Chapter 4: The Fourth Cup

Chapter 4: The Fourth Cup

The stone giant let out an earth-shattering roar. Its arms were visibly shorter now, making it look like a short-armed tyrannosaurus, stomping around in anger but stumbling due to its loss of balance, eventually falling to the ground.

Brother Long was stunned. He muttered, "Holy shit, Level 1 big bro... Do you really need to show off like this?"

The strategy guide did mention that one should prioritize disabling the opponent's hands to prevent them from using unpredictable rockfall magic.

But a guide is just a guide. This was the first time he had seen someone execute it perfectly.

A wild thought suddenly crossed his mind—could this be the legendary player He Wuning who shared the strategy guide?

Players on the forum often referred to the official guides, especially those provided by He Wuning, as "show-off guides" because most players couldn't replicate such moves. Everyone usually just looked for weaknesses and attack patterns before figuring out their own "beginner's guide."

But everyone still loved He Wuning's guides. As one forum player put it, "As long as He Wuning keeps providing these show-off guides, I know that not only can monsters show off against players, but players can also show off against monsters."

Brother Long couldn't help but take another look at the Level 1 big bro. Rumor had it that He Wuning was incredibly mysterious, a lone wolf who never responded to any requests for team-ups, no matter how heartfelt they were... Could it really be this guy?

Brother Long felt a bit disappointed. He had imagined his idol as a muscular action hero, not a good-looking young man.

The big bro's voice interrupted his thoughts, "What are you waiting for? Can't you focus fire?"

Brother Long snapped back to reality and called out to the little ghosts around him, "Use ranged attacks! Don't run over and cause trouble!"

Once he calmed down, he realized that the Level 1 big bro wasn't always able to hit the weak points perfectly. He needed opportunities, and when attacking normally, his damage was typical of a Level 1 player. It would still be challenging to kill a field boss with just that level of damage. Their attacks, though minimal, could still provide some assistance.

Brother Long rallied the half-grown little ghosts, some with slingshots, others throwing small stones, employing primitive methods.

He Wuning couldn't help but scoff, "Don't you have a gun?"

Brother Long, now too focused to care about his pride, shouted back, "I don't have any bullets! I stole this gun from my dad to look cool; I couldn't find any bullets!"

He Wuning was speechless.

Q-jelly continued to make sarcastic remarks, "Regretting it now, right? I told you not to come out!"

"Shut up." He Wuning twisted his body in an angle that seemed impossible for humans, fiercely breaking off a piece of rock. Q-jelly immediately fell silent, feeling that the blade might have been meant for it.

The stone giant's health finally dropped below 30%, and He Wuning breathed a slight sigh of relief. In the next instant, he locked eyes with the stone giant, which suddenly turned its gaze. An overwhelming sense of unease made his spine chill. Without hesitation, He Wuning abandoned his attack and spun away. The stone giant punched the spot where He Wuning had just stood with incredible speed.

He Wuning trusted his instincts and dodged just in time, only getting slightly grazed by flying debris. Xiaoxue immediately cast a healing spell on him.

He Wuning turned, "Run!"

Everyone froze, except for the little fat boy, who instinctively started running.

In the next moment, the stone giant abandoned its fight with He Wuning and moved towards the others.

"What the hell is going on!" Brother Long yelled, pulling Xiaoxue along as he ran.

He Wuning was the stone giant's primary target. Since he hadn't disengaged or died, and none of them had skills to forcibly redirect the monster's attention, the game logic dictated that the monster would continue to attack the player causing the most damage.

Brother Long kept running while shouting, "What the hell is happening! This must be a bug! This has to be a bug!"

"This lousy game company will go bankrupt soon!"

Swearing and yelling seemed to give him endless courage.

He Wuning didn't say anything but had a hunch. He chased after them, hoping to kill the stone giant before it reached Xiaoxue.

After a few steps, Brother Long noticed that the monster wasn't randomly choosing targets; it was clearly heading straight for them. Could it be...

Brother Long glanced at Xiaoxue, whose face was pale with fear.

"What the hell is this monster! It knows to kill the healer first!" Brother Long yelled, pushing Xiaoxue in front of him and turning to block the giant with his body, giving He Wuning more space to attack.

He jumped onto the stone giant's leg, but it seemed to feel nothing and continued moving towards the girl.

—It showed no signs of losing balance now; the earlier stumbling seemed staged.

"Stop it!" Brother Long's face turned red as he repeatedly struck the cracks in the stone with his steel pipe, gritting his teeth, "Big bro! How the hell do you break this thing!"

He Wuning passed by him, glancing at his weapon and seemingly disapproving. Brother Long felt a weight on his hand—He Wuning pressed the flat of his knife against it.

"Do it like this."

