Chapter 95 - Farewell, Yueye City
After obtaining another "Bounty Mission", the ever talented Gu Fei bounded toward the Warrior Encampment to erase his final 4 PK points without checking his target"s coordinates. When he arrived at the location, Gu Fei was dumbfounded at what he saw: Not one Past Deeds" member could be seen inside the safe zone.
"Where"re they?" Gu Fei asked the garrisoned players of Past Deeds Eradication Army outside.
"They logged off!" everyone replied with a grimace.
Gu Fei finally realized why he had not heard the sound of the coordinates refres.h.i.+ng as he made his way over to this sp.a.w.n point. He opened the mission log and took a look. As expected, the "Bounty Mission" target was tagged as "offline" in the column where the coordinates were displayed.
These people are so shameless! Gu Fei thought to himself in dissatisfaction. When he took the "Bounty Mission", the target was clearly shown as online. If that guy"s got a shred of decency, he should"ve waited for me to off him before going offline! Gu Fei sighed in frustration.
The target going offline was a frustrating matter to a player because he or she could not cancel the "Bounty Mission" on his or her volition. This was currently among the most illogical features of Parallel World.
Gu Fei gazed forlornly at the deserted Warrior Encampment for some time. Meanwhile, the players of Past Deeds Eradication Army outside the safe zone were at a loss at what to do next. The Past Deeds" players were waging intense battles in the other sp.a.w.n points, yet the Warriors in this safe zone had simply logged off. Just how could this be explained? Were these Warriors not the main force of Past Deeds?
When the news reached Dusky Cloud, he rushed toward the Warrior Encampment. Sword Demon had relinquished his duties as the Past Deeds Eradication Army"s commander and Dusky Cloud became its de facto leader.
"Past Deeds is done for!" Dusky Cloud cheered upon seeing the empty safe zone for Warriors. Gu Fei looked backward when he heard Dusky Cloud"s voice. Awkwardness swiftly pervaded the air as their gazes coincidentally collided.
Eight hours ago, Dusky Cloud, along with some of his buddies, had tried to kill Gu Fei to avenge his best friend, No Smile. Eight hours later, Gu Fei, along with his friends, had greatly helped Dusky Cloud"s gang wage war against Past Deeds. From start to finish, he had been instrumental in starting the guild war and in turning the tide of the battle in favor of the Past Deeds Eradication Army.
Presently, Dusky Cloud was in a dilemma on how he should treat Gu Fei. Recalling Celestial Pig"s admonition to him earlier about treating matters separately, Dusky Cloud could not help but reflexively nod his head in agreement. He was about to thank Gu Fei for what he had done earlier when he saw the latter take two steps forward. Gu Fei was gone in a flash of white light immediately after entering the safe zone. Dusky Cloud bewilderedly opened his mission log and saw that Fugitive 27149 was tagged as "offline".
Having spent over eight hours in Parallel World, Gu Fei considered it as a day"s work done. After he said his goodbyes to Sword Demon and the others on the private mercenary channel, Gu Fei logged off to rest.
Gu Fei going offline naturally did not mean that the war had ended. Yueye City remained as a huge PvP field, persisting even when he entered the game the next day.
When he logged in at the Warrior Encampment, his sp.a.w.ning location happened to be in the middle of the two opposing sides: the Past Deeds" Warriors behind and the Past Deeds Eradication Army in front. Gu Fei blinked his eyes in disbelief at what he was seeing. He hurriedly exited the sp.a.w.n point when he felt killing intent emanating from behind him. These Past Deeds" Warriors had at least learned their lesson, so they did not chase after him this time.
"Have you guys… been online all this while?" Gu Fei asked in astonishment, eyeing the players outside the safe zone. Each of them looked weary.
"We took turns resting offline," the person facing Gu Fei answered.
"Don"t you guys have places to be in reality?" Gu Fei almost uttered this sentence but stopped himself. He recalled Young Master Han and the others" reaction when he had asked them this question before. The idea was… foreign to people whose lifeblood was playing online games.
Gu Fei was not standing in the Warrior Encampment for long when Sword Demon and the other mercenary group members sent him messages. They had agreed to return to Yunduan City together, so the others were waiting for Gu Fei to come online.
"I"m off!" Gu Fei bid the players around him goodbye. Although they barely knew one another, they had at least spent some time together and shared the same side in this guild war.
These people were momentarily stunned, before hurriedly asking, "Where to?"
"Yunduan City!" Gu Fei answered, as he recalled something, "Oh, yeah! Almost forgot!"
