Chapter 106: Digital Cruise (Nineteen)

Chapter 106: Digital Cruise (Nineteen)

It must be said that Zhang Dao'an has gone beyond just being cunning and calculative; he seems to have the script in hand, not only predicting that the players would come to give away points, but he even anticipated that they would use Qiao Mai as a weak point for the breach.

Qiao Mai, although a member of the Rong Hua guild, her heart truly belonged to the professional league.

This girl also had a small reputation in the game, being a quite professional stylist, even dyeing Nie Shuangshuang's hair.

The game didn't offer much in the way of entertainment activities; unlike in the real world where one could binge-watch shows or read novels, many had taken up hobbies like hair dying and perming. Qiao Mai's shop was situated in the second ring, where many people knew her.

Easy to remember name, weak abilities... and importantly, she was a girl. Anyone would think that at most, there would be a Nie Shuangshuang or Wei Yuan in her room, none of them being powerful players, obviously should be easy to control.

Hence, this was already the third wave of players who secretly pried open Qiao Mai's door, preparing to storm in and take advantage of her.

But no one expected that the Rong Hua people would directly tear down the wall. Not only did they remove the wall, but Xie Fangcheng was also squatting next door, ambushing everyone who came, automatically scoring points without even having to actively search for them.

At this moment, another one came. Xie Fangcheng glanced at his clothes and even let out a surprised "eh".

"From the Death God guild?"

Hearing this name, Nie Shuangshuang immediately leaned in from the other side of the wall.

"What? Even someone from the Death God guild came?"

Saying this, she leaned over to take a look, and immediately saw through it.

"This isn't, it's obviously a knockoff."

It's often said that the one who knows you best is your rival. Xie Fangcheng turned his head and scrutinized seriously but couldn't find any difference, whereas Nie Shuangshuang could identify it with just a glance.

The player wearing the counterfeit Death God robe was quite shocked: "How could you tell?"

"Patterns, color differences, craftsmanship, one can tell at a glance!" Nie Shuangshuang said, waving her hand dismissively, "Hurry up, finish this and get out, this outfit gives me a headache just looking at it."

Before she could finish, the player cornered by Xie Fangcheng at the door suddenly yelled, "Wait!!"

Jie Fangcheng looked at him.

The player coming over obviously had his own calculations in mind.

“I want to join Ronghua!”

Indeed.

Not to mention the lone wolves and those abandoned by small groups, after witnessing Jie Fangcheng's strength, an unknown number of players who were only doing average in their guilds started to be tempted.

Ronghua harbors such a powerful figure, and what's even more attractive is the current overall weakness of the guild. Anyone invested in the matter would know this represents a significant potential stock!

Players who were sent to offend Ronghua obviously had some abilities but were not faring well in their original teams. At this point, when this player spoke up, Jie Fangcheng responded smoothly and proficiently.

“Twenty million points worth of equipment, register over there.”

“Ah... okay.” The player's face appeared quite bewildered.

He had prepared himself mentally for the possibility of being asked to be a mole or undergoing some initiation tests.

None.

Absolutely nothing.

Just a transaction involving payment.

The Ronghua player who ran over was also very adept, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket and immediately starting to register him, asking afterward, “How many points do you have on you now?”

“Ah... two hundred and twenty-seven.”

“Oh! Your score isn't that high, huh? Come on, let’s head over there to verify it.” The Ronghua player led him to another area, “Come on, we have arranged the beds over there. Including you, we are now thirty-two members, a good time to get to know each other. What's your name? Which guild were you in before? What skills do you possess? Do you have any speed-boosting items?”

Jie Fangcheng watched them leave.

Now, each room accommodated two beds; beside Jie Fangcheng was Zhang Dao'an, who at the moment was idly flipping through a book, appearing quite leisurely.

Speaking of Zhang Dao’an's strategy, it seems simple in retrospect.

Jie Fangcheng's strength was clear for all to see, and there would certainly be "smart" individuals like Liu Guangming who wanted to try to seize points from them.

Jie Fangcheng was just one person; he couldn't possibly squat here every day protecting Ronghua's members.

