Chapter 74 – Ringing Out the Old, Ringing In the New

By now, players had grown accustomed to seeing first kill announcements whenever the game updated. However, other teams’ first kills usually involved either six or twelve players—clearly a well-prepared and organized squad that managed to take down the boss smoothly. In contrast, aside from their first joint effort on the Mesopotamian Plains, Ghost Server had achieved all their first kills independently, and their lineup was never complete. It was as if they’d just be casually grinding mobs when a boss would suddenly drop from the sky. Then, after a quick discussion, they’d think, “Well, grinding mobs is grinding, grinding bosses is grinding too—might as well take it down.” And just like that—plop—first kill achieved.

It didn’t take many instances of this to make an impact. After all, how many new bosses were there? And how many players were on Huaxia Summit? For a small legion like Ghost Server, even one successful first kill would be enough to keep people talking long after. Yet they’d pulled it off multiple times. Of course, the major legions that had assisted them, bound by pride and secrecy, kept their lips tightly sealed, which only fueled the legend of Ghost Server.

Every server had its own legends, and players loved posting about them on forums to share with others—partly to express their excitement and seek camaraderie, and partly to show off their server’s highlights and passion to outsiders. As a result, Ghost Server Legion became one of the most frequently mentioned legions in Huaxia Forum’s trending posts. Sharp-eyed users even dug up old cross-server PvP threads and compared them to the current first-kill posts, meticulously charting the rise of this small legion. The replies were a mix of fans, haters, neutral observers, and of course, the occasional die-hard fan like Born in 1994.

Fang Zheng hadn’t spent much time on forums before. Even when he did browse, it was mostly in the trading section. But now, he found himself checking the server boards more often—whether it was news about which legion had conquered a tough boss or which legion leader’s wife had run off with someone else. Since they were all on the same server, even the gossip felt oddly relatable. Occasionally, he’d spot Ghost Server Legion trending and eagerly click open the post. He never replied, just silently read, then sat there alone, basking in a weird mix of shyness and smugness.

Like now. Barely any time had passed since the kill, yet someone had already posted a vivid account of their takedown of Sun the Pilgrim. The post was so immersive that anyone reading it might’ve thought the OP had been there in person. Fang Zheng chuckled as he read, occasionally glancing out the window, feeling like even the stars in the night sky had brightened.

While the Ghost Server Legion Leader was busy with the forums, the Deputy Commander was still on Flower-Fruit Mountain. The boss was dead, but the mobs remained, so the Deputy, ever the diligent gamer, continued farming monkeys in the spirit of leaving no primate unkilled. During this time, curious onlookers trickled in to see the first-kill site. But since the show was over, Flower-Fruit Mountain had returned to its peaceful state, with only one first-killer left behind, still farming monkeys. He ignored all attempts at conversation, treating anyone bouncing around him like air, until the nosy players had to admit that this guy was a perfect match for his zombie class.

Finally, peace. With the rubberneckers gone, Meng Chudong let out a mental sigh of relief.

But not for long. Soon, another player appeared—one he couldn’t ignore, because this one was familiar.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Still grinding?

[Whisper] Polly: Yep.

The exchange couldn’t have been simpler. Meng Chudong assumed Xuanyuan had something to say, but for the next few minutes, the other man just silently farmed mobs. Meng Chudong didn’t mind—he kept at his own business.

When it came to patience, no one could outlast Young Master Meng.

At his computer, Xuanyuan sighed. After taking down another mob, he finally started typing—

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: You’re ruthless. You didn’t even hesitate to kick a dead man. At least say hi first next time.

[Whisper] Polly: Did I hurt your fragile heart?

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Screw you. That’s a little girl’s thing. Don’t think I didn’t catch that veiled insult.

[Whisper] Polly: Heh.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: You’ve always been shameless, but you never used to be like this with Huaxia Dominion.

[Whisper] Polly: Regret ganking me now?

Meng Chudong had blurted that out reflexively. Even he was surprised after sending it.

This wasn’t exactly a sore spot between him and Xuanyuan, but it was definitely a past they were better off not revisiting. Every time Xuanyuan had brought it up before, Meng Chudong had skillfully dodged the topic. Over time, Xuanyuan had stopped mentioning it altogether. Yet today, out of nowhere, Meng Chudong had dragged it up himself. Sitting at his computer, Meng Chudong tilted his head in confusion—what had gotten into him?

Xuanyuan was silent for a long while before finally responding—

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Not mad anymore?

Meng Chudong stared at those three words for a moment before suddenly smiling.

[Whisper] Polly: Yeah. I forgive you.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: ……

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Are you God or something? =_=

[Whisper] Polly: ^_^

Not wanting to talk about it meant it still mattered. But once something slipped out casually, no matter how significant it had once been, the moment it passed his lips, it turned to vapor.

But—when exactly had he let it go?

