Chapter 9 – Initial Team Formation

After witnessing the tycoon’s gear, Fang Zheng suddenly had another idea. The Wisdom God’s trial in Potala Palace simply didn’t match this domineering set of equipment, as the dungeon tested intelligence far more than gear or skill. It was like wielding the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber to duel Socrates—absolutely no sparks could fly.

[Party] Mad Lad: Healer, where’d you go?

[Party] Milk is Mom: Crafting Workshop.

[Party] Mad Lad: What are you doing there?

[Party] Polly: Making a necklace.

[Party] Milk is Mom: Making a necklace.

Polly truly understood him!

[Party] Mad Lad: Are we still running the dungeon?

[Party] Milk is Mom: Of course, making a necklace only takes a sec. But I think we should consider switching dungeons. That set of yours is wasted on Potala Palace—how about Corpse King Necropolis?

The Corpse King Necropolis in Western Hunan was undoubtedly one of the most challenging max-level dungeons. Though the name suggested a zombie theme, the Corpse King series of Orange-tier Gear and Weapons dropped here covered all eight classes. After all, if a dungeon only dropped gear for one specific class, why would anyone else bother running it for free?

[Party] Mad Lad: The three of us can’t clear that one.

[Party] Milk is Mom: Just recruit more on [Huaxia]. I saw people forming groups earlier today.

[Huaxia] Polly: Corpse King Necropolis, Western Hunan. Open to all classes, join the party if interested.

An action-taker, huh? =_=

Following Polly’s lead, the client also started spamming [Huaxia]. Fang Zheng, now free to relax, turned his attention back to crafting. The progress bar showed 78% and was steadily climbing…

88%…

95%…

100%…

Flash!

Fang Zheng’s heart skipped a beat as the system screen lit up, followed by a flurry of colorful butterflies.

Sparkling Heavenly Lake Tear!!! a level 55 Orange-tier accessory!

Of course, Orange-tier accessories could have top-tier, average, or garbage stats. But when an accessory’s beauty surpassed half the male players and all the female players in the server, its stats became irrelevant. And if it happened to have a precious effect like “massively increases physical defense”… A chick magnet? No, this was a chick annihilator.

What a shame—in the current state of Mirage Server, even the best gear had no market. It was like a deserted forum with zero daily clicks. Even if Teacher Chen himself returned with his camera, the post would still sink without a trace.

There would be time for that later.

Fang Zheng consoled himself as he stored the Heavenly Lake Tear in the warehouse. His excitement had already faded when he looked up to see two new members in the party.

Spirit Master: Your Uncle.

Blesscaller: Crossplayer’s Blessing.

It really was those two from earlier. Fang Zheng facepalmed—Mirage Server was just too pitiful.

[Party] Your Uncle: It’s so damn hard to form a party these days!

[Party] Crossplayer’s Blessing: I AFK’d all afternoon and ended up just playing QQ Landlord the whole time.

Clearly, the temporary teammates felt the same.

But while some were lamenting, others remained unfazed—

[Party] Polly: Gather at Bone Burial Village entrance.

Fang Zheng suspected Polly had a zombie face behind the screen too. =_=

[Party] Crossplayer’s Blessing: Five people?

[Party] Mad Lad: If you can find one more, I won’t object.

Of course, Crossplayer couldn’t. The current state of Mirage Server was that World Bosses roamed freely while players were scarce.

Fang Zheng sighed and moved Milk is Mom out of the Crafting Workshop, ready to head to Western Hunan, when he suddenly spotted a familiar little head bobbing around in the neighboring Demon Refining Workshop.

[Local] Milk is Mom: 438, stop refining! Let’s run the dungeon~~

[Local] Refined Into a Demon 438: Stop calling me by numbers! =_=

[Local] Milk is Mom: *pats head* You should’ve expected this when you picked that ID.

[Local] Refined Into a Demon 438: That was a temporary suffix added after the server merge because someone else had the same name!

[Local] Milk is Mom: Then why didn’t you change it?

[Local] Refined Into a Demon 438: I was in the middle of finals and didn’t log in! By the time I came back, the name-change period was long over!

Poor kid…

438’s words also stirred up memories for Fang Zheng. Mirage Server had undergone a merge four and a half years ago, and that was when its player count skyrocketed, enjoying a glorious period. Fang Zheng had created Milk is Mom back then. But comparing its past prosperity to its current desolation left a bittersweet taste.

[Local] Milk is Mom: Stop refining! Come on, let’s go run the dungeon~

The Demon Refiner didn’t move—or rather, didn’t reply, but he also stopped refining, just standing there dumbly as the wind spirit occasionally circled around him.

[Local] Milk is Mom: Little Four?

[Local] Refined Into a Demon 438: ……

[Local] Refined Into a Demon 438: No, you guys go ahead.

Fang Zheng could tell the guy was torn between two extremes right now.

[Local] Milk is Mom: Silly kid, games are for your own enjoyment, for fun. You don’t have to dedicate your life to the socialist cause.

[Local] Refined Into a Demon 438: ……

[Local] Milk is Mom: I have an account on Huaxia Summit too. You have no idea how lively it is over there. Your guild runs dungeons and sieges every day, bustling with activity. And look at you—exiled and forgotten?

[Local] Refined Into a Demon 438: ……

[Local] Milk is Mom: I’ve always believed that for a legion to thrive, it must operate with a people-oriented philosophy. The so-called “sacrifice the small self for the greater good” mentality is just narrow-minded brainwashing that distorts human rights.

