Chapter 124 – Professional Firefighting

The so-called god-tier server was nothing special, which left Thousand Mountains rather disappointed. The guy named Drink who’d been called out still hadn’t responded, making him even more bored. As he waited, he started yawning and thought about lighting a cigarette to perk himself up. Just as he struck the lighter, he caught sight of Drink Your Sister 3X’s divine reply. His body jolted in shock, his fingers slipped, and the toppled Givenchy lighter gave its owner’s flesh a deep kiss.

The searing pain made him fling the lighter far away. The husky napping nearby jumped up with lightning reflexes to dodge, clearly well-adapted to its owner’s sudden bouts of insanity. The lighter landed firmly on the ground, its flame just as steady—what continued to burn wasn’t gas but the brand lighter’s stubborn pride.

So, familiarity breeds comfort—no matter how expensive a gift someone gives you, even if it’s solid gold, it’s still fucking useless!

Grumbling irritably, Thousand Mountains groped around his disastrously messy desk for the lighter he’d been using for years. Instead of finding it, though, he first caught a whiff of something burning. Looking up, he saw that the carpet where the lighter had landed was already scorched with a big hole!

No time to call for help—Thousand Mountains had to handle this himself. After scanning the area, he finally spotted the freshly brewed pot of tea on his desk. He grabbed it and hurled both pot and tea onto the fire. The premium Da Hong Pao tea lived up to its reputation—fire extinguished on contact. The only pity was the aged purple clay teapot, now shattered into pieces.

He should’ve known better than to show off and have the housekeeper brew tea in his old man’s set. Now he’d have to brace himself for the nagging.

The sobering assessment of his future left Thousand Mountains in a sour mood. To make matters worse, the completely oblivious husky, hearing the commotion, trotted over and began joyfully hopping around the disaster site. Thousand Mountains’ sour mood turned into internal bleeding.

Birdy had been wrong about one thing—Thousand Mountains wasn’t just some nouveau riche.

The nouveau riche only had money and tried to use it to buy taste, class, status, and power.

But Thousand Mountains had been born with all those attributes in the imperial capital.

Planning to call someone to clean up later, Thousand Mountains sat back down at his computer and was surprised to find yet another player had climbed onto the City Gate Tower. Instantly, the fire and shattered teapot were forgotten. Rubbing his hands together, he maneuvered his healer to stand facing the newcomer, silently praying this one’s skills would represent a qualitative leap over the previous challengers.

He waited and waited, but the newcomer remained silent, standing just seven meters away, staring at him.

Growing impatient, Thousand Mountains was about to type when a bolt of inspiration struck him—Milk is Mom, Ghost Server Legion, wasn’t that the mysterious group that had been trending hard on the forums lately? Rumors said the deputy leader of Five Peaks Pavilion and the leader of Meteor Blitz had managed to be the first in the game to reach level 70 only because of this ghost server’s support. They also claimed Huaxia Summit’s top legion, Five Peaks Pavilion, had already formed a marriage alliance with the ghost server. In short, this legion was the uncrowned king of the summit server.

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Even if the rumors couldn’t be fully trusted, this Ghost Server Legion definitely had some skills. And judging by the chat, this guy in front of him was their leader? That made him worth testing.

Curling his lips, Thousand Mountains decided to strike first—a casual “Hey~” to lighten the mood and provoke his opponent.

But someone beat him to it—

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Hey, where’d you get that weapon~~~ It’s so damn flashy~\(≧▽≦)/~

Thousand Mountains’ thoughts blanked out for a few seconds.

Then, he had an epiphany—the so-called god-tier server was just a server full of psychopaths.

Drink’s shamelessness had shocked everyone, but then Milk is Mom actually jumped onto the City Gate Tower, making jaws drop. That was the Ghost Server Legion Leader—the guy who’d rather cheat than pay, play it safe than take risks, exploit others than save face, living by the creed of “either be shameless or die”! This kind of heroic stepping up behavior was completely out of character for him!

His Ghost Server comrades were equally baffled, flooding the chat with questions: Commander, what’s wrong? Commander, don’t scare us like this! Commander, snap out of it!

But the Commander didn’t answer.

