Chapter 190 – Leadership Is Hard (Part 4)
by Salted FishFrom the moment he read the rules of the Sailor Zone, Don’t Stop the Meds had a clear plan for his trapping targets—the Purple Set, the purple ring, and the purple material. If he had to prioritize these three, there was no doubt the Ghost Server’s zombie would come first. In truth, Boss Yao didn’t like the qualifier “Ghost Server.” He’d much rather replace it with four words1Dutch Chamber of Commerce, but clearly, the zombie’s loyalty was like his passive skill, solid as a rock—even if the mountains crumbled and heaven and earth merged, he would never abandon you.
Since the person was out of the question, then taking the material would have to do. Actually, the material wasn’t even the main point—no matter how rare something was, it couldn’t remain the only one of its kind in the game forever. As long as it could drop, he was confident he could get it with the help of his Dutch Chamber of Commerce brothers. So what he was really looking forward to was the other party’s reaction after having the material snatched away.
Don’t Stop the Meds curled his lips into a smile, easily found the item he wanted on the first list, double-clicked to confirm, then typed out a message with barely contained excitement—
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: Sure, if you can loot it, that’s your skill.
These were Polly’s exact words back then. Don’t Stop the Meds wasn’t so much helping him recall as he was mocking him with them. He loved seeing people fail at acting tough, and he loved even more seeing them get slapped in the face after failing.
People who got slapped usually reacted in one of two ways—either cursing back without a word about revenge, or swearing they’d get back at you only to leave you waiting forever. But Polly didn’t fit either category. With his heart pounding like a startled deer, Don’t Stop the Meds waited three minutes, but there was no reply in the whispers. Instead, the little zombie on his screen, still at 30% HP, finally moved. First, it jumped in place and did two flips, then ran forward two steps to about 3 meters away, ran back two steps to return right in front of him, suddenly sat down, and started regenerating HP!
Don’t Stop the Meds instinctively downed an HP potion to refill the roughly 10% HP he’d lost in combat, all while watching the other’s HP bar slowly fill and staying alert for any possible counterattack.
The zombie’s HP reached 50%…
The zombie’s HP reached 80%…
The zombie’s HP reached 95%…
The zombie’s HP was full!
[System] Polly has logged out.
=_=
Don’t Stop the Meds had imagined countless possible scenarios, but none of them involved the other party logging off.
He felt deeply hurt emotionally. TAT
The stood-up Boss Yao waited in place for ten minutes, but the beauty never returned. With no other choice, he left dejectedly to search for backup targets two and three. At the same time, he posted a screenshot of the Heartscale in his inventory to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce’s YY public channel.
The first to spot this treasure was Dutch Souvenir. Since he and the other brothers in the Arena were in a secondary channel and couldn’t communicate directly with the leader, he could only type: Wow, Boss Yao, you’re really something. This must be the first one in the entire server, right? Dropped in the Flagship?
Don’t Stop the Meds: Stole it.
Dutch Souvenir: Haha, that makes sense. Without Keychain around, you wouldn’t have the luck to drop a purple.
Don’t Stop the Meds: You seem pretty free.
Dutch Souvenir: You seem in a bad mood…
Don’t Stop the Meds: What do you think?
Dutch Souvenir: I won’t say anything else, I’m going back to fighting people now =_=
As if summoned, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce’s mascot, Rain Through the Woods, silently observed the latter half of the conversation. Though he didn’t fully understand, relying on his innate instinct for self-preservation, he quietly switched back to the game.
After that, countless non-core members appeared, all spamming fangirl-style messages like “Commander, you’re amazing,” “Commander, you’re incredible,” “Commander, you’re the best,” “Commander, you’re my idol.” Don’t Stop the Meds couldn’t be bothered to read them and switched back to the game. Just then, a voice came through his headset: “Boss Yao, have you decided how to use the Heartscale? If not, we can set a trap to transfer it over. That way, the zombie won’t know who actually has it.”
Don’t Stop the Meds understood what he meant but didn’t agree: “What, afraid I’ll keep it on me and get robbed again?”