Gu Fei darted back inside the Warrior Encampment and swept his gaze around. He then rushed toward a Warrior while wielding Moonlit Nightfalls in hand. The said Warrior could only gape at Gu Fei"s approaching figure, not knowing what to do as he died under Gu Fei"s sword after a few slashes. By the time the other Past Deeds" Warriors reacted, Gu Fei had long since dusted his hands and left the safe zone. The Warriors all thumped their chests and cursed at Gu Fei"s shamelessness for not showing any indication that he was about to kill one of them.
Gu Fei smiled amiably as he bid the players of Past Deeds Eradication Army goodbye. He also did not neglect to sincerely thank the Past Deeds" Warriors for helping him clear off his PK value. After all, his high PK value was the reason he had come to Yueye City after fleeing from Yunduan City. Finally, Gu Fei was a free man once again.
Gu Fei"s PK value reset to zero when he turned his mission in at the Bounty a.s.signment Hall. Upon exiting the hall and seeing no one present, he quickly took off his mask with a relieved sigh. From this moment onward, the serial number 27149 would be relegated to the annals of history of Parallel World.
On his way to meet up with Sword Demon and the rest, Gu Fei remembered Xiaoyu and hurriedly fired off a message to her.
Xiaoyu was surprised, "We just got here the day before, yet we"re already leaving?"
To think it"s only been two days. Everything felt surreal… Gu Fei was slightly maudlin. Having experienced many things in these past two days, he could not help but feel that time was pa.s.sing by quite slowly.
Xiaoyu had spent her time repeatedly completing normal quests, so she of course found the pa.s.sage of time to be much faster. Xiaoyu had wholly submerged herself into finding a way to retrieve the riches found within NPC Adrian"s cellar in Yeguang Village; thus, she knew nothing of the happenings in Yueye City yesterday.
"When you logged off, did you notice anything strange?" Gu Fei found himself admiring Xiaoyu"s ability to evade trouble.
"Nothing at all!" Xiaoyu answered.
"Where did you log off?" Gu Fei asked another question.
"Fighters" Dojo," Xiaoyu replied.
Gu Fei somewhat got it. Since few players had chosen the Fighter job cla.s.s, the Fighters" Dojo had not been one of the PvP fields. Thus, it became the only real safe zone in Yueye City. "How coincidental for you to log off there!" he commented.
"Mhm. I logged off at the Warrior Encampment on day one, and—heh. It"s kinda embarra.s.sing but I couldn"t find my way back to that safe zone on day two. When I asked people for directions, they told me to log off at the Fighters" Dojo instead," Xiaoyu explained.
"Didn"t they tell you why?" Gu Fei probed.
"No need to. It"s obviously because that safe zone is the closest. You"re so silly!" Xiaoyu teased Gu Fei.
Gu Fei was quite annoyed, finally asking, "When are you returning to Yunduan City?"
"Ah! I don"t intend to head back yet. There"re lots of quests in Yueye City! I feel I could spend a lifetime doing them. When you get back, please help me convince Sis July to move Amethyst Rebirth Guild"s base over here!" Xiaoyu requested.
"Sure… I"ll try…" Gu Fei wiped nonexistent sweat off his forehead. Speaking to Xiaoyu was much more exhausting than clas.h.i.+ng with Silver Moon.
After ending his conversation with Xiaoyu, he sent Will-low and Coward"s Savior a message each. The two were his freshly acquired friends while adventuring in Yueye City, so it was only right to say goodbye to them as well.
Coward"s Savior was not online. As for Will-low, she replied at once, "I"m going to Yunduan City as well!"
"Why?"
"Have you forgotten? All my friends moved to Yunduan City, so I"m going there to meet up with them," Will-low reminded Gu Fei.
"Oh. If that"s the case... wanna go together?" Gu Fei asked.
"Sure!"
Gu Fei told her the meet-up location.
Outside a tavern"s entrance by Yueye City"s north gate, Gu Fei spotted Sword Demon and the rest. However, he did not expect Dusky Cloud and his buddies to be present as well. Gu Fei wondered if he should cover his face or not.
"Don"t come over. Act as if you don"t know us!" Sword Demon had obviously spotted Gu Fei as well.
"Roger!" Gu Fei replied, as he continued walking toward the tavern. He casually swept his gaze over the people that that had gathered by the entrance. Right before entering the establishment, Gu Fei overheard Dusky Cloud saying, "It"s not every day that you"d find yourself in Yueye City. Why not spend a few more days playing around here before heading back?"
