t tell how the other fox is thinking either.¡±

    Even Absalom, who was friends with the other fox for many years, could not tell what he was thinking. He noticed the post on the forum, and quickly read through all its content. From his past experience with the fox, Absalom expected him to be in a bad mood, and might even kill a few yers to vent his anger.

    But it did not happen.

    Fleeting Time remained smiling when he saw the thread, ¡°I need to rece some of my equipment. Are you guys heading into the dungeon today? Mind if I tag along?¡±

    The core yers of Genesis would of course head into the dungeon on a daily basis. But Absalom could notprehend what was going on, ¡°Are you alright?¡± Things did not happen as he had expected.

    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Fleeting Time raised his eyebrow and wore the teasing grin he would always have when he talked to Absalom.

    Something¡¯s not right! This is impossible! Thought Absalom

    And just like that, Fleeting TIme joined Genesis¡¯s elites in their dungeon clearing.

    Absalom was never in charge of directing the actions of his yers in a dungeon, which afforded him the free time to steal asional nces at Fleeting Time. But the man remained calm and collected even when he was in the dungeon. Wait, this is not like him! He¡¯s actually cking off! Shouldn¡¯t you be venting your anger on these monsters? This does not make sense!

    Absalom could feel fire in his heart. It was the mes of gossip that were looking for an outlet.

    He simply could not believe what he saw.

    ¡°Are you really alright?¡± asked Absalom before logging off.

    Fleeting Time pursed his lips, ¡°Can you not look at me like that? I almost thought that you¡¯re no longer into women.¡±

    Absalom¡¯s expression immediately darkened, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have been so worried, you asshole!¡±

    His anger was further fueled by Fleeting Time¡¯sughter.

    Absalom told his wife about the forum post before heading to bed.

    Sour Apple rolled her eyes and sighed, ¡°I have a bad feeling about this.¡±

    ¡°Why is that?¡± Absalom was curious.

    ¡°White Fairytale was in a good mood today.¡±

    The couple stared at the ceiling of their bedroom for a long while before finally realizing that there was nothing they could do about it, and went to sleep.

    Ye Ci received a message from Green Hill¡¯s Moon the next day that Fleeting Time was waiting for her in the Wild Cat Tavern.

    The duo would always meet at the tavern since they began their adventures on the middle continent. But Ye Ci could feel a sense of guilt in her heart.

    But Green Hill¡¯s Moon did not seem to be able to read the atmosphere well. ¡°Are you going to have ¡®the talk¡¯?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Ci was not paying full attention to his words.

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about the video that was posted on the forums yesterday! Does Fleeting Time know about it? Are you going to break up with him?¡± Green Hill¡¯s Moon¡¯s thirst for gossip knows no bounds.

    Even Ye Ci began to have doubts in her heart when she heard his words. Is that why he¡¯s looking for me?

    She ended the call from Green Hill¡¯s Moon and headed to the Wild Cat Tavern. She was early, but her sense of guilt was screaming at her to arrive early, as she had done something wrong.

    ¡°The weather is good today, and I did nothing wrong. It¡¯s only fair for me to arrive early. I can¡¯t let him wait for me all the time! I should be the one waiting for him once in a while. Yup. That¡¯s right. I have always been a fair person...¡± Ye Ci muttered to herself before entering the Wild Cat Tavern.

    A beautiful Cleric in an elegant dress walked into the tavern not long after Ye Ci had taken her seat.

    The Cleric scanned her surroundings, and was quick to spot her target. She immediately made her way through her crowd to Ye Ci, ignoring the nces she received from the male yers around her.

    Ye Ci was busy reading a book she borrowed from the library when she noticed a person taking a seat in front of her. Wait, that¡¯s not a waitress, and that¡¯s definitely not Fleeting Time.

    She looked up and found the owner of a very beautiful face smiling at her.

    Who could it be if not White Fairytale?

    ¡°We meet again, Gongzi You.¡± said White Fairytale.

    Ye Ci stared at her for a few seconds before returning her attention to the book.

    White Fairytale¡¯s smile widened, ¡°I saw the post on the forums yesterday.¡± and she paused in wait for a response from Ye Ci, but the Huntress was still flipping through the pages of her book.

    The corners of White Fairytale¡¯s lips twitched, ¡°I¡¯m shocked. I didn¡¯t expect you to be someone with such a heavy taste. You¡¯re actually willing to y third wheel in a rtionship? A tomboy like you with no looks nor body figure to show...¡± White Fairytale tried her best to get a response out of Ye Ci.

    But her efforts were in vain.

 Chapter 426 Brewing Storm (2)

    Chapter 426 Brewing Storm (2)

    Why do humansmunicate? Because it can help forge a better future.

    And why do humans like to hold a conversation with one another? Because the spark of inspiration oftenes from it.

    Humans have always been social animals. And if two humans remained silent when they were with one another, history would not have moved forward.

    Gongzi You¡¯s silence despite White Fairytale¡¯s best attempt was a source of frustration for the girl. And it was also something that appeared to be very discourteous in the eyes of the male yers in the tavern.

    How could you ignore such a beautifuldy? Hey you! That¡¯s right, you! Can you please notice the beauty in front of you? They were all staring at the hooded yer in front of White Fairytale.

    Of course, those words remained unspoken. The yers knew better than to meddle in somebody else¡¯s affair. They also knew that nothing good woulde from their intervention as they can sense the overpowering aura from the hooded yer.

    White Fairytale was seething with anger. She red at Ye Ci in silence, boring holes in the Huntress¡¯s body with her killer gaze.

    This continued for quite a while before she finally took in a deep breath and grabbed Ye Ci¡¯s hand in an attempt to attract her attention.

    And she received what she sought, as Ye Ci looked up at her.

    ¡°Gongzi You, why don¡¯t you leave Fleeting Time alone from now on? You¡¯ve lost your right to stay by his side after what happened.¡± said White Fairytale.

    Ye Ci tilted her head. She was confused by those words, ¡°And what rights do you have to say that? As his ssmate? As someone who had a crush on him? Or his next girlfriend?¡±

    White Fairytale opened her mouth, but words refused toe out. There were subtle differences between the three. She was indeed his ssmate, but this did not give her the right to interfere in his love life. But to be identified as someone who had a crush on him was something that White Fairytale would never ept. As for Fleeting Time¡¯s future girlfriend..

    She could tell that it was a far cry. The only thing she could do was to stare at Gongzi You with disdain. She wanted to refute the girl¡¯s words, but she found herself speechless.

    Ye Ci seized the opportunity to pull her hand away from White Fairytale, ¡°And since you do not have a right, why does it matter to you?¡±

    The Cleric red at her and bit her lips. Her face was painted with a bright shade of red as she continued staring at Ye Ci, but she was at a loss for words. She felt insulted. Years of unrequited love for Fleeting Time had made her numb to such a thing. But the girl who sat in front of her once again made her feel the stinging pain from an insult.

    She saw a cup resting on the table from the corners of her eyes, and lifted it with her hand. A stinging pain shot up her hand before she could ssh the content of the cup onto Ye Ci¡¯s face, ¡°Don¡¯t waste a cup of perfectly fine drink.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s left hand was gripping tightly on White Fairytale¡¯s wrist. The Cleric subconsciously loosened her grip due to the pain, and Ye Ci took the cup away from her. She released White Fairytale¡¯s hand, and took a sip from the cup as she allowed her gaze to drift towards the entrance of the tavern.

    White Fairytale followed Ye Ci¡¯s gaze, and saw Fleeting Time with his arms crossed in front of him.

    She recoiled in shock.

    Fleeting Time made his way towards the two before White Fairytale could react. ¡°Fleeting Time...¡±

    But the man¡¯s attention was on the other person who was sitting by the table. He walked past White Fairytale as if she was a stranger, and made his way towards Ye Ci with a gentle smile on his face.

    White Fairytale could feel a stinging pain in her heart. She extended her hand to grab Fleeting Time on his shoulder, but was immediately shrugged away. He then dusted the ce where her hand had touched as if out of reflex. And the simple act drove sharp pain into her heart.

    ¡°Why is she here?¡± Fleeting Time did not even look at White Fairytale as he spoke.

    Ye Ci shrugged in response as she ced her book back into her inventory, ¡°How would I know?¡±

    Fleeting Time grunted in response and took a seat beside Ye Ci.

    This was too much for White Fairytale to bear. She stood up, and immediately left the tavern with tears streaming down her cheeks. She had never shed a tear when she was treated coldly by Fleeting Time in the past. But she could not hold her sadness back any longer.

    The patrons in the tavern grew restless.

    Fleeting Time came without a hood. His face was something that was known by the vast majority of the yers, and they have most certainly heard the Cleric calling out his name.

    They were certain that the man was Fleeting Time. This meant that the person who had been reading a book could only be Gongzi You.

    Wait... If that¡¯s the case, who was that girl? What¡¯s her rtionship with Gongzi You and Fleeting Time?

    This became prime gossipping material for the yers present.

    ¡°Your ssmate left.¡± said Ye Ci with a half-smile.

    But Fleeting Time¡¯s smile widened into a grin when he heard her words. He continued staring at Ye Ci, who grew ufortable under his gaze, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Why? I can¡¯t meet with you now that you¡¯ve found a new lover?¡± there was not a hint of anger in Fleeting Time¡¯s expression.

    Ye Ci cleared her throat, ¡°To tell you the truth...¡±

    But Fleeting Time ced his fingers on her lips before she could continue, and he spoke to her with a gentle tone, ¡°I know. You do not have to exin yourself to me.¡± he continued when he saw Ye Ci raising an eyebrow at him, ¡°You feeling the need to exin means that I do not trust you. But I trust you no matter what. So, you do not have to exin anything to me. I will not ept it.¡±

    Ye Ci could feel thest few remnants of the wall she had built around her heart crumbling, giving way to the warmth that came pouring in. A bright smile slowly spread itself across her lips.

    Fleeting Time mirrored her smile, ¡°But...¡±

 Chapter 427 Has Your Anger Subsided?

    Chapter 427 Has Your Anger Subsided?

    ¡°But what? The smile on Ye Ci¡¯s face froze.

    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m not angry.¡± Fleeting Time voiced his displeasure in a very calm tone. There was no sign of anger on his face, but he was able to convey his feelings through his words alone.

    ¡°Why are you angry?¡± Ye Ci was confused, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you trust me?¡±

    Fleeting Time sighed at Ye Ci. It seems that I have to be straightforward with her about something like this. ¡°I¡¯m angry because...¡± he leaned forward and whispered into Ye Ci¡¯s ears, ¡°You¡¯ve never done something like this with me. Why did Breeze get that treatment?¡±

    Ye Ci blushed at his words.

    ¡°Alright then. I apologize.¡± she lowered her gaze.

    But Fleeting Time shook his head lightly?

    ¡°Then what do you want?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice grew softer.

    Fleeting Time pulled Ye Ci¡¯s hood away and said with a charming smile, ¡°Don¡¯t you think somepensation is needed? It should at least be better than what Breeze got.¡±

    The blush on Ye Ci¡¯s face deepened. H-how am I supposed to do that? I saw him as an enemy But Fleeting Time... she bit on her lips and scanned her surroundings. The entire tavern was staring at them tantly.

    ¡°Hey,¡± she said through gritted teeth, ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re going a little too far?¡±

    Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci. The blush on her face was exceptionally beautiful. ¡°Alright, alright.¡± he sighed, ¡°I ept your apology.¡±

    Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief. But her chin was lifted up at the next moment, and Fleeting Time¡¯s warm lips came crashing down on hers.

    Her mind was nk, safe for one thought: People are watching!

    A wave of dizziness washed across Ye Ci. Her blood was boiling. It was as if her entire being was on fire.

    The patrons of the tavern were staring at the couple with mouth agape.

    It was normal for a couple to kiss, but to do it in full view of the public...

    The spectacle filled their hearts with excitement.

    They continued staring at the duo until the loud ng of a fallen goblet snapped them back to reality.

    ¡°Fleeting Time...¡± she wanted to speak, but her mouth was immediately smothered by another pair of lips. She wanted to push him away, but his grip on her tightened instead.

    The crowd cheered and whistled at the couple.

    ¡°Nice one, Fleeting Time!¡±

    ¡°Push her down Fleeting Time!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re my idol, Fleeting Time!¡±

    The embarrassment gave Ye Ci the strength to finally push Fleeting Time away. She drew her bow and red coldly at the man, but her face was blushing bright red.

    Silence immediately fell upon the tavern. Just then, a hand pressed Ye Ci¡¯s bow down, and another snaked itself around her waist. Before she could even realize what was going on, Ye Ci found herself being hoisted by Fleeting Time over his shoulder, ¡°Let go of me, you bastard!¡±

    But her cries were ignored by Fleeting Time, who carried her out of the tavern. Tried as she might, Ye Ci was not able to remove herself from his grip.

    He jumped onto one of the buildings, and began to sprint across the rooftops. Wind brushed past his face as he made his way across the city. Despite the protests from Ye Ci who was still being carried on his shoulder, his mood remained good.

    He finally set her down lightly after some time.

    And Ye Ci was shocked to realize that she was now at the Royal Clock Tower in the middle of Hero City.

    Anger boiled within her. She lifted her hand without even thinking and swung it at Fleeting Time¡¯s face. But it was immediately caught by a firm grip.

    She lifted her other hand, and it was also caught by Fleeting Time as well.

    ¡°Are you angry at me?¡± Fleeting Time smiled at Ye Ci.

    ¡°Of course I am!¡±

    ¡°What a coincidence. Because I¡¯m angry as well.¡± Fleeting Time narrowed his eyes.

    Ye Ci raised her voice at Fleeting Time, ¡°Oh you¡¯re angry? Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re not angry anymore? You¡¯re still angry after doing that?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Fleeting Time could barely hold back the smile on his face as he stared at Ye Ci¡¯s angered expression.

    ¡°How could you do that in full view of the public!¡± Ye Ci¡¯s anger continued to rise.

    But Fleeting Time did not seem to have noticed her anger.

    ¡°Oh? I did it on purpose.¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Ye Ci pulled her hands away from Fleeting Time¡¯s grip, ¡°How could you do that!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just marking what is mine.¡±

    ¡°You what?!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I apologize. I went too far.¡± the smile remained on Fleeting Time¡¯s face as he lowered his head. ¡°Why don¡¯t we call it even¡±

    ¡°Call it even?¡± Ye Ci shot him a re.

    ¡°You see.. You started it by doing that with Breeze. And I¡¯m mad at you for doing that. You apologized, but I was not satisfied with your apology, so I kissed you. But it was your turn to be angry. And I apologized to you. Shouldn¡¯t we call it even?¡± Fleeting Time spread his arms open.

    That was thest straw that sent Ye Ci¡¯s anger exploding like a volcano. Fleeting Time felt a sudden force striking his lower back and fell down from the clock tower.

    Hmpf! That¡¯ll teach him to not mess with me! Thought Ye Ci with a satisfied smile on her face. Just then, she heard the pping of wings.

    And Fleeting Time appeared momentster on his Phoenix, ¡°Alright, alright, has your anger subsided?¡±

    ¡°Hmpf!¡± Ye Ci turned away from him. Something flew through the air, and she caught it with her hand out of reflex. It was a golden piece of head jewellery.

    Dora¡¯s Ornament: Charisma +3, Agility +10.

    The item had very ordinary stats, but it could be worn along with a helmet. She remembered something like this costing arge amount of money in herst life as it was one of the few cosmetic items that came with additional stats, and of course due to its high demand among the female yers.

    But the drop rate of this item was very low. And this made its price even higher.

    Why does he have something like this?

 Chapter 428 A Gift

    Chapter 428 A Gift

    The all four continents in Fate had different cultures and maps. While the dungeons might be different, most of them still yield the same items with the same drop rates.

    But there were certain items that were unique to certain dungeons that could only be found in their respective continent.

    Dora¡¯s Ornament was dropped by a BOSS named Water Sprite Dora in the Western Continent. This meant that it could be obtained on the Western Continent alone.

    Of course, while Dora¡¯s Ornament was not avable to the other continents, the three other continents had unique items of their own.

    These unique items had very low drop rates, and were usually dropped by BOSS that were hard to kill. Due to their elegant designs, they would always fetch a high price in the auction house.

    ¡°Why do you have this?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s anger was driven away by her curiosity.

    ¡°I just happened to find it lying on the ground.¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, ¡°You happened to just find an item dropped by Water Sprite Dora, the third BOSS of a hundred yer dungeon with formidable attack and defense?¡± and she continued staring at Fleeting Time as she spoke, ¡°And you¡¯re telling me that you found this by sheer coincidence.¡±

    Fleeting Time sighed, ¡°I¡¯m impressed. As expected of a living Fate encyclopedia,¡± and he spread his hands open, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll tell you the truth. Our elites were fighting Dora yesterday, but they do not have enough DPS, and that¡¯s why I volunteered. I guess I was just lucky. She dropped this on our first try...¡± Fleeting Time pointed at the head ornament.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this very expensive?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡± Fleeting Time shook his head, ¡°I was very good at rolling the dice.¡±

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth at the man who was tantly showing off his good luck. A person with an unlucky aura like her would never experience something like this.

    Fleeting Time was confused when he noticed Ye Ci¡¯s angered expression. Did I say something wrong? He could tell that the item was highly popr from the reaction of the female yers when the item dropped, as well as the anger they disyed when he snatched the item for himself. This doesn¡¯t make sense!