Hence, the need to recruit some fresh forces.

In just one morning, Ronghua expanded from twenty-two to thirty-two members. Among the ten new members, two were ranked in the top three hundred in the points leaderboard, and the rest were also quite capable, with at least most having cleared level five dungeons.

Even without Jie Fangcheng, Ronghua would now be the second-largest power. Apart from Ning Suisu's group, Ronghua had become the strongest at present.

As for Ning Suisu, one could tell at a glance that she was intelligent. Coming to trouble Ronghua was unrealistic, and collaborating with other players was even more unlikely. Their small team split into two groups: Ning Suisu's side played the 'bad cop', leveraging Zhou Heqi's reputation to rob players of their points, planning to betray them later. Meanwhile, Yan Xiaoxian and the other four chose "cannon fodder" to attempt contact with NPCs.

However, due to Jie Fangcheng's robbery, a new problem had emerged.

Zhou Heqi and their team's scores were no longer sufficient.

Ning Suisui required a high score to securely compel other players to assign tasks to her, facilitating score plundering.

Zhou Heqi and the others had contributed all their points, amassing them for Zhou Heqi and Ning Suisui, but after one robbery by Xie Fangcheng, both had their scores wiped out, enabling any player to issue a death mission targeting Ning Suisui.

Under these circumstances, Ning Suisui could no longer safely rob other players; she had no choice but to target NPCs.

Who would she approach?

Her objective was the Ocean Treasure, but with Xie Fangcheng's formidable strength being unmistakably evident, ordinary NPCs wouldn't be able to restrain him. The most plausible course of action for her, a cunning and somewhat capable player, would be to seek out the captain.

The captain's strength was beyond her reach, meaning her intentions were not to fight the captain for points but to propose collaboration.

The captain, having gotten wind of Xie Fangcheng's prowess early on, had already retreated to an unknown corner. To lure this NPC out, Ning Suisui, an intelligent and fairly powerful player, would be the best choice.

Now that Ning Suisui has gone to find an NPC, the task of robbing other players naturally falls upon Yan Xiaoxian.

Zhang Dao'an speculated that the existing scores for players ranged from 0 to 999, with the maximum numerical display on the wristwatch being three digits.

If it exceeds a thousand, chances are a wristwatch upgrade is in order.

The newly acquired watch probably features more advanced functionalities—this doesn't require guessing, as Xie Fangcheng can easily find out by pulling aside an NPC and inquiring.

Location tracking functionality.

Compared to Yan Xiaoxian and the others, who have a fragmented understanding and need to explore on their own, Zhang Dao'an has access to a more comprehensive set of information.

Once the score surpasses a thousand, a golden wristwatch is issued. This golden wristwatch can pinpoint the exact locations of the wristwatches worn by the top ten highest-scoring individuals currently aboard the ship.

That is to say, individuals like Xie Fangcheng could potentially leave their wristwatches in place and flee, resulting in only the watches' locations being displayed on Yan Xiaoxian and their group's golden wristwatches, unable to reveal Xie Fangcheng's actual whereabouts.

However, given the vital role that the watches currently play, including being essential for covering ship fares and dining expenses, players tend to keep them secured on their persons, a fact Yan Xiaoxian and the group have not realized to date.

Glancing over his shoulder, Zhang Dao'an observed a communal space where some were engaged in a game of Go, others sipping tea, and a few leisurely fishing from the balcony, embracing the tranquility.

"It's about time," he remarked.

If one were to compile a complete player score chart, they would notice a significant disparity in scores amongst the Ronghua players: some held only a few points, a large portion hovered slightly above a hundred, and immediately following were individuals holding nothing in the vicinity of two hundred points, jumping directly to scores exceeding three hundred.

Zhang Dao'an was one of those with a three hundred point score.

At his statement, Xie Fangcheng started limbering up his limbs.

Zhang Dao'an initiated a task assignment towards him.

"Manager Xie, give us a smile."

Xie Fangcheng paused momentarily, and though the task issued by Zhang Dao'an, whose score was lower than his, failed—resulting in the system notification stating, "Player [Zhang Dao'an] has a lower score than you, task assignment failed, compensation equals the difference between both scores"—he appeared momentarily taken aback.

