Chapter 203 – Difficult Adjustment

[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Your place or mine?

[Local] Milk is Mom: Doesn’t matter.

[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Then let’s go to yours.

[Local] Milk is Mom: Is yours inconvenient?

[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Too many people.

[Local] X: Bros, it’s just joining a voice chat. Do you two have to make it sound like something people would fantasize about?

[Local] Polly: XXXXXX, our guild’s voice chat. Join the sub-channel “MadB’s Shack” directly, password XXX.

The Ghost Server comrades keenly sensed the Deputy Leader’s low-pressure aura and, for once, stayed quiet.

But this world never lacks people who love to stick their necks out—

[Party] Mad Lad: Why do we have to join my channel?

Meng Chudong raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling a strong urge to kick the guy out of the legion.

No, not suddenly—he’d been wanting to do it for a long time.

[Party] Polly: You seem to enjoy whispering in there. Just helping you out.

The party members, seeing what Birdy said to Mad Lad, instinctively alt-tabbed out of the game to check their Ghost Server voice chat. Sure enough, everyone was in the main channel, except for Mad Lad, who was in the sub-channel “MadB’s Private Shack,” created back during the Sky Arena days. Strangely, though, the shack showed two people online, even though all nine comrades were in the main channel, none missing. Checking the online list revealed one yellow-named user (Mad Lad) and one unnamed user—”husky,” someone no one recognized.

The moment Mad Lad saw Birdy’s reply, he felt a chill run down his spine. He subconsciously glanced up at his ceiling, making sure there were no suspicious “pinhole cameras.” So then, how the hell did Polly know he’d just slipped into MadB’s Shack the moment he did it, with zero time lag?! No, wait—he’d just gone in to quickly explain the “lottery success theory” he hadn’t finished discussing in whispers to a like-minded friend, since typing was a hassle. It wasn’t like he was doing anything shady, so why should he feel guilty?

But more importantly—HOW THE HELL DID THAT GUY KNOW HIS CHANNEL PASSWORD?!

A herd of alpacas trampled across the grasslands of Mad Lad’s heart, leaving behind only devastation. Meanwhile, the new comrades received the password from the Deputy Leader and swarmed in like a tidal wave.

“husky” had silently logged out at some point, replaced by the ten members of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce who had trekked over and the Ghost Server comrades who had gone down a level.

Mocha: “MadB, am I the only one who thinks this channel name is cringe as hell?”

Mad Lad: “…”

Mocha: “Damn! No need to strip me naked just for roasting you! And it’s not like I was hating on purpose—ask them if the name sounds good or not?!”

The entire team silently averted their gazes, pretending not to notice Mocha being demoted from blue name back to no-name—when you’re under someone else’s roof, badmouthing them is just asking for trouble. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

Thousand Mountains: “Alright, alright, we’re about to fight a boss. No need to be so tense~”

The Dutch Chamber of Commerce comrades exchanged glances—was the sun rising from the west? Since when did No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains act as a peacemaker?!

Thousand Mountains: “MadB, give Mocha his clothes back. It’s freezing out here~~ Oh, and while you’re at it, tell me again—were there any signs before you won the lottery?”

The Dutch Chamber of Commerce comrades narrowed their eyes in unison. That “again” was extremely suspicious…

Thousand Mountains didn’t care about his teammates’ confusion. In fact, he hoped they’d rack their brains over it—that would be hilarious~\(≧▽≦)/~

But Polly, who seemed to see through everything, was seriously annoying. It had taken so much effort to create that alt, only for it to be useless. Thinking about it, he couldn’t help but vent to the only person who might understand—

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Your zombie Deputy Leader is like a damn ghost.

[Whisper] Mad Lad: All his yang energy got sucked dry by our healer Commander.

Thousand Mountains was stunned. He’d just wanted to find common ground—why did it feel like he’d been dragged into some horrifying abyss?

It took a long time—long enough for the voice chat to start discussing boss mechanics—before Mad Lad finally got a reply from the simple-minded DPS Healer, who had struggled to formulate a response—

[Whisper] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Your guild is a mess.

Fang Zheng had no idea he’d been slandered as a “mana-sucking seductress” by a certain comrade, nor did he know that a certain Deputy Leader had entered a state of “I’ll just watch you chat with him, I won’t say anything”—Solid as a Rock. He was still enthusiastically discussing the cooperation plan with the friendly guild’s leader.

Milk Mom: “So you mean Mocha and Dutch Souvenir will take turns tanking, and everyone else just focuses on DPS?”

Boss Yao: “Yeah. We’ve got four main healers and two secondary healers. As long as we don’t mess up, we can grind it down to the ends of the earth if we have to.”