X: “In a straight fight, that zombie’s no match for you, but what if he plays dirty?”
Don’t Stop the Meds: “I’m more worried that if we put it on one of you, instead of the zombie stealing it back, some random opportunist might accidentally loot it. Can you guarantee you’ll never get trapped by someone else or that you’ll always win?”
X: “…”
Don’t Stop the Meds: “Alright, stop worrying. That guy didn’t just avoid playing dirty—he didn’t even show up! He fucking logged off!”
X: “No way, I thought he was pretty tough. How badly did you wreck him? Don’t tell me you one-shot him, haha.”
Don’t Stop the Meds: “Not one-shot. The fight ended automatically when his HP dropped below 50%. And it wasn’t one move—it was two.”
X: “That’s still a pretty big blow. He’s been playing Huaxia for years. He might seem low-key, but his reputation isn’t. He’s definitely a pro gamer. He probably logged off to lick his wounds.”
“Sigh, a little disappointed,” Don’t Stop the Meds sighed. The reason he’d taken a liking to Birdy wasn’t just his skill but also his personality. Though they hadn’t interacted much before, based on what he’d gathered from forums and Thousand Mountains, this guy didn’t chase glory but wasn’t cowardly either. He wasn’t showy but didn’t feign modesty. He knew what he wanted and what he was doing, unshaken by outside opinions and resilient to external harm. That’s why he’d expected the guy to relentlessly pursue him after having the material stolen—even knowing the gap between them, he wouldn’t easily admit defeat. And this refusal to admit defeat wouldn’t just be in words but in action. That was the kind of man he’d set his sights on!
XX could sense the heartache in the commander’s sigh and thus considerately remained silent for a long time.
Only after Boss Yao had gotten over his heartache did he finally remember to remind the core members: “There’s no problem with me keeping the Heartscale. Besides, I can’t think of what to refine with it right now, so let’s not waste it carelessly. But our warehouses have too many good items. If you can use something, just use it. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but better safe than sorry. Losing any of them wouldn’t be worth it.”
Scholar Lu’s voice chimed in: “We’ve already used everything we can. For the rest, as long as they’re not rewards from the Flagship, we’ve tried to distribute them to core members from other sections. But every warehouse still has over half left, and we don’t dare just hand them out to regular members. The quality varies too much, and it’s not worth the risk of them getting stolen.” Here, Scholar paused before concluding with a hint of melancholy, “In the end, Commander, our legion doesn’t just have too many warehouses—it has too many warehouse slots…”
“Whatever~” Boss Yao was in a relaxed mood. “We’re the ones who rob others. Who dares rob us? Asking for death.”
The “emotional bonding” in YY didn’t stop Don’t Stop the Meds from searching for backups. He swam all the way from the wild border between the Pirate Zone and the Sailor Zone to the streets of the Sailor Zone’s downtown, where he spotted Dragon Wonton! Less than half an hour had passed since Perfect Storm’s entire team entered the Sailor Zone, and no one had bragged on World Chat about looting the ring, so he was confident it was still on the guy!
Dragon Wonton was clearly heading to the Potion Shop to buy potions. Maybe he’d been burned before or was just naturally cautious, but the guy was jumping and hopping around, only stepping on spots where traps couldn’t be set, like stone piers and thresholds. But even the tightest net has holes. Don’t Stop the Meds carefully observed the area in front of the Potion Shop, searching for blind spots where traps could be placed. Several players were hiding in the shadows nearby, likely with the same goal as him—possibly even having already discovered blind spots and set traps before him. The thought of this possibility made Don’t Stop the Meds a little unhappy.
Dragon Wonton stayed inside the Potion Shop for a long time without coming out, but Don’t Stop the Meds had already found the perfect spot for a trap. This didn’t require particularly advanced skills, so he was almost certain the spot had already been taken by someone else.
Don’t Stop the Meds narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like waiting around; he preferred taking the initiative!
In the blink of an eye, the Demon Refiner dashed forward and firmly stepped onto the blind spot!