    Just then, he noticed something flying right at him and snatched it out of the air. It was Dora¡¯s Ornament. Ye Ci¡¯s voice entered his ears before he could react, ¡°Alright! Fine! I know you have very good luck! But do you really have to unt it in my face? So what if my luck is bad?!¡±

    Fleeting Time was stunned. A chuckle escaped his lips and he broke intoughter, much to Ye Ci¡¯s irritation, ¡°You bastard! Just you wait! Someday, I¡¯ll have luck as good as yours!¡±

    Hended back on the clock tower after jumping off his Phoenix, and immediately received a re from Ye CI, ¡°Oh, are you here to meet your death? I¡¯ll let you know that I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡±

    The grin on Fleeting Time¡¯s face only grew wider, ¡°This is for you.¡± he handed Dora¡¯s Ornament to Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci was shocked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°What I meant was, since I got it from the dungeon, and have given it to you, it¡¯s yours now.¡± responded Fleeting Time after a long moment of considering the question.

    Several thoughts ran through Ye Ci¡¯s mind before realization dawned upon her. Is he still trying to show off? Is he giving this to me? Is this some sort of gift? Wait... This is for me?

    ¡°Is this... For me?¡±

    ¡°Yup! This is something obviously meant for a female yer. Of course I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± he then nced at Ye Ci before continuing, ¡°Well if you don¡¯t like it, you can always throw it away. It¡¯s just a piece of jewellery.¡±

    Ye Ci snatched Dora¡¯s Ornament away from Fleeting Time before he could even finish his sentence. She studied the head ornament under the setting sun and breathed, ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Fleeting Time gaze grew softer as he stared at Ye Ci.

    ¡°Well I guess you made a lot of your guildmates angry with your luck.¡±

    Fleeting Time could still remember the looks he received from the Genesis yers, ¡°They have always been jealous of my luck.¡±

    Ye Ci was rendered speechless by his tant shamelessness. She stared silently at Dora¡¯s Ornament for a long while before turning around to face Fleeting Time.

    He raised an eyebrow when she handed the ornament back to him.

    ¡°Help me put this on, I do not have a mirror,¡± said Ye Ci with a half-smile.

    Fleeting Time was caught off guard by her words. But a smile was quick to form on his lips. He took the ornament from Ye Ci, and pinned it on her hair with the utmost care.

    ¡°Alright, and we¡¯re done.¡± said Fleeting Time with a smile as he stared at the ornament resting on Ye Ci¡¯s head.

    She lifted her hand and touched the ornament pinned on her head, ¡°This is the first time someone other than my parents and Bai Mo had gifted me something.¡±

    Fleeting Time¡¯s heart clenched when he heard what she said. He stared at Ye Ci for a long time before holding her hands in his. Gongzi You might appear to be tough, but she had a soft side as well. ¡°Well, I hope you don¡¯t mind me sending more gifts your way in the future then.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s face immediately reddened as a warmth spread across her heart.

    ¡°To be honest, I would¡¯ve been happier if there¡¯s no Bai Mo before me.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s smile immediately stiffened, ¡°Bai Mo is my cousin. His mother is the sister of my mother.¡±

    Is this... Her attempt at exining something to me? Fleeting Time grinned at Ye Ci, ¡°So what if he¡¯s your cousin? He¡¯s still a man...¡±

    Ye Ci frowned at him, ¡°Hey, you¡¯re not likeable at all sometimes.¡±

    ¡°Little Gongzi, do you know what it means when a girl says ¡®I do not like you¡¯ to a guy?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It actually means ¡®I like you¡¯.¡±

    Ye Ci stared at him with mouth agape before shouting out loud, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just roll over and die, Fleeting Time!?¡±

 Chapter 429 Complicated Tournament Rules

    Chapter 429 Complicated Tournament Rules

    Time passed very quickly, and the PVP tournament was finallyunched at the beginning of Fate¡¯s fourth year.

    As preparation for the tournament, Ye Ci had favored fighting in the Arena more than leveling up. It took her two full months to slowly transition her equipment from PVE to PVP, and was able to get Pea Cake and Blossom to embed her equipment with Mithril.

    The difference in performance of Mithril embedded equipment was phenomenal.

    She made it just in time for the qualifiers of the PVP tournament.

    Advertisements for the tournament were everywhere online and in real life. Even therge billboard in Ye Ci¡¯s residential area was disying an advertisement for Fate¡¯s first Solo PVP Tournament.

    All the character sses of the game were disyed on the billboard. Ye Ci and Fleeting Time used as the models for the Hunters. She had been approached by Wang Jiangnan for permission to use a screenshot taken by an unknown yer when she and Fleeting Time were sparring in the arena to be used on the advertisement.

    With promises from Wang Jiangnan to provide her guild withpensation that will helps its growth and the permission from Fleeting Time already obtained, Ye Ci finally relented.

    But she was quick to regret her decision. It was an awkward experience to see her own face stered on every avable billboard wherever she went. When the advertisements were first released, Ye Ci, Bai Mo, and Tan Png sat staring at the billboard in their area while sitting on a bench just in front of it, as all three of their characters were used by Fate officials in the advertisement.

    Tan Png was exceptionally excited when the advertisement was first released, ¡°Look at me! I look so handsome!¡±

    ¡°You call that handsome?¡± Bai Mo rolled his eyes at the boy, ¡°Oh please, that wretched appearance of yours is not what I¡¯d call handsome. Look at me! I¡¯m tough, elegant, and full of positivity! A Human Warrior is the epitome of being handsome!¡±

    Just then, a young woman and her son walked past the billboard, and the child stopped in front of the board and attempted to read the words disyed on the advertisement while his mother patiently taught him the words that he could not recognize.

    ¡°Mama mama! Who are they?¡± the boy pointed at the characters on the billboard.

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re all famous individuals in a magical world called Fate.¡± replied the young woman. It was apparent that she was also a yer.

    ¡°Ahhh... They must¡¯ve gone to a ce far far away like grandma and grandpa!¡± the boy nodded, ¡°Is this why they¡¯re all hung on the wall like that?¡±

    Ye Ci would be forever scarred by the little boy¡¯s words. She would be reminded of that fateful day whenever she saw a billboard containing an ad for Fate¡¯s PVP tournament.

    Of course, the advertisement campaign was still a huge sess. The developers were able to capture the best moments of Fate¡¯s finest yers, and disyed them for all to see. This was able to attract a lot of attention to the game that surpassed Martial God Online that had just beenunched not long ago.

    Over a billion yers, which was more than half of Fate¡¯s yer base, had taken part in the tournament. And this naturally made the qualifiers a long and grueling process.

    Therge number of yers meant that the referees were made obsolete, and the yers would have to be selected by an automated process in the system.

    Each yer would receive a registration number, and would then be paired off against a random opponent in a match thatsted for ten minutes. Points would be given based on the hits a yer couldnd on his or her opponent. And if both yers survived the full ten minutes of the match, the victor would then be decided by the points held by each yer.

    Only fifty thousand yers would be selected from each continent to take part in the second stage of the tournament, which would then thin the number of participants down to a total of twenty thousand.

    These twenty thousand yers could be said to be the cream of the crop of Fate¡¯s yer base, as they made up only a very tiny percentage of Fate¡¯s total poption.

    The twenty thousand yers would then have to face off against each other in elimination rounds that would proceed until only ten of them were left.

    And these yers, who were undoubtedly the best of the best among the one billion contestants, would be divided into two groups of five yers, where they would face off against the yers in their respective group.

    Ye Ci sighed when she saw the sheer number of contestants in the tournament. The rules were moreplicated than she remembered from herst life. Is this something that Wang Jiangnan intentionally did? Or could this be the butterfly effect of my reincarnation? She longed to face off against Fleeting Time, but the first stage of the qualifiers alone would take a lot of time.

    Ye Ci was dipping her water in the cold Red Lake when she noticed a presence nearby. She opened her eyes, and turned to face the yer.

    It was Zero Arsenic.

    She continued lying on the ground as she spoke to the man, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Zero Arsenic stared at Ye Ci, appearing to be deep in thought for a long while before finally speaking up, ¡°Gongzi You, I¡¯ve always heard that a person¡¯s face will look big when they¡¯re lying down. I¡¯ve finally seen it with my own eyes today.¡±

    Ye Ci was baffled, ¡°Get lost!¡± she said through gritted teeth.

    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s a good idea to dip your legs in the water when you sleep?¡± Zero Arsenic continued on shamelessly, ¡°It¡¯s not good for your knees. I have a friend who is a really good doctor if you ever need one.¡±

    Ye Ci red daggers at the man, ¡°What do you want? I¡¯ll break your legs if you continue wasting my time.¡±

    Zero Arsenic guffawed at her response, ¡°Aiya, it seems that Fleeting Time¡¯s humor is rubbing off on you, Little Gongzi.¡±

    Little Gongzi?? Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at Zero Arsenic and stood up. With a swift movement, she appeared behind Zero Arsenic and kicked him into the water.

    The man was drenched when he finally swam his way back to the shore.

    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± he sighed, ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business then.¡±

    Ye Ci raised an eyebrow at him, and he continued, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, your registration number is 7469?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, what about it?¡±

 Chapter 430 An Exchange

    Chapter 430 An Exchange

    What Zero Arsenic said has nothing to do with me. This was the conclusion that Ye Ci made after listening to his words.

    Zero Arsenic studied Ye Ci¡¯s expression intently. He was trying to tell what was going on in her mind. But what he found was disappointing, for she was still wearing a mask of indifference.

    ¡°I know it doesn¡¯t matter who your opponent is. But it matters to us a lot. If you defeat him, Unbridled Willow will not be able to face off against that man, and this...¡± he continued after a pause, ¡°Is something that Battle Spear did not want.¡±

    In truth, Ye Ci could already guess who her opponent would be when Zero Arsenic approached her with the request.

    He wanted her to forfeit her match. She stared at the Vice Leader of Battle Spear guild. The man was by Thousand Sunsets¡¯s side when she first started the game, but he was now working against his former leader.

    Ye Ci stood up, took a few steps away from the leg, and once again returned to her original position, dipping her legs back into the water. She attempted to recall a memory from her distant past. Was Zero Arsenic still with Thousand Sunsets back then? But try as she might, her question was left unanswered.

    Ah, the irony of life.

    Zero Arsenic made no moves to disrupt Ye Ci¡¯s train of thoughts. He stood silently not far behind the Huntress and waited for her to make her decision.

    She finally turned around to face him with a smile after a long moment of silence, ¡°And what will I get in return?¡±

    Zero Arsenic let out a sigh of relief. Gongzi You was asking forpensation meant that the matter was as good as settled, ¡°Very well. Allow me to tell you a secret about Golden Era.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Ci¡¯s interest was piqued.

    Zero Arsenic motioned for her toe closer, he began whispering into her ears, ¡°Golden Era will be attacking Sodom, and they¡¯ll do it on...¡±

    Ye Ci was shocked when Zero Arsenic proceeded to reveal the date and time of Golden Era¡¯s nned attack on the abandoned fort, ¡°How did you get that information?¡± she stared mouth agape at the Vice Leader of Battle Spear.

    ¡°There is no information we can¡¯t acquire.¡± Zero Arsenic smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°Even Green Hill¡¯s Moon knows nothing about this. What do you think of it?¡±

    ¡°How can I be sure that you¡¯re not lying to me?¡± Ye Ci was quick to calm herself down. She was not doubting Zero Arsenic¡¯s capabilities, as he was backed by arge financial group. But she had to be very careful as Sodom was involved. Bai Mo had ced the guild¡¯s entire wealth in preparation to attack the abandoned fort.

    ¡°Gongzi You, we were never enemies.¡± Zero Arsenic patted Ye Ci on the shoulder.

    ¡°You¡¯ll regret lying to me.¡± replied Ye Ci after a short moment of silence.

    ¡°And that, you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Zero Arsenic chuckled, ¡°Battle Spear had no intention of bing enemies with Gongzi You. We don¡¯t want to deal with two top yers.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... There¡¯s something I have to tend to in real life. Guess I¡¯ll have to forfeit my next match.¡± said Ye Ci as she gazed out towards theke.

    ¡°Aiya, that¡¯s a shame.¡± Zero Arsenic¡¯s smile grew wider, ¡°I was actually looking forward to it.¡±

    Ye Ciid down once again when Zero Arsenic was gone. She then contacted Bai Mo and ryed the information to him.

    ¡°Your info came just in time. We¡¯ll be in trouble if they catch us off guard on that day.¡± said Bai Mo after he recovered from his initial shock.

    Ye Ci shared the same thought as well.

    ¡°Why would Zero Arsenic tell you something like this?¡±

    ¡°My next opponent is Thousand Sunsets, and he wanted me to forfeit. I agreed.¡± Ye Ci did not hide the truth from Bai Mo.

    ¡°I see.¡± Bai Mo sighed, ¡°So that¡¯s why.¡± and he let out augh, ¡°I guess one person¡¯s trash is another person¡¯s treasure. Information about Golden Era is so important to us, but it did not matter to Zero Arsenic.¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ye Ci nodded, ¡°My fight against Thousand Sunsets might be insignificant, but it can decide the future of those two.¡±

    Ye Ci pulled out her bow and fired off an arrow after ending her call with Bai Mo. The arrow soared through the air in a beautiful arc beforending and disappearing into theke.

    Life was just like an arrow that was shot from a bow. There was no turning back.

 Chapter 431 Show Some Shame

    Chapter 431 Show Some Shame

    No matter who her opponent was, Ye Ci would always give her all during a fight. To Ye Ci, going all out was the best way she could honor an opponent. She might not be a good person, but she was still one with good manners.

    ¡°Gongzi You, would you have gone easier on me if I¡¯m a female?¡± asked one of the Rogues she had faced in the tournament.

    She never liked talking to her opponents, as she saw it as gloating against an opponent that she had just defeated. But many of them still tried to talk to her.

    The Rogue, with the name Moment Of Sadness, was one of them, ¡°Nope. I only see the ss of my enemies inbat.¡±

    ¡°Uhmmm¡­ Can I ask you a question, Gongzi You?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    The one minute where yers were allowed to remain in the arena was a grace period for the system to update the result of their battle. But that did not stop the yers from talking to each other, and even taking selfies together.

    The Rogue would of course not want to miss out on a chance to have a meaningful conversation with one of the top yers in the game.

    Ye Ci was rmed by the sudden question. She had run into no small number of yers seeking gossipping materials.

    ¡°Am I the one whosted the least amount of time against you?¡± asked Moment Of Sadness. He was defeated by Gongzi You three minutes and twenty four seconds after the match began, and it took the twobatants two minutes to meet each other at the middle of the map.

    He knew that victory against Gongzi You was impossible, but he did not want to be the one who lost to her the quickest.

    ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± Ye Ci gave her answer after a brief moment of hesitation. Even she herself could not remember how long it took her to defeat her previous opponents, but Moment Of Sadness was definitely better than some of them.

    ¡°Gongzi You, I¡¯m honored to have fought against you. I wish you good luck in the tournament.¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± Ye Ci had responded with a smile.

    ¡°Let¡¯s have a selfie together, Gongzi You!¡± a smile spread across Moment Of Sadness¡¯s face.

    And a photo was already taken before Ye Ci could react.

    It eventually made its way to the forum, much to the amusement of Bai Mo and Tan Png.

    As she was caught off guard by the sudden request, Ye Ci was not prepared when the photo was taken. Her usual ferocity was not present in the picture. Her gaze was unfocused, and her mouth was slightly open. She appeared.. Like a fool in the photo.

    Many of the yers could not believe what they saw. Is that really Gongzi You? Bai Mo shook withughter as he saw the picture online, ¡°Ye Ci, look at that retarded look of yours! It¡¯s like you suddenly lost half your IQ!¡±

    Unlike Bai Mo, Tan Png knew that he must remain implicit with his words, ¡°This is¡­ Very not like you, Sister Ye Ci.¡±

    Fleeting Time voiced his opinion of that picture as well, as he whispered it into Ye Ci¡¯s ears in-game, ¡°Little Gongzi, that was very cute of you.¡±

    No! This is not me! This is unreal! Ye Ci shouted in her heart.

    Of course, this was a small episode that happened during the PVP tournament.

    Many things were going on during the PVP tournament.

    It took a full three months for the first stage of the tournament to finally bepleted. And this gave the participants fifteen days of rest before they would then proceed to the next round.

    Many of them used the two weeks'' time to prepare for their next match, while many more set themselves toplete other tasks in the game. The yers of Upwards Ho! were among their numbers, as the fifteen days would be used to attack the abandoned fort of Sodom.

    Zero Arsenic had been keeping Ye Ci informed of the changes made by Golden Era on their ns to attack Sodom. The guild had initially nned to hit Upwards Ho! with a surprise attack when they made their attempt at capturing Sodom, but with Bai Mo and his officers keeping their ns under a tight lid, Golden Era was forced to constantly update its ns.

    Due to the importance of this event, and the ever looming threat of an intervention from Golden Era, the time of the attack was set two months earlier than it was previously nned. It was a nigh impossible mission for Upwards Ho!, and this was why Ye Ci decided to enlist the help of Sir Ditty.

    The leader of Wolf Pack, who was standing half naked in theke by a waterfall, stared at Ye Ci with mouth agape as if he saw a ghost.

    While Ye Ci continued staring at him with no intention of averting her gaze.

    ¡°Y-y-y-you¡­¡± Sir Ditty was stuttering as he pointed at Ye Ci.

    ¡°You have a nice figure.¡± Ye Ci nodded at him, ¡°I thought a mage like you would be thin as twig.¡± Ye Ci had grown used to seeing the three males of her family walking around the house half naked.