Milk Mom: “Wait, I count five Wandering Physicians?”

Boss Yao: “Thousand Mountains doesn’t count.”

Milk Mom: “…You’re way too indulgent with your members ╮(╯_╰)╭”

Once roles were confirmed, positioning was next. The witch boss of the Emerald Kingdom was known for its AoE attacks—and not just any AoE, but full-coverage, three-dimensional ones. If you wanted your skills to hit it, you had to be within its AoE range, whether you were ranged or melee. So the team’s positioning had to prioritize healer-DPS synergy first, boss mechanics second.

After observation, they noted that most of the boss’s AoEs dealt heavier damage from the front. The rear still took significant damage, but it was slightly less severe. Thus, the combined team settled on an encirclement formation:

– Centered on the boss, Dutch Souvenir as the main tank stood directly in front.

– Mocha as the secondary tank took the left flank.

– Berserker War of the Gods acted as backup tank on the right.

– Rain Ceases stood slightly farther left-front, primarily healing Dutch Souvenir while covering Mocha.

– Fang Zheng positioned himself right-front, mainly healing Dutch Souvenir while covering War of the Gods.

– The two Blesscallers, Crossplayer and Little Willow, buffed the entire team before splitting off to assist the two main healers, primarily serving as backup heals for the tanks. Occasionally, they could roam to refresh buffs on other members.

– The remaining members all attacked from behind the boss, with Your Sister and Passing Master handling emergency supplies.

– Additionally, unless absolutely necessary, zombies were not to trigger Solid as a Rock, as it would lower overall DPS and prolong the fight.

– As for Thousand Mountains—his contradictory nature of loving DPS while still counting as 0.1 of a healer made him hard to pin down. Combined with his strong desire for freedom, he was allowed to roam the battlefield as a “Raging Life.”

Don’t Stop the Meds: “That’s the full plan for this boss fight. Any other questions?”

The Ghost Server comrades had none. Frankly, they rarely planned this meticulously—usually, they just winged it after a rough discussion. The Dutch Chamber of Commerce had covered everything they could think of (and things they hadn’t), so they had nothing to add.

Passing Master and March, meanwhile, just wanted to cut the chatter and start already. Whether it was team PK in the Sky Arena or fighting side by side in Perfect Storm, it all ultimately tied back to the new Lover’s Constellation feature, which didn’t evoke any nostalgia for them. But this boss was different—teaming up with comrades to take down a boss and complete quests? That was a long-lost feeling.

As for Coffin Shop, his heart and mouth were in perfect harmony—no emotional fluctuations, just quietly being human background decor.

The Dutch Chamber of Commerce members also had no issues. They’d been the ones drafting the plan, after all. Now, it was just a matter of putting it into practice.

Don’t Stop the Meds interpreted the silence as unanimous agreement: “Since there are no problems, then—”

“Commander.”

The voice wasn’t loud, but it was crisp and pleasant to the ears.

“Keychain?” The slight upward lilt at the end conveyed Don’t Stop the Meds’ question—Do you have an issue?

“Operation: Dutch Ghost’s Emerald Royal Crown—how’s that sound?!”

“…As long as you’re happy.”

Just as the Dutch Ghost team was about to engage, Iceborn and Silent Hill’s group withdrew. But judging by the progress percentage on the quest tracker, they hadn’t downed the boss.

[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: Why’d you stop?

Though Don’t Stop the Meds usually loved to mock, with a major fight looming, his mind and body had shifted into serious mode. The question was genuine.

[Local] Silent Hill: Not gonna clear it anytime soon, and it’s late. Logging off to sleep, we’ll regroup tomorrow.

It was nearly midnight. Having been at it since morning, they really did need rest. Don’t Stop the Meds accepted the explanation without further questions.

Soon, everyone took their pre-assigned positions around the boss. Since the main tank was from the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, Don’t Stop the Meds naturally gave the starting order: “Souvenir, go.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was steady—as if the part of him that loved stirring up trouble had vanished, leaving only the serious, leader-focused core.

The tacit understanding forged through years of fighting side by side allowed Dutch Souvenir to charge forward almost the moment Don’t Stop the Meds finished speaking. A combo of Taunt + Provoke firmly secured his position at the top of the boss’s aggro list, followed by Wind-Splitting Slash + Lone Wolf Howl to solidify his dominance as the aggro king. Just as he unleashed his second combo, Mocha’s Taunt + Provoke also flew in! The two were like a duet, one slightly behind the other, but that slight delay was enough to ensure the boss wouldn’t lose aggro while firmly remembering who to target next if this bastard in front of it dropped dead.

