Chapter 2

Ding ding ding!

The private chat was going off non-stop, with a bunch of people spamming question marks asking what was going on. Yu Mi then realized he had accidentally sent the message to the world channel! He leaned in for a closer look, and sure enough, the world channel was filled with question marks. This was so embarrassing!

Even though Yu Mi was a newbie, he knew that as a DPS class, getting solo-killed by a healer was a huge disgrace. The private chat kept ringing, and even more people were sending him friend requests, which scared Yu Mi so much he even considered deleting his account! However, he still had 888,888 ingots on his account that he hadn’t used, so he had to calm down.

He sent a message to his master again. The other party wasn’t online, and Chen Ziming was out on some business and hadn’t returned yet. Suddenly being ambushed during an escort mission, Yu Mi’s heart was still pounding, feeling weak, pitiful, and helpless. He pretended to be dead to all the private chats and friend requests, then clicked to revive back at the camp.

After being killed, he lost some silver coins. Following what his master taught him yesterday, he went back to the base to find an NPC to restock. After restocking, he still had to continue doing tasks, but he didn’t dare to go out alone, fearing he’d get killed again.

Yu Mi was standing next to the NPC, feeling at a loss, when someone nearby recognized him.

[Nearby Chat] Yi Chuan Yan Cao: Oi! Isn’t this the little dummy who got solo-killed by a healer? Are you a newbie? Need someone to help you with tasks? [Sweet and soft]

The other party directly sent a team invite, and Yu Mi immediately accepted and typed a thank you. Soon, several more people joined the team, forming a five-person squad. Everyone started asking questions.

Yu Mi typed back: Yes, a healer from a purple faction…

[Team] Man Cheng Feng Xu: Gu healer? Or Hua healer?

[Team] Guo Bao You: Gu, right? I think I saw a Gu healer nearby when I came over.

[Team] Cai Jiu Duo Lian: Let’s run first, go check it out.

[Team] Yi Chuan Yan Cao: Little Daoist, do you have a master? Want to join a guild and get introduced to a master?

Yu Mi quickly replied that he already had a master, but the master was just not online. Then he mounted up and followed them. They surrounded him in the middle, taking him away from the base.

The escort mission required traveling back and forth between two maps. As they approached the map transition point, they saw a dozen or so red names in the distance! These were people from the enemy faction, Qingyun Alliance, who were there to ambush the escort.

Yu Mi was so scared he hurriedly backed away.

“Don’t be afraid,” Yi Chuan Yan Cao opened his mic, his voice was rough, “You guys protect this newbie, I’ll go gather people to counter-ambush. Once we drive them away, you can continue with the task.”

He left the team and then sent a message in the map channel:

[Map] Yi Chuan Yan Cao: Counter-ambush+++ Protect the newbie+++ Counter-ambush++++

Yu Mi hid under a tree with the other three teammates, and soon saw many people from the same faction flying over to Yi Chuan Yan Cao, fighting with the ambushers, creating a chaotic scene with explosive effects.

It was his first time seeing such a scene, and he was stunned, unable to resist sending a message in the map channel.

[Map] Sweet and Soft: Is this… is this PVP? It looks so passionate…

Then a bunch of people copied his message.

[Map] Crazy Week: Is this… is this PVP? It looks so passionate…

[Map] Man Cheng Feng Xu: Is this… is this PVP? It looks so passionate…

[Map] Mysterious Man: Is this… is this PVP? It looks so passionate…

Someone copied the message to the faction channel, attracting a truckload of people to join in protecting the newbie. The opposing side was quickly driven away.

Yi Chuan Yan Cao returned to Yu Mi’s team and led them through the map to continue the escort mission. With so many people actively protecting him, Yu Mi felt a bit touched and thanked them in the team channel after completing the task.

[Team] Sweet and Soft: Thank you, everyone! QAQ When I get stronger, I’ll protect others too!

[Team] Guo Bao You: Such a polite newbie, feels warm…

[Team] Cai Jiu Duo Lian: No worries, we all went through this.

[Team] Man Cheng Feng Xu: Add me as a friend, next time before you do an escort, just give a shout, I’ll help you.

[Team] Yi Chuan Yan Cao: Keep it up!

Everyone added Yu Mi as a friend, then the team disbanded, and they each went their separate ways.

Yu Mi returned to his faction to meditate, feeling a bit emotional, so he picked up his tablet while AFK and drew what had just happened. He first drew himself getting solo-killed by a healer across servers, then drew the heartwarming actions of the same faction players protecting the newbie. There was quite a bit to draw, so it took a while.

After finishing, he posted it on Weibo. This was his account dedicated to drawing Sword Roar in the Jianghu fan art, called Evil Popcorn. Just as he successfully posted it, his master came online and immediately saw his message.

His master immediately teamed up with him and opened the mic: “What?! You got solo-killed by a healer?!”

Yu Mi was almost too embarrassed to speak: “Uh…”

Jinjiang Zai Tao Shizun: “What’s the name? What faction?”

Yu Mi: “What Are You.”