Following such a notification, the task initiation failed. The points from Zhang Dao'an's tally were fully transferred to Xie Fangcheng, who also received a message: "Your score has exceeded the maximum limit of the [basic wristwatch]. Our personnel will promptly adjust your score with a new tally. Please wait momentarily."

Although the task issued by Zhang Dao'an was unsuccessful, Xie Fangcheng couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Such a simple task, huh?"

Upon saying this, another player who had been prepared on the side approached.

"Brother Xie."

Shu Yuan.

The individual who ultimately assigned a task to Gu Zailai, leading to Gu Zailai's demise.

A lone wolf by nature, his score dwindled to a single digit after terminating Gu Zailai. Shu Yuan was quick-witted and managed to find someone willing to cover his costs before others were aware of the proxy payment option, purchasing points with properties valued at over two hundred million, just enough to afford the first day's ship fare.

Later, he positioned himself outside the Ronghua members' quarters and, without hesitation, traded his properties to join Ronghua.

He had long harbored a desire to be part of Ronghua. When Zhang Dao'an approached him with a task request, he agreed without any hesitation.

His score is currently just above one hundred, a figure that falls within the average range.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

Xie Fangcheng opened the door to find a smiling NPC standing at the threshold.

"Mr. Xie, congratulations on achieving a score of one thousand one hundred and sixteen. Here is your [intermediate] wristwatch. Please keep it safe."

After receiving the wristwatch, Xie Fangcheng handed it to Zhang Dao'an, who glanced at it briefly.

The top player, Guan Xi, currently located on the first floor, holds over one thousand seven hundred points.

These are the current locations of the five players from the Golden Leopard team.

There are six individuals with three hundred points; four of them are from Ronghua, presently on the third floor. The remaining two are scattered, one on the first floor and another on the second. Given the Golden Leopard team's coordinates, they evidently intend to confront the player with three hundred points on the first floor.

As expected, these five are now aiming to seize points from other players.

"Proceed according to the plan."

Saying this, Nie Shuangshuang and Wei Yuan stood up.

Xie Fangcheng led the two of them, along with Shu Yuan, out of the room.

Zhang Dao'an, holding Xie Fangcheng's golden wristwatch, also rose to his feet.

"Let's move as well," he said with a calm demeanor.

"Move? To do what?" someone inquired.

"To have a meal," Zhang Dao'an replied.

.

Over there, on Guan Xi's wristwatch, as Jie Fangcheng's score just surpassed a thousand points, the ever-watchful Guan Xi noticed it immediately.

"He's broken the thousand point barrier!"

Yan Xiaoxi felt a sudden jolt in her heart and promptly inquired, "Where is he now?"

Guan Xi consulted the device and frowned slightly, "He is still on the third floor, moving at a slow pace. It seems he is leisurely walking...perhaps heading to the dining area?"

Heading to the dining area?

Equipped with such a miraculous tracking feature and not hastening to seize points, but instead sauntering to dine at the restaurant... this person really is audacious!

"Nevermind that! Let's seize the points quickly! No matter how powerful Jie Fangcheng is, his pace is just too slow!"

Saying this, Yan Xiaoxi and her group of five swiftly closed in on their target.

Yu Hui serves as the vice-president of the "All in the Same Boat" guild, undertaking this journey to accumulate more clearance chips for herself and her team before the national dungeon event.

However, unexpectedly, they ended up in this dungeon where nobody has cleared before.

The only silver lining is that all six members of Yu Hui's squad have substantial scores, and being friends who have cleared numerous dungeons together, they haven't resorted to forcing a player to relinquish all their points as seen in other guilds.

Everyone willingly transferred their points to Yu Hui, entrusting her to manage these life-signifying points.

At this moment, Yu Hui and another astute guild player were in the same room, wearing expressions of distress as they frantically calculated the current score dynamics.

The other four members were dispatched by her to check if the NPCs had any tasks through which they could acquire points.

"This is quite a predicament," Yu Hui sighed.

Just then, a knocking sound emanated from the door.

"Who is it?"