    But it did not mean that Sir Ditty was used to being stared at by someone who was tantly viting his privacy.

    Due to his obsession with cleanliness, Sir Ditty would always have the urge to take a bath even if he was in the game, but was extremely reluctant to go to the public baths at the same time. This was how he discovered this secret spot that gave him privacy while he enjoyed the wonders of nature.

    The sudden appearance of Gongzi You came as a shock to him.

    And the fact that she was staring at him openly made matters worse, ¡°Gongzi You, have you not thought of respecting my privacy?¡±

    ¡°Why are you so shy? Are you a girl or something?¡± Ye Ci was baffled.

    ¡°Y-y-you¡­¡± Sir Ditty was at a loss for words, ¡°You¡¯re the girl! And you¡¯re peeping at me as I bathe! How can you be so shameless?¡±

    Ye Ci pursed her lips and retorted, ¡°Your figure is not THAT great. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re fully naked anyways. Come on, get up here. I need to talk to you about something.¡±

    Sir Ditty¡¯s heart was filled with grief. He was a guild leader of a major guild that was respected by all wherever he went, but even he could not do anything against Gongzi You at this very moment, ¡°Come up, don¡¯t waste my time. I¡¯ll post the screenshot of yours that I just took to the forums if you don¡¯t get up here!¡±

    ¡°Gongzi You! You b*tch! I¡¯ll kill you! Turn around!¡± shouted Sir Ditty who was driven to the edge of madness by Ye Ci.

 Chapter 432 Iâ€™m Out Of Ideas For Chapter Names

    Chapter 432 I¡¯m Out Of Ideas For Chapter Names

    Sir Ditty¡¯s expression was dark as he sat in front of Ye Ci. While ¡®nothing happened at all just now¡¯ was written all over her face, Sir Ditty could remember it very well. It was apparent from the re that he was shooting Ye Ci¡¯s way.

    ¡°What do you think of my proposal?¡± asked Ye Ci. She was confused by Sir Ditty¡¯sck of reaction after all that she had said to him. The man had a reputation of being somewhat talkative. It was highly unusual for him to just remain silent.

    Sir Ditty¡¯s mind was still stuck at the moment when Ye Ci saw him bathing. Shouldn¡¯t she be looking away just now?!

    Sheughed at him when he told her to turn around. And it was a humiliation that he as the leader of arge guild should not have suffered.

    Of course, she was as famous as he was, but she was still a girl.

    But why is she so shameless?!

    Ye Ci was still waiting for a response from Sir Ditty, who was not even paying attention to her words much to her displeasure. She hated wasting her time on someone who was not even listening. And that was why she drew her dagger and threw it at Sir Ditty.

    Sir Ditty caught something flying towards him from his peripheral vision, and dodged out of reflex. A loud ¡®g¡¯ came from behind him. He turned around and saw a dagger embedded on the rock behind him.

    ¡°What are you doing, Gongzi You?! I might die!¡±

    ¡°Well I missed, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I dodged it! What if I didn¡¯t?!¡± Sir Ditty raised his voice.

    ¡°Well, you¡¯re still alive.¡±

    ¡°Y-y-y-y-you...¡±

    ¡°I asked you a question, but you were not listening. I had to do something to catch your attention.¡± Ye Ci had be as shameless as Fleeting Time as time passed.

    While Sir Ditty was furious, he was still a gentleman with good upbringing. ¡°What was the question again?¡± he sighed.

    I knew it! He wasn¡¯t even listening! Ye Ci rolled her eyes at him. She began exining the situation to him once again, and finally asked, ¡°So what do you think of my proposal?¡±

    Sir Ditty listened intently to her words this time. There were certain things that he had to take into consideration before making a final decision.

    Helping Upwards Ho! in its fight against Golden Era was not a difficult task. They were allies, and his guild had already been suffering from Golden Era¡¯s aggression. He was helping himself by helping Upwards Ho!.

    But Wolf Pack had not been engaged in open hostility with Golden Era. He was still reluctant to offer his aid if nothing came out of it. The objective of both guilds was an abandoned city. He knew very well that nothing good woulde out of fighting against Golden Era. But how is he supposed to grab benefits from the clutches of Gongzi You? This was a question that he found himself unable to answer.

    Of course, there was still something that he had to take care of before offering his guild¡¯s help to Upwards Ho!. He looked at Ye Ci, and mumbled a string of words under his breath.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Ye Ci could not hear his overly soft voice.

    Sir Ditty repeated himself again, but his voice was still too soft for Ye Ci.

    ¡°What are you saying? Can¡¯t you speak louder?¡± Ye Ci raised her voice, ¡°Do you call yourself a man?¡±

    Sir Ditty¡¯s embarrassment turned into anger instead, ¡°Delete the pictures you took of me!¡± he stood up and roared at Ye Ci.

    The Huntress¡¯s expression rapidly darkened as she stared up at him, and without warning, she broke intoughter much to Sir Ditty¡¯s surprise.

    He had always regarded her as an enigma that he could not understand. His guard was up even when she wasughing at him.

    ¡°Wait, do you really believe that I took a picture of you? Ohe on! You¡¯re not some 36D big busted beauty! Why would I take a picture of you?¡±

    Sir Ditty gritted his teeth at Ye Ci and shouted at her, ¡°Gongzi You! Why do I have the misfortune of knowing someone like you?¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯sughter only grew in intensity, ¡°I would¡¯ve taken it for real if I knew that you wanted me to do it.¡±

    Of course, a response must still be given to Gongzi You¡¯s proposal. But it was not to Ye Ci¡¯s liking. Ye Ci had thought of only using the equipment dropped by Golden Era¡¯s yers as payment for Sir Ditty, but the man wanted more.

    In the end, he was able to secure a portion of the tax collected from Sodom once the city was operational.

    ¡°What a stingy man you are...¡± Ye Ci sighed at Sir Ditty, ¡°Really, you¡¯re a very stingy man.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me. I don¡¯t want to see you anywhere near me these few days.¡± Sir Ditty¡¯s expression was dark.

    These words were also what Ye Ci intended to say to him.

    Bai Mo, on the other hand, was very satisfied with the result of the negotiations. He expected to be losing 10% of their tax revenue to Sir Ditty, but in the end, Wolf Pack had settled for only 5% of the revenue. He was able to secure Tang Dynasty¡¯s aid by promising them 5% of Sodom¡¯s tax revenue as well.

    And with this, the benefits of these guilds were all tied to the abandoned city of Sodom. Nobody would miss out on an opportunity to earn some easy money, which was why Ye Ci was not worried that the two guilds would not do their best during the fight.

    Ye Ci had no need to worry about the preparations to take the city, all she had to do was to y her own role during the day of the battle. She was a formidable fighter, but not an effective leader after all.

    While the initial n was to attack Golden Era¡¯s rear as the guild focused its attention on Sodom, Upwards Ho! would find that things were not going their way. It was only natural for arge guild like Golden Era to obtain intelligence about Upwards Ho!¡¯s ns to attack the city.

    Golden Era did not see Upwards Ho! as a threat, as the levels of their yers had almost caught up with the game¡¯s average. But if Upwards Ho! wanted a fight, they would of course oblige.

    Nobody knew why Golden Era would not attack Upwards Ho! directly, and instead chose topete for the fort instead.

    Breeze had been keeping it a secret, while Death Blossom was ever elusive when asked about it.

    But Golden Era members were obedient. They listened to every instruction given by their superiors.

    Ye Ci was part of a 100-yers scouting force deployed around the forest surrounding Sodom. What stood before them was the vast numbers of Golden Era yers. yers from the scouting force began talking among themselves as they observed Golden Era¡¯s vast formations.

    ¡°Heh, look at them. Are they expecting us?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s probably security measures that they would¡¯ve done regardless of the situation.¡±

    ¡°How can you tell?¡±

    ¡°Well, they¡¯re Golden Era.¡±

    ¡°So what if they¡¯re Golden Era?¡±

    ¡°This is an old guild we¡¯re talking about. Their yers are all veterans of many battles. This was something you¡¯d expect them to do.¡±

    ¡°Hey hey hey, are you implying that they¡¯re better than us?¡±

    ¡°No! I¡¯m just analyzing the situation objectively. I know we¡¯ll win.¡±

    ¡°And how do you know we¡¯ll win?¡±

    ¡°We have Gongzi You on our side.¡±

    Ye Ci sighed when she heard the yer¡¯s words. Being trusted by the members of her guild was a burden that was crushing down on her. But it was also something that she had never tasted even once in herst life.

    And at that moment, she found herself appreciating the fact that she had been reincarnated.

    But her attention still remained on the Golden Era yers. Are they simply defending against us?

    Ye Ci made the decision to sneak past their lines after a moment of hesitation.

    ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll go and have a look.¡± she said into the party channel.

 Chapter 433

    With her higher level and Stealth, it was almost impossible for the Golden Era yers to even detect her presence.

    But she was still cautious as she made her way through the ranks of Golden Era yers.

    Fate has arge and very diverse yer base, and this meant that there was a always a possibility that an unknown expert was hidden among them. She knew that any tiny mistake would spell disaster for her incursion.

    She treaded carefully along with the direction of the wind, carefully hiding her tracks as she made her way deeper and deeper into Golden Era¡¯s formation slowly. The process was excruciatingly painful as she had to constantly pay attention to the direction of the wind, but she pressed on in Stealth.

    It took skill and experience, but Ye Ci was able to remain undetected.

    She was someone who paid attention to the slightest details, and had trained specifically for a scenario like this. While this trick had been picked up by many of the yers, Ye Ci¡¯s experience was way ahead of them.

    The first line of defence was prated with ease. But she soon realized that it was not the only challenge she had to ovee.

    What are they doing? Have they deployed such arge number of yers just to take Sodom? Where are their siege weapons?

    Ye Ci reported what she saw to Bai Mo as she continued her advance. Her surroundings were simply too quiet. There were no signs of an ongoing siege battle despite the manpower that was being deployed in the area.

    Her progress was slow, as she had to be cautious of the Rangers constantlybing the area. They might not be as fast as Rogues nor do they have the high Agility of Hunters, but their Perception was the highest among the three sses.

    Despite her confidence, Ye Ci was still wary of the capabilities of Golden Era¡¯s Rangers.

    Ye Ci was forced to take yet another stop as four Rangers stood not five meters away from her.

    A frown appeared on her face. She could tell from their equipment that they were at least lvl80, and were equipped with very decent gears. It was not easy for a lvl80 Rogue to be armed with Purple quality equipment as long as they could afford it. But the yers in front of her were only normal yers of Golden Era.

    She could immediately tell that something was not right. Even if Golden Era was backed by arge financial group, the should never be able to afford full sets of lvl80 Purple equipment on a normal yer.

    ¡°I¡¯ve prated deep into their ranks. I¡¯m still a distance away from theirmand tent, but there are a lot of Rangers in the area. They¡¯re all at least lvl80 and are armed with Purple equipment.¡±

    ¡°Purple?¡± Bai Mo was shocked.

    ¡°Yup! And they don¡¯t appear to be their core yers as well.¡± Ye Ci continued observing the actions of the four Rangers. They were having idle chatter with one another, but she could not tell what they were talking about.

    But it gave her the opportunity to slip past the four Rangers easily.

    A rumbling sound entered her ears as she pondered her next move.

    Wait... Isn¡¯t that...

    And she heard the rumbling again. No way! A deep frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face. If it¡¯s what I think it is, Sodom will fall to Golden Era on this day.

    She had no time to waste. She began making her way to the source of the sound. Despite her need for haste, Ye Ci was able to remain cautious.

    It still took her ten minutes to finally reach her destination. And her eyes widened at what she saw. Golden Era... Is indeed a guild that should never be underestimated.

    She could see a group of yers surrounding a magical circle glowing with purple light. They were chanting a spell that was rapidly turning the lush green grass into a huge ck hole. Another rumbling sounded across the area, and the ck hole grew in size.

    It was a summoning circle.

    A quick count on the number of yers around the magical circle showed that there were thirty of them. She was certain that whatever that was being summoned was very big, and was a rare existence in Fate.

    Such beings could only be summoned from specific Void Scrolls that could summon beings that were formidable in battle, with its strength being directly proportional to the number of summoners.

    Such summoned monsters were amon sight in theter stage of Fate, but their presence could be considered overpowered in the current stage of the game.

    Despite their great strength, these creatures were often notpletely obedient to its summoners. They were monsters sealed within the void, and this meant that a summoner without sufficient power would never be able to bend a summoned beast to his or her will.

    This was why the main summoner of such a monster would always be the core yer of a guild with high level.

    Ye Ci scanned the group of yers, and was quick to spot Breeze among their numbers. There he is. He is definitely the main summoner.

    While Breeze was not the highest leveled yer in Golden Era, he was one of the most skillful among them. Ye Ci was certain that he was the only one who could handle whatever beast the nned to summon.

    She could tell the yers guarding the magical circle were all Golden Era¡¯s Elites. She would never be able to escape even if she seeded in assassinating their leader. But escaping was not her top priority. She knew that she must disrupt the summoning at all cost.

    With her mind made, Ye Ci crept towards Breeze slowly and carefully.

    Bai Mo was worried when she told him of the n, ¡°You¡¯re trying to assassinate Breeze with so many yers around? That¡¯s too risky!¡±

    ¡°This is the only chance. If I don¡¯t kill him now, we¡¯ll never be able to take Sodom. There¡¯s no way we can defeat a beast summoned with thirty summoners even if we throw everything our guild¡¯s got at it. All our preparations will go to waste.¡± she took in a deep breath, ¡°This is the only shot we have in defeating them.¡±

    Bai Mo was silent for a long while. He knew that Ye Ci was speaking the truth, but it was guaranteed that she would be killed the moment she acted. And if she had to revive in the graveyard, her stats would be reduced by 50% for the duration of an hour. She would never be able to take part in the battle. This would greatly reduce the airbat capabilities of Upwards Ho!.

    Ye Ci could understand his worries, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I told Fleeting Time about this. He should be nearby. He¡¯ll help with the attack on the city if anything happens to be.¡± and a smile appeared on her face, ¡°Besides, how are you so sure that I¡¯ll die?¡±

    There was nothing Bai Mo could do but to agree, ¡°Be careful out there.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m Gongzi You.¡± said Ye Ci as she crept closer to Breeze.

    She approached the man from behind.

    And drew her Orange quality short sword that she obtained bypleting a hidden quest. Breeze would die in one hit if she plunged it into his heart.

    She was able to safely make her way to Breeze, and she raised her sword.

 Chapter 434

    Chapter 334 It¡¯s A Trap

    Ye Ci waited patiently behind Breeze, waiting for the perfect time and perfect angle to strike. She finally found what she wanted. The tip of her de was mere inches away from the mage¡¯s back. Any slight movement from either one of them would result in his death.

    And Ye Ci was a person of action instead of worrying too much about consequences.

    She took her aim carefully, and plunged the de into Breeze¡¯s back.

    Her attack hit its mark. The de of her saber pierced through the man¡¯s ribs and buried itself in his heart. He was dead in the blink of an eye.

    Breeze could feel something plunging itself into his back, and saw the de of a sword erupting from his chest. It happened so fast that he did not even register the pain. The de disappeared from view at the next moment, and blood began to gush out from the open wound.

    The pain when the de was pulled out was so intense that it shot across the nerves of all his limbs. He saw his health plunging rapidly, and realized that he had been dealt the killing blow. His body refused to move, or rather, it was not able to move. He did not even know how Gongzi You was able to take him out in one hit.

    The heart!

    It was the most vital organ of a human¡¯s body, and also its weakest spot. A blow to the heart would always end a life. Butnding the blow was no easy feat.

    Breeze had tried acting as a target with the melee yers of his guild after he made the decision to be bait. Many of them could not hit his heart even when he was not moving. The few who managed tond their attacks were not able to deal a fatal strike due to the damage that was negated by his ribcage.

    He was able to recover with a single Health Potion in most of the scenarios that had been acted out. And this was why he allowed Ye Ci to appear behind him unguarded.

    What he did not expect was that Gongzi You was able to strike at his heart. And she was able tond the killing blow. The thin de of her sword pierced through his Mithril armor, went past his ribs, and struck his heart.

    Her movements were precise and clean. There was no hesitation when she struck. Breeze was able to turn around before he dropped dead on the ground, and saw Gongzi You who had revealed herself after the attack.

    There was no way she could escape.

    He saw her struggling to dodge the torrent of skills and spells that flew towards her. For every attack that missed, many more found their marks. Breeze would have smiled at the sight if he was not already a corpse on the ground.

    ¡°We must not let Gongzi You leave alive, no matter the cost!¡± He gave the order into the Guild Chat.

    Ye Ci received a notification that she had dealt a killing blow to Breeze the moment her attacknded, and a damage indicator appeared. The numbers did not matter to her, for Breeze was dead.

    She sheathed her weapon and attempted to leave, but her form was already revealed to the Golden Era elites that had beenying in wait around Breeze. Attacks, spells, and different skills immediately rained down upon her. Try as she might to dodge the attacks, there was nothing she could do. She was in the midst of Golden Era¡¯s formation, and escape was all but impossible once she was spotted.

    Well, at least I stopped the summoning. Thought Ye Ci. But her face paled the next moment when she cast a nce at the direction of the summoning circle.

    It did not disappear.

    And another yer was already moving in to take Breeze¡¯s spot around the summoning circle.

