Ye Ci stretched her back as she stood in front of the Shining Gold Tavern. She turned back to look at the entrance, where Absalom and Silent Hymn were beaming at her. She knew that they were cursing her in their hearts, but she returned a smile of her own as well.
Absalom could not bring himself to smile, but Silent Hymn was able to put on a very happy face for Ye Ci, “Hey, can you stop that? Will it kill you to smile at her?”
The leader of Genesis tried his best to lift the corners of his mouth, “It won’t, but I think I will die if I have to smile at her.”
“You can die later when we get back. Do you want to get screwed harder than we already had?”
Absalom did not wish to see it happen, which was why he struggled to put on his best smile. Of course, it was a very ugly sight, “So we have a deal then, Gongzi You. You’ll be coming over to the Western Continent once the construction begins. Genesis will guarantee your safety.”
“That’s for sure. I will depart the moment your three thousand elites join my guild.” Ye Ci waved a scroll in her hand as she spoke. It was an agreement that had been signed by the trio when they were still in the tavern.
“But that three thousand elites of yours might not be very cooperative.” a sly smile appeared on Ye Ci’s lips, “Unlike me. I’ll do whatever you tell me to…”
“I know. If any of them refuses to obey, then our contract will be void.” Absalom glared at the scroll in Ye Ci’s hand. The agreement was not signed under fair terms. At least, the terms were unfair for Absalom.
Ye Ci tossed the scroll up into the air and caught it before it fell, “Oh right, I want Blue Wolf among the three thousand you’re sending.”
Absalom gritted his teeth so hard that they might even shatter. He gave Ye Ci a long and hard stare before averting his gaze so that he could suppress the urge to run up to the girl and beat her up. And of course, he was also saving himself from being beaten up by her as well.
“I understand.”
“Well, see you later then.” Ye Ci clasped her hand together, summoned Ol’ Four, and left the place.
“Why have you not warned me about her?” Silent Hymn faced Absalom with a darkened expression.
“How would I know!” Absalom grimaced, “I’ve only met her once!”
“And she ended up having Fleeting Time as an escort for an entire week! Wasn’t that an indicator of how tough a nut she is?” Silent Hymn groaned. He knew not that Gongzi You was a cunning individual.
“Fleeting Time offered himself up like a free meal alright? It had nothing to do with me!” Absalom snorted, “Besides, it was for a Mithril ore vein! Wouldn’t you yourself be tempted by a deal like this?”
Silent Hymn glanced at Absalom and sighed. The man was right. Anybody who knew of the value of Mithril could not resist the temptation especially when it showed up right at their doorsteps. And Absalom himself was able to remain rational las he signs the agreement with Gongzi You.
“I hope Golden Era will put up a fight and not just leave us alone, or we’ll be giving these players away for free.” said Silent Hymn with a low voice, “But I did not expect her to exclude Fleeting Time from our deal…”
Absalom snorted at that remark, “She’s just hiding her intentions, that’s all!”
Ye Ci was in a very good mood when she placed the agreement she made with Genesis into her inventory. She had truly gotten a treasure by doing literally nothing. She had a strong feeling that Golden Era would not deploy the same strategy on Genesis, and this would mean that she would be receiving the three thousand elites for free.
But she was also taking a huge risk. Neither of them were part of Golden Era, which naturally meant that they did not know how the guild would act. This was truly a high risk investment by Ye Ci.
After replenishing her supplies in the city, Ye Ci decided to head out into the wild. She decided against traveling to maps with a high population count to avoid getting jumped by the other players.
She could still remember the fate she had to endure during her last life when she was hunted down by players from different factions. And it was during a time when she was not a Red Name. Her current status as a player with high Sin values meant that she was a target for almost anyone seeking to earn Glory and Prestige points in their respective home continent. No matter how good she was, she knew that she could not win against overwhelming numbers.
Ye Ci pulled her Secret Cloaked tighter to hide her face. It would be able to hide her identity as a Red Name, but she knew that her cover would be blown the moment she summoned Ol’ Six. The players were not idiots. They knew who the owner of that Dragon was. Nobody could resist the urge to try their luck with a Red Name like her.
