Chapter 116 – Official Interview

Neither the one discussing the IOU nor the eavesdropper slept well, so they both took a nap at noon the next day. In the afternoon, they logged into the game at the scheduled time to meet up with Drink Till You Drop and Big H. Along with other non-max-leveled teammates from their respective legions, they ran the dungeon again. This time, the dungeon gods were merciful—they didn’t give Sister Blood Bull a hard time, nor did they pull any tricks with the twelve mobs. Relying on their previous successful experience, the team pushed all the way to the final boss’s doorstep. By then, 438 had already topped up his XP, maxing out before Diamond. And as the key mobs fell, Diamond also leveled up to max level.

Facing the final boss again with thirty level-70 allies—who, if not top-tier, were at least strong—they still barely got a few hits in. Under the boss’s devastating ultimate, the spellcasters and healers collectively wiped, and the remaining warriors and blade masters soon followed suit.

This seemed like an insurmountable mountain, at least for the joint team that had met their demise twice now. Fortunately, the dungeon’s greatest value—reaching max level—had already been achieved. Whether they could defeat the final boss became less important, especially since two new level-70 dungeons had already been discovered on neighboring servers. Based on past game-update experiences, there would be at least five or six dungeons available after max level, with two or three of them dropping legendary gear. So there was no need to obsess over this abandoned coal mine.

But—

At 5:15 PM, just as the Commander, Deputy, Diamond, and Fifth Brother had returned to their little shack to wait for the 6 PM interview, a new post appeared in the pinned section of the Huaxia Forum, right next to “Max-Level Gift Package Lands on Huaxia Summit.” Its title was also highlighted in eye-catching red: “Dutch Chamber of Commerce, First Kill in Dewpine Ridge Coal Mine!“

A dungeon with extreme difficulty—if no one could clear it, players could collectively curse the developers and game operators. But if someone cleared it while others couldn’t, silence was the only option.

The post itself was brief, with the focus on the uploaded screenshots. The images, taken from different angles, all showed thirty densely packed players surrounding a fallen boss. The closest ID, “No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains,” was looting the boss, with the center of the image displaying the dropped gear—the Dewpine Greatsword, in Song font, colored purple.

Big H: “Am I colorblind, or is this screenshot over-edited? Purple gear?”

2B: “Give me a break, there’s no purple gear in this game.”

Drink Till You Drop: “Then it must be new after the level cap increase.”

Mount Tai: “Sunflower, White Chapel, Windmill Faction—isn’t this the same three-legion alliance? So what’s this Dutch Chamber of Commerce thing?”

Blood Bull: “First possibility: For the dungeon, Dutch Chamber of Commerce split into three legions. But if it was just for the dungeon, they wouldn’t need to split into three—two plus the main legion would suffice. Second possibility: The three are allied legions, with Dutch Chamber of Commerce as their shared alliance. But look at how many people in the screenshot passed on the loot roll—that suggests they’d reached some agreement. Even among allied legions, when it comes to such high-stakes loot, favoritism and personal interests come into play. It’s unlikely they’d just hand over a god-tier weapon like that. So the most plausible scenario is the third: These three belong to the same legion, but it wasn’t a temporary split for the dungeon. Instead, Dutch Chamber of Commerce adopted a ‘divide and rule’ strategy from the start. This is also reflected in the naming style consistency of the three legions. I’d guess each sub-legion has its own manager, but ultimately, there’s a High Commander—the one who made the final call on loot distribution in the screenshot.”

Everyone: “…”

Blood Bull: “What, did I say something wrong?”

No, she was too right—so much so that no one knew how to respond. TAT

And no matter how they responded, they’d feel intellectually overshadowed. TAT

“Quick, look! They cleared it but are still level 69! HAHAHAHA these idiots~~~~”

Never mind, someone could seamlessly shift gears and turn the mood into “Well, we’re still better!”

Ghost Server Legion, you are the brightest star in the sky.

Time spent chatting nonsense passes just as quickly as time spent in bliss. In the blink of an eye, it was 5:57 PM.

Fang Zheng: “Shouldn’t we head to the news team’s YY? It’s better to be a little early—showing up right on the dot seems a bit disrespectful.”

“…”

Fang Zheng: “Are you guys listening? Hey~~~ Halo~~~ Beauties~~~”

“…”

Never had silence made the Ghost Server Legion Leader feel so uneasy.

Dammit, don’t tell me his YY is acting up at this critical moment!

Just as he was about to alt-tab and check YY, someone tapped his shoulder. Fang Zheng reflexively turned, only for a waiting finger to poke him right in the face.

Fang Zheng: “…Is this fun?”

Polly thought for a moment, then nodded.

Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes, about to chomp down on that finger, but Polly spoke first: “Big H and the host said you sprayed your screen with dumpling soup while laughing at a joke. They’ll come once they finish cleaning the monitor and keyboard.”

…These bastards!!!

“When did you all go over there…?” Fang Zheng asked mournfully as he logged into the YY channel using the ID Meng Chudong had sent him.

“While you were spamming megaphones and flirting with War Banner.” Clearly, Polly had witnessed the whole thing.