Man, that line"s so cliché… Gu Fei thought to himself. Suddenly, he received a message from Young Master Han, "Do you realize how fake your casual glance was?"
"What do you mean?" Gu Fei asked, puzzled.
"Seeing my peerless beauty, anybody would linger their gaze on me. You should"ve been in a daze for quite a while before realizing my good looks are for real. That would"ve been far more convincing," Young Master Han criticized.
Gu Fei felt gooseb.u.mps rose on his skin. "Your beauty doesn"t excuse your grossness!" Just as this message was sent out, Young Master Han appeared right in front of him with a blackened expression. Gu Fei immediately warned, "Don"t forget you"re a Priest! I can easily kill you."
Young Master Han exited the establishment with a ghastly expression. Gu Fei had no choice but to sit alone in the tavern as Dusky Cloud"s gang and Sword Demon conversed outside.
Suddenly, a lady entered the tavern, stood within arm"s reach of Gu Fei, and looked around. Will-low messaged Gu Fei, "Where are you?"
He tugged on her cloak, "Right here."
Will-low lowered her head, looked at Gu Fei, stepped away from him, and sent another message to Gu Fei, "Where? I"m here."
"I"m here! Didn"t I tell you I"m right here?" Gu Fei tapped on the table.
Will-low skeptically looked at him once more. Gu Fei felt somewhat annoyed. Were his looks so different from how she had imagined him to be? That was illogical! Only Sword Demon had the looks that could subvert someone"s imagination to such a degree.
Looking at each other for this long was getting awkward. Gu Fei coughed lightly, "Why"re you just staring at me?"
Will-low quickly came over and took a seat beside Gu Fei, asking softly, "Did Thousand Miles Drunk ask you to wait for me here?"
"What"re you talking about? I"m Thousand Miles Drunk," Gu Fei replied indignantly.
"How is that possible?!" Will-low exclaimed. Gu Fei waited for her to refute him more, but she bewilderedly blurted out instead, "Eh? Why is the mission gone?"
"What mission?" Gu Fei asked.
"The "Bounty Mission" for Miles that I"ve obtained," Will-low sputtered.
"Oh!" Gu Fei finally understood. Will-low did not recognize him because the serial number 27149 was no longer displayed on him. He quickly explained to her, "I"ve already erased my PK value."
"What? I remember you having 29 PK points last night! How did you get rid of it this fast?" Will-low asked.
"Mhm. There"re lots of fights going on all over the city, so many people acc.u.mulated high PK value!" Gu Fei explained.
Will-low instantly understood.
"Oh, right. I"ve a minor issue I hope you can help me with," Gu Fei said.
Chapter 96 - Will-low wants to join the group?
Outside the tavern, Dusky Cloud and his gang spent almost an hour saying their goodbyes to Sword Demon. In actual fact, not many words could be exchanged between two parties that had only known each other for two days. Saying goodbye should take five minutes at most, yet Dusky Cloud stubbornly stayed and was even currently discussing with Sword Demon the ideal stat point distribution for Thieves.
Standing by the side, Young Master Han laughed mockingly and said, "Stop dawdling. Fugitive 27149 isn"t coming."
Dusky Cloud"s true intention was uncovered with that single remark. These players claimed that they were here to give Sword Demon a send off while their real goal was to lay eyes on Fugitive 27149"s true visage. Gu Fei had become prominent in Yueye City these days. However, his face had remained hidden from start to finish as he wielded a blade in one hand and a Chinese broadsword in the other. While many players admired his getup, none of them knew what he looked like or what his name was. Only Will-low in Yueye City knew of Gu Fei"s appearance, and she had seen it not too long ago.
They felt slightly embarra.s.sed when Young Master Han exposed their real intention. But considering how he had tolerated their presence for the past hour, he had at least saved them some face. Although Dusky Cloud felt discontented with Young Master Han, he did not snap at him this time. Dusky Cloud tried to make light of the situation by laughing self-deprecatingly, "Ha ha… Looks like we don"t qualify to meet him. Guess we"ll have to trouble Sword Demon to thank him for us. I had intended to do that at the Warrior Encampment yesterday, but he quickly logged off before I could say a word to him."
Sword Demon smiled and nodded his head, "I"ll be sure to tell him."
"We won"t bother you guys any further, then," Dusky Cloud said.
Cliché parting comments, such as "Come and play whenever you"re free", "Take care on the road", "Stay in touch", were all spouted before they truly departed.
The five mercenary group members entered the tavern and saw Gu Fei moving his table back to its original position.
"What"re you doing?" Sword Demon asked, puzzled.
