《Apocalypse: Everyone Levels Up, I Return to the Time Before the Server Opened》 Chapter 1 - A Mysterious Game is About to Open Chapter 1: A Mysterious Game is About to Open ¡°22:15:09¡­¡± ¡°22:15:08¡­¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡°The countdown is almost over!¡± ¡°You still haven¡¯t figured out what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°The experts say it might be an alien invasion countdown.¡± ¡°Three-Body? Sophon? What kind of cosmic joke is this?!¡± ¡°Regardless, everyone should prepare in advance. Food, water, weapons¡­¡± ¡­ The internet exploded! All over the world, endless speculation about the ¡®countdown in our minds¡¯ kept emerging! Every bizarre theory imaginable! TV, news, even variety shows were discussing it! ¡­ Hanxia Nation. Anlong City, Tianhe Province. Inside a small house. Ye Qiu sat dumbfounded on the bed for a long while. His eyes finally cleared. ¡°2028¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve been reborn?! ¡°Back to twenty years ago! ¡°That damned thing hasn¡¯t launched yet! ¡°The countdown hasn¡¯t hit zero yet!¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s breathing became rapid. His face shifted between crying and laughing. His memories were still stuck in 2048. The moment Earth was destroyed. The moment humanity went extinct! As his thoughts contracted, his emotions gradually calmed. ¡°When the countdown ends, all of humanity will be able to freely enter and exit the ¡®City of Trials.¡¯ Or rather, enter a game world! ¡°At first, people thought it was just a real virtual game, something to play in their spare time, killing monsters, leveling up, and reviving after death. ¡°But¡­ ten days later, the game would shut down immediately, and everything people obtained inside ¡ª levels, equipment, skills, pets¡­ everything except revival ¡ª would transfer into the real world! ¡°However, where there is fortune, there is disaster! The monsters from the game came out as well! ¡°In the game, players charged forward fearlessly, throwing themselves at the monsters, because even if they died, they could respawn! ¡°But when everything became reality, the monsters remained just as ferocious. ¡°But the players¡­ only had one life!¡± ¡°If they died, they were truly dead!¡± Ye Qiu recalled the past. In his previous life, he, like most people, drifted through the countdown without much thought. He entered the game cluelessly, killed monsters and leveled up aimlessly, and never took the ¡®game¡¯ seriously. Aside from the first day spent immersed in the game, for the remaining days, his average playtime was at most one hour per day. Because the time ratio between reality and the game was 1:10. One hour in reality equaled ten hours in the game. One day in reality equaled ten days in the game. Ten days in reality equaled one hundred days in the game. When ten days passed in reality, the game shut down instantly! People were still in a daze. Then came the roars of monsters, waking everyone up! In that moment, people finally realized tha teverything they had gained in the game had transferred into reality! And the monsters from the game had arrived in the real world! Everyone regretted it! Including Ye Qiu. At that time, he was only level 5! And most people were only around level 10. Some purely casual players had nothing but basic gear and were level ¡°0!¡± Those people broke down completely! Some nearly committed suicide on the spot! ¡°I can¡¯t let history repeat itself!¡± Ye Qiu took a deep breath. He immediately got up, grabbed his phone, and rushed to the nearest supermarket! He had to stock up! Buy enough food and water! Then spend as much time in the game as possible! Killing monsters! Leveling up! Before the shutdown, he had to become absolutely invincible! The supermarket was crowded. People were discussing wildly, speculating about everything. They were worried about the apocalypse, a zombie outbreak, an alien invasion, and more. Stocking up on supplies, just in case! Luckily, supplies were still abundant. Ye Qiu wasn¡¯t picky. Bread, instant noodles, bottled water, compressed biscuits, ready-made meals¡­ He only needed to last ten days! Moreover, after ten days, a global currency reset would happen. Old currencies would be rendered useless. All transactions would use in-game currency instead. Monsters would also drop money. Ye Qiu borrowed as much as he could from every available platform. It was a total of around 300,000. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. His parents had passed away long ago, leaving him only a residential house. He had no family obligations. He only needed to take care of himself! He hired a helper to move all the supplies back home. Once everything was in place, Ye Qiu locked himself in and waited for the game to launch! His phone rang. Ye Qiu glanced at it. It was a message from his class group chat. [Class President Su Xintong: @Everyone The school has organized a Mutual Aid Group. If you have no one to rely on and are uncertain about what will happen when the countdown ends, you can come to school and join. We have plenty of food and water.]. Seeing this message, Ye Qiu felt reassured. Everything was unfolding exactly as it had in his past life! Someone quickly responded. [Fang Yifei: @Class President Su Xintong, me, me, me! I want to join!].[Class President Su Xintong: @Fang Yifei, there¡¯s a 500 yuan entry fee.].[Fang Yifei: Huh? We have to pay?].[Class President Su Xintong: The Mutual Aid Group spent a lot on food and water. We can¡¯t just let people eat and drink for free, plus we provide shelter.].[Class Rep Chen Ziheng: @Everyone The class president is right. We have to pay for this stuff; we can¡¯t expect the school to provide for free! Thumbs up, class prez! [Heart emoji]].[Ma Pengfei: Are there lots of girls? If so, I might consider joining.].[Zhang Chao: If the world¡¯s ending, we should just enjoy life while we can. Wasting time on this is pointless!].[Tian Kang: Heh, I¡¯m not afraid of the apocalypse! My family owns a convenience store. We¡¯ve already locked up, so we can survive inside for a year or two no problem!].[Tong Lei: I¡¯m hunkering down in a rental with my girlfriend. As long as it¡¯s not a zombie outbreak, we¡¯ll be fine!].[Xu Jiajing: Everyone, stay positive. Maybe it¡¯s just a prank.]. The once-quiet class group became lively again. Ye Qiu was a loner by nature. And after experiencing the horrors of his past life¡¯s catastrophe, he no longer felt joy or sorrow. Looking at these familiar yet distant names, his mind was filled with past memories. Class President Su Xintong had died on the first day after the shutdown. He remembered it vividly, because everyone had gathered at school for safety. Ye Qiu had been in the shower at the time. Then¡ª The entire school building trembled! Walls collapsed. The boys¡¯ and girls¡¯ shower rooms were smashed open. Ye Qiu saw, in terror, Su Xintong¡¯s naked body impaled against the wall by a giant hornet¡¯s stinger. Blood dripped from her mouth. Her eyes wide open, filled with fear and a hint of confusion. Then, she stopped breathing. Dying tragically right before Ye Qiu¡¯s eyes! Chapter 2 - Hidden Rewards Chapter 2: Hidden Rewards [Ye Qiu: @Class President Su Xintong, 10 days from now, make sure not to take a bath in the girls¡¯ dormitory shower at school.]. Ye Qiu left this message in the group chat and tagged Su Xintong. It was just a small gesture, nothing more. Whether she believed him or not, whether she listened or not, it had nothing to do with him. As for everyone else, Ye Qiu couldn¡¯t care less. He could never forget. After the game servers shut down, the monsters descended into the real world. The ugliness of human nature was laid bare! Between people, there was no longer ¡°trust¡± or ¡°cooperation.¡± Greed, malice, filth, plundering¡­ Every terrible thing imaginable, Ye Qiu had seen it all! Without hesitation, he closed the group chat. But what he didn¡¯t know was, because of his message, the once mildly active chat exploded into chaos! [Zhang Chao: What¡¯s going on? What¡¯s going on?].[Ma Pengfei: @Ye Qiu, please elaborate. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m interested in Su Xintong taking a bath, I¡¯m just interested in the act of bathing itself! [smirk.jpg]].[Fang Yifei: ??! [confused.jpg]].[Class President Su Xintong: @Ye Qiu, what do you mean? Are you trying to be a pervert? You better explain yourself clearly!].[Class Rep Chen Ziheng: @Ye Qiu, are you sick? A grown man bringing up a girl¡¯s showering habits in a group chat, don¡¯t you find that disgusting and sleazy? As a fellow man, I feel ashamed for you!].[Chen Ziheng: @Class Monitor Su Xintong, don¡¯t even bother with this cowardly keyboard warrior. He¡¯s just a typical internet troll. It¡¯s not worth getting angry over someone like him. By the way, class monitor, where do we pay the registration fee? I¡¯m planning to sign up and head to school soon! When we¡¯re together, unity is strength!].[Zhang Chao: I thought I was already the most carefree and reckless guy around, but damn, this guy just outdid me. He actually dared to tease the class monitor!]. Su Xintong wasn¡¯t just the class monitor, she was also the school¡¯s top beauty. Among the entire student body, there were probably only three girls who could even come close to matching her looks and figure. That¡¯s why Ye Qiu¡¯s words sent shockwaves through the group! At the same time, many students were confused. ¡°Who even is this Ye Qiu?¡± ¡°Oh, that quiet guy in class. Pretty average in every way.¡± ¡°Probably got brainwashed by all those ¡®apocalypse¡¯ theories online and had a mental breakdown, which is why he¡¯s saying stuff like this.¡± ¡°Bullshit. He¡¯s just showing his true colors!¡± ¡°Saying something online suddenly means exposing your true self? I joke about eating poop all the time. Does that mean I¡¯d actually do it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tried it before. It¡¯s not easy to swallow.¡± ¡°???!!!¡± ¡°Damn!¡± ¡°Bro, I was eating! What the hell!¡± ¡ª 00:00:03. 00:00:02. 00:00:01. Finally, the countdown hit zero. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At that exact moment¡­ All around the world, every single person heard a sudden mechanical voice echo in their minds. Different countries. Different languages. Yet, in this instant, everyone understood it perfectly! ¡°The Trial City has been activated. Do you wish to enter?¡± The voice fell silent. Almost everyone¡¯s first reaction was one of shock, confusion, and disbelief. Except for one person. Before the mechanical voice had even finished speaking, Ye Qiu had already responded instantly, ¡°Enter the game. Confirm DNA. Bind identity information. Select the Swordsman class. Character name: ¡®One Leaf Knows Autumn.¡¯ Keep my appearance unchanged. Let the system allocate my attribute points freely!¡± He was in a pitch-black space. His consciousness condensed into a physical form. Even before he finished speaking, The system¡¯s voice finally caught up, stuttering: ¡°Confirming DNA¡­ Binding identity¡­ Entering the g¡ª¡± The system¡¯s voice lagged for a moment. Then, after a brief silence, it suddenly continued, now strangely filled with emotion, ¡°The system has allocated your attribute points.¡± At the start of the game, no matter the class, all players received the same base attribute points. Strength, Agility, Constitution, Spirit, and Luck. Each starting with 50 points. Players could distribute them manually or let the system handle it. Ye Qiu chose system allocation for a reason¡­ [Ding! Since you are the first player to let the system allocate attribute points, you have triggered a hidden reward.]. [Ding! Your initial attribute points have been doubled!]. Hearing this, Ye Qiu, who had been holding his breath, finally exhaled. ¡°It worked! The rumors from my past life were true!¡± In his past life, someone had posted on the forums that if a player chose system allocation at the start, they would trigger a hidden reward. Their initial attribute points would double from 50 to 100! However, this hidden reward could only be triggered once. Only the very first player to choose system allocation would receive this benefit! Ye Qiu immediately checked his character panel: [Character: One Leaf Knows Autumn]. [Class: Swordsman]. [Subclass: None]. [Level: 0]. [HP: 100]. [MP: 100]. [Attack: 20]. [Defense: 20]. [Movement Speed: 10]. [Attributes, Strength: 10 (Affects attack power)]. [Constitution: 10 (Affects HP)]. [Agility: 10 (Affects movement speed)]. [Spirit: 10 (Affects MP)]. [Luck: 10 (Special attribute)]. [Fame: 0 (Tied to world achievements)]. [Active Skill, Slash (Lv1): 0/500 EXP, increases attack power by 10 when used.]. [Special Skills: None]. [Pets: None]. [Guild: None]. [Available Stat Points: 50]. All stats were the same as his previous life. The only difference was the ¡°Available Stat Points.¡± This was the hidden reward! His initial points had doubled! The system had given him 50 extra points! Ye Qiu¡¯s face lit up with excitement. For a moment, he felt like he was dreaming. Just to make sure, he pinched himself. The game¡¯s pain sensitivity was identical to real life. So, it hurt! Not a dream! ¡°Allocate all 50 points into Luck!¡± Ye Qiu wasn¡¯t arrogant. Even with a second chance, the early game was nothing more than a warm-up. This reward alone wasn¡¯t enough to change the future! Soon, the extra points were used up. They were all added to ¡°Luck.¡± This stat could not be increased by leveling up or killing monsters. The only ways to improve it were through free stat points or special encounters. In short, it was extremely, extremely difficult to raise. In his past life, no one ever paid attention to ¡°Luck.¡± Most dismissed it as useless, an unnecessary gimmick. Until, a casual player posted on the forums. He had dumped most of his free stat points into ¡°Luck¡± and what happened next shocked everyone. He would randomly stumble upon spirit beasts. Fall off a cliff, only to discover an ancient tomb. Go to sleep, only to wake up surrounded by rare equipment. At first, no one believed him. They mocked and doubted. But then, more players followed his example and were stunned to realize that the stories were true! But by then, it was too late. Free stat points were incredibly hard to come by! Just as Ye Qiu finished adding his points, his Luck stat reached 60. And suddenly, the system¡¯s alert rang out loudly! Chapter 3 - Be the First to Enter the Game Chapter 3: Be the First to Enter the Game Ding! [Congratulations! Player ¡®One Leaf Knows Autumn¡¯ has surpassed 50 Luck points and triggered a hidden reward. You will receive a random skill.] Ding! [You have obtained the skill ¡®Heavenly Eye.¡¯] [[Heavenly Eye] (Active Skill): Upon activation, you can perceive all basic information of objects within your vision, uncover hidden traps, acquire unknown secrets, and detect concealed entities.] ¡°Whoa!¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s eyes widened the moment he heard the system notification. He was extremely familiar with this skill! In his past life, the ninth-ranked player on the leaderboard had this very skill, and it was unique worldwide! With this ability, that top-tier player could anticipate monster information, prepare in advance, and even identify other players¡¯ strengths and weaknesses. Some people disguised themselves as harmless nobodies, only to reveal their true sinister nature when the time was right. But with this skill, Ye Qiu could instantly see through their stats, exposing them completely! Character Panel [Name: One Leaf Knows Autumn] [Class: Swordsman] [Subclass: None] [Level: 0] [Health: 100] [Mana: 100] [Attack: 20] [Defense: 20] [Movement Speed: 10] Attributes: [Strength: 10] [Constitution: 10] [Agility: 10] [Spirit: 10] [Luck: 60 (Special Attribute)] [Fame: 0] Active Skills: [Slash (Lv.1): 0/500 XP. Increases attack power by 10 when used.] [Heavenly Eye (Lv.1): 0/5000 XP. Grants insight into all objects in view, reveals hidden traps, unveils unknown mysteries, and detects concealed entities.] [Special Skills: None] [Pets: None] [Guild: None] [Fixed Stat Points: 50] ¡°So¡­ this is what the first player to enter the game gets as their starting stats?¡± Ye Qiu felt an overwhelming urge to cry. In his past life, his initial stats had been completely average. Like most players, he had assumed the ¡®Trial City¡¯ was just a highly advanced, immersive virtual game implanted into their consciousness by some mysterious entity. A simple pastime. Nothing more. Because of this mindset, when the game shut down after ten days, his character data had been so weak that he couldn¡¯t even find himself on the rankings. After that, life had been nothing but endless struggle ¡ª hiding, fleeing, doing whatever it took just to survive. He could still remember vividly how those at the top of the leaderboard treated weaker players like disposable pawns, mere tools to be used and discarded. People like him, who were at the very bottom, were nothing but cannon fodder. Insignificant. Pathetic. A flash of light swept across his vision. Gradually, the world around him brightened. A fresh, crisp scent filled his nostrils. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [Player ¡®One Leaf Knows Autumn,¡¯ you are currently in Novice Village #0001. Once you reach level 10, you may leave and explore the wider world!] The system¡¯s voice echoed in his mind. Ye Qiu scanned his surroundings. For now, he was the only player present. But within minutes¡­ A series of white lights flickered into existence. As the light faded, one player after another materialized. They were all from the Hanxia Nation server. ¡°This game is insane! It¡¯s way too realistic!¡± ¡°Can someone let me touch them? No weird reason, I just want to see how real they feel.¡± ¡°I have a bold idea¡­¡± ¡°If I commit a crime in the game, will I get arrested in real life?¡± ¡°You¡¯d have to ask Zhang San about that one.¡± ¡°I heard there are in-game rules. Break them, and you get a red name. If that happens, you can¡¯t enter towns and will be struck by divine lightning every day until your name resets.¡± ¡°In-game time is 10 days for every 1 day outside. How does that work? Can we survive without eating or drinking?¡± ¡°Whoa! I found an insanely beautiful NPC!¡± More and more players kept appearing. Before long, the once-spacious village streets were completely packed! But Ye Qiu was already ahead of the crowd. He had gone straight to pick up quests. He remembered how, in his past life, players had to queue up just to receive missions! That was also why so many casual players existed in the game. Rather than wasting time waiting for quests, many chose to simply explore and enjoy the experience. A small but crucial detail: Every new player was automatically equipped with a set of basic gear and a simple, unenchanted linen outfit. The starting equipment depended on one¡¯s chosen class. As a Swordsman, Ye Qiu¡¯s gear included: Peachwood Sword (Beginner Equipment): +5 Attack Chainmail (Beginner Equipment): +5 Defense Cloth Shoes (Beginner Equipment): +2 Movement Speed Before long, Ye Qiu located the first quest-giving NPC. Unlike other games, where village chiefs were depicted as frail, elderly men, this NPC was much more refined and lively. It was almost like a real person. Or rather¡­ this world was not just a game. In ten days, everything within this world would manifest into reality, including the NPCs. ¡°Excuse me, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?¡± Ye Qiu asked respectfully. In his past life, he had never gotten the chance to interact with NPCs in the Novice Village. Simply because there were too many players! It had been impossible to get close. The NPC before him was an old man who appeared to be around seventy or eighty years old. His hair and beard were snow-white, but his complexion was youthful and radiant, without a single wrinkle. Leaning against the doorway of a small house, he casually sipped from a wine flask, occasionally reciting poetry. There was an air of elegance and freedom about him. Ye Qiu activated Heavenly Eye to inspect the NPC. [Name: Elder Xu] [Class: Village Chief] [Subclass: Brewer] [Level: 10] Upon hearing Ye Qiu¡¯s voice, Elder Xu glanced at him through half-lidded, slightly intoxicated eyes. A strange glint flickered within them. Muttering under his breath, he said, ¡°The Undying Clan has arrived¡­¡± A moment of silence passed. Then, Elder Xu straightened up and said casually, ¡°My wine is almost gone. I need to brew a new batch. This wine is a rare tonic, and I have nearly all the necessary ingredients. However, I¡¯m missing one crucial component, tiger whips.¡± At the same time, the system notification appeared in Ye Qiu¡¯s mind. [Elder Xu has given you a quest: Obtain 20 tiger whips and deliver them to him. Do you accept?] ¡°Of course!¡± Ye Qiu answered immediately. But he didn¡¯t leave. Elder Xu raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is there something else?¡± Recalling a strategy he had read in his past life¡¯s forums, Ye Qiu took a deep breath. Then, keeping his expression solemn, he spoke in a slow, deliberate tone. Chapter 4 - I, as a Reincarnator, Have My Own Strategy! Chapter 4: I, as a Reincarnator, Have My Own Strategy! ¡°The anomalies and demons of this world have awakened. A storm of bloodshed is about to engulf everything! ¡°If no one stands up now, if we don¡¯t grow stronger as quickly as possible, then in the future, humanity will be completely wiped out! ¡°Elder Xu, though I am still weak, I am willing to step forward and face the impending dangers! For the future of humanity, for a peaceful world, for personal honor, I, One Leaf Knows Autumn, am willing to lay down my life, to give everything I have, and fight against these anomalies and demons until my last drop of blood is shed!¡± His voice was passionate and resolute. His expression was serious and unyielding. He seemed to be surrounded by a radiant aura, exuding a presence that commanded respect. These words, normally, they would only be encountered after leaving the novice village and heading to the larger cities. In his past life, a player from the novice village had exploited this information gap, thriving in the village, reaping countless benefits. Eventually, others caught on, and soon, a flood of players began imitating him. The novice villages across the game were thrown into chaos. Ye Qiu remembered it vividly because he had tried it himself back then. Unfortunately, by the time he attempted it, it was already too late. The trick had been overused, and the NPCs no longer believed it. The intelligence of these NPCs was no different from real people. They weren¡¯t fools. ¡°I¡­ only wish to do my small part for humanity, to contribute what I can,¡± Ye Qiu added, his tone sorrowful yet firm. At first, Elder Xu had remained indifferent, casually sipping his wine. But as Ye Qiu¡¯s stirring words filled the air, the elder suddenly sat up straighter. His wine flask slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground. Finally, he stood up completely, his sharp eyes locking onto Ye Qiu. For a long moment, he simply stared. Then, he reached out and patted Ye Qiu¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Young man, though you are still weak, I can see a fire burning within you, blazing like the sun itself. Not bad, not bad¡­¡± [Elder Xu¡¯s favorability towards you has increased.] At the same time, Elder Xu pulled something out from his sleeve and solemnly handed it to Ye Qiu. ¡°This world is on the verge of collapse. We old folks can no longer set things right. The future¡­ will depend on young people like you!¡± Ye Qiu swiftly snatched the item from Elder Xu¡¯s hands before he could react. With tears in his eyes, Ye Qiu nodded firmly. ¡°Rest assured, Elder Xu. In the face of disaster, it is my duty to act!¡± Elder Xu felt something was slightly off, but upon seeing the emotion in Ye Qiu¡¯s eyes, he dismissed the thought. Instead, he simply urged Ye Qiu to grow stronger as soon as possible. Ye Qiu glanced at the item in his hands. [Novice Village Golden Pass (Special Item): Grants unrestricted access to all areas within the novice village and increases favorability with NPCs. (Note: Special items cannot be traded, dropped, or destroyed.)] ¡°Holy crap! A golden pass?!¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s breathing quickened. The novice village passes came in three types: Wooden Pass (Lowest Tier): Single-use, only for entering and exiting the village gate. Silver Pass (Mid-Tier): Usable ten times, grants access to most areas of the village but does not increase NPC favorability. Golden Pass (Highest Tier): Unlimited use, grants free access anywhere in the village, and boosts NPC favorability. NPC favorability was no trivial matter. With high favorability, one could receive high-level quests, special missions, and even hidden tasks. Moreover, interactions with NPCs could lead to unexpected developments. It was common knowledge that players were forbidden from easily touching NPCs. Violating this rule could trigger divine punishment ¡ª a lightning strike reducing them to ashes. Although players could resurrect, each death resulted in experience and equipment loss. Once experience dropped to zero, the system would automatically delete the account. When the game eventually shut down and its reality merged with the real world, such players would be utterly powerless. They were worse off than casual players, with the highest likelihood of dying. In his past life, some ill-mannered players had treated the game like any other, believing they could do whatever they pleased. In the end, most met a tragic fate. Those who survived often wished they hadn¡¯t. Additionally, each novice village only had one golden pass, making it incredibly rare and valuable. Ye Qiu clipped the golden pass to his waist and confidently walked into the village. The village paths were wide, with houses lined neatly on either side. Some villagers were even engaged in business, such as the blacksmith shop near the entrance. Ye Qiu headed straight for it. The blacksmith was a burly man with a muscular frame. Every time he hammered the metal, the muscles on his bronze-colored body rippled like waves. Not only did he exude overwhelming power, but his movements also carried an artistic elegance. Ye Qiu activated Heavenly Eye to inspect him. [Character: Zhang Tie (Blacksmith)] [Class: None] [Subclass: Forgemaster] [Level: 10¡¿ ¡°Uncle, do you need any help?¡± Ye Qiu eagerly approached, feeling the heat of the forge wash over him. This game had 100% realism. Zhang Tie, the blacksmith, paused his work and glanced at Ye Qiu. He was initially surprised, wondering how Ye Qiu had entered the village. But upon noticing the golden pass at his waist, his doubts vanished. The villagers trusted Elder Xu completely. If Elder Xu granted someone the golden pass, it meant unquestionable approval. [Blacksmith Zhang Tie¡¯s favorability towards you has increased.] ¡°Heh, kid, you¡¯re still too weak to help with much, but¡­¡± Zhang Tie began. Before he could finish, a system notification appeared. [Blacksmith Zhang Tie has issued a quest: Mine 10 iron ores and deliver them to Zhang Tie. Accept?] ¡°Accept!¡± The moment Ye Qiu accepted, another notification popped up. [Your favorability with Blacksmith Zhang Tie has reached 70. You have triggered a hidden reward.] [Blacksmith Zhang Tie has taught you the Mining Skill. Would you like to learn it?] ¡°Yes!¡± Ye Qiu was overjoyed. He knew that aside from favorability, the biggest factor behind these special rewards was his exceptional Luck stat. Of course, Mining wasn¡¯t exactly a rare skill. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Most players would learn it before leaving the novice village. But right now, the game had only been running for a little over ten minutes! Being one step ahead meant always staying ahead. And this seemingly ordinary quest¡­ held deeper secrets. As a reincarnator, Ye Qiu was already well-versed in the hidden mechanics. This time, he would not miss a single opportunity! Chapter 5 - Widening the Gap Against Billions of Players Chapter 5: Widening the Gap Against Billions of Players At the moment when Ye Qiu accepted the quest, other players who had ¡°entered the game¡± had now been assigned to various novice villages one after another. ¡°So after all that suspense, the countdown in my mind was actually for a game?¡± ¡°Damn it! I spent all my savings building an underground shelter and stockpiling supplies to last for years. Now it¡¯s all for nothing!¡± ¡°Hahaha, I told you nothing was going to happen. Some people just love fear-mongering and making a fuss over nothing!¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky. I really thought the apocalypse was coming, so I gathered my courage and killed my neighbor¡¯s annoying barking poodle. No time to chat, there¡¯s a police car outside¡­¡± ¡°Even though nothing bad happened, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s still pretty weird that a virtual game suddenly appeared in our minds?¡± ¡°What¡¯s so weird about it? I was eating Yunnan mushrooms while listening to you guys talk, and I even saw subtitles.¡± ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s the big deal?¡± ¡°Could people from centuries ago have imagined the internet, which lets us know everything without leaving home? This might just be a secret chip implanted by world leaders, allowing everyone to play games. Or maybe it¡¯s a special virus, like poisonous mushrooms, causing mass hallucinations!¡± Although most people had entered the game, a good number of them quickly logged out, returning to reality. After all, a game was just a game. Reality still demand living. So, offline discussions began spreading across major forums and websites, where people debated and analyzed the sudden emergence of the game in their minds. Inside the game, there was also an in-game forum. Players could control it through their thoughts or use voice commands, gestures, and other movements within the game to interact with it. On the in-game forums, besides discussing the mysterious appearance of the game in their minds, most players were talking about the game¡¯s actual content. ¡°What the hell kind of game is this? NPCs can only serve one player at a time! And you have to line up! If you don¡¯t, they¡¯ll literally kick you out, and your reputation with them drops! If your reputation is too low, you won¡¯t be able to take on quests at all!¡± ¡°These monsters are ridiculously strong!¡± ¡°Tell me about it!¡± ¡°I actually got bitten to death by a rabbit. Can you believe it?!¡± ¡°Ahhh, this is so frustrating! There¡¯s an old NPC by the village entrance, but you need to be level 5 and have a pass just to get in!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting in line for three hours!¡± ¡°How many people are in a single nocive village?¡± ¡°Not sure about other countries, but a friend of mine who analyzes data estimated that there are 3,000 novice villages in our country. That means each village has nearly 500,000 players!¡± ¡°Ughhh¡­ If I escape the country in-game, people won¡¯t call me a traitor, right?¡± ¡°Forget it. Foreign forums are also complaining. They have fewer novice villages, so each one still has about 500,000 players.¡± ¡°What about the smaller countries? Their total population isn¡¯t even that high!¡± ¡°Haha, smaller countries were automatically merged into nearby nations. All of Europe is counted as a single country in the game.¡± ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t escape then. That actually makes me feel better.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s a fun fact: This game has nearly 100% realism. Why not just enjoy life as a casual player?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ Hehe, I was just with my girlfriend in the game¡­ Hehe¡­¡± ¡°Screw these stupid quests, I¡¯m done!¡± ¡°Huh? I just saw a player walk out from inside the novice village?!¡± ¡°You must be seeing things. You need to be at least level 5 and have a pass to enter and exit the village. The game has only been live for a few hours, no way someone got out already.¡± ¡°Maybe I imagined it¡­¡± ¡ª Novice Village No. 0001. Ye Qiu walked out of the village, completely satisfied. Fortunately, there were too many people. Some might have noticed him leaving the village, but because of the crowd, they just assumed they were mistaken. After all, the game had just launched. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Everyone was still wearing basic white gear and stuck at level 0! How could someone have already widened the gap between themselves and tens of billions of players in such a short time? After leaving, Ye Qiu checked his quests. [Village Chief¡¯s Quest: Obtain 20 tiger whips and deliver them to Village Chief Xu Laobo. (Level 1¨C5, Normal Quest)] [Blacksmith Zhang Tie¡¯s Quest: Mine 10 pieces of iron ore and deliver them to Blacksmith Zhang Tie. (Level 1¨C5, Normal Quest)] [Herbalist Shopkeeper¡¯s Quest: Collect 10 stalks of Breathroot and deliver them to the Herbalist Shopkeeper. (Level 1¨C5, Normal Quest)] By accepting the third quest, Ye Qiu also learned the ¡°Gathering¡± skill. Additionally, it was worth mentioning that each of these quests had a level range and a classification as a ¡°Normal Quest.¡± The level range was self-explanatory. Higher-level quests gave better rewards but also came with greater difficulty. For example, a level 1¨C5 quest would typically involve fighting level 1¨C5 monsters. If a player tried to take on a higher-level quest without being strong enough, the failure rate would skyrocket! Then there was the ¡°Normal Quest¡± label, which indicated the grade of the quest. As a reincarnated player and someone who had lived through a full lifetime, Ye Qiu knew this system inside out. Quests were divided into four tiers. The lowest, first tier ¡ª Normal Quests. The second tier ¡ª Rare Quests. The third tier ¡ª Epic Quests. The fourth and highest tier ¡ª Legendary Quests! This was what truly determined a quest¡¯s difficulty! Of course, there were also Special Quests. But those were rare occurrences, so they weren¡¯t worth mentioning for now. ¡°These may seem like three Normal Quests, but in reality, two of them are actually Rare Quests!¡± Ye Qiu recalled information from his past life. Because he had entered the novice village so early, he had interacted with Blacksmith Zhang Tie and the Herbalist Shopkeeper ahead of others. These two were no ordinary NPCs! In his previous life, a player who maxed out their reputation with them became sworn brothers with Zhang Tie and was recognized as a sibling by the Herbalist Shopkeeper. At last, that player was able to receive Rare Quests! One required finding the black iron Zhang Tie had lost. The other required recovering the stolen herbal recipe of the Herbalist Shopkeeper. Normally, with Ye Qiu¡¯s current reputation with them, he wouldn¡¯t have been eligible for these Rare Quests. But, the game¡¯s realism allowed a unique approach. You could complete a quest before even accepting it! In his past life, the player who maxed out reputation never actually completed the quests. Instead, two casual players had stumbled upon the black iron and herbal recipe while wandering around. They proudly shared their experience on the in-game forum. ¡°This time, I¡¯ll seize every single opportunity to grow stronger!¡± Ye Qiu murmured to himself. Chapter 6 - I’m Not That Idiot Chapter 6: I¡¯m Not That Idiot Ye Qiu arrived in the wilderness. Then, he saw it. A dense crowd of players surrounding the novice village, especially in areas where monsters spawned, completely occupied! However¡­ ¡°Damn! That hurts like hell!¡± ¡°Ah! I¡¯m gonna die!¡± ¡°Shit, shit, shit! This game is insane! Limbs can actually get severed, and I can even smell the blood!¡± ¡°This is way too hard!¡± ¡°Anyone want to team up? We need a group to take down a single rabbit! One-on-one is hopeless!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll team up! Let¡¯s at least hit level five first!¡± ¡°Team up my ass! I haven¡¯t even seen a monster yet, and someone already stole my kill!¡± There were too many players, too few monsters, and the battles were downright terrifying! Limbs flying! Blood splattering! Even scenes of players being devoured! ¡°I quit! I¡¯m done with this!¡± ¡°This game isn¡¯t meant for humans!¡± ¡°It¡¯s disgusting!¡± Some players started logging off. Not everyone could handle a game this brutal. The realism was just too intense! Even the pain was replicated at a 1:1 ratio with real life! The only difference was that death in the game meant you could respawn! Watching players log out, Ye Qiu felt a sense of familiarity. In his past life, he had been the same. One scratch from a monster, and a chunk of flesh was gone! The pain was truly excruciating! As a result, he developed a fear of combat, resolving to be a casual player instead. Now that he thought about it, this game might have been designed to train people: to adapt to pain, to overcome fear, and to prepare for the impending apocalypse! But only a select few had the courage to face this challenge! Ye Qiu glanced at a nearby rabbit. It bared its fangs, Revealing a set of razor-sharp teeth like a beast! [Common Monster: Little Demon Rabbit] [Level: 1] [HP: 100] [Preference: Various vegetables] His Heavenly Eye skill provided real-time monster info. At that moment, three players rushed at the rabbit. The Little Demon Rabbit kicked off the ground, leaping two meters into the air! Then, it dove straight for one player¡¯s face. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°AHHHH!!¡± With a blood-curdling scream, the player¡¯s face was shredded beyond recognition! The other two players were terrified and immediately fled! Ye Qiu watched from afar. This game didn¡¯t just test strength, it tested courage. It tested mentality. The three of them could have easily killed the rabbit, but fear led to one dying and two retreating! Regaining his focus, Ye Qiu didn¡¯t linger. First, the area was too crowded. If he stayed, he wouldn¡¯t even get a chance to fight monsters. Second, None of his three quests had anything to do with the Little Demon Rabbit. Lastly, according to his past life¡¯s memory, the item needed for a hidden quest¡­ was located further out! Without hesitation, he set off. On the way, he encountered many other players. Men and women alike, especially young ones. But before long, screams rang out. Those players were slaughtered by monsters. [Level 2 Pine Tree Monster¡­ Level 2 Field Mouse Monster¡­ Level 3¡­] As he walked, Ye Qiu constantly used Heavenly Eye to check monster details. This was his unique advantage! [Level 5 Lynx] Suddenly, he spotted something. He halted his steps. ¡°This is the place!¡± His gaze locked onto a nearby hillside. There, a dozen lynxes roamed about. Some lay lazily. Some stretched. Others jumped around like house cats. However, this was just a facade! Ye Qiu cautiously approached. Following his past-life strategy, ¡°I need to lure these lynxes away first. ¡°At the top of the hill, under that big tree, there¡¯s a buried treasure chest! ¡°And inside¡­ ¡°Lies the missing prescription from the Herbalist Shopkeeper!¡± Taking a deep breath, Ye Qiu carefully advanced. There were fewer players in this area, but still some scattered around. One of them, a sharp-eyed female player, noticed Ye Qiu and exclaimed, ¡°That guy is insane! So many player corpses up there, and he¡¯s still going?! Alone?!