Meng Chudong tried to trace back through his memories and found countless little clues—grinding mobs, running dungeons, stealing kills—each scene featuring his comrades and the Legion Leader. Strangely, though, these fragments didn’t form a coherent timeline. It was as if random, scattered moments had shattered his unpleasant past into dust, and then some fat guy had come along with a gust of wind, sweeping even the ashes away.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: By the way, when you were kiting the boss, you saw me and Carved in Bone getting wrecked by those two War Banner guys, right? You really had the heart to not lift a finger? [disdain]

[Whisper] Polly: Please open your eyes and see that I had a boss chasing me. Don’t hold me to a pro’s standards—I’m just an ordinary zombie~~~

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Where’d you learn to use that wave line? =_=

[Whisper] Polly: Wavy. You’re missing a ‘bo’ character. Thanks¹Xuanyuan’s term is correct, but it’s just a descriptive expression, not the exact slang term used to represent the cutesy tildes. As if saying, this is not just a wave line, this the full on cutesy writing concept embraced..

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: So what if a boss was chasing you? Pop a potion, tank a hit, and you’d have had time to help.

[Whisper] Polly: There’s a potion like that? Gimme~~~

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Quit pretending. The Drought Demon Transformation Potion—you’ve always had one in your bag. Don’t think I don’t know.

[Whisper] Polly: Uh…

[Whisper] Polly: Didn’t I tell you? I used that ages ago. ╮(╯_╰)╭

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: What?! Where’d you use it?! Even when we wiped last time, you refused to use it! You literally said, ‘Don’t even think about it. Unless I get hacked, I’m never using this potion!’ Was that not you?!

[Whisper] Polly: Sounds like me. ^_^

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Screw you. Keep smiling like that and I’ll PK you.

[Whisper] Polly: You think you can kill me? [eyebrow raise]

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Oh, come on!

Without another word, the two engaged in an impromptu PK—not a friendly spar, but a genuine fight to the death²Some games provide two options for regular map PvP: friendly PvP where you can issue a challenge and the opponent accepts (a ‘no stakes’ duel with no gains or losses), and the other type is wild PK where you attack a person as you would a monster and, in this game, this can result in XP and gear loss in addition to accumulating infamy points..

Setting everything else aside, what had first drawn Birdy to Xuanyuan was his skill. A DPS Healer in PvP was an absolute nightmare—high damage, decent defense, and the most broken ability of all: self-healing. For the longest time, Birdy had practiced relentlessly just to take Xuanyuan down.

But times had changed. Now, facing off again, all that remained was nostalgia.

They fought two rounds, each winning once, stopping just before delivering the final blow to avoid actual XP or gear loss. Afterward, their avatars lay side by side in the grass, regenerating HP, looking almost like brothers.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: I’m thinking of quitting.

Meng Chudong was caught off guard by this sudden statement.

This was someone who’d once treated the legion as more important than life itself. He’d assumed Xuanyuan would never stop fighting unless the legion truly lived up to its name and conquered all of Huaxia.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: I’ve been at home too long. Time to do something serious.

If someone else had said playing games wasn’t serious, Meng Chudong might’ve agreed. But Xuanyuan? No one treated Huaxia more like a career than him.

This wasn’t about money. Take his own Legion Leader, for example—he played Huaxia to make a living, but that didn’t mean he took the game itself seriously. If Huaxia suddenly shut down tomorrow, that guy would probably rally the whole legion and migrate them to some random new game without a second thought. But Xuanyuan? Meng Chudong had genuinely never imagined him leaving Huaxia, let alone quitting the virtual world entirely.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: You once said that games are supposed to be fun, that I was making things too hard on myself for no reason.

Xuanyuan continued, as if he only needed Meng Chudong to listen, not respond.

But reading this, Meng Chudong suddenly understood.

Back when he’d been grinding alone on Mirage Server, he’d also thought about quitting—not because he had something better to do, but because he’d suddenly felt exhausted. The desire to leave had built up unnoticed until it surfaced in an instant, lingering like a ghost that refused to be banished.

[Whisper] Polly: But you also said back then that if you’re gonna play, you play to win.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: I was wrong.

[Whisper] Polly: I know.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: I really want to punch you right now…

[Whisper] Polly: You’ll have to take a number.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: No VIP treatment?

[Whisper] Polly: There is, but there’s a Supreme VIP ahead of you. I think he’ll be at it for a while.

Xuanyuan couldn’t help but smirk at his screen. He could sense that Meng Chudong had changed—less like the Parrot from his memories and more like the Birdy described by the shameless Ghost Server Legion Leader. The most frustrating part? He kinda liked this freer, more shameless version.

With their farewells said and their HP and MP restored, Xuanyuan stood up, his DPS Healer avatar bouncing in place.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: I’m off.

[Whisper] Polly: Yeah.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: No parting words?

[Whisper] Polly: Like what?

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: ……

[Whisper] Polly: Fine.

[Whisper] Polly: I used that transformation potion in the Xiangxi Corpse King Necropolis.

For two whole minutes, Xuanyuan didn’t type a single word.