Jinjiang Zai Tao Shizun: “You’re rebelling?!”

*

“No!!” Yu Mi hurriedly explained, “That’s his ID! I’m not insulting you!”

Jinjiang Zai Tao Shizun breathed a sigh of relief: “Alright then.”

Yu Mi: “As for the faction, it’s a purple one… they said it might be a Gu healer? Wan Gu Sect?”

Jinjiang Zai Tao Shizun immediately searched for that ID: “I found it, it’s from Zhaixing Tower, right? An adult male? Are you sure it’s a Gu healer, disciple?”

Yu Mi was confused: “I’m not sure… I can’t really tell the difference between those purple factions.”

He detailed to his master how he ended up in conflict with the other party. After listening, his master quickly understood.

“That’s from Zhaixing Tower, a Star Witch, a faction that deals with mysticism. When you suddenly appeared in a starry sky, you were trapped in a black room, which is a skill of the Star Witch called [Xing Han Xi Liu]. Once trapped, you can’t use any skills, and others can’t hit you either.

“This faction is a single-heart method class, not a genuine healer, but it can temporarily switch to healer mode to heal themselves or teammates in emergencies. However, the healing amount is far less than those professional healer classes. You can think of it as a third of a healer.

“Because it’s a mysticism faction, people joke about it and call players from this faction ‘shamans.’

“This faction is quite niche, not many people play it, so it’s normal you don’t recognize it.”

Yu Mi went to the game’s official website to check the faction introduction: “So that’s it? A mysticism faction? Fortune-telling? No wonder his ID is like that…”

His master chuckled: “Yeah, I was wondering how you could get solo-killed by a healer!”

Yu Mi laughed too, relieved that he wasn’t solo-killed by a healer! He could finally get off the pillar of shame!

Yu Mi continued browsing the Zhaixing Tower introduction. This faction seemed very mysterious, dressed very conservatively, with purple and gold faction uniforms and star disks as weapons. But then he suddenly realized something was off: “Wait, isn’t fortune-telling our Daoist specialty? How did it become Zhaixing Tower’s business? Are they stealing business?”

“Congratulations on discovering the highlight!” Jinjiang Zai Tao Shizun said, “Indeed, both your factions have fortune-telling as a business, so many players ship these two factions as a CP, calling it the ‘Fortune-telling Group’ CP. There are many fan works, and in fanfics, these two professions compete for business.”

“Fortune-telling Group?” Yu Mi immediately searched and indeed found many fan works. As he was studying them, he suddenly heard his master say, “That shaman bullying a newbie deserves to die, I’ve put a bounty on him to vent your anger.”

Yu Mi was stunned and quickly asked, “What does putting a bounty mean?”

His master explained, “It means I offer money as a reward, and someone will kill him for the money.”

“Huh?” Yu Mi blinked, scratching his head of short blonde hair, “No need, master… Although I got killed, my roommate told me that joining a faction means fighting is normal, so… it should be considered normal gameplay, right? I’ll just get stronger and take revenge myself later.”

“You’re right, it is normal gameplay, and it’s good you have this mindset,” his master said, “But bounties are also normal gameplay. I just don’t like him and want to find someone to kill him.”

“Okay! Thank you, master, for venting my anger.” Yu Mi immediately asked, “What if he puts a bounty on me in return?”

“He might not be able to guess it’s me or you who put the bounty. But even if he does, you don’t have to worry. Just hide in the guild territory immediately and call me or your roommate online. I’ll use my alt to kill you and give you all the money.”

“Okay, okay!”

Not long after, Yu Mi indeed saw the system’s yellow text prompt [What Are You] was killed by someone. At that moment, he felt a sense of relief and satisfaction.

Later, his master went offline, and Chen Ziming returned, excitedly shouting at him, “Xiao Ba, you’re famous!”

*

Yu Mi was wandering around the game’s main city when he heard this, taking off his headphones: “What?”

“I sent you a link,” Chen Ziming said with a laugh, “Someone recorded the battlefield you were in and posted it on Bilibili.”

“What?!” Yu Mi’s eyes widened, quickly clicking the link.

The video already had over a hundred thousand likes!! Over 3,000 people were watching it live.

The video description read: “After losing consecutive battles, I was so angry I wanted to eat someone, but then I met an incredibly cute newbie in this match!! Made me cry from cuteness…”

Yu Mi trembled as he clicked on the video. The uploader was cautious, blurring out everyone’s IDs. He heard himself shouting “Mom!” throughout the video, each shout more urgent and terrified than the last.

He also heard himself doing death reports—

“Huh? I’m dead? How did I die again?”

“Ah, I’m dead again.”

“Wow, why can’t I get a single kill…”

Yu Mi realized for the first time how many filler words he used when speaking.

The screen was filled with comments saying “cute, cute,” but he was blushing with embarrassment.

Cute my foot!

It’s so dumb, okay?!

He dragged the progress bar to see the later parts. When he heard himself repeatedly thanking the healers, the comments were full of affection for [What Are You].