¡± Beside her, her boyfriend scoffed and said knowingly, ¡°Get used to it. I¡¯ve played hundreds of games, and I¡¯ve seen tons of dumbasses like him. Reckless, brainless idiots who don¡¯t know when to quit.¡± The girl blinked. ¡°But he¡¯s so brave. Everyone else teams up, but he¡¯s going solo.¡± The guy frowned. ¡°Brave? He¡¯s just a dumbass trying to show off. Watch, in a minute, he¡¯ll get mauled and scream like a baby!¡± Just as he finished speaking, his expression froze. Around them, more gasps of astonishment echoed. Dozens of players had locked their eyes on Ye Qiu, waiting to see him get torn apart. They just wanted a good laugh. After all, dying in the game wasn¡¯t permanent. Watching others suffer was entertaining. Some timid players covered their eyes. They peeked through their fingers, afraid to witness the gore. However, the expected scene never happened. Instead, Ye Qiu moved like a slippery eel, dodging lynx attacks with near-impossible precision. And then, something bizarre occurred. Behind him, a dozen lynxes chased relentlessly, as if he were their leader! ¡°Holy shit! What the hell is this?!¡± ¡°He¡¯s kiting Level 5 monsters?¡± ¡°Is this Temple Run?!¡± ¡°Amazing!¡± Players watching were stunned. They had no idea what he was trying to do, but visually, it was exhilarating! It was absolutely shocking! ¡°You see? I told you he¡¯s awesome! He¡¯s not dumb at all!¡± the female player excitedly said. Her boyfriend was frustrated. Grumbling, he muttered, ¡°Fine, I admit he¡¯s brave. But he¡¯s still an idiot. Kiting a bunch of Level 5 monsters? What else could he be?¡± The girl wanted to argue, but suddenly, her boyfriend made a move. Running toward the hillside, he grinned. ¡°This dumbass lured the monsters away. Now¡¯s the perfect time to loot whatever¡¯s up there!¡± ¡°Be careful,¡± the girl warned. ¡°Relax! I¡¯m not an idiot! The monsters are gone, so it¡¯s totally safe!¡± Just as he spoke¡­ The once-quiet hillside suddenly erupted. A lynx emerged, towering at over three meters tall! Standing on two legs, Its monstrous face grinned menacingly, fixating on the approaching player. ¡°Uh¡­ Ahhh!¡± The guy barely had time to scream before the lynx swiped its massive claw. [-100] A bright red number floated above his head. At the same time, his skull exploded like a watermelon! Chapter 7 - Using Slide to Kill the FIrst BOSS! Chapter 7: Using Slide to Kill the FIrst BOSS! Ye Qiu relied on his knowledge from his previous life¡¯s strategy guide. He exploited the weakness of the Lynx Monster ¡ª its fear of water. Time and time again, he waded into the waterways, dodging attacks, and successfully lured the lynx monsters away. There was a rule in the Trial City: If a monster wasn¡¯t killed, then no new monsters would respawn in its original territory for the rest of the day! Before long, Ye Qiu returned to the hillside where the lynx monsters had originally roamed. At a glance, he saw several freshly slain player corpses lying on the ground. Player corpses also required a full day to despawn. Sometimes, players would even find multiple instances of their own bodies in one place! Of course, if a corpse was eaten by a monster, then nothing would be left behind. Ye Qiu chuckled. ¡°These players¡­ Did they really think that just because I lured away the lynx monsters, this hillside would be completely safe?¡± His gaze shifted up the slope. A massive lynx monster was baring its fangs and gnawing on a player¡¯s corpse! With a quick use of Heavenly Eye, its information appeared: [BOSS-Level Monster: Giant Lynx King] [Level: 10] [HP: 1000] [Skill: Dominant Body Attack] [Preference: All kinds of meat] Ye Qiu didn¡¯t act recklessly. He first observed his surroundings and noticed that the player group, originally numbering over ten, had dwindled to just a few stragglers. Players weren¡¯t fools. They knew this was already a high-level monster zone. Rather than throwing themselves to their deaths, it was better to find lower-level monsters to fight. Casual players? They wouldn¡¯t even consider staying here. There was nothing scenic about this place anyway. After about half an hour, when no other players were in sight, Ye Qiu crouched low and made his move. His palm was drenched in sweat as he gripped his longsword. His mind raced, recalling the strategy guide from his past life about the Giant Lynx King. ¡°In my previous life, a player did solo-kill this BOSS¡­ but that player was already Level 5. Meanwhile, I¡¯m still a total noob with zero gear!¡± He hesitated. ¡°Maybe¡­ I should level up first?¡± But then, he clenched his teeth. Fortune favors the bold! If a Level 5 player could kill a Level 10 BOSS, then clearly, level didn¡¯t matter! What mattered was terrain, the lynx¡¯s weakness, and a bit of luck! S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Finally, Ye Qiu arrived before the Giant Lynx King. The Giant Lynx King froze for a moment. Then, it flew into a rage! A mere human dared to charge straight at it? Courting death! The next moment, golden light shimmered across the lynx¡¯s entire body. A glowing aura enveloped it. This was its skill: Dominant Body Attack! This skill granted it an invincible state, unable to be stunned, knocked back, grabbed, or toppled! Even when attacked, it would not flinch, nor would its attacks be interrupted! A truly overpowered skill! At the same time, Ye Qiu sprang into action. ¡°Now¡¯s my chance!¡± It seemed like he had deliberately waited for the lynx to activate its skill. Ye Qiu dashed forward. Just as he was about to collide with the lynx, he dropped low and slid forward! A slide attack! Yes, a slide attack! He perfectly executed the same technique used by the player in his past-life strategy guide! The lynx had already committed to a leaping pounce. One human, one beast. One above, one below. They narrowly passed by each other! After landing, Ye Qiu exhaled in excitement. Meanwhile, atop the lynx king¡¯s head, a damage number appeared. [-12] On its underside, a fresh sword wound was visible! The lynx king was furious! The lynx¡¯s golden aura burned even brighter. But Ye Qiu just grinned. ¡°Looks like this BOSS isn¡¯t too bright. ¡°Makes sense. If it were smarter, it wouldn¡¯t have been tortured to death by a Level 5 player in my past life.¡± From his memories, he recalled a major flaw in the lynx king¡¯s skill. While in Dominant Body mode, the lynx couldn¡¯t alter an attack once it started. For example, once it began pouncing, it couldn¡¯t change direction mid-air! Even if it noticed Ye Qiu¡¯s slide attack in time, it couldn¡¯t dodge because it had already committed to the leap! In other words, its so-called invincibility also made it unable to control itself! The lynx king lunged again! Ye Qiu? He slid again! Once, twice, three times¡­ The lynx king had a massive 1000 HP. Fortunately, its defense was average, and this slope terrain was perfect for his strategy! He had no idea how long he kept attacking, but, like giving it a slow but relentless shave, he left countless sword wounds across the lynx¡¯s body. Finally¡­ With a sorrowful wail, the lynx king¡¯s HP dropped to zero. It collapsed, utterly humiliated, at Ye Qiu¡¯s feet! To think that this was a high-ranking Level 10 BOSS, a monster that dominated this world after descending into reality. And yet, it died such a pitiful death! Upon its demise, a pile of loot burst forth! Ye Qiu didn¡¯t even stop to catch his breath. He grabbed everything in one swift motion, stuffing it all into his inventory! He refused to make the same mistake as that player from his past life. The one who had killed the Giant Lynx King fought hard, only to be ambushed and robbed immediately after! Thankfully, the game had just launched. Most players were still low-level. This area was filled with high-level monsters, so few players ventured here. Then¡­ [Your level has increased by 1. HP increased, attributes increased, and you¡¯ve received fixed attribute points.] [Your level has increased by 1¡­] [Your level has increased by 1¡­] After five consecutive level-ups, Ye Qiu had jumped from Level 0 to Level 5! And that wasn¡¯t all! [Congratulations on slaying the BOSS ¡°Giant Lynx King.¡± You have earned 10 Reputation Points.] [You are the first player in Trial City to slay a BOSS, earning an additional 100 Reputation Points and 10 Gold Coins.] [As the first player to kill a BOSS, you have the right to announce this achievement three times to the entire Trial City. Would you like to broadcast your glory to all players?] Chapter 8 - Can I Receive Game Equipment in Reality?! Chapter 8: Can I Receive Game Equipment in Reality?! Hanxia Nation¡­ In an antique-style study, several elderly men sat at the head of a long table. Below them, a group of middle-aged men sat in formal attire ¡ª some in traditional Zhongshan suits, others in Western business suits, and a few in military uniforms. Regardless of their clothing, they all had one thing in common: they were at least forty years old. One of the elderly men spoke first, ¡°The countdown has reached zero. I assume everyone has experienced that world by now. Let¡¯s hear your thoughts.¡± A man in a business suit immediately responded, ¡°At first, I believed this was a doomsday countdown, so I proposed the construction of underground cities. However, after experiencing that world, it seems I was overly paranoid. To put it simply, it¡¯s just a game. Nothing more. There¡¯s no need to focus all our attention on it. We should move on to more important matters and put this behind us.¡± A middle-aged man in a camouflage uniform, his expression stern, shook his head. ¡°I personally entered the game with two junior officers¡­ and we died. Yes, we hunted monsters, and we were killed. The pain, the sheer despair of being in the middle of it, it was like stepping onto a real battlefield for the first time! If nothing else, the level of realism alone makes it a valuable resource. It could be developed into a training simulation for real combat scenarios, especially since death isn¡¯t permanent in that world.¡± The man in the business suit frowned. ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, is it really necessary to dedicate all our resources to it? No matter how realistic it is, it¡¯s still just a simulation. If soldiers experience death too often, it could have irreversible psychological effects. I stand by my point. We should move on and focus on more pressing matters.¡± The military officer¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Do you not find it bizarre that billions of people across the world suddenly have access to a game with near-perfect realism? Any rational person can see that this is no small matter. How can you dismiss it so lightly?¡± The businessman took a sip of water, his tone calm. ¡°I think you misunderstand me. I¡¯m not saying we should ignore it entirely. I¡¯m saying that its level of priority should be adjusted. Ever since the countdown appeared, every department and organization has been fixated on it, while other important matters have been neglected.¡± The discussion escalated into a heated debate, with more people joining in, each presenting their own arguments. ¡°I agree with Mr. Liang. We need to shift our focus to other concerns. The countdown itself caused mass panic, leading to suicides worldwide. Addressing that should be our priority!¡± ¡°I actually support Vice Commander Zhao¡¯s proposal. This game could have military applications, and developing it wouldn¡¯t necessarily mean excessive attention or publicity. As for the psychological impact on soldiers, if we can establish proper limits, it could be beneficial rather than harmful. The world may seem peaceful now, but who knows when the next war will break out?¡± ¡°This so-called game is far too realistic. Something about it doesn¡¯t sit right with me. We can¡¯t afford to take this lightly.¡± ¡°We should invest in further research. If experts from all fields get involved, we might even be looking at a technological leap into a new era.¡± ¡°Different countries have different perspectives on this. We need to find a balanced approach, neither ignoring it nor overreacting.¡± ¡°This game includes real-time communication, live news updates, and requires no cell towers, no internet cables, no data plans¡­ In other words, the telecommunications industry is obsolete!¡± The meeting dragged on for hours. Until¡­ [Congratulations to anonymous player ¡°xxxx¡± for becoming the first to kill a BOSS-level monster! This achievement will be announced three times to all players in Trial City to honor their accomplishment!] [Congratulations to anonymous player¡­] [Congratulations to anonymous player¡­] The mechanical voice echoed in everyone¡¯s minds. The conference room fell silent. People exchanged looks of shock and disbelief. After a long pause, someone gulped and muttered in astonishment, ¡°Even while outside the game, where time flows differently, we can still receive in-game notifications?¡± The shock was universal, especially among those who had previously downplayed the game¡¯s significance. Many were at a loss for words. But soon, the businessman from earlier spoke up again. ¡°Now I¡¯m even more convinced that this is the work of extraterrestrials. Their goal is to disrupt human society, hinder our progress, and use this virtual world to sedate us, making us complacent and weak!¡± Several others immediately nodded in agreement. After all, aside from its advanced communication functions, the game itself seemed to serve no real purpose. It was just a game. What was the point? At that moment, the elders at the head of the room finally reacted. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. One of them spoke slowly, ¡°We cannot afford to be careless. Find out which country this anonymous player belongs to. Based on our current understanding, this game is extremely difficult. Even a group of players struggles to take down a single Level 1 monster, let alone a BOSS. That player must have a secret.¡± Under normal circumstances, high-ranking officials discussing ¡°games¡± and ¡°BOSS monsters¡± in a formal meeting would have seemed ridiculous ¡ª comical, even. But right now, everyone was dead serious. Another elder, wearing glasses, added, ¡°Vice Commander Zhao, take a team of willing soldiers and begin systematic training in the game. Do not rush things.¡± ¡°Mr. Liang, you cannot afford to dismiss this so easily. If extraterrestrials are involved, we must take this matter seriously.¡± ¡°Lastly, every department should designate personnel to establish teams in various starting zones. Have them focus solely on leveling up. The goal is to reach the game¡¯s level cap as soon as possible!¡± ¡ª Allied Federation¡­ Inside a high-security military base, hundreds of physically fit soldiers lay inside specialized immersion pods. Two officers stood nearby, accompanied by scientists and medical personnel, monitoring the soldiers through surveillance screens. One of the scientists explained, ¡°Colonel Charlie, with these immersion pods, soldiers can remain in the game 24/7. The pods provide necessary nutrients, allowing continuous play for up to 30 days¡­¡± Before he could finish¡­ [Congratulations to anonymous player ¡°xxxx¡± for becoming the first to kill a BOSS-level monster! This achievement will be announced three times to all players in Trial City to honor their accomplishment!] [Congratulations to anonymous player¡­] [Congratulations to anonymous player¡­] The sudden system notification rang through everyone¡¯s minds. A stunned silence filled the room. Then, one of the officers burst into laughter. ¡°This anonymous player must be from the Allied Federation! Our billions in military funding for these immersion pods weren¡¯t wasted after all!¡± Another officer nodded confidently. ¡°This game is definitely not as simple as it seems. We¡¯ll see the real truth once someone reaches the level cap!¡± Chapter 9 - Blue Equipment, Orange Loot… Great Harvest! Chapter 9: Blue Equipment, Orange Loot¡­ Great Harvest! Across the world ¡ª Bread Country, the Royal Empire, Sun Country, Morning Country, the Dessert Country, and Tropical Isles ¡ª every country heard the announcement in Trial City! Immediately, forums, websites, and news outlets erupted with discussions. ¡°Oh my god! Who is this anonymous player?!¡± S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°I think it¡¯s someone from Morning Country!¡± ¡°Pfft! A tiny country like yours always fantasizes that the entire universe revolves around you!¡± ¡°Based on probability, it¡¯s most likely a Spice Country player. Spice Country has the largest population, so statistically, it makes sense!¡± ¡°Hanxia Country also has a huge population, you know.¡± ¡°But we from Spice Country already conquered the Allied Federation server! Given that, this anonymous player must be one of us!¡± ¡°Enough arguing!¡± ¡°By the way, what level are you guys now?¡± ¡°You should ask if anyone has even leveled up yet!¡± ¡°Haha, so we¡¯re all still Level 0?¡± ¡°Obviously! Have you seen how terrifying the monsters are?¡± ¡°In that case, this anonymous player must be insanely powerful!¡± ¡°Nah, they probably got lucky and used some kind of trick to kill the boss. Otherwise, forget boss-level monsters, no one can even handle a regular Level 1 monster yet!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided to become a casual player. In this game, I can finally do things I wouldn¡¯t dare to do in real life!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be a merchant!¡± ¡°The game just launched, and you¡¯re already going into business?¡± ¡°Opportunities always go to those who act first!¡± ¡ª Trial City ¨C Novice Village 0001 Under the shade of a large tree, Ye Qiu leaned against the trunk. Like everyone else, he had just heard the system announcement. At first, he had wanted to reject the global broadcast. Having lived a second life, he no longer felt the need to show off. His only goal was to survive and grow stronger in silence. But the system had given him no choice. Reject the announcement, and he would forfeit the extra rewards. Left with no choice, Ye Qiu accepted. Fortunately, the announcement was anonymous, which suited his desire to avoid unnecessary trouble. Now, he could finally focus on what really mattered ¡ª checking the loot from the boss battle. Ye Qiu opened his inventory and frowned. ¡°This is way too stingy.¡± The Giant Lynx King had only dropped three items and five gold coins. The first item was a ring. [Lynx Bone Ring (Blue ¨C Advanced)] [Requirement: Level 5] [+5 Agility, +5 Defense] ¡°Not bad.¡± Ye Qiu equipped it immediately, feeling an instant lightness in his movements and an increase in physical stability. He paused, momentarily surprised by the sensation, but brushed it off as his imagination. Next, he looked at the second item. ¡°Holy crap!¡± His eyes widened in shock. His breathing quickened. An Orange-grade Epic Item! In the game, equipment was ranked as follows: White (Common) ¡ú Blue (Advanced) ¡ú Purple (Rare) ¡ú Pink (Spirit) ¡ú Orange (Epic) ¡ú Gold (Legendary). Rumors spoke of gear even beyond Legendary, but Ye Qiu had never seen such items in his past life. Even Epic-tier equipment was a rarity, something only the top-level players could obtain. Even then, it was far from common! And now, right before his eyes¡­ [Coward¡¯s Cloak (Orange ¨C Epic)] [Status: Unidentified] Ye Qiu suppressed his excitement. If his level wasn¡¯t high enough, he would have to visit an NPC for appraisal, or wait until he learned the Identification skill. Finally, he checked the third item. [Lynx Kingdom Ruins: Unidentified] ¡°A treasure map?¡± It looked like a beast-hide parchment with faded markings. Since it was unidentified, the details were too blurred to decipher. Ye Qiu set the items aside and turned his attention to his next task. Beneath the tree, a treasure chest lay buried. ¡°This chest contains the Herbalist Shopkeeper¡¯s missing prescription!¡± Ye Qiu began digging. As he worked¡­ [You have obtained 1 Iron Ore.] [You have obtained¡­] He smiled. The blacksmith, Zhang Tie, had given him a quest to collect iron ore. Completing two tasks at once was always a bonus. After nearly thirty minutes of digging, a two-meter-deep hole appeared before him. A pile of dirt lay beside it. ¡°Finally!¡± Ye Qiu wiped his sweat, chuckling to himself. ¡°Who the hell even discovered this chest in my previous life? They must¡¯ve been insanely bored to spend half an hour digging!¡± Regardless, he heaved the chest out of the ground and began unlocking it. [Unlocking chest¡­ Progress: 10%¡­ 30%¡­] But just as he was about to open it, a group of lynx monsters suddenly returned! Ye Qiu¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Behind them, a swarm of players was chasing after the beasts. ¡°Shit, don¡¯t come this way!¡± He clenched his fists, praying they wouldn¡¯t take this path. If he moved now, the chest would reset, erasing all his progress. His heart pounded. He watched the players out of the corner of his eye, barely breathing. Slowly, his nerves eased. The players and lynx monsters veered in another direction. [Chest unlocked. Time elapsed: 50 seconds.] Ye Qiu exhaled deeply and reached inside. He pulled out several items, including [Herbalist Shopkeeper¡¯s Lost Prescription: Unidentified. Quest Item. Cannot be dropped upon death.] ¡°This is it!¡± He grinned. Alongside the prescription, the chest contained equipment: [Steel Sword (Blue ¨C Advanced)] [Requirement: Level 5] [+20 Attack, +5 Strength] [Steel Chestplate (Blue ¨C Advanced)] [Requirement: Level 5] [+10 Defense, +5 Constitution] [Steel Pants (Blue ¨C Advanced)] [Requirement: Level 5] [+10 Defense, +5 Constitution] [Steel Boots (Blue ¨C Advanced)] [Requirement: Level 5] [+10 Defense, +5 Agility] ¡°A full blue-tier set!¡± Ye Qiu was delighted. Equipping a full set granted additional bonuses, making it even more powerful than a mix of higher-tiered items. Without hesitation, he equipped everything. The moment he donned the gear, Ye Qiu felt a rush of energy. His body felt lighter. His stance felt stronger. This wasn¡¯t an illusion. He had felt this exact sensation in his past life, but it had only happened ten days later, when the game merged with reality! ¡°Wait¡­¡± A chilling realization hit him. ¡°Did it happen early this time?!¡± Without hesitation, Ye Qiu logged out of the game. He had to confirm this for himself. Chapter 10 - The Game Comes to Reality Ahead of Time?! Chapter 10: The Game Comes to Reality Ahead of Time?! Ye Qiu opened his eyes and sat up in bed. Instinctively, he clenched his fist. ¡°This¡­ this¡­¡± He took a sharp breath. To his shock, he was wearing the same blue equipment set he had just obtained from the treasure chest in the game! The steel jacket, steel pants, steel boots, and even the steel sword placed beside him. ¡°What¡¯s going on?! ¡°Wasn¡¯t the game supposed to merge with reality in ten days? ¡°What¡¯s happening to me?!¡± Ye Qiu was utterly confused. He clearly remembered that in his previous life, even after reaching level 5 in the game and obtaining several white-grade equipment along with a single blue-grade item, none of it had carried over into the real world within those ten days. But now, everything had changed! Before he could fully process his shock, a data panel appeared before his eyes: [Character: One Leaf Knows Autumn] [Class: Swordsman] [Subclass: None] [Level: 5] [HP: 3,500] [MP: 3,500] [Attack: 70] [Defense: 75] [Agility: 35] Attributes: [Strength: 35] [Constitution: 35] [Agility: 40] [Spirit: 35] [Luck: 60 (Special Attribute)] [Reputation: 110] Equipment: [Steel Sword] [Steel Jacket] [Steel Pants] [Steel Boots] [Lynx Bone Ring] Inventory: [Coward¡¯s Cloak (Unidentified)] [Lynx Kingdom Ruins (Unidentified)] [Herbalist Shopkeeper¡¯s Lost Prescription (Quest Item)] Active Skills: [Slash (Lv.1): 2/500 EXP ¨C Increases attack by 10 when used.] [Heavenly Eye (Lv.1): 13/5000 EXP ¨C Reveals information about all visible objects, detects hidden traps, uncovers secrets, and reveals concealed entities.] [Special Skills: None] [Pets: None] [Guild: None] [Fixed Stat Points: 50] [Unassigned Stat Points: 50] Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°This is¡­¡± Ye Qiu was stunned. ¡°This is my in-game character¡¯s data?!¡± His mind was in chaos. He could have misremembered other things, but he would never mistake the timing of the game¡¯s integration with reality! In his past life, this only happened ten days after the game servers shut down. That was when everything from the game began to descend upon reality. But now¡­ it had all happened early?! Ye Qiu immediately turned on the TV and checked the internet. However, aside from discussions about the ¡°brain-implanted game¡±, there was no mention of ¡°game items appearing in reality.¡± Taking a deep breath, he murmured, ¡°Am I the only one who experienced this early? No¡­ there¡¯s another possibility. Other players are still low-level, with barely any equipment, so they haven¡¯t noticed the change yet.¡± Regardless of the reason, this was an anomaly. Just then, his phone lit up with several missed calls from unknown numbers. Ye Qiu frowned. Checking the caller ID, he saw they were all from his city. Which meant¡­ they were likely people he knew. But he didn¡¯t return the calls. Instead, he opened his messaging app. Instantly, multiple notification sounds popped up. Aside from a few class group chats, he saw one particularly familiar name: ¡°Born Cute.¡± The sender had a female gender tag and had bombarded him with ten messages: 8 hours ago ¨C Born Cute: ¡°What do you mean by that?!¡± 8 hours ago ¨C Born Cute: ¡°Ye Qiu, explain yourself clearly!¡± 6 hours ago ¨C Born Cute: ¡°Where are you? Hiding like a coward?!¡± 6 hours ago ¨C Born Cute: ¡°Come out!!!¡± 5 hours ago ¨C Born Cute: ¡°I heard about your family situation from classmates, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can just say whatever you want.¡± 3 hours ago ¨C Born Cute: ¡°Are you mentally stressed because of the countdown? Is that why you¡¯re talking nonsense?¡± 2 hours ago ¨C Born Cute: ¡°As class president, I should support my classmates. Are you facing some kind of trouble?¡± 30 minutes ago ¨C Born Cute: ¡°The countdown ended. It¡¯s just a game, not the end of the world. No need to be so anxious!¡± 10 minutes ago ¨C Born Cute: ¡°Say something! Are you okay?¡± 5 minutes ago ¨C Born Cute: ¡°I asked a classmate for your number and called over ten times, but you¡¯re not picking up. If you don¡¯t reply, I¡¯ll come find you myself!¡± Ye Qiu paused. It was clear now. This ¡°Born Cute¡± was Su Xintong, his high school class president. His memory of her was vague, mainly because they had barely interacted. In three years of high school, they had exchanged less than three sentences. His impression of her boiled down to three things: Proud, beautiful, and nosy. Of course, his strongest memory of her was that scene in his past life. The moment when Su Xintong was impaled by a Giant Hornet¡¯s venomous stinger, pinned to a wall¡­ After a moment of reflection, Ye Qiu¡¯s heart felt an unfamiliar warmth. Two lifetimes¡­ and he had rarely experienced genuine concern from others. After hesitating, he finally replied with two words, ¡°Thank you.¡± Almost immediately, a reply came: [Born Cute: I thought something happened to you! You scared me!][Born Cute: If you have any problems, just say it! We¡¯re classmates, we should help each other! And as class president, it¡¯s my duty!][Born Cute: Alright, since you¡¯re fine, I won¡¯t nag anymore.] Ye Qiu exhaled. Then, he typed back: [Class president, listen to me. You need to level up as quickly as possible in the game. Remember, you only have ten days.] He had been monitoring the news for hours. Everything was still calm, which meant that, so far, he was the only one who had brought in-game stats into reality! ¡ª Somewhere else in a girls¡¯ dormitory¡­ Inside a spacious dormitory, several bunk beds were occupied by sleeping students. A lone girl sat on her bed, scrolling through her phone. She looked about 17 or 18 years old, but her features carried an air of mature elegance. With large, bright eyes, flawless fair skin, and a silky white hoodie that accentuated her snow-white complexion, she looked like a princess straight out of a fairytale. Her figure was tall and slender, her waist delicate, exuding a mix of elegance and seduction. Yet, at this moment, her pouting lips added a touch of adorable innocence. She was none other than Su Xintong. As she stared at Ye Qiu¡¯s last message, her delicate brows furrowed¡­ then relaxed¡­ then furrowed again. Her expression was conflicted. ¡°Is he crazy again?¡± she muttered, ¡°All that concern for nothing. Now he¡¯s back to talking nonsense.¡± This time, she didn¡¯t bother replying. Nor did she get angry. Instead¡­ she felt a little sorry for him. She had asked around about his background. Ye Qiu¡¯s parents had died in an accident three years ago. Since then¡­ he had been an orphan. No wonder he was so withdrawn at school. As for his latest message? She didn¡¯t take it seriously. She had zero interest in games, especially this one where pain felt real. She hated pain. Glancing around the dorm at her sleeping roommates, Su Xintong sighed. ¡°Are they really this obsessed with the game?¡± Chapter 11 - You Can Bring Real Items Into the Game? Chapter 11: You Can Bring Real Items Into the Game? The time ratio between reality and the game was 1:10. Ye Qiu logged out for half an hour. He confirmed that he was the only one who had obtained game data in reality ahead of time. ¡°Why is this happening?¡± Ye Qiu casually crushed a macadamia nut. He popped the kernel into his mouth, chewing on it. He really couldn¡¯t figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it. Rather than wasting time pondering, it was better to seize every second and become stronger! Ten days in reality, a hundred days in the game. Then the apocalypse would arrive! At that moment, the Earth would rapidly expand. This was due to the fusion of the Trial City with Earth. The Trial City was simply too massive! It was the size of dozens of Earths! After the fusion, due to Earth¡¯s expansion, all existing buildings, roads, rivers, and seas would be shattered! All of human civilization would be destroyed! In the end, people would have to follow the rules of the Trial City! ¡°Right!¡± Ye Qiu suddenly thought of something. He quickly opened his inventory. Sure enough, the game inventory was accessible! The items inside could be taken out freely! Ye Qiu grabbed his phone, remote control, dried fruit, keychain¡­ In short, everything he could reach. He stuffed them all into his game inventory! Then, he logged back in. He entered the game! ¡°Holy shit!!!¡± As soon as he entered the game, Ye Qiu immediately checked his inventory and was shocked to discover that the items he had stored from the real world had actually been transferred into the game! This was something that had never happened in his previous life! And it shouldn¡¯t have been possible! Ye Qiu¡¯s breathing quickened. A bold idea emerged in his mind! Since Ye Qiu had stayed in reality for half an hour, that meant about five hours had passed in the game. The sky had dimmed slightly. At night, monsters could be hunted and unique nocturnal creatures would appear! Of course, the difficulty would increase significantly! It would be much harder than during the day! Ye Qiu wasted no time. He first ran to an herb-gathering area. There weren¡¯t many players around since the server had just launched. Even though nearly a full day had passed, very few players had been able to accept gathering quests or learn Gathering. The herb-gathering quest went smoothly. The Breathroot in this area was a common medicinal herb. In no time at all, Ye Qiu collected ten stalks of Breathroot and completed the quest. ¡°Next, I need to complete the village chief¡¯s quest to collect twenty tiger whips, as well as the blacksmith Zhang Tie¡¯s lost ¡®Mysterious Iron¡¯ quest. Especially the latter since that¡¯s a rare quest!¡± Relying on his past life¡¯s memories, Ye Qiu headed toward the area where tiger monsters gathered. Upon arrival, he saw at least hundreds of players gathered together and fighting against a group of tiger monsters! The battle was intense! Roars and screams echoed nonstop! The scene was brutal! It was extremely bloody! ¡°Heavenly Eye!¡± Ye Qiu scanned the tiger monsters as well as the players leading the fight. [Common Monster: Green-Eyed Tiger] [Level: 10] [HP: 800] [Preference: Various meats.] ¨D¨D [Player: Thousand Faces Gentleman] [Class: Mage] [Level: 4] [HP: 2500] ¨D¨D [Player: Alley Bully] [Class: Warrior] [Level: 3] [HP: 2400] ¨D¨D [Player: Adorable Sunny Moon] [Class: Priest] [Level: 3] [HP: 2000] ¡­¡­ ¡°Thousand Faces Gentleman?¡± Ye Qiu focused on a young man wearing a light blue mage robe. The name seemed familiar. Oh. He remembered! One of the legendary ¡°Mage Gods¡± from his past life! He had once single-handedly taken on three level 50 epic bosses and fought relentlessly for seven days and seven nights until he finally fell! Ye Qiu had great admiration for such people. Even though his past life had been filled with darkness and human cruelty, there were still moments of heroism and glory! Many human heroes had emerged! And Thousand Faces Gentleman was definitely one of them! ¡° what a loss!¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman looked at the battlefield littered with corpses. Player bodies were piled up, but only three Green-Eyed Tigers had been killed. The gap was too large! ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not waste any more money.¡± The player named ¡°Adorable Sunny Moon¡± was a girl, familiar with Thousand Faces Gentleman, and tried to persuade him. These hundreds of players had all been recruited through a forum post by Thousand Faces Gentleman. Each person earned 100 credits per hour. For every death, they received an extra 100 credits. As for equipment, that was calculated separately. The costs would be split among all participants. The recruitment goal was to have them attack the Green-Eyed Tigers. Once the monsters were low on health, Thousand Faces Gentleman would land the final hit. Thanks to this strategy, his level had already reached 4 and he had several blue-quality pieces of gear! Money, no matter when or where, was always powerful! ¡°Is it really a waste of money?¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman shook his head and said, ¡°When the countdown in our minds reached zero, and when everyone saw this game appear, every investment made in this game became worth it!¡± Adorable Sunny Moon sighed helplessly. ¡°Aside from being a virtual game, I don¡¯t see how this is any different from the other MMOs you play.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman chuckled. ¡°The difference is huge! At the very least, with current human technology, even in another fifty years, we wouldn¡¯t be able to create a virtual game with this level of realism! ¡°Plus, this game has been implanted in the minds of everyone worldwide, even newborn babies. That alone makes it unbeatable! ¡°That¡¯s why smart people have already seized the opportunity. Not just me, other wealthy individuals are also exploring the game¡¯s potential and business opportunities!¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman never denied that he was rich. In other MMOs, he was often called the ¡°Ultimate Big Spender¡± because he threw money around recklessly in games. Sometimes, just out of spite, he would spend several times the normal price to buy something completely useless! ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t really understand this stuff. But since you¡¯re determined, I¡¯ll support you!¡± Adorable Sunny Moon smiled sweetly. Thousand Faces Gentleman also smiled and was about to reply. Suddenly¡­ The ground trembled violently. In an instant, every player in the area froze. In their eyes, a colossal figure was reflected! A massive creature was stomping toward them with terrifying speed! ¡°Shit! Run!¡± A player immediately reacted. Backing away quickly, Thousand Faces Gentleman¡¯s face turned pale. He hurriedly called for everyone to retreat! Some players tried logging out, hoping to escape the imminent danger. But the game¡¯s rules did not allow it. Once the system deemed a player to be in combat, logging out wouldn¡¯t make their character disappear. Instead, they would just stand there! And after dying, both experience and equipment would drop at double the normal rate! ¡°Shit! It¡¯s actually¡­!¡± Ye Qiu also saw the massive creature. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, he turned around ready to flee! Chapter 12 - The Tiger Demon Massacre Chapter 12: The Tiger Demon Massacre ¡°Heavenly Eye!¡± Ye Qiu activated Heavenly Eye. Almost immediately, information about the massive creature appeared before his eyes. [Rare BOSS ¨C Deep Mountain Tiger Demon] [Level: 15] S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [HP: 12,000] [Skills: Tiger¡¯s Roar Shakes the Forest, Poisonous Miasma Ground] [Preference: Various meats] ¡°So it¡¯s this thing!¡± Ye Qiu instantly remembered. In his past life, right after the game launched, a major event had occurred ¡ª the Tiger Demon Apocalypse incident! A single Level 15 Rare BOSS had fought against a thousand players. And in the end, the Deep Mountain Tiger Demon remained unscathed, while all one thousand players perished on Tiger Mountain! There was nothing they could do. The players were simply too weak at this stage. Even if tens of thousands of players at their current levels gathered together, they wouldn¡¯t be able to break through the Deep Mountain Tiger Demon¡¯s defense. At that time, Ye Qiu had been in a different novice village, so he hadn¡¯t witnessed it firsthand. But the event was such a huge sensation that he had seen it all over the forums. ¡°Run!¡± Ye Qiu took off at full speed. A person should know their limits. Previously, he had only managed to kill the Level 10 Giant Lynx King BOSS because he had known its weakness and taken advantage of the terrain. That was the only reason he had slowly worn it down to death! As for the Deep Mountain Tiger Demon in front of him, that was a Rare BOSS! In the game¡¯s hierarchy, BOSS ranks from lowest to highest were: Normal BOSS ¡ú Rare BOSS ¡ú Epic BOSS ¡ú Legendary BOSS! And the difference between each rank was huge! To put it simply, a single Rare BOSS like the Deep Mountain Tiger Demon was equivalent to 50 Normal BOSSes like the Giant Lynx King! That was not an exaggeration. Level differences also played a huge role in the power gap. It was completely unreasonable! Ye Qiu kept his distance at the outskirts of Tiger Mountain, watching from afar just like the other spectators. He had high Agility and could run fast, but not all players were that lucky, especially those caught in the center of Tiger Mountain, including Thousand Faces Gentleman and his team. They had nowhere to run! ¡ª The Deep Mountain Tiger Demon unleashed its skill, Tiger¡¯s Roar Shakes the Forest! A thunderous roar erupted, deafening, overwhelming! Every player froze in place! This was a unique sonic attack of the Tiger Demon! The damage wasn¡¯t particularly high, but at this stage, it was enough to one-shot most low-level players. The worst part was the skill¡¯s ¡°Daze¡± effect! Even enemies of the same level would be stunned. If their Spirit attribute was even slightly too low, they would be completely paralyzed! Unable to move! Immediately after, the Tiger Demon used another skill, Poisonous Miasma Ground! In the blink of an eye, dark purple gas spewed from its mouth and body. ¡°AAAHHH!