Chapter Seventy-Five: The Hero's Challenge Tournament (Part Four)

Lunch had been ordered from a restaurant, and by the time we logged out, it had already been delivered. A steaming dish of pickled fish, a plate of spicy diced chicken, a bowl of twice-cooked pork, and several side dishes made for a sumptuous meal. I couldn't help but feel fortunate to be living with so many girls; if I were renting alone, after finishing the game, lunch would probably consist of nothing more than instant noodles. After a month, my face would surely take on the color of those noodles…

Xu Lin took a bottle of red wine from the fridge and said with a cheerful smile, "The afternoon match doesn’t start until two. Let's have a little to celebrate our victory this morning. This wine won't make you dizzy."

Xin Yu smiled, "This morning we just ran into a bunch of small fry. Not a single real expert showed up; otherwise, we wouldn't have cleared each round so easily. I never even encountered any danger."

"That's because they didn't think you were worth the effort!" Xu Lin retorted, recalling the chaos earlier when she was chased by several thieves.

I was a bit vexed myself. Xin Yu wielded the Night Elf Bow—a clearly rare blue-grade weapon—yet none of the twelve teams wanted to target her. Probably because no one could bring themselves to attack such a beautiful and sexy elf.

Suddenly Xu Lin remembered something and turned to ask me, "By the way, Lin Fan, what's your attack power now? This morning, a few priests and mages were taken out in one hit!"

I did a quick calculation and replied, "My current attack is 425–550. Xin Yu’s Warrior’s Power adds 10%, and my passive skill adds another 10%. So roughly 513–665."

Xu Lin was speechless with surprise, but Xin Yu and Liu Xuehan were already used to it. Without such high damage, it would be impossible to one-shot a level 20 mage.

Xu Lin elegantly sipped her wine and turned to Guozi, who was sitting beside her. "How did your team do?"

Guozi grinned, "We barely made it through the twelve matches this morning. Especially the last one—both sides were down to their last person. Luckily, my gear was good enough to handle that level 23 mage!"

Xin Yu glanced at Guozi and said, "You only have three people, so you must have teamed up with two others. What are they like?"

Joly covered her mouth and giggled, "A swordsman and a priest. That handsome swordsman is already level 24, with excellent gear. He joined our team just to chase after Sister Liu Yun. His friends are almost beside themselves!"

Liu Yun shot Joly a fierce glare, her face expressionless. "Mind your own business."

That was Liu Yun for you—cold and distant to everyone. Even though we’d been together for almost half a year, I’d only seen her smile once, when her ex-boyfriend called her for the last time. After smiling, she locked herself in her room and cried the entire day, unconsoled by anyone. Since then, she’d become even colder. I rarely spoke to her.

Guozi, having spent a lot of time with Liu Yun, knew her warmth beneath the icy exterior. She laughed and said, "But that swordsman really is something—good looks, great gear, and impressive skills."

Xin Yu scoffed quietly beside me, "What’s the point of being handsome? Is he as handsome as my Lin Fan?"

I felt the muscles in my face twitch. "Come on… Who says I’m yours…"

Xin Yu giggled and said nothing more. Liu Xuehan blinked her beautiful eyes, probably wondering what Xin Yu had just said to me.

...

After about an hour, we finished eating and had some tea. With nothing else to do, everyone logged into the game. Those who hadn't been eliminated had no mood for leveling, but it was still good to check things out.

With a flash, I appeared in the city. The players who logged in with me all rushed towards the outskirts. I hurriedly stopped one, asking, "Hey, why the rush? Is there a monster siege?"

"No, something even better! The four major guilds are having a massive brawl outside!"

When I got outside, I finally understood what chaos meant. No one had the ability to form teams yet, so there was no way to identify friend or foe—everyone was hacking away at strangers. The scene was utter bedlam.

Blue arrows of ice and fiery explosions tore through the air, crisscrossing among the crowds. Mages with area spells shone in the melee, and wherever Blizzard or other large-scale magic swept, devastation followed. Thieves and archers with little health often died inexplicably in the spells’ wake. White gear and the occasional green item were scattered everywhere, sparking a frenzied scramble among spectators, making the chaos even worse.

A familiar voice sounded behind me, "What a spectacle. The four major forces of Shanghai aren’t to be underestimated!"

I turned to see Murong Shanshan, leaning against an old locust tree, watching the show and clearly enjoying the chaos.

"Wow!" A knight’s charge went astray, slamming right into the tree beside Murong Shanshan. Miraculously, he had so little health left that he managed to kill himself with the impact…

Under everyone’s gaze, Murong Shanshan exclaimed at the unlucky fellow, then calmly scooped up the green shield he dropped into her inventory, flashing a sweet smile to the crowd. Several nearby players were instantly bewitched, drooling at her charm.

"Lin Fan, what are you doing here?" Murong Shanshan pulled me away from the crowd and glanced at me. "You’re grinning so slyly—what are you plotting?"

"The shield belongs to whoever saw it—let’s split it fifty-fifty!"

"You’re too greedy. No way. Sixty-forty—my sixty, your forty!"

I smiled, saying nothing.

Murong Shanshan widened her eyes. "Seriously? You want it all for yourself?"

I stopped teasing her and pointed at the fighting group ahead. "Who are they? Why are they causing trouble here? It’s the tournament period—if they die, they’ll lose levels. Don’t they care?"

"Those guys? Just a bunch of Shanghai punks," Murong Shanshan replied lightly.

"A thousand-man PK—are you calling that a group of small-time punks? If this were real-life PK, would the police dare intervene?"

"Why not? Just wave a gun around, and this rabble would vanish in five minutes!"

I didn’t argue further and asked, "How did the morning matches go? Hopefully our two teams won’t meet too soon."

"Pretty smoothly," Murong Shanshan said, sneaking a glance at me. "If our teams do face off, will you be ruthless enough to take me down?"

"Of course—the grand prize is too tempting!"

"..."

Murong Shanshan paused, then suddenly grinned mischievously, "Lin Fan, let’s duel!"