“Hahaha! The one healing him must be a Star Dad, right? Poor thing…”

“Honestly, if a Star Witch is willing to keep healing you, it’s definitely true love.”

“This Star Dad is so pampering to the newbie, even giving him damage reduction. I’m jealous QAQ, why didn’t I have a Star Dad like this when I was in the battlefield!”

Sword Roar in the Jianghu had four body types: adult female, adult male, loli, and shota. Players were used to referring to them as mom (sister), dad (brother), loli, and shota. Yu Mi had some understanding of this, so he could understand the comments, knowing that Star Dad referred to that Zhaixing Tower adult male player.

He rubbed his face, feeling very ashamed.

Until the end of the video, he thanked all the healers in the group but missed [What Are You], and the comments were filled with “hahaha,” everyone laughing hysterically.

Then came the final threat from the other party.

“Remember you. Just wait, I’ll chase you across servers tomorrow.”

Hearing it again, Yu Mi still thought his voice was so unique… It matched the faction’s setting of a Jianghu swindler, naturally making people imagine a fun image of someone wearing sunglasses pretending to be blind.

The uploader was very considerate, muting Yu Mi’s ID and server, only keeping the threatening words.

Even though it was a fierce threat, the netizens started shipping it.

“Some servers merged today! They must be among them, the old shaman deliberately scaring the little newbie!”

“Is what the person above said true? Ahhh! I’m shipping it!”

“It’s true, the servers did merge, didn’t expect it to be our server!”

“Old Shaman X Little Newbie! What a wonderful combination, delicious, delicious!”

“Waiting for updates! Are there any updates? Urgent, urgent, urgent!”

“Updates are already out! Check Weibo ID ‘Evil Popcorn,’ the newbie is an artist! Turns out it’s the newbie I’ve been following!”

“Oh my god!!” Yu Mi held his head in his hands, “How did they even find my Weibo account?!”

“What did you draw?” Chen Ziming quickly went to check his drawings.

Unexpectedly, while he was away, poor Yu Mi had already been killed once.

Chen Ziming was shocked: “Did they really come to kill you? Didn’t you say there were two red names at the time? Are you sure it was him who killed you?”

“Huh?” Yu Mi was stunned by his question.

Chen Ziming leaned against his desk: “Here’s the thing, with his gear score, killing a squishy newbie like you would be a matter of seconds, usually not needing to trap you in a black room to show you the stars. I’m thinking maybe he was just teasing you, and it was someone else who killed you?”

“This…” Yu Mi blinked, “I’m really not sure…”

Chen Ziming said, “Those Zhaixing Tower players love using that ultimate to trap people in a black room for teasing.”

Yu Mi glanced at the screen and suddenly saw that familiar ID in the chaotic map channel.

[Map] What Are You: Fortune-telling, one gold per reading, only one reading per day. Can predict studies, career, love. If interested, type 1.

Yu Mi instinctively tensed up, quickly hiding behind a fruit stand.

“That’s the person!” He pointed at the ID for Chen Ziming to see, while also scanning the screen with wide eyes.

Turning his head, he saw the person standing under a tree, wearing a purple and gold faction uniform, with long white hair, a veil over his eyes, holding a star disk, surrounded by a crowd.

The nearby chat was bustling.

[Nearby Chat] Butterfly Flew Away: 111, read for me! I’ve been waiting for a month!

[Nearby Chat] Gua Gua: 111, it’s my turn today!

[Nearby Chat] Chou Ni Zha Di: 111, I’ve been waiting for three months!

Chen Ziming frowned slightly: “Wait, can this guy really tell fortunes?”

Yu Mi was also curious, so he privately messaged one of the people, politely asking.

The other person replied, “You must be new to the merged server, right? This person is a famous fortune-teller in our Yun Zhong Ge, he really can predict things, seems like he does this in real life too!”

Yu Mi’s mouth twitched, thinking this must be a shill…

As he was doubting, the “fortune-teller” spoke up.

[Nearby Chat] What Are You: [Sweet and Soft] Little cutie, it’s you. You can privately message me what you want to know.

Yu Mi was startled: “How did he find me?”

Chen Ziming laughed: “Looks like he’s got his eyes on you.”

Yu Mi hurriedly typed a reply.

[Nearby Chat] Sweet and Soft: I didn’t say I wanted a reading! Go read for someone else.

[Nearby Chat] What Are You: I only read for those with fate, and you’re today’s fated one. I calculated… little cutie, you’re going to have a bloody disaster today. #Sunglasses#Sunglasses

Yu Mi had just finished reading this when a red warning suddenly popped up on the screen.

[System: Warning! Someone has placed an 8000 gold bounty on you! You can avoid being hunted in the guild territory.]

[Nearby Chat] What Are You: Oh, did I hit the mark?

The nearby chat was filled with people exclaiming: Holy crap, he’s a real god!!

Yu Mi was dumbfounded: “How can this be?!”

He quickly pressed M to open the map and immediately ran to hide in the guild territory!

What kind of god?! It’s this damn shaman who placed the bounty on him!

Damn shaman!

He really is a shaman!!