Chapter 197 – No-Tank Squad (Part 1)

The inexplicable free-for-all was ultimately ended by a stack of cash. The various commanders had seen their fair share of grand spectacles—it wasn’t just 30,000 yuan, they’d witnessed people throwing down 300,000 without batting an eye. After all, the game was never short on players who’d throw money at it like their lives depended on it. But there was a fundamental difference between throwing money at the game and throwing money while dying in a guild war! The former might be a whale, a middle-class player, or even an ordinary person tightening their belt, all for their love of the game or their obsession with gear. The latter… Come over here and tell us what you’re after, we promise we won’t beat you to death =_=

[Constellation] Don’t Stop the Meds: “Ceasefire for good. Any objections?”

[Constellation] ice Iceborn: “Yeah. Whether it’s fighting for a guild like this or against a guild like this, it makes me feel like an idiot.”

[Constellation] Silent Hill: “Then why the hell did you two get involved in the first place?!”

[Constellation] Don’t Stop the Meds: “Then why were you fighting them?!”

[Constellation] Silent Hill: “I’ll reflect deeply on this in my midnight dreams…”

……

[Five Peaks Pavilion YY]

Nicknamed White Dragon Horse: “Commander, everyone’s sharing their post-battle thoughts. Don’t you have anything to say?”

Drink Till You Drop: “Retreat.”

Summit of Mount Tai: “Aren’t you gonna say goodbye to our ‘brothers of Huaxia Summit’?”

Drink Till You Drop: “Mount Tai, you’ve gone bad after that trip to the Flagship…”

Summit of Mount Tai: “Haha, fine, I’ll change the subject then. Sister-in-law…”

Drink Till You Drop: “By the time I found out, she’d already joined the Ghost Server Legion. The ship had sailed, and it was too late.”

Summit of Mount Tai: “But what if…”

Drink Till You Drop: “I’d rather create a new guild for her to mess around in than let her join the Ghost Server Legion.”

Summit of Mount Tai: “And now…”

Drink Till You Drop: “She’s so happy she’s forgotten home. The guild’s her family now.”

Summit of Mount Tai: “Commander…”

Drink Till You Drop: “I’m fine. A man’s gotta be strong.”

……

The players in the world didn’t know the sorrows of the combatants. Right now, their attention was entirely focused on the purple-tier gear—

[Constellation] Officer Big Bear: “I just checked the Goddess of Fortune Set in the Item Mall. The stats aren’t even that great.”

[Constellation] Indian Mane: “As if your gear is any better.”

[Constellation] Officer Big Bear: “I don’t have purple-tier gear, but at least mine looks good.”

[Constellation] Mad Lad: “[Camouflage Outfit][Beach Shorts][Sportswear][Tube Dress][Suit][British Gentleman’s Suit][Racing Suit][Tailcoat][Harem Pants][Jeans][Tank Top][White Shirt]“

[Constellation] Mad Lad: “Which one do you think looks good? I’ll equip it right now. Can’t let my fashion sense pollute the city, right?”

[Constellation] Officer Big Bear: “…”

[Constellation] Flying General of Dragon City: “Assassin, are you trying to open a Taobao shop or something?!”

[Constellation] Mad Lad: “Want me to try them all on and model them for you? HAHAHAHAHAHA”

[Constellation] Xiamen U QR Code: “[Tube Dress] I only want to see this one…”

[Constellation] Mad Lad: “What the hell is this?”

[Constellation] Officer Big Bear: “Who are you asking?!”

[Constellation] Flying General of Dragon City: “Who are you asking?!”

[Constellation] Xiamen U QR Code: “Who are you asking?!”

Mad Lad never did try on that randomly mentioned tube dress, just as 438 never showed off his Phoenix Seeking Phoenix despite the relentless begging from the world chat. Previously, players had only had fragmented, indirect impressions of the ghost server from various sources. Now, countless streams had converged into an ocean, and the ghost server’s true form had finally taken shape—small in scale but loud in presence, no normal humans but packed with oddballs, soaring to the heavens and diving into the earth, a chaotic dance of demons with no rhyme or reason.

They weren’t like the big guilds—organized, disciplined, with glorious histories and documented legacies. They were more like an urban legend, scattered fragments of stories drifting through the Huaxia Forum—one moment, they were the tactical geniuses of cross-server PVP; the next, the unsung heroes of endgame dungeons; sometimes locked in an epic struggle with the invading Dutch Chamber of Commerce, other times casting a dark cloud over Las Vegas. Sometimes they were a guild, sometimes just a single player, sometimes heroes, sometimes villains… Wait, why were there two ads for power-leveling services?!

In short, if you tried to understand the Ghost Server Legion through the Huaxia Forum, you’d be reading a xuanhuan novel. If you tried to experience them firsthand in the game, you’d be reading a body-and-soul-crushing xuanhuan novel.

And now, the comrades who had been writing this novel with their lives were preparing to part ways with the opponents they’d just fought.