Outside, a gentle-sounding male voice responded.

"Good afternoon, room service."

Yu Hui exchanged a glance with her companion, pressed herself against the wall, and swiftly 'vanished' as though melding into the wall itself.

This was her core ability, "Chameleon", allowing her to blend seamlessly into her surroundings. As long as she remained stationary, she could evade detection by any means or tools.

Yu Hui's partner approached the door and peeked outside, his facial expression changing abruptly thereafter.

He turned his head and signaled a warning to Yu Hui through lip movement.

It's someone from the Golden Leopard squad.

Subsequently, without waiting for the person outside to knock again, the player wisely opened the door immediately.

The doors within the game couldn't be destroyed, yet a veteran player would have a hundred ways to unlock them; not opening them was out of the question.

At this moment, he opened the door and managed to compose himself, forcing a smile onto his face.

"Brother Guan."

Guan Xi, ranked over sixty on the leaderboard, was indeed a pro. Even though he was constantly trailing behind Ning Suisui and the others, those who were acquainted with the four of them knew that each individual's abilities surpassed that of Yan Xiaoxi or Yan Xiaotong. However, the Yan sisters possessed a unique joint skill within the entire game, making their combined strength even mightier than Ning Suisui's.

Now, with Guan Xi appearing at the doorway, this player knew he couldn't possibly confront him head-on. Victory through a fight was out of the question, so the only option was to try and deceive him into leaving.

"Brother Guan, are you looking for me for something?"

Guan Xi didn't bother with idle chatter, he strode in directly, his gaze fixed on a certain section of the wall.

"I apologize, President Yu, but we desperately need the rewards from this dungeon."

His focus was too precise, and Yu Hui, who was concealed near the wall, didn't even think before she deactivated her camouflage, preparing to rush out.

The door was shut.

Guan Xi's abilities were more than sufficient to deal with Yu Hui and her teammates. Outside, all Yan Xiaoxi and the others had to do was guard the door.

It took less than two minutes before Guan Xi's voice emanated from within the room.

"It's done."

Only then did Yan Xiaoxi open the door.

The room was a complete mess, blood splattered all over. Yu Hui, her eyes a fiery red, was staring at them, having just gulped down a bottle of recovery potion.

"Is this the doing of the Golden Leopard Squad?" she couldn't help but speak.

Yan Xiaoxi apologetically bowed slightly towards her, before responding earnestly.

"We have no choice, the very core of this game is designed this way: players mercilessly killing each other, battling to produce the strongest, and eliminating the weakest. If given a choice, no one would wish to raise a hand against their brethren. Please understand."

With that, she and the remaining four members swiftly vacated the premises.

A successful opening move.

Just with this single round, the score on Guan Xi's golden wristwatch surged past two thousand points.

With such a high score, Yan Xiaoxi turned her head to inquire, "Where is Jie Fangcheng now?"

"Still on the third floor," Guan Xi frowned, "they really did go to the dining area."

"Never mind him, let's move! Onto the next!"

Guan Xi nodded.

At that moment, he paused abruptly.

"Hold on!"

"What's the matter?" Yan Xiaoxi asked.

"There's someone nearby with a score of two hundred and twenty-seven on the leaderboard... They are constantly moving, and at quite a pace."

Yan Xiaoxi hurriedly asked, "How fast?"

"Roughly within the top two hundred on the leaderboard, I suppose!"

"What's their name?"

"Shu Yuan? I haven't heard of this name before!"

Guan Xi kept a vigilant watch on the player named "Shu Yuan".

"They've slowed down, they must have used some kind of speed boost skill just now!"

Most speed-enhancing skills come with side effects or usage limitations, players wouldn't use them without good reason.

"They probably encountered an NPC or another player. Let's move, we could play the role of opportunists here!" Yan Xiaoxi suggested.

As everyone headed in Shu Yuan's direction, Guan Xi suddenly froze again.

"Their score changed! It's now three hundred and thirty-five!"

Three hundred and thirty-five...

"But they've stopped moving!"

Yan Xiaoxi quickly grasped the situation.

"They likely devoured a player worth half their score earlier, then used a skill to flee, and now they've consumed another! This type of player is exactly what we prefer!"

