Chapter 52: Twenty Days Later, the Four-Day Tournament Commences
In the early morning, Liu Wei and the two girls got up before dawn. They tiptoed to Lord Tian’s room to eavesdrop, but after an hour, they were startled to find him standing at the end of the corridor, staring at them as if he had been waiting a long time.
He had already gotten up, gone out, and bought a mountain of meat.
Noticing them loitering mischievously at the door, he decided to wait half an hour. When he finally revealed himself, the three were instantly embarrassed and slipped back into their rooms.
…
Ever since Han Qianyun last came to school, she hadn’t mentioned the details of that incident in the game world either.
The three of them couldn’t find anyone else in the game, nor could they catch Lord Tian in the real world to talk. They were too scared to tell the captain for fear of scolding or punishment, so as time passed, the matter faded from memory.
At last, twenty days went by. Everyone managed to level up once, and their skill proficiency either reached or neared level five.
There were two pieces of good news:
First, the proud and aloof player, Happy, was so pleased with the female player’s performance that she truly stopped taking other humans’ forging quests and specifically taught her, making her her only female apprentice. As her proficiency improved, her forging speed skyrocketed from fifty Starlight Stones in half a day to two hundred per hour. After eighteen days, she had forged seventy thousand Starlight Stones.
Second, Hua Jie also reached level three, attaining mid-tier strength among players, and learned a new skill: Possession. Jie’s pet skills were still being studied. Every day, Jie’s Venom Dragon was fed three or four times by Han Qianyun, becoming even fatter than her own pet snake. Both the group and Han Qianyu began to suspect that Jie’s owner, Kuangsha, had swapped pets with her.
They immediately sought official information to see if there was an item that could make a pet forget its owner.
To their surprise, such an item did exist. They hurried to ask Han Guancheng if he could hold another auction or sell it directly; the price could be negotiated, as long as payment was in Starlight Water.
Because “Starlight Water” and “Starlight Stone” differed by only one character, it was easy to get confused.
Ultimately, Han Qianyun came forward and clarified that there really was no such thing. “This black dragon isn’t mine either; I just fed it a bit more since it contributed the most. It’s not that it changed owners and I’m spoiling it—just rewarding it for its efforts.”
Still, some players didn’t believe her.
At present, most players’ pets ranged from white to purple rank. Aside from Han Guancheng’s two abnormal women, only Team Qingtian and Team Tycoon had pets of orange rank or higher.
Everyone wanted to swap pets. With forgotten skills, they could learn even more powerful ones, boosting farming efficiency. The old wisdom that “numbers trump all” had been doubted ever since Team Xuehai revealed a freakish skill.
Apparently, the skill was useless in duels, but they excelled at group brawls now, and the same applied to their pets’ skills.
Returning to Han Guancheng.
Why was Han Qianyu upset?
She was the younger sister, and while it was understandable not to talk to Zhuyun or Yeyu, how could she not speak to her own sister, yet chat with that gluttonous black dragon?
Whenever the dragon said it was hungry, her sister would rush to feed it, but when the three of them were starving, they were expected to scrounge for food themselves. The disparity was stark.
In recent days, Han Qianyun noticed her younger sister acting odd. She quickly found her, handed over some snacks meant for the elves, and patted her head, swearing never to neglect her again.
Once cheered, her sister and Yeyu’s elf romped around together.
A four-meter-long bamboo-patterned Bamboosand Snake slithered over, opened its maw wide, and waited with its eyes shut. When it opened its eyes again, it discovered its master had just fed several tons of meat to the black dragon instead. The snakelet began to sob—“I’m doomed!”
Zhuyun, sprawled on the ground, suddenly wondered if she was adopted. She watched her best friend Yeyu, now nearly a meter tall, plump from her owner’s feeding, while she herself remained thin and scrawny.
After feeding, it was Kuangsha’s last day in solo mode, and she planned to return his black dragon. As soon as the black dragon heard her, it shrank and sped to Kuangsha’s office to wait for him.
Watching it go, Han Qianyun walked towards her sister and accidentally stepped on something. Looking down, she found the Bamboosand Snake sticking out its tongue, feigning death.
Seeing her sister happily feeding her pet, and realizing she had neglected her own snake for days, Han Qianyun hurriedly unpacked her bag full of snake food.
