Chapter 181 – The Long Waterway (Part 4)

The storm whipped up furious waves, gnawing at every ship on this vast ocean like a monster. The Perfect Storm flickered in and out of view amidst the waves, like a warrior clad in armor, wielding a giant sword, as if ready to pierce through the oppressive dark clouds and trample the roaring, raging sea.

The cinematic effects lasted a full three minutes. No one spoke in the chat, and the only sounds coming through the headphones or speakers were the crashing waves and the howling wind and rain. Yet, this wind seeped into the blood of every player, and this rain pounded against the hearts of every player. Beneath the silence, suppressed fervor surged in quiet turbulence!

Finally, the cinematic ended, and the screen returned to the player’s perspective. But the scenery in front of them was no longer the gentle breeze of the harbor—the sun had vanished, and neither the moon nor stars were in sight. The low-hanging night sky was simply black, a suffocating darkness, while the once-azure sea had turned into an unfathomable dark blue, merging with the night sky until it was impossible to distinguish where the sea ended and the sky began.

“Whew—” Someone in the voice chat let out a long breath, barely containing their excitement. “That was intense. Doesn’t anyone have something to say?”

Yes, of course they did!

The top players of the entire game were all here!

The most thrilling chapter of the entire game had just unfolded!

The most epic moment in the entire game was about to be written here!

“Holy shit, Huaxia really went all out with the budget this time!”

“Holy shit, Huaxia really went all out with the budget this time!”

Fang Zheng’s internal monologue: Why is there an echo?

Don’t Stop the Meds’ internal monologue: Did I just say the same thing as someone else?

46 companions’ internal monologue: Are you two monkeys hired by Picasso to ruin the atmosphere for the next hundred years?!

But the RNG God gave the Perfect Storm no time to catch its breath—a swarm of Water Ghosts had already begun climbing up the ship’s unfurled rope ladders!

The first to notice this anomaly was Dragon Wonton: “Sorry, sorry, my dorm just had a power outage. The, the ship’s already sailing? Whew, at least I didn’t hold everyone up… Wait, why am I dead?? Who killed me TAT”

—Countless historical lessons have taught us that humanity’s greatest discoveries always come at the cost of blood.

Dragon Wonton’s death—or rather, his disconnection and subsequent reconnection—happened to be right where the Outer Flame Legion, aka The Gods’ six members, were stationed. However, since he wasn’t part of Outer Flame, he had been standing closer to the ship’s edge. Thus, the moment he logged back in, he spawned right next to a Water Ghost.

As soon as Dragon Wonton died, Angel of the Gods immediately buffed herself and her teammates. Though the girl suffered from terminal princess syndrome and her PVP skills seemed mediocre, she was no slouch in PVE. Her buffs were applied quickly and accurately, and she quickly positioned herself in a safe spot—far enough to avoid the Water Ghosts’ attacks but still within range to support her allies.

Within just half a minute, all ten Water Ghosts had boarded the ship. Despite being ganged up on by six top-tier players, the first one to climb up had only lost a third of its HP after thirty seconds. With such resilience, these Water Ghosts were clearly no ordinary elite mobs—they were the high-rolling, top-tier elites among elites.

6 vs. 10—victory was certainly possible, but it would take patience and grinding.

By now, the Water Ghosts had surrounded The Gods. Though other players had been nearby when the ghosts boarded, The Gods were the closest and had attacked first, so Fist of the Gods (the Blood Warrior) had already firmly secured aggro. Thus, the other players outside The Gods’ group simply stood by, silently calculating the pros and cons of intervening.

Finally, the first Water Ghost fell.

Almost the instant it hit the ground, its corpse vanished, clearly dropping nothing—not even a single Huaxia Coin—for the players to loot.

The onlookers’ calculations were now complete, and they scattered in unison, their movements as synchronized as a military parade. If one pulled the camera back at this moment, they’d see a perfect circle of empty deck around The Gods’ six-man team, with a radius of 15 meters.

[Perfect Storm] Mouse of the Gods: Dammit, are you all just gonna stand there and watch?!

The fact that he could type this mid-combat without interrupting his skill rotations spoke volumes about Mouse of the Gods’ APM—though his preference for typing over voice chat remained baffling >_<

“The Gods, you’ve got this! Go for it!” Trick or Die clearly preferred speaking over typing.