¡± Some players, just beginning to recover, touched the poison gas and immediately screamed in agony! ¡°Shit!¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman was among them. He only had time to curse before the purple miasma engulfed him. His skin broke out in festering sores, and he died a gruesome death on the spot! The slaughter lasted less than ten minutes. All across Tiger Mountain, even in some parts of the outer area, player corpses were everywhere! Thousands of them! Mixed in with all the dropped equipment, it was a dense, horrific sight! Some players didn¡¯t even get the chance to drop items, they were simply eaten alive by the Tiger Demon. Three to four at a time! As for the dropped gear, no one dared to pick it up. Right now, anyone who approached would be throwing their life away! Before long, Thousand Faces Gentleman and his group respawned and rushed back. ¡°My blue gear!!¡± ¡°Thousand Faces Gentleman, you better take responsibility for this!¡± ¡°I worked so hard to reach Level 1, and now I¡¯m back to Level 0!¡± ¡°Pay up! Pay up!!!¡± The recruited players surrounded Thousand Faces Gentleman, demanding compensation. He quickly reassured them, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this death still counts for payment. If your dropped equipment was damaged, I¡¯ll reimburse you at market price!¡± Immediately, the other players clamored. ¡°Thousand Faces Gentleman is the real deal!¡± ¡°Rich guy, you¡¯re awesome!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sticking with you from now on!¡± The players instantly went from angry to overjoyed. However, Thousand Faces Gentleman felt a deep ache in his heart but not because of the money. In the early stages of the game, everything was cheap. This amount was nothing to him. What hurt was that he had died once! He had lost a ton of EXP. From Level 4, he was back down to Level 3! Now he would have to put in extra time and effort just to catch up to other players at his original level. As for the spectators who got caught in the crossfire? They could only grit their teeth in frustration! Next time, they wouldn¡¯t casually watch a fight again! ¡ª By the time Ye Qiu got back to the village, the sky had turned completely dark. At the village entrance, there was still an endless line of players. It was a queue so long you couldn¡¯t see the end of it. Ye Qiu couldn¡¯t help but sigh. It reminded him of his past life. Back then, he had been just like these players, waiting in line for hours just to receive quests! In the end, he got so frustrated that he gave up and became a casual player instead. Now, Ye Qiu pulled out the Coward¡¯s Cloak and draped it over his head, concealing his face. This orange-tier Epic gear hadn¡¯t been appraised yet, so for now, it only functioned as normal clothing. Then, under the shocked gazes of the queuing players, Ye Qiu walked straight to the front and spoke first to Elder Xu. ¡°Elder Xu, can you appraise this item?¡± Before Elder Xu could respond, the players in line burst out laughing! Some were amused. Others were mocking. Because according to game rules, if a player cut in line, they would be struck by divine lightning as punishment! And their NPC favorability would plummet! From that moment on, they would never be able to receive any quests again! In some cases, the punishment was even harsher. One mother-daughter duo, after too many violations, had their accounts permanently deleted! ¡°This guy must be a newbie.¡± ¡°Just wait. The NPC is about to curse him out!¡± ¡°If he doesn¡¯t leave, the system will strike him down with divine punishment!¡± ¡°If he gets hit three times, his account will be erased forever!¡± No one warned Ye Qiu. In real life, if someone cut in line, people would explode in anger, maybe even start a fight. But in the game, the system handled it. Players were happy to watch someone get punished! However, what happened next left everyone stunned. Elder Xu looked at the hooded player, and instead of scolding him, he smiled warmly! The players were dumbfounded. They had waited in line for so long but never had they seen Elder Xu smile at anyone! Some had even prayed for him to just not be angry. After all, this game¡¯s NPCs had real personalities. They behaved like real people! But now¡­ Chapter 13 - Appraisal Requires 1000 Gold Coins?! Chapter 13: Appraisal Requires 1000 Gold Coins?! ¡°What¡¯s this? Did you get a rare piece of equipment?¡± Elder Xu chuckled as he asked. Even though Ye Qiu was wearing a cloak, the village chief recognized him at a glance because hanging from Ye Qiu¡¯s waist was a ¡°Golden Pass.¡± This item was one of a kind in Newbie Village 0001, non-tradable, non-giftable, and could not be dropped. Ye Qiu nodded and pointed at the cloak on his head, saying, ¡°Besides this cloak, I also have a treasure map that needs appraisal.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Only now did Elder Xu turn his attention to the cloak Ye Qiu was wearing. But the moment he got a good look, his expression changed drastically! Originally seated, Elder Xu suddenly shot to his feet! Then, his face showed utter shock as he stared at Ye Qiu¡¯s cloak, stammering, ¡°T-This is¡­ the Coward¡¯s Cloak?!¡± Ye Qiu was delighted. ¡°You recognize it? That¡¯s the name, indeed! Can you appraise it?¡± In his past life, he never obtained any high-level equipment. He had never encountered an ¡°unidentified¡± piece of gear before. He had only seen others showing off high-level, appraisal-needed gear on the forums. Elder Xu took a deep breath, suppressing his shock. After a long pause, he finally said, ¡°I never expected you to obtain this item¡­ You must be incredibly lucky. But as for appraising it. I can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Ye Qiu was instantly disappointed. Everyone knew that village chiefs were the strongest figures in novice villages. They had the greatest strength, the most profound abilities, and the highest authority. That was why they were the guardians of the village, respected by all other NPCs. So, if even Elder Xu couldn¡¯t appraise it, that meant Ye Qiu had no choice but to wait until level 10 and travel to a major city to find a stronger NPC for the appraisal. Fortunately, Elder Xu continued after a short pause, ¡°While I personally cannot appraise it, I do have several ¡®High-Level Appraisal Scrolls¡¯ on hand. With these, the process will be easy.¡± As he spoke, he had already taken out a scroll. Ye Qiu immediately used Heavenly Eye to check its details. [Item: High-Level Appraisal Scroll] [Effect: Can appraise equipment or special items up to 10 levels above the user. (Excludes Legendary Equipment.)] Below that, there was a price tag. [¡ªSold by Newbie Village¡¯s Elder Xu. Price: 1000 Gold.] ¡°A thousand gold?!¡± Ye Qiu quickly checked his inventory. He barely had a dozen gold coins to his name. In his past life, even a high-level blue-tier weapon only sold for a few dozen gold. A purple rare-tier weapon was worth about a thousand gold at most. And yet, a single appraisal scroll cost 1000 gold?! Elder Xu cleared his throat and said, ¡°That¡¯s the pricing in Novice Village. If you think it¡¯s too expensive, you can wait until level 10, travel to a major city, and find an appraiser there. The cost will be much lower.¡± His expression clearly said: ¡°Take it or leave it.¡± Ye Qiu felt helpless. Without another word, he turned and left. Appraisal was a must. But first, He needed to make some money. After Ye Qiu left, Elder Xu glanced at the sky and waved his hand. ¡°It¡¯s late. Everyone, come back tomorrow.¡± After that, he turned and walked back into the village. A magical barrier protected the entrance. Any player who tried to force their way in would die instantly. ¡°Damn it! I waited in line for five hours, and now you¡¯re just telling me to leave?!¡± ¡°Why could that guy cut in line, but we have to wait?¡± ¡°Yeah, what gives?!¡± ¡°Why wasn¡¯t that player kicked out? Why didn¡¯t the system punish him? This is weird!¡± ¡°Could he not be a player? Maybe he¡¯s an NPC?¡± ¡°Definitely an NPC!¡± ¡°Yeah, this game is way too fair for there to be favoritism!¡± Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Quick! Follow that NPC! He might have a quest!¡± Many players started complaining. When the topic shifted to Ye Qiu, a lot of them began speculating that he wasn¡¯t actually a player. After all, the game had just launched. Everyone started from the same point. There was no reason for any player to get special treatment! Meanwhile, Ye Qiu had arrived near Tiger Mountain. The Rare BOSS Deep Mountain Tiger Demon had already finished its rampage. The sky had grown completely dark. As a result, there were hardly any players left in the area. However, Thousand Faces Gentleman was still there. Beside him was his companion, Adorable Sunny. The two of them were chatting. ¡°I just found out that Zhao Mingyuan¡¯s group is already level 5!¡± Adorable Sunny said. ¡°What the hell?!¡± Hearing that, Thousand Faces Gentleman was furious, then let out a sigh. ¡°If that damn BOSS hadn¡¯t shown up, even if I hadn¡¯t hit level 5, I wouldn¡¯t have lost a level! Now the gap is just getting bigger!¡± Adorable Sunny quickly comforted him. ¡°Don¡¯t be discouraged! I heard they¡¯ve already spent millions on leveling up!¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman was stunned. ¡°Millions?! Why so much?¡± He had recruited hundreds of players to power-level him, but he had only spent a few hundred thousand so far. He already thought spending that much on the first day was insane. But now, he realized, some people had gone even crazier. Adorable Sunny explained, ¡°Apparently, they found a new method involving NPCs. They¡¯re using NPCs to help them level up.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°What method?¡± Adorable Sunny shook her head in frustration. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find out¡­ Their secrecy is airtight. But by tomorrow, someone will probably leak it.¡± ¡°Tomorrow¡­¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman sighed. ¡°One step behind, and I¡¯ll keep falling further. By tomorrow, the gap will only widen.¡± He was already thinking about giving up. But just then, a voice interrupted, ¡°I know the method they¡¯re using.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman and Adorable Sunny turned their heads. They saw a figure ¡ª a player wearing a hooded cloak ¡ª slowly approaching. Chapter 14 - Only 5000 gold? Chapter 14: Only 5000 gold? ¡°Who Are You?¡± As the cloaked player approached, Thousand Faces Gentleman and Adorable Sunny became slightly wary. Even though this was just a game, conflicts could arise easily. Competing players often sabotaged each other, sending people to interfere with their rivals. Given the dark night and the mysterious figure hiding their identity under a hood, it was hard not to be suspicious. However, Thousand Faces Gentleman wasn¡¯t too concerned. Even though he had been demoted to level 3, he was still among the top players in this novice village. Moreover, there were two of them and only one of the cloaked player. ¡°Want to Cooperate?¡± Ye Qiu stopped three meters away from them and spoke calmly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who I am. The real question is, do you want to cooperate?¡± Since other players didn¡¯t have the Heavenly Eye skill like him, as long as he wore the cloak, no one could identify him. Before Thousand Faces Gentleman could respond, Adorable Sunny sneered, ¡°Who do you think you are? Do you even qualify to talk about cooperation with us?¡± Her tone was arrogant. In reality, she and Thousand Faces Gentleman held privileged backgrounds. Ye Qiu only spared her a glance. She looked decent, but her words were sharp and mean. In his past life, he had no memory of this woman being by Thousand Faces Gentleman¡¯s side. That probably meant she didn¡¯t last long. Ignoring her, Ye Qiu continued, ¡°I¡¯m not talking to you. I¡¯m offering cooperation to Thousand Faces Gentleman alone.¡± ¡°You!¡± Adorable Sunny glared at him, about to retort, but Thousand Faces Gentleman raised his hand, signaling her to stop. He turned to Ye Qiu with a faint smile. ¡°Friend, cooperation isn¡¯t something that can be established with just a few words. We need to see what each of us brings to the table.¡± In his mind, he wasn¡¯t taking this mysterious player seriously. The game had just launched, and countless people ¡ª both in-game and in real life ¡ª had already tried to partner with him. Many even begged to follow him. Adorable Sunny immediately added, ¡°Exactly! We¡¯re busy. We don¡¯t have time for just anyone to come and waste it.¡± Ye Qiu ignored her and stated, ¡°I know how those players are power-leveling so quickly. I can share the method with you. Is that enough sincerity?¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman paused for a moment before asking, ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not lying?¡± Adorable Sunny nodded in agreement, ¡°Exactly! Even I couldn¡¯t find out, so how would you know? You must be a scammer.¡± Ye Qiu smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Not only will I tell you the real method, but I¡¯ll also help you regain level 4 tonight. You might even reach level 5.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman fell silent, contemplating the credibility of Ye Qiu¡¯s words. Meanwhile, Adorable Sunny scoffed, ¡°Oh please, if such a method really exists, why aren¡¯t you using it yourself? Why are you so generous to share it? Are you some kind of saint?¡± Ye Qiu finally looked her in the eye and explained, ¡°This method involves NPCs and requires a lot of effort and money. I need money, and you have it. So, I¡¯m offering a trade.¡± Adorable Sunny snorted in disdain, clearly thinking Ye Qiu was just a fraud. Seeing Thousand Faces Gentleman still hesitating, Ye Qiu added, ¡°You¡¯re not the only one in this village trying to level up fast. If you don¡¯t want to work with me, I¡¯ll just find someone else.¡± With that, he turned to leave. Ye Qiu had approached Thousand Faces Gentleman first because, in his past life, this man had a great reputation. He had even sacrificed himself for humanity, making him a true hero. Naturally, someone like that was an ideal first choice for cooperation. As Ye Qiu was about to walk away, Thousand Faces Gentleman finally snapped out of his thoughts. ¡°Wait a moment!¡± Ye Qiu paused and turned back. Thousand Faces Gentleman asked, ¡°How much do you want?¡± Ye Qiu replied, ¡°5000 gold coins.¡± He had two items that needed appraisal. With 5000 coins, he could buy three extra High-Level Appraisla Scrolls for future needs. ¡°5000 Gold Coins?¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman was surprised. ¡°You mean in-game currency?¡± Ye Qiu nodded. ¡°Yes, only in-game currency.¡± That intrigued Thousand Faces Gentleman. Most players only cared about exchanging game currency for real money. It was rare to see someone asking for gold coins so early in the game. At this stage, the currency exchange rate was unstable. Some people traded at 1:10, while others went as high as 1:100. For Thousand Faces Gentleman, 5000 gold coins was a trivial amount. However, for Ye Qiu, it wasn¡¯t easy to obtain. The game had just launched, and many players didn¡¯t even have a single gold coin. But someone with extensive player resources, like Thousand Faces Gentleman, could gather the money easily. Meanwhile, Adorable Sunny looked at Ye Qiu as if he were an idiot. Fortunately, Ye Qiu clarified, ¡°5000 gold coins is just for this method. If you want more, there will be additional costs.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman smiled confidently. ¡°I just need the method.¡± As long as he had the method, everything else could be managed. He then instructed Adorable Sunny to recruit players and exchange real money for in-game gold. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. With only Ye Qiu and Thousand Faces Gentleman left, Ye Qiu finally revealed the secret. ¡°The method is simple. Gain favorability with NPCs. Once their goodwill reaches a certain threshold, you have a chance to invite them to form a party.¡± Hearing this, Thousand Faces Gentleman¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°So that¡¯s how they did it¡­¡± Chapter 15 - Coward’s Cloak Incredible Ability Chapter 15:Coward¡¯s Cloak Incredible Ability ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman muttered to himself, ¡°No wonder Zhao Mingyuan and the others are leveling up so fast!¡± But soon, he asked, ¡°Then how do we improve our favorability with NPCs? So far, we¡¯ve only encountered the village chief, and the other NPCs are all inside the village. We can¡¯t even get in right now, so how are we supposed to interact with them?¡± Hearing this, Ye Qiu chuckled. ¡°That information will cost extra.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman was momentarily stunned. He suddenly realized that he had just said he only needed the method. Everything else, he could figure out himself. It seemed he had overestimated himself. Sometimes, money wasn¡¯t everything. ¡°Then¡ª¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman was about to say something when Adorable Sunny, who had gone to exchange game currency, returned. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s done.¡± Ye Qiu glanced at the two of them. In this game, appearances were exactly the same as in reality. Of course, only natural looks counted. Even cosmetic surgery or injections would be nullified, returning people to their original appearance. When the game fully descended into reality, this rule would apply to everyone. Those who were disfigured were restored. Those who were disabled were healed. Those who were terminally ill were cured. This game was far from being just a game. The moment it truly arrived, everyone would realize it. But by then¡­ it would be too late. Thousand Faces Gentleman completed his transaction with Adorable Sunny and then sent a trade request to Ye Qiu. Ye Qiu received a system notification: [Player ¡°Thousand Faces Gentleman¡± has initiated a trade request with you. Accept?] Ye Qiu responded, ¡°Anonymous trade.¡± The trade interface opened. With a soft ding, Ye Qiu¡¯s gold count increased by 5,000 coins. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Thanks.¡± He waved at the siblings, preparing to leave. However, Thousand Faces Gentleman sent a friend request. Ye Qiu didn¡¯t refuse and added him anonymously. In this game, adding a friend only meant adding their nickname. Everything else depended on personal notes. If the other person remained anonymous, even the nickname had to be manually noted. Thousand Faces Gentleman labeled him as ¡°Mysterious Partner.¡± When he closed the interface, he realized Ye Qiu had already disappeared. ¡°Brother, what did he tell you?¡± Adorable Sunny, noticing her brother¡¯s puzzled expression, asked curiously. Thousand Faces Gentleman repeated Ye Qiu¡¯s words. After listening, Adorable Sunny nodded in realization. ¡°Right, I also heard rumors that leveling up fast is related to NPCs, but I didn¡¯t know the exact method. So, it¡¯s about increasing favorability with NPCs to form parties with them. That¡¯s an interesting strategy. Seems like he¡¯s not a scammer after all.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman smiled wryly. ¡°He¡¯s not a scammer, but how do we improve NPC favorability? How do we even reach other NPCs? These are still problems.¡± Adorable Sunny froze. She had just realized that they could only interact with one NPC right now: the village chief, Elder Xu. As for the other NPCs, they were locked inside the village. And on top of that, even accessing the chief required waiting in line! No matter how rich or powerful they were in reality, in this game, they had to follow the rules. If they tried to cut in line, they¡¯d suffer the same consequences as anyone else. In this world, real-life status meant nothing. ¡°Now I see why he only asked for 5,000 gold coins! What a scammer!¡± Adorable Sunny gritted her teeth in frustration. However, there was nothing she could do. Thousand Faces Gentleman sighed, ¡°Let¡¯s try getting inside the village first or see if we can find NPCs wandering outside. If we can¡¯t, then we¡¯ll contact that mysterious player. I already added him as a friend.¡± ¡ª At that moment, Ye Qiu was heading straight for the village. The village chief, Elder Xu, was no longer at the entrance. But the players were still lined up, many of them sitting on the ground. They had no choice. Some had been waiting for hours. If they left now, all their effort would be wasted. If they came back tomorrow, they¡¯d have to start from scratch. Luckily, time in the game moved at a 1:10 ratio compared to reality. Even waiting in-game for an entire day only amounted to two hours in the real world. It wouldn¡¯t interfere too much with real-life activities. As Ye Qiu, still wearing his hooded cloak, casually walked past the line and into the village, ¡°See! I told you! That guy in the cloak is an NPC!¡± ¡°Only NPCs can bypass the line and enter freely!¡± ¡°Dammit! We should¡¯ve stopped him! He probably has a hidden quest!¡± ¡°Forget it, just keep waiting. Who knows when that damn village chief will come back out?¡± The players sighed and continued waiting. Thankfully, the game had an in-built forum. They could pass the time by browsing player discussions. Inside the village, Ye Qiu found Elder Xu washing his feet. Without hesitation, he initiated a trade for the 5,000 gold. In return, he received five High-Level Appraisal Scrolls. As Ye Qiu was about to leave, the village chief gave him a parting message, ¡°This cloak is special. Use it wisely.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Qiu immediately sensed a hidden quest opportunity. He was about to probe further, but before he could say another word, Elder Xu dumped his foot-washing water and rushed back inside, slamming the door shut. It was as if he was afraid Ye Qiu would barge in after him. Ye Qiu rolled his eyes, then he took off his cloak. He unfurled one of the High-Level Appraisal Scrolls. As the two items merged, a glowing light engulfed the cloak. In an instant, the appraisal scroll vanished and the cloak in Ye Qiu¡¯s hands radiated a dazzling orange glow. He checked the item stats immediately. [Coward¡¯s Cloak (Orange Epic)]: No equipment requirement. Agility +100. Skill: ¡°Tactical Retreat¡±¡ªImmediately disengage from battle and teleport a short distance away.] ¡°Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s eyes widened in shock. His breath almost stopped. He remembered this item! On the forums, players once ranked the strongest equipment. Among all the orange-tier items, this cloak had dominated the rankings. At the time, no one knew its name, only its stats. It was rumored that the player who owned it deliberately hid its details. Back then, many doubted its existence. The ability seemed too overpowered, possibly fabricated. Because this gear was simply too broken. With this cloak and its bonuses, unless facing an opponent multiple levels higher, he was practically invincible. No matter how dangerous the situation, as long as he wasn¡¯t completely suppressed, he could always escape with Tactical Retreat. Now, holding the real thing in his hands, Ye Qiu still felt like he was dreaming. ¡°Just the +100 agility is already ridiculous. But combined with this absurd skill, this is even more valuable than some legendary-tier equipment!¡± Ye Qiu took a deep breath. He put the cloak back on. Instantly, a wave of lightness surged through his body. Chapter 16 - This NPC is Really Awesome! Chapter 16: This NPC is Really Awesome! Ye Qiu tried running a lap along the village path. Goodness! His movement speed was practically taking off! A normal person could run about 400 meters in a minute. But right now, Ye Qiu felt like he could cover 4000 meters in the same time without breaking a sweat! It was like he had transformed into a full-throttle race car! ¡°No, this is still too weak¡­¡± Ye Qiu calmed his excitement. Thinking back to his previous life, there had been sonic-speed monsters, light-speed demons, and other terrifying beings! Compared to them, he was still incredibly weak! Then, he took out the treasure map labeled Lynx Kingdom Ruin. He used a High-Level Appraisal Scroll to identify it. Soon, a warm glow radiated from the treasure map. The information was revealed. [Lynx Kingdom Ruin (Epic Treasure Map): A map leading to the Ruins of the Lynx Kingdom.] ¡°An epic-grade treasure map?!¡± Ye Qiu was stunned. It wasn¡¯t surprising that he felt this way. Even in his previous life, twenty years later, there had never been any records of an epic-grade treasure map on the forums. Ye Qiu examined the map carefully. Unfortunately, it only displayed a small section of the route. In other words, unless he was near the Lynx Kingdom Ruins, this map was as good as useless! But Ye Qiu wasn¡¯t disappointed. He was self-aware enough to know that with his current level, even if he could reach the Lynx Kingdom Ruins right now, it would be a wasted effort! Because he wasn¡¯t strong enough! Moreover, in this game, treasure maps were akin to keys. Most of the time, they could only be used once! If he died at the destination, he¡¯d have to find a new treasure map to enter again. And who knew? This might be the only Lynx Kingdom Ruins map in existence! After all, he had never even heard of it in his previous life! Maybe the player who originally obtained it did manage to reach the destination, but in the end, perished there. After the game descended upon Earth, players only had one life! If they died, there was no coming back. Without lingering further, Ye Qiu made his way out of the novice village. ¡ª Village entrance¡­ Thousand Faces Gentleman and Adorable Sunny stood off to the side, staring at the endless line of players and could only sigh in frustration. ¡°Let¡¯s just stick to our original leveling method,¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman said bitterly. The original method was recruiting other players. But now, they had learned a new method yet they couldn¡¯t use it. It was like having a fishbone stuck in their throat, unbearably frustrating! Adorable Sunny huffed angrily. ¡°What if I go find Zhao Mingyuan in the real world and ask him how to contact NPCs?¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman knocked his sister on the head and said, ¡°Are you crazy?! That¡¯s walking right into the tiger¡¯s den! You know exactly what kind of person Zhao Mingyuan is! And this is just a virtual game. It¡¯s not worth sucking up to that guy.¡± Adorable Sunny rubbed her head and then muttered in a downcast tone, ¡°I heard¡­ Dad already made a deal with the Zhao family¡­ He¡¯s going to marry me off to them. A family alliance.¡± At that moment, Thousand Faces Gentleman¡¯s expression changed drastically. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he fell silent. Born into a prestigious family like theirs, neither men nor women had the freedom to choose their marriage partners. He had always known this, but he was powerless to change it! Soon, Adorable Sunny forced a smile, trying to appear carefree. ¡°Actually, marrying Zhao Mingyuan isn¡¯t that bad. We grew up in the same compound, so at least I know what kind of person he is¡­¡± Before she could finish, Thousand Faces Gentleman interrupted anxiously, ¡°But he has an STD! He sleeps with a different girl every day of the year!¡± Adorable Sunny just chuckled softly. ¡°And? I already know that. Can I change it?¡± The siblings were still talking when a commotion broke out among the players in line. They instinctively turned to look and saw a familiar figure casually walking out of the novice village! ¡°I-It¡¯s him!¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman¡¯s eyes narrowed. Adorable Sunny also looked stunned. The figure walking out was none other than the mysterious player who had briefly ¡°collaborated¡± with them and shared the method for leveling up quickly! He wore that iconic cloak. There was no way they could mistake him! ¡°Big bro! Do you have any quests?!¡± ¡°NPC daddy, please give us a mission!¡± ¡°NPC grandpa, can you take us into the village?!¡± ¡­ Dozens, no, hundreds of players swarmed Ye Qiu and blocked his way! Ye Qiu was dumbfounded. However, he didn¡¯t dwell on it. Instead, he decided to test something. ¡°Tactical Retreat!¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In an instant, Ye Qiu¡¯s figure vanished from the crowd! ¡°Holy crap! He disappeared?!¡± ¡°Damn, this NPC is amazing!¡± ¡°He must be a super high-level NPC!¡± ¡°Ugh, too bad he won¡¯t give us any quests¡­¡± ¡°Damn it! You stole my spot in line!¡± ¡°Well, you left, so it¡¯s mine now!¡± ¡°Screw you!¡± A bolt of black lightning struck down. The arguing player screamed in agony before turning into a charred corpse. Meanwhile, Thousand Faces Gentleman and Adorable Sunny weren¡¯t paying attention to the brawl. Instead, they stared at each other. Both saw the shock and confusion in the other¡¯s eyes. ¡°Bro¡­ That guy¡­ Is he really an NPC?¡± Adorable Sunny asked hesitantly. Thousand Faces Gentleman shook his head firmly. ¡°No! He¡¯s definitely a player! He HAS to be a player!¡± Despite his words, there was an unmistakable hint of doubt in his eyes. Hurriedly, he opened his friends list. He found the contact labeled ¡°Mysterious Partner¡± and sent a voice message. Meanwhile, Ye Qiu had reappeared on a hillside about 100 meters away from the novice village. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s awesome!¡± He had just tested Tactical Retreat and it was seriously overpowered! After activating it, he was given a map view of the battlefield. Then, by focusing his thoughts on a chosen location, he would instantly teleport there! Of course the skill had a cooldown. It could only be used three times per day. However, unused charges could carry over. Meaning if he didn¡¯t use it today, tomorrow, he¡¯d have six uses. Insane! Just then¡­ [Your friend ¡°Thousand Faces Gentleman¡± has sent you a voice message. Accept?] Ye Qiu tapped ¡°Accept.¡± Chapter 17 - Purchase Items in Real Life and Bring Them into the Game! Chapter 17: Purchase Items in Real Life and Bring Them into the Game! Thousand Faces Gentleman (Voice Message): ¡°Brother, are you really a player?¡± Ye Qiu thought for a moment and then replied with a voice message: ¡°I¡¯m both a player and not a player.¡± That statement wasn¡¯t wrong. At this point, he could already bring everything he obtained in the game into the real world. Could he still be considered just a player? Not to mention, he was a reborn individual who knew what was going to happen in the future. Ten days from now, all players would lose their status as ¡°players¡±! They would become just like normal people in reality. Death would be true and permanent! As for Thousand Faces Gentleman, Ye Qiu wanted to cooperate with him. The main goal was to make money! As well as to develop some connections. In the future, Thousand Faces Gentleman would wield considerable influence in the real world. When the apocalypse arrived, countless people would be displaced, human civilization would be in ruins, and there would hardly be a safe place to live! Only the strong could establish relatively stable sanctuaries. Thousand Faces Gentleman was one of those strong individuals. He even built a shelter of his own. Previously, Ye Qiu had voluntarily told Thousand Faces Gentleman about a new leveling method. That was to establish a foundation for future cooperation between them. However, this information wasn¡¯t particularly valuable. Because, in his past life, the same method became widely known just one day later. For that reason, 5,000 gold coins was a reasonable price. Of course, that was just an appetizer! Ye Qiu was confident that soon enough, Thousand Faces Gentleman would be chasing after him, actively seeking further collaboration! ¡ª Meanwhile, Thousand Faces Gentleman listened to Ye Qiu¡¯s voice message. He froze on the spot. ¡°Brother, what did he say?¡± Beside him, Adorable Sunny quickly asked. Thousand Faces Gentleman snapped out of his daze and repeated Ye Qiu¡¯s words, ¡°I asked if he was a player, and he replied, ¡®I am a player, and I am not a player.''¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Adorable Sunny blurted out. Then, the two of them, having played many games before, quickly understood what he meant. Thousand Faces Gentleman nodded and said, ¡°Most likely, he¡¯s a player. After all, we still don¡¯t know whether NPCs can add friends.¡± Adorable Sunny asked, ¡°So what should we do next?¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman thought for a moment before answering, ¡°That guy can enter and leave the village freely. He must have a special method. I plan to seek his help. Right now, we need to use every second to level up, or we¡¯ll fall too far behind the others in power leveling!¡± ¡ª Meanwhile, Ye Qiu suddenly logged out. His main reason for logging in earlier was to test something ¡ª to see if real-world objects could be brought into the game. The results proved that it was possible! So, Ye Qiu began preparing. Recalling past strategies from his previous life, after the game merged with reality, certain real-world items could also be equipped to fight monsters! Guns, of course, were the best option. But, right now, there was no way for Ye Qiu to get his hands on one. So¡­ Ye Qiu glanced toward his kitchen. ¡°There are two big guys in there. In the low-level novice village, they¡¯ll be pretty useful.¡± He refocused. Then, he got up and left the house, heading straight for the biggest supermarket in the city. He chose to walk. On the way, Ye Qiu truly felt it. His light, agile steps were like he was walking on clouds. If he moved a little faster, it almost felt like he could fly! Just like in the game, but the sensation was completely different! However, after walking for a while, once he reached a crowded area, he took off his cloak and stored it in his in-game inventory. When he arrived at the supermarket, it was almost empty. Ever since the countdown in his mind reached zero and the world didn¡¯t end, places like supermarkets and shopping malls had become eerily deserted. ¡°Lightning rods, gas masks, insulated suits, fire blankets, flame-resistant clothing, night vision goggles¡­¡± Ye Qiu had already compiled a long shopping list. These were all items that could be bought directly! While crossbows weren¡¯t nearly as powerful as guns, they were still far superior to the starting bows in the game! In the game, there was an Archer class. But their starting equipment was just a basic wooden bow with wooden arrows. That thing, forget about killing high-level monsters, even shooting an ordinary Magic Rabbit took over ten shots! As for fighting a boss, they couldn¡¯t even break through its defense! The only advantage of the Archer class was their long attack range. Using bows or crossbows granted a slight bonus. But their attack power was the lowest among all classes! It was almost equivalent to a mage using basic attacks. After buying everything, Ye Qiu checked his inventory. ¡°Too bad. Inventory slots can store an unlimited amount of one type of item but they can¡¯t store two different items in the same slot.¡± For example, one slot could hold several tons of rice. But it couldn¡¯t hold a single grain of rice and a single grain of wheat together. Different types of items would each take up separate slots. Each player started with 20 inventory slots. Equipped items didn¡¯t take up inventory space. Back home, Ye Qiu went to the kitchen and stored the two big guys inside his inventory. Then, he re-entered the game. Less than an hour had passed in the real world. But in the game, dawn had already arrived. [Your friend ¡°Thousand Faces Gentleman¡± has sent a voice message. Accept?] Several notifications came in. Ye Qiu checked and all were voice messages from Thousand Faces Gentleman. Thousand Faces Gentleman (Voice Message): ¡°We can continue cooperating.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman (Voice Message): ¡°Can you take me into the village? Price is negotiable.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman (Voice Message): ¡°Do you know how to increase favorability with NPCs? If you do, I¡¯m willing to pay a high price for that information!¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman (Voice Message): ¡°You¡¯re not online? If you see this, please reply. I¡¯m online almost 24/7.¡± After hearing the messages, Ye Qiu smiled slightly. He knew Thousand Faces Gentleman was finally getting anxious. So he replied with a voice message, ¡°We can cooperate. Meet at the usual spot.¡± Immediately¡­ Thousand Faces Gentleman (Voice Message): ¡°Ok, ok! I¡¯ll be there in a minute!¡± Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow. At Tiger Mountain, Ye Qiu met Thousand Faces Gentleman again. This time, he was alone. His sister, Adorable Sunny, wasn¡¯t with him. After meeting up, Thousand Faces Gentleman got straight to the point, ¡°Brother, can you take me into the village?¡± Ye Qiu nodded. ¡°I can.¡± Hearing that, Thousand Faces Gentleman was both shocked and overjoyed. Since last night, he had tried everything to get into the village but failed every time! At that moment, he realized that money wasn¡¯t all-powerful! At least in this game. It couldn¡¯t buy absolute freedom! Asking Ye Qiu was just a long shot. But unexpectedly, it was possible! Ye Qiu didn¡¯t hesitate to name his price, ¡°Taking you into the village costs 50,000 gold coins.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman was stunned. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. It wasn¡¯t exactly expensive but it definitely wasn¡¯t cheap! Chapter 18 - Cooperate Again Chapter 18: Cooperate Again ¡°I only want in-game gold coins.¡± Ye Qiu said calmly. In the future, the real-world currency system will completely collapse. Or rather, it would cease to exist entirely! With the game merging into reality, even the NPCs from the game will appear in the real world, living and breathing just like real people! By then, the Trial City would dominate everything! And the original human inhabitants of Earth would have no choice but to submit. One by one, they would begin using game currency. Ye Qiu could never forget what happened when the game merged with reality, when the financial system crumbled, when monsters roamed unchecked. At that moment, countless people wept in despair. Countless others screamed in agony. And far too many chose to end their lives. On that very day, they committed suicide. When a person reached the point of collapse, they lose all hope for life, grow weary of existence. Only death could grant them release. ¡°Just in-game gold coins?¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman was immediately troubled, his face full of hesitation. At this moment, he truly couldn¡¯t produce that much. Fortunately, Ye Qiu continued, ¡°You don¡¯t have to provide it all in one day. Just gather it within three days, according to in-game time.¡± Hearing this, Thousand Faces Gentleman let out a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly. ¡°Okay! Three days later, I promise to have 50,000 gold for you!