Chapter 33:

Over twenty two-star wolfhounds stood together, creating an imposing and intimidating sight.

Lin Chuanyan stood in front of Su Qianxue, his expression grim.

The teammates caught sight of the wolfhounds and were so breathless that they almost fainted. “Why are there so many two-star beasts? Is there a wolf den nearby?”

The others weren’t faring any better. Their faces turned pale, but they still formed a protective circle, keeping Su Qianxue safely in the center.

“It seems like there’s no way to escape this time,” Lin Chuanyan said in a low voice, speaking quickly, “When the opportunity arises, split up and run. Whoever can run, run.”

Up ahead, over twenty two-star wolfhounds blocked their path.

Behind them, more than ten two-star gray rat cubs were in pursuit.

As they found themselves caught between two forces, a major battle seemed imminent. However, the wolfhounds suddenly leaped past the players, chasing after the gray rats on their own.

Lin Chuanyan and the others, “???”

With their numerical and physical advantages, the wolfhounds swiftly killed all the gray rat cubs.

“So cool!” Su Qianxue exclaimed in admiration.

The wolfhounds perked up their ears, carried the gray rats, and ran off.

The group was left in a daze, taking a while to come to their senses.

Watching the wolfhounds depart, Su Qianxue couldn’t help but mutter, “They’re really cute. I want to keep one.”

“Snap out of it, two-star wolfhounds don’t seem like battle pets,” a teammate coldly shattered her illusion.

But Su Qianxue replied confidently, “They’re domesticated, they even have tags around their necks.”

She had inadvertently noticed something that reminded her of her pet dog at home.

A tag around the neck?

Lin Chuanyan was surprised, “A tag? What kind of tag?”

Su Qianxue replied, “Just a regular wooden tag, it seemed like it had writing on it. Unfortunately, the fur was too long, and it covered the words, so I couldn’t see clearly.”

“I’ve seen battle pets, and this group of wolfhounds doesn’t seem like them,” Lin Chuanyan exclaimed, “I heard that they become battle pets only after forming a contract, and a person can only raise one.”

“Maybe there are players with special talents?” Su Qianxue speculated.

Before her teammates could respond, she changed the subject, “Regardless of the reason, at least we’ve been saved.”

“Yes, luckily nothing happened.” The members shuddered as they recalled their recent encounter.

If they hadn’t managed to hunt the gray rats and had lost their game qualification instead, it would have been a huge loss.

***

Yun Shan and Lu Ming proceeded cautiously and soon hunted down 26 one-star gray rats and 32 two-star gray rats.

Glancing at Lu Liu and You Yi, who were far off and nearly out of sight, Yun Shan thought to herself that these two weren’t afraid of getting into trouble. But then she realized that with Lu Ming around, if anyone were to get into trouble, it would be someone else.

“These are for you,” Lu Ming said with a hint of a smile in his eyes.

Yun Shan replied, “If you killed them, why are you giving them to me?”

“There’s an event going on. You can exchange them for the gifts you want,” Lu Ming paused slightly, then added, “Consider it as rent.”

Considering that she had accompanied Lu Ming outside, it was only fair for her to receive some compensation. After a moment’s thought, Yun Shan accepted, “Well, then I won’t hold back.”

She picked up a bamboo whistle and blew, calling the wolfhounds back.

At the same time, she contemplated returning to the estate for a while, leaving the game behind, and then coming back to continue hunting.

The sharp whistle sound carried far and wide.

After waiting for a while and not seeing the wolfhounds return, she noticed over twenty players running towards her.

“Leader, there are so many rats!”

Seeing the ground covered with rats, both one-star and two-star, her teammates were both surprised and delighted.

“Just because there are more doesn’t mean they belong to you,” Yun Shan declared solemnly.

As soon as she finished speaking, over twenty two-star wolfhounds appeared not far away.

Yun Shan initially thought her own pets had returned, but upon closer inspection, she noticed that the pack not only comprised three-star wolfhounds but also agilely gathered around her.

It turned out that they were battle pets raised by the other party.

“NPC escorts aren’t all-powerful,” the guild leader Zhou Feijia looked at Yun Shan with a smile that hid an underlying meaning. “Having no harvest is better than losing your life, don’t you think?”

She felt as though she had been robbed.

However, Yun Shan wasn’t worried. She was in the mood to chat with the other person, “In theory, that’s true.”

Strategic retreat in the face of defeat was entirely reasonable.

But today, she had brought out five-star (beasts)! She wasn’t afraid of any number of opponents!

