Chapter 105: Digital Cruise (Part Eighteen)

Chapter 105: Digital Cruise (Part Eighteen)

The dining hall on the first floor.

Zhou Heqi looked distressed, while Ning Suisui remained silent.

The entire dining hall was enveloped in silence, resembling an examination hall with all twenty-five people sitting quietly in their seats, not uttering a word.

Finally, Liu Guangming could no longer contain himself.

"Are we just going to endure this silently?"

His experiences in this game had been quite the roller-coaster.

Initially entering the game, his personal score wasn't high, but fortunately, the strength of his small team was decent in this instance.

Liu Guangming, being nimble-minded, quickly befriended other small groups and successfully formed alliances in the morning.

Just when he thought he could become the strongest force in this instance, he was taught a lesson by the Golden Leopard team.

It was hard for Liu Guangming to shake off the psychological trauma and regain his morale, only to be put in his place again by Ning Suisui.

Having his score plummet to zero was already painful enough, but what was even worse was that his score was suddenly boosted to a hundred due to Xie Fangcheng's intervention!

Liu Guangming was blissfully enjoying this windfall of a hundred points, considering it a stroke of good fortune.

Then, Xie Fangcheng dragged a table to the entrance and sat down, allowing only those who forfeited points to him to leave.

Ning Suisui tentatively engaged Xie Fangcheng in combat... Well, it couldn't really be called a fight. No one could understand why someone wielding a mere stick could send Ning Suisui rolling all over the floor.

With this precedent, who would dare to act rashly?

Unfortunately, it was only after Liu Guangming had forfeited his points that he had an epiphany, transforming into shards of glass and exiting through the hole made by a skeleton.

Immediately, the other players who hadn't forfeited their points began using similar skills to transform into water, mud, or wind, disappearing one after another before Liu Guangming's eyes.

The most terrifying thing isn't gaining and losing, but realizing after the loss that it could have been avoided.

At this moment, when Liu Guangming spoke, the surrounding players all turned to look at him, many of them with sympathetic and pitying expressions.

Liu Guangming felt an immense inner turmoil but knew that as the leader of a twenty-three-member group, he couldn't afford to lose face at this moment. He could only muster an appearance of nonchalance.

"Look at the state of Ronghua now. With a potent weapon like Xie Fangcheng on their side, they practically have an unbeatable position in this instance. Are we just going to sit idly and watch them snatch our points? We all witnessed it this morning when paying the ship fare; Ronghua isn't what it used to be. We didn't have points to pay for the fare, they won't care! Without sufficient points, we'll be thrown off the ship by NPCs. Isn't their current behavior tantamount to sending us to our deaths?"

After Liu Guangming finished speaking, many people around him echoed his sentiments, even Zhou Heqi seemed somewhat moved.

The only exception was Ning Suisui, who was frowning, seemingly lost in thought.

Although Ning Suisu cannot match Xie Fangcheng in terms of strength, she is already the strongest player in this instance apart from Xie Fangcheng. Liu Guangming, not giving up, tried to persuade her, "Captain Ning, I think the remaining players should collaborate."

Ning Suisu looked at Liu Guangming, "What do you mean?"

"The situation now is that no one on our side can beat that Xie Fangcheng. If he comes to rob us, we can only give away our points. Continuing this way is a dead end! Only if all the players unite can we possibly contend with Xie Fangcheng and his group!"

"How to unite?"

"Xie Fangcheng robs us of our points and surely plans to share them with the people of Ronghua later. I don't believe he will stay with the Ronghua people indefinitely. As long as we put together a high-point player to rob the Ronghua players, that will be enough."

Ning Suisu was watching him.

Liu Guangming was very straightforward at this moment, "Captain Ning, I trust you. Frankly, our guild still has a few points left, and we are willing to contribute."

As he spoke, he looked at the members of other teams around him.

The others exchanged glances, but Liu Guangming made a lot of sense.

This Xie Fangcheng is too powerful; not to mention they don't know if there are other ways to increase their points at the moment, even if there were, what if they get robbed again later?

If this issue is not resolved, all their efforts would be in vain, benefiting others instead.

As for giving the points to Ning Suisu, it was indeed because Ning Suisu's strength was the pinnacle among the remaining players.

Of course, Liu Guangming had other considerations in his mind... for instance, what if they offended the people of Ronghua while robbing their points?

Ronghua has a figure like Xie Fangcheng; their return to the pinnacle was already a foregone conclusion, and no one wanted to offend this future number one big shot.

Especially since Xie Fangcheng claimed to be from the underworld... the term was indeed strange and bizarre, making it hard to believe, but with the existence of infinite games, what if it was true?

Anyway, it was better to push this offending task onto others!

How smart was Ning Suisu? She saw through Liu Guangming's little scheme instantly, just giving him a smile that wasn't quite a smile, "Is that so? Then help me collect five hundred points first, shall we?"