After a fight, their strength would naturally have diminished, presenting an excellent opportunity for us to swoop in!

"Hurry!"

Yan Xiaoxi and her team accelerated once more, soon arriving at the doorway of another guest room.

"It's here!"

The group of five adopted their battle stance again, just like when they were confronting Yu Hui earlier.

After Guan Xi knocked, there was no response from inside the room—this was expected, as some cautious players would behave this way.

Thus, Guan Xi simply resorted to using his lock-picking skill, followed by a feeble "who" coming from within the room.

Hearing the unfamiliar weak voice, everyone immediately felt at ease.

After closing the door, Guan Xi indeed found a player lying beside the wall. He cleared his throat, uttered an "I'm sorry" as before, and then prepared to use his usual tactics—

Only to be smashed against the wall by a heavy stick.

The strike caused Guan Xi to tremble violently, unable to hold back a scream of agony as he turned his head.

"Damn! What the hell is that?!"

In the pitch-black room stood a giant green glow stick.

The "glow stick" even greeted him: "Hi!"

It was then that Guan Xi recognized it, screaming in horror again, "Why is it you?!"

At the doorway, Yan Xiaoxi and the others froze for a moment before hearing screams coming from inside.

"Why is Guan Xi being so brutal this time?" someone muttered.

Yan Xiaoxi was the first to realize that something was wrong.

"No good! Guan Xi is the one getting beaten up!!"

She immediately opened the door, only to find a thick stone wall right behind it.

With a furious yell, Yan Xiaoxi swung her weapon, activating a skill that rapidly disintegrated the stone wall, revealing the scene behind it.

Wei Yuan grumbled, "Tearing down my walls is now as easy as slicing through tofu for these people!"

Nie Shuangshuang teased him, "Weak!"

"You think you're not weak? If not, you go ahead!"

Xie Fangcheng was holding down Guan Xi with one hand, while using the other to tie him up with a rope.

The rope was a recent confiscation, a rare and extremely durable item. Once tied up, the players couldn't escape unless he untied it, making it incredibly suitable for his use.

Standing at the doorway, Yan Xiaoxi first noticed the glowing green stick before spotting Guan Xi.

Even in such a critical moment, she couldn't help but let out a curse, "Damn! What the hell is this?!"

The "monstrosity" turned around, revealing a familiar face, which looked even more sinister and terrifying under the eerie green glow.

Yan Xiaoxi cursed again, her expression turning grim.

"Why is it you guys?"

Nie Shuangshuang waved at her cheerfully, "Xiaoxi!"

Yan Xiaoxi's face turned even grimmer as she managed a forced smile, "Sister Shuangshuang."

"We're familiar enough with each other, no need for more nonsense," Nie Shuangshuang nodded towards Guan Xi, "Have him assign the mission, and we won't make things difficult for you all."

Xie Fangcheng had tied him up precisely because the young man had refused to assign a mission even after taking several hits, leaving no option but to bind him first and talk later.

Hearing this, the bound Guan Xi's eyes turned blood-red, and he shouted defiantly with a strained neck, "I won't! You might as well just kill me!"

"You insolent brat! You think our friend here won't lay hands on you?" Nie Shuangshuang threatened him, "Do you have any idea that Brother Xie would even kill me without hesitation, let alone you? Be careful with your words, kiddo!"

Guan Xi remained silent, just glaring at them steadily.

"Not willing to cooperate, huh? Then I might as well throw him overboard as fish food," Xie Fangcheng rolled up his sleeves.

His expression was genuinely indifferent, showing not a trace of intimidation in his demeanor as he spoke those words.

Yet, Guan Xi continued to hold his neck high, showing no signs of yielding.

It was at this moment Yan Xiaoxi spoke up, "Guan Xi, just give it to them."

Guan Xi hesitated, "No! This is the last chance!"

"If you die, it will be a greater loss than us losing our ranking skills," Yan Xiaoxi's expression returned to a calm state as she rationally negotiated with Xie Fangcheng, "We give you the points, and we can leave, right?"