¡± In any game, as long as enough players were active, the economy would change rapidly, day by day! Three in-game days would be more than enough for players to accumulate additional gold in their accounts! Ye Qiu nodded in agreement before shifting the topic, ¡°Besides the gold, I need you to do something else for me.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman was intrigued. ¡°Go on.¡± Ye Qiu spoke slowly, ¡°Recruit some players. Have them go to Tiger Mountain and dig a pit at the summit, about the size of a soccer field.¡± ¡°A soccer-field-sized pit?!¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman was stunned. That was a massive task even in the game! Ye Qiu added, ¡°The edges can be shallow, but the center should be deep.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman weighed the pros and cons, then finally nodded. ¡°Alright, should I deliver it in three days as well?¡± Ye Qiu replied, ¡°The sooner, the better. Ideally, finish it within a day.¡± ¡ª At the entrance of the Novice Village¡­ Just like yesterday, the line of players stretched endlessly into the horizon. ¡°Can we really get inside?¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman was feeling anxious. At this moment, the two of them had already reached the village gate. ¡°NPC bro!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Why did you disappear last night?¡± ¡°NPC grandpa, I¡¯m begging you, please give me a quest!¡± The moment Ye Qiu, wearing his cloak, appeared, a group of players immediately swarmed around him, their voices filled with flattery and pleading. Ye Qiu ignored them. Leading Thousand Faces Gentleman, he walked straight to the village chief, Elder Xu. ¡°Elder Xu, I¡¯m bringing someone inside. That¡¯s fine, right?¡± As he spoke, he straightened his posture slightly. At his waist hung the Golden Pass. Based on his memories, even a regular wooden pass allowed one additional player inside. A Golden Pass would, of course, be even more effective! As expected, Village Chief Xu nodded. ¡°You may bring up to ten people in and out of the village at a time. However, if any of them break the village rules, I have the right to revoke your pass.¡± After saying this, he waved a hand at Ye Qiu, granting them entry. Ye Qiu gave a quick ¡°Thanks.¡± Then, with the still-stunned Thousand Faces Gentleman, he stepped into Novice Village. ¡°Holy crap! That NPC just brought a player inside!¡± ¡°What the hell?! Why him?!¡± ¡°That guy is called Thousand Faces Gentleman, right? He¡¯s pretty rich in real life!¡± ¡°Can you bribe NPCs in this game?!¡± ¡°I wanna go in too! I don¡¯t wanna wait in line anymore!¡± A wave of uproar spread through the waiting players. Inside Novice Village, Ye Qiu gave some advice, ¡°This place is massive, almost the size of a real-world county. So, there are tons of NPCs. Pick one to befriend. Once you build rapport, they might party up with you and help you level up.¡± This was knowledge from his past life. However, Thousand Faces Gentleman was still in a daze. He still couldn¡¯t believe it. He had actually made it inside the village! And so effortlessly! After snapping back to reality, he looked at Ye Qiu and made up his mind. He had to cling to this expert¡¯s leg! To Thousand Faces Gentleman, Ye Qiu had already become a mysterious god-tier player! ¡°But I suggest,¡± Ye Qiu continued, ¡°that you prioritize NPCs who look strong or wield weapons. Once you pick one, maintain a good relationship. If their favorability drops, all your previous efforts will be wasted. It¡¯s much harder to regain favorability than to build it from scratch.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman quickly took notes. As he wrote, he asked, ¡°If I ask you for help, could you guarantee I¡¯ll team up with an NPC?¡± Ye Qiu neither nodded nor shook his head. He simply smiled. ¡°Nothing in the world is 100% certain. Besides, if you want me to handle it, the cost will be far more than 50,000 gold.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman sighed in defeat. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to try on my own first.¡± However, he wasn¡¯t too disappointed. Gold could be gathered over time. Eventually, he¡¯d be able to afford Ye Qiu¡¯s assistance! And now that he was inside the village, he could finally interact with NPCs! He could finally accept quests! Since launch, he hadn¡¯t been able to take on a single one! ¡°I¡¯ll be off now. Message me if you need anything.¡± Ye Qiu waved. Then, his figure vanished into thin air. The Coward¡¯s Cloak¡¯s ability acted as a short-range teleport! ¡°H-how did he do that?!¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman stood frozen, watching Ye Qiu disappear. His mind was filled with shock and confusion. It had only been one day since launch! He looked at Ye Qiu, then looked at himself. This¡­ was the difference in skill! ¡°Wait¡­ ¡°Why isn¡¯t he looking for an NPC to help him level up? ¡°Could it be¡­ he¡¯s already found one?¡± Doubt crept into Thousand Faces Gentleman¡¯s mind. ¡ª Meanwhile, at Wolf Head Ridge¡­ This was the hunting ground of the Black Wolf Monsters. Ye Qiu had come here to grind levels! S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. In his past life, this place was widely recognized as the most efficient grinding spot. Black Wolf Monsters lived in packs of Level: 7. Each kill had a high chance of dropping gear, and the experience gain was substantial! Ye Qiu activated Heavenly Eye! [Normal Monster: Black Wolf Monster] [Level: 7] [HP: 600] [Preference: Nighttime, Moonlight, All Types of Meat] At this stage, players were still low-level. And so, almost no one was farming here. But Ye Qiu rushed forward. With the Coward¡¯s Cloak¡¯s 100 agility bonus, he moved like the wind. Even though he was only level 5 facing these level 7 Black Wolf Monsters, he was already untouchable! The Black Wolf Monster howled, calling its pack. Ye Qiu grinned. ¡°Perfect. Let¡¯s put you to the test!¡± Chapter 19 - Sister-in-Law Chapter 19: Sister-in-Law On Tiger Mountain, Adorable Sunny was leading a group of recruited players. Following the instructions of Thousand Faces Gentleman, they started digging! ¡°I can¡¯t believe my brother actually got taken into the village?¡± Adorable Sunny had just logged in when she received a voice message from her brother, Thousand Faces Gentleman. She learned that he had already been brought into the village by a certain ¡°Mysterious Partner.¡± And he had also told her one thing, the condition for his cooperation with the Mysterious Partner. Besides paying 50,000 gold coins, they also had to dig a pit the size of a soccer field at the top of Tiger Mountain! The edges could be shallow, but the center had to be deep. Although Adorable Sunny was confused, she had no choice but to comply. As she was digging, suddenly, a voice rang out from behind her, ¡°Sister-in-law Qingyue, why did you bring so many people to the top of Tiger Mountain? And you¡¯re not even fighting monsters, what are you digging? Mining?¡± The voice was laced with charm. Adorable Sunny was momentarily stunned, then she immediately turned around. She saw a mature and alluring woman standing with a large group of people behind her, all of them staring with predatory eyes. Adorable Sunny seemed to recognize this seductive woman. She furrowed her brows before saying, ¡°None of your business.¡± The woman covered her mouth and laughed softly. ¡°How could it not be my business? Before long, you¡¯ll be marrying into the Zhao family to become my brother¡¯s wife. We¡¯ll be sisters-in-law. As your future sister-in-law, isn¡¯t it natural for me to show some concern?¡± This seductive woman was none other than Zhao Hanyan, the younger sister of Adorable Sunny¡¯s so-called fianc¨¦, Zhao Mingyuan. Her in-game name was ¡°Smoky Clouds Fade.¡± Hearing Zhao Hanyan say this, Adorable Sunny¡¯s expression instantly turned cold. Zhao Hanyan, however, acted as if she didn¡¯t notice and continued, ¡°Is there some kind of treasure here? Just tell me the truth, big sis. Maybe I can even help you¡­¡± Before she could finish speaking, Adorable Sunny cut her off coldly, ¡°If you get lost from here, that would be the best help you could give me.¡± Zhao Hanyan giggled, ¡°You¡¯re still as hot-tempered as ever. But that¡¯s fine. Once you marry into the Zhao family, we¡¯ll teach you how to behave properly.¡± Hearing her bring up marriage again and again, Adorable Sunny felt a surge of anger! However, she had no way to refute it. In a family like hers, arranged marriages were unavoidable. They couldn¡¯t be changed. They could only be accepted. From the moment she was born, her fate had already been decided. Zhao Hanyan then pointed smugly to the person beside her and said, ¡°By the way, you and your brother should already know about the fast leveling method, right? Look, like the one standing next to me.¡± Beside her stood a burly young man. Unlike regular players, he carried himself differently, his expression was serious. His sharp eyes constantly scanned the surroundings, Always maintaining peak vigilance. ¡°An NPC?¡± Adorable Sunny guessed. Zhao Hanyan confirmed it, ¡°It¡¯s not really a secret anymore. This here is an NPC. My brother used this method to level up so quickly and rise to the top of the server! So, what do you think? Want me to tell you how to get in touch with NPCs?¡± Adorable Sunny, however, scoffed disdainfully, ¡°No need. I don¡¯t need you to tell me.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Hearing this, Zhao Hanyan was momentarily surprised. ¡°You guys already know how to contact NPCs?¡± This time, it was Adorable Sunny¡¯s turn to look smug. ¡°My brother is already inside the village, where there are tens of thousands of NPCs!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Zhao Hanyan¡¯s expression changed drastically. She couldn¡¯t believe it. Truth be told, she had come to find Adorable Sunny today because her brother, Zhao Mingyuan, had asked her to. After all, Adorable Sunny was going to marry into the Zhao family in the future. And her brother, Zhao Mingyuan, had always admired Adorable Sunny. He knew that both she and her brother, Thousand Faces Gentleman, were obsessed with leveling up. As such, he wanted to extend an olive branch. But since they weren¡¯t in the same novice village, he had no choice but to send his sister, Zhao Hanyan, who was in Newbie Village 0001, to do it on his behalf. However, she never expected that things would turn out like this! Seeing Zhao Hanyan¡¯s change in expression, Adorable Sunny became even more delighted. Then, her eyes flickered with mischief as she clicked her tongue and said, ¡°Do you know why we¡¯re digging at the top of Tiger Mountain? Do you know what we¡¯re digging for?¡± Zhao Hanyan simply squinted her eyes, listening. Adorable Sunny continued, ¡°My brother met an NPC, and that NPC told him¡ª¡± Halfway through her sentence, Adorable Sunny suddenly stopped speaking. She refused to continue. This made Zhao Hanyan frown deeply. Then, she waved her hand. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. A player stepped forward, ¡°Big Sis, what¡¯s up?¡± Zhao Hanyan instructed, ¡°Find out everything about Thousand Faces Gentleman.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The player immediately opened their friend list. The Zhao family had already established a network in this novice village, specializing in gathering intelligence. Soon, the player reported back to Zhao Hanyan, ¡°Big Sis, our people guarding the village entrance spotted Thousand Faces Gentleman being led inside by an NPC. Someone even recorded it and posted it on the forum!¡± As he spoke, he shared the forum video. Zhao Hanyan took a glance, And sure enough, Thousand Faces Gentleman was following a hooded figure, casually strolling into the village. ¡°Damn it!¡± Zhao Hanyan gritted her teeth. She had come here intending to flaunt her superiority and build rapport. But instead, the other party had already made it into the village! She knew that, even though they had discovered a method to level up quickly, the NPCs they had access to were only outside the village, waiting for players to find them. As for those inside the village, they couldn¡¯t even enter! ¡°That bastard Thousand Faces Gentleman has such good luck.¡± Zhao Hanyan was filled with envy and resentment. Then, her eyes suddenly gleamed. She looked at Adorable Sunny, who was still directing her recruited players to dig. ¡°Hmph, if I can¡¯t make peace, then I¡¯ll just take it by force!¡± Zhao Hanyan was not the type to accept defeat. She hated losing the most. At that moment, she waved her hand grandly and declared, ¡°This place now belongs to the Zhao family!¡± Her voice echoed. Adorable Sunny immediately frowned, ¡°Zhao Hanyan, what do you mean?!¡± Even as she spoke, the players Zhao Hanyan had brought had already surrounded the area and began driving away the players recruited by Adorable Sunny! Since they were just here to dig, the players Adorable Sunny had recruited were all low-level. Most of them were even Level 0. They didn¡¯t dare to resist. Although death in the game meant respawning, the pain was real due to the 100% realism setting! They were only hired to dig a hole, not to get beaten up or killed. ¡°Oh, nothing much.¡± Zhao Hanyan shrugged playfully, ¡°We heard there¡¯s a treasure at the top of Tiger Mountain, so we came here to dig as well. That¡¯s all.¡± Adorable Sunny said coldly, ¡°But we were here first!¡± Zhao Hanyan¡¯s smile didn¡¯t fade, ¡°Hey, this is a game. It has its own rules. And this place doesn¡¯t have your Ning family¡¯s name on it. So whoever is stronger owns it!¡± Adorable Sunny remained expressionless. ¡°According to the game rules, players can¡¯t kill each other. If you attack us, you¡¯ll be marked as a red-name criminal! Once you¡¯re red-named, forget about taking quests or contacting NPCs!¡± She said this, but deep down, she was struggling to hold back her laughter. It was because Zhao Hanyan¡¯s players had already started digging! Chapter 20 - NPC With Terrifying Strength Chapter 20: NPC With Terrifying Strength ¡°Red Name for Killing?¡± Zhao Hanyan chuckled. ¡°I won¡¯t need to dirty my hands. Just a few words from me, and countless players will charge forward without hesitation, acting on my behalf. ¡°Besides¡­ You probably don¡¯t know this, but in this game, NPCs can kill players!¡± As she spoke, she gestured to the burly young man beside her with a hooked finger. The burly young man immediately stepped forward, standing in front of Zhao Hanyan. In a deep, booming voice, he declared, ¡°I know you Undying players can revive after death, so if anyone is unwilling to accept this, feel free to come at me. Killing you won¡¯t bother me in the slightest!¡± Adorable Sunny glanced at the smug Zhao Hanyan, then at the imposing NPC. She was puzzled. How did Zhao Hanyan manage to find such an obedient NPC? Of course, she had no idea what would happen if an NPC killed a player. Nor did she know what would happen if a player killed an NPC. Regardless, the fish had already taken the bait. Adorable Sunny turned to the players she had recruited and instructed, ¡°You¡¯ll still get paid as usual. We¡¯re done digging for today. Let¡¯s call it a day.¡± As she spoke, she shot Zhao Hanyan a look filled with indignation. ¡°We¡¯ll see about that!¡± With an angry expression, she threw out this final remark before turning to leave. Just then, a Level 10 tiger monster appeared, baring its fangs and claws as it lunged at Zhao Hanyan and her group. Adorable Sunny stopped in her tracks to watch the show. But the next moment, her expression changed dramatically. She saw the burly NPC beside Zhao Hanyan react instantly to the sudden attack. With a thunderous roar, he shouted, ¡°Courting death!¡± With a swift sidestep, he positioned himself in front of Zhao Hanyan. Raising both hands, he caught the tiger monster¡¯s front limbs with precision. Then, amidst the tiger¡¯s pained wails, a sickening tear echoed in the air! That Level 10 tiger monster, more than three times the size of a human, was ripped apart on the spot! Blood and entrails splattered across the ground! All around, players stared, dumbfounded. For a long moment, they couldn¡¯t recover from the shock. Terrifying! This NPC was unbelievably powerful! With his bare hands, he had instantly obliterated a Level 10 tiger monster?! Adorable Sunny was just as stunned. Her heart pounded in disbelief. ¡°No, I need to tell my brother immediately!¡± She hurriedly left. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. She had to report this to her brother, Thousand Faces Gentleman, and make sure he found a strong NPC of his own! She wasn¡¯t aiming for the strongest NPC in the game, she just needed one as powerful as the one beside Zhao Hanyan! As Adorable Sunny departed, she remained unaware of what happened next. After killing the tiger monster, the burly NPC turned to Zhao Hanyan and said, ¡°We agreed. You¡¯d arrange a woman for me in exchange for killing a Level 10 tiger.¡± Zhao Hanyan found him repulsive but kept a smiling face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there are plenty of women.¡± Teaming up with NPCs didn¡¯t necessarily require raising their favorability. One just needed to fulfill certain conditions. And the quickest way? Find an NPC greedy for money or lust! That was human nature. Few people weren¡¯t motivated by wealth or desire. This game had an incredibly high level of realism. As a result, the NPCs behaved just like real people. Zhao Hanyan beckoned to a subordinate player and instructed, ¡°Go offline and recruit a hostess from a club. Offer a generous payment. Oh, and make sure she¡¯s from Novice Village 0001. Once you find her, notify me.¡± ¡°Understood, Boss!¡± The subordinate immediately logged off to make the arrangements. ¡ª Wolf Head Ridge¡­ Night had fallen. Few players roamed the area. The primary reason was the Black Wolf Monsters that inhabited it. These creatures moved in packs. When one wolf stirred, a thousand wolves would rise! In some cases, they were even harder to deal with than a high-level boss! Thus, most players avoided this area when leveling up. But now, the vast Wolf Head Ridge was littered with the corpses of Black Wolf Monsters! Countless bodies, many sliced cleanly in half! Scattered around were numerous dropped items! At the highest point of Wolf Head Ridge, a lone swordsman stood still, eyes closed. That player was none other than Ye Qiu! He had been slaughtering monsters for so long, even the respawn rate of the creatures couldn¡¯t keep up with his kills! Nine Styles of Slashing! ¡°Horizontal Cut.¡± ¡°Piercing Thrust.¡± ¡°Straight Stab.¡± ¡°Side Slash.¡± ¡°Diagonal Strike¡±¡­ Ye Qiu was deep in comprehension. In his previous life, many players had pushed their understanding and mastery of skills to the absolute limit! This was largely thanks to NPC demonstrations. For example, take the basic swordsman skill Slash. When used by a player, it was nothing more than an ordinary skill that consumed mana. But in the hands of an NPC from the Trial City, it could be performed in countless ways! Take, for instance, the ¡°Nine Styles of Slashing¡± that Ye Qiu was currently grasping. It was an advanced version of ¡°Slash¡±! In his past life, a player had learned it from an NPC and later shared it on the forums. For a time, countless players began experimenting with skill development. From then on, skills flourished in diversity! Beyond the ¡°Nine Styles of Slashing,¡± there was an even more advanced ¡°Thirteen Styles of Slashing¡±! In short, even a simple skill, if mastered in its advanced form, could multiply in power several times over, depending on the user¡¯s proficiency. [Nine Styles of Slashing (Lv.1): 322/2000. Each style increases attack power by 10 points. (Note: This skill is an advanced form of the basic ¡°Slash.¡± It consumes a large amount of mana.)] Suddenly, Ye Qiu moved. In his right hand, he wielded a high-grade blue weapon, the Refined Steel Sword! First Style ¡ª Horizontal Cut! The long sword swept across just as a freshly spawned Black Wolf Monster lunged toward him. In a single instant, The wolf was cleaved in half! Its body split cleanly apart! The motion was fluid and effortless, as smooth as melting chocolate. Second Style ¡ª Piercing Thrust! Third Style¡­ Fourth Style¡­ ¡­ Sixth Style ¡ª Scarlet Point! The sword in Ye Qiu¡¯s hand trembled violently. He stopped, panting heavily. ¡°With my current mana, I can only execute up to the Sixth Style.¡± Even so, Ye Qiu was thrilled. After all, In his previous life, despite surviving until the apocalypse, he had only mastered a handful of advanced skills. The ¡°Nine Styles of Slashing¡± was one of them. Until his death, he had never managed to comprehend the ¡°Thirteen Styles of Slashing¡±! Yet in this life, in less than two days, he had already mastered six out of the nine styles! His heart pounded with excitement. Snapping back to reality, Ye Qiu finally checked his system notifications. [Your level has increased by 1. HP and attributes have increased, and you have received fixed attribute points.] [Your level has increased by 1¡­] [Your level has increased by 1¡­] He had leveled up three times in a row! Ye Qiu was now Level 8! Not bad. Early in the game, leveling up was fast. But the higher he climbed, the slower it would become. Ye Qiu had no intention of teaming up with NPCs to level up. There was a massive downside to doing so. a fatal flaw. One that players would only gradually discover later on. Just then¡­ [Player ¡°Thousand Faces Gentleman¡± has sent a voice request. Accept?] Chapter 21 - There’s Items Everywhere But Nowhere to Put Them Chapter 21: There¡¯s Items Everywhere But Nowhere to Put Them ¡°Answer.¡± Ye Qiu accepted the voice message. Thousand Faces Gentleman (Voice Message): ¡°The pit on Tiger Mountain has been dug.¡± Ye Qiu was startled and replied via voice message, ¡°So fast?¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman (Voice Message): ¡°Hehe, I had some help.¡± Ye Qiu sent another voice message in response: ¡°I¡¯m heading over right now. Also, recruit a few players and have them come to Wolf Head Ridge. I¡¯ve got some equipment, but my backpack is full.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman (Voice Message): ¡°A lot?¡± Ye Qiu glanced around and replied, ¡°Quite a bit.¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman hesitated for a moment before sending another message. ¡°If there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t need or any extras, sell them to me. I¡¯ll pay you market price.¡± At the early stage of the game, even a plain white-tier piece of equipment was rare and valuable! ¡°Alright.¡± Ye Qiu nodded. He was planning to sell them anyway. After hanging up the voice call, Ye Qiu checked the loot scattered across the ground. For white gear, he didn¡¯t even bother looking. Instead, he picked up gold coins, crafting materials, red and blue potions, a few visually appealing blue-tier items, and a single purple-tier items. [Wolf Fang Crescent Staff (Purple Rare Weapon)]: [Requirement: Level 5] [Stats: +100 MP, +10 Spirit, +5 Agility] [Passive Skill: Restores 5 MP per second when equipped.] ¡°This is a great item!¡± Ye Qiu praised it. But at the same time, he felt a little disappointed. It wasn¡¯t for swordsmen. ¡°Oh, right. Thousand Faces Gentleman is a mage, and his sister, Adorable Sunny, is a priest. I can sell it to them!¡± Ye Qiu had already made up his mind. While purple-tier rare items were valuable, he no longer cared much for them. After all, with the god-tier Coward¡¯s Cloak in his possession, everything else paled in comparison. Any equipment, if its attributes weren¡¯t significantly better than the Coward¡¯s Cloak, then it was just trash! Besides, purple rare items still had level restrictions. Which meant that they were only useful in the early game. Before long, they would be obsolete! Orange-tier Epic Equipment, however, had no level restrictions. Even at level 100. it would still be useful! Soon, two players sent by Thousand Faces Gentleman arrived. When they saw the sheer amount of loot scattered across the area, their eyes widened in shock. They gasped! ¡°What¡­ what the hell happened here?!¡± The two players exchanged glances. They could see the disbelief in each other¡¯s eyes. Then, Ye Qiu walked over and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why did only two of you come?¡± Each player started with 20 backpack slots. Clearly, two players alone wouldn¡¯t be able to carry all this loot. ¡°Are you that NPC?!¡± When the two players saw Ye Qiu, who was wearing a hooded cloak, their eyes lit up. NPCs in this game were incredibly rare encounters! However, they didn¡¯t try to interact with Ye Qiu. After all, they were here to run errands for wealthy players, not to play the game themselves. Leveling up and questing? That was not their priority! ¡°We have more people nearby,¡± one of the players said as he opened his friend list and called in reinforcements. Before long, five players arrived and filled their backpacks to the brim. Only then was Wolf Head Ridge finally cleared out. No wonder this area was the most cost-effective grinding spot in the game! High drop rates, high experience, and monsters with obvious weaknesses! But only for low-level players. ¡ª At the summit of Tiger Mountain¡­ The sky was starting to darken. ¡°You damn Ning Qingyue, are you messing with me?!¡± Zhao Hanyan shouted at Adorable Sunny in frustration. Adorable Sunny¡¯s real name was Ning Qingyue. Hearing this, she smiled playfully, looked at Zhao Hanyan like she was a fool, and giggled. ¡°You were the one being greedy and foolish. How is that my fault?¡± Zhao Hanyan fumed, ¡°How is it not your fault?! You said there was treasure buried here! We wasted our time, exhausted ourselves, digging pits and holes all day for nothing!¡± Hearing this baseless accusation, Ning Qingyue just curled her lips and snorted. ¡°Think carefully. Did I ever say there was treasure buried here?¡± ¡°You¡ª!¡± Zhao Hanyan thought back. She realized that Ning Qingyue had never actually said anything about buried treasure. She had only mentioned that an NPC asked them to dig. ¡°Then what the hell does the NPC want us to dig here for?!¡± Zhao Hanyan was furious. The entire day, she and her team had done nothing but dig. They had practically dug up the entire mountain top! Especially the center, where they had even dug a 5-meter-deep pit! And in the end? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. ¡°This has nothing to do with you, does it?¡± Ning Qingyue smirked mockingly. Zhao Hanyan was speechless. It was true. But¡­ why did it feel so damn annoying?! She just couldn¡¯t let it go! At that moment¡­ ¡°Zhao Hanyan, you¡¯ve been bullying people in real life all the time. Now you¡¯re doing the same thing in a game?¡± Everyone turned toward the voice. Two figures were approaching from the base of Tiger Mountain. One of them had a refined and composed demeanor. ¡°Brother!¡± Ning Qingyue¡¯s eyes lit up as she ran over. The elegant man was Thousand Faces Gentleman. His real name was Ning Qianjun. However, everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to the person standing beside him. It was a middle-aged man with average build and holding a machete in one hand and in the other, a vine rope. Attached to the rope were the corpses of several Green-Eyed Tiger monsters! It was both bloody and intimidating! ¡°NPC!¡± Many people immediately recognized it. At this stage of the game, only an NPC could effortlessly kill level 10 Green-Eyed Tigers! Players, on the other hand, needed dozens or even hundreds of people to surround them. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Even then, they would suffer heavy casualties before killing a single one! ¡°Oh? So you¡¯ve got an NPC helping you now too?¡± Zhao Hanyan sneered, her voice laced with jealousy. Ning Qingyue whispered, ¡°Brother, did it work?¡± Ning Qianjun smiled and nodded. ¡°Thanks to that Mysterious Partner, I managed to enter the village and found this swordsman.¡± It had taken quite a bit of effort. He had raised the NPC¡¯s favorability a little, but not enough to form a party with him. So, he had to rely on other means instead. Regardless, Ning Qianjun revealed his level. Above his head, ¡°Level 5¡± appeared. ¡°Brother, you leveled up so fast?!¡± Ning Qingyue was excited. After the Deep Mountain Tiger Demon incident, Ning Qianjun¡¯s level had dropped to 3. Now, not only had he recovered, he had even reached level 5! That was insanely fast! Ning Qianjun smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve been grinding with the swordsman. Since the Green-Eyed Tigers are level 10, the EXP is great.¡± But as he spoke, his face showed a hint of regret. Ning Qingyue was about to ask why, when suddenly, Zhao Hanyan¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Perfect timing. I¡¯ve got an NPC too. Let¡¯s see whose is stronger!¡± With that, a burly young man beside her stepped forward, face cold. His fists were covered with knuckle dusters. ¡°Been itching for a fight. Let¡¯s go.¡± The burly NPC locked eyes with Ning Qianjun¡¯s swordsman NPC and issued a challenge. Chapter 22 - The Death of an NPC, the Consequences are Serious! Chapter 22: The Death of an NPC, the Consequences are Serious! Under normal circumstances, players could not directly command NPCs to do this or that. In fact, just now, it was the burly young man who voluntarily stepped forward to fight. Zhao Hanyan had been looking for a chance to turn things around, eager to shake off the frustration from before. So when the burly young man offered to fight, she naturally raised both hands and feet in approval! And thus, the current scene unfolded. Facing the provocation of the burly young man, the middle-aged man with a blade only frowned slightly before responding in a cold voice, ¡°You¡¯re just a kid, yet you talk big.¡± The burly young man grinned. ¡°I despise people who pull rank just because they¡¯re older. Hmph!¡± With that, he charged forward. The middle-aged swordsman remained calm and composed, extending his blade in a measured arc. The blade sliced through the air, sounding as if it were cutting the wind itself, producing a sharp whistling noise! ¡°Nice!¡± The burly young man dodged, but instead of retreating, he laughed heartily. The two NPCs began their fierce battle, while a crowd of players stood around, watching in awe. ¡°Holy crap! So this is the strength of NPCs? They¡¯re insane!¡± ¡°Look at that guy with the blade! Every swing makes a sonic boom, and when he strikes a tree, it splits cleanly into several pieces!¡± ¡°When will we ever be that strong?¡± ¡°Honestly¡­ even if we reach the same level as these NPCs, I don¡¯t think we could beat them.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Does anyone know how to recruit NPCs?¡± ¡°Hey, are there female NPCs we can recruit?¡± ¡°There are! I met one before, and she¡¯s super gorgeous! That face¡­ tsk tsk¡­ that figure¡­ tsk tsk¡­¡± None of the players dared to get too close. The shockwaves from the fight alone were enough to make them tremble in fear! ¡°Brother, do you think the swordsman can win?¡± Ning Qingyue asked in a low voice, eyes fixed on the battle. Hearing this, Ning Qianjun¡¯s once-confident expression faltered. He hesitated before answering, ¡°He should be able to win¡­ right?¡± In truth, he had never wanted his hard-earned recruited NPC to get dragged into battles like this. If anything happened to him, that would be a huge loss! However, as players, with such low levels, they had no way of controlling what an NPC did. They couldn¡¯t even stop an NPC from acting on its own. Simply put, players had no authority over NPCs! NPCs only agreed to join them because of the ¡°benefits¡± they could gain. Otherwise, why would they even bother? ¡°Please don¡¯t let anything go wrong¡­¡± Ning Qianjun prayed silently. He had never recruited an NPC before, so he hadn¡¯t known how things worked. But now that he had, he was starting to understand the dynamics between players and NPCs. For example, in a pure recruitment, without a foundation of goodwill, there was always a risk that the NPC could leave at any moment! Additionally, during a party, players only received one-tenth of the experience from monster kills. Even if the NPC did most of the damage, and the player landed the final blow, the result was still the same! To make things worse, when teamed up with an NPC, no loot would drop from defeated monsters! Naturally, if a quest was involved, it wouldn¡¯t count either. But Ning Qianjun had already accepted it. As long as he could level up quickly, that was fine! He was lost in thought when¡­ A sudden sound made everyone snap their heads toward the battlefield. One of the NPCs, the middle-aged swordsman, was sent flying backward! Midair, he coughed up blood violently. His chest was a mangled mess of flesh and blood! At that moment, a system notification echoed in Ning Qianjun¡¯s mind. [The NPC in your party has suffered severe injuries. Their goodwill toward you has dropped to 0. The party has been automatically disbanded.] ¡°What?!¡± Ning Qianjun¡¯s expression changed drastically. He rushed over to the fallen NPC. The moment the swordsman hit the ground, he was already on the verge of death. ¡°I¡¯m level 10, you¡¯re level 9. And your sword skills are far too weak!¡± The burly young NPC withdrew his hand, gazing coldly at the dying swordsman. ¡°You should just go home and farm instead.¡± The middle-aged swordsman coughed up another mouthful of blood. Then, his eyes shut. And he stopped breathing altogether. [The NPC you recruited has died. Your reputation has dropped by 100 points. For the next 10 days, you cannot recruit NPCs, accept quests, enter the novice village, or receive full experience and loot from monster kills.] Another system notification rang in Ning Qianjun¡¯s head. His face darkened instantly. Unlike players, NPCs don¡¯t respawn. Once they die, they¡¯re gone for good! And the worst part? Losing his NPC also meant losing access to quests, his monster EXP was halved, and the loot drop rate was reduced! Ning Qianjun was about to break down. ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Just then, a light chuckle came from Zhao Hanyan¡¯s direction. ¡°Looks like the NPC you recruited wasn¡¯t as strong as mine, huh? Tsk, and now he¡¯s dead, too.¡± Her mocking tone made every muscle in Ning Qianjun¡¯s body tense. He wanted to log out immediately, hunt Zhao Hanyan down in real life, and beat her up! This was too much! She had provoked this whole fight. And yet he was the one paying the price! In real life, the Zhao family already bullied his family enough. And now, even in the game, he was being crushed by them! It was absolutely infuriating! However, he could only swallow his anger. His family was simply weaker than the Zhao family. And since this was just a game conflict, there was no way to get revenge outside of it. His family wouldn¡¯t intervene over something like this. ¡°Zhao Hanyan¡­ I¡¯ll remember this!¡± Ning Qianjun gritted his teeth. That was the only thing he could say before turning away. Ning Qingyue was also furious, but this was the first time she had ever seen her brother so enraged. She still didn¡¯t know the consequences of losing a recruited NPC. Meanwhile, Zhao Hanyan laughed. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be so angry! We¡¯re all family now. We¡¯ll be seeing each other often, so why make things so tense?¡± She still didn¡¯t realize just how much trouble Ning Qianjun was in. But just as she finished speaking, the burly young NPC beside her suddenly said, ¡°By the way, I expect some compensation for this.¡± His tone was firm and non-negotiable. Zhao Hanyan, still in a good mood, waved her hand dismissively. ¡°Relax. The woman I promised you has already been arranged.¡± But the burly young NPC licked his lips, his eyes burning as he stared at Zhao Hanyan. ¡°Actually¡­ you¡¯re not bad yourself. If you agree to spend the night with me, I¡¯ll help you kill monsters for free. I know your Undead race can gain levels that way.¡± Zhao Hanyan¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Don¡¯t push your luck. If you cross the line, you won¡¯t get anything I promised.¡± Before she could say more, Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue, who had been fuming moments ago, suddenly looked ecstatic. ¡°Brother! You¡¯re finally here!¡± At the foot of Tiger Mountain, a cloaked figure slowly ascended the path. Chapter 23 - Challenged by an NPC! Chapter 23: Challenged by an NPC! ¡°So many people?¡± The newcomer was none other than Ye Qiu. Seeing at least a hundred players gathered, he frowned slightly. Heavenly Eye! He activated his ability to inspect the leading figures. [Player: Smokey Clouds Fade] [Class: Warlock] [Level: 4] [HP: 2300] [Character: Shi Jian] [Class: Martial Artist] [Subclass: None] [Level: 10] ¡°A brawny young man¡­ an NPC?¡± Ye Qiu took a closer look at the tall, muscular youth named ¡°Shi Jian.¡± While he was observing others, they were also observing him. ¡°That¡¯s the NPC who can freely enter and leave the newbie village!¡± ¡°Thousand Faces Gentleman latched onto this NPC, which allowed him to enter the village and successfully recruit other NPCs!¡± ¡°Is he really an NPC?¡± ¡°Of course! If he weren¡¯t an NPC, would he be a player? The game just launched, so how could a player freely enter and leave the novice village?¡± ¡°This NPC seems to have a good relationship with Thousand Faces Gentleman.¡± ¡°Hah, what¡¯s the use of that? Didn¡¯t another NPC just die? Now this one shows up, he¡¯s probably doomed too!¡± The players whispered among themselves, pointing at Ye Qiu. In most of their eyes, Ye Qiu had already become an NPC of Novice Village 0001. Even Zhao Hanyan thought so. Her eyes were locked onto Ye Qiu, as if she wanted to discern something. ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± Thousand Faces Gentleman, Ning Qianjun, quickly approached Ye Qiu with his adorable younger sister, Ning Qingyue, by his side. Ning Qianjun was carrying a corpse. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s expression was one of surprise as he saw the body in Ning Qianjun¡¯s arms. Ning Qianjun hurriedly recounted what had just happened. After finishing, his face was filled with frustration, and he let out a heavy sigh. Upon hearing the explanation, Ye Qiu immediately understood. This was the downside of recruiting NPCs and forming teams with them! To prevent an NPC from leaving or betraying them, players had to maintain their favorability, which meant offering benefits, spending time, and even investing money. But most importantly, they must not let the NPC die! If an NPC died while in a player¡¯s party, the player would suffer penalties. For example: Reduced XP gain from monsters, lower item drop rates, inability to accept quests, and restricted access to NPC areas. However, these weren¡¯t even the most severe consequences. Ye Qiu remembered something from his past life. There was once a player who recruited an NPC, but that NPC died unexpectedly. When the NPC¡¯s family and friends found out, they hunted that player down! Even though players could respawn after death, the NPCs didn¡¯t care. They killed the player over and over again, camping at the respawn point. In the end, that player was slain repeatedly, from Level 15 all the way down to Level 0. Until they deleted their account and were permanently unable to log in. Only then did the NPCs finally stop! This was exactly why Ye Qiu never recruited NPCs or teamed up with them for leveling. He simply didn¡¯t have the time or patience to manage relationships with NPCs. For this situation, Ye Qiu had no intention of intervening. He only gave one piece of advice, ¡°Do more good deeds. It will increase your reputation and reduce the duration of negative debuffs.