[Local] Milk is Mom: A legion is a massive machine, and its members are just tiny screws. But often, if one screw loosens or is forgotten, the whole machine will break down.

[System] Refined Into a Demon 438 has applied to join the party.

[Local] Milk is Mom: So, how about reconsidering and joining us for the dungeon?

[Local] Milk is Mom: Oh, you’ve already changed your mind?

Fang Zheng quickly approved the application.

Meanwhile, 438, sitting in front of his computer, watched the charred remains of his failed refining attempt and shed silent tears. He had made up his mind—trading one dungeon for peace and quiet was totally worth it. TAT

Your Uncle and Crossplayer were surprised that the party leader had actually managed to recruit a sixth member. In their enthusiasm, they warmly welcomed 438. Originally forced into this, 438 found himself surrounded by camaraderie and unexpectedly began to reminisce about the days of fighting alongside his brothers. His attitude shifted from reluctant obligation to earnest seriousness.

[Party] Milk is Mom: Bone Burial Village, let’s go!

[Party] Polly: Wait.

Fang Zheng froze—wasn’t this guy the one who’d been most eager earlier?

[Party] Polly: Let’s PK first.

Fang Zheng instinctively clutched his chest—damn, could this guy read his inner monologue?!

Grumbling aside, they were teammates now. He couldn’t just stand by and watch the guy get killed. The party list showed Polly was currently at Mount Emei. Fang Zheng steered Milk is Mom toward the mountain while piecing together a plausible scenario:

Waiting for the sixth member → Got impatient → Returned to Mount Emei to farm monkeys → Ran into an enemy → PK.

Couldn’t you just stop hunting nationally protected animals and contribute to a greener planet for once?!

When Polly said “Let’s PK first,” his HP bar was still stable, meaning the fight hadn’t actually started. But by the time Fang Zheng teleported to the foot of Mount Emei, the zombie’s HP had begun to drop. Fang Zheng grew anxious and eventually popped a Speed Scroll, racing up the mountain. Since he had Polly selected in the party list, he could see the distance displayed in the bottom-right corner—

100M.

80M.

50M.

30M.

24M!

That was the maximum range for a healer’s spells. Fang Zheng hadn’t even spotted Polly yet when he unleashed Ten Thousand Blossoms!

The extremely MP-intensive AoE insta-heal was no joke. Though Polly resisted it, leaving his HP untouched, Mad Lad’s bar shot straight to full…

[Party] Mad Lad: Healer, what the hell?

Along with the assassin’s message, the two teammates on Mount Emei came into Milk is Mom’s view.

Besides malicious PK, Huaxia Online also had a friendly duel system where you could send a request to someone within a 5M radius. If they accepted, both parties would enter PK mode regardless of location—except in this mode, there were only wins and losses, no gear or XP loss.

Right now, Mad Lad and Polly stood facing each other—one wielding a dagger, the other equipped with claws—clearly in the middle of a friendly spar. Since they were teammates, Milk is Mom’s AoE heal had naturally affected both.

[Party] Milk is Mom: Uh, my hand slipped.

[Party] Mad Lad: ……

[Party] Mad Lad: Then why did you come to Mount Emei instead of Bone Burial Village?

[Party] Milk is Mom: My legs slipped too.

[Party] Mad Lad: Is there any part of you that doesn’t slip?

[Party] Milk is Mom: My face ^_^

Jiang Yang had seen plenty of shameless people in his life, but none as naturally and effortlessly shameless as Milk is Mom. In comparison, Polly’s image instantly became far more respectable, making Jiang Yang much more willing to engage with him.

[Party] Mad Lad: Your technique is sharp, but your defense is too low.

[Party] Polly: Can’t help it, my gear sucks.

Suits were a common cosmetic outfit in Huaxia Online, so Jiang Yang hadn’t seen Polly’s actual gear. Hearing this, he instinctively clicked to inspect it—only to see the familiar Guanyan Cave Leather Armor Set. =_=

The world couldn’t possibly be this small…

[Party] Mad Lad: Did you farm this set yourself?

[Party] Polly: The healer gave it to me.

[Party] Mad Lad: The one in our party now?

[Party] Polly: Probably.

[Party] Mad Lad: Oh, I sold that set to him.

[Party] Polly: Really? How much?

[Party] Mad Lad: 500.

[Party] Polly: That’s kinda scammy.

[Party] Mad Lad: I agree.

And then?

There was no “then.”

The logic of reciprocity didn’t exist in the mindset of the shameless.

But Jiang Yang didn’t know that. He sat there waiting until Polly disappeared into a teleport point and, half a minute later, urged in the party chat, “Bone Burial Village, hurry up.” Only then did he realize—this guy genuinely had no intention of saying anything more.

Jiang Yang’s lips twitched in front of his screen.

Even though he disliked Milk is Mom, shouldn’t a normal person at least pretend to thank the poor sucker who helped them?! Did Polly switch to private chat?

In fact, Polly PM Fang Zheng—but it had nothing to do with gear—

[Whisper] Polly: How many times do I have to say it? Zombies resist heals. Next time, don’t bother healing me—just use a Soul Gathering Pill.

Soul Gathering Pill—available in the Item Mall, the ultimate zombie recovery item, instantly refills HP and MP. Only 9.98 yuan per pill.

Clearly, Polly had known his original intention.

But—

“Don’t bother healing me…”

“Healing me…”

“Healing…”

[Whisper] Milk is Mom: HEAL YOUR FUCKING ASS, DAMMIT!