"Uh... I feel more secure when I"m leaning against a wall. But since we"re leaving now, I"m moving this table back to its original spot," Gu Fei answered defensively.
"You"re eavesdropping, right?" Young Master Han bluntly exposed Gu Fei while flas.h.i.+ng him a mocking smile.
"Ha ha… I felt bored doing nothing, so I listened in," Gu Fei tried to play it off, just like what Dusky Cloud had done not too long ago.
Young Master Han noticed Will-low sitting beside Gu Fei, so he remarked dryly, "You must have been really bored to busy yourself intently in this one hour."
Unexpectedly, Sword Demon went up and greeted Will-low, "You"re here, too!"
"Yup! I"ll be going with you guys to Yunduan City," Will-low said happily.
Royal G.o.d Call had a dumbstruck look on his face as he whispered to Gu Fei, "You"re quite the player to reel in a lady to return with you in just two days. How did you do it? Teach this lil" bro!"
Gu Fei was annoyed by his insinuation, "What does a kid like you know? Go play with yourself."
Royal G.o.d Call was affronted by his dismissal.
Gu Fei introduced Will-low to the five men. Besides the new IGN Young Master Han specifically created for this game, Will-low recognized the IGNs of the other players. She punctuated every introduction with bouts of shock. When Gu Fei got to Brother a.s.sist, Will-low bounced excitedly, "Brother a.s.sist?! You"re my idol, you know?"
Everyone was astonished by her reaction. Even Brother a.s.sist did not know how to respond, "Oh? Even I have fans in this day and age?"
"Yup! Collecting information and a.n.a.lyzing data are my hobbies, too!" Will-low exclaimed.
"Ha ha ha! This lady here has a bright future!" Brother a.s.sist told everyone. Truthfully, Brother a.s.sist"s gaming style was often criticized unlike the others. To describe him using past gaming knowledge, he was not a player with amazing control, high level, or overpowered equipment; what he had was the theoretical knowledge of how to properly distribute stats for every job cla.s.s, what kind of skills did the different job cla.s.ses had, and how to best utilize the job cla.s.s that was chosen. Any gaming noobs who encountered him would definitely be in luck, yet Brother a.s.sist"s ability to contribute when it came to an actual fight was very minute. Many people could not understand why he spent his entire day meaninglessly obsessing over these things, but they could see that he actually enjoyed doing it.
Spending most of his time discussing matters with other players and posting the top discussion threads on the game forums were how Brother a.s.sist acquired his fame; the same fame that Sword Demon and the others greatly enjoyed in their respective fields of expertise, yet greatly diminished once outside these domains. In contrast, Brother a.s.sist"s expertise that could be applied in all areas allowed his fame to be more constant than the other four gaming experts.
However, fame did not equate to strength. The players that despised Brother a.s.sist"s work were greater than those that admired it. The players who were interested in researching and a.n.a.lyzing data components were naturally few as well. It was no wonder everyone was surprised when Will-low claimed that she idolized Brother a.s.sist.
As everyone was feeling gleeful, Will-low continued speaking, "Are you guys part of one mercenary group? Can I join your group?"
Everyone looked at Young Master Han.
Will-low definitely did not qualify to join Young Master"s Elite mercenary group considering the level requirement criterion that they had set during its inception. But ultimately, Young Master Han was the one who had set this criterion and the rest were more or less indifferent to that criterion. This matter could be considered resolved as long as he gave his approval.
Gu Fei had his sight trained on to Royal G.o.d Call. Recalling that time when Sword Demon had asked him to join their mercenary group, Brother a.s.sist, War Without Wounds, and Young Master Han did not voice objections except for Royal G.o.d Call. And yet, this kid currently did not voice any objection when this level 24 Thief had asked to join their mercenary group. A stupid smile was even plastered all over his face as he salivated at the prospect. This kid"s disappointing. Truly and utterly disappointing, Gu Fei thought spitefully to himself. Royal G.o.d Call usually boasted about his abilities, yet his carnal desire was in full display when faced with this lady. It was no wonder why Amethyst Rebirth"s ladies showed such a strong reaction when a male player joined their guild. It was lecherous men like him that sullied male players" good name.
Will-low finally caught on to who was calling the shots in this group. Fixing her gaze on to Young Master Han, she happily said, "This big sis here must be the group leader. Let me join the group, pretty please?"
Big sis! The harmonious atmosphere instantly dispersed. Everyone nervously looked at Young Master Han as an amiable smile slowly appeared from his originally expressionless face. Young Master Han patted Will-low"s shoulder and warmly said, "So you wish to join our group! Not a chance." He then turned around and told the others, "Let"s. .h.i.t the road."
