Chapter 191 – Leadership Is Hard (Part 5)

A helpless cry echoed through the desolate valley, then, like geese flying in formation—sometimes a “V,” sometimes a straight line—it vanished into the distance, leaving no ripple in the sky.

Don’t Stop the Meds had never been so furious before. No—that wasn’t quite accurate. Anger and rage often went hand in hand, but what he felt now was far more humiliation than rage. So, he wasn’t angry—he was just suffocating with frustration! TAT

Polly remained standing there, arms crossed, wearing a shy smile. Though he knew this was the default idle animation when a player hadn’t moved their character for a while, Don’t Stop the Meds still felt like it was deliberate. Because this pose, which looked exactly like “smiling while spectating,” fit this “malice-filled” valley path perfectly!

[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Can you hurry up and pick already? Sure, having too many good things in your warehouse might be blinding, but you can only take one. I feel bad for you too.

[Local] Polly: Yeah, it’s a tough choice.

Oh? The poker-faced guy actually admitted it?

[Local] Polly: It’s all junk, not a single decent item.

Why hasn’t the selection timer run out yet?! System, did you forget to check the stopwatch?!

[System] Polly has obtained the Duke Orlette’s Hat.

A Level 70 orange-tier accessory—an unexpectedly odd choice.

Though purple-tier gear was equipped on his main character, and his inventory and warehouse were devoid of anything purple, among the sea of orange-tier items, there were rare materials, fully enhanced top-tier orange sets, and even among accessories, many bracelets, necklaces, and rings had better stats than this hat. Unless he chose it for aesthetics… What was so beautiful about a pale green hat with colorful feathers stuck in it?! Urgent, answers needed online!

After picking his reward, the zombie stood still again. If not for the fact that the guy’s connection had been smooth all this time, Don’t Stop the Meds would’ve sworn he was lagging on purpose.

[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: What, standing there waiting for me to fall for your trap a third time?

[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Save it. You think I don’t know you’ve littered the cliffs with Immortal-Binding Ropes?

[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: The first time, I underestimated you and lost. The second time, you pulled off a surprise victory. If I fall for it a third time, I’d be a complete idiot.

[Local] Polly: ……

The triple taunt finally got a reaction out of the scheming bastard—though it was just six dots. But Don’t Stop the Meds was convinced it was to mask the awkwardness of being called out.

“Tch.” Don’t Stop the Meds scoffed and sat down to recover HP.

Though chugging HP potions would’ve been faster, since the other guy was willing to stall, he wasn’t in a hurry either. Why waste potions? Might as well take it slow. Once his HP was full, he’d just buy a Town Portal Ticket from the Item Mall for two bucks, teleport straight to the respawn point, and let all those malicious Immortal-Binding Ropes go to hell—

Before Boss Yao could even finish his mental rant, a Lover’s Constellation courier appeared.

Don’t Stop the Meds had no way of knowing what delivery Polly had received or who sent it. All he knew was that after collecting the package, the zombie finally moved—

[System] Polly uses a Town Portal Ticket.

GM, bear witness! I thought of this method first! Doesn’t this count as plagiarism?!

The desolate valley still offered no response to Boss Yao. Now, even the zombie was gone, leaving only the second wave of geese for company—flying in formation, sometimes a “V,” sometimes a straight line, drifting further and further away…

The geese flew off, but the zombie’s whisper arrived fashionably late—

[Whisper] Polly: There were only five ropes in total. If you took an unconventional path, you might’ve avoided them.

[Whisper] Polly: Town Portal Tickets have been sold in the Item Mall for ages. Pretty sure the idea isn’t copyrighted by you.

[Whisper] Polly: Oh, and I never expected you to fall for it a third time, so don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re really not an idiot.

…The first two lines were infuriating enough to make anyone want to strangle him, and the last one was barely passable as human speech—but why did it bring absolutely no joy?! Buddha, no need for me to burn incense and pray—this guy absolutely belongs in the Hell of Tongue-ripping!!!