Fang Zheng had no idea how much bad blood these legions had accumulated in Hard Mode, but even someone like him, who held no grudges against The Gods, wasn’t about to step in. First, they didn’t seem like they’d wipe. Second, they didn’t seem like the type to appreciate help. Third, killing the Water Ghosts wouldn’t drop any gear or materials. And fourth… well, he just didn’t like these guys from The Gods. His opinion of them was even lower than that of Don’t Stop the Meds, who had tried to poach his teammates.

But March to Liangzhou seemed to think differently.

No one noticed when he made his move—in fact, a third of the players hadn’t even realized he’d already pulled a Water Ghost to a corner and was soloing it!

[Team] Nicknamed White Dragon Horse: March is definitely in love with The Gods.

[Team] Big H: Bunch of traitors who abandoned their own to start fresh on a new server. Why even bother with them? Pathetic.

[Team] Milk is Mom: There’s a word for this, what was it again… the perfect description—

[Team] March to Liangzhou: Masochist.

[Team] Milk is Mom: Yeah, that’s the one, haha… Who the hell invited this guy again? =_=

[Team] Polly: ^_^

You think just because you’re being upfront about it, you can erase the suspicion that you two have something going on?!

[Combat] Milk is Mom used Revival of the Withered.

But now that they were in the same team, teammates supporting teammates was just the nature of a professional healer, damn it TAT

[Team] March to Liangzhou: No need to trouble yourself. You can’t outheal me.

No one stop me, I’m casting Crimson Lotus Holy Fire =_=

While Fang Zheng struggled to keep March alive, Flame of the Gods, in the midst of repositioning near Dragon Wonton, casually resurrected him. Though they weren’t in the same legion, the first thing Dragon Wonton did after reviving was unleash Bloody Sandstorm. It was clear he genuinely wanted to help, but this thoughtless AoE attack immediately freed two Water Ghosts from King of the Gods’ (the Spirit Master) control—one had been put to sleep for 30 seconds, and the other had been turned into a harmless cactus. Now, thanks to Bloody Sandstorm, both were freed from their debuffs and rejoined the fray with renewed ferocity!

Angel of the Gods complained, “Flame, are you insane? Why’d you rez him?!”

King of the Gods also scolded, “More trouble than you’re worth.” Then, ignoring Dragon Wonton, he resumed crowd control.

From start to finish, Dragon Wonton didn’t dare say a word, silently continuing to attack—though this time without any mishaps.

But clearly, The Gods had no intention of relying on his DPS. Their positioning didn’t account for him at all, and combined with Dragon Wonton’s own limited skills, he soon met his second demise.

This time, no one bothered with him. Flame of the Gods passed by his corpse three times but made no move to resurrect him. Angel of the Gods even used his body as cover while she continued to support from the rear.

Fang Zheng, bored and ever-curious like a child, decided to send a private message. However, non-party members couldn’t whisper while dead, so he had to use the Perfect Storm’s private chat system—

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Need a rez?

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: Yes, please! (⊙o⊙)!

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: That was fast =_=

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: I’ve been waiting for a kind soul for so long, praying to the stars and the moon… the ground’s so cold… [sobs]

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: If you’re not strong enough, stop charging in blindly. And then you’re not even appreciated—are you a masochist or something?

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: “Or something”?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Uh, that’s not the point.

[Combat] Milk is Mom used Resurrection.

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: Thanks!

Fang Zheng had barely received these two words when Dragon Wonton, still in Resurrection Sickness with a measly 15% HP, recklessly charged back into the fray. Fang Zheng nearly fainted, but since he was the one who had resurrected him, he couldn’t let the MP go to waste. He quickly cast Silent Nourishment for an instant heal, restoring Dragon Wonton’s HP to about 45%, then chanted Revival of the Withered, barely managing to top him off before he got pummeled to death a third time.

With his Wandering Physician’s soul now at peace, Fang Zheng resumed typing in the private chat: What the hell—

[Combat] Dragon Wonton has died.

Can’t we have a proper conversation?! He’d only typed three words! Dragon Wonton, are you the King of Instant Death or something?!

[Combat] Milk is Mom used Resurrection.

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: I don’t know why you’re helping me, but thank you so much! I’m a bit squishy, so please bear with me!

What? Bear with you? Hey, why are you chugging another MP potion—wait, are you seriously charging in again? And hold on, a Berserker calling himself squishy? Have you no shame?! And the real kicker is that he is ridiculously squishy!! Resurrection has a cooldown too, it’s not like tissues where you can just pull one out whenever!! If not for Fang Zheng’s lightning-fast reflexes and solid healing chain, this guy would’ve been dead again… Wait a minute, he was here to gossip, not to join the fight!!! TAT

The Perfect Storm’s crew couldn’t hear their commander’s internal screaming. All they saw was their leader diving into the fray—first resurrecting Dragon Wonton, then resurrecting Dragon Wonton again, and then… well, no more after that, because the squishy Berserker was no longer fighting alone. He now had his own guardian angel.