Liu Guangming was stunned for a moment, just about to agree, when his companion next to him tugged at his clothes somewhat speechlessly, whispering a reminder, "Old Liu, did you forget why she came to the restaurant in the first place?"

Why she came to the restaurant... Damn!

Liu Guangming regained his senses.

Ning Suisu's initial purpose was also to rob others, only that she wasn't as powerful as Xie Fangcheng.

If they gave her the points, would this woman really return them?

Zhou Heqi seemed somewhat tempted, "Captain Ning, I think President Liu has a point."

Ning Suisu stood up, looking at the twenty-three players in front of her.

Cooperation? Partners?

She scoffed silently in her heart.

Not to mention anything else, achieving a collective score of five hundred as Liu Guangming imagined was something beyond anyone's reach.

Even though everyone understands that uniting against Ronghua is the only option at the moment, Ning Suisui believes more firmly that apart from the people of Ronghua, no other player can truly achieve unity.

In this game, it's most common for players to deceive and betray each other; trust among them had collapsed long ago. How could it possibly be rebuilt?

In the instance, scores represent the hope of clearing the level and the chance of survival. No one would willingly give up their scores unconditionally, especially to other strangers.

"You all continue discussing, we will take our leave now," said Ning Suisui, gesturing to Zhou Heqi to follow.

Zhou Heqi followed her reluctantly out of the restaurant, and once outside, he couldn't help but ask, "Are we really not cooperating with the other players?"

"Cooperate?" Ning Suisui shook her head, "A group harboring their own ulterior motives cannot collaborate effectively."

"Ah…" Zhou Heqi hesitated, "Then what should we do?"

Ning Suisui looked towards the serene sea surface. Beneath the clear waters, countless bizarre-looking marine creatures could be seen, eyeing the people on the boat with hungry gazes.

"We might not be able to cooperate with them... but that doesn't mean we can't cooperate with others."

"With whom?"

"With NPCs."

"What??"

Zhou Heqi was bewildered.

"Xie Fangcheng and his team are not abiding by the rules on the ship. It's not only us players who find this extremely troublesome. I suspect the NPCs also want to get rid of him," Ning Suisui said, looking towards the upper floor, "It's just a thought, but I think it's worth a try."

Meanwhile, in a corner on the second floor, the Golden Leopard Group of five and Yan Xiaotong... no, Yan Xiaoqian pressed her hand to her ear, and soon relayed new information.

"The captain has decided to approach the ship captain for a collaboration."

"What?" Someone paused, visibly anxious, "We don't even know what kind of NPC the ship captain is; what if he is of a predatory nature? Won't the captain be in great danger? With our high scores, we could lie low if necessary, aiming for at least a top three finish, right?"

Yan Xiaoqian pressed her lips together, "Top three won't do. With Ronghua in the picture, it seems only the first place will suffice."

The reason they invested so much effort, even sacrificing the valuable 'Poseidon's Trident', was all for the pursuit of the maritime treasure.

Although the NPC didn't explicitly mention, this treasure surely had its pros and cons. If there indeed exists a ranking skill, it seems only the first place would have a chance to obtain it.

They exchanged worried glances.

Yan Xiaoqian turned her head and asked, "Guanxi, where is Xie Fangcheng now?"

Guanxi immediately took out his watch, opened it and reported the location.

"Still on the third floor!"

If anyone could see the watch worn by the player known as "Guan Xi" at this moment, they would be startled to find that, unlike the black watches worn by ordinary players, Guan Xi's watch is golden.

Ning Suisui and her team entered this level-five instance two weeks before the public dungeon, leveraging a fragment they held. This fragment granted them "maximum privileges within the instance," and indeed, they received the utmost benefits.

Ning Suisui plotted against Ronghua, but when her plans were exposed by Zong Daoan, he guessed that their score might be exceedingly high.

He was not wrong; the number displayed on the golden watch was 1764.

Yes, while the majority of players had scores merely in the hundreds, and some could not even afford the fare on the first day, the Money Leopard squad had accumulated nearly two thousand points.

The fragment only had an effect on a single player. Initially, when entering the instance, Ning Suisui, who used the fragment, was awarded 925 points.

Perhaps even the system's deity sympathized with them on their final run through the instance, granting them immense luck. The Yan Xiaotong and Yan Xiaoxi sisters scored 300 and 400 points respectively, while the others all received over a hundred points.

It was these extra hundred points that made Ning Suisui realize that other players might have very low scores, prompting her to hatch a plan.

Now, the majority of the Money Leopard squad's points were concentrated on Guan Xi. When the score surpassed a thousand, an NPC knocked on Guan Xi's door to exchange his watch for a new one.

The golden watch possessed incredible functionalities, enabling the monitoring of the locations of the six guests with the highest scores.

Jie Fangcheng's score had already surged yesterday after he killed Gu Zailai. Later, to facilitate his robbery spree, his score was boosted to 300 points.

After robbing others at the dining hall, his score approached 790, nearing 800.