    A summoning circle in the world of Fate was deployed by a main summoner with a scroll, and other yers could then aid him or her in the summoning of the beast from the void. The death of the main summoner would destroy the summoning circle and the scroll would disappear along with it as well.

    The summoning circle would continue to exist as long as the main summoner remained alive. Any casualties among the supporting summoners could be reced, while the summoning itself would not be canceled, and was merely dyed.

    The continued existence of the summoning circle could only mean one thing: Breeze was not the main summoner. He was just an easily receable part of the process, and was also a bait.

    Ye Ci was furious. She did not expect him to sacrifice himself just toy a trap to her. He knew she would assume that he was the main summoner in the ritual, and he knew that she was the only one capable of slipping through the defences of Golden Era.

    And she took the bait.

    She had failed to stop the summoning, and might not even survive her attempt to escape.

    Ye Ci cast one final nce at the summoning circle, and fled for her life.

    She was a top-tier yer, but her strength was still limited, especially when she was surrounded by a vast number of Golden Era¡¯s elites. Fate was a very fair game. There was no way she could survive.

    Thest of her health was drained away within seconds. She did not even make it very far away from Breeze when she finally dropped dead on the ground.

    Ahh.. It seems that I¡¯ve underestimated him. She grimaced. And I¡¯ve underestimated the capabilities of Golden Era as well. She thought as arge number of aerial steed appeared in the sky above her.

    I¡¯ve been bested by Breeze. She let out a long sigh. Fortunately for Ye Ci, she did not summon Ol¡¯ Six into battle, as it would not be easy to revive a Holy Dragon.

    A person appeared in her ck and white vision just as she thought of rying the information to Bai Mo. it was Breeze. He was alive and was standing before her.

    Breeze made his way to Ye Ci¡¯s ¡°corpse¡± and knelt beside her. The Huntress¡¯s face was pale as always, and her amber eyes were wide open. He let out a sigh at the sight of the dead top-tier yer. Even when a yer was dead, they could still see their surroundings, and listen to the words of the living.

    ¡°Gongzi You, do you know how much preparation I made just to kill you?¡± he said with a smile.

    But Ye Ci, of course, was not able to give him a response. I was too greedy. I shouldn¡¯t have tried destroying the summoning circle on my own. She thought to herself.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re not happy with how things ended, but you¡¯ve killed so many of us, while I can only kill you just this once. Truth to be told, I¡¯m not happy with the results either. But...¡± Breeze let out a long sigh, ¡°I think this is my only chance of killing you.¡±

    And with that, Breeze stood up and turned around to leave, but not before giving out instructions to the Golden Era yers around him, ¡°Watch her, do not give her the chance to revive herself.¡±

    It was only natural for Golden Era to stand watch around her.

    There was only one Gongzi You in Upwards Ho!, and the entire Eastern Continent. As long as her corpse was there, no one would be able to stop the summoning.

    While she might not be the only top-tier yer on the continent, she was most certainly the only one with the right tools to achieve such a feat. Sodom would most definitely fall into the hands of Golden Era.

    Damn it! I guess we¡¯re destined to lose this battle. She sighed. She immediately gave Bai Mo a call.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± was the first thing she heard when the call connected.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing fine. The grass here is soft.¡±

    Bai Mo immediately realized the meaning behind her words, ¡°What?! You¡¯re dead?!¡±

    ¡°Of course! How do you expect me to survive in the midst of thousands of their elites?¡± and she continued after a short pause. ¡°I have good news and bad news for you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s listen to the good news.¡±

    ¡°I killed Breeze,¡± said Ye Ci.

    And this is the good news? ¡°What about the bad news then?¡±

    ¡°Well, you see...¡± Ye Ci eyed the glowing summoning circle, before continuing, ¡°He¡¯s not the main summoner.¡±

 Chapter 435

    Chapter 434 A Daring Rescue

    This is not good. Bai Mo could feel the veins on his temples bulging. This is really not good.

    Ye Ci was dead, and she failed to destroy the summoning circle. While the summoning was still some time away from itspletion, Bai Mo was certain that nobody else could pull off the stunt of assassinating the lead summoner a second time.

    His morale was at a new low. It was apparent that the battle had been lost even before it began. It was certain beyond the shadow of a doubt that Golden Era was expecting an attack. They knew that Upwards Ho! was lying in wait with its allies so that they couldunch an ambush on the guild as it breached the defences of the abandoned city.

    But Golden Era proceeded with its attack despite the knowledge. This meant that they came prepared. And from the information ryed by Ye Ci, they did.

    Nobody could take on a summoned beast at the current stage of the game, just like how Ye Ci¡¯s Holy Dragon was virtually invincible before Mithril was still umon in the game.

    And a summoned beast that required thebined strength of thirty two summoners would be a formidable foe. It would have a high level, and very strong stats. The beast could be used to easily breach the defences of Sodom, and to wipe out the guilds that set out to attack Golden Era.

    It was also bait for Ye Ci.

    Bai Mo finally realized Breeze¡¯s ns after a short discussion with Ye Ci. As expected of Breeze. He sighed. The man had very good luck, and had the ability to control a massive guild of millions.

    His intelligence was also something that filled Bai Mo with awe. The man correctly predicted that Ye Ci would act as a scout, and that she would attempt to disrupt the summoning once she spotted the summoning circle. That was why he used himself as bait, so that Ye Ci would act based on the assumption that he was the main summoner.

    His predictions allowed him to take out Ye Ci, and Upwards Ho!¡¯s only chance at turning the tables around.

    ¡°What can we do now?¡± Bai Mo let out a long sigh. This was a situation he did not want to see.

    We¡¯ve really suffered a catastrophic defeat here. Thought Ye Ci. But she was still thinking of a way to turn the situation around, ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll continue observing the situation. If things continue going south, we¡¯ll have to call for a retreat.¡±

    ¡°This sucks.¡± mumbled Bai Mo.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about it.¡± Ye Ci was still staring at the summoning circle. She could not tell which stage of the summoning she was observing as her vision was in ck and white. But it looked like the process would bepleted within an hour, ¡°We can¡¯t just throw our levels and equipment away at that thing.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Keep observing the situation. I¡¯ll talk to youter.¡± Bai Mo could feel a sense of helplessness washing over him.

    He ended the call with Ye Ci, and mmed his fists onto the ground where he sat and sighed. The officers of Upwards Ho! were concerned when they noticed his sour expression.

    Timely Rain nced at the yers around him. They were all hesitant to be the one to speak up first. Guess that person will have to be me. ¡°What is it, Old Mo? Bad news?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Bai Mo nodded, ¡°Gongzi You¡¯s attack failed. She did not destroy the summoning circle, and...¡± a deep frown appeared on his face, ¡°And she was killed.¡±

    The expressions of the yers around him immediately darkened. She was the best yer in the Eastern Continent. If the best had fallen, nobody else would be able to seed in the task. Her corpse would also be heavily guarded, which meant that any rescue attempts would be futile.

    ¡°Who did you say was dead?¡± a voice broke the silence.

    The officers of Upwards Ho! looked towards the direction of the voice, and was shocked to see a hooded yer standing not far away from Bai Mo. He removed his hood, revealing the silvery hair underneath. The person was Fleeting Time.

    Their surprise came from the fact that he was a yer from a hostile continent, but was still able to make his way to a heavily defended position. Bai Mo could feel a chill traveling down his spine. He could easily have assassinated everyone present if he¡¯s an actual enemy.

    ¡°What are you here?¡± Bai Mo pursed his lips.

    But his question went unanswered, ¡°Who died?¡±

    ¡°Your wife. She snuck into Golden Era¡¯s camp alone, and...¡± Fruit Jelly offered an answer when none came from Bai Mo, ¡°We do not know what¡¯s going on at the moment, but she seems to have been surrounded.¡±

    Bai Mo rolled his eyes at Fruit Jelly. Woman, please... ¡°Wife? They might not even get married.¡±

    Fleeting Time pulled up his hood and turned around to leave, ¡°I¡¯ll go get her.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure you can make it?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s my woman. I can¡¯t allow so many people to stare at her.¡± Fleeting Time smiled and disappeared.

    ¡°Your woman... Heh, you¡¯re a shameless man.¡± Bai Mo muttered under his breath.

    Ye Ci felt sorry for the color blind as sheid on the ground with her vision remaining ck and white. Her eyes were fixed on the summoning circle, but mental fatigue was starting to set in.

    Just when boredom started to set in, she saw one of the yers posted around her slumping onto the ground.

    This was something she did not expect. The Golden Era yers around her were in a state of panic. She surveyed her surroundings, and saw a few more among their numbers dropping dead on the ground.

    Even Breeze had been alerted by the sudden change in the situation. The leader of Golden Era rushed to the scene and shouted to his men, ¡°Gather anyone with 200 points and above in Perception here now! We must find that guy!¡±

    From her very limited field of view, Ye Ci could see yer after yer dropping dead on the ground. Even the Golden Era summoners who were not far away had started panicking.

    Something must¡¯ve happened!

    Just then, her corpse was lifted up, and she saw the angry faces of the Golden Era yers shing before her vision, before she was finally sat down on the ground. ¡°We meet again, Little Gongzi.¡± a smiling face appeared before her.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± she typed out.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re here.¡± Fleeting Time was carrying Ye Ci on the back of his Phoenix towards the concentration of Upwards Ho! yers. He had ryed the situation to Bai Mo through Green Hill¡¯s Moon before his daring attempt, andid out his n of attack.

    He immediately made his way to safety once his rescue attempt turned out to be a sess. No matter how formidable he might be, and how strong his Phoenix was, he was but a single yer.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to help Bai Mo? Why did you rescue me? What if you died?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m not a man if I don¡¯te to your rescue.¡± he responded.

    Ye Ci could feel a sliver of warmth seeping into her heart as she stared silently at Fleeting Time¡¯s handsome face.

    The number of pursuers behind Fleeting Time were rapidly increasing. He looked back at the sky that was full of Golden Era aerial steed, and used a bottle of Haste Potion on his Phoenix.

    The whistling wind gushing past Ye Ci¡¯s ears was a testimony of how fast the Phoenix was.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong if you think that assassination is my best skill.¡± Fleeting Time chuckled, ¡°Escaping is what I¡¯m best at.¡±

    And his words rendered her speechless.

    ¡°What are those?¡± asked Ye Ci when she saw silhouettes appearing ahead.

    ¡°Reinforcements have arrived.¡± Fleeting Time replied with a smile as he stared at the aerial steeds from Upwards Ho!, Wolf Pack, Conquering The Heavens, and Tang Dynasty. The duo retreated to a rtively safe position, and Fleeting Time set Ye Ci on the ground, ¡°Come, revive her.¡± he said to someone beyond her field of vision.

    A bright light enveloped Ye Ci at the next moment. But a voice called out to her in her ck and white world just as she was about to choose the option to revive, ¡°You seem to have ran into trouble, Elf.¡±

 Chapter 436

    Chapter 436 Naga

    Greyness enveloped Ye Ci¡¯s vision. She could not see anything, and she did not know where she was.

    She tried to move her body, but it felt like she was trapped in the body of someone else. It was as if a powerful force had pulled her consciousness out of her body.

    An intensifying headache ravaged Ye Ci. She attempted to open her mouth to take in some fresh air, but even that was impossible. The pain slowly began spreading through the rest of her body, down every vein and nerve ending, until her entire being was feeling the intense pain.

    A scream escaped Ye Ci¡¯s mouth. She screamed and screamed in pain until she had to take a breath.

    But she quickly found that there was no longer a need for that.

    She sat up, and saw her body still lying on the ground, while Fleeting Time was kneeling beside her with a frown on his face. A bright light enveloped her body, the sign that she was being continuously revived by a Cleric.

    Fleeting Time¡¯s expression was rapidly darkening. He said something to the Cleric, but it was inaudible to Ye Ci.

    She knew that she was not truly dead, but she had indeed experienced something akin to death.

    ¡°Wee to my wondend, Elf.¡± a voice snapped her out of her thoughts. It was the same voice she had heard moments before.

    She turned her head to the direction of the voice, and saw a figure in a dark cloak shrouded in ck smoke standing before her.

    Ye Ci turned around slowly to face the NPC. she was not even able to see the NPCs stats as everything was disyed as ¡°Unknown¡± to her.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked. It was the thing she wanted to know the most at the moment even though she was unsure if the NPC would reply truthfully.

    The figure chuckled at the question. He sounded happy. He lifted his hands. They were very beautiful hands.

    Ye Ci had seen many pairs of hands in her life, but none of them could even hold a candle to the pair of white, slender, and elegant hands that were disyed before her. It was as if they were the most magnificent sculpture in the world.

    They were unique.

    That was the only word Ye Ci could think of when she saw the hands. And the pair of hands pulled back the hood covering the NPC¡¯s face.

    Ye Ci was immediately blinded by a ring golden light. She could barely open her eyes. The person standing before her had a perfect appearance that even words could not describe. His beautiful, golden hair was so long that they were touching the ground. His elegance was a sharp contrast to the world of grey around them.

    This is very strange.

    ¡°Who am I?¡± I¡¯ve found myself asking the question before as well, but I could not find an answer. But you¡¯re probably very familiar with my name. But it is just a name. Even I myself do not know who I am.¡±

    Ye Ci was confused by the NPC¡¯s words. Despite her strong desire to skip his dialogue, she knew that the ¡®Cunning¡¯ trait would never work on a high tier NPC. The only thing she could do was to silently curse at the NPC in her heart. Just answer the question, damn it!

    ¡°I know your name?¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow and stared at the NPC. While she did not have a photographic memory, she would never forget someone like the man. This was why she was very certain that she had never seen the NPC before, ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve met you before.¡±

    But the NPC did not seem to be surprised by her response, or rather, he did not seem fazed by any answer that Ye Ci might give, ¡°Who I am is not important. What¡¯s important is that you¡¯re in trouble.¡± he smiled.

    Well, I am in somewhat of a pinch. Thought Ye Ci. Golden Era is summoning a creature of the void, I failed to stop their summoning, and I died. We¡¯ve also lost our only shot at stopping the ritual after Golden Era had been alerted by Fleeting Time¡¯s rescue attempt.

    Wait... How did the NPC know? Even if he¡¯s an AI, how did hee to the conclusion that the situation is bad for me?

    Well, it doesn¡¯t matter, does it? He looks like he¡¯s able to help.

    ¡°I¡¯m indeed in trouble. But what does it have to do with you?¡±

    ¡°Well, it depends on the choice you make.¡± a chair materialized with the wave of the man¡¯s hand. And he took a seat on the simple yet exquisitely made chair.

    ¡°Name your price.¡± Ye Ci knew that there was no free lunch in the world, and she also knew that the NPC wanted something from her in exchange for his help.

    But surprise was the emotion that the man showed when he heard her response, before he eventually erupted intoughter. He nodded at Ye Ci and pped his hands, ¡°Interesting. Very interesting! You Elves have grown more interesting that the one called Dau¡¯er after so many years!¡±

    ?You know of King Dau¡¯er?¡± Ye Ci was shocked. Could this be a side quest of Dau¡¯er¡¯s questline?

    ¡°Well, I know the name.¡± the man responded casually, ¡°I¡¯ve never liked remembering the names of opponents that I¡¯ve vanquished.¡±

    An opponent that he had vanquished? Ye Ci was shocked once again. The Elven King Dau¡¯er was an ancient hero of the Elves, and their greatest warrior. His legacy was something that not a single Elf could match, but the man imed to have defeated the Elven King.

    Ye Ci could still remember the history recorded in the books that she had read in the National Library. Dau¡¯er was never defeated on the battlefield. His only defeat was...

    She finally knew who the man was.

    He told her that she knew his name, and that he could help with her troubles. He also named Dau¡¯er as someone who he had vanquished. There was only one being who met such a criteria.

    Ye Ci tried her best to force herself to remain calm. She took in a deep breath and said to the man, ¡°Wow, I sure am lucky. How many in this world have had the honor of seeing your true appearance, Naga?¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why I said you Elves have grown more interesting.¡±

    ¡°I will not ept your help no matter what trouble I¡¯m in.¡± While she was not part of the conflict between the NPCs, Ye Ci was very close topleting Dau¡¯er¡¯s quest. She did not want to see her efforts going to waste.

    ¡°Oh really?¡± it was as if Naga had expected her response, ¡°Are you sure that you do not want my help?¡±

    ¡°There is no free lunch in this world, especially when ites from you. And I don¡¯t think the price is something I can afford.¡± Ye Ci shook her head. Well, it seems that it¡¯s our loss today. We¡¯ll have to get back at them next time.

    ¡°Will your decision remain the same no matter what happens?¡± the smile remained on Naga¡¯s face.

    ¡°Yes. I will not betray my faith.¡± Ye Ci responded with the most standard option provided by the game.

    Naga nodded at her, ¡°Very well. But allow me to confirm it with you onest time.¡± Naga waved his hand, and the battlefield between Upwards Ho! and Golden Era appeared before Ye Ci.

    yers from Golden Era were locked inbat with yers from Upwards Ho!, Wolf Pack, Tang Dynasty, and Conquering the Heavens. Spells and projectiles crisscrossed between the two bodies of yers. Casualties were amon urrence, but the fallen would often immediately be reced with more yers surging forth to join the battle.

    This was the first time Ye Ci was viewing a battle as a spectator, and she felt anger. She was angry at herself for dying, and she was angry that she could not join herrades in battle.

