Chapter 32: First PK

Wu Shaochen had just stepped out of the War God Hall when a private message pinged.

Xue’er: “Aren’t you worried about being overtaken after being offline for so long?”

Wu Shaochen: “No, if I want to level up, I can do it in a minute. No one can catch up with me.”

Xue’er saw Wu Shaochen’s reply and rolled her eyes. Though she thought he was boasting, she couldn’t deny that it was true. After all, she had been offline for a while and was still only level 12. Shaking her head, she stopped dwelling on it and asked: “Do you have any mage equipment?”

Wu Shaochen: “No.”

Seeing Wu Shaochen’s response, Xue’er felt a little down but asked stubbornly, “Then, is there any way you could help me clear the War God Secret Realm?”

Wu Shaochen: “Bronze tier?”

…

Xue’er: “Black iron.”

Wu Shaochen: “Oh, that should work.”

Afterward, he sent her a screenshot of the Wild Boar King Summoning Scroll. He no longer needed it, so it was just lying in his inventory.

Xue’er’s eyes lit up when she saw it. This guy really had a lot of useful items. With this, she felt confident that clearing the challenge would be possible. She could have the Wild Boar King tank the damage while she dealt the damage from behind.

“How much?” Xue’er asked.

Wu Shaochen: “Give me 50,000.”

Xue’er agreed quickly, and they completed the transaction. She then rushed to the War God Hall. Many players had realized that increasing their rank could significantly improve their strength.

After the transaction, Wu Shaochen listed his Black Bear King Armor, Wolf Fang Mace, Bear King Necklace, and the Wolf King Leggings on the auction house. He set the auction to a half-hour bidding period, hoping to get a good price. The auction house was empty lately, since everyone had realized they could buy basic equipment at the shop. Black iron items were rare, and once listed, they were quickly snatched up. Materials, on the other hand, were abundant in the auction.

As soon as Wu Shaochen put up three black iron pieces and one bronze piece, it caught everyone’s attention.

“Wow, bronze equipment! I haven’t even seen black iron gear yet, and here comes bronze gear?”

“Three black iron, one bronze! Which big shot is this?”

“Damn, this armor gives such a huge boost to the shield warriors. If I had the money, I’d snatch it up immediately.”

At this point, Ao Tianxia was looking at the auction items with a serious expression and asked, “Do you know who’s selling these?”

“Not sure, they listed it anonymously,” Aojue replied.

“At this stage, there are only a handful of people who can sell bronze gear, and this armor wasn’t dropped by the Silver Wolf King. Do you think this is Dust Seal? Is he also in Jinling City?”

“It’s very possible. Let’s bid on this armor first, then have the others keep an eye out. If Dust Seal really is in Jinling City, we’ll find him. I want to see just what this Dust Seal is capable of.”

After listing his items, Wu Shaochen noticed that his inventory was filled with whiteboard gear. He shook his head and walked into a nearby clothing shop, selling all the low-tier items. He only got a few copper coins for each piece, which was quite frustrating. At least they didn’t require individual sales—he could sell everything in one go.

After selling the equipment, Wu Shaochen realized that buying from the shop would cost several silver coins per piece. It was pure exploitation.

As he browsed the store’s items, he noticed they were selling masks. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided to buy one. The mask didn’t add any attributes; its only purpose was to conceal his face. He was becoming somewhat of a notable figure in the game, so it was better to keep a low profile.

In fact, it didn’t matter much if his identity was exposed in the game, but he was worried about the consequences in real life. After all, in real life, he was just an ordinary person without power or influence. If he made enemies in the game, they might take revenge in the real world.

Once he bought the mask and put it on, Wu Shaochen left the south gate again. On his way, he encountered many players heading out to hunt monsters. It was already four or five in the morning, yet these people were still up.

At that moment, four people—three men and one woman—approached him. The leader, a man, said, “Hey, buddy, want to join our party? We’re short on DPS.”

“No thanks,” Wu Shaochen politely declined and continued walking.

“Bro, no one plays solo in this game. Let’s team up,” the leader insisted. He noticed that Wu Shaochen’s gear seemed decent, which was why he wanted to team up.

“No, really. Thanks,” Wu Shaochen repeated, this time more firmly.

“Hey, what’s with the attitude? Our boss wants to invite you because he thinks you’re worth it,” the younger man behind the leader couldn’t hold back anymore and yelled.

Wu Shaochen stopped and turned to look at the young man. “I’ve been polite enough. What’s wrong with not agreeing to the invitation?”

“Of course. Our boss, Ao Tianxia, is one of the top figures in the Ao Tian faction. If you get to know him, you might even get into the Ao Tian faction. You know, Ao Tian is the biggest guild in Jinling City,” the young man said proudly.

“Oh.” Wu Shaochen didn’t want to waste any more time with them and turned to leave, but the group wasn’t done. They surrounded him.

“Kid, you’re asking for trouble. Believe it or not, I’ll kill you right here and take your gear,” the young man threatened.

The leader, Ao Tianxia, folded his arms and smiled, watching the scene. If the guy wasn’t cooperating, they’d just have to take his gear by force.

“Go ahead,” Wu Shaochen said calmly.

“Ha! You’re cocky, huh? Let me show you why you shouldn’t mess with some people,” the young man said as he drew his weapon and slashed at Wu Shaochen.

-12

The damage number that appeared was awkward. The young man stared in disbelief. He was a warrior with all his points in attack, and even though his gear was white, he still had over 200 attack points. But this hit only dealt 12 points of damage. Was this guy a tank with such high defense?

Players could hide their ID and level, but not their class, which was easy to spot.

“Is that all?” Wu Shaochen glanced at the stunned young man, then leisurely pulled out his Wooden Sword from his inventory and said casually, “Well… it’s my turn.”

As the young man swung his sword, the other three members of the group immediately had their IDs turn gray, indicating that they were in a party.

“Ha-ha, a wooden sword? You think you’re going to beat us with that?” the only woman laughed loudly.

Wu Shaochen didn’t bother wasting time with them. He activated Extreme Speed, moving so fast that the others barely had time to react. He slashed once at each of them and then turned to leave without even looking back.

“Damn, this guy is so fast! But what’s his deal? He hit once and ran. Does he realize he can’t beat us and is trying to escape?” the young man who had attacked Wu Shaochen muttered.

“No, wait… I’m poisoned! Damn it, I’m losing 260 health every second. Xiaoli, heal me!” Ao Tianxia, the leader, panicked.

Xiaoli quickly cast a healing spell, but it showed “+0” instead of a healing value.

“I can’t heal you, Ao! Drink a potion quick,” she shouted.

But before Ao Tianxia could even pull out a potion, he collapsed, dead.

The others quickly realized they were also poisoned. The tank only managed to survive for about five seconds before dropping dead as well.

Nearby players watched in confusion as the four players suddenly collapsed.