This was why Ye Ci opted to travel on horseback instead in an effort to sneak out of Hero City. She was unsure if her identity had been discovered by people like Blue Wolf, but all seemed well to her.
But she was soon proven to be overly optimistic.
There was already a large crowd of players at the entrance of Hero City when Ye Ci arrived on her little horse. They sat staring at one another at each side of the road, just like how they were when Ye Ci first arrived. But Ye Ci could feel that something was off.
She pulled the reins of her steed right before the boundaries of the city.
Hero City was a neutral area, but its soldiers were not just for show. While the soldiers remained indifferent to the fighting that occurred beyond the boundaries of their city, they would immediately react to any attacks on players within the city limits.
And this was why players would often immediately flee into the borders of a city when they deemed a fight to be unwinnable. This practice was frowned upon by many, but it did not mean that there were no measures that could prevent such an act. A very common solution was to prepare traps just before the entrance so that a fleeing player could be immobilized and killed.
Ye Ci was a single step away from the soldiers’ protection. She knew that she would die if the crowd just outside the city wished her harm.
But… Are they here for me?
Ye Ci could not decide what to do. The players appeared to be taking a rest after their battle, but she had a feeling of unease in her heart. The two groups once again engaged each other in combat under her watchful gaze, as if they had not detected the cloaked player by the entrance.
She steeled herself and walked out of the city. Despite the battle raging around her, Ye Ci was on high alert to summon Ol’ Six. The Dragon had already been promoted by the developers of the game, there was no way she could continue hiding her pet.
But just when Ye Ci thought that she was safe, a fireball flew towards her and exploded.
A system notification immediately rang out in her ears, “You have been attacked by Northern Continent player ‘Your Final Love’. As punishment for your high Sin values, you will not be granted immunity for fighting back. Please prepare yourself for battle!’
Was it a stray shot? Ye Ci shifted her gaze to the Sorcerer who cast the spell. He was channeling a second attack. And judging from the direction he was facing, Ye Ci could tell that the attack was intentional.
But just as she dismounted and was about to attack the player, more system notification chimed in her ears.
“You have been attacked by Northern Continent player ‘Bbabby’. As punishment for your high Sin values, you will not be granted immunity for fighting back. Please prepare yourself for battle!’
“You have been attacked by Northern Continent player ‘Short Eared Kitty’. As punishment for your high Sin values, you will not be granted immunity for fighting back. Please prepare yourself for battle!’
“You have been attacked by Western Continent player ‘Moley Face’. As punishment for your high Sin values, you will not be granted immunity for fighting back. Please prepare yourself for battle!’
……
Notifications continued flooding into her ears as her health plunged. She was also afflicted by multiple debuffs like Stunned, Paralyzed, and Tangled that rendered her immobilized.
I’m an idiot! Ye ci cursed at herself. Why did I not prepare myself when I noticed that something’s not right! I shouldn’t have tried my luck like that!
Ye Ci immediately activated Dark Dispersal and summoned Ol’ Six. She leapt onto the Dragon’s back and soared into the sky.
Due to her experience in her last life, Ye Ci was able to react quickly to the sudden event. Any other inexperienced players would have lost their lives there and then.
Ye Ci gulped down two High Health Potions once she was a safe distance away in the sky. Her health returned, but was still dropping slowly due to the debuffs. It took her a full twenty seconds before the duration of the debuffs ended.
Ol’ Six was already a distance away from the entrance of Hero City. But would she leave just like that? Of course not. She was a firm believer of paying an eye for an eye. This was why she immediately headed back to the entrance of Hero City on Dragonback the moment her health was at a safe amount.
Many of the ranged players were still trying to chase after her, but they were simply unable to catch up without aerial steeds of her own.
The Map Channel was bustling with activity, “The player with a Dragon has appeared!” “There’s a Red Name player here, come and kill that guy!” And more and more players began swarming towards the entrance.
Ye Ci did not expect the large concentration of players remaining at the entrance. She had thought that the crowd would slowly disperse. She hovered in the air, dodging the attacks from the ranged players, and cast Dragon Breath on the players below.