However, Zhou Feijia didn’t catch on and thought the other party was backing off to save their own life. He waved his hand and said with a smile, “Take away all the rats.”

Yun Shan sighed, “You, why can’t you be a bit more straightforward? Others have to buy rats with money, and you just directly snatch them in the wilderness. What if you run into trouble?”

“You can’t afford to spend money? Are you paying for this?” Zhou Feijia sneered.

The vice president, Duan Xing, observed Yun Shan discreetly and faintly sensed something unusual.

The individual was neither indignant nor oppressed, and displayed no trace of fear or unease, almost as if they were watching a play.

But… what could a white-name player (two-star) and an NPC bodyguard possibly achieve?

Their guild included eight three-star powerhouses, comprising both players and battle pets! Even if they encountered a four-star expert, they could put up a fight!

Perhaps ignorance truly is bliss.

The other side didn’t have the slightest inkling of the formidable opponent they were facing.

Duan Xing successfully persuaded himself to quietly wait for the members to pick up the rats.

As the players approached the rats and were about to grab them, Yun Shan turned to Lu Ming and complained, “He thinks they outnumber you and you can’t handle it.”

Lu Ming cast a casual glance at the players and nonchalantly asked, “Should I just kill them all?”

“Constantly resorting to violence isn’t ideal, right?” Yun Shan expressed her disapproval and added, “Let’s just rough them up.”

The two of them casually discussed and made their decision as if no one else were present.

Zhou Feijia, hearing their conversation, looked on with a mocking expression.

The idea of engaging in combat despite the vast difference in strength was met with disdain. Without enduring any hardship, they had no understanding of what it meant to be afraid.

Without much verbal communication, Zhou Feijia and Duan Xing cooperated seamlessly, joining forces to counter the enemy. They barely exchanged a few blows before unleashing their most powerful combat skills.

The three-star wolfhounds followed, targeting the vulnerable spots to bite down.

Lu Ming took down each opponent with a single punch, effortlessly overwhelming the entire field.

Zhou Feijia took a heavy blow and lay on the ground, unable to get up for quite some time, in disbelief as he looked at Lu Ming, wondering who this NPC was, what star level they were, and whether they existed in the camp. It seemed as though he had never seen them before.

After the enemy was completely eliminated, Yun Shan smiled and said, “Losing points is better than losing your life. You’re so rational, I’m sure you’d be willing to spend money to save your life.”

Zhou Feijia, “…”

Earlier, Yun Shan had asked, “What if you run into trouble?”

In fact, he didn’t think much of it.

There weren’t that many experts in the camp, so how could they coincidentally encounter them? Even if they did, not to mention winning, as long as the three-star could hold them off and cover the others’ escape, there wouldn’t be a problem. Without deep enmity, the experts wouldn’t relentlessly pursue and harass them. After all, this was the wilderness.

Excessive physical exertion could spell trouble when encountering beasts.

Zhou Feijia believed his thoughts were reasonable. In fact, they had always approached the game this way and had never made a mistake.

Until today, when more than twenty people ganged up on two individuals, things took an unexpected turn. The entire guild was captured, and the other party demanded that they pay to save their lives.

“How much?” Zhou Feijia had never experienced such humiliation since entering the game. However, the situation was stronger than people, and he had no choice but to yield.

Losing their game qualification would truly be the end.

“2000 points per person,” Yun Shan set the price.

“So expensive?” a guild member exclaimed, “Why don’t you just go and snatch them!”

“On the market, a single registration code costs 3 million, and an official event registration code is worth 40,000 points, equivalent to 2.8 million in cash, and that’s for a new account,” Yun Shan stated the facts, reasoning, “Your combined strength is at least two stars, and you also have battle pets. 2000 points per person is quite cheap.”

“Madman! Going crazy over points!” someone couldn’t afford the price and immediately jumped in anger, cursing loudly.

Yun Shan clicked her tongue, “Only you’re allowed to rob and not allow others to fight back? When you’re in this line of work, you have to pay your dues. Don’t you even have this level of understanding?”

For some reason, the person’s face reddened, unable to speak.

“It’s my mistake in decision-making, and the guild will cover the cost,” Zhou Feijia’s face turned ashen, saying each word distinctly, “I admit defeat.”

“Altogether, 26 people, which adds up to 52,000 points,” Yun Shan calculated swiftly, “Alright, make the transfer.”

Gritting his teeth, Zhou Feijia stood up, operating his black wristwatch while slowly making his way toward Yun Shan.

“I’m not unreasonable either. Once the points are transferred, I’ll let you go immediately,” Yun Shan promised.