While the Huaxia channel buzzed with chatter, the two figures on the City Gate Tower stood motionless, locked in a silent stare-down. The scene resembled the iconic romantic standoff between Zhou Xingchi and Zhu Yin at the end of A Chinese Odyssey.

[Huaxia] Kill All Who Block Me: Why aren’t they fighting or even talking?

[Huaxia] Gentle Blade: I can’t shake the feeling they’re about to kiss any second now [strokes chin]

[Huaxia] Polly: ……

The Ghost Server Leader, who’d been trying hard to pry info from Thousand Mountains, suddenly felt a chill down his spine. But when he looked around, the door was shut, the window closed, and the deputy leader sitting quietly at his computer was as unobtrusive as ever. Everything seemed normal.

Oh well, forget about it.

The leader continued his charm offensive—

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: I was gonna wait till after your PK, but I was afraid there wouldn’t be enough time left to ask you, so I couldn’t resist coming up early.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Seriously, where’d this thing drop? Just give me a hint >_<

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Or could you open your gear permissions so I can inspect it~~~

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: With gear this sick, you gotta show off those OP stats, right? The gear’s crying otherwise!

Perhaps moved by Fang Zheng’s persistence, the other side finally responded, ending the one-sided whisper conversation.

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: You came up here just to ask that?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Yep.

The leader’s reply was simple, sincere, and absolutely shameless.

Thousand Mountains was deeply impressed by the sheer lack of shame.

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Done.

Fang Zheng quickly moved his cursor over Thousand Mountains, right-clicked, and finally saw the weapon’s name—[Lusong Hammer].

A level 70 purple-tier weapon, fully enhanced with stones. As for the stats—no need to check, they were a dense wall of text, boosting every conceivable attribute and then some, with one special synthesis effect in a different color: 3% stun chance.

Purple-tier gear was already top-tier, but daring to take it to the forge for secondary enhancement—with a success rate of only about 40%—marked its owner as truly exceptional. This time, “exceptional” wasn’t sarcastic. Secondary enhancement required the right materials, compatible stats, and the player’s own luck. The higher the gear tier, the lower the success rate. If it failed, the original weapon would be destroyed. Even a whale like Mad Lad wouldn’t casually attempt it, preferring to dump money into enhancement stones instead.

But Thousand Mountains hadn’t just dumped stones—he’d also gone for the synthesis effect. Fang Zheng didn’t know if he’d succeeded on the first try or wasted several other Lusong Hammers in the process, but either way, it proved one thing—

1. This guy had enhancement materials to burn, no need to hold back—just go all out. Money was no object.

2. So what if a purple-tier weapon got trashed? Just run the dungeon again. Confidence was no issue.

Speaking of dungeons, the Lusong Hammer’s origin was clear—it dropped from the max level dungeon, Lusong Coal Mine. Wait! Fang Zheng suddenly remembered that forum screenshot of the Holy Light Sanctuary’s Truffle Mine boss dropping a purple-tier weapon. No wonder Thousand Mountains’ ID looked familiar—he was the healer looting the boss in that screenshot! Damn, he’d almost missed it with all the flames.

That screenshot had shown a greatsword drop, so they must’ve kept farming until they got the hammer.

Fang Zheng also recalled the replies under that post. Though Thousand Mountains was part of the White Chapel Legion, he didn’t hold any official position and didn’t seem well-regarded. Most of the Holy Light Sanctuary players commenting had been sarcastic, with few genuinely happy for them.

But Fang Zheng didn’t care about other servers’ dramas. He only knew that given the purple-tier weapon’s abysmal drop rate, Thousand Mountains’ team must’ve cleared the dungeon more times than he could count on one hand. The thought of a final boss his own team couldn’t beat being repeatedly farmed with success left the Ghost Server Leader deeply aggrieved. TAT

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Not done yet? Did my purple-tier weapon’s stats come in Arabic?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: I’m just too shocked, too envious, too awestruck~~~ A weapon this good~~ enhanced to this level~~ Damn, this thing belongs in the heavens!

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: As sincere as your praise is, time’s running out. Since you’re already up here, how about we fight?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: I can’t beat you~~~

What kind of shamelessly cute honesty was this? =_=

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Then get down and send someone who can!