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Ning Qianjun smiled bitterly and nodded. Even if he could reduce the duration of the debuff, it had already wasted his leveling time. Now, the gap between him and the top players would widen, and there would be no way to catch up. Ye Qiu had no intention of solving Ning Qianjun¡¯s problems. Instead, he asked, ¡°You mentioned the pit is ready. Where is it?¡± Ning Qianjun snapped out of his thoughts. He stopped dwelling on the problem and was about to lead Ye Qiu to inspect the progress. Ironically, he had to thank Zhao Hanyan. After she arrived, she had led a large group of players to tirelessly dig trenches and pits. That¡¯s why it was completed so quickly. But just as they were about to leave, someone blocked their way. ¡°No rush to leave.¡± Zhao Hanyan smiled mischievously at Ning Qianjun, then glanced at Ye Qiu. ¡°The NPC I recruited says he wants another sparring match with you.¡± ¡°You¡ª!¡± Ning Qianjun was furious. He put down the corpse of the middle-aged swordsman NPC. Pointing at Zhao Hanyan, he cursed, ¡°Zhao Hanyan, don¡¯t push your luck! If you keep causing trouble, I¡¯ll log off right now and come find you at your house to settle this in person!¡± Ning Qingyue also glared at Zhao Hanyan and shouted, ¡°Zhao Hanyan, don¡¯t be so arrogant! This game¡¯s realism is nearly 100%, and pain is just like in real life. Here in Novice Village 0001, my Ning family has more influence than your Zhao family. Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t recruit players to camp you at the respawn point every day!¡± Hearing this, Zhao Hanyan¡¯s playful smile finally faded. She clicked her tongue and said, ¡°Tsk, no need to get so mad. This isn¡¯t my decision. It¡¯s what my NPC wants. I¡¯m just passing along the message. It has nothing to do with me!¡± She wasn¡¯t lying. Just now, that burly NPC had insisted on a fight again. Zhao Hanyan had no control over her NPC¡¯s actions. She could only let it happen! She was just as frustrated! According to her older brother Zhao Mingyuan, she was supposed to be on friendly terms with the Ning family in Novice Village 0001. After all, their families had already arranged a marriage. In the future, Ning Qingyue was supposed to marry into their Zhao family. Avoiding conflict would have been ideal! But now, because the NPC she recruited was a battle maniac¡­ He had just killed an NPC that Ning Qianjun recruited, and now, he wanted to kill a second one! Absolutely ridiculous! Yet, there was nothing she could do about it! At this moment, the brawny NPC, Shi Jian, stepped in front of Ye Qiu. He grinned and said, ¡°I sense a strong scent of blood on you¡­ You¡¯ve just killed a lot of living things, haven¡¯t you?¡± Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow, puzzled by the NPC¡¯s words. ¡°And what does that have to do with you?¡± Others might not know, but Ye Qiu ¡ª who had lived through two lifetimes ¡ª understood very well. The NPCs in this game were real people. They had their own thoughts. Shi Jian chuckled, ¡°I enjoy battle, but I rarely find a worthy opponent. What do you say? Wanna fight?¡± Ye Qiu remained unmoved. He was Level 8, while this NPC was Level 10. Anyone with common sense wouldn¡¯t accept this fight! Ning Qianjun hurriedly grabbed Ye Qiu¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Don¡¯t fight him! This NPC doesn¡¯t hold back. He fights to kill!¡± To him, Ye Qiu was a golden lifeline. He couldn¡¯t let anything happen to him! Besides, he still wasn¡¯t sure whether Ye Qiu was a player or an NPC. If Ye Qiu was a player, then how could he have entered and left the novice village so easily on the first day? If Ye Qiu was an NPC, then how could he add friends and send private messages? Regardless, he would not allow Ye Qiu to be dragged into this mess! S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. However, things didn¡¯t go as he wished. Shi Jian had already raised his hands, On his knuckle dusters, razor-sharp blades gleamed. [NPC Shi Jian has issued you a challenge!] [For the next hour, all counterattacks will be considered self-defense. No crime points, no reputation loss, no red name status.] [Since NPC Shi Jian is in a party, attacking any of them will still count as self-defense!] The system¡¯s voice echoed in Ye Qiu¡¯s mind. Chapter 24 - Destroy the NPC Chapter 24: Destroy the NPC ¡°Haha! Today, I¡¯m going to have a good fight!¡± The NPC, Shi Jian, let out a wild laugh. Then, he stepped forward. His burly and towering figure loomed over Ye Qiu, making him seem half the size in comparison! He extended his fist was as large as a child¡¯s head, massive beyond belief! His fist, wrapped in brass knuckles, came crashing forward. The wind howled with its force! Watching the terrifying punch rush toward him, Ye Qiu remained still. At the very moment the fist was about to strike, he raised the steel sword in his hand. Metal clashed. The air vibrated. Ye Qiu only took half a step back. ¡°Hmm?!¡± Shi Jian froze. Then, his heart filled with shock. ¡°This guy actually took my punch head-on?!¡± As thoughts raced through his mind, he instantly switched moves. Raising one hand, he formed a knife-hand stance. Then, he slashed down with force! However, Ye Qiu¡¯s figure suddenly disappeared from Shi Jian¡¯s sight. His heart skipped a beat. But before he could react, a chilling killing intent gathered behind him! ¡°Sixth Slash ¡ª Scarlet Point!¡± A faint, muffled sound rang out. Then, Shi Jian¡¯s massive body stiffened in place. He remained completely motionless. Three seconds later, everyone gasped in shock as they saw a small red spot appear in the center of Shi Jian¡¯s forehead. The blood deepened in color and the wound widened. Until finally, with a sudden burst, his skull split open! Blood and brain matter splattered in all directions! His corpse collapsed stiffly to the ground! At that moment, every player present had wide eyes and faces full of utter disbelief! The towering youth who had once torn apart a Level 10 Green-Eyed Tiger with his bare hands, The same one who slaughtered armed NPCs was now¡­ dead?! In just a few seconds?! To the crowd, it was nothing but a one-sided massacre! But only Ye Qiu, the one who delivered the fatal blow, knew that it was all thanks to his Coward¡¯s Cloak! If it had been a pure contest of strength, as a Level 8 player, there was no way he could have killed this Level 10 NPC! Not to mention, NPCs were usually much stronger than monsters of the same level! In his past life, a common saying circulated: ¡°Better to fight a horde of demons than to provoke a humanoid monster!¡± Humanoid monsters (including humanoid NPCs) all had unique combat skills and techniques! They couldn¡¯t be countered by mere experience or information gaps! However, his opponent was Ye Qiu. Someone with over 100 points in Agility! Even a normal Level 20 player might not reach such speed! ¡°This¡­ He really killed him?!¡± ¡°So fast!¡± ¡°NPC battles are terrifying!¡± ¡°If I had fought him, I¡¯d have been killed instantly!¡± ¡°There¡¯s always someone stronger out there!¡± ¡°I thought that burly NPC was unbeatable, but the cloaked NPC is even more insane!¡± ¡°Thousand-Faced Lord is seriously lucky as hell!¡± ¡°Yeah, if I met an NPC like that, I¡¯d call him ¡®Dad¡¯ and cling to his thigh!¡± The murmurs of the crowd grew louder. At that moment, Ning Qianjun and his sister, Ning Qingyue, snapped out of their daze. They exchanged looks. ¡°So strong!¡± The siblings were shocked by their mysterious ally¡¯s power. At the same time, they were completely bewildered. Before this, they leaned toward the belief that Ye Qiu was a player. They were almost certain of it! But now, they were confused! Could a player kill a Level 10 NPC? Absolutely not! At least, from what they knew, the highest-leveled players right now were only around Level 6 or 7! Besides, that burly NPC had previously displayed the ability to tear apart a Level 10 Green-Eyed Tiger with his bare hands! What player could possibly achieve that?! Meanwhile, Zhao Hanyan finally recovered from her shock. In her mind, The system notification rang. [The NPC you recruited has died. Your reputation has decreased by 100 points. For the next 10 days, you cannot recruit another NPC, accept any quests, enter the Novice Village, or gain full EXP and drop rates from monsters.] At that moment, Zhao Hanyan finally understood why Ning Qianjun, who was always calm and elegant, had been so furious earlier! Her heart ached. She had spent a lot to recruit that burly NPC! She didn¡¯t even get a chance to train or kill monsters! And now, he was dead! Of course, she felt no sympathy for the NPC wor was she upset about his death. In fact, she felt a little satisfied! She even wanted to say, ¡°Serves him right!¡± After all, that burly NPC had previously tried to take advantage of her! He had harassed her! If this had happened in real life, he would have been beaten up already! But in the game, she had been powerless to do anything! ¡°What a pity¡­¡± Zhao Hanyan sighed as she glanced at the burly NPC¡¯s corpse. Then, her eyes shifted to Ye Qiu. A gleam of interest flickered in her gaze. She stepped forward gracefully. ¡°This big brother, are you interested in working for me?¡± Zhao Hanyan intercepted Ye Qiu before Ning Qianjun and his sister could get close, her eyes flirtatious, her voice sultry. When she recruited the burly NPC, she had used this exact method! The first thing she always did was to use her beauty trap! She was confident! Her looks, even in real life, rivaled the glamorous stars on television! And in the game, she was even more stunning! Since the game stripped away makeup and artificial enhancements, naturally beautiful women like Zhao Hanyan, stood out even more! However, Ye Qiu¡¯s response was¡­ A cold light flashed. His steel sword slashed across Zhao Hanyan¡¯s throat. She didn¡¯t even have time to scream. She collapsed instantly. Dead! Beside her, an item dropped. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Ye Qiu immediately picked it up. ¡°Huh? Another treasure map?¡± It was a parchment covered in route markings. Since she had initiated the battle, both NPC Shi Jian and player Zhao Hanyan¡¯s deaths were considered self-defense! There would be no penalties! ¡°Holy crap! He actually killed the Big Sister?!¡± ¡°This guy¡¯s finished! The Zhao family is powerful! They¡¯ll definitely get revenge!¡± ¡°Pfft! This is a game, not real life. Why would an NPC fear the Zhao family¡¯s revenge?¡± ¡°True¡­¡± ¡°Fair point!¡± ¡°This NPC is badass! I¡¯m about to become his fan!¡± The crowd was dumbfounded by Ye Qiu¡¯s ruthlessness. It was pure cold-bloodedness! Ning Qianjun had a complicated expression when he saw Ye Qiu kill Zhao Hanyan without hesitation. As for Ning Qingyue, she blinked her big, bright eyes. She glanced at Ye Qiu, then at Zhao Hanyan¡¯s corpse. A grin spread across her lips. Her frustration from earlier vanished! She was overjoyed! Her gaze toward Ye Qiu grew warmer. Finally! She had always hated that woman! But she had been helpless to do anything! Who would have thought that in the game, an NPC would help her take revenge?! Chapter 25 - Ye Qiu’s Goal — the BOSS! Chapter 25: Ye Qiu¡¯s Goal ¡ª the BOSS! Novice Village¡­ At the respawn point stood a massive altar. The altar was engraved with incomprehensible runes. At its core was a humanoid crystal, glowing faintly. At that moment, flashes of white light flickered. One by one, figures appeared. They were players resurrecting after death and mmong them was Zhao Hanyan. She had just revived and was still in a dazed state. ¡°I¡­ I actually got killed?!¡± she muttered, her eye twitching, her face flushed with anger. She, the eldest daughter of the Zhao family, was actually slain in a game! And it wasn¡¯t even by a monster, it was by an NPC! For the first time ever! After taking a deep breath to calm herself, she regained her usual composure. Her lips curled slightly as she muttered, ¡°This grudge must be settled! When has this lady ever suffered such a loss?!¡± At that moment¡­ [Your friend ¡®Empire Overlord¡¯ has sent a voice message request. Accept?] ¡°Brother?¡± She accepted the call. ¡®Empire Overlord¡¯ was none other than her older brother, Zhao Mingyuan, the future head of the Zhao family. Empire Overlord (Voice Message): ¡°Someone recorded a video of Tiger Mountain. I watched it. Check your inventory now and see if you lost anything.¡± The moment the call connected, that was the first thing she heard. Zhao Hanyan was briefly stunned but quickly snapped back to reality. She immediately opened her inventory. A moment later¡­ ¡°Ah!!!¡± a sharp scream escaped her lips. It took a while before she, voice trembling and gritted teeth, responded through voice chat, ¡°Brother, I lost the Secret Realm Map!¡± In the game, when a player was killed, there¡¯s a chance of dropping an item from their inventory. Unfortunately, she had dropped one and it was incredibly valuable. Empire Overlord (Voice Message): ¡°What?!¡± Almost crying, Zhao Hanyan explained, ¡°I dug up a treasure chest while mining. Inside, I found that map. I even spent 1,000 gold coins to buy a High-Level Appraisal Scroll, and it confirmed that it was a ¡®Secret Realm Map.¡¯ When used, it teleports the player to an independent space, which could contain monsters or treasures¡­ I was saving it to bring to the big city and gift it to you for your birthday as a surprise¡­ but now¡­¡± The Novice Village was an isolated area, but the big city was a massive open-world region. Soon, all 7 to 8 billion players worldwide would be able to interact in real time. Empire Overlord (Voice Message): ¡°I appreciate the thought, but if you lost it, you lost it. From now on, stay away from the Ning siblings. Don¡¯t provoke them.¡± Zhao Hanyan was dumbfounded. She had just lost such a precious item, something she had planned to gift him! And not only did he not console her, but he also told her to avoid trouble?! As if she was some troublemaker constantly picking fights?! Taking a deep breath, she coldly replied, ¡°Got it. One of the Nings is your future wife, huh?¡± Then, she hung up the call. ¡°Hmph! She¡¯s not even married in yet, and he¡¯s already siding with her. If she actually marries in, won¡¯t I have even less status?! ¡°Ugh! So frustrating!¡± She stomped her foot in anger. Despite her alluring, mature appearance, she was actually a year younger than Ning Qingyue. She was only 17 this year. ¡ª In-Game ¡ª Nightfall¡­ At the peak of Tiger Mountain, Ye Qiu had already sent the siblings and other players down the mountain. He also asked them to guard the mountain pass. As for himself, he retrieved some items from his inventory. [Special Items: Gas Canisters, Firecrackers, Fuel, Lighter¡­] All of these were things he had brought in from the real world, especially the two gas canisters. Muttering to himself, Ye Qiu said, ¡°If I remember correctly, the Black Iron that Zhang Tie lost is inside one of the Green-Eyed Tiger monsters on this mountain. Killing it should drop the item.¡± With that in mind, he carried the two gas canisters and buried them deep in the central pit. He then spread firecrackers over them, doused them in fuel, and connected a fuse. Finally, he covered it all with dirt, leading the fuse to an exposed area. He didn¡¯t light it immediately. Instead, he went to lure the monsters. One by one, Green-Eyed Tiger monsters emerged from their dens, chasing after him relentlessly. One, two, three¡­ In no time, at least 20 tigers were on his tail! Luckily, his Coward¡¯s Cloak granted him a +100 Agility boost. Thanks to that, he could effortlessly maintain a lead while strategically retreating. He didn¡¯t know how long he had been running, when suddenly¡­ S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. A deafening, unparalleled roar echoed through the air! The ground trembled. Even the air rippled from the sheer force! Heavenly Eye! [Rare Boss ¨C Deep Mountain Tiger Demon] [Level: 15] [HP: 12,000] [Skills: Tiger¡¯s Roar Shakes the Forest, Poisonous Miasma Ground] [Preference: Meat] ¡°It finally appeared!¡± Ye Qiu held his breath, suppressing his nerves. At last, he reached the end of the fuse. He struck the lighter! The fuse crackled, releasing a faint gunpowder scent. At the same time¡­ The Deep Mountain Tiger Demon used Tiger¡¯s Roar Shakes the Forest! All lower-level creatures were instantly stunned by the terrifying sound. However, Ye Qiu was an exception. His body stiffened momentarily but quickly returned to normal. If one looked closely, they would notice something in his ears. Earplugs! He had prepared them in advance. And before the Rare Boss could use its second skill Poisonous Miasma Ground, he had already donned a Gas Mask purchased from the in-game shop! Everything was in place. His goal was to slay this Rare Boss! Could he succeed? To be honest, he wasn¡¯t sure himself. In his past life, no player had ever been able to kill the Deep Mountain Tiger Demon at this stage of the game. It wasn¡¯t until players reached Level 50 that they came back and crushed it through sheer power! So, past-life strategies were useless now. After all, back then, players had only beaten it through brute force. But now, Ye Qiu was only Level 8, while the Deep Mountain Tiger Demon was Level 15. And not just any monster, it was a Rare Boss! Its strength was leagues above normal bosses of the same level. However, in this lifetime, Ye Qiu had a game-breaking advantage ¡ª the ability to bring real-world items into the game! Because of that, everything was about to change! The Level 10 Green-Eyed Tigers howled furiously, eager to tear Ye Qiu apart. It was their first time encountering a human who could run so well! Meanwhile, the Rare Boss finally used its second skill, Poisonous Miasma Ground! A massive purple cloud spread out. All plants it touched instantly withered and died. Even trees turned yellow and decayed into dust! Meanwhile, Ye Qiu¡­ [You are affected by Poisonous Miasma.] A system notification popped up. Above his head, damage numbers appeared: -3, -5, -2¡­ ¡°It works!¡± His gas mask was proving effective! Normally, a Level 15 Rare Boss¡¯s attack would deal hundreds of damage per tick! And it would be continuous! But now, the damage was negligible! Finally, the fuse reached its end! And Ye Qiu had successfully lured all the tigers, including the Rare Boss, into the deep pit! Chapter 26 - Explosion! Chapter 26: Explosion! Gas Cylinder was absolutely a deadly weapon! Living in Hanxia, getting hold of firearms was incredibly difficult and extremely troublesome! But a gas cylinder was easy to get! Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Don¡¯t underestimate it. Even in modern warfare, some countries still use these as makeshift bombs! Someone once tested a fully loaded gas cylinder¡¯s explosion power and found that it was equivalent to 145 kilograms of TNT! That¡¯s about three thousand grenades! Absolutely terrifying! And now It¡¯s time to unleash its power! Ye Qiu sprinted toward the center of the crater. Then, he suddenly stopped moving! From all directions, Green-Eyed Tigers lunged at him! Even more terrifying was the Rare Boss Deep Mountain Tiger Demon, charging at him with overwhelming force! The sound was deafening! The ground trembled! In the blink of an eye, Ye Qiu was completely surrounded by the beasts! But then he suddenly smiled. ¡°Bye-bye!¡± Ye Qiu raised a hand and waved at the Deep Mountain Tiger Demon. Then under its human-like expression of shock his figure vanished in an instant! This was the effect of the Coward¡¯s Cloak skill: Tactical Retreat! A towering inferno! A deafening explosion! The sound shattered the silence! At that moment, the ground shook violently! Flames coiled like dragons! The beasts wailed in agony! Atop Tiger Mountain was like the end of the world! At the base of Tiger Mountain, Ning Qianjun and his younger sister, Ning Qingyue, stood guarding the entrance, preventing other players from going up. ¡°Brother, do you think that guy is really an NPC?¡± Ning Qingyue still couldn¡¯t shake off the images from earlier. That brawny NPC, which was overwhelmingly strong, had been instantly killed! It was absurd! She had seen it with her own eyes. That same NPC had torn apart a Green-Eyed Tiger with his bare hands! That dominant figure had been deeply imprinted in her mind. But now, before even a day had passed, he was gone! All because an even more terrifying and powerful existence had appeared. The mysterious person who had teamed up with them! Ning Qianjun frowned, murmuring, ¡°Maybe¡­ But why would an NPC actively seek me out for cooperation?¡± Ning Qingyue blinked, glancing toward Tiger Mountain. Then she guessed, ¡°Brother, do you remember? He first approached us right near Tiger Mountain!¡± Ning Qianjun¡¯s eyes lit up. Realization dawned. ¡°You¡¯re right! That mysterious NPC must have come specifically for Tiger Mountain. We just got lucky, standing in the right place at the right time. And all the tasks he gave us were related to Tiger Mountain!¡± Ning Qingyue giggled, ¡°If I knew our luck was this good, I should¡¯ve logged off and bought a lottery ticket!¡± They attributed everything to luck. From the top of Tiger Mountain, the Green-Eyed Tiger Beasts¡¯ howls echoed downward! Ning Qianjun, Ning Qingyue, and the surrounding players all looked up. But Tiger Mountain was too tall, and the dense trees blocked their view. ¡°What exactly is this NPC trying to do?¡± Ning Qingyue muttered in confusion, ¡°Digging holes on the mountaintop, making us guard the entrance, keeping other players out so mysterious¡­¡± Ning Qianjun chuckled, ¡°Does it matter? We just need to cooperate, cling to this golden thigh, and level up to 10 within two weeks to leave the Novice Village!¡± Ning Qingyue nodded but soon hesitated, ¡°Brother, that NPC killed Zhao Hanyan once. With Zhao Hanyan¡¯s vengeful personality, he will definitely retaliate if he gets the chance. That NPC might be in danger later!¡± Ning Qianjun pondered, then nodded slightly. ¡°That¡¯s true. NPCs and players are different. Players just need time to grind and level up, but NPCs don¡¯t. At this rate, it won¡¯t be long before Zhao Hanyan outlevels that mysterious NPC.¡± The two of them grew worried about Ye Qiu¡¯s future. Right now, NPCs were stronger than players. But in just a few days, the top players¡¯ levels would skyrocket. At that point the balance of power in the Novice Village would completely flip. Just as they spoke a massive explosion shook them to their core! The ground trembled. The siblings nearly lost their footing! Other nearby players looked up in horror. In the pitch-black night, atop Tiger Mountain, a mushroom cloud of flames erupted! Huge boulders tumbled down! Trees were blown away! A wave of scorching heat swept over them, even from a hundred meters away! ¡°What the hell just happened?!¡± The few players around at night stared in shock. Many of them hurriedly used the game¡¯s recording function to capture the scene! ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue watched the spectacle in absolute disbelief. They turned to each other, gulped, and exchanged stunned glances. They knew this had to be related to that mysterious NPC! ¡ª Meanwhile, halfway up Tiger Mountain and behind a massive boulder, Ye Qiu reappeared. [Your level has increased by 1.] [Your HP and attributes have improved.] [Your level has increased by 1¡­] [Your level has increased by 1¡­] In an instant, Ye Qiu¡¯s level shot from 8 to 11! And that wasn¡¯t all. [Congratulations on killing the Rare BOSS ¡°Deep Mountain Tiger Demon.¡±] [You have gained 15 Reputation Points.] [You are the first player in Trial City to kill a Rare BOSS.] [You receive an additional 300 Reputation Points and 50 Gold Coins.] [As the first player to kill a Rare BOSS, you may send three global announcements to inform all players of your achievement. Would you like to broadcast your name?] ¡°Same as last time with an anonymous announcement.¡± Ye Qiu was covered in dust and soot, but his face was filled with ecstasy. Ye Qiu¡¯s breathing quickened. If he could get a nuclear bomb, wouldn¡¯t he be able to ¡°peacefully¡± conquer the Novice Village?! Maybe even hit Level 50 instantly?! But then he quickly shook his head. In his past life, when the game merged with reality, some of Earth¡¯s most powerful weapons still existed. And one day someone actually used a nuke! The result? Countless NPCs and players were wiped out. The user themselves was gravely wounded and instantly red-named. In the end, they were struck down by divine punishment, obliterated by the system itself! Ye Qiu took a deep breath. That path was not an option. Even worse some NPCs were over Level 100 and could literally crush a nuke with one hand! Chapter 27 - Mysterious Ancient Horn Chapter 27: Mysterious Ancient Horn [Congratulations to anonymous player ¡®xxxx¡¯ for being the first to kill a Rare Boss monster! This achievement will be announced three times to all players in the City of Trials as a mark of honor!] [Congratulations to anonymous player¡­] [Congratulations to anonymous player¡­] At that moment, the same mechanical voice echoed in everyone¡¯s minds. ¡°Damn! Another anonymous player?!¡± ¡°Could it be the same person?¡± ¡°No way! Absolutely impossible!¡± ¡°Who the hell is it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a video on the forums! Looks like it¡¯s from Novice Village 0001!¡± ¡°I saw it! There was a massive explosion on Tiger Mountain!¡± ¡°Could it be¡­ that the rare-grade BOSS¡¯s death is related to this?!¡± Once again, everyone was in shock. The main reason? The game had only been open for less than a day in real-world time. Even in-game, only two days had passed! And yet, during this period, most players hadn¡¯t even managed to kill a single normal monster! But now, someone had already taken down a BOSS. Not just one, but multiple! The contrast was just too brutal! ¡ª Novice Village 0001¡­ Zhao Hanyan was just about to log off when, suddenly, a thunderous explosion echoed from afar! It seemed to be coming from Tiger Mountain! She could even see flames rising into the sky! Before Zhao Hanyan could figure out what was happening, the system¡¯s three announcements rang in her mind! It was just like last time. But, last time, the player had killed an ordinary BOSS. This time, the target was a rare-grade BOSS! ¡°What the hell?! What just happened? ¡°Who is this anonymous player? ¡°Could it be¡­ related to the explosion from Tiger Mountain? ¡°Or even¡­ to that NPC who killed me?!¡± Zhao Hanyan¡¯s mind was filled with suspicion and shock. A series of questions surfaced. Very quickly, a hint of jealousy flashed across her face. She assumed that the anonymous player was Thousand Faces Gentleman Ning Qianjun. She believed that he had taken down the rare-grade Boss, Deep Mountain Tiger Demon, with the help of that hooded NPC! That¡¯s why there was such a commotion! That¡¯s why the system made an announcement! ¡°This Ning family duo has such insane luck, meeting such an overpowered NPC! ¡°No way! I need to figure out a way to make that NPC betray them and follow me instead!¡± Her eyes flickered with calculation. A plan had already formed in her mind. The corners of her lips curled into a sly smile. ¡ª Tiger Mountain summit¡­ Ye Qiu, now Level 11, had an unusual pale blue circular light mark appearing on his forehead. Others might not know what it was. But Ye Qiu, who had lived two lifetimes, knew exactly what it meant! ¡°The Job Change Mark has appeared¡­¡± Ye Qiu recalled his past life. Every player, upon reaching Level 10, would develop this mark on their forehead. It was called the Job Change Mark. After switching jobs, the mark would transform from a simple circular glow into a unique symbol representing the player¡¯s new class! It was a symbol of power and proof of advancement. ¡°I need to go to a big city for the job change. It can¡¯t be done in a novice village.¡± However, Ye Qiu wasn¡¯t planning to leave just yet. Because in this novice village, there were still many quests, rewards, and treasures left to be claimed! Without hesitation Ye Qiu suppressed the glow of his Job Change Mark. At this point, most players were still stuck at Level 2 or 3. A few had reached Level 4 or 5. An extremely small number made it to Level 6. The number of Level 7 players could probably be counted on one hand. As for Level 8? Maybe some existed. Maybe not. But Ye Qiu? He was a complete outlier! As the flames on the mountain summit subsided, Ye Qiu caught the scent of scorched flesh mixed with the aroma of cooked meat. Looking over the battlefield, the remains of Green-Eyed Tigers were scattered everywhere. Some were blown to bits. Some were burnt to a crisp. At the very center, a massive crater held the gigantic corpse of the Rare Boss Deep Mountain Tiger Demon! Perhaps because of its high level and rare-grade status, its corpse remained relatively intact. ¡°Too bad¡­ The distance was too far, and since I killed it using external means, the drop rate was extremely low.¡± Ye Qiu scanned the battlefield. The loot was sparse. Even so, he was already satisfied. After all, he had gained three whole levels in one go! And, he had taken down a Rare Boss! Stepping forward, Ye Qiu began picking up the dropped items and examining them one by one. The first item immediately caught his eye! [Expansion Orb (Rare): Doubles the initial inventory capacity upon use.] ¡°Great item!¡± Ye Qiu grinned and used it without hesitation. In-game, orbs came in four tiers: Normal, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. Unlike equipment, they worked more like permanent buffs. However, they were not interchangeable. For example, the Expansion Orb could only be used to upgrade inventories. Other orbs included Weapon Orbs, Skill Orbs, Pet Orbs, Armor Orbs, and Accessory Orbs¡­ There were many types. The second item was: [Ancient Horn (Unknown): Cannot be identified, traded, dropped, gifted, reforged, or destroyed¡­ Insufficient level to use.] ¡°???¡± Ye Qiu was dumbfounded. He stared at the strange horn crafted from an unknown beast¡¯s material. Its surface was covered in intricate patterns that faintly shimmered with colorful light. ¡°Looks valuable?¡± Ye Qiu strained his memory, trying to recall if he had seen this item in his past life. But¡­ nothing. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. His recollection was crystal clear since his rebirth. If he had seen this before, he would¡¯ve remembered it! Since he didn¡¯t understand it, he simply stored it away. Maybe when his level increased, he¡¯d be able to use it. The third item: [Silver Moon ¨C Tiger Demon Hairpin (Pink-Grade Spirit Equipment)] [Level Requirement: 10. ] [+500 HP.] [Passive Skill: When using a healing skill, gain a shield equal to 5% of your max HP for 3 seconds. (Effect cannot stack.)] ¡°A pink-grade spirit item?!¡± Ye Qiu was surprised. However, it was clearly a healer¡¯s gear. It was not suitable for him. Besides Pink-grade spirit items were usually part of a set. Since only one piece dropped here, the 500 HP bonus was nice, but the passive skill was useless unless someone played a tanky healer build. The trade-off was not worth it. No one would be dumb enough to build pure HP just for one item! The fourth item: [Skill Orb (Rare): Instantly increases a skill¡¯s proficiency by 2000 points.] ¡°Another orb?!¡± Ye Qiu was thrilled. He used it immediately. [Nine Style of Slash (Lv.2): 322/5000. Each slash increases attack by 30. (Note: This skill is an advanced version of the basic ¡°Slash¡± and consumes excessive stamina.)] Instantly Ye Qiu felt a rush of new insights flood his mind. Pausing for a moment, he turned his attention to the fifth item. And the moment he saw it, his face showed pure shock. Chapter 28 - Can Copy Other People’s Skills! Chapter 28: Can Copy Other People¡¯s Skills! The fifth item: [Skill Book ¨C Apprentice¡¯s Will (Special Skill): Upon learning and using this skill, you can copy one ability from another person. Each level-up grants an additional copy opportunity.] ¡°A skill book?! ¡°And not just any skill, it¡¯s that legendary special skill!!!¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s eyes widened in shock. His heart pounded wildly. For a long moment, he simply stood there, trying to process the enormity of what he had just found. After finally calming himself, he took a deep breath. Then, deep within, a wave of overwhelming joy surged through him! In his past life, this special skill had once shaken the entire Trial City. Its effect? It wasn¡¯t just limited to copying player skills. It could be used on NPCs as well! And even more shockingly, it could also be used on pets, monsters, and demons! Furthermore, special skills had a unique trait. They were one of a kind. Once someone learned it, no one else could obtain it! S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Suppressing his excitement, Ye Qiu wasted no time and immediately chose to learn the skill. In the next instant, his personal interface updated. Under the section for special skills, a new entry appeared: [Apprentice¡¯s Will]. This skill had the potential to be incredibly powerful or completely useless. Everything depended on the strength of the user. In his previous life, a certain player had obtained this skill. However, that player was too weak. Even though they eventually copied dozens of abilities from others, all of them remained at Level 1. They had no ability to upgrade so many skills! Spreading oneself too thin often led to ruin. That player became the ultimate example of this lesson. In the end, they were defeated. They were killed by an ordinary player of the same level, who had no special skills at all. It was a tragic ending. ¡°There are no useless skills, only useless players.¡± Ye Qiu had now completely regained his composure. He would not repeat the mistakes of that failed player. Afterward, he scanned through the rest of the loot. Most of it consisted of common and blue-grade equipment, along with various materials. Ye Qiu only kept the materials. He also stored the Rare Boss Deep Mountain Tiger Demon¡¯s corpse into his backpack. These items, they were all tied to quests from his past life. ¡°Found it!¡± Soon, from within the pile of items, Ye Qiu discovered what he was looking for. [The Lost Black Iron of Blacksmith Zhang¡¯s: Unidentified. Quest Item. Cannot be dropped upon death.] Finally, three standard quests and two hidden quests. At this moment, all of them were complete! With nothing else left to gather, Ye Qiu turned to leave the mountain. However, perhaps because the night was too dark, Ye Qiu failed to notice something. In the crater at the heart of the explosion, the soil had collapsed slightly inward. And in that depression, there was an object whose shape was almost identical to something Ye Qiu had just obtained. It was¡­ the Ancient Horn. This item had not dropped from the Rare Boss Deep Mountain Tiger Demon. Instead, it had always been buried deep beneath the Tiger Mountain summit over ten meters underground. The explosion had merely deepened the crater, Finally exposing what had been hidden for so long. Of course, even if Ye Qiu had noticed it, he wouldn¡¯t have paid it much attention. After all, he had no idea what it was. Even with Heavenly Eye, he couldn¡¯t see any additional details. It couldn¡¯t be identified. Its true effects would only become apparent once he reached a certain level. But the most crucial detail was that the item was now in his inventory. It could not be dropped, gifted, traded, or destroyed. From this moment on, it belonged to Ye Qiu alone. Unless he died permanently, without any chance of resurrection, this item would remain bound to him forever. ¡ª At the base of the mountain¡­ A large group of people had gathered at the entrance to Tiger Mountain. Many were clamoring to go up, and some had already begun making their way forward! Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue exchanged helpless looks. Among the players present, there were even official personnel. If it were just ordinary players trying to force their way in, they could ignore them or even take action to stop them. But now that the officials were involved, no matter how strong they were, they had no choice but to step aside. ¡°I can¡¯t believe even the officials have been alerted?!¡± Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue watched as several figures ascended the mountain, deep in thought. When the game had just launched, Ning Qianjun had already wondered if this was truly just a simple virtual game? It boasted 1:1 realism, With NPCs that acted just like real people, possessing independent thoughts. Yet beyond that, it still seemed to contain only the usual game mechanics. But now, with the officials making an appearance, he couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that this brain-implanted game was far from ordinary. Due to the official intervention, the other players who had wanted to go up the mountain had no choice but to back down reluctantly. After all, for now, this was still just a game. And in the real world, they were all just ordinary people. ¡°Brother, could that NPC have already teamed up with another player? Is that why there was such a huge commotion?¡± Ning Qingyue asked, instinctively assuming Ye Qiu was an NPC. ¡°That¡­ shouldn¡¯t be the case.¡± Ning Qianjun was reluctant to accept that theory. He reasoned, ¡°We¡¯ve been watching that NPC all this time, and we¡¯ve never seen any other player near him.¡± In truth, deep down, he wanted that hooded, possibly-player-possibly-NPC individual to keep working for them. ¡°But¡­ what about the explosion just now? And the system-wide announcement in the Trial City?¡± Ning Qingyue frowned, lost in thought. ¡°The explosion happened here in our novice village,¡± Ning Qianjun reasoned. ¡°But the announcement likely came from another novice village, where a player killed a rare boss.¡± ¡°Why do you think that? Isn¡¯t that too much of a coincidence?¡± Ning Qingyue still wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°Think about it. Where are we?¡± ¡°¡­Tiger Mountain.¡± ¡°And what kind of monsters spawn here?¡± ¡°The Level 10 Green-Eyed Tigers, of course. And because they¡¯re so strong, the whole surrounding area has no other monsters.¡± Ning Qianjun smiled. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s one more monster here.¡± Ning Qingyue blinked. Then, suddenly realizing, she exclaimed, ¡°Besides the Level 10 Green-Eyed Tigers¡­ there¡¯s also the Level 15 Rare Boss, Deep Mountain Tiger Demon!¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Ning Qianjun nodded. ¡°Now tell me, who in this beginner village, NPCs included, could possibly kill that monster?