    Naga¡¯s voice entered her ears as she observed the ongoing battle with her fists clenched tightly, ¡°Ah, after so many years, the people of thisnd are still addicted to the thrills of war. Look at that, what you see before you is just like what happened thousands of years ago. Death. Death is everywhere!¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s face paled when she heard a loud roaring from afar. It¡¯s the summoned beast!

    A gigantic scorpion appeared at the rear of Golden Era¡¯s formations. Its size was sorge that the yers around it appeared tiny as ants inparison.

    ¡°Ahh... They¡¯ve summoned little Latal. It seems that yourrades are doomed.¡± Naga whispered into Ye Ci¡¯s ears. She did not even realize that Naga had already walked up to her.

    Ye Ci had a choice to make: To sacrifice the hard work of Upwards Ho! yers, or her own benefit.

 Chapter 437

    Chapter 437 Naga¡¯s Ring

    ¡°Do you know what little Latal is capable of?¡± Naga smiled innocently like a child, but his voice sounded menacing to Ye Ci¡¯s ears.

    Ye Ci did not turn around to face him, and instead she took in a deep breathing while repeatedly telling herself to calm down. She did not want her judgement to be clouded by the BOSS NPC standing behind her, and gaining the most out of a disadvantageous position.

    But Naga was not angered by Ye Ci¡¯s show of indifference, ¡°Latal always had arge appetite. He likes to eat even when he¡¯s not hungry. And now that he¡¯s finally released after being imprisoned in the void for such a long time... I¡¯m sure that he will definitely help himself to a feast.¡± Naga rubbed his chin and sighed, ¡°Latal is so cute when he eats. I¡¯ve never seen him doing it for so many years. What good luck we both have, Elf. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love him just like me.¡±

    Ye Ci cast an icy gaze at Naga before returning her attention to the gigantic scorpion Latal that was making its way through the ranks of yers. It wandered the battlefield randomly, knocking down yers in its stampede, and would asionally scoop the asional yer up with its pincers before putting them into its mouth.

    While the sound of the battlefield could not make its way to Ye Ci¡¯s ears, she could tell that it was not going well for her alliance.

    ¡°By the way, Elf, do you know what Latal¡¯s favourite food is?¡± Naga grinned at Ye Ci who was very reluctant to give him a response.

    Does he mean yers? Well if he¡¯s asking, this means that it¡¯s not as simple as just eating a yer¡¯s corpse. She cast a sideways nce to Naga and spoke to the NPC, ¡°Can you just say it all at once? Must you really wait for a response before you can continue speaking?¡±

    Naga rubbed the bridge of his nose in embarrassment, but he was not angry. He let out a sigh at Ye Ci and shook his head, ¡°Dau¡¯er is way cuter than you. He¡¯ll always respond to whatever I say, even if it¡¯s with an insult or out of anger. At least I¡¯m getting something out of him. Are all the Elves like you? Things will be very boring.¡±

    Ye Ci had a strong urge to roll her eyes at Naga. Is this the demon lord feared by all the NPCs across thend? Why is he so shameless? And why is he always beating around the bush when he speaks?

    ¡°Latal¡¯s food is not a person¡¯s flesh.¡± Naga, who was finally aware of Ye Ci¡¯s annoyance, went straight to the point, ¡°What he feasts on, is a person¡¯s potential. You might not understand what it means, so allow me to exin it to you in a way that you will understand.¡± said Naga, ¡°Latal¡¯s food is what you adventurers know as Experience Points.¡±

    The words sent chills down Ye Ci¡¯s spine. She had seen such a trait on monsters in herst life. A yer who died to monsters with the ¡°Experience Absorption¡± trait would lose many times more the EXP than they would to a normal death. But these monsters were still considerably weak and rtively rare in the game.

    Based on Latal¡¯s level and stats however, Ye Ci could tell that the EXP it devoured upon killing a yer was way greater than the monsters she had encountered in herst life. It was virtually invulnerable to the yers at the current stage of the game as nobody was able to break its defence. It was a one-sided ughter.

    Ye Ci continued watching the scene unfold. A beast like Latal could easily go out of control and turn on its summoner. But Latal continued its stampede through the lines of Upwards Ho! and its allies even as Ye Ci continued staring at the battlefield.

    This was a sign that the main summoner of Golden Era was a very skillful yer with a lot of experience under his belt. She knew very well that this would result in heavy casualties among yers of the alliance.

    To make matters worse, Latal would absorb the experience points of its prey. yers who died to the scorpion would never just lose a single level. It was entirely possible that its victim could lose up to a staggering ten levels on each death.

    If Latal¡¯s rampage was not stopped, the guild ranking of the entire Eastern Continent would be rewritten after the battle.

    And if that happened, all hopes would be lost. Upwards Ho! would never be able to recover from the blow. She could not allow Upwards Ho! to crumble into dust.

    The strength of a single yer was never worth the sacrifice of an entire guild.

    Memories of a certain night in herst life shed in her mind. She could see the smiling face of a Glory employee who could barely hide his disdain for her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Miss Ye, but yers without a team are not allowed to take part in this tournament.¡±

    Fate was a strange thing. It would always ce trials on a person¡¯s path that would ce the person in a position where hard choices must be made.

    Ye Ci made the wrong choice in herst life, but she was given a second chance.

    ¡°Naga, what do you need from me?¡± she smiled at the NPC standing behind her.

    Naga grinned at Ye Ci. The smile on his face was prettier than even the most beautiful flower in the world. No one would have thought that he was the evil demon lord when theyid their eyes upon his expression, ¡°Oh? You seem very certain that I¡¯ll help you.¡±

    ¡°I do not have much time, Naga. I need to save my allies.¡± she took in a deep breath, ¡°You brought me here because you need me to do something for you. Help me stop Latal, and I will do your bidding.¡±

    ¡°Interesting.¡± Naga tilted his head, and he took a seat on the chair that had materialized behind him again, ¡°You¡¯re way more interesting than Dau¡¯er will ever be.¡±

    The NPC chuckled, ¡°So... Does it mean that you¡¯re willingly subjecting yourself to me?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange, I¡¯ve always thought that nobody is willing to allow themselves to be used.¡±

    ¡°What use is there for a person to be alive, if he or she does not even have the value of being used?¡± Ye Ci snorted.

    She was acting calmly, but her heart was filled with anxiety. Naga was simply too smart of an NPC for her to handle.

    ¡°Very interesting indeed.¡± Naga narrowed his eyes. A strong gust of wind caused the NPC¡¯s golden flowing hair to sway. He looked just like a living portrait at that very moment, ¡°Very well. Since you¡¯ve asked for my help, it¡¯ll be very discourteous of me to refuse.¡±

    A basin filled with ck liquid appeared before Ye Ci with the wave of his hand, ¡°Wash your hands in it.¡±

    Ye Ci eyed Naga suspiciously, and immersed her hands into the basin. Not a single drop of liquid remained on her hands as she pulled them away. She looked at her hands, and noticed that the Mysterious Ring that she wore had changed in appearance.

    The ring hadpletely lost its form. It became a corporeal ck mist that surrounded Ye Ci¡¯s finger that would dissipate whenever she moved and reappear when she remained still.

    She was shocked when she looked at the stats.

    Naga¡¯s Ring (Divine Artifact):

    +300 to all stats

    Skills:

    Invisibility, Duration: 1 minute, Cooldown: 3 minutes (Active)

    Featherfall (Active)

    Dark Summon. Duration: 1 hour, Cooldown: 24 hours. Cost: 10,000 Souls. (Active)

    Soul Absorption (Passive)

    Agent of the Demon Lord (Passive)

    With the exception of Featherfall and Invisibility, Ye Ci was not familiar with the three other skills on the ring. To her, calling the ring a ¡®Divine Artifact¡¯ was an exaggeration. While the additional 300 points to her stats was useful, there was no other buffs to herbat rted stats.

    But the ring known as Naga¡¯s Ring was recognized as a Divine Artifact. This meant that it was closely rted to Naga, and could work in ways that Ye Ci would have to discover.

    Naga smiled at Ye Ci and spoke, ¡°I know you¡¯re in a hurry. Go. We shall meet again once you win your battle. I¡¯ll tell you what I need from you.¡±

    And with that, color returned to Ye Ci¡¯s world, and the option for her to revive appeared in her vision. She immediately selected ¡®Yes¡¯ and immediately stood up.

    Relief washed over Fleeting Time when Ye Ci revived.

    ¡°I know you have questions for me, but we¡¯re running out of time. Golden Era has sessfully summoned their monster, and we need to find a way to stop it.¡± said Ye Ci before he could ask her a question.

    ¡°Alright then. What do you have in mind. Things do not sound great over there. The casualties must be very high.¡±

    Ye Ci eyed the ring and responded with a grave expression, ¡°I have no idea myself.¡±

 Chapter 438

    Chapter 438 Dark Summoning

    Ye Ci was not lying. She had no solution for the situation that she was facing. Even the discussion with Naga did not result in an official agreement. The only thing the NPC did was to transform her ring into its current state.

    Can I win the battle with this ring? Thought Ye Ci. But she did not know what she could do with the ring.

    Invisibility and Featherfall were definitely not the skills that could help in turning things around. Dark Summoning was the only one that might be of use to her. But there was barely anything in the skill description. Only the duration of the spell and its cooldown was listed down.

    Fleeting Time noticed Ye Ci staring at her ring, and tossed her a pair of gloves. ¡°Even I can tell that there¡¯s something different about your ring. I think our enemies can guess that it¡¯s your trump card as well.¡±

    Ye Ci gave him a smile of gratitude before putting the gloves on, ¡°I don¡¯t even know how this thing works yet. Who knows if it¡¯s an actual trump card, or something that will speed up my death.¡±

    With that, she summoned Ol¡¯ Six and mounted her steed, ¡°But I¡¯m really interested in finding out. You want toe along?¡± she grinned at Fleeting Time.

    Warmth crept into Fleeting TIme¡¯s heart as he saw her expression, ¡°I¡¯ll race you there.¡± he returned her smile.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Ye Ci shot up into the sky, followed closely by Fleeting Time.

    The battle was still raging on the ground below. Latal was still advancing through the alliance¡¯s ranks, but it was apparent that it had lost much of its momentum. It harvested the lives of countless yers with each swing of its gigantic pincers, but many more surged forward to take the ces of the fallen.

    The yers did not show fear in the face of death and their loss of EXP and equipment, and threw themselves at the rampaging beast.

    ¡°Why are they not retreating?¡± she asked in the party chat, ¡°They must¡¯ve noticed by now that Latal has the ¡®EXP absorption¡¯ trait. Why are the leaders of these guilds not pulling their men back? Is the taxes from Sodom really worth their losses?¡±

    A smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face, ¡°Benefits are not the only thing that decide the flow of things in this world.¡±

    Ye Ci had heard something like this far too many times. But it sounded different when it came from Fleeting Time. It managed to shake her to her core.

    Fleeting Time stared at the horizon and sighed, ¡°Ye Ci, there are moments when benefits are worth nothing more than dirt. The battle that is being fought today is not entirely to gain benefits, but for their pride and dignity.¡±

    ¡°Pride and dignity?¡± Ye Ci repeated the words.

    ¡°You¡¯ve always been a practical person, but I know that you are someone filled with pride and dignity.¡± Fleeting Time¡¯s smile was as bright as the sun, ¡°They¡¯re just the same. You refused to bow down before Golden Era, and don¡¯t you think they share the same beliefs as well? Their initial intentions did not matter now. What they want is victory.¡± and Fleeting Time extended his arm towards Ye Ci, ¡°Just like you.¡±

    Ye Ci could feel the strongest wall the had built in a corner of her heart, and the belief that she used to hold so firmly, was cracking as she stared at Fleeting Time. The crack widened and widened again, until everything came crumbling down.

    Tears were welling in her eyes as she took in a deep breath, and epted Fleeting Time¡¯s hand. He pulled her over, and shended in his embrace, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are going to do, but know that no matter what happens, I¡¯ll be right beside you. Do what you must, and leave the rest to me.¡±

    ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll take you up on your offer.¡± Ye Ci smiled at him.

    The sky immediately darkened the moment Ye Ci activated her skill.

    ¡°You have spent 10,000 Souls and activated Dark Summoning.¡± a system notification chimed in her ears.

    So this is what the 10,000 souls Naga gave me is for. Thought Ye Ci.

    A screen appeared before Ye Ci. She read through the details disyed on the screen, and quickly realized that the skill ¡®Dark Summoning¡¯ allowed her to summon an army. She could then give orders to the soldiers through the interfaces on the screen.

    There was arge variety of troops avable for her selection including Dark Infantry, Dark Cavalry, Dark Archer, Dark Priest, Dark Sorcerer, and many more. And each of these troops came with its own unique skill.

    The interface was arrayed just like a mini real time strategy game. Ye Ci could give out orders to her troops, which would fight and disappear after an hour.

    She summoned a group of Dark Infantry, and 10,000 of them immediately appeared on the battlefield. They were armed with crude weapons and armor, but their bodies were big. With an order from Ye Ci, the Dark Infantries began charging at Latal.

    Nobody was prepared for the sudden appearance of therge formation of NPCs. Confusion spread among the yers. They could not decide if they should engage the Dark Infantries in battle, or continue their attacks against Latal.

    But the alliance of guilds were quick to realize that the soldiers were not their enemies, and that they were summoned by a friendly yer.

    Nobody knew who summoned the soldiers and how they were summoned, but it was not their concern. The leaders of each guild, however, still gave out the order to investigate the source of their appearance.

    As an ancient beast summoned from the void, Latal was indeed formidable. It was momentarily forced back by the sudden appearance of the Dark Infantry, but was soon able to regain its footing, and was even pushing the soldiers back, causing massed casualties in its wake.

    A frown appeared on Ye Ci¡¯s face as she took a look at Latal¡¯s health bar, ¡°What is this monster! The amount of HP is unreal! Can we even kill this thing?¡±

    ¡°Take your time.¡± Fleeting TIme patted Ye Ci on the shoulder and took off to the front lines on his Phoenix.

    Well these things sure are not as tough as they look. Thought Ye Ci. With a sigh, she decided to summon some Dark Cavalries instead. But what she heard next sent tears streaming down her cheeks.

 Chapter 439

    Chapter 439 A Victory

    ¡°You do not have enough souls.¡± came the icy cold voice of the system.

    Damn it! I should¡¯ve known! This is just like a free trial! Is Fate finally heading towards the pay to win route?

    Another system notification chimed in after a few seconds, ¡°Do you wish to summon more troops?¡±

    Ye Ci was baffled. Wait, aren¡¯t I out of souls?

    The system chimed in again just then, ¡°Summoning can be done with Souls or experience points.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression darkened. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me right? With her souls exhausted, her only option was to summon the Dark Troops with her experience points. Wait, this means that I¡¯ll lose my level!

    But the thought remained in her mind for only the briefest of moments. The oue of this battle meant life and death to Upwards Ho!.

    The winner takes all. This has always been the rule of the world. Failure would mean that Upwards Ho!¡¯s efforts for three years would be put to waste. And Ye Ci did not want to lose.

    At the price of one of her levels, Ye Ci summoned a troop of Dark Cavalry. To her, experience points were something expendable, as it could easily be regained at ater time.

    Hordes after hordes of Soldiers of Darkness were summoned by Ye Ci. Threw themselves at Latal. While individually weak, the Dark Soldiers were able to push Golden Era and their summoned beast back by sheer numbers alone.

    Latal¡¯s advance was finally bogged down by the sheer weight of their numbers. It had lost 40% of its hitpoints in a short fifteen minutes.

    The Dark Soldiers were like ants swarming on a chocte cake. Attacks and spells rained down on the beast mercilessly. Due to their sheer numbers, not all of the Dark Soldiers were able to engage Latal inbat directly, and these soldiers turned their attention on the Golden Era yers nearby instead.

    As summoned beings, the Dark Soldiers were not afraid of death. They pressed on despite their horrendous casualties. The only thing they knew was to continue advancing until they met their deaths.

    Ye Ci realized that there was no good or evil in war. Warriors on both sides were fighting for their own cause. And to them, their cause was the righteous one. It was the duty of a warrior to fight to achieve victory, or to die trying.

    ¡°Leave the rest to me.¡± she said to Fleeting Time with a glint in her eyes.

    Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow at her, but she shook her head before he could give her a response, ¡°Fleeting Time, you¡¯ve done a lot for me. This is not even you fighting. Please allow me to finish this on my own. I want to finish this with my own strength.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Ci nodded.

    ¡°Very well.¡± Fleeting Time smiled and took a step back. Ye Ci jumped onto Ol¡¯ Six and soared towards the battlefield.

    Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci as she left, and sighed, ¡°You¡¯re the burden that I wish to carry.¡±

    ughter and death were everywhere as far as Ye Ci¡¯s eyes could see. She summoned more Dark Soldiers, and the sky was immediately filled with Dark Aerial Cavalry. They began swarming upon the Golden Era yers in the skies like locusts.

    On the ground, the Soldiers of Darkness continued throwing themselves at Golden Era along with the alliance yers. The ground was dyed red by the endless carnage. But at that moment, Ye Ci was smiling.

    The scent of sulfur unique to Dark Magic filled the air, mixed in with the smell of blood of the fallen.

    Despite their numbers and strengths, Golden Era was crumbling beneath the relentless onught of the Dark Soldiers. Ye Ci¡¯s summoned troops swarmed over their defences, and tore gaps between their lines.

    When Latal finally dropped dead, Golden Era¡¯s defensive line crumbled along with their summoned beast. The alliance yers began pouring into Golden Era¡¯s rear, supported by the Dark Soldiers.

    Victory was in sight.