[System] Death’s Scythe used Immortal-Binding Rope on Don’t Stop the Meds.
The Spirit Master hiding in the shadows, confident that Dragon Wonton would fall into his trap, felt like crying. Damn it, this rope wasn’t meant for you! I don’t wanna play bondage with you!!!
It was too late for regrets now. The moment Don’t Stop the Meds triggered the trap, he didn’t wait for the trapper to approach—he rushed straight into their arms! The one being hugged turned and fled with tears streaming down their face!
Don’t Stop the Meds raised an eyebrow. Unexpectedly, this one had some sense, knowing a head-on fight with him was hopeless. But he couldn’t afford a drawn-out battle, so he summoned his Pufferfish to chase the enemy relentlessly. Finally, when the target was about 5 meters away, the pet exploded, trading its flesh and blood for 60% of the squishy Spirit Master’s HP.
The moment Steal Mode ended, Don’t Stop the Meds, still standing in the blind spot, immediately used the Immortal-Binding Rope—successfully setting a trap!
Not daring to hesitate, Don’t Stop the Meds leaped back into the shadows and hid.
From triggering the rope to killing the enemy to setting his own trap, the entire process was seamless. The other players hiding in the shadows didn’t make a sound—or perhaps didn’t dare to. They just silently noted to themselves: avoid this guy in the future.
Dragon Wonton still hadn’t come out. If he was just buying potions, this was taking way too long.
Don’t Stop the Meds wasn’t an impatient person, but he hated when things were out of his control. Unconsciously, he frowned. But the moment his brows knitted, skill effects flashed in the distance.
Adjusting his camera angle, he saw March to Liangzhou!
So the area in front of the shop was truly a hotspot for traps.
Wait a minute! Don’t Stop the Meds curled his lips in amusement. The one fighting March to Liangzhou was none other than King of the Gods. This was interesting. Based on his observations, March would never attack Outer Flame. Though he couldn’t agree with this nostalgic sentimentality, it wasn’t particularly annoying either. In contrast, the Outer Flame Legion Commander, who showed no such sentiment and even set traps against March despite his repeated help, was truly detestable.
More importantly, this guy had no self-awareness.
The battle ended without suspense—King of the Gods was defeated. Unfortunately, no other Outer Flame members were around, or Don’t Stop the Meds would’ve loved to see their reactions. After his victory, March didn’t stay long. With a flip, he soared into the air and decisively left.
Don’t Stop the Meds couldn’t be bothered to spare King of the Gods another glance and continued his stakeout.
One minute.
Three minutes.
Five minutes.
Dammit! Even Don’t Stop the Meds’ patience had its limits. He stood up abruptly and strode into the Potion Shop. There was no sign of Dragon Wonton inside, but multiple pairs of eyes had been watching the door, and the guy definitely hadn’t left. So there was only one explanation—he’d logged off right inside the Potion Shop!
Why was logging off so easy in this game?
He hated this feature!! =_=
With his target gone, waiting was pointless. Don’t Stop the Meds sighed heavily and walked his Demon Refiner out of the Potion Shop…
[System] Polly used Immortal-Binding Rope on Don’t Stop the Meds.
The previously listless Boss Yao was instantly invigorated by this notification—more energized than if he’d chugged Red Bull. He knew Polly wouldn’t let him down, hahahaha!!!
A Miasma attack landed, and a green skull appeared above the Demon Refiner’s head—poisoned!
But Don’t Stop the Meds was prepared. So what if it was a DoT2Damage over time that would tick down to 50%? He wasn’t worried because the duration was long enough for him to tear apart eight zombies. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned his Electric Eel pet. A flash of light later, the zombie was electrified, losing 5% HP and unable to attack for 15 seconds!
Don’t Stop the Meds didn’t pause. With another keystroke, the Electric Eel darted in front of the zombie and took a huge bite!
The zombie’s HP dropped to 80% without surprise!
The electrification effect had 6 seconds left!