“I wasn’t…” The Legion Leader pouted. It was Bodhi Patriarch who’d provoked them, saying their max level was pure luck while Dutch Chamber of Commerce’s clear was real skill. He’d only responded “reasonably, advantageously, and with restraint” a little~~~>_<

“Plus, you added a ‘mwah’ emoji.”

Sorry, force of habit. TAT

“That’s a sickness. Needs treatment.”

=_=

When Fang Zheng entered the interview channel, his YY client lagged—a sign of too many users and rapid turnover, with the constantly updating member list straining the system.

As a veteran gamer, Fang Zheng knew this well. But when the refresh finally settled, the sheer number of online users still shocked him.

9,614.

Sure, Huaxia Online had far more players than that, but damn—even during the anniversary event, when the devs invited several cute girls to sing and flirt on YY, the numbers hadn’t broken 6,000! And that included people who’d been paid to help boost the official event’s attendance!

Dragon Soars Tiger Roars, Illusory Peach Garden, Flame of the Gods, Fairy Dreamland, Holy Light Sanctuary… Every visitor had added their server name as a prefix to their ID, as required by the channel. Scrolling through the densely packed list, Fang Zheng could see almost every server in Huaxia represented.

With half a minute left before the interview, the host’s sweet voice came through: “The interview is about to begin! As you can see, the two players who won Huaxia’s max-level gift package are already on the mic queue. But Huaxia is never a solo endeavor—clearing Dewpine Ridge Coal Mine required three legions working together. So I believe behind these two players’ success lies the hard work of their legion comrades. That’s why today’s interview will also invite the legion leaders to share the struggles behind reaching max level. Player Big H wears two hats—both as a gift package winner and as the leader of Meteor Blitz—so the third person on the mic queue is none other than the renowned Five Peaks Pavilion leader, Drink Till You Drop. Drink, say hello!”

Drink Till You Drop: “Hello, everyone. Hello, host.”

Host: “As expected of Five Peaks Pavilion’s leader—your voice matches your presence, projecting the aura of a true commander.”

White Dragon Horse: “Uh, hostess, can I interject? My voice is also deep, clear, and magnetic…”

Big H: “She’s not just talking about tone but the spirit behind the voice. Tsk, ignorance is terrifying.”

White Dragon Horse: “I’m ignorant? Do you even know calculus? Have you studied linear algebra? Let me ask you: If a smooth slider slides down from the top of a smooth, curved groove, with a smooth bottom that allows relative sliding, is the mechanical energy of the slider-groove system conserved?”

Big H: “Picking on someone’s weak points isn’t impressive. Do you know urban planning? Crisis management? What economic policies does classical economics advocate? What are the flaws of market and planned economies?”

Host: “…”

Drink Till You Drop: “Host?”

“Yes, yes, I’m here!” The rescued hostess was so grateful she wanted to hug his leg.

Drink Till You Drop: “The Ghost Server Legion Leader says he’s finished his dumpling soup and wiped his screen. Now he’s blinking his starry eyes, waiting for you to pull him onto the mic.”

The hostess nearly crushed her mouse trying to keep her voice steady: “His ID is…?”

“Milk is Mom.”

Screw this, I’m never dating a gamer. TAT

When the hostess dragged the Milk Mom Legion Leader onto the mic, her mouse-clicking hand trembled. Sensing her mood, Fang Zheng spoke up cheerfully in her stead: “Let’s get started!”

The hostess muted herself, howled at the ceiling three times, and finally calmed down.

When she unmuted, the sweet hostess was back: “The interview officially begins! Audience, feel free to send flowers now!”

…

The public chat was dead silent.

“Heh, heh-heh, seems like everyone’s still getting to know them. But I’m sure this interview will give you all a full understanding of these players from Huaxia Summit—”

[Polly sent Milk is Mom 1 flower.]

“Ah, wait! Looks like our Ghost Server Legion Leader is the most popular here—he’s already received flowers!”

Big H: “Uh, it’s just one flower.”

White Dragon Horse: “And it’s from his boyfriend.”

Hostess: “Huh? But your legion leader is male too?”

Big H: “Good buddies, you know.”

Hostess: “So who chased who? How did they even know they were both… into that?”

White Dragon Horse: “That’s a long story—it goes all the way back to Mirage Ser—”

Drink Till You Drop: “Ahem.”

White Dragon Horse: “—ver, but it’s ancient history and impossible to verify. Let’s just start the interview!”

The public chat remained blank.

But the worldviews of thousands of listeners had already shattered, the fragments transforming into endless grasslands trampled by countless herds of grass mud horses galloping wildly.

Damn it, how the hell did these guys get the gift package?!

Game devs, do you not realize even MMOs have a responsibility to guide proper values?!

The hostess, clinging to her last shred of MP, quickly announced: “Alright, we’re now officially beginning the interview. Seventy-Seven is handling the recording.”

Seventy-Seven: “OK.”

“First, congratulations to players Big H and White Dragon Horse for winning the max-level gift package. Could you two share how you felt the moment you received it?”

Big H: “Surprised, then really happy.”

White Dragon Horse: “Totally shocked—never expected it. Felt like manna from heaven.”

These two suddenly being so serious feels so weird. =_=