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes when the Golden Era yers began to scatter and run. I bet Breeze is fuming over there. But that has nothing to do with me. There will always be a loser when there is a victor.

    With the Golden Era yers already on the run, there was no longer a need to summon more warriors. Ye Ci nced at the timer. There was only neen minutes left before Dark Summoning was over. ¡°Neen minutes.¡± She sent a message to Bai Mo.

    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±

    ¡°The Soldiers of Darkness will disappear in neen more minutes. If you move fast, they should be able to help take Sodom.¡± Ye Ci gave the briefest of exnation as there was simply not enough time.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Bai Mo immediately gave the order to attack Sodom.

    Ye Ci then nced at her level. F*ck, I¡¯m only at lvl53 now? She grimaced. At this point, she knew that the only thing she could do was to wait until the battle was concluded as she would not be much help with her significantly lowered level.

    She headed to the safety of the rear lines. She knew where Fleeting Time might be.

    And he was there, sitting at the ce where she was revived. He smiled at her when he saw her approaching from afar.

    Ye Ci felt helpless as she saw the smile on his face. There was a promise that she could not keep.

 Chapter 440

    Chapter 440 At The Peak

    Despite the battle raging on, the beauty of the map was not lost.

    Ye Ci looked up into the sky, and saw a beam of light splitting the gloomy sky apart. She saw the dazzling beauty of nature.

    She stared silently at the scenery afar, sitting quietly just like a statue. Fleeting Time stared at Ye Ci, as if the raging battle had nothing to do with him. And in actuality, it was indeed none of his business. He was here because of Gongzi You.

    ¡°I saw Naga.¡± Ye Ci broke the silence.

    The statement was so sudden that it took Fleeting Time quite a while to muster a response, ¡°And what happened?¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡± Ye Ci pulled off the gloves given to her by Fleeting Time and shook her ring finger in front of him, ¡°He gave me this so that we can win.¡±

    ¡°Were the soldiers summoned because of the ring¡¯s skill?¡±

    Ye Ci had always found it easy tomunicate with top-tier yers. She did not even have to exin much before Fleeting Time quickly understood the situation.

    ¡°Yup. It¡¯s one of its more powerful skills?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes at the ring.

    ¡°And what do you have to do to receive the ring? I doubt Naga will give it to you for free. No NPC would do something like that, let alone Naga.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet.¡± Ye Ci sighed. She met Fleeting Time¡¯s gaze and shrugged, ¡°He told me that all will be made clear when the time is right. We¡¯re just yers, but he¡¯s the Final BOSS of an Epic-iter quest. The only thing I could do was to agree to his terms.¡±

    ¡°Hah, this is the first time I see you so helpless. I bet the NPC is a tough nut to crack.¡± Fleeting Time chuckled.

    And Ye Ci responded with a sigh, ¡°He¡¯s too smart. And I have weaknesses that he was able to exploit.¡±

    ¡°Well you don¡¯t seem displeased.¡±

    ¡°Well, I enjoyed seeing Golden Era¡¯s men being crushed by waves after waves of NPCs and our own yers.¡± and she spread her arms open with an innocent expression, ¡°Aren¡¯t wars fought so that we can see the failures of our enemies? It¡¯s just like attending a live concert so that we can hear the singer¡¯s voice crack?¡±

    This elicited augh from Fleeting Time, ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know that you¡¯re a philosopher.¡±

    Ye Ci joined in on hisughter as well.

    The battle was still being fought as the duo satughing far away.

    It took Fleeting Time quite a while to finally regain hisposure, ¡°By the way, what was the cost for summoning so many troops?¡±

    ¡°Souls.¡± Ye Ci shrugged, ¡°But I did not have a lot of those.¡±

    ¡°And what did you use instead?¡± a slight frown appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face.

    ¡°The only thing I had in abundance... Was experience points.¡± Ye Ci sighed.

    Fleeting Time blinked upon hearing her response. So that¡¯s how it is. ¡°Then... How much of your experience points did you spend? What¡¯s your level now?¡±

    ¡°Lvl53.¡± even Ye Ci could feel sadness welling in her heart as she gave the response. What a scam! And this came as a shock to Fleeting Time.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t look at me like that. I bet you would¡¯ve done the same thing.¡±

    Fleeting Time was speechless. But he knew that he would do the same thing if he was ced in Ye Ci¡¯s position. He would have done it without even the slightest hesitation, for his personal benefit mattered not to him.

    He hade to realize that he was just like Ye Ci. That was why he was able to understand her decision despite his shock. He knew that she would do the same thing again if given the choice, just like he would.

    A top yer held more responsibilities than a normal yer, even if he or she did not like it.

    ¡°Do you regret what you did?¡± Fleeting Time could not resist the urge to ask despite knowing the answer.

    ¡°No.¡± There was no hesitation when she answered with a slight shake of her head and a smile on her face.

    ¡°Even if nobody know of your sacrifice today?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded, ¡°You know why I¡¯d still do it?¡±

    Fleeting Time sighed. I guess we are the same sort of people, ¡°Because you¡¯re Gongzi You.¡±

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s exactly because I¡¯m Gongzi You.¡± there was a hint of sadness in her expression, ¡°But I do have some regrets.¡±

    Fleeting Time immediately understood what she meant. She had always wanted to square off against him in the PVP Tournament, but it was now impossible.

    He smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°I¡¯ll continue moving forward. I¡¯ll not stop and wait for you because of this.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Ye Ci took in a deep breath and stood up before stretching herself, ¡°But it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll catch up to you in no time.¡± she turned around and spoke in a grave tone, ¡°And because of that, Fleeting Time.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The smile remained on Fleeting Time¡¯s face.

    ¡°I want you to continue standing at the top. Don¡¯t let anyone defeat you before I catch up. I¡¯ll be there before you know it.¡± she grinned at him, ¡°Wait for me, at the peak of the world.¡±

    ¡°Very well. I shall wait for you at the top until you catch up, and perhaps even surpass me.¡±

 Chapter 441

    <h4>Chapter 441 No Making Without Breaking</h4>

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth at Naga who was sitting not far away from her. You asshole! I know you said that we¡¯ll meet again once the battle has been won, but do you really need to do it so fast? She was immediately yanked away into another realm by Naga immediately after the duration of her Dark Summoning was up.

    Fleeting Time was shocked by her sudden disappearance, but he was quick to figure out what happened, and decided to simply take a nap on the ground.

    ¡°We meet again, Elf.¡± Naga was smiling at Ye Ci like a thousand years old fox. He was cunning, and yet so beautiful.

    ¡°Damn right. We meet again, Naga.¡± said Ye Ci through gritted teeth.

    ¡°You look like you¡¯ve missed me very much, Elf.¡± Naga¡¯s smile was very beautiful. It was hard for a yer to imagine that such a gorgeous NPC was the Demon Lord that brought ruin to thend in the history books.

    He looked at Ye Ci as if he was looking at a doll. That¡¯s right, a doll.

    Ye Ci did not like the feeling, but she still had to deal with Naga.

    ¡°I think you might have made a mistake. Because I don¡¯t want to see you ever again for the rest of my life if it¡¯s possible.¡± Ye Ci snorted. She was still affected by the loss of her experience points.

    While it might be the least important thing in a game, it still represented the time she spent on the game. The one hour of fighting had burned away nearly two years worth of effort she had poured into her character.

    But Naga paid no heed to Ye Ci¡¯s words as he was staring at Fleeting Time. she did not know why he was staring at him, but it was not something that she had to worry about. She wanted to know what drove Naga to render her aid. I wonder what he wants from me. After all the effort, oh wait, nevermind. It¡¯s nothing to a BOSS-tier NPC like him. Surely it¡¯s not for charity!

    A thick gray fog surrounded Ye Ci, obscuring Fleeting Time from her view. She knew that it was a high level illusion. It¡¯d be nice if I can use it too.

    ¡°Ah, I see another who has inherited Dau¡¯er¡¯s will.¡± said Naga.

    Another? Does it mean that I count as one too? Naga¡¯s words sent a chill down Ye Ci¡¯s spine.

    Naga chuckled in amusement. But Ye Ci did not feel fear in the face of such a powerful Final BOSS.

    She was instead reminded of the days she was hunted by Naga¡¯s minions. Those were tough times. Her loss of nearly sixty levels was also due to the work of Naga. Will he pull some shenanigans off again this time? Maybe one that will send me all the way back to a newbie vige?

    ¡°You¡¯ve been asking what I want from helping you, Elf.¡± Naga leaned back against the chair that he magically summoned, ¡°It¡¯s time I tell you.¡±

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Look at me, and tell me what you see.¡± Naga redirected the conversation so quickly that Ye Ci was caught off guard. To her, Naga was still gorgeous as ever. But something was wrong about his form. He was transparent.

    ¡°You¡¯re transparent.¡± replied Ye Ci truthfully.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Naga smiled at her, ¡°Because you¡¯re now looking at my soul.¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been in this form since the battle thousands of years ago.¡± Naga smiled at Ye Ci, ¡°While I¡¯ve managed to seal those so-called heroes who dared oppose me, I myself suffered the same fate as well.¡± Naga was still smiling as he revealed the truth to Ye Ci, but she could sense the hatred in her voice.

    She finally understood why she was here. While Fate was a new game, the storyline used by the developers was corny as ever. So he wants revenge. And I¡¯m a tool he needs to achieve that.

    ¡°Of all the adventurers out there, why me?¡± asked Ye Ci when Naga was done narrating his sad story. She was silently cursing at the Fate developers for theme storyline.

    ¡°I did not choose you.¡± Naga motioned at Ye Ci¡¯s finger, ¡°It did.¡±

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression immediately darkened. How she wanted time to rewind to that moment three years ago when she first found the ring.

    ¡°Will you kill me if I refuse to help you?¡± Ye Ci narrowed her eyes.

    ¡°Of course not, I¡¯m kind and benevolent after all.¡± Naga lied as naturally as he breathed, ¡°But I¡¯m sure you wille to see things my way.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure about it.¡±

    ¡°We shall see.¡± there was a glint in Naga¡¯s eyes as the words left his mouth. The illusion world made by Naga crumbled around Ye Ci, and she once again reappeared beside Fleeting Time. Neither of them knew what Naga was talking about.

    But Ye Ci would soon find out.

    ¡°Die, you pawn of Naga!¡± NPCs would shout at Ye Ci whenever she tried to initiate a conversation. And the names of monsters in the field would appear green to her.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just die, Naga!¡±

    And she was summoned into the other realm by Naga again.

    Reality has proven to her that no matter how strong a yer was, he or she was still at the mercy of a Final BOSS like Naga.

    A wise person submits to circumstances.

    Ye Ci had always been a firm believer of that saying.

    And that was why she agreed to Naga¡¯s request. Or in game terms, she betrayed her faith and had fallen into darkness.

    Naga then parted ways with Ye Ci with one final gift. Her level waspletely reset to lvl1. ¡°How can you use the powers gained by ying your allies?¡± He smiled at her.

    The only thing Ye Ci wanted to say at the moment was: F*ck you Naga!

 Chapter 442

    <h4>Chapter 442 A Fresh Start</h4>

    Ye Ci let out yet another sigh as she sat outside the newbie vige. Why have thingse to this? She could not even gain experience points by partying up with Fleeting Time due to her status.

    The Fate developers have finally given official designations to people like Ye Ci: Dark yers. They share the same character sses and traits as the mainstream yers, but a veteran would have topletely reset their levels to join the Dark Side.

    Not many among the yer base who were already beyond lvl50 were willing to join the Dark Side as it meant that their efforts in leveling up would go to waste. But newbies, on the other hand, were very willing to try.

    A yer like Ye Ci was known by Naga as The Reborn, and by the NPC as The Fallen.

    It was a new trend in the game. While it ced more challenges on the yers, many among the new yers were willing to join the Dark Side.

    But unlike her fellow Dark yers, Ye Ci did not join the Dark Side out of her own free will. She was forced into it. With things as they were, there was nothing she could do. And more importantly, Dark yers had an entirely different way when it came to leveling their characters.

    A mainstream yer could level up by gaining experience points from the monsters they y. Dark yers had to do the same as well. But the ¡®monsters¡¯ from their perspective, were the mainstream yers.

    This proved to be difficult as the yers were actual human beings. They would not be automatically spawned by the system, and were harder to defeat than a monster. That was why a Dark yer who had managed to kill a mainstream yer of the same level would gain arge amount of experience points. The experience points awarded would be increased many times more if the victim was a mainstream yer with a higher level.

    As a Dark yer who was very dedicated to leveling up, Ye Ci had been sitting at the entrance of the newbie vige for a long while. She was unable to find a suitable victim just yet.

    She was sitting at lvl3 thanks to the experience points she received afterpleting the preliminary quests by joining Naga¡¯s camp. Her goal was to reach lvl5 so that she could summon her pet. This would quickly solve her leveling problem.

    But the first few levels were very hard to obtain. The newbie protection for a mainstream yer was set at lvl10. While she was equipped with a Passive skill that could trick any NPCs, she could not engage other yers in battle in a Safe Zone.

    With the game already avable for a few years, the yer poption in newbie viges had be rtively low. This forced Ye Ci to continue waiting for the appearance of a yer who was above the level of 10.

    The fight between a lvl3 and lvl10 character was very different from a fight between a lvl100 and lvl110 yer.

    A lvl10 yer was equipped with three active skills while a lvl3 yer only had a single active skill in his or her arsenal, giving the lvl3 yer a huge disadvantage in a fight.

    But this was not something that Ye Ci found difficult.

    What she needed was a chance. The killing blow will be dealt when a victim appeared. She was not a good person. Underhanded tactics were something that she would not refrain from using.

    Her patience finally bore fruit as a yer appeared in her view.

    A Warrior in crude armor was walking out of the vige. Everything about him, from his face to his figure to his armor and the sword on his back had a very normal appearance. He stretched himself under the rising morning sun and made his way towards the nearest city.

    Ye Ci sat under the shade of a tree. Despite appearing bored, she was eyeing the Warrior like a vulture. The predatory glint in her eyes was just like a viper that had its eyes on an innocent little frog.

    The little frog was on his merry way to the city when he heard a voice calling out to him. ¡°Hey, you there, wait up!¡± and the little frog stopped dead in his tracks.

    He looked around, and saw an Elf with silvery hair and amber eyes smiling at him. She was very pretty.

    The viper shivered the moment she opened her mouth. Never had she imagined that she would have to resort to acting cute for the sake of leveling up. Nobody must learn about this! Thought the viper to herself.

    ¡°Eh? Aren¡¯t you an Elf? Why are you here? This is a Human vige.¡± the little frog was not stupid.

    ¡°Aiya, I got lost because of my poor sense of direction.¡± the viper pulled out a map and showed it to the little frog, ¡°Can you take a look at this map and show me the way back?¡±

    The naive little frog was still unaware of the dangers of the world. He walked up to offer his aid to the beautiful viper. He immediately felt a stabbing pain in both his eyes as he leaned forward to study his eyes.

    As he stumbled his way like a chicken with its head cut off, the little frog felt something burying itself into his back. And he fell onto the ground.

    You have been in by the Dark yer Gongzi You.

    Dark yer? Gongzi You?

    The newbie could feel his world crumbling around him. While he was new, he had been paying close attention to the gossip on the forums. Never in his wildest dreams would he expect Gongzi You would appear in a newbie vige like that and kill a nobody like him.

    Sadness welled with the little frog¡¯s heart. He had just hit lvl11 before his death, and he was now back to lvl10.

    A golden light enveloped the viper. The experience she gained from killing a yer eight levels above her was enough to boost her to lvl5. She sheathed her dagger, and summoned arge Holy Dragon with a whistle.

    Thank God my pets are still around despite my level reset. Thought Ye Ci. She would have strangled Naga if she lost her pet along with her level. Due to her lower stats, Ye Ci found it difficult to mount her steed.

    Ol¡¯ Six lowered its neck so that Ye Ci could climb onto its back easily. It then let out a loud roar that sent fear into the hearts of the newbies nearby before shooting up into the sky.

    Leveling was made much easier with Ol¡¯ Six. The Dragon was able to maintain its lvl120 status unlike Ye Ci, which meant that it was a godly presence to lvl80 and below yers. The only thing Ye Ci needed to do was tounch an attack with Ol¡¯ Six in a popted area and experience points woulde flooding into her EXP gauge.

    But despite her formidable pet, Ye Ci was still weak. She could easily die to a counterattack by other yers, and this forced her to be constantly on the move.

    The entire Eastern Continent was in turmoil. And bounties for Gongzi You were stered almost everywhere.

 Chapter 443

    <h4>Chapter 443 The Tournament</h4>

    Ye Ci thought that her name would be forgotten and removed from the Hall of Fame once her level was reset. But recent events had proved her wrong. The name of Gongzi You was made even more famous, but it was now known for its notoriety.

    Bounties and wanted posters for her were stered all over the ce, covering virtually every board on the entrances of every major city.

    Oh my...

    Ye Ci cast another sideway nce at her wanted poster. Not as many yers were around as when her name first appeared on the wanted list, perhaps due to how elusive they were, or her rapidly rising level.

    But it mattered not to her. She was safe under the effects of her Secret Cloak. As long as she did not announce her presence, not a single one of the yers around her could tell who she was.

    Ye Ci was here for a dungeon.

    Even Dark yers were offered ess to dungeons. But unlike the mainstream yers, their dungeons were situated in the major cities and small viges on each continent. A Dark yer would have to locate a special NPC that would transport them into an alternate dimension which was made up of an exact replica of the city or vige.

