035 Divert the Attention!

After obtaining the set synthesis scroll, Chen Feng immediately returned to the main city of the China region and retrieved the Ring of the Blood Dragon and the Pendant of the Blood-Crazed Lion. He intended to synthesize these two pieces into a set. Once synthesized, Chen Feng would likely gain an extra equipment slot without sacrificing too much in terms of attributes.

[Ring of the Blood Dragon]
Dark Gold, Bound, Right-hand Ring
Requirement: None
+15% Lifesteal
+20% Constitution
Passive Skill: [Body of the Blood Dragon]
Effect: While in Blood Dragon state, your damage is increased by 40%, and your critical strike damage is increased by 45%.
Effect: While in Blood Dragon state, your maximum HP is increased by 30%. When your HP is above 30%, you cannot be killed in a single hit; you will be left with at least 5% of your maximum HP. This effect can trigger once every 5 minutes.
Effect: While in Blood Dragon state, 50% of the HP you successfully steal is converted into a Blood Shield, which absorbs incoming damage. When your HP is at maximum, all stolen HP is converted into the Blood Shield. The Blood Shield can absorb up to 100% of your maximum HP.
Description: The best defense is a good offense!

The original lifesteal effect was 20%, which would jump to 30% when HP dropped below 40%. Now, the base lifesteal is only 15%. The HP increase remains the original 20% + 30%, so Chen Feng’s total HP has not decreased significantly. Now, all passive effects require the Blood Dragon state, which is linked to the effects of the Pendant of the Blood-Crazed Lion. In this state, Chen Feng’s survivability is significantly enhanced.

However, this Ring of the Blood Dragon still cannot be exposed. Because of the attention from the psychic entities of the Cobra organization, Chen Feng cannot leave the city for now; otherwise, he would invite major trouble. If he wins against them, they would bomb him relentlessly or hound him indefinitely, which is a massive headache. If he loses, he loses his Ogre Axe. Chen Feng refuses to put himself in such a lose-lose situation.

Leveling is always the core theme of the game. Due to his recent treasure hunting and the struggle for the Magic Rings, Chen Feng’s leveling progress had stalled. He was only level 33, while the top players had already reached level 38—a significant gap.

Since the Ghost Valley incident, the players seeking to loot Magic Rings from others had gathered to settle scores. Current ring bearers were more conservative. Moreover, after the last event, those who hadn't devoured other rings were relatively weak; they only ventured out when they were certain of victory, otherwise, they were just handing their rings away for free. The only recent news on the forums was that "High Clouds" from the Japan region had looted the ring from the New Zealand ring bearer and reclaimed his status, though his ring likely didn't match his class well.

"Damn it, I died once and lost my Magic Ring!" Outlets suddenly roared in the three-man squad chat.

"Shorty, what happened? You actually died?" Chen Feng was incredulous. A player as powerful as Outlets dying? Who had the capability? Even though the open map was fraught with danger, it shouldn't have been enough to stump Outlets.

"A Korean player named 'Crazy Virus.' I don't know where he came from; I can't find any information on him." Outlets was nearly going mad. He wanted revenge, but after asking all his friends and even paying for intel, he still couldn't find a trace of the person.

Stan quickly asked, "How were you killed?"

"Fuck, that bastard used dirty tricks. I've seen plenty of Enhancement Shamans, but never one with three clones, and he could swap positions with them too!" Outlets recounted his experience. He had encountered a Barbarian Enhancement Shaman in the wild. A clash was normal, but this Shaman seemed to have the ability to clone himself. As the battle progressed, his clones multiplied, and they seemed to be lying in wait for him specifically.

Outlets had never seen an Enhancement Shaman with three clones, and these clones seemed to have personalities of their own. It defied all his logic. He had played for so long and ambushed many, but he had never been outplayed like this. Most importantly, his Magic Ring was looted, effectively ending his competition for now unless he could win it back.

Crazy Virus, Korean region, Barbarian Enhancement Shaman, three clones. Chen Feng realized who this was: a psychic assassin from the Cobra organization who suffered from dissociative identity disorder. He possessed multiple combat styles, with each personality having its own unique personality and tactics. Each personality had undergone rigorous training, allowing the assassin to deploy the most suitable persona for any given situation, resulting in an extremely high success rate.

Chen Feng hadn't expected the organization's psychic entities to target Outlets. Were they trying to assemble the set of Magic Rings? Or were they after Outlets’ Divine Light Shield?

Suddenly, Chen Feng felt his intuition was correct: the psychic entities had arrived. They were hunting his Ogre Axe and his Blood Dragon ring. As for the katana, since it wasn't suitable for Chen Feng, they knew he wouldn't carry it, so they would likely try to acquire it through trade or purchase.