Brother Long watched in amazement as the stubborn stone pieces fell off.

He had prepared himself for an attack, but the stone giant ignored him, persistently pursuing Xiaoxue—lifting its foot high, ready to crush her.

"Ahh!" Seeing the shadow approaching, the girl rolled to the ground, closing her eyes in despair.

Just as the light disappeared, she saw He Wuning emerge from behind the monster's foot.

She closed her eyes tightly, casting a final skill on him.

A green light flashed over He Wuning, and he looked at the girl lying on the ground, waiting to die, and couldn't help but scoff.

Xiaoxue felt herself being lifted and then landing on her butt... No, wait, it wasn't that painful. She opened her eyes, coughing from the dust.

—She had been thrown out.

"I'll fight you to the death!" Brother Long's angry shout mixed with desperation and calls of "big bro" and "big shot." Xiaoxue felt a sense of foreboding.

She struggled to get up, opening her mouth to speak. The little fat boy stepped forward, waving his wooden stick, "Don't come any closer!"

Just as everyone prepared for a last stand, the monster suddenly emitted a brilliant light—the familiar glow indicating a monster's defeat.

The little fat guy was dumbfounded: "...Did you do that, Brother Long?"

Brother Long was clearly just as stunned: "How the hell would I know I had this kind of ability?"

"I did it," He Wuning said, frowning and coughing twice, brushing off the dust on his clothes in disgust. "Why panic? I have counterattack gear."

The troublesome thing about these monsters is that they always kick up a lot of dust when attacked or falling, so one always has to change clothes after fighting them.

He Wuning wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and Brother Long stared at him with wide eyes: "You're still alive... No, weren't you only level one? How... How much health do you have!"

He Wuning answered truthfully: "300."

Brother Long's expression was blank: "300 health, and the stone giant takes away more than 200 with one hit. You also had some scratches before... You, you..."

He Wuning stood up, glancing at his remaining nine points of health: "I calculated it; I won't die."

He glanced at Brother Long as if looking at an idiot, "Do I look like someone who likes to die?"

Brother Long was stunned for a few seconds, then broke into a relieved, foolish smile: "It's good, it's good. Xiaoxue, what are you waiting for? Heal the level one boss a bit!"

Xiaoxue nodded obediently. Just as she was about to raise her hand, she suddenly clutched her head and groaned. She hadn't felt anything during the battle, but now her head felt like it was splitting open.

He Wuning frowned and looked at her: "First real combat?"

Xiaoxue nodded blankly, and He Wuning sighed: "Skill-type abilities consume mental energy; she's already overdrawn."

"It's okay, anyway we're done..."

Brother Long suddenly changed his expression: "Be careful!"

Behind He Wuning, a mud man emerged from the dust of the fallen stone giant!

Without turning his head, He Wuning's dagger flashed coldly. At the same time, a gunshot rang out nearby, and the bullet arrived almost simultaneously with the dagger. The mud man instantly turned into a streak of light, dropping items all over the ground.

He Wuning looked up in surprise, and the man holding the sniper rifle removed his goggles and nodded at him.

Brother Long also turned around and exclaimed, "Holy shit! It's Yi Luo! What's going on, are all the big shots coming out today?"

"That's not right; this is the Slime area, how can there be a mud man here?"

He Wuning met his gaze from a distance and casually looked away: "After the stone giant appears for a while, it will summon subordinate mud men. If it isn't defeated, it will wander around with a group of mud men."

"It's written in the guide; didn't you finish reading it?"

Brother Long scratched his head awkwardly: "Well, I thought someone like me wouldn't provoke a wild boss... Who knew that even if I don't provoke him, he'd come after me. Life is full of surprises."

While Brother Long was still sighing and reminiscing about the past, Q-jelly quietly crawled out and boldly perched on He Wuning's shoulder: "Honey, you don't like that human called 'Yi Luo,' is that what humans call 'top cancer'?"

He Wuning extended a finger, and Q-jelly happily high-fived him: "Yay! Stone giant defeated, great victory!"

He Wuning flicked Q-jelly off his shoulder like a bug and even brushed his shoulder in disgust.

Q-jelly covered his mouth and sobbed: "Wah wah wah, you're taking it out on me! I just topped you on the player rankings, you're too petty to be number one!"

**Author's Note:**

A gratuitous skit:

Q-jelly: Honey, give up, he's a man whose name also includes the number one.

He Wuning: Then I'll change my name to He Yining.

Yi Luo: ?

Thank you to those who voted for me with overlord tickets or watered me with nutrient fluids from 00:50:06 on July 28, 2021, to 01:17:45 on July 29, 2021.

Thank you to the little angels who watered nutrient fluids: 3 bottles from "Nameless";

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!