006 Goblin Engineer!

25,000 gold coins! For Chenfeng at this moment, it was a considerable sum—an unexpected windfall, no less. Even someone as wealthy as Ortlais would feel the sting of losing 25,000 gold coins. Ortlais was always the one taking advantage of others; when had he ever been on the losing side?

This time, he clearly held a significant advantage in both profession and equipment, but never anticipated that Chenfeng still had a super tank pet—the Ghost Rhinoceros—hidden up his sleeve. Losing that money was a real tragedy.

But everything would get better! Ortlais resolved to pay whatever blood price was necessary.

After clearing out all the goblin patrols at the outpost, Ortlais glanced at the Ghost Rhinoceros shrouded in spectral mist and said, “Who would have thought that the two of us could sweep an entire outpost on the main map? I feel like we’re the strongest players in the game—there aren’t many who could stand against us, if we worked together.”

“The goblin engineer is inside, completely absorbed in building something. Should we just go in and kill him now?” When Chenfeng had gone in earlier, he’d seen the level 40 boss, the Goblin Engineer, so engrossed in his research that he hadn’t even noticed Chenfeng’s presence or realized his patrollers had been wiped out.

“Did you see a mechanical man as tall as two people? Its body is mostly human-like, but its head is a cockpit. That’s the Goblin Engineer’s latest invention—the Super Mech—and it’s my main objective this time,” the Dwarven Engineer explained. Seeing Chenfeng nod, he continued, “See if you can sneak in and take the Super Mech. If the boss manages to board it, we’ll have no hope.”

“Is this place really that tough? You want me to sneak in alone—aren’t you just sending me to my death?” Chenfeng was a bit surprised. He’d just swindled Ortlais out of 25,000 gold coins; he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the dwarf wanted him dead. Working with this guy brought high rewards but was equally dangerous. Sure, Chenfeng was ahead for now, but Ortlais could overturn the tables at any moment.

“If I wanted you dead, this wouldn’t be the time. Do you think I can solo the Goblin Engineer?” The Dwarven Engineer tried to pat Chenfeng’s shoulder, but realized he was a head shorter. “After we kill the Goblin Engineer, there’s something else I want your help with—a treasure on the southern island off the coast of Ghana. It’s one of the divine treasures of Auglas, known as the Fourth Treasure of Auglas.”

The Fourth Treasure of Auglas? Chenfeng had heard the legend—there were eight treasure sites scattered across the Auglas continent, each with a map broken into six fragments, randomly distributed among the various national zones. So Ortlais must have at least one piece of the map.

The Fourth Treasure? Chenfeng wasn’t that familiar with the locations, but he’d seen organizational documents before; both the Fourth and Eighth Treasures had exploration maps.

“Do you have a complete map?” Chenfeng asked.

Since Chenfeng had mentioned the treasure, Ortlais figured he must know something about it. The existence of these treasure sites was no longer a secret; many knew about them, so it was no surprise Chenfeng was among them. Ortlais produced a corner of a map. “This is one of the fragments I found. I’ve already contacted players from the other three national zones. They’re on their way, but unlike you, they can’t turn into crows and will need a bit more time to get here.”

How did you get here, then? Chenfeng was tempted to ask. Now he understood why Ortlais had come to the southern island off Ghana’s coast—beyond his mission, he was after the treasure. The fact that he was sharing this with Chenfeng suggested he intended to cut the others out; splitting between two was better than splitting six ways.

“Go on, stop wasting time here,” the Dwarven Paladin urged Chenfeng, eager to finish the task and reach level 33.

Instead of turning into his panther form, Chenfeng transformed into a crow. Entering as a crow was both simple and discreet. While stealth was invisible to the eye, a level 40 boss like the Goblin Engineer wouldn’t be fooled. If the engineer had any anti-stealth equipment, Chenfeng would be discovered instantly. Since he hadn’t been noticed when entering as a crow earlier, it should work again.

Chenfeng, in crow form, alighted on the window ledge and peered inside. The spacious room was littered with engineering tools and materials. In one corner sat the Mech, currently powered down—if the Goblin Engineer jumped in, he’d be ready to activate it instantly.

The Goblin Engineer muttered something in his own language that Chenfeng couldn’t understand, then hurried into the inner room. Without hesitating, Chenfeng flew to the corner, landing near the Mech to see if he could collect it.

System: Collecting “Super Mech” requires a “Mech Remote Control.”

A system prompt appeared—collection failed. Hearing footsteps approaching, Chenfeng realized he didn’t have time to escape through the window, so he hid in the Mech’s cockpit. The Goblin Engineer returned and continued working, oblivious to the intruder. To Chenfeng’s surprise, the Mech Remote Control was sitting right there in the cockpit.