¡± Ning Qingyue hesitated, then shook her head. She didn¡¯t know, but she understood her brother¡¯s point. The hooded NPC was strong but not strong enough to take down a Level 15 Rare Boss! Considering the system-wide announcement, the most logical explanation was that it had been another novice village¡¯s player who had killed a low-level Rare Boss. That was the only thing that made sense. After all¡­ Tiger Mountain had no other monsters. It was impossible to believe that hooded NPC had actually slain the Deep Mountain Tiger Demon! Others might not understand how terrifying that monster was. But the two of them had personally encountered it before. That overwhelming power, none could withstand it! Just a single roar froze every player in fear. Just a single poisonous miasma wiped out everyone instantly! Who could possibly fight against that?! No one. At least, not unless they were Level 30 or higher, with a well-coordinated team of at least five skilled players. Just as the siblings were discussing this, a deep voice spoke beside them. ¡°Why were you two guarding the entrance to Tiger Mountain, stopping other players from going up?¡± Chapter 29 - Ye Qiu’s Character Sheet Chapter 29: Ye Qiu¡¯s Character Sheet ¡°Who are you?¡± Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue looked at the middle-aged man in front of them, cautiously asking. They remembered him. He was one of the officials among the group. The middle-aged man thought for a moment before answering, ¡°National Security.¡± Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue exchanged glances. ¡°¡­?¡± Recovering from his shock, Ning Qianjun quickly explained, ¡°We accepted a quest from an NPC to guard the entrance to Tiger Mountain.¡± ¡°An NPC quest?¡± The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then asked, ¡°Do you know the cause of the explosion?¡± The siblings didn¡¯t even need to think. They shook their heads immediately. They were just as baffled! What exactly happened up there? How did such a massive explosion occur?! Seeing that they had no answers, the middle-aged man was about to ask something else when his earpiece buzzed with an incoming message. It was a voice transmission from the team that had gone up Tiger Mountain, along with a video. ¡°Captain, there was indeed a huge explosion up here. There are also many burned monster corpses!¡± the team member reported. The middle-aged man played the video. On the screen, the peak of Tiger Mountain was in ruins. Not a single patch of ground remained intact. The middle-aged man asked through the voice channel, ¡°Did you find anyone? NPCs or players?¡± The team member replied, ¡°No one. Even the unique Level 10 monsters of Tiger Mountain, the Green-Eyed Tigers, seem to have fled due to the explosion.¡± The middle-aged man frowned. Just as he was lost in thought, another message came through. ¡°Captain, we also found some blue and white equipment scattered around!¡± Hearing this, the middle-aged man¡¯s eyes lit up before his expression turned pensive. After a while, he looked at Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue again and asked, ¡°Do NPCs drop equipment when they kill monsters?¡± Ning Qianjun thought about it before answering, ¡°Not sure. I¡¯ve only ever partied with NPCs before, but during that time, no equipment ever dropped.¡± The middle-aged man nodded slowly. ¡°Got it.¡± With that, he turned to leave, issuing a new order over the voice channel, ¡°Pick up all the unclaimed blue and white equipment and store it in your inventory. We¡¯re pulling out. We will meet offline.¡± ¡ª Meanwhile, Ye Qiu had already logged off. He opened his character panel: [Character: One Leaf Knows Autumn] [Class: Swordsman [Subclass: None [Level: 11 [HP: 6500 [MP: 6500 [Attack: 130 [Defense: 130 [Movement Speed: 170 Attributes [Strength: 65 [Constitution: 65 [Agility: 170 [Spirit: 65 [Luck: 60 (Special Attribute) [Fame: 425 Equipment [Steel Sword [Steel Chestplate [Steel Pants [Steel Boots [Lynx Bone Ring [Coward¡¯s Cloak Inventory [Lynx Kingdom Ruins [Herbalist Shopkeeper¡¯s Prescription (Quest Item) [Blacksmith Zhang Tie¡¯s Lost Black Iron [Secret Realm Treasure Map [Ancient Horn [Wolf Fang Crescent Staff (Purple Rare Weapon) [Silver Moon ¡ª Tiger Demon Hairpin (Pink Spirit Artifact) S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [Lighter [Gas Mask [Lightning Rod [Various Materials Active Skills [Slash (Level 1): 176/500 EXP ¨C Increases attack by 10 upon use. [Nine Styles of Slash (Level 2): 322/5000 EXP ¨C Each form increases attack by 30 upon use. Heavenly Eye (Level 1): 355/5000 EXP ¨C Allows the user to analyze all objects within their field of vision, detect hidden traps, uncover unknown mysteries, and reveal concealed figures. Special Skills [Apprentice¡¯s Will: Allows the user to copy one skill from another person. Gains one additional copy chance per level. (Current Charges: 11/11)] [Pets: None] [Guild: None] Stat Points [Fixed Stat Points: 120] [Free Stat Points: 50] Ye Qiu had yet to allocate his earned stat points. ¡°Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Spirit each gets 30 points,¡± he decided. Fixed attribute points could only be distributed among the four core stats. With the new allocations, his stats updated: [Strength: 95] [Constitution: 95] [Agility: 200] [Spirit: 95] [HP: 9500] [MP: 9500] [Attack: 190] [Defense: 190] [Movement Speed: 200] Ye Qiu immediately felt an unprecedented sense of power. In his past life, when the game merged with reality, he had only been Level 5. He barely survived for over a year, constantly hiding and struggling before he could finally complete his job advancement. But now? He was leagues ahead of schedule. Looking outside, it was already evening in the real world. Two days had passed in the game. Yet in reality, only half a day had gone by. He picked up his phone. Su Xintong, his class president, hadn¡¯t sent any new messages. But in his group chats, the once-quiet atmosphere had turned rowdy again. Every group had ¡°99+¡± unread messages. He casually clicked into one of them. ¡°I finally hit Level 3!¡± ¡°Nice!¡± ¡°Carry me, please!¡± ¡°I¡¯m still stuck in line waiting for a quest!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t take quests! Total waste of time!¡± ¡°Huh? Why?¡± ¡°The damn village chief gives out quests that are nightmare difficulty!¡± ¡°Yeah, my quest requires me to collect 20 tiger whips! I checked and tiger whips drop from Green-Eyed Tigers. But those things are Level 10!!!¡± ¡°Same here!¡± ¡°Same +1!¡± ¡°My quest is a bit easier, just killing 20 Black Wolves¡­¡± ¡°Pfft! Black Wolves are Level 7!¡± ¡°Level 3 dude here, looking for a girl to carry~¡± ¡°Thirsty much? Get lost!¡± ¡°Bruh, are people really this desperate? Since when can Level 3s carry others?¡± ¡°Easy for you to say. Bet you don¡¯t even play much.¡± ¡°Too busy working 996, no time for games!¡± ¡°My boss is hiding in his office playing, while we workers have to slave away!¡± ¡°Our company was supposed to give us a day off, but because of that damn countdown in our heads, everyone freaked out thinking it was the end of the world. When they found out it was just a game, they called us right back in.¡± ¡°Damn capitalists!¡± ¡°By the way, what¡¯s the highest level right now?¡± ¡°Since only half a day has passed in real life, and two days in-game, the highest should be around Level 7.¡± ¡°Holy crap, someone¡¯s already Level 7?!¡± ¡°Must be whales (TL note: big game spenders)!¡± ¡°You can spend money in this game?¡± ¡°Duh! Rich players hire others to be cannon fodder, then land the finishing blow for free XP. That¡¯s one way.¡± ¡°There¡¯s an even better way, recruiting NPCs! But it¡¯s super expensive.¡± ¡°I saw on the forums that something exploded in Novice Village 0001. Even the real-world government is involved. What happened?¡± ¡°Not sure.¡± ¡°Wait, why is the real-world government getting involved with a game? That¡¯s never happened before!¡± ¡°Could it be that this game¡­ isn¡¯t just a game?¡± ¡°Obviously! Something appearing in your head isn¡¯t normal!¡± ¡°But¡­ it¡¯s still just a game, right¡­?¡± Chapter 30 - Buy Something More Powerful! Chapter 30: Buy Something More Powerful! After quickly eating something, Ye Qiu hurried out the door. Since the gas tank had performed so well in battle and the first attempt was a success, he naturally had to keep up the momentum. He needed to prepare more powerful items, but they also had to be easily obtainable. For example, more gas tanks. And¡­ Molotov cocktails. The former could be purchased directly from the gas company. As for the latter, he could make them himself. Gasoline as a base, rubber for thickening, sugar for fuel, concentrated sulfuric acid as an ignition source, and finally, an empty glass bottle to hold it all together. If necessary, he could also use liquid alcohol, something that had burned more than a few people to death. ¡°Uncle Su, do you know where I can buy a large amount of gasoline? Yes, in barrels and bottles, not for refueling a car¡­ Alright¡­ If you can drive over now, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Ye Qiu rarely called people. On the other end of the line was one of the few people he knew, though they weren¡¯t exactly close. Back when his parents had their accident and needed to be rushed to the hospital, no one was willing to take them. In the end, it was ¡°Uncle Su¡± who carried Ye Qiu¡¯s unconscious and injured parents into his car and drove at full speed to the hospital. Uncle Su was a taxi driver. Even though his parents ultimately didn¡¯t survive their injuries, Ye Qiu had always been deeply grateful to him. Even after twenty years in his past life, now that he had been reborn, he still remembered. Within just a few minutes, Uncle Su arrived. Ye Qiu stepped out, locked the door, and walked over to the taxi. He opened the front passenger door and got in. As soon as he sat down, Uncle Su asked curiously, ¡°Xiao Ye, why do you need to buy gasoline? Stocking up before getting a car? If that¡¯s the case, let me give you some advice¡­¡± The moment cars were brought up, Uncle Su became a chatterbox. He could talk endlessly. Ye Qiu just listened quietly. The middle-aged man whom he hadn¡¯t seen for twenty years was still in good health and didn¡¯t look too old. However, the wrinkles on his face were deep, and the gray hairs at his temples were more prominent. Ye Qiu recalled his past life. After the countdown in his mind had nearly reached zero, he had stayed at school with his classmates. The last time he saw Uncle Su was also at school. That day, when the game descended into reality, many students lost their lives. It seemed that Uncle Su¡¯s child was among them. Ye Qiu remembered clearly. That day, Uncle Su had looked lost, wandering around like a soulless husk, almost like a walking corpse. Ye Qiu had wanted to offer some words of comfort but hesitated, afraid that it would come off as hypocritical or insincere. The last thing a grieving person needed was empty condolences. So, in the end, he turned back and returned to his dorm. Out of sight, out of mind. After that day, Ye Qiu never saw Uncle Su again. That was until now. Once Uncle Su finished talking, Ye Qiu finally said, ¡°I don¡¯t need too much, just a standard barrel, so around 150 to 200 liters.¡± Uncle Su nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not much. An old buddy of mine owns a gas station. I¡¯ll take you there and get it sorted.¡± Ye Qiu immediately responded, ¡°Thanks, Uncle Su.¡± Uncle Su waved it off. ¡°No need to thank me. It¡¯s just a small favor. By the way, if you need a barrel, they¡¯ll charge extra. But I¡¯ll see if I can talk them into giving you one for free.¡± Ye Qiu shook his head. ¡°Barrels aren¡¯t cheap, a few hundred bucks each. No need to take advantage. I can afford it.¡± He really wasn¡¯t short on money. He had borrowed from every available loan platform. Even mortgaged his house to take out high-interest loans. Though a small house wasn¡¯t worth much, he still had at least a few hundred thousand in cash on hand. It was enough to buy what he needed. As for gasoline, he didn¡¯t need too much. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Only low-level monsters were afraid of Molotovs. By the time he reached level 20, many monsters would have resistance to specific elements. For instance, fire-resistant monsters. If a Molotov¡¯s power was lower than their resistance, not only would it fail to kill them, but it could even heal them! Gas tanks were slightly better. But even they would only be useful up to level 25 or 30 monsters. And that wasn¡¯t even counting bosses. A level 20 regular boss could potentially withstand a gas tank explosion and still survive. And if the monsters weren¡¯t instantly killed, they would go into a frenzy. Inside the car, Uncle Su started talking about the game that had appeared in everyone¡¯s minds. He said that at his age, if he had to have something extra in his brain, he¡¯d prefer it to be something useful and not some inexplicable game. ¡°This thing is for young people and kids,¡± he said, shaking his head with a chuckle. ¡°Uncle Su, did you log into the game?¡± Ye Qiu asked. ¡°I did. It asked me to bind my DNA and create an account¡­ but I didn¡¯t bother. I just asked around, found out it was just a game, and stopped paying attention to it.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ actually, you should create an account,¡± Ye Qiu suggested. In his past life, many people never created accounts. This was especially true for children under 3 and elderly people over 70. It made sense for children since they were too young to understand. But for older people, most simply weren¡¯t interested in games. And those who didn¡¯t create an account ended up remaining as ordinary people. Because in ten days, when the game would descend into reality, new accounts could no longer be created. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it when I have time,¡± Uncle Su sighed. ¡°There¡¯s enough real-world trouble already. Where would I find the mood to play a game?¡± Ye Qiu didn¡¯t press further. Other people¡¯s private matters weren¡¯t his to meddle with. As for the game in their minds, everything would happen as fate allowed. Even high-level players struggled to survive after the game merged with reality. As they talked, the car arrived at a gas station. Uncle Su found the owner, and since the two were acquainted, they only exchanged a few pleasantries before completing the purchase. The gasoline was divided into several small metal containers to fit into the trunk. Once it was packed, Ye Qiu paid, and they left. On the way back, Uncle Su received a phone call. After hanging up, he looked slightly apologetic and said, ¡°Something came up. I might be delayed for half an hour before I can take you back.¡± Ye Qiu replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine, Uncle Su. I¡¯ll just nap in the car.¡± Uncle Su nodded. ¡°Alright, take a rest. I¡¯ll wake you up when I¡¯m ready to drive you home.¡± The car then turned a corner and stopped at a nearby auto shop. Meanwhile, Ye Qiu had already logged into the game. ¡ª Inside the game world, the sun had fully risen. [Your friend ¡®Thousand Faces Gentleman¡¯ has sent you a voice message. Would you like to accept?] The moment he logged in, a system prompt popped up. He glanced at his inbox. Thousand Faces Gentleman had sent him multiple voice messages. Chapter 31 - Who is Showing Off? Chapter 31: Who is Showing Off? At the Foot of Tiger Mountain¡­ A large group of players gathered in the area. Some were going up. Some were coming down. It was all because of last night¡¯s events. The players believed there must be some kind of treasure at the peak of Tiger Mountain! However, as they reached the summit, they realized that apart from a mess of destruction, there was absolutely nothing else! Some players were even killed by the respawned Green-Eyed Tigers! ¡°Brother, has that NPC replied yet?¡± Ning Qingyue sat directly on the ground, looking utterly bored. From last night to this moment, it was already close to noon. The siblings had been waiting here for the cloaked NPC the entire time. They didn¡¯t dare leave. Ning Qianjun kept staring at his friends list. Hearing his sister¡¯s question, he could only shake his head with a wry smile. ¡°No reply.¡± Ning Qingyue pouted, exhaled in frustration, and muttered, ¡°What kind of NPC is this? Gives a quest but no system notification. That¡¯s fine, but now he¡¯s completely missing too!¡± Ning Qianjun replied, ¡°Let¡¯s wait a little longer. If we can latch onto this golden thigh, wasting a day or two is nothing!¡± Ning Qingyue glanced at her brother and couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Brother, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen you so invested in a game!¡± Ning Qianjun pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°Qingyue, I feel like the appearance of this game is foreshadowing something. And last night, even the officials got alarmed!¡± Ning Qingyue blinked, deep in thought. Just then, a playful yet mocking laugh echoed. ¡°Oh? You two are still here playing guard dogs?¡± The siblings immediately frowned and looked over. Then, they saw a familiar figure leading a group of players toward them. That familiar figure was none other than Zhao Hanyan! After what happened yesterda, both sides saw each other as eyesores, especially Zhao Hanyan. Her losses yesterday were massive! She lost experience from dying, dropped a secret realm treasure map, and was even warned by her brother not to mess with the Ning siblings! Either way, she was furious! Of course, despite her anger, she never stopped keeping tabs on the Ning siblings. She had players monitoring them. Any news and she wanted to be notified immediately! ¡°Watch your mouth!¡± Ning Qingyue huffed coldly. ¡°Tsk tsk, don¡¯t be so quick to take it personally. I didn¡¯t even say your names. Looks like the stone hit the dog, huh? Too sensitive.¡± Zhao Hanyan sneered. ¡°You¡ª!¡± Ning Qingyue was so furious she couldn¡¯t find the words. She could only retort, ¡°You¡¯re just running your mouth! Did you forget how you got killed yesterday? Want to die again?¡± Zhao Hanyan¡¯s expression stiffened slightly. She quickly glanced around then realized something and scoffed, ¡°I think your mouth runs even wilder than mine. That NPC has already run off, leaving you two here like guards, yet you¡¯re still grinning about it. So dedicated. I almost want to hire you both to work for me!¡± Ning Qingyue said coldly, ¡°We¡¯re happy to wait. What¡¯s it to you?¡± Zhao Hanyan, putting on a friendly facade, said, ¡°I¡¯m just giving you a heads-up, considering we might be family in the future. In this game, NPCs are smart. None of them are fools. Some even trick players, like giving impossible quests or refusing to hand out rewards even after the mission is completed¡­¡± Before she could finish, Ning Qingyue¡¯s expression changed slightly. Zhao Hanyan caught the reaction immediately. Her grin widened. ¡°Oh? Did I hit the nail on the head?¡± Ning Qingyue was about to say something, but this time, Ning Qianjun spoke first. ¡°The NPC I know isn¡¯t like the others. Just yesterday, he even told me to go to Wolf Head Ridge to pick up loot!¡± As he spoke, he opened his inventory and shared his screen. Zhao Hanyan immediately saw that Ning Qianjun¡¯s 20 inventory slots were filled with equipment! ¡°I have some too!¡± Ning Qingyue quickly followed suit, sharing her inventory screen as well. Likewise, her 20 inventory slots were completely stacked with gear! Zhao Hanyan¡¯s eyelid twitched. After a moment, she scoffed, forcing an indifferent look. ¡°Pfft, all just blue and white gear, worthless. That NPC is so stingy!¡± Ning Qianjun chuckled. ¡°Besides these two inventory bags, we have several others filled with gear too.¡± Zhao Hanyan¡¯s eyelid twitched even harder. Ning Qianjun continued, ¡°At this stage of the game, even a common white piece of gear is worth a fortune. I don¡¯t know how you can call this ¡®worthless.¡¯¡± Zhao Hanyan suddenly smiled. Seemingly unintentionally, she pulled an item from her inventory and waved it around. It was a dagger with a faint pink glow. The siblings, who had been brimming with confidence were now completely stunned. In the game, equipment had tiers. From low to high: White (Common), Blue (Advanced), Purple (Rare), Pink (Spirit), Orange (Epic), and Gold (Legendary)! White gear was the most common. The drop rate was high. Blue gear was rarer. But with enough grinding, players could get two or three pieces a day! Purple gear, however, had an extremely low drop rate! According to forum statistics, each novice village had no more than ten pieces of purple gear in total! That¡¯s how rare it was! And pink-tier spirit weapons? Even rarer! So rare that this was the first time Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue had ever seen one! S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After a long moment Ning Qingyue muttered sourly, ¡°Tch, an assassin¡¯s weapon. What use is it to you, a sorcerer?¡± She just couldn¡¯t understand it. They all started on the same playing field. Yet somehow, Zhao Hanyan¡¯s luck was always a step ahead! Recruiting NPCs, she beat them to it. Now in terms of equipmen, even though the siblings had plenty of blue and white gear, it still couldn¡¯t compare to one pink-tier spirit weapon! ¡°Haha, I never said it was for me.¡± Zhao Hanyan grinned smugly, flaunting the dagger. ¡°Tell me, how many inventory bags of blue and white gear do you think this pink-tier spirit weapon is worth?¡± The siblings fell silent. A pink-tier spirit weapon, at this stage, was priceless! Even if they offered ten or twenty inventory bags of gear, they wouldn¡¯t get it. ¡°Well, you two keep waiting. I¡¯m off to level up!¡± Zhao Hanyan smirked, flashing the pink-tier weapon again as she turned to leave. But just before she could take a step, Ning Qingyue suddenly noticed something. She quickly waved and called out, ¡°Big Brother, you¡¯re finally here!¡± Ning Qianjun saw it too. A smile immediately spread across his face. Zhao Hanyan instinctively turned and saw a hooded figure slowly approaching. ¡°Protect me!¡± The moment she recognized the figure, Zhao Hanyan¡¯s face paled slightly and shouted for protection. The players accompanying her quickly surrounded her defensively. The newcomer Was Ye Qiu, the very NPC who had killed her yesterday at Tiger Mountain! Ye Qiu, however, paid her no attention. He walked straight past her and stopped in front of Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue. Looking at the siblings, he spoke apologetically, ¡°Sorry, I was busy with other things last night and forgot to notify you.¡± Ning Qianjun quickly waved his hand. ¡°Big brother, you¡¯re too polite! It¡¯s nothing, not a problem at all! Anyway, as Undying, even if we go without sleep for days, we¡¯re totally fine!¡± In the game, NPCs referred to players as the ¡°Undying.¡± Besides, Ning Qianjun had already decided. He was going to cling tightly to Ye Qiu¡¯s golden thigh! Never mind waiting just one night, even if he had to wait for days, he wouldn¡¯t complain! Ye Qiu nodded. ¡°The tasks I¡¯ve given you so far, you¡¯ve done well. But last night, I told you to guard the entrance to Tiger Mountain and prevent others from entering. In the end, you still let people through.¡± ¡°This¡­¡± Ning Qianjun was speechless. That was true. They hadn¡¯t been able to hold the line. He wanted to explain but didn¡¯t know how. Should he tell Ye Qiu that those who went up the mountain were officials from the real world? Would an NPC even understand that? And even if he did understand, would it change anything? Fortunately, Ye Qiu continued, ¡°Still, you deserve your reward.¡± As he spoke, he took out a staff and handed it to Ning Qianjun. Ning Qianjun instinctively took it and checked the item. [Wolf Fang Crescent Staff (Purple Rare Weapon)] [Level Requirement: Level 5] [Stats: +100 MP, +10 Spirit, +5 Agility] [Passive Skill: Restores 5 MP per second when equipped.] ¡°A purple item with a built-in skill?!¡± Ning Qianjun was first shocked, then overjoyed. At this stage Purple equipment was still extremely rare! Up until now, he had only owned one piece. And its stats were garbage! The most frustrating part? It was warrior gear! Neither he nor Ning Qingyue could even use it! If a player¡¯s class didn¡¯t match the equipment, they could still equip it but they wouldn¡¯t be able to use its full effects! Despite his excitement, Ning Qianjun gritted his teeth and handed the staff to his sister. ¡°Qingyue, you take this staff.¡± Ning Qingyue shook her head. ¡°No, big brother, you should keep it. Mages consume more MP, and this staff¡¯s passive skill restores MP. It suits you better!¡± The siblings continued to bicker over who should take the staff. Meanwhile Zhao Hanyan, who had been enjoying the drama from the sidelines, was utterly stunned when she saw Ye Qiu pull out a purple rare weapon and it was a staff that both mages and priests could use! Her brother, Zhao Mingyuan, had once taken a quest at another novice village. It was a mission from the village chief ¡°Collect 20 Tiger Whips.¡± The quest was incredibly difficult! Her brother had to recruit NPC teammates just to complete it! And in the end, his reward? Just a few skill points and some experience! That was it! Chapter 32 - You Talk as if You Can Get Pink Equipment Easily Chapter 32: You Talk as if You Can Get Pink Equipment Easily ¡°Ah, why did Miss Zhao¡¯s face suddenly turn so ugly?¡± Ning Qingyue¡¯s voice suddenly rang in Zhao Hanyan¡¯s ears. Her tone was filled with amusement. Zhao Hanyan snapped back to reality. She scoffed, ¡°It¡¯s just a purple rare item, look at you acting all smug. Someone who didn¡¯t know better would think you got a pink spirit weapon!¡± As she spoke, she waved her pink spirit weapon dagger in front of Ning Qingyue¡¯s face. Ning Qingyue was at a loss for words. There was nothing she could do. A pink spirit weapon was simply that powerful! Even if it were a mage or priest-exclusive staff. In front of a pink spirit weapon, it would still pale in comparison! ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± Zhao Hanyan grinned. ¡°Believe it or not, if I put this pink spirit weapon up on the forums, within a minute, thousands of people would be willing to pay a fortune for it. Tell me, how many purple rare items do you think I could exchange it for?¡± Ning Qingyue huffed, ¡°Don¡¯t get too cocky. It¡¯s just a pink spirit weapon. Sooner or later, we¡¯ll have one too, and it¡¯ll be class-exclusive!¡± Hearing this, Zhao Hanyan clicked her tongue. ¡°Oh, oh, oh¡­ ¡®Just¡¯ a pink weapon? ¡®Just¡¯ a class-exclusive weapon? Tsk tsk, you¡¯re talking as if you could get one right this second!¡± She was absolutely delighted. The moment she obtained this pink spirit weapon, she rushed over just to show off in front of Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue. She wanted to wash away the frustration from yesterday! And right now, the effect was outstanding! Zhao Hanyan felt completely refreshed! S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Especially when she saw Ning Qingyue¡¯s face, filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. She almost burst out laughing! Just as Zhao Hanyan was brimming with joy, out of the corner of her eye. She caught sight of something. Her entire face instantly froze. Her eyes reflected a faint pink glow! ¡°By the way, there¡¯s one more reward.¡± The hooded Ye Qiu pulled out another piece of equipment and handed it to the siblings. It was a delicate and intricately designed hairpin. It was pure white in color, yet around it, a soft pink glow radiated! ¡°Holy shit!¡± Even the usually refined and gentle Ning Qianjun, the moment he saw this piece of equipment, had his eyes widened in shock. A curse slipped out instinctively! His sister, Ning Qingyue, was just as stunned! Her small cherry lips parted slightly. Her heartbeat suddenly quickened! Her bright almond-shaped eyes shimmered. She was speechless for a long while! After a moment, realizing his loss of composure, Ning Qianjun Trembling slightly With a face full of disbelief Turned to Ye Qiu. Swallowing hard, he asked, ¡°T-This¡­ This is really our reward?!¡± This was the first time he had ever asked such a question in a game! But there was no helping it. This was a pink spirit weapon! They had checked the forums. Across the entire server, only a handful of novice villages had reported pink spirit weapons dropping! But now, that incredibly rare treasure was right before their eyes! And even more so right in their hands! It all felt¡­ unreal! Ye Qiu spoke up, ¡°Take it. If you help me, I won¡¯t treat you unfairly. Also, this piece is for priests. It allows shared vision. Check the equipment stats.¡± Ning Qianjun quickly did as he was told. Ning Qingyue, on the other hand, was brimming with excitement and anticipation! A priest¡¯s exclusive equipment! The information appeared. [Silver Moon ¨C Tiger Demon Hairpin (Pink Spirit Weapon)] [Level Requirement: Level 10] [+500 HP] [Passive Skill: When casting healing skills, grants a shield equal to 5% of the user¡¯s max HP, lasting for 3 seconds. (Effect cannot stack.)] ¡°So strong!!!¡± Ning Qianjun, being well-versed in equipment, immediately saw the ¡°+500 HP¡± stat and gasped! As expected of a pink spirit weapon! Simple, yet overwhelmingly powerful! Not to mention the passive skill! A single skill could define an entire playstyle! A tank healer build was now viable! Ning Qingyue¡¯s eyes sparkled with joy! Until now, she didn¡¯t even have a decent priest weapon! But now, not only did she get one, she got a hairpin that was perfect for female players! The siblings couldn¡¯t stop smiling. Ning Qianjun quickly handed the hairpin to his sister, urging her to try it on. Though it had a level requirement, that didn¡¯t stop them from checking how it looked first! Girls love beauty. Ning Qingyue was no exception. After putting it on, she activated the ¡°Mirror¡± function. Staring at her reflection, the more she looked, the happier she felt! So beautiful! It suited her perfectly! ¡°From now on, if I need anything, I¡¯ll contact you. We¡¯ll meet at the usual spot,¡± Ye Qiu said, breaking the siblings¡¯ joyful moment. They quickly nodded. Before leaving, Ning Qingyue suddenly turned to Ye Qiu and sincerely asked, ¡°By the way, how should we address you?¡± ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± Ning Qianjun also nodded. They still thought Ye Qiu was an NPC, yet they had no idea what to call him! Ye Qiu thought for a moment and then said, ¡°You can call me¡­ ¡®Mystery.¡¯¡± ¡°Mystery?¡± the siblings repeated. But when they looked again Ye Qiu had already vanished! As expected of a ¡®Mystery¡¯ NPC! The siblings were in awe! After a long pause, Ning Qingyue suddenly thought of something. Her gaze quickly shifted to the side, only to find Zhao Hanyan was gone too. ¡°Qingyue, put the equipment into your backup inventory. Once you reach the level requirement, then equip it,¡± Ning Qianjun reminded. ¡°I know,¡± Ning Qingyue responded sensibly. ¡°Zhao Hanyan was right here just now. She saw Mystery NPC give us two pieces of equipment, especially the pink spirit weapon. If other players find out, they might try to kill us for it!¡± Ning Qianjun nodded. ¡°Ordinary players aren¡¯t a big concern. It¡¯s Zhao Hanyan we need to watch out for! That woman is vengeful and petty, she will try something!¡± Ning Qingyue huffed, ¡°Let her try! In reality, sure, the Zhao family is powerful, but this is a game! I refuse to believe she can do whatever she wants here! Besides, we have Mystery NPC as our golden ticket!¡± Her last sentence was filled with smugness! She couldn¡¯t help but reach up, touching the hairpin on her head. She was absolutely thrilled! Ning Qianjun, however, furrowed his brows slightly. He had a feeling that things weren¡¯t going to be that simple. ¡ª Meanwhile¡­ ¡°AAAAAHHHH!!!¡± In an open area Zhao Hanyan was furious! She stomped her foot. Her face filled with envy, jealousy, and frustration! ¡°Why?! ¡°Why are those siblings so lucky? How did they meet such an overpowered and generous NPC?! ¡°I went through so much just to get my pink spirit weapon, and they¡ª ¡°All they had to do was play watchdogs, and they got a pink spirit weapon as a reward?! ¡°IT¡¯S NOT FAIR!!!¡± She kicked a tree furiously. She was on a voice call with someone. Soon, a voice came through, ¡°What¡¯s the NPC¡¯s name? I¡¯ll see if my novice village has one too.¡± Most novice villages had identical NPCs. Village chiefs at the entrance. Dozens of NPCs scattered inside. Occasionally, a random NPC might also leave the village. Zhao Hanyan thought for a moment and replied, ¡°The NPC wore a hood, face hidden, medium height, male, carrying a sword¡­¡± Chapter 33 - Everyone has a Weakness! Chapter 33: Everyone has a Weakness! ¡°Are you sure he was wearing a cloak?¡± The voice on the other end belonged to Zhao Mingyuan, Zhao Hanyan¡¯s older brother. Zhao Hanyan confirmed, ¡°Yes. He never took it off. There are videos of him on the forum, you can check them out. Oh, and that explosion at the top of Tiger Mountain yesterday? It seems like he was involved in that too!¡± Zhao Mingyuan replied calmly, ¡°I know. Apparently, the officials have gotten involved, which is a bit surprising.¡± Zhao Hanyan didn¡¯t care about any of that. She just asked, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m not convinced! Why are those two so lucky? At this rate, the Ning siblings will surpass my level in less than two days! What should I do?¡± That was just her personality and her competitors happened to be the Ning siblings, especially Ning Qingyue! The two had been competing since childhood. When they were younger, they compared grades, academic performance, and who was more well-behaved. As they grew older, they started comparing looks, family background, and talents. In terms of appearance and family, Zhao Hanyan had never felt inferior to Ning Qingyue. In fact, her family was even more prestigious! Her only shortcoming was talent, though just slightly. Now, a new battlefield had emerged: this game. Even their families seemed to take it seriously, further fueling her competitive drive. No matter what, she couldn¡¯t afford to lose to Ning Qingyue! Zhao Mingyuan paused for a moment before sending a voice message. ¡°Just like I taught you before about recruiting NPCs, humans have emotions and desires. The NPCs in this game are highly intelligent, almost indistinguishable from real people. That means they have weaknesses. As long as you can exploit their weaknesses and offer them benefits, they will willingly work for you.¡± Zhao Hanyan nodded, half-understanding. She had already considered this before. Now, with her brother¡¯s advice, she was even more certain that this plan would work! ¡ª Novice Village¡­ Ye Qiu first went to find the village chief, Elder Xu. ¡°The mission is complete.¡± Ye Qiu handed over 20 tiger whips. Elder Xu was stunned. ¡°You¡¯re already level 11?!¡± Ye Qiu grinned. ¡°Got lucky. Killed a boss and leveled up a few times.¡± Elder Xu snapped out of his shock and gave Ye Qiu a long, appraising look. Then, he got up and turned to the players waiting in line. ¡°That¡¯s all for today. Come back tomorrow.¡± With that, he grabbed Ye Qiu by the arm and led him inside. As for the other players They groaned and cursed, but there was nothing they could do. Some were already used to it. One player even pulled out a makeshift wooden stool and sat down on the spot, ready to wait. ¡ª Inside the village, Elder Xu handed Ye Qiu his mission rewards. [Congratulations! You have completed the village chief¡¯s mission and received: 20 gold coins, 20 reputation points, 20 skill attribute points, 4 fixed attribute points, and 1 free attribute point.] In his past life, Ye Qiu had almost never done quests. Now, getting actual rewards for completing one made him quite satisfied, even though there was no high-level gear or powerful skills! Especially that 1 free attribute point. It was incredibly valuable! There were different types of attribute point. Free attribute points: Can be assigned to any stat, including strength, agility, intelligence, skills, and even luck. Fixed attribute points: Can only be used on the four primary stats ¡ª strength, stamina, intelligence, and agility. Skill Attribute Points: These can only be used to enhance skills. Elder Xu then spoke in a solemn tone, ¡°You are the first Undying in all three thousand Novice Villages of the Eastern Continent to reach level 10.¡± Ye Qiu listened carefully. Having lived two lives, he knew many secrets about the game. For example: Why were all the NPCs in the Novice Village capped at level 10? Why did Elder Xu have such high prestige? Why were there monsters outside the village that were level 10, 20, or even higher, yet none dared to step into the village? The truth was Novice Villages were special. Or rather, all except Newbie Village 0001 were merely shadows of the real thing. The different Novice Villages each held fragments of the real Elder Xu¡¯s power. That¡¯s why NPCs appeared to be capped at level 10. But in reality, once the other Newbie Villages vanished and merged together, that was when the true power of the NPCs would be revealed! sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°A few hundred years ago,¡± Elder Xu began, his tone heavy, ¡°extraterrestrial demons attempted to break through the Heaven-Guarding Array of the Novice Village. They launched attack after attack. ¡°But the Heaven-Guarding Array was set up by an Ancient Supreme Deity. The more powerful and evil a creature is, the more impossible it is for them to break through. ¡°But the extraterrestrial demons were cunning. Over hundreds of years, they discovered a method. ¡°They¡­ They nurtured newborn demons outside the Heaven-Guarding Array, allowing them to absorb its energy daily. Their goal? To make the array accept them as part of itself. ¡°Now, those newborn demons have hatched. They have already broken through the boundary between the array and the secret realm outside. ¡°If they break through the next barrier and connect the secret realm to the Novice Village, then the entire Novice Village will be overrun by extraterrestrial demons. ¡°At that point¡­ the Novice Village will be destroyed, and every living being inside will be annihilated.¡± Elder Xu¡¯s expression was grim. Ye Qiu, meanwhile, was lost in thought. From the faint sorrow in Elder Xu¡¯s voice, he could feel the weight of this crisis. He tried to recall. In his past life, when the game merged with reality, the Novice Village still existed at first. But then, it completely fused into one single Novice Village! That was when everyone finally realized that the Novice Village was not ordinary. At that time, Elder Xu and the once level-10 NPCs Became level-100 NPCs! Especially Elder Xu. One hand holding a sword, the other gripping a wine jug, standing high above the heavens! For the sake of all living beings, he swung his sword one final time. That single slash tore through the skies, and the Ancient Gods descended! That was the moment the Novice Village ceased to exist! It seemed that demons had invaded from within the Novice Village. Under a pincer attack, even the Heaven-Guarding Array could no longer hold¡­ Chapter 34 - The Only Legendary Quest Chapter 34: The Only Legendary Quest ¡°Because the inner secret realm was created by the outer demons, native lifeforms cannot enter. However, you Undying are also outer beings and can enter. Child¡­ will you enter the inner secret realm and slay the parasitic demon for the future of the Novice Village?