    But unlike a mainstream dungeon, the content of the Dark yer¡¯s dungeon was not fixed. The enemies located within were an exact copy of what was in the city or vige at that time. This meant that the Dark yers would be fighting against copies of NPCs and the yers in the city instead of the monsters in a traditional dungeon.

    Of course, the yers and NPCs in the city would not be affected by the Dark yer¡¯s activity. They would not suffer any losses in terms of experience points or equipment.

    The Alternate Dimension Dungeons were the only explorable dungeons by Dark yers, with their only enemies being exact copies of real yers.

    Ye Ci took out yet another copy of a high level yer. She yanked her ck sword out from the yer¡¯s chest and wiped his blood clean before sheathing her weapon. I feel like a serial killer now. She sighed. Then again, looking at my Sin value... I am already one...

    Perhaps due to the disadvantages suffered by Dark yers, or perhaps it was because of the developer¡¯s rush to begin the next stage of the game, the rewards for clearing an Alternate Dimension Dungeon was high.

    But clearing one was no easy task. Each NPCs and copies of yers in the dungeons were controlled by highly advanced AIs that could mimic the skill level of an expert level yer. This made the dungeon a good training ground for yers new to PVP.

    Of course, this also meant that many among the Dark yers decided to quit instead, and started over as a mainstream yer.

    The number of Dark yers was rapidly dwindling. It was like a filtering process that weeded out the weak while the strong thrived. This meant that the Dark yers would have more capable fighters in the future.

    Ye Ci did not know what the developers had in mind, but she would continue pressing on forward until the day she reached her limits.

    She had only a mere 76 HP left as she sat panting on the ground. Ol¡¯ Six was not faring any better as well. Even it¡¯s tough scales were dotted with small wounds.

    The BOSS that she had just defeated was Rnd, the Quartermaster of Oasis City. He was not the toughest NPC in the city, but even he had almost managed to kill Ye Ci.

    She gulped down a Health Potion before making her way to Rnd¡¯s corpse to gather her loot. Her luck had improved by the tiniest bit since bing a Dark yer. Of the four pieces of equipment dropped by Rnd, two of them were suitable for her level and ss.

    Ye Ci equipped the gears without even the slightest hesitation. While the drop rates of her items were not as high as he other Dark yers, the slight increase in luck meant a world of difference to her.

    She then fed a few pieces of roasted meat and gulped down two bottles of wine to recover her Stamina before leaving the dungeon.

    Ye Ci headed to the teleporter just like the many around her. Their destination, Eastern Continent¡¯s Grand Arena. A match would be held there. It was a match between a Southern Continent yer, Lamb With Fangs, and Western Continent yer, Fleeting Time.

    Lamb With Fangs was a Ranger. While it was a high Agility ss like the Hunter, the Ranger ss could be counted as a jack of all trades. It did not have the high Bnce of the Hunters, nor Agility as high as Rogue. The ss also had a lower DPSpared to Rogues and Hunters, but enjoyed arger variety of crowd control skills along with the ability to heal.

    Ye Ci had never seen Lamb With Fangs in action before. But she did a brief research on the yer before the match started.

    She was impressed by what she saw. Lamb With Fangs was a skillful yer who was able to push his character to its limit.

    He was almost as good as Fleeting Time.

    And even Ye Ci felt the urge to square off against the yer.

    Wow, it seems that Spotless Autumn is not the only top-tier yer on the Southern Continent. Ye Ci was looking forward to the match between Lamb With Fangs and Fleeting Time.

    Ye Ci stared at therge screen at the center of the arena. It was the ce where the matches of the PVP tournament was broadcasted after its second stage. The only thing yers had to do was to pay a small entrance fee before enjoying the spectacle.

    Communications between thebatants and the outside world was cut off by the system to eliminate any possibility of cheating.

    The crowd was cheering at the two contestants as they entered the arena.

    ¡°And the next to enter the ring was...¡± the referee dragged out the silence before continuing, ¡°Fleeting Time!¡±

    As the crowd roared with approval, Ye Ci let out a sigh at the man with silvery hair disyed on the screen. What a shame.

 Chapter 446

    Chapter 446 It¡¯s Lonely Up There

    For the briefest of moments, Ye Ci found herself rting with Breeze.

    He told her that he had been driven by his ambitions. He was able to gain a lot as Golden Era grew, but he lost so much more in the process. He said that he was tired. And Ye Ci realized that she was also tired when she fell from Glory Corporation¡¯s building.

    So I¡¯m not the only one burdened by fame. A smile appeared on her face, ¡°So what do you want me to say? Bon voyage? That¡¯s not how I do things.¡±

    ¡°Hmm... If it¡¯s you... It¡¯s probably something along the lines of...¡± Breeze imitated Ye Ci¡¯s cold voice, ¡°What a shame, I haven¡¯t even had my fill of the fun yet.¡±

    Breeze was able to mimic her demeanor down to the slightest detail that it was as if he was the real Ye Ci.

    The two shared a smile. She and Breeze were the same sort of people. They both knew what they wanted the most, and would often take some of the most drastic measures to achieve their goals. This was how they ended as enemies.

    ¡°Take my men in.¡± it was not a question, but a statement.

    Ye Ci crossed her arms in front of her chest and spoke up after a long time, ¡°I do not mind. But I have to talk to Remote Depths about it.¡± and she continued after clicking her tongue, ¡°If there¡¯s still so many of you around, why not just make a new guild?¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of disbanding Golden Era?¡± Breeze responded with a question of his own, ¡°It will just be yet another burden that I have to shoulder. I¡¯ll be carrying it with me for the rest of my life. I¡¯m no longer the young man who was full of vigor. I¡¯m not that foolish.¡±

    Ye Ci stared silently at Breeze for a long time before smiling at him, ¡°This is not my decision to make. You¡¯ll have to talk to Remote Depths about it.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I thought you¡¯d agree to it right away.¡±

    ¡°Why would you say that?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a person with ambition, Gongzi You. And it does not only include you, but also Upwards Ho! as well. There¡¯s no way you¡¯d let go of such a chance.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s better for us to remain as enemies, don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    ¡°Why? Because a mountain is not big enough for two tigers?¡±

    ¡°No, but I still have a promise to keep with Death Blossom. How am I supposed to fulfill that if you leave?¡± Ye Ci shrugged.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a shame then. I don¡¯t think that duel will be happening anytime soon.¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re leaving?¡±

    ¡°Death Blossom is pregnant.¡± snorted Breeze. The smile on his face was telling Ye Ci: Come on, give me your blessings!

    Ye Ci was caught off guard by his response, ¡°Congrattions, you¡¯ll be a father soon.¡±

    Breeze chuckled at her words. It was apparent that he was in a good mood.

    He stood up, and cast onest nce at Ye Ci, ¡°Well, it¡¯s a shame. I guess I¡¯ll have to talk to Remote Depths then.¡± and he left after waving his hand at Ye Ci.

    Ye Ci smiled at Breeze as he left. She looked up at the azure skies. It seems that everyone has their own happiness.

    Cheers from the crowd drew Ye Ci¡¯s attention back to therge screen. Fleeting Time was pressing his attack against Lamb With Fangs with his twin des. His movements were so fast that the Ranger could only go on defence, and was rapidly pushed back.

    Ye Ci stood up and left the arena.

    The oue of the battle had already been decided.

    She sat alone by the creek outside of Middle Continent¡¯s Hero City, looking up at the silvery moon hanging in the sky. It was a secluded corner of the map that was usually quiet. Due to theck of monster poption, the map was usually not visited by yers other than the ones looking for herbs.

    Ye Ci felt lonely in the quiet night.

    She pulled out a bottle of wine from her inventory and took a swig.

    Golden Era¡¯s departure meant that the game would grow mundane from now on.

    She did not know if it was because of Golden Era¡¯s impending departure, but she had been in low spirits since her conversation with Breeze. Fleeting Time was someone she thought was her target. Did he feel the same way when he quit the game in myst life?

    Words that Bai Mo had said to her a long time ago came flooding back into her mind. Little Ci, it¡¯s good to have an opponent that you have to surpass. You¡¯ll be happier that way.

    It¡¯s lonely at the top.

    Indeed, being at the top alone was lonely.

    But Fleeting Time would always be there for her.

    ¡°I spy with my eyes a gorgeousdy. What are you doing alone in a ce like this? Isn¡¯t it boring to enjoy the night view alone? Allow me to buy you a drink.¡±

    Ye Ci peeled the hands covering her eyes away and turned around to see a handsome face illuminated by the moonlight, ¡°You¡¯re trying to bribe a heavy drinker like me with just a drink? Aren¡¯t you a little too petty?¡±

    ¡°Oh...¡± he narrowed his eyes as a smile appeared on his lips, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I guess just a single drink is not a sufficient enough investment.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    ¡°Alright then,¡± he thought for a long while with a troubled expression on his face. He then walked up to her and knelt in front of her, ¡°What about a drink everyday until the day I die?¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a far future.¡± Ye Ci raised an eyebrow, ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s worth it.¡±

    The man broke intoughter, ¡°Hey hey, I¡¯ve even offered up the rest of my life. What else do you need?¡±

    ¡°Your house, your bank ount, and your ie. What use will you have without those?¡± Ye Ci scrunched her nose in disdain.¡±

    ¡°Alright, they¡¯re all yours then.¡± Despite the smile on his lips, Ye Ci could see from his yes that he was earnest with his response. For reasons unknown, it made her feel guilty.

    She decided to redirect the conversation instead, ¡°Congrattions.¡±

    ¡°What for?¡± While Fleeting Time did not like the sudden change in the topic, he did not press the matter. There will be ample time for thatter.

    ¡°The tournament. You¡¯re going to win it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You don¡¯t have to congratte me for that.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then what is worthy of my congrattions then?¡±

    Fleeting Time gave her a meaningful look and changed the topic, ¡°How are the quests on the Dark Side going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still clearing the side quests. From how things are progressing, I haven¡¯t gotten to the main quest yet.¡± replied Ye Ci after having a brief nce at her quests, ¡°What about things on your side?¡±

    ¡°I can finally get to the holy mountain,¡± and he leaned against Ye Ci before letting out a sigh, ¡°Little Gongzi, it¡¯s so lonely up there.¡±

 Chapter 447

    Chapter 447 Some Little Things

    The night was beautiful.

    Ye Ci and Fleeting Time were feeling tipsy after their drink, and yet sober at the same time. They sat on arge chunk of rock and began having a casual conversation.

    This was one of the few times they were able to rx and enjoy each other¡¯spany since Ye Ci¡¯s level had been reset.

    Fleeting Time handed Ye Ci some roasted rabbit meat after removing the bones with his dagger, and she received it with no hesitation. She felt bad for the dagger. That thing must have Orange quality. To be used to slice meat... If the dagger is sentient, it would¡¯ve cried.

    ¡°Breeze came looking for you today?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°Oh, a friend of mine told me about it.¡±

    Ye Ci gave him a nod. It was not unusual for a major guild to have spies in Golden Era, just like how it would have spies in the other major guilds, ¡°He told me that Golden Era is pulling out of Fate.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± This came as a shock to Fleeting Time. But it did not affect the movements of his hands as he continued to dice the rabbit meat, ¡°That¡¯s weird. We have so many spies in that guild, but none of them discovered the secret.¡±

    ¡°Of course you won¡¯t find out! He just made the decision. Is it still a secret if you manage to find out immediately after the decision was made?¡± Ye Ci snorted.

    ¡°You have a point.¡± and he then shifted the topic with a smile, ¡°Fancy some fruits? I brought some honeydew from Hero City.¡±

    ¡°Wow, as expected of a rich man. What a waste.¡± said Ye Ci as she took the expensive fruit from Fleeting Time. Despite herints, she showed no intention of holding back.

    ¡°Well, what¡¯s the point of earning money if my wife can¡¯t spend it?¡± This came naturally to Fleeting Time, but Ye Ci still blushed at his words.

    She redirected the conversation with a light cough, ¡°Breeze wanted us to take in some of his yers who will not be pulling out of the game. But I rejected his request.¡±

    ¡°Why did you do that? Isn¡¯t this a good opportunity for Upwards Ho!?¡±

    ¡°Firstly, I¡¯ve never intervened in guild affairs. It¡¯d be better if Bai Mo is the one handling this. And secondly, I do not know what Breeze is up to. It doesn¡¯t hurt to be careful.¡±

    Fleeting Time responded with nothing but a smile.

    On such a beautiful night, nothing had to be said. Even a time spent in silence was joyful for the couple.

    Tomorrow wille no matter what. And both of them had things that they had to worry about. What mattered was that they enjoyed their moments together.

    The weather on the next day was hot. And Ye Ci had nothing but curses for Naga as she stood by the edge of a cliff. Damn it! Why did you choose a ce like this as your base? She looked down at the boilingva and visibly gulped. It sure looks hot down there.

    A small rock tumbled its way down towards theva, and disappeared into a puff of green smoke. Ye Ci rolled her eyes. She knew that Fate was highly realistic. But this meant that she would never be able to reim her equipment if she fell into theva.

    She began cursing at Naga again. Can¡¯t you think of somewhere better as your base?!

    But there was a quest to bepleted. She gulped down yet another Heat Resistant potion and continued moving forward. She looked up at the skull-shaped cave entrance at the top of the mountain and sighed. How many more potions do I have to use?

    She was finally able to reach her destination after expanding half her supplies of Heat Resistant Potion. The interior of the case was not as narrow as she expected. It was wide and had an air of grandeur. Stairs, fountains, statues, and all sorts of ornaments decorated the interior of the cave.

    There was a thickyer of dust on all the furniture. It was apparent that the ce had been abandoned for a very long time.

    Ye Ci covered her nose as she walked deeper into Naga¡¯s pce. She did not dare to breathe in the thickyer of dust that could be found in every corner of the pce.

    The pce was big, and was almost empty as Ye Ci moved deeper into its interior. There was nothing but torches on the walls around her. It was as silent as a grave. This was a sight Ye Ci did not expect that see. The base of a demon king should be filled with monsters, but there was nothing here.

    Ye Ci was overjoyed when she first received the quest from Naga. After all, her days have grown quite boring with the neverending PVP. That was why she made all the preparations required to reach her destination with much enthusiasm when Naga ryed his wish to retrieve something from his old pce.

    But reality was not what she expected.

    And this made her angry.

    Without an outlet to vent her anger, Ye Ci stomped her way to the highest floor of Naga¡¯s castle. She paid close attention to her surroundings for loot that mightpensate her for her lost time.

    It did not take her long to arrive at a hall lined by two rows of pirs where arge throne sat.

    What caught Ye Ci¡¯s attention was not the throne, and instead two stone altars beside the throne. She could feel a strongpulsion drawing her towards the altars. Her eyes widened when she made her way to the altar.

    Nine weapons were arrayed on the stone altars. They were clearly weapons for each of the nine sses in Fate. She immediately understood who the weapons belonged to the moment sheid her eyes upon them.

    ¡°Ahh, I knew you¡¯d be interested in these.¡± came a voice from behind Ye Ci as she stared at the weapons.

    She drew her bow with a quick movement and nocked an arrow without even thinking. It was then that she realized who the voice belonged to.

    Ye Ci slung her bow and sighed, ¡°Can¡¯t you make a sound before you start talking to me?¡±

    ¡°And how do you suppose I do that? Are you expecting a spirit to make noise when he walks? Why don¡¯t you demonstrate to me how it¡¯s done?¡±

    After her long interaction with Naga, Ye Ci came to realize that he was not the scary Demon Lord recorded in the history books. He was more like an immature brat in his rebellious stage.

 Chapter 462: What Happens Next

    <h4>Chapter 462: What Happens Next</h4>

    Ye Ci got to enjoy the view from dragonback as the strong wind prickled her skin.

    She allowed her gaze to drift, before settling on the horizon far far away. What she saw was a sea of clouds. It was beautiful. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cold morning air.

    When she opened her eyes once again, she directed Ol¡¯ Six towards the ground.

    The dragon descended slowly on the lush green ins below, kicking up dust. Ye Ci leaped onto the ground, dismissed Ol¡¯ Six, and made her way to a tent not far away.

    ¡°How is it?¡± The man in the tent smiled at her as she entered.

    ¡°Not bad. The skies are clear. We¡¯ll have a clear view of the battlefield.¡± Ye Ci yawned, ¡°As long as the weather stays good.¡±

    The man chuckled.

    ¡°What¡¯re youughing at, Breeze?¡± Ye Ci was confused.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing.¡± came his reply, ¡°I¡¯m curious. How does it feel like to wage war against your fiance?¡±

    ¡°Breeze,¡± Ye Ci pursed her lips, ¡°You don¡¯t strike me as a gossipy man.¡± she voiced her protest.

    ¡°You¡¯re our trump card. I¡¯ll have to arrange our strategy around you.¡± Breeze crossed his arms in front of his chest, ¡°It¡¯s been two years since his proposal. Look at me, I¡¯ve had a couple of children now. Don¡¯t you think fighting like this will damage your rtionship?¡±

    ¡°What does it have to do with the battle?¡±

    ¡°A lot, actually. Are you willing to fight your future husband with all you got? Especially just moments before your wedding? It¡¯s not normal.¡± he said, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be looking forward to your wedding with joy in your heart? I can¡¯t understand you sometimers.¡±

    Ye Ci narrowed her eyes. She was not surprised when Breeze returned to the game, nor was she surprised when he chose to join the Dark Side. There was no bad blood between them after all. And that was why the two were able to berades. She had even worked with Breeze inrge scale PVP actions against the mainstream yers.