Young Master Han"s words vastly contrasted his friendly tone, so Will-low was momentarily frozen in place. After a bit, she asked, "What happened?"
Sword Demon sighed deeply as he left the tavern. War Without Wounds laughed weakly and exited the establishment as well.
"When it comes to information gathering, you"ve still got a long way to go," with a heavy heart, Brother a.s.sist sincerely said to Will-low.
"Don"t worry, leave this to me. Do you have QQ1? Let"s—"
"A kid like you should quietly play in a corner!" Gu Fei swiftly b.u.t.ted in and interrupted Royal G.o.d Call"s pickup line. He then directed a troubled gaze on to Will-low, "Couldn"t you tell that "she" is actually a "he"? Although he doesn"t look like one, his voice is a dead giveaway! He clearly spoke quite a few words since he entered the tavern."
"Ah? I totally didn"t notice…" Will-low said gloomily.
Gu Fei had no other words to say. This was a mistake he would expect Xiaoyu to make but not from Will-low who did not seem to be an airhead at all!
"I"ll go apologize to him," Will-low moved to chase after Young Master Han.
"Forget it," Gu Fei tried to stop her but he was too late; Will-low had already run outside the premise. He rushed outside, only to find Will-low bowing repeatedly to Young Master Han to show her contrition.
Young Master Han still had that amiable smile on his face, saying "I"m not that petty. This often happens to me, so I"m used to it. You can"t join our group solely because you"re not strong enough. Our team…" Young Master Han looked at the others, before pointing at Gu Fei, "You know what he"s capable, right? And yet, he"s the weakest among us. If you wish to join our group, you need to at least be at his level."
Will-low glumly said, "It seems I can never join your group."
Young Master Han nodded his head solemnly, "That"s why I said those words before."
Meanwhile, the others gathered in a corner to quietly discuss the situation. "Is he telling the truth or lying? Does he really not mind?" War Without Wounds asked.
"It"s definitely a lie. Just look at his smile," Brother a.s.sist answered.
"Sword Demon, you know him best. What do you think?" Royal G.o.d Call asked.
"It"s half true, half false!" Sword Demon replied.
"What do you mean?" Royal G.o.d Call pressed on.
"Will-low"s level is truly not acceptable to him. But she has touched a nerve coincidentally, so he"s using this opportunity to snub her. I think that"s his initial intention, anyway," Gu Fei chimed in.
Sword Demon looked at Gu Fei in surprise, "You"ve got quite a good grasp of his character."
"I"ve got no choice," Gu Fei sighed, "His personality is too obvious."
"How come I can"t see that?" Royal G.o.d Call scratched his head.
"What does a kid like you know? I"ve eaten more salt than you"ve eaten rice," Gu Fei remarked.
Royal G.o.d Call was getting fed up with him by now.
"Alright, let"s go!" After Will-low and Young Master Han finished their talk, everyone finally hit the road.
"I"ll definitely join your mercenary group," Will-low whispered as she walked beside Gu Fei.
"So you"ve not given up yet, huh," Gu Fei mused.
"Of course, not."
"Good luck!" Gu Fei smiled.
"Hey, what did you do to get so OP?" Will-low asked inquisitively.
"Been training hard for twenty years nonstop even to these days," Gu Fei answered.
"What have you been training hard?" Will-low asked, baffled.
"Kung fu," Gu Fei replied.
"You mean to say you"re so good at PvP wholly because you"ve been training kung fu?" Will-low had watched the entire process of Gu Fei"s battle with Vast Lushness. That fight was not like Gu Fei"s usual one-on-one bout that ended in two or three moves. Having spent quite some time observing him, she was convinced that Gu Fei was not an average player.
Gu Fei nodded his head.
"Oh? Can I learn it, too?" Will-low asked.
"If you"ve got the pa.s.sion for it, of course I can teach you some moves. But you can forget it if your intention for learning kung fu is to be like me in-game. I doubt you"ll be able to devote so much time to learning it," Gu Fei candidly told her.
While Gu Fei had spent twenty years practicing kung fu, what he had learned in those years was incomparable to an average pract.i.tioner"s. Kung fu was already his entire being with his lifestyle revolving around it. Moreover, talent factored when learning this particular martial art. The time an average person had to spend into practicing kung fu up to Gu Fei"s current level would take about... forty or sixty years. Even their whole lives might not be enough to attain Gu Fei"s kung fu prowess.