Chapter Forty-One: Killing for Money

The Berserker slung his greatsword over his shoulder, full of swagger. "We maniacs have over three hundred brothers, most above level ten. Who do you think you are? All this fuss over a foul-mouthed underling? Wasn't the little ant on the leaf dead enough this morning?"

Ye Qiu smiled without a hint of fear. "That's right, we lost a few brothers this morning, and we don't have many people. But every TOT brother is an elite above level fifteen. Compared to us, your rotten tomatoes and spoiled yams are nothing."

TOT squad? Did all my brothers from back then join Moonlight?

A surge of excitement coursed through me, making the hand resting on my sword tremble ever so slightly. Yet now, I couldn’t reveal myself to Ye Qiu and the others. After all, it was I who betrayed them first. If I went to them now and asked to rejoin, would they accept me again?

The TOT squad is now renowned nationwide, having ranked in the top three of the domestic league for two consecutive years. Every one of the nearly twenty members is a powerhouse, even the substitutes can send top-tier players running. Now they've all entered Moonlight, and the club will probably shift its focus here, stirring up storms of bloodshed.

Do I still have a chance to create Moonlight's miracles with them?

As I pondered, Ye Qiu and the Berserker had already started fighting!

The scene was utter chaos. Ye Qiu, a level seventeen mage, darted nimbly, dodging the Berserker’s blow. Several players behind him sprang into action, and magic and arrows filled the air. A few lower-level Berserker-side players were instantly killed; a white cloth legging dropped to the ground and was immediately snatched up by the crowd.

Unfortunately, though the TOT side had high levels, they were outnumbered. Within moments, several players were battered to critical health and retreated towards the safety zone of the town.

The Berserker was arrogant, chasing Ye Qiu relentlessly under the blessing of two high-level priests. Ye Qiu’s skill was formidable, but his attacks couldn’t outpace the healing of two priests, so the Berserker remained at full health. The onlookers watched eagerly, waiting for Ye Qiu’s staff to drop.

I quietly moved to the two priests behind the Berserker. Everyone’s attention was fixed on Ye Qiu, who was being chased. The moment I raised my sword and struck, the priest realized he was being ambushed!

"211!"

"196!"

A sweeping slash, then another! Two basic attacks sent this roughly level sixteen priest straight back to town!

The remaining priest stared at me in panic, but I didn’t hesitate and landed a heavy blow...

"454!"

A critical hit!

The power of a full-strength swordsman was fully revealed. Two flashes of white light appeared behind the Berserker almost simultaneously.

The Berserker, still gleefully pursuing Ye Qiu, was oblivious to the coming doom.

Amid the exclamations of other players, I approached the Berserker directly. An "Ice Slash" imbued with biting cold struck him, snowflakes swirling as the Berserker was instantly frozen, stunned for three seconds!

Following up with a combo, and Ye Qiu turned back to launch a fireball, the Berserker was instantly killed. Returning to town required five seconds of casting, and any attack interrupted the process. In this situation, he had no chance to escape, and, even better, his silver armor dropped. I picked it up immediately.

System prompt: Your PK value exceeds 100. You are now listed on the town’s wanted list!

Red-named?

I hurriedly pushed through the crowd and rushed west towards the town. By the time everyone realized what had happened, I had already vanished into the dense woods.

"Phew!"

Truly red-named now. I’d have to grind monsters online for ten hours to clear it…

Perhaps I killed and escaped too quickly; half an hour passed and Ye Qiu still hadn’t come looking for me. It seems that rough fellow hadn’t even caught my name.

I crossed the dense forest and the Plague Cemetery. Beyond it, there was a dilapidated bridge, and behind it, a logging camp. Unfortunately, the lumberyard was occupied by a horde of high-level undead, this time skeletons, but now level 26–30 skeleton captains—high attack, low defense, low health, perfect for a swordsman like me.

Right, I picked up the Berserker’s armor earlier. Let’s check it out:

[Bright Silver Battle Armor]

Defense: 32

Stamina: +8

Strength: +7

Required Level: 16

"Beep~!"

Xue Han sent another message: "Lin Fan, was it you who killed the Berserker and three others for the little ant on the leaf?"

"How did you know, Xue Han?"

"Yeah, everyone in town is talking about it. The Berserker went to ask Lin-jie, and she had no choice but to say you weren’t from our family. You don’t mind, do you?"

"Of course not. By the way, I’m red-named now. Tell Lin-jie I might have to grind all night to clear it. If I get killed, it won’t be good."

"Okay."

I turned off the communicator and began my journey to clear my red name. With my current defense of 152, even a level 26 skeleton could only deal about 30 points of damage per strike, while I could deal about 250 each time. The ring’s life-steal effect came in handy, and with my own health regeneration, I didn’t even need potions.

After two hours of grinding, it was already 9 p.m. Feeling bored, I made a diagram of the Bright Silver Battle Armor for Murong Shanshan. Within seconds, that girl replied, "I don’t have any money now, Lin Fan! You’re making me anxious~!"

I chuckled and started to tempt her: "Shanshan, you can overdraw, right? Anyway, it’s almost the end of the month. How much allowance will you get next month?"

Murong Shanshan replied, "Hmm, about 5000. But in a few days, this gear won’t be worth much, so I won’t need it."

"No worries, I’ll sell it to you for 2000. It dropped from the Berserker, so it didn’t cost me much. You can use it now, and pay me when your allowance comes."

"Is that okay? Where are you? I’ll come right away."

"OK, coordinates xxxxxx, hurry up! I miss you so much!"

"Ugh, so mushy~!"

...

Half an hour later, Murong Shanshan emerged from the woods, dew clinging to her outfit, a few fresh green leaves still caught in her long, gentle hair.