The problem was, the number of teams that had participated in the free-for-all was small—so small that there were only five of them. But the post-battle world was vast, with four cardinal directions… And, well, that meant directions were in short supply. ╮(╯_╰)╭

When Boss Yao discovered that the seven oddballs of the Ghost Server Legion weren’t chasing after their allies from Five Peaks Pavilion, nor pursuing Iceborn, nor tailing Silence, but instead stubbornly following his own team, his heart shattered.

[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: “Why the hell are you following us?!”

[Local] Milk is Mom: “Don’t flatter yourself~~ We’re just heading the same way~~ We’re also going back into the sea to continue our quests~~”

Don’t Stop the Meds had no choice. Fortunately, while both teams were returning to the sea, their quest progress differed. After diving in, they gradually drifted apart.

Fang Zheng and his team’s current task was to find a way to turn the stone into a human. But the method for this could only be learned by consulting the oldest sea turtle living in these waters. The sea turtle wasn’t hard to find—the problem was its stubbornness.

[System] Sea Turtle: “Foolish humans, do not delude yourselves into thinking you can extract even a shred of information from me! My very existence is to guard this secret!”

Experienced players never listened to NPC dialogue—they just looked. For example, if an NPC had a health bar floating above its head, then the answer was simple: its existence was for players to beat up.

Once its HP hit zero, the sea turtle caved, even changing its tone—

[System] Sea Turtle: “Great warriors, in the deepest part of the sea lies a Spellbook, which contains the methods to transform all things in this world!”

With a ding, the team’s quest progress updated to 4%, and they received their fifth task: Find the Spellbook. But… Who the hell knew where the deepest part of the sea was?!

[Party] Drink Your Sister 3X: “Coords (214, 214)”

[Party] Milk is Mom: “Thank Drink for me.”

The ghosts might not know, but someone who’d already done the quest did. And if that someone happened to be your in-game relative, then the quest might as well have no secrets left.

And so, the ghost server squad smoothly completed all ten underwater quests, learning that on land, there were seven nations—Crimson, Amber, Yellow, Emerald, Azure , Sapphire, and Violet. No one knew which prince the mermaid princess had fallen for, only that he had hair the color of seawater.

Leaving aside the mermaid princess’s taste, in the two hours it took the Ghost Server Legion to complete these ten quests, the top spots on the Quest Progress Leaderboard—no, the entire first page—had been completely overtaken.

Names they didn’t recognize had been replaced by familiar ones—

[Quest Progress Leaderboard]

No.1—[White Chapel] Dutch Souvenir 24%

No.1—[White Chapel] Scholar Lu 24%

No.1—[White Chapel] Mocha 24%

No.1—[Windmill Faction] X 24%

No.1—[Windmill Faction] Rain Through the Woods 24%

No.1—[Windmill Faction] Rain Ceases 24%

No.1—[Dutch Chamber of Commerce] Don’t Stop the Meds 24%

No.1—[Sunflower] Little Willow 24%

No.1—[Sunflower] War of the Gods 24%

…

No.10—[come] Lantern Granny 22%

No.10—[come] Grave Sweeping Scroll 22%

No.10—[ice] Ice on Fire 22%

No.10—[ice] Bells in the Rain 22%

No.10—[Iceborn] Beckham 22%

No.10—[Iceborn] ice Iceborn 22%

No.10—[Iceborn] Ice Girl 22%

No.10—[Iceborn] Ray-Ban 22%

No.10—[Iceborn] Liaodong Iron Cavalry 22%

No.10—[Iceborn] Festive Lantern 22%

…

No.20—Brother Eastwind 21%

No.21…

The top 20 spots were dominated by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce and Iceborn, with the exception of Brother Eastwind, who had no guild affiliation. Don’t Stop the Meds and Iceborn clearly both had full ten-man teams, so the only reason Brother Eastwind could squeeze in was likely because Don’t Stop the Meds had left a spot open for No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains.

The Dutch Chamber of Commerce and Iceborn—one flamboyant, the other low-key—but for Fang Zheng and Birdy, who had fought both simultaneously, this ranking was entirely expected.

“Ah! I remember now!” Your Uncle suddenly exclaimed in YY. “That Rain Through the Woods guy helped me in Las Vegas! No wonder his ID looked familiar!”

“Helped you?” Fang Zheng couldn’t help but be surprised. If this had happened to 438, it would’ve been believable, but Your Uncle…?

“Yeah. He said I was the reason the entire Las Vegas server was cursed, so he rallied everyone to help me farm points so I could hit 500 and leave ASAP.”

“…” Fang Zheng shuddered at the mental image of the carnage that must’ve ensued.

“Oh, and he’s also the Dutch Chamber of Commerce’s mascot!” Your Uncle added as if it had just occurred to him.

Mad Lad: “Mascot?”

Your Uncle: “Yeah! That’s what Spring Field Blossom told me. Someone leaked that he has insane luck, so their commander always takes him along for dungeon runs, like a lucky keychain. I don’t know if it’s true, but his luck really is crazy! If we could team up with him, maybe it’d cancel out my bad luck >_<"

Drink Your Sister: “No way. I don’t wanna team up with them. That ‘no meds’ guy is super annoying.”