Don’t Stop the Meds recalled the Electric Eel and sent out Papa Seahorse, who delivered a double strike to Polly!
The electrification ended!
Steal Mode also ended.
Since Polly was the trapper, Don’t Stop the Meds didn’t get to choose his prize this time—just 30 points as a reward.
With the battle over, the Miasma debuff was also lifted. Don’t Stop the Meds’ HP was now at 70%, but seeing Polly fully heal himself, he didn’t dare let his guard down and quickly drank an HP potion.
But the fully healed zombie did nothing. He turned and walked away.
Don’t Stop the Meds’ long-depressed mood finally brightened—
[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Feel free to come back anytime~~~ Next time, no need for the hassle. Just tell me where you set the trap, and I’ll go there myself~~~
Ten minutes later, 20:45 Beijing Time.
[Whisper] Polly: (111, 222)
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: ?
[Whisper] Polly: I set a trap.
Are you sure this is a trap and not a duel invitation? =_=
Boss Yao happily accepted the invitation and, unsurprisingly, earned another 30 points.
…
21:00 Beijing Time.
[Whisper] Polly: (187, 144)
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: …
After this battle, Boss Yao’s points rose to 710.
…
21:10 Beijing Time.
[Whisper] Polly: (199, 99)
21:20 Beijing Time.
[Whisper] Polly: (123, 200)
21:30 Beijing Time.
[Whisper] Polly: (205, 139)
21:40 Beijing Time.
[Whisper] Polly: (148, 144)
21:50 Beijing Time.
[Whisper] Polly: (269, 222)
…
22:00 Beijing Time.
Don’t Stop the Meds’ total points: 860.
When he first entered the Sailor Zone, one unlucky player had contributed 10 points, plus an Orange-Tier Gear Weapon dropped by a world boss. The 30 points from the Spirit Master who’d set the trap for Dragon Wonton and the 30 points from X accidentally triggering his own trap (as the commander, he had to intentionally lose) canceled each other out and could be ignored. The rest were all contributions from Polly—10 points once and 30 points eight times, totaling 250 points.
After all this, Boss Yao had gone from initial excitement to mid-process irritation to late-stage exhaustion to his current resignation. He finally understood how those haunted by his Pufferfish must have felt. The difference was that the Pufferfish at least traded its own destruction for the enemy’s demise, while this guy was trading his own destruction for the enemy’s eternal glory. If this was love, it was way too deep…
[Whisper] Polly: (100, 200)
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: …
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: What the hell do you want?! If you’ve really fallen for me, just join our legion!
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: No no, even if you come, I don’t want you anymore, you damn pervert! I’m reporting you for sexual harassment!!! TAT
If he had a time machine now, he’d go back eight hours and beat the crap out of his past self, who was fantasizing about torturing Polly! Serves you right for dreaming!! Serves you right for acting like a pervert!! Do you even know what a real pervert looks like, you naïve little brat!!!
[Whisper] Polly: Feel free to come back anytime~~~ Next time, no need for the hassle. Just tell me where you set the trap, and I’ll go there myself~~~
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: …
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: Do you have to hold a grudge like this? So I slapped you once—fine, you can slap me back. Just stop pestering me. Even if you’re willing to sacrifice points, I’m not willing to accept them anymore.
[Whisper] Polly: I think I can win this time.
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: I think I heard you say that last time! And the time before that, and the time before that! Are you planning to say it next time, and the time after that, and the time after that too?!
[Whisper] Polly: There won’t be a time after that.
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: Am I hearing things? You’re finally giving up?!
[Whisper] Polly: You’re at 860 now. If you win twice more, you’ll hit 920 points and be sent straight to the innermost Legion Zone. I have no choice but to give up.
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: Wait, hitting 900 forces you into the Legion Zone?
[Whisper] Polly: Didn’t you read the rules?
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: No, that’s not the point.
The point was that he’d wasted two hours in the Sailor Zone without getting any other valuable items besides the Heartscale!! All his time had been devoted to the Ghost Server zombie!! He’d come to rob people, not to spar!!!