Anyone with a gaming IQ ≥ 20 could tell the Wandering Physician was only helping the Berserker. From start to finish, he’d only healed The Gods’ members twice—and that was only because he’d run out of single-target heals and had to use AoE heals to keep the Berserker alive. But the Berserker’s devotion to Outer Flame was undeniable. After a series of AoE attacks, he pulled three Water Ghosts away, significantly easing Outer Flame’s burden. Whether Outer Flame would thank him was debatable, but Fang Zheng certainly felt like twisting his limbs off and using them as firewood.

Dragon Wonton’s gear wasn’t bad—not top-tier, but certainly first-rate. His skills, however, were rough, and his combat instincts were practically nonexistent. He basically attacked wherever he felt like it. In this state, 2 vs. 3? That was a guaranteed wipe. Maybe… no, Dragon Wonton clearly didn’t fear death, but Fang Zheng hadn’t planned to sacrifice his precious life for the sake of gossip. So he looked left and right…

March to Liangzhou, who had been methodically grinding down his mob, suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Looking up, he saw a dark whirlwind charging toward him—led by two players, followed by three mobs =_=

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Might as well herd two sheep while you’re at it~ Mwah!

Some shamelessness was just… brazen.

Thus, the chaotic three-way standoff evolved into an even more bizarre two-sided battle.

But the consolidated resources did improve combat efficiency. Soon, the Water Ghosts were completely wiped out.

The first thing The Gods did after the fight was curse in voice chat—

Angel of the Gods: “You all really just watched from start to finish, huh?!”

Flame of the Gods: “Fine. Don’t come crying when you get wrecked later.”

Their leader, King of the Gods, stayed silent—but his lack of objection spoke volumes.

The first thing Dragon Wonton did, however, was spam Fang Zheng with thanks, his gratitude sincere and heartfelt.

Suddenly, Fang Zheng felt a surge of anger—not at himself for his impure motives, nor at March’s indifferent attitude, but at Dragon Wonton, who had tried so hard yet was completely ignored. But he couldn’t lash out, because he still had no idea why Dragon Wonton was so desperate. Without a clear target, his verbal barrage had no ammunition TAT

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: I’m not.

These three words left Fang Zheng baffled. His first thought was that the guy had sent it to the wrong person.

But Dragon Wonton persisted—

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: Earlier, you asked if I was a masochist. I’m not.

This “earlier”… felt like a lifetime ago!!

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: I just really want to join their legion. So badly that I jump at every chance to prove my loyalty!

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: You’re the most ambitious legion leader I’ve ever met… Are you sure your members won’t murder you if they find out about this grand ambition of yours?

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: Well, uh… actually, our legion is just me and my buddy. The other dozens are just alts we made. Outer Flame is the biggest legion on our server, but their entry requirements are strict. We didn’t make the cut, so we just played pretend on our own.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: …

Now Fang Zheng understood why Dragon Wonton felt so familiar. Back then, 438 had been the same—knowing full well that keeping him in Mirage Server to gather herbs and refine demons was just exploiting him, yet he’d willingly sacrificed himself.

Though he couldn’t agree with Dragon Wonton’s taste in legions, Fang Zheng no longer had the heart to mock him. All he wanted now was to grab King of the Gods’ hand and plead: You’ve got such a dedicated fan here—just take him in already.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Why not try applying again? Maybe they’ll consider it after seeing how fiercely you fought just now.

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: Nah. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to clear those mobs—I’d have been dead on the ground, ignored. This is just my level. I’m an underachiever in school and a noob in games. I’ve accepted it.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: That sounds really tragic…

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: You don’t have to humor me!

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: But the fact that you can calmly admit you’re a noob is pretty admirable.

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel better at all TAT

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: But you’re really amazing. Even someone as terrible as me—you kept me alive. You have no idea how many healers on our server have me on their blocklists.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Aww~ There’s no tank that can’t be healed, only healers who don’t try hard enough! But don’t sell yourself short—you’ve got the most precious quality of a tank: courage!

[Whisper] Dragon Wonton: [shy]

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: [shy]

While Milk is Mom and Dragon Wonton were happily exchanging compliments, the chat had already erupted into chaos.