"Sure, off you go," Xie Fangcheng generously agreed.

Guan Xi's face turned grim as he reluctantly turned away.

Nie Shuangshuang stepped forward, "Assign the mission to me!"

After a moment of silence, Guan Xi finally spoke.

"You... slap Xie Fangcheng, who is beside you, once!"

"Damn, that's vicious!" Nie Shuangshuang exclaimed, but still extended her hand. Although she protested verbally, her face hinted at a certain eagerness, as if she had wanted to do this for a long time but had never dared to.

Xie Fangcheng raised the stick in his hand, expressionless.

Nie Shuangshuang coughed, "I swear, I'll just slap lightly!"

Xie Fangcheng looked at her, sincerely stating, "I swear too, I have a reflex reaction."

In the end, Nie Shuangshuang could only hesitantly pat the stick he was holding, yet she did receive a notification of task completion.

Guan Xi's points were instantly reset to zero.

This was all part of Zhang Dao'an's plan: first gather 200 points for Shu Yuan on the ground floor, then Xie Fangcheng and his group would lie in ambush in a prearranged room, while Nie Shuangshuang ran around with Shu Yuan's watch, feigning signs of having engaged in combat, and after reaching the room, increase the points to 300 to mislead Yan Xiaoxi and the others into thinking they were about to catch a helpless big fish.

The plan indeed succeeded.

Xie Fangcheng untied Guan Xi, who silently picked himself up from the ground.

The places where he was struck still ached severely, yet he remained silent, only lowering his head as he joined Yan Xiaoxi and the others.

Yan Xiaoxi patted him encouragingly on the shoulder, "It's okay, we'll find another way."

With that, she turned her gaze to Nie Shuangshuang, her expression reverting to its previous state.

"Sister Shuangshuang, how about we have a meal together once we're out?"

"Ah." Nie Shuangshuang scratched her head, readily agreeing, "Sure!"

After speaking, Yan Xiaoxi led their group towards the exit.

Just as they were about to step out of their line of sight, Yan Xiaoxi suddenly turned her head to look at Xie Fangcheng.

"Are you really an employee of the Underworld?"

Xie Fangcheng nodded affirmatively.

Yan Xiaoxi inquired, "Is the Underworld very terrifying?"

"It's bearable," Xie Fangcheng replied.

"Not as terrifying as this game, right?"

"It's different."

With a blossom-like smile, Yan Xiaoxi proposed, "Then, how about I treat you to a meal once we get out? You can tell us about the affairs of the Underworld?"

"I'll pass," he responded.

"Why?"

Xie Fangcheng candidly stated, "I generally don't dine with people I'm not too fond of."

Yan Xiaoxi was momentarily stunned, then couldn't help but chuckle with a mix of tears and laughter, "Brother, could you be a bit more tactful!"

With that, she waved her hand again.

"Let's get going."

Saying this, Yan Xiaoxi and her group leisurely exited the room, but from the corner of her eye, she noticed that Xie Fangcheng and his companions were also following them out.

Yan Xiaoxi paused in surprise.

"Where are you guys heading?"

Xie Fangcheng glanced at her, "To the third floor."

"In such a hurry?" Yan Xiaoxi asked with a surprised expression, initiating a conversation casually, "I hear the food on the third floor is really good, is it true?"

Nie Shuangshuang couldn't help but interject, "Xiaoxi..."

"Hmm?"

Nie Shuangshuang looked at her, "Before we came here, Zhang Daoan had already warned us."

"What?"

"Cough... He mentioned that when you guys discover where Jie Ge is, you might intentionally delay and convey this message to Ning Suisui, allowing her to lead the NPC to commit a murder." Having said that, Nie Shuangshuang waved her hand dismissively, and there, Xie Fangcheng had already sprinted out in two strides, skillfully bypassing Yan Xiaoxi and the others.

Nie Shuangshuang gazed at her earnestly, "I know you've been eager to return to the real world, I understand. But the people from Ronghua upstairs are also my friends. If Suisui is really up there... let's forget about the meal."

Nie Shuangshuang smiled, "If I ever visit the Underworld in the future and have the chance, I'll invite you for a meal then."