A perfect start was half the battle, and the Dutch Ghosts quickly entered the boss’s pattern phase of one AoE followed by two single-target attacks. During this phase, the boss’s single-target attacks were devastating—ordinary zombies were instantly wiped out. March, in his Purple Set, could barely survive, but one hit would immediately trigger his Solid as a Rock passive, leaving him on the brink of death. Even Liaodong Iron Cavalry, the top tank of Frostbite Canyon, would lose two-thirds of his HP after taking a hit. Yet Dutch Souvenir could withstand the blow with ease, keeping his HP at half, and sometimes, when “Defense Increased” popped up above his head, his remaining HP would even stay slightly above half.

If a dedicated tank like Fighter Jet or an occasional off-tank like Blood Bull were present, they’d definitely want to inspect Dutch Souvenir’s gear. Forget the astonishing defense stats—just that rare “Defense Bonus” alone would be worth an up-close look. It was like the Golden Hoop’s chance to revive upon death or Thousand Mountains’ Hammer’s chance to stun—these were “god-tier additional stats.” Even with the same weapon or gear, the additional stats could vary, making them treasures that couldn’t be sought but only stumbled upon.

But 2B and Blood Bull weren’t here, so the Ghost Server Legion members, who had zero sensitivity toward the tanking profession, couldn’t appreciate Dutch Souvenir’s “uniqueness.” Instead, they fully experienced the “dull monotony” of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.

“Commander.” The voice of a soft-spoken girl suddenly broke the inexplicable silence in MadB’s Shack.

With only one girl in the entire twenty-player team, Fang Zheng naturally responded immediately, “What’s up?”

Your Sister: “It’s too quiet. It feels kinda weird.”

Her words were a wake-up call. Fang Zheng had been wondering why things felt off since the boss fight started. It turned out that after Don’t Stop the Meds’ “Souvenir, go,” no one had spoken in the voice chat at all.

And he wasn’t the only one who felt this way—

Mad Lad: “Damn, finally someone breathes. I was suffocating.”

438: “It’s too late for me to talk loudly, but you guys could at least say something. This feels so lonely…”

Your Uncle: “I wanted to speak up, but I remembered YY isn’t just our group anymore, there are others too, so… I got kinda shy >_<"

Your Sister giggled: “You should’ve said so earlier! I thought you guys just didn’t want to talk. Our team’s atmosphere is usually so lively—don’t let outsiders ruin it.”

438: “But they were typing so enthusiastically earlier. Why are they pretending to be all serious in voice chat?”

Don’t Stop the Meds had been telling himself, “Ignore those silly little legion members,” but at this point, he couldn’t hold back: “Casual chatting is fine when there’s nothing serious going on. But boss fights are serious business. I don’t think wiping while chatting makes it any less depressing.”

438: “But isn’t wiping without even chatting even more depressing?”

Don’t Stop the Meds: “…”

Who could explain the logic behind this equation to him—(no chatting + wipe) * sadness > (chatting + wipe) * sadness?!

438: “Fighting a boss is so hard, and then you die. Looking back on your life before death, realizing you didn’t even crack a joke with your teammates or share any gossip—what a regretful way to go…”

Alright, he had no more questions. He just suddenly felt very tired and a little homesick.

The Dutch Chamber of Commerce members listening in remained silent. At first, their silence stemmed from their proud tradition of “instantly switching to focus mode when fighting a boss.” It was this focus that allowed them to conquer dungeons big and small and dominate Holy Light Sanctuary. So when the Ghost Server complained about the quietness, they initially resisted. It was like the class monitor hearing a slacker complain, “Why are you guys so serious in class?” Not only did they disagree, but they couldn’t even be bothered to explain why. But later, their silence was due to both pity for their leader being roasted and racking their brains for a way to shut up Refined Into a Demon. And in the end… well, there was no “in the end.”

But even if they couldn’t refute him, that didn’t mean they had to accept the “happy chatting theory”…

“Rain Through the Woods, stop pretending you don’t know me.”

“Huh? Keychain, you two know each other?”

“Why haven’t you mentioned it before?”

“You have no idea how amazing he is! He’s the luckiest guy in all of Las Vegas!”

“No! Let me tell it! My luck isn’t the point of Las Vegas…”

Actually… chatting occasionally wasn’t so bad either. ~\(^o^)/~

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… Don’t Stop the Meds pricked up his ears and counted the number of “traitorous” members. Aside from No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains, every single one of you—just you wait…

“Owwooo~~~ Owwooo~~~”

What the hell was that?!

Thousand Mountains: “Mountain Pup Lu! Be good, stop howling, go to sleep…”

“Owwooo~~~ Owwooo~~~”

“Alright, alright, Daddy loves you the most. I’ll definitely sleep too after we finish this boss. Mwah!”

He must have been blind when he recruited these members. Absolutely blind!!!