Wait, Buddha, hold on—before you toss this bastard into hell, I have one more question—

[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: What gear did you have on at the end?

[Whisper] Polly: [Baggins Set]

[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: Stolen???

[Whisper] Polly: Borrowed.

[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: ……Did you seduce March?!

[Whisper] Polly: His true love is the King of the Gods.

[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: =_=

[Whisper] Don’t Stop the Meds: No, wait—we fought two matches in a row. I won the first one. Your attack power back then definitely wasn’t from a purple set, so you swapped gear after losing the first match? While jumping onto the cliffs?? While I was lecturing you???

[Whisper] Polly: I’d classify those ramblings more accurately as “ranting.”

…He didn’t want to exchange another word with this guy. He just wanted to be left on his own—and no, don’t ask who “his own” was. TAT

“Commander,” Rain Ceases suddenly spoke up over the headset, “I just logged into my alt to grab that green hat from the warehouse for the appearance extraction, but it’s gone?”

“……” What was wrong with this world? Since when were green hats in such high demand? Wait, the hat wasn’t the point! Whoever dared to poke at this sore spot again, he’d lose it at them!

Mocha: “Probably tossed it out because there were too many good items and the warehouse was full. Didn’t you see that Ghost Server zombie harassing our Commander already has 290 points?”

“……” Fine, whoever mentioned Polly again, he’d lose it at them!

Little Willow: “Boss Yao, you too—not content with just taking Polly’s purple materials, now you’re trying to empty out the Ghost Server Legion’s warehouse, huh? Hahaha.”

“……” Last. Warning. Whoever mentioned the Ghost Server again, he’d lose it at them!!!

Scholar Lu: “No wonder the Ghost Server Legion’s warehouse is full of junk—it was you, Boss Yao! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bothered stealing from the Ghost Server Commander!”

“You’re fired!!!”

Meng Chudong hadn’t initially known how to deal with Don’t Stop the Meds. The guy had better gear, superior skills, and seemed like an impenetrable fortress with no weaknesses. Under normal circumstances, losing materials was just that—he was outplayed, so he had no complaints. But Don’t Stop the Meds never should’ve touched that scale—the one he’d already planned how to use the moment he rolled for it.

Still, his success was largely thanks to Don’t Stop the Meds’ arrogance and impatience. If he hadn’t been so arrogant, he could’ve had one of his legion members steal the material—just figuring out who had it would’ve taken forever. But no, he didn’t trust anyone else with it, only himself. If he’d been patient, he wouldn’t have forgotten to heal after the last PK, leaving an opening to exploit.

As for the final, bloodless victory… He’d only tried it on a whim. So no matter how annoying someone was, they always had one or two endearing traits.

Meng Chudong’s respawn point was set near the Jewelry Workshop. Located at the innermost part of the shopping district, the workshop should’ve been relatively quiet, but instead, it was bustling—players coming and going nearly flattened the threshold. Another crowded spot was the Demon Refinery a few meters away, also packed to the brim.

It wasn’t hard to understand. Players who’d obtained their own materials were afraid of theft, so they rushed to use them immediately, while those who’d stolen materials were anxious to secure their loot, so they hurried to use them too.

Hopping over stone steps to enter the workshop, Meng Chudong chose a crafting station in the corner, opened his inventory, and placed the Golden Hoop Fang Zheng had just mailed him alongside the Duke’s Hat. The Golden Hoop was the primary material, the hat the secondary. Click—Craft!

[System] Congratulations, Polly has obtained the Golden Hoop.

The accessory’s appearance and color remained unchanged—still orange—but hovering the cursor over it revealed that the original Level 55 item was now maxed at Level 70. Its HP and MP bonuses had increased from 17% to 20%, and its Physical and Magic Resistance had gone from +10 to +15. The 3% chance to revive upon death remained the same.

Meng Chudong was satisfied. Though the Golden Hoop hadn’t undergone a qualitative leap in stats, the Duke’s Hat had been an unexpected windfall. Upgrading the Golden Hoop to max level had already exceeded expectations.

