Chapter 57 – The Aftermath of the Announcement

As soon as the system announcement went out, the world erupted in an uproar.

Who the hell was Zhurong? No one knew. By the looks of it, it was a new world boss. But for four people to take down a new boss—wasn’t that a bit bugged? Or was the upgraded Huaxia Online being considerate and setting up a few low-level or weak new bosses to boost players’ confidence?

[Huaxia] Qin Moon: “Refined Into a Demon 715, why does that name sound so familiar…”

[Huaxia] Swinging a Blade at Guan Gong: “That guy was at the Hanging Gardens before.”

[Huaxia] Qin Moon: “Wasn’t the Hanging Gardens cleared by Ghost Server? This one too?”

[Huaxia] Girl Next Door: “Ghost Server?”

[Huaxia] Swinging a Blade at Guan Gong: “Ghost Server Legion, a guild that came from Mirage Server.”

[Huaxia] Girl Next Door: “Are they strong?”

[Huaxia] Young Marshal of the Northeast: “I think it’s hard to describe in words. I suggest you check out the cross-server PvP recordings. Highly recommend the bullet comment version.”

[Huaxia] Young Madam of the Northeast: “I remember Refined Into a Demon was originally 438, right? Mad Lad is a familiar face, but the other two seem like newbies.”

[Huaxia] Young Marshal of the Northeast: “Newbies? I searched in the guild channel—they’re still the Commander and Deputy Commander, same classes, just changed their IDs.”

[Huaxia] Young Madam of the Northeast: “Ugh, why change their names for no reason? Milk is Mom was so badass!”

[Huaxia] Young Marshal of the Northeast: “Honey, your aesthetic preferences…”

Before the spectators could finish chatting, a new announcement appeared—

[System] Mad Lad has obtained the Burning Dagger of Zhurong.

[System] Refined Into a Demon 715 has obtained the Fire God Egg.

[System] Fang Zheng has obtained the Frosty Peach Blossom Branch.

[System] Meng Chudong has obtained the Peachwood Amulet.

At first, they thought there was only one drop, but one after another, four announcements popped up!

No one knew how strong the boss was, but it was definitely generous—four drops, one for each of them. Damn, was this a kindergarten snack time?!

The remote spectators couldn’t hold back, but that was because they didn’t know there was an even more miserable team witnessing it firsthand—

[War Banner YY]

Black Gold: “Four drops.”

Six Souls: “Yeah.”

Bodhi Patriarch: “My heart is bleeding…”

Sister Liuli: “Drip, drip.”

Bodhi Patriarch: “No need for sound effects!”

Sorrel: “This is why you shouldn’t resort to underhanded tactics.”

Snow Wolf: “If you could’ve held out in the end, all four of those would’ve been ours.”

Sorrel: “Brother, did you even see what that guy summoned? What was that? Definitely an alien! An alien!”

Sister Liuli: “That airborne move was so cool. I kinda want to switch to Demon Refiner now…”

Black Gold: “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

Sister Liuli: “I want to change classes, not quit the guild!”

Sorrel: “Old Black, why are you so dense? You keep breaking Sister Liuli’s heart. Even if she doesn’t say it, we brothers can’t stand it anymore.”

Sister Liuli: “Who asked you to stand up for me? I like him just like this!”

Sorrel: “…”

Some were miserable, while others were overjoyed.

The boss was looted by 438, and the haul was bountiful. The kid was beyond smug: “Commander, Commander, don’t you think I should change my name to Little Lucky Charm?”

Fang Zheng didn’t think the name was bad, but… hadn’t he seen it somewhere before?

Sometimes, things just lined up perfectly—thinking about something made it appear.

[Huaxia] Little Lucky Charm: “Level 56 Spirit Master looking for leveling party~~~~”

[Huaxia] Little Lucky Charm: “Level 56 Spirit Master looking for leveling party~~~~”

438 saw it too and let out a soft “Ah,” instantly deflating: “Someone beat me to it. Waaah.”