438: “His name’s Don’t Stop the Meds…”

Crossplayer: “This time, I agree with Your Sister.”

Mad Lad: “Their Dutch Souvenir is also a pain.”

Fang Zheng: “Relax, relax. After all this time, we’ve built up immunity. Don’t worry, Your Uncle, we don’t need to team up with those guys!”

Polly: “Who’s Spring Field Blossom?”

Your Uncle: “Ah, that’s a long story…”

Polly: “No worries. We’ve got time to kill.”

Deputy Commander, how did you manage to pluck that one gossip-filled ID out of such a mundane description?!

……

Somewhere underwater, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce squad was working on their 25th quest.

“Achoo! Achoo!”

“What’s wrong, Keychain?”

“Dunno. Probably someone’s thinking about me.”

“Ha, did you break some girl’s heart or—Achoo!”

“Boss Yao, did I infect you?”

“Nah, probably someone’s talking shit about me.”

……

As Your Uncle told his story, the ghost server squad arrived at the Crimson Kingdom. According to the sea turtle, not all seven nations on land had uniform hair colors. Just because it was called the Sapphire Kingdom didn’t mean all its citizens had blue hair. In fact, the Crimson Kingdom had the highest concentration of blue-haired individuals, which was why they’d been advised to go there first.

But as soon as they reached the city gates, they saw the entire city engulfed in flames. Panicked people were fleeing, screaming, “The demons are coming! The demons are coming!” Above the city, a cloud of coal-black mist swirled ominously. The ghost server team couldn’t tell what it was, but they could see the health bar above its head. =_=

Polly: “Probably a boss. I’ll go test it first. Everyone else, play it by ear.”

Without waiting for a response, Polly charged in!

The mist’s attacks were brutal—one hit took half of Polly’s HP. He cast No Rest for the Dead to recover some health, then followed up with Miasma!

As Polly landed his second hit, Mad Lad and Crossplayer rushed in to assist, while Your Uncle and 438 provided ranged DPS from the outskirts. Fang Zheng and Your Sister took turns keeping everyone healed.

The boss was tough. Most of the seven had to chug two or three MP potions before its HP finally bottomed out. But instead of dying, the mist simply dispersed, revealing a beautiful blond boy.

[System] Dill: “Thank you, great warriors, for saving me! But my kingdom is still in peril. I am the prince’s attendant, cursed into a monster by the evil minister. Now that the spell is broken, I am free and reborn. But the evil minister still holds the palace and the prince captive. I beg you, save the prince! Save my kingdom!”

[Local] Refined Into a Demon 715: “Is your prince blue-haired?”

Entire Ghost Server Team: “…Stop chatting with NPCs!!”

Ding—

The quest log updated: 11th task—Head to the Royal Palace.

With a new quest in hand, Fang Zheng gave everyone a group heal and prepared to march toward the palace. But after just a few steps, they spotted a player lying motionless on the ground near the city gates, clearly dead for some time. Though the Ghost Server Legion Leader was usually shameless, that was reserved for enemies or provocateurs. A random stranger displaying weakness with every pixel of their being still earned his sympathy, so he casually tossed out a Resurrection.

The revived player automatically stood up but didn’t move. Their character clutched their chest—the default animation for AFKing while in Resurrection Sickness.

Assuming the player had been dead so long they’d left their computer, Fang Zheng was about to move on when Your Uncle suddenly shouted over voice chat: “Pro! Pro! It’s a pro!!”

Fang Zheng facepalmed. “How did you discern his skill level from his corpse pose?”

Your Uncle: “No, no! He’s an old friend of mine from Fairy Dreamland—Passing Master!!”

Fang Zheng squinted at the screen. Sure enough, the player’s ID was “Passing Mas…”

Mad Lad: “Passing Master!!!”

Fang Zheng: “Why did you have to shout it again after Your Uncle already did?!”

Mad Lad: “No, he’s a great teammate and brother from Sky Arena—me and 2B’s old partner, Passing Master!”

Fang Zheng: “Anyone else know him? Just jump out now and stop scaring me =_=”

“…”

Fang Zheng: “Good, just the two of you know him, huh? One’s an old friend, the other a new brother. What a coincidence to meet him today.”

Mad Lad & Your Uncle: “Yeah!”

Fang Zheng: “But you both just stepped over his corpse. I’m sure he didn’t see that coming…”

“…”

Five minutes later—

[Local] Little Lucky Charm: “Pro! Pro! Pro! You really AFK?”

Mad Lad: “Give up. He’s not answering. Must’ve died to the mist ages ago. He’s AFK, probably left his computer.”

Your Uncle: “Uh… Commander…”

Five seconds later, Fang Zheng sent a message in Local Chat at Your Uncle’s request.

[Local] Milk is Mom: “[Sparkling Golden Hoop]“

Half a second later—

[Whisper] Passing Master: “God-tier!”

[Whisper] Passing Master: “Where’d you get it?!”

[Whisper] Passing Master: “Teach me! >_<"