    Breeze¡¯s ability to keep up with the big picture was impressive. He was always a few steps ahead of his opponent in battle. The two partners in crime were a menace to the mainstream yers.

    Their presence on the battlefield would often demoralize any opposing force. Not many were willing to face them inbat. But despite their close partnership, Breeze had never once asked about her personal matters.

    ¡°Love might notst forever, but rivalry is eternal.¡± Ye Ci grinned. She was in a good mood.

    Breeze was confused, but he remained silent. ¡°Off you go, tomorrow¡¯s your wedding. I¡¯m sure you have a lot on your te right now.¡± he waved his hand dismissively at Ye Ci.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be online right on time tomorrow.¡± Ye Ci smiled at him.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Breeze turned his back towards Ye Ci, ¡°Will you hold back against him?¡± he asked silently.

    ¡°Nope.¡± she said as she left the tent.

    She logged off and stepped out of her room. Her family members were busy getting ready for the wedding. Zuo Xian and Zuo Xiaoqing were busy decorating the living room, while Bai Mo and his father, along with Ye Nantian and Tan Png were busy moving things around the house.

    All of them appeared busy. Ye Ci was the only one who had nothing to do. ¡°Hey, is there anything I can help with?¡± she asked.

    They all stopped dead in their tracks. Zuo Xian was the first to speak up, ¡°Ye Ci! Look at yourself! Do you look like a bride at all? I told you to go get your hair done! What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I forgot.¡± Ye Ci scratched her head. She could vaguely recall someone telling her something about her hair in the morning.

    ¡°Oh yeah? Are you the one getting married or am I the one getting married?¡± Zuo Xian exploded into anger.

    With that, Ye Ci was dragged outside and were soon on her way to the spa.

    ¡°Hello?¡± her phone rang as sheid in the bigfortable bed at the massage parlor. It was Fleeting Time. <i>Ahhh¡­ Having a massage feels so nice! </i>thought Ye Ci as the masseur worked on her body. <i>I would¡¯ve visited this ce everyday if I¡¯m not so busy.</i>

    A smile appeared on Fleeting Time¡¯s face when he heard her voice, ¡°Are you sleeping?¡± he asked. He was standing in their new house.

    ¡°Nah, just somest minute preparations.¡± Ye Ci studied her skin. <i>Yup, this is definitely worth the money.</i>

    ¡°Are you at the spa or something?¡±

    ¡°Yeap.¡±

    Fleeting Time thought of how fierce looking his bride-to-be was on the battlefield, and then at herzing at the spa. What a contrast it was. ¡°Do you need me to pick you up?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Are you done with things on your side?¡± Ye Ci was slurring as the masseur continued her work.

    ¡°I¡¯m almost done.¡±

    They hung up after some small talk, and Liu Chang sighed at her best friend, ¡°Why does it feel like you¡¯ve lost your passion for each other?¡±

    ¡°We spent it all in the game.¡± Ye Ci chuckled.

    Liu Chang chuckled along as well. ¡°Oh, by the way, do you know that Dong Yin is going to get married soon as well?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Nope. I haven¡¯t heard about her for a long time.¡± Ye Ci closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy the massage, ¡°Well, I¡¯m willing to bet that her groom¡¯s not He Xiao.¡±

    ¡°Yup. You''re right.¡± Liu Chang sighed, ¡°I wonder if she ever regretted her decision.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for regret. We all have to take responsibility for the choices we made.¡± Ye Ci¡¯s voice grew softer as memories of herst life flooded her mind. It had been a long time since something reminded her of what she experienced in her other life, ¡°What about Yi Cang? What¡¯s he up to these days?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Liu Chang shook her head, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard from him for quite a while. Even news about Dong Yin came from my parents. They mentioned nothing about him.¡± She was finally able to let go of the person she used to care about so deeply, of the person who had been with her throughout her childhood and her youth. Even she did not realize when was it that she found the courage to do so.

    ¡°Time flies.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± sadness crept into Liu Chang¡¯s heart, ¡°Little Ci, I still remember the days we used to y hide and seek at the park. Yi Cang was always the bad guy. You¡¯re always thest to be found, while Dong Yin would cry the moment she was found. I, on the other hand, would always allow myself to be found.¡±

    ¡°What a good time it was.¡± Ye Ci allowed her friend to continue uninterrupted, ¡°We had no worries in our minds. We y when we feel like it, cry when we¡¯re sad, and sleep when we¡¯re tired. Even a fight would notst into the next day. But everything changed with adulthood.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve changed. You¡¯ve changed. Everyone has grown so far apart.¡± Ye Ci spoke up after a long silence, ¡°Our pure hearts were washed away by the passage of time.¡±

    Liu Chang¡¯s eyes remained close. There was a long silence before she responded, ¡°Little Ci, I want you to be happy with Fleeting Time.¡±

    Ye Ci was stunned. She stole a nce at Liu Chang, but her best friend had already fallen asleep. She stared at the ceiling instead, and slowly drifted to sleep.

    Everyone was chasing their own happiness. Life was great.

    Fang Susu was married to Qin Curuo. They were the first among their friends to get married. Bai Mo was still struggling to get a girlfriend. Tan Png was very popr in the university he attended, girls were trailing behind him wherever he went. Dong Yin got married as well, while Yi Cang was busy with his own thing. He Xiao did not end up marrying Peacock Blue. He had ultimately lost to Unbridled Willow.

    Love was blossoming between Fruit Jelly and Four Seas, while Green Hill¡¯s Moon found a new girlfriend once again. Let Go Of That Girl married Ideal Height 1.7m, while Timely Rain was dating a girl from Upwards Ho!. Breeze and Death Blossom had a beautiful daughter, while NightAndDay found a new love. The Tang Dynasty was growing rapidly under his guidance.

    Wandering Clouds, on the other hand, broke up with his lover. Purity Essence was finally able to be the Rank 1mander on the Eastern Continent. With Sour Apple pregnant, Absalom was preparing himself to be a dad. Even Spotless Spring was able to get a girlfriend, and she was even more of an idiot than he was.

    Wang Jiangnan, too, found happiness of his own. He was crowned as the Father of Fate.

    Each and every one of them were on a path to their own happiness or misfortune.

 Chapter 464: Battle In The Air

    Fighting in the air is moreplicated than conducting battle onnd. Unlike on the ground where enemies could only approach from a single ne, abatant conducting aerial warfare had to deal with more vectors where an enemy could attack. It was a 3D battle sphere that was very taxing on one¡¯s focus and one¡¯s ability to react to a crisis.

    It had been four years since the introduction of aerial steed. Maintaining an air force of sorts had be a norm among the more established guilds and even some of the minor ones. The skill level requirements on a yer to be able to fight in the air had increased drastically since then, especially when the number of Dark yers began to grow, which brought with them an ever increasing trend of PVP.

    One might even say that a yer qualified to join an air force of any guild is among the best of the best even among the elites. Even the steeds used in such avenues of warfare underwent much scrutiny before they were deemed an asset.

    There was even a saying that a yer could have absolutely horrible gear, but his aerial steed must be equipped with nothing but the best for him to be effective in a fight.

    But due to the scarcity in aerial steed equipment and its high price and demand, the supply of aerial steed equipment was at an all time low. This led to an even higher increase in prices. Any yer who sought to conquer the skies would find themselves bereft of their hard-earned gold coins.

    Ye Ci was one of them. She might even have resorted to taking out loans had it not been Fleeting Time. The man knew how to make money.

    Pride, however, would not allow Ye Ci to take his money for nothing. She would leave him credit notes as assurance that she would one day return the money. When Fleeting Time counted one day out of boredom, he was amused to find that she had borrowed money from him for as much as more than fifty instances.

    Ye Ci sighed at that thought. <em>Why am I so poor? I¡¯m supposed to be rich¡­</em>

    The brief moment ofpse had seen Ye Ci ending up in the thick of an ongoing battle. She switched over to the voice channel reserved for the air force, and listened in on themander giving orders to the forces under hismand.

    He was calm and collected, as if he was unfazed by the fierce battle raging all around him. He started his career as a nobody, who slowly gained fame when Dark yers were finally forming their own air force.

    A Second was his name. And it was not the first time Ye Ci worked with him. She knew his style well. ¡°Gongzi You, approach from the enemy¡¯s rear, box their ck Drake in along with the first squadron. I want it in ASAP.¡±

    True to his namesake, A Second gave out short and concise instructions. This did not initially sit well with his fellow yers. But it was his insight and acute observation of a battle and his ability to react quickly to changes that had earned him his fame.

    He would never admit to anyone else, but he was nervous when Ye Ci was first ced under his squadron. She was at a height that he could never achieve. That made him doubt himself. He was unsure if he could simply order such a legend among legends around.

    But Ye Ci proved him wrong. Gongzi You, who seemed to be at a height so unapproachable, was able to work well with him and cooperated seamlessly with the rest of the squadron. That was also the first time he truly had respect for Gongzi You.

    ¡°Your job is to give out orders, while mine is to carry them out. It''s as simple as that.¡± Gongzi You had said to him. And it would stick to him for the rest of his gaming career.

    Ye Ci¡¯s words had given him the confidence that hecked back then.

    ¡°Acknowledged.¡± responded Ye Ci. She elerated towards the position indicated by A Second, and found an old friend riding on the ck Drake. It was wless Reflection, who had be one of the best aerial yer among the yers of Light.

    She was filled with envy as she eyed the glimmering equipment on the yer and his steed. No matter where and when, Ye Ci had always been an envious person. She would not allow anybody to have equipment better than hers. She could not tolerate such an insult.

    She nocked an arrow and fired it off at wless Reflection. But a ming red silhouette blocked the shot that would have otherwise been a fatal hit.

    Ye Ci¡¯s expression immediately darkened. <em>Why must he interfere when I¡¯m on a mission?</em> No matter how much she wanted to win, no matter how much she wanted to be the victor of their long rivalry, Ye Ci did not think the current situation best suited to be their arena.

    <em>Well, since you¡¯re already here¡­ </em>She knew that continuing with her mission would be impossible. There was no way she could disengage once Fleeting Time had caught up. She reported the situation to A Second, advising him to send a recement for her assassination attempt.

    ¡°Hey, are you trying to kill your husband?¡± Fleeting Time raised an eyebrow when Ye Ci immediately switched her target.

    Ye Ci rolled her eyes without acknowledging his words.

    But a Holy Dragon was not as fast as a Phoenix in the air, and with Fleeting Time¡¯s bonus speed equipment, Ye Ci could not catch up with him at all. It was an equipment that he snatched from Ye Ci when they were clearing a dungeon. She thought she had it in the bag when she rolled at 99, but Fleeting Time was able to secure it by rolling a 100.

    It seemed that Ye Ci was still gued by her bad luck no matter what she did.

    Ye Ci gritted her teeth at that thought, and fired off an arrow at Fleeting Time while simultaneouslyunching attacks on the Phoenix with her Holy Dragon. Unlike on the ground, Fleeting Time¡¯s movements were much more limited. It was harder for him to dodge her attacks.

    He immediately made the choice to flee.

    With his higher speed, he was able to outrun Ye Ci¡¯s steed in no time. This added up to the frustration of Ol¡¯ Six, who was unable to hit its opponent. Ye Ci began another flurry of attacks on Fleeting Time that reaped away arge amount of his HP.

    He immediately gulped down a bottle of Large Healing Potion just to keep himself from dying. But before Ye Ci could finish him off, Fleeting Time turned around and immediately fired a golden arrow at Ye Ci.

    With their close proximity, there was no way Ye Ci could avoid the hit. She pulled on Ol¡¯ Six¡¯s rein to avoid the rest of his attacks, but it was a close call.

    Fleeting Time took the opporunity to widen the gap between them. Despite his Phoenix¡¯s speed, itcked the agility of a Holy Dragon. This meant that Fleeting Time had to concentrate more on steering his steed.

    When he turned around to once again look at Ye Ci, she saw her readying to let loose yet another arrow. A smile appeared on his lips as he took aim as well.

 Chapter 466: Where It All Began

    Ye Ci stood alone in the starter vige.

    She had removed all her equipment, and was dressed in a starter¡¯s armor she purchased from a tailor in the starter vige. It might not be the same design, yet it still looked more or less the same.

    The feeling she had back then was gone, but she would have to make do. <em>Well I guess this is how it is</em>. She thought.

    Of course, she was still fixated on some of the more minor details. Something like the patterns on her boots, the length of her shirt, and¡­

    She tried her best to describe how her clothing looked back when she first started the game. And after 30 minutes of picking apart the details, the tailor finally lost her patience, ¡°We¡¯re no longer selling those, Adventurer. They¡¯re outdated.¡± she rolled her eyes at Ye Ci.

    There was nothing Ye Ci could do. She pursed her lips and settled with the closest thing she could get her hands on.

    The NPC let out a long sigh of relief when NPC walked out of her store. Business was not going well in the starter vige, but Ye Ci was still too much to deal with to the NPCs there.

    Ye Ci was happy with how she looked. She made her way to the spawn point, chose a spot, and closed her eyes. It was as if she had just spawned into the game.

    <em>Wait¡­ </em>A moment of self realization hit Ye Ci. <em>What am I doing?</em>

    She made her way to the end of the vige, where two graves sat in silence. One of the belonged to Tamra, while the other was where Andriel rested. She sat beside the two deceased Elves, with memories of the spots she passed by still in her mind, and she smiled.

    She pulled out an expensive bottle of wine from her inventory along with three cups.

    ¡°Long time no see, young one.¡± Tamra sat beside Ye Ci with a smile, while Andriel red at her.

    He stood silently and unflinchingly beside the duo, as if he was a tree. Ye Ci wa not surprised by his reaction.

    She toasted Tamra, and bumped her cup against Andriel¡¯s gravestone, before downing the content of her cup, ¡°Andriel, I know what you¡¯re thinking.¡±

    The only response she received was a snort from the spirit of the Elf.

    Tamra said with a smile, ¡°We¡¯re both dead, my old friend. The living is the one who should decide where their paths lead. You have your faith, but the young one has her own choice to make. Nothing else matters.¡±

    Andriel finally relented after a long moment of silence. With a nod, he sat with the duo with a sigh. It was obvious that he was wary of Ye Ci.

    ¡°I¡¯m here to share a toast with you guys.¡± Ye Ci smiled, ¡°Even if we are to be enemies tomorrow, we¡¯re all friends today.¡±

    Tamra nodded, and looked at Andriel, who was still caught between his faith and Ye Ci¡¯s choice. In the end, he lifted his cup and gave Ye Ci a toast, ¡°I might not like your choice, but I respect you as a person. Let us drink.¡±

    Drinking with NPCs, especially those from the opposing faction, was something that brought greatfort to Ye Ci. Nothing else other than their friendship was involved. She was lucky that the starter vige was empty, or she would quickly find herself bing an exhibit.

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be a busy person.¡± Tamra looked up at the dark sky, ¡°Where did you find the time to drink with us?¡±

    Even if he was not made up of flesh and blood, Ye Ci could still feel his gaze piercing into her soul when he stared at her, ¡°Why are you here today?¡±

    ¡°Nostalgia.¡±

    ¡°Nostalgia?¡± Andriel who was silent spoke up, ¡°This is something that we, the deceasedment on. What happened to you?¡±

    Ye Ci offered him a smile. It was something that Andriel and his friend could neverprehend, ¡°Let¡¯s just drink.¡±

    And drinking seemed to be the right choice.

    Ye Ci bade her farewell with the two NPCs when sunlight returned once again to thend. The only thing that was left was the three empty cups and the two graves.

    She wanted to fly around the ces she had been to in the game, but she chose this spot instead.

    She did not know why she came to this ce. But it felt like it was a journey she had to take. Was it for nostalgia¡¯s sake? Was it to say goodbye? It was something that she did not have an answer to. But she knew that she had to do it.

    After casting onst nce at the graves, Ye Ci emptied the poured herself another cup of wint.

    ¡°I¡¯ve finally returned to this ce after so many years. The first time I was here was probably during my past life. I can barely remember what happened back then. It¡¯s something that¡¯s so distant. Is this all a dream?¡±

    Her voice was soft. These were things that she dared not tell a single living soul.

    ¡°Ahhh¡­ What a realistic dream. I was such a horrible person back then, weren''t I?¡± sheughed, ¡°I got my second chance. We all have regrets, but how many of us have the chance to act on them?¡±

    She raised her cup to the sky, ¡°Whatever deity you are, I thank you for giving me a second chance. I thank you for letting me correct whatever stupid mistakes I made. This is the best gift I¡¯ve ever received in my entire life.¡±

    Ye Ci gulped down the content of her cup and threw it aside, ¡°It¡¯s all so unreal. Thank you for allowing me to reconcile with my parents. Thank you for letting me save my cousin. And thank you for allowing me to rediscover friendship. I thought achieving all these was already the best oue in this second life,¡± Ye Ci smiled, ¡°But you led me to him too. You led me to a dream that I wasn¡¯t able to fulfill.¡±

    The sun continued to rise, covering thend with its golden ze, bring warmth and light to all corners of the world.

    ¡°Tomorrow will be a better day.¡± Ye Ci looked up into the sky and took in a deep breath.

    She had returned to the beginning of her journey.. <em>No matter what happens next</em>, she thought to herself, <em>through joys or hardship, I¡¯ll never forget this ce, where it all began.</em>

    <em>Ye Ci, you can do it. </em>

    <em>Ye Ci, all will be well. </em>

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