System: You have picked up the “Mech Remote Control.”

System: You have collected the “Super Mech.”

“Thief! Give me back my Super Mech!” The Goblin Engineer noticed the Mech suddenly move and turned, only to see it vanish into Chenfeng’s inventory.

Without a second thought, Chenfeng dashed for the door.

Boom!

A grenade flew toward him, blasting him out of his crow form. He immediately shifted into his panther shape. The grenade blew open a hole in the wall, through which Chenfeng leapt, activating Wild Displacement to make his escape.

“Hold aggro!” As soon as he got out, Chenfeng called for the Dwarven Paladin to take over. This boss wasn’t a physical damage type, so the Ghost Rhinoceros couldn’t tank it; only the Paladin could.

“We can’t tank this boss head-on; we’ll need to dodge and maneuver! Without the Mech, he doesn’t have much health—let’s finish him quickly.” The Dwarven Paladin had no intention of trying to tank the boss; this one was especially tough and wouldn’t be taunted.

Judgment!

A beam of holy light struck the Goblin Engineer. Chenfeng kept the Ghost Rhinoceros in reserve, maneuvering closer himself.

Tin Grenade!

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A tin grenade blasted Chenfeng out of stealth. The Goblin Engineer kept lobbing grenades, forcing Chenfeng to retreat. The Dwarven Paladin closed in, swinging his warhammer with tremendous force. He’d switched from a one-handed hammer and shield to a two-handed hammer for maximum damage.

Rocket Launcher!

A rocket shot from the engineer’s belt, launching the Dwarven Paladin into the air and setting off an explosion. He hurled two more tin grenades at the Paladin.

Without the Super Mech, the Goblin Engineer’s options were limited—rocket boots for escaping, rocket launcher for knockback, and grenades.

Chenfeng was about to close in for damage when the Goblin Engineer rolled out a cannon and began firing at him like a machine gun. The firing rate was so rapid that being caught in the line of fire could be fatal. Chenfeng had to retreat, using stealth to escape—three seconds of invisibility gave him a chance to flee.

Hand of Protection!

“Running away? That’s not very fair!” With Chenfeng retreating, the Dwarven Paladin became the target. He cast Hand of Protection on himself to block the machine gun fire, then ducked behind a building.

“Try to draw the Goblin Engineer away from the machine gun…”

Even as the Dwarven Paladin spoke, Chenfeng summoned the Ghost Rhinoceros from his inventory, which charged the engineer and knocked him aside. Chenfeng dashed in and smashed the machine gun, then joined in melee to focus down the boss.

The Goblin Engineer only had 20,000 health—a bit of a joke for a level 40 boss. If the Super Mech hadn’t been collected, things would have turned out very differently.

“Block the boss! He’s trying to escape to another outpost for reinforcements!” When the Goblin Engineer’s health dropped to 5,000, he activated his rocket boots to flee. The Dwarven Paladin immediately gave chase.

Sprint!

The Shapeshifter’s speed boost—similar to a rogue’s dash—let Chenfeng intercept the escaping engineer. Though not the best at tank positioning, he was adept at blocking, colliding with the engineer to prevent his escape. Once the Dwarven Paladin caught up, the two focused their attacks and brought down the Goblin Engineer.

Easier than expected! Chenfeng hadn’t imagined the boss would go down in just two minutes—an average of 10,000 damage per minute for the two of them—not bad at all. Despite the boss’s high level and reduced damage output, the Goblin Engineer’s defenses were too low, and both players wielded epic weapons, making the kill much smoother.

Chenfeng crouched to loot the body. The Goblin Engineer dropped quite a lot—eight items in all, three of which were engineering schematics. According to their agreement, Chenfeng couldn’t select those. He had first pick of the remaining items, and as the Dwarven Paladin saw the three rare schematics, he quickly said, “You pick two items; the three schematics are mine.”

It was a fair deal. If Chenfeng picked an item, they’d roll for the rest, and even if the Dwarven Paladin won, his best choice would be a schematic. Now, he simply claimed them outright, allowing Chenfeng one extra item.

“Deal!” Chenfeng picked a dark gold ring—nothing impressive, but it had a unique effect. The remaining items were a small coin pouch, rocket boots, a rocket belt, and an aggro-attracting engineering dummy.

The rocket boots and belt were both silver-gleam items, fairly special but only wearable by dwarves and goblins, so Chenfeng passed on them. He chose the small coin pouch. The Dwarven Paladin then negotiated for the boots and belt, giving the engineering dummy to Chenfeng.

The Dwarven Paladin immediately learned the three engineering schematics—his main reason for coming here—and was in high spirits. Now he began to ponder how to trick Chenfeng out of the Super Mech.