[Whisper] Polly: Feel free to come back anytime~~~ Next time, no need for the hassle. Just tell me where you set the trap, and I’ll go there myself~~~
[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: Tch, just wait!
Since the other party was so determined to die, it’d be too heartless not to oblige. Besides, as Polly had said, he’d endured ninety-eight steps—what was one last push? If you want to die, it’s easy—Daddy will grant your wish!
The coordinates led to a canyon, steep but not unclimbable. Don’t Stop the Meds stood at the edge, looking down. Sure enough, the zombie was at the bottom. The canyon floor was a narrow strip, about 50 meters long from east to west. Don’t Stop the Meds didn’t know why Birdy had chosen this place, but since the previous locations had also been weird, he didn’t overthink it. Carefully, he maneuvered the Demon Refiner to jump down, using protruding rocks on the cliff face as stepping stones until he reached the bottom.
[System] Polly used Immortal-Binding Rope on Don’t Stop the Meds.
[System] Polly used Miasma.
[System] Polly used Netherworld Ghostly Claws.
The completely unoriginal attack pattern made Don’t Stop the Meds want to yawn. If he’d still held any hope that Polly might innovate and surprise him, it was now completely gone. The only commendable thing about the guy was his persistence—but too much persistence became stubbornness, and that wasn’t endearing.
After the two-hit combo, the Demon Refiner’s HP dropped to 90%, and thanks to Miasma, it continued to decrease steadily but slowly.
But at the same time, the Demon Refiner’s Papa Seahorse had also landed a two-hit combo, reducing the zombie’s HP to 70%!
Don’t Stop the Meds didn’t switch pets. He just wanted to end this quickly, so the next second, the Papa Seahorse sprayed out countless Baby Seahorses from its tail!
In their last PK, Polly had died to these Baby Seahorses’ AoE Attack, and yet here he was again, ignoring the pets and sticking to close combat against the Demon Refiner. Everything was a carbon copy of their last fight—except this time, the zombie didn’t just wait to die. Instead, he sprinted westward along the canyon at full speed!
Don’t Stop the Meds immediately realized—this was a stalling tactic!
Well, well, near-death experiences really do teach you something. There’s progress after all~ Don’t Stop the Meds finally felt a flicker of excitement and dashed after him! The Papa Seahorse and Baby Seahorses also gave chase furiously!
The zombie was incredibly fast—faster than any Speed Scroll could achieve. Don’t Stop the Meds guessed he’d bought a cash-shop potion to boost his speed. But it didn’t matter because the zombie had reached the end of the canyon. By the time Don’t Stop the Meds caught up, the guy was trying to climb the cliff to escape!
Don’t Stop the Meds wouldn’t give him that chance. The swarming Baby Seahorses blocked his path!
As expected, Steal Mode ended. Don’t Stop the Meds’ points rose to 890, while Polly’s dropped to 270.
[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: You’ve improved this time—you knew to run and stall. But one escape isn’t enough to bridge the gap between us. Accept your fate.
[Local] Polly: One more chance.
[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: You really won’t stop until you hit a wall. How about we just do it right here and now to settle your obsession?
[Local] Polly: No.
[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Right, another ten-minute wait, huh? Fine, I’ll humor you. I’ll wait!
Perhaps reassured by this promise, Polly got up without another word, jumped onto the cliff face, and began climbing back.
Don’t Stop the Meds noticed that although this was the canyon’s end, the cliff face here, like the one he’d climbed down earlier, was studded with protruding rocks—as if the game designers had intentionally created a climbing path for players. So instead of taking the long way around, he followed Polly’s route upward.
[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Has anyone ever told you you’re really annoying?
[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Being outmatched but still pushing forward is bravery.
[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: But being outmatched and pushing forward for years on end is just stupidity.
[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: I really don’t get how you earned your reputation before.
[System] Polly used Immortal-Binding Rope on Don’t Stop the Meds.
[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Or is this just how people from Huaxia Summit are?