Just as they were about to make the transfer, Lu Ming’s eyes turned icy, as he encircled Yun Shan with his left arm and swiftly extended his right hand.

Looking closely, Yun Shan saw that Lu Ming was holding two emerald green snakes with blue names (three-star), both containing potent venom.

Yun Shan was speechless, “Why go to such lengths?”

She had only planned to seek wealth and teach this group a lesson, not to send them out of the game.

This guy, on the other hand, wanted to kill them as soon as he acted.

While it was true that her special talent meant that underage snakes wouldn’t bite her, and Lu Ming’s level was high, so getting bitten wouldn’t affect him, for anyone else, being bitten would be fatal.

It could only be said that Zhou Feijia was ruthless and venomous, seizing the opportunity to turn the tables.

“Wait!”

The assassin’s plan didn’t go as intended, and Zhou Feijia felt a pang of anxiety. He was about to say that he could bend when he needed to, that he would pay the points, and he just didn’t want to die.

Lu Ming’s eyes quickly turned blood-red, his voice icy, “You, are, seeking, death.”

Zhou Feijia didn’t even have a chance to explain and instantly turned into white light.

“It was all the guild leader’s idea! I didn’t know, I’m innocent!”

“I know I was wrong, spare me this time, please? I promise, I’ll be a good person in the future.”

“We’re all players, there’s no need for fighting and killing. Take a deep breath, stay calm, let’s sit down and talk it out?”

“As long as you spare me, I’m willing to pay 4000 points to save my life! Otherwise, otherwise, I can pay 8000.”

Realizing they were about to lose their game qualification, the players panicked, saying anything they could think of.

With a pallid complexion, hair as black as ink, and eyes devoid of emotion, Lu Ming swiftly reaped the heads of all the guild members, leaving none alive.

Still seething with anger, Lu Ming, with bloodshot eyes, walked away.

“Master!” Lu Liu and You Yi arrived late, attempting to stop Lu Ming from acting recklessly.

Yun Shan held onto Lu Ming and muffled, “It’s my fault.”

If she had killed them outright in the beginning, none of the subsequent events would have happened. Lu Ming wouldn’t have been provoked into losing control.

Lu Ming turned his head, gazing straight at Yun Shan. After a while, the redness in his eyes faded, and his breathing gradually calmed down, “It’s not your fault.”

Fearing that the divine doctor would be frightened, You Yi racked his brains to explain, “Master was worried about the divine doctor getting hurt, so he took action to eliminate these people…”

“I know,” Yun Shan said.

She wasn’t bloodthirsty, but she also didn’t sympathize with the villains. Those people had been full of malice and deserved their fate.

However, looking back, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of emotion. People have no regard for a tiger that isn’t harmful, but a tiger can become a threat to people. Once unlucky enough to encounter scoundrels, goodwill is too easily betrayed.

Yun Shan held Lu Ming, feeling an indescribable heaviness. Most people in this world are ordinary, with a few extremely good and a few extremely evil. How much evil had he encountered in his previous life to become so disillusioned with human nature, and in the end, who would believe him?

***

Yun Shan couldn’t recall how she returned to the estate.

In any case, she was responsible for Lu Ming, and Lu Liu and You Yi could handle the rest.

“Feeling uncomfortable…” Lu Ming uttered in a low murmur.

Sensing her own guilt, Yun Shan obediently acted as a pillow.

By the time Lu Ming fell asleep, she wasn’t sure, as she also drifted off. Eventually, her online time reached the limit, and the system forcibly logged her out.

Upon waking up, she found herself lying in bed with a full-immersion helmet on. It was already the following morning.

How was he doing?

Worrying about Lu Ming, she logged back into the game.

In the room, Lu Ming was awake. The first thing he said upon seeing her was, “Are you okay?”

What could possibly happen to her…

Yun Shan shook her head, “Thanks to you stepping in, I’m unharmed.”

“That’s good.”

The air suddenly became quiet. Facing each other, the two fell into a moment of silence.

“This is my fault,” Yun Shan reflected on herself, “I shouldn’t have brought up irrelevant matters with them.”

However, Lu Ming said, “It’s not your fault. Originally… it’s a mix of good and bad. Those with impure intentions, we eliminate them.”

Yun Shan looked up in surprise, finding it hard to believe that Lu Ming uttered those words.

“Why?” Lu Ming noticed Yun Shan’s unusual expression.

“Nothing,” Yun Shan smiled, and a strange thought occurred to him – hoping that in the second round, they would have a perfect ending.