At the sight of her favorite treats, the “dead” Zhuyun immediately pounced, devouring the mountain of food in a frenzy, leaving Han Qianyun stunned. In one go, the snake, originally four meters long, stretched to over five, nearly six meters. Checking her details, Han Qianyun saw:
Pet Name: Bamboosand Snake [Zhuyun] (Female)
Level: 3 [Second Class Soldier]
Rank: Rainbow
Skills: Enlarge, Life Link, Greenleaf Mark
Pet Name: Greenleaf Elf [Yeyu] (Female)
Level: 3 [Second Class Soldier]
Rank: Rainbow
Skills: Mental Pillar, Leaf Sea, Slaughter Healing
After the meal, the Bamboosand Snake and Greenleaf Elf forgot their earlier unhappiness and left together, engaged in a lively exchange.
Her sister turned to her and remarked,
“You don’t take care of our pets, but instead you feed the vice captain’s. Look at how skinny ours have gotten, and then look at that little black dragon you’ve been feeding. Twenty days ago, I remember it was barely over ten meters. Now, it’s nearly a hundred!”
Her sister was unceremoniously dragged away, followed by the two pets.
They arrived at the team’s headquarters, where all the professional team members had gathered. Turning back, they finally saw Kuangsha emerge.
Han Qianyun began to speak.
“With less than four days left, the third professional tournament is about to begin. Two of you have never participated before, so for the next three days, we’ll practice team mode. These last twenty days, we’ve focused on personal skill mastery, but our coordination is lacking. The three of you—if you don’t want to practice, go train your pets instead; more pet skills mean more support. But raising them takes time, so for these four days, stick with us!”
Hua Tian finally saw her little black dragon again, as well as teammates she hadn’t seen in twenty days.
Although she didn’t want to admit it, at first sight, she didn’t even recognize it, but its mannerisms and appearance made it clear.
Fine, it’s still my black dragon after all.
Good grief, looking at the details—after twenty days, it’s already a hundred meters. If I don’t see it for a year, will it reach a thousand?
“All right, let’s see what we’ve accomplished in these twenty days!”
Player Name: Kuangsha
Level: 39 [Intermediate]
Class: Berserk Shieldbearer [Full Intermediate]
Attributes: Strength 240, Speed 240, Defense 240, HP 720, Attack 240
Skills: Shocking the World [Void lv5], Devouring Fist [Void lv5], Lucky Meteor [Void Passive lv5], Command [Weapon Boost], Blood Claw [Weapon Boost], Devour [Weapon Skill], Transform [Weapon Skill], Battle Ember [Weapon Skill], Magic Slash [Weapon Skill], Divine Explosion Dance [Weapon Skill], Imitate [Weapon Skill], No One Behind [Equipment Skill], Guardian [Equipment Skill], Ignore [Equipment Skill]
Techniques: Undead Hunter Fist [Level 10], Supreme Mirage Skill [Level 5]
Equipment: Mirage Will [Void Set], Linglan [Void Weapon]
Team: Han Crown Team [Vice Captain], Han Crown City [Deputy Lord]
Team Tokens: 2,001,148,535 [2 Billion]
Total Gold: 99,999,999,999 [100 Billion]
Skill Command: Wild Monsters: 100, Zombies: 100 Million, Bound Pet: Venom Dragon [Hua Jie]
Player Name: Han Qianyun [Female]
Level: 38 [Intermediate]
Class: Mage
Attributes: Strength 190, Speed 56, Defense 17, HP 263, Attack 123
Skills: Gift [Weapon Skill], Infinite Firepower [Weapon Skill], Fire Maiden [Red lv5], Serpent Dance [Red lv5], Berserk [Equipment Skill], Beauty Python Passive [Equipment Skill], Python Alert [Equipment Skill], Void [Equipment Skill]
Techniques: Staff (Universal) [Level 10]
Equipment: Fixed Point Staff [Purple Weapon], Sand Python Belt [Void Belt], Lord's Shroud [Orange Garment], Will Pants [Purple Pants]
Team: Han Crown Team [Captain], Han Crown City [City Lord]
Team Tokens: 1,900,009,999 [1.9 Billion]
Total Gold: 175,730
Bound Pet: Bamboosand Snake [Zhuyun]
Player Name: Han Qianyu [Female]
Level: 32 [Intermediate]
Class: Warrior
Attributes: Strength 186, Speed 66, Defense 26, HP 278, Attack 126
Skills: Escape [Red Passive lv5], Shadow Burst [Red lv5], Rising Dragon Strike [Red lv5], Heavy Strike [Weapon Skill], Will [Set Skill]