"Stan, Crow, watch yourselves. This guy dared to mess with me—he's asking for death!" Outlets swore, "In three days, the ring will be back in my hands. Just wait and see!"

Crazy Virus was incredibly strong; it was hard to say if Outlets could beat him. So far, it was unlikely that Crazy Virus would bring others to help unless he failed his mission. Chen Feng hoped Outlets would succeed so the heat would be shifted onto him.

"Cheapskate Feng, come help me quickly! I'm being bombed!" Monk suddenly sent a distress signal.

"Doing an artifact quest, too busy!" Chen Feng made an excuse. He felt it was even more suspicious now. Since he wouldn't leave the safe zone, they were finding ways to bait him out. "Monk, if you encounter enemies on the open map, run! Don't fight them. With your skills, who can stop you? Play dirty and get back at them later!"

An artifact quest? Monk felt panicked. He knew he couldn't get Chen Feng to help if he was busy with an artifact quest. He decided Chen Feng’s advice was sound; it was difficult for a rogue to kill him, so he simply fled.

Subsequently, Martial Maniac and Data Emperor also encountered danger, but neither asked Chen Feng for support. Data Emperor had his invincible Hearthstone to escape, and Martial Maniac had strong burst damage; he didn't commit to the fight and fled after pushing the enemy back. Since all three were ambushed by the same rogue, Chen Feng knew they were definitely aiming for him.

If he didn't leave the safe zone, they would harass Monk and the others. If this continued, would they target Cheng Xue next? Given the organization's personality, they wouldn't stop until they achieved their goal. Hiding wasn't a long-term solution. Should he go out and fight? That would invite more trouble with no gain. If he lost, he would lose his Magic Ring.

If the opponent were a standard team, even the strongest, Chen Feng wouldn't be afraid. But knowing the terrifying nature of the organization, he didn't feel it was worth clashing with them. These people had already died once; they had no physical bodies, knew no fatigue, and possessed advantages no one else had. Chen Feng had no desire to fight such terrifying foes.

After thinking it over, Chen Feng decided he had to act. He contacted Outlets privately and learned that the person called Crazy Virus had already set a time for a rematch, and if Outlets lost, he would surrender the Divine Light Shield. Originally, Outlets wanted to hire people for an ambush, but seeing Chen Feng volunteer for only one platinum coin as a commission, he swapped his plan. For safety, Outlets still brought others, suspecting that the opponent knew he would try something and would have a backup plan. This time, Outlets was betting on Chen Feng, wondering if the organization would anticipate Chen Feng’s involvement.

"Crow, how exactly are you going to help me?" Outlets was still skeptical. Given Chen Feng’s personality, how could he help him instead of trying to take the ring himself? Just for one platinum coin?

Chen Feng naturally wouldn't tell Outlets the truth; helping him was just another way to strike at the organization. "It's simple. You're so trashy that it’ll be easier for me to deal with you later. If you have to face an Enhancement Shaman with three clones, you can imagine how difficult that would be."

"You're the trash! I was just caught off guard. If I knew he had so many clones, I would have run away!" Outlets didn't know Chen Feng’s true motive, but since Chen Feng was willing to sign an electronic contract notarized by the system, he wasn't worried about being scammed.

The location they agreed upon was the Molten Mountains, a map specifically chosen by Outlets. He arrived early to set up, bringing along an Elven rogue who hid using stealth and invisibility, ready to strike when necessary.

"Oh? Is this your method for daring to face me?" Two minutes before the agreed time, the rogue Outlets hired was killed by Crazy Virus. One of the Crazy Virus clones appeared in front of Outlets, while the other two remained hidden.

"You really have some tricks, knowing I'd bring a rogue to ambush you! But have you considered that I'm not alone?" Outlets remained calm. Even if this guy had a skill to remove invincibility, he was confident he could run away if he couldn't win.

The thirty-something-year-old Enhancement Shaman smiled and said, "Do you think you can bring other ring bearers to help you? Stan is gathering materials at the auction house, and that Duan Chen Feng is sleeping at a stall in the China main city. I'm truly curious who will help you."

Outlets frowned. He hadn't expected the enemy to have such complete information, knowing the locations of Stan and Chen Feng immediately. But he wouldn't lose his composure. "Don't you worry about that. I, Outlets, never lie. If I say someone is coming, they are coming. Who it is is none of your business. You'd better call out your two trash clones, otherwise, you'll be in for a miserable time when you can't beat me!"

Crazy Virus loved seeing people who were already "dead" act so tough. He held out his hand, showing Outlets he was wearing his Life Magic Ring, and asked, "Did you bring the orange Divine Light Shield?"

"Right here!" Outlets switched to his shield and one-handed sword, revealing the shield. The battle could now begin. Outlets still didn't know where the other two clones were and felt a bit anxious, wondering if Chen Feng’s plan would work. He had no choice but to fight.