Meng Chudong smirked—

[Whisper] Polly: Need me to grab a basin for you?

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Nah, I didn’t spit blood.

[Whisper] Polly: That’s good.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Just internal bleeding.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Dare to tell me who was so important that you used a potion even your Legion Leader couldn’t get you to use—on a lousy level 50 dungeon?!

[Whisper] Polly: Just a random pickup group.

[Whisper] My Blood for Xuanyuan: Now I need that basin…

Even as they said their final goodbyes, neither brought up the unspoken tension hidden beneath the ganking, the fallout, and the hunting. What Xuanyuan had truly thought back then held no meaning for Meng Chudong now. They had once been the closest of comrades—that memory alone was enough to seal away and cherish.

And right up until the end, Meng Chudong never told Xuanyuan that the random pickup group had become today’s Ghost Server Legion.

[Whisper] Polly: Done enjoying yourself? Come farm monkeys.

The healer, fresh from the forums, returned to the game only to see Birdy’s whisper. His previously butterfly-filled mood instantly plummeted to rock bottom.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: I was almost done, but now I’ve decided to enjoy myself a little longer…

[Whisper] Polly: How much longer?

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Depends on when you decide to farm something else.

[Whisper] Polly: Heh.

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Hehe.

[Whisper] Polly: Not changing~~~

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: Go die!!!

The Ghost Server Legion Leader decided to temporarily mute the Deputy Commander until his mood could once again be filled with fluttering butterflies. TAT

Just as he was setting this up, 438 sent out an SOS—

[Legion] Refined Into a Demon 715: Legion Leader, help!!!!!!!

Even though it was posted in the legion channel, the guy had specifically called for the Legion Leader!

[Legion] Milk is Mom: What’s up? Coords!

[Legion] Refined Into a Demon 715: XX, XX

At the time, almost the entire legion was online, but Fang Zheng was the closest. Driven by a sense of responsibility, he rushed to the scene first. There, in a quaint bamboo grove, he found 438 being ganked by three players. Though Bell Maiden was dutifully keeping enemies airborne, the floating effect had its limits. 438, completely unable to fight back, was desperately fleeing—only to crash right into the Legion Leader who had just entered the grove. Barely half a second later, Blood Bulls Don’t Graze appeared as well.

[Local] Refined Into a Demon 715: Legion Leader, I was just peacefully gathering herbs here when they started bullying me! [cry][cry][cry][cry][cry]

Unacceptable!

The Ghost Server Legion Leader, who firmly believed in “rules for thee but not for me,” completely forgot his own glory days of kill-stealing and other shameless acts. Brandishing his Staff of Radiance, he charged forward—only for Blood Bull to move even faster. The glow of Bloody Sandstorm shot out, enveloping the three airborne enemies in a seamless strike!

[Local] Blood Bulls Don’t Graze: Legion Leader, you’re a healer, remember?

[Local] Milk is Mom: Noted. TAT

[Local] Blood Bulls Don’t Graze: Good boy~

After soothing the Legion Leader’s fragile ego, Blood Bull moved beside Bell Maiden. The trio, already wounded by Bloody Sandstorm, had barely touched the ground when they were hit by consecutive attacks from Long River Sunset and Solitary Desert Haze. However, both were single-target skills, leaving one survivor who managed to slip behind Blood Bull for a sneak attack!

Fang Zheng, who had obediently held back after Blood Bull’s reminder, immediately cast Silent Nourishment. Though it was just a minor heal, combined with the Staff of Radiance’s buff, it instantly topped off Blood Bull’s slightly depleted HP bar.

Meanwhile, 438 recalled the badly wounded Bell Maiden and summoned 110, joining the Legion Leader and Blood Bull in the fight.

One average player versus three average players? Even with Godzilla as a pet, 438 wouldn’t stand a chance. But one average player plus two pro players versus three average players? 438 might as well go pick mushrooms for fun.

Soon, two of the ambushers were down, leaving only the one who’d landed the first hit on Sister Blood Bull struggling to survive—and in the midst of his struggle, he managed to take out 110.

[Local] Milk is Mom: Oho~~ Not bad, huh?~~

[Local] Milk is Mom: Too bad you picked the wrong guy to mess with—our 438~~~

The ambusher had no time to wonder why someone with “715” in their ID was nicknamed “438.” At life-or-death moments, survival came first—

[Local] Wild Ferry Adrift: Spare me, brave warrior! At least consider all the gear I’ve painstakingly farmed for you!

• 1
  Xuanyuan’s term is correct, but it’s just a descriptive expression, not the exact slang term used to represent the cutesy tildes. As if saying, this is not just a wave line, this the full on cutesy writing concept embraced.
• 2
  Some games provide two options for regular map PvP: friendly PvP where you can issue a challenge and the opponent accepts (a ‘no stakes’ duel with no gains or losses), and the other type is wild PK where you attack a person as you would a monster and, in this game, this can result in XP and gear loss in addition to accumulating infamy points.