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: But I still have questions, I can’t just leave like this~~~ [fidgets]

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Spit. It. Out.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: The boss in the Lusong Mine level-cap dungeon has such insane DPS—how’d you guys take it down? And not just once, but over and over, no holds barred.

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Wanna know?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Yeah yeah yeah [star eyes]

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Who’s the best at PK in your legion?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Birdy.

Thousand Mountains’ inner monologue: That was way too quick (⊙o⊙)!

Leader’s inner monologue: Never had to think about that one ╮(╯_╰)╭

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Then have him come up and fight me. If he wins, I’ll tell you.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Nope, you gotta tell me win or lose—can’t let my Birdy sweat for nothing~~~

The forums were rife with rumors about the Ghost Server Leader and deputy leader being an item. Thousand Mountains had never believed them.

Today, he realized he was right in a way—those two weren’t just an item. They were the whole damn store.

The two figures on the City Gate Tower stood silently in the wind for six minutes.

The audience below craned their necks, waiting eagerly for six minutes.

Just as nearly everyone was about to lose patience, Milk is Mom moved! Milk is Mom finally moved! With a nimble flip, he soared into the air—

—and glided back down.

[Huaxia] Kill All Who Block Me: He… jumped down.

[Huaxia] Kill Gods If They Block Me: Yep.

[Huaxia] Professional Onlooker: What’s happening? Did they already finish? OMGGG what did I just miss?!

[Huaxia] Crazy Voice: No way, they didn’t even fight!

[Huaxia] Moonlight Notes: I’ve heard that sometimes, true masters don’t need to exchange blows. They can gauge each other’s strength just by locking eyes and sensing their auras.

[Huaxia] Crazy Voice: Damn, learned something new today…

The innocent onlookers were clueless, but the Ghost Server comrades knew their leader’s limits—

Sister Blood Bull: “Leader, be honest—did you just whisper him the whole time?”

Fang Zheng had no time to explain. Thousand Mountains was still waiting up there, and if he thought the deal was off, that’d be bad. So he quickly summarized: “Birdy, I checked—his hammer dropped from the max level dungeon. He said if the best PKer in our legion fights him, he’ll tell us how to clear it. Hurry up and go!”

Your Uncle: “Leader, I know the deputy leader’s strong, but do you have to be so blunt? Have some consideration for our feelings…”

Ghost Server Leader: “Aww, don’t be so fragile~~ Okay okay, you’re strong too~~ Birdy, hurry! I already made a deal with Thousand Mountains—even if you lose, he’ll tell us!”

Birdy: “…”

Your Uncle felt better.

The leader didn’t disregard his feelings—he disregarded everyone’s feelings equally.

Back in Mirage Server, Polly had PKed for three reasons: legion needs, killing boredom, and venting frustration. He wasn’t actually passionate about PK—given the choice, he’d rather grind for hidden gear on open-world maps, like the monkeys on Mount Emei.

Thousand Mountains might be arrogant, but as an outsider, he didn’t affect Polly’s mood.

But now Fang Zheng had spoken, hoping he’d PK—with the sweet little reminder that losing was fine.

Great. He was fired up.

Stepping out from the crowd, Polly scaled the City Gate Tower in a few leaps. Without wasting words, he sent a PK invite.

Thousand Mountains was surprised to see a zombie—he thought this class was extinct in Huaxia Online. He’d planned to greet the guy, but the invite came too fast. Shrugging, he gave up on small talk and prepared to accept—only to spot a new message:

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: ThousandMountainsThousandMountainsThousandMountains! No matter who wins between you and our deputy leader, can you give me a chance to duel after? Can you can you can you???

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: I really wanna PK you! So bad so bad so bad! My hands are itching itching itching!

Never in his life had Thousand Mountains encountered such enthusiastic initiative. He was delighted—though the phrase “no matter who wins between you and our deputy leader” stuck in his craw.

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Don’t worry, I’ll crush him in seconds, then it’s your turn [blows kiss]

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Promise! You have to PK me!

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Sure.

[Whisper] Little Lucky Charm: Thanks!

Polly didn’t understand why the other guy was taking so long. Just as he was about to resend the invite, the system notified him: the opponent had accepted!

Melee vs. ranged—the melee fighter had to close the distance first. Thousand Mountains predicted Polly would charge like Everything Breaks, and he was right. Polly rushed forward as expected!