Wait, something seems out of place here =_=
Don’t Stop the Meds had considered countless possibilities but never expected the other party to start playing dirty after two hours of straightforwardness! There was no question—the rope on the cliff face had been pre-set, and Polly’s “escape” had been a deliberate ploy! Going back first was also a trap, all to lure him into following and falling right into it!! His post-PK HP was at 65%, and based on past experience, he hadn’t bothered to heal because he didn’t expect another fight. Even with some auto-regen during movement, he was only at around 72%!! Meanwhile, the other guy had sneakily healed to full!!
A true expert could chug an HP potion even while his heart was flooded with a stampede of grass-mud-horses.
One sip later, his HP was full! But this had cost him the initiative. In a duel like this, even 0.1 seconds of delay could be fatal! And by now, the zombie’s Miasma + Netherworld Ghostly Claws combo had arrived!
The slightly tense Don’t Stop the Meds suddenly relaxed. Can’t blame him—this two-hit combo was way too familiar =_=
Even if the other guy wasn’t innovating, Don’t Stop the Meds had to. So the Papa Seahorse returned, and the Electric Eel came out—another electrification stun!
But this time, the zombie wasn’t stunned for 15 seconds like before. Not only was it not stunned, he retaliated with Hellfire!
Don’t Stop the Meds was shocked—not because the Electric Eel’s skill had been resisted, but because Polly’s gear actually had an anti-attack stat! It definitely hadn’t been there before! Unless… he’d changed equipment!!!
In his carelessness, Don’t Stop the Meds had overlooked the subtle changes in Birdy’s outfit. But honestly, the changes were minimal—same black color scheme, same zombie skin, just slightly different textures, goddammit!!
And the damage output was different too!!
Belatedly, Don’t Stop the Meds realized that the two-hit combo should’ve only taken 10% of his HP, but this time it took 15%. The second hit, which should’ve only done 5%, now did 8%. So after Miasma’s steady erosion, his HP, originally at 77%, was now close to 70%!
And the other guy was still at full health!
Don’t Stop the Meds didn’t have time to analyze what gear Polly had switched to—it was clearly a massive upgrade in both offense and defense. He summoned his Pufferfish and chugged a cash-shop potion to boost his attack speed. In half a second, the Pufferfish exploded violently, and the zombie’s HP obediently dropped to 75%!
Don’t Stop the Meds didn’t dare slack off now. He immediately switched back to the Papa Seahorse and delivered another two-hit combo to Polly!
Normally, this combo would take 30% of the enemy’s HP, but this time, it only brought Polly down to 50%… No! Though the bar looked like 50%, it was actually a sliver above—Steal Mode hadn’t ended!
Meanwhile, Polly had tanked the two-hit combo and closed in on the Demon Refiner, countering with Specters and Ghouls + Netherworld Ghostly Claws, which had just come off cooldown!!
Don’t Stop the Meds’ HP had dropped from 70% to 65%, and after the two-hit combo, it fell to exactly 50%… No! Justice was fair—though he didn’t have that extra sliver, he didn’t have less either. It was precisely 50%! The system rule was that Steal Mode only ended when HP fell below 50%, so it was still active! And all of Polly’s skills were on cooldown, while he still had the Papa Seahorse…
[System] Polly used Physical Attack.
[System] Steal Mode ended.
…
Don’t Stop the Meds didn’t want to describe his current mood, nor did he want to say another word to Polly. He just felt that life was too exhausting and missed home a little.
Polly, ever tactful, didn’t make a sound. He just silently took the Heartscale from the inventory and stood there, unmoving.
Don’t Stop the Meds ignored him, refusing to even glance his way again.
Let bridges be bridges, roads be roads, dust return to dust, and earth to earth!
The Demon Refiner leaped onto the cliff face!
[System] Polly used Immortal-Binding Rope on Don’t Stop the Meds.
[System] Steal Mode ended.
…
So it wasn’t a double trap setup but a triple. But… isn’t setting a trap for someone already below 50% HP just inhuman?! GM, are you even watching this?!?!
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