Now, it was time for the scale.

Though it was a purple-tier material, though he’d gone through hell to reclaim it, though there was a chance of failure that could cost him even the Golden Hoop—Meng Chudong didn’t hesitate. Purple materials, the Golden Hoop—even if they were lost, he could always farm them again. It was just a matter of time.

Opening his inventory, he placed the Golden Hoop and the scale into the crafting interface. Click—Craft!

[System] Congratulations, Polly has obtained the Sparkling Golden Hoop.

Meng Chudong hovered his cursor over the newly crafted accessory in his inventory—now decorated with a faint glowing halo—and finally, the corners of his lips curled up.

[Sparkling Golden Hoop]

Level 70 (Purple)

+25% Max HP

+25% Max MP

+20 Physical Resistance

+20 Magic Resistance

9% chance to revive upon death

Birdy didn’t close his inventory. Instead, he used a Huaxia Stamp to mail the Sparkling Golden Hoop to Fang Zheng, then sent a whisper to another friend—

[Whisper] Polly: Where?

Fang Zheng hadn’t responded yet, but the whisper came back quickly.

[Whisper] March to Liangzhou: Meds.

[Whisper] Polly: ?

[Whisper] March to Liangzhou: Lazy.

[Whisper] Polly: Door.

[Whisper] March to Liangzhou: o

The zombie ended the conversation and leaped out of the Jewelry Workshop in a few bounds, then hopped over to the Potion Shop entrance. Almost simultaneously, March to Liangzhou came out.

The two zombies stood on stone steps, holding hands (figuratively) for about two seconds. Then March to Liangzhou flipped through the air, landing under a tree four meters away. Birdy understood and followed, leaping to the same spot.

[System] March to Liangzhou uses Immortal-Binding Rope on Polly.

It was a one-sided PK—because Birdy didn’t fight back at all. In the blink of an eye, the Steal Mode ended, and March reclaimed his purple set. After equipping it, he returned Meng Chudong’s original gear.

[Whisper] Polly: Thanks.

[Whisper] March to Liangzhou: No problem.

No sappy confessions, no reluctant farewells—the two zombies interacted with detached politeness and parted just as cleanly. No one knew if they’d meet again or under what circumstances—maybe at the Flagship, maybe in Lover’s Constellation, or even in the Dimensional Rift. But that was a matter for the future.

[I’m done. Where are you?]

[Potion Shop.]

[Hiding there? No need. My gear wasn’t a system reward—as long as you’re wearing it, it can’t be stolen. Besides, with your skills, you’d counter-score nine out of ten traps.]

[Points are about enough. Feeling sleepy, too lazy to keep fighting.]

[I’ll wait for you at the entrance.]

[OK.]

[I don’t think you had 100% confidence in my skills, yet you still lent me your purple set despite the risk. Thanks.]

[Without your tactics, we might not have downed the boss, let alone rolled for the loot. Consider it returning the favor. No need to thank me.]

Fang Zheng, who had just received the Sparkling Golden Hoop, was completely stunned. He stared at the item’s stat window, unable to look away.

Even now, he clearly remembered how he’d felt when he first received the Golden Hoop: planting a silver ingot in spring and harvesting a gold bar in autumn. Now, that gold bar had acquired a sparkling halo, and his emotions had escalated from excitement to exhilaration! >_<

Deep breath. Deep breath. Another deep breath.

Finally feeling calm enough to properly express his gratitude and affection to a certain bird, Fang Zheng slowly stood up and quietly approached him. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed the other was in the middle of a PK, so he held his tongue and waited like a dutiful wife.

Then the PK ended—Wait, what kind of PK was that?! Just letting the other guy win?! Is March your lover or something, sacrificing yourself like that?! And now you’re whispering after the PK?! “Thanks”?! What the hell are you thanking him for when you got your ass handed to you?! “No problem”?! You sure didn’t hold back—every punch landed cleanly, you bastard—

Polly: “Refined it with the scale I stole back. He lent me his purple set.”

Fang Zheng: “What a good guy.”