So he actually wanted to change his name? =_=

Little Lucky Charm spammed over a dozen messages. At first, no one paid attention, but eventually, it seemed to piss off players who couldn’t get a word in on World Chat. Familiar faces began jumping in.

[Huaxia] God of War: “What party? The only result from teaming with you is a total wipe!”

[Huaxia] I’m Beautiful: “No, there’s also the scenario where the whole party wipes and he somehow survives.”

[Huaxia] Zombie Returns: “In short, anyone who teams with him is doomed.”

[Huaxia] Taste of Cake: “Uh, I’ve never partied with him, so I shouldn’t really comment, but aren’t you guys being too harsh?”

[Huaxia] Snow Lotus of Tianshan: “Is it harsher than running over to take a selfie with the boss mid-fight?!”

[Huaxia] Taste of Cake: “…”

[Huaxia] Face In The Crowd: “Honestly, taking a live selfie with the boss is forgivable, but forgetting the screenshot hotkey and asking in chat? That’s unforgivable!!”

[Huaxia] Taste of Cake: “If this can be tolerated, what can’t?!”

Taste of Cake successfully defected, and the sufferers gained an ally, continuing to expose Little Lucky Charm’s bizarre antics on World Chat.

Strangely, Little Lucky Charm didn’t reappear, and his party-seeking spam vanished.

Fang Zheng suddenly felt a bit sorry for the guy. Sure, the things he did were enough to warrant being stuffed in a sack and beaten in a back alley, but being publicly roasted, despised, and rejected by former teammates on World Chat—unless you had a heart of steel, anyone would feel awful. Besides, being clueless wasn’t a crime. Compared to high-IQ malice, cluelessness was almost endearing. At least this guy wouldn’t stab you in the back at a critical moment while you were tanking the boss.

Well, to be fair, even if he wanted to, he might slip and drop the dagger. ╮(╯_╰)╭

Returning to the Guild Hall with their spoils, Mad Lad and Birdy marked out a dueling circle and began testing his new dagger in PvP.

From the item description, 438’s Fire God Egg could hatch into a pet, but it required supplementary materials. So Fang Zheng handed over the Frosty Peach Blossom Branch too, claiming it was “firewood.”

The Peachwood Amulet went to Birdy. Its stats were slightly better than the Sparkling Heavenly Lake Tear in every way, but he took his time equipping it, just PvPing with Mad Lad nonstop.

Fang Zheng was too curious. He circled the PvP area several times, and when the two showed no signs of stopping, he finally couldn’t hold back—

Fang Zheng: “Birdy, equip the amulet and let me see.”

Polly, mid-PvP, immediately stopped and opened his inventory. Mad Lad couldn’t stop his combo in time and sent him sprawling with a flurry of strikes.

Jiang Yang was furious: “Dammit, what the hell? Where’s your professionalism?!”

The PvP ended automatically. The unprofessional Deputy Commander got up, now wearing a plain wooden amulet around his neck.

Fang Zheng zoomed in and examined it for a while: “Uh, looks decent.”

The moment he said that, Birdy switched back to the Sparkling Heavenly Lake Tear.

Fang Zheng frowned: “Why switch back?”

Birdy replied naturally: “You’ve seen it already.”

“So you just wanted to show me for a second?” Fang Zheng sweatdropped. “That one has better stats than Heavenly Lake Tear.”

“Yeah.”

What did “yeah” mean? =_=

“It doesn’t look good.”

Compared to your current hodgepodge outfit, it’s practically heavenly beautiful!!

Since the Commander’s roast was internal, Birdy-kun ultimately ignored him and turned back to PvP with Mad Lad.

The Commander was hurt, but then he received a whisper from an old friend—

[Whisper] Drink Till You Drop: “Milk is Mom?”

[Whisper] Fang Zheng: “No Milk is Dad.”

[Whisper] Drink Till You Drop: “It’s really you.”

Who could tell him how this guy deduced that? =_=

[Whisper] Drink Till You Drop: “Where’d you find Zhurong?”

[Whisper] Fang Zheng: “Are you seriously asking me?”

[Whisper] Drink Till You Drop: “Of course.”