¡± The village elder, Elder Xu, looked at him eagerly, filled with hope. At the same time¡­ Ding! [The village chief has issued a quest: Enter the inner secret realm of the novice village and slay the outer parasitic demon!] [(Level Requirement: Unknown, Unique Legendary Quest)] Ye Qiu took a sharp breath, eyes widening. Everyone knew that quests were divided into four tiers: Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. Within each tier, there were also quests marked ¡°Unique.¡± This meant that out of all three thousand Novice Villages on the Eastern Continent, there was only one of this quest! Not only was this quest absent from his own novice village, but none of the shadow novice villages had it either! In other words, only Novice Village 0001 had its inner secret realm created by the outer demons. This event was not mirrored in any of the shadow villages. Which meant that if a player wasn¡¯t in Novice Village 0001, they would never receive this quest! However, Ye Qiu hesitated, because another system notification rang in his ears. [Warning: If you fail this quest, your level will be reset to 0.] Upon hearing this, Ye Qiu¡¯s expression remained unchanged. This was expected. Certain high-tier and special quests always had penalties upon failure. ¡°It¡¯s worth it!¡± After careful consideration, Ye Qiu realized that this punishment was nothing to him! With the knowledge, equipment, and skills he possessed now, returning from Level 0 to Level 11 would take just one in-game day! ¡°Elder Xu, may I ask what species the parasitic demon in the inner secret realm belongs to?¡± Ye Qiu asked the most crucial question. outer demons. These four words were all too familiar to him! In his past life when the village chief slashed open the sky, the ancient gods descended one by one. At the same time, the outer demons emerged, wreaking havoc across the land! These creatures were far more terrifying than native monsters. They came in many different species, each possessing unique racial abilities that made them incredibly difficult to deal with! More importantly, no one in his past life had ever discovered this unique legendary quest, so no one knew about it! Ye Qiu¡¯s only advantage was his knowledge of outer demons! As long as he could determine what kind of demon was in the secret realm, he would have a strategy to deal with it! The village chief nodded. He raised his hand, and suddenly, a holographic image appeared in front of Ye Qiu. The image showed a dimly lit underground chamber. At the far end, a huge, grotesque, transparent creature lay dormant. As if sensing something, it suddenly opened its eyes. Its pupils burned red. Its mouth gaped open. ¡°So it¡¯s this thing!¡± The moment Ye Qiu saw the image of the outer demon, he immediately understood because he had encountered this creature in his past life! ¡°Split Demon!¡± He blurted out its name. The village elder was visibly shocked. ¡°You recognize this outer demon?!¡± Ye Qiu casually made up an excuse. ¡°We had similar creatures in my world.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The village chief didn¡¯t press further. Instead, he continued, ¡°If you can preserve its blood and bring it back in a container after slaying it, there will be an additional reward.¡± The system notification followed immediately. [The village elder has issued a side quest: Collect the blood of the outer demon ¡®Split Demon.¡¯ (Epic-tier Side Quest)] ¡°Accept!¡± ¡°Accept!¡± Ye Qiu took on both quests without hesitation. At this moment He was brimming with confidence! Because in his past life, out of the very few outer demons he had personally encountered and slain, one of them was the Split Demon! ¡°This is the key to the inner secret realm.¡± Seeing Ye Qiu accept the quest, the village elder finally let out a sigh of relief and handed him an item. Ye Qiu took it and examined it. [Secret Realm Map (Legendary): Directs to the novice village¡¯s inner secret realm.] ¡°Huh?¡± Looking at the item description, Ye Qiu suddenly thought of something. Earlier, when he looted the body of the female player Smoky Clouds Fade, he had found something very similar. He checked [Secret Realm Map (Common): Directs to the Nether Spring Eye.] One was Legendary, the other was Common. At that moment, the village elder gave an important warning. ¡°The inner secret realm where the Split Demon resides can only be entered by players between Level 10 and Level 15. Remember, do not exceed Level 15. If you do, the quest will automatically fail.¡± Ye Qiu nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Elder Xu. I¡¯ll make sure to take care of that monster before I leave the novice village!¡± The village elder didn¡¯t seem too convinced, merely sighing. ¡°Let¡¯s hope so¡­¡± After all, that was an outer demon! Back in ancient times, these creatures had caused the deaths of countless gods! Now, in front of him was merely an Level 11 Undying. The only advantage the Undying had was their ability to revive. However, some demons could bypass this ability entirely. As long as they destroyed the soul, even the Undying would perish completely! After bidding farewell to the village chief, Ye Qiu visited both the blacksmith Zhang Tie and the Herbalist Shopkeeper. Two regular quests were completed. [Congratulations, you have completed the blacksmith Zhang Tie¡¯s quest. Reward: 5 gold coins, 5 reputation points, 5 skill attribute points.] [Congratulations, you have completed the Herbalist Shopkeeper¡¯s quest. Reward: 10 gold coins, 2 health potions, 2 mana potions.] Then, he turned in two special items. First, he handed the ¡°Lost Mysterious Iron¡± to the blacksmith. Zhang Tie, who had been hammering away at his forge, suddenly froze. He stared at the iron Ye Qiu handed over. For a long time, he remained stunned. Then, his eyes glowed as he looked at Ye Qiu. He asked, ¡°Do you want to learn blacksmithing?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Qiu was about to say something, but Zhang Tie didn¡¯t give him a chance. Before he could react Zhang Tie pressed his palm against Ye Qiu¡¯s forehead. [You have learned the ¡®Blacksmithing¡¯ skill!] S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. [You have unlocked the subclass ¡®Blacksmith!¡¯] Ye Qiu¡¯s eyes lit up. A subclass! That was highly valuable! In his past life, some lucky casual players who didn¡¯t focus on leveling up ended up mastering subclasses instead. Classes like blacksmithing, alchemy, talisman crafting, and spirit infusion. Later, when they reached major cities, they were sought after by countless NPCs! Royalty, sect leaders, hidden masters, they all wanted to recruit these players! These lucky individuals spent the next twenty years living comfortably and luxuriously! Chapter 35 - Master’s Wife Fell in Love With Me? Chapter 35: Master¡¯s Wife Fell in Love With Me? The difficulty of unlocking a secondary class was incredibly high! At least, in his previous life¡­ Among the 7 to 8 billion players worldwide, only around ten thousand had ever unlocked a secondary class. That was a probability of just one in hundreds of thousands! ¡°You truly have the makings of a blacksmith!¡± Zhang Tie withdrew his hand and praised him with a cheerful smile. Then, he continued, ¡°I assume the village chief has already told you about the disaster looming over the Novice Village?¡± Ye Qiu snapped back to reality. Hearing this, he nodded and said, ¡°Yes, the village chief told me that an Outer Demon has created a hidden realm and allowed newborn demons to parasitize within. They¡¯re gradually assimilating the Heaven-Guarding Array, preparing to establish a spatial passage to the village. Once that happens, they¡¯ll launch a full-scale invasion!¡± Zhang Tie sighed and said, ¡°The Novice Village is the first line of defense for the Trial City. If this barrier is breached, the entire city will face the rampage and slaughter of the Outer Demons. Less than one in ten will survive!¡± Ye Qiu listened quietly. After a while, Zhang Tie finished his lament and spoke again, ¡°Since the village chief believes in you, then all of us in the Novice Village will support you. If you need any equipment, I can help.¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. ¡°Can you reforge this cloak for me?¡± As he spoke, he removed his cloak. Zhang Tie took the cloak and examined it for a moment before nodding. ¡°An orange epic-grade item? I can reforge this. If it was a higher-tier, I wouldn¡¯t be able to.¡± Ye Qiu was overjoyed! Equipment could undergo secondary, tertiary, or even multiple reforging processes! In his past life, there was a player who reforged a single piece of equipment thirteen times! Unfortunately, it was just a purple rare item and wasn¡¯t even high-level. Of course, reforging came with risks. If the reforging failed, a downgrade was the best-case scenario. With worse luck, the equipment could be permanently destroyed! Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhang Tie began reforging. Ye Qiu watched intently, feeling anxious. He was afraid something might go wrong! If it was any other equipment, he wouldn¡¯t mind. But this Coward¡¯s Cloak was his most valuable piece of gear! ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Zhang Tie noticed Ye Qiu¡¯s concern and reassured him with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m a Level 70 Blacksmith. The first reforging of an item is guaranteed to succeed.¡± ¡°Who- Who said I was worried?¡± Ye Qiu argued stubbornly, ¡°I was just studying your reforging technique!¡± Zhang Tie continued hammering and said, ¡°Raising a secondary class is no easy feat. It takes a lot of practice. For me to reach Level 70 in Blacksmithing, the number of failed reforges I¡¯ve had¡­ might not be in the millions, but it¡¯s at least several hundred thousand!¡± Ye Qiu was shocked. ¡°You failed that many times?!¡± Zhang Tie chuckled. ¡°Without failure, how would I succeed? And it¡¯s not just Blacksmithing. Other classs are even more brutal! Take the apothecary next door, for example. Her Alchemy level is similar to mine, but the amount of wasted potions and materials she¡¯s burned through¡­ could probably buy the entire village!¡± Ye Qiu was stunned. It seemed that the road of secondary class was even harder than he imagined! No wonder so few players managed to unlock them! High-level secondary class players ¡ª let alone NPCs ¡ª were even rarer! As they spoke, Zhang Tie had already completed the reforging. He handed the reforged Coward¡¯s Cloak back to Ye Qiu. Ye Qiu immediately inspected it. [Coward¡¯s Cloak +1 (Orange Epic)] [No equipment requirements] [Agility +100] [First reforging attribute: Agility +10] [Skill: Tactical Retreat ¡ª Use to immediately exit combat and retreat a short distance.] ¡°Just the first reforging added 10 agility?!¡± Ye Qiu was stunned. He began to imagine that if he reforged it over ten times, would his agility reach the speed of light?! Of course, that was just a fantasy. The more times an item was reforged, the greater the chance of failure, and the lower the success rate! Before leaving the smithy, Zhang Tie added one last remark. ¡°If you do manage to kill the Outer Demon in the hidden realm, be sure to collect its blood.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Ye Qiu immediately agreed. Both the village chief and Zhang Tie had emphasized collecting the Split Demon¡¯s blood. Clearly, this side quest was no simple task! After that, Ye Qiu headed to the Herbalist Shopkeeper. He returned the ¡°Stolen Recipe¡± to the owner. Compared to Zhang Tie¡¯s astonishment upon receiving the ¡°Lost Black Iron¡±, the Herbalist¡¯s reaction was much calmer. Her eyes, however, held a hint of nostalgia. The Herbalist looked around forty years old. She wore luxurious attire, adorned with precious jewelry, making her seem like a woman in her early twenties. Her face was expressionless. Like Zhang Tie, she didn¡¯t waste words. She simply raised her hand and touched Ye Qiu¡¯s forehead. The next second¡­ [You have learned the ¡°Alchemy¡± skill!] [You have unlocked the secondary class ¡°Alchemist¡±!] Ye Qiu had already gotten used to this. His expression remained calm. The Herbalist withdrew her hand and spoke softly, ¡°In truth, I deliberately hid that recipe.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Qiu was confused. The Herbalist continued in an indifferent tone, ¡°My husband and I developed this formula together. However, we had differing ideals. He chose to leave, while I chose to stay in this village. Over time, every time I saw the formula, I was reminded of him. To sever my lingering thoughts, I locked it in a box¡­ and buried it beneath the large tree on the Lynx Monster Hill.¡± Ye Qiu: ¡°¡­¡± Every family had its own struggles. He understood. So, he wouldn¡¯t say much. Unlike other players, to him, these NPCs were real people! After a pause, the Herbalist looked at Ye Qiu. ¡°You were able to retrieve this recipe. That means you have a connection with my husband. I shall take you as my disciple in his stead and guide you on the path of Alchemy. May you carry forward this class in the future.¡± Ye Qiu immediately nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint Master and¡­ Master¡¯s Wife¡¯s expectations!¡± Upon hearing his words, a faint blush appeared on the apothecary¡¯s cold face. Then, she spoke in a serious tone. ¡°Are you married?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Ye Qiu froze. He looked up at the Herbalist in shock. Chapter 36 - Copying… Martial Arts?! Chapter 36: Copying¡­ Martial Arts?! To be honest, the fact that the Herbalist Shopkeeper accepted Ye Qiu as a disciple on behalf of her husband was already surprising enough. Now, with this unexpected question, Ye Qiu was completely caught off guard! However, he still answered truthfully, ¡°I¡¯m single. I haven¡¯t married or been in a relationship.¡± As he spoke, memories from his past life surfaced in his mind. In the future, he had once met a woman who was willing to spend her life with him. But from beginning to end, there had never been any real feelings between them. They were simply two unfortunate souls clinging to each other in the apocalyptic world, just struggling to survive one more day. He had also encountered a woman he fell in love with at first sight. However, the cruel environment and the ever-present danger had torn them apart. Since then, Ye Qiu had stopped believing in love. The Herbalist Shopkeeper¡¯s voice pulled him back to reality. ¡°I have a daughter about your age. However¡­¡± She paused before continuing, ¡°The village chief has already told me that you¡¯re planning to enter the inner secret realm to fight the outer demon. This journey is filled with uncertainty¡­ Let¡¯s not talk about this for now.¡± Ye Qiu couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly at her words. Of course, he knew about the Herbalist Shopkeeper¡¯s daughter. In his past life, there was a discussion on the forums where bored players ranked the most beautiful female NPCs. The Herbalist Shopkeeper¡¯s daughter was on the list! Many players had tried everything to raise their favorability with the Herbalist Shopkeeper. And their goal? Her daughter! Yet, despite their efforts, not a single player had ever managed to win her favor. Let alone develop any relationship with her daughter. Hearing the Herbalist Shopkeeper mention her daughter now, Ye Qiu simply dismissed it. As a reborn player, he knew this woman¡¯s routine too well. She always used her daughter as bait to ¡°trick¡± players into helping her. But in the end, they never got anything in return! Because of this, Ye Qiu had learned to be cautious. Some NPCs were even more dangerous than monsters and outer demons! ¡°By the way, if you really manage to kill the outer demon, remember to bring back its blood,¡± the Herbalist Shopkeeper reminded him again. Ye Qiu nodded immediately. Three NPCs had all mentioned the importance of the demon¡¯s blood! It was clear this was an extremely crucial matter. Before he left, the Herbalist Shopkeeper gave him some potions to restore health and mana. A small contribution to help him fight the outer demon. Ye Qiu gladly accepted without hesitation! After saying goodbye, Ye Qiu sought out Village Chief Xu Laobo again. Not for anything else, but for the ability Apprentice¡¯s Will! [Apprentice¡¯s Will: Allows you to copy one skill from another person. You gain one copying opportunity per level-up. (Current stored uses: 10/11)] Without hesitation, Ye Qiu activated the skill, consuming one of his stored uses. After some thought, he decided that the strongest person in the novice village had to be Village Chief Xu Laobo! After all, he had personally witnessed the village chief¡¯s incredible power. In his past life, he still vividly remembered Xu Laobo standing in mid-air, sword in one hand and a gourd in the other. He took a sip of wine. Then, with a single slash of his sword, the vast sky split open! That scene¡­ Even if Ye Qiu were to be reborn a hundred times, he would never forget it! [You have used the special skill ¡°Apprentice¡¯s Will.¡±] [You have successfully copied the technique ¡°Primordial Scripture¡± from Village Chief Xu Laobo.] ¡°Huh?¡± Ye Qiu checked his status panel and was stunned. A new category had appeared ¡ª Cultivation Techniques! [Cultivation Technique ¡ª Primordial Scripture (Level 1): 1/1000. Each time this technique levels up, all four base attributes increase by 10. (Maximum level: 30)] ¡°???¡± ¡°!!!¡± At first, Ye Qiu was completely dumbfounded. Then, his face filled with shock. He racked his brain, searching his past-life memories but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t recall any information about ¡°cultivation techniques¡±! ¡°Little one, why are you back again?¡± Village Chief Xu Laobo¡¯s voice remained gentle. Since Ye Qiu had accepted the mission to slay the outer demon, the village chief¡¯s attitude had become much more friendly. His favorability had almost reached the maximum. Even the other NPCs had shown increased favorability towards him. Ye Qiu collected his thoughts and casually asked, ¡°Elder Xu, do you know what a cultivation technique is?¡± To his surprise, Village Chief Xu Laobo¡¯s face instantly changed, and he quickly shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about that.¡± ¡°¡­Oh.¡± Ye Qiu found it odd. The village chief clearly knew something. Why would he lie? Unable to make sense of it, he chose not to dwell on it. Originally, he had hoped to copy a powerful sword technique. Perhaps even the one that could slice through the sky! Yet, instead of that, he ended up copying something called a cultivation technique. And somehow, his status panel had been altered! This was something he had never seen or experienced in his past life. Fortunately, this technique was absolutely overpowered! It granted him an extra stat category that no one else had. Every level-up would boost all four base attributes by 10 points. With a max level of 30, that meant a total increase of 300 points to all attributes! That was beyond broken! That was absolutely terrifying! ¡ª Exiting the novice village, the world outside was just as lively as ever. Some players were still queuing up. Others were chatting idly. Some had even crafted makeshift playing cards and were enjoying a casual game together. But Ye Qiu suddenly had a new thought. Other players couldn¡¯t bring real-world items into the game. But could he? Could he smuggle in real-world goods and sell them in the game? However, he quickly dismissed the idea. First, it was unnecessary. It would be a waste of time and energy. Second, it would be too risky. If someone started asking questions, how would he explain it? That would only bring a whole lot of trouble! As he pondered these things, a large crowd of players had already gathered around him. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°NPC grandpa, do you have any quests?¡± ¡°I heard you rewarded two players with purple-grade and pink-grade gear. I¡¯m not greedy, I¡¯d be happy with a blue-grade item!¡± ¡°I¡¯d even take a white-grade one!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll work for free!¡± ¡°Damn, you guys are so competitive!¡± ¡°Please, just give me a quest!¡± These players were truly desperate. This was the first game they had ever played where they had to queue for quests, where the difficulty was insanely high, and where the monsters were unbelievably strong. Many of them were still stuck at Level 0! ¡°Tactical Retreat!¡± Ye Qiu hurriedly activated his Cowards¡¯ Cloak¡¯s ability. His figure instantly teleported to a quiet, secluded hillside. Then, he pulled out the Secret Realm Map (Common) that he had looted from Zhao Hanyan. Now was the time to use it. He had to reach Level 15 before entering the inner secret realm. Every bit of strength counted in the battle against the outer demon! [You have used ¡°Secret Realm Map (Common).¡± You will be teleported to the Nether Spring Eye. Would you like to proceed? (Reminder: The map will disappear once used.)] Chapter 37 - Comprehending the Seventh Style Chapter 37: Comprehending the Seventh Style ¡°Teleport!¡± Ye Qiu did not hesitate in the slightest. The Secret Realm Map was a valuable item. Upon use, it would transport him to an independent space. Inside, he might encounter monsters, treasure, or something else entirely! At worst, the only possible outcome¡­ was death! The scene shifted rapidly. Ye Qiu¡¯s figure appeared deep within a desolate canyon. Darkness surrounded him. At the very center, there was a man-made pool. Water continuously spouted from within. Those¡­ were Nether Spring Eyes! [You have discovered the Nether Spring Eye. Reputation +100, Free Attribute Points +10.] Ye Qiu remained cautious, carefully observing his surroundings. The introduction on the Secret Realm Map had mentioned that once inside, he had to remain for at least one hour before he could leave. Of course, there was always the option of suicide to exit. ¡°This pool of water¡­¡± Ye Qiu approached the man-made pool. Activating his Heavenly Eye, information appeared before him. [Polluted Immortal Spring: The original water possessed mystical properties, suitable for both internal and external use, slightly enhancing attributes. However, after being polluted, drinking or bathing in it will result in a slight decrease in attributes.] ¡°What a pity.¡± Ye Qiu had originally intended to take a bath in it. Luckily, he had Heavenly Eye. Otherwise, he would have suffered a major loss! He quickly backed away, distancing himself from the pool. ¡°Kekekeke¡­¡± Just then, a sharp, eerie laugh echoed through the air. Ye Qiu swiftly turned his gaze. There, at the very center of the pool, a shadowy figure slowly rose from the water. Finally, it stood atop the surface. Its hair hung in disarray. Its eyes glowed red. A chilling malice radiated from its gaze, locking onto Ye Qiu. ¡°A¡­ living human¡­¡± The figure¡¯s voice was hoarse and grating. Ye Qiu immediately used Heavenly Eye to inspect it. [Humanoid Common Boss: Human Demon] [Level: 15] [HP: 2000] [Skills: Thunder Strike (Five Hits), Thunder Strike (Ten Hits), Self-Destruct.] [Note: A polluted Human Immortal whose power has severely declined. Proficient in lightning abilities. Will self-destruct.] Unexpectedly, Heavenly Eye also provided a note. ¡°Lightning? Self-destruct?¡± Catching this key information, Ye Qiu immediately pulled out two prepared items from his inventory: a lightning rod and an insulated suit. He quickly suited up! Just as he finished putting on the insulated suit, a bright light flashed beneath his feet. Before he could react¡­ A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky! [You have been struck by lightning.] Above Ye Qiu¡¯s head A damage number floated: ¡°-90¡±. His whole body tingled with numbness! ¡°It works!¡± Ye Qiu was delighted. The insulated suit and lightning rod had mitigated the damage. His HP was nearly ten thousand, but his lightning resistance was practically nonexistent. Under normal circumstances, that lightning strike alone could have instantly killed a level 11 player! But for Ye Qiu, who was properly equipped, the damage was significantly reduced! The Human Demon froze for a moment. It seemed puzzled. The Human Demon activated its skill. Five bolts of lightning struck down in succession! Beneath Ye Qiu¡¯s feet, five light indicators flashed! Now experienced, Ye Qiu swiftly repositioned himself. In the end, he successfully dodged four strikes. Only one connected. -252 A damage number floated above his head. ¡°I need to finish this quickly!¡± The insulated suit and lightning rod could only withstand a few more hits. After that, their effectiveness would gradually wear off! The enemy¡¯s attacks were escalating! ¡°Nine Style of Slashing ¡ª Horizontal Cut!¡± Ye Qiu charged forward. The Human Demon rasped, its voice full of malice, ¡°Seeking death!¡± Its hands transformed into steel claws. Their weapons clashed, sparks flying! In an instant Ye Qiu unleashed six consecutive sword strikes. When they finally parted, the Human Demon had sustained wounds to its waist, heart, and wrists! Its expression momentarily regained some humanity. Its eyes widened in shock. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re only level 11, yet you can wound me?!¡± Ye Qiu stood firm, sword in hand. He narrowed his eyes. ¡°And you¡¯re only level 15. Killing you is as easy as chopping vegetables!¡± With that, he leaped forward. His steel sword sliced through the pool¡¯s surface. Water sprayed into the air! In the dim environment It looked particularly eerie! At that moment, Ye Qiu felt himself touching upon the Seventh Style of the Nine Style of Slashing! ¡°Damn brat!¡± The Human Demon roared in fury. It spread its arms wide. ¡°Thunder Strike¡ªTen Hits!¡± The canyon erupted with violent winds. The scene was terrifying! The ground flashed with multiple light indicators, covering the entire canyon floor! Ye Qiu¡¯s protective gear and lightning rod were blown away by the gusts. Torn to shreds! After all, those items were made of ordinary materials. Though effective for lightning resistance, their durability was pitifully weak! ¡°This time, you will die!¡± The Human Demon sneered, its intelligence evident. Lightning carried destruction. It had a chance to instantly kill weaker lifeforms! However, Ye Qiu seemed oblivious. He remained immersed in his sword intent. Until¡­ A lightning bolt descended. At that moment, Ye Qiu¡¯s steel sword moved. The blade absorbed the lightning. Energy conducted through the metal, his sword instantly resembled a lightsaber from Star Wars! S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Lightning crackled along its edge! ¡°Seventh Form ¡ª Power Borrowing!¡± This strike was fully charged, infused with lightning power. As the sword thrust forward, the scene was breathtaking! All the lightning seemed to be redirected toward the Human Demon! ¡°No¡­ Impossible! That¡¯s my lightning!¡± The Human Demon¡¯s face twisted in terror. It tried to retreat, but it was too late. The sword pierced its heart. Lightning crackled violently around its body! -1723 A massive damage number floated above its head. Coupled with previous injuries, it was left with a sliver of health! The Human Demon collapsed! Meanwhile, above Ye Qiu ¡°-2988¡± A devastating number flashed. Without his insulated gear, the raw power of lightning was terrifying! If not for his high HP, he would have died instantly! On the ground, the Human Demon lay dying. Ye Qiu stepped forward. Without hesitation, he plunged his sword into its skull! He hadn¡¯t forgotten that this boss still had the Self-Destruct skill! With his past life¡¯s experience, Ye Qiu knew one thing: Never leave an enemy even the slightest chance! Or the one to die¡­ would be him! After the Human Demon perished, a few items dropped beside its corpse. Ye Qiu picked them up, one by one, to inspect them. Chapter 38 - Orange Epic Ring of Human Immortal Chapter 38: Orange Epic Ring of Human Immortal Two pieces of blue equipment. A pair of shoes and a top. Both were Level 10. Their attributes were better than his current individual pieces of equipment. But compared to a full set, they were still lacking. Ye Qiu ignored them and moved on to the real loot! The first item was a longbow. [Breaking Sky (Purple Rare): Unidentified] ¡°Damn, what a letdown!¡± Not only was it not a swordsman¡¯s weapon, but it also required identification?! Ye Qiu dismissed it outright! Even though he had purchased several High-Level Appraisal Scrolls earlier, he definitely wouldn¡¯t waste one on this purple longbow. It wasn¡¯t even for his class! The second item was a ring. [Human Immortal Ring (Orange Epic): Unidentified] ¡°An orange epic?! Now this is good!¡± Ye Qiu was thrilled. This time, he didn¡¯t hesitate. He immediately pulled out a High-Grade Appraisal Scroll and used it on the Human Immortal Ring. Very quickly, the information appeared. [Human Immortal Ring (Orange Epic)] [No equipment requirements] [+30 Spirit] [Increases inventory slots by 5x] [Skill ¨C Invigorated (Passive): Once every 10 hours, you can use a skill without consuming any resources (including equipment skills, pet skills, and special skills).] ¡°Amazing!¡± After reading the attributes, Ye Qiu was even more delighted. While the base stat boost wasn¡¯t as high as his Coward¡¯s Cloak, the other two effects completely made up for it! First of all, the inventory slot increase! A fivefold expansion meant he now had 100 backpack slots! And with the Expansion Orb, which doubled the capacity, his total slots now reached 120! That was equivalent to the combined inventory space of six players! There was no more worrying about running out of inventory space! As for the passive skill Invigorated, it could be seen as weak. But it could also be seen as incredibly powerful. It was weak in comparison to the current state of most players. But for Ye Qiu, it was insanely strong! Right now, most players were low-level. They only had their starting class skills, such as: [Slash] for Swordsmen[Block] for Warriors[Fireball] for Mages[Heal] for Priests Some players had obtained stronger skills. But overall, their skill consumption wasn¡¯t too demanding. Ye Qiu was different. In addition to his initial class skill, he had already mastered Nine Types of Slashing, which had massive energy consumption. He also had the Tactical Retreat skill from his equipment. But most importantly, he had Heavenly Eye and the special skill Apprentice¡¯s Will! One had to be used frequently. The other consumed level energy storage, completely different from normal skills! Now, with the Human Immortal Ring, he could freely use Apprentice¡¯s Will without holding back! Of course, this was just a guess. He wasn¡¯t sure yet. A completely different resource! ¡°I¡¯ll test it once I leave the secret realm.¡± Ye Qiu put all the items into his backpack. He checked the time. It was still 30 minutes left before he could leave. He was able to defeat the Human Demon largely due to luck. First, his insulated suit and lightning rod had bought him time and drained the enemy¡¯s energy. Second, at the critical moment, he had comprehended the seventh style of Nine Style of Slashing ¨C Borrowing Power! This caught the Human Demon off guard! The enemy was struck by its own summoned lightning. Paralyzed, unable to use its self-destruct ability! All things considered, if any other player had entered this secret realm, they would¡¯ve been instantly killed! The lightning damage was just too high! It even had a destruction effect, meaning there was a chance of instant death! Ye Qiu stopped thinking about it. He activated Heavenly Eye and began scanning the surroundings. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡ª Meanwhile, outside the secret realm. On the same hillside where Ye Qiu had disappeared, Zhao Hanyan had arrived. ¡°Are you sure this is the place?¡± she asked the player beside her. The player quickly nodded. ¡°Yes, Miss Zhao! My vision is perfect, 5.0 sharp! I definitely didn¡¯t see wrong! ¡°That mysterious NPC appeared right here out of nowhere! ¡°As soon as I saw him, I immediately reported it to you. But before I even finished, he pulled something out, and then, poof! He disappeared again!¡± Zhao Hanyan fell into deep thought. After her conversation with her older brother, she had made up her mind. She had to steal this mysterious NPC away from the Ning siblings! By any means necessary! Just as she was lost in thought, a man¡¯s voice called out, ¡°Hanyan, don¡¯t run so fast! I¡¯m only Level 1, I can¡¯t keep up¡­¡± A young man, gasping for breath, ran up to her. This game was too realistic! Hunger, exhaustion, fatigue, illness, every physical and mental state was reflected in the game! The man looked to be in his early twenties. His appearance was average, though little on the chubby side. Also, his skin was fair. Behind him followed a group of players, like his personal entourage. Zhao Hanyan¡¯s eyes flashed with disgust. But on the surface, she maintained her signature charming smile. ¡°Brother Wenyuan, why is your level so low?¡± She was puzzled. Why was this Zhou guy and his men still such low levels? And why were they in Novice Village 0001? The man¡¯s name was Zhou Wenyuan. Hearing her question, he sighed helplessly. ¡°I created my character right away, but before I could even play, my dad called me. He made me deal with some company matters, so I just barely got back online. ¡°But I never expected you to be in the same Novice Village as me! This must be fate, Hanyan!¡± His eyes were filled with infatuation. Zhao Hanyan felt sick. Looking at Zhou Wenyuan¡¯s fat, round face and perverted expression, she wanted to vomit. But considering his real-life status, she forced a smile and said, ¡°Then, Brother Wenyuan, you should hurry up and level up!¡± Zhou Wenyuan immediately said, ¡°I came to find you so we could level together! That way, we won¡¯t be bored!¡± Zhao Hanyan¡¯s eye twitched. Her smile stiffened. She frantically waved her hands and said, ¡°No, no! I¡¯m Level 6, and you¡¯re Level 1. We can¡¯t form a party.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Zhou Wenyuan looked confused. Zhao Hanyan quickly said, ¡°Brother Wenyuan, hurry and level up! Once we¡¯re the same level, we¡¯ll team up and hunt monsters together!¡± Zhou Wenyuan brightened up and nodded excitedly. ¡°Alright, alright! I¡¯ll go level up now!¡± Just as he turned to leave, there was flash of white light! A figure appeared out of thin air! This person wore a hooded cloak and held a steel longsword. Chapter 39 - Cloaked Big Brother Chapter 39: Cloaked Big Brother One hour later, Ye Qiu emerged from the secret realm. However, his brows were tightly furrowed. After killing the Human Demon, he had put on the diving suit he had prepared in advance, along with an oxygen tank, and dived into the Polluted Immortal Spring. Then, he saw a scene that made his scalp tingle with horror! At the bottom of the pool, numerous metal cages were submerged. Inside each cage was a corpse! Yes, a corpse! There were no signs of decay nor did the water make them swell. They looked as if they had just died. Their skin was pale, devoid of any color of life! There were both men and women. They were completely naked. Their bodies were covered in strange markings, carved into their flesh with a blade! Ye Qiu gritted his teeth. He stuffed the cages along with the corpses into his backpack! Fortunately, each cage, including its corpse, only occupied one inventory slot. There was a total of eighteen cages and corpses. After surfacing, he also found some bottles and jars. He collected samples of the polluted spring water. By the time he was done, exactly one hour had passed. It was time to leave! Ye Qiu had no intention of lingering. Without hesitation, he teleported out of the secret realm! As soon as he emerged, before he could even gather his thoughts, a sickly sweet voice reached his ears. ¡°Cloaked big brother, little sister has been waiting for you so patiently! You¡¯ve finally come out!¡± The voice was laced with flirtation. Overly delicate, downright nauseating! Ye Qiu rubbed his forehead. Looking over, he saw the female player Smoky Cloud Fades, whom he had previously slain with a single sword strike, approaching with a beaming smile. Not far away, Zhou Wenyuan, who had been about to leave, suddenly halted at the sound of Zhao Hanyan¡¯s sickly sweet voice. Then, in disbelief, he turned to look. And what he saw was the goddess he had been pursuing for so long, Zhao Hanyan, who always treated him with indifference, was now acting¡­ so intimately with another man?! And for the first time ever, he saw her wearing a flattering smile! Yes! A smile of fawning! She had lowered her status completely! ¡°Unbelievable!¡± Zhou Wenyuan was furious. He turned to his subordinates and demanded, ¡°Who the hell is that cloaked guy?! Which family does he belong to? Doesn¡¯t he know that I¡¯ve been pursuing Zhao Hanyan? How dare he steal my woman?!¡± One of his subordinates quickly replied, ¡°Young Master Zhou, please don¡¯t be angry. That cloaked guy is actually an NPC in the game!¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Zhou Wenyuan¡¯s anger vanished instantly. Instead, he was left stunned and confused. His subordinate explained, ¡°The NPCs in this game have intelligence comparable to real people and possess independent thoughts and actions. Recently, players have discovered that the fastest way to level up is by befriending and recruiting NPCs into their parties to hunt monsters together. It provides immense benefits!¡± Zhou Wenyuan had been busy with company matters. It was only recently that he had begun experiencing this immersive game. Now that it was explained to him, he understood. ¡°No wonder Zhao Mingyuan, Jiang Xinghe, and Ding Yuan leveled up so fast. So, this is their trick!¡± Zhou Wenyuan muttered. His subordinate added, ¡°Building a good relationship with NPCs doesn¡¯t just help with leveling up. It also grants access to the inner village of the starting area! The most enviable part is receiving quests from NPCs other than the village chief! For example, the Ning siblings, Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue, managed to befriend that cloaked NPC, and in return, they received a purple rare equipment and a pink spirit artifact! There¡¯s a video on the forum. Young Master Zhou, you should take a look!¡± Zhou Wenyuan was no stranger to games. He immediately grasped the significance in it. Opening the game forum, he saw the top trending post. The title read: ¡°The Luckiest Players in Novice Village 0001 ¡ª A Pair of Siblings!¡± Clicking into the post, it detailed how Ning Qianjun and Ning Qingyue had met the mysterious NPC. How they helped him. And most importantly, the rewards they received! A purple rare equipment! A pink spirit artifact! There was even a video! The comment section was filled with envious players! ¡°I see¡­¡± Zhou Wenyuan closed the forum. Then, he waved to his subordinates. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go support my dear Yan¡¯er!¡± With that, the group of players rushed toward Zhao Hanyan¡¯s location. Meanwhile, Zhao Hanyan reached out and offered several thousand gold coins! ¡°Cloaked big brother, do you need money? This is for you to buy some drinks!¡± She sent a trade request. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t need money.¡± Ye Qiu rejected it outright. Then, he turned to leave. As for this female player, Ye Qiu had no strong impression of her. In his past life, there were many famous players. He had met quite a few, but Smoky Clouds Fade wasn¡¯t among them. Either she had died early on or, like most others, she had merely struggled to survive, remaining unknown. Zhao Hanyan saw Ye Qiu leaving and instinctively stepped forward to block him. However, she didn¡¯t know what to say! Just as she was about to speak, a cold glint flashed! Ye Qiu¡¯s steel sword was already resting against Zhao Hanyan¡¯s neck! ¡°Do you want to die again?