Once the score exceeds a thousand, the watch turns gold. By that time, wouldn't Jie Fangcheng, equipped with this device, be able to locate them?

"We know that NPCs have points, and so do Jie Fangcheng and his team... Although we don't know why they haven't acted against the NPCs yet, it's only a matter of time."

Yan Xiaoxi frowned deeply, "Suisui sister has gone to find the NPCs. We need to make alternative preparations — making sure other players lose their current points as soon as possible, we can't let Jie Fangcheng get them!"

Everyone exchanged grave looks, nodding solemnly.

"Let's go," Yan Xiaoxi stood up and clapped her hands, "We should find the player who is currently third on the leaderboard."

Guan Xi immediately reported the player's location: "Yu Hui, currently on the first floor, furthest to the right... seems to be in a room there, with a score of 327."

.

While the Money Leopard squad was busy locating NPCs and robbing other players, Liu Guangming managed to persuade the leaders of a few remaining groups to pool their leftover points, amounting to a total of 200.

As for whether that pathetic score of 200 was all that was left, everyone had a pretty good idea.

"The scores of average players probably won't exceed this number."

The pooled points were graciously offered to a player who ranked slightly higher on the leaderboard, someone resembling Nie Shuangshuang in style, focusing on speed. This player now surreptitiously pulled out a robe that looked familiar to many.

"Isn't that the Grim Reaper Guild's uniform?!"

The Grim Reaper Guild was infamous, but not for its prowess. Every player in this guild was a non-conformist, their entrance exam wasn't based on ability but a hundred questions on "electromagnetic wave compatibility." Their catchphrases were "bonds," "April lies," and "dedicating my heart to XX." They kept to themselves, rarely mingling with players from other guilds, yet their overall skill level was decent. Moreover, their guild leader currently ranked third on the leaderboard.

The guild's uniform is also quite distinctive, there's absolutely no chance of mistaking it.

The person who pulled out the robe shook his head: "It's a counterfeit I bought; most people can't distinguish it, only their own members can identify it. Anyway, the vice president of the Death God guild and Nie Shuangshuang are well-known for not getting along. If they catch me, I'll just say I am a reserve member of the Death God guild, there won't be any repercussions on everyone!"

The player from the same guild was moved to tears, being led by his guild's vice president, who patted him on the shoulder with much emotion at this moment.

"Go! The organization will remember you!"

The player nodded solemnly, draped the counterfeit Death God robe over himself, swaggered, and then departed like that.

Someone couldn't help but murmur: "Why does this lad look so listless? He isn't actually a reserve member of the Death God guild, is he?"

The Rong Hua guild is currently on the third floor, and this is no secret.

The player wearing the Death God robe sneaked up to the third floor cautiously.

They weren't recklessly going to rob any Rong Hua member they found; they had picked their target carefully.

Qiao Mai.

This girl isn't a master player, and moreover, she's a young woman.

Even if Xie Fangcheng is a bit ruthless, he wouldn't be idling around in a girl's room for no reason, right?

Everyone has tried it; the front desk is a good thing indeed. As long as you ask the front desk NPC about a certain guest's room, they will inform you.

Thus, this player sneaked to the doorway of Qiao Mai's room.

He took a deep breath, used his lock-picking skill to slightly open the door, and peeped inside through the crack.

The layout of the third floor is different from the second floor; through the crack, he could only vaguely see a bed and seemed to hear some noises inside the room. Was this girl up to something?

Perfect timing, while her attention was diverted, to achieve a quick victory! Rob her swiftly and then make a quick getaway!

Xie Fangcheng is not fast, as long as he successfully robs her, he could surely escape!

With this in mind, the player took another deep breath and swiftly darted into the room, closing the door behind him at a rapid pace.

He then turned around and shouted, "Robbery! Hand over your points!"

After yelling this, the player at the door stood dumbfounded as he observed the scene before him.

In front of him, two beds were placed side by side in the room; Qiao Mai and Wei Yuan were head to head, engrossed in something.

Not far away, where there should have been a wall, nothing was there; soon a luminous green light shone in, and "swoosh," a head wearing a green hat popped out from that side.

"Eh?" Xie Fangcheng exclaimed in surprise, "The third one to offer points has arrived, eh!"

Wei Yuan skillfully extended his hand to the ground, and a stone wall covered the entrance.

Xie Fangcheng pulled out his staff, loosening up his wrist in preparation.

"Whose turn is it?"

"Me, me, me, it's my turn, Brother Xie!" a voice came from afar behind the wall. Then swiftly, another unfamiliar head popped out, greeting warmly, "Hey! How many points do you have?"

The player at the door snapped back to reality and hastily retreated.

Xie Fangcheng approached expertly and swung his stick, hitting the wall next to him.

"You... What are you doing?"

A charming smile surfaced on Xie Fangcheng's face, which looked particularly eerie and peculiar under the green light.

"Robbery, hand over all your points."