Thousand Mountains could’ve faced Polly head-on like he had with Everything Breaks, but that would’ve been boring. So he popped a Speed Scroll, waited for Polly to get close—closer—until the zombie’s Netherworld Ghostly Claws were about to land, then suddenly leaped up, effortlessly dodging the attack! Mid-air, he swung his hammer, ready to smash down on his opponent’s head the moment he landed!

A 3% stun chance was low, but he had the skill to try multiple times.

Polly’s first strike missed, and seeing the hammer coming, he should’ve dodged immediately—his reflexes were fast enough. But he didn’t, as if waiting for Thousand Mountains to land.

The moment Thousand Mountains landed and swung, he sensed something was off—but it was too late. The hammer struck the zombie hard. No stun proc, but a plume of green smoke erupted from the zombie’s body, and a tiny green skull icon appeared above Thousand Mountains’ head.

Miasma!

The zombie’s unique AoE skill! Inflicts poison! And the poison only lifts when the victim’s HP drops below 50%!

The zombie had planned this! The first Netherworld Ghostly Claws had been a feint! He’d even anticipated that Thousand Mountains, confident in his skills, would waste a chance to swing casually instead of immediately retreating to a safe distance!

This was a pro—a cold, calculating technician.

Thousand Mountains paid for underestimating his opponent, but the fight had just begun.

The poisoned healer didn’t retreat. Since his HP would drop to 50% no matter what, dodging the zombie’s attacks now was pointless. So he started channeling right where he stood!

Zombies had some resistance to magic attacks, but the gap between orange-tier and purple-tier gear was undeniable. How much resistance would hold up now? Nobody knew!

Physical attacks could be dodged by jumping, but targeted spells were unavoidable unless blocked by terrain—no amount of acrobatics would save you. Unless… the cast was interrupted!

And that’s exactly what the zombie did! In the blink of an eye, he was in the healer’s face, gleaming claws slashing down!

The healer lost a few dozen HP from the basic physical hit, but the channeling didn’t stop.

Interrupting casts had a 20-25% chance—roughly one success every four or five hits.

By now, the channeling was two-thirds complete!

The crowd held their breath, waiting to see the zombie’s next move!

The failed interrupt didn’t seem to faze the zombie. First attempt failed? Try again. Second failed? Third. Without pause, five physical attacks landed in rapid succession!

The crowd marveled at the zombie’s APM but lamented his bad luck—five hits, and the healer’s channeling still wasn’t interrupted, nearly finished now!

How easily a channel could be interrupted depended on the player’s Focus stat. For orange-tier gear, five hits was usually the limit—but fully enhanced purple-tier gear was another story.

The zombie’s failure this round was set in stone.

Now, the crowd’s focus was on how much damage a purple-tier Crimson Lotus Holy Fire could do to a magic-resistant zombie.

Finally, the channel completed! Crimson flames erupted skyward!

Everyone widened their eyes, waiting to see the zombie’s HP bar—but when the flames dissipated, the zombie was gone! Only the healer remained on the tower, his figure lonely and desolate against the wind.

One-shot kills were common, but one-shot kills that vaporized the target? Unheard of!

Just as everyone was baffled, sharp-eyed players spotted the zombie in a shadowy corner at the bottom right of the screen!

The Crimson Lotus Holy Fire had missed because he’d jumped off the City Gate Tower—out of the default PK zone… =_=

Thousand Mountains was also stunned. Though unspoken, wasn’t PK supposed to be a fight within a set area? Jumping off the tower was cheating! Did this legion have no limits to their shamelessness? TAT

But no matter how many mental grass mud horses were stampeding in his heart, no rules meant no rules. Nobody could enforce unwritten etiquette, and besides, his gear was a tier above the other guy’s—if they really wanted to split hairs, he wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtue either.

The PK wasn’t over—he’d been provoked, and the other guy had to take responsibility! Gritting his teeth, Thousand Mountains cast an Insta Heal to top off his HP and jumped down after him!

As Thousand Mountains leaped, the zombie suddenly dashed forward, arms outstretched in enthusiastic welcome!

Thousand Mountains’ face darkened—this felt like a trap. Mid-air, he executed a full 360° Thomas flare to change trajectory, landing several meters away from the zombie.