¡± Ye Qiu¡¯s voice was calm. Inside, however, he was eager to try. After all, the last time he killed Zhao Hanyan, she had dropped a Secret Realm Map! That meant she was loaded! If he killed her again, perhaps she would drop something even better! Of course, Ye Qiu understood the game mechanics. Whoever initiated an attack first, whether they killed or got killed, would bear the risk of getting a red name! As such, he wouldn¡¯t be foolish enough to make the first move! Zhao Hanyan¡¯s heart trembled in fear and unpleasant memories surfaced. Even if it was just a game, the experience of being killed was horrifying! At that moment, Zhou Wenyuan and his group arrived just in time to see this scene. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. His eyes widened in fury! Even if this was just a game Zhou Wenyuan would never allow anyone to treat his beloved Yan¡¯er like that! ¡°F*ck!¡± He exploded with a string of curses. Then, he roared, ¡°All of you, get him! Kill that damn NPC for me!¡± Chapter 40 - Let’s Kill Them Together Chapter 40: Let¡¯s Kill Them Together [Player ¡®Modern Aristocrat¡¯ has challenged you!] [Any counterattack you make within the next hour will be considered self-defense. No crime value will be added, no reputation points will be deducted, and you will not be flagged as a red-name player.] [Detected that Player ¡®Modern Aristocrat¡¯ is in a party with others. The system has deemed the entire party as a single entity. Any attack on any member of this party within the next hour will also be considered self-defense!] The system notification echoed in Ye Qiu¡¯s mind. ¡°Hmm?¡± His gaze shifted toward a group of players approaching him quickly. At the forefront was a plump, fair-skinned man with a vicious expression. He held a longbow, and an arrow had already been loosed. Its target was none other than Ye Qiu! However, the aim was poor. The arrow missed and landed in the ground nearby. Even though it failed to hit him, the system had still deemed it an ¡°attack challenge.¡± ¡°What are you doing, Zhou Wenyuan?!¡± a startled voice came from the side. Zhao Hanyan, shocked, immediately shouted at him. Zhou Wenyuan, whose in-game name was ¡°Modern Aristocrat,¡± was momentarily taken aback by her reprimand before responding, ¡°Yan¡¯er, this NPC actually dared to hold a sword to your neck! He¡¯s asking for death! I¡¯m just teaching him a lesson for you!¡± His mindset toward the game was still stuck in the logic of traditional online games. No matter how realistic it was, in his eyes, players were players, and NPCs were nothing more than lines of code. Killing them was no big deal. ¡°Get lost right now!¡± Zhao Hanyan snapped, furious. She had been trying her best to win over this mysterious NPC, only for Zhou Wenyuan to barge in and ruin the atmosphere! ¡°You¡¯re telling me to get lost?!¡± Zhou Wenyuan froze for a moment, then his expression darkened. ¡°He was the one bullying you! I stepped in to help, and now you¡¯re scolding me instead?!¡± He was fuming, though he couldn¡¯t fully vent his frustration on Zhao Hanyan. So, he fixed his glare on Ye Qiu instead and growled, ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re an NPC, huh? Pretty advanced AI, huh? Well, I¡¯m pissed off now, and it¡¯s all your fault!¡± With a wave of his hand, he commanded his followers, ¡°What are you waiting for? Kill him!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The group of players he had brought immediately rushed toward Ye Qiu. ¡°I dare anyone to lay a hand on him!¡± Zhao Hanyan stepped forward without hesitation, blocking their path. Ye Qiu raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. This female player named Smoky Clouds Fade was certainly unpredictable, but it seemed like she wasn¡¯t inherently bad. On the other hand, Heavenly Eye! A white glow flickered in Ye Qiu¡¯s vision as information about the plump player appeared before him: [Player: Modern Aristocrat] [Class: Archer] [Level: 1] [HP: 250] ¡°So, he¡¯s a rich second-generation kid,¡± Ye Qiu mused. Slowly, he raised the refined steel sword in his hand. By now, many other players had gathered around, watching the commotion. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°That fat guy brought a whole group to attack the mysterious NPC!¡± ¡°Will they even stand a chance?¡± ¡°Hard to say.¡± ¡°That guy is apparently the heir of Tianfei Group! He¡¯s been preparing for this game for a while now!¡± ¡°Some of his teammates are already level 7!¡± ¡°Then the outcome is uncertain!¡± ¡°The mysterious NPC might be in danger!¡± ¡°If a player dies, they can respawn. But if an NPC dies, that¡¯s it!¡± As the spectators murmured amongst themselves, Zhou Wenyuan tilted his chin up smugly. ¡°Yan¡¯er, step aside. This is between me and this NPC. It has nothing to do with you.¡± He was giving her an out. However, even though Zhao Hanyan understood this, she still refused to move. She frowned and said, ¡°Zhou Wenyuan, stop messing around. This game is nothing like the ones you usually play!¡± Zhou Wenyuan¡¯s face twisted with anger. ¡°Zhao Hanyan, enough! I¡¯ve been helping you this whole time, yet instead of being grateful, you keep siding with someone else and scolding me?! You¡¯re shameless!¡± ¡°You¡ª!¡± Zhao Hanyan had never been humiliated like this before, especially not in public! Fury flared within her as she retaliated, ¡°Zhou Wenyuan, don¡¯t think that just because you¡¯re the heir of Tianfei Group, everyone has to fear you or give way to you! People have just been tolerating you out of courtesy!¡± Despite her words, she truly didn¡¯t want to escalate the conflict. Though the Zhao family was powerful, they were still a notch below Tianfei Group. She was only stopping Zhou Wenyuan because she was genuinely worried that if his group attacked, the mysterious NPC might get hurt or worse. After all, some of Zhou Wenyuan¡¯s teammates were high-level players, with one even reaching level 8! They were well-equipped, and while she had no doubt that none of them could take on the mysterious NPC one-on-one, an all-out siege was a different story. But Zhou Wenyuan was already too enraged to back down. ¡°Kill them all,¡± he ordered coldly. ¡°Players can always respawn anyway!¡± With that, his impatient followers sprang into action, charging forward! Many bystanders had already started recording. The game had an inbuilt recording function. The attacking players had their faces twisted in excitement as they lunged like wild beasts. The spectators, eyes wide, eagerly awaited the outcome. Although the game had only been online for three in-game days, players had advanced rapidly, while NPCs had remained stagnant. Some had even begun planning to storm the Novice Village and kill the village chief once they hit level 10. Players thrived on freedom. ¡°You¡ª!¡± Zhao Hanyan was panicked, but there was nothing she could do. She sighed and closed her eyes. If she died, so be it. It was a shame, though. She had just taken an interest in this mysterious NPC and wanted to recruit him. Now, that was no longer an option. But the pain she expected¡­ never came. Instead, a low voice whispered in her ear: ¡°Seventh Slash ¡ª Borrowing Power!¡± The wind stirred. A gentle breeze, natural and unassuming, suddenly turned fierce and violent! Dust swirled in the air. ¡°Whoa! These high-level players are insane! Who used a wind-element skill?! That was amazing!¡± a player¡¯s excited exclamation rang out. But it seemed out of place, because everyone else was silent. Even Zhou Wenyuan and his elite team. The player who had spoken quickly shut up, then, just like everyone else, froze in shock. Before them, Zhou Wenyuan and over a dozen high-level players were splitting apart. Blood sprayed into the air. Finally, screams erupted. One after another, the high-level players collapsed. Some died instantly. Others twitched for a moment before succumbing. Ye Qiu, now standing in front of Zhao Hanyan, still held his sword. A faint wind curled around the blade. Not a drop of blood had stained it. With a flick of his wrist, the breeze dissipated entirely. Silence. A deathly silence. All the onlookers were dumbfounded. They stared at Ye Qiu, then at the corpses of Zhou Wenyuan and his followers. For a long moment, no one could process what had just happened. One strike. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Just one, and over a dozen high-level players were annihilated. Many players rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they had just witnessed. But reality was undeniable. Zhao Hanyan slowly opened her eyes. When she saw the bodies, she was utterly stunned. Her hands flew to her mouth in shock. Chapter 41 - That Bitch Zhao Hanyan Chapter 41: That Bitch Zhao Hanyan ¡°Th-this¡­¡± Zhao Hanyan stood in shock, her eyes fixed on the scene before her ¡ª bodies strewn across the ground. Among the corpses were several well-known top players, names she was all too familiar with. And yet, at this very moment, they had all been slain! Her gaze shifted to the figure standing before her, Ye Qiu. Her expression changed as if she were staring at a monster. She had considered many possible outcomes, including the mysterious NPC emerging victorious. But never had she imagined this. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. An entire group of elite players had been instantly slaughtered in a single strike by an NPC! Yet in the next moment, shock turned to exhilaration. The stronger this mysterious NPC was, the greater the benefits she could gain if she managed to pull him to her side! Ye Qiu walked forward casually, picking up the items that had dropped from the fallen players. Then, without even looking at her, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll be giving you a few tasks later.¡± Hearing this, Zhao Hanyan snapped out of her daze. Excitement flashed across her face as she nodded eagerly. ¡°Whatever tasks you have, just leave them to me! I¡¯ll get them all done!¡± She had done it! At the very least, she had managed to receive a quest! She knew this was undoubtedly related to what had just happened, how she had stepped in to block Zhou Wenyuan and his men. At this moment, she actually felt a bit grateful to Zhou Wenyuan. With that, Ye Qiu led Zhao Hanyan away. As soon as they left, the area erupted into a frenzy of discussions. ¡°Holy shit! Just one strike?! A dozen top players got wiped out in an instant?!¡± ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve all underestimated the strength of NPCs!¡± ¡°These players were famous! The forums are full of their monster-slaying and leveling-up videos. Who would¡¯ve thought they¡¯d be this weak compared to an NPC?!¡± ¡°Damn, I was still dreaming about reaching Level 10 and forming a party to challenge the novice village¡­ Now, I see that is pure fantasy!¡± ¡°Maybe¡­ it¡¯s just this mysterious NPC that¡¯s ridiculously strong?¡± ¡°If I could get on this NPC¡¯s good side, I bet I¡¯d hit Level 10 in three days!¡± ¡°Unbelievable¡­¡± At this moment, the players were all convinced that the hooded figure was indeed an NPC. After all, the server had only been live for a few days. Could any player possibly be this overpowered? Absolutely not. It had to be an NPC. A short while later, Zhou Wenyuan returned with his surviving elite players. Seeing the bodies still lying on the ground, their faces darkened as if they had swallowed a dead rat. In this game, death didn¡¯t just mean losing experience and dropping equipment. It also came with pain ¡ª real, tangible pain, just like in reality! The veteran players could endure it. They had died before while fighting monsters, suffering serious injuries along the way. They were already accustomed to pain. But Zhou Wenyuan¡­ His face was pale. This was his first real taste of the game¡¯s ¡°100% realism.¡± ¡°This game¡­ is definitely different.¡± Zhou Wenyuan gritted his teeth. ¡ª Meanwhile, on the forums, a video of the mysterious NPC one-shotting a group of elite players had already gone viral. After watching the footage, the entire community was left in stunned silence. ¡°That¡¯s not an NPC, that¡¯s a freaking raid boss!¡± ¡°Damn! That was insane!¡± ¡°I wanna learn that move!¡± ¡°I regret picking Mage¡­ should¡¯ve gone with a swordsman!¡± ¡°Too bad you can¡¯t delete your account and start over in this game.¡± ¡°Wait a second, why did the NPC drop loot when killing players?¡± ¡°Huh???¡± ¡°No clue.¡± ¡°What, you think that hooded figure is a player?¡± ¡°Pfft, haha¡­ No way. The game¡¯s only been live for three days. The highest-leveled players are only around Level 8 or 9. Even if someone¡¯s reached Level 10, who would dare say they could pull off what we saw in the video?!¡± ¡°Forget what we saw in the video. Just being able to take on two players at once is already impressive. This was one vs. a dozen, and it was an instant kill!¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s still new to the game and doesn¡¯t fully understand its mechanics yet. But actually, teaming up with NPCs does allow for item drops. It¡¯s just that the drop rate is ridiculously low, which is why most players assumed it wasn¡¯t possible.¡± ¡°Oh, that makes sense¡­ Thanks for the clarification!¡± ¡°But this time, the ones who died were players!¡± ¡°Are you blind? Look at the video! There was a female player standing next to the mysterious NPC. They were clearly in a party. That¡¯s why killing players triggered item drops, just like killing monsters!¡± ¡ª Novice Village 0001, a Level 5 monster area¡­ Ning Qianjun was using the traditional method, recruiting players to farm monsters and level up. He let out a sigh. ¡°Ugh¡­ Monster kill XP and drop rates are halved for the first ten days. This sucks¡­¡± As he continued grinding, he couldn¡¯t help but grumble. At this moment, he was only Level 7. He had originally been among the top-tier players. But now, a flood of hardcore players had surpassed him in level. Still, not everything was bad. At the very least, he and his younger sister, Ning Qingyue, had successfully latched onto the mysterious NPC¡¯s golden thigh! That alone put them ahead of most players. A small consolation, perhaps. He glanced at the rare purple-grade weapon in his hands ¡ª the Wolf Fang Crescent Staff ¡ª and smiled. He was confident. Soon, he would obtain even more and even better items from the mysterious NPC. Just then¡­ ¡°Brother! Something¡¯s wrong!¡± a panicked female voice called out in the distance. Ning Qianjun turned to see his sister, Ning Qingyue, running toward him in a hurry. By the time she reached him, she was gasping for breath. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?!¡± Ning Qianjun asked, confused. His expression turned serious. ¡°Something happened in the real world?!¡± Ning Qingyue quickly shook her head, still catching her breath. ¡°N-no¡­ Not real life¡­ It¡¯s the game¡­¡± Hearing this, Ning Qianjun let out a sigh of relief and rolled his eyes. ¡°You scared me over a game? What happened?¡± He chuckled. His sister was usually so composed. Finally, Ning Qingyue caught her breath and exclaimed, ¡°Brother! Check the forums! There¡¯s a new video about the mysterious NPC!¡± Ning Qianjun instinctively pulled up his game panel and opened the forums. The moment he did, he immediately spotted the trending video post. As he clicked on it, Ning Qingyue grumbled beside him, ¡°That bitch Zhao Hanyan went and seduced the mysterious NPC! And now it looks like he even gave her a quest!¡± Chapter 42 - Uncle Su is Beaten! Chapter 42: Uncle Su is Beaten! Ye Qiu made a list and handed it to Zhao Hanyan. The list contained various task objectives he had noted down ¡ª collecting five fish pearls, ten bottles of wild fox monster fluid, ten pieces of ironwood gel, and more. There were many tasks, and they were all quite tedious. Ye Qiu didn¡¯t have the time or energy to complete them himself. So, he planned to have Zhao Hanyan gather the required materials and then hand them over to him. He would use them to complete the quests and, in return, reward Zhao Hanyan with equipment and items he didn¡¯t need. It was a win-win situation! On Zhao Hanyan¡¯s side, she was genuinely grateful that Ye Qiu was willing to assign her tasks at all. After sending Zhao Hanyan off, the sky darkened slightly. Ye Qiu prepared to log out. He needed to start working on some powerful tools to deal with the outer demons, specifically, the Split Demon! For example, Molotov cocktails! As soon as Ye Qiu logged out, a commotion filled his ears. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. At the moment, he was still seated in Uncle Su¡¯s car. Looking out the window, he saw Uncle Su arguing heatedly with a group of security guards from the dealership. Not far away, a reporter and a cameraman were observing from a distance, hesitant to approach. ¡°Stop filming! Keep recording, and I¡¯ll smash your camera!¡± one of the security guards threatened, brandishing a metal baton. ¡°We are legitimate reporters from a news station. You can¡¯t¡ª¡± The reporter, a young woman who looked like she had just graduated and was still an intern, spoke timidly, her voice laced with fear. Before she could finish her sentence¡­ A security guard snatched the camera and violently smashed it to the ground. The device shattered into pieces! ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± The female reporter was on the verge of tears. The cameraman, both furious and alarmed, hurriedly picked up the broken camera. Luckily, the camera was well-built and still functional. Uncle Su, seeing the situation escalate, quickly stepped forward, grabbing the security guards and saying loudly, ¡°This is between us! It has nothing to do with the reporters!¡± At this moment, a man in a suit ¡ª presumably the dealership manager ¡ª stepped forward. He lifted his chin arrogantly, looking at Uncle Su with utter disdain. ¡°Hah! Mr. Su, this is your fault. If this is just a disagreement between us, why did you call the reporters?¡± Uncle Su¡¯s face flushed with anger. ¡°Do you think I wanted to? It¡¯s been a year! A whole year since I paid in full for my car, and I haven¡¯t even seen it yet!¡± The manager responded nonchalantly, ¡°Haven¡¯t I explained? The car is still en route. It¡¯s being shipped overseas, and we ran into some delays. That¡¯s perfectly normal.¡± ¡°A year ago, you told me the same thing!¡± Uncle Su clenched his fists. ¡°I spent 500 to 600 thousand on that car! And all I¡¯ve heard from you is the same excuse over and over! Now that I¡¯m asking for a refund, you won¡¯t even return my money? This is nothing short of robbery!¡± The manager sneered. He had clearly dealt with cases like this before. ¡°Careful what you say, Mr. Su. Accusations like that could get you sued for defamation. We run a legitimate business!¡± ¡°You¡ª!¡± Uncle Su was dumbfounded. He had never met someone this shameless before! ¡°What? What about me?¡± The manager, now emboldened, sneered even more. ¡°Either leave now, or we¡¯ll have to take action!¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Uncle Su was livid. The manager smirked. ¡°Oh? You spent 500 to 600 thousand on a car, right? What do you think would happen if I gave that money to these security guards instead? Do you think they¡¯d hesitate to beat you up?¡± One of the guards immediately chimed in, ¡°Manager Wang, I¡¯m not scared! Let me at him! Worst case, I get locked up for fifteen days!¡± The others were equally eager, ready to strike at any moment. This was routine for them. Beating people up and pocketing a hefty sum in return? The price was just a few days behind bars, nothing new. ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± Uncle Su was both furious and terrified. He hadn¡¯t come here for a fight. He just wanted the news to expose the situation and force the dealership to refund his money. But these people were completely unreasonable! Instead of admitting their wrongdoing, they were even threatening violence! Just then¡­ A BMW suddenly pulled up nearby. The car door swung open. Out stepped a young man, around 24 or 25 years old. ¡°Manager Wang, what the hell is going on?! Why are you still wasting time with this low-class nobody?¡± The young man frowned in displeasure, his tone dripping with arrogance. ¡°Young Master Chen¡­¡± Manager Wang¡¯s demeanor changed instantly. He hurried over, nodding and bowing obsequiously. Young Master Chen snorted. ¡°When dealing with situations like this, you need to be ruthless. The more you drag things out, the more bystanders gather, and that¡¯s bad for business!¡± Manager Wang nodded repeatedly, as if receiving sage advice. Meanwhile, Young Master Chen strode toward Uncle Su. Before even reaching him, he raised his foot and viciously kicked! Uncle Su cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, clutching his stomach in agony. ¡°Beat them up! And get the reporter and cameraman too!¡± Young Master Chen ordered coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the consequences, I have plenty of money!¡± He shot Uncle Su a look of utter disdain. He came from a wealthy family. The elite and powerful always treated them with respect. But these low-class nobodies? They had no sense of their place. They were constantly coming here to cause trouble. ¡°Yes, Young Master Chen!¡± The security guards, already itching for a fight, no longer hesitated. One group charged at Uncle Su. The others rushed toward the reporter and cameraman. However¡­ A loud noise rang out! Everyone on the scene froze! Their movements halted instantly! They turned their heads. The first security guard, a burly man weighing nearly 200 pounds, had been sent flying through the air! He soared five or six meters before crashing down, right onto Young Master Chen¡¯s BMW! The car¡¯s windshield caved in! The other guards recoiled in shock, hastily retreating! Uncle Su, who had closed his eyes in despair, suddenly opened them. And then, he saw a young man standing tall in front of him. ¡°Xiao¡­ Xiao Ye?¡± Chapter 43 - First Experience of Game Data in Reality! Chapter 43: First Experience of Game Data in Reality! The one who struck was none other than Ye Qiu. If it were someone else getting beaten up, he might have ignored it. But this time, it was Uncle Su! The very person who had driven his gravely ill parents to the hospital, paid the medical bills, and stayed with a young, helpless Ye Qiu, waiting for the surgery results. Now that he had been reborn, many people in his memories had become blurry. But Uncle Su¡¯s image remained vivid! ¡°Who are you?!¡± Young Master Chen was startled, instinctively hiding behind a group of security guards as he glared at Ye Qiu with fear. Despite his panic, he knew they had the numbers advantage. Ye Qiu locked eyes with Young Master Chen and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to escalate things, so please return the money Uncle Su paid.¡± In reality, there were only nine days left. The game would soon descend! At that time, everything in the real world would be completely overturned. Ye Qiu had no intention of getting caught up in unnecessary trouble in these final days. He only wanted to focus on playing the game, leveling up, and ensuring that when the game merged with reality, he would at least have the power to protect himself. ¡°Haha¡­ Hahaha¡­¡± Young Master Chen laughed, his voice laced with contempt. ¡°You¡¯re good at fighting? So what? In this world, it¡¯s all about power and connections!¡± As he spoke, several more cars arrived. When the doors opened, a group of thugs wielding metal pipes and weapons stepped out. This was the source of Young Master Chen¡¯s confidence. Once business expanded, there were always connections on both sides of the law. These men were the car dealership¡¯s enforcers. They had handled plenty of trouble before. ¡°Xiao¡­ Xiao Ye, run!¡± Uncle Su¡¯s face turned pale with fear, his voice trembling. He never expected things to escalate like this! But Ye Qiu remained calm, standing motionless. To outsiders, it seemed as if he was frozen in fear. ¡°Kid, what now?¡± Young Master Chen swaggered toward Ye Qiu, a smug and arrogant grin on his face. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Their numbers had increased. With more people, he felt completely secure. This¡­ This was the power and status that wealth and influence brought! And it felt amazing! But then¡­ The moment Young Master Chen got close, Ye Qiu suddenly moved. In an instant, he seized Young Master Chen by the throat! ¡°Young Master Chen!¡± ¡°You brat¡ª¡± ¡°Let him go!¡± The security guards and thugs reacted in alarm. But Ye Qiu ignored them. He only focused on the man struggling in his grip. He realized that with just a slight squeeze, he could snap Young Master Chen¡¯s neck! Ever since game data had merged with reality, everything had changed. These ordinary people, in Ye Qiu¡¯s eyes, were nothing more than slightly stronger ants. Now, Ye Qiu repeated the same words back to Young Master Chen. ¡°What now?¡± Young Master Chen couldn¡¯t answer, because he couldn¡¯t breathe. He was suffocating! After a long struggle, his voice barely escaped in broken gasps. ¡°Guh¡­ You¡­ let¡­ me¡­ go¡­¡± His face had turned purple from lack of oxygen! Ye Qiu was experienced in controlling his strength. In his past life, after 20 years, he had reached level 50. He loosened his grip slightly. Young Master Chen gasped, desperately sucking in fresh air. Finally, he managed to speak properly. ¡°You¡­ you played dirty! If you have guts, let me go and fight my men! If you win, I¡¯ll refund the money and let you leave unharmed!¡± Ye Qiu chuckled at this. He responded coldly, ¡°If I don¡¯t let you go, we¡¯ll still leave unharmed.¡± Saying this, he tightened his grip on Young Master Chen¡¯s neck and moved. With his free hand, he clenched his fist and charged toward the nearest three men. Before the punch even landed, they felt the wind pressure from his speed! ¡°So fast!¡± A security guard barely had time to react before¡­ Ye Qiu¡¯s fist struck his chest, sending him flying! He crashed onto the ground, immediately coughing up blood. The rest of the thugs stood in stunned silence. They hadn¡¯t even seen his punch clearly! Ye Qiu¡¯s expression remained indifferent. He was holding back. Otherwise, at full power, his fist would have punched clean through their bodies! ¡°Get him!¡± ¡°All of us at once!¡± The remaining security guards, gangsters, and enforcers charged at Ye Qiu. Ye Qiu moved like a shadow. Even without his Coward¡¯s Cloak, his agility had already surpassed 100. Easily dodging their attacks, he jumped into the air, then spun his body into a sweeping kick! ¡°AHH!¡± Four or five men collapsed from a single strike! ¡°My¡­ my arm is broken!¡± ¡°It hurts!¡± The fallen men screamed in agony. Ye Qiu didn¡¯t stop moving. Still gripping Young Master Chen like a ragdoll, he weaved through the chaos. Everywhere he went, people fell like dominoes! At this moment, he was like an unstoppable war god! At first, the security guards and thugs had been fearless. But after two or three dozen men had collapsed, they were completely terrified! ¡°Is¡­ is he even human?!¡± The last few remaining men trembled uncontrollably. Weapons slipped from their hands, clattering to the ground. The crowd of onlookers was equally dumbfounded. Expressions of shock filled their faces. ¡°This¡­ This has to be a movie scene, right?!¡± ¡°But there¡¯s only one cameraman¡­ and a reporter¡­ It doesn¡¯t look staged¡­¡± ¡°Holy crap! Bruce Lee reborn?!¡± People murmured in awe. Then¡­ In the distance, the sound of police sirens echoed closer. Chapter 44 - Such a Big Scene, Are They Here to Catch Me?! Chapter 44: Such a Big Scene, Are They Here to Catch Me?! Ye Qiu tossed Young Master Chen to the ground like a dead dog. His body was limp, and he had lost control of his bowels. His face was pale, and he trembled uncontrollably. He was terrified. The man in front of him wasn¡¯t human, he was a demon. His head throbbed, his throat filled with blood, and even a light cough sent a mouthful of crimson spilling out. Lying on the ground, Young Master Chen whimpered through tears and snot, ¡°B-brother¡­ If I knew you could fight like this, I would¡¯ve backed down earlier¡­¡± He had never experienced such despair, such fear. For a man who had seen his fair share of big scenes, this moment broke him completely. ¡°Cut the nonsense!¡± Ye Qiu interrupted coldly. ¡°Hurry up and return the money!¡± He had no time to waste in the real world. Ten days. No, only nine days left! Every second counted. He had to grow stronger. Young Master Chen, too frightened to stall any longer, scrambled to pull out his phone, half-crawling toward Uncle Su. Meanwhile, Uncle Su stood frozen, his mind reeling from what had just happened. His gaze swept over the groaning bodies on the ground, then back to Young Master Chen, who was crawling toward him, covered in filth. It felt like a dream. He had been to this dealership countless times. And every time, he had been either brushed off, threatened, or outright thrown out. The people here were untouchable. Even calling the police never helped. But now, the tides had turned. Especially with Young Master Chen, who had once been so arrogant, untouchable. Now, all Uncle Su saw was a man filled with fear, forcing out a smile, eyes pleading for mercy. ¡°Mr. Su¡­¡± Young Master Chen¡¯s voice was meek, ingratiating. ¡°Should I scan you, or will you scan me? I¡¯ll return the money right now!¡± Uncle Su snapped out of his daze and glanced at Ye Qiu. Receiving a nod of approval, he took out his phone and opened Alipay. Just as the transaction was in progress¡­ The distant wail of police sirens grew closer. Ye Qiu exhaled slowly. As expected, the commotion had been too loud. The police were bound to show up, but he didn¡¯t care. Jail, detention, even prison didn¡¯t matter to him as long as it didn¡¯t delay his leveling up in the game. ¡°Xiao Ye!¡± Uncle Su had completed the transfer and also heard the sirens. He rushed to Ye Qiu and said, ¡°Let me handle this! When the police arrive, don¡¯t say anything!¡± He was ready to take the blame. Ye Qiu waved his hand and chuckled. ¡°Uncle Su, it¡¯s fine. These guys only bully the weak. You can¡¯t reason with them. You have to fight fire with fire. Even if the police understand the situation, the worst they¡¯ll do is hold me for a day or two.¡± Then, he turned to Young Master Chen. ¡°So, what do you say? Am I right?¡± Young Master Chen shuddered and nodded like a pecking chicken. ¡°Y-yes! You¡¯re absolutely right! If the police ask, we¡¯ll just say it was an internal dispute! Nothing to do with you!¡± Ye Qiu nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Good. That¡¯s for the best.¡± However, the surrounding crowd had recorded everything. Not far away, a journalist and cameraman had filmed the entire event. Ye Qiu¡¯s gaze swept over the crowd. A hush fell over them. Some who had been recording hurriedly put away their phones. Their eyes were filled with awe, fear, admiration, and curiosity. Then, someone spoke up. ¡°Hero!¡± ¡°That was amazing!¡± ¡°Well done!¡± One after another, praises rang out. Ye Qiu smiled wryly. By then, the sirens had reached the scene. Ye Qiu could already see them. Far in the distance, twenty or thirty police cars sped toward them. Traffic police led the way. SWAT officers followed. More police vehicles trailed behind. And at the very end, a military truck. Armed soldiers stood inside, their faces cold and expressionless. Even Ye Qiu swallowed nervously. As Ye Qiu¡¯s mind raced, the convoy roared past. They didn¡¯t even stop. Instead, they sped straight ahead. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Ye Qiu blinked in confusion. The nearby crowd was already buzzing with speculation. ¡°Have you heard?¡± someone whispered. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Strange creatures are appearing all over the country, attacking people! Many have already died!¡± ¡°Hiss¡­ I just heard about it too!¡± ¡°They say there¡¯s a monster near the outskirts of Anlong City. Green-skinned, walks on two legs, carrying a club. They are smashing people¡¯s heads in on sight! It¡¯s terrifying!¡± ¡°Stop making up stories!¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds fake as hell!¡± ¡°Believe what you want!¡± ¡°Is there a video?¡± ¡°There was, but they¡¯ve all been deleted!¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. ¡°Tch.¡± ¡°Then tell me, if it¡¯s not true, what else would warrant that level of police response?¡± People chattered in hushed voices. Ye Qiu withdrew his gaze, brows furrowing. A bad feeling rose in his chest. He racked his brain. Then suddenly, a realization struck him. Chapter 45 - The Game Arrives Early?! Chapter 45: The Game Arrives Early?! Upon arriving home, Ye Qiu wasted no time and immediately started making Molotov cocktails. He had a vague idea of what was happening. Although the game data would be granted to everyone in ten days, the monsters from the game might have already started appearing ahead of schedule. This had happened in his previous life. Some people had managed to record blurry, long-distance footage. In the video, there was a barrage of gunfire, explosions lighting up the sky, and massive figures emerging. However, the official explanation at the time was that it was a joint military and police exercise. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Experts on the internet debunked the rumors, claiming the video was edited with special effects. As a result, the general public didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. After all, there were no similar reports from foreign sources. Just as Ye Qiu was focused on making Molotovs, his phone rang. He answered casually. A pleasant voice came from the other end: ¡°Ye Qiu, the school just notified us that classes will resume as normal tomorrow. I tagged the whole class in the group chat, but you¡¯re the only one who hasn¡¯t responded.¡± It was Su Xintong, the class president. Ye Qiu replied offhandedly, ¡°Get me a leave of absence for half a month.¡± Su Xintong was momentarily stunned before saying, ¡°For long-term leave, you need to come to school and talk to the teachers in person¡ª¡± Before she could finish, Ye Qiu interrupted, ¡°I don¡¯t have time. Not going.¡± With that, he hung up and powered off his phone. ¡ª In a small apartment in the old district of Anlong City, Su Xintong stared at her phone, feeling frustrated. ¡°Ugh! What kind of person is that?¡± School had announced that classes would resume as usual the next day, and students were allowed to go home freely. Su Xintong had come home just to pack some things before heading back to school. The college entrance exams were approaching, and she needed to focus on her studies. Beside her, another girl about the same age was scrolling through her phone, occasionally complaining, ¡°Ugh, social media is so boring these days. It¡¯s all about that brain-game thing!¡± The girl was quite pretty, just as attractive as Su Xintong. The only difference was their temperament. Su Xintong huffed, ¡°There¡¯s this one classmate who¡¯s just impossible to deal with!¡± The girl giggled, ¡°Come on, Xintong, you¡¯re the class monitor, but you don¡¯t have to care about every single student, do you?¡± Then, she added with a smirk, ¡°Ever heard this phrase before? ¡®Let go of your savior complex and respect other people¡¯s fate.¡¯¡± ¡°But¡­ his family situation is special,¡± Su Xintong argued. The girl put her phone down, looking puzzled. ¡°Special how? Business tycoons? Government officials?¡± Su Xintong sighed. ¡°He¡¯s an orphan. His parents passed away in an accident before he came of age.¡± The girl scoffed, unimpressed. ¡°Oh, just an orphan? That¡¯s it?¡± Su Xintong was momentarily speechless. Her friend, Qin Sisi, came from a privileged background. Her father was a minor official, but their home was always bustling with influential guests, and people constantly brought gifts. She wasn¡¯t a bad person. She was just someone who had grown up in an environment that shaped her into being a bit realistic and prideful. Qin Sisi went on, ¡°He¡¯s an orphan and still refuses to fit in? He¡¯s bringing this on himself. Why do you care? People like him won¡¯t achieve anything in life. Instead of wasting energy on him, you should focus on yourself, make valuable connections, and secure a bright future for yourself and your family!¡± Su Xintong couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at her friend¡¯s straightforwardness. She knew Qin Sisi meant well, but she still said, ¡°My dad always told me to never look down on anyone around you. Someone who seems ordinary today might become extraordinary tomorrow.¡± Qin Sisi gave her a sideways glance before rolling her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s probably why your dad is still just a taxi driver.¡± Su Xintong: ¡°¡­¡± That ticked her off. Realizing she might have gone too far, Qin Sisi quickly tried to smooth things over. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean you or your dad specifically. It¡¯s just that people love to say things like ¡®Don¡¯t underestimate the young,¡¯ but most of the time, those kids still end up being nobodies.¡± Su Xintong stayed silent. Qin Sisi then switched the topic. ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s talk about something fun. Have you played that brain-game thing yet? Everyone¡¯s talking about it!¡± Su Xintong nodded at first, then shook her head. ¡°I made a character, but as soon as I saw people killing small animals¡­ and the animals fighting back¡­ It was too gruesome, so I quit right away.¡± Qin Sisi instantly felt like she found a kindred spirit. She hugged Su Xintong excitedly, nodding. ¡°Exactly! It¡¯s bloody and disgusting! And the pain level is supposedly 100% real! Who in their right mind would play that?¡± But Su Xintong had a different view. ¡°Since it¡¯s in our brains, it might impact the real world in the future. I plan to get used to it and give it another shot later.¡± Qin Sisi immediately let go of her, looking exasperated. ¡°Xintong, even you think this game will change the world?¡± After a brief hesitation, Su Xintong nodded lightly. Qin Sisi sighed. ¡°My dad and my boyfriend say the same thing. They keep telling me to take it seriously and level up in the game.¡± Hearing that, Su Xintong suddenly thought of Ye Qiu. During their call earlier, he had also urged her to level up as soon as possible. Qin Sisi continued, ¡°I just don¡¯t get it. It¡¯s just a game. How is it supposed to change anything? My family already has everything, and my boyfriend¡¯s family is even more powerful. Once I graduate and marry him, I¡¯ll be set for life¡­¡± Su Xintong listened quietly, already familiar with Qin Sisi¡¯s circumstances. Her boyfriend, Cao Fan, came from a family in real estate ¡ª one of the world¡¯s top 500 companies. He was good-looking and from an influential family. Their parents had arranged their marriage early on, and as soon as Qin Sisi graduated high school, they would start planning the wedding. Education could wait until after she got married and had children. That was normal in their circles. Qin Sisi finished her rant and turned to Su Xintong with a playful grin. ¡°Enough about me. What about you? Got a crush on anyone?¡±