[Whisper] Fang Zheng: “You think I’d tell you? How naive >_<"

[Whisper] Drink Till You Drop: “…”

[Whisper] Drink Till You Drop: “Then let me ask another question—did you four really take down that boss?”

[Whisper] Fang Zheng: “Of course.”

[Whisper] Drink Till You Drop: “No one else?”

[Whisper] Fang Zheng: “Absolutely not.”

[Five Peaks Pavilion Guild]

[Legion] Nicknamed White Dragon Horse: “Well? Well?”

[Legion] Drink Till You Drop: “They teamed up with someone else to take it down.”

[Legion] Nicknamed White Dragon Horse: “The healer told you?”

[Legion] Drink Till You Drop: “No.”

[Legion] Nicknamed White Dragon Horse: “Then how’d you know?”

[Legion] Drink Till You Drop: “A commander’s intuition.”

[Legion] Nicknamed White Dragon Horse: “Then why’d you even ask?!!”

While someone sought out Fang Zheng, another person whispered Birdy—

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: “You there?”

When the system announcement popped up, Meng Chudong had a feeling Xuanyuan would contact him. But when it actually happened, he felt nothing special—just calm. Even he was a little surprised by his own reaction.

[Whisper] Meng Chudong: “Yeah.”

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: “You’ve been making waves these past couple days.”

[Whisper] Meng Chudong: “Sort of.”

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: “…”

Meng Chudong could picture Xuanyuan’s speechlessness. Back then, this guy had said his mouth was sharper than his skills.

Meng Chudong had a habit—the closer he was to someone, the more he liked to tease them. This teasing was different from his aggressive, venomous tongue when facing enemies. It was hard to describe in words, but those on the receiving end could sense the subtle difference.

But the current Meng Chudong wasn’t planning to keep up this dynamic with Xuanyuan.

[Whisper] Meng Chudong: “If you have something to ask, just say it. No need to beat around the bush.”

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: “Why’d you change to your real name?”

[Whisper] Meng Chudong: “Temporary. Just messing around.”

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: “How’s the new guild?”

[Whisper] Meng Chudong: “Good.”

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: “I’m kinda losing motivation.”

[Whisper] Meng Chudong: “Meaning?”

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: “Nothing much. Just tired.”

[Whisper] Meng Chudong: “Want me to organize a manhunt for you? Might liven things up.”

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: “Haha, I knew you wouldn’t just let it go.”

[Whisper] Meng Chudong: “Duh. Try getting your hard-leveled account PK’d to zero.”

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: “Just for that?”

[Whisper] Meng Chudong: “What else?”

My Blood for Xuanyuan didn’t respond to that. After a pause, he said—

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: “Honestly, I kinda envy you. You do whatever you want, drop whatever you want.”

Meng Chudong stared at the words quietly, thought for two seconds, then typed—

[Whisper] Meng Chudong: “Xuanyuan, this is just a game. Remember, you’re playing. You’re not winning heaven or earth. Don’t make it so exhausting.”

My Blood for Xuanyuan didn’t reply again.

Meng Chudong stared at the last line he’d sent, lost in thought.

He’d once made things exhausting for himself too—guild wars, PvP, dungeons, mentoring newbies. Logging into the game felt like clocking into work. When his mood soured, the only release was PK’ing people, earning him a reputation as a sociopath across the server.

When had that changed?

Dungeons became fun—even the most familiar ones always had something new.

World bosses became fun—a stage for all sorts of characters, like a palace intrigue drama.

His teammates became fun too—a whale, a jinx, a queen. There was always something to shock you.

“AHHHH! Reliable intel—the North Sea Siren has spawned!!! Everyone, assemble at the North Sea Teleport Master!!”

“Commander, keep it down! I’m on speakers…”

“What’s the big deal? Is my voice embarrassing?”

“Excuse me, Commander, what’s your name?”

“…”

“Commander, my mom’s asking…”

“Auntie, hello! I’m Fang Zheng! You sound so young! Heh, hehe, hehehe…”

It seemed like it all started after that suicidal idiot ambushed him on Mount Emei.