In high-level duels, victory often hinged not on skill alone but on precise analysis, judgment, and minimizing mistakes. At this level, players’ skills were so close that one misstep could decide the match.

This time, Thousand Mountains’ judgment and execution were flawless—he avoided the zombie’s embrace.

Denied his combo setup, the zombie was undoubtedly frustrated. But PK required patience, so Polly adjusted and moved in with Plan B.

Landing smoothly, Thousand Mountains stayed calm. If the zombie could jump down, he could jump back up. Crimson Lotus Holy Fire was off the table now—too slow, too inefficient against this opponent.

Watching the zombie approach, Thousand Mountains had an idea.

If the guy liked melee, then melee it’d be. He could heal; the zombie only had one weak recovery skill. Even if he took hits, the zombie wouldn’t have time to escape to safety. In a DPS race, his healing and damage output gave him the edge. Why not?

Both sides had their strategies, but the audience saw only the thrilling back-and-forth and the unpredictable flow of battle.

For instance, now—the zombie closed in, the healer held his ground. They were clearly brawling! Among all challengers so far, this zombie had lasted the longest (even if he’d picked up some of his legion’s… quirks). His mechanics and awareness were top-tier. Top-tier vs. top-tier—who’d win? The suspense was killing everyone!

The healer began channeling—a mid-tier spell with a 1.5s cast time, almost instant!

The zombie raised his claws—Hellfire!

Both attacks landed simultaneously. The healer lost a chunk of HP; the zombie lost about the same. Damage-wise, it was a tie!

Wait, not quite—the healer swung his hammer!

The zombie attacked again!

A fraction of a second before the hammer struck, the zombie unleashed Miasma again!

The healer was poisoned, HP draining—but the zombie was worse off, stunned and unable to act!

Now it was Thousand Mountains’ turn to gloat. Standing calmly, he began channeling Crimson Lotus Holy Fire, back on the menu.

So far, the zombie had avoided eating a full-powered nuke. Now, it seemed his first time was imminent. In PK, matches often turned on pivotal moments—the crowd knew this fiery inferno would be the decider!

Channeling halfway!

Two-thirds!

Four-fifths!

Channeling—gone?

Huh?

Wait.

Something’s not right…

The channeling bar vanished, but no spell effects appeared. In fact, No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains himself had disappeared. Below the towering City Gate Tower, on one side stood countless spectators; on the other, Polly stood alone, forlorn.

[Huaxia] Nicknamed White Dragon Horse: What the hell? Where’d Thousand Mountains go? Time’s up?

[Huaxia] Big H: No way, there’s still half an hour left!

[Huaxia] Nicknamed White Dragon Horse: Then what’s this? Divine vanishing act?

[Huaxia] Refined Into a Demon 715: History does record such phenomena. For example, during WWII, an entire squad of soldiers mysteriously vanished on a mission. No scientific explanation to this day.

[Huaxia] Drink Till You Drop: Really don’t wanna accept such a lofty explanation =_=

[Huaxia] Big H: Drink?

[Huaxia] Drink Till You Drop: Yeah, I’m back [smiles]

Nobody believed you’d left in the first place!!

[Huaxia] War-Snow Wolf: Stop guessing. Just texted him—his dog yanked the power cord loose.

Entire server: ……

They hadn’t wanted something grandiose, but this was too mundane. Somehow, it made them inexplicably… sympathetic toward Thousand Mountains, dammit!

The Ghost Server comrades were equally baffled by this twist.

2B Fighter Jet: “Did his dog really bite him, or is this an excuse to bail?”

438: “The dog didn’t bite him, it bit the power cord!”

Sister Blood Bull: “Birdy, did you find a winning move earlier?”

Birdy: “No, chances were about fifty-fifty.”

Mad Lad: “Then he had no reason to bail.”

Your Uncle: “Aaaaah! He promised to PK me no matter who won after fighting you! Now he DCs and can’t come back! Why am I so unlucky?! Waaahhh…”

All mysteries were resolved.

The Ghost Server team fell silent, offering Thousand Mountains a sincere mental tribute—

Words could be careless, promises could be empty, but you shouldn’t recklessly lead people on. Thousand Mountains, may you rest in peace—and accept your fate.