Techniques: Advanced Staff, Sword (Pro) [Level 10]
Equipment: Full Will Set [Purple Set], Will Greatsword [Purple Weapon]
Team: Han Crown Team [Pro Player], Han Crown City [Deputy Lord]
Team Tokens: 1,600,000
Total Gold: 20,000
Bound Pet: Greenleaf Elf [Yeyu]
Player Name: Liu Wei
Level: 34 [Intermediate]
Class: Gunner
Attributes: Strength 196, Speed 17, Defense 16, HP 229, Attack 107
Skills: Gatling Frenzy [Orange Passive lv5], Stationary Sniper [Orange Passive lv5], Chain Explosion [Red lv5], Sharktooth [Weapon Skill], Will [Set Skill]
Techniques: God-Tier Marksmanship [Level 10]
Equipment: Megashark [Purple Weapon], Full Will Set [Purple Set]
Team: Han Crown Team [Pro Player]
Team Tokens: -374,100,995 [Negative 3.7 Billion]
Total Gold: 419
Player Name: Liu Xin [Female]
Level: 33 [Intermediate]
Class: Assassin
Attributes: Strength 132, Speed 96, Defense 16, HP 244, Attack 114
Skills: Invisibility [Purple Passive lv5], One-Hit Kill [Orange lv2], Will [Set Skill], Backstab [Weapon Skill]
Techniques: Master Instant Kill [Level 10]
Equipment: Full Will Set [Purple Set], Will Backstab [Purple Weapon]
Team: Han Crown Team [Pro Player]
Team Tokens: 100,000
Total Gold: 1,314
Player Name: Xiaoyu [Female]
Level: 33 [Intermediate]
Class: Paladin
Attributes: Strength 16, Speed 76, Defense 156, HP 248, Attack 46
Skills: Blessing [Purple lv5], Life Tree [Orange lv5], Shield Listen [Red lv1], Will [Set Skill], Enhanced Heal [Weapon Skill]
Techniques: Staff (Universal) [Level 10]
Equipment: Full Will Set [Purple Weapon], Will Pastoral Staff [Purple Weapon]
Team: Han Crown Team [Pro Player]
Team Tokens: 100,000
Total Gold: 1,314
Looking at Kuangsha’s astronomical gold stash, Han Qianyun fell silent in thought—almost a hundred billion. Converted to cash, that would be tens of billions.
“Hua Tian, how did you get so much gold?! 0_0!”
“…”
“Wow, Lord Tian, that’s incredible!”
“-_- Well, you see… I just casually robbed a zombie horde guarding something. Later, I realized I’d found the treasury. I only took a small gold nugget to test it, and the gold total shot up. I was going to grab more, but when I looked back, it had all disappeared. What a loss… I was so frustrated, I went on a killing rampage, but the treasury was gone for good! 〒_〒”
“Enough, let’s look at the pile of skill books!”
Rumbling sounds echoed as they gazed at a stack of skill books higher than a mountain of corpses.
Hours passed.
A crowd of players in black, along with the five girls.
“Why do we have to sort our own skills? Can’t we just get other players to do it?! Aahhh!” Han Qianyun was on the verge of a breakdown, screaming in frustration.
“Captain Han, you’d better not let outsiders in. I remember there are five or six rainbow-grade skills in there, and except for the Berserk Shieldbearer’s unique skill, every class is represented. If a stranger finds them and hides them before anyone notices, you’ll never know!”
After Hua Tian’s warning, everyone but her began searching diligently. Three of the players wore the resigned look of those deeply in debt, especially Liu Wei.
Still three billion in the red, and now facing another hundred billion in team debt.
Two more hours passed and night had fallen.
Everyone stared at the five rainbow-grade skills, then at Hua Tian, who was petting the dragon like a dog.
The black dragon’s expression clearly said, “I’m not a dog, I’m a dragon.”
Suddenly, someone asked, “Why aren’t you helping search?”
Hua Tian glanced at Xiaoyu, who had just barged in.
“If I keep looking, who knows what real treasures in my inventory might get lost. What if my own skills accidentally fall in? My high-level bag is already sorted with purple-grade and above skills and gear. I remember I have a powerful item! But back then, with millions of zombies chasing me, was I supposed to stand there and pick up gear? I just dumped everything into my system bag in a panic…”
Han Qianyun despaired, “Fine, give me yours first. The rest of you, take your time! Focus